Extra in a Romance Fantasy

115 – Monster (6)

Thud─

As I looked at the monster, now lying on the ground in two halves, I brought down my sword.

Even in its severed state, the monster writhed and squirmed, desperately trying to reattach its torn body, but it could not achieve that goal.

Perhaps, under normal circumstances, it could have restored itself as it wished.

Even now, shadowy tendrils were sprouting from the severed edges, attempting to cling to one another.

However, despite such efforts, the monster could never recover its body.

And I was certain that such a thing would likely never happen again.

From the monster’s perspective, it must consider itself unfortunate that I was the one who inflicted that wound.

What I did was not merely split the monster in two.

Using my will, I severed the very ‘existence’ of that monster.

Therefore, no matter how terrifying its regenerative abilities might be, it could not heal that wound.

Thus, this creature’s life should end here.

“……”

With this, it would be fair to say that this matter is concluded.

‘…I wonder if Max is okay.’

After handling the situation, only then did the image of the injured Max come to my mind.

I knew well that the wound Max sustained was not fatal.

It could have easily become a lethal injury, but at that moment, I had intervened to halt its movements.

For an ordinary person, it might be a different story, but for Max, a martial artist of considerable skill, there was no worry that such a wound would threaten his life.

Even knowing that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

I, too, hoped that such things wouldn’t happen if possible.

However, to divert Max’s gaze, and the attention of those around us, away from me, it was unavoidable.

Ideally, it would have been best if things could be resolved without my involvement, but I realized something along the way.

If I did not intervene, this situation, that monster could not be resolved by Max and the others alone.

I wished I had acted the moment I realized that, but I could not do so.

Max’s gaze had always been fixed on me.

—

The moment I left my seat, Max would have lit up with determination to find me, and the gazes of those around us would have naturally converged.

That’s why I let Max get hurt.

To chase him without anyone’s eyes on me.

To finish him off with my own hands.

Of course, there was something that caught me off guard while making such plans.

It was the fact that even I couldn’t track his energy.

He was perfectly evading the detection of magical power with something presumed to be a special ability, and that included my senses, which had reached the realm of thought.

As a result, I invested considerable time and effort to track his energy.

And after several days of effort, I finally succeeded in reading his energy.

‘I should thank Sheryl.’

Had it been before, I probably wouldn’t have been able to trace his trail.

Yes, before I trained in Sheryl’s space.

Through six months of training in that space, I made significant progress, and thanks to that, I was able to successfully track him.

Additionally, the technique I used to incapacitate him and prevent his regeneration was something I had learned through that training.

As I silently expressed my gratitude to Sheryl once more in my heart, I redirected my focus to the being before me.

How resilient is life? Even after being split in two, a considerable amount of time has passed, yet the monster still writhes, clinging to its breath.

The reason I went to such lengths to divert Max’s attention and chase him down was, of course, to deal with him myself.

However, that wasn’t the only reason.

I also wanted to uncover his true identity.

The monster before me is, among the myriad of bizarre creatures that fill the forest, even more peculiar and at a level that has never existed before.

Not just in appearance, but everything that constitutes him is extraordinary.

From the intelligence that hunts humans, to the ability to steal and learn merely by observing human technology, to the rapid growth that strengthens day by day, and even the stealth that allows him to evade the senses of a warrior who has reached the realm of thought.

I haven’t seen all the history of the forest, but I can say this with certainty.

A being this special has never existed until now.

If that were the case, it could only mean one of two things.

Either his existence has been passed down through legends as a monstrous being, or humanity has perished.

This is not an exaggeration; he is special, and at the same time, an incredibly bizarre existence.

It makes one wonder if such a monster should even exist.

That’s why I was curious about his identity.

I couldn’t help but be curious.

—

That’s why I ‘saw’ it.

I looked beyond the simple shell and peered into its essence.

And I discovered.

What its true identity was.

It was a remnant of a ‘demon.’

Long ago, a demon descended upon the continent, annihilating a vast and radiant empire in an instant, leaving behind what could barely be called a fragment—a speck of dust.

From that, it blossomed into what it was.

Thus, it was more special and dangerous than any monster.

Realizing this made me feel fortunate to have taken matters into my own hands.

Had I left it be, it might have spiraled into an uncontrollable situation, or at the very least, countless lives would have been lost.

While I felt a pinch of relief, I couldn’t help but shake my head.

‘To think such a monster could be born from mere traces.’

It was about the ‘demon’s’ grotesqueness.

From something that could hardly be called a fragment, no more than a speck of dust, a monster like this had emerged.

Just how grotesque and absurd must the original entity be? It was beyond my imagination.

Sheryl didn’t casually suggest that, in essence, it was closer to a god than a demon.

Only a being akin to a god could give rise to such nonsensical occurrences.

In any case, my questions about the entity itself were resolved.

However.

“…….”

There were still lingering concerns.

It made sense, after all; the demon’s descent upon the continent was a distant memory.

Considering the power of the original being, it wasn’t strange that traces would still remain.

Yet, the fact that it had begun to act now felt utterly bizarre.

If it were to start its activities, it would have done so long ago.

Therefore, I couldn’t help but suspect that there might be someone’s intervention at play here.

I knew of a group capable of such deeds, and willing to commit them.

…Well, it was unlikely I could find any evidence in this situation, and even if I did find proof confirming their involvement, it wouldn’t change anything.

“…….”

I slowly examined it.

A monster still alive, even split in two.

“Uuuh, gaaan…”

With its half-formed mouth, it was still managing to produce sounds.

The sight, the form, the voice—it certainly resembled a human, but to be honest, all I felt was a sense of grotesqueness.

Perhaps if I had left it as it was, and time had passed in that state, it might have truly attained human-level intelligence.

And then, it would have been able to communicate perfectly with humans.

However, that wouldn’t mean it would become human.

Nor would it mean it would cease to harm humans.

No matter how developed its intelligence became, no matter how much it evolved, it would still harm and kill humans.

I was certain of that.

And so.

I decided to put an end to it right here.

I drew my sword.

And I swung the raised sword down.

*

“When did you say it was time for me to retire? And look at this mess?”

“……”

Inside a rather large tent set up in the forest, two men were having a conversation.

Or rather, one man was teasing the other.

The man being teased was none other than Max.

“Even the great Max has finally hit rock bottom? Getting beaten by a monster you’ve never even heard of.”

At Hector’s mocking laughter, Max’s eyebrows twitched, but in the end, he said nothing.

Having made his own mistakes, he had no words to return, no matter how much he wanted to.

Hector continued to tease him for a while, chuckling to himself.

Naturally, Max only frowned in response, remaining silent.

After that lighthearted yet ridiculous time passed.

“…Well, at least it’s a relief. You weren’t seriously hurt.”

Hector finally spoke sincerely.

“Besides, for some reason, that thing hasn’t shown up since that day.”

“……”

—

At those words, Max’s expression grew serious.

“Look at your face. Are you that worried?”

“…You saw it too, so you know that thing—”

“Yeah. It’s dangerous. But what can we do right now? We should be thankful it hasn’t shown up.”

Yet even with Hector’s words, Max’s expression did not lighten.

“Is there really something to worry about? If you’re that concerned, we can always organize another search party later.”

“…That’s true.”

However, as Hector continued speaking, Max eventually nodded reluctantly.

He must have known that worrying wouldn’t change anything.

…Well, this was largely because I had quietly dealt with the creature without anyone knowing.

People, including Max, didn’t realize that it was gone.

Especially considering Max had felt the creature’s danger more than anyone else, it was only natural for him to feel anxious and restless.

I had thought about throwing the creature’s remains in the direction our group was heading, but since it had evolved, there was no original form left, and considering it was born from the remnants of a demon, even a lifeless body could cause who knows what kind of trouble. So, I erased it without a trace.

Because of that, Max couldn’t shake off his unease, but it was unavoidable.

Anyway, it seemed that the conversation between Hector and Max would continue like this.

“Alright, that’s enough. Max is a patient, so he needs to rest.”

Johanna interrupted their conversation.

“Uh? Hey, we’re not done talking—”

“Enough. Just go outside.”

Johanna forcibly pushed Hector, who was trying to resist her command.

In the end, Hector had no choice but to be shoved out of the tent.

“Hey, why am I being called a patient? This kind of injury is nothing—”

“Be quiet. You don’t have the right to speak.”

Max also tried to protest, but he was quickly silenced by Johanna’s firm words.

It seemed Johanna was quite angry that Max had pushed her away and got hurt instead.

Of course, there was likely some guilt mixed in with that anger.

After watching the two bicker for a moment, I stepped out of the tent.

Anyway, this incident had come to a close.