Laila approached Olga’s side like a possessed person.

She spoke to Laila in a commanding tone, telling her not to touch anything, then touched a few crystals with her fingers while muttering some incantation. To Laila, it was ancient words that she couldn’t fully understand.

“Now, watch closely.”

As Olga pulled up the darkest crystal like a lever, a shimmering movement suddenly appeared in the gaping hole as if water had filled it.

Leaning forward as if she would be sucked into it, Laila focused on the movement. As the shimmer radiating from the center settled, she could clearly see wounded knights shouting something while holding swords and moving.

An expression of admiration appeared on Laila’s face.

“It’s truly like magic.”

Olga responded indifferently.

“You’re a witch who says ridiculous things. Is it because you’re young? It’s magic. It’s magic, literally. Now, look. That’s the creature right there. It’s not visible as it’s in the Sink River, but it’s hovering around that spot as if guarding its nest.”

The image moved slightly. With a natural movement as if a person was shifting their gaze, Laila almost turned her head as well.

As the knights disappeared around the corner, the creature’s head and body, red like boiling lava, came into view. It resembled a terrifyingly gigantic crocodile, but its energy was far more ferocious.

Eustar said.

“Does it flee to the river when attacked?”

“Of course. Once it moves in the river, it’s impossible to catch up to it. Eustar, even you would find it difficult.”

“Didn’t you give the members magical tools?”

An annoyed expression appeared on Olga’s face.

“I did. What else would I have done if not give them? They all ran out of energy. We spent all our time and energy just trying to drive that thing into a trap. And we still couldn’t capture it. If the defensive line collapses this time, it’s over. If that creature crosses over to the next village, it’s an area full of places without portals from there. No branch will be able to provide quick support.”

“Then we have to catch it here.”

As Eustar spoke leisurely, Olga glanced at him with eyes that seemed like she was going to die of annoyance.

Not getting involved in the two’s battle of nerves, Laila was solely focused on the creature’s movements reflected in the image.

The knights were also injured, but the creature must have sustained some wounds as well. Although it moved swiftly, it seemed like its balance was somehow disrupted.

Where could it be? Laila thought. It wasn’t easy to spot at a glance as the image’s perspective kept changing.

At that moment, the knight closest to the creature took out something that looked like a round apple and brought it to his mouth.

Then, as he tilted his head back, something like a ring was seen coming out. When he threw it towards the creature, the image shook for a moment, and soon, pitch-black smoke engulfed the creature’s body.

Olga said.

“It’s to obscure the view. But that’s the last of it too. The effective time is only a few minutes. It means we don’t have time to hesitate here.”

Nodding his head, Eustar looked at Laila.

“Let’s go, Laila.”

Olga raised an eyebrow.

“Are you really taking her with you?”

“When have I ever lied?”

“It’ll be no use regretting it after you die. Do as you wish. I’ll scatter the poison made by that young witch. I’ll be on standby, so just send a signal. Tell me in advance where you plan to drive it.”

“It’d be best to be far from the river.”

Eustar offered his hand to Laila. Laila wanted to stay there and examine the image a bit more, but she could tell that, as they said, there was no time. He found a uniform comfortable for movement and handed it to Laila.

“Put it on and come out through that round door over there.”

Laila hurriedly changed clothes. Although it fit her body perfectly, it was the first time wearing proper pants, so it felt extremely awkward. It felt like she was wearing less clothing.

At that moment, Olga spoke sharply.

“Don’t dawdle. How long are you going to fidget around just to put on those pants?”

Startled, Laila whipped her head around, but Olga wasn’t even looking this way. Her figure was barely visible, so it was astounding how she knew.

But if she dwelled on that thought, she would surely get another scolding. Trying to ignore the awkward sensation between her legs, Laila opened the round door Eustar mentioned.

“Ah!”

A fierce wind blew in. Out of habit, Laila pressed her knees together, but there was no need as she wasn’t wearing a skirt. The moment she realized that fact, Laila’s eyes widened.

“Eustar! There’s no path!”

Outside the door, there was only a small semicircular floor barely large enough for two people to stand on.

Below was a steep cliff, and to make matters worse, a rapidly flowing river could be seen between the gorges. Just as Laila, feeling dizzy, was about to grab the door, Eustar’s arm firmly wrapped around her waist.

“Don’t worry, Laila. We’ve done it once before, remember?”

Due to the wind and the sound of water, he had to speak with his lips nearly touching Laila’s ear. Feeling the fine hairs on her earlobe standing on end, Laila moved her lips.

“That was… That was a portal back then! Surely there isn’t a portal here too, right?”

“No, it’s not a portal. But if we try to walk step by step to where the creature is, Olga will throw us as bait.”

“Then how…”

Laila’s voice, trembling with fear, abruptly stopped. The moment she met Eustar’s gaze looking down at her, she could tell what was about to happen next.

“Wait a moment, Eustar. Don’t tell me…”

“Hold onto me tightly. As long as you hold onto only me, you’ll be fine. There won’t be any problem at all.”

His words, “No,” were drowned out by Laila’s scream. Eustar leaped into the air with Laila held in his arms. The wind blowing from the gorge lifted their bodies for a very brief moment before fiercely plunging them down.

“Eustar!”

Laila screamed. It felt like her heart would stop. The wind seemed to be roughly slicing off her ears and cheeks.

“Eustar! Please!”

The moment she cried out in terror, Eustar spoke.

“I told you to just trust me.”

Even in the fierce wind, his voice was oddly clear.

At that moment, Laila realized that the dizzying fall had stopped. It wasn’t just that it had stopped. They were flying. More precisely, Eustar was flying… and Laila was clinging to him.

“This, what is this…”

A pair of huge wings had sprouted from Eustar’s back. They resembled those of an eagle or a falcon, but were much larger. One wing was almost as long as Eustar himself. The feathers glistened as if they were real.

With her eyes about to pop out, Laila exhaled an astonished sigh and asked.

“Did you learn Changeling magic?”

Eustar let out an amused laugh.

“No, I’m not a mage, so I couldn’t learn that. This is also a magical tool. It can… do something similar to Changeling magic. But I can’t transform my entire body. Only a part of it.”

“How did you get something like this…”

“There are many talented developers in Tentinella.”

Developers. Come to think of it, she had heard of it before.

In big cities, there were things like machines that sew automatically or embroider. Weren’t the people who make those called developers? It was hard to believe that there were developers in the field of magic as well.

“I see it over there. Now, Laila. I will set you down in a safe place. It’s difficult to take you with me while vanquishing the creature. But I will set you down in a spot with a good view, so observe carefully how the creature moves. You need to think about how to defend and how to attack.”

“Speaking of which, didn’t you say you’d give me armor?”

“The uniform you’re wearing right now is the armor itself. It may look like an ordinary uniform, but it’s not. It won’t even get a scratch from most attacks. However, it may be a bit weak against that creature, so you shouldn’t engage in battle yourself.”

“You said that thing is very fast? Where are you going to put me down? I don’t know if I’ll be able to see properly.”

Eustar grinned and looked down at her. As he lowered his head, his long hair fell down, tickling Laila’s cheeks and forehead.

“Don’t worry. It will be a VIP seat.”

He flapped his wings once to fly a bit higher. Upon hearing the sound of the huge wingbeats, the knights looked up and cheered when they saw Eustar coming.

“It’s Sir Eustar!”

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived! Everyone, hold on just a little longer!”

As the morale of the knights rose, the creature trapped in the black smoke was felt tensing up and lowering its body.

The smoke that could completely obscure vision did not last long. The knights, having organized their ranks, held their weapons at the ready and caught their breath.

“Watch carefully from here.”

Eustar set Laila down on a rock protruding from the high gorge.

It was a long rock that stood alone like a candlestick, and the top was flat as if it were truly a VIP seat in a theater. Although it was far from where the creature was, it was enough to see its movements.

“I’ll be back.”

After confirming that Laila had safely dismounted, Eustar kicked off the edge of the rock. Gliding in an arc, he drew the sword from his waist, and a chilling, blue aura rippled.

A demon sword? No, he said he can’t use magic… Laila thought.

Eustar joined the ranks of the knights forming the defensive line, and as the smoke began to clear, he moved to the forefront with his sword raised. The outline of the creature began to faintly appear, and Laila unconsciously clenched her fists in tension.

Sensing an unfamiliar scent, the creature bristled the spines on its back. A skilled knight whose face was covered in blood spoke without taking his eyes off the creature.

“Be careful, Sir Eustar. Even a slight graze from those spines will instantly poison you.”

Eustar let out a hollow laugh.

“They serve as both feelers and poison stingers. Where did such a thing pop out from?”

“There’s a sink in the river. When the attacks intensify, it jumps into the river, seeming to try to protect the sink.”

“Nonsense. Something that came out of a sink doesn’t try to protect the sink. A sink is a sink, and a creature is a creature. The two don’t have a symbiotic relationship.”

—Kiaak—!

A shrill shriek echoed through the gorge. It was a sound that made the hair all over one’s body stand on end just by hearing it.

Strength gathered in Eustar’s fingertips gripping the sword hilt. When the smoke finally cleared completely, the creature flung its body straight towards Eustar. And Eustar’s sword vertically pierced behind the creature’s front teeth.