Volume 2 Chapter 9 – A Poor Start

The massive figure wavered, stumbled, and finally collapsed, sending clouds of dust and sand into the air.

Was it over?

That question was swiftly answered—the Red Beastman, having fallen due to imbalance, propped himself up with his axe and rose again amidst the blowing dust. His pupil-less eyes radiated unrestrained fury.

“ROAR!!” His raging bellow tore through the air like a hurricane, the resulting pressure blasting Dylin backward and making everyone's eardrums ache from the deafening noise.

Felicia summoned a crystal wall to shield herself from the sonic blast, but it shattered almost instantly. With no time to waste, Astrid released a second [Star Arrow] from her silver-patterned bow—one of the three stars she had already summoned. The meteor-like projectile crashed straight into the beastman’s forehead.

It blew his only strand of hair into a bird’s nest—he was now completely bald.

The hulking creature was so enraged that he ignored the pain, charging at Astrid with his massive axe in hand.

Dylin opened fire again, but the flintlock shots had almost no effect. The Red Beastman, now berserk, seemed completely immune to pain or even concussive Divine Authority strikes to the head.

"Astrid, run!" Dylin shouted, but Astrid was already on the move. Her moon-silver heels tapped the ground, and her black-stockinged legs carved a graceful arc as she leapt over the frenzied beastman. Mid-air, she drew her shortbow and loosed several arrows.

Unlike Teresa’s longbow, Astrid specialized in shortbows—less power, but more agility.

Unfortunately, against a tank like the Red Beastman, they barely scratched him.

Feeling the arrows hit his back, the beastman turned, slammed his axe into the ground, and sent a shockwave cracking through the earth. It hit Astrid mid-air and knocked her flying.

As he prepared to charge her again, a shower of crystal shards from Felicia pierced his back—but this time, he ignored them. Even his dim-witted brain realized which target was "softer."

He had locked onto Astrid.

Still mid-air, Astrid released two enhanced [Silver Flame Slashes], but the beastman forcefully shattered them. She bit her lip—six stars had already been spent. If this didn’t work, she'd have to invoke her Second Divine Authority.

Rather than retreat, she ran straight at him. The size disparity between them was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.

The beastman raised his axe for a downward smash. Astrid had been waiting—she sidestepped the cleave, ran up the axe’s shaft, and climbed onto his shoulder.

The beastman tried to grab her, but he was simply too slow. Furious, he turned his head—and Astrid slammed her last silver starburst into his eye socket. Using the recoil, she pushed off and leapt backward.

But her trajectory was low—she was falling fast.

Dylin, already anticipating this, sprinted and caught her midair.

The moment she landed in his arms, a faint floral fragrance swept over him. Since Astrid’s [Divine Awakening], Dylin hadn’t held her like this.

She was surprisingly light—even lighter than she had been in her loli form. Even his feeble human body could carry her easily.

“You okay?” he asked.

Astrid nodded, then suddenly realized she was nestled in Dylin’s arms. Her cheeks flushed—something that hadn’t happened even during their brutal clash with the beastman.

As Dylin held her, the fabric of her black stockings brushed against his arms, making a soft rustling sound. Strands of her silky silver hair clung to his cheek, carrying a cool rose scent. The plush, doll-like texture of her limbs felt oddly pleasant in his hands.

But this wasn’t the time to let his mind wander.

He gently set Astrid down, turning to Felicia, who was currently bombing the beastman with crystal shards.

"Felicia! We need to retreat!"

This first battle had gone poorly. Though the beastman was wounded, he showed no signs of exhaustion. Who knew how long this brute could last on sheer willpower?

If they dragged it out, they might win—but they’d be utterly drained by the end.

Retreat now. Live to fight another day.

But Felicia didn’t respond. She didn’t even turn around. She was dead set on finishing the fight.

"...She’s lost it," Dylin muttered.

They couldn’t just leave her behind, though.

“No choice. Astrid, help me drag Felicia back!”

“Understood.” Astrid nodded.

Felicia, though half-crazed, wasn’t attacking teammates. Together, Dylin and Astrid each took an arm and began pulling her away.

“Wenfu! Run! We’re retreating!” Dylin suddenly realized someone was missing and shouted back—then resumed dragging Felicia. Of course, most of the actual strength came from Astrid; Dylin was basically moral support.

Unfortunately, the Red Beastman wasn’t going to let them go so easily. Beating his chest like a gorilla, he charged after them.

“Eat this!” Dylin tossed a [Flash Potion] behind him.

Pop! It exploded in front of the beastman, blinding him. He staggered, veered off course, and slammed through several rocks.

Yikes...

Seeing the destruction, Dylin shivered.

This guy didn’t even have Divine Authority—and still could turn your bones into gravel with one hit.

Just to be safe, Dylin tossed another [Flash Potion] and continued running with Felicia.

“Dylin...”

“What is it?” He turned to see Astrid’s breathing faltering. She was starting to run out of strength.

The princess was fully in berserk mode now—her crimson eyes glowing with battle madness.

“Let go of me.”

“I’m going to defeat him!”

“Come on, Your Highness. Now is not the time,” Dylin sighed.

“I will defeat him... destroy him...”

“Yes, yes, one day you definitely will.” Dylin had Astrid support Felicia solo while he covered Felicia’s eyes. “But for now, we can’t endanger everyone else. Let’s be smart.”

“...”

Felicia trembled slightly. Her struggle lessened.

They finally stopped running once they were sure the beastman was no longer chasing them. Taking shelter behind a stone slab, they caught their breath.

Astrid sat down, her forehead beaded with sweat. She had borne the brunt of both carrying Felicia and the earlier battle.

Felicia, now calm, was exhausted—too tired even to hold her greatsword. Her amber twin tails were dirtied with sand and sweat. Her thighs were smeared with mud, her strength entirely spent.

Among them, Dylin was in the best shape. Besides being blown away earlier, he hadn’t sustained much damage—just ran a bit and fired a few shots.

As he reloaded his flintlock and glanced at his teammates, a bad feeling crept up.

Wait... aren't we missing someone?

Oh no!

“Crap! Wenfu got left behind!” Dylin smacked his forehead and looked around. But in the endless plains, there was no sign of the catgirl.

She didn’t keep up...?

“...Wenfu got lost,” Felicia murmured, lifting her head in a daze. Her hair was soaked in sweat, her skin and clothes covered in grime, and her body completely drained.

“Yeah. Seems that way.” Dylin's face darkened after calling her name several times and getting no response.

Their first encounter in Ruglian had turned into a disaster. Driven into retreat, and now with a teammate missing, Radiant Sun and Moon had hit their first true crisis.

“...”

Felicia lowered her head, silent. She understood this was all her fault. If it weren’t for her, they wouldn’t have risked coming to Ruglian. Wenfu wouldn’t be missing.

A defenseless Shaman Divine Princess separated from her team—no one could say what might happen.

Seeing Astrid’s fatigue and Dylin’s growing urgency, Felicia pushed herself up, gripping her sword. Her legs trembled.

She had to fix this.

“Felicia, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to find Wenfu.”

“You’ll only get yourself killed.” Dylin’s voice hardened.

Felicia bit her lip. He was right—she could do nothing right now. She’d just be a liability.

She slumped back down. Gone was the haughty confidence of a royal princess—she looked like an abandoned kitten.

“Calm down, Your Highness. Now’s not the time to fall apart.” Dylin activated Divine Appraisal, rubbing his chin as he analyzed. “This isn’t like you, Felicia.”

Felicia looked up slightly, watching Dylin’s thoughtful expression. His calm under pressure reminded her of someone—

Teresa...

In that moment, Felicia didn’t think of the royal guards or her father the king. She thought of the blonde girl who had once rescued her.

“If Teresa were here... what would she have done?” Felicia thought.

“I don’t think Wenfu’s in immediate danger.”

“Why?” Astrid asked, turning to Dylin.

“When we retreated, I remember calling Wenfu to follow. She wasn’t carrying anything, and wasn't helping anyone. She should’ve been faster than us. But she never caught up, nor answered when called.”

“I suspect... she left before we started running.”

“She retreated before us?”

“Possible. But Wenfu doesn’t strike me as the type to abandon teammates,” Dylin frowned, a theory on the tip of his mind, just out of reach.

“For now, we should go back and check. We need to find her.”

They helped each other up and retraced their steps.

At this point, the map no longer mattered. Dylin had underestimated how dangerous Ruglian truly was. Even with top-tier first-year strength, they were no match for its borderlands.

Dylin activated [Wide-Area Perception], taking the lead to scan for signs of life.

They returned to the battlefield. The beastman was gone—but so was Wenfu.

Dylin crouched and used Divine Appraisal to examine the footprints behind the boulder they'd hidden behind earlier. Felicia and Astrid stood guard.

Among the tracks was a small, light set—Wenfu’s. She had indeed been standing here at the start of the fight. Around her prints were their own—but another trail diverged entirely.

Wenfu’s footprints... heading in the opposite direction.

“What did you find?” Felicia asked after Dylin stayed silent for a while.

“Wenfu wasn’t caught in the fight. She left around the midpoint of the battle and went the other way.”

They had all been focused on the Red Beastman—and never noticed when the small cat girl quietly vanished.

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