Chapter 47

Chavel’s face began draining of color at the sight unfolding before her eyes.

It wasn’t just that Hayden had casually stuck his hand into Windel’s enormous mouth—it was that Windel didn’t spit it out and was simply holding it there.

To Chavel, it was nothing but a bewildering and grotesque scene.

Windel might be a spirit, but anyone could see he resembled a massive wild tiger.

The fear radiating from that appearance didn’t disappear easily—especially not when looking at those razor-sharp fangs.

Enria had asked her to watch over Hayden, but approaching the child whose arm was currently inside a tiger’s mouth was something she couldn’t bring herself to do.

But then—

“Kyaa!”

When Windel, trying to adjust Hayden’s hand that had gone in too deep, shifted his head and bit down along Hayden’s arm, Chavel screamed and collapsed where she stood.

Graum, who had been drinking tea, sprayed it out in shock at the noise.

Windel and Hayden simultaneously turned toward Chavel.

“Lady Enria! The tiger is eating Lord Hayden!”

Unable to lower her hands from her face, Chavel shouted blindly.

Windel’s expression twisted instantly, and Graum blinked, baffled—then erupted into laughter, quickly covering his mouth with his fist.

It seemed the laugh slipped out before he could stop it.

[Who is eating whom, exactly.]

Windel asked with clear irritation.

His booming voice filled the sitting room, and Chavel’s shoulders jerked in fright.

Frozen for a moment, she slowly lowered her hands and looked at Windel and Hayden.

Hayden had already pulled his hand out of Windel’s mouth and was struggling off the sofa.

Windel supported the boy’s bottom with his long tail.

“Ubbah, ubbah.”

Tottering on his short legs, Hayden hurried toward Chavel, holding out his arm as if to show her he was unharmed.

Chavel wiped the tears that had burst out from shock, then took out a handkerchief and wiped Windel’s saliva from Hayden’s arm.

“You can’t just stick your hand in there, Lord Hayden. Even if that tiger is a spirit, it looks like a terrifying wild beast right now. Tigers are one of the most ferocious and dangerous—”

“Who are you calling a beast, human.”

At some point Windel had transformed—now appearing as a beautiful boy with white hair.

Chavel’s eyes widened to their limits.

She saw the famously handsome Caldeon several times a day, and Rahar and Tearen often as well. She rarely reacted to looks alone.

But Windel, transformed from a white tiger into a human, was… something else—an otherworldly beauty, touched by the divine.

Perhaps it was the dazzling white hair and pale gray eyes.

Holding Hayden in her arms, Chavel glanced nervously at Windel’s displeased expression and faltered.

“So… not the spirit, but the tiger…”

Windel’s eyebrows twitched again in irritation, and Graum—barely suppressing laughter—cleared his throat and tried to compose himself.

***

Starting from the first floor with Dreyei, Enria frowned slightly at the unsettling black smoke drifting in patches along the corridors.

Following the smoke up the stairs, she reached the floor of her and Caldeon’s bedroom.

Her eyes widened.

The entire floor was blanketed in black smoke.

Sensing something wrong, Enria looked to Dreyei.

“Can you get rid of it?”

“Kkirrit. Kkit.”

Dreyei chirped confidently.

A long tongue shot out from beneath his eyes.

He began licking the thick black smoke coating the floor.

Even though Dreyei was partially purified by holy power, he still resembled a monster—and that long, snake-like tongue was unsettling to watch.

But—

“No good.”

No matter how much he licked, the black smoke didn’t disappear.

The smoke he touched was pulled into his mouth, but the floor refilled immediately, spreading to cover the renewed gap.

Enria realized Dreyei wouldn’t work and quickly called out:

“Silri.”

A cool breeze brushed past her face, and Silri appeared instantly.

She seemed to have been shopping somewhere—she was holding a flashy necklace to her neck.

“What.”

Silri frowned immediately, then her eyes widened at the sight of the black smoke and Dreyei licking it.

“Your eyeball’s got wings.”

She tossed the necklace aside and grabbed the small white wings on the back of Dreyei’s head.

“Kkirrit! Kkit! Kkirrit!”

Dreyei twisted wildly, demanding she let go.

Silri only grinned.

“Still a monster at heart, huh.”

After releasing him, she looked at Enria.

“So? What’s all this smoke?”

“It’s black magic, right?”

Enria asked in return.

“Yeah.”

“Can you get rid of it with wind?”

Silri paused, thinking, then looked at her.

“You can summon a Hiporun, right?”

“A Hiporun? What’s that?”

“That huge-mouthed monster in the Abyssal Marsh.”

“…Ah! The hippo-looking one! I saw it in the bestiary.”

Silri nodded toward her.

“Summon it. That eye-monster’s tongue won’t cut it.”

Enria nodded.

“Dreyei, thank you. Good work.”

After dismissing him, she pricked her thumb and drew a summoning circle in the air.

She had once been limited in what she could summon, but now she could summon nearly any monster from the monster forest.

As long as she could picture it clearly, she could summon it.

A bright flash erupted from the blood-red circle, and a massive creature with a mouth twice the size of its torso burst forth.

Success.

Hiporun resembled a hippo but walked on two legs—strange and imposing.

Like Dreyei, it bore small white wings marking it as Enria’s summon.

“Hiporun, can you remove it?”

Hiporun opened its enormous mouth, then quickly inhaled the black smoke.

As the smoke streamed into it, Hiporun’s brown body began turning black.

“Strong stuff,” Silri muttered, frowning.

Enria looked worried.

“Will swallowing that kill him?”

If clearing the floor meant losing the summon, she needed to stop him immediately.

“You’re a Saint. What are you worried about?”

“…Huh?”

“Purify him with holy power. He’s a summoned creature made from your power and ability. He won’t be harmed by the purification.”

A real monster would be in danger, but a summon would not.

Relieved, Enria placed her hand under Hiporun’s wings.

Where she touched, the black color faded—but as Hiporun continued inhaling smoke, his body kept turning black again, the purification and corruption battling back and forth.

“Wait.”

Silri suddenly raised a hand.

She was staring at something fixedly, her expression darkening.

Then, urgently—

“Enria, stop breathing!”

***

At that same moment, Pahomel—his body hidden with black magic—was planting poison throughout the Grand Duke’s castle.

His black-magic poison was lethal just by being nearby; once placed, anyone would inhale it through the air.

Even a Saint would have no means of resisting a poison with no antidote.

By now, she must be using holy power to get rid of the smoke.

Covering the castle with black magic and smoke was all for one purpose: to ensure Enria inhaled the poison as quickly as possible.

She would definitely try to clear the black smoke—and while doing so, she would naturally breathe in the poison.

Pahomel climbed to the final top floor, a triumphant smile forming on his lips.