Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“Ah…”
At that moment, Isabella found herself utterly spellbound by the man’s appearance.
His sharp eyes and strikingly defined features looked as if they had been meticulously carved by a master sculptor wielding a razor-edged blade. He was breathtaking.
And those cold teal eyes that gazed down at her carried an aura so intense, it made her chest tighten involuntarily. Then, his silver hair shimmered in the firelight.
His features, now even more clearly revealed, were almost overwhelming in their beauty.
In that instant, she saw a halo around him.
‘Who is this radiant man…?’
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Was she frightened by the overwhelming presence?
A drumbeat echoed in her chest.
Then, the man, who had worn a constant scowl as if perpetually angry, finally opened his firmly shut lips.
“Stand up.”
Startled by his firm, weighty voice, Isabella’s gaze dropped to the large hand extended toward her.
A hand rough with calluses and scars. The hand she gently grasped was coarse and worn.
Yet… why?
Why did this solid, unfamiliar hand feel strangely familiar?
Still puzzled, Isabella was just about to rise with his help when a knight came sprinting over, his tousled brown hair whipping behind him. He had a friendly face and sleepy-looking eyes.
“Cedric! You bastard, how could you just charge off like tha—ugh!”
No sooner had he arrived than he began scolding Cedric, only to gasp in shock when he noticed Isabella standing behind him. He quickly composed himself and continued speaking with practiced formality.
“M-My apologies, Your Excellency. If you disappear like that, it severely hinders our ability to serve you. Please, at the very least, let us know beforehand.”
Judging by the speed with which his tone and expression changed, this wasn’t the first time he’d had to do this. Still, the vein pulsing on his forehead betrayed that he hadn’t completely suppressed his irritation.
‘Your Excellency?’
Isabella glanced sidelong at Cedric. She had memorized the names and faces of high society figures in preparation for her debut, so it didn’t take her long to recognize him.
‘Then… he’s the head of House Caron?’
House Caron, like the Countdom of Hellen, was hailed as a founding family and a house of heroes. But the current Duke, Cedric, bore a chilling nickname – The Butcher of the Battlefield.
A title whispered by terrified enemies who had witnessed him drenched in blood, slaughtering foes on countless battlegrounds.
‘I thought he’d be terrifying… But he’s so beautiful. It just goes to show that you really can’t judge someone until you see them with your own eyes.’
Recalling what Amon had once told her, Isabella found herself startled all over again. But then…
“Waaaaah!”
A child’s cry suddenly pierced the air, drawing her gaze. The sound came from the eye of the storm of undead – the very center guarded by the Undead King.
‘Someone’s alive!’
The cry jolted her memory, reminding her of the reason she’d braved all this danger to begin with. She twisted her body to move, but Cedric reached out a long arm and shoved her back.
“Step aside. You’re in the way.”
“‘In the way’?!”
Clank! Clatter!
Irritated by his cold words, she started to protest, but before she could say more, dozens of knights appeared on either side. And then an astonishing sight unfolded.
The moment Cedric’s sword at the vanguard began to glow blue, he swung it horizontally through the air as if slicing through nothingness. A violent wind roared to life, devouring the flames and sweeping the undead away in a raging vortex.
“Waaah!”
The knights, who had been waiting for the signal, charged in behind the whirlwind with fierce shouts, cutting down the remaining undead with swift efficiency.
“…”
Watching their synchronized movements, Isabella reluctantly stepped back.
Even so, she couldn’t stop thinking of a way to rescue the granddaughter she’d been asked to find. Then, suddenly, a dark figure emerged behind her.
“Well now, humans aren’t half bad, I suppose, meeh~.”
“Gah! Baal! When did you get here? And what’s with… that look?!”
Isabella yelped in surprise. She hadn’t summoned him yet here he was, and not in his usual form either.
Gone was the black goat. In his place stood a tall, handsome man in a neatly pressed butler’s uniform, his long black hair tied into a ponytail. If not for the black star-shaped sigil etched into his forehead, she might not have recognized him at all.
As she gawked, Baal casually patted his ponytail and spoke.
“I couldn’t rest easy letting you go alone, Miss, meeh~. And you told me to transform so I wouldn’t startle the humans, remember, meeh~? Don’t tell me you forgot already, meeh~?”
Only then did she recall the command and offer an awkward smile.
“Ah, right… I did say that. But… why are you still talking like a goat? Can’t you change your speech too?”
It was a sincere question.
Baal thumped his chest with pride and replied, “This is a trait of our race, meeh~! It’s not something we can change, meeh~!”
“Oh. Got it. Fair enough.”
Isabella accepted it without argument and then pointed toward the central area where the fighting continued.
“Actually, this might be perfect timing. Baal, do you see that spot over there? Do you think you can carry me in that far?”
“Meeeh! So you did sense it too~?”
“Huh? Sense what?”
Her confused response made Baal blink.
“You don’t smell it? The stench is overwhelming, meh~.”
“Smell what exactly?”
Frustrated, she pressed him for an answer.
Baal replied gravely, “The Tear of Infernus is in that swarm, meh~.”
“What?!”
Isabella was floored. She muttered in a trembling voice, “Why is that here…? It… it was stolen…”
The Tear of Infernus. It was the very reason she had been kidnapped sixteen years ago.
Back during the chaotic era when monsters ran rampant, the Demon King Infernus had been slain by three heroes. But with his dying breath, he left a cursed remnant of his heart behind – the Tear.
So powerful was the curse that the Tear of Infernus was classified as a black relic capable of bringing catastrophe. Eventually, the first Count Nezar, a dark sorcerer, split it into five pieces and sealed them in the deepest chamber of the Hellen estate.
Safeguarding the Tear became one of the House of Hellen’s most sacred duties. But they had failed.
The men who kidnapped Isabella used her bloodline to break the seal and fled with the Tear.
Throb!
Though her memory was hazy, the star-shaped black mark beneath her eye, where she’d once been wounded, throbbed in pain. And now… her body seemed to remember what her mind did not. She began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Miss, are you unwell, meeeh~?”
Baal looked at her, worry creasing his brow. Clutching her shaking shoulders, Isabella made an excuse.
“It’s just… cold.”
“Meeeeh?”
Baal looked utterly baffled. They were surrounded by blazing fire, after all. But ignoring him, Isabella glared toward the source of the ominous energy.
‘Maybe… this is fate.’
Guilt over her family’s failure had weighed on her for years. She couldn’t ignore this chance. Clenching her jaw, she turned to Baal.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Baal asked cautiously, “You mean to seal it yourself, meh~?”
“This is my burden. I have to set things right.”
Her determination was absolute. With a resigned shrug, Baal hoisted her into his arms and grumbled.
“This is how I end up aging, I swear, meh~.”
“You? Old? You’re still young.”
“I’ll have you know I’m over five thousand years… ugh, never mind. This must be the fate of one cursed with a troublesome master, meh~. Hang on tight, meeh~.”
Shaking his head at her teasing, Baal kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
“Grah!”
“Guek!”
“Ragh!”
He leapt from undead to undead, stepping lightly on their heads like a bridge. As they advanced, Isabella spotted Cedric below, surrounded by enemies.
Unlike the other knights fighting fiercely, Cedric moved like a machine, methodically slaughtering the undead with cold eyes. Isabella flinched.
Jolt!
“What is it~?”
“N-Nothing.”
She dismissed Baal’s question, but inside she wondered, ‘Did… did our eyes just meet?’
Had she upset him somehow?
Cedric, now looking in her direction, seemed… irritated.
“We’ve arrived, meeh~.”
But as Baal landed near their destination, Isabella pushed the thought aside.
There, behind a crumbled wall, lay a young girl with brown hair. She immediately stepped out of Baal’s arms and hurried toward her.
“Graaaah!”
One undead noticed and let out a furious howl. Instantly, the rest shifted their focus away from the knights and turned toward Isabella.
Baal, realizing it first, clicked his tongue and shouted.
“Tsk! Leave this to me, Miss, go find the Tear of Infernus, meh!”
“Got it! I’m counting on you!”
Without hesitation, she ran. The smartest move now was to locate the cursed relic and seal it away.
Once Isabella had disappeared into the distance, Baal summoned a spear crackling with black lightning and swung it wide.
Whuum!
Zzzzt! Crackle!
A thick line of energy sliced between Baal and the undead, followed by a violent surge of electricity. Then, Baal bared his sharp teeth in a vicious grin.
“Vermin like you… electricity’s the only clean way to deal with ya, meh.”
Gone was the chatty, concerned butler. The sheer malice in the air froze not just the undead, but even the knights fighting nearby.
“This taste of fear… it’s been a while, meh. But it’s still not enough, meh!”
With an eerie gleam in his eyes, Baal thrust his spear toward the skull of an oncoming undead. But just before it could strike, a roar infused with dark magic erupted from behind.
Zzzzt—SKREEEEEEE!
At that very moment—
‘That b*st*rd…!’
Someone vaulted over Baal’s lightning barrier and sprinted toward Isabella. It was Cedric.
……
T/N: Baal is really funny lol I love adding the endless ‘meh’s’ at the end of his sentences, just makes him more goat-y hahahaha
