TMBIPYMEN Chapter 29

Laila approached Olga's side as if drawn by enchantment.

The woman commanded her not to touch anything, then ran her fingers across several crystals while murmuring an incantation under her breath. The words were ancient—Laila could not parse them all.

"Now watch closely."

Olga pulled the darkest crystal upward like a lever. The hollow space suddenly filled with a shimmering motion, as if water had rushed to occupy it.

Laila leaned forward with such intensity she might have been pulled inside. The ripples spreading from the center stilled, and then she could see them clearly—wounded knights raising swords, shouting orders, moving with purpose.

Wonder bloomed across Laila's face.

"It really is like magic."

Olga's response came dry and unimpressed.

"Foolish words from a witch. Is it your youth? It is magic. Magic precisely. Now look. That one there—the sink lies in the river, invisible, but the creature circles that spot like guarding a nest."

The image shifted slightly. The movement was natural, like a person turning their gaze, and Laila nearly turned her own head in response.

As the knights disappeared toward the edges, she saw the demon's head and body—red as boiling lava. It resembled a monstrous crocodile grown impossibly vast, but far more vicious in bearing.

Yustar spoke.

"Does it flee into the river when attacked?"

"Of course. Once in the water, there's no catching it. Even you would struggle, Yustar."

"Didn't you give the members magical artifacts?"

Irritation crossed Olga's face.

"I gave them. What else would I have done? They drained all their energy. We spent every ounce of time and strength just driving the creature toward the trap. Even then, we couldn't capture it. If the barricade breaks this time, it's finished. Once that thing reaches the next village, we'll be in territory with no portals. No branch can provide swift support."

"Then we catch it here."

Yustar spoke with leisure, and Olga shot him a glance that could have curdled milk.

Laila paid no attention to their sparring. Her focus remained fixed on the demon's movements in the vision.

The knights had taken injuries, but the creature must have suffered damage as well. Though it moved with speed, something about its balance seemed broken.

Where? Laila wondered. The vision's perspective kept shifting—not easy to identify at a glance.

Then the knight closest to the demon pulled out something round like an apple and brought it to his mouth.

When he tilted his head back, she saw a ring-like piece come free. He hurled it toward the creature. The image shook briefly, then black smoke enveloped the demon's body.

Olga said, "It blocks vision. But that was the last one. Effective time is only a few minutes. We have no time to waste."

Yustar nodded and looked at Laila.

"Let's go, Laila."

Olga raised an eyebrow.

"You're actually taking her?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"Regretting it after you're dead won't help anything. Do as you please. I'll spray the poison that young witch made. I'll be waiting—just send the signal. Tell me in advance where you're driving it."

"Far from the river would be best."

Yustar extended his hand to Laila. She wanted to remain standing there, studying the vision longer, but she understood from their words that time was precious. He found a uniform suited for movement and handed it to her.

"Put this on. Come out through that round door."

Laila changed clothes hurriedly. The fit was perfect, but wearing proper trousers felt utterly foreign—this was her first time. She felt almost underdressed.

Olga's voice cut sharp.

"Don't dawdle. How long will you fumble over a simple pair of trousers?"

Startled, Laila whipped her head around, but Olga wasn't even looking in her direction. The woman was barely visible—how she'd known was maddening.

But dwelling on that thought would only earn another scolding. Laila tried to ignore the awkward sensation between her legs as she opened the round door Yustar had mentioned.

"Ah!"

Fierce wind struck her face. Whoosh. Laila pressed down on her knees by habit, then realized she wore no skirt. The moment that fact registered, her eyes went wide.

"Yustar! There's no path!"

Beyond the door lay only a tiny semicircular platform—barely room for two people to stand.

Below yawned a dizzying cliff, and worse, she could see a river rushing violently through the gorge. As Laila grew dizzy and reached for the doorframe, Yustar's arm wrapped firmly around her waist.

"Don't worry, Laila. We did this once before, remember?"

Between wind and water-sound, he had to press his lips nearly against her ear to speak. Laila felt every fine hair on her cheek stand on end as her lips parted.

"That time... that time was a portal! Surely you're not saying there's a portal here too!"

"No, not a portal. But if we try walking all the way to where the demon is, Olga will throw us to it as bait."

"Then how—"

Laila's voice, trembling with fear, stopped short. The moment she met Yustar's gaze looking down at her, she understood what would happen next.

"Wait, Yustar. You don't mean—"

"Hold on tight to me. Just hold on to me and you'll be fine. Nothing will go wrong."

His words—nothing will go wrong—were buried beneath Laila's scream. Yustar leaped into empty air with Laila cradled in his arms. Wind from the gorge lifted their bodies for one brief instant before plunging them downward.

"Yustar!"

Laila screamed. Her heart felt ready to stop. The wind seemed to slice through her ears and cheeks like razors.

"Yustar! Please!"

As she cried out in terror, Yustar said, "Just trust me."

Even through the fierce wind, his voice rang strangely clear.

In that moment, Laila realized the dizzying fall had stopped. More than stopped—they were flying. More precisely, Yustar was flying... and Laila clung to him.

"Wh-what is this..."

A pair of enormous wings had sprouted from Yustar's back. They resembled those of a hawk or eagle, but far larger. Each wing stretched nearly as long as Yustar himself. The feathers gleamed as if real.

Laila's eyes, on the verge of popping from her skull, narrowed as she exhaled in wonder.

"Did you learn chainshifting?"

Yustar made a sound of amused laughter.

"No, I'm not a mage—I can't learn such things. This is also a magical artifact. It works... somewhat like chainshifting. But it can't transform my entire body. Only parts."

"How can something like this exist..."

"Tentinella has many talented developers."

Developers. Now that she thought about it, she'd heard of such things.

Large cities had machines that sewed automatically, machines that embroidered. Weren't the people who made such things called developers? That there were developers in the realm of magic seemed impossible to believe.

"I can see it now. All right, Laila. I'm going to set you down somewhere safe. Taking you along while fighting the demon would be too difficult. But I'll put you where you have a clear view. Watch how the creature moves. Think about how to defend, how to attack."

"Come to think of it, didn't you say you'd give me protective gear?"

"The uniform you're wearing is the protective gear. It may look like an ordinary uniform, but it's not. It won't show a scratch from most attacks. Against that demon, though, it's somewhat weak—so you must not enter the fight yourself."

"But you said that thing is incredibly fast! Where are you going to set me down? I don't know if I'll be able to see properly."

Yustar smiled down at her with a slight grin. When he lowered his head, his long hair fell forward and tickled Laila's cheeks and forehead.

"Don't worry. It'll be the best seat in the house."

He beat his wings once and climbed higher. The knights below looked up at the sound of those enormous wing-beats and cheered when they saw Yustar.

"It's Lord Yustar!"

"His Highness the Crown's Blood has come! Everyone hold on just a bit longer!"

As the knights' morale rose, the demon trapped in black smoke tensed, lowering its body close to the ground.

That smoke could fully block vision, but its effect wouldn't last long. The knights reorganized their formation, steadying their weapons and catching their breath.

"Watch from here."

Yustar set Laila down atop a tall rock jutting from the gorge.

It was a solitary pillar of stone like a candlestick, with a flat top that truly resembled a theater's premium seat. Though far from where the demon stood, she could still observe its movements.

"I'll be back."

After confirming Laila had landed safely, Yustar kicked off from the rock's edge. He glided in a smooth arc, drawing the sword at his hip—cold blue energy rippled along the blade.

A magic sword? No, he said he couldn't use magic... Laila thought.

Yustar joined the knights holding their barricade line, then moved to the front with sword raised as the smoke began to clear. The demon's outline started to emerge faintly. Laila found herself clenching her fists without realizing it.

The creature, catching an unfamiliar scent, bristled the spines along its back. A veteran knight, face blood-streaked, spoke without taking his eyes from the demon.

"Be careful, Lord Yustar. Even grazing those spines causes immediate poisoning."

Yustar made a sound of bitter amusement.

"So they function as feelers and poison needles. Where did this thing even come from?"

"The sink is in the river. Whenever we press the attack, it dives into the water—seems to be trying to guard the sink."

"Nonsense. What emerges from a sink doesn't try to protect the sink. Sink is sink, demon is demon. They're not in symbiosis."

—Kiiiiaaaak—!

The sharp, ululating cry echoed along the gorge walls. Screech. Just hearing it made every hair on Laila's body stand on end.

Yustar's grip tightened on his sword hilt. When the smoke finally cleared completely, the demon launched its body straight toward him. Yustar's blade drove vertically behind the creature's front fangs.