Silver Aurora
The Ring of Fire, anchored around his heart, spun with ferocious intensity. All seven rings resonated as one, and a searing heat surged down his spine as if flame itself were coursing through the bone.
The oncoming swamp tsunami slowed. The screams and breathing of those on the ramparts fell silent.
A moment of absolute focus — as if the world itself had stopped.
Raon stepped into that world and called out to Wrath.
"To speak in the middle of all this… you've grown quite a bit."
Wrath's round eyes widened in mild surprise. As expected — bound as they were at the soul, the little cotton-ball had entered this world with him.
Help me use your technique.
"Technique? Don't tell me you mean the one This King showed you in the Mental World?"
That's the one. Raon lowered his eyelids.
It was the only option he had.
He'd felt it the moment he reached out. Even if he poured every last drop of Glacia's frost into that tsunami, he couldn't freeze it. Clumsy shards of ice would only break off and kill even more people.
Teach me the technique you used in my Mental World — the one that froze space itself.
The world of hyper-focus only felt like time had slowed. It hadn't actually stopped. The swamp tsunami was still closing in. He had to move fast.
"Shameless brat."
Wrath snorted.
"This King has no desire to teach you — and even if This King did, it would be beyond you as you are now."
What?
"That technique requires a genius-level command of frost, the likes of which only This King possesses. A paltry human like you would produce nothing but icicles."
He waved a round little hand as if the whole matter were pointless.
"What This King recommends is gathering those Mad Dog brats and raising a wall of Ganggi. At least they would survive…"
From today until the day we go back, I'll buy you everything you want to eat.
"Eh…?"
If this place falls, you won't get to eat the specialty grapes and blueberries.
"Eeh…?"
Wrath's deliberation was brief.
"Then operate Glacia exactly as This King directs the flow — now!"
Wrath's frost bored into his mana circuits. Raon drew Glacia to its absolute peak and followed that current.
Ghk…
Channeling so much frost at once made his mana circuits scream as if they were about to burst, but he clenched his teeth and endured it.
"Now — Wrath."
Rage seeped in from Wrath. Raon stirred the wrath clinging to the bottom of his soul and chased the enormous current Wrath was weaving.
Ghhhkk…
Raon bit down until his molars felt ready to crack. His body groaned as if it were about to snap apart. He endured the agony of tearing mana circuits and crushing bone and reached out again.
"Release the wrath and frost you've gathered in a single burst! The name of this technique is…"
The swamp tsunami cast a colossal shadow over the ramparts — and in that instant, Raon opened the dam he had been holding shut in his palm.
A hiss of killing cold.
A sensation as if the blood in his veins were freezing solid, and from his grip, silver-white frost bloomed.
And last of all, the most important thing…
Imagery.
He painted the image Wrath had always spoken of. He imagined freezing every last drop of that swamp wave, and twisted his wrist. The Ring of Fire whirling around his heart resonated with the frost flooding heaven and earth.
He poured out Glacia's current in its entirety — not a single grain of frost held back.
A roar of silver light.
The swamp wave that had been pitching over, a heartbeat from crashing down, flushed silver-white — and its flow ceased. Not because of hyper-focus. The swamp itself had frozen, locked solid.
A low, groaning rumble.
The colossal frozen tsunami, not a speck of mud still dripping, stood so alien it seemed to have slipped free of the world's balance.
So this is Silver Aurora…
The aurora, called a celestial curtain that veiled the heavens. The majesty of it lived up to the name.
"Wh-what…"
"He f-froze that? Is he even human?"
"Mud ice cream…"
Burren, Marta, and Runaan swallowed dryly, staring up at the enormous shadow that blotted out the sun.
"Haaah!"
"V-Vice-leader!"
"He's actually insane…"
"We knew he was a monster, but…"
The Light Wind Squad on the ramparts had fallen on their backsides, pupils trembling as if they'd been struck by lightning.
The frozen mass groaned on.
Raon had no time to hear their astonishment. He kept the Ring of Fire turning.
Damn it…
It hurt like hell.
Even with the Ring of Fire spinning, even with the grade of his soul being elevated, a pain like his entire body being torn apart still wracked him. He had channeled too much power at once — and in a method he was using for the first time.
"Hah…"
He let out a breath laced with pain and lifted his head. He still couldn't quite believe he had frozen a mud tsunami silver-white with his own hands. But there was something more important right now.
The one who made this tsunami…
It had to be him.
A wave of this scale could not have risen from the swamp on its own. The mage who had summoned the Death Knight had done this — that much was certain. There was no telling where the man was watching from, so Raon kept his expression calm, as if nothing were wrong.
Wrath ground his teeth, staring at Raon's composed face.
"You lunatic! How did you do that?!"
You were the one who taught me. Why are you like this?
"That's…"
He had shown him the flow of the technique, yes — but he had never expected Raon to actually pull it off. He'd assumed the boy would freeze it halfway and the whole thing would crumple. Instead, this madman had frozen the swamp wave solid, in one piece.
"This King truly did not think you would succeed!"
I imagined it.
"What?"
You're the one who always said it. The most important thing when wielding mana is imagery. I recalled the you I saw in the Mental World, and I pictured freezing that entire swamp.
"Ghhk — This King will never teach you anything again!"
Wrath ground his teeth, thoroughly sulking.
That's fine.
Raon nodded slowly.
I've already memorized it.
Because he had operated Silver Aurora while resonating the Ring of Fire, he had already absorbed the flow of the frost. Using it alone would still be difficult, of course.
"There is not a single thing about you that This King finds agreeable!"
Shame. I'm starting to like you a little.
"Shut that mouth!"
Raon smiled faintly and took the hilt of the Heavenly Sky Sword. He operated the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames, settling the frost that had surged through his entire body, and drew the blade.
A crimson line of Ganggi shot forth and split the frozen swamp wave. A fragment of the wave, as vast as the fortress itself, tilted and came crashing down.
The impact was tremendous. Ice of that size slammed into the earth hard enough that the ground itself seemed ready to give way.
"Hah…"
Raon slowly caught his breath and sheathed the Heavenly Sky Sword. Wendy Ariane, the Yellow Battle Sword Squad, and the Ranger captains came up onto the ramparts.
"Sir Raon!"
Wendy's face was deathly pale, her lips trembling.
"W-what on earth happened? Why did the swamp suddenly turn into a wave…"
"It appears to have been a wave driven in from the far end of the Swamp of Death."
"Ah…"
She stared at the mud wave, cut away and frozen bone-white, and let out a ragged breath.
"Then… is it over now?"
Wendy clasped her hands as if begging him to say yes. The others wet their dry lips, wanting the same answer.
Raon said nothing. He walked to the edge of the rampart.
A deep, grinding rumble.
The frozen mud melted under a black energy rising from the ground. The heaps of mud that should have climbed the walls crumbled into dust, and earth blackened for the first time in centuries laid itself bare.
Death Aura.
"A filthy stench, no matter how many times This King smells it."
The deathly energy the vast, deep swamp had been suppressing in the earth began to seep upward, slow and thick.
He lifted his gaze to the far end of the Swamp of Death — or what should now be called the Land of Death. From a distance too great even for his senses to reach, a colossal presence made itself felt. The enemy was revealing himself on purpose.
"Hah…"
Raon let out a breath edged with irritation and turned around. He looked at the people staring at him with trembling eyes, and shook his head.
"This is only the beginning. Prepare for war."
The Death Aura rising from the earth was growing stronger by the moment. Before long, this place would be crawling with undead. They would have to fight a siege for this fortress.
The one mercy…
They were at least somewhat prepared.
The first thing Wendy Ariane had done upon becoming Acting Family Head was restock the war supplies and drill her people. They had that much, at least, to fight with.
"W-war?"
Wendy covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.
"War…"
"It will start soon."
"War…"
She seemed to feel the Death Aura surging from the earth as well. Her cheeks and throat flushed red.
"W-what should I do first. Preparations. No — I need to send word…"
"Lady Wendy."
Raon approached her as she spiraled into panic.
"There isn't much time. To save House Arian — to save those people — the one who knows this place best has to move. That's you."
"Ah…"
As he spoke, he pointed to the people of House Arian looking up from the ramparts. Seeing those wavering eyes, with no proper pillar to lean on, Wendy's trembling stopped.
"I understand."
Wendy clenched her fist until it bled and nodded.
"From this moment, we are on a war footing! Sword squads and Rangers, prepare for a siege!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Perhaps because she had seized the reins, not only the sword squads but the Rangers as well began to move quickly, still shaking.
Clang, clang, clang!
An emergency bell rang for the first time in centuries, and the entire house threw itself into preparing for war.
Raon confirmed that the people were moving, then turned around.
"Assemble."
The Light Wind Squad seemed to realize this was no time for jokes. They lined up on the ramparts and straightened their backs.
"As I said a moment ago, a war with the undead is about to begin. Go back to the barracks, cultivate, and return."
"Y-you want us to cultivate?"
"Shouldn't we be holding this place?"
"Vice-leader, you're the one who's drained."
"Yeah. You're the one who should be cultivating."
They had spent so long together that the Light Wind Squad could tell Raon was exhausted.
"I can do it here."
Raon shook his head. He was still operating the Ring of Fire, so recovering from internal injuries of this degree was not particularly difficult.
"You've been sparring all morning. Go recover your bodies and minds to peak condition, and come back."
He glanced at the earth where Death Aura was rising and twisted his mouth.
"If you don't do it now, you won't have time to cultivate at all."
"Ugh…"
"That's chilling…"
"Understood."
The Light Wind Squad stopped declining, nodded, and ran down from the ramparts.
"Dorian. A moment."
"Yes?"
"Do you happen to have…"
Raon called Dorian back just as he was about to go down last, and asked whether he had a certain item.
"Oh, of course I do. It's an essential, after all. I'll take it out right— huh?"
He had started to reach into his Belly Pouch, then stopped.
"But if we use that, doesn't that mean we fail the mission?"
"It's fine."
Raon shook his head with a faint smile.
"That's my power too — no. The Light Wind Squad's."
Even after everyone had gone, Raon remained on the ramparts, watching the Land of Death. Thanks to the Ring of Fire, his internal injuries had settled, and the people of House Arian were wrapping themselves in courage and preparing for war — and still, looking at that earth, the unease would not leave him.
It's vicious at this point.
The Death Aura rising from the land beneath the swamp grew endlessly stronger. An ordinary person with no mana would be unable to breathe the moment they stepped beyond these walls, and would collapse on the spot.
"That is not the only problem."
I know.
Raon nodded and looked toward the far end of the Land of Death. From that distant edge, undead beyond counting were being summoned in staggering numbers.
The presence of monsters further empowered by that vicious Death Aura was so thick it pressed against the skin.
Extremely dangerous…
"No, not that! Are you not going to eat the grape sandwiches and blueberry pie?!"
This is not the time to eat.
"This King does not care about such things! Keep your promise!"
The shops are closed.
"Then open them!"
Raon was shoving away Wrath, who clung like swamp mud, when Wendy Ariane came running.
"Th-there's a problem."
"A problem…"
"The emergency communication network won't connect!"
Wendy raked her nails down her arm, saying the emergency lines had been down for hours.
"I thought as much."
Raon nodded calmly. A monster capable of summoning a growing Death Knight and turning a swamp into a tidal wave was never going to leave an emergency network that could call for help intact.
"Then…"
"For now, we fight as we are."
Raon drew two rings from his coat and slid them onto his fingers. One was the Cheonhonghwan he had received from the Yonan family. The second was the ring Chamber, the Great Mage of Splendor, had given him.
"Hah…"
Wendy struck her own forehead and clenched her fist tight.
"So we have to hold out on our own, then."
She gripped her sword as if steeling her will.
"That's right."
As Raon nodded, the Light Wind Squad came up onto the ramparts. Having finished their cultivation, everyone's faces were brighter than before.
"We're done."
"We'll hold this place. This time, you should…"
Marta was about to tell him to go cultivate when the ground behind them seemed to heave.
Raon and everyone else ran to the ramparts and looked out over the Land of Death.
A grotesque sound, like bone flowers blooming — and gray skeletons and zombies stained green tore up through the earth and rose. As if seeds sown across the entire Land of Death were sprouting, undead began to surge up from everywhere except the ground directly in front of House Arian's fortress.
"Ah…"
"H-holy…"
"Those are all undead?"
"Can we even hold against that?"
As countless undead rose, the Rangers waiting on the ramparts trembled from head to toe.
"Th-this is a lot, isn't it?"
Burren chewed his lip, watching skeletons rise without end.
"How the hell are there more undead skulls than there is ground?!"
Marta clenched her fists, eyes gleaming as she stared at the zombies.
Neither of them had expected numbers like this. They swallowed dryly, frowning.
"They look like bead ice cream."
Runaan smacked her lips, looking at the skeleton skulls. To be thinking that at a time like this — she really was a peculiar girl.
"Hah…"
"Th-the fortress won't fall, right?"
"If it does, we're all dead."
"Shut up and get ready. They're coming."
Everyone was tense before that overwhelming tide of numbers — and then the undead turned in formation, like an army, and faced the other way.
They did not kneel toward House Arian's fortress. They dropped to their knees facing the three pillars standing on the Land of Death, and burst into an eerie wail.
A long, groaning howl.
A guttural, rattling roar.
It was a hymn of darkness. For the first time in centuries, the undead bowed their heads to the master who had summoned them, and sang a song of worship.
Just as priests worship a god and receive holy power, the Death Aura dwelling in them grew thick and heavy.
A screaming, keening chorus.
A shrieking, tearing wail.
As countless undead sang of death, even the sun seemed to flinch, hiding itself in the clouds.
The sky turned gray, and the atmosphere on the ramparts — which had been steeling itself for battle — sank as grim as a funeral.
It was so quiet it felt as if no one were there at all. Not even breathing could be heard.
"W-what is this?!"
"What are they doing?!"
"M-my hands and feet are shaking…"
"Are they drawing power from a demon?"
Not only the Rangers and the Yellow Battle Sword Squad — even the Light Wind Squad went deathly pale at the undead's song.
"What a load of crap."
Raon sneered and drew the Heavenly Sky Sword. He raised the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames to its peak, drew his right arm back, and hurled the flame-condensed blade as if loosing an arrow.
A roaring storm of fire.
A tempest of flame erupted from the entire length of the blade and swept through the undead horde howling to the dark.
Hundreds of undead melted away without leaving so much as a sliver of bone.
Their endless hymn cut off, and the sunlight that had been sinking revived, falling across the ramparts.
"Mad Dog Squad."
Raon turned around. He looked into the eyes of people whose fighting spirit had begun to kindle like banked embers, and smiled.
He raised the Heavenly Sky Sword and pointed it at the countless undead that still remained.