Chapter 98: Chapter 98

Ran sheathed his sword and turned around.

Kujo was squatting, staring only at the ground.

A heavy silence filled the air.

Ragna patted his shoulder. The young boy tried to console a life that was withering away. Living long did not necessarily mean being resilient to betrayal and heartbreak.

Kujo lifted his head.

"Kujo. Cheer up. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding?"

Kujo sprang to his feet and once again slung Asthra over his back.

"Tsk tsk. I kept telling you to use your strength with some tact. Well, at least he died fighting like a true warrior of Dakir in the end."

"Are you alright, kujo?"

"Ptew―! What's the point of being alright or not! I am a warrior who is never swayed by past bonds, a warrior with neither blood nor tears in the face of evil. That is who I am."

The rag covering Kujo's important area fluttered.

Only then did Ran and Maya look at Kujo. With his eyes hidden, they couldn't read his true feelings.

Still, they felt relieved.

"Now then, maya! What do we do? Seeing how these guys go on about the Lord of the Mountain, they must've been bewitched by a divine artifact. Seems the mountain spirit is angered. If we linger too long, we might be in danger as well."

Everyone could see Halfdan's condition was abnormal. Even without asking, they could guess what Kujo meant.

Maya sighed lightly. Her shoulders slumped, as if resigned.

"? I think it's best we meet up with Tascar. Let's head back."

"Yes, that's a sound decision. Now isn't the time to be stubborn—?"

"No, let's keep going."

All eyes turned to Ran.

Ran stood still, gazing into the distance. His gaze settled somewhere among the chaos of transparent stalactites and ice pillars.

Kujo clicked his tongue.

"This kid has lost his mind. Did you listen to me with your rear end? Even if I spoke in metaphors, it should have been clear. We can't do this without Urvashi. If you remember, halfdan even said the Lord wants Urvashi, so it's obvious. And when are you planning to find the sealed place? It's a waste of time!"

"I can find it. I'll lead the way,"

Ran declared, not without reason.

After becoming accustomed to the new form of demonic energy detected from Halfdan, he could vaguely see a path. Just like in the Empire, he could trace the source of the demonic energy.

He had a hunch that Bloodhorn was at the end of that path.

'Whatever Urvashi is...'

Every obstacle they had overcome so far was the same. They were either forces near-divine or remnants left by the gods.

The main difference now was that he'd heard a lot more beforehand, which had only made him overthink.

Sometimes, ignorance was a blessing.

Ran erased Kujo's words from his mind. As always, he decided to just plunge ahead.

Ran tracked the flow of demonic energy. He felt it pulling him deeper into the cave.

They'd spent a little over half a day in the Frost Cavern.

Following behind, kujo grumbled at Ran's back.

"This is a waste of time—a waste of time, I say. Even now we should turn back. At this rate, those black priests will swallow up all the Dakir warriors."

They still had about two days left until their promised rendezvous with Tascar.

Ran ignored Kujo's grievances, focusing solely on finding the way.

Suddenly, he stopped and signaled the group behind him to halt.

"More of them ahead."

Everyone lowered their stances. Two members of the Poison Talon Eagle tribe were prowling up ahead.

Along the way, they had already encountered three other Poison Talon Eagle tribesmen. All of them looked just like Halfdan, their eyes devoid of reason, glinting wildly as if famished for slaughter.

The two ahead were no different.

Maya said, pulling out her dagger and slipping silently past Ran like a seasoned assassin, hiding her presence.

Ran observed Maya's movements closely.

Maya swiftly assassinated one and immediately closed in on the second.

At that moment, her body tipped as if she would fall.

One side of his field of vision darkened to pitch black, then returned to normal.

Thankfully, the enemy hadn't noticed. Maya caught her balance and finished the job calmly.

Ran asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

"? Nothing. Just missed a step," For origınal chapters go to novelFirｅ.net

Maya brushed it off. The two daggers whirled and snapped back to her belt.

Ran had never learned orthodox swordsmanship. All his combat skills were rooted in the assassination techniques he learned from Zima. When it came to the subtleties of assassination, his eyes were sharp.

'That wasn't a simple mistake.'

Even if it was reflex, the movement Maya made matched assassination techniques perfectly. It was a mistake that shouldn't have happened in the flow of those actions.

Ran didn't press further.

The Frost Cavern traversed the entire interior of Mount Gigantes, its immense, profound grandeur rivaling that of Astana Mountain.

"Hm, what a shame. This place isn't really suitable for me to shine,"

Kujo said, clicking his tongue.

This was after Ran and Maya had taken care of four more Poison Talon Eagle tribesmen wandering about.

Ragna cast a sidelong glance at Kujo. "Why don't you show us something too, kujo? Ran and Maya look tired."

"Tch! How one fights depends on the opponent and the location. Rush in blindly like Halfdan and you'll die a dog's death, simple as that."

"That doesn't sound very Dakir-warrior-like."

"Hmph! Ragna, listen well. Our Northland warriors were always beaten by the Empire's army. Not because of pure strength. It was matchups! We overlooked that simple principle."

"Exactly. Take me, for example—"

Kujo started to reach for Asthra on his back, then cleared his throat and replaced it.

"Ahem. Now's not the time. I'll show you when the moment is right."

"? So, what exactly is that Asthra? I have no idea how it's supposed to be used."

"Heh. That's only natural. Asthra is a transcendent weapon ahead of its time."

Ragna stared at Kujo blankly. Kujo grinned and ruffled Ragna's hair.

Suddenly, ragna stopped in his tracks.

His pupils dilated. Following Ragna's gaze, kujo looked ahead and his jaw dropped.

"Wh-what is this place?"

The sight before them was completely different from anything they had seen so far.

The generally dark and gloomy surroundings suddenly seemed much brighter.

It wasn't because of light seeping in from somewhere, but from the presence of a gigantic ice lake ahead.

"The darkest, yet the brightest?"

Kujo muttered. The surface of the ice lake shone as if light was being condensed and stored within.

He looked up. The ceiling went up endlessly, giving the illusion of stepping into another dimension.

Maya let out a breath of awe. Her heart pounded—it felt as if she had reached her purpose in life.

Unconsciously, she stepped forward. An arm stretched out beside her, blocking her path. Her tremulous gaze brushed against Ran's profile.

Ran frowned, staring straight ahead.

There was no stench. If anything, there was simply a different type of smell.

'It definitely has an alien nature.'

Suddenly, currents of air quickened.

Swirling winds from all directions converged upon the ice lake.

It was similar to the phenomena he had experienced previously with Haskinderun and in the bear beast's den.

Goosebumps ran over him. He sensed something.

From the shadow cast like a curtain around the ice lake, figures emerged.

"Poison Talon Eagle tribe!"

Ragna shouted. Their numbers grew rapidly, easily visible even to those in the back.

'They're all unconscious.'

Their eyes, pupils floating as if weightless; their sluggish, zombie-like walk; skin dark and inert like the dead.

It is the Priest's mission to make the light of life shine brighter.

Ran realized these were the dead, ones who had lost the light of life.

He had seen something before.

A forbidden dark magic that injected demonic energy into dead human bodies to forcibly resurrect them.

'Though it's a bit different?'

Even if the demonic energy here in the Frost Cavern looked different than what he'd sensed in the Empire, at their core they were the same.

The group became tense again.

From the eyes and mouths of the Poison Talon Eagle tribesmen surrounding the ice lake, blue light burst forth in unison.

The light they breathed out converged at the center of the lake, entwining together.

The swelling mass of light took shape as a white glow.

It was a huge flower bud.

A wave of light swept across the area.

When the four of them opened their tightly shut eyes again, they were surrounded on all sides by walls of transparent ice.

A voice echoed majestically.

Everyone turned their gaze to a single spot.

From the open flower bud, a woman walked out.

She moved as if floating in midair. Each time her toes touched the icy surface, ripples spread out.

「You seem like my kind, don't you? Am I right?」

She pointed straight at Ran.

「Yes. Who else could it be but you?」

Ran looked blankly back at the three behind him. All of them stared, as if transfixed, at the woman.

She looked human and spoke like one, but no one thought she was actually human.

"Are you the Lord of the Mountain?"

「? Lord of the Mountain?」

She widened her eyes. Her large irises shimmered like the sky.

She covered her mouth, giggling quietly. Her silver-white hair swayed with her shoulder movements.

「Fine, call me that if you want. That's amusing. There's no way an apostle woke me up. Whose familiar are you? Who told you to break the taboo?」

There was a subtle anger beneath her voice. Her brow gradually furrowed.

Kujo was completely frozen. The Lord's voice echoed in his ears. Unable to withstand the irresistible pressure on his shoulders, he slowly bent his knees.

"I-I greet the Lord of the Mountain?! Please, your wrath—"

A shape identical to the Lord extended from her body and slapped Kujo aside with a gesture like shooing a fly.

Kujo's body slammed into the ice wall and slid down, powerless.

Ragna quickly rushed to him.

「You. Answer me. Why did you bring them here with blessings bestowed?」

Ran was also frustrated. Nothing the Lord said made sense. His mind felt frozen solid.

「You know, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped playing games. Looks like you got lucky, enjoying yourself among humans. I'm not so fortunate.」

The Lord extended her thin arm. A white light gathered in her hand.

「? That's why I'm sensitive.」

She flicked her curled finger.

A pure white flash covered Ran's vision.

He barely managed to twist his head aside. A strange sound, unlike anything he'd heard, grazed his ear.

Ran, his face gone pale, turned to see a sharp diagonal gash etched deeply in the ice wall.

「You trespassed without permission first. Consider us even.」

Ran gulped. He now fully understood he faced a transcendent being.

"Bloodhorn. I came to find that."

The Lord thought briefly, then snorted. Her gaze chilled in an instant.

「Are you kidding me? Over a mere human trinket?」

The ice wall and ground trembled.

A strange light flickered at the corners of the Lord's eyes.

「? You... you're Tarok's familiar, aren't you?」

With that, the Lord conjured another form.

This one was fiercer and more ferocious than when she'd struck Kujo. It surged forward, trailing a long tail from the main body—this time aiming at Maya.

Ran moved. A flash even stronger than the Lord's light blazed forth.

Kujo, still on his knees, brushed his bangs back. His eyes flew open wide.

He was shocked by Ran's sword.

His voice was lost. He was so stunned that he could not even speak properly.

Ran slashed at the Lord's form.

As soon as the form vanished, one of the Lord's arms dropped off. No blood flowed from the cross-section.