Ch.1919. Demon Beast

Magical beasts and monsters. Those unfamiliar might confuse them, but they were distinctly different beings.

When animals survived for many years, they sometimes mutated for unknown reasons, and these transformed creatures were called magical beasts.

Monsters, on the other hand, were born as creatures of the unnatural—like goblins or orcs.

Either way, both were hostile to humans. And typically, magical beasts were more dangerous than monsters.

This was because monsters possessed at least some intelligence and would flee when they sensed defeat, while magical beasts had no such restraint—they simply charged at humans on sight.

“Damn it. I hadn’t heard rumors of magical beasts in the area.”

Dunstan bit his lip and cursed. If anything went wrong, all responsibility would fall on him as the caravan leader.

The rational decision would be to turn the carriages around and bypass the forest, but he couldn’t easily make that call. This was the only shortcut that would keep them on schedule.

Lindvale was just beyond the forest, but taking another route would add three more days to their journey. That simply wouldn’t do.

Should they press forward relying on luck, or accept the loss and choose a safer path?

After lengthy deliberation, Dunstan spoke.

“We’re turning back.”

Though Dunstan was a merchant, he wasn’t foolish enough to forget that life was more precious than money.

The guards seemed relieved by his decision, their expressions visibly relaxing.

But suddenly, Elin tugged at Rex’s sleeve.

“There.”

She pointed toward a distant thicket.

The dense foliage made the forest dark despite it being midday. Rex narrowed his eyes and stared in the direction Elin indicated. Something moved swiftly in the darkness.

It was brief, but not an illusion. Something was there. Rex hurriedly looked back and shouted.

“Magical beast!”

“What? A magical beast?”

“Oh shit!”

But even after waiting for some time, not even a hair of the beast appeared. Finally, someone grumbled in a displeased tone.

“Did you see wrong? I don’t see anything.”

Though only one person spoke up, the others seemed to share the same thought.

Rex barely swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape. If not just he but Elin had seen it too, it couldn’t be a mistake.

Then, fortunately or unfortunately, an opportunity to prove Rex’s claim came shortly after.

The thicket rustled, and a massive figure emerged.

“W-what? It really is a magical beast!”

It was on an entirely different scale from an ordinary wild boar. Its body was the size of a house, with shoulders towering above a person’s head.

“Huh? Where?”

A man who had been casually yawning while standing on one leg was startled by the news of the magical beast and looked around frantically. Then, hearing rough breathing behind him, he turned around stiffly.

“Get away!”

Rex shouted, but sadly, his warning never reached the man.

Thud!

In an instant, the boar pounced on the man, followed by a cloud of thick dust rising into the air.

A terrible scream echoed from within the dusty cloud, then abruptly stopped with a cracking sound.

“We’re fucked. Shit.”

Someone muttered. Dunstan grimaced and shouted.

“Shut up and grab your weapons!”

Now that their position was exposed, they had to abandon any thought of escape. The guards hastily grabbed their weapons.

But their trembling fingertips betrayed them—anyone could see they were consumed by fear before the battle even began.

Though they prided themselves on their skills, that was against human opponents.

Moreover, with one man already helplessly taken down, only three remained, and it was uncertain whether this number would be enough to defeat the magical beast.

Unlike the anxious-faced guards, Rex remained expressionless. His grip tightened on his greatsword.

‘So it enhances physical senses.’

The newly acquired blessing had already manifested.

Warrior’s Sight.

At first glance, one might mistake it for a blessing related to vision, but there was a reason for its name. True fighters don’t rely on sight alone. That’s the way of amateurs.

Subtle sounds, air currents, even the resonance of blades—the world was full of elements invisible to the eye.

On the battlefield, only those who consider all these factors can grasp victory, and naturally, those with such abilities were rare even among exceptional warriors.

Some called this way of perceiving the battlefield the Warrior’s Sight.

Rex’s pupils dilated like a snake eyeing its prey, and a clear golden light emanated from his eyes.

Lacking sufficient training, he couldn’t control it perfectly. All kinds of information mixed chaotically, hammering his head. But it wasn’t enough to make him collapse like the first time he used the ability.

‘Five minutes at most.’

Rex objectively assessed his condition.

Unlike the Heart of Steel, which activated without special conditions even in normal times, Warrior’s Sight consumed mental energy. He recalled the advice of the giant—Kaordix—that consistent effort would be needed to use it properly.

‘That’s enough.’

Hot energy from the heart mark raced through his veins to his entire body. Gradually, the dust that had obscured his vision was being blown away by the wind.

“Huh?”

The guards revealed their bewilderment at the scene finally revealed. The magical beast should have been there, but nothing was visible except the man who had been attacked first.

As expected, the man was dead, but his condition was too horrific to accept calmly. “Crushed” would be a more appropriate description than “struck.”

His joints were twisted like tangled vines, and there was a hole in his chest as if gored by tusks. Though life had already left him, a glimmer of terror lingered in his unseeing eyes.

Just then, Rex’s heightened hearing sounded an alarm.

Very faintly, but unmistakably, he heard something brushing against the thicket. Rex was the only one who noticed the approach. The others were still staring blankly at the corpse.

“Left—!”

Before he could finish, the boar sprang from the thicket and charged straight at them.

The guards instinctively stepped back. The massive body was a weapon in itself. Compared to that bulk, their weapons seemed no better than twigs.

‘Even a graze would mean severe injury at minimum.’

Rex also felt intimidated by the beast’s size. All his previous opponents had been humans or similar creatures with arms and legs. He had hunted animals a few times with Gert, but that experience didn’t apply here.

So what?

Should he just wait for death because it seemed unbeatable?

‘Of course not.’

Rex raised his greatsword with both hands. As the boar drew closer, the ground-shaking roar grew more intense. Its tusks, as thick as forearms, stood straight like horns. As if recognizing its most troublesome enemy, the beast glared at Rex with murderous intent.

“D-dodge!”

One of the guards cried out in a terrified voice.

Rex casually ignored the advice. It wasn’t time yet. The right moment would come. He spread his legs front and back, bending his upper body as if about to fall forward. The power of the mark, drawn to its extreme, supported his movement.

One, two… counting silently, when the beast reached right in front of him, Rex finally kicked off the ground.

Whoosh!

The wind against his skin was chilling. Throwing himself diagonally with all his might, Rex rolled once on the ground and quickly stood up. A dull pain spread through his finger joints and his entire upper body including his shoulders. Like hitting a rock with a hammer.

His fingertips trembled. Pleased by that fact, Rex couldn’t help but smile. After all, one had to be alive to feel pain.

If he had been hit directly, it wouldn’t have ended with just this much. So,

‘Success.’

His plan had worked perfectly. When Rex lightly swung his greatsword, droplets of purple blood scattered and soaked the ground.

“Huh?”

People couldn’t understand the situation despite witnessing it with their own eyes. They were sure they’d seen him impaled by the tusks—or at least, that’s what they expected to happen.

Their surprise was understandable. From their perspective, Rex had been struck by the boar, yet he was unharmed while the boar was bleeding from its side.

The beast seemed equally confused, stopping at a distance and staring at Rex.

‘Tough.’

Rex’s expression was grim. He hadn’t inflicted significant damage. Luring the attack, dodging, and swinging the greatsword had gone well.

The problem was that the beast’s hide was thicker than he’d anticipated.

Rex faced his opponent, pointing the greatsword forward. A gash marked the boar’s flank where the blade had struck.

It was deceptive. Though the bleeding appeared substantial due to the wound’s surface area, it wasn’t deep enough to directly threaten the beast’s life.

This was an unfair fight from the start. A mere graze from the beast could be fatal to Rex, while a few cuts from his blade were mere scratches to the creature.

How could he defeat this magical beast?

His thoughts accelerated. He had already ruled out help from others. Incompetent allies were worse than none at all. His own strength couldn’t penetrate the beast’s hide. That meant he would only be on the receiving end.

Grrrr…!

The boar made an angry sound, lowering its head as if ready to charge at any moment. Time was running out. This wasn’t an honorable duel with rules—it was a real battle with lives at stake.

The boar began pawing the ground, then started running. Its curved snout seemed to sneer.

And seeing that, a realization struck Rex like lightning.

His strength was still insufficient. Even with the mark and blessing, it wasn’t enough to pierce the magical beast’s hide.

But…

‘If I lack strength, I can borrow someone else’s, can’t I?’

Rex removed his cloak and wrapped it around the blade. This would protect his palms. He immediately placed one hand on the blade and supported the pommel with the other. Lowering his stance and extending the greatsword, the long, broad blade resembled a spear.

‘Here it comes.’

Rex widened his eyes and tensed his muscles. Taking one final breath, he held it. He forgot everything—the trembling ground, people’s gasps, the wind tickling his cheeks.

He aimed for the spot between the eyes. Miss, and he dies.

A drop of sweat fell from his chin to the ground. Immediately after, the boar leaped at Rex. Gritting his teeth, Rex pushed forward with the hand on the pommel.

BOOM!

An explosive sound like thunder erupted, followed by a shockwave sweeping through the forest.

Those who had been watching the situation with bated breath squinted as a sudden gust hit them. Sand, dust, leaves, all manner of debris was violently pushed back, and even birds nesting in trees fluttered up into the sky.

Then came a quiet stillness. If the battle had been decided, at least one of them should have made a sound falling, but no reaction was felt. People cautiously opened their eyes.

And they saw.

“……”

Rex was sitting on the ground, blankly staring up at the magical beast. The greatsword he had been holding was nowhere to be seen. From the onlookers’ perspective, it appeared that Rex had been thrown back while the boar remained standing firmly on all fours.

But the next moment, the boar wobbled from side to side before helplessly rolling over.

Thud!

People gaped at the sight before them. The greatsword’s blade was lodged precisely between the boar’s eyes. It had penetrated so deeply that the long blade was completely hidden, with only the hilt slightly protruding at the end.

While everyone was speechless, staring at Rex, only Elin stepped forward toward him. She had a wooden stick in her hand, which she tucked back into her clothes before extending her hand to Rex.

“…Are you alright?”

Rex took Elin’s hand and stood up.

He smiled gently.

“Yes.”

A soft breeze blew, caressing Rex’s hair.