Chapter 9
“Right. Let’s hurry.”
We dashed deeper into the cave. The farther we went, the more crystal veins were embedded in the walls. The smell of blood grew even stronger.
Then we saw them.
A group of miners was huddled on the ground while bat-like creatures the size of dogs tore into them.
Crystal bats.
Their inner wings shimmered like crystal, making them beautiful to look at—but they were formidable monsters.
Though still nowhere near as dangerous as the Slime Wolves we’d encountered on the way here.
Crunch!
The spear Cesare threw struck a crystal bat dead-on. Blue blood sprayed into the air as the monster was blasted away.
Without giving it a chance to react, Cesare closed the distance in an instant. Even though he’d already thrown his spear, he moved without the slightest hesitation.
“As if a filthy rat should’ve stayed crawling on the ground.”
Riiip!
He grabbed the bat’s wing and tore it clean off.
As the creature let out a hideous shriek, Cesare crushed it beneath his foot.
At that very moment—
Another crystal bat shot toward him from behind at incredible speed.
It wasn’t especially powerful, but in terms of speed, few monsters could rival it.
Crunch!
Cesare caught it by the head.
Then twisted.
Snap.
The bat dropped lifelessly to the ground.
When the immediate danger had passed, the miners finally managed to raise their heads.
They looked at Cesare with trembling eyes.
“Th-thank you… You saved our—”
“Brown hair. Black hair. Bald. Bald.”
Cesare counted them one by one before grabbing one miner by the collar.
His voice growled like a predator.
“Where’s the skinny blond old man? Talk if you don’t want to die.”
The gratitude vanished from the miners’ faces.
Moments ago they’d looked at him like a savior.
Now they were shaking even harder.
“Th-the old man… They dragged him deeper inside. The crystal bats took several miners…”
Leaving the miners behind, we rushed farther into the cave.
Crystalline light flickered in the darkness ahead.
So did an intense, unpleasant magical aura.
Cesare glanced around.
“They’ve been mining in a place full of monsters for ten years? Is the director secretly some kind of master?”
“Crystal bats are usually docile. It seems they’ve become aggressive because it’s breeding season. They likely took the miners to feed their young.”
If they were meant as food for the hatchlings, it would take time before they were eaten.
That meant they weren’t dead yet.
But that only made rescuing them more urgent.
Grinding our teeth, we continued running.
Then suddenly—
The cave opened into a vast chamber flooded with light.
It was far larger than the previous cavern.
The ceiling towered at least ten meters overhead.
The chamber itself stretched wide in every direction.
Sunlight poured through small holes in the ceiling, striking the crystal ore and scattering dazzling reflections everywhere.
Under different circumstances, it would have been breathtaking.
But we had no time to admire it.
Just as we started toward the exit on the opposite side—
Screeeech!
Something came diving down with a piercing cry.
Crystal bats rained from above.
Not one or two.
A waterfall of them.
In an instant, they blocked our path.
Were they trying to keep us from reaching their young?
Cesare cut down the ones in front of him and tried to push forward, but the endless swarm slowed him down.
Then one crystal bat folded its wings and dived straight from above.
It was about to crash directly into him.
He was too occupied fighting the enemies in front to notice.
I drew my sword and sprinted forward.
Just as I swung to cleave the bat’s wings—
Clang!
Spear and sword collided with a sharp metallic ring.
Cesare had blocked my attack.
“Master! I’ll kill them all! Please don’t kill anything!”
Blood dripped steadily from his body.
The bats had left wounds all over him.
Anxiety filled both his voice and his eyes.
Was this because of my oath?
I grabbed him by the back of the neck and yanked him backward.
Dragging the bleeding Cesare away, I said,
“Keep your distance. Once we’re far enough away, they’ll stop attacking.”
The crystal bats merely watched us warily.
None of them advanced.
Their bodies were stained with Cesare’s blood.
With this much blood loss, he had to be suffering from anemia.
Yet he still tried to charge back in.
“I’ll finish them in a second.”
“Wait. Listen to me first.”
“I can kill them all. I’ve got healing potions. I’ll just use them while I fight.”
He couldn’t see anything except the battle.
He even tried to shake me off by force.
A master’s duty is to be the lighthouse that guides his disciple.
Especially when that disciple had become this way because of me.
“If you trust me… stop, Cesare.”
He flinched.
Even though every part of him wanted to leap back into the fight, he stopped.
I couldn’t betray that trust.
So I spoke.
“Cesare. How do you infuse mana into an object… or a living creature?”
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, he hesitated before answering.
“You either make direct contact… or use blood that’s infused with mana.”
“Exactly.”
“And your blood is already all over those bats.”
A moment later—
His eyes widened.
Only then did he finally notice his surroundings.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
He had regained his composure.
“You don’t need to explain the rest.”
The instant he finished speaking—
He disappeared.
A shadow passed over my head.
Before anyone realized it, Cesare was already suspended high in the air.
The crystal bats froze in confusion at the sudden appearance of an enemy behind them.
He floated directly behind one of them.
Its claws and fangs were still stained with his blood.
Cesare possessed the ability to teleport to anything infused with his mana.
Whether that power also worked on living creatures had been uncertain.
Now…
He had his answer.
A cruel grin spread across his face.
“Tough little bastard. Thought you’d explode from the mana.”
Crunch!
His spear pierced straight through a crystal bat.
By the time its corpse hit the ground—
Cesare was already gone.
He flashed through the air like lightning.
Appearing.
Disappearing.
Appearing again.
In less than ten seconds, five bats had fallen.
The crystal bats moved with incredible speed.
Cesare moved instantly.
Their reactions couldn’t keep up.
More and more monsters in the sky were covered in his blood.
At this rate…
The entire swarm would soon be wiped out.
Then—
Screeeech!
The crystal bats hurriedly gathered into one massive cluster.
They packed together tightly, apparently hoping to prevent Cesare from teleporting elsewhere.
It was pointless.
Crash!
Crystal shattered and exploded in every direction.
Like stardust scattering through the air.
Each broken fragment caught the sunlight and sparkled brilliantly.
By then, Cesare had already appeared beside one of the cave walls.
Drops of crimson blood stained the transparent crystals.
The bats had clung to the long crystal formations—
Leaving Cesare’s blood there as well.
The entire crystal cave had become his playground.
Crash! Crash!
Every time Cesare teleported, the crystals overloaded with mana and burst apart.
Light scattered everywhere.
Even though it was daytime…
It looked like the Milky Way itself had descended into the cave.
Gliding between countless streams of light, Cesare resembled a falling meteor.
The more glittering crystal fragments filled the air—
The fewer monsters remained.
“Last one…!”
Holding his spear upside down, he smiled.
Falling through that galaxy of shattered crystal—
He drove down his final strike.
BOOM!
The giant crystal bat was impaled and slammed into the ground.
Cesare landed atop it.
“You little rats… You’re nothing—”
Before he could finish—
He collapsed.
I hurried over.
His face had turned deathly pale.
“Cesare, are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah… Of course I am.”
His legs trembled violently as he forced himself to stand.
Supporting my staggering disciple, I clicked my tongue.
“Stop pretending to be tough. You’re out of both mana and blood.”
After using abilities like that over and over, it was no surprise his mana reserves were completely empty.
He’d gotten so excited that he’d stopped paying attention to them altogether.
“No, really, I’m fine. I can still fight. Master, just stay back.”
“I appreciate the thought, but there’s no need to overprotect me. Your master isn’t that incompetent.”
I had no intention of becoming a burden to my disciple.
Nor was I weak enough for that.
Embarrassed, Cesare scratched his cheek.
“Save your strength for later. Catch the cockroaches when they show up.”
“Of course. I’ll take care of the cockroaches… and the moths too.”
“Good. Now start walking on your own. You’re heavy.”
Even if he could no longer use mana, he seemed capable of walking.
So we continued deeper into the cave.
Beyond the passage lay another spacious chamber.
Unlike the previous one, however, very little sunlight reached here.
The darkness was thick.
In the gloom, I could make out a nest.
A massive nest woven from countless branches.
Figures lay inside it.
Four of them, perhaps.
Cesare pointed excitedly.
“Ah! The skinny blond old man!”
The man who appeared to be the director groaned weakly.
Thankfully…
He was still alive.
Just as Cesare rushed toward the nest—
“Cesare! Get back!”
BOOM!
Something enormous crashed down from the ceiling.
A crystal bat.
At least two meters in length.
The spot where Cesare had been standing caved in.
Had it struck him directly, every bone in his body would have been shattered.
Its body was far larger than the others.
The mother?
The giant crystal bat spread its wings again.
I expected it to charge us.
Instead—
It shot upward at incredible speed—
Then slammed itself into the ceiling.
The violent impact shook the entire cavern.
The stalactites overhead began to tremble.
Rumble… Rumble…!
Stalactites the size of human bodies rained down endlessly.
Their tips were as sharp as spears.
Anyone pierced by one would die instantly.
“Wow… The little rat actually knows how to think.”
Even Cesare looked shocked as he barely dodged one crashing down.
Another slammed into the ground beside me with a deafening crash.
Rather than attacking us directly, the giant crystal bat continued smashing into the ceiling.
The falling stalactites were dangerous.
But eventually they’d all fall.
If we simply endured—
The attack would end on its own.
Then—
A tremendous crash echoed behind us.
BOOM!
In an instant…
The cave grew dark.
The beam of sunlight that had been shining through the opposite entrance disappeared.
The fallen stalactites had sealed the exit.
Absolute darkness swallowed everything.
From somewhere in the blackness came Cesare’s panicked voice.
“Master! Where are you?! Agh!”
His scream echoed through the darkness.
Followed by the smell of fresh blood.
I couldn’t see a thing.
But did he really think I’d never fought in complete darkness?
More than half of my life had been spent in it.
I raised my sword.
Sight wasn’t necessary.
Scent.
Breathing.
Body heat.
Every one of them served as a guide.
The sound of beating wings sliced through the air as something rushed toward me.
A mother protecting her young.
Hunters have one unbreakable rule.
Never touch the young.
Touch the offspring…
And the beast will lose all reason.
And I, too…
Was a beast with young to protect.
