The moonlight brightly illuminated the city.
Even though the Moonlight Beast could appear at any moment, Encrid didn't run.
He simply walked at a moderate pace, his footsteps echoing softly.
As he walked, occasionally glancing around, a few townspeople lighting the tall lamps acknowledged him.
"Where are you headed?"
One of the townspeople asked, glancing briefly behind Encrid.
"A night stroll."
The response was calm.
"It's dangerous, you know."
The familiar exchange continued.
How had they gotten so friendly? Asia's eyes flicked between the two.
Encrid whispered casually, "He's a fruit seller. Lately, he's been troubled by his daughter's upcoming marriage. He said she's pretty, but she's into some lazy bum who flirts with many women."
"...How do you know that?"
"It just came up while talking."
Being so easygoing was one of Asia's specialties as well, but—
'I don't think I could be that casual.'
As they walked forward, Encrid spoke.
"Jaxon."
"We can find it immediately if any commotion arises."
At that, Asia glanced at the man named Jaxon.
He was exactly her type. Eyes that seemed to be almost closed, a neatly shaped mouth—just from his appearance alone, he could make many women cry.
Asia had a pretty good idea of what that man was capable of.
'His senses are extraordinary.'
For three days, they ate, slept, drank, fought, and sparred.
It had been a time filled with intense enjoyment for Asia.
Was it Luagarne who said it?
Around the man named Encrid, monsters swarmed.
If seen through the eyes of Frog, it must be true. She knew this, but experiencing it firsthand made it all the more real.
They were all monsters.
How could Jaxon's fighting style be summarized in one word?
'Calculation.'
Though Jaxon initially said he wouldn't get involved, he ended up drawing his sword a few times. It wasn't the life-and-death duel like when he first fought with Encrid, but he did fight.
Through crossing swords, she was able to understand many things.
He fought by observing movements, calculating, and predicting. Everything was stored in his head, and he could see the next step.
What allowed him to do this was his sharp senses.
His sight and hearing were far beyond ordinary.
Becoming a Junior-Knight meant honing all five senses.
There was no easy path to becoming a Knight.
Asia, being a member of a Knight order herself, had undergone similar training.
Yet, Jaxon's senses had an exceptional quality.
'If you want to move a step ahead, you must first understand how the opponent will move.'
Her master's words suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
The man named Jaxon had done just that.
He predicted her sword and moved first.
She couldn't even use her specialty, 'Targeting the Sword's Tip', properly.
Before she could start the technique, his sword would always come flying.
In a trajectory aimed precisely to disrupt her stance.
Or it would strike the blade's edge to divert its direction.
'He has exceptional skill.'
Of course, she believed that if they fought properly, she could win.
He might be excellent at observing, listening, and predicting, but the force behind his longsword wasn't anything extraordinary.
Not being extraordinary didn't mean the killing power of the sword was lacking, though.
'I can take him.'
That was Asia's judgment.
If Jaxon was calculation.
Then Ragna was pure instinct.
The problem was, this instinctual monster's actions, guided by his whims, often turned out to be the right answers and the correct path.
'That bastard.'
His sword was similar to the one that had given her a bitter defeat and forced her to reflect on the past.
A monster formed entirely from raw talent, in other words.
A calculating monster, and a monster made of pure talent.
Asia had never once been able to defeat Ragna.
"What is that?"
"A fast and heavy sword."
She suddenly asked, and the answer came back quickly.
A fast and heavy sword, he said.
What nonsense.
It was easy to say. Making it a reality was the realm of talent.
It was beyond Asia's reach. While such talent could make one envious, if she had been consumed by such jealousy, she wouldn't have reached her current level.
"Does someone else's bread look bigger to you? There are plenty of people with skills better than yours. They're everywhere."
Her master's teaching resurfaced once more. This sparring session had brought Asia a lot of realizations.
'My own skills are excellent too.'
Though someone else's abilities may seem appealing, the key is to surpass them and make their strengths your own.
Blaming talent and retreating in the face of limits wasn't something Asia could afford. After all, what she possessed wasn't insignificant.
'If the heart breaks, the will breaks, and if the will breaks, the sword breaks as well.'
By repeating this mantra, she kept her jealousy as a motivating force. That was Asia's secret to growth.
When she looked at Rem in that state, what could she say?
'Is he a madman, or a mad genius?'
He was both.
If Jaxon was calculation and Ragna was raw instinct wrapped in talent, then Rem…
"How about it? You can't stop it, right?"
It was amusement. He lived for the thrill. His techniques didn't follow a consistent form. Most of it was improvised.
Even when he showed off his other abilities, they were similar.
Unorthodox and aggressive.
He ignored small injuries and charged in.
Though Ragna was also spontaneous, he was different from Rem.
Rem fought purely for fun. His actions were driven by his enjoyment.
Naturally, this too was made possible by talent.
On top of that, Rem had added his own experiences.
He was a barbarian, making impossible moves possible—doing it all for the sake of fun. That was Rem.
"So, what do you think?"
Among all his techniques, the one that stood out the most was how he dismantled Asia's 'Targeting the Sword's Tip.'
How could she describe it?
Axe-edge targeting? Axe-edge blocking?
He used his axe blade to cover the tip of her sword.
With that, he completely killed the momentum her sword was gathering. It was a bold and unique move. And when he closed the distance in that state, it was, well—
'Terrifying.'
More terrifying than an aggressive man is a madman. A crazy barbarian like Rem looked like he'd accept a blade piercing his body if it meant more excitement and fun.
But was Rem the most remarkable of them all?
No.
There was still Encrid.
'Fascinating, utterly fascinating.'
Unique, truly unique.
When Asia looked at Encrid, she couldn't shake the sense of his distinctiveness.
'It's like he's a stone, carefully molded and compressed by great effort.'
His foundation wasn't just solid, it was rock-hard. But that didn't mean he lacked flexibility.
It was a swordsmanship where the basics had been drilled into him, repeated tens of thousands of times, until they had become an intrinsic part of his body.
It was as if someone had painstakingly repeated the process of crafting a ceramic jug, ensuring it would never crack, no matter how many times it was made.
And that fascinated her.
Normally, one develops their skills by building upon their natural talents, polishing their techniques based on their foundation. Most people hone their swordsmanship that way, developing their techniques and making them their own.
'Relying on talent.'
But Encrid was the opposite.
He couldn't move on unless he fully understood each and every step. His progress wasn't due to talent.
It was as if he'd painstakingly repeated and analyzed every single basic move, forcing his way through every obstacle.
A man who had met his limits time and time again, yet relentlessly pushed through them.
That's how he seemed.
Limits erode a person. They sap away their will. They make the word 'surrender' come to mind and offer the gift of despair.
'Did he surpass all that?'
Probably not, it was likely her own illusion.
But then, how had he reached his current level?
That was the real mystery.
There was one thing she did understand, though.
'No matter what, he has an unyielding desire to improve, and that's his foundation.'
Just looking at him, the word 'tenacity' naturally came to mind. A tenacity so intense it could make someone smile, even when on the verge of death.
Even while sparring with her, he never stopped training his body.
When Asia saw him using Dunbachel, the beastwoman, to practice taking a boulder-like object into his side, she couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.
Not even Knightly training involved things like that.
She had seen a priest break stones with his palms once, as part of a spiritual discipline, and that was the vibe she got from Encrid.
There was always a quiet madness when he trained.
And the beastwoman wasn't ordinary in skill or talent, either. But was she truly exceptional?
That part, she wasn't sure of.
Still, Asia couldn't help but wonder.
How had he gathered such a group of individuals, each one unique in their own way?
If she had known that this all began when the previous Border Guard Battalion Commander, now reduced to watching his back at the palace, had been left to either live or die on his own, she would have been just as dumbfounded as anyone.
In any case, there was no denying that these were extraordinary people.
As these thoughts settled in her mind, they arrived at a place where alleys branched off in all directions.
"Let's split up here."
Encrid spoke up, right next to her.
It was a place where darkness crept into every corner.
This was a zone adjacent to the slums, also home to a crime guild.
"Here?"
Asia asked, a bit incredulous.
"Here."
Encrid confirmed.
"Why?"
"I'll explain as we go."
"Only Asia comes with me. Ragna will go with Dunbachel. Jaxon and Rem will split up."
If those two stuck together, trouble was bound to happen. Asia had only known them for a few days, but she already understood that much.
Ragna was the type to get lost just taking a walk around the mansion.
"Anyone who loses the target is a dumbass, a moron, an idiot."
Rem hummed, adding strange lyrics to an equally odd melody as he disappeared into one of the alleys.
"Let's go."
Encrid started walking into the alley, and before Asia knew it, he had grabbed onto a wall and climbed up.
Some of the roofs were flimsy, made of wood and straw, but others were reinforced with solid plaster.
As the city inside the walls developed, residential areas outside the upscale districts became tightly packed, with houses clumped closely together.
Thanks to that, the roofs were interconnected, so as long as one had good balance, it was easy to run across them.
A few buildings stood taller than the rest, and falling from those heights would certainly break a few bones, but Encrid didn't climb that high.
He merely settled onto a sturdy section of one of the roofs.
"Why here?"
Asia asked again. She was genuinely curious.
This task wasn't really part of her duty as a Knight.
It wasn't something that fell within the vow she had taken for herself, but a task was still a task.
Success was always better than failure. If left alone, more people would die, and for the safety of the citizens, this situation needed to be resolved.
So she asked. She needed to know to respond properly.
"Understanding their habits makes it easier to know your opponent."
Encrid said. As he continued to explain, Asia found herself nodding along without realizing it.
"If it only appears on nights when the moon is out, it's like a madness that can't be controlled by its own will."
That made sense. Like a type of madness, it couldn't be controlled, and since it couldn't be controlled, it left traces.
"If it had full control, it wouldn't be making such a loud fuss."
This also made sense.
If Asia herself had to kill people in secret, how would she go about it?
She would choose a target, track their movements, and then strike in a secluded area.
Even though the Knights didn't focus on assassination techniques, if the job didn't require it, that would be the most efficient approach.
Everyone who had been targeted so far, except for one priest.
'Were commoners.'
Once in the slums, three times in the residential area.
Encrid had told her all of this. The evidence was clear from the investigation.
"The rains over the past few days would have intensified the madness. If it's affected by moonlight, the full moon will trigger strong desires and urges within it."
Yes, that could very well be the case.
It might not fit perfectly, but it was plausible.
"If I were consumed by madness and aware of it, I would try to satisfy my urges as far away from my home as possible."
That statement meant he had already narrowed down the location of the perpetrator.
'The farthest place from the slum residential district?'
Asia's gaze naturally shifted past the moonlight, toward the center of the city.
The area near the inner wall, close to the Royal Palace.
A group of nobles, unable to stay inside the palace itself, resided there.
"Uncontrollable desires would cause chaos, so the suspect must erase any suspicions."
The explanation concluded.
Asia nodded in understanding, chills running down her spine.
"When did you figure all this out?"
"I've been wandering around for the past few days. I pieced it together from what I heard."
How could a stone that had been trampled and hardened so much also be so sharp?
Asia's eyes reflected both amazement and confusion.
Encrid brushed off her gaze easily.
He had merely walked through the market a few times and gathered information from those he spoke to.
Why hadn't Asia noticed?
'Because she didn't care.'
From the start, had she taken this matter seriously, Asia could have figured it all out herself.
But she hadn't been concerned about how many commoners had fallen victim.
The only reason a Junior-Knight was even involved was because a Squire had been attacked.
The Royal Palace was too preoccupied with the civil war, so the issue of the Moonlight Beast was just a secondary problem.
This wasn't the first time something strange had happened in the Capital.
With the Assassin's Guild walking around in broad daylight, everyone already knew that public order was a mess.
Encrid had rightly assumed no one would conduct a proper investigation, so he looked into it himself.
From the first victim to the increasing number of casualties afterward.
There wasn't even a need for detailed questioning. Rumors, nearly as wild as ghost stories, had spread so far that everyone knew about it.
A few words with the fruit seller.
A few words at the blacksmith.
A few words from a guard at the gambling den.
From a lumberjack, a wood merchant, a glass dealer, a minstrel, a library clerk, a barmaid, and a noble's guard.
He gathered and organized everything they had told him and reached his conclusion.
The monk's testimony had been especially crucial.
"It was wearing clothes. A rather expensive-looking coat. And that beast, with the moonlight at its back, ignored me and went straight for the priest."
Even though it was consumed by the urge to kill, it still acted with reason.
That made predicting its movements easier.
While beasts or monsters acted on instinct, humans did not. They used logic. If the target was thinking and moving accordingly, you could deduce the basis of those thoughts.
'The Divine figure is a threat, so it's dealt with first. Then, to avoid further problems, they cause trouble far from their usual location.'
A human turned beast by madness wouldn't have stolen a fine coat—it must have been wearing it to begin with.
And since there were no reports of it anymore, it likely stripped off its clothes before transforming.
Jaxon had guessed it was a lycanthrope.
Encrid had come to a similar conclusion.
And then—
Ooooooohhh.
A sound like the cry of a night bird echoed from somewhere nearby.
Encrid recognized it as coming from the direction Ragna had headed earlier.
"Let's go."
Only then did Encrid begin to run, and Asia followed close behind.