After following Arakish out of the cave, I had to feel a thrill as I looked at the majestic snowfield and the snowy mountain rising like a backbone.
Because it was the moment when Harvadonia, an unknown land of bitter cold and eternal death, unfolded before my eyes.
To the west, the deserted coast stretched endlessly to the south, and on the ice floes, monstrous seals were crying ominously in herds.
“Is it really North of the Wall… … .”
“E-north, e-north, e-north.”
I trembled as I looked around all the scenery with Fifi.
It was cold enough to tear his skin, but thanks to the mysterious fire that Arakish had blown into his body, he was dressed in summer clothes, but it was cold but not cold.
That’s why, from the moment Pipi left the cave, she always tucked into my school uniform blouse, with only her head sticking out… … .
“Don’t fall behind, follow me.”
Overwhelmed by the scenery, I heard Arakish’s call to take the road ahead, and I moved on again.
“I have to walk for half a day. When the sun goes down, the dead wake up. Hurry up.”
Harvadonia also had the meaning of snowscape in ancient language.
This also means that it has been a snow-covered land since BC, and it was also the origin of countless heroic legends as it was the place where the final battles of ＜Things That Came＞ and ＜Forgotten Kings＞ took place.
Also, ‘scary stories’ that I used to listen to for discipline in my childhood often became the background here.
This land was inhabited by a group of cursed beings, the Beasts.
According to legend, beastmen are those who wandered on the border between the abyss and the light and were cursed by the gods to have a human soul and a beast body.
Considering that legend, it is not unreasonable that discipline such as ‘If you do bad things, you will be cursed and become a prisoner’ has become commonplace.
“Will the prisoners welcome us?”
When I asked cautiously, Arakish, who was striding across the ice field while holding Cassena, glanced back.
“No, I will tear it to shreds.”
Hmmm, as expected, it’s better to prepare your heart… … .
As a northerner, I know the long-standing resentment between the white wolves and the prisoners who protect ＜Seolryeongjangseong＞.
Baekrangdae called prisoners barbarians and blocked passage south of the barrier. I heard that they were killing each other.
“Of course, if it were just the two of you, that would have been the case. But now, this Arakish is with you, so there is no need to worry.”
Harbadonia.
An ancient land where the ‘Spider Lord, the Mystery of the Unholy’ was sealed.
Needless to say, the size of the area, which occupied 1/6 of the continent of Akrad, was really the worst that there was no road in that terrifying area.
Endless ice shelves, icebergs, and crevasses blocked my way like a maze. Every time I move 1 km in a straight line, it requires so much effort and time that it is difficult to explain.
“The depth of the abyss is really ridiculously thick.”
On top of that, if the air she inhaled hadn’t been filtered through magic control, the atmospheric concentration would have made her poisoned by the abyss and end up like Cassena.
Whoop, whoop, whoop.
In order to help the master struggle, the black sheep hanging from his neck flickered repeatedly, filling the main body with new mana.
“How on earth do the beasts live in a land like this?”
“That’s a stupid question.”
It sounded like scolding, but there was no childish emotion in Arakish’s voice, such as condemnation or booing. Rather, it was more like a kind sermon.
“I was given such a body by the gods in order to live here, but what’s the point if I can’t live?”
My head tilted at the bizarre answer.
Accept a body like that from the gods?
So you’re saying that you’re cursed? But I guess it wasn’t like that at all?
“Arrived.”
Just when he was about to get out of the waves of doubt and ask a question, Arakish stopped on top of a low iceberg and chinned his head.
“Wow… … .”
Standing next to him, I unknowingly let out an exclamation.
It was a glacial valley.
With low mountains on the left and right, I looked down at a village that seemed to have enough houses in a hundred households in an erosion valley where the ground surface was cut in a U shape.
「Rain Ludwig, engrave these words of Arakish in your heart.」
“yes?”
“As the time is, everyone is in a sensitive state. And those who chose the body of a beast for war cannot easily control their blood. Don’t do or say anything that could cause misunderstanding.”
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing a new face of the world, but as soon as I heard that, my heart pounding stopped.
And the warning was immediately confirmed as soon as I descended the slope to the foot of the mountain.
I didn’t hear any sound, but my spine trembled at the soundless approaching threat of murder.
“These children are not enemies.”
As Arakish said so, the cursed creatures emerged one by one from the snow.
There were about five of them, of various terrifying appearances, some with wolf’s heads, others with goat’s heads.
In addition to the shaggy fur that warded off the cold, he was wearing a poorly woven penguin or seal skin, and the werewolf, who seemed to be the leader, bared his fangs fiercely.
“Grrr… … What are those suspicious little boys?”
Perhaps because he had the oral cavity of an animal, his accent was on the stronger side compared to those south of the barrier, but there was no difficulty in hearing.
“These are the people that Arakish protects.”
“under! My father said he doesn’t harvest hairless animals.”
Such a grinning werewolf, like Keith and Bart, possessed the massive spirit that only warriors in mountain battles possess.
“They are miscellaneous things that may strike you in the back at any time.”
When we carefully glanced sideways and our eyes met, an animal-like feeling of fear came over me, and I averted my head from this side first.
“Why are you protecting little kids who don’t even know how they got into this land? Could it be an abyss spy?”
Well, no matter how you look at it, it must look suspicious. Two minors suddenly appeared from the north of the wall… … .
“Are you saying that this Arakish has lost the distinction between light and abyss?”
However, when Arakish narrowed his eyes and glared at the wolf, the wolf clicked his tongue annoyedly and took the lead as if guiding, as if the logic of power had worked.
While I followed Arakish, who entered the open road proudly, with quick steps, the beastmen warriors glared at me with bloody eyes, and Pippi hid her face inside her blouse.
There were no proper structures in the village of prisoners that had been entered like that.
Probably because there was no suitable wood or stone, most of the furniture was settled in a tent made of woven fur.
“Wow… … .”
It was a series of interesting discoveries.
It was a village full of vitality, but near the bonfire, young warriors were seen engaged in bare-handed fighting using claws.
I also saw young shepherds bringing sheep and goats with primitive traits. When our eyes met, they pointed their staffs menacingly and quickly ran away with crab steps.
‘They’re almost no different from humans, right?’
As I found out later, they say that beastmen can become warriors only when they are born with strong animal traits, just like the werewolves guiding the way.
Like the shepherds who passed by just now, the types with a very slight mixture of animal traits with human forms (rabbits with only ears, or dogs with only a nose) are said to work hard on housework, such as taking care of livestock like that.
“I am human… … .”
From noble mtl dot com
“The hairless beast… … .”
“Ominous… … .”
While Lane became the target of such deep-seated hostility, Alaqish expressed his sincere example to each beastman he met, as if it were a symbol of reverence.
“Dur bal aras. Welcome, Alakish. It’s been two months.”
The same was true of the owner of the most magnificent tent in the village, made of white bear skin.
It was an old fox with yellow fur that had lost its luster and even fell out in some places, but the body was that of a human, so I felt an instinctive disgust.
However, the fox’s gaze glancing at me didn’t show any such reluctance at all, and instead, it had a benevolent smile on it, making me feel ashamed.
“And you’ve brought rare guests, too.”
“I fell into the abyss. For stability, you need a warm bed and food. Can you give it to me?”
“If it’s Alakish-nim’s request, I’ll give it anything. Please eat inside.”
The inside of the tent was thick with steamy smoke from the furnace.
My eyes were stinging, but it was also so warm that my body, which had been strained by the cold, became listless and my legs almost gave up.
Even the floor was covered with thick fur to block the cold air coming up from the ground, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is truly a paradise on earth in this harsh cold land.
“Come this way.”
While Arakish laid Cassena on a bunk made of straw, the werewolf sat in front of the door as if blocking traffic and glanced at me repeatedly.
She smiled like an idiot, no, like an innocent kid, and sat comfortably next to Cassena as the chief said. It was unsettling, but that was it.
The werewolf narrowed his eyes nervously as if he was dissatisfied with the series of movements.
“Any way you look at it, it’s award-winning. He doesn’t look scared at all when he sees us. Even those damn fake wolves get scared when they see us for the first time.”
Perhaps fake wolf is a slang word for white wolf… … .
Of course, it’s not that I’m not afraid, but I have some tolerance because of the dead people I constantly met on my journey 300 years ago.
The dead that the lizard lord leads have a mixture of lizards and humans.
“Stop it, Barlzen. If Arakish-nim brought you here, wouldn’t it be right to welcome the captain wolf as well? Did you forget the favor Alakish gave you?”
“It’s not… … Sheesh, I definitely warned you. Don’t get fooled and then cry and fall for yourself.”
Still, the werewolf named Barljen took a step back, as if the popularity of Arakish and the authority of the chieftain were certain.
In the meantime, the chieftain’s daughter handed over a porcelain bowl full of soup cooked hot in the hearth. No, this… … .
The tense saliva went over to the temple. It may not be comparable to Arakish’s dragon food, but this is also a formidable enemy… … .
It was something reddish with repulsive floating particles of unknown origin, which human language could not explain.
If you eat this, Cassena will die of poison poisoning, 100%.
“Well, if you’re not rude, can I know what this is?”
“It’s a soup made with the brains of seals, and the intestines torn and put into the ingredients. It has a very excellent effect on nourishment and tonic.”
Isn’t it just plain meat soup? Is it because of the always poor living conditions in the polar regions?
no, wait
If it had been the same, I would have just closed my eyes and ate it for the sake of friendship, but I couldn’t open my mouth because of the fear of death that the dragon food I ate this morning had carved into my soul.
“Hey, this lady Cassena here has a weak body, so there are certain foods she needs to eat. If I have ingredients, can I cook them for you?”
It was an excuse to mention Cassena, but it worked surprisingly well. The werewolf shook his head.
“I need to know that hairless things are weak. If you eat something wrong, your internal organs will be damaged and you will die. How can you become a warrior to fight the abyss when you are so weak?”
The chief, unexpectedly, simply agreed, telling me that I could use the furnace and the food materials next to it to my heart’s content.
Thank you so much… … .
First of all, I am not good at cooking, but I have learned everything from the basics of camping cooking to the advanced level from Keith, who was a hunter with thick bones.
To explain her skill in one line, it could be said that even Friede, who only ate luxurious food as a priestess, acknowledged it.
“… … That’s how it happened.”
In the meantime, the chief who heard our story from Arakish nodded his head in agreement.
“In fact, even here we could see the Abyssal sunspots that had appeared south of the Wall… … Everyone could see that the situation was not serious.”
“Well, I can confirm it now. The abyss is waking up. I mean continentally.”
Then Barlzen laughed mockingly.
“Isn’t it ugly? They betrayed us saying that they could live well among themselves, and by now half the continent might have been razed to the ground. The hairless ones are all weaklings.”
Lane, who was preparing the bear meat in the kitchen overhearing the conversation, couldn’t help but tilt her head.
“Betrayal… … Are you saying humans betrayed beastmen?”
“Did you ask for something obvious?”
“I don’t mean to insult you, I know the opposite. In fact, it is written that way in every book.”
In an instant, I could feel the air in the tent getting colder.
Alas, was it a mistake… … I immediately shut my mouth, but the chief concluded my words with a bitter smile mixed with a sigh.
“The beastman was cursed by the gods and kicked out of the barrier while struggling between the light and the abyss… … You mean like this?”
I nodded cautiously, and Varlzen burst into a void of laughter, then looked me straight in the eye and exclaimed:
“Make sure to engrave that hairless ear well, damn kid. Our bodies are not like this because of a curse. It’s a blessing!”
The emotion in that cry against the truth prevailing all over the world was not remorse, anger, or hatred.
Just extremely high self-esteem.
It wasn’t the attitude of covering up the truth with sweet tricks unique to impostors, but it was confident as if it were just a matter of course.
“The sacred Elmine Knights, called the blades of the gods, the 1,000 elite assault force that served Enuel, who was the strongest among the five warriors! We are their descendants!”
It’s Enuel… … that Enuel?
When I stared at Arakish with startled eyes, Arakish closed his eyes as if that was the truth.
– I was given such a body by the gods to live here, but what’s the point if I can’t live?
what, then what happened? What information did I know so far?
In the chaos of cracking the world of common sense that had been built up so far, the emotion that passed through my head for a moment was a longing for true knowledge.
He bowed his head politely to the chieftain and Barlzen even though he was suffocating.
“Then everything I knew was a lie.”
“… … ?”
“Forgive me for my lack of knowledge and mistakes in words. And if you don’t mind, could you teach me the truth?”
The boy’s reaction made a special impression on Alaqish, while embarrassing Barlzen and the chief.
Most, no, all humans, the moment they heard this, they laughed and said, “Don’t say nonsense.” … .
That’s why the war is about to begin at the end of a lonely battle where each other can’t understand each other… … .
“Hey, what is this guy trying to do? f*ck it! Because I am not fooled!”
That’s why Barlzen couldn’t help but doubt that without clearing up his troubled mind, but the chief raised his hand.
“Varzen, it won’t do any harm to tell you in detail.”
“But Chieftain!”
“I’m embarrassed because it’s the first time I’ve had something like this, but isn’t it such a bad experience?”
Because he was stabbed to the point, Barlzen kept his mouth shut.
Why not? It’s the first time in my life that humans have listened to them, or even pretended to listen… … .
When Varzen lost his voice, the chief quietly turned to the lane and smiled.
“If you want, I will tell you our story. Please listen comfortably while making food.”