Chapter 140: The Bait
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 140: The Bait
Despite being a country estate, the manor had once served as a noble’s residence. This meant it was not the kind of structure to crumble under ordinary magic or a common explosion.
‘An explosion of this magnitude, though...’
The commander doubted that either Regent Ferda or the demon could have survived.
Nevertheless, he dashed toward the collapsed ruins. Regent Ferda could not be allowed to die—at the very least, he had to be kept alive until the consequences of his potential death were fully understood.
Amidst the thick shroud of debris and swirling dust, a single silhouette stood tall.
Was it the demon?
The commander drew his sword, his Aura flaring to life. To his surprise, however, the figure belonged to a man he knew all too well.
Ferda Valdrova.
The man stood with cold, unshakable dignity in the center of the ruins.
“Regent, are you alright?” the knight captain called out, running toward him.
Ferda’s only response was to hurl a sphere of mana. It detonated precisely at the captain's feet.
Boom!
“Gah! What are you doing?!”
“Do not come any closer.”
It was a sharp warning. Ferda’s gaze remained fixed tenaciously on a single spot in the rubble.
“The bastard isn't dead yet.”
Not dead?
A moment later, just as he said, something wriggled and rose from the debris. It was positioned directly in the path the captain had been taking.
“I was hoping to take a few more with me... but you saw right through it, didn't you, darling?”
“Even on the verge of death, you refuse to drop that wretched accent,” Ferda spat.
“Well... I never thought of you as trash, but you really are quite the formidable opponent, aren't you?”
The demon tried to stand on mangled legs, but he repeatedly faltered and collapsed. It was a clear sign that his innate demonic healing factor was failing.
“That strange light... it’s so powerful that even my healing isn't working. I’m definitely going to die at this rate, aren't I?” He bared his claws and let out a sickening laugh. “So, I was wondering... couldn't I take you with me as a companion?”
“I already have a companion.”
“How envious. That lovely tyrant princess, was it? I wish I’d been born a woman...”
The demon’s life was flickering out. He squeezed out his final breaths to speak. “Darling, won't you tell me what you did to me? Think of it as a parting gift for my journey into the void.”
“Do I look like a fool to you?”
“Hehe, difficult to the very end.” Finally, the demon sank to his knees. “Then, shall I tell you a secret instead?”
“I don't need it.”
“My goal was simply to wait for you to come here.”
Ferda allowed him to speak while simultaneously chanting a spell to end his life. Blue lightning, forged from pure mana, crackled in his palm.
“But ultimately, you weren't the target.”
Ferda’s chanting stopped abruptly. “What do you mean?”
The demon chuckled as he answered. “I intended to lure someone else out. Someone smaller and more fragile than you... that cute little creature.”
Smaller, fragile, and cute.
Only one person came to Ferda’s mind. In this situation, she was the only one left alone.
‘Ruri.’
* * *
Ruri Silverwind.
As a descendant of the Silverwind bloodline, she was a warrior of peerless speed, bearing the epithet "Nightmare of the Frost Giant." To her, beast-type monsters were mere child's play.
Ruri did not wait for the monsters to arrive like the other knights. She chose to intercept them mid-route and slaughter them all. Twenty beast-type monsters and thirty Melted—it took her a mere minute to deal with them.
‘I’ve grown dull.’
Ruri gave an objective assessment of her performance. Back when she was the commander of the Special Task Force Silverwing, she would have obliterated a force of this size in under thirty seconds.
‘Have I indulged too much in peace?’
They say peace is a poison that rusts the blade. To put it bluntly, unlike her time in Silverwing when she had to swing her axe even in her sleep, she had rarely needed to use force since becoming a servant of Valdrova. It was only natural to grow dull, even with consistent training.
‘Even if I can't reclaim my prime, I have to train harder to get back to where I was.’
She had more things to protect now.
With that vow, she turned her head toward the path the monsters had been taking—the intended site of the raid. Since she had intercepted them, the area should have been safe.
‘Still, I should check on the village.’
Ruri spread her wings and took flight. Her concern was proven right the moment she saw the state of the village. Something was wrong.
‘It’s too quiet.’
Her hearing, sharp enough to distinguish the chirping of insects, could not detect a single human breath. The village had been dead before she even arrived.
Suddenly, a presence appeared, triggering Ruri’s sharp instincts. Her body reacted before her mind could process the threat. She hurled her axe.
The massive weapon flew in a straight line, tracing a wide, lethal arc. However, as expected of a powerhouse who could appear so suddenly, the opponent’s response was equally formidable. The axe was swallowed whole by an ominous rift in space.
Through the crack that obscured her vision, she caught a glimpse of a man.
“We’ve met before, haven't we?”
Under the midday sun stood a man in a gray robe. Despite the bright light, his pale face remained visible through the deep shadows of his hood.
“I’ll return your axe.”
No sooner had he gestured than Ruri felt a chill at the back of her head. The axe she had thrown was now aiming for her own skull.
She nimbly kicked off the ground, performing a tight mid-air somersault. She grabbed the rotating handle, braced her body to kill the momentum, and landed gracefully.
At the same time, she spat out the name of the being before her. “You are Gokma.”
He was the man responsible for the sudden monster incident in Hestia Village.
“I suspected as much, but was the appearance of the super-sized monsters also your doing?”
“Of course. Summoning twelve at once was a bit taxing, but manageable.” Gokma smiled thinly. Even if it had been difficult then, a month had passed; he was fully recovered. She could not afford to think of him as weakened.
‘How strong is he?’
Ruri gauged his strength. She knew he was a mage who manipulated space.
‘He’s a master who even bested Tower Master Erica.’
Though it was the nature of Dragon Spawn to look down on the spawn of other dragons, she did not underestimate him. He held the upper hand even against other mages, and given the nature of spatial magic, Ruri, a warrior, was at a disadvantage.
But Ruri was a descendant of Silverwind.
‘If raw power isn't enough...’
Silverwind was the Aspect of Steel and Wind.
‘I will overwhelm him with martial prowess.’
She just had to strike faster than he could react. Her eyes narrowed sharply.
“Tormenta!”
As she summoned the High Wind Spirit, white winds swirled violently around her feet. Then, she vanished with the wind.
“Oh?” Gokma murmured in admiration.
She had disappeared as if using teleportation magic, but it was achieved through pure speed.
“If you’re going to move at that speed, I shall provide a corresponding response.”
Gokma moved his fingers, opening rifts in the space around him to cut off her path. Simultaneously, he twisted the surrounding air, triggering lethal spatial explosions.
Bang! Pop-pop-pop!
As the spatial distortions rippled through the air, the outline of her invisible form was caught, tracing her trajectory. She wasn't just fast; her body moved as if inertia had been erased, changing directions at will. With dazzling footwork, she evaded the distortions.
Ruri tenaciously targeted Gokma’s blind spots.
“You truly are a warrior worthy of Silverwind’s favoritism,” Gokma said, seemingly in praise, but Ruri did not take it kindly.
‘He’s predicting everything.’
Even when he seemed to show a weakness, he was constantly covering his blind spots or using them as traps. It meant that despite her absolute speed, Gokma still held the advantage.
‘One hit.’
If she could land just one hit, she could win—but that one opening never came.
“Let’s end the useless foreplay here.”
The rifts Gokma had opened all subsided. Ruri’s axe swung for Gokma’s body, but the tearing space swallowed him faster.
Had he disappeared? No, he had simply increased the distance between them. She felt Gokma’s presence nearby and turned her gaze. He was standing by the firmly closed village warehouse.
Ruri threw her axe. She didn't aim for the center where the presence emanated, but for the warehouse’s supports.
CRUNCH!
The brutal force of the axe brought the internal pillars down. Naturally, such an attack couldn't deal significant damage to him; it merely removed the enclosed space that restricted her range and visibility. The collapsing planks didn't even touch Gokma’s head, sliding off as if hitting a circular barrier.
Now.
Like the veteran warrior she was, Ruri sought the chance to deliver a killing blow. He didn't run, nor did he tear through space. Instead, he brought something forward.
If it was a mere hostage, she intended to cut through them both. The lesson that half-hearted mercy brings greater calamity was one she had engraved in her heart as a warrior of Silverwind.
Ruri raised her axe high. Gokma asked her nonchalantly, “What does this look like to you?”
Whoosh!
The wind pressure from the axe exploded. Ruri’s blade stopped inches from Gokma. Even though she was right before him, even though it was her chance to cut him down, she couldn't do it.
It began the moment she realized what he had placed in front of him.
“Ah...” A gasp escaped Ruri’s lips. She couldn't believe her eyes. Standing there was a chestnut-haired boy who looked to be about seven years old.
“...No.”
Ruri denied the sight. Then, the boy opened his mouth and let out a wretched voice.
—B-Big Sis...
The voice pierced Ruri’s ears. The axe held by the girl known as the Nightmare of the Frost Giant began to tremble violently. She took a step back. The boy’s eyes welled with tears as he choked out a sob.
—Save me...
“No, you’re...”
You’re already dead. You died a long time ago.
You are buried so deep in my memories that I can barely remember your name.
There is no way you could be here.
—Please... don't let go... Not this time, please...
Even though her mind knew it was a fake, she couldn't deny it.
“Ah... ah...”
Thud.
Ruri dropped her axe. She reached out, trying to embrace the boy as he approached. As if she would never let go of that form again, she moved to wrap him in her arms.
Pshk!
But the form shattered. A single spear, flying from behind her, impaled the boy’s head like a skewer. The weapon was a javelin made of silver and steel.
Ruri knew that spear. There was only one person who wielded it. Before she could even think of his name, a figure soared toward the weapon. With wings five times larger than a human silhouette, the figure descended from the sky, grabbed the spear, and dragged it across the ground.
KRA-TA-TA-TA-KANG!!!
The image of the boy was instantly pulverized into particles, vanishing completely. Dust obscured the view of Gokma. The silver spear lunged through the dust toward him, but the space where Gokma should have been was already closing.
The battle ended just like that.
Ruri stood there dazed as the massive silver wings folded and retracted.
Goz Silverwind.
The man who had been closest to Silverwind and was currently poised to become the next dragon by claiming his essence. He had arrived.
“What were you doing?” he asked Ruri in a cold, cynical tone. “Dropping your weapon in front of an enemy. Were you planning on committing suicide?”
“I... I...”
Ruri couldn't answer. Instead, she stared blankly at the spot where he had ruthlessly killed the boy’s form. The blood of humans and Dragon Spawn alike is red. But that had been green. It had been a mere illusion.
Yet, the shock of it left her unable to move.
“Why did you hesitate?”
“...”
“Don't make me ask twice. If I have to look at your pathetic face any longer, I don't know what I might do.”
Ruri forced her mouth open. “...This is Imperial land.”
That was all she said. She was telling him he had no right to be here, as it was a territorial violation. Goz snorted in response.
“I know. Do you think I would set foot on this land without reason?”
“That means...”
“The Emperor formally requested assistance. In exchange for settling part of the debt attached to the name of Silverwind.”
He had a legitimate justification to be on this soil. A sense of disillusionment toward the Empire surged within her, but that wasn't important right now. She was facing Goz one-on-one. That terrifying man stood before her, now backed by the very authority of Silverwind.
“You still won't answer my question.”
“...”
When she remained silent, Goz let out a sigh. “Fine, then. What use is there in me knowing your thoughts?” He glared at Ruri over his shoulder. “I expect nothing from someone so weakened they can no longer even be called a warrior.”
His gaze was filled with contempt. It felt as if it were piercing through Ruri’s heart.
“For one who has discarded the heart of a warrior, even an honorable death is a waste.”
He pulled his spear from the ground and walked away.
“You don't need to fear me anymore. I won't be looking for you after this. Go back to that castle and live your life. Even if you change your mind and try to return, the North will no longer be your home.”
Goz vanished after leaving those words.
Ruri lowered her head. Her fists trembled with resentment and sorrow. In the middle of the empty village, she stood alone.
Just like that day.