Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Fog
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“We would’ve been in big trouble if there hadn’t been any magic.”
“Hehe. You should show a little more gratitude, Yujin.”
Irene puffed out her shoulders proudly.
Without them, he really would have had to cross this scorching desert alone. Sweating buckets, barely able to wash properly, dealing with all that hassle...
...
Just imagining it was horrifying.
At least during the height of the war, he’d gone over a week without washing, covered in blood, or spent entire days exposed to the heat of artillery shells, so he’d managed somehow. Without even those experiences, he might have seriously considered throwing in the towel and heading back to the Empire.
He wouldn’t die thanks to being a Sword Master, but it would still feel grimy and off-putting.
He’d seen firsthand how many people, physically strong as they were, crumbled psychologically and met their end because of it. Even the smallest things could have a massive impact on life and death.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. If it’s for you, Yujin, this is nothing. And it’s not a big deal anyway? Barely any mana consumed, so feel free to ask for more.”
He stroked the head of Irene, who slyly wrapped her arm around his.
Her light purple hair felt soft against his hand. Watching this, Lucia made a mischievous face and sidled closer to Yujin.
“Aren’t you going to praise me too, my lord?”
A chuckle escaped him.
“Lucia did well too.”
“Ahem.”
She cleared her throat and turned her head away. The tips of her ears were slightly red.
He considered teasing her about it, but...
‘Better not.’
Unlike Irene, who was bold with physical affection, Lucia seemed shy despite not appearing so.
‘You wouldn’t think so from her speech or looks.’
Despite her appearance, she flinched a little even at small touches. That subtle gap between her actions and exterior added to her charm.
As he smiled, a sulky voice came from the shadows where Yuseol lurked.
‘Ugh... I want to help Master too...’
‘Just staying by my side helps plenty, Yuseol.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘Really really?’
‘Yes.’
Yuseol was practically a security blanket now. She rarely needed to fight.
Besides, it hadn’t been long since she’d digested Lust in her stomach, so light post-meal exercise was enough; she didn’t need to come out otherwise.
‘...Saying it like that feels a bit weird.’
...
Meanwhile, Lua watched their cozy group from behind with envious eyes.
‘...There must be something I can do for the saint too.’
...
‘Hmm.’
Lua frowned.
...What can I do?
...
Soon enough, she realized that aside from fighting or healing the wounded, there wasn’t much for her to do.
She could use holy spells, but compared to magic, they weren’t as useful in situations like this.
‘...I need to show something different in combat.’
Thinking back, since recovering, she hadn’t shown her power to Yujin during the coup suppression in the Holy Kingdom.
They’d fought briefly together at the start, but it had been too short.
This could be her chance to make her presence known to him.
She resolved to give it her all.
And so, as Yujin’s group explored the Eternal Desert...
“Everyone, stop.”
“...Saint?”
“Your Excellency? What’s wrong all of a sudden...”
Lucas, puzzled, drew his sword at the sudden massive presence he sensed.
Yujin, meanwhile, stood calmly.
“It’s coming.”
It was coming.
A truly enormous presence.
The location was roughly somewhere underground. Probably a sandworm-type monster... about the size of Yuseol’s mother, the Fenrir he’d seen at the hunt?
That’s what his senses told him. Of course, he didn’t know its combat strength yet...
‘Not that it matters.’
After devouring the Knights of Dominion, he was far stronger now; he could take it down easily.
And even if he didn’t, Yuseol could handle it.
The women sensed it too and quietly gathered their mana.
Rumble rumble rumble———!!
Sand exploded outward like a bomb, obscuring vision. From the midst emerged a massive, worm-like monster.
“It’s a Giant Sandworm, Your Excellency.”
“Hm.”
Giant Sandworm, huh...
It was certainly huge, as the name suggested.
It burst from the ground endlessly, as if it thought itself a legendary dragon. Truly Fenrir-sized.
“...But even so, is it normally that big?”
“...That size is a first for me too.”
Lucas muttered that recent anomalies must have made even Giant Sandworms bigger.
They chatted leisurely, with no tension at all.
“I’ll handle it, Saint.”
“No need to bother.”
“...? Saint?”
Yuseol could manage something like that easily.
After all, her true nature was Fenrir. One that had grown by devouring Lust, no less.
‘Yuseol, time for some post-meal exercise.’
‘Okay.’
Crunch———!!!
A massive wolf emerged from the shadows and bit straight through the Giant Sandworm.
—Keeeeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!
Black blood sprayed as most of its body vanished in an instant.
Thud—
All that remained were its head and tail ends, spilling black blood and entrails.
“...Ew, gross.”
“That’s it?”
“Doesn’t that gross you out, Yujin?”
Surprisingly, it didn’t. He’d seen worse on the battlefield.
Corpses with just necks left after losing heads, soldiers dying while trying to stuff spilling guts back in...
He’d seen plenty who’d cut off their own cooked flesh from bullets or shells and then killed themselves.
Compared to that, a Giant Sandworm’s cross-section was nothing. Just a bigger corpse, no different from other monster remains.
“H-heh. Our lord truly has an extraordinary side to him.”
Lucia awkwardly muttered at the unexpected reaction, her eyes twitching.
Meanwhile, Lucas doubted his own eyes.
‘...What did I just see?’
A massive shadow over the desert, a huge wolf head emerging from it. The worm vanishing the moment the jaws opened.
...
And that came from Marquis Banus’s shadow?
‘...What the hell?’
How were they all so calm?
Nothing like that existed in Lucas’s knowledge. Familiars or spirits, maybe, but not at that scale.
‘...Empire folk, huh.’
He gave up trying to understand. He prided himself on having seen odd things as a Master himself, but this felt beyond even that.
Just chalk it up to them being Imperial and move on.
“Hm. Looks like that Giant Sandworm was leading a pack. Multiple presences from the east.”
“Shall we handle them, Saint?”
“Hm. Normally, you’d conserve strength for surprises and move on quickly, but...”
In a desert, there weren’t great places to hide anyway. And with their group’s level, dealing with those monsters was no issue.
Like squashing ants; humans don’t expend much effort.
Exactly that feeling.
“Then it’s my turn this time.”
Lua looked unusually eager for some reason.
‘Eagerness is good.’
She’d seemed down when Yuseol took out the worm, so this was a relief.
Holy power attacks tore through the monsters from the air as they pressed forward.
The hellish scene from moments ago vanished, replaced by thick fog greeting them.
He swung his sword experimentally, but the fog didn’t dissipate.
“Hm... Yujin. This isn’t natural fog. Feels more like magic...”
“Magic?”
Irene shook her head.
“Not magic. Similar, but definitely different. Probably what they call shamanism, from what I’ve heard...”
Lucas, catching her gaze, shook his head.
“Sorry, I wouldn’t know.”
Lucas truly didn’t. Though from Kara Kingdom, he’d only been to the Eternal Desert twice, and never this deep.
“...Feels like it’s hiding something. No reason for artificial fog here otherwise.”
Still, expending power to dispel or break it was risky. No telling what was inside; smashing blindly could backfire.
“So we have to check it out ourselves, Saint.”
“Yeah. No other choice.”
No telling what lay ahead.
But some shamanic ritual strong enough to distort his senses had been applied... Which explained the lack of monsters around.
...Despite them swarming just before.
“We’re going in, then?”
“Have to. The cause of Kara’s crisis might be inside.”
“Then let’s all hold hands and go in together, my lord. Wouldn’t want to lose our way.”
“Good idea.”
And so, with Lucas holding Yujin’s left hand and the women linked in a chain on his right, they stepped into the fog.