There Is No Way You Love Me

A murmured voice spread clearly through the tense air.

Those who heard it, as well as the one who had spoken, tried to deny the reality. They told themselves it was a trick of sight and sound.

But as the tremors grew louder and the silhouettes of the monsters became clearer, they could no longer deny the truth they faced.

“It’s… humanoid monsters!”

The shout of horror caused the ranks to stir. Alyssa, however, fixed her gaze on the approaching monsters with calm, measured eyes.

‘About ten of them?’

Clad in long robes and carrying strange staves, the humanoid figures were charging at the forefront like leaders of the horde.

“Do not panic! Form ranks,” Alyssa commanded sharply.

“Do not attack newly appearing monsters recklessly. Observe their methods before countering.”

Even as Kanut’s uneasy eyes flickered between her and the horde, Alyssa’s resolve only grew firmer. Her task wasn’t to succumb to fear but to find a way to turn this situation around.

Humanoid monsters.

Until now, there had been no kind of monster she hadn’t encountered before. Some were rarer and less documented, others difficult to fight—but she had seen all before.

These humanoid monsters, however, were entirely unprecedented. There was no mention of them in records or any previous battles.

Alyssa tightened her grip on her sword. The monsters were now close enough for her to see their every detail.

“STOP CHASING, YOU IDIOT!”

One of the humanoid monsters let out an unintelligible screech, raising the stave in its hand high above its head.

Anticipating an attack, Alyssa braced herself, her body tensing in preparation.

However, instead of attacking Alyssa, the monster abruptly turned away. It let out a sharp, unintelligible cry toward the approaching earth golem.

“KYUNGSO!”

As soon as it finished speaking, a murky light emerged from its stave and sank into the golem’s head. In an instant, the massive creature froze.

Like water seeping into dry soil, the light spread through every crevice of the golem’s body. As the faintly shimmering light wrapped around its entire form like vines, the golem crumbled helplessly to the ground.

“HAHA! NOW YOU WILL NEVER—SHIT!”

The humanoid monster, shouting gleefully in front of the pile of dirt, suddenly doubled over and coughed up blood violently.

Above its bowed figure, a flying monster dove with its jaws wide open.

“WAKE UP, STUPID!”

Another humanoid monster standing nearby shouted angrily. As it turned sharply, its robe slipped off, revealing brown skin beneath.

BANG!

A threatening crimson light burst from the stave held by the brown-skinned figure, striking the flying monster dead. The flying creature collapsed instantly, lifeless.

“…Monsters attacking other monsters?”

The entire knightly order stared in disbelief at the bizarre scene unfolding before them.

No monster ever attacked its own kind. That unwritten rule was, even now, being followed—albeit in an unusual manner.

The monsters directed their aggression exclusively toward the humanoid creatures, completely ignoring their fellow beasts.

Watching this, Alyssa was thrown into confusion.

The unrobed figure’s features were strikingly human, except for its unique skin tone. Yet, the power it wielded was undeniably monstrous.

A being with the appearance of a human, wielding the power of a monster, and fighting other monsters.

‘What on earth are they?’

At that moment, the humanoid monster that had launched the crimson beam earlier collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood even more violently than its fallen comrade.

Seeing this, the remaining monsters became even more frenzied, their vicious energy growing more ferocious. The eight remaining humanoids, panicking and unsure of what to do, began glancing around nervously—until they spotted the Benoit Knights.

“OH, THEY CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M TALKING. WHAT’S THE…”

“What the—?!”

“Stay back!”

Startled by the humanoids sprinting toward them, the knights instinctively raised their swords. At this, the robed figures skidded to a stop, visibly alarmed.

“WE ARE NOT BAD PERSON! UH, I THINK THEY CAN’T UNDERSTAND.”

“WALLY HAS PAPAGO. TAKE IT OUT!”

One of them, muttering hurriedly to the others, dashed over to their fallen comrade and grabbed a small yellow gem.

“Is it working? Can you hear us? UNDERSTAND? Hey, we’re not bad people, so please help—wait, if it breaks now—FUCK!”

The figure holding the yellow gem began speaking in rapid, broken sentences, but before they could finish, the gem cracked and shattered into tiny fragments.

KIEEEEEK!

A monster’s shrill roar suddenly echoed across the battlefield as a massive, rock-like paw swung toward them. Alyssa reacted immediately, drawing her sword and slicing through the monster.

The humanoids, who had been staring dejectedly at the broken gem, quickly turned their attention to the approaching monsters and began counterattacking.

“They’re not attacking us! We’ll figure out what’s going on later—clear this area first!”

At Alyssa’s command, the knights snapped out of their confusion and charged into the fight against the monsters.

Screams and howls filled the air as black blood and viscous fluids splattered across the battlefield. Bright beams of light shot from the humanoids’ strange staves, painting the chaotic scene with a surreal glow.

The battle proceeded smoothly. The stave-wielding strangers assisted the knights far more effectively than expected.

Although their efforts were limited to redirecting splattering fluids or guiding flames away, it proved immensely helpful.

Most of the monsters had been defeated, leaving only one Earth Golem. Just as Alyssa tried to steady her increasingly dizzy vision, one of the smaller strangers stepped forward, gripping his stave tightly.

When he muttered something, the Earth Golem shattered into pieces, not crumbling down as before but instead breaking into hundreds of fragments that floated mid-air.

“ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU WANT TO DIE?”

Everyone recoiled in alarm. The robed strangers swiftly acted, stopping most of the airborne fragments in mid-flight, but several still fell to the ground uncontrollably.

Alyssa dodged the falling debris but felt an excruciating pain that made her vision blur.

“Commander!”

When she blinked, her field of view was tinged red, and the sight of Kanut running toward her wavered like a mirage.

Clicking her tongue in frustration, Alyssa roughly wiped the blood from her eyes. Under normal circumstances, evading the fragments would have been easy, but her right arm, still bleeding heavily from her encounter with the flying monster, was severely hindering her.

“Are you alright?”

“Just give me a cloth to stop the bleeding on my shoulder. Notify the castle that the battle is over. Gather the injured for treatment, and anyone unharmed should detain those strange individuals.”

After giving her orders, Alyssa exhaled deeply, trying to calm her breathing. Thankfully, the castle stood undamaged, without a single shard striking its walls.

The other knights also seemed to have avoided life-threatening injuries or long-term disabilities.

Watching a messenger signal for the gates to open, Alyssa allowed herself a faint smile. The dire situation they had prepared for had ended without significant losses.

Soon, a group of people surged out of the castle to tend to the wounded. Alyssa accepted a strip of cloth from an attendant rushing toward her and waved him off, preferring to take care of herself.

Wrapping her wound tightly with a ruthless grip, Alyssa took a heavy step forward. The battle was over, but her duties were not yet complete.

“Hey—Commander!”

Even as Kanut’s irritated voice called out to her from behind, Alyssa paid him no heed. However, she was forced to stop when she noticed a figure approaching from afar.

“Why are you here, my lord…?”

She asked slowly, but a beat later, she realized something was wrong. Kieran’s face was pale, a stark shade of blue as if he had witnessed something deeply unsettling.

“It’s alright. Everything is resolved. There are no serious injuries, no major damages,” Alyssa reassured him gently, even managing a small smile.

Despite the gravity of the situation, she felt a sense of pride in having seen it through successfully.

‘I finally did my part.’

She hoped Kieran would be proud of her. He was someone generous with praise, so perhaps he might even offer a kind word or two.

But Kieran remained silent. Instead, he strode forward toward her without a word.

Only then did Alyssa remember that her entire body was smeared with the blood and fluids of monsters. Feeling self-conscious, she staggered back a step.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit… messy right now…”

Alyssa, feeling her dizziness intensify, bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to stay conscious.

However, her vision only grew blurrier. She struggled to steady herself—there was still work to be done. She couldn’t afford to collapse now.

With every blink, Kieran’s figure came closer.

When he was finally near enough for his face to come into focus, Alyssa stared blankly, a fleeting thought crossing her mind.

His expression wavered between sorrow and anger, as though he couldn’t decide which emotion to settle on.

‘Why do you look like that? Aren’t you happy? I wanted to see you smile…’

As Alyssa unconsciously took a step back, her foot hit something. The faint thread of consciousness she’d been clinging to snapped completely, and everything went dark.