Chapter 11 Part 1

Elia left the women behind and approached Aksion. He stood with his back to the setting sun, waiting for night when the monsters would be most active.

“Aksion,” she called.

He turned around, bathed in the crimson light of the sunset, looking like a noble beast. Elia rested her cheek on his shoulder.

‘Is this the right thing to do?’

Defeating the monsters at the border alone was actually Aksion’s idea. It was something he had proposed while they were confined in the temple.

“Suggest that they send me to the border,” he had said to Elia in preparation for his trial.

“The border? But why…?”

Elia had been puzzled at first, but soon she understood his reasoning.

“I need to prove that I’m not a threat to the empire.”

Aksion’s voice was overly calm as he referred to himself as a ‘creature.’ He must have found it hardest to deal with this sudden change.

“This is the only way to clearly show the difference between me and the monsters.”

Elia closed her eyes tightly, recalling the memories of the temple. Aksion was looking down at the swarming monsters beneath the sunset. Then he turned his head and kissed Elia’s hair.

“I knew there was something wrong with this power.”

Of course, he knew. Because of the dark power, he had suffered through a difficult childhood. However, he hadn’t expected to become as dangerous as a monster.

“…I haven’t fully tamed this power.”

Elia bit her lower lip hard. Their resonance was still connected, yet she couldn’t prevent his transformation. It was frustrating.

Aksion extended his arm and pulled Elia into an embrace, stroking her slender back for a long time.

“Don’t blame yourself. The only reason I still have my sanity is because of your power, Elia.”

Elia’s eyes widened at his words. Aksion was holding the purple thread that connected them in his hand.

“Your power keeps my sanity intact. So, if I transform again, I will be able to control the body of the black dog.”

The most crucial factor when transforming into the black dog was maintaining one’s sanity. If he could control the dark power without being dominated by it, he wouldn’t be a monster anymore.

“But it’s too dangerous.”

“That’s why you will help me, won’t you, Elia?”

Aksion smiled, and Elia found herself momentarily speechless. When he went down to face the monsters, she would support him with her invisible sorcery.

‘Even if it’s not a powerful attack spell, I can at least back him up.’

She would need to layer protective spells upon protective spells. Additionally, she planned to use Shasha to confuse the monsters’ vision.

“Don’t worry, Elia. Everything will go as you wish.”

Aksion kissed the back of her hand, like sealing a sacred vow. Her hand tingled from where his lips touched.

The sunset turned navy blue. The black dots below began to grow larger, indicating the presence of larger monsters. The time had come.

Knights and Ibarena called those waiting at the front lines to retreat.

“Withdraw all forces.”

The imperial troops and the mages from the Magic Tower retreated from the front line. The assisting Pioni and the spiritists also fell back.

Night fell. The monsters swarmed toward the walls lit by torches like moths to a flame. The knights approached Aksion, seeking his opinion.

“If you wish to sortie, we will open the gates.”

“No need.”

The knights were bewildered by Aksion’s response. Some even concluded that he had given up, but that wasn’t the case.

“I’ll be back,” Aksion said to Elia.

Elia gave him a tight hug, casting a final protective spell.

“Promise me you won’t get hurt.”

“This body belongs to you, Elia. I will protect it with all my might.”

The only man she trusted. His pledge gave Elia strength.

Aksion stood at the edge of the wall. He jumped into the darkness below, which was out of sight.

“The heir…!”

Many who watched were shocked, covering their mouths in disbelief. Only Elia watched the dark ground calmly.

Night was the time for monsters. However, the dark power also reached its peak in these moments.

After a while, there was commotion in the darkness below.

Kyaaa!

The monsters’ screams echoed. And then…

Thump. Thump.

Aksion’s heartbeat, audible only to Elia, resonated in her ears.

‘He’s transforming.’

This time felt different from the first and second transformations. Aksion was changing his body with his own will.

A mysterious blue light spread from the unseen below. Within that light, a gigantic dog’s figure emerged.

Fioni muttered as he saw Aksion’s transformation.

The glossy black fur and red eyes blazed like a sacred sun. Aksion’s form under the black night was too elegant and beautiful to be a monster.

His mere presence repelled the monsters. The blue light spread in the mist-soaked air. Monsters recognizing him as an enemy rushed in.

Grrr.

A fierce growl tore through the monsters. The blue power crushed the monsters, bringing them death. He was the king of beasts and a sacred being vanquishing the monsters. Like…

‘A divine beast.’

Many legends and folklore had been passed down in the empire. One was the legend of a divine beast awakening to protect the land when the empire was in peril. However, not many citizens knew this legend due to several generations of religious persecution and the extermination of tribes.

The divine beast with red eyes annihilates the monsters. The lost history was being revived before them.

Ibarena raised a massive orb of light in the air, illuminating the scene below. Seeing this, Pioni murmured.

“The monsters are afraid of the heir.”

As he expanded his territory, the monsters, which looked like black dots, gradually disappeared. It seemed like a divine beast was erasing evil. Thus, a blue path was created centered around Aksion.

The monsters began to vanish upon touching the blue light.

‘That’s… not dark power.’

Aksion was maintaining his body with dark power, but that blue light wasn’t from it.

‘Then what is that power?’

It was divine power. He was demonstrating that he could wield divine power in the form of the black dog.

Elia realized this, and the other keen observers like Ibarena soon recognized his divine power too.

The black dog’s movements tore through the monsters. The overwhelming difference in power made the monsters succumb. Elia asked the observing cleric.

“Do you still think my husband is a monster?”

“…That’s.”

The cleric hesitated. He too was feeling the powerful divine energy.

Monsters that even holy knights couldn’t handle were swept away in an instant like encountering a giant wave. Not only was he maintaining his sanity as a black dog, but he was also freely wielding the immense divine power.

It was a magnificent sight, like witnessing a myth come to life.

Then, the monsters overwhelmed by Aksion began to act strangely. They clustered together in one spot, their bodies merging until they formed a colossal monster almost as tall as the wall.

Grrrr.

The giant swung its fist at Aksion.

Boom. The ground shook with its destructive power. Had he not dodged quickly, he would have been seriously injured.

‘This is dangerous.’

There were still many monsters left. They clustered again to create another giant of similar size.

Elia climbed the wall.

“Princess!”

Pioni reached out to her, but Elia had already jumped down. Shasha gently landed her on the ground. With the spirit’s help, she approached Aksion.

The black dog lowered himself so Elia could climb onto his back. Elia rode on him, casting illusions to protect him.

But illusions had their limits.

The two giants began to threaten Aksion. The remaining monsters joined them.

When the black dog bit into one giant’s arm, another giant raised its fist to strike Aksion’s head from behind.

Kieeek!

The giant that tried to attack Aksion screamed and collapsed forward.