That flute sound.
We looked at each other.
There was no surprise or panic — we’d already been told by the village folk how to handle this kind of phenomenon. What to do to keep from being enchanted by the flute’s melody.
Sing.
I said solemnly, “Who’s going to start?”
“Doesn’t matter which one, right?”
Kyle glanced toward the far end of the canyon where the sound came from.
Nothing was visible in the growing darkness at the canyon’s edge. Just as the rumors said.
No one had ever found the source of the sound.
All we had to do was make it through.
Next to Ray, who was muttering, “I don’t know that many songs...,” Kyle began to sing.
A low, strong voice.
“Enemy heads beneath the red flag. Blood on our sleeves and the burnt grass fields. Hey, hey. March onward, warriors. The blood-soaked land is ours—”
“Wait!”
Is he out of his mind?
I shouted urgently next to Ray, whose eyes were wide open.
Kyle, singing calmly, turned back with a puzzled look.
His golden eyes blinked. “What?”
“What do you mean, what?”
He really doesn’t get it.
“What’s with those lyrics?”
“It’s an old song my tribe used to sing when we went to war.”
“Don’t sing something that cursed!”
Wouldn’t singing that get you executed in the Empire?
Unable to hide my disbelief, I clamped my palm over Kyle’s mouth just as he muttered, “Any song should work. That’s the only one I know.”
With his mouth covered, I turned to Ray. “You sing.”
“...For once, that sounds right.”
“Sing anything.”
Ignoring Kyle’s raised eyebrow, I urged him.
Surely a count’s son knows at least one proper tune.
Ray, staring ahead awkwardly, hesitated before opening his mouth.
This time, a gentle, sentimental melody flowed out.
“When all the continent sleeps so still, when lambs and mice are dreaming still—only the whisper of grass in wind stirs the silent night again...”
“Isn’t that a lullaby?”
Kyle mumbled, brushing my hand away.
A lullaby’s much better than a bloody war chant.
I was about to retort when Ray’s face flushed red.
“It’s the only song I know!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You sing, Hilde!”
Kyle lifted his palms in defense, but Ray wasn’t listening.
I blinked and pointed a finger at my own chest.
Ray, still red-faced, snapped, “You’ve got to sing something too!”
Why is he mad?
It’s not like I was trying to avoid it.
Kyle and I exchanged looks of mild resignation. Thankfully, he didn’t argue, and I nodded quickly.
Well, I did know one kind of song.
I knew many melodies, but every single one of them was a hymn. I’d learned all my songs from clerics — so of course.
There had been one priest in particular, utterly devoted to teaching me hymns...
Thinking of her made me smile faintly, and then I sang.
Neither man stopped me, so I kept singing until we made it out of the canyon.
“What the—”
As soon as the flute fell silent and I stopped singing, Ray’s voice rang out.
In the dimming dark, his eyes were wide.
“Why do you sing so well?”
“Do I? Thanks. I sang every seventh day, that’s all.”
“It sounds holy.”
Kyle’s voice joined in with a trace of laughter.
“If the Archbishop heard that, he’d have made you a priest.”
Not quite.
I used to get scolded every time. She was a perfectionist about hymns, always finding fault — telling me to round the notes more, to stop using my throat, to soften my tone.
I’d heard praise only once.
When the temple was burning.
Even then, it probably wasn’t sincere. She must’ve known it was the end, and simply wanted to leave me with kind words.
“I’m starving.”
I pushed back the wave of longing and sorrow with hunger and muttered, “Let’s find something to eat now that we’re out of the rocks.”
“Good idea.”
Kyle grinned, his eyes sharp like a beast’s.
“By the gods, finally no more redhorn meat,” Ray murmured under his breath.
Matching their pace, I stepped into the bramble-covered forest ahead.
***
“There it is?”
A forest so thick that sunlight couldn’t reach the ground anymore.
We found a gray cliff standing in its center.
And on top of that cliff, a massive pomegranate-colored gem had grown.
“That’s what we’re supposed to take?”
“Easier than I thought.”
Next to Ray pointing at the gem, I muttered to myself, “Is this it?”
Didn’t they say there were too many casualties?
Sure, getting here hadn’t been easy, but it wasn’t that bad either. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Any halfway competent adventurer could’ve made it this far.
They didn’t need to send three knights for this.
Then why...
While I pondered, Kyle rummaged through his pack.
“They say poison gas comes out once you climb up there.”
He straightened and handed me a strange-looking cloth.
“Put this on and go up.”
“Me?”
I pointed at my face with my finger.
Kyle nodded, offering a check-patterned handkerchief and a weird, lumpy suit that looked like animal guts.
How natural.
“Since when was I the one climbing?”
“I’m bad at climbing rocks.”
His reply was shameless.
“You know — I’m a plainsman. I’ll cover you if anything happens, don’t worry too much.”
“And Ray?”
“I’m not great at climbing either.”
Ray’s quick answer betrayed his true feelings — no way was he wearing that checkered handkerchief or that gut-looking outfit.
“Especially not while wearing some weird thing like that... Just go quickly. They said the gas isn’t that lethal anyway.”
“Who picked the check pattern?”
“Kishis.”
“That bastard.”
“Hilde, you’ll look good in anything.”
Kyle replied lightly while Ray smiled with mock sincerity beside me.
“You are handsome, after all.”
Beautiful friendship, huh.
Grumbling, I pulled on the wobbly white suit and tied the checkered cloth over my nose and mouth.
I had no idea how this was supposed to block gas, but one thing was certain — it looked ridiculous. Kyle burst out laughing as soon as he saw me.
“Is it funny?”
The black lion of a man couldn’t even lift his head from laughing.
At least Ray was a bit more polite — he tried to hold his laughter in, though his reddened face didn’t help my mood.
“You two are on cooking duty for a while.”
Muttering, I started to climb the cliff.
The rock felt strange under my hands — oddly soft. Maybe too much moisture had seeped in, making it pliable. They said the gas came from the top... maybe this strange texture had something to do with it.
I climbed steadily, feeling their gazes on my back.
Kyle whistled sharply.
“Looking good!”
I fought down a violent urge to throw something at him.
“Relax that face! Almost there!”
Even Ray’s voice didn’t help.
I’d get them both back for this humiliation later.
The cliff was tall, but not difficult. Soon I reached the top.
Even the upper surface was strangely soft. Stepping onto the squishy ground, I approached the massive garnet.
It was nearly as big as my torso.
Guess I just have to cut it off?
I examined the red gemstone, then drew my sword.
That’s when I noticed it — a long scar carved into the ground right beside the gem. Deep and narrow, stretching across the rock.
Is that where the gas comes from?
I poked the line with my sword tip.
Nothing happened.
It was so perfectly straight that I poked it a few more times. Still no change.
Maybe a beast or monster had dragged its claws there.
Shrugging, I turned away and sliced the garnet free.
A puff of red smoke burst out.
“You alright?”
Kyle and Ray shouted from below.
I waved my left arm to signal that it was fine. It was gas, sure, but just as Ray said, not too bad. My eyes stung slightly, but my body felt fine.
It wasn’t pouring out continuously either; if I waited a bit, the wind would probably clear it.
Once it dispersed, I’d climb down.
Holding the garnet, I waited for the smoke to fade, peeling off the useless white suit.
Didn’t have to wait long.
“Nice work!”
Kyle’s shout.
“Throw away the handkerchief and come down!”
Smiling, I tossed it aside.
With the massive garnet in hand, I prepared to descend.
At the same moment, the scar beside the gem’s root deepened.
“Huh?”
I blinked at the widening crack.
“...Huh?”
Why is it spreading?
Why is the ground beneath it so smooth? And why does it keep widening?
Why does it look so unnaturally white? Not like soil or stone — more like it’s covered by some kind of membrane.
As if this soft ground had been wrapped over that membrane—
Like eyelids over an eyeball...?
Ah.
We’re screwed.
Realizing it, I jumped off the cliff.
“We’re screwed.”
I said as I ran toward the others’ puzzled faces.
“That wasn’t a cliff.”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
“Run.”
I cut between Kyle, who was frowning, and Ray, who was blinking, and shouted, “Run!”
We had to run first.
If the eye was that big—
“I stabbed its eye.”
“What eye?”
“The cliff’s eye.”
“What?”
How big is the body then?
“The cliff has an eye?”
“You stabbed it?”
“Damn it, it’s waking up!”
Something massive stirred.
Without stopping for a second, I shouted, “That’s not a cliff!”
Desperately.
“It’s alive!”
KRAAAHHHH!
The roar shook the forest.
We ran without looking back. Behind us, I heard Kyle and Ray gasp in horror — but they didn’t freeze. As expected from skilled knights, they caught up to me quickly.
Ray, running on my left, yelled, “What the hell is that thing!”
That’s what I wanted to ask.
“What the hell is it!”
“One hit from that and we’re dead!”
Kyle glanced back at the slow-moving, rock-like creature.
He was running on my right, black hair whipping violently in the wind.
“What did you do to wake it up?”
I stabbed its eye...
I never imagined that was what it was! I wanted to explain, but there was no time to talk. We tore through the dense forest at full speed. Whatever it was, instinct told me we needed distance.
Battle-hardened instinct.
Clutching the garnet so tight it might shatter, I cursed inwardly.
That bastard Kishis!
“Ugh!”
BOOM!
One step.
When that thing’s arm, or leg, or whatever limb it had, struck the ground, a crater opened beneath it.
The shockwave hit us from behind, nearly sending us sprawling.
Luckily, all three of us managed to stay on our feet and keep running.
The thick green forest blurred past — grass, trees, trees, massive trees! We almost crashed into several giant trunks.
Ahead, Ray and Kyle slashed through the obstacles.
“Get out of the forest first!” I shouted.
We’d have more room to move.
“If it follows us out there, we’ll counterattack together!”
“Got it! Please!”
“At least it’s slow!”
Ray agreed, and Kyle muttered after glancing back, “Wouldn’t want to get smashed by that.”
Same here.
I didn’t want to die. And I especially didn’t want to die in such a stupid way. So we ran like hell, bursting out of the forest with some distance between us and the monster.
Beyond the fading trees stretched an open wasteland.
At the far end lay a small village — and an oasis.
“Can’t let it reach the village!”
Kyle shouted urgently.
“Lure it toward the oasis!”
“Smart call.”
I sprinted toward the oasis, holding the garnet tight against my side, never once looking back.
“I don’t think it’ll follow us that far!” I shouted.
I was wrong.
It followed us all the way to the oasis.
Slow, but monstrously large — every step covered an enormous distance.
A rock-like living being...
“Listen,” I said quietly, gripping my sword as it approached.
“Here’s what we’ll do.”
