Chapter 115

115.

***

Arthur slowly opened his eyes.

The sensation he felt before losing consciousness was excruciating pain throughout his body. Having allowed the monstrous aberration to catch him off guard, he had suffered blows so severe that his insides felt like they were being torn apart.

It was a fatal injury from which there was no coming back.

He was well aware that death was imminent. Still, using his last ounce of strength, he had called for help before closing his eyes. But now…

He was still alive.

And he didn’t feel any pain.

‘…Could it be… I survived?’

His joy at still being alive was brief.

Arthur immediately recalled the screams of his beloved and rose to his feet.

It was an absurd situation.

Cain, who should be in the center, was inexplicably in the middle of the northern territories, and he had just happened to save the group from peril.

There was relief and gratitude.

And a sense of reverence.

A swirl of complex emotions overtook him. Arthur collected himself, then turned his head toward the rustling noises and appetizing scents that had been reaching his ears since he woke.

“Oh my, you’re awake.”

“Arthur? Arthur!”

Erika rushed into Arthur’s arms.

Even through his winter attire, he could feel her light weight being added to him. With his heightened senses, he could clearly perceive the warmth and softness of his lover.

Reaffirming that he was still alive, Arthur spoke.

“Miss Erika, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you. Your whole body was soaked in blood.”

Erika, speaking without her usual formality, showed how deeply moved she was.

Arthur gently patted her back to signal her to calm down, quietly gritting his teeth as he did.

‘…I’m weak.’

He had joined the Winter Tree Knights and become a mana user. Life in the capital was nothing compared to this—it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

In the north, neither the stigma of a traitor’s family nor that of a fallen noble mattered.

There was only one question:

Could he fight against fear?

Fortunately, Arthur had been able to suppress his terror and swing his sword against the monster.

A hidden talent, dormant until now, had finally awakened in the north. But this was not some fairy tale.

It was simply the intense memories from the capital that had managed to move his frozen body.

As a junior officer, he had always headed to the front lines. Over a long period, he earned the respect of his comrades, and before he knew it, he had been inducted into the Knights.

When he eventually gained the ability to see mana with his own eyes, people celebrated and raised their cups as if it were their own achievement.

The Knights proudly patted him on the shoulder, and soldiers playfully saluted, saying they would stand by him until the end.

It was the same when they departed Devalleta Castle.

In front of the endless flame at the castle’s center, Pesaha Devalleta, moving despite her fragile health, had come to entrust her younger sister to him.

Arthur had sworn to Pesaha that he would protect Erika at all costs.

But… he had not kept his promise.

Having reached the limits of human potential, he was still weak.

‘Damn it…’

He needed more strength.

To protect Erika and save the north from crisis, he had to grow stronger. Was there a way?

“Thank goodness. Arthur… If the Empress hadn’t been here…”

Erika’s muttering brought Arthur out of his thoughts. An Empress? In Altain, the title of Empress was only given to one person.

As Arthur turned his head with a mix of disbelief, the rosy-haired woman holding a bowl greeted him with a gentle smile.

“How are you feeling?”

“…Empress Myna.”

The rosy-haired woman who had been accompanying Cain. Could it be that the Empress of the Church was here?

This confused Arthur quite a bit but he accepted it as it was. The reason he was still alive despite such a fatal wound had to be due to the miracles of the Empress.

It wasn’t possible for the Empress not to be involved, given that the husband of the Empress had appeared, too.

Arthur briefly pushed Erika away and drew a holy sign from old memories. Myna smiled gently and offered him the bowl in her hand.

“Since Sir Ildan’s incident in the cathedral, it’s been the first time, hasn’t it? Please have this first.”

“Is this…”

“Because we’ll be moving right after you’ve eaten. The others have already finished.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

Arthur’s eyes widened as he took a sip of the soup.

Arthur, and Erika, as the second daughter of a grand ducal family, didn’t know how to cook. This soup had to have been made by the Empress herself. Though it looked like ordinary soup, it tasted exquisite.

Soup made by the hands of the Empress.

Indeed, her cooking skills matched her beautiful appearance. A sense of reverence welled up in him.

Arthur gulped the soup as if drinking it.

As the warm food filled his stomach, vitality spread throughout his body, and his slightly dazed consciousness became perfectly clear.

After tidying up the empty bowl, Arthur picked up his neatly arranged baggage from the corner.

“I was told we’d depart immediately.”

Looking around, in the cozy hollow where only Myna and Erika were seated by the campfire, there was no one else.

Arthur emerged from the hollow, along with the two women who had finished cleaning up, and instinctively placed his hand on his sword.

The sight that greeted them was a pack of wolves encircling their hollow.

After the snowstorm, the corrupted beasts had changed and surrounded their location.

The reason Arthur hesitated, sword still sheathed, was due to the imposing presence in the very center of the wolfpack.

While inside the hollow had been peaceful, outside the snowstorm still battered everything. The only blessing was that objects were now more clearly visible than in the night.

Thus, he could see clearly.

A white wolf, far larger than others, twice or thrice their size. And atop the wolf sat a young man with black hair.

“Duke Macbilian…”

At Arthur’s muttering, Cain turned his head.

“Awake already? Choose a wolf and get on.”

Ride a wolf?

In a daze, Arthur looked around. Everyone was already mounted on wolves, sitting calmly on their backs.

***

The unexpected appearance of Cain in the north was surprising.

The idea of riding corrupted beasts across the snowy plains was equally astonishing.

Arthur thought that no matter what happened next, he wouldn’t be surprised anymore. Surely, that’s how it should have been—until now.

“…”

An intense pressure that shook his heart deeply. Arthur barely managed to stop himself from instinctively grabbing the hilt of his sword.

‘Could this be the kind of energy a human could produce?’

Cain suddenly drew his sword while observing the giant trees.

At that moment, the mana spread throughout the world gathered around him. A storm of mana, was it? Just standing in the same space made Arthur’s skin tingle.

Arthur couldn’t tell if the cold wind cutting across his face was from the snowstorm or the side effects of the mana storm.

Turning his gaze slightly, he saw the other two knights pale-faced, gripping their swords tightly. To regular people like Erika and Empress Myna, it seemed they couldn’t even perceive Cain’s overwhelming presence.

Arthur could clearly feel the level Cain had reached. A realm so far beyond him that it was unattainable.

‘Swordmaster?’

The ultimate destination that mana manifesters are supposed to reach.

Having glimpsed it, Arthur’s expression stiffened.

The memory of the strongest person etched in his mind. The composed figure of a young man standing amidst a sea of blood in the lower levels. That memory suddenly resurfaced.

‘…Of course.’

While Arthur was forming this resolution, Cain, adjusting his mana-infused sword, spoke.

“They’re coming. Everyone, be ready.”

“What’s coming? Monsters?”

Startled by Cain’s words, Nia looked around.

A world of endless white battered by the snowstorm.

Apart from the ghostly howling of the wind, nothing out of the ordinary could be seen or heard—no signs of monstrous anomalies.

“Their presence feels similar to the ones that attacked last night. Nia and Empress Myna, focus on defense if possible. Don’t dismount from the wolf pack, and we’ll have to use delay tactics. Charles, the two of them are in your hands.”

“Yes, Master.”

Cain continued.

“I’ve fought these beasts directly before, you know. Lady Erica, stick with the knights and avoid direct confrontation as much as you can. It’ll be better to prioritize evasive maneuvers, taking advantage of the wolf’s mobility.”

“…Yes! Understood!”

With Erica’s response, tension visibly settled over everyone present.

Beyond the snowstorm, blurry shapes could be seen.

The chilling sound of the wind was interrupted by a terrifying howl.

Arthur quickly turned his eyes toward the approaching presence.

“That’s…!”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A faint vibration could be felt beneath the earth.

The size of three grown men combined. A body of black muscle densely packed. Three of those bizarre monsters appeared.

Did Cain detect their presence earlier? Arthur hurriedly spoke.

“Everyone, be careful! The first strike of those beasts is…!”

Before Arthur could finish his sentence, the leading creature suddenly crouched down. Then, in the blink of an eye, it vanished while dodging.

And just like that.

The monster appeared right in front of Cain.

Swoosh—

A devastating attack delivered at superhuman speed. The monster’s claws gleamed dangerously, poised to pierce Cain’s heart.

It was clear that Cain would be severely injured. Even the wolf he was riding reacted a beat too late to the beast’s movement.

Arthur swiftly moved his own wolf, intending to sever at least one of the monster’s arms.

“Quick reflexes.”

As Cain muttered quietly, his figure momentarily blurred.

Tearrr.

Bang!

The monster with its arm severed was hurled away with a loud crash.

“…!”

Arthur froze in disbelief at the absurd result. What just happened?

The monster’s arm, severed and lying in front of Cain. Far away, the grotesque torso tumbled in the snowy field, its midriff caved in.

The relaxed gesture of Cain as he shook his left hand lightly.

‘Did he predict the speed and trajectory of the monster?’

In a single fluid motion, he had severed the advancing monster’s arm and inflicted another devastating blow.

Though Arthur could see the monster’s movements, he had completely missed Cain’s.

Realizing this shocking fact sent a chill down his spine.

“Nia! They seem fairly unintelligent, so just be cautious when they crouch.”

“I’ll try taking one on! Don’t worry!”

With a quick command, Cain darted forward with the White Beast.

First, he crushed the head of the monster with a smashed midriff, then systematically cut down the two other oncoming ones.

Swish.

The sword smoothly penetrated the bodies of the monsters.

He first chopped off their arms to strip them of attack power, then severed their legs to incapacitate their movement.

Stepping on the thrashing heads of the defeated beasts, Cain steadied his breathing.

‘I’ve grown even stronger.’

Perhaps from absorbing the mana from the monsters he defeated the previous day.

His sword energy had grown even sharper. Unlike last night, when it only rang with noise, his blade now easily carved through the bodies of the creatures.

Though somewhat queasy from absorbing the corrupted mana, he was still growing stronger as usual.

‘Not bad.’

The north was teeming with monstrous aberrations.

For Cain, the north was nothing more than a hunting ground for rapid growth.

A brief memory of an RPG game he briefly played in his past life surfaced. Amused by the sudden thought, Cain patted White Beast’s head and smiled.

“Let’s go.”

“Woou!”

The presence of the monstrous aberrations could be felt.

Even dozens of them to be precise.

Turning toward the overtly hostile vibes that felt like pricks on his skin, Cain saw dozens of creatures crawling on the black trees.

Had they noticed him looking at them?

The creatures that were clinging suddenly began leaping all at once.

The tentacles swayed left and right. Hard, shield-like backs unfolded as wings trembled.

Watching the wave of creatures swarming toward the snow-covered field, Cain muttered his thoughts.

“…Cockroaches?”