Chapter 146: Inside the Forest (1)
TL: Potato-tan
Proofreader: Asianpotato
Early July saw the onset of summer, but chilly weather still dominated the northern part of the continent. Cold winds descended from the Awnhilnar Mountains in the far north, enveloping the north in their frigid embrace, as if the land were not yet ready to embrace the warmth.
Smoke suddenly tinted the north wind’s hem, changing its color to shades of gray and black.
Thick smoke billowed up into the sky. The sky, covered in white clouds, did not reveal its blue interior, and the smoke, painted in shades of gray and black, simply rose upwards.
Under the smoke lay a city. The flames, fueled by the dry wind, were consuming the city.
Screams and cries filled the air, but there was no one to save them. People collapsed to the ground, their bodies lifeless. However, even death could not grant them rest.
The bodies of the dead twitched, then rose again with newfound vigor. Their eyes had turned a ghostly white, and bulging blue veins covered their pale skin, transforming them into the undead.
Lamunia, one of the small and medium-sized cities in the northwest, was collapsing. The cause was simple. It was because of a single, tall man in a hooded robe who had knocked on the city gates.
The signal came when the guard approached, rubbing his sleepy eyes at the uninvited guest who had arrived at the crack of dawn.
A yellowish-green mist of deadly poison flowed out of the man in the black hood and robe, and from within it, chimera, demon beasts that were a mix of several creatures, rushed out.
The devil’s flesh lay at the base of the chimera. It was the flesh of the devil Geliotos, who had succeeded in creating a physical body through the blood of a vampire and anchoring his soul within it.
Lamunia’s west gate and the surrounding land collapsed before the city’s wizard could summon proper reinforcements. And so began the cycle of the dead rising, killing the living, and the newly dead rising again.
“Kill that devil!”
Waaaah-!
Lamunia’s lord, soldiers, and wizards charged at the man in the black hood. The wizard, riding alongside the lord, made hand gestures and chanted a spell.
“Restrain, Keron’s Flame!”
Despite riding on horseback, the wizard’s gestures were steady, and his incantation was skilled. The wizard released a surge of magic power that split into two, with one sinking into the ground and the other gathering in the air.
Shuaaaaaaa.
Crimson-colored vines surged up from the ground where the man in the black hood stood, ensnaring the man’s arms and legs and dragging him to the ground.
However, the man in the hood, unfazed by the spell pulling him down, flicked his fingers. A sharp click created a blade of vibration, severing the vines.
At that moment, the surge of magic power that the wizard had gathered in the air took the form of three fireballs.
“Go!”
Keron’s fireballs flew in a triangular formation, striking the man directly in the hood. The wizard desperately hoped that this one attack would kill the man in the hood.
“Ah!”
His wish was not granted. Five demon beasts had gathered directly in front of the man in the hood, forming a wall. The grotesque and repulsive magic of the demon beasts, which had torn apart and reassembled previously intact creatures into a wall of flesh, blocked the fireballs.
However, amidst the crystallization of hatred, the wizard could glimpse countless arrangements of spells, malicious intent, and a thirst for truth.
Only those who had mastered the art of manipulating mana and magic power, and skillfully twisted the laws of the world, could recognize the mysteries of magic. They freed themselves from the constraints of morality and ethics, immersing themselves in the depths of corruption.
“Warlock. . . . . .”
Behind the collapsed wall, which had turned into a pile of charcoal and ash, a man with an unscathed appearance raised his hand. Recognizing the flow of rampant magic power emanating from the man’s palm, the wizard exclaimed in realization.
“Disperse. . . . .!”
Boom!
The sound of compressed air bursting echoed out. The cavalry charge’s center completely collapsed. Aside from the city’s wizard, who had activated a protective barrier, the lord, and a few knights in the vicinity, there were almost no survivors.
“This, this damn. . .!”
The lord, who had lost dozens of knights and soldiers in an instant, rode forward with a furious expression. With a clang, the lord drew his longsword and charged at full speed towards the man in the hood, whose legs were still bound.
“Die━!”
“You mustn’t, my lord!”
The city’s wizard tried to stop him, but the lord had already rushed forward, disappearing from sight. At that moment, the man in the hood bent down and touched the ground.
Ku-rurung-!
The stone floor, as if covered in a blanket, instantly turned into sand and began to swallow everything except the man in the hood.
Hee-heee-!
“Eeeek!”
The quicksand instantly engulfed the lord and his horse. The city’s wizard trembled at the magic power of the man who had transformed an area with a radius of over 100 meters into a sand swamp.
“Why would a wizard like you do such a thing?”
“. . . . . .People always ask for a reason. Why do I do such things?”
“. . . . . . .”
They assume there must be a reason. Or they want to believe it. There’s a reason why they’re dying so meaninglessly, or so miserably. They’d rather it be something plausible. The truth is, most things in the world happen without such reasons, causes, or meanings.”
The wizard looked at the muttering man in the hood with a mixture of fear, doubt, disgust, and respect. At that moment, more chimeras and demon beasts emerged from the quicksand and charged at the surviving knights and soldiers.
“U-uwaaak!”
“Save me!”
“Mother!”
The soldiers’ screams and cries for their families were in vain. The soldiers’ spears and swords could not pierce or cut through the thick hides of the demon beasts.
Hard claws and teeth crushed or shattered longswords.
The city’s wizard fought desperately.
“Aren’t you also a human? How can a human do such things to other humans. . .!”
The man in the hood did not respond or make excuses. He simply continued to kill silently. He acted as though that was his sole objective. He took lives and dealt with the demons as calmly as an executioner carrying out a sentence.
“Eeeeeeeeek!”
The demon beasts’ teeth and claws tore at the wizard, soldiers, and citizens, tearing them limb from limb.
As a result, a city fell. And the thousands who died spread pain, chaos, and souls throughout the world.
Thud, thud, thud.
The man in the hood gazed up at the sky, catching a sound that only he could perceive. The sight that materialized in a corner of the sky was visible only to him.
A large crack. The otherworldly energy leaking out through the gap. Purple crystals were squeezing through the crack and widening it.
“Gods, how long will you just watch?”
The world responds to the will of the beings it harbors. The will of the sentient beings living in the world drives the world, just as even lofty gods gradually fade away and die without faith.
Strong wills can erode and change the world. And now, the otherworldly barriers surrounding this world are rapidly thinning.
Collision was inevitable.
What mattered was the world they chose, and the man in the hood had chosen the will he desired.
Gooooooooo.
As the man in the black hood raised his hand, he emitted a surge of magic power. The surge continued without ceasing.
The surge of magic power reverberated several times through the city, which was ablaze and spewing smoke, filled with demon beasts, demons, and undead.
Clank, clank.
The bodies of the knights killed by the man in the black hood crumbled into dust, turning into sand. However, the armors rose on their own, connecting at their joints to stand upright, despite the absence of their master.
Clang, clang. The armor that had risen made a clattering sound, and it had taken on a more reinforced form than before. The previously ununified pieces of armor, such as the vambraces, cuirasses, and breastplates, now formed a unified form, connecting to each other to cover any gaps.
In the end, there were about thirty living armored knights. Living armor. Undead knights made from the knights’ will.
Inside the empty helmets, devoid of anything, two blue flames flickered and began to burn brightly.
The man opened his robe wide. Then, the darkness within the robe oozed out like a mist, and the demon beasts, chimeras, and newly created living armor that had spread throughout the city began to sink into the darkness.
With a flick of his robe, the man glanced around the city. The screams had stopped. The only sound audible was the collapse of wooden buildings due to the flames.
Other than that, there was not a baby’s cry or a dog’s bark. All were dead. There was no life here.
“Next. . . .”
The man gauged his direction. He had gathered enough life force and magic power, and now it was time to release it. His footsteps moved, and he settled on a location.
It was towards the east.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
The next day, Russell and his party set off towards the forest outside the village. The densely wooded forest made it difficult to ride horses, so the party tied up all their horses in the stable.
Russell left Dave and Daisy at the inn. It was Russell’s decision, as following them while their wounds were not yet fully healed would only be a hindrance.
The forest floor, untouched by snow, clung to white mist. The damp moss and soil made a squelching sound, dirtying the boots of those who walked on it.
“What kind of fog is this, really.”
Todd muttered as he led the party. They were currently circling the village’s top, repairing the broken barrier on the forest’s outskirts.
Todd stopped at a certain point and crouched down. Russell saw white stones spilling out in a torrent.
“Gather, assemble, protect.”
And as Todd closed his eyes in prayer, with both hands together, Russell saw divine power blooming from his entire body. The other party members, unable to see Todd’s divine power, remained vigilant within the forest.
Soon, the white stones began to tremble and gather together, forming a large tower. The stones fit together seamlessly, forming a hexagonal pillar that stood tall. It was hard to believe that these were once fragmented stones, as their surface was smooth and solid.
“Whew, that was the last one.”
Indeed, as soon as they erected the last hexagonal pillar, Russell could see the flow of energy drawing.
From the dug-in pillar to the other pillars already repaired, a line of divine power extended. Then, an invisible barrier rose, enveloping the village in a hemisphere, completing the barrier that had enveloped it in a hexagonal shape.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
At that moment, Russell heard a rumbling sound in his ears. Todd, who was dusting off his hands and getting up, also seemed to sense something; his expression was hardening.
“Russell.”
Russell turned his head in response to Aellasis’s call. Looking in the same direction as her, Irrucil stared into the depths of the forest.
“I felt it, too. Todd?”
“Y, Yes?”
“Return to the village. The demon beasts seem to have noticed that the barrier has been re-erected.”
“No, how? Even if their magic power has awakened, it’s not like their brains have gotten smarter.”
“Wrong.”
Irrucil denied Todd’s words.
“If they continue to eat people, the demon beasts can also acquire intelligence. That’s why they eat people. Not only do they enjoy the taste of human flesh, but their ultimate goal is to surpass human intelligence. The feeling of awakening a mindset and intelligence that they couldn’t have before is something like an incomparable pleasure for them.”
“. . . . . .H, How do you know that so well?”
Irrucil did not answer. It was not the right time or place to say that she came from a family that had fought against such demon beasts all their lives, cultivating their territory.
“You heard me, go back. And don’t look back.”
“. . .I am also a priest. I can bestow blessings upon you.”
Eventually, Todd clasped his hands together again and concentrated his mind. Then, once again, a giant with a translucent deer’s head appeared behind him and looked at the party one by one.
Divine power flowed from the deer-headed giant, which took turns looking at Aellasis, Irrucil, and Russell, and was bestowed upon the party.
The divine power did not permeate their bodies; instead, it formed oval spheres around each of the party members, protecting them.
Todd, who seemed to have used up quite a bit of his blessing, gasped and let out a panting sound, his forehead and face drenched in sweat.
“Whew, whew, it will protect you from the demon beasts’ attacks and allow you to breathe freely from the harmful air. . . . This mist doesn’t look right at all.”
“Thank you.”
Russell nodded, looking at the protective barrier that shimmered faintly a meter away. Todd acknowledged the greeting and hurriedly ran towards the edge of the forest.
“We’ll keep going.”
“Yeah.”
“Got it.”
The deeper they went into the forest, the less sunlight they received. The heavy, cold clouds seemed to almost touch the forest canopy.
As they went deeper, the trees that had not experienced the lumberjack’s axe gradually grew larger and more sinister. The old trees looked down at Russell and his party, who were passing by their ankles with silent gazes.
The sound of beasts howling and footsteps approaching could be heard from ahead. The trees’ trunks, which gradually appeared and then disappeared along with the white mist, seemed like a faint lie.
Russell’s eyes glowed as he searched for a path in the shadows where they overlapped.
This white mist poured out in the deepest heart of the forest. A wicked being, scattering sinister magic power, was waiting for them there.
Russell silently reached into his coat and pulled out Nahilnir. The moon rune engraved on the lower part of the sword’s body flickered, casting a faint light.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
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