Bang!
Another shot rang out, echoing through the darkened woods as Javier slid forward on one knee, his coat flaring behind him in a sharp arc. His dual mana guns humd with heat, steam hissing from the vents near their barrels. A monster lunged from the right.
Bang—Bang!
Two clean hits to the skull and chest. It dropped before it even reached him.
But Javier didn't relax.
He spun, kicked off a fallen log, and twisted mid-air, landing perfectly in a low stance. His breathing remained steady. Calm.
Yet his mind wasn't.
"What the hell are these things…?" he thought, narrowing his golden eyes behind his loose bangs.
Their shapes were wrong—jagged limbs, twitching heads, layers of oily muscle wrapped in black mist. They were monsters, but not like any he'd fought before.
And he'd fought a lot of monsters—especially alongside Liana and Gloria during their nightti "clean-up missions" outside the estate. Even rare beasts from deep territories or those mutated by ancient curses followed a pattern.
But these?
No classification. No record.
He'd never seen them in any book or bestiary.
Slide—Bang! He dashed forward again, ducking under a flailing claw, and landed another clean shot to a beast's chest, then pivoted sharply to the left.
Above him—
"Cuquawked!!"
Buddy dropped from the sky like a feathered missile.
His clawed feet slamd into another monster, flattening it mid-leap. With a flick of his wings, he kicked the stunned creature toward Javier.
"Nice one, Buddy!"
Javier grinned and fired.
Bang! The mana bullet drilled through the creature's skull. It fell to pieces at his feet.
Buddy squawked again, puffing up and flapping his wings dramatically as if soaking in applause.
"What kind of 'sightseeing mission' is this, Father?" Javier muttered, narrowing his eyes again.
This wasn't reconnaissance.
This wasn't diplomacy.
This was sothing else entirely.
A wave of energy pulsed behind him.
His puppet knights had deployed into formation. Dozens of mithril-armored warriors locked shields, creating a tight periter around Javier and Buddy. The front line bashed back charging beasts with heavy tower shields, while the rear units slashed and stabbed through gaps with precision.
Each movent was perfect. Flawless.
The product of hundreds of simulated drills and battle programming Javier had personally fed into their cores.
"Maintain formation. Prioritize defense. Don't let them breach the third ring."
"Processing. Affirmative."
The knights' glowing eyes flared brighter. The formation adjusted instantly, tightening their stance and doubling shield density in the front arc.
The corrupted monsters snarled, screeched, and flailed—yet were systematically cut down by spear bursts and sword counterstrikes.
Javier moved through the chaos like a ghost—sliding, flipping, pivoting, and firing with deadly grace.
But his mind wouldn't rest.
These things weren't normal. And if they were just the beginning
Sothing deeper was behind this. Sothing he hadn't seen yet.
"...Let's end this fast."
Javier raised his hand sharply.
A pulse of light shimred around him as glowing runes traced the outline of his fingers. From the swirling void of compressed space, 100 mithril puppet knights marched out in synchronized formation, each clad in gleaming silver armor and ard with high-powered magical crossbows.
As their boots hit the ground, their stances locked.
"Knights!! READY!!"
The command echoed through the misty battlefield.
"SHOOT!!"
Dozens of mana-charged bolts burst through the air like streaking stars. The crossbows hissed with magical pressure, firing rapid volleys. Each arrow crackled with compressed elental force, exploding on impact with sharp blue flares.
The front line of monsters disintegrated instantly—charred limbs and splashes of black corrupted blood rained into the dirt.
As the barrage continued, half the puppet unit shifted automatically—deploying tower shields and forming a phalanx wall. The shield-bearers pushed forward, driving back the swarming creatures, while the sword-wielders slashed in tight arcs, cutting down any monster that got through.
Their movents were fluid—no hesitation, no fear. Only execution.
With one hand, Javier unbuckled the leather strap on his side pouch, retrieving a sealed envelope marked with the Armand wax insignia.
"Hmm…"
He stared at the seal.
"Father did say to open it once I reached the border…"
He glanced at the battle—monsters screeching, arrows whistling, and his puppet knights making a clean line through the corrupted wave.
"…Ah, screw it."
He tore the envelope open with a flick of his thumb and unfolded the letter, letting the chaos unfold around him like background noise.
As he skimd the first line, he could practically hear Garius's voice in his head.
"Hah! I knew you'd open it early."
Javier rolled his eyes, a half-smile forming on his lips.
"This is your real mission."
"On your journey along the border between the Beastkin Kingdom and the Dwarven Kingdom, you are to cleanse all manifestations of the unknown corrupted monsters. They only appear at night—ford from residual celestial contamination."
"These monsters have no classification. They erge when all seven Celestials have been claid by vessels. Think of them as... fragnts. Pieces of discarded soul rot left behind whenever one Celestial devours another."
Javier's brow twitched.
"...Fragnts, huh?"
He looked toward the monster horde, watching as one dissolved into a sludge-like aura and attempted to reform despite being cut in half.
"So these things aren't even fully alive. Just leftover filth from Celestial cannibalism…"
He continued reading:
"They're spreading faster than expected. Your objective is twofold:
Prevent contamination of neutral territory.
Map the spread pattern.
You're the only one who can act discreetly, Javier.
P.S. – Don't die. Your mother would kill if you did.
– Garius"
Javier folded the letter slowly, then burned it mid-air with a snap of fire magic.
"Disgusting leftovers, huh…"
He slid his dual mana guns into his side holsters and slowly drew his adamantite blade once more.
"Well then… I guess it's ti for trash cleanup."
Javier slid his hand back into his magic storage, his fingers moving with practiced ease.
He pulled out two small white crystals, faintly glowing with divine energy.
With a soft click, he slotted the crystals into the chamber slots of his dual mana guns. They fit in like cartridges, and arcane circles lit up instantly along the barrel fras as the guns absorbed the infused mana.
The air around him warped slightly as his mana synced with the weapons.
White light began to pulse from the guns' runes, a rare trait—pure light-elent mana.
He lifted the weapons slowly and surveyed the battlefield.
"Normal puppets won't kill it…"
He raised his left hand.
"Unsummon."
The ground shimred as the mithril puppet knights deactivated, fading into flickering motes of mana and vanishing back into storage.
"Let's try sothing more surgical."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Summon—White Puppet Knights."
( End Of Chapter )
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