Chapter 87: – The Lord Is With Us (8)

༺ The Lord Is With Us (8) ༻

Dusk began to settle in as the sun started to set.

The woods south of the Academy became quiet as the commotion of the hunting festival was quickly forgotten.

Not so long ago, it had been in an uproar. Outside of the festivities, there was also the discovery of a named beast they had recently dubbed the “Gut Collector.”

Despite having no casualties, the Academy was still concerned and immediately organized an investigation that resulted in the forest becoming rife with the activity of dozens of investigators.

But now that the sun was setting, it changed drastically.

According to mythology, the sun was made from the liver of Arus, causing anything unnatural and unholy to weaken when it came into contact with sunlight, Naturally, demonic beasts, as mana-borne existences, were no exception.

On the other hand, when the sun set and darkness enveloped the earth, that was when the evil god Omeros controlled the world. This was when demonic beasts were at their strongest. Even then, the Heavenly God Arus kept vigil through his right eye, the moon. However, there were still areas the moon could not reach and the darkness enveloped those lands.

As such, there was no telling what dangers still lurked in the forest, and the investigation team was forced to withdraw when it turned nighttime.

And yet, in an isolated area where only the faint sounds of birds and grasshoppers could be heard, two people stood face to face.

It was a woman with brilliant golden hair that resembled the sun, and standing opposite of her was a man with hair as black as the night.

They were completely alone in the forest glade.

One might think it was a romantic rendezvous between a couple, but the atmosphere was too chilling for that to be the case.

The woman with golden hair, Delphine, chewed on her lip as she glared at her adversary.

On the other hand, the man was ever so calm with eyes mired in weariness and an expression devoid of any emotion.

She found it unsettling.

She spat her words at him, breaking the silence.

“……It’s been a long time, Hatchet Lord.”

‘Ian’ didn’t return her greeting. His eyes flicked away disinterestedly before turning back towards her.

“What?”