Chapter 1973: Chapter 1973
To identify what that extra something was, the Ruen authorities submitted reports on all anomalous incidents from the past two months. It was evident that the unknown entity had appeared before Salsi II and his retinue even reached Ruen.
Though the world's focus had been on Nolan for the past two months, anomalous events were, in fact, occurring frequently everywhere. The reports, delivered through special channels, could easily fill an entire room—after all, far more churches had a presence in Ruen than in Nolan.
Nolan currently had no shortage of clerical staff to sift through data. Thanks to the efforts of the Legacy Sage Church, they isolated the suspicious points in the documents within two hours. After cross-referencing with the vast and complex archives on Cursed Items, they had essentially confirmed the truth behind the incident.
Although numbered items that directly involved space were exceedingly rare, many possessed the ability to interfere with it. For instance, nearly all humanoid numbered items were capable of limited spatial travel within the material world.
The Cursed Item that had appeared this time was identified as A-06-2-4129, the “Blizzard Wraith.” It was as notorious as A-11-2-3046, “The Blizzard's Victim”—an item Jenkins had encountered before—and known to manifest in snowfields and on icy mountains.
The “Blizzard Wraith” only appeared during severe blizzards. After checking meteorological records, the Church determined it had manifested near Ruen on a Tuesday, three weeks prior. This Cursed Item possessed no tangible form of its own. Instead, much like the “Greed” from the “Treasure Hunter's War,” it would transform into a physical human form, indiscernible from a real person, and appear within a human settlement.
The initial wraith would enter a settlement by accompanying travelers returning from a blizzard. It would then settle down and live among them, gradually solidifying a manufactured memory of itself in the minds of everyone around.
It would subtly weave itself into the fabric of the community. Once it had established itself as completely safe, it would venture out during a blizzard and bring back more wraiths from the wilds. These bizarre entities, of course, had no intention of living peacefully among humans. Their presence would, to a certain degree, alter the climate of the entire settlement for the next decade.
Furthermore, the wraiths' presence would significantly affect the settlement's stability, prosperity, and even the mental state of its inhabitants, all through a subtle, imperceptible influence. The “Blizzard Wraith” did not kill directly, but it could induce insidious changes that, over time, would lead a thriving human settlement into complete decline.
Once the number of wraiths in a settlement surpassed a certain threshold, some of them would begin to migrate with travelers. Ruen was now conducting an internal investigation; the fact that something had followed Salsi II's party was proof enough that a significant number of wraiths were already present in the city.
Moreover, these wraiths were extremely sensitive to spatial fluctuations. Any unusual spatial energy would trigger a defensive counterattack.
This reaction manifested as an overlap between the material world and a frigid snowfield that existed outside of it, pulling everything in the vicinity into this frozen expanse. The area would remain sealed until every living being dragged inside had transformed into a “Blizzard Wraith.”
Reacting to anomalous spatial forces was considered a minor trait of the “Blizzard Wraith.” The Church's research on this Cursed Item had primarily focused on methods of identification and prevention.
Therefore, even though they now understood the general situation, they still lacked a solid plan for a rescue. The Church could use certain special methods to breach an otherwise impassable space, but no one knew what conditions were like on the other side.
Jenkins finished reading the documents, casually tossed them onto the table, and looked up at Miss Strass, who was standing on the other side.
“Since this involves ice and snow... I suppose this is fate's way of giving me a hint. Your job is to open a temporary breach. I'll go in and handle the rescue.”
No one believed the Follower of Lies was some saint, willing to risk his own life to save complete strangers. At the same time, they didn't connect him with Jenkins. Instead, they assumed the Follower of Lies wanted to use this incident to get close to Salsi II.
“Don't be ridiculous. I have no idea what it's like in there. Risk my life on a long shot? Oh, I'm not that kind of person.”
he retorted, then bluntly asked if the Church would agree to the collaboration.
The Church could have racked their brains all day and still not figured out what this strange man was after. They had intended to deliberate, to at least ascertain the Follower of Lies's motives, but Jenkins spoke so loudly that Alexia, in the next tent, overheard his request. She then relayed the matter to Dolores in front of all the Church members: Latest content publıshed on novel·fiɾe·net
“The Follower of Lies wants to save your father.”
At that, Dolores made her own position clear to the Church:
“Agree to that stranger's request. If I don't see my father, then you can forget about seeing any member of the Hamparvo Kingdom at the negotiation table.”
It was a proposal they could have accepted or rejected, but with the small weight Dolores added to the scales, the matter was no longer up for discussion. The Church agreed to let Mister Candle enter the anomalous spatial region. Considering the unknown conditions inside and the high probability that he might never come out, they assigned no one to accompany him.
However, the Church did guarantee that if Mister Candle did not return in a timely manner, they would make every effort to rescue him.
“I only hope that when I emerge, you will have a reply from Mr. Oliver.”
As he spoke, he lifted the cat from his shoulder. His eyes scanned the bustling camp, and he ultimately decided to tuck the cat inside his coat rather than leave it behind. Leaving the cat would be something Jenkins would do, and he didn't want to expose his identity with such a familiar gesture.
The path ahead was undoubtedly dangerous, but Jenkins was confident he could protect his cat from harm.
Soon, a strange man with sallow skin and deep-set eyes arrived at the camp, escorted by a squad of Nightwatchmen. He was carrying a slender wooden box, nearly half as tall as a person.
He and Jenkins approached the edge of the swirling mist. Once Jenkins's eyes caught the black spiritual aura marking the boundary of the snowfield, the group halted. The stranger opened the wooden box and drew out a golden scimitar with a distinct desert style.
“You'll have only three seconds.”
he said in the Fidektri tongue, his accent thick and nearly indecipherable. After Jenkins nodded, the man gripped the scimitar. With a staggering slash that seemed poised to tear space itself—no, he truly did tear it open. Aided by the weapon, which pulsed with an intense red aura, a single strike produced a continuous sound of shattering glass.
An unnatural hole abruptly appeared in the mist before them, like a patch of peeling paint on an oil canvas. A fierce, frigid wind blasted from the opening, making Jenkins shudder violently.
“What kind of blade is that powerful?”
With no time for further thought, he shot forward, tumbling through the rapidly shrinking opening with his cat.
Passing through a sealed space was different from a Mysterious Realm transfer. In this case, he was merely crossing a barrier, so it didn't count as true spatial teleportation. Naturally, Jenkins didn't experience the severe discomfort that usually came with it.
Still, plunging from a warm summer night into a snowdrift two feet deep was hardly a pleasant experience. His body hadn't yet adjusted to the temperature, and the moment he hit the ground, he shot back up like a coiled spring.
He summoned the greatcoat bestowed by the Sage from his spirit. A warmth spread over him, as if warm water were being poured over his head, and even his exposed face and hands began to feel the heat.
As Jenkins fastened the buttons of his coat from bottom to top, Chocolate poked his furry little head out from the collar. His perked ears brushed against Jenkins's chin, but the cat paid it no mind, staring wide-eyed at the snowfield before them.
“You'd better be careful. Don't leave the coat, or a single gust of wind could freeze you into a little ice cube.”
This wasn't an idle threat meant to scare the cat. The temperature in this snowfield was certainly below minus thirty degrees. The low temperature alone was lethal, to say nothing of the strange spirit permeating the air, which delivered a chill that pierced bone and soul directly into any living creature.
The greatcoat from the Sage was a true lifesaver. Otherwise, just fending off the cold with fire and spirit would have been draining enough, not to mention that in a fight, even the slightest chill stiffening his joints could lead to disastrous consequences.
The cat rubbed its little ears against Jenkins's chin, then, as if bored by the vast white expanse, retracted its head and curled up motionlessly on his chest.
Jenkins, meanwhile, surveyed his surroundings. Such a bizarre environment, a space “outside the material world,” involuntarily reminded him of the “Shadow Kingdom” he had visited last autumn.
This was likely the domain of the Lord of Winter. He'd had dealings with this master of the cold once before, this past winter in Ruen. He had traveled by train with Ruen's support forces to the great northern ice cap to fight the “Snowman Legion,” which had become a full-blown disaster. Along the way, he had stumbled upon that ice palace, learned of the Stuart family's history, and obtained all five of the White Ice Chess Pieces.
“I wonder what I'll run into this time... In this cold, could Salsi II already have frozen to death?”
It wasn't just a possibility; it was highly probable. But regardless of the reason, Jenkins had to save him. He decided to summon his unicorn and fly up high to get a look at the surrounding terrain.
But when he tried to use the ability, nothing happened. The unique spatial environment prevented the unicorn from breaking through the dimensional wall to appear.
So, his only option was to summon the tall stool and fly up while sitting on it. It was a rather undignified mode of transport, but fortunately, there was no one around to witness it.