Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Sapphire Snake
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Even after deciding on our path, we clashed with the cultists three more times.
Fortunately, they were just as unimpressive as the ones we'd faced before, but their increasing numbers were unsettling.
First four, then five, and finally, a group of seven.
It wasn't an easy fight.
Regardless of their skill, the sheer numbers, the dark forest, and their nature as assassins made them tricky opponents.
Besides, unlike our opponents who fought with reckless abandon, Arjan and I had to conserve our strength.
After running endlessly, we finally reached our first destination just before dawn.
“There it is.”
A place with an entrance gaping open like the maw of a monster.
The massive cave, where a Jewel Beast might be lurking, came into view.
“Damn, it's huge.”
I expected it to be big from the map, but this…
The sheer presence of the cave in person was beyond imagination.
It was so massive I wondered how the mountain hadn't collapsed.
“I don't sense any monsters,”
Arjan said, her voice laced with suppressed fatigue.
Just as she said, the area near the entrance seemed safe.
Whether the same could be said for the inside, we'd have to go in to find out.
Still, given the cave's size, escaping in a pinch didn't seem impossible.
Arjan and I stepped into the cave.
It wasn't as cold as outside, but the interior was still cool.
Moss clung to the rocks, and stalactites hung from the ceiling.
The dampness suggested it was a limestone cave with an underground water source somewhere.
I looked around and found a decent spot.
It was a secluded corner, hidden by a rock, but it offered a good vantage point of the entrance.
I moved over and looked at Arjan.
“Alright, Butler, get some rest for now.”
“Pardon?”
“You're exhausted.”
“I am not.”
Like hell you aren't.
Your eyes are so bloodshot you look like a rabbit.
It was understandable, really.
She'd been awake for three days and nights, and tonight, she'd been fighting from dusk till dawn.
Despite her appearance, she was probably on the verge of collapsing.
I took a blanket from my bag and spread it on the ground for her.
“Enough. Just sleep. In your current state, you're more of a burden than a butler.”
“…”
Arjan hesitated for a long moment before replying in a tiny voice, “Understood.”
Then she wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, leaned against a nearby wall, and tried to sleep.
*She’s something else.*
Making things difficult for herself instead of just collapsing and sleeping.
I guess that's how she was trained. Habits formed over a lifetime can't be broken in a day.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, found a spot, and sat down in a meditative posture.
It wasn't urgent, but I had things to do as well.
I could feel a scorching heat from the internal energy settled in my core. It felt like I'd swallowed a ball of fire.
“Hmm…”
Honestly, it had been bothering me to death during the chase.
Not warmth, but heat.
A subtle difference, but for me, whose true power is fire energy, it was a critical issue.
If the internal energy in my core felt hot instead of warm, it meant it wasn't truly mine.
It was proof that I hadn't fully assimilated the yang energy from Osel's poison, and that I hadn't purged all the impurities.
That's why I'd quickly begun circulating my energy.
It wouldn't cause any major problems right away.
After all, I had used this energy to perform the White Sun Eclipse.
But leaving it unchecked was dangerous.
I had to acclimate my body to this power, to digest it and make it pure true energy.
Fortunately, this process wouldn't take long.
About thirty minutes later, I slowly opened my eyes.
“Hooo…”
As I parted my lips slightly, a dark, smoke-like substance flowed out.
It had a foul smell, but it was proof that I had completely neutralized the heat.
*‘Looks like everything’s fine… Huh?’*
That's when I noticed Arjan.
She was shivering, her face pale and covered in a cold sweat.
The cave wasn't that cold, but her bloodless lips were trembling.
“I shouldn't have… done that…”
Is she having a nightmare?
Not that there was much I could do about it.
She hadn't been asleep for long, so waking her forcefully seemed wrong.
I placed a hand on Arjan's head and infused a little of my internal warmth into her.
“…”
Her pale complexion regained some color, and her breathing seemed to even out.
I'd thought something similar before.
When her expression softened, she looked much younger.
Of course, I don't know Arjan's age, but that was the impression I got.
She was always in a suit and gloves, and she was tall for a woman, so it was natural she'd look older than she was.
She might have done it intentionally.
“Hmm…”
Staring at a sleeping person's face wasn't polite, so I looked away from Arjan.
I took a quick look around the cave.
Of course, I couldn't just leave Arjan, so I only walked around the immediate vicinity.
Even so, I was able to gather some information, but... it was still vague.
About two hours later, Arjan woke up.
“…”
Having just woken up, Arjan looked at me with a dazed expression.
So she can make a foolish face like that.
It suits her better than I thought.
In any case, the hazy expression didn't last long.
Snapping back to her senses, Arjan quickly straightened her appearance and returned to her perfect butler persona.
“…My apologies, Young Master.”
I considered teasing her about the face she just made, then opened my mouth.
“Are you sure you don't need more sleep?”
“Yes. This was sufficient.”
She didn't look fully rested, though.
But it wasn't like we were in a position to be lenient.
I nodded.
“Alright. Let's head deeper inside.”
And so, Arjan and I began to explore the cave in earnest.
The cave was a straight tunnel, so we could proceed while staying alert without needing the map.
The strange thing was, there were no signs of monsters living deeper inside either.
Just in case, we remained on high alert.
The cave gradually narrowed the deeper we went. Naturally formed rock pillars intertwined, making it feel more complex.
Still, it was much larger than an average cave, so there was no risk of getting lost.
However, it wasn't without its issues.
“Is it just me, or is it getting colder?”
“Yes.”
For some reason, that fact made me uneasy.
The faint glow in this lightless space was also bothering me.
…I had a suspicion, but I didn't voice it.
Felt like I'd jinx us if I said it out loud.
Arjan and I walked cautiously for about three hours… until we reached what seemed to be the end of the cave.
The place where the other exit was likely located.
There, Arjan and I witnessed the source of our unease.
—*Hiiiiissssss…*
A monster was blocking the cave exit with its body.
—*Hiiiiissssss…*
It was asleep.
But its body, rising and falling with each breath, was so massive it made the mutants we'd seen in the mountains look like a joke.
This colossal monster had the form of a snake, its scales so intricate and beautiful they looked as if they were carved from ice.
Like a gem glowing in the darkness.
*‘Fuck.’*
I couldn't help but curse.
This was the worst-case scenario.
That thing… it wasn't something we could hunt.
***
Arjan and I quickly retraced our steps.
There was no conversation, not even a hand signal, but we had both reached the same conclusion as if it had been decided beforehand.
Only after we reached a point where we could no longer feel the Sapphire Snake's chill did we finally let out the breaths we'd been holding.
“…Are all Jewel Beasts like that? That thing was basically a dragon without wings.”
“Not at all.”
Arjan seemed startled too, but she explained in her usual calm tone.
“In truth, Jewel Beasts are too distinct to be considered a single category. Their appearances, characteristics, and temperaments are all completely different.”
“Then why are they all grouped together as Jewel Beasts?”
“It's because of the strange luster found in certain parts of their bodies—their eyes, teeth, claws, manes, scales, or carapaces. It's a trait unique to the mutants of the Jewel Mountains.”
“I see.”
“Young Master, we should turn back.”
Arjan said in a grave tone.
“Fighting the cult would be preferable.”
“You think so? I heard Father hunted three of them.”
“This is different. The Jewel Beasts the Family Head hunted—the Emerald Scorpion, the Garnet Crocodile, and the Topaz Mouse—were all mid to low-tier beasts. But the one we just saw is on another level. It must be at least several hundred years old… closer to a spirit beast than a monster.”
Strangely, Arjan was well-versed in Jewel Beasts, even though she hadn't known how to deal with a troll.
It was odd, but not something to dwell on now, so I brushed it aside.
“So, like an S-rank monster?”
“Pardon?”
“If we were to classify it like mercenaries do.”
Mercenaries are obsessed with ranking things, but that makes their assessments relatively accurate.
Truthfully, I also knew that fighting the cult was a better option than taking on that Jewel Beast.
I knew that, but…
*Strangely, my fighting spirit is stirring.*
I need to suppress this feeling.
If the odds of winning are less than one percent, it's not a fight, it's a gamble.
“Got it. Let’s figure out which way to break through—”
I trailed off, pausing as I took out the map.
Arjan also flinched in surprise.
We exchanged a brief glance and immediately hid behind a nearby rock pillar.
“…”
“…”
How much time passed in breathless silence?
A dark figure appeared at the edge of the cave.
Its movements were so silent and presence-less that one might mistake it for a hallucination.
Of course, it wasn't.
The first one to appear scanned the area, then gestured.
And from behind it, numerous similarly dressed figures emerged.
*‘One, two, three… eight, nine, ten…’*
I stopped counting at twenty.
Just by eyeballing it, there were close to thirty of them.
Moreover, their attire was different from the riffraff we'd dealt with before.
The hoods covering their bodies were a deep crimson.
“…”
I'd heard of them.
The Demon King of the Blood Moon.
They worship fresh blood, and the higher one's rank, the closer their attire is to the color of blood.
*‘We’re screwed.’*
The worst possible situation had occurred, and there was no way out.