Eve Story | Judgment Fable | Ella and Yoru | Episode 56: The Great Monster War
Monsters were running wild.
The city was burning, and people were fleeing.
Even so, I thought somewhere, someone would stop them.
But in this city, there were few left who could.
Ella and Yoru Episode 56
【The Great Monster War】
There was no signal to start.
The blade of Dia's sword flared up in red flames.
At that moment, Dia slashed at the Hangman.
The Hangman twisted his torso, dodging the tip of the blade.
At the same time, he thrust the knife in his hand sharply.
Toward the neck, toward the face, toward the seams of the armor.
He was aiming precisely only at the places where Dia's defense was thin.
But Dia dodged them lightly, as if she had foreseen them all.
The Hangman wore a fearless smile.
As if he were enjoying this battle.
"As expected of a captain of the Dragon Worship Cult."
Even as he said it to provoke her, his hands did not stop.
However, I suddenly felt a sense of unease.
The Hangman is smiling.
He looks like he is enjoying it.
But his eyes are not only looking at Dia.
The cloth that had started to catch fire, the overturned wooden crate, the silhouettes of people fleeing.
And the sign of flames disappearing into the depths of the alley.
He glances at them between bouts of fighting.
As if checking how far the fire had spread.
Dia's gaze was calm.
She was accurately tracking every single thrust of the Hangman with her eyes.
The Hangman's step became slightly larger.
At that moment.
With a loud thud, Dia's sword became engulfed in flames.
One swing.
Dia's sword burned the very air.
The Hangman pulled back, but could not avoid it completely.
The flames grazed the edge of his clothes, and a small fire started from there.
"Whoops."
The Hangman pretended to be flustered as he lightly brushed off the fire.
However, his feet were not just retreating.
The position where the burnt cloth fell, the sparks scattered from Dia's sword, and where they were carried by the wind.
The Hangman was watching all of it.
The Hangman approached with many moves and quick movements.
While parrying them accurately, Dia returned a heavy blow.
I could only hold my breath and watch.
San, who was next to me, was watching the two of them calmly.
He wasn't just watching.
He was tracking them surely, as if analyzing something.
Faster than I could lose sight of them, San's gaze moved to the next movement.
It was as if he were memorizing the opponent's actions.
"Hot!"
The Hangman laughed while patting the scorch marks on the edge of his clothes.
Then, he repeatedly backflipped like an acrobat to gain distance.
In the process, a piece of burnt cloth fell to the ground.
A small fire spread to a dry piece of wood.
The Hangman looked at it for just a fleeting moment.
Then, he laughed as if nothing had happened.
—We are in a different league.
I felt the Silve at my waist grow hot.
However, it was not as reactive as it was at night.
I still cannot stand in this battle.
Realizing that, I bit my lip slightly.
"That person's armor is troublesome," San said, as if talking to himself.
"The air around the armor is different."
At those words, I turned my eyes to Dia's armor.
In this heat, if one were wearing such heavy equipment, it wouldn't be strange to be sweating.
However, Dia's expression looked cool.
The battle between the two continued.
The flames of the ignited sword fell onto Dia's armor.
But the moment the flames touched the armor, they were extinguished.
It was as if she were wrapped in cold air.
A high-pitched metallic sound rang out.
The Hangman's knife struck Dia's armor.
However, not a single scratch was left on the armor.
The Hangman stared at the knife in his hand, looking surprised.
"Hey, isn't that a foul?"
There was a thin crack in the knife.
Dia did not answer that remark.
The next moment, the flame-wrapped sword tore through the air.
"Hot, hot, wait, hold on."
While brushing off the scattering sparks, the Hangman retreated backward.
The man who had been laughing until just a moment ago was starting to be pushed back.
However, I could no longer look at that smile honestly.
He is being pushed back.
That is certain.
But every time the Hangman retreated, the flames moved to another place.
Fallen timber, cloth on the eaves, dry walls.
Every time the battle expanded, the city burned.
The pungent smell and black smoke spread.
People had started to flee so as not to get caught up in the two's battle.
A whistle blew in the distance.
LAG military police were pushing residents back before the burning street.
They were guiding those who were fleeing, carrying those who had fallen, and moving carts that were blocking the road.
However, no one could enter between the two.
Only the place where swords, flames, and knives crossed was cut off from the rest of the city.
"Don't get close to there!"
I heard someone shout.
That judgment was correct.
Even though it was correct, it was too late.
I looked around.
The flames that spilled from Dia's sword were spreading to a nearby house.
"San. This is bad."
I put my hand on the Silve and urged San.
However, San did not move.
"Not yet."
His voice was low.
San seemed to be predicting that something was coming.
When I looked back, Dia's sword was splitting the air.
BOOOOM!
With a loud noise, the wall of a nearby house collapsed.
Amidst the rubble, the Hangman was holding his head.
Flames were spreading in the surroundings.
Looking down at that figure, Dia was about to swing her sword down at the Hangman with a cold gaze.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, a nearby house collapsed with a loud noise.
Along with a blast of wind, a large shadow flew down.
"What is it this time!?"
I choked on the dust and squinted.
At the center of the blast was a giant iron hammer.
It was deeply embedded in the ground.
It was as large as a human body.
—Did someone throw that?
"You guys, don't have fun on your own!"
An angry roar shook the air.
Standing where the voice came from was a dwarf whose whole body was wrapped in muscle armor.
A long beard and black partial armor.
Under his characteristic helmet, his sharp gaze was shining.
The man with lean muscles had only the corners of his mouth lifted.
And he was carrying an iron hammer as big as a human torso in one hand.
He was carrying it.
That thing.
San put his hand to his forehead.
"The Ninth Seat, 'The Chariot'."
His voice was mixed with clear disgust.
"Chariot. This is the worst."
—The Chariot.
A shadow of the Twelve Apostles.
I knew that much immediately.
But San's words bothered me.
The worst.
That's what San said.
Chariot looked at Dia.
He looked at the Hangman.
And he looked at the burning city.
After confirming just that, he shouted in a voice that made the air tremble.
"It's the Empress's order! You guys, back off!"
He came to stop them.
That's what I thought.
But Dia didn't even look at Chariot.
She just raised her sword toward the Hangman.
"So!"
Chariot's voice became even louder.
"Just you guys!"
He put his hand on a house pillar.
Veins popped out, and the pillar creaked.
"Don't play around!!"
Chariot pulled the pillar out from its base and threw it in.
The pillar flew with a roar.
Dia jumped backward to avoid it.
The pillar pierced through the house wall and disappeared to the other side.
—Didn't he come to stop them?
Chariot's words should have urged the battle to stop, but they sounded like adding fuel to the fire.
Only then did Dia's gaze turn to Chariot.
"Alright! You're looking this way now! I certainly told you to back off."
Dia turned her body toward Chariot and re-gripped her sword.
The blade began to wrap itself in flames.
"You, you've got some good stuff, don't you?"
Chariot looked at Dia's armor and sword.
"Ice Dragon scales and Dragon teeth?"
Dia did not answer.
I had never heard of equipment made from dragon materials.
But I thought it wouldn't be strange for the Dragon Worship Cult to have them.
"But!"
Chariot laughed while lifting the giant iron hammer with one hand.
"In the end, muscle is what matters!"
There was some sincerity in those words.
Saying that, he swung the iron hammer down at Dia.
It was more of an impact than a sound.
I instinctively put my hand on the wall due to the shaking that resonated to the bottom of my stomach.
Cracks were running along the cobblestones at my feet.
Sand and rubble flew up along with the blast.
Dia was on the other side of the smoke.
She landed a few steps ahead and was re-gripping her sword.
There wasn't a single scratch on her armor.
Chariot laughed when he saw that.
Like a child who had found a strong opponent, he looked genuinely happy.
"Not bad!"
Chariot approached Dia while swinging the iron hammer around.
He destroyed everything in his path.
Every time Dia dodged an attack, a house disappeared and a wall collapsed.
From the shadows of the rubble, the Hangman crawled out.
"Man, that's flashy."
While laughing, the Hangman re-gripped his knife.
Dia's flames, Chariot's iron hammer, the Hangman's knife.
Every time the three moved, the city was whittled away.
Houses disappeared, walls collapsed, and alleys were blocked.
I thought it wasn't a battle, but land clearing.
LAG military police were trying to keep people even further away.
But no one knew which wall would shatter next or where the flames would fly.
"I'll stop them."
Seeing that, San stood up.
I also drew my Silve.
I still cannot stand in this battle.
I know that.
But I couldn't just watch anymore.
I tried to jump out.
The next moment, Chariot's giant body was blown away from the side.
I couldn't track what happened with my eyes.
A roar arrived late, a wall collapsed, and sand and dust spread all at once.
Chariot finally stopped after piercing through two or three walls.
There was a silhouette beyond the dust.
A large, one-eyed woman was slowly lowering her fist.
"You guys."
Rose's voice was low.
She wasn't yelling.
That's why it resonated more heavily than the flames around them.
"Don't do whatever you want in my city."
Those words sank quietly into the flames.
Creative Award 2026 Fantasy Novel Category Submission