Essence of Snow (3)
A freezing blizzard blanketed the sky and poured down without mercy. They trudged forward, boots sinking deep into snow piled up to their calves.
When they first left the castle gates the snow had been little more than a light breeze. Now it had grown so fierce that seeing more than a few paces ahead was nearly impossible.
Hoo—
Their exhaled breaths turned into white clouds that scattered into the snowy wind. The group led by Friga climbed the mountain in silence, pushing through the storm. Yet the howling wind and the heavy snow that weighed down their bodies refused to grant them easy passage up the slopes.
Even the northern warriors, long accustomed to fierce snows and bitter cold, showed clear signs of strain.
"Ugh, aah! This… this is gonna freeze both my balls solid and crack 'em right off!"
"Heh heh, well—it's not like you've got anywhere to use 'em anyway! Might as well just rip 'em off while you've got the chance!"
They forced out jokes, pretending to be unfazed, but their lips were already turning blue with cold.
The weather's too damn bad…!
Kenis thought as she looked back at everyone from the lead. Not only the holy knights, but even the northern warriors were rapidly losing stamina to the blizzard.
At this rate they would all be exhausted before they even reached the settlement.
"My lady! The weather is far too poor! We should look for a cave or some place to rest nearby!"
Friga scanned the party, then bit her lip lightly. Time was short, but conserving their strength mattered too.
Making a quick decision, she shouted.
"Right! There's a cave around here! Let's head that way!"
"Yes! Understood! Let's hurry!"
The holy knights and warriors pushed through the blizzard and arrived at a large cave. It looked as if beasts had lived there—bones lay scattered about, and the place reeked of animal musk.
No one complained. They were simply grateful to have shelter from the storm.
"Ugh. I really thought I was gonna freeze to death."
"Damn it. What kind of weather is this cold? I've never seen anything like it since the day I grew my first pube."
The holy knights and warriors grumbled as they poured into the cave. They brushed the snow from their clothes and sank down onto the cave floor.
Tick—tick—
"Why the hell won't this work?"
"You idiot. Hey, give it here. Who uses a flint like that?"
In one corner the warriors made a racket trying to start a fire. Kenis shook the snow from her wet hair and approached Friga.
Friga stood with her arms crossed, staring out at the raging blizzard.
"My lady, what do we do now?"
"Hell if I know. Our luck's just pure shit."
Friga had no clever solution either; she bit her lip as she anxiously watched the outside.
The commander also fell into deep thought as he gazed at the driving snow.
"My lady, since there's nothing we can do for now, why don't we rest properly? We should move once things calm down outside."
"Haa— yeah, guess so. Not like sitting here thinking hard is gonna spit out a solution."
Friga flopped down in a suitable spot. Staring blankly outside, she spoke.
"You know, Kenis?"
"Yes?"
"When a blizzard hits the Mount of Demonic Beasts like this… they say it's because the dragon that lives on the mountain is angry."
"Haha! My lady. A dragon? Isn't that something out of children's fairy tales?"
"Well, yeah. A story from fairy tales to scare kids. I thought it was nonsense once I grew up too, but looking at this blizzard… it really does feel like a dragon's rage, the way it's slamming down."
Friga spoke while watching the blizzard outside. Just as she said, the snowstorm was thrashing about like an enraged dragon.
Whoooosh—
The blizzard raged through the entire night, only dying down in the early morning.
Crunch—crunch
As soon as the blizzard subsided, the warriors and holy knights hurried up the mountain.
Among the warriors, One-Eye muttered as he climbed.
"After a blizzard that lasted all day yesterday, those demonic beast bastards are gonna be starving and going crazy… If our luck's bad, we might run into the wolf pups."
"Damn it! Don't jinx us, you one-eyed bastard!"
"What, did I say something wrong? I said something right."
The warrior next to him smacked One-Eye for the bad-luck talk.
The commander heard that and approached Friga. He seemed bothered by the possibility of a demonic beast pack appearing.
"My lady… is what he said true?"
"Huh? Ah, the demonic beast pack? Yeah, they couldn't hunt all day yesterday because of the blizzard. They'll be so hungry their eyes have gone wild."
"…Then we'll have to be careful."
At the commander's grim expression, Friga snorted a laugh.
"Don't worry. We're still at the foot of the mountain, so it's just small fry. See that stone tower up ahead? From there on, we need to be careful."
Friga pointed with her chin at a stone tower faintly visible in the distance. Located about midway up the mountain, the tower looked as tiny as a grain of rice.
Clearly built by human hands, the stone tower had beast corpses strewn all around it.
"Uh… did the warriors build that tower themselves?"
"No. Those demonic beast bastards piled it up."
"Demonic beasts did?"
The commander said in surprise. Demonic beasts were little more than animals—did they have the intelligence to build towers and mark their territory?
Friga ran her hand over the handle of her axe and spoke in a firm voice.
"Yeah, wolf pups live on this mountain. Those bastards marked this as their land from here on."
"Wolf pups…?"
"You know. The ones that walk on two legs. The ones that growl in that creepy way."
"Werewolves?! There are werewolves on the Mount of Demonic Beasts?!"
The commander asked, startled.
"Yeah. Why so surprised? Didn't I tell you?"
"Yes! Not even once! You never told us!"
"Ah— really? Is that so? Sorry. From there on is their territory."
Friga casually stroked her axes with a nonchalant expression. From behind the dazed commander, One-Eye's voice rang out.
"Hey now, don't get too scared. Us and those wolf bastards… every time we mess with each other, blood gets spilled. If those mutts have any brains left, they'll stay quiet and let us pass this time."
"You bastard, if those mutts had brains enough to learn that, your eye would still be fine!"
"Heh, is that so?"
One-Eye laughed and adjusted his eyepatch. The empty socket throbbed for no reason. One-Eye touched the eyepatch with one hand as he stared at the stone tower.
The commander looked at Friga with a stunned expression.
"That means a fight is inevitable…"
His face begged her to say otherwise.
Friga grinned at the commander.
"What are you doing? We gotta move."
"Ah…"
The commander's expression as he was dragged along by Friga. Was that what a cow being led to the slaughterhouse looked like? Kenis felt an inexplicable sense of apology toward the commander.
The party advanced, stepping on the firmly packed snow, and arrived in front of the peculiar stone tower.
Friga raised her axe and looked back.
"Alright—! From here on is those mutts' house! If you don't want to get bitten by those sons of bitches and catch rabies! Behave yourselves properly!"
"You hear that, One-Eye? Take good care of your remaining eye."
"Shut it, before I gouge out yours too."
One-Eye smacked the head of the warrior snickering beside him.
Swoosh—
As he brushed his eyepatch with his hand, he felt the empty space inside. One-Eye adjusted the patch and gazed out at the snowy mountain.
Somehow, this time…
He had a feeling he might be able to avenge his lost eye. One-Eye gripped his hand axe tightly with one hand and stepped forward.
Crunch—crunch—
How many days had it been since they started climbing the snowy mountain?
Their initial resolve had become meaningless; for several days the party climbed the vast snowy peaks without encountering a single demonic beast. The faces of Friga and the northern warriors grew increasingly grave.
Seeing Friga's serious expression, the commander approached Kenis.
"Kenis. Why does the lady look so troubled?"
"It's probably because no demonic beasts have appeared."
"Hmm? Isn't it a good thing if no demonic beasts show up?"
The commander said with a puzzled look. If they didn't run into demonic beasts, they could avoid combat and conserve stamina—wasn't that good?
Kenis shook her head firmly.
"No. It's a bad situation. No demonic beasts on the Mount of Demonic Beasts? And not even a trace of them while climbing this high."
"That's…"
"On top of that, the ones that should have been starving from the last blizzard… not a single one in sight means… something ominous is happening."
"I see…"
The commander gazed at the snowy mountain with a serious expression.
Just what was happening at the lofty peak of the snowy mountain—
Just as they quickened their pace, a massive sound roared out from near the summit of the snowy mountain.
——————!!!
A colossal roar that seemed to shake the entire world.
"Kh!"
"M-my ears!"
The warriors and holy knights, not far from the summit, all covered their ears and staggered. The enormous roar reverberating through their heads shook their brains.
Was this what a dragon's roar from the legends sounded like?
Beeeep—
The commander covered his ringing ears, staggered, then quickly recovered his senses.
"Everyone, get a hold of yourselves! Snap out of it!"
At the commander's shout, the holy knights and warriors who had staggered and sat down soon stood upright again. Friga bit her lip lightly as she stared at the summit.
"Damn it… just what the hell is this…"
No traces of demonic beasts. The roar and massive flames near the summit. Ominous signals blared continuously in Friga's mind.
Friga deliberately ignored those signals and shouted loudly to the warriors.
"Hey, you idiots! From now on we're heading to where that goddamn noise came from, and any bastards who don't want to come don't have to! I don't know what's there if we go, but you'll probably have to leave an arm behind! If any of you are scared, speak up now!"
The northern warriors who had been staring blankly at Friga's words snickered.
"Hey, how did you know I usually find lifting one arm too heavy?"
"You moron, I'll cut it off for you then."
"Haha, boss. Forget that, let's just drink a bottle of booze and go!"
Friga grinned at the idiots' words.
"Bunch of damn fools, as always."
"Hey, that's a bit harsh."
"You shut up. You've only got one eye left."
"Urgh…"
The commander, who had been encouraging the holy knights, approached Friga.
"My lady. We holy knights are all ready."
"Yeah? Our side's idiots are all ready too. Let's go!"
The commander and Friga hurriedly began moving. Toward the summit, climbing quickly.
Huff—huff—
The holy knights and warriors who had kicked through the snow without rest, racing toward the summit. Thanks to their speed, they arrived at a wide clearing close to where the roar had come from.
"Hoo— shall we rest here a bit before going up? Looks like we're almost there."
"Ha—haah. Yes, let's rest here a moment and then go."
"Alright. Hey—! We're resting here a bit then climbing again! Drink some water and catch your breath!"
At Friga's words, the party sat down here and there to catch their breath. They drank water and soothed their ragged breathing.
Kenis also wiped the beads of sweat and exhaled.
Hoo—
I should drink some water.
Kenis took out her water bottle from her waist to drink, then noticed a strange sound.
—Crack
…Huh?
A sound like something splitting.
—Craaack!
The sound of hard ice being forcibly split apart.
—KRAAASH!!
It was coming from beneath their feet.
"Everyone get up! Get away from here!"
"Don't dawdle, run! It's cracking!!"
Spiderweb cracks spread across the solid ground as it heaved. Thick ice sheets rose up against the earth, endlessly splitting and shattering.
—BOOOOM!
A massive horn burst up through the ground.
—CRUNCH!
Blue-flaming bone claws pierced the earth, and the enormous body began to reveal itself.
Something massive slowly surging up from the ground. If death itself took form, would it look like this?
"Sh-shit… what the hell is that…"
Friga muttered in a voice filled with fear.
A massive dragon wreathed in blue ghostly flames.
The enormous skeletal monster looked straight down at the party.
——————!!!
Then a roar that shook the very foundations of the earth erupted from the monster's maw.