Chapter 142: Beyond the Pitch Black (4)
TL: Potato-tan
Proofreader: Asianpotato
Russell, Irrucil, Aellasis, and Calia rode north after leaving Hedilund City.
A week after leaving Hedilund City, they arrived in the north. It was remarkable speed. No one would have believed that they could cover that distance in just a week on horseback.
Calia’s map and magic had contributed significantly to their ability to cover a distance that would normally take three weeks.
Before they left, Calia had hunted down wandering beasts, then extracted a crimson mist from their bodies with a spell.
She then instructed the horses to inhale the crimson mist, causing their eyes to flash and impatiently paw the ground, eager to run.
The speed of the horses, enhanced by magic, was truly breathtaking. Each powerful stride of their four strong, muscular legs propelled their bodies forward.
Every two days, they used Calia’s magic, rapidly reducing the remaining distance. They used the map to find the shortest route, which helped even more. On days when they pushed their pace, they covered more than 100 kilometers in a single day.
Upon entering the north, the air’s texture and smell changed. The humid and hot air gradually disappeared, replaced by dry and cold air, despite it being the middle of summer.
“Brrr, it’s cold.”
“Are you cold?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Calia, who rode the same horse as Irrucil, shivered. Her face was slightly pale, indicating that she was indeed cold. Irrucil took off her cloak and draped it over Calia.
“. . .Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Russell watched them and chuckled. He couldn’t remember when they had become so close. He assumed it was because they talked during their camping nights, but he didn’t ask directly.
“When will we reach the village?”
“Well, there’s a village nearby called White Reindeer. It’s not far.”
They walked slowly through the silent coniferous forest. The absence of magic meant that the horses also required rest.
Kry seemed to have developed a taste for Calia’s magic, as he was visibly excited every morning, but he quickly calmed down after Russell patted his neck.
Aellasis had been complaining about the need to wash her body, given that it had been three days since their last visit to the village. She seemed to have become increasingly concerned about her body lately.
She would avoid Russell if she hadn’t washed herself properly for even a day. Russell thought she was just going through puberty, but Aellasis seemed to be quite serious about it.
Every time they spoke, their white breath swirled and dissipated in the air. As he watched the white breath, Russell thought it strange.
Although they had entered the northern region, it was still summer. Even in Alaska or the tundra, where grass grows and green fields appear in the summer, the coldness at the mere entrance to the north was unusual.
The piercing and icy wind were not the only things that were unusual. The coniferous trees native to the north had trunks that were as slender and sharp as their leaves, reaching towards the sky.
It looked like a forest of countless thorns reaching up from the ground to the sky, as if the land itself were determined not to yield to the harsh winds and snow.
The coniferous forest was silent except for the occasional loud cracking sound of a tree branch breaking. Birds circled overhead, their keen eyes searching for prey.
Aaahhh!
A faint scream pierced through the coniferous forest, reaching Russell’s ears. He turned his head, and Irrucil, Aellasis, and Calia all looked at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought I heard a scream.”
They all stopped their horses and listened intently to the sound. Soon, the scream rang out again. Russell quickly grabbed Kry’s reins and kicked his flank.
Kry neigh and immediately bolted forward, the frozen dirt flying from his hooves.
“Come on!”
“As usual.”
Aellasis shouted as she urged her horse forward. Irrucil shook her head, but she also ran her horse.
Russell and Kry became one as they galloped through the sharp, pointed black coniferous trees. The cold wind whipped at their faces and ears, but Russell’s strong body only exuded more heat.
The coniferous trees had a uniform appearance, sprouting countless times from the earth. Their trunks were only as wide as a person’s waist, and they tapered towards the top. Their branches were abundant, but they didn’t have many leaves, so they didn’t block out much of the sky.
The sky remained cloudy, with no visible sun. The clouds were a dark gray, as if it would snow at any moment.
Kry jumped high to avoid a fallen tree trunk when they saw a person screaming below them.
The person was a man, and a large bear was trying to crush him with its front paws. The bear stood up as soon as it saw Russell, who had jumped off the tree. Its already large size seemed to grow even bigger.
Uooooh.
“Huh.”
Russell let out an incredulous groan at the sight of the nearly 4-meter-tall bear. He thought that even a grizzly bear was at most 3 meters tall.
Then, Russell noticed something strange. A red light glinted in the eyes of the bear, which had shiny, reddish brown fur.
A demon beast, an animal that had awakened its magic. Ordinary beasts could awaken to magic just like humans. In fact, the likelihood and frequency of awakening to magic was higher for beasts. After living for a long time in places abundant with mana, such as mana veins, underground springs, or distorted terrain, they could often awaken to magic.
Such places were like treasures to not only beasts but also humans and demi-humans, so fights were inevitable.
‘But this isn’t an area with a lot of mana.’
Russell frowned as he recalled the geography of this place on the map. Reaching the Awnhilnar Mountains, genuinely referred to as the north, could potentially alter the situation. But this was still an area that could be considered the border between the central and northern regions, and it was unusual for a demon beast to appear here.
Uooooh!
Because the bear had charged, his thoughts were brief. The monstrous bear abandoned the man it had been trampling and charged towards them with a thunderous roar. Its speed was terrifying.
Russell quickly drew Nahilnir from his coat and kicked Kry’s flank. The bear grew larger with each passing moment. Just before Kry and the bear collided, Russell raised his right arm, which he had been holding down, with lightning speed.
Nahilnir, which he held in his right hand, traced a black trajectory and struck the demon bear’s front paw. With a loud thud, he severed the bear’s charging front paw. The bear wailed and collapsed to the ground, instantly losing half of its right foot.
The combination of Nahilnir’s sharpness and Russell’s strength created the scene.
Russell dismounted Kry. He then slowly approached the demon beast, which was struggling to get up.
The demon beast charged again. Standing on its hind legs, it raised its left foot high and brought it down, its attack imbued with indescribable force.
However, Russell simply brought Nahilnir down on its left foot as it fell from a diagonal angle to the right, and the bear severed its own leg with its own strength.
The demon beast couldn’t understand. Even a human’s steel sword couldn’t penetrate its impenetrable fur. Fury, pain, and fear flashed in the demon beast’s eyes.
Goooooh!
In all directions, a wave of magic radiated from the demon bear. The crimson wave spread out into a sphere, shattering the ground and nearby trees.
But Russell was unscathed. He stood with his left hand extended forward. The magic released by the demon beast contained only the intention to ‘smash everything’, and it was not properly organized.
He simply caught the crude magic gap with his left hand and let it flow past him. However, the fact that a mere beast could project magic with such willpower was a testament to the demon bear’s uniqueness.
Then something caught Russell’s senses. He suddenly raised his head and immediately met the gaze of another demon bear charging out of the bushes.
Grrrrrr!
The newly appeared demon beast, charged with crimson magic, wrapped around its body from the very beginning. Russell immediately stabbed Nahilnir into the ground. It was too late to dodge.
The demon beast’s head and the great sword collided. The demon beast’s head didn’t fly off immediately because it had been coated in magic beforehand, and it continued to push forward like a bulldozer.
The demon beast, not content with just pushing, balanced itself on three legs and swung its right front paw. Russell let go of Nahilnir in response to this attack.
The great sword, which had been holding him up, lost its strength and bounced away. The demon beast’s front paw attack also lost its balance. Russell immediately passed the paw that had lost its target over his head, then extended his right leg forward and slammed it down on the ground. His left fist struck the demon beast’s right torso.
Kugh. . .!
Blood spurted from the demon beast’s mouth. Russell’s left fist’s awl-like magic penetrated the demon beast’s defenses, striking it directly in its body.
Its body trembled involuntarily, and it couldn’t control itself. Russell immediately threw his right fist. Russell executed the exact same motion in reverse as he had done with his left fist.
Thud!
At an angle, a circular shockwave erupted from the demon beast’s torso. It was at this point that Russell’s magic pierced through the demon beast’s torso and burst out on the other side. However, there were no wounds on the demon beast’s outer skin.
Gulp, gulp, gulp. . .
After crushing its internal organs and heart simultaneously, the demon beast collapsed to the ground. After that, it stopped breathing. The crimson aura that had been burning in its eyes flickered and disappeared.
Russell picked up Nahilnir that had fallen to the ground and focused his attention on the first demon beast he had seen, the one with its two front legs severed.
The demon beast, which had lost its two front legs and collapsed, was already lying on the ground with its tongue hanging out. It had no chance of getting up.
Russell finally looked at the man, who had collapsed.
The man was lying face down, unconscious. His appearance was extremely disheveled.
He appeared to have rolled around in the mud, with wet dirt and weeds adorning his clothes. In addition, there were large wounds on his back thigh and calf. The demon beast’s claws appeared to have torn off his flesh based on the circumstances.
Russell first laid him down straight, brushed off the dirt, and cast a healing spell. The wounds of the unknown man began to regenerate. The process of his cells actively multiplying, fueled by his magic, occurred at an extremely fast rate. Soon, the wounds on his legs had healed, leaving only large scars.
Russell patted the man’s cheeks, which had turned pale from blood loss.
“Hey. Hey.”
The man opened his eyes with a gasp. His pupils wandered around, unable to focus.
“Ugh, uhh. . . . .!”
“Hey. Snap out of it. The demon beast is dead. You’re alive.”
As Russell spoke directly into his eyes, the man’s confusion quickly subsided. Russell sighed slightly, almost forcibly calming him down, and then asked.
“I’m Russell. What’s your name?”
“D, Dave.”
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Dave’s eyes widened when he saw Daisy, who had lost consciousness and hung her head.
“Daisy!”
“It’s okay. She’s just unconscious.”
Russell spoke flatly to Dave, who was staring at Daisy in surprise. He raised his hand after setting the four fractured and shattered bones. A faint greenish light began to glow from his palm, which had turned red from Daisy’s blood, just like Aellasis’s.
Then Daisy’s left arm, which had been in a terrible state, gradually healed. However, the scars left by the wolf’s teeth were inevitable.
“It’s done, Dave.”
“Y, Yes?”
“Carry your sister and get up. I’ve healed you with magic, but if you don’t get enough rest and food, your weakened body won’t be able to withstand the magic’s backlash. Let’s go to the village.”
“Oh, I understand! Just follow me!”
Dave immediately picked up his sister. The demon beast must have also inflicted injuries on Dave. At that moment, Irrucil approached from behind, holding the reins of the three horses.
“Is this your sister?”
“Yeah. My little sister.”
“You two are close.”
For some reason, Irrucil smiled happily. She then helped Dave and Daisy get on her horse.
Russell’s group, along with the hunter siblings, walked towards the village. As they walked, Russell thought about the pack of gray wolves they had just killed and the demon bear that had tried to ambush Dave and eat him.
And about this forest.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Russell stood in front of a hut a short distance from the village. It was the hunter siblings’ home.
He took a deep breath and exhaled.
The air is cold. He experienced his lungs freezing, his chest burning, and his mind becoming clear.
He took out a cigarette case from his pocket and looked inside.
“Cigarettes.”
Indeed, there are no shops selling cigarettes these days. Only one or two shops in cities sold Russell’s favorite cigarettes, made from ground and crushed magic herbs, which were not available in ordinary villages.
Soon, thicker than his breath, smoke slowly seeped out of his mouth.
Creak, the door opened. It was Irrucil.
“Why are you out here?”
“Just.”
Irrucil walked over silently and stood next to him. In front of them was the darkening sky as evening approached, as well as a dense forest of black thorns.
“It’s a nice view.”
“What is?”
“It’s like looking at us.”
Russell chuckled.
“Don’t you remember when we were kids? We were so bad to each other.”
“You were the one who ran away. I kept trying to get close.”
He smoked without saying anything. White smoke from the chimney, similar to his own, rose in puffs.
They were now in the village of White Reindeer. It was a small village with a population of just over a thousand, but it had almost everything it needed.
A palisade or barricade made of logs sharpened at the ends surrounded the outskirts of the village, along with a crudely built watchtower.
A stream, too small to be called a river, flowed through the middle of the village—it was currently frozen—and a stone bridge was built over it.
Then a loud voice reached Russell’s ears. He turned his head and saw people carrying torches, spears, and axs walk towards the village square, looking angry.
The man at the forefront, a bald man with a bulging belly but wearing something like a green priest’s robe, shouted.
“You bastard! You’re the one who dared to offend the master of the forest!”
‘. . .What the hell?’
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