Chapter 99: Chapter 99

The Lord of the Mountain gazed at the severed stump.

The arm that had fallen to the ground was gradually dissolving, eventually disappearing without a trace.

「Oh, what should I do. I let my guard down.」

Her eyes quickly grew moist. The Lord of the Mountain widened her eyes.

「How could you do something so unbelievable? You—this is basically a declaration of war. That's why I deliberately targeted the bug next to you.」

Nachal spun around a few times in place, then stopped in a reverse grip with her blade pointing down. A violet radiance shimmered along the sword's body.

Ran supported the base of the hilt with his other hand.

"? There's no time. Where's Bloodhorn."

「H-ha, haha, wow. Are you for real?」

Maya's limbs stiffened entirely. She almost fell back in utter powerlessness.

She looked between Ran and the Lord of the Mountain.

Suddenly, tascar's words flashed through her mind.

The air between Ran and the Lord of the Mountain felt denser—like the two were in a space apart from this world.

「Urvashi. So you had it, huh.」

The Lord of the Mountain pointed with her finger.

Ran rolled his eyes toward Nachal, masking his surprise.

'T-this sword was Urvashi??'

When he'd gotten it in Tohore village, he'd just thought it was handy because it didn't break.

'Umi didn't seem to know its name either.'

Turned out, it was a mystical sword inhabited by the evil spirit Nachal, and that's why he'd been casually calling it Nachal.

'Come to think of it, I've had a lot of strange experiences since using this.'

The wraith from the bear beast's den was a Yacha, and the wraith from the Frost Cavern was the Lord of the Mountain.

He'd kept running into transcendent beings.

He'd even met Asriel in his dreams.

'Oddly enough, I'm not afraid.'

Ran focused his consciousness. He felt like he finally knew the trick. Once more, he glanced down at Urvashi.

From earlier, he'd tried to summon Nachal, but there was no response.

'I'll have to fight with my own strength.'

He was concerned about conserving his stamina. As soon as he found Bloodhorn, he'd have to go straight into another fight. If he rampaged again, like last time, he might collapse for days.

「How strange. Two familiars are fighting in the world of humans, so why is it this quiet?」

The Lord of the Mountain glanced at Maya, ragna, and Kujo as well.

「Even if they're under protection for a while, it's odd that those bugs managed to stay sane .」

"What are familiars? Are they different from gods?"

The Lord of the Mountain frowned.

「Gods are gods, familiars are their hands and feet.」

"And what about apostles? Is that just another term?"

「? Did you lose your memory at least as punishment? Is that why you're acting ? Apostles are those humans serving gods who are at least somewhat useful.」

"So, you're Dakir's familiar, and the reason you said I'm Tarok's familiar is..."

「What do you think? That's because of Urvashi. Honestly, even I wasn't sure. Tarok's familiars are all ugly ones—Yacha, Nachal, agwi, ugh. The thought disgusts me. But you're kind of mixed, so I got confused?」

Suddenly, urvashi started to vibrate.

What he really wanted to ask was why she'd called him a familiar right off the bat, so matter-of-factly. Both Nachal and Yacha had addressed him as if certain of something.

"Well, I guess that's enough."

Ran stomped down. He decided to gradually unlock his power.

「Honestly, I don't know anymore.」

Huge ice spikes shot up from beneath the ground near the Lord of the Mountain's feet. The spikes split the earth, charging at Ran.

Ran leaped high on the spot. He tried to leap straight at the Lord of the Mountain.

「Up close, you're not as impressive as Michael, I guess.」

The Lord of the Mountain was right in front of him, her colors blurred overall.

The real body was underneath. Ran narrowly avoided a knifehand strike from the phantasm.

Upon landing, he immediately looked up. The phantasm, arms crossed, was dropping vertically onto him.

Ran raised Urvashi to block.

The phantasm instantly began sweeping its arms along the line of Ran's sword. It even looked like a graceful dance.

As blade and hand struck, cheerful metallic rings echoed.

Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!

The three Northmen watching flinched in terror. Ran and the Lord of the Mountain's movements were too fast to follow with the eye.

「Why are you suddenly looking for Bloodhorn? What on earth is Tarok preparing?」

After slashing at Ran's abdomen with her hand, the phantasm vanished as if sucked back into the main body.

Luckily, the wound wasn't deep. Ran gritted his teeth.

'Have to get in close to the real body.'

He tried to charge again, but suddenly felt a chill.

Countless icicles were forming all around him in the air—each a deadly ice shard aimed at him.

Ran wildly swung Urvashi several times in place. The blade moved in dazzling trajectories.

Following the afterimages of the slashes, the icicles shattered.

With the flash of the blade reflected in the ice wall and frost splinters scattered, Ran looked as if he were shrouded in radiance.

The Lord of the Mountain thrust her arm forward. Two phantasms shot forth at once.

「I'm about to ascend. I won't kill you. But I'll have to bury at least one of your arms, though?」

Ran and the two phantasms clashed together. A raucous metallic racket filled the cavern.

The Lord of the Mountain's eyes widened.

Both phantasms were ripped in half vertically.

Ran cut straight through the cloud of shattered ice like an onrushing arrow.

As he grew closer, she could clearly see the blood froth covering his face, and within it, the flickering golden glare.

The Lord of the Mountain waved her fingers in big motions before her, pulling out every last trick. This time, she also had to go all out.

Following her gestures, an ice wall rose and blocked Ran's blow, then broke apart.

Staggering back, the Lord of the Mountain stared at Ran in disbelief.

「W-what?? You were Asriel's familiar?」

Golden light was leaping from Ran's form like scattered embers. The once-light brown irises were now gold.

The Lord of the Mountain tilted her head.

Not only apostles, but familiars too each manifest their master's symbolic color when displaying their powers.

The Lord of the Mountain felt uncertain.

To her, Ran's golden radiance seemed reminiscent of Asriel's typical color, yet there was something off about it.

Ran curled one corner of his lip.

"So, what do you think you see?"

"Kukuk. So this familiar business or whatever, isn't such a big deal after all."

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"I was going to go just a bit harder, and I guess it's about even now."

The Lord of the Mountain grit her teeth as she laughed. Like blood froth welling up, her pupils filled more and more with crimson.

「You're really insuffer—」

Suddenly, there was a flash. The explosion was so thunderous, it seemed to shake even the ice barriers.

A thick, acrid smoke billowed suddenly around the Lord of the Mountain.

A disgusting noise sounded. A hunk of flesh hit the floor. Bizarrely, there was no bloodshed.

The smoke cleared a little at a time.

The Lord of the Mountain was standing dazed—half her face eaten away as if gnawed out by something.

Her one remaining pupil trembled violently. Her vacant gaze swung toward the three Northmen, huddled some distance away.

Kujo was aiming Asthra in their direction, smoke still curling from its tip.

"D-don't you dare act arrogant!! What's with this familiar nonsense! Damn you—!"

"Gi-give—it—back! Bloodhooorn—!!"

「Ha, seriously, this is infuriat—」

The Lord of the Mountain tried to raise her arm.

A chill ran up her spine on the spot.

Urvashi flashed by, leaving a violet afterimage as it sliced through the Lord of the Mountain's neck.

Her ruined, fruit-like head dropped to the iced ground with a thud.

「Is this how it ends??」

Ran crouched down, bringing his face close to the Lord of the Mountain's head.

"So, this means you'll die for good? You won't revive or anything?"

「Is this guy insane.」

「You were cut down by a relic, of course you'll be erased for good. Why even ask.」

Ran twisted his mouth, standing up.

"Farewell. And I'm not a familiar. I'm just a human."

Tears streamed down from the Lord of the Mountain's eyes.

She had let her guard down. Regret hit her too late. It was unbearably bitter.

As her body vaporized, the encircling walls of ice vanished in an instant.

The surroundings returned to an ordinary Frost Cavern. Around the frozen lake, bodies of the Poison Talon Eagle tribe lay scattered.

"I can't believe it. I defiled our own god with my own hands."

Kujo muttered. It felt as though he'd sobered up from a drunken frenzy in an instant. His emotions were all over the place, still dazed.

Ragna and Maya were also at a loss for words. They couldn't tell if they should comfort Kujo, praise him, or something else.

It was a confusing mix of emotions.

"It was probably Freyja, the mountain god of the Gigantes snowy mountains. Am I bound for Dakir's punishment now??"

Kujo slumped down and yanked at his hair with both hands.

"Even after calling you all bugs?"

Ran replied in a flat voice.

The three looked at him—each with slightly different expressions.

Kujo couldn't finish the sentence. The Lord of the Mountain's contemptuous gaze still lingered vividly before him.

"Then—what were you thinking back there?"

"It just happened... Hoo. I don't know, I just don't know!"

Ran understood Kujo. He'd had a similar experience.

It was what it's like to doubt what you've believed your whole life. To doubt the gods is to deny your own existence.

'Maybe... even Asriel?'

Ran didn't try to follow that thought further.

Multiple events had unfolded at once. Maya could barely get her mind together.

She whipped up her head.

Before anyone noticed, Ran was by the frozen lake.

He let out a deep sigh.

Ran gripped Urvashi's hilt tightly. The long-used sword suddenly felt unfamiliar. The blade he'd just happened to pick up and use had turned out to be a sword known to the gods and appearing in myth.

'I'll think about that later.'

Ran pointed the tip toward the surface of the iced-over lake.

Urvashi drove deep into the lake.

'The cunning shadow covets the sacred.'

Ran recited the line inwardly.

A strange vibration could be felt. Thick black mist coiled, quickly curling around Urvashi as if forming a nest.

White light gushed from the crack.

Ran immediately thrust his arm in.

"Th-this is Bloodhorn??"

Ragna received Bloodhorn, not quite knowing what was happening.

The crescent-shaped horn flute was tinged all over with a blood-red hue.

Other than that, it didn't look special. In fact, it felt almost disappointingly plain.

"So you just blow into it?"

As Ragna was about to raise it to his lips, kujo slapped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Are you trying to bring down the snowy mountains?!"

"Huh? What do you mean, bring them down?"

"The moment you blow that horn, the summoned divine beasts aren't just one or two! It's the scale of an army!"

Kujo pointed at the horn flute. Ran also leaned close, listening quietly.

"You can't just use a relic whenever you feel like it. When the time is right, at the right moment, the right response will just—snap!—come. Like before, with Asthra."

Kujo's shoulders lifted with pride.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't that Kujo used Asthra earlier—Asthra called Kujo, it could be said.

"What if, at the most important time, it doesn't work? What if it doesn't respond when we have to fight the Snow Leopards soon? Then everything we went through was for—?"

"Tch—! You scoundrel! How dare you doubt Thunder Anvil's relic?! Tch tch. That's it. Maya! Let's go! Let's hurry and get away from this guy's doubts—"

Turning around, kujo's voice trailed off.

The sheepish Ragna, then Ran after him.

One by one, their eyes turned to Maya.

Maya, clutching her eyes shut, finally began sobbing aloud.

Kujo was first to walk over, tiptoeing to pat her back; Ragna followed suit, comforting her as well. Ran let her rest her head on his shoulder.

It just happened before he noticed.

When the party exited the Frost Cavern, dawn was barely breaking.

Because they'd left earlier than expected, the group planned to rest at the forward barracks once used by the Poison Talon Eagle tribe.

As soon as they emerged, jebe—perched atop the tallest pillar of the outpost—flew toward Maya.

Maya's eyes trembled with anxiety.

She placed her hand on Jebe's head.

She traced Jebe's memories.

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