“What?!”
“Zahariel!
Tell me exactly what happened!”
The shadow…
Damn it.
How could she have forgotten about that thing?
Not long ago, it had repeatedly appeared near them like a shadow, silently watching from a distance.
At first, Lion had assumed it was some kind of being similar to the Watchers in the Dark—a robed figure that merely observed and guarded from the shadows.
Because of that, she had gradually lowered her guard.
She never expected it to be waiting for an opportunity to strike.
But why?
Why had it targeted Merlin?
“Where did it go?!
Where did it take the Wizard?!”
Lion’s anxious roar seemed to shake the entire forest.
“My Lady…
I don’t know!
My psychic power couldn’t restrict its movements at all!”
“It disappeared after taking the Wizard!
We don’t know where it went!”
“You don’t know?!”
Don’t know!
Don’t know, don’t know, don’t know!
They knew nothing!
Useless fools!
At that moment, Lion had the urge to smash their heads one by one.
Without another word, she put her helmet back on and rushed into the forest.
Merlin.
She had to find Merlin.
She had to…
But how?
Who was that shadow?
Why had it taken Merlin?
Where had it taken him?
She didn’t know.
But she had to keep moving.
Lion El’Jonson’s legs carried her forward almost on their own.
Walking.
Faster.
Running.
All she could do was run.
Her nose caught subtle changes in the air.
The bloody stench of the Great Beasts’ corpses quickly faded as she ran, replaced by the familiar dampness of Caliban.
Grey mist surrounded her.
Lion couldn’t tell whether what blurred her vision was mist or tears.
She didn’t care.
She simply kept running.
And it wasn’t only the mist.
Everything around her was changing.
Towering Calibanite trees rose on either side, while the path seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of her as she ran.
The forests of Caliban.
The surroundings felt familiar.
This wasn’t the northern wasteland where the Knights of Lupus had made their stronghold.
That region was covered in low shrubs and thickets, not towering trees and thick mist.
This was her home.
A place she knew well.
A place she hadn’t truly known for a very long time.
—Someone was missing.
Without Merlin, she was once again hunting alone in the forests of Caliban.
Alone…
She had never realized how desperately she needed Merlin until she felt that she had lost him.
It was as though she had returned to that primitive forest.
Alone.
She had no companions.
She couldn’t allow herself to be weak.
In the forests of Caliban, weakness meant death.
She had to remain alert at all times.
In the forests of Caliban, lowering your guard meant death.
In that forest, she had become a [Beast].
To survive, she had needed to become one.
But all that savagery, loneliness, and fear had ended after he appeared.
[Uh…
Lion?
Lion!
Pspspsps, can you hear me?
Lion!]
[Huh?
No, don’t hiss—ow!
And don’t bite people!]
[Me?
My name is Merlin.
All right, all right, time to rest…
hey, don’t scratch me!]
She still remembered it.
That had been the most peaceful night she could recall.
But now…
He was gone.
Right when she had finally unified Caliban, he had vanished.
No.
Never again.
Lion accelerated, like a predator that had finally caught sight of its prey.
She ran faster.
That was how she had hunted the Great Beasts.
Hunt the beasts…
Beasts.
Beasts!
Kill!
There!
Through the mist-filled forest, she saw it.
The enemy who had taken Merlin.
That mysterious hooded figure.
Right in front of her!
That damned beast!
Joy, anxiety, and rage erupted together inside Lion.
She lowered her body and leapt.
Then, driven by pure instinct, she released the same primal roar she had once used in the forests of Caliban.
“HA!!!”
“Hm?”
At Lion El’Jonson’s roar, the mysterious figure turned toward her.
For a moment, he seemed genuinely stunned by her sudden appearance.
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”
Lion’s blade struck beneath the figure’s black robe.
Clang!
A shower of sparks burst from the impact.
“What?!”
Something happened that Lion El’Jonson had never expected.
She was actually forced back several steps.
How was that possible?
For the first time, Lion had encountered someone capable of matching her in raw strength.
“Give him back!!!”
She roared at the figure.
“You value him greatly.”
“That’s none of your business!”
“Don’t even think about taking the Wizard away from me, you bastard!”
“He’s mine!”
The black-robed figure fell silent.
Then, after a moment, he simply held Merlin out toward her.
“What?”
Lion stared at him.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
She hurriedly took Merlin into her arms, tore away the black cloth covering his face, and looked into his still-conscious but bewildered eyes.
“Lion?
What’s going on?”
“Ugh…”
With a faint whimper, she hugged him tightly while keeping a wary eye on the mysterious figure.
“Don’t…
squeeze…”
Merlin struggled for breath.
“I’m…
going to…”
“Going to…
suffocate…”
“Maybe I should just squeeze you to death!”
Lion snapped irritably.
“Always getting yourself into trouble…
always making me worry about you…”
“If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve brought you to the northern wastelands!
I should’ve made you stay safely in the rear forever!”
“But I’m fine, aren’t I?”
“You’re fine this time!
What about next time?
What about after that?
Are you saying you—”
“Ahem.”
The black-robed figure deliberately coughed twice to draw their attention.
This was also the first time Merlin had gotten a proper look at him.
The figure’s entire body was concealed beneath a wide black robe.
Beneath it, Merlin could glimpse golden armour set with emerald gems.
The face beneath the hood seemed obscured by dim light, making its features impossible to distinguish.
“Who exactly are you?!”
Lion held Merlin close and took half a step back.
“I have come for you, child.”
The figure’s voice possessed a strange quality.
It was impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female, old or young, yet the voice inspired an instinctive sense of conviction.
As he spoke, the chaotic haze covering the sky dispersed completely.
Thousands of stars appeared overhead, and far beyond them, an enormous voidship gleamed brightly in space.
At the same time, a line of warriors in heavy power armour appeared in the forest behind the mysterious figure amid flashes of teleportation light.
They immediately formed ranks, disciplined and silent as they awaited orders.
“And who are you?” Lion El’Jonson asked.
The warrior at the front of the formation answered in an impossibly deep, resonant voice.
“I am Midris.”
He gestured toward the warriors beside him.
“We are warriors of the First Legion.”
“The First Legion?”
Lion frowned.
“Whose First Legion?”
Midris turned toward the mysterious figure standing beside him.
“The Emperor of Mankind.
Ruler of Terra.”
“The Emperor’s First Legion.”
“That is correct.”
The black-robed figure finally spoke again.
“Welcome back to the Imperium of Man, Lion El’Jonson.”
“You have suffered greatly these past years.”
The Emperor of Mankind opened his arms to her.
It really helps the fic grow!