After withdrawing from the monster's lair, the Night Knights of the 4th Platoon returned to Idri's village.
Idri had already been waiting there for some time. The moment he heard that the Night Knights were back, he hurried over. Otto and Edwin then told him the results of their investigation together.
It was not an easy thing to say. Otto had thought that after seeing so much life and death on the battlefield, matters like this would no longer trouble him. Yet watching Idri's expression collapse—from one filled with expectation to one drained of all color—as he silently walked off to the side, Otto still felt his chest tighten. Even soldiers struggled to learn how to live with death; Idri was just an ordinary man, and what awaited him now was a life completely destroyed.
"What a pitiful guy…"
Perched atop a low stone wall, Inaya smacked her lips as she looked toward Otto's side. Her tail swayed lightly behind the wall, occasionally brushing against the weeds growing at its base. Beside her, Shatiel leaned against the wall at an angle, while Hielaina and Nordhausen stood opposite them. All of them were watching Idri, witnessing him come to terms with this cruel outcome.
"The truth is basically clear now," Nordhausen said calmly, "but there are still several points that don't quite add up."
Over time, it became noticeable that Nordhausen and Inaya shared a similar air—one particular to long-lived beings… a certain emotional distance.
"Yeah, yeah."
Hearing that, Inaya suddenly perked up and straightened as she sat. Hielaina and Shatiel didn't react as strongly, but they roughly understood what Nordhausen was getting at.
First of all—what exactly was that monster? Why did it appear there? Why was the village completely intact, yet Idri insisted the monster had rampaged through it? And judging by the outcome, it wasn't just Idri who believed that. All the villagers seemed to share that understanding; otherwise, they wouldn't have hidden in the cellar, and none of this would have happened.
"For research purposes, Imperial geological scholars have excavated remains of many different kinds of large creatures across various regions," Hielaina said. "These remains vary widely in form, species, and size. Perhaps the creature we encountered was something similar."
Her earlier thought of capturing the monster hadn't been some wild fancy after all. That creature would have held immense research value for scholars.
"Large creatures? Remains?"
Inaya looked mildly surprised.
"Yes. We've been calling it a 'monster' this whole time, but I was already thinking along other lines. After seeing it in person, though, I think it closely resembles what scholars refer to as the Dakken Colossi."
"Uh… Dakken Colossi?"
"The Dakken myth originated within the territory of the Kingdom of Dazilet and has been passed down for a very long time. Scholars believe it was first created by our ancestors after seeing exposed remains of gigantic beasts. Because the myth became so well known, those creatures were later named Dakken Colossi."
"Alright. Then have your scholars actually discovered anything?"
Inaya didn't believe the creature they encountered was the same as the twisted monsters described in Church texts from the Dark Age. She leaned toward the idea that those were fabrications—after all, she had never seen remains of such beings, nor heard of any concrete proof of their existence. Still, aside from that, she had no other frame of reference. The world was vast, after all.
"Research on those creatures has always progressed very slowly," Hielaina replied. "Aside from their remains, scholars haven't found anything related to their living environment. That said, there has been progress in studying the remains themselves—after all, staying exposed for over thirty thousand years without disappearing is remarkable in its own right."
"Thirty thousand years?" Inaya narrowed her eyes. "Your scholars think those giants died thirty thousand years ago?"
That number caught her attention. In Church doctrine, thirty thousand years ago was also the era when the Holy Divinity returned to the world and drove away the darkness.
"Yes. It was inferred through measurements of the decay of certain chemical elements."
"..."
Inaya didn't understand the explanation that followed—but thirty thousand years… coincidence?
"What do you think?" Hielaina asked. "Does this have anything to do with the monsters you mentioned from the Dark Age?"
"No connection whatsoever."
The answer was decisive.
Inaya had never seen any evidence proving the existence of so-called "dark, twisted monsters." As for the descriptions in the scriptures… she didn't put much faith in Church records to begin with. How much of it was crafted to maintain authority, and how much reflected buried historical truth—perhaps only the Supreme Pontiff and a handful of high-ranking clergy truly knew.
"According to Church texts," Inaya continued reluctantly, "the darkness was completely eradicated thirty thousand years ago, and all impure things were wiped out. But the world then fell into desolation for several thousand years, until the Church restored life to the land."
Her tone carried a trace of resignation at having to recount Church lore. Hielaina, on the other hand, listened with keen interest.
"So theoretically, the 'Dark Age monsters' I mentioned should no longer exist," Inaya concluded. "But I've never fully trusted the Church's version of events, so I reserve judgment."
She shrugged. If that old man had heard this, she would've been lectured for sure—not because he was devout, but because he didn't want trouble from clergy who treated faith as life itself.
"Wait," Hielaina said. "You mentioned the world fell into desolation after the darkness was purged. Could you explain that part in more detail?"
Stories told by an authority figure were far more compelling than fiction—especially when they might conceal fragments of historical truth. Given the chance, Hielaina would've loved to sit Dazilet's scholars down with Inaya for a proper discussion.
"Huh?" Inaya looked genuinely confused. "Why do you care about that?"
Her look made Hielaina feel like she'd asked something foolish. It all sounded nice, sure—but who would actually believe this stuff?
"Am I not allowed to ask? Is there some doctrinal restriction?"
"No, no, that's not what I mean!"
Inaya waved her hands hurriedly, afraid of being misunderstood.
"What I'm saying is—about eighty percent of these stories can't be verified at all. Their truth depends entirely on how devout the listener is."
"But I don't see any issue with that story," Hielaina said seriously. "At least not the part you mentioned earlier. Research has shown that many existing species underwent abrupt evolutionary shifts. Some biologists proposed the 'Catastrophe Hypothesis'—doesn't that line up with what you just described?"
"..."
That remaining twenty percent hit Inaya right in the throat. She tried to organize her thoughts, wanting to explain, but couldn't quite find the words.
"You know a lot, don't you…"
"Not really. I just heard the Minister of Science talk about these things a lot when I was younger. Later I got interested and read a few books."
I wasn't actually praising you! Why are you suddenly being modest?!
"I think," Shatiel said suddenly, having remained silent the whole time, "that what we should be focusing on right now is why this monster appeared, and why the judgment cell was there. Everything else can be discussed later."
She pulled the conversation back on track—and inadvertently rescued Inaya, who immediately cast her a grateful look.
"The monster itself will become clearer as investigations continue," Shatiel went on. "But why it appeared there, whether similar creatures might emerge elsewhere, and what role the judgment cell played—those are the questions that matter now."
"I agree with Miss Shatiel," Nordhausen said, nodding.
Just then, Otto finished dealing with matters on Idri's side and walked over, joining the discussion.
"Once we return, I'll file a full report with Andrea. As for how the higher-ups will react—I can't say."
After hearing the group's analysis, Otto had also come to recognize the gravity of the situation.
"What do you all think about what Idri said earlier?"
"What part?" Inaya asked.
"He said the monster was destroying the village—but that clearly isn't what we're seeing here."
Otto spread his arms, looking around. There weren't any damaged houses at all. In fact, there was no sign that anything unusual had ever happened.
"There are only two possibilities," Inaya said casually, crossing her legs. "Either the villagers ate poisonous mushrooms the night before, suffered a collective cognitive breakdown, and then coincidentally got targeted by a real monster—or the monster somehow interfered with their memories, herded them together, and wiped them out in one go."
"But even if the monster could affect memories," Otto said after a moment's thought, "how could it be sure the villagers would all hide in the cellar? If its goal was to hunt them, and the villagers had chosen to flee instead, what then? And during the fight earlier, the monster didn't seem to show any memory-affecting abilities."
"Hah. You never know," Inaya replied lightly. "Maybe everything we saw was just an illusion it created—making us think it was killed when it was actually fine."
"..."
Her joking tone made Otto's heart sink. That possibility couldn't be ruled out. Subtle manipulation of memory and perception… if true, it would be terrifying.
"I remember Idri mentioning that they tried to escape the cellar," Shatiel said thoughtfully, "but that the monster was 'everywhere.' That could've been a form of guidance—discouraging escape attempts. To ensure the villagers stayed together instead of scattering, it would only need to employ similar tactics. Judging from the monster's physique and behavior, that would also be the most efficient hunting method."
"Smart."
Inaya gave Shatiel an approving nod, then added:
"I don't know the details, but spells that influence memory and cognition do exist. So yes—this scenario is entirely plausible."