Chapter 112

112.

“Manners are still lacking, I see.”

At Cain’s indifferent remark, Arthur closed his mouth. Or rather, he was unable to respond. So overwhelmed was he that he had even forgotten the current situation.

‘What is this…’

The eyes one obtains upon awakening as a mana manifestor.

They allowed one to see the world of superhumans with perfect clarity, and so he could clearly see the colossal flames blazing around Cain.

Flames of mana that blazed as if to engulf the entire world. Was there anyone in the northern region of superhumans who possessed this much power? Absolutely not.

‘…What is that?’

The sight of Cain mounted atop the massive wolf.

It was not a corrupted beast. That nasty feeling that had surrounded the beasts was nowhere to be felt.

An overwhelmingly large white wolf with Cain seated upon it, and a pink-haired woman sitting quietly.

‘This is no illusion.’

Though his body was in a sorry state, his mind was intact.

The intense presence that prickled at the skin was not something that could be an illusion. The attack that had sent the monster flying moments ago had undoubtedly been Cain’s doing.

Then…

“Grand Duke! Miss… Ugh!”

Cough!

The snowfield turned crimson.

Arthur’s knees buckled as he spat out blood.

“Ugh…!”

Caught off-guard by such an absurd scene, the pain that had been momentarily held at bay now rushed in and engulfed his entire body.

His vision turned black and the world felt distant. Still, Arthur clutched desperately at the threads of consciousness and spoke.

“Your Excellency… Lady Pesaha… Erika…”

Intermittently speaking, Arthur’s head fell into a pile of snow.

A red pool slowly spread around Arthur from where he lay. To anyone observing, it was a sight that unmistakably indicated death.

Cain dismounted the White Beast with Myna and opened his mouth.

“Empress Myna, I request your healing.”

“Healing?”

Not resurrection?

At Myna’s questioning look, Cain nodded his head.

“Manifestors are more resilient than expected. A knight-turned-manifestor won’t die from this. Not unless a vital spot is hit.”

“Ahh… I see.”

Even though the armor was as good as scrap iron,

The body was a wreck—torn-open skin revealing bones in places with no inch spared. And yet, he was still alive.

Myna cleared her throat and summoned her healing power. She brushed away the pile of snow that had covered Arthur by now.

Listening for a faint breathing sound by putting her ear close, she then watched as his breathing stabilized as the healing power seeped into his body.

“Indeed, he’s still alive.”

With Myna, who was now scattering light, still dumbfounded, Cain quickly issued commands.

“White Beast. Buy some time with the pack of wolves. Charles, please retrieve Arthur’s group and relocate them here. Nia, I leave the containment of this monster and defense of this area to you.”

“Wooowww!”

“Great! Time to show my skills!”

Charles mounted on the White Beast and the pack of wolves headed toward the monster.

A blue barrier expanded with Nia at its heart, and the snowstorm raging in the air froze momentarily before turning into sharp icicles.

With no time to marvel at the grand spectacle of hundreds of icicles flying like lightning, Cain unsheathed his sword and turned his body.

“Empress Myna. I will be back shortly.”

“Be careful! It feels like the mark is heating up. Mistress Sora seems to be warning us of something!”

There were two monsters that had appeared here.

One attacking Arthur’s group was being handled by the White Beast.

The other which had attacked Arthur had its chest struck with a sealing spear and was currently writhing in the snow.

“Kiiiieeiiikkk!”

The monster convulsed and thrashed in agony.

The cause was the sealing spear embedded in its shoulder. Though Cain had hurled the spear with a piercing intent, for some reason, it had only buried itself halfway into its shoulder.

‘Strange.’

Cain’s frown deepened as he analyzed the state of the monster.

Seeing as the situation was urgent, the thrown spear wasn’t controlled in strength. Normally, the part of the body the spear touched should have exploded like the monster that had attacked Solorun.

‘Unreal resilience. There’s also something abnormal about the sealing spear.’

Continued bursts of blue lightning sprang from the spear embedded in the monster’s shoulder.

A sight of power versus power.

Not only did the appearance differ from the monsters he’d encountered before, but also as he approached the monster, the base of his neck felt a sensation as if something were pinching him, along with a burning sensation.

‘…And the mark too.’

Could the warning from Sora that Myna mentioned be related to this?

It was a reaction as if she were irritated. While rubbing his neck as if to calm her, Cain stopped his steps.

Kung. Kung.

Due to the monster rampaging violently, snowdrifts flew in all directions.

“Grurrrrrk.”

Appearing to run out of strength, the monster’s movements gradually became sluggish. Now, without even letting out a monstrous roar, it swung its arms, indicating an unfavorable condition.

“…The mana is dispersing well.”

The power of the sealing spear was working effectively.

Cain infused mana into his sword and raised it high.

Right in front, with the sword already lifted, the monster was focused only on pulling out the spear, showing no reaction.

Apparently, the sealing spear was quite irritating. However, the monster couldn’t pull the spear out.

Pajjik!

The lightning burst the moment the monster’s hand touched the spear shaft. The monster’s body trembled as if it was enduring great pain.

As he absorbed this strange reaction into his mind, Cain swung his sword down.

Gang!

“…?”

Gang! Gang!

“…Ugh!”

Puck!

—!

The moment the sword delivered an all-out downward strike and penetrated the body, the monster emitted an incomprehensible roar.

He effortlessly evaded the claw tearing through the air and looked down at the sword in his hand.

The heavy shock transmitted through the handle.

It was a strike that was supposed to split the monster in half, but rather than cutting, the sword rebounded as if it had struck a solid object.

‘The mana is properly wrapped around.’

The sword’s body, infused with mana, emitted a light whiter than the snow.

A mana-infused sword could cut through steel as if it were soft. However, the sword couldn’t cut through.

There was only one case where such a sword couldn’t cut: another weapon also infused with mana. It was a sign that the monster’s resilience was akin to a weapon wielded by a mana manifestor.

‘If it deflected my sword, it surpasses that.’

Even with an all-out strike, it was only now that the sword penetrated, but only in a battering manner rather than cutting.

‘…Let’s try punching it.’

Cain sheathed his sword and loosened his hands.

Though it seemed Calion could be summoned to smash the monster’s body, the situation was too dire to wait leisurely for Calion.

He needed to check on Arthur’s group and Erika Devalleta, and also investigate the hazy shape of a massive tree visible through the snowstorm far away.

The night had fully descended, making it unclear to see the surroundings.

‘The power flows into the feet and explodes through the fist.’

Cain recalled the memory of being beaten up as training.

Close-range striking tech that was said to be passed down in the Eastern continent.

Landeck mentioned that the technique was called Bakkyung and that it became quite ferocious when combined with mana.

Cain moved the mana according to the body’s memory, then drove his fist down.

Kwaang!

A powerful explosion sounded, and the monster’s thigh exploded.

It was a power so great it was hard to believe it was just a punch. Seizing the momentum, Cain battered the remaining parts of the monster.

The waist, shoulder, the other thigh.

Every time his fist struck, the monster’s movements became slower.

Cain gradually increased the amount of mana he used with each punch.

Soon enough, the Bakkyung that had simply been bursting the monster’s body started generating shockwaves, causing the piles of snow around it to scatter violently.

As relentless strikes continued, the cracked earth was revealed from beneath the snow.

‘It’s done.’

Finally, the abdomen.

Gaahaaaang!

With its entire body blowing apart, the monster’s remains were crushed into the ground.

“Hoo….”

Cain nodded approvingly at Bakkyung’s power.

An indescribable phenomenon occurred when the power was combined with mana.

‘Indeed, it’s mana.’

After shaking out his aching fist from battering the monster, he pulled the sealing spear embedded in the remains.

The mana spread throughout its body was quickly dispersing.

Cain shook his head to dispel the odd feeling of powerlessness.

The snowstorm was still raging.

If he spaced out, he would be buried in the snow along with the monster’s remains. Somehow, the snow had already piled up to his ankles while he was catching his breath.

Kung!

Leaping up with a kick, he lightly escaped from the snow mound.

“…”

Cain calmly gathered his breath and looked around.

A world cloaked in darkness by the snowstorm.

Far away, the White Beast and the pack of wolves were fighting a monster.

And elsewhere, Myna was healing the wounded while Charles looked on, and Nia kept shooting spells.

“Everyone survived, thankfully.”

The unconscious woman with short black hair cradled in Myna’s arms.

Her slightly pointed ears suggested she was likely Erika, the person Arthur had mentioned.

“Probably the Grand Duke’s younger sister, a half-elf.”

Having completed his situation analysis, Cain drew back the arm holding the sealing spear.

The target was the monster wrestling with the White Beast.

At the instant the wolves and the monster distanced themselves.

Cain’s arm swung rapidly.

Aeekk-

The spear that left his hand cleaved the air.

The silver spear cut through the snowstorm and accurately embedded itself in the monster’s head.

Auwooooooo!

As the monster collapsed onto the snowfield, the White Beast’s howl echoed and the pack of wolves launched themselves.

The monster’s limbs were savagely torn apart.

A strange scene, compared to the situation when their blades were ineffective.

The wolves’ power would hardly be enough to penetrate and tear apart the monster. It was clear that the monster’s condition was weakened due to the sealing spear.

Satisfied with the situation being resolved, Cain walked steadily.

The people who should have been at Devalleta Castle had come this far.

It was unclear about Erika Devalleta, but Arthur and the others were all mana manifestors.

People who were struggling to block the front lines would not have recklessly ventured through the snowstorm disaster and come south without any thoughts.

“Either they’re looking for a way out, or they know a way to resolve this snowstorm.”

Having encountered them like this at the place where the strange light was seen, could it be that they know a way to resolve the snowstorm?

The Grand Duke’s younger sister was a quite precious figure.

Still, this person, even being a full mana manifestor, traveled this perilous land with only four knights.

“Special circumstances likely relate to that tree.”

The colossal tree-shaped form.

The top of the tree visible beyond the snowstorm was so high that even tilting your head back, your gaze couldn’t reach its peak.

Cain had a vague idea of the tree’s identity. Speaking to Erika after her treatment would clarify his doubts.

“The state of the sealing spear and the monster needs to be discussed with Empress Myna.”

The blue lightning that burst when the monster touched the spear—mere resistance against the power to disperse mana seemed a bit strange.

One of the materials for the sealing spear is a Bright Sect’s relic.

The relics possessed the Goddess’ power. So if it wasn’t resisting the mana-dispersing power, it meant the Sola’s power was in conflict with the monster.

“It resists sanctity.”

The snowstorm, the colossal tree, the monsters lurking around it, and the resistance against sanctity. The vague puzzle was falling into place.

A clichéd idea came to Cain’s mind, causing him to grin wryly.