[Brikala.]
Different from now.
Silbern Caldias, with her calm and low-pitched voice, said so.
[It’s the name of the beast that the first Wolfdren Caldias hunted when he established a base in the north.]
‘Brikala?’
[The guardian of the ice thunder? Well, I remember it meant something like that. That’s why the name of the great clan lord was also taken from it.]
[It was a calamity. At that time, I couldn’t even think of confronting it with my skills.]
‘That much?’
[You wouldn’t have said that if you had seen it yourself.]
Kwaaaaah!
The roar of the beast buries Silbern’s voice in the memories.
The falling thunderbolts from all directions seemed to protect Brikala, and in its eyes on the spire, the relatively weakened Malidan Wall was reflected.
“Ru, run away-!”
Isaac grabs Sharen’s back as she mutters.
He shouts at Sharen, who is terrified, gritting his teeth.
“If we run away, who will fight that thing?!”
“……!”
“I know it’s scary, but we have to.”
If the wall collapses here, the front line will be breached. Then, who knows how far the damage will spread.
At the very least, the nearby villages would be annihilated.
The only saving grace was that the creature was injured.
Blood dripped down the spire, and the roar was accompanied more by pain than threat.
But, on the other hand.
‘It’s still like that even with such injuries.’
The death throes.
The sight of it squeezing out all its remaining strength seemed like something beyond the scale of a beast.
“Where’s the captain?”
He looks for the captain in charge of the remaining troops.
However, Jonathan, in a daze, answers.
“He, he was over there on the spire.”
Even from this distance, the current makes my skin tingle and numb.
If he was on the spire right under the beast, it’s safe to assume he’s already dead.
“Raise your spears!”
Isaac shouts roughly.
Desperately trying not to be buried under Brikala’s thunder.
“The main force is coming! Hold the line so it doesn’t breach the wall!”
Isaac, who has seen the battlefield with the Transcendental Tribe several times.
It would be nice if we could act according to the pre-arranged command system even in such a chaotic situation.
But the commander’s fate is unknown, and it’s unclear who the next in command is.
In times like this, the one with the loudest voice should take the flag to quickly sort things out.
“Raise your spears!”
“Hold the wall!”
“The main force will arrive soon!”
As Helmunth’s son-in-law and a comrade who has been together until now.
Isaac was trustworthy enough, so everyone started to follow his lead.
Brikala also snorted when it saw the troops gathering around Isaac.
The current in its breath crackled threateningly.
Electricity began to fill its body again, and the thick muscles’ veins bulged.
“Spread out! Spread out-!”
At the urgent cry, the soldiers began to run and scatter on the wall.
In an instant, like a falling thunderbolt, Brikala landed where the troops had just been densely packed.
Kwaaaang!
Part of the wall was damaged, but not enough to lose its form.
Dust, debris, and electricity scattered everywhere.
In the midst of it, Brikala’s gaze turned to Isaac standing in front.
“Grrr.”
Crackle!
“Ugh!”
Being close, it wasn’t just a simple sting.
It was unbearable to stand in front, especially as my eyes felt like they were burning.
But I couldn’t close my eyes.
At that moment, Brikala’s fist would mercilessly cover my entire body.
“Flame Slash!”
When everyone was frozen by Brikala’s pressure and electricity.
Surprisingly, the first to move was the youngest girl here.
The crimson slash from her greatsword engulfed Brikala.
The poured crimson energy swallowed the surrounding electricity and reached Brikala, but.
“Kryaaaah!”
Brikala knocked it away and angrily slammed its fist on the ground.
“Why is it like that?!”
Sharen’s cry at the excessive reaction.
But Isaac had a guess.
“Because Lianna and Helmunth’s knights were the main force. It must be resentful of you using the same power.”
Among the wounds on its body, there must be some made by Helmunth.
Indeed, Brikala’s gaze was now fixed on Sharen.
Snorting electric breath, it charged with its four hands on the ground.
“Jonathan, help!”
“Glory to the great Helmunth!”
Jonathan hurriedly stood by Sharen’s side, planting his greatsword on the ground like a wall.
Seeing that, Sharen also took the same stance, bracing her greatsword with her shoulder.
Kwaaang!
Brikala’s fist slammed into both their greatswords at once.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Cough! Ugh!”
They withstood the brute force head-on, but barely.
The crimson energy from both formed a sturdy wall, but.
The beast had four fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seizing the opportunity, a relentless barrage followed.
“Do something!”
“I think I’m gonna die!”
Before they could shout, Isaac was already leaping forward.
Stepping on Jonathan’s shoulder, he jumped up.
Floating above, looking down at the beast’s head, Isaac drew his sword despite the electricity coursing through his body.
‘I won’t mess up this time.’
To make up for the mistake he made with Northemus, he practiced over and over.
The most powerful strike Isaac could deliver now.
The moment the sword is drawn from its sheath, it’s called ‘Iaido.’
The sharp blade silently sliced through the electricity, flying towards the beast’s thick neck.
Swish!
Clearly, it cut.
Isaac didn’t make a mistake.
A clean ‘Iaido’ that even a grandmaster would applaud, aimed perfectly, but.
Crackle!
Only a scar too pitiful to be called one remained on the thick neck.
‘The blade was damaged by the electricity?!’
Even the brief moment of drawing couldn’t withstand it.
Made too light to meet Isaac’s demands.
It was ridiculously light, but conversely, its durability was pitiful.
“Kyaaaah!”
The beast roared in rage.
It knew too.
In that brief moment, its neck almost got severed.
One of the beast’s hands, reaching for the greatsword, changed trajectory towards Isaac.
For a moment, he thought he was dead.
But.
The beast’s fist stopped just before reaching Isaac.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
While the attention was diverted, other soldiers stabbed their spears into the beast’s back.
Thanks to that, Isaac, untouched by the fist, could land and sighed in relief.
“Is Isaac okay?!”
“Thank goodness!”
The two approached Isaac, who was catching his breath with his hand on the ground.
About to apologize for wasting the golden opportunity they created, when.
“…Isn’t it cold?”
Isaac muttered as he swept the ground with his hand.
The lingering electricity still made his hand tingle, but a chill pierced through his skin.
“Of course it’s cold-!”
Sharen’s mouth, which was about to say something, closed.
She realized that the white smoke spreading around wasn’t just from the commotion but was artificially created.
“What is going on?!”
“Ugh! It’s cold!”
The cold pierced through even the numbness from the battle.
Isaac’s eyes widened as he recalled the story he had told the two of them in the past.
‘The first Caldias deliberately placed a climate-manipulating magic on the barrier to protect the kingdom.’
What if there was something more?
Perhaps the barrier sensed danger and activated some magic.
Or maybe the unstable spell, swept up by the enemy’s lightning, went out of control.
Whatever it was.
“Get out of the barrier!”
It’s dangerous to stay here.
Crackle! Crackle!
A chilling, freezing sound came from somewhere.
The soles of their boots stuck to the ground and wouldn’t come off easily.
The northern boots were tough and sturdy, so they managed to pull them off with some effort.
But if they didn’t get away from the barrier immediately, they would freeze solid.
“Kreeeaaak!”
Brikala’s scream echoed from behind.
Turning his head, Isaac saw Brikala struggling, his flesh tearing as he tried to pull his foot free.
The barrier’s cold was affecting him too.
‘Wait, if we can trap him here—’
We can stop him.
Not only that, but we can also freeze him solid and subdue him.
Going down together would be even more dangerous.
It would give him a wider area to rampage in, compared to the barrier.
‘This is unexpected.’
Always.
He had only ever seen the backs of his comrades rushing into life-and-death battles.
Mukgeom Isaac.
Many praised him for his great wisdom.
But in reality, Isaac often stood dumbfounded, watching their struggles and feeling powerless.
He always asked himself.
Could I do that too?
If I were to hold a sword and fight directly.
Could I march into the pit of fire without hesitation?
‘This is really unexpected.’
Literally.
Because there was no time to think.
Isaac was already running toward Brikala.
‘All I have is a sword and a pulse line.’
What he drew was the pulse line.
The sword wouldn’t work against the enemy’s electric current.
Holding the pulse line with both hands, he stood in front of Brikala. The creature tried to jump down into the castle to escape the barrier.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Isaac swung the pulse line, cutting deep into Brikala’s thigh.
The wound was long, but no blood flowed.
Because the wound froze faster than the blood could flow.
“Grrr!”
Was that why?
Brikala didn’t seem to be in much pain, and he swung his arm to swat Isaac away like a fly.
But Isaac, anticipating the reaction, quickly stepped back and aimed his sword at the creature.
“Kraaaah!”
Another roar.
It seemed like Brikala was throwing a question at Isaac, who was blocking his way down from the barrier.
If we stay here like this.
We’ll both die.
“Huh.”
He tried to twist his lips into a smile, but his cheeks were too stiff.
His black hair was covered in white frost. Hypothermia was setting in, and his strength was fading.
Yet, Isaac didn’t back down.
“Either one of us dies—”
Or both of us die.
He couldn’t finish the sentence due to the cold that felt like it would freeze his lungs, but his intent was clear enough.
Brikala, emitting lightning, charged at him.
And then.
A two-colored red light poured from behind.
“Ah, seriously!”
Sharen, clad in crimson light, looked much better off than the other two.
She wrapped the red light around her like armor.
It was a common method, but the intricate and precise red light, woven like a net, partially blocked the abnormal cold.
It was the red light Sharen had created to avoid shivering in the cold, like when she fought Polu and Seolin.
“Why did you run off alone?!”
As Sharen approached, Isaac also felt his body warming.
Her red light had an effect, and his trembling hands steadied a bit.
Another red light.
A sticky, dark red one, belonging to Jonathan.
But unlike the usual unstable, hole-riddled version.
It was wild and fierce, like a beast.
Brikala, hit by it, slid back across the barrier.
“Isaac-nim—!”
Jonathan, standing beside him.
His eyes, devoid of whites, completely black, were a form Isaac had seen before.
“Hah! Hah! Wh-what if—! If I become a Transcendental—!”
As Jonathan pleaded, Isaac smacked the back of his head and shouted.
“Your heart is made of roses! Get a grip!”
At those words, Jonathan bit his lip with his elongated fangs and shouted.
“Kuuuuu! Glory to the great Helmunth! My heart is made of roses!”
“…That’s insane.”
Sharen, a direct descendant of Helmunth, muttered, but Jonathan pretended not to hear.
In any case, his obsession with Helmunth was keeping him sane.
The two red lights of different colors wrapped around Isaac.
Thanks to that, he could endure the cold to some extent.
“Grrr.”
The problem was that the intelligent beast saw it as an opportunity.
Blue crystals fell like snow, parting the dense fog.
It was mana.
An enormous amount of mana, visible to the naked eye, was gathering toward the creature.
“Gasp!”
“I-it’s shaking.”
Sharen and Jonathan were momentarily terrified, and even Isaac, who was unfamiliar with mana, could feel the density and volume of the creature’s mana through his skin.
And then.
“Kraaaaaah!”
A massive blue lightning bolt crashed down toward Brikala’s head.
At first, it seemed like self-harm.
No, he definitely took damage.
But.
“Kraaah!”
Drool dripped down.
A scene that would have been trivial and ordinary under normal circumstances.
“It’s not freezing.”
At Isaac’s muttering, the two nodded in surprise.
The creature’s drool wasn’t freezing.
The lightning enveloping his body was incomparably more intense than before.
The thick white smoke didn’t even come close to Brikala.
Even while taking damage, he was overcoming the cold by enveloping himself in lightning.
Like.
“Th-that’s like my method.”
Like how Sharen used the red light to drive away the cold.
Now free to move again, Brikala charged at the three with heavy footsteps.
