"You said that there were no people who saw the beast in person, only the dead were left?"

"Right."

Raphine asked Zer Khan what she was curious about and put the pieces together in his head.

"How fast are the beasts moving?"

"It's as fast as wild beasts, but it's not at a level that the eye can't recognize."

"What is the probability that someone artificially killed people like a demonic beast?"

"It's impossible. The wounds caused by the beast's claws cannot be imitated. The toxic substances detected in the wound were also consistent with those of the beast."

"...."

Raphine bit his lip slightly.

So, is the rift really open again?

"Raphine, I have to leave right away. So...."

"let's go together."

Rafine's tone of voice was as light as someone who definitely wanted to go for a walk. So, for a moment, Zerkan decided that he had heard it wrong.

"I'm going with you."

Raphine spoke again as if she was eating Zerkan like that. His brow wrinkled badly.

"You can't."

"why? So are you going alone? I would go with the knights, but what if the rift really opened up?"

Originally, Violet and Adrian could go together, but the two were busy preparing for their wedding. It was the most crazy time as there was only a few days left until the wedding.

"Let's go together. My spirits will be quite helpful."

"...."

Zerkan insisted on not doing it until the end, but Raphine was more determined than that.

"If you're not going to take me, don't. 'Cause I can just go alone I'll see you there, okay?"

At Raphine's notification, Zerkan sighed.

There may be an incident where, for nothing, he leaves Raffine until the end, and then gives a wanted order like before.

In that case, it would have been better to go together and watch over them.

Zerkan nodded his head reluctantly. The corners of Raphine's lips rose slightly.

"Okay then, let's get back to you before Adrian's brother and Violet's wedding."

Raphine made it simple. Thus, the short trip of the two was decided.

* * *

the next morning.

Last night, people were stunned at the news that the Crown Prince had left for the border area with Rafine.

Zerkan's business aides began to deduce.

"No, aren't you two on the 3rd day of their newlyweds? But you said you left with Bi-ha to that dangerous place?"

"You didn't take me here on purpose to make you suffer, did you? You want it to come off on its own?"

"Why are you making such assumptions? You must have taken it because it's a spirit person... ... ."

"Still, he has no combat experience."

"It is, but...."

"That little one... tsk. I wonder if he will be able to withstand the rough road to the border."

All of the aides were concerned about the fragile Raphine.

In fact, the Empire was not well known about the powers of the spirits. It was like an unknown realm of how far the spirits could go.

Scholars wanted to investigate and study them, but the Empire strictly controlled their access at the state level.

In some cases, there have been attempts to kidnap the Elementalist.

However, since Violet was a knight in the first place, she was very strong even without her spirit, and Raphine had her escort network so thorough that it was difficult to even approach her.

So, in the eyes of ordinary people, Raphine was seen as a spirit warrior, but a weak young girl with no combat experience.

Zerkan's thoughts were the same.

Until I saw Raffine running through the forest on a giant bear that reached 3 meters tall.

* * *

Near the border area, on the hillside where the beast was discovered.

From here on, it was a terrain that could not be reached on horseback.

Raphine dismounted from his horse and summoned his ruby for a quick search.

"Hey!"

"Hey, what is that!"

The knights who came with him were startled and stepped back.

The gigantic bear looked really ugly. Even the pink fur, which could be considered adorable, was to the point of being afraid.

Its huge teeth, which seemed to chew and swallow people at any moment, were thicker and sharper than those of a beast.

Some knights even thought that the beasts would be less frightening.

"Let's search separately. I will go over there."

Raphine said so, and he got on the bear's back.

Zer Khan stretched out his hand for a moment, then paused.

I wanted to say that going alone is dangerous.... No matter how I looked at it, the opponent I encountered seemed to be more dangerous.

thump thump.

The giant bear ran into the forest with Raffine on it.

Zerkan quickly gave orders to search the area. The knights also came to their senses and followed the orders.

* * *

"Ruby, how about looking for it by smell?"

At Raphine's words, Ruby became pale.

"I am not a dog."

"But you don't have a sensitive sense of smell either."

"It is, but.... I don't know what a beast smells like."

"Isn't it a dirty smell just by looking at it?"

At Raphine's urging, Ruby had no choice but to close her eyes and focus on the tip of his nose.

The scent of the forest was very diverse. The smell of grass leaves, the smell of earth, the smell of animals, the smell of a flowing stream, the smell of moss on stones, the smell of wild flowers, and....

"It smells like blood."

Ruby's eyes lit up. Then she started running at a fast pace. Raphine leaned her body tight against her to keep from falling.

Her arrival was in the vicinity of a flowing valley water.

"...!"

Raphine's expression distorted. It was the first time I had actually seen a magical beast.

It was an appearance that reminded me of a half-human, half-human werewolf. The black body was about 1.5 times larger than that of a human.

The huge claws were the weapon itself. Random teeth were also sharp.

The beast with eyes that could only see the whites had his nose stuck in front of the carcass of the animal.

Whik!

Raphine, who was dazed for a moment, immediately blew a whistle. If anyone finds a trace first, they promised to send a signal like this.

I really didn't know that I would encounter a demon.

The beast raised his head to the sound and found Raffine's face through the bushes.

Instantly, the white eyes turned red and blinked. It was a sign that they had found their prey and were excited.

"Kurr...."

The beast was about to approach, drooling.

However, when the giant bear hiding under Raffine among the bushes appeared, the beast's steps stopped.

Ruby, who raised his body and lowered Raphine to the floor, moved like a lightning bolt.

It was so fast that it was impossible to imagine the movement of a giant bear that reached 3 meters.

Ruby rushed to the Beast like a runaway locomotive, lifted his front foot and slammed it down.

puck!

It sounded like a slap in the face rather than scratching with his claws. I wondered if it would make a sound like that when the rock splits.

"Uh...."

Raphine approached cautiously.

The Beast Beast was hit by Ruby once and died on the spot.

Zer Khan and his knights arrived, who received the signal just in time and moved immediately.

"Raphine, are you okay?"

Raphine, who was standing still, was safe enough to ignore the question of whether she was okay. Zerkan looked at the fallen beast and hardened.

It was a real beast. Some of the terrible memories began to come to mind.

Just before the dark spirit summoned the black mist, Raphine turned to Zerkan.

"Your Highness, don't Beasts usually move in groups?"

"...."

Zerkan woke up from his thoughts and looked into Raphine's eyes. He immediately nodded his head.

Upon closer inspection, the appearance of the beast was a little subtle. His teeth were bigger and sharper than the beast in his memory. So were his claws.

"The corpse of the beast must be burned and destroyed as soon as possible. If it's even a little late...."

Zerkan took a step towards his corpse.

"Wait. I have something to check."

Before Zerkan ignited the fire, Raphine cast mana with her fingertips and blew it into the corpse of the beast.

A blue flame covered the beast's body, then flashed and disappeared in an instant as if it had collided with something.

'...Also.'

Raphine's expression became subtle. As she nodded her head as if she had become her, Zer Khan immediately burned the corpse of the beast.

After all the bodies were burned to ashes, rain started to fall from the sky. They came down from the mountain after tidying up everything around them.

By the time we went down the hill, it was raining heavily.

"Raphine, are you okay?"

Zerkan asked anxiously.

No matter how much spirits were together, it was the first time he had seen a magical beast, so he decided that he would have been surprised.

Even at Zerkan's question, Raphine was silently contemplating. Even though Zer Khan covered Raphine with her cloak, the raindrops falling on her shoulder bothered her.

"Raphine, Raphine?"

Apparently, Raphine's condition was very strange.

Zer Khan stopped her steps, just in case, and grabbed Raphine. She touched her white cheeks and checked her body temperature by placing her forehead on her forehead.

Has she ever been so startled and shocked?

But then. Suddenly, Raphine grabbed Zerkan's neck and pulled him closer.

She only thought her heart would stop.

The moment she thought her lips were going to touch, Raphine's wet lips brushed her cheek and touched her ear.

shoot ah Through the sound of her pouring rain, Raphine's voice permeated her ears.

Zerkan held his breath, bowed his head, and stiffened.

What Raphine said to her was very shocking.

"I could feel the divine power from the corpse of the beast."

But somehow, rather than the surprising fact, the fact that Raphine's lips brushed her cheek and touched her ear made him even more embarrassed.

After finishing her words, her Raphine took a step away from her, and Zer Khan looked down at her.

Her eyes were meaningful. It was clear that something big was going on with her.

It was clearly a serious situation. However, Zerkan's head was filled with only other thoughts.

Raphine's lips wet from the rain are so beautiful.