Chapter 123
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Hunt (1)
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Max took on the role of guiding us to the ruins. He was loaded down with thick coils of rope slung over his shoulders and had two short knives tucked into his belt.
His back, leading the way toward the ruins, was slightly stiff with tension.
Max had warned us that there were lots of traps near the ruins, so we shouldn't stray off the path.
Ash and I already knew that, but the others kept glancing around restlessly.
Following Max came the Silver Guard Knight, with Ilenia close behind him.
"Just so we're clear, Ilenia. If your injury gets worse..."
"Don't worry. I won't get in the way."
"...Understood."
The Silver Guard Knight couldn't find any more words to say.
I gazed at the forest scenery, not much different from yesterday.
It was hard to believe this was the same terrifying forest where Shaika had prowled last night—it felt so peaceful now.
"Think you can pick up on it, Ash?"
Ash lifted his nose and sniffed around. But it didn't seem like he was having much luck.
'Too many stray scents around. Plus...'
"Lots of magical beast presences, right? Yeah, I can sense that too."
This was an area teeming with wild animals to begin with, and the traps scattered everywhere gave off the smell of blood.
Even Ash, with his sharp sense of smell on top of mana detection, would have a tough time spotting Shaika first in a place like this.
"You chased off Shaika yesterday, right?"
Wedin, following right behind me, asked.
He'd adjusted the sword at his waist for a quick draw and kept checking the Melgram hanging around his neck.
With all the presences left by magical beasts, the Melgram was emitting a faint grayish light.
"Yeah, right around here. If the defensive spell had been even a little slower, it would've been bad."
"Hmm..."
Wedin let out a worried groan. He was clearly anxious about whether he could handle Shaika himself.
I chuckled a little.
"If Shaika shows up, don't try to watch for it with your eyes—just come to my side. I'll put up a defensive spell."
"I was thinking about how to take it down."
"You have to survive first before you can take it down."
Wedin shut his mouth with a sullen expression at my words.
No one knew better than Wedin what kind of damage Shaika could inflict—he'd personally treated Gordon's wounds, after all.
"It's quick, but its body is fragile. That long tail as thick as its torso is a weak point too,"
Shuren advised from the rear.
"Gotta watch out for those ice chunks flying at you, though."
Wedin sighed heavily. That was probably his biggest worry.
"When Shaika gets close, you hear a hissing sound."
This time it was Ilenia. The noise she made with her mouth sounded just like the wind whistling.
I tilted my head, thinking it was odd.
"Really? I didn't hear anything."
"No, it definitely made that sound."
There was no reason for her to lie about something like this. Maybe I'd just misheard?
We all exchanged puzzled looks.
"When Shaika appears, the temperature around you drops."
The Silver Guard Knight's cautious voice came from up ahead.
"In my case, I can feel it on my skin. I'm sensitive to temperature changes."
Ah. I understood inwardly.
As a snake Loran, the Silver Guard Knight could keenly sense shifts in the surrounding temperature.
The small, bluish scales on the nape of his neck and under his chin suddenly stood out.
"Same for you, Ilenia. As a fire Arbat, your body temperature is always high, so you'd notice a drop right away."
"Ah, so that's why Tureha flickered."
"Tureha?"
Come to think of it, Ilenia had mentioned "Tureha" before too. I'd been too caught up in the moment to ask then.
Ilenia nodded and conjured a small fireball at the tip of her right index finger.
It was a little orb with vivid yellow at its core and flickering red on the outside.
"Tureha is the name of the flame. My flame's name."
"The flame's... name?"
I felt awkward for just keep asking, but I couldn't help it.
Ilenia juggled the fireball between her fingers, onto the back of her hand, and even up to her shoulder.
It was impossible to tell if Ilenia was making it move or if the flame named Tureha was acting on its own will.
"Tureha is my sibling, my friend, and the god that protects me."
Ilenia gazed lovingly at the small fireball floating beside her face.
I was so flustered I clamped my mouth shut. I had no idea what to ask next.
"Lib, don't bother trying to understand. It's a fire Arbat custom."
Shuren added quietly from behind. I finally managed a nod.
Hmm, so... kind of like naming your weapons?
"Still, I've never heard of a Red Guard Knight calling her flame by name."
I murmured after a moment's thought. Ilenia glanced back at me.
"Have you ever seen my mom fight?"
"Yes, a long time ago."
A long time ago, but the image of the Red Guard Knight wielding flames to sweep away demons was still vividly etched in my mind.
Where she passed, only charred ash remained, and the demons fled in terror.
"Mom... she was born from fire, or so she says. The so-called 'prodigy.'"
There was a hint of weariness in Ilenia's voice as she said it.
"Some people take an age just to spark a single flame, but Mom could freely wield every kind of fire from birth. She probably never needed names for individual flames."
Ilenia fell silent after that.
I felt a bit remorseful. I should avoid bringing up the Red Guard Knight around Ilenia, even unintentionally.
"Whoa, what is this place?"
Just then, Wedin let out an exclamation.
We had just reached the basin near the ruins.
It was filled with strange plants we'd never seen before and stones etched with bizarre patterns.
Even when I'd first come yesterday, the sight had been mesmerizing, but today it felt even more mystical.
'Mana's thick here.'
I nodded at Ash's mutter.
The air here was so saturated with mana it almost looked tinted blue, and today it was even denser.
To the point where it felt scary to breathe it in.
Even in broad daylight, the dense trees blocked most of the light, and the thriving plants beneath glowed with vivid blue hues.
"...This is a weird place."
Shuren muttered, voicing what everyone was thinking.
We moved toward the ruins' entrance, tension thick in the air.
"This way."
As we nearly crossed the basin, Max stopped in front of a narrow ravine surrounded by rocks.
The rocks were intricately carved with incomprehensible patterns, and countless red cloths were tied to the dry branches.
If each one meant "stay away," it was like hundreds of people screaming it.
Between the rocks yawned a massive hole big enough to swallow a wagon whole.
A deep vertical cave where one misstep would send you plummeting.
Sunlight slanted down from above, but strangely, it didn't penetrate the cave at all.
Instead, it was filled with an unsettling, ominous darkness.
"We have to go down there, right?"
As Wedin swallowed hard and asked, Max swiftly unslung the rope ladder from his shoulder and lowered it.
He let it out to its full length, but no sound of it hitting bottom came.
"Is this where Sir Gordon was found?"
The Silver Guard Knight asked, and Max nodded.
"We check around the entrance periodically since they hadn't come out in a while. There's a rule against going down, but... an injured person couldn't have climbed back up from there."
"...I see."
"I'll guard this area again this time. If Shaika shows and things get dangerous, we'll pull back."
"Got it, Max. Don't push yourself."
The Silver Guard Knight said that, then turned to me.
I'd just pulled out my staff, and our eyes met.
"Liberic, do you need time to prepare?"
"Sir Gordon said the hallucinations started the moment he took one step inside. Let me check before we go in."
I approached the entrance where the ladder hung. Everyone stepped back warily, faces tense.
I placed my hand on the ground and gathered mana, feeling a heavy, sticky energy rush in.
A circle of blue-tinged mana began slowly rotating around my palm.
"Ugh, this feels awful."
It was like dipping my hand into mud.
If the entrance was this bad already, I didn't even want to imagine what it would be like inside.
I recalled a few mana-analysis spells I'd used in the Elgrace branch's dragon stable.
Far simpler and more efficient than the ones from the stable.
It didn't take long.
The analysis spells produced a few notable reactions. Combining them led to one conclusion: the hallucinations couldn't be dispelled.
"We have to go all the way to the innermost part."
"Just like Fren said."
The Silver Guard Knight stroked his chin gravely.
I nodded and pulled five blue Eckronium crystals from my pouch.
I set them on the ground and traced a small circle with the tip of my staff.
As everyone watched curiously, I placed my hand over the Eckroniums and infused them with mana.
The five crystals alternated between blue and green glows.
High-quality ones that took a lot of mana, so after filling them generously, my vision swam a bit.
I took a deep breath to steady myself, then picked them up and stood.
Shuren was staring at me.
"What're you doing?"
"Can't avoid the hallucinations... so at least we should stay in the same place."
I handed one Eckronium each to the Silver Guard Knight, Shuren, Wedin, and Ilenia.
"Same place?"
The Silver Guard Knight peered into the warmly glowing blue Eckronium.
"Yes. Different hallucinations come from different mana wavelengths. Meaning, if we have the same wavelength, we'll see the same hallucination."
I glanced down at Ash.
Connected to me through absorbed mana, Ash didn't need one.
"Here, Max. You take one too."
I gave one to Max as well. He took it reflexively, looking baffled.
"Just in case. If you stay here with it, it'll make it easier for Ash and me to find the entrance."
"...Got it."
Max gripped the tiny Eckronium in his large hand. I worried for a second it might shatter.
"Just keep it on you?"
"Yeah. Put it in an inner pocket so it doesn't fall out."
Wedin hummed as he slipped it into his inner pocket. The others did the same.
"Ah, it's warm."
Ilenia clutched the pocket holding her Eckronium. I smiled faintly.
"It'll get cold down there."
"You think the snowfield Shaika's waiting?"
"Yes. Probably waiting for us."
I answered the Silver Guard Knight's question firmly and stepped to the ruins' entrance.
The dark, chill opening awaited our challenge.