Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The thick stench of blood wafted from every direction, so strong it made her head throb. Isabella pinched her nose and glanced around warily. It didn’t take long for her to find the source of the smell.
‘Gasp! Who are those people?!’
Between the mangled corpses of monsters strewn carelessly across the area, she spotted five suspicious figures wearing masks. Each of them held a weapon, daggers, swords, or throwing stars, and stood encircling a tall tree.
‘What are they doing? Are they training in someone else’s backyard forest or something?’
The dim light made it hard to see clearly, so Isabella squinted. Just then, the moon, previously hidden behind clouds, gradually revealed itself, casting light on the scene.
“…!”
Isabella’s eyes widened in shock.
In front of the tree the masked figures had surrounded, a boy stood, backed into a corner, his sword raised in defense. It was only then that she realized – they were assassins.
And at that moment…
“Miss, best lower yourself, or they’ll spot you.”
Without her noticing, Baal had come up beside her, gently pressing down on her shoulder as he spoke in a hushed tone.
‘Oh no!’
Snapping back to her senses, she crouched down hastily. Then she tugged at Baal’s collar and whispered urgently.
“Baal, do you have any ideas? If we don’t do something soon, that boy might die.”
“I understand your concern, Miss, but it’s best not to get involved in matters like these, if you can help it.”
“What?! You call that an answer? How can we just sit and watch someone die right in front of us?!”
His cold response sparked an outburst from her, and she raised her voice in frustration. Startled, Baal quickly covered her mouth.
“Ahhh! Please keep your voice down!”
He scratched his horn awkwardly, looking troubled, and added:
“You may not realize it yet, Miss, being young and all, but most people who hire assassins tend to be high-ranking elites. Even if you’re from House Hellen, this could get dangerous.”
But the longer he spoke, the puffier her cheeks grew, her pout becoming more pronounced.
Isabella turned away with a huff and said sharply, “I know it’s dangerous. But I just don’t want to pretend I didn’t see someone in need of help.”
She bowed her head, trying to hide the emotions that threatened to show on her face, gripping a handful of her hair.
Watching her clenched, trembling fist, Baal finally let out a long sigh and muttered regretfully.
“You’ll give me wrinkles, Miss. Fine, what should I do? Should I just go in and kill them all?”
“What? N-No, wait! Hold on a second!”
Though they were assassins, Baal’s casual suggestion to wipe them out as if their lives were no more significant than passing ants made her gasp in shock.
Twisting her hair anxiously, she scrambled for a solution.
‘If Baal gets involved, the whole area could be annihilated. Innocent monsters would be caught in the crossfire. But if I go myself…’
She stared down at her hand entangled in her hair.
It was impossible.
Using the dark magic she’d learned from Grandpa Ohse to wipe them out would’ve been easy. But with her still-unstable control over her immense mana, the boy could easily get caught in the crossfire.
‘What do I do? If I don’t come up with something soon, he’s going to die!’
She bit her lip anxiously, and then—
Clang!
A sharp sound rang out as blades clashed, a spark flickering between them in the darkness of the forest. The sudden flash in the dim light sparked an idea in her mind.
That’s it!
“Baal, come here. Listen for a second!”
“Mehh?”
“Here’s what we’ll do…”
Whisper, whisper.
She tugged Baal closer and shared her plan in a hushed voice.
As she spoke, Baal’s expression shifted through a spectrum of emotions. None of them particularly positive. In fact, he even looked a little sorry for her.
Then, in a rather serious tone, he asked, “Miss… are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t maybe eat a poisonous herb by mistake earlier, did you?”
“What? Why would I eat poison?! Don’t say nonsense! Are you in or not? Make up your mind!”
She glared at him, exasperated by the pitying look he was giving her, like she was some hopeless child.
Clack!
Finally, Baal clapped his front hooves together.
“At times like this, you just need to give the order, Miss. Honestly, you’re far too soft.”
No sooner had he spoken than a dark mist began to swirl around him. The fog spread swiftly, engulfing the masked figures.
Clang, screech, hiss!
The sounds of scraping steel rang louder and sharper through the obscured battlefield.
Watching carefully for the moment the mist completely enveloped the area, Isabella blew across her palm and murmured.
“Reveal the shadows.”
Black feathers caught the wind and drifted toward the masked men. The moment they reached them, blue flames flared to life.
Will-o’-the-wisps.
“Wh-What the hell is that?!”
One of the masked men shouted upon seeing the ghostly flames. The wisps, clearly delighted by the reaction, began circling the group, their numbers multiplying rapidly.
And like children playing a game, they joined hands and twirled, chattering as they danced.
“Master, Master! Shall we burn their clothes?”
“Master, Master! Shall we burn their hair?”
“Master, Master! Shall we burn their limbs?”
“Master, Master! Shall we burn their hearts?”
Their chilling voices echoed ominously. The sound of clashing blades fell silent. Instead, shaky voices, barely masking fear, emerged.
“D-D**n it! Retreat!”
“Yes, sir!”
Isabella gave a small wave, summoning one of the wisps to her palm. Then she nodded, sending it to float behind Baal.
‘Begin.’
Whether he understood the cue or not, Baal rose onto his hind legs and began to puff up like a cat bristling its fur.
Backlit by the eerie glow of the will-o’-the-wisp, the shadows cast by his twin horns grew massive and menacing, swallowing the mist.
Then, in a deep and solemn voice, he intoned: “How dare you wretched humans set foot in my domain—”
SNAP!
Before he could finish, Isabella shut his mouth with the handle of a flower shovel from her herb basket.
Baal’s disgruntled gaze stabbed into her, and she whispered, “Come on. Your goat bleating ruins the mood.”
She was shamelessly proud of her improvisation. But what choice did she have? This was their best shot.
Isabella wanted to save the boy. But she couldn’t bring herself to kill anyone. It wasn’t just empty moralizing.
That was why she came up with a new plan. To drive them off without taking a single life. To stir that ancient human instinct – fear.
And there was no better place for it than the Hides Mountains, a place already seared into people’s minds as a source of terror.
She tapped Baal on the arm, urging him to continue. Pouting, Baal finally gave in and recited the words she had told him beforehand.
“The stench of your kind was bad enough, but now you’ve dared disturb my domain. None of you shall leave unscathed. I shall rip your limbs apart and drink from your veins!”
Thanks to Isabella’s careful intervention, blocking his mouth just before he could bleat, they managed to maintain the terrifying atmosphere.
Though Baal looked visibly displeased, she winked at him proudly and placed her hand on the ground, releasing her mana.
Rumble!
The trees began to shudder violently, and roots that should’ve been buried underground burst forth, twisting and writhing. They surged upward, forming a wall between the boy and the masked attackers.
“Ahhh!”
“S-Stay back!”
Even assassins, it seemed, could be rattled. Their silhouettes fled through the swirling fog, tails tucked in panic.
“Phew… Thank goodness they ran.”
Wiping the cold sweat from her brow with a sleeve, Isabella let out a breath of relief.
Clatter! Thud!
Just then, the clinking of metal and a dull thump echoed from where the boy had been.
‘Oh no! I can’t relax yet!’
She rushed toward him. When she saw him, her face turned pale.
“This… this can’t be…”
A broken sword lay in a pool of blood, too much to tell whether it belonged to a human or a monster. And beside it, the boy lay collapsed, his breath shallow and ragged.
“Hey! Can you hear me? Try moving your fingers!”
Isabella tapped his shoulder, trying to rouse him. No response.
“This won’t do. Baal, help me.”
With Baal’s help, she gently turned the boy onto his back.
“Gasp!”
She involuntarily drew a sharp breath.
Was this what the fabled beauty of the elves looked like?
Despite being covered in blood, the silver-haired boy shimmered like moonlight spun into silk. Even to a girl of only nine, his face stirred a maternal instinct. But she shook her head firmly, shaking off the awe.
There was a deep gash in his side.
Rip!
Using her gardening shears, she tore his clothes to reveal the wound. It was worse than she thought.
With a hardened expression, she asked, “This… it’s poison, isn’t it?”
“Miss would know better than me, wouldn’t she?”
Baal replied indifferently, eyeing the bluish hue spreading around the wound. As a demon, he seemed rather unmoved by the pain of a dying human.
But Isabella was different. Her hands trembled as dark red blood welled up beneath her touch. She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered bitterly.
“What’s the point of learning magic if I can’t even neutralize a simple poison?”
But then she opened her eyes, a determined gleam in them. She reached into her herb basket and pulled out some bulrush.
Baal asked, “Miss, what are you planning to do?”
“Emergency treatment.”
She answered firmly. Baal, ever pessimistic, tried to dissuade her.
“It’s already too late. Better to end it now, quick and painless…”
“Baal, that’s not our decision to make.”
Isabella cut him off, picking up a flat stone of the right size.
“Our only job is not to give up. Whether he lives or dies, that’s up to him.”
