NOVPUB“Hurry—run!”
Casey charged forward through the trembling halls of the auction house without hesitation.
Her assistant Betty, the Third Princess Erendir, and Knight Enya followed close behind.
RUMBLE.
Cracks split across the walls, and dust drifted down from the ceiling.
At this rate, the roof collapsing was only a matter of time.
It was all due to the massive shockwaves from the battle raging outside.
“The exit’s just ahead!”
The four women saw light pouring in from the end of the dark hallway and pushed their legs with all their strength.
Two with knight-level physiques, two with physical enhancement through magic—
None of them dragged the others down. All four made it out safely.
CRASH!
The moment they escaped, the corridor behind them collapsed in a deafening roar.
If they’d been even a second slower, they might’ve been buried in that rubble. The thought alone sent a chill down their spines.
But none of them could even feel relief.
Because the sight before them was simply overwhelming.
“Wh-what... is that...”
Erendir murmured in a trembling voice.
Her eyes were fixed on a black-maned monster locked in combat with the Rederbelk Knight Order.
Three skull-like wolf heads. Dozens of beast maws bloated across its body like festering boils.
“The Beast of Jévaudan?”
Casey’s eyes widened in disbelief as she immediately identified it.
Enya, startled by the muttered name, turned to her in shock.
“Wait, the Beast of Jévaudan? You mean the one from five years ago—the one that rampaged in the Kingdom of Durmang?!”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“But how? It was confirmed dead, wasn’t it? I heard part of its corpse is still kept in the Royal Museum of Durmang!”
“It is. That corpse still exists.”
Then Casey added, voice sharp:
“But this one is... different in some subtle ways.”
Especially its forelimbs.
The beast corpse she had once seen had looked more purely animal.
This one, though beastly in shape, had a body that felt—strangely—more human.
Its brutally swinging forelimbs didn’t look like a quadruped’s at all. They were shaped more like human hands.
Though, to be fair, any thoughts of humanity vanished the moment one saw those “hands” writhing with beast heads.
‘No doubt about it. This isn’t the same as the one I saw. The corpse in Durmang had over 70% of its body destroyed—but I wouldn’t fail to recognize it.’
That monster had devoured numerous kingdom knights.
The Beast of Jévaudan had turned the “Night of Blood” into a living nightmare—before finally falling to the legendary hunter, <Abraham van Helsing>.
And Casey suspected that van Helsing was another identity of the very man she had been chasing—
<James Moriarty>.
So now, the reappearance of the Beast of Jévaudan here...
Could this really be coincidence?
Casey’s mind raced.
And with that came the worst-case scenario.
Professor Moriarty... What are you planning in this city?
She clenched her fist tightly.
He was her lifelong nemesis—the one wall she had never been able to overcome.
And right now, he was somewhere in this city.
That man is here.
For the past three years, Casey had endured hellish training to surpass him.
She’d risen high enough to earn a Color Title as a mage.
She had sworn—if they met again, she would never let him slip away.
So this time... she would catch him.
But first—
Her gaze locked on the rampaging Beast of Jévaudan.
Every time it swung its tail, the destruction spread.
It wasn’t a creature—it was a living natural disaster.
That monster must be stopped. We can’t allow the damage to grow.
Her mission had never changed.
To make the world a better place.
To carry on her late grandfather’s legacy and protect his honor.
Casey moved.
Just as the beast’s massive arm was about to slam down over fleeing civilians—
Her mana surged.
And the water responded.
CRACK!
A torrent of sewage burst from a split in the ground, lashing up like a whip under Casey’s control, binding the Beast of Jévaudan.
━━━!!!
The monster that hadn’t flinched at the combined attacks of the Clockwork Knights—
Stopped moving.
The flowing water twisted around the beast like a massive serpent, squeezing tight.
“Did she—did she just stop that monster?!”
“Amazing...!”
Even the Clockwork Knights, locked in combat with the monster, shouted in shock.
But Casey didn’t revel in their praise. She grit her teeth.
What... is this strength...?!
Her hand trembled as she controlled the water.
She had poured dozens of tons of water into this restraint alone.
And still, the monster was overpowering her.
This much force could overturn a military tank, and it’s still not enough?!
ROOOAAAAAR!
The left head of the beast let out a cry.
It was a terrifying, almost despairing scream. Strange vibrations laced the sound and rippled into the binding water.
BOOM!
The water holding down the monster's arm exploded, shattered apart.
“What?!”
Casey grit her teeth, trying to summon more water—but it wouldn’t move as she wanted.
It’s disrupting the flow... That howl—there’s something in it!
She quickly analyzed the situation.
That roar had magical interference embedded in it.
This thing wasn’t just some oversized beast.
There was a reason even mages had struggled to take it down five years ago.
Still, if I let this stop me—I’m not worthy of a Color Title!
Casey’s magic was water.
And as long as water existed in the environment, her power was godlike.
Rederbelk was the perfect place for her.
The great Ramgier River that flowed through the city’s heart, and the countless sewers and drainage pipes that ran through every corner—
All of it was her arsenal.
CRASH!
From the cracked ground, another powerful surge of water erupted.
It rose into the air and formed into armored warriors.
Each one with twin fairy-like wings on their backs—water knights, charging at the Beast of Jévaudan.
“Reinforcements?! Now’s our chance! Press the attack!”
The Clockwork Knights seized the moment.
They were trained soldiers—not fools who’d sit around in awe.
Their aura-coated blades gleamed as they struck.
Each swing cleaved off one of the many beast heads.
Black blood spurted from the severed stumps.
ROOOAAAAARRRR!!!
The Beast of Jévaudan howled in agony as blades and summoned water warriors ripped into its body from all sides.
Its blood-red eyes, burning with hatred, locked onto the water mage.
The beast’s instinct had identified the most dangerous threat in the area.
AWOOOOOOOOOO!
The right head opened wide and let out a long, deep howl.
Casey sensed it immediately—this one was different.
Her summoned water knights were unaffected.
It’s not magical interference this time? Then what is it—?
The answer came quickly.
Across the city, black shadows began to rise one by one.
Casey felt a chill race down her spine.
“Wh-What... is that?!”
Others noticed too, and their panic erupted.
“W-What ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) the hell?!”
“It’s a swarm of rats!”
“Where the hell did all these rats come from?!”
From the cracks in the earth poured a swarm of massive sewer rats.
Not hundreds, not thousands—tens of thousands—rolling in like a tidal wave of black fur and teeth.
And it wasn’t just rats.
Stray cats. Wild dogs. They were mixed into the horde too, all moving together as if they shared one mind.
They charged at the people from all directions.
This is insane—he’s controlling other beasts too?!
Casey was horrified, but she immediately flared her mana and summoned a towering wall of water around her.
The flood of rats surged toward her—only to be swept away and flung aside by the torrent.
But the gap was quickly filled again by more and more vermin.
This—this was one of the powers that made the Beast of Jévaudan the nightmare of that infamous night.
If the left head’s howl disrupted mana flow...
Then the right head’s howl exercised control over all beasts.
The King of Beasts could command all animals—and that included cryptids with beast-like forms.
While the “Night of Blood” had been blamed on an unexplained outbreak of cryptids, at its core, it had all stemmed from a single existence.
The Beast of Jévaudan.
The king of all savage beasts.
The monster that had reigned over that night of pure horror... was this.
“H-Hiiik!”
Casey let out a faint gasp as she spotted a rat crawling dangerously close to her ankle.
She’d never told anyone—but she hated rats.
No, if she were honest, she was afraid of them.
Despite her reputation for nerves of steel, Casey Selmore had an unshakable phobia of rodents.
“G-Get away!”
Her legs gave out, and she dropped to the ground.
Even as tears welled in her eyes, even as her face contorted in fear, Casey never once stopped manipulating her magic—never stopped trying to hold back the Beast of Jévaudan.
Because if she let up now, that monster would kill more innocent people.
She bit her lip hard.
A mouse had already crawled up her shin, now wriggling up her thigh—
“Casey!”
Betty rushed in.
With brute strength, she grabbed the vermin off Casey and hurled them across the battlefield like cannonballs.
Each time her slender legs kicked, the rat tide burst apart like waves hitting a cliff.
Still not satisfied, Betty picked up a steel beam—larger than her own body—and began swinging it with the fury of a demigod.
“I’ll help too!”
Erendir stepped up, shielding Casey with magic.
Beside her, Enya brandished a compact sword and tore through the rats like a whirlwind.
“Thanks, everyone!”
Thanks to them, Casey could finally focus.
The summoned water knights were being destroyed one after another by the beast’s tail and claws, but even as they died, their liquid forms seeped into the wounds on the beast’s body—
—And turned into countless barbed spikes that exploded inside.
GRAAAARGH!
The Beast of Jévaudan let out a cry of pure agony.
Its roar summoned the beasts of the city once again. The rats, the stray cats, the wild dogs—all turned their attention toward Casey.
“Casey! That thing’s pissed! The beasts are all charging at you now!”
“Hold the line, Betty! The civilians come first!”
“We’re gonna die!”
Ignoring Betty’s shriek of panic, Casey locked her gaze on the beast.
They just had to buy time. Long enough for the remaining citizens to get out safely.
But... would they survive?
They might die here.
And still—
If it meant saving even one person.
She would do it.
She would endure it.
Then—
What?
Suddenly, the Beast of Jévaudan raised its head and looked off in another direction.
At the same moment, the tidal wave of beasts that had been surging toward them—
Stopped.
Like someone had frozen time.
“W-What? The rats...”
“The monster—it stopped?”
The murderous pressure that had pressed in like a suffocating blanket—
Vanished like a mirage.
Casey blinked in disbelief.
Just moments ago, the beast had targeted her above all others.
Its wild instincts had perfectly identified her as the greatest threat on the field, even ignoring the knight order to come for her.
And now, it had turned away?
There could be only one reason.
It had sensed—
—A higher predator.
Grrrrrrrr.
The Beast of Jévaudan growled softly.
It was a pitiful sound, a stark contrast to the deafening roars of before.
Casey’s razor-sharp instincts caught the subtle flicker of emotion in that sound.
It was anger.
Frustration.
And... fear?
Fear?
Casey froze.
She couldn’t believe it.
That monster... afraid?
That creature, the very incarnation of nightmares, was afraid?
As if drawn by invisible threads, she turned to follow the beast’s gaze.
Just then, the clouds parted.
Moonlight spilled down from the heavens—
—onto a single black silhouette.
No... not a shadow.
A man cloaked in one.
A black suit, a flowing black cape fluttering over his shoulders.
A bird-beaked mask covering his face.
A large staff held in one hand.
He looked like an actor stepping onto a stage.
Casey’s eyes widened. Her pupils shrank. Her lips trembled.
She knew that figure.
How could she not?
Even masked, even wrapped in shadow—
That overwhelming presence... was unforgettable.
“...James Moriarty.”
The greatest nemesis of her life—
Had just stepped onto the stage.
