We finally met Heiring and the others, only to be attacked by the Chimera.
Elana’s attack hit its mark, yet the creature wasn’t damaged at all. The goat’s eerie eyes stared straight at us. Could it be…
“It seems that thing can use magic too.”
“No way!”
I couldn’t help but cry out. What in the world? The goat’s head was independent and could cast spells? That meant if I got close, the lion would attack, and if I stayed away, the goat’s magic would come flying. And on top of that, there was the snake’s head. Attacks from behind were also neutralized.
“N-Noooo!!”
One member of the protection organization screamed and started to run.
“No, stay calm!”
Heiring tried to stop her, but she ran away, crying out all the while. Animals, by nature, chase those who flee. The Chimera, too, turned its three heads and charged after her.
Seeing this, the other members of the organization began to panic all at once.
“Damn it, Aerin, gather the scattered people and evacuate them.”
With that, Heiring leaped onto the lion’s head.
“B-But, I’ll fight too!”
“Go quickly, that’s an order! Ugh!”
Still carrying him on its face, the Chimera blindly crashed into a nearby tree. The thick trunk shook, and bark flew off. It was probably best to trust Heiring’s strength and get the civilians to safety first.
“Sharin, Nina, gather the people who ran off.”
“Yeah, got it.”
“Seriously! Don’t scatter again!”
Philiana was also rounding up and holding the fleeing people by her side. Meanwhile, the Chimera was engrossed with the unexpected obstacle.
“Aerin, let’s escape too.”
“Urgh…”
He clenched his teeth in frustration and turned away, leaving the scene. Just as Heiring had told him, he caught up with some members along the way and gathered them in one place.
“Alright, is everyone here? Hey, are you listening?”
The members were panicking, looking around wildly, or had completely lost the strength in their legs. They weren’t in any condition to be spoken to. I wondered if they could even stand and walk. We had to go help them soon.
“What is this monster?! What kind of noble creature is it!”
“I-I didn’t know either! You’re the one who said that in the first place!”
Instead, they started blaming each other for the situation. What kind of creature did they think a Chimera was? Honestly, though, I hadn’t expected it to be this strong either. Aerin was still trying to evacuate the members as he was told.
“For now, everyone, please be quiet and let’s head down the mountain. We need to get to an open area.”
Of course, no one was listening to him.
“Why didn’t you do something sooner? If you knew, you could have warned us.”
In the end, they even started blaming Guard Wing. What kind of nerve did they have? Could they really protect animals like this? My companions were also at their wit’s end.
“Hey, what do you have to say for yourself, you useless Guard Wing?”
“Guh… S-Shut up!! It’s all because you, all of you, wouldn’t listen! Why, why do I have to do this for these people…! I’ve never once given an order like this before.”
Aerin bit back his words and turned his face away. He probably meant, “Why does Heiring have to die for these people?” Even if he didn’t know love, I could understand that feeling perfectly. Such an unreasonable death was unacceptable.
“Everyone, take those people back to the village. I’m going back.”
“Hah? You’re going alone? That’s impossible.”
“If we go in a large group, the Chimera might go berserk again. I’ll take advantage of an opening and bring back only Heiring.”
I could hear Nina’s voice from behind, but I turned back the way I came. Please, be alive! For Aerin’s sake, such a meaningless death cannot be allowed.
I returned to the place where the Chimera had been rampaging earlier. The smell of blood and beast assaulted my nose. But it was quiet; not even footsteps could be heard. Peeking gently from behind the trees, I saw that the monster was no longer there. And on the ground lay Heiring. He looked like a pathetic mouse toyed with by a cat. He wasn’t eaten, just played with.
“Heiring, are you alright?!”
“Ugh… The Chimera, it went after you guys.”
What?! But I didn’t see it. Could we have just missed each other? Maybe it was the right decision to leave everyone behind. It probably wouldn’t go down easily. We should have bought ourselves time to escape. For now, I needed to make sure Heiring was safe.
“Can you stand? Are you injured?”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. More importantly, we have to stop the Chimera.”
He used his sword as a crutch and stood up, walking unsteadily. I should hurry back to everyone too.
“Arisugawa, you’re back?!”
Good, it seemed the Chimera hadn’t arrived yet. It had gone after us, but where did it disappear to? Even Sharin hadn’t seen it. Seeing the battered Heiring, Aerin rushed over.
“Heiring! I’ll treat you now.”
“Hah, hah, we need to move from here quickly. The Chimera is still… still nearby.”
Heiring slumped against the tree, his body sliding down.
“The Chimera is trying to make us lead it to the village.”
Amidst the arguing, a single woman spoke with a calm voice.
