Watcher in Snowfall's Pure White Fortress
In the pure white fortress of Snowfall, there was one who watched over everything. General Claus, leader of Arkanthia's magitech special forces. Lord of Snowfall's castle both on paper and in reality, he commanded his warriors to move. At the same time, he conjured arms of green mana. He wielded no mana himself. He merely unleashed spells stored through magitech.
He swung the massive magical arm. Boom! With a single sweep, the Valenos knights exploded outward.
"Crusade Heal!"
They clung on tenaciously. No one knew where they'd learned their recovery magic, but it showed overwhelming output. Above all, their incomprehensible mutterings began disrupting the flow of magitech. Their incantations suppressed even the essence of demons. That's why they could restrain the unbloomed flows of magitech. Everything slowed. It wasn't limited to performance. From the moment it connected to their flesh, it was already over.
At the heart of the Frost Knight Order. The knights parted like a path through reeds. In their midst strode a young man, step by heavy step. Mature beyond his years, he let his gray-white hair flutter. His eyes gleamed gold, just like Lucius's. From red to gold. In the dark fortress, his golden eyes flashed. Blue flames burned cold.
"...Am I seeing things?"
There was no room for leisure. He lacked the courage to swing his sword at the figure approaching with such majestic poise. Just an illegitimate son, barely eighteen. Yet he couldn't help questioning the king's aura radiating from him.
"...Is that really the bastard?"
"And if it is? What're you gonna do about it, you fucking bastard?"
"Your mouth's foul for a noble."
"Foul or not, you think you wouldn't curse if you were me? House stolen, father dead, brother dead. Torn from my family. And the prick who took my happy home is right in front of me—think you could hold back?"
Rowen's grumbling. Claus laughed maniacally.
"...Cain's dead? Haha! That's great news. And an illegitimate spawn living in a happy family? Your house is insane. Trash like you should be culled from the world. Kadan must've been drowning in lust. Miyabi, was it? Even with an elf that stacked like that, he still cheated? Says it all."
"...You...!"
"Ah, or maybe their sex life was lackluster? Haha! I could've satisfied her plenty..."
Slash! Fresh blood stained the wall. Red sprayed in a grotesque fountain. Before Claus's eyes fell his severed arm. Rowen had merely raised the arm holding his sword. It shouldn't have been close range. Yet the arm had flown off due to 'something' on the blade.
"...Huh? Uwaaaaaah?!"
"...I'll kill you."
At the very least, he shouldn't have insulted the mother who had embraced this bastard son. She wasn't his birth mother, but from childhood, she'd never hated him and treated him like her own. And this dog in front of him... not content with mocking his dead father, he'd made vile remarks about his mother.
"...Ah... It hurts hurts hurts hurts...!"
He'd lost his mind. Terror had eaten away his sanity. At the very least, he shouldn't have screamed those words before him now. Horror surpassed shock.
"...You're begging me to kill you. You shouldn't have insulted my parents."
"...Haha... hahahaha..."
"I won't let you die easy. I'll make it as painful as possible."
Gulp. He swallowed hard at Rowen's monologue. Those already-dead eyes stared into his abyss.
"...And I'll take back Snowfall."
Claus's eyes widened. He'd gladly seized Snowfall. And now lose it like this? No... it had been their house to begin with. Just returning to its owners. But.
"No..."
"What?"
"Snowfall is my land! My territory, earned through merit! I won't let it be taken. Even if Arkanthia falls, I'll keep my position!"
Claus was greedy. From childhood, he'd wanted everything in sight. Didn't care if they called him a freak. It'd all be his eventually. Friends' toys, dolls, clothes. All his. If someone had something that looked better than his, it pissed him off. Felt wrong. So he'd stolen it, made it his. Day after day, stealing and stealing. The greedy one finally realized: the strong take everything. So if he got stronger, climbed higher... couldn't he do whatever he wanted?
Greed. One of humanity's ugliest desires, a root of corruption.
Twitch... Like that...
"I... won't be taken from."
"You're the ones who stole it. You crazy?"
"...It's mine. Mine. How I earned that position. Can't be taken."
"...Words won't reach you."
"Mine mine mine mine mine mine..."
Crunch...! Red energy corrupted the magitech arm. Runes dyed red sparked with zzzt electricity. Rune fragments shattered. Debris rustled, and where the fragments had been, black shadows formed. Proof of demonhood. Black tattoos birthed red demonic energy, and before Rowen's eyes sprouted black horns.
The demon of greed. Claus had been consumed by magitech's dark side. The severed arm regenerated. Fresh flesh pulsed with red energy. Fueling Rowen's rage even more.
"That's why I hate magitech."
Rowen strode forward. His only weapon a single blue-ice sword. Black haze jetted straight from it.
"Humans are born with greed, sure. It's natural, the way of the world. But magitech? Harbor a little negative emotion, and it corrupts you straight away."
Above all.
"No one believes it's demon tech. Tell 'em, they ignore it. Why? Don't you think that's weird?"
"...Grgh..."
"Answer: 'Once you've tasted that power, it's hard to let go.' Magitech's strong. I admit that. Even weaklings can fire high-tier spells with one mod."
Claus's form shifted. Crack! Bones supporting his body twisted. Bursting out, rupturing muscles. Like fibers writhing, his muscles reshaped. Ferocious and thick. Claus's body mutated into a muscular demon.
"Sweet, right? That high from power. Like being shitfaced drunk. Tipsy, but one swing craters the ground."
"...Mine."
"That's why it's dangerous. Magitech. Eh, no point talking more. You won't hear it anyway."
"Raaaaagh! It's mine!"
"...Fucking idiot."
Claus's tailbone stretched long. Muscles layered on, demonic energy corrupted it. Red energy warped his form. Already demon-like, it shifted further toward human. Demons weren't true demons. Just humans infused with demonic power.
Corruption. That form embodied humanity's ugliness, radiating menace and violence. A sleazy, scrawny look. Reminiscent of a weakened Lucifer, it irked Rowen. Ultimately, drowned in greed, he'd lost everything. His massive build had meant greed's taint; this scrawny flesh meant total ruin, plunged into the abyss.
For a moment. Rowen's sword energy lashed toward Claus.
Arahan, seeing Rowen, commanded the soldiers.
"Do not approach His Majesty. Focus all efforts on mopping up the remnants!"
"Yes!"
"Second Army, reclaim the castle. Third Army, guard the gates—no stragglers escape."
"Second Army, fall back!"
"Third Army, hold the gates!"
"Wooooah!"
They stared at Rowen. Burning with zeal, like longing. Worried their beloved might get hurt. But excessive concern would burden him. Regrettably, she averted her gaze this once.
This place was where she'd devoted six years. Longer than her hometown, like home to her. Must reclaim it. Moving on Rowen's orders, but... a touch of personal feeling mixed in.
Always waking the young master early mornings. She'd savor his scent beforehand, though not often. Prepared meals with the maids. Happiness watching him eat heartily. Sparred with swords. Full of memories. When he fled training, she'd search for him. Scary if out of sight, but thinking it hide-and-seek made it bearable.
Tea time with Miss Karin. The tomboy loved cookies with rich dark chocolate and black tea. Preparing it always brought joy. Rowen's half-sister felt like her own to Arahan. So she got along well.
Cain, that dumb young master—she disliked, but didn't hate. She'd stood watch when he brought girls, knew he harbored no malice. Just age-appropriate hobbies.
Unforgettable memory. Tough and annoying. He'd scold Cain then. As a child, he'd endured patiently. Then suddenly seized dominance. That strengthened these feelings.
Miyabi. Valenos matriarch, Kadan's true wife, northern blessing. Real power behind the family in Kadan's absence. Kind. Even hearing of his death, gentle to Arahan. Like a big sister. Aging yet eternally youthful as an elf, beautiful. Learned makeup, seduction, beauty from her. Another mentor.
This place held countless memories, scents, emotions. Northern capital, Valenos territory. Above all, dear home. That's Snowfall. Now, after two years stolen, Arahan set foot inside.
"Beware the red energy!"
"Block the corruption's power. Chant now!"
Hands clasped in a triangle. Earth, sky, water. Three elements fused into taiji, yin-yang. Eastern culture adapted for the north. Knights began suppressing the demons.
"Om Garajiya Sabaha...!"
Mighty resolve crushed magitech's underside. Surging golden holy power, with the incantation, settled in the snowy land. Great Kalia Rune and great Valenos energies met, clenching a fist.
Hummm—! The foes amplified their rune fragments. Mana surged instantly. But.
"...Huh?"
"It won't move?"
"What the hell!"
With yin-yang incantations suppressing their essence, the runes ignored them. Corrupted runes. Fallen spirit language, hard to discern. Rune fragments embodied spirit tongues. Born of mana, spirits' language was naturally runes. Forcibly jammed into humanity's ugliness and eroded by demonic energy, corruption was irreversible. Thus, yin-yang and holy power incantations restrained them.
"Victory's just around the corner."
Arahan shook her head, clearing stray thoughts. As Valenos servant, she'd felt nostalgia. Heart warmed a bit. Was it just her, or did this land feel like home?
So she shouted.
"For the North!"
The Frost Knights echoed her cry.
"...For the North!"
"Reclaim Winterer's capital!"
"Homeward! Even in death, bury our bones in our homeland. We are the North!"
"For the North!"