Read Novel Full Vol 1 Chapter 1 Part 2
Vol 1 Chapter 1 Part 2
Here’s the chapter, enjoy~
Part 2
The scorching sun shone down, and the hot sand scooped up her feet.
Lexia exhaled as she blocked the white sunlight with her hand.
“It’s more like burning than hot.”
Lexia and Luna had entered the Red Moon Desert on their way to the Kingdom of Sahar.
It is an arid area where monsters that have survived in a harsh environment roam, and it is a dangerous area on par with the Forest of Blessings and the Forest of Orz.
Normally, there was a detour route, but Lexia said, “If we want to go to the Kingdom of Sahar, the fastest way is to go through the Red Moon Desert!” And so, they decided to cross the desert.
“Ugh, my throat is going to dry up before we reach… the Kingdom of Sahar.”
“Stop whining; you said we’re going to cross through the desert.”
“Hey, can’t I just have a little more water?”
“You drank some water earlier.”
“Hey, just a sip. Isn’t that okay? Please, Luna.”
“Hah, Good grief… only one sip, we’ve got a long way to go.”
“Thank you! Here, I’ll give you some candy in return!”
“I don’t want it. I mean, why do you have it?”
“I thought something like this might happen, so I took it from the royal castle of the Regal Kingdom!”
“What the hell are you doing in that short time? …Hey, just a sip, okay? Is that a sip? Lexia? Hey? Let go of the canteen!”
“Puhahh! What! It’s okay; it’s just a little bit! I mean, why is Luna okay with this?”
“I trained in the Dark Guild, so I’m used to the harsh environment. We’ll take a short break when we get over that hill.”
Luna squinted her eyes as she climbed up the sandy hill while scolding Lexia, who was exhausted.
“That’s…”
Beyond the shimmering sun, a clear spring and the green of the plants swayed.
“That’s an oasis! Water and shade, Luna! Let’s hurry!”
“Wait, there’s someone there!”
Luna carefully held Lexia back as she ran happily away.
Three small children were trembling while hugging each other by the oasis. And sheltering these children behind her back, a petite girl with white hair stared up at the sky.
All four of them had ears like animals, and their long tails were wagging as if they were wary of something.
“They are beastmen. What in the world are they doing?”
Lexia was right. They were beastmen.
The oldest, a white-haired girl who appeared to be a white-cat beastman, her cat ears down, was looking up at the sky with a tense look on her face. Following her gaze, she gasped.
“! That’s…!”
A flock of huge birds was circling in the sky above. Their black wings were so large that they covered the girls with only one wing, and the claws on their thick legs were so sharp that they could easily tear even a cow apart.
“Cruel Condor…!”
Luna’s voice was unintentionally constricted.
It is a C-class monster comparable to the Hell Slime of the Great Devil’s Nest and the Charge Boar of Sky Mountain. Such powerful monsters are swarming around and targeting the girl’s group.
“What an awful lot of them…! I see. They know some creatures are coming to the oasis and are using it as a hunting ground…!”
“Gieeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
With a screech that ripped through the sky, the monsters swooped down toward the girl’s group.
“Not good! Let’s save them, Luna!”
“Aah!”
But before they could start running, the white cat beastman moved.
“Hmph…!”
The girl kicked the ground and leaped to an incredible height instantly.
Once she was close to the first condor, she swung her claws at it.
“──[Concert of Claw]!”
The girl shouted, and countless slashes tore through the black wings.
“Gieee-a-ah…!”
Luna gasped involuntarily as the condor turned into particles of light and vanished.
“Wha-! What was that strength…?”
“What the heck, that monster is weak, isn’t it?”
“How can that be? It’s a C-class monster! That girl is unbelievably strong!”
Usually, C-class monsters are dealt with by a few skilled soldiers. The girl slaughtered such a fearsome monster as if she were tearing up a piece of paper.
“The girl’s strength is out of the norm… even though beastmen are often born with superior physical strength.”
The girl, meanwhile, was slashing at the condors one after the other with her claws.
However, no matter how skilled the girl was in combat, she was at a disadvantage in fighting the horde while protecting children.
“U-ugh!”
While the girl was fighting a few of them, another condor glided along the ground, closing in on the children.
“Let’s go, Lexia!”
Luna ran down the hill of sand and released a string at the gliding condor.
“[Spiral]!”
This string was Luna’s weapon, who was feared as the ‘headhunter’ in the Dark Guild.
The released strings bundle up and spin like a drill, piercing the condor’s body. The strings that penetrated further unraveled at once and tore the condor apart.
“Giigyaaahhh!”
The children roll their eyes when they see the condor disappear with a desperate cry, and Luna suddenly rushes to their rescue.
“Eh? T-the monster is…?”
“Did that Onee-chan just kill it? That’s amazing!”
“B-but how? With magic?”
The young children were amazed, perhaps unable to catch Luna’s thread in their eyes.
Luna released her strings onto another one, and then she coiled it around its entire body.
“Eat it! [Bonds]!”
“Gyaagyaaaaaa!”
The more the condor flailed in rage, the more the tangled threads bit into it and finally twisted off its neck.
“T-that string is a weapon…! Amazing…!”
The white cat girl also notices Luna’s addition and her eyes widen. Luna shouted to the startled white cat girl.
“Hurry up and run! There are many enemies; they are still coming at you!”
“Uh! Y-yes! Everyone, get over here…!”
“Gigyaaaaahhhh!”
The girl nodded and started running with the children.
Luna released a new string to the descending condor at her back.
“I won’t let you! [Avoidance]!”
“Giigyaahh!”
The strings latch onto the condor’s legs like a creature’s tongue and slam it to the ground. The sand rises up in a flurry, and the attention of the flock is drawn to Luna.
“Hah, hah…! That’s incredible, Luna. You’re strong as always!”
Luna shouted to Lexia, who caught up with her, out of breath.
“I’ll keep their attention until they escape to safety! Lexia, stay hidden!”
“No! I’ll fight too!”
“What’s a self-defense dagger like that will do──Ah, geez! Then stay close to me! [Boisterous Dance]!”
Luna swung her arm sharply, and the strings danced in all directions, slicing through the attacking monsters.
Lexia, too, boldly slashed at the monster which was mortally wounded and fell to the ground with her dagger.
“Gigyaaaaaaaaah!”
Having been repelled by an opponent they thought was weak prey, the monsters rushed at them with angry cries.
──At that moment, a boy who was desperately running away fell down, his feet caught in the sand.
“Ah!”
“!”
The white cat girl tries to run back, but a large condor spreads its wings as if to block her.
“Gigieeeeeee!”
“…!”
While the girl is stranded, other condors rush toward the boy.
Luna gritted her teeth as she held up her hand in that direction.
“Kuh…!”
It is barely out of the string’s reach.
The boy cries out in terror.
“Save me, Tito-Oneechan!”
“…!”
A moment later.
The girl’s appearance changed drastically.
“Guuu… Grrrrrrr…!”
With a beastly roar, the girl’s white hair stood on end, and her claws sharpened with light. Her golden eyes were colored with a fierce fighting spirit, and a tremendous murderous intent rose from her small body.
Lexia gasped.
“W-what? That girl’s appearance is…”
“Vuvuvu… gaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The girl bared her fangs and roared, then kicked the ground toward the condor in front of her.
The next moment, a storm of slashes from her claws hit the monster.
Zubaaaaaaaaah!
“Gigyaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Wha…!”
Luna lost her voice at the sheer force of the attack. The first attack she saw was also a fearsome one, but even that could not compare to this; it was a slash that was so ferocious.
“Gauuu! Gaaaahhhh!”
The girl didn’t even take a glance at the fading monster but landed with a roll of sand and swung her right arm toward the condors, which were about to hang the boy in their talons.
Zashu, zan! Bashuunnn!
Five flashes of light shoot out from her claws, slicing through the condors with ease.
“A-a single attack on a herd? Isn’t she even stronger than before?”
“She was amazing earlier, but she’s a world apart from that time…! Who in the world is she…?”
“Gieeeeeeee!”
The condor that was about to attack Luna attacked the girl in a rage over the killing of their companions.
“Gyaaaahhhh!”
The girl instantly leaped higher than the condor and twisted in the air as she fell. Her sharp claws were covered with light as she spun around like a wheel, reaping the onrushing flock in one fell swoop.
“Giigyaa, gyaa…”
The remnants of the monsters melted away in the heat-infused wind, and silence fell over the oasis.
Lexia tugged excitedly on Luna’s sleeve.
“Amazing, that girl is ridiculously strong! I’m so glad you saved her!”
“Wait, something’s wrong.”
“Vuvu… Grrrrrr…”
Feeling a strange atmosphere, Luna stopped the excited Lexia.
The girl turned around, and her glowing golden eyes caught them both.
“Lexia, run!”
“Kyaaa!”
Just as Luna pushed Lexia away, the girl’s figure waved away. The girl was right in front of Luna’s eyes in the blink of an eye.
“Oh, fast…!”
“Gaaaahhh!”
“[Spider]!”
Luna held up her hand and released a webbed string toward the girl.
However, the strings, which should certainly have wrapped around the girl, were cut through the air.
“(She vanished!?)”
No, she jumped, leaving even her own shadow behind. The main body──
“Above!”
Faster than she could leap back, she was pushed down by the girl with a tremendous impact.
“Kuh…!”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrr…!”
The girl’s hands that held Luna down were strong, and even if Luna struggled, she would not budge. It was an incredible physical strength.
“(What is this strength…?)”
“Ggaa, aa, aahh…!”
The girl has clearly lost her reason.
However, Luna could slightly sense a different emotion twinkling in the depths of her eyes than the fighting spirit.
“(T-that’s a fear…? No, is it fright…?)”
“Gaaaahhhh!”
The girl’s eyes flared with madness.
Her claws, which she raised, glinted in the scorching sunlight.
“Luna!”
Lexia’s scream echoes.
Luna gritted her teeth and twisted around.
“Kuh, I guess I will just have to fight…! [Spiral]──!”
Just as Luna was about to release a string at the girl’s claws.
“Stop it! What are you doing to my Luna──!”
Lexia’s imposing scream echoed across the desert sky.
──At that moment, the light of reason flashed in the girl’s eyes.
“Ah…──I-I-I…?”
The girl blinked, her eyes wide open. The madness that had just been in her eyes was gone from her expression.
Luna groaned in her chest as she raised herself up.
“(W-what the hell was that…?)”
From Luna’s eyes, the moment Lexia screamed, it seemed as if a transparent wave was emitted from her body.
And that’s not all. The moment she touched the rippling aura, she felt as if she were enveloped in a gentle warmth.
She looked at the girl, who was stunned as if possessed by something that had fallen away.
“(She was like a mad warrior just a moment ago, but her reason has returned to her… what does this have to do with the wave motion that Lexia released? But what the heck was that wave… she was able to do that…?).”
As Luna was pondering, Lexia walked up to the girl. She put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks.
“Hey! You shouldn’t attack people; it’s dangerous!”
“!? Ah, y-yes…! I-I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”
The girl came to her senses and bowed repeatedly with the speed of light.
“I-I am really, really sorry…! U-um, are you hurt? Is there anywhere that hurts…!”
“Ah, I’m fine. I train a little.”
When Luna raised herself up, the girl looked sincerely worried and frantically checked to see if Luna was hurt. Her white cat ears were down, and her fluffy tail was wagging. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears as she apologized repeatedly as if her earlier devilish fighting performance was a lie.
Lexia tilted her head.
“You seem to be a different person than you were before. Why did you attack Luna?”
“U-um…”
“Tito-Oneechan.”
As the girl lowered her eyebrows and dropped her gaze, the three beastmen children rushed over to her.
The girl called Tito hurriedly confirmed that the children were safe.
“Everyone, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“Yes!”
Lexia smiled at the sight of them.
“You’re called Tito, aren’t you?”
“Y-yes. I am so sorry for the trouble I caused you earlier… and thank you for protecting these children…!”
“Thank you, Onee-chans!”
“You’re so strong! That was so cool!”
“Fufufu, is that right?”
“Except you were just swinging your sword around.”
“What? I’m sure I helped you a little bit, you know!”
Seeing Lexia and Luna talking to each other, the white cat beastman──Tito’s eyes relaxed a little, seemingly relieved.
“We live in a town up ahead… and we’ve just come to the oasis to get water and food.”
“Are you people living in a dangerous place like this all by yourselves? Are there any other adults?”
“T-that’s──”
“I’m sorry, my disciple has caused you trouble.”
Tito was about to answer when a black shadow landed soundlessly next to them.
“…..!”
Luna was startled and prepared herself.
“(I didn’t feel any presence…!?)”
A cold sweat runs down her cheeks. It would have been impossible under normal circumstances for Luna, who boasts of being one of the best in the Dark Guild, of having been so oblivious to the presence.
Luna was wary, but when she looked up at the person who suddenly appeared──a dark-haired woman──Tito raised her voice.
“M-Master!”
“(! Tito’s master…? From her appearance, she is a black panther beastman?”
Luna observed the woman carefully.
She had long shiny dark blue hair and dark purple eyes. Her head was covered with panther-like ears, and a long black tail extended from her mobility-oriented shorts. Her body, wrapped in light clothing, was beautifully toned, and from her right shoulder onward was a black steel artificial hand.
The woman bowed to Lexia and Luna with a sincere expression.
“Sorry for the late arrival; I felt the presence of Tito running out of control and immediately dashed out… Anyway, I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
Apparently, Tito had been in an out-of-control state earlier.
The woman let out a relieved breath when she saw that they were safe, then turned her gaze to Lexia and narrowed her eyes.
“It appears that it was you who stopped Tito’s rampage, young lady.”
“Eh, me?”
Luna asked cautiously beside Lexia, who blinked in surprise.
“Who exactly are you…?”
“It’s going to be a long story. It’s not safe here, so I’ll explain after we move on. If you want, you can come──”
The woman was about to say something.
A huge mouth appeared from the sand with an earth-shattering sound.
“Wha…”
“Gogaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The Big Eater. With vicious fangs that can even bite the scales of a dragon, it is an A-class monster that is known as one of the most powerful attacks among the monsters that inhabit the Red Moon Desert. In addition, they are cunning, lurking in the sand to ambush their prey.
In the harsh environment where monsters roam, it was the most fearsome threat in the desert, at the top of the food chain.
“Gogaaaahhhh!”
A huge mouth lined with fangs was about to engulf Lexia and the others.
“It’s dangerous. Get out of here!”
Before Luna could shout, the black panther beastman moved.
“[Spirit Slash Claw].”
She turned around and flashed her steel artificial hand in a side-swipe motion.
Then, countless blades of vacuum rushed toward the monster as sand rolled up. As if the blades were sucked into the giant’s mouth, they exploded inside the creature. The huge body was obliterated by the tremendous impact, along with the surrounding sand, and turned into a gigantic crater.
“A…A-class monster instantly…”
Luna watched in disbelief as the mighty monster vanished without even a scream of despair.
Lexia asked the woman, who brushed the sand off her artificial hand as if nothing had happened.
“Who exactly are you…?”
“Sorry for the delay in introducing myself.”
The black panther beastman turned to Lexia and the others and smiled.
“I am Gloria. The Claw Saint and that girl’s──Tito’s master.”
“”The Claw Saint?””
Lexia and Luna shouted in confused voices.
“The “Holy” is an existence created by the planet to counteract the “Evil” that is the crystallization of the negative aspects of this world. Those who have mastered their specialty are given the title by the planet to serve as a counterbalance to Evil. It is an almost fairy-tale existence that boasts unparalleled strength in this world.
“Amazing… that’s the power of the Holy…!”
Recalling the skill that slaughtered an A-class monster with a single blow, Lexia muttered.
Next to her, Luna looked at Tito with astonished eyes.
“So Tito is a disciple of the Claw Saint? No wonder she’s so strong…”
As a person with power, the ‘Holy’ has the duty to nurture a successor. The small, still, young white cat girl in front of her will eventually become one of the most powerful.
Gloria, the “Claw Saint” who has mastered the art of claws, placed her steel artificial hand on Tito’s head.
“I’m sorry, once again, for all the trouble Tito has caused you.”
“I’m really sorry…!”
“It’s okay. I was surprised, but we were both safe. Besides, I’m lucky to have met Claw Saint-sama and her disciple.
“I’m glad to hear you say so.”
Gloria laughed at Lexia, whose eyes lit up.
“I was surprised, though, that you were able to calm Tito down when she was out of control. Tito has a hard time stopping once she gets out of control, even I have a hard time with her…”
Luna looked back at Lexia with disbelief in her half-open eyes.
“…How in the world did you manage to stop her from going out of control when even the Claw Saint had trouble with her?”
“? I don’t know, but I’m sure my thoughts went through her!”
Gloria cleared her throat and laughed at Lexia, who puffed out her chest, and Luna, who looked dumbfounded.
“If you’d like, we can continue at our hideout. As an apology, we could at least offer you a cup of tea.”
“I’m so glad; I was thirsty! I’ll take your word for it. How about it, Luna?”
“Ah, sure.”
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