“Have you gathered everything useful?”
Rufus pressed the members of the school.
He had no way of knowing when the holy knights who had gone down below would come after them. They had to secure anything important from the ruins before that happened. After coming this far, they couldn’t return empty-handed.
“Move it! Stop slacking off!”
At Rufus’s command, the black mage school members hurried about.
Their efforts paid off. They discovered research materials that had been accumulated in the ruins over a long period of time.
“These are research documents.”
“This one’s a relic! Judging by the low level of damage, it looks like it can be repaired if we handle it properly!”
They had finally obtained what they wanted, but Rufus did not lower his guard.
After collecting everything they needed from inside the ruins, they left the room.
“School Head. Are you... all right with this?”
“With what?”
“It looks like the more important facilities and items are further down below. Is it really okay to leave them behind...?”
At those words, Rufus fell silent.
Okay with it? Of course not. Leaving behind the place that held the most important item of all—his insides felt like they were twisting.
‘But even so, I can’t afford to be greedy. The remaining holy knights are headed down there.’
They outnumbered him, and they were stronger.
Rufus had never considered himself lacking wherever he went. But holy knights and black mages had an overwhelming mismatch in compatibility.
And these weren’t just any holy knights. The ones here were all survivors.
‘They survived. Which means they’re filled with more killing intent than anyone.’
In particular, their leader, Arius, was stronger than anyone Rufus had ever seen.
Even if Arius had been alone without the other holy knights, Rufus would have chosen to flee rather than fight. The gap in strength was that overwhelming.
‘If only their numbers had been reduced significantly by the traps, at least.’
While fleeing, Rufus had seen it.
Arius destroying the ruin’s trap system itself with overwhelming holy power.
To see that and still think things were manageable would be far too optimistic.
“We’re pulling out for now.”
Rufus was greedy—but even more than that, he was clever.
There was no need to deliberately court danger.
“B-but—”
“Even if we chase after them down there, we can’t deal with the holy knights and priests. And hoping they’ll all be wiped out by the ruins’ traps isn’t realistic either. In that case, it’s better to prepare outside.”
They would wait outside, and if another expedition arrived, they would provoke them into clashing with the Bretus remnants.
That way, chaos would erupt in the area, and a small group like theirs would have a chance to benefit.
“Got it? Then move!”
Rufus and the school members turned back along the path they had come, carrying the artifacts from the ruins.
He half-expected another trap to activate, but nothing happened.
Even so, Rufus didn’t relax. He carefully examined the path they had taken.
He spread black mana like a spiderweb, grasping the structure and terrain of the ruins.
“Good. The route to the entrance is safe. Let’s move.”
Regret still lingered, but Rufus forced himself to suppress it.
For now, the items they had salvaged alone were enough to avoid a major loss.
And the exploration wasn’t over yet. If they waited outside and watched for an opening, a chance would eventually come.
‘Until then, we endure. That’s nothing new. I’ve done it well so far. At most, it’ll only be a few days.’
Rufus and the school members finally emerged from the ruins.
“What is this?”
Rufus and the black mages stared at the marks etched near the entrance, puzzled.
They were massive footprints pressed deep into the ground.
Each one was large enough to crush a person to death.
There were dozens of them.
“Could it be... that a spirit beast came all the way here?”
“A spirit beast? That’s impossible.”
Rufus rejected the idea because of the nature of the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ footprints.
“They’re all different. Are you saying more than ten spirit beasts gathered in one place? Is that even possible?”
Rufus had learned something on the way to the ruins.
There were many spirit beasts in this forest, but each one clearly defined its own territory.
Spirit beasts never intruded into another’s domain. If they did, it would end in a fight to the death.
As the one who had followed the Church’s guidance through these lands, Rufus was certain of this.
“And yet they suddenly gathered in one place, as if to show it off?”
“Maybe it’s because we went into the ruins?”
“Why. Are you trying to say they’re acting as guardians of the ruins? If that were the case, they would’ve blocked this area from the start so no one could approach.”
Rufus frowned.
“There’s something else. It’s not a spirit beast. Something different... is nearby.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Leave this place as quickly as possible.”
Rufus sensed that the situation was taking a bad turn. He made his decision swiftly.
They needed to find the safest possible location, establish a base there, and lie low.
“Move, if you understand.”
“Yes!”
The school members answered vigorously. Rufus suddenly snapped his head up.
“Wait. Where did one of them go?”
One voice was missing from the response.
At that, the other black mages panicked.
“Huh? He was right next to us just a moment ago...”
The realization that a companion had suddenly vanished threw them into confusion.
Rufus stared at the spot where his subordinate had been standing—then his eyes flew wide open.
“Everyone, fall back!”
“What?”
One black mage, slow to react, asked in confusion.
And that question became his last.
Crunch!
His upper body vanished, as if swallowed by something.
Thud.
After dangling for a moment, his lower half dropped to the ground and collapsed.
Red blood splattered across the floor.
“W-what is that?!”
From empty air, the horrifying sound of bones and flesh being crushed rang out.
“Y-you bastard!”
An enraged Rufus unleashed his black mana.
Pitch-black mana traced a formation, resonating with the surrounding air.
Whoosh!
Blood-red flames reminiscent of hellfire engulfed the empty space. Within the raging blaze, a massive silhouette undulated.
It was enormous. The flames Rufus had released couldn’t even swallow a part of its body, let alone its entire form.
Realizing it had been discovered, the monster released its stealth.
“What kind of monster is that...?”
Rufus muttered in shock as he looked at the revealed creature.
Its height easily exceeded 20 meters. Jet-black scales covered its entire body, and atop a head that seemed like a grotesque fusion of mammal and reptile, a burning crown of fire rose like a tree.
It walked on two legs, but its hunched posture and oversized arms dragged against the ground.
Beneath its abdomen, countless beastly legs sprouted like jellyfish tentacles, supporting its body.
Ssslith.
A long, slender tail writhed like a serpent searching for prey.
Three on the left, three on the right. Three pairs of crimson eyes stared at Rufus.
When it opened the hand it had been holding, the pulverized upper body of the black mage dropped limply to the ground.
“Where... where did something like this even come from?”
This wasn’t a spirit beast. Spirit beasts were the result of a single organism evolving.
A thing so chaotically fused from countless elements couldn’t be called a spirit beast.
If anything, it belonged to a different category.
A cryptid.
‘But how could a cryptid appear in a remote forest like this?’
Cryptids manifested in places where people lived in large numbers.
They were born from the accumulation of all the world’s negativity—almost like artificial spirits.
No matter how many explorers had gathered in Hyperborea lately, there was no reason for a cryptid to appear here.
Rufus’s train of thought was cut short.
The unidentified monster—the cryptid—moved.
It looked this way and grinned.
‘It’s... smiling?’
It wasn’t an illusion. Its lips curled upward, the corners of its eyes bent. Worst of all, the teeth faintly revealed beneath that grin were neatly aligned—like a human’s.
That very familiarity made it feel even more alien, instinctively provoking terror.
‘Fear? I’m feeling fear? Me, a black mage?’
Rufus denied reality, but nothing changed.
No matter how dark a mage he was, he was still human. Fear was not an emotion he could sever.
“Hiiik! I-I don’t want to die!”
One of the school members, unable to endure the terror, turned and fled.
‘That idiot!’
Did he not know that moving first in a stalemate like this made you a target?
No—he knew. He had to know. The fact that he’d survived alongside Rufus until now proved it.
And yet, Rufus’s subordinate had lost all reason.
All because of that monster.
The monster’s tail moved.
A tail that stretched over 50 meters coiled around the fleeing black mage’s waist.
“Aaagh! Save me! Please! Lord Rufus! Please save me!”
The school member begged desperately, but Rufus couldn’t move.
Just looking at the monster made his head throb and his eyes ache. Negative emotions crept up inside him, and his legs trembled.
‘Damn it. Its very existence is instilling fear in humans.’
The school member was dragged right up to the monster’s face. The creature glanced at him briefly, then swung its tail and slammed him straight into the ground.
Crunch!
Like bursting a water balloon filled with bright red blood, gore splashed across the area.
Rufus’s face turned pale. One of the few remaining subordinates beside him asked,
“S-School Head... what should we do?”
Rufus did not answer.
Instead, he used black magic.
On the school member standing right next to him.
“L-Lord Rufus? Lord Rufus!”
Realizing too late that black mana was invading his body, the school member cried out Rufus’s name in desperation.
“Why?! Aaaaargh! Rufus! You son of a bitch!”
Having lost all reason, the black mage’s entire body was dyed black.
His frame swelled, saliva pouring from his mouth.
His brain consumed by black mana, the black mage turned his head and looked up at the monster.
“Graaaargh!”
The instant the black mage charged at the creature, Rufus reinforced his own body and bolted deeper into the ruins.
Boom! Crash! Crunch!
The sounds of battle echoed behind him. All he could do was pray that his subordinate would hold out as long as possible.
But the commotion didn’t last even ten seconds.
Splat!
Above the fleeing Rufus’s head, a black shadow traced an arc through the air.
When it hit the ground, it was the corpse of the black mage school member he had abandoned.
He had forcibly turned him into a berserker with black magic, yet he hadn’t even lasted ten seconds before being smashed apart.
A chill ran down Rufus’s spine. He could feel a massive presence closing in from behind.
But he couldn’t look back. If he did, he felt like he’d be swallowed whole.
Just a little more. Almost there. Just a bit more and he could hide inside the ruins!
“Huff! Huff!”
Yes! Rufus screamed internally as he barely made it into the ruin’s entrance.
Behind him came a crunching sound, followed by the monster grasping at empty air.
Rufus turned around in relief. The monster, having missed its toy, was craning its head inside, staring at him.
His breath caught in his throat—but then he burst out laughing in relief.
“Kuhahaha! How about it! You damn monster! You can’t catch me!”
Did it understand his words? The monster’s brow furrowed.
It pulled its head back slowly. Just in case, Rufus retreated further into the ruins.
And then—
Rumble!
The entrance collapsed as the monster’s massive hand grasped the spot where Rufus had just been.
“T-this is insane!”
Rufus knew how sturdy these ruins were. Seeing the monster destroy them through sheer physical force left him horrified.
Bang! Bang! Craaash!
The monster continued smashing the entrance with both hands. Each time, parts of the ruins shattered and crumbled like ice.
“D-damn it!”
Rufus turned and ran. He had to go underground. Even if Arius was there, it didn’t matter. No—right now, he desperately needed Arius’s help.
That monster was not something he could possibly deal with.
Thud!
At that moment, Rufus felt his body go rigid.
He looked down. A sharp spike had burst through his abdomen.
“W-what is this...?”
Turning his trembling head, he saw the monster staring at him through the collapsed gap.
It was even pointing a finger at him.
Sssslrk.
From that finger, another spike—presumably what had pierced him—was wriggling as it grew.
It had ranged attacks too?
As Rufus was about to mutter that thought—
Thwack!
Another spike shot out.
Crunch!
The spike pierced straight through Rufus’s forehead.
Uoooooooh!!
Having succeeded in hunting a rat, the monster roared. Its cry echoed beyond the ruins, resounding throughout the forest.
Hearing that roar, the spirit beasts hid themselves even deeper within their territories.
An existence whose presence far surpassed their own had suddenly appeared, and instinctively, they knew it was dangerous.
The moment the monster judged there were no more enemies and began to rise—
“There was a monster rampaging outside, so I wondered what was going on.”
A calm, taciturn voice utterly unsuited to the situation.
With the sound of footsteps, a man walked out from deeper inside the ruins.
“What in the world is that supposed to be, Hans.”