At that moment,
A disappearance incident involving a doctor and one villager from Brunel Village.
Due to a monster's sudden attack, their life or death remained unconfirmed.
Miss Cherry immediately pursued them and vanished.
Just earlier, an incident occurred at the village's police station.
"Really? The doctor? Isn't he already dead? What will we do without a doctor!"
"Is that really the problem now? Miss Cherry could be in danger too!"
"My goodness, this is really serious! What will happen to our village without Miss Cherry?"
"I think we should hurry, shouldn’t we? Shouldn't we help?"
The villagers huddled together, their voices growing louder in their excitement.
Overhearing their conversation, Kellyan, who had been shelling corn, quickly stood up.
"I will help in searching for the lady."
Everyone stared at Kellyan, but the village chief was not as easily persuaded.
"I can't entrust such a task to a complete stranger."
The chief firmly refused and instructed the villagers to keep an eye on Kellyan.
Undeterred, Kellyan calmly tried to persuade the chief.
"I have trained as a royal guard to track fleeing enemies during wartime. I can help. I am not without weapons, and since there are many of you here, subdue me if I step out of line."
The chief stood with his hands behind his back, saying nothing.
With not a trace of a smile, Kellyan clasped his hands together, pleading sincerely.
"I've had a hard time traveling through villages swarming with monsters. This is the first time I've been in such a safe village and got to spend a night here. I truly wish to repay you."
As the conversation dragged on, Mrs. Heidi nervously tapped her foot.
"We need to hurry, chief."
The man who first brought the news pressed the chief as well.
"I just met Miss Ruskin. She was in a terrible state. We might need his help."
After a moment of consideration, the chief sighed and finally nodded at Kellyan.
"Sir Kellyan, did you say? It seems we do need your help, but don’t even think about any foolish acts."
The fact that Kellyan had quietly helped with the corn for four hours also helped to lower their guard.
Following the chief's permission, they immediately headed to the Brunel Village police station.
In front of the station, a woman with sharp, blue hair sat despondently.
Mrs. Heidi recognized her and rushed over.
"Miss Ruskin! What happened here?"
Miss Ruskin looked up wearily and replied.
"The doctor and one villager were taken by that thing. To the hills behind here. Miss Sinclair has gone after them, so don’t worry too much."
Despite her reassuring words, the woman's face was filled with concern for those who had vanished.
Kellyan watched the situation and quickly thought. This was his chance.
A chance to understand this place without suspicion.
'Just figure out who this Cherry Sinclair is and leave.'
If the utterly unskilled Cherry Sinclair was alive, then Ethan Lancaster might be alive too. They were last seen together in Brunel on the brink of destruction.
Deciding swiftly, Kellyan stepped forward.
"If what I heard is true, then Miss Cherry will need reinforcements. I have tracking and combat skills; I’ll go."
"...Who?"
Vanilla frowned and looked at him, but it was Mrs. Heidi who answered.
"This is Sir Kellyan, a royal guard from the Kingdom of Graydon."
"A royal guard...? Ugh."
Vanilla winced, possibly from pain, and Kellyan took the opportunity to quickly bow to the chief.
"I’ll be back then."
"Uh? Oh... yes, go on then."
While the chief was still distracted, checking on Vanilla with Mrs. Heidi, Kellyan hurriedly left the place.
If he had waited just a bit longer at the police station, he could have met Ethan coming out, but Kellyan was unaware of that at the time.
'As if a mutated monster matters. It’s just another monster after all.'
He didn't think he would even need his tracking skills.
The trail left by the creature dragging its victims was all too clear.
He had faced numerous monsters in countless battles before. He was confident he wouldn’t be easily overcome by some mutated creature.
He ventured deeper into the forest along the trail, not forgetting to load the revolver he had hidden in a secret pocket of his jacket.
'The monsters evolving intelligently, what a dreadful development.'
When would his new master come to save the world?
Back in Westmoor, his new master was still conducting experiments, and Kellyan continued to provide 'materials needed for these experiments.'
Bringing Ethan to Westmoor was just one of the many tasks he was assigned.
But as he was tracking, the creature's tracks suddenly ended.
'To think it could erase its own tracks.'
Kellyan kneeled on the ground, examining the trace closely.
And then it happened.
A sinister sound echoed behind him.
*****
I followed the mutated monster dragging Nox along and replayed the descriptions from Love in a Ruined World in my mind.
Like other viral monsters, the mutated ones had to be killed by destroying their heads.
They moved with unnatural speed and possessed enough intelligence to hunt, making them difficult to attack.
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However, they did have a weakness.
"They’re curious."
Perhaps because they were an evolved lifeform, they displayed intense curiosity, much like a three-year-old child.
If their curiosity was piqued, it might be possible to buy time without being killed.
"That is, assuming they’re full."
When hungry, they would revert to being just like any other viral monster.
I carefully stepped through the dense foliage, tense.
Nox, unconscious, was dragged along the uneven ground, collecting scratches on his body. Even his delicate face, which had been protected so well back at Happy House, wasn’t spared from the abrasions.
“Just hold on a little longer, Mr. Ludfisher.”
Following the monster deeper into the forest, I came across a deep pit. The creature tossed Nox and another man into it.
“Ugh!”
A painful groan echoed from the pit below. It seemed the two collided upon landing. Judging by the sounds, there were already more people down there.
Sobs, thick with fear, rose from the pit. It wasn’t just one or two voices.
"There are quite a few captives."
Swallowing hard, I gripped my axe tightly.
"It might be better to take advantage of the moment when that thing leaves and rescue the people."
Directly confronting the monster was best avoided.
The creature stood at the edge of the pit, staring down into it, observing the crying captives below.
"No matter how curious it is, what kind of psychopath monster just watches like that?"
I muttered a curse at the eerie, unsettling sight but quickly ducked as the monster turned my way.
It scanned the surroundings briefly before returning its gaze to the pit, fixated on the captives.
I had come here to rescue Nox and the villagers from Brunel, but knowing there were more people down there made me hesitate.
"I can’t save everyone on my own."
But if I left to get help, what if the monster returned and Nox was put in danger?
"Maybe I should just save Nox."
I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands. There was no choice. I couldn’t risk losing Nox to save strangers.
"Damn it, of all times, the Elpinos herbs aren’t even ready to harvest."
In just four more days, we would be able to collect them.
Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the forest.
Bang!
“What the hell? Damn it! Why is it so fast?!”
The voice, laced with curses, didn’t come from the pit.
Startled, I raised my head and stood. The monster that had been near the pit was gone.
"What?"
Just as quickly, I crouched back into the foliage.
The mutated monster reappeared, crashing through the underbrush with something clamped in its mouth.
It was a man—wearing the uniform of the Royal Army.
The monster was gripping the edge of the man’s uniform, as if he had made a desperate effort not to be bitten.
"Wait... that uniform..."
It looked identical to the uniforms worn by the Royal Army soldiers who had attacked Brunel, searching for Ethan and engaging in a shootout with the Kint’s men.
I squinted at the man the monster was dragging. Short silver hair, slightly tanned skin, and striking gray eyes.
"I don’t recognize him. He must be one of the Royal Army imposters."
Theodore hadn’t yet taken Benton, the capital.
So there was no way his Royal Guards were wandering around a place like this.
"But the novel never mentioned imposters posing as Royal Guards."
This must have been caused by the deviations I introduced to the storyline.
During a phone call with Aurora, I had thought the main plotline was intact. But without new information since then, it was anyone’s guess now.
Regardless, Theodore’s side would be fine even if the plot was altered.
If Ethan was like a sleek and fierce jaguar, Theodore was like a regal and majestic lion.
There was a reason he was the main male lead of the novel. He commanded many followers, and his Royal Guards remained loyal.
Not these imposters, though. I meant the real ones.
“Damn monster bastard!”
The man’s curses brought my focus back to him. He must have fired the gunshot earlier, but he wasn’t holding a gun now.
It looked like he had lost it while fighting the mutated monster.
The creature unceremoniously tossed him into the pit.
"Ugh, looks like I’ll have to save that idiot too."
I revised my plan. I needed to save Nox, the villagers from Brunel, and that Royal Army imposter.
I had to find out who was behind him and why they were after Ethan.