This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

So - no matter who it was, John would not forgive anyone who tried to violate her.

The snow-white charcoal sank in the sand pit, with a bright glow faintly visible. Without the heat radiation it occasionally released at night, John's hands and feet would definitely be so cold that he would be shaking and unable to pick up anything. He even got up regularly to put new firewood into the campfire, extending its burning time.

"...Magician... Hey..."

"I can hear ..."

"..."

John opened his eyes from a deep sleep, and raised his upper body without any sleepiness in his mind. The trembling feeling in his heart and mind was awakened by the voice of alertness.

The dagger was on his waist, and the crossbow had not yet been loaded with arrows, but it would only take about ten seconds.

"Calm down... You can hear me, right..."

"...Hmm... Bait... Or maybe..."

"...Hmm...what's wrong with you? It's not morning yet..."

Only Linnae, who was still not awake, rubbed her eyes and observed the situation around her, just in case. John was holding her in his arms, and a sense of security ran through her upper body.

That means even if something happens suddenly, John will protect her feeling at the first moment.

"...Uh...Brother...did you hear that...that sound is..."

"A monster... or maybe a human... whatever..."

"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about... It sounds like the baby's voice, coming from over there..."

Linnai, whose ears were more sensitive than those of humans, immediately determined the direction and source of the sound. John analyzed the situation based on his experience and explained to her: "Linnai... There are many invisible traps in the world... Just hearing is not enough... Someone may have ambushed nearby... Monsters or humans... We don't know... Even if you want to be sure, you can't leave my side... Do you understand?"

"...Ah...really, brother, you are too overprotective...Xiao Bi is here too, there's no need to worry so much..."

"…Just in case…I…now have only these two hands left to protect you…"

The remaining light in the dim eyes made the girl's face look particularly bright. John loaded the short arrow into the arrow path and raised the crossbow. The bowstring fastened on the release port tightened the elasticity of the bow arm. The number of enemies was unknown, but one arrow could be used to take the initiative and create a breakthrough. Then, as long as it was used, a second round of throwing attacks could be launched...

"Too...too nervous, too nervous...there's no need to do this...Xiaobi, say something to him..."

"No... girl, I agree with the magician. Logically, how could the sound of a baby appear in this area... It is really unbelievable... My mission is to protect you... But I will still act according to your orders... Please give me instructions..."

"This……"

John, who had already prepared his equipment, put on his cloak. The leather armor hanging on his shoulders also made a metallic sound of buckling. He slowly walked towards the source of the sound and avoided the leeward side that was easy to be ambushed. However, the source of the sound seemed to be closer to the top. In this rugged desert, only a fool would put the bait at the top - something was wrong... something was wrong...

"Have you noticed... Magician..."

"Ahh... something's wrong... Normally I wouldn't choose that kind of place... If it were me, I would choose the diagonal waves down there... or the plain over there where it's easier to surround the target... But I chose this place... It's like it was random..."

"I just said you guys are too sensitive...it's okay...go check it out?"

“Don’t say that… Lina… Remember not to leave my side…”

"I know, I know...Brother, don't be so scared. We will follow you..."

"..."

Linnae realized that John was also afraid, so she looked at his slightly calmed profile with a gentle gaze and continued to move towards the source of the sound. Even if they were worried and concerned, Linnae believed that they would definitely protect themselves, and they also believed that Linnae's intuition was usually very accurate.

"...Ah, really...really, baby...that's too much..."

"Wait, Linna... there are traces of something passing nearby... these footprints are..."

"This baby's life is more dangerous than this one! Xiaobi, lend me your hand."

"Okay."

Linnai tried not to step in the direction of the footprints, and used the vines extended by Xiaobi to make a pair of small hands to hold the naked baby. John, who continued to observe the footprints, found that these traces were very similar to the marks left by the ankles of a certain race...

"It's okay... It's okay... Don't cry..."

"Woo...Woo..."

"These traces belong to... orcs... no... werewolves... and there are a lot of them..."

"What? Orcs... or werewolves?"

"A race that prides itself on its arm strength... is hundreds of times stronger than ordinary humans... and... tsk... could it be..."

Suddenly, John seemed to have discovered something and slowly took a step forward. The terrain began to sink with the changes in the desert. John, who tried not to think about it, looked forward as if he had the answer in his heart, and then looked to the downwind with his dim eyes.

The color reflected in front of his irises dyed his vision red, and a sickening stench filled his nostrils. Unable to take any more steps forward, his ankle reflexively took a step back, and Linna was about to walk over to find out what was going on.

John immediately took action and pulled her away from the front.

"Brother... there seems to be a strong smell over there..."

"Don't look! Linna!!"

"!"

Even so, Linnae accidentally glanced at it - it felt like she saw countless tiny wrists stained red by red wine. She was unable to react for a moment. No matter how naive and innocent she was, no matter how much she didn't want to think that, humans are intellectual beings that are easily polluted by the mind. Just a little bit of visual information can cause a vicious cycle in people's minds...

Only John, who witnessed the hellish scene, was able to remain rational and comfort her: "I told you not to look... Don't think about anything else... Calm down, Linna... It's okay..."

"But...but...that...over there..."

"...I won't ask you to forgive the person who did this...I only ask you not to change because of these things...Don't let the sins of others erase your innocence...You are not wrong...This is not your fault...This is a stupid thing done by someone who has done harm to others - at least...the child you are holding is still alive...Do you understand?"

"...Um...yes...yes..."

John took off his cloak and covered her with it, then pulled up the hood of the cloak to protect her from the smell and wind and sand. He also suppressed the girl's uneasiness and fear with words, and ordered her to take the baby and leave that place for a while. In the end, only Xiaobi and John went to the place where the incident happened.

"...Beast... Who on earth did this... It's too cruel... They actually dumped a newborn baby like garbage in a place like this..."

"I have a rough idea of ​​who the criminal is... and there may be clues about Doris and the others..."

"What...really? How can you judge like that?"

"We'll talk about this later with Linna... Let's deal with them first."

"...Okay...that makes sense...but are you okay?"

Abandoned babies in this desert are like bait dropped from the sky.

In this desert inhabited by the undead, just making a sound is dangerous enough, let alone the cries of hundreds of babies crying together, gathered together and tore them apart like they were a premium snack, with pieces of the babies still stuck in their mouths.

If the kind-hearted Linna saw this scene, she would definitely have a terrible nightmare tonight and lose her usual smile.