The sound of rain fiercely hitting the roofs, windows swaying in the wind, the tense breathing of the punitive force, the bustling movements of people inside the buildings, and the faint sound of long claws gently scraping the roof tiles.

Esmeralda beside him diligently twisted her head, trying to visually locate the landing of the Elding.

Because of the dark clouds, the horizon was completely dark, but Esmeralda foolishly relied on sight.

Kirian, who had never expected any help from the beginning, sighed slightly and gestured to Esmeralda.

“Wait here. It won’t take long.”

Before Esmeralda could even open her mouth to say something, Kirian disappeared. Slowing down enough that the Elding would not notice him was always annoying.

Soon after, an Elding leaped from the roof to the street with a crashing sound. The punitive force, with Gerald in the lead, charged at the Elding immediately.

“There it is! Catch it!”

Esmeralda anxiously awaited Kirian’s appearance. No matter how swiftly the punitive force charged, the infamous Elding would not be caught so easily.

“Don’t let it escape!”

But the punitive force recklessly charged forward. The moment she turned her head, unable to bear the impending onesided slaughter,

“Let’s move.”

Kirian appeared beside her.

“We’re too close to the punitive force.”

“No, just now.”

Esmeralda stammered, pointing to the Elding still thrashing its front hooves and drooling in the street.

Only then did she see the Elding attempting to stagger backward a few steps, as if trying to flee.

“Ah, I neatly severed a few ligaments in its legs.”

As the punitive force surrounded the Elding, a dreadful stench vibrated with a crunching and sizzling sound.

“Hurry up.”

Kirian urged the stillstunned Esmeralda.

(This is a time divider.)

Thus, every time Kirian disappeared, the thrashing Elding fell to the street and was mercilessly slaughtered by the punitive force.

This repeated so many times that the Elding became pitiful.

“Follow me!”

And at the forefront was always Gerald, swinging his spear clumsily.

“Woah! Prince Gerald!”

“Follow the prince!”

Gerald’s followers were always busy trailing wherever he went.

Kirian caught the sound of another Elding falling from afar. He planned to wrap up the hunt after this one.

Sending a strong signal would surely cause a panic among the dull villagers, but the Eldings would notice immediately.

“I knew it. I knew you two would get along from the start.”

It seemed that his sister’s last words were bothering him, so he had to get back quickly.
Kirian looked down at Esmeralda, who was shivering and soaked like a mouse that had fallen into water for a moment. It would be troublesome if his sister caught a cold and doubted where the two had been.

Kirian took off his jacket and threw it to Esmeralda. His jacket was half wet, so he didn’t know if it would be of any use, but it would help a little.

“Use it. Don’t catch a cold.”

By the time Esmeralda picked up the jacket with her stiff fingers and raised her head again, Kirian had disappeared without fail.

When she hesitantly put the jacket over her shoulders, the remaining warmth seeped into her body along with the refreshing scent of peppermint.

Esmeralda rubbed her unnecessarily reddened neck.

Then lightning split the sky again, and a heavy landing sound came from the building next door.

Esmeralda froze for a moment. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked at the spot where Kirian had just left, but he did not return.

He had gone to deal with the Elding that had appeared on the other side of the village, so he wouldn’t be able to come back right away.

When the Elding, making a scratching sound with its throat, slowly poked its head over the roof, its large pupils slowly scanned her.

Esmeralda fumbled with her magic book, but her stiff fingers couldn’t even turn the pages properly.

She had proudly offered to help at the Academy, but when the situation arose, she found it difficult even to lift a finger.

The moment the Elding raised its head as if to charge.

“There it is! There’s another Elding!”

The cry of the approaching extermination team was heard. With the appearance of larger prey, the Elding quickly lost interest in Esmeralda and jumped down the road where the extermination team was.

“Capture it! Before it escapes!”

Once again, without fail, Gerald took the lead. With an almost ecstatic, strange laugh, Gerald still thrust his spear with awkward movements.

But the Elding didn’t just stick to its spot and defend with its front legs; it dodged nimbly.

Surprise flickered in Gerald’s eyes. And before even a second passed, Gerald quickly fled backward and hid behind other people.

“Hurry! Catch it!”

Then he began to shout from the back of the extermination team. His pupils expanded in terror, realizing that Kirian hadn’t dealt with it yet.

“Charge! Don’t give it a chance!”

At Gerald’s cry, the extermination team began to jab their spears haphazardly, as they always did.

Several times the rubber tips of the spears brushed against the Elding’s skin, making a sizzling sound, but all the vital points were avoided.

Instead, every time the Elding swung its front legs, red blood splashed down. In the blink of an eye, several people were rolling on the street, bleeding, and the rainwater pooling in the street gradually turned murky.

As the first victim fell, Gerald, without looking back, took to his heels.

The beleaguered extermination team began to scatter one by one. As the formation collapsed, the Elding easily snatched its prey.

It was no longer time to wait for Kirian.

As the Elding picked up one person and opened its mouth wide, Esmeralda took out the short sword in her arms and hastily opened her magic book with the other hand.