TYBMB 08

Episode 8: Kill Me

2024.01.08.

“Queen” referred to the most powerful monster lurking in the area.

And the magic stone we needed to destroy was always guarded by this Queen.

In other words, to close the rift by destroying the magic stone, we had to eliminate the Queen first.

The reason I hinted to the captain that it might be a mental manipulation type was because of this monster.

While I was thinking, the captain took out a magic-detection item he had prepared in advance.

He seemed about to use it to locate the Queen, but I spoke first.

“You won’t need the item. I can detect where the Queen is. She’s guarding the magic stone at the top floor of that visible castle.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

I could be certain.

Before the regression, the Queen of Rift #4 had also been at the top of that castle.

But I couldn’t just say I knew it because I had regressed.

So, I lied again, saying I could sense the magic. The captain seemed to believe me.

“That sensing ability of yours is impressive. To detect magic from that far…”

“Thank you. Then shall we move quickly? I have a feeling the toxic energy here is especially strong.”

“Right. Let’s hurry.”

With our destination set, we began to move immediately.

The path was quiet.

But that didn’t mean we could relax.

Even excluding the Queen, all sorts of monsters roamed this place.

Come to think of it, weren’t there some wild dog-shaped monsters around here?

As soon as I thought that, something large crept out from behind a dead tree nearby.

Same shape and movement as I remembered before my regression.

That made it easy to identify.

“It’s not much. I’ll take care of it.”

“Isn’t your arm still hard to move?”

“If you mean my forearm injury, it healed a long time ago. I need to stretch my body now.”

Hearing me, the captain stepped back without hesitation.

Wondering if he was worried, I glanced at his face, but he showed no such expression.

He just watched me silently, as usual.

I nodded once toward him and gripped the sword at my hip.

Ssshhh—

As I gripped the sword and drew upon my power, frost began to form on its white blade.

Soon, a chill spread around me in a circle, lightly freezing the ground beneath.

This was my ability.

My power to freeze all things made my sword, the air, and the earth cold.

Watching the rapidly whitening land, the captain muttered,

“Every time I see it, I’m impressed. Not many people can manifest their power so visibly.”

“Well, not only is my ability useful, but as you know, swordplay is what I’m really confident in.”

Just then, a group of wild dog monsters began to surround us.

And I instinctively knew.

It was time to show the captain how much stronger 30-year-old Yulia had become over the past five years.

The monsters had now completely surrounded us.

They were several times larger than normal wild dogs, with razor-sharp teeth.

They clearly saw us as nothing more than prey trespassing in their territory.

Despite usually being cautious, they charged at me without any warning.

Growl!!

The first to leap was what seemed to be their leader.

A reddish-brown beast quickly closed the distance and launched into the air, aiming to pin me down and tear at my throat.

But its teeth never touched me.

Whoosh—!

I had been waiting for it to leap.

As soon as it did, I swung my sword.

The blade didn’t directly strike the monster.

If a normal person had swung like that, it would’ve done nothing.

But I was different.

From my sword burst forth freezing magic power—a blade of energy.

Slash—

The sharp energy, known as sword aura, sliced through the monster’s neck mid-air.

The leader was dealt with in a single clean blow.

Groan…

Seeing their leader fall so easily, the others hesitated in fear.

I hoped they’d flee—but they were dumber than expected.

Two of them rushed at us next.

They must’ve thought I couldn’t dodge both at once. They were wrong.

Grr!

Growl!

I twisted my upper body to dodge the one in front.

Using the momentum, I sliced the one coming from the left.

Because of that torque, I was able to cleanly bisect it.

Maintaining the speed of my swing, I turned again and cut down the one that had passed me from the front.

Yelp—!

People who haven’t seen the Silver Knights fight often assume something.

They think that since the knights are all Awakened with special abilities, their physical skills must be lacking.

But that’s completely wrong.

Abilities help in battle, sure—but that alone doesn’t kill monsters.

We fought beasts far more dangerous than any wild animal.

That’s why we had to be perfect in all aspects.

Abilities, martial skill, weapon mastery—nothing could fall short.

Whimper, yelp!

Two remaining dogs began to back away slowly—then turned to flee.

I hesitated. Should I let them go?

But they might bring back reinforcements.

So I raised my sword.

Then I drove it into the ground, blade upright.

Immediately, a freezing shockwave spread from the spot the sword struck.

Crackle—!

From the frozen ground, sharp ice pillars shot up.

The wide-spreading spikes pierced both retreating monsters.

Thud! They died instantly, impaled.

The captain, watching, expressed interest.

“What was that technique?”

“I just developed it. As you saw, I make sharp ice rise from the ground to pierce enemies.”

I said it was newly developed, but truthfully, I had created it before regression.

Was it when I was 28?

It was meant to be used three years from now, but there was no reason I couldn’t use it now.

“It’s a solid move. But it has a flaw—it only works on enemies touching the ground.”

The captain replied, grabbing the halberd strapped to his back.

Like I had earlier, he channeled magic into his weapon and swung into the air.

A black, blazing flame shot forth toward a nearby tree.

Yelp—!

A final dog that had been hiding there was instantly incinerated by his attack.

Its falling corpse was soon engulfed in black fire and completely consumed.

Having given me advice, the captain turned to me.

“When you use that technique, be sure to check above. It doesn’t work on airborne enemies.”

“I saw the one in the tree, but I thought I’d leave one for you in case you were bored.”

“Click… Always mouthing off.”

Even as I joked lightly, seeing him wordlessly clean his weapon made me smile.

He really hadn’t changed at all.

Before regression, his nickname “Iceblood” suited him well—he rarely smiled.

Maybe that’s why I never noticed he cared for me, until the moment I died.

Of course, unlike five years later, the current captain probably still disliked me.

But I didn’t mind.

After five years together, he would change how he saw me.

Right now, I just felt glad to see him as he’d always been.

Then, he spoke curtly to me.

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go. No more monsters nearby?”

“No, aside from what we just dealt with, nothing else. Now the only thing left—”

“Is the Queen.”

The Queen of Rift #4. A monster with powerful mental manipulation ability.

Before the regression, half our squad died because of her.

Just remembering it made my face tense.

Seeing this, the captain said something unexpected.

“No need to be nervous. What you’re worried about won’t happen.”

It was just a few words, but they lifted the fog of anxiety clouding my mind.

Yeah. This time, it won’t happen like it did before.

I believed that as I followed the captain’s lead.