Grandeur Fantasia

Chapter 22 ~ Start of Battle

Water dew formed on the surface of the leaves and grass which covered the forest. With the help of the sun, it caused the greeneries to shine as if having a glow of their own. It was the very picture of serenity.

"Good morning, you two."

Leon came out of a tent. The tent he came out from was supposed to be for him and Rafael. However, since Rafael was the last one on the shift rotation, Leon found Rafael outside the tent. Though he was not the only one he found.

"Oh! Good morning, Leon."

"A very good morning to you, my liege."

Vyra, the slender cool beauty wearing a kunoichi outfit, greeted his Master in an overly formal manner. Although she seemed to be formal, it was not because she is being distant towards Leon. On the contrary, it was because she has a strong feeling for him. She deeply respected him as her master and loves him as a man, thus she paid her utmost respect to him.

"Call me by my name, Vyra. Others might hear you."

"Ah! I-I'm sorry Leon. Then what shall we do about breakfast? If you wish I can procure some fruits and hunt animals."

"We still have some time before departing. Then let's hunt something for our breakfast."

"Leon, count me in. I want to get some exercise. Sitting around for hours makes my body aches all over."

"Then can I count on you, Rafael, Vyra?"

"Yes!"

"Ok! Look forward to some delicious meat!"

Rafael walked into the forest, stretching his stiff body as he goes while Vyra disappeared from her position after acknowledging her master's order. The ruffles of leaf could usually be heard when someone jumped from tree to tree, however right now, such sound was absent.

There was no sound which proved that Vyra was traversing the forest by leaping from trees to trees. But there's no doubt that Vyra was doing just that. Leon caught a glimpse of her while she's moving swiftly through the thick forest thanks to his incredible kinetic vision.

Several minutes have passed. Rafael came back while carrying a dead body of a wolf. But before he could brag about the result of his hunt, he stood frozen after catching a sight of an unusual small hill near their camp.

"Hey, Leon! I got some... Wh-what the hell is that?"

"Rafael... I understand your confusion. This is the result of Vyra's hunting."

He stood frozen at the sight of the small mountain, around 4 meters in height, of various monster corpses. There were dire wolves, mad boars, one horned tigers, and many more. They were all monsters Leon was able to recognize from Grandeur Fantasia.

Upon getting a better look, Rafael noticed that the corpses are not damaged as much as he thought from a hunted monster.

Hunted animals do usually have one wound. Hunters needed to kill them in one blow to prevent them from fleeing. However that wasn't the case when it comes to hunting monsters. Monsters had much more stamina and were stronger than animals. Thus in order to subdue them, they must be attacked multiple times or get striked by a powerful magic spell which leaves a large wound or burned parts.

However, all of them had one slash wound and nothing else. It wasn't anything big that looks like a wound caused by magic. It was a battle decided by one slash of a blade. No, it wasn't even a battle, it was a one sided killing. An assassination.

Although he felt embarrassed at himself for trying to brag after hunting a single wolf, the shock he got from such absurdness completely overshadowed it.