Chapter 67

“You’re supposed to stay with Hayden.”

Enria felt a sting of disappointment at Caldeon’s displeasure over her accompanying him to the Monster Forest.

Of course, she knew he valued her safety as much as Hayden’s, and that he wanted her somewhere secure.

But she wanted to fight at his side—whether she was helpful or not.

She simply wanted to be with him.

“That won’t do. Just as Hayden and I matter to you, your safety matters to me.”

“It’s not like there’ll be a problem with my safety just because you’re with Hayden.”

“But if I let you go alone, I’ll worry so much I won’t be able to do anything. I’d rather be with you, see things for myself, and know you’re safe.”

At her words, Caldeon could only sigh softly.

How could he not find his lover adorable when she said she couldn’t do anything out of worry for him?

Still—Enria and Hayden were the two people he wanted least exposed to danger.

And Enria knew that better than anyone. She smiled brightly at him despite his still-displeased expression.

“You’ve seen it before, right? My summons are pretty useful.”

“Don’t lift a finger. Just stay put. Your job is to stay safe by my side.”

Well.

She had said it to ease his worry, but instead she was getting a warning not to fight the dark mage.

Her lips stuck out in a small pout, but she knew exactly why he insisted—because he cared for her.

So she said nothing and took the hand he naturally offered.

Walking into the Monster Forest hand-in-hand felt less like heading into battle with a dark mage and more like a leisurely stroll between lovers.

Just holding his hand was enough to make her heart jump wildly; the tension of the situation was swallowed by a different tension altogether.

Lost in those thoughts, she heard Caldeon suddenly laugh under his breath.

She looked up, puzzled, and he gazed down at her with warmth.

“We’re supposed to be hunting a dark mage, but it feels like I’m taking a walk with you.”

“Oh…”

Realizing he had the same thought as her, Enria’s cheeks flushed bright red.

But saying she felt the same seemed embarrassingly forward, so she only smiled awkwardly.

Caldeon bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“You should be more tense than this. But when I’m with you, I get light-hearted and let my guard down.”

Let his guard down—as in what kind of “guard”? She wanted to ask, but instead hid her burning face after the sudden kiss.

Caldeon stopped walking, turned her toward him, and leaned down—clearly about to kiss her.

Enria hastily used her summoning magic, calling forth two frog monsters.

Her heart was already pounding from the forehead kiss, and if they went straight into a real kiss, she’d end up thinking only about him instead of finding the dark mage.

Two frog monsters, each with white wings on their backs, fluttered into the air and perched on Caldeon’s shoulders, croaking loudly.

Caldeon stared at the sudden summons in disbelief.

“I—I just summoned them to keep us safe… since letting our guard down is dangerous…”

“…”

“Better safe than sorry! Anyway—let’s go. We have a dark mage to find.”

Enria grabbed his arm and tugged.

Caldeon blinked rapidly as he allowed himself to be pulled forward, frog cries ringing in his ears.

***

Finding Pahomel in the Monster Forest was easy.

He had returned to the same spot Caldeon destroyed earlier, trying to recreate the path using dark magic.

The moment he saw Caldeon and Enria, Pahomel vanished into dark mist.

But Caldeon, whose black power was unaffected by dark magic, stepped straight into the mist and dragged him out at once.

Thrown to the ground by Caldeon’s shadow grabbing his neck, Pahomel panicked.

Knowing he couldn’t win a direct fight, he focused entirely on fleeing.

He hid, Caldeon dragged him out.

He hid again, Caldeon dragged him out again.

Meanwhile, Enria fought the monsters Pahomel had gathered with his dark magic.

Aside from the two frogs, she summoned a monster with a huge head and tiny body, and an owl-like one.

Her summons stood their ground against the controlled monsters, protecting Caldeon and Enria while she set up barriers around them.

Caldeon was fighting both Pahomel and the monsters with his black power, so Enria’s side saw less combat.

Still—

‘I need to get stronger’

The thought pricked her as she wished she could be more helpful.

At that moment—

“Enria! Behind you!”

She barely turned when Caldeon grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

A strike hit his back, and he coughed up blood instantly.

“Caldeon!”

Enria threw up a barrier around him on instinct.

The attacker—more accurately, the one Pahomel had summoned to attack her—was a massive beast deep within the forest, spitting huge boulders.

A single boulder shattered her barrier instantly and surged toward them.

Caldeon shielded Enria with his back and swung his sword at the monster.

The giant beast nimbly dodged and spat another boulder.

The earlier hit had sent blood spurting from Caldeon’s mouth; he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and glared at the huge creature.

“Enria, can you summon more?”

“Two more at most!”

“Do it. Place them on either side of you. That thing’s boulders are stronger than they look—summon ones that can block them.”

She nodded, pricked her thumb, and summoned.

She chose golems—simple, heavy, sturdy. Caldeon’s expression twitched.

Probably because the golems looked too similar to the giant beast.

“These guys have white wings on their backs!”

Caldeon blinked, then a faint smile tugged at his lips.

That warm, handsome smile made her heart flutter—until she remembered the blood still staining his mouth.

“Are you really all right?”

A look that meant ‘Don’t worry’ answered her.

“I just took it head-on before I could brace myself. It only drew blood—nothing more.”

As if coughing up blood was the same as accidentally spitting while talking.

Enria knew he said it just to reassure her.

She moved the golems forward to shield him.

The giant monster was twice their size; with similar appearances, it looked almost like a mother golem bullying smaller ones.

Enria hoped the resemblance would stop it from attacking—but the opposite happened.

It hurled massive boulders relentlessly, breaking pieces off her golems as they blocked the attacks.

While they held the line, Caldeon relentlessly pursued Pahomel, dragging him out each time he tried to escape.

Frustrated, Pahomel finally bound Caldeon’s limbs using his dark magic and commanded the giant beast toward Enria.

Seeing how protectively Caldeon moved toward her, Pahomel’s eyes gleamed.

He slipped free from the loosened black shadows and hurled multiple black blades at Enria.

“Enria!”

A storm of dark blades flew toward her.

Caldeon threw himself at her with everything he had.