Feeling Minerva's breath as she chased after him, Moore continued to run, feeling as if his heart had been plunged into the mud.

　It was about five years ago that Moore, who had risen to prominence at a young age and was highly respected by his fellow mercenaries, had served in the Royal Army.
　Although shunned by the well-bred soldiers, he silenced those around him with his ability and rose to the rank of battalion commander.
　It can be said that this is a great achievement for a mercenary from a commoner's background.

　It is said that he is one of the ten most skilled swordsmen in the army, and he has silenced even those who dislike Moore with his achievements.
　Such as he is--.

(Are you saying he's frightened?)

　He was baffled by the unfathomable emotions that shook him to his own core.

　So far, Moore had only ever fallen behind in a one-on-one match.
　Even if the opponent was a dispenser, if it was just one piece, he was confident that he could defeat it with room to spare.

　But the demon just now is different from any other demon Moore has ever encountered.

(I can only follow them with my eyes, or something like that, it's a dent in the system.

　It is a very good idea to have a good idea of what to expect when you are in your own home.
　I had to cover them, my body was about to move, but even if I had stepped in at that moment, it was honestly doubtful that I could have gotten between Rona and the demon.

　I almost bit my lip in frustration.
　Still, I had no choice but to admit it. That that golden-skinned Aldis' partner was a strong man of far greater rank than him.

(And yet, where the hell am I?)

　Switching out of his negative thoughts, Moor takes stock of the situation.

　At least he doesn't have the existence of demons like the ones he just saw in his memory.
　Of course, Moore doesn't have knowledge of all the demons, but if such a powerful demon existed, he felt that it was good to have at least one piece of gossip.

　Not only about that demon, but also about the first six-legged beast he encountered.
　Although there are many things we still don't know because we only fought for a short time, Moore sees that its reaction speed and hardness are even better than the disperser that is nicknamed 'Despair of the Grasslands'.

(Outside of the Kingdom of Nagras, or ......?)

　An unfamiliar beast and demon.
　Their presence suggests that this could be a place far away from the Kingdom of Naglas.

　However, on the other hand, Moore's senses complained that he hadn't been out of it for that long.
　It would take a reasonable amount of time to get a human being out of the Duke's mansion in King's Landing and out of the country.

(Well, think about it later. For now, we'll find a safe place--)

"...... f*ck you!

How can I help you?

　Minerva asks Moore, who suddenly swears.

　That question would soon be answered when Moore's gaze turned to the being standing at the end of the line.
　In its place is a six-legged beast dressed in dark blue fur.
　It was a familiar figure.

''Ah, the one from ...... earlier!

Again. ......

　The one that appeared in front of Moore and the others was a beast reminiscent of the large cat that Rona had kicked around earlier.

　But Rona is not here now.
　It's not just the golden beast, but Moore and the others had to get through this place by themselves.

'But if they're one unit, you can go to ......

　Moore understands that the six-legged beast is an uncommon opponent in the previous battle.
　However, this time there is only one opponent.
　It's not an easy opponent, but Moore draws his sword, thinking that one on one would be enough to fight it.

You are going to have to stay here, young lady. It would be helpful if you could watch for other people coming from the surrounding area.

Yes, have a good day.

　After leaving Minerva in her place, Moore began to close the distance towards the lone beast.
　Naturally, the other party had noticed us as well.
　They lowered their stance and seemed ready to pounce now.

"Well. I fell behind earlier, but I'll avenge my reputation here.

Shigyaaah!

　Perhaps taking Moore's words as a signal, the six-legged beast instantly closed the distance between them.

'I grabbed your speed just now!

　The beast's agility, which might have been impossible to react to on the first sight, is not difficult for Moore to deal with on the second.
　Predicting where it would move, he greeted it with a blow with all his strength.

''There it is!

　The power put into it became a blade that split the air and attacked the beast.

　But the beast would not be killed easily either.
　Just before Moore's sword cleaved away the body, the beast's legs kicked at nothing in the air.
　The beast, which got an unnatural recoil, jumped sideways as it floated, and Moore's sword strike cut through the sky.

''I suppose!''

　Anticipating this, Moore quickly unleashes a follow-up move.
　The first thing you need to do is to bring your body closer to the sword you swung out, instead of pulling it back, and with that momentum, you'll be thinner and closer to the beast.

''One more!

　As expected, he couldn't draw a mysterious trajectory twice in a row, or perhaps he couldn't duck this time, but instead was sucked into the side of the beast.

''Fugiaaaa!

"d*mn, it's hard!

　Moore swears at the predictably hard feel of the blade in his hand.

　The dark blue fur, which is even harder than it looks, doesn't hold up to the heavy iron blade.
　It's as if it felt like cutting through a chain or brimstone, proof that Moore's blow is not having much of an effect on the beast.

　Moore's face was about to dodge the agonizingly swinging foreleg and move on to the next action, when the beast's middle paw struck next.

　A combination of forelimbs and mid-limbs.
　This is a way of fighting that can only be done by a six-legged beast.

　It is probably because Moore is an ex-mercenary with a lot of experience in real battles that he was able to barely duck that partnership the first time he encountered it.
　However, as expected of Moore, he was not able to completely evade it either.
　The claws of the middle limb scratched Moore's cheek as if they were grazing him.

　Of course it was a graze.
　A slight one, to the extent that it cannot be called a wound for those who are in battle.
　That was the one move that bound Moore's body.

'Ka, the body ......!

　Instantly, Moore's movements slow down.

(A quick-acting paralyzing poison!)

　His own body suddenly stopped listening to him, and years of experience had led him to conclude that.
　It wasn't just the sharpness of slicing through flesh that the slightly reached claws had.

(My feet are ......!)

　The sensation in his feet as he tried to hold on is dulled.

'Battalion Commander!

　Minerva called out as she noticed that Moore was acting strangely.

'Not yet!'

　Raising his voice, Moore braced himself.

　Apparently, the paralyzing poison wasn't that strong.
　Although his senses were dulled, it wasn't to the point where he couldn't move.
　But that also means that he could no longer move as agilely as before.

''What's wrong with your six legs!　You're not getting a call!

　In order for Moore to slaughter the beast now, he has no choice but to somehow lure his opponent into the range of his attack.
　In order to prevent its fangs from being pointed at Minerva, Moore dares to make an exaggerated threat so that it won't be able to point its fangs at Minerva in the unlikely event that it does.

　But the six-legged beast, as if it could see through Moore's intentions, did not try to approach from a distance.

　The distance between them was roughly five meters.
　The usual Moore would be able to slash at it with a single breath, but what a disgusting thing for a beast that doesn't try to step forward from there and look at the situation.

　A time of silence that was never long.
　It was the beast that ended it.
　The next moment when the six-legged beast opened its mouth halfway, a flickering flame was created within it.

''What?!''

　A glimpse of that red color, which seemed to be an optical illusion, spilled out of the beast's mouth.

(Don't tell me you're going to spit fire, ......!)

　The beast's cheeks puffed up as he watched.
　Inhaling heavily, the beast slumped down.
　It's obviously a preliminary motion for an attack.

(In such and such a state ......!)

　A cold sweat runs down Moore's spine.
　That much blatant preliminary movement.
　An attack that Moore would normally be able to avoid, was a threat to him now that his body was slowed down by the paralyzing poison.

　The beast held its breath.
　Its eyes shoot out at Moore, who is barely standing on his sensory-dulled feet.
　A moment of what feels like a long moment passes and the beast's mouth opens wide.

(Not good!)

　Just as the red shimmer gained momentum and was about to be released to the Moor, a large object jumped into view along with the wind that stirred up the surroundings.

''What!?''

　No one answered Moore's question, of course.
　Instead, what echoed around them was a heavy crashing sound and the screams of the beast.

''Fugiaaaa!''

　The beast that was about to release its flames into the moor was crushed by an object that flew in from somewhere.
　If you look at it, the object itself that was crushing the beast was also a six-legged beast with the same shape.

　However, its body was slashed into pieces without a trace, and two of its six legs were already absent.
　The beast that had collided with it's ragged body had already died out.
　The beast whose form was crushed by it no longer seems to be in a state where it can move properly.
　It's only a matter of time before it's all over.

(Saved by ......?)

　A six-legged beast flies back to Moore's surroundings, which seemed to have escaped the crisis.
　Or perhaps I should say, the object that was once a beast.
　Some are headless, some have their bellies slashed open, some have their bodies charred, and a large number of wrecks land on Moore's surroundings like projectiles.

''Where the hell did they come from!

Battalion chief, over there!

　Before I knew it, Minerva, who had been running up to me, pointed in one direction of the grassy field.

　In the distance, faintly visible in the distance were a number of small shadows flitting about.
　If it weren't for the distant view, it might have seemed like a flock of winged insects.

'They seem to be approaching this way,'

　The small shadows were moving as a group, occasionally being blown to the people.
　The size of the shadows was gradually increasing.
　That means that a swarm of shadows is approaching us.

''Someone is fighting that beast?''

　Eventually, when the shadow grew to the size of a thumbnail, it became clear that it was a lone human fighting a multitude of six-legged beasts.

　The movement was not the way the human race as Moore knew it fought.
　They were moving in all directions, right to left, up and down, with an unnatural behavior, as if there were scaffolding all over the air.
　It could be described as flying in the sky.

'Who the hell are they?'

　In the meantime, the six-legged beast was decreasing in number.

　The person's strength is no longer comparable to that of Moore, who was on the verge of death from a single opponent.
　As the figure flew from side to side, one by one the six-legged beasts fell to the ground or were blown away.

　The two of them were so transfixed by this unusual scene that they didn't notice the figure approaching from behind.

'Here we are! It's looking pretty noisy, what's going on?

"Yikes!

Ugh, wow!

　Moore and the others jumped up on their shoulders when they were suddenly called out, and when they turned around, they saw Rona, who had just taken on the demon in one piece, there.

''Ro, Rona?　You're okay.

'When did you get to ....... Don't scare me. I thought my lifespan would be shortened.

'You're not supposed to be sitting here in a daze. ...... hmm?　Yeah, I don't know who you are, but you're fighting a bunch of neduros.

　Returning a light word to Moore and the others, Rona quickly assesses the situation around her.
　When she notices a six-legged beast and a lone human fighting, she says without a second thought.

''Neduro, you mean that six-legged beast?''

'Yeah. It's not very strong, but it's a troublesome one that springs up everywhere you go and you find yourself increasing.

Not very strong: ......

　Moore was depressed by Rona's words.
　He couldn't say that he was on the verge of losing his life against this not-so-strong beast.

''Hmmm, it's getting closer.

　Rona was right, the man-like figure was approaching, knocking off one beast after another as if to get rid of the clinging insects.

'Do you think we should run away?'

I'm sure they'll be fine. They are not very smart, so when they are on top of their game, they always go into it unnecessarily. Well, it's better to walk away just in case.....

　Rona's gaze, which had been answering Minerva's question, was unexpectedly glued to a point.

''What's wrong, Rona?''

Maybe that's ......

　Following Rona's gaze, Moore and the others also turned their attention to the person they were fighting.
　The distance between them has already been reduced to the point where they can distinguish the faces of their opponents.

　Moore's eyes reflected a black-haired man wearing tattered equipment.
　He would be around thirty years old at the time of his age.
　His well-balanced muscles, honed for fighting, are almost as close to Moore's idea of an ideal shape as you can get.

　He had blown away the six-legged beasts that were not his opponents as if they were insignificant, mass producing one wreck after another.
　The way he fought, which seemed wild yet somehow impatient, made Moore read a strange and tragic emotion into the way he fought.

(What, that guy's face ......, somewhere?)

　His face gives Moore a strange sense of déjà vu.
　He tries to dig something out of the depths of his memory, but he is unable to do so.
　Filled with frustration, Moore sinks into a sea of thoughts, but the name of the person Rona had mentioned to him fell on deaf ears.

'Al?　...... How did you end up here?