Ending Maker Chapter 60
Ending Maker Chapter 60
Chapter 18 - Great Storm
Although there were two Playable Characters from the Wild Lands, the Wild Lands rarely actually served as a stage in the game.
The reason was simple: neither Red Wind nor Kirara had the Wild Lands as their main stage of activity.
"Red Wind’s main stage was Saelun, while Kirara’s was Argon."
Red Wind began as an escaped slave in northern Saelun and remained active entirely within the kingdom until well into the mid-game, before she finally fought the corrupted barbarian tribes to avenge her father.
"Kirara, who starts in the far east of the Wild Lands, crosses over to the Argon Empire as soon as the tutorial ends."
Because she had gone to the Argon Empire rather than Saelun, she avoided the great invasion of the northern barbarian tribes. And since she had fled her homeland in the first place, Kirara had no intention of ever going back.
Therefore, in Hero Legend 2, there were only two events where the Wild Lands appeared with any real significance. One was the "Homecoming" event, where Red Wind wailed at the sight of her homeland already reduced to ruins, and the other was the "Death of Lena" event.
* * *
"Very well. The tribesmen will relay the details, such as the location of the sanctuary."
When Yuder and Cordelia said they would take on the investigation of the sanctuary, Great Storm spoke with a sigh, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
In truth, though he did not show it, Great Storm had been pushing himself considerably.
Linking the minds of Yuder and Cordelia, who were not even tribesmen, and revealing himself before the two of them was a difficult task in many ways for Great Storm, who was still a young Wild God.
"Then let us wrap things up here for now. Once the investigation is complete, then......"
"Wait a moment!"
Cordelia hastily stopped Great Storm as he was about to rise from his seat.
There was still something they needed to discuss.
'Right?'
'Right.'
They had naturally never discussed what they would talk about if they met Great Storm.
But Yuder and Cordelia had already talked at length about how they would proceed once they reached the Wild Lands.
There was still one more important matter remaining.
"Great and mighty Great Storm. We have information that we absolutely must convey to you."
"What is it?"
Since Yuder was being so serious, Great Storm's curiosity was piqued, and he sat back down for the time being.
Instead of speaking immediately, Yuder took a breath, then continued in a calm tone.
"It is about the illness that Red Gale has contracted."
"......Speak."
Great Storm's gaze sharpened.
Great Storm, too, knew very well that Red Gale’s illness was no ordinary sickness but a kind of curse.
"The illness— no, the name of the curse is 'White Spider Lily,' a sorcery that the followers of Belial, the Infernal Lord of Corruption, favored in the past."
White Spider Lily was not a curse meant to kill an enemy.
It was a curse that rendered the target helpless so that they could be more easily corrupted. Those afflicted by White Spider Lily grew weak in both body and mind, until they ultimately reached a state where they could do nothing at all.
'The one who cast the curse is Haraken, a curse sorcerer and an officer of the Devil’s Eye.'
The first person in the Wild Lands to be afflicted by the curse was Seven Horns, the chieftain of the Angry Rhino Tribe.
He had been the strongest warrior of the Angry Rhino Tribe, but in just over a month he became terribly weak, little more than a withered old tree. After half a year, he could do nothing without the prophet Haraken.
And in the seventh month, Haraken offered him as a sacrifice. He ascended as a vassal of Belial and was reborn as a full-fledged demon.
"The closer one is to the sorcerer who cast it, the stronger the effect of White Spider Lily becomes. Fortunately, Red Gale is at a considerable distance from the sorcerer, so the progression of the illness is relatively slow, but in the end, he will fall into a completely helpless state."
"Is there no way?"
Great Storm asked anxiously.
Great Storm watched over the tribe, and to him its chieftain, Red Gale, was like his own child.
"There is only one way to break the curse. The sorcerer who cast it must be killed."
In truth, there was a much simpler solution.
It was to purify Red Gale with a power stronger than Belial's curse.
But that was impossible.
Great Storm was fairly strong among the Wild Gods, but the opponent was Belial, one of the five Infernal Lords who ruled over Hell.
The comparison itself was meaningless.
"He must have been afflicted while attending the chieftains' council. The culprit is surely among those who attended the council!"
When Great Storm burst out in rage, Yuder nodded.
Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that Haraken, who had attended the chieftains' council, had cursed Red Gale, who would become an obstacle to the unification war.
"Great Storm, please do not be so angry. I have a way to improve Red Gale’s condition."
"Truly?"
At Yuder's words, Great Storm sprang up from his seat and asked.
Yuder nodded, then took out the Sun's Necklace that had been hidden inside his clothes and showed it.
"Those afflicted by White Spider Lily are endlessly exposed to the cold of Hell. So if we drive out that cold with yang energy, we can slow the progression of the curse and improve his condition."
In the first place, the very reason Red Wind had come down south was to obtain the Sunflower Herb, which possessed extreme yang power.
'Though the Sunflower Herb lost its efficacy the moment it was plucked from where it bloomed, so it could not be used to treat the illness anyway.'
Yuder had the Sun's Necklace.
A divine artifact of Solari that continuously supplied yang energy should be able to hold back the White Spider Lily curse.
"Ooh...... Then we can simply give that necklace to Red Gale."
"Yes, lending it should suffice. Lending it."
Lending it was one thing, but outright giving it away was absolutely out of the question.
Moreover, Yuder had not the slightest intention of handing it over for free.
'Because the situation has changed.'
Before Great Storm appeared, Yuder would have lent the necklace free of charge to save Red Gale. But now Great Storm was here.
In that case, was it not only proper to receive a rental fee?
"The Sun's Necklace is an item I absolutely need to cure the chronic illness I suffer from. To me, it is like a lifeline."
When Yuder emphasized the importance of the Sun's Necklace, Great Storm furrowed his brow.
"Chronic illness? You look healthy to me?"
He was tall and handsome, too.
At Great Storm’s question, Yuder shook his head, then suddenly started coughing before he answered.
"No...... cough cough. I may look like this, but I am quite frail. Isn't that right, Cordelia?"
At Yuder's call, Cordelia, who had snapped back to attention, stepped right forward and said.
"That's right. Do you know how weak our Yuder is? Just look at how pale his skin is. You can almost see his veins. Until recently, I had to carry him around on my back."
His skin really was clear and translucent, and Cordelia really had carried him on her back.
"No, but he seems healthy......"
"Just look at how thin his arms are. And that waist—it’s tiny. Practically an ant’s waist. Oh, our poor Yuder, what are we going to do......"
Perhaps thanks to spending time with Yuder, Cordelia's acting skills had improved by leaps and bounds.
It was obvious that she was fake-crying, but the tearful acting of a beautiful girl was enough to sway the heart of anyone watching.
"Hmm...... But I am a god of wind. I have no means of supplying yang energy."
"That is fine. Then you can simply give us something related to wind."
"That's right. Even though Yuder is weak, he's not so weak that he'll drop dead right away without the necklace."
Yuder and Cordelia spoke in turn, and Great Storm ultimately accepted the fact that he had no choice but to be swindled by this husband-and-wife con artist duo, even knowing full well what they were doing.
"......Very well. Then I shall bestow upon you the most powerful of the divine artifacts I possess."
"Thank you."
"We'll use it well for a good cause. Great Storm, you're so cool. You're handsome. The best."
Cordelia was increasingly just saying whatever came to mind, but it was still pleasant to hear.
Great Storm let out a hollow laugh, then summoned an arrow wreathed in blue light into the air.
"This is the Arrow of Winged Wind."
The entire arrow was pure white, as if looking at a crystal of ice.
"It can be controlled according to the user's will."
"According to my will?"
"Yes, it can freely soar through the air."
As if responding to Great Storm's words, the Arrow of Winged Wind began to dart through the air, and its speed was truly terrifying.
"Whoa! Yondu!"
"Yondu?"
At Great Storm's question, Cordelia simply beamed and turned to look at Yuder, and Yuder said with a serious face.
"Since Yuder is the one using it, it's Yu-d...... Ow!"
"No dad jokes!"
Cordelia smacked Yuder on the back, then expressed her thanks to Great Storm once more.
"Thank you. We'll put it to good use."
"Yes, it will be a weapon well suited to you. It is good for mages to have at least one ranged weapon like this."
"Yes, that's right...... Oh, wait a moment. You're giving it to me? Not to Yuder?"
"Huh? I'm giving it to you?"
When Great Storm said it as if it were only natural, Yuder spoke in surprise.
"W-wait a moment! The Sun's Necklace is for treating my illness, you know......?"
"So what? I want to give it to her. You're not planning to take back something you gave to your fiancée, are you?"
"No, that's not it......"
Even for Yuder, there was nothing he could say when Great Storm put it like that.
And in truth, the Arrow of Winged Wind was a weapon better suited to Cordelia than to Yuder anyway.
When Yuder finally gave up and let his shoulders droop, Great Storm smiled faintly and said.
"When you go to the village, go to the altar. I shall leave it there."
"......Understood."
"Thank you so much!"
After receiving two very different kinds of thanks from Yuder and Cordelia, Great Storm rose from his seat.
This time, it truly was to return.
But not yet.
There was still more they could squeeze out of Great Storm.
"Wait! Wait a moment! There is still one last thing!"
"What now."
"This is truly important."
"That's right, it's really, really important."
Cordelia, who had no idea what it was but chimed in anyway, sent Yuder a look asking what this was about, and Yuder began to speak to both Great Storm and Cordelia.
* * *
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
Yuder and Cordelia opened their eyes with a start at the same time.
Inside the white igloo.
Red Wind was still sound asleep, and the dawn light was seeping in through a small gap at the entrance.
"Haa."
"Phew."
First catching their breath, Yuder and Cordelia rolled up their sleeves as if by agreement and checked their respective emblems.
"It's real."
"It really wasn't a dream."
They had met Great Storm and become his warriors. They had also wrung quite a few things out of him.
"Hehehe, gold, it's gold."
As Cordelia stroked her emblem and spoke, Yuder's expression naturally soured, and Cordelia's smile deepened.
"Silver trash. Silbronze. Bottom-feeder."
"Ahem."
"Pretending not to hear, huh."
"Silver, Gold—same difference."
"Yes, next up, Silbronze."
It was a battle that could not be won from the start.
Having given up cleanly, Yuder broke away some of the snow blocking the entrance, checked outside, and said.
"Let’s have a quick breakfast and get going. We need to reach the village by tomorrow night."
They had abandoned all their luggage while fleeing, but fortunately they had emergency rations on hand. If the three of them rationed it carefully, it would be enough for about two days.
Cordelia nodded at Yuder's words, then rummaged at her waist and said.
"I want to get there fast. I'm so excited about what the shop might be selling."
When you stopped by a village, going to the shop first was basic RPG etiquette, after all.
But this time, the appeal was not just the prospect of upgrading their equipment.
"It's free, free."
What Yuder had demanded from Great Storm.
"We need a free pass."
"A free pass?"
"In other words, a black card."
Did it make any sense to charge Great Storm’s own warriors for equipment when they were fighting on Great Storm’s behalf?
Or to charge them for supplies when they were setting out to carry out Great Storm’s will?
'Actually, it's because we have no money.'
It was questionable whether Saelun Kingdom currency would even be accepted in the Wild Lands, but Yuder and Cordelia had lost almost all of their money while fleeing anyway.
This was not merely about fleecing someone. It was a genuinely necessary measure.
"Yuder the con man, king of fleecing people. A wicked man who even fleeces gods."
"So you don't like it?"
"I love it! A resourceful man is the best!"
Because he was their own con man, not somebody else’s.
"Dad, Dad. You’re so cool. A real man of the house who turns a crisis into an opportunity."
"For our princess, I can even swindle a god."
The two of them exchanged warm whispers while laughing merrily, then woke Red Wind and hurried their preparations to depart.
And the next night.
Not long after the sun had set.
The three of them arrived at the village of the Great Storm tribe.