The Hero of the Snowfield
"Y-you're way faster than I thought!"
"Quit whining and keep up!"
Evan and Pina sprinted toward the place where Alice had collapsed.
The ground where the battle had raged was torn and shattered beyond recognition, making every step a struggle. That a single monster could wreak such devastation was astonishing enough — but even more so was the hunter who had brought it down alone.
"It's altitude sickness. After pushing herself that hard, it was bound to happen."
"I'll carry the greatsword. Sir Knight, please take Alice-nim."
"M-me?"
"Hurry!"
Pina prodded Evan along. He hesitated for a moment, then carefully gathered Alice into his arms. Her limbs hung limp. Evan ran after Pina, who was already heading down with the greatsword in her hands.
The humans withdrew their attention from Neveumano and Neveterde and began a full retreat. Getting the critically wounded soldiers and the fallen Alice to safety took priority over everything else.
Only Neveumano and Neveterde remained on the battlefield.
A low, fading note drifted through the air.
Neveterde had tumbled from Neveumano's nape and hit the ground hard. She dragged herself forward on hands and feet, straining to close even a little of the distance between them. Forcing out so much cold had taken its toll — her body refused to move the way she wanted.
Blood welled up. The wounds in her arm and side that she had frozen shut until now split open and began to bleed. She thrust out a hand in desperation, but only a thin rime of frost formed. The wounds remained. She could no longer command the cold.
Even as Neveterde poured every last scrap of strength into crawling closer, Neveumano still could not rise. Eyes rolled back, blood pooling beneath its massive frame, it lay where it had fallen. Arterial blood pulsed from its severed wrists in thick, rhythmic surges. Its ankles fared no better.
Neveterde slumped against Neveumano's shoulder, where even the sound of breathing had gone silent, and let her body go slack. She pressed her cheek into the pure white fur for a moment, then lifted her head to the sky.
The blizzard had cleared. The sky beyond was settling into dusk. Neveterde simply breathed, slow and shallow, her blue eyes tracking the clouds that drifted overhead in a vacant, unhurried gaze.
I'm dying.
In a body this broken, survival was no longer possible. If Neveumano had still been alive, perhaps things would have been different — but Neveumano gave no sign at all, even as she died right beside it.
A soft, low note. Neveterde called to her friend, to Neveumano. There was no answer. She closed her mouth. Tired, I suppose.
Leaning into that white fur, Neveterde thought. She had spent her whole life thrashing against death. She had set others against each other, sought out the yetis, clung to humans — anything to keep going a little longer.
In the end, it was a fight with a small human she had never even imagined that killed her.
In the wild, defeat left only death.
And yet this moment did not frighten her. It hurt, and it was hard — but Neveumano was with her. Neveterde closed her eyes and let herself taste what might come next.
This time, let's not drift apart. Let's meet again somewhere new.
And play tricks on each other.
Make ice and throw it. Dump snow on each other's heads…
The pleasant thoughts kept coming, one after another, each one tugging the next along behind it.
Neveterde closed her eyes.
I was alone in an empty room.
No monsters. No people. Only me, sealed inside that space.
Just moments ago I had been face-to-face with Miteraos — and now, suddenly, a room.
From somewhere far off came the sound of someone weeping, soft and desolate. When I turned my head, the narrow room had stretched wide in an instant. At the far end of it was me. Not the male me — the female me.
I wasn't particularly startled. This was a dream, after all.
Daniel. Fabio. Nicola. Simone. Catriel…
The woman recited the names in broken fragments, crying as she spoke. Those eyes that were always so sharp had gone slack with grief. Her white hair hung wild and tangled, making her look half-mad.
I sat down carefully beside her.
Before long she glanced at me and spoke.
Alice.
"Yeah?"
You haven't forgotten, have you?
I said nothing. I only nodded.
Just as she had never let go of her hatred, I had never let go of my goal.
I want to go back to the future.
"You don't like the people here?"
She shook her head.
No. They're all kind. Good people.
"Yeah?"
But the place I belong is there. That doesn't change.
I hesitated a moment at her words, then nodded.
Seeing my reaction, she spoke again.
I'm sorry.
"Why?"
For leaving my work to you.
I shook my head.
There was nothing to apologize for. If anything, I was grateful she had entrusted something like this to me.
She asked,
Do you want to stay here?
I nodded.
That question was already settled. I had finished thinking it through.
I wanted to remain in this land and live alongside my people. I had no intention of letting go of the chance that had found me by accident.
"Yeah."
I see.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
For a while she said nothing. Then, at last, she spoke.
You stay here. I…
And I opened my eyes.
This time it wasn't a room. A tent canopy blocked the sky in place of a ceiling.
The peculiar, bone-deep chill of Lacrima settled over my body.
I'm awake.
I tried to sit up, only for a sharp, tingling headache to drop me flat again. My body had no strength left — different from after Disastro, but no less drained.
There was no one around. This seemed to be a single-person tent set aside just for me. Thoughtful of them, at least.
What had the woman in the dream meant by those last words?
But thinking about it wouldn't give me any answers.
I gritted my teeth against the headache and pushed myself up from the cot. Then I staggered outside.
Adelaide and Pina were waiting beyond the tent flap.
"…Alice? Alice, you're awake!"
The moment she saw me, Adelaide's face lit up. She threw her arms around me with a great fuss of relief.
Startled, I stood there awkwardly, unsure where to put my hands.
Pina looked at me with worried eyes.
"Alice-nim! Are you all right?"
"Fine, aside from a bit of a headache."
"Ah, so it still hurts! Why on earth did you get up? Back inside with you, this instant. Lie down."
"But…"
"Now."
Adelaide's tone left no room for argument.
I let my shoulders sag and went back into the tent.
This time Adelaide and Pina came with me.
Adelaide kept her arms around me the whole way in, only releasing me once she had settled me onto the cot. Then she stood over me.
"Truly — when I saw them carry you in, I was certain you were dead."
I gave a short laugh.
"Dead? Come on…"
"Both arms hanging limp like that — how was I supposed to think otherwise?"
"We were terrified too. When Alice-nim suddenly collapsed, I thought my heart was going to stop."
Fair enough.
I nodded.
"I pushed a little hard."
"A little? You pushed yourself ridiculously hard. Why did you try to take them on alone? You didn't do that with Disastro."
"I just… couldn't hold back…"
I couldn't rein in all that overflowing power, and I went and did it…
"You said you were going to stall for time. Liar."
"S-sorry."
I couldn't even manage a proper reply as Pina scolded me. I just sat there and took it.
"Still, I won, so it's fine, right?"
"How is that fine? Alice-nim only won because you're an incredible hunter. If you weren't, what would have happened?"
Wait — is that a compliment?
"Is that a compliment?"
"What? No, it's not…"
"Ah."
I shut my mouth, feeling sheepish.
It was a joke. I should've just kept quiet.
Pina muttered under her breath for a while, as if she still had plenty left to say, then cut herself off with a sharp breath and let out a sigh.
"Just… from now on, please don't make us worry so much. The whole time I was watching, I felt like my heart was shriveling up."
Adelaide turned to Pina.
"I'm envious. To have witnessed such a rare spectacle."
"Princess!"
"In any case, our hunter fought with splendid courage and won, did she not? Don't scold her too harshly."
Oh… Mom…!
I was moved by Adelaide's defense.
"Though whether you gave any thought to my request that you return safely is another matter entirely."
The warmth in my chest took a pointed little jab instead.
"Still — she is the hero of this snowfield, is she not?"
"…Yes."
Even Pina had no argument for that.
Adelaide chuckled softly, looking down at me.
From the look in her eyes, I could already tell where this was going.
"At any rate, I've received the full report. Alice — I was told the monsters that appeared weren't only Neveumano and that snow woman, Neveterde. Unless the lot of you shared a mass hallucination, that is."
"That's right."
I'd expected the conversation to turn to Miteraos.
I answered without hesitation.
Adelaide touched her lips thoughtfully and went on.
"A dragon that appeared out of thin air. Nowhere in this world has anyone ever seen a dragon like that."
She looked at me.
"I hear it recognized you — even spoke to you. Is that true?"
"It is."
I nodded.
"That was Miteraos. The monster that destroyed the future."
Now that Miteraos had shown itself, I figured it was time to stop hiding it.