The Ghoul's Altar (1)

Just as on the last island, where I had shared life and death with the Valkyrie, I was certain monsters would be here as well. Not ghosts — creatures with actual, physical bodies.

There was no telling what might come lunging out. Fish-men rising from the sea, the way they had on that other island, or werewolves bursting from the forest. We kept a strict night watch.

My expectations were not disappointed.

"Mage. Over there."

I narrowed my eyes in the direction the Valkyrie was pointing. Something lurked beyond the underbrush. The darkness made it hard to see, but the presence was unmistakable.

I lit a sap-smeared branch as a torch and swept it forward. A grayish-white shape emerged from the dark.

What the hell is that.

It wasn't a ghost. Its feet were planted on the ground. Like those fish-men monsters, its form was roughly human.

No — it simply was a human. Just not a living one.

No skin, no muscle, no organs. Nothing remained but the skeleton. Where eyes should have been, only hollow voids stared out.

A being that, even reduced to bare bone in death, still defied the will of heaven and clung to life.

"…So the locals here are skeletons."

"They're hideous."

Skeleton-type monsters were famous enough to appear in countless heroic epics and even children's fairy tales. The Demon King's army. The very face of the undead. The people of old had called them chokru — bare skulls.

I just never expected to see one with my own eyes.

Half a dozen bleached skeletons surrounded us in an instant. Clearly, they had no intention of simply letting us pass.

We took up combat stances. The Valkyrie poured holy power into her spear, and I drew up my mana to charge a raw magic stone.

Clack-clack.

The skeletons advanced. The Valkyrie charged to meet them. As she drove her spear into the ones in front, I fired magic at the ones trying to flank us from the side.

It had been a month since I started fighting alongside the Valkyrie. Our movements never tangled. We cut the monsters down with practiced ease.

A few of them got back up now and then, but those ones we simply smashed to pieces.

"Mage. Look."

The Valkyrie, kicking bones aside with her boot, pointed at the ground.

"A stone."

"Yeah. A stone."

Same as with the fish-men. A magic stone had been found inside the skull. A dark crimson light swirled within it — a type I had never seen before.

Even granting that skeleton monsters might arise naturally, there was no reason for a stone to be lodged in their heads.

"Looks like this is what was controlling them…"

Studying the stones carefully, I realized each one served as a kind of conduit. Which raised another question entirely. Who, exactly?

Thinking about it wouldn't give me answers. Including the magic stone we'd taken from the siren last time, more research was needed.

"Hooo…"

"Good work today."

I held out a fist toward the Valkyrie.

She blinked, then gave a short huff of a laugh. Our fists touched lightly and fell away.

"That was a close one earlier, but you backed me up just right. You've got good instincts."

If this woman had been an ally from the start, how much better would things be. I could have trusted her more, relied on her more than I do now. Lately I'd been thinking things like that… but it was absurd.

A month had passed, and still that day's memories were vivid. The sight of the Valkyrie incinerating my comrades with her holy spear. I could never forget it. How could I, when it rose behind my eyelids every time I closed them.

Nearly every night when I lay down to sleep, the Valkyrie appeared. Dreams of her hunting me down as a dragon knight of the enemy nation and killing me. But when I woke from those ugly nightmares, there was Rachel, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stood night watch to keep me safe.

That gap was disorienting.

My head understood, but my heart refused to accept it. We were enemies. We were only cooperating because we had no choice. The moment we returned to our units, we would be pointing guns at each other again…

And yet, after fighting in such perfect sync, after sharing hard-won food, after thrashing and struggling together just to stay alive — the line between enemy and ally started to blur.

And so.

More ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than the monsters that came for us every night, what truly frightened me was the smile the Valkyrie sometimes wore.

"You've done enough. Go in and rest."

After handing the watch over to Tiria, Rachel lay down in the lifeboat.

"Haa…"

More than a month had passed since the shipwreck on this uninhabited island. That was how long she had been coexisting with the man who had once been her enemy, just to survive.

A month.

Short, if you called it short. Long, if you called it long.

But time had density. The volume of the hours she had spent with that man might be small, yet their weight was anything but light.

When she cast her mind back, the memories of that day were still raw.

The day she lost two friends she had known since the orphanage right before her eyes, and was herself struck by the mage's attack and plunged into the freezing sea.

Everything had been because of that man. So when Rachel reunited with him on this remote island, she had resolved to carry her rage against him all the way to the end.

And that was why she was so confused.

Her head understood, but her heart refused to accept it. They were enemies. They were only cooperating because they had no choice. She knew every kindness that man showed her was calculated…

And yet, after fighting in such perfect sync, after sharing hard-won food, after thrashing and struggling like this just to keep each other alive — she felt she might forget that he was the one who had killed Daisy and Olivia.

And so.

More than the monsters that came for her every night, what truly frightened Rachel was the easygoing side the mage sometimes let show.

How many days had passed?

We had surveyed the island as thoroughly as we needed to. We knew what kinds of monsters lived here, how to prepare for their attacks, and what their weaknesses were.

This place held only undead-type monsters. No matter how hard you hit them, they wouldn't die — but you could neutralize them by severing and crushing their limbs. They were also vulnerable to fire, and sunlight was their natural enemy. Unlike the fish-men, who hadn't died even when morning came, these ones lost all power the moment dawn broke.

That was good news. It meant absolute safety during the day.

Still, one problem remained.

There were far too many souls on this island.

Every last one of them was a fallen soldier. Every encounter brought complaints. In the worst cases, they attacked. They came day and night without distinction.

The departed could not find peace, whether by their own will or by force. To grant them rest required both the Saintess's prayers and my consolation.

"At this rate, I'll run out of magic stones building all these cairns."

"This is a first for me too. I've never used this much holy power before."

The Saintess sighed and sat down on a rock. The night had grown deep. I sat beside her and resumed the work I'd started the day before.

What I'd been making lately was a net. Days had passed without so much as a glimpse of any animal, so I was spending every waking hour crafting tools for catching fish.

Traps and fishing rods alone would never yield enough food. So the method I'd settled on was this net. Once finished, I planned to set it across a narrow stretch of the stream and sweep up fish by the load.

The method itself was simple. You twisted palm leaves or strips of bark into two strands of cord, then laid two of those cords in a cross. You tied the intersection with a third cord — that was one knot.

Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you repeated the whole tedious process over and over. It was simple, and for that very reason it was maddening. The cords I'd made all differed in material and strength, and more than once that had given me real trouble.

"Hah — tch."

"What's wrong? Not going well?"

"This part just won't tie…"

"Here, give it to me."

The Saintess took the cord and finished the knot in less than a minute. Wow. I'd been wrestling with it for over ten.

"I thought you were good at crafting. Turns out you have weak spots after all."

"That's because I've been doing it alone the whole time."

"Is that an excuse?"

"It's not an excuse. Look at this. My palms are completely raw."

In the firelight, my hands were mottled red. Dark horizontal lines clustered thickly along the creases of my palms — the marks left by endlessly twisting cord and tying knots for the net. Ah. Something stung.

"Good heavens."

The Saintess covered her mouth.

"You kept going until it got this bad?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? I suggested we divide the work. The Valkyrie hunts, you handle gathering and healing… so conscience dictates I should take care of the water and the tools, doesn't it?"

"Even so, I could have helped a little."

Her hand, which had been floating in the air, moved. She clasped my blistered hands in hers. It happened so suddenly I had no time to react.

Her eyes, caught in the campfire light, flashed pink for an instant before settling back to black.

"Um…"

"Hold still. I'm going to heal you."

The Saintess parted her cherry-red lips and began to recite in Hyeongon. A gentle warmth rose from her hands along with a soft light. It was warm without being excessive, and it settled my mind. The stinging sensation was fading bit by bit.

"How is it?"

"Much better."

The Saintess smiled faintly. Her irises were a mix of yellow and blue — sorrow and joy coexisting. Even looking at the color of her eyes, I couldn't quite tell what she was feeling right now.

Only one thought came to me.

That her smile, at least, was truly beautiful.

Around daybreak, I handed the finished net to the Valkyrie, who had just woken up. Today she and the Saintess were heading to the stream together. The two of them whispered back and forth, then looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at me and spoke.

"Major Brokenheart says to tell you: good work, and get some real rest this morning."

I answered with a smile. The Saintess shrugged her shoulders, turned, and left with the Valkyrie.

I couldn't just sit around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resting.

I lifted my gaze past the forest. Beyond it stood a small mountain — not so high that I couldn't climb it and come back down in a single day.

Today I'd scout the route up the mountain, and while I was at it, craft a new spear for the Valkyrie.

I was thinking just that when it happened.

The enigmatic man had appeared once more.