# 19
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"Is he so dangerous? Maybe he's not a high-class monster, right?"
Harriot, without reading the atmosphere, answered directly with the truth.
“It's a top-class monster!”
"…What did you say?"
“Even if the Rune Knights attacked him all at once, only the Commander alone would be able to eliminate him.”
“Then why did they take Edwin with them in the first place!? Are the knights protecting him?”
“He will be standing in front, so how will they protect him?”
At those words, Dana's mind flew. She felt like something in her head suddenly snapped.
She had heard that the Knight Corps was full of lunatics, but how could they take an ordinary person with them! They even put him in the forefront as a human shield!
Dana lost strength in her legs and fell down sitting. Harriot sat next to her on the floor.
"Are you okay? Are you cold?"
But Dana didn't hear his words at all. Everything she had exchanged with Edwin came back before her eyes.
The first meeting, the warm lunch box, the conversations they exchanged.
Those looks full of affection. And besides, last night really…
Even the painful memories of her childhood that she was unaware of, Edwin helped her heal.
She thought she was used to being alone. But the truth was that they were nothing but hardened wounds covered with crusts.
Edwin was the only one who touched those wounds gently.
'He is someone dear to me.'
The moment she realized this, Dana made a decisive decision.
'Now it's my turn to protect him.'
She made an effort to gather her strength and get up, then asked Harriot.
“Where is Edwin now!”
“He must be in the homeland of the Vrakne... but it would be dangerous for you to go alone!”
Does whoever sent him there know how dangerous it is? What will I do if Edwin gets sick?
Dana exhaled a deep breath, feeling her hot head begin to cool down a little.
"Just wait a minute. I'll go to Edwin's right now."
With those words, she headed toward the training ground. As I expected, the potions I prepared yesterday were still there.
This way, she will be able to survive even if her strength is exhausted. Stamina potions grant extra life in critical situations.
Dana loaded her arm with the doses and left without hesitation. Inquisitive eyes followed her and Harriot.
Even the knights stopped their training, and began to follow Dana with successive steps.
One of them could not control himf and asked.
“Are you two… I mean, are you in a relationship?”
How dare he ask in this situation...!
Dana looked at him with a look of disgust and said.
"Yes, right! So show me quickly. Where Edwin is!"
The knights gasped in astonishment.
“Wow...”
“Really?”
Then the more rational deputy commander, Dante, approached.
“Shouldn't you wait a little longer? He's fine.”
“I'll just deliver this to him!”
Dante thought carefully.
'If she's the leader's lover… she must be really stubborn.'
Then he ordered with a serious face.
“Open the armory.”
***
Meanwhile, Edwin had left since dawn and strode up the mountain without even wearing his armor.
As for the lower creatures that appeared sometimes, the knights took care of eliminating them.
“Have the franks woken up?”
One of the knights answered Edwin's question.
“It seemed like it had just woken up from its winter hibernation. We felt the vibrations from the bottom of the mountain.”
“I understand.”
Little by little, the number of monsters began to increase rapidly. Before the reason was known, she had started coming down the mountain to attack people.
Al-Farakn was the most dangerous of them, as with his strength alone he could destroy an entire village.
Unlike other monsters that vanish with a stab in their core, he reappeared thanks to the magical energy remaining in the mountain.
Moreover, his massive body and immense strength made even well-trained knights unable to take him down easily.
The higher they climbed, the more intense the vibrations became. Thanks to his powers, Edwin was able to sense mana.
The same applied to the monster's aura.
This force led him to the entrance of a cave blocked by a giant rock.
He stopped and drew his sword.
The accompanying knights swallowed nervously.
Edwin then took a small bottle from one of his followers. The violet liquid inside was a drug to excite and awaken the monster.
As soon as he opened the lid and sprayed the medicine in front of the cave, the sounds began to grow louder.
Doom… Doom!
He felt Fraken approaching and he woke up completely from his sleep.
The great vibration that resounded in the ground made it difficult to even stand still.
After a while, the large rock that was blocking the entrance to the cave began to crack.
crack - crack -
The crack started in the middle, and then the rock shattered with a sharp sound.
Large pieces fell overhead.
Edwin jumped lightly to avoid her, and then a huge sound rang out.
Fraken had destroyed the entire entrance.
The rocks were scattered into pieces, and thick dust flew. From between the cracks, the frankin's face peeked out.
As expected, his body was enormous.
He had a large horn on his forehead, and his irritated ears on either side of his face were flapping.
When Frakken hit his front foot hard, the cave began to collapse.
“It's been a long time.”
Edwin waved his hand idly.
After a long winter's slumber, Fraken was very hungry. The monster stretched out and let out a roar.
The knights held their noses at the loud roar of his voice.
“Oh, the bad breath after deep sleep can't be ignored.”
“It seems worse than last year?”
As if the monster understood their words, it rushed forward even more agitated. Then he opened his mouth towards the knights.
The monster moved impulsively as if it was going to swallow them all at once. Sharp teeth and a purple tongue lashed out at Edwin.
“You're still the same.”
Edwin clicked his tongue wearily as he watched Fraken repeat what he did every year.
He jumped up, stepping on the monster's protruding jaw. Then in an instant he jumped on his horn.
The monster shook his head, annoyed at Edwin.
But the latter maintained his balance as if he were standing on flat ground, and rose to the top.
And finally-
Cracked-!!
Edwin's sword was embedded in the core. The nucleus of the forehead was large and solid.
Without accuracy and true power, it was impossible to hit her. Fraken was confused, his nucleus had been struck, and he blinked and staggered.
He only took a few steps before he suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground.
The ground sank beneath his massive body, and dust flew up again.
The monster's body gradually faded away until it became dust. Then it dispersed into the air and disappeared.
“What are you doing, haven’t you blocked the entrance again?”
“N-Yes!!”
The knights who were staring at him in amazement hurried to bring large boulders and block the entrance to the cave as it were.
“Let's go now.”
“Without rest?”
He asked the knights who were exhausted by climbing the mountain.
“Then just rest yourves.”
Edwin came down the mountain without any sign of fatigue. He shook his head, and dust flew.
'I can't meet Dana like this. I have to at least take a shower before you wake up.'
He was thinking about that as he came down, then—
“Edwin!!”
Edwin stopped moving at the unexpected sight.
A slender woman was calling him eagerly.
It was Dana's voice, without a doubt.
He can't forget her voice.
But……
‘Helmet…?’
It wasn't just the helmet.
Without armor, Dana was wearing a helmet and metal gloves as she staggered towards him.
Her strange movements looked like a frog's.
“It's me.”
She took off her helmet. Her neat hair was always tousled.
The subordinates behind her quickly shouted an apology.
“She insisted on going to the commander… no, directly to Mr. Edwin……!”
“Yes, yes, but we dressed her as much as possible to ensure her safety! It was not possible for her to walk in full armor…….”
Energy restoration potions were in the hands of the Talking Knights.
A quick look from Edwin was enough for him to realize the situation. Dana came looking for him.
Because she was very worried about him. At this realization, Edwin's eyes widened.
His chest was filled with overwhelming joy until it reached his throat.
While he was about to call Dana, she threw herf at him while running.
Two thin arms hugged him tightly...
Edwin could not-
To say something...