"This is why I despised humans. They couldn't even see a mere entity in front of them," the pretty boy interrupted, folding his arms and stepping between us.

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Hah, now you're talking to me? I thought your mouth was broken," he remarked sarcastically.

It was clearly a harsh comment, and the way he looked down at Elijah showed how much he underestimated him. But Elijah simply stared back, unaffected. The pretty boy clicked his tongue in frustration, realizing his taunts had little effect on the knight.

"So, you could see them?" I asked uninterestingly before these two began fighting again.

"Of course, I was a keeper, ma."

I pulled the spirit closer to me when he reached out to touch her. The pretty boy quickly withdrew his hand when I didn't allow it. "Keeper, not summoner?"

His face twitched. "Hah, don't group me with those lowly summoners."

This made me furrow my brows too. He seemed to have some attitude issues. "Then what are you?"

[Human, a keeper, was more powerful compared to summoners.]

[If summoners could have a contract with one spirit, a keeper could command a hundred of them.]

"Heh, this spirit has brains. You nailed it," he said with a smirk.

Who cares if he's powerful or whatever he calls himself... I don't like him. I've noticed he's been acting like I'm his possession for a while now. 'Do not touch him?' Me? We barely know each other. Moreover, he speaks like everyone is below him. What an egocentric child!

Instead of wasting my energy on him, "Miss Spirit, are you feeling okay now?" I asked while carefully inspecting if she was alright. She responded by grasping my ring finger and shaking her head downheartedly.

"Young master, if I'm not mistaken, this person meant that we are accompanied by an elemental spirit?" Elijah asked, bending his knees to meet my gaze.

"If that was the case, young master, I apologize; I'm just a mere swordsman. If my inability to see them made you this angry, please forgive me. Although... If this spirit brought you to this dangerous place with an ulterior motive, forgive my insolence in advance, but I will drag you back to the estate by any means," he said solemnly. The seriousness evident in his grayish eyes informed me that he meant what he said.

"Tsk, you don't even know why Ma is here, don't you?"

Elijah didn't spare him a glance; instead, he was staring at me intensely, as if waiting for my explanation.

How can I even begin to explain this? That I followed a spirit I saw for the first time because she said my friend was with her and looking for me. Without any remorse or doubts, are they telling the truth? Or, if we say, Elijah, believe me, how can I explain Nobelle's and my situation? I don't entirely trust him to divulge what happened to us.

"Hah, a poor mortal with low quality. Why even born with a sense of sight if you can't even see?" another taunt of a pretty boy to him, and added,

"ZhuRong."

A lizard-like creature crawled out of the pretty boy's sleeve and settled on his delicate hand when he uttered a name. Its head and limbs were ablaze, yet it didn't scorch his master's clothes or skin. Suddenly, the salamander nipped the pretty boy's index finger before spitting in Elijah's eyes. The scarlet liquid slowly absorbed into his skin and vanished in an instant. Having completed its task, the salamander promptly retreated beneath its master's sleeve.

The poor knight and I were both clueless about what was happening.

"What's this?" Elijah rubbed his eyes repeatedly, his face filled with confusion. It was like watching a colorblind baby marvel at a colorful world for the first time.

"What's that thing floating in the air?" His voice tone remained unchanged, but his interest seemed to increase as he pointed at us.

That surprised me. "You can see her?!"

"Yes, young master."

"That's a water nymph, an intermediate spirit. You're f*cking welcome," the pretty boy chimed in.

His method—could his blood be the reason Elijah can see spirits? This was not written before. Who is he exactly?

"Hey, Naiad's child, when did you stop sensing the connection between you and your contractor?"

Ms. Spirit abruptly let go of my hand and willingly flew towards the pretty boy, only to stare at him. However, the atmosphere between them became serious.

"Not long ago? Heh, and it's not even a full contract, but just on your part. Are you insane?" The pretty boy's words made Ms. Spirit's nostrils flare. They were conversing without causing the spirit to write in the air. Is this also a part of his ability?

"Now look at you. This was what happened when you bothered to save a human child who couldn't even see you..."

"...Don't cry to me, fool. Tsk, I could still see the link between you. The child wasn't dead yet, just barely alive."

"What exactly did you mean?" I cut them off as they mentioned Nobelle. If he could locate her, then...

"I meant what I just said. So, you were looking for this spirit's contractual human. Their thread of contract was so thin that it was almost unseeable, which is why this child of Naiad couldn't feel her human. This only meant that one of them was about to die, and you knew who it was."

"Nobelle..."

My heart throbs so suddenly. This worry and fear of losing someone seemed like a hand squeezing my heart, making it hard to breathe.

My mind knows it will take time to find her. That will be difficult, but the prospect of her death never occurred to me. The small hope that she was okay and that I was about to meet her... left. It hurts...

"Young master..."

Elijah was now crouching on the ground with his back facing me, his hand inviting me to hop on. "Young Master, we can still save them," he said with concern, clearly understanding my distress. Then he added, "Khyne, you can locate them, right?"

"Hah, who do you think I am?" the pretty boy, Khyne, exclaimed confidently as he swiftly scooped me up in his arms and dashed into the forest. "And who said I'd let you touch Ma? Stay there and don't follow us."

Yet, in an instant, Elijah managed to catch up. "If there's any wound, even a scratch, on my young master, I might kill you."

"Don't worry; you will die first before me."

They didn't even allow me a moment to think, and I was taken against my will. But I couldn't complain; this pretty boy was so certain of finding Nobelle. They moved so swiftly, and the pace was so brisk that I could feel the cold air rushing past us.

My glance wandered to the sky; the sun was already up, but the farther we ventured into the forest, the less light filtered through the gaps between the leaves of the trees.

"Kekereekek"

An obnoxious sound pierced my ear; it was raspy, as if the source had a sore throat, and deep, as if it originated from underground. It drew nearer and nearer, clearly pursuing us. A chill ran down my spine. My instincts warned me that danger was closing in.

"Ma, it's best if you close your eyes," Khyne stated, his smirk carrying a hint of threat, while Elijah simply nodded and drew his weapon.

They were both running swiftly, yet they showed no signs of exhaustion or sweat. And despite the speed, this pretty boy carried me as if I were as light as a feather. I couldn't figure out how he was still breathing normally.

This reassured me that they were capable of protecting themselves, ensuring that nothing harmful could befall them.

Even though I might have seemed like nothing more than baggage, I refused to close my eyes and instead watched everything unfold.

A horde of small green creatures with pointed ears, wielding various types of bone weapons, and clad in filthy, tattered animal clothes were hot on our heels. They were incredibly noisy, as if they were ecstatic at the prospect of hunting their prey.

I recognized them from one of the books I had read before. These strange-looking creatures were called goblins, and classified as F-rank monsters.

'Even though they're among the weakest of monsters and can be easily killed, never underestimate them. Their race is known for their aggressiveness; one wrong move, and you might lose your life. Be wary, especially if you come across a group of them.'

That's what the 'Book about Monsters' says.

Regardless of how many goblins approached us, Khyne effortlessly burned them to ash without inflicting any damage to the surrounding plants and trees. Meanwhile, on the right side, each goblin who reached Elijah's sword was sliced in half and froze, leaving no blood behind.

We were ambushed by a swarm of goblins ahead of us and pursued from both our tails and flanks. Elijah cleared the path in front, while Khyne followed close behind, eliminating anything that approached us. The salamander beast spirit also aided Khyne in his blind spot.

It was a long uphill run, but the two never slowed down; instead, they increased their speed.

I'm in awe. These two were once at odds, but now they work well together. Nobody said anything about which side they were going to kill the enemies. These two simply did it in synchrony.

"Stop, we're here."

Elijah abruptly came to a halt when he heard Khyne, and a gigantic cave's entrance could be seen just a few steps ahead of us.

The remaining goblins that are still following us shriek in fear when they see the place and ultimately back away.

[Be wary; there's something ahead.] Ms. Spirit warned me after emerging from under my cloak. I didn't remember when she had slipped there.

I could also sense an unsettling vibe pervading the entire area. I knew something horrifyingly powerful was inside. "Is Nobelle really in there?" I asked Khyne after he set me down.

"If you mean the contractual person of Naiad's child, then yes."

I gulped. Whatever creature was within, I could tell it was dangerous. The feeling of my soul crying out to run away was similar to the sensation I felt when I saw the black dragon that night. I trembled.

There was a possibility that 'man' might be here.

"Don't let your guard down," I said, warning the two.

We approached the cave with caution, keeping vigilant for any unusual movements. The cave was large and spacious, with few stalagmites and stalactites. The deeper we went, the colder the atmosphere became.

Our source of light was the fireballs that Khyne created, floating in the air like will-o'-the-wisps.

"Young master... Ahead, someone is lying on the ground," Elijah said before rushing off.

When I saw who it was, I desperately yelled out her name.

"Nobelle!"

She lay alone on the cold ground, unconscious. I hurried towards her, anxiously checking her pulse. It was weak. She barely even breathed. She looked so pale and in pain.

And her body temperature...

"She's freezing," Elijah added while checking on her as well. Nobelle's lips were purple, and her body was shivering; it was evident that she was suffering from hypothermia.

I immediately removed my cloak and wrapped it around her before carrying and bringing her to Khyne.

"Surround her in flames. Don't get it too hot or too close, or she'll burn," I warned. This attitude boy didn't complain and gladly carried her for me.

"Nobelle..." I said softly, grasping her icy hands. My voice nearly broke. She had lost a lot of weight since I remember. Her plump cheeks had vanished, replaced by skin and bones. Her skin was smudged with grime, and her once-shiny lips were parched.

'How much did you suffer to survive? I'm sorry, I came too late... Nor have I done anything when you were all taken away... I'm sorry... Sorry...'

[My human...] Ms. Spirit rubbed her face against Nobelle's. Her tears washed away the dirt on her face. I could also feel Ms. Spirit's fear of losing her too.

"Let's leave this place right away and look for a healer," Elijah suggested, and I agreed.

However, in the back of my mind, I wondered why we found her so quickly. It's as if something was wrong.

"Stay vigilant--" At the moment I said this, it was as if everything was in slow motion.

I saw Elijah harshly flung backward when a sharp, cold wind passed us. Ultimately, some of his blood scattered as he slammed into the cave's wall and dropped roughly.

The wounds he received were deep and seemed to be caused by claws.

*Ba-dump

Elijah coughed and spat out some blood. As tough as he was, he just shook his head to stay conscious. But as soon as he opened his eyes, they narrowed. I knew there was something behind us. Nervously, I peered at the being that he feared.

*Badump

I shuddered. In the deepest part of the cave, an enormous black wolf-like creature with blood on its mouth and claws appeared.

"Grrrrrrrrr."

It was the exact monster I saw in my dream.

A Black Fenrir—an SSS-rank monster.

My mind told me to run. But my body... was petrified. Just then, Khyne pulled me desperately while yelling the same thing as Elijah.

"RUN!!!"