I’m Hunting My Enemy - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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41. Moon, Wine, and Pebbles (2)

 

Even if it was an illusion, it was identical to his childhood appearance, making him impossible not to recognize.

 

One of the investigators who witnessed Yosua appearing like a ghost and gazing this way with pitiful eyes was so shocked that he dropped the pen he was using.

 

Even if it was an illusion created by magic, it was an important incident.

 

Because you can only create magical illusions if you’ve seen the real thing.

 

The most recent face of Yosua, who had been missing for ten years. The Crown Prince had truly been here.

 

“We’ve almost caught it!”

 

Ryuie, who had been staring intently at Yosua’s illusion, rushed forward at the knights’ report.

 

Toward the carriage where Yosua’s illusion still gazed with sad eyes.

 

‘Up there, Yosua is.’

 

Ryuie sprinted as if possessed by something.

 

“Miss! Please go slowly!”

 

“Come with us!”

 

“Catch her first!”

 

Splash.

 

The remaining tentacles came rushing menacingly, but Ryuie was already knee-deep in the swamp.

 

Splash splash!

 

The sound of water became doubled.

 

Glem, who had chased after her, hurriedly tried to grab Ryuie’s arm but hesitated and blocked her path with his scabbard like a barrier.

 

“Calm down and wait! We’ve almost caught it!”

 

“That’s exactly why I need to go.”

 

“What?”

 

Ryuie smiled as if entranced.

 

“To catch it, we need to strike the head, don’t we.”

 

Glem realized there were ripples in the water coming from a different direction at his shins. He turned his head in the same direction as Ryuie.

 

“!”

 

Even Rankin, who had been stamping his feet, couldn’t hide his bewilderment and grabbed his face with both hands like a scream.

 

“This can’t be!”

 

“Good heavens.”

 

“Oh, Rkultu.”

 

The carriage that had been stuck in the swamp was slowly rising, even though nothing had been connected to it yet.

 

It was because of another head emerging from the front of the carriage, cutting through the swamp.

 

If the monster had tentacles, they should have imagined there would naturally be something on the opposite side too.

 

Slime dripped from thousands of teeth that were firmly biting the carriage.

 

It was the front part of the carriage that had been stuck upside down in the swamp.

 

The monster had been holding the carriage in its mouth the entire time it was in the swamp.

 

Crunch. Pop. Crack.

 

The furious monster’s yellow eyes glared at Ryuie while dropping fragments of the carriage.

 

When that breaks apart, the next target would be.

 

“Ryuie.”

 

Glem, whose spine had risen with goosebumps at the chilling sight, warned in a low voice with a stiff neck.

 

“You need to back away. Ryuie. Slowly.”

 

“No.”

 

Facing dozens of yellow eyes, Ryuie smiled brightly.

 

“I can kill it.”

 

“What?”

 

“You. You look like you’d kill it for me.”

 

Ryuie commanded with the most brilliant smile in the world.

 

“Go and kill it.”

 

Glem clenched his teeth and moved away from Ryuie’s side.

 

‘Crazy woman.’

 

He drew a pitch-black sword without a handle. It was the very one made from shaving a monster’s beak.

 

‘Even though all its legs have been sealed.’

 

The monster that had chewed and dropped the back part of the carriage with a wet sound roared.

 

‘Not every hunting method can be done by catching first and then striking the neck.’

 

Just like the method Ryuie enjoyed. Immobilizing hands and feet and then stabbing the head – no matter how overwhelming he was.

 

‘Someday I’ll get bitten.’

 

Glem’s shoulders tensed as he leaped toward the monster’s head with its razor-sharp teeth.

 

Bang!

 

“?!”

 

Just before Glem, with his sword raised, could strike down on the head, the monster’s head exploded.

 

Whether he had dodged by a hair’s breadth, the impact point was right next to Glem’s cheek.

 

Thud thud. Thud thud.

 

The body of the instantly killed monster lost strength and fell.

 

“Whew.”

 

Glem turned around, speechless. Light white smoke scattered from the gun barrel like Glem’s hair that had once fluttered ahead. Beyond it, Ryuie slightly squinted one eye as if mimicking an expression.

 

“I paid you back for what you took last time.”

 

The expression of someone who had prepared and rushed out only to have their prey die anticlimactically before their eyes was quite a sight to see.

 

It was exactly as Ryuie had intended.

 

“Right?”

 

The frozen Glem made an indescribable expression that thrilled Ryuie.

 

She hadn’t known that provoking him would be as excellent as monster hunting.

 

* * *

 

“One, two!”

 

The knights pulled the rope connected to the monster in unison with the call.

 

Now that there was nothing left to interfere with approaching the swamp, people could easily get close.

 

“It really was a rare monster.”

 

“It looked like the sea monsters I’d heard rumors about.”

 

“I haven’t even seen the ocean yet, but I got to see a monster first.”

 

The knights chatted comfortably while pulling up the remaining debris.

 

Since the nobles had rushed toward the carriage rather than the monster’s corpse recovery, it was convenient for them to talk among themselves.

 

The nobles who had witnessed the most recent Crown Prince illusion were extremely excited.

 

“To think this place really was His Highness the Crown Prince’s last sighting location.”

 

“Yeongae’s treason charge was planned to set up the swamp as a substitute, secure the culprit, and then just change the name?”

 

“As expected.”

 

The nobles praised Ryuie as if they had never doubted her.

 

The calm ones were actually the investigators and Ryuie.

 

“As soon as the monster died, His Highness the Crown Prince’s illusion disappeared as well.”

 

“If the same person is controlling both the monster and magic simultaneously, it’s certainly grounds for suspicion.”

 

“What could the purpose be?”

 

“I think they used vows and sacred objects.”

 

Ryuie said.

 

“The illusions of Yosua that kept appearing, and they might have offered the monster and Yosua as sacrifices to make a new vow. That’s why even other villagers who never made vows with Yosua are under the curse.”

 

“It’s a plausible theory, but…”

 

“Who on earth could have done such a thing, and how.”

 

“I saw briefly, but there was nothing loaded in the carriage the monster was biting.”

 

“The rest must have sunk to the bottom of the swamp.”

 

Since it had been stuck at an angle, all the carriage’s cargo had shifted to the bottom.

 

There was also the possibility that the monster had swallowed it, so they were investigating the debris, but given how clean everything looked so far, the swamp bottom was likely.

 

“First, we’ll need to salvage everything at the bottom of the swamp.”

 

“Yes. I’ll root out every single one without leaving any behind.”

 

Ryuie licked her lips as she gazed toward the massive swampland that was too vast to take in with a single glance. Hunting just one monster wasn’t enough to quench her fighting spirit.

 

The investigator, who now understood both why Ryuie had called people here and why she had built a structure next to the temple, quickly finished his preliminary report.

 

“It would be good if we could just figure out from the remaining wreckage why that carriage went into the swamp. It’s not exactly a normal destination to visit.”

 

“There’s someone who knows.”

 

Ryuie placed her hands on her hips and searched for Glem with her gaze.

 

Ever since Ryuie had killed the monster, Glem’s expression had been consistently poor.

 

Standing guard over the monster rather than the carriage, he looked deep in thought.

 

‘He looks troubled.’

 

It wasn’t simply the face of a mercenary who’d had his prey stolen.

 

Though he always reacted well whenever Glem teased her, he wasn’t the type to hold grudges for long.

 

That had to be stemming from personal reasons.

 

‘What could it be?’

 

Just as a puzzled Ryuie was about to check on Glem again, one of the knights who had been wading into the swamp to collect the remaining carriage wreckage piece by piece raised his hand high toward Ryuie.

 

“There’s something here!”

 

At the knight’s shout, the scattered people gathered together.

 

“What did you find?”

 

“This was inside the monster’s mouth.”

 

The knight respectfully cupped both hands toward Ryuie.

 

What lay in the knight’s gloves was a clump of mud much smaller than expected.

 

Ryuie carefully picked up the mud clump to avoid touching the gloves and rubbed away the mud with her fingertips.

 

Though only a small amount of dirt had fallen away, a brilliant golden radiance was revealed that was hard to believe had been buried in the filthy swamp.

 

The unusual thickness, the jewel in the center of the ring, and even the pattern engraved alongside it.

 

‘This pattern!’

 

Ryuie’s pupils gradually dilated as she identified the object.

 

It was unmistakably the Imperial crest.

 

‘It’s Yosua’s ring.’

 

The knight carefully added.

 

“It was caught in the deepest part of the monster’s back molars.”

 

“!”

 

Hisss.

 

Ryuie’s expression changed as she suddenly snatched away a sword and began frantically slashing at the monster’s belly.

 

As if he had anticipated this, the knight hurriedly added.

 

“Please calm down, Miss! No bones were found!”

 

“…”

 

Clink.

 

Ryuie stopped her movements and dropped the sword as it was.

 

Clang. Clatter.

 

The sound of the fallen sword rolling on the ground echoed for a long time.

 

“…Why was this found here?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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