Chapter 10: Solar Eclipse (4)

In the darkness of a narrow, damp secret passage, Ellara ran desperately, clutching the hand of the young girl, Anya. Behind them echoed the terrifying roar of a monster, the screams of villagers, and the distant clash of metal on metal.

Hah… hah…

She was out of breath. Her old, weakened body had long reached its limit. But she couldn’t stop.

I have to live. I have to survive somehow.

Ellara had lived that way her entire life. Her own safety had always come first. Her profession had left her no other choice. In her youth, she had wielded a blade in the shadows.

The Night Viper. Under that name, she had been the Blackwood Guild’s elite assassin.

She had taken countless lives—for coin, for status, for survival. To live in back alleys filled with betrayal and conspiracy, she had to be more ruthless than anyone else.

Maybe that was karma, because her final mission had gone terribly wrong, and many lives were lost. Very few knew that the catastrophe known as the Ancient Disaster Seal Collapse had actually been her fault. That was why Ellara had abandoned everything and drifted into this remote village of Seorigol.

…I just wanted to forget everything and live quietly.

But of all places, to end up under such a mad lord.

Ian Darkest.

At first, she thought he was just a pitiful illegitimate son, cast out by his family. No, not even pitiful—pathetic. He had no ability, no backbone, and he was always groveling. But about a year ago, he changed.

“The eclipse is coming! We need to prepare!”

He started rambling nonsense about the sun vanishing and monsters invading. At first, everyone treated him like a madman. Ellara included. But Ian was serious.

Even as everyone laughed at him, he didn’t stop. Somehow, with his pitiful resources, he gathered materials, built shabby fences, dug pits for traps. He trained the villagers with the awkward knowledge he said he’d picked up from the academy.

He even made her swing a sword and called it swordsmanship.

“Please help me move this! We need to stack it on the wall!”
“This herb has a detoxifying effect! We’ll use it in emergencies!”
“Anya, you have to fight too! Don’t just hide—at least hold the spear properly!”

It all looked so foolish. And yet… something about it seemed desperate. As if the end of the world really was coming. He didn’t sleep much. Often skipped meals. His already thin frame grew more frail.

Ellara used to look at him and think, That guy… he’s not going to last much longer. And inwardly, she’d scoff. What’s going to change, even if he tries so hard?

A disaster is a disaster because humans can’t stop it. She, once the greatest assassin, hadn’t been able to stop one either. She’d caused it. But then… a real change happened. The sun vanished at midday. And monsters came.

Ian’s madness had become reality.

And now—those sounds.

Kwang!
Kuaaak!

“Damn it! Block it! Hold on, somehow!”

Ian’s voice. Raw, desperate. Behind it, the screams of soldiers and the monstrous growls.

Anya flinched. Ellara felt it through her hand. Her steps slowed without her realizing.

…That foolish lord.

If his own life was gone, what good would that shabby fief be. Even the knights who’d come to help seemed useless. And still, she fought. Why? What did Seorigol mean to him? It was the land of a family that had rejected him. She didn’t understand.

If it were me, I’d have run long ago.
Honor? Duty? Those are just empty words when your stomach’s empty.

But why were her feet slowing? Why did she keep looking back?

“Grandma…?”

Anya tugged gently at Ellara’s cloak, eyes full of worry. Ellara snapped out of it. Yes. I have to protect this child. It doesn’t matter what happens to an old woman like me… but this child still has a future.

“…We’re almost there, honey. Just a little further…”

She tried to sound reassuring as she forced her feet to move again.

Then—

“—Can you hear me—”

It was a true word. A cry so powerful, so raw, that even Ellara—who had lived a lifetime of violence—had never heard its like. Then came the sounds. Groans of pain from the village. A massive body crashing into the Earth.

And then—silence.

…Is it over?

A chilling feeling swept over her.

I have to run now. Maybe I can still save this little girl.

Ian Darkest. That useless illegitimate son. Why had he fought so hard for a disaster he didn’t cause? He made no sense. Everything about him was the opposite of her.

…It should be.

Damn it!

She clenched her teeth. Images flashed in her mind—Ian, digging traps under the hot sun. Ian, sighing at an empty warehouse. Ian, tending to wounded villagers with shaky hands. And just now—his back, facing the monster alone.

“Anya.”

She bent down and met the girl’s eyes.

“In the corner over there, there’s food and water I’ve hidden. Take that… and wait for me here. Got it? You mustn’t come out, no matter what.”

“…What about you, Grandma?”

Anya’s eyes trembled with fear.

“Grandma has a little errand. I’ll be right back, okay? Be good.”

She stroked Anya’s head, then turned back the way they came—without hesitation.

“Damn lord… I’m crazy, I’m crazy… What kind of hardship is this at my age.”

She ran. Sprinting for the first time in her life where she had never risked herself for anyone.
Crack—!

It felt as though the world itself had frozen. I recognized the effect. I’d seen it on screen before.

Rinea Yudit.

A wide-area time-stop skill. It was an ability with an absurd performance, considered a cheat skill even in TeLe.

The massive claw of the Whispering Horror, which had been moments from crushing me, was now frozen mid-air. Dust hung motionless. The flames of a torch flickered, suspended as if in a painting. Even the monster’s whispers, the soldiers’ screams, and my own heartbeat—all faded into silence.

Thud. Thud.

I heard footsteps. My heart leapt.

A 5-star hero.
Rinea Yudit!
A munchkin magician who probably wouldn’t even remember me!

But—

“What is this?”

It wasn’t her. It was a figure in worn clothes. A stooped back. Sharp eyes.

“…Grandma?”

It was Grandma Ellara. How? I thought she’d run away. But something was off. She wasn’t slow or hunched. Her movements were light—like she was gliding across shadows.

[ View Character Information ]
◆ Ellara
Rank: ★★★★☆
Class: Assassin
Traits: 【Expose Weakness (S)】, 【Cognitive Decline (B)】, 【Flash Step (C)】, 【Quiet Breath (C)】
• Physical abilities are significantly decreased due to aging.

She scanned the frozen battlefield, the monster, the fallen soldiers, and finally—me. She clicked her tongue.
“Damn lord. Because of you, this old bag of bones is freezing out here tonight!”

Her tone was sharp and familiar—but her eyes were different. They were steady. Cold. Focused.

“Didn’t you run away?”

“Hmph. If not for that little one, I would’ve.”

She jerked her chin in a direction. Just a hill. But Anya must be there.

“Lord.”

Her voice was like a blade. No longer the grumbling elder. She pointed at the anomaly.

“What’s its weakness?”

“Inside its pupils. Like a golem. That’s where the core is.”

“I won’t ask how you know.”

“…Thank you.”

She nodded, and then—

Tszzt.

A light friction sound was heard, and the wooden staff was no longer there.In its place—a black-glowing dagger. A faint crow’s crest was engraved on its hilt.

“…Blackwood?”

“You know well.”

“You were… an assassin? Why would someone like you be in a place like this?”

Blackwood. The continent’s most infamous assassin family. Just one of their requests could buy a mansion.

“I have no money to give you.”

“Tsk. The fief won’t run properly if the lord is that dumb.”

She looked at me—and smirked.

“It’s not money that moves people, but the heart. You foolish lord.”

…Something only a grandma would say.

Did I really move her heart? I didn’t have time to ask.

Ellara stepped forward.

“What a ridiculous thing. Time-stop magic, of all things. I don’t know where this came from, but—”

Fwoosh.

Black auras burst into the air around her.

“Watch closely. This is how you use a sword.”

And then—she vanished. A blur. Her old body moved with inhuman speed, racing toward the frozen Whispering Horror. Her eyes locked on its largest red pupil—glowing ominously at the center of its brow. She leapt high. A shadow in midair.

And then—

“Eat this, you monster!”

Shunk!

The dagger sank deep into the pupil.

K-whump!

The blue light shattered. Time began to flow again.

“—Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!”

The beast screamed as its core was destroyed. Its body twisted. Shadows flared and scattered.

K-WHAAAANG—!

An explosion of black energy roared from its form.

[ ‘Anomaly (B): Whispering Horror’ has been defeated! ]
[ A great achievement has been accomplished! A reward will be given! ]
[ Magic power greatly increases. ]
[ Stamina greatly increases. ]
[ Mental power greatly increases. ]
[ 【Anomaly Hunter (S)】 Progress 11% ]
…
[ ‘Fragment of Memory: Monster Manual’ has been unlocked! ]