Chapter 15: Great Den

“Haaa! Haaah!”

Gasping for breath, Isaac stared at the Transcendent impaled on the spear.

Even as it stood there rigid, it looked like a towering grave marker unto itself.

‘Thank goodness.’

He was too out of breath to speak, but Isaac felt genuine relief.

He had believed that as long as Uldiran Caldias reached them, the Transcendent could be killed.

No matter how formidable a Transcendent might be, someone at the level of Uldiran could subdue it.

‘Among the Transcendents I know, it wasn’t anything particularly special.’

Judging objectively, Isaac thought this particular Transcendent wasn’t that strong, at least not compared to others he’d encountered.

“Are you all right?!”

“We’ll rescue you right away!”

Soldiers rushed out the moment the tightly shut barrier door opened.

Isaac shouted, pointing in the direction he had been thrown from.

“Start with the wounded! Hurry!”

Beginning with Jonathan.

Then Silverna, and Anna, along with the nobles and their escorts.

Many had fallen victim to a single Transcendent.

As for Isaac himself, apart from the injuries from his fall, he was only lightly wounded.

Right now, others were far more important than him.

Following Isaac’s orders, the soldiers hurried towards the foot of the mountain.

“Are you all right?”

It was Uldiran who approached Isaac, who was still trying to steady himself.

Isaac attempted to stand, but Uldiran’s hand gently pressed down on his shoulder, letting him rest more comfortably.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Hmm, that monster… what was that?”

Even Uldiran Caldias seemed to be seeing it for the first time.

Isaac answered bitterly, gazing at the corpse.

“That’s what we call a Transcendent… beings that look human but are more like monstrous beasts.”

At Isaac’s words, Uldiran folded his arms and studied the corpse as if savoring the information.

“Hmm, you seem to know quite a bit about that creature.”

“I will explain later.”

Isaac stood up slowly.

The moment he saw the man lying on a stretcher, he wanted to run straight over to him.

Seeing that sincerity, Uldiran chuckled lightly and nodded.

“Don’t worry about me. Go. It’s only natural to be concerned about your comrades.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving Uldiran behind, Isaac rushed urgently to Jonathan.

“Jonathan! Are you all right?!”

Jonathan, being carried on a stretcher, gave a thumbs-up and smiled faintly.

“I am a knight of Helmut, am I not?”

“Ha, haha… Yes, I’m relieved.”

From Isaac’s perspective, the title ‘Helmut’s knight’ wasn’t especially pleasing.

But at least Jonathan was alive, and that was good.

“What on earth happened?”

Isaac knew that Transcendents never left humans alive.

They showed no mercy to humans, their hatred a near-instinctual desire.

Jonathan scratched his cheek awkwardly as he lay there.

“To be honest, I don’t really know. After I sent you off, its greatsword was at my throat.”

Jonathan tilted his head slightly to show his neck. Indeed, there was a cut there, beads of blood forming near his Adam’s apple.

“But then it just stared at me and left.”

“Left?”

“Yes, it said I was a ‘dirty bastard’ and then just departed.”

“‘Dirty bastard’?”

At Jonathan’s words, Isaac cocked his head, puzzled.

A Transcendent had forsaken a chance to kill a human and walked away?

‘What’s going on?’

It made no sense within Isaac’s understanding.

“Isaac! Don’t worry about Jonathan! He’s fine!”

“Geez, stay still, at least.”

“First, you need to see a physician for an examination.”

Jonathan was promptly whisked away.

Even before Isaac could relax, more questions bubbled up in his mind. Lost in thought, he suddenly felt someone wrap themselves around him from behind.

“Isaac!”

“Silverna?”

Startled, Isaac turned his head.

Silverna clung to him tightly, relieved and overjoyed.

“Thank goodness! Really, thank goodness, Isaac! I was afraid something terrible had happened to you!”

“Well, I—”

Feeling embarrassed, Isaac glanced backward.

He could sense Uldiran Caldias staring intently at them.

‘If I’m not careful, I might end up skewered like that Transcendent.’

He definitely didn’t want to share the same fate as the Transcendent impaled on a spear. Isaac tried to gently push Silverna away.

“Ugh.”

But he couldn’t overpower her strength. While trying to figure out how to peel her off without causing a scene—

“Ahem, Silverna.”

Eventually, Uldiran Caldias approached and cleared his throat, calling softly to his daughter.

“A-ah, s-sorry!”

Realizing only then what she’d done, Silverna stepped back in embarrassment.

“……”

Uldiran fixed his gaze on Isaac. He seemed to have something to say, but—

“Ahem.”

Isaac pretended to scratch his neck and, in doing so, casually displayed the ring on his left ring finger.

With that, Uldiran’s gaze softened slightly.

“Where are the Holstein heirlooms?”

Returning to his original duties, Uldiran asked. At his question, Silverna snapped to attention and reported.

“We’ve recovered them. Anna is guarding them now. However, she’s injured, so she’ll likely need to rejoin us soon.”

“Very well, I’ll go myself.”

Silverna seemed startled that Uldiran would personally take action, but—

“Do not let your guard down.”

A stern warning, laced with bitterness, came through Uldiran’s deep voice. Frowning, he shared his view of the current situation.

“That bizarre creature you call a Transcendent is worrisome, but even more so is the number of monsters.”

Indeed.

Silverna had to agree; the number of monsters near the barrier seemed disproportionately high.

“So you mean—”

“Silverna, prepare to send a message immediately.”

It had been 23 years since one had appeared.

“A Great Den.”

****

In Helmut Estate:

“Guuuuhhhh!”

A man’s wail echoed through the manor.

If someone didn’t know better, they might mistake it for a rooster’s crow at dawn.

The owner of that agonized cry was Alois Helmut, the third son.

Recently, he’d been sparring every single morning.

And it was always against the eldest daughter, Rihanna Helmut.

Whoosh!

Rihanna sheathed her greatsword, Ragnabel, and sighed.

“Fix your stance, Alois.”

Her tone hinted that this session was far from over.

Alois, who normally praised Rihanna as a precious jewel, found that lately her eyes seemed tinged with blood rather than their usual brilliance.

“N-No, Sister! We’re doing this every day! I’m really going to die at this rate!”

Although he enjoyed spending time with Rihanna, this was too much.

He felt as if his entire body might break from the daily agony.

Yet Rihanna showed no mercy.

“I’ve been sparring with you every day, and yet you never improve.”

“Th-That’s—”

That’s just how it seems to you, Sister, Alois wanted to say, but he swallowed his words.

Strictly speaking, Alois had grown stronger.

It’s just that from Rihanna’s perspective, his progress was negligible.

“Grab your sword.”

Rihanna would not relent.

Her emotionless expression only made him feel the intensity of her resolve even more.

‘Talking about re-marriage in front of Lilac was... a mistake.’

Alois was now paying dearly over several days for his previous mention of re-marriage and his dismissive comments about Isaac.

And he wasn’t the only one unsettled by Isaac at the Helmut estate.

The second daughter, Sharen Helmunt, felt the same.

Seventeen years old, younger than everyone except her fifteen-year-old youngest brother, Edel Helmunt.

At this moment, Sharen lay sprawled on her bed, kicking at her blankets.

“Aaaaargh! Where is it?!”

If one were to describe Sharen:

A tomboy, a wild child.

If not for being a Helmut, she’d be just another rowdy country girl.

Among the times when Sharen grew most agitated was when snacks were involved.

“Seriously! Where is it?!”

There was a certain snack she loved dearly.

But lately, Sharen hadn’t been able to taste it at all.

“Where the hell did Isaac buy it?!”

Because Isaac, whom Sharen had treated like an errand boy, had been dispatched to the Malidan front lines.

As a result, Sharen couldn’t get those snacks Isaac used to bring.

She’d tried every nearby bakery that also sold pastries to no avail.

While Sharen agonized over this problem—

Her personal maid, Kelsey, burst into the room and called out urgently.

“My Lady! The Head of the House summons you!”

“Father is calling?!”

The Sword Festival was still about a month and a half away.

It wasn’t yet close enough for the Head of House to summon everyone, so it must be for another reason.

And so, the direct descendants of the Helmut family were gathered in the lord’s study.

The eldest son, Lohengrin Helmut.

The eldest daughter, Rihanna Helmut.

The second son, Armin Helmunt.

The third son, Alois Helmut.

The second daughter, Sharen Helmunt.

The youngest, Edel Helmunt.

It had been a while since they all gathered together anywhere other than the breakfast table, and the atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.

Arandel Helmut, their father and head of the household, rested his chin on one hand, looking quite troubled.

“A messenger came from the Malidan Barrier.”

At those words, everyone’s eyes darted subtly toward Rihanna.

Isaac had been dispatched in their stead to the Malidan Barrier.

Could it be news of his death?

That seemed the most likely scenario.

Rihanna clenched her fist, struggling to calm her pounding heart.

But then—

“The monster den at Malidan Barrier has been confirmed to be a Great Den.”

In an instant, the tension shifted.

A Great Den sighted for the first time in 23 years.

If that was the case, then there was only one reason the messenger had come:

“They need more support.”

The request from the Caldias side, delivered through the kingdom to the nobles, was explicit.

When it was just a normal monster den, it was fine to send promising talents for real combat experience.

But now that it had been confirmed as a Great Den—

They needed those who could serve as genuine combat forces.

“Huh.”

Arandel was frustrated that this had to happen so close to the Sword Festival, one of the house’s main events.

But now that a Great Den had been confirmed, he couldn’t make a decision solely for Helmut’s own benefit.

“Someone must be sent to Malidan. Is there anyone who will volunteer?”

Thus Arandel asked—

“I will go.”

“Father! Please send me!”

Both of the two women in the room—

Rihanna and Sharen answered simultaneously.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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