Hearing Set's cry, Rei broke into a run alongside Vihera, heading toward the sound.
Vihera started a moment after Rei, but since he was holding back his pace, she caught up immediately.
"That cry from Set just now — what do you think it was? A monster?"
Rei nodded as they ran.
"Judging by that cry, it's definitely a monster. But if it were just an ordinary one, Set would have handled it on his own without hesitation."
Vihera, well aware of Set's strength, nodded in agreement.
Set commanded a vast array of skills and possessed the high physical abilities of a gryphon. On top of that, he carried Magic Items that could enhance his physical capabilities and nullify enemy projectiles, even if only once.
Furthermore, being a gryphon, he could naturally fly.
In the current situation, no packs of flying monsters had been spotted.
Since these were originally demi-human species forming packs under a Leader Species, that was only natural.
(Well, I suppose harpies could technically be considered a demi-human species too?)
As Vihera ran with that thought, Set's figure came into view ahead.
"Set, what's wrong!?"
"Grrruu!"
At Rei's call, Set turned his gaze toward a tree a short distance away.
Following that gaze, Rei and Vihera spotted a Werewolf enveloped in black mist — and understood why Set had cried out.
A smile crept across Rei's lips as he took in the sight.
In the sense that it was wreathed in black mist, it was just like the Goblin he had seen evolve into a Leader Species when he first encountered Unbris.
However... the amount of black mist clinging to this creature was incomparable to the Goblin. Looking at the Werewolf now, it was immediately obvious that the black mist the Goblin had been cloaked in before was nothing more than a faint residue of Unbris.
And above all, the instant Rei saw the black mist, he understood exactly what it was.
There was no clear reason for it.
Even so, Rei understood instinctively — not rationally — that what clung to the Werewolf was Unbris.
"To think we'd find it twice in a row. Completely unexpected. ...What do you think — coincidence?"
"It's a coincidence, isn't it? After all, we have the advantage in search range over other adventurers simply because we have Set. ...More importantly, what's the plan?"
Rei grinned at Vihera's question as she stared at the Werewolf and Unbris.
"Obvious. If we don't take this thing down, this incident won't end. We finally found it — naturally, we finish it here."
In this case, the fact that Unbris had no sense of self was a stroke of luck.
The sight of it evolving a Werewolf into a Leader Species was not something that should normally be witnessed by humans.
Even if it wasn't evolving the creature on the spot, as it had with the Goblin.
Merely seeing this sight yielded a wealth of information.
Under normal circumstances, that should have been something Unbris avoided.
The reason Unbris was considered such a troublesome existence was largely because its ecology remained a mystery.
The unknown was a powerful fuel for human fear.
Having even a fraction of that unknown unraveled brought Unbris nothing but disadvantage.
However, that was a judgment only meaningful if one possessed a sense of self.
For the selfless Unbris, turning demi-human type monsters into Leader Species was probably the only thing it needed to do.
This time, that had worked in Rei's favor.
Precisely because it lacked a self, it didn't flee even when confronted by Rei and Vihera — beings who clearly harbored hostility toward it.
(Or maybe it can't move while it's trying to create a Leader Species? That aside, since it's attached to the Werewolf I can't tell exactly, but it seems smaller than before?)
Drawing Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring, Rei studied the Werewolf and Unbris carefully.
Sure enough, even with Rei and Vihera standing right there, even when Rei readied his weapons into a combat stance, Unbris didn't move.
To Rei's eyes, it also seemed smaller than the Unbris he had seen before.
But that could be because it was fused with the Werewolf, or perhaps it shrank when evolving something into a Leader Species. Either way, it wasn't particularly strange.
"...Vihera, I think it should be fine, but..."
Vihera already knew how Rei planned to defeat Unbris.
Given that, she had no intention of arguing.
She backed away alongside Set.
The fact that Vihera complied so readily was largely because Unbris had no sense of self and didn't understand the very concept of combat.
All Unbris could do was turn demi-human type monsters into Leader Species.
Nothing else.
Nevertheless, because it was immune to physical attacks and possessed powerful magical defense as a being born from a magical anomaly, nothing had been able to harm it — until now.
But right here, right now, Rei stood.
His immense magical power began to compress and concentrate.
Eventually, the fire-attribute magical power he wielded reached a density visible to the naked eye... and red energy, now tangible to the eye, coiled around his entire body.
Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor. Currently Rei's strongest skill — and for someone with his vast magical power, it was the one skill that let him utilize that power to its absolute fullest.
The Werewolf, cloaked in black mist. Rei, cloaked in red magical power so concentrated it was visible.
At first glance, man and beast appeared remarkably similar.
But their essences were entirely different.
Even faced with Rei activating Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, the Werewolf... and Unbris itself, showed not the slightest sign of moving.
It simply remained near the tree, its body surrendered to the black mist of Unbris's true form.
"Well, better than it running away, I suppose."
Rei glanced at the Twilight Spear in his left hand. The spear, which carried a deep crimson hue rivaling the red energy enveloping his body, felt perfectly natural in his grip.
An ordinary Magic Item would have been unable to withstand the immense magical power Rei output — it might have snapped, shattered, or melted, and none of that would have been surprising. But the Twilight Spear showed no change whatsoever, even receiving the full force of Rei's magic in his Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor state.
(This really is a good spear.)
The thought crossed Rei's mind as he tightened his grip on the handle of the Twilight Spear, forged from the diverse array of materials he had gathered.
In his current state with Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor active, he should be able to destroy Unbris without fail.
Let alone the Werewolf that Unbris was trying to turn into a Leader Species — it wouldn't even be a contest.
Readying both weapons, Rei confirmed that Vihera and Set had retreated to a safe distance, then turned his gaze back to Unbris and surged forward.
His enhanced physical abilities closed the gap between Rei and Unbris to zero in the blink of an eye.
Despite an enemy bearing down on it, Unbris showed no reaction whatsoever, remaining fused with the Werewolf.
"Disappear."
Death Scythe swung with that single word.
The Grim Reaper's strike from his right hand cleaved effortlessly through the Werewolf's torso, while the Twilight Spear in his left, thrust simultaneously, crushed its skull.
Brain matter, blood, bone, flesh, and eyeballs scattered across the ground. The Werewolf set off down the path to death as a matter of course.
Its head gone, torso split clean in two, the Werewolf's corpse collapsed to the earth... leaving only Unbris hovering in place.
But that gave Rei a moment of hesitation.
The strike he had just unleashed with Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor had undoubtedly struck Unbris along with the Werewolf.
In other words, Unbris's formidable magical defense — not that it had the self to take pride in it — had been breached, and damage had been dealt to the black mist that was its true form.
Despite all that, Unbris remained motionless in the air.
As if the Werewolf's body were still right there.
(What?)
Rei was certain his strike had been effective.
Yet Unbris showed no sign of movement.
He found that strange — but in the next moment, Unbris's form began to thin and fade, eventually vanishing entirely.
From the moment it started fading to the moment it disappeared, less than five seconds passed.
...Though if measured from when he had slain the Werewolf, it had been nearly a minute.
"Umm... huh? Wait. Did I get it? Did it escape? Which was it?"
Rei muttered, bewildered by how easily Unbris had vanished from a single blow.
He had definitely finished it. He was sure of that. But at the same time, a question lingered — could Unbris really be defeated this easily?
"Isn't it defeated? ...There's no black mist anywhere."
"Right?"
Rei agreed with Vihera, yet still couldn't shake the sense that something was off.
(Killed? No, Unbris isn't exactly a living creature, so 'destroyed' or 'annihilated' might be more accurate than 'killed.' Reasoning aside, it's gone — that's a fact. But has this really been resolved?)
This incident had claimed many lives, and even more had been injured.
And even now, many adventurers were still out subjugating monster packs or searching for Unbris, the entity behind it all.
For a disturbance of this scale, was it really acceptable for it to end so cleanly from a single strike?
That doubt still lingered in Rei's mind.
Seeing his unease, Vihera spoke as if to steady him.
"I didn't expect it to end this easily either, but defeating Unbris is a fact. Shouldn't we report it to the Guild?"
"...You think? Well, you're right. Unbris is gone, so we should report it."
There were still many things that didn't sit right with him, but having defeated Unbris, he needed to make the report.
If this truly meant the end of the incident, it would be welcome news indeed for the people of Gilm.
But even so, a lingering doubt remained.
He simply couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the end.
There was a sense that another twist was still waiting.
(But since Unbris has been annihilated, maybe it really is just my imagination?)
He had his doubts, but no clear evidence.
Only a gut feeling insisted that this matter was far from over.
Given that, perhaps it really was just his imagination.
(When I file the report, I can mention that it might not be over yet. ...Still, with Unbris gone, this should be the end, shouldn't it?)
Setting aside his misgivings, Rei released Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and stored the Werewolf's corpse — no, the corpse of the Werewolf that had been on the verge of becoming a Werewolf Leader — into his Misty Ring.
Not for its materials, but because it might reveal something about Unbris. That was his reasoning.
(When I looked at it before striking, it seemed no different from an ordinary Werewolf, but...)
Even so, it was a corpse with its torso bisected and its head shattered.
Realistically, examining such remains in fine detail would be difficult.
Of course, if Unbris was truly dead, there was no need to rush the investigation.
"Anyway, let's head back for now. We can't be sure they haven't been attacked. ...You defeated Unbris, so no more Leader Species should appear... that would be nice."
The fact that she couldn't say it with certainty suggested Vihera also felt something about the unease Rei was sensing.
"Ah, Vihera-san! Rei-san! Set too!"
Seeing Rei's group return, Mina called out happily.
Beside Mina were Walein, mounted on his horse, and Jacomo.
All three showed open relief and joy that Rei and his group had returned safely.
...Though the horse Walein was riding had frozen stiff the instant it saw Set.
"How did it go? Um, did something happen?"
"Yes. A Werewolf was lurking nearby."
Perhaps judging it better not to mention Unbris, Vihera gave that reply.
If they had known Rei's group well, they would have understood that a single Werewolf was nowhere near enough to make Set cry out like that.
But Walein and the others had only met Rei's group today.
Unaware of the context, they accepted Vihera's words at face value.
...Though Jacomo, as usual, wore a foolish grin at the sight of the alluring Vihera.
"Well then, let's head to Gilm. With any luck, no more unnecessary monsters will show up."
Everyone nodded at Rei's words and set off toward Gilm. ...Though handling the horse, thoroughly spooked by Set, proved to be quite the ordeal.