Chapter 15
A knight who had been following behind El, who was leading the group at the front, whispered in a grave voice.
“Captain, something’s not right.”
El gave a small nod, agreeing with the knight’s words. He had felt something strange as well.
“The wyverns are overly subdued. Their numbers have clearly dropped.”
On the first day, they had been too busy dealing with the swarming wyverns to think about anything else. But at some point, the number of wyverns charging at them had noticeably decreased. Even those that did attack fled after the knights swung their swords a few times. Thanks to that, the knights were able to destroy the wyvern eggs with ease. The operation was progressing faster than expected, and it seemed the subjugation might end sooner than planned.
It was clearly a positive situation, yet none of the knights felt happy.
The flow of an ecosystem does not change easily. And when it does, it means something major has happened. Such events affect not only plants and animals, but also human lives. Sometimes the impact is positive—but more often, it is not.
When the ecosystem is shaken, human lives become unstable as well. The Black Forest was no exception. The fact that the wyverns’ behavior had changed overnight was proof that something enormous had occurred.
“Captain!”
As the knights moved through the forest with tense expressions, one knight came running, his face pale. He was part of the scouting party sent to locate the nests where the eggs were stored.
“I—I found this near an empty nest.”
He held out a chunk of flesh about the size of a child’s head. Though it was badly damaged, it was clearly part of a wyvern’s body. The knights fell silent as they stared at the completely butchered remains.
They were all thinking the same thing, but none dared to say it aloud.
A wyvern that required many knights working together just to subdue it.
And a mysterious predator that had torn such a creature apart.
The thought alone was terrifying.
“If that thing comes down and targets humans… the territory of Erel…”
No one even wanted to imagine it.
If they had to face a predator capable of slaughtering wyverns like this, they would have to fight prepared to die. Faces turned pale with fear.
But El Roitz, the captain of the knight order, simply stared calmly at the flesh in the knight’s hand.
‘Traces of fire.’
That meant it was not a mindless beast. Only beings with intelligence could control fire.
‘Either a human… or at least an intelligent being.’
If so, then conversation was possible.
Was it a threat? Or could it become an ally?
If it was a threat—
There was only one answer.
El tightened his grip on his sword.
Every night, I secretly left the mansion and headed into the Black Forest.
It was for the war Harry had wanted so badly.
Of course, the target of that war wasn’t humans. It was the magical beasts living in the Black Forest—the wyverns—who would serve as sacrifices to satisfy Harry’s urge to kill.
Wyverns were stronger than humans. They were fun to fight, making them perfect for relieving Harry’s desires. There were also plenty of them, enough to keep him entertained until he got tired.
‘And if the wyverns decrease, the subjugation force staying at the mansion will return sooner, right?’
I could satisfy Harry’s urges and get rid of Catherine’s annoying followers at the same time.
It was a win-win situation.
‘The more I think about it, the better this plan is.’
I sat on a rock, watching Harry gleefully fight. With a casual flick of his hand, massive wyverns fell like paper dolls. The wyverns fought desperately after their territory was invaded, but even to my untrained eyes, it was obvious they had no chance.
It was practically a one-sided massacre.
The only reason the wyverns managed to slow Harry at all was because he wasn’t fighting seriously. Dozens rushed him at once, yet none could land even a scratch. Harry played with them lazily, and when he got bored, he summoned blue flames and burned them away without a trace.
‘Seriously, what a terrible personality.’
Watching Harry laugh as he slaughtered them reminded me again that he was a demon.
The cruel demon Teoharis.
That was the real Harry.
‘I really did summon something incredible.’
With Harry’s power alone, it felt like he could easily wipe out an entire fortress.
‘And I asked someone like that to light a fireplace?’
It was like hiring Bill Gates to fix a frozen laptop.
‘And after fixing it, he’d say—’
“My annual salary is one million dollars, so pay up.”
As I was spacing out, one of the wyvern’s wings that Harry had torn off fell right in front of me. Blood dripped from the shredded limb rolling at my feet.
It looked like a horror movie.
‘I don’t have a hobby of watching things like this.’
I wanted to send Harry into the forest alone, but I had no idea how wild he might get. If something went wrong, I needed to be there to control him.
Because I had to go with him, our activities were naturally limited to deep night.
We repeated the same routine for days: sweeping through the wyverns under cover of darkness, then quietly returning before dawn as if nothing had happened.
During that time, the number of wyverns steadily declined. What once seemed countless could now be roughly counted.
“Harry.”
I checked my pocket watch and called him quietly. Though my voice was soft, he immediately understood and burned the wyverns he had been playing with. His face was full of regret as he came back.
“It’s already almost sunrise? Feels like no time passed.”
“No time? Think about how many wyverns you killed. After that many, you shouldn’t complain about being unsatisfied for years.”
“What are you talking about? I only killed about fifty. That won’t even last me a few months.”
Fifty wyverns, and only a few months?
‘That’s some terrible efficiency.’
Once the wyverns were gone, we’d need to find another sacrifice.
“Can’t you count one wyvern as one year? The subjugation force throws a party if they kill even one. Most of the time, they just chase them away.”
Apparently, killing even one took years. Even during this operation, no one had successfully killed a wyvern.
If so, shouldn’t they be called an egg-destroying force instead of a wyvern subjugation force?
Harry snorted.
“Don’t compare me to those weaklings. That’s insulting.”
Normally, I would have scolded him for bragging, but after seeing his power firsthand, I had nothing to say. Still, I didn’t feel like praising him either.
So I stayed silent.
Harry tilted his head.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Saying what?”
“Why aren’t you arguing back?”
“Would you like me to?”
“No… it’s just that you’re acting different.”
He hovered around me awkwardly before suddenly sitting beside me.
“Hey, are you scared of me now? Did you finally realize how amazing I am?”
“Yes. You’re incredibly strong. You must’ve been bored just lighting fireplaces beside me.”
“Well, I wasn’t that bored. You’re a pretty funny human to watch.”
I frowned.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I mean… it’s not that I was completely bored… just that it was a shame I couldn’t use my full power…”
“Sir, I have no idea what you’re saying. Could you try again in young-people language?”
“Hey! Stop calling me ‘sir’! I’m a young man with a bright future!”
“Oh, that part I understood perfectly.”
“Ugh! You’re really clueless.”
“Why should I go out of my way to interpret what you mean? If you want to say something, say it clearly.”
“……”
Harry stood up, flustered.
“Forget it. I won’t say it.”
“Okay.”
When I nodded easily, Harry stomped his foot.
“You’re supposed to ask what’s wrong! At least once!”
“Giving up quickly is one of my strengths.”
“That’s not considered a strength.”
“If something won’t work, it’s better to give up early. Why cling to something the other person doesn’t want to say?”
Harry paused.
“…That actually makes sense.”
At that moment, a powerful wind swept through the forest. Trees shook violently. I nearly fell, but Harry grabbed my shoulder and steadied me.
Harry stared at the sky.
“What the hell? Why is that thing here?”
I followed his gaze.
A massive wyvern descended from the sky—far larger than the others.
Clearly, the leader.
It landed heavily.
Then—
“I. Wyvern. Leader.”
“…Huh?”
“Greet you. Human. Demon.”
The wyvern spoke.
My jaw dropped.
“Why is a wyvern talking?”
Harry scoffed.
“That’s not normal. This one’s special. It’s an ancient spirit beast.”
The wyvern demanded answers for the slaughter.
And for the first time—
I was being questioned by a wyvern about genocide.
Eventually, after guilt, arguments, insults involving white starfish, tears, and negotiations—
I sighed.
“Alright. I’ll stop killing the wyverns.”
Harry shouted in shock.
The wyvern smiled and offered me a scale.
“A leader’s scale. Wyverns obey you.”
And just like that—
I became the protector of wyverns.
Then knights arrived.
Wyverns surrounded me.
They bowed.
And when the knights attacked—
The wyverns gently brushed them aside.
I calmly petted a wyvern’s forehead.
It purred.
The knights stared in horror.
“The wyvern…”
“…is acting cute toward the young lady.”
