Rebuilding (3)

A sky that was neither clear nor cloudy cast a thin shadow over the land.

An endless procession of people snaked along, fleeing the beasts that had crawled out from the deep forests, steep canyons untouched by human hands, and bottomless pits of pitch-black darkness.

Among the terrified, anxious crowd, whining children and grumbling adults stood out. They were villagers from towns that had not yet been attacked by the beasts.

"Damn it, I can't take this anymore. How much longer do we have to travel mixed in with these beggars?"

One man, who looked particularly ill-tempered, complained.

He was riding atop a wagon piled high with luggage. Hearing his complaint, the coachman replied with a sly grin.

"Just a bit further and we'll reach the Dornen Territory. Those folk will probably be huddled together in the outer castle. But if you mention your special connection to our lord, sir, I'm sure he'll grant you a place in the inner castle. Of course he will."

"Naturally. In times of crisis like this, a scholar like me is indispensable. If monsters never before seen in the history of the three kingdoms have appeared, there must be a reason."

As he nodded to his own words, his eyes met mine.

Curious to see what he would say, I stared back. The man opened his mouth as if to speak, but instead cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

"A man with a loose tongue."

The man walking beside me said calmly.

Though he must have heard it, the self-proclaimed scholar merely furrowed his brow and made no other reaction.

It was a pathetic display, but the refugees didn't even spare him a glance.

Inescapable exhaustion shrouded their faces, and grief and depression stained the very air around them.

To reach the capital, we needed to pass through several territories.

We could have rushed straight to the capital, of course, but the man had said that following the well-maintained roads was much faster than cutting across rugged, uneven terrain.

"Besides, wherever people gather, beasts are bound to follow."

That was the reason we had joined the refugee procession.

Survivors from various villages and minor, poorly defended territories had gathered here.

Indeed, there had been several beast attacks along the way. Each time, we cut them down, tore out their hearts, and claimed the Cores within.

"Why are we gathering Cores?"

One day, unable to contain my curiosity, I asked him.

Up until now, the man had not consumed a single Core, choosing instead to hoard them in a pouch.

For me, the priority was learning to control and utilize the energy I already possessed rather than growing stronger, but the man had no such restriction. My curiosity got the better of me.

"At my current level, there's no reason to consume the Cores of low-grade beasts."

A luxury of the strong.

This, too, was likely a byproduct of a long, peaceful era.

Even if the energy gained was negligible, in a world where one might die tomorrow, being picky about the amount seemed pointless.

"Then isn't there no reason to collect them at all?"

"These are bait."

"Bait?"

I asked what he intended to catch with them, but the man simply brushed me off, saying I would see soon enough.

Knowing he wouldn't answer even if I pressed further, and seeing no harm in it, I decided to drop the matter.

After we saved the people from a beast attack, an old man leading the procession approached us.

Judging by his luxurious attire, he seemed to be of quite high status.

"Which lord do you serve, if I may ask?"

"I am no sworn knight."

The old man hesitated, taken aback by the man's blunt reply, but quickly composed himself and made an offer.

"You have saved the lives of the defenseless. If you would protect us until these refugees reach safety, we will ensure your grace is never forgotten."

Since we had intended to do so anyway, we nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Walking, stabbing, retrieving.

After about three days of this routine, a massive castle began to loom in the distance.

We had finally arrived at the Dornen Territory, home of the Great Lord.

I could say with absolute certainty that I had never seen a fortress so immense in my life.

Spires that seemed to pierce the heavens rose from its flanks, surrounded by thick, majestic walls. A fortress of this scale would surely be safe from any ordinary beast attack.

Just then, the castle gates swung open, and soldiers poured out, quickly surrounding the refugee procession.

The sight of heavily armed soldiers, looking as if they were preparing for battle, sent a wave of terror ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the crowd. Men instinctively hid their families behind them, unable to conceal their anxiety.

"Halt!"

A man wearing an officer's epaulets stepped forward from among the soldiers and barked the order. The chaotic crowd flinched, casting uneasy glances at one another.

As everyone else shrank back, the old man stepped forward to face the soldiers.

"We are refugees from the Halstein Territory. I beg you to look upon these poor souls with mercy and open the gates."

"And who are you?"

"I am Jude, the Chief Administrator. My lord is an ally of His Majesty, and I have come under his command to lead these people to safety. If you draw your swords against them, it will be proof that the order bestowed by the King has chosen suspicion over his subjects."

The old man, Jude, did not shrink even slightly before the soldiers mounted on their massive warhorses as he demanded they open the path.

The officer hesitated for a moment, then sheathed his weapon and approached Jude.

"Do you have anything to prove your identity?"

Jude slipped a ring off his right index finger and handed it over. After inspecting the seal, the officer returned the ring with a much more respectful demeanor.

"Forgive my rudeness. I am Hanson, Captain of the Guard. These are chaotic times, with monsters suddenly swarming and bandits rising everywhere. I ask for your understanding."

Jude nodded as he took back the ring, and we passed through the castle walls under the escort of Hanson's guard.

"Count Halstein and his household arrived a few days ago. Given the unprecedented nature of this situation, the royal palace is expected to dispatch investigators soon. It would be best to report to the Lord of the territory first."

"What do you plan to do with them?"

"The refugees will remain in the outer castle until orders are handed down. For now, we will set up tents on the grounds near the monastery. We need space to treat the sick and provide food and shelter. Normally, we would settle them outside the walls, but that is out of the question now."

Only then did the anxious refugees finally breathe a sigh of relief and begin to pray. Guided by the Captain of the Guard, Jude headed toward the inner castle, while the refugees were led to the monastery as Hanson had said.

Having no intention of staying long, the man and I slipped away from the crowd and headed to an inn. Travelers were a rare sight these days, but the inn was instead filled with knights and nobles serving Count Halstein.

The man naturally took an empty seat, tossed a few coins to the innkeeper, and ordered some food and strong liquor.

"The castle will summon us within a day or two. Rest while you can."

With those words, the man handed me two silver coins, gesturing for me to get my own room. Leaving him to wet his throat, I headed upstairs. I had paid the innkeeper generously to bring me some clean clothes and a light meal, so in a short while, I would have some much-needed time to myself.

I sat down and examined the energy swirling inside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

"A prophecy..."

The evil spirits of the past were undoubtedly the beasts, and the child who swallowed their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠power was likely me.

At least, that was what the man seemed to believe.

When I released my energy, a stream of power—now as thick as a straw rope—flowed out smoothly.

Every time it moved through the pathways of my body, I could feel an explosive force riding the current.

"It's not enough."

If the beasts were to be categorized, they could be divided into roughly ten grades. The wolf-like beasts we had slain so far belonged to the very lowest tier.

Even the crimson beast the man had killed alone was merely one grade above them.

While I might be able to defeat one now if pushed, looking ahead, I needed to be able to draw out and stabilize far more energy.

To do that, I first had to figure out the exact trigger.

Before long, my clothes and food arrived. With a polite wish for a good night from the innkeeper, I was finally left completely alone.

I opened the pouch hanging from my waist and examined the Core inside.

Within the crimson, mineral-like crystal, a silvery energy flowed like a miniature galaxy.

After taking a few deep breaths, I popped it into my mouth and swallowed it.

It wasn't my first time. I could handle this.

It was then.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Urgent bells began to toll from the castle spires and the monastery. Outside the window, which had grown dark, dozens of torches were already flickering and moving in a frenzy.

"Urgh...!"

Amidst the chaos of not knowing what was happening, the massive energy dormant inside me clashed with the newly absorbed power, convulsing violently once more.

A familiar, agonizing pain began to squeeze my heart.

I had tolerated this once or twice, but I had no intention of letting it break me again.

Clenching my jaw with all my might, I struggled desperately to draw out the new energy.

If I could just draw out the added power, seize control of it, and then reabsorb it slowly, everything would be fine.

Or so I thought.

But unfortunately, the massive energy inside me had other plans.

"Aaargh... ugh..."

It was like a massive predator devouring a small wild animal.

The massive energy swelled and rampaged, trying to snatch the new power, while the new energy fled desperately, struggling as if its very fingernails were being torn out to avoid being consumed.

The problem was that the resulting pain was tearing my body apart, twisting my internal organs and energy pathways into knots. At this rate, I would truly die. In desperation, I forced the energy I had previously drawn out back into my body.

Usually, even half of this energy was enough to heal wounds from battle, but for some reason, even after absorbing all of it, the pain did not subside.

"Hey, we've been summoned."

The man's voice drifted in from outside the door.

He knocked a few times in a hurried manner. I tried to call out to him, but only then did it hit me—I still didn't even know his name.

"...Help... me..."

In the end, a pathetic plea for help was all I could manage.

Whether he heard my faint voice or simply grew tired of waiting, the man pushed the door open and stepped inside.

His eyes met mine as I crawled on the floor, drooling frothy saliva.

The man grimaced.

"Looks like your energy is backflowing."

Just like when we first met, he grabbed my shoulder, and a foreign energy surged into me through his hand.

A searing pain, like being branded with hot iron, flared up, but it was completely drowned out by the agony already ravaging my body.

However, perhaps because the man's energy had entered my body, the massive dormant power began to rampage even more violently. Thrashing like a beast whose territory had been invaded, it forced a dark, reddish-black mass up my throat.

"Blegh!"

Even to a layman's eye, it was clearly not something that belonged inside a healthy human body.