There Is No Way You Love Me

This wasn’t Kieran’s first time hearing that sound. He had encountered it a few times in his previous life. But now, it was spring—a time when monster invasions weren’t supposed to happen.

“No way…”

He murmured in confusion, unable to be certain. The only evidence that aligned with his memory was that this event was indeed a monster attack. His second life had diverged so significantly from his previous one that it was hard to link the current timeline to his memories.

Unlike him, Alyssa didn’t hesitate. She immediately grabbed his arm and began running. When they reached the third floor, startled servants had gathered.

“If you push the bookshelf in the bedroom, it will reveal a hiding space. Don’t come out until you hear the all-clear signal,” she instructed Kieran firmly, turning away without waiting for his reply.

She gave the same instructions to the other servants, then moved quickly.

In her mind, there was no room for confusion over this unexpected situation. The urgency of the crisis left no space for doubt.

The castle’s alarm rarely rang, even in winter, when monster attacks were most common. Especially now, when the entire knightly order was stationed at the castle…

“Your Grace!”

The area near the castle gate was utter chaos. Thick smoke curled into the sky, and the continuous ringing of the alarm mixed with the monstrous cries that had begun to fill the air.

“What’s the situation?”

“Part of the northern wall has collapsed. We lost contact with the last people stationed there for monitoring,” reported a soldier, battered and blood-stained, as he handed Alyssa a crumpled note. She took it, her expression hardening.

The northern wall was a high, fortified barrier separating the monster forest from the territory. The knight order usually guarded that primary line of defense, with most battles fought there.

“This is bad,” Alyssa thought.

Spring was the season with the weakest defenses.

While minimal preparations were always in place during spring, an assault was simply not anticipated. To make matters worse, most of the knights had left their northern posts and were stationed at the castle, leaving the wall vulnerable. Not only had it been breached, but they also lacked essential supplies for battle.

As Alyssa read through the note and strapped on her armor, a loud noise signaled the opening of the castle gate, and Kanut came rushing in.

“Evacuation inside the castle is complete! We’ve sent messengers to restrict entry for the townsfolk as well. Dammit, what on earth is happening?!”

“Kanut, save the complaints for later. We’re in wartime,” Alyssa interrupted coolly but without disagreement.

“Most monsters are animal- and plant-type like the ones before, but we’ve also spotted flying creatures and earthen golems. Ten unidentified entities, too… Unbelievable!”

Kanut gritted his teeth after scanning the message.

“A spring attack, of all things, and in numbers beyond what we’ve ever seen? They’re out to wipe us out entirely.”

It was true. Their forces were in worse condition than usual, while the enemy was much stronger.

“There are monsters we’ve never encountered before.”

The rumbling of approaching beasts grew louder, vibrating through the ground with each thud. Although the distance between the castle and the outer wall wasn’t particularly close, the monsters moved with inhuman speed.

Alyssa clenched her jaw, knowing she could not afford to let the castle fall. The knights locked the massive gates of the fortress, sealing off entry and exit as they removed all supplies from within. They stood, backs to the gate, under a blood-red sky.

The intense glow of the sunset was blinding, making it hard to keep their eyes open. Under that burning red light, a gigantic, twisting shadow approached rapidly.

Shriek!

The moment the monster howled, Alyssa surged forward, a blur of movement. The beast, resembling a panther, recoiled, but not before her blade left a wound across its hide. Its rough, blackened skin split open, spilling thick, dark blood that began to eat away at her armor where it splattered, releasing a smoking hiss.

‘Poison.’

Yet she didn’t retreat; instead, she closed the distance further. As the monster lunged, gaping its jaws to devour her, Alyssa thrusted her sword straight into its mouth.

A sickening crack echoed as her blade pierced the tender flesh within. Saliva from the monster dripped down, corroding her gloves, but she twisted the sword without hesitation. The beast’s throat tore open, and it collapsed to the ground, defeated.

Alyssa twisted her wrist, pulling out her sword in a spinning motion. The beast, its throat slashed open, fell heavily to the ground. Satisfied to see that her sword, made from the bones of monsters, remained uncorroded, Alyssa immediately charged towards another beast.

Shriek!

This new creature, resembling a deer, was smaller than the last but had markings on its back that seemed alive, twisting and screaming with an ear-splitting metallic shriek. For a moment, Alyssa’s vision blurred.

She felt as if her footing vanished, as though she were suspended mid-air. She tried to plant her feet back on the ground, but no matter how much strength she put into her steps, there was nothing to hold onto.

The beast before her multiplied, first into two, then into a hundred. In an instant, all of them lunged toward her.

A terrible pain engulfed her body, yet Alysa held back, closing her eyes to focus. She quickly sensed a single presence rushing at her.

The monster was likely moving even faster, given that flying beasts had also been spotted.

Benoit Castle stood between the northern wall and the residential area where the townspeople lived. If the castle fell, the creatures’ destination was obvious.

Alyssa aimed her sword at the weakest, thinnest part of the approaching silhouette. When she opened her eyes, she saw a beast writhing on the ground, its tail severed. Slowly, the distorted hallucination faded, revealing the creature now headless.

She could still feel the vivid pain of being torn apart in the illusion, but there was no time to dwell on such pain. Alyssa sliced through the endless wave of monsters, scanning her surroundings.

“You bastards! Because of you, I’m out here on duty and can’t even see my wife, damn it!”

“Ah, Deputy Commander! If you want to see your wife alive, just shut up and keep fighting!”

Fortunately, the knights, despite their lighter armor than usual, were holding their ground without major injuries. But the monsters were relentless, swarming endlessly.

A massive plant-type creature opened a flaming bud like mouth, while another water-based plant monster wielded whip-like vines, freezing anything they touched. The knights fought fiercely, but with each cut, the beasts kept coming.

Amidst all the screams and shouts, the rumbling—like the footsteps of a giant—was steadily drawing closer.

The Earth Giant, a monster composed of the forest’s soil and rocks, was an immensely formidable threat all on its own. Unlike other monsters whose weak points could be targeted by attacking vulnerable joints or crevices, the vital spot of this creature lay deep within its body. To take it down, they’d need catapults to shatter its massive form first.

‘And there were flying monsters spotted too,’ she thought. The kind of creature rarely seen in Benoit Territory but notorious in neighboring lands, these monsters were far from easy to deal with. Unlike the animal-type monsters that caused hallucinations or the plant-types that wielded magic, they had no such powers. But still…

“Aaagh!”

Suddenly, a searing pain exploded in her shoulder. She couldn’t stifle a cry as claws dug deeper into her shoulder.

Screeech!

Just as Alyssa noticed a large shadow cast over her, enormous wings flapped with a thunderous sound, lifting her off the ground in an instant.

“Damn it…!”

A head of the size of a barrel loomed above her, its mouth opening wide to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth.

This flying monster was the largest and most powerful of any creature she’d encountered. The armor on Alyssa’s shoulder had cracked under its grip, and blood was beginning to seep through.

If not for her armor, her bones would have shattered instantly under that clawed grip. Even now, as its claws pressed deeper, the sharp pain continued to intensify.

Alyssa gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her sword. As the monster, circling low, stretched its head upward as if preparing to soar high, Alyssa knew that if it took off with her in its claws, she’d be dead. Twisting her wrist at an odd angle, she drove her sword into one of the monster’s six wings.

Screeeech!

The monster screeched in agony, thrashing wildly as she struck its joint. The grip on her loosened, and though her twisted arm screamed in pain, she gripped her embedded sword tighter, hanging on with every bit of strength she could muster.

Its four eyes, perched on its forehead, rolled around to fix on her. One of those pitch-black eyes glowed faintly red. Just as it seemed ready to flap its five remaining wings and take off, Alyssa clenched her fist and punched the red eye with all her might.

Squish!

The creature’s fluid and blood splattered all over her as the life left its body and it began plummeting to the ground.

Although they weren’t at a dizzying height, the weight of the monster made their descent terrifyingly fast. Alyssa released her sword and kicked off the monster’s corpse mid-air.

“Kanut!”

Kanut, who had been cutting down another beast, looked back at her in shock. With a quick reaction, he swung his blade in her direction.

Alyssa timed her fall perfectly, pressing her feet off Kanut’s sword in mid-strike as if using it as a springboard to land safely.

“Are you crazy?! I told you to stop doing that! We’re both going to end up dead if you slip up!” Kanut, having taken the full weight of her landing, shook out his hand with a yell. Alyssa, however, barely acknowledged his outburst.

Kanut was the only one with a blade thick enough to act as a foothold and strong enough to withstand her accelerated landing.

Clicking her tongue, Alyssa wiped the soles of her shoes against the ground; the beast’s fluids on her sword had started to corrode the bottoms.

“Need some new shoes?” he asked.

“A spare sword will do. What’s the status?”

The battle seemed to be winding down. Knights were checking the corpses of the beasts, making sure they were dead, while a few others who had been on standby brought over extra weapons and armor.

Alyssa took a fresh sword, strapping it on as she prepared to catch her breath—but her head snapped toward the forest on instinct.

Thud. Thud.

The tremors, which had briefly ceased, were growing louder and closer. In the distance, hulking shadows moved like two great hills advancing.

More monsters were approaching, likely as many as they’d just fought, if not more. A few flying types were visible among them, and, worst of all, two Earth Golems were advancing as well.

That alone would have been a daunting sight, but the knights, including Alyssa, were transfixed by something even more uncanny.

Leading the horde forward were what looked like… people.

“…Humans?”