Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Pursued by Shadows
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“Huh?”
Sharen stared at Isaac with a bewildered expression, at a complete loss for what to do.
But the situation left no room for leisure.
Black smoke billowed out from between the market stalls, morphing into something eerie.
If she had to liken it to anything, it was shadows.
The ownerless shadows began to rise one by one, letting out screams.
Kiiiiiaaaaaa!
Their voices poured forth like a symphony of wails.
And among them, the largest shadow of all.
Even its shadow had a dangling neck, but it was the only one with eyes and fingers.
The moment its finger pointed straight at Isaac...
The shadows surged forward like crashing waves.
“Everyone!”
Anna, who had been preparing to flee at the ominous turn of events, came galloping over with the horses in tow.
They mounted their respective horses and bolted straight out of the village.
“What the hell are those things?!”
Silberna demanded, but even Isaac had no answer.
He had witnessed all sorts of horrors in his previous life, but Transcendent spells were a rare sight.
The massive shadow with the dangling neck led the way as the shadow minions began spilling out of the village.
“Th-they're not as fast as I thought?”
Meladic was right, glancing back anxiously.
The shadows weren't as quick as expected; they merely flailed after them.
Yet their advance, corrupting the surroundings like a swamp, exuded a horrifying pressure.
“Escaping seems simple, but...”
Isaac trailed off.
If they returned to the Mallidan Wall like this, the nearby villages would be swept away by the shadow minions.
In the worst case, their numbers could swell far beyond this.
“Let's stop them.”
In the end, Silberna reined in her horse.
“We have to. We can't afford to lose any more people.”
“I agree, but...”
He understood her sentiment.
But they needed to think coldly.
“Jonathan's in bad shape too.”
“I-I'm fine!”
Jonathan was drenched in cold sweat.
His eyes were returning to normal, and the black markings on his skin were fading, but he still looked far from okay.
Silberna had once lost her reason during the Polluru incident and nearly gotten herself killed.
Even amid the head-boiling fury of the Andes Village massacre, she had issued cold orders.
“Meladic, take Jonathan to the Mallidan Wall and request reinforcements.”
“Understood.”
“I-!”
“Jonathan, that's an order. No time.”
Jonathan had no choice but to shut his mouth at Silberna's curt resolve.
“Anna, head to the nearby villages and evacuate the residents. They'll follow you quickly since they know you well.”
“Yes, milady.”
Anna spurred her horse toward the villages, urgency etched in every motion.
“Isaac and Sharen, lure them with me. We'll buy as much time as we can.”
The others departed per orders, leaving the three behind.
“Hup! Hup!”
Sharen gripped her greatsword tightly, breathing deeply from tension.
“Isaac, any ideas?”
Silberna straightforwardly asked Isaac for advice.
Watching the pursuing shadow minions, Isaac nodded, recalling what had happened earlier.
“Spells are akin to magic. They follow a certain causality.”
Mages used mana.
Through magic circles or incantations, one could roughly predict what spell they'd cast.
Shamanism worked the same way.
“The shadows are probably the villagers. The biggest one is Nortemus.”
“The dangling neck means the spell activated right before death?”
Isaac nodded and added,
“The corpses had their eyes and fingers mutilated.”
It was the same now.
Only Nortemus's shadow gleamed with eyes and pointed at Isaac with fingers.
No eyes to see.
No fingers to point.
They were merely damaged minions forced to obey.
“So we just need to deal with Nortemus?”
“They won't attack with intent like this.”
Isaac's words carried conviction.
At the same time, it sparked doubt in Silberna.
“You seem to know more than what you told us about the Transcendents last time.”
Isaac had given Caldias a brief rundown on Transcendents during the Margrave raid.
Now realizing that was just the tip, Silberna asked with a displeased look.
“...I'll explain later.”
Isaac gave a wry smile.
There was no time to unpack it now.
Sharen, who had been wide-eyed glancing between them, cautiously pointed at the shadow minions.
“But... can we even beat those things?”
She got why they followed—pointing right at them.
But they couldn't just herd them around like sheep forever.
“...”
“...”
Isaac had no answer, and Silberna wore an ambiguous expression.
“Wait.”
Silberna raised her spear again.
Mounted, it lacked power, but the spear flew fiercely toward Nortemus's shadow.
It passed through harmlessly, like piercing clouds.
“...”
“...”
“...”
The three fell silent in unison.
An enemy they couldn't even strike was polluting everything as it closed in.
Not fast, but unstoppable meant inevitable defeat.
“Should we call a mage?”
As Silberna summoned her spear back with aura...
Kwaduduk!
The aura-wrapped spear impaled the swept-up shadow minions on retrieval, dissolving their forms.
“Oh?!”
An exclamation burst from Silberna as she caught the spear.
Aura could pierce them.
That meant they had a shot.
Just as she moved to shout it...
“...But, Isaac.”
Sharen glanced at him sidelong and asked,
“Can you use Red Aura?”
Unintentionally, Silberna found herself looking at Isaac too.
Huph.
Nothing to say.
The wind happened to blow cold, so he sniffled—that was all. Yet somehow, he felt utterly pathetic.
“Want me to teach you Red Aura later?”
“Aura's not the issue.”
Amid their odd consolation, Isaac shut his mouth, feeling strangely mixed.
[Aura?]
Suddenly, a conversation with his grandmaster surfaced.
[No need for such things at all.]
‘But there must be times it's necessary.’
[Never was.]
‘You can't use it, can you?’
[Would you like me asking if you can't use your legs?]
‘...’
[...Begone.]
Aura was important.
Most knights wielded it, and certain families had unique auras.
Like Helmunt's Red Aura.
“Should've sent Isaac with Jonathan.”
Unfair, but true.
Meladic could use aura.
“But you know.”
Sharen peeked again, pointing at Nortemus's shadow.
“Isn't that thing pointing at Isaac?”
Questioning if the pointing finger aimed at him.
Sure enough, when Isaac shifted his horse aside experimentally, Nortemus's finger subtly followed.
“...”
Isaac had become the lure totem.
“Milady?”
At the Mallidan Wall.
Kelsi cautiously called out to Rianna, who was gazing up at the sky.
“Your expression doesn't look good.”
“You can see my face?”
Masked and headbanded, her face was fully covered.
Not sarcasm—Rianna asked genuinely, and Kelsi smiled faintly.
“I've spent as much time with you as with Lady Sharen.”
“...Right.”
No particular emotion.
Rianna merely murmured while staring at the pristine white sky.
“Something foul is riding the wind.”
“Pardon? It feels refreshingly clean.”
Kelsi inhaled deeply through her nose.
But Rianna replied flatly,
“It feels ominous.”
Kelsi knew well of Helmunt physiology, so Rianna's words stirred her own unease.
“Lady Sharen's on a simple rear duty today. It should be safe, right?”
“It had better be.”
Though she said that, Rianna's gaze turned to the rear wall.
The wind was blowing from that direction.
At that moment.
A commotion arose from the rear wall.
Soldiers scrambled urgently, footsteps echoing everywhere gratingly.
“S-something... feels off.”
Perhaps from Rianna's earlier words, Kelsi grew increasingly anxious.
Worried if Sharen was in trouble...
Rianna snatched the wrist of a soldier rushing inward to report.
“Agh!”
Overwhelmed by the immense grip, the soldier panicked and looked at her.
“Wh-what is it?!”
“What's got everyone in such an uproar?”
Despite her maid attire, her presence cowed him.
Unable to resist the vise-like grip and sharp aura, he spilled it.
“Th-the scouting party engaged an unknown beast. One village was annihilated, and some scouts returned severely injured.”
“...!”
Rianna's gaze snapped to the wall.
Her red eyes caught Jonathan being urgently carried away.
“L-let go!”
At the soldier's cry, Rianna released him listlessly. After he fled like to report...
Rianna roughly tore off her mask and headband.
A rose scent bloomed on the northern wind.
The moment her red locks fluttered, everyone around stared, entranced.
Helmunt's Blood Rose.
Rianna Helmunt had descended upon the Mallidan Wall.