VOLUME 13: CHAPTER 17

The marshland where the newly discovered ruins stood had become frozen by the time Lark's group returned to the surface.

Strong winds and blowing snow resulted in low visibility in the area.

"Another blizzard," muttered General Marduk.

Now that he'd thought of it, the Republic of Everfrost always suffered from harsh cold during the winter season.

The Republic wasn't located in the far north like the Principality, but its winters were fierce enough to deter even the advance of the imperial army.

Although there were no official records, there were beliefs passed down through word of mouth that the nation derived its name from the extreme winter it had experienced over a hundred years ago.

Was it related to the Ice Elemental Lord?

After visiting the ancient city, General Marduk started considering this possibility.

"Your Majesty," said General Marduk.

"Hm?"

"Do Elementals have the ability to influence seasons and weather by themselves?"

"They do."

"Then this weather…."

"The sealed Ice Elemental Lord definitely plays a role."

"…But it's been sealed, no? How could something that's slumbering, moreover sealed, have so much influence on our nation's weather?"

"I do not know the answer myself, General. But I'm certain that an Elemental has the ability to alter and influence the weather within its territory."

"…I see."

For the first time, General Marduk felt that the name Everfrost truly fit this nation.

As long as that Ice Elemental Lord remained sealed right below their nation, they would continue to experience harsh cold during the winter season.

Who would have thought that the cause of the brutal winters they'd been experiencing each year was an Elemental Lord sleeping right beneath the Republic?

Each year, hundreds of people die from the freezing cold during winter.

The need to stay warm was so severe that the citizens learned to stockpile firewood months before autumn. Otherwise, the commoners wouldn't be able to afford them at all.

A few years ago, General Marduk met a merchant from the Principality. According to that merchant, the Republic's winter seemed even colder than their nation, which was located in the far north.

Back then, General Marduk simply dismissed the notion. He found the merchant's words absurd. But now, he started considering the idea that there might be truth to the merchant's statement.

"I wish I could escort you all the way back to Quraso City," said General Marduk. "But after seeing everything… Hah… it feels presumptuous to even say it."

Even now, General Marduk could still vividly remember everything that occurred when they entered the main nest of the arachnias.

Each of those giant spiders could probably rip him to shreds. And even if by chance he managed to kill one of them, he would still need to deal with over a dozen more others.

The brood mother at the center of the nest, in particular, was a creature straight from nightmares.

General Marduk heaved an audible sigh of relief when Lark said on their way back that the creature was dying.

After witnessing how those giant spiders simply screeched but didn't dare attack Lark while he took one of their eggs, the General gave up on even pretending that they were escorting Lark's group.

"Then, this will be where we'll part ways," said Lark.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

General Marduk fixed his military uniform. After deeply breathing in out, he bowed and said in a loud voice, "We suffered no casualties in this expedition. As the General of the army, I sincerely thank you, King Lark."

The other soldiers looked uncomfortable seeing their highest-ranking military official bowing his head to the King of another nation, but General Marduk ignored them.

Although they disguised it as an escort mission, it was true that they would have suffered a lot of casualties had Lark and Vulcan not suppressed the arachnias on the second floor of the dungeon.

"I'm the one who should be grateful," said Lark. "You allowed us to enter the ruins belonging to the Republic, after all."

"Belonging to the Republic…," muttered the General.

Right now, he was honestly not sure about that.

Although it was located below the Republic, it was a city that the witches had been protecting for hundreds of years.

Did the Republic even have the right to claim that city as their own?

Such thoughts plagued the General's mind, but he didn't voice them out loud.

Nothing good would come if someone of his status openly questioned the claims of the Republic to Ist' Tamat.

The General slowly raised his head. "I'll be reporting everything to the higher-ups later."

"Of course."

Lark didn't mind even if Senator Sima and the High Magistrate hear of everything that occurred in the ancient city.

It would even be for the best if the recount of everything that occurred in the ancient city came from General Marduk's mouth. That way, it would have more credibility.

"Then, see you on the upcoming assembly, Your Majesty."

"Take care, General."

After that, Lark's group left the frozen marshland.

***

A message from the Five Courts greeted Lark upon his return to the Nasty Bucket.

According to the message, due to the sudden arrival of a blizzard, the assembly was pushed back by several days.

The Republic did not have a way to transport the high-ranking officials currently stationed outside the capital safely.

In order to avoid accidents, they decided to travel only during the day, when there was at least some visibility.

"Is this really fine with you?" said Vulcan in a displeased voice. "Even the Dwarven King has to come immediately whenever I summon him, but these damn humans…."

"I agree with Lord Dragon!" said Lady Alice. "Including the day we arrived in the capital, and the two days we've spent in Ist' Tamat, that'll be more than a week of waiting!"

Lark didn't expect the witches to readily agree to Vulcan's words. It felt as though they had pent-up rage against the Republic.

Fleur snarled, "If you give me the order, I'll storm the damn senate – or the Five Courts, whatever they call it! I'll personally bash their heads in!"

"That's right!"

"Let's show them the consequence for disrespecting our King Lark!"

"How dare they make our King Lark wait this long! Those rude bastards!"

When did he start being 'their' King Lark?

After Lark showed his past life's memories to them, the witches suddenly turned into fanatics.

They were so obsessed with the fact that he was the master of their ancestor.

It felt like Blackie had split its soul into several pieces and infused them into the bodies of these witches.

The change was so drastic that Lark couldn't even find it funny.

Personally, he preferred how they treated him before. At the very least, they still treated him as a person back then.

"They're probably busy digesting the information passed to them by the General and his soldiers," said Shahaneth.

"Heh~ how bold," said Agnus. "They dare make us wait this long under the pretext of a mere blizzard, huh?"

Vulcan growled. "I'm getting angry when I think of it. And I don't like waiting for mere bugs! Maybe we should just burn this entire city down!"

"I agree, Lord Dragon!" said Lady Alice. "After those fools die, I'll turn them into ghouls and order them to rampage throughout the Republic!"

Fleur chuckled, "Hehehe, how evil, Lady Alice. But I like it!"

The explorers, who'd been silently eating at the corner of the tavern, nervously looked at each other.

What was happening?!

No one was sane in this group anymore!

The explorers from Zenith had already accepted the fact that the Dragons were prideful creatures. Those legendary beings would never consider humans their equal.

But the witches? At the very least, the explorers expected them to make sane decisions since they were still part of the human race.

But for some reason, the witches had turned into bloodthirsty fanatics who were easily triggered whenever the issue was involving the King.

Just what the hell happened for them to turn into people like these?

Where did the aloof, mysterious-looking witches go?!

Raiga whispered to his party members, "… H-hey, should we run?"

"What? What are you saying! We've come this far!" Karlo whispered back.

Raiga's pupils shook as he quickly scanned the room. The shieldbearer was close to pissing himself right now.

"But you heard them, too, didn't you! I don't know what kind of curse afflicted them in the dungeon, but they'd turned into bloodthirsty murderers!"

Aster tilted his head. Not bothering to lower his voice, he said innocently, "They don't look like murderers to me though? And the witches kinda became funny, hehehe…."

"W-Wha… K-Kid!"

"Shut him up!"

"Mmmph!"

The explorers looked around. They froze upon seeing the witches and the Dragons looking in their direction.

"Ha… Haha," said Ludwig. He felt like he would have a heart attack right now. "We we're talking about General Marduk and his men. D-Don't they look scary?"

Raiga added in desperation, "Y-Yeah! General Marduk is quite notorious in the Republic, you see! Soldier of Justice, my ass! He, he'd killed a lot of explorers before under the orders of Senator Sima! He wasn't called the Senate's Sword for nothing!"

Scared shitless, Raiga started spouting unnecessary words. He felt like he needed to fill in the silence, otherwise, he would be ripped into shreds by the Dragons and the witches.

Lark, who sat at the same table as the Dragons, said, "The General had killed numerous explorers before?"

Ludwig nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. They say that man has an infallible sense of justice, but in reality, he's nothing but a mindless puppet of the Senate. Imagine hunting down explorers just because the Senate ordered you to. Does that sound like justice to you?"

Lark remembered his first meeting with the explorers.

At that time, they were also being chased by the army led by General Marduk.

If Lark hadn't interfered, these explorers would have probably been captured back then – or worse, executed. 

Or maybe the explorers had a few aces up their sleeves and they would have managed to escape from their pursuers?

"General Marduk unconditionally follows the orders of the Senate," said Lark. "But judging by his personality, he's someone who would never lie, correct?"

"I believe so, Your Majesty," said Ludwig.

"Then, that's enough," said Lark.

The General would be crucial in the negotiations during the assembly. They needed someone from the Republic to authenticate Lark's words and his story.

Lark turned to the Dragons and the witches, "And regarding the date of the assembly, don't dwell too much on it."

Vulcan clicked his tongue.

Lady Alice protested, "But to make you wait this long!"

Lark smiled.

"It's fine. A few days of idling around wouldn't hurt. And besides, the blizzard would probably get stronger since we have an Ice Elemental Lord sleeping underneath this nation. Not all humans are capable of withstanding the cold. We should be grateful the officials are willing to travel all the way to Quraso in the middle of this snowstorm."

The other Elementals were probably affecting the weather in the Republic, too. But due to being several times more powerful than its kin, the Ice Elemental Lord had the greatest influence to the weather of the Republic.

The explorers nodded. They were glad that Lark was sensible, at least.

Lark stood up. "The food was delicious. Thank you."

"We're, w-we're glad to hear you like it, Your Majesty."

The inn owners and the server wore the same expressions as the explorers. They, too, felt uneasy when they heard the vindictive plans of the Dragons and the Witches.

Thankfully, Lark wasn't crazy like the other members of his group.

They didn't know what they would do if he suddenly said, 'Kekeke! Bash their heads in? That sounds fantastic!'

They would probably faint on the spot if that happened.

"Going somewhere?" said Vulcan.

"Yes," said Lark. "I'll check on how the Coalition Army is doing at the outskirts of the capital. Although the elven and dwarven mages are quite decent in barrier magic, it must be hard for them to protect thousands of people from the blizzard."

Hearing this, all three Dragons broadly grinned. They remembered something amusing.

"How about that stupid snake? That Scylla, King Lark," said Vulcan sinisterly. "It's proficient in all types of magic, no? It should be capable of erecting a barrier, too."

Agnus giggled. "Father, that's assuming it still has enough energy to perform the spell!"

Even Shahaneth laughed when she heard the conversation between her brother and father.

"Hahahaha!" laughed Vulcan. "Serves it right! Ahhh, I feel so happy whenever I think of it. Hehe… Kehehehe!"

Hearing that it was related to Blackie, Lark felt this was something he should be concerned about. He asked the Dragons what this was all about.

Broadly smiling, the Dragons recounted everything that happened while Lark was exploring the city two days ago.

Lark finally realized why the Dragons looked so happy back then.

Schadenfreude.

They were celebrating the Scylla's despair as it failed to learn the polymorph spell.

"Blackie tried learning polymorph…," said Lark.

"Hehehe… yes, King Lark," said Agnus.

Lark looked in the direction of the eastern gate.

He could understand the Dragon's animosity against Blackie. But in the end, the seven-headed creature was still something left behind by his two disciples.

Although it was considered as a mere monster by many, for Lark, it was something close to a grandchild.

No matter how problematic the Scylla may be, it would always have a special place in Lark's heart.

He couldn't bear to just let it be, now that he'd heard its predicament from the Dragons.

After bidding a short farewell to his group, Lark left the inn and flew toward the camp of the Coalition Army.

***

The blizzard spared no one.

Even the Coalition Army stationed at the outskirts of Quraso felt the blizzard's wrath.

"Is… this really alright?"

"I don't know… we'll probably die if we disturb it right now."

Two elves trudged through the snow-covered ground. They were the 'sacrificial' duo tasked to speak to the Scylla.

Every time they spoke, vapor came out of their mouths. They were covered by thick clothes from head to toe, but they were still shivering regardless.

The cold the blizzard carried was brutally abnormal.

"Those arrogant dwarves! Why are they asking us to approach that… that monster alone!"

"Enough. We lost the bet. We have no choice but to ask it for help if we wish to maintain the barrier."

"Argh! Damn it! This is why I told them not to agree to it!"

An hour ago, the dwarves and the elves made a bet in order to decide who would speak to the seven-headed creature.

They'd accompanied King Lark for quite some time now, and everyone in the Coalition Army was already aware of the Scylla's temperament.

It was egotistical, cruel, and prideful.

The Scylla was a creature that wouldn't back down even when facing several Dragons.

Among the members of the Coalition Army, it was probably the most dangerous.

Unfortunately, the elves lost the bet, and now the duo ended up with the task of delivering the message.

"Ah… Achooo!"

"Huff… huff… what's wrong with the snow in this country!"

The two elves continued walking eastward. And after almost an hour of walking, they finally reached their destination.

The Scylla had been staying in this place, away from the Coalition Army's camp, ever since it failed to master a certain spell.

According to rumors, the Scylla was trying to mimic the polymorph spell of the Dragons.

Unfortunately, maybe due to a difference in constitution, the Scylla couldn't learn the spell no matter what it did.

Unable to accept this reality, the Scylla had been meditating in this place ever since.

The Scylla didn't move even when snow started falling. It didn't move even when strong winds and blowing snow started hitting its body.

It's undying will to master the polymorph spell so it could accompany Lark was impressive, but it's also one of the reasons why approaching it now was no different from suicide.

Under normal circumstances, the elves and the dwarves wouldn't even dare disturb it.

But what choice did they have?

The blizzard was so strong that the barrier magic covering their camp couldn't keep up.

"This is where the Scylla is… right?"

"I can't see anything, but this is probably it."

Their visibility was near zero, but with their keen senses, they could feel they were in the right place.

The two elves looked at each other. After gulping down the lumps in their throat, they started kowtowing on ground.

They no longer cared if it was cold. They needed to endure this much lest they angered the Scylla.

"L-Lord Blackie! Please help us erect a barrier!"

"We've reached our limit! The moment the barrier breaks, our soldiers will freeze to their deaths!"

Entering the city was out of the question.

Their numbers aside, the Republic wouldn't let an army enter their city due to security reasons.

The only way for them to survive this blizzard was to maintain the barrier protecting their camp.

"Lord Blackie! Please! Help us!"

"Please help us!"

Their shouts were immediately muffled by the strong winds.

Did the Scylla hear them?

They decided to shout once again.

"Lord Blackie! Plea—"

"—Quiet, elves."

The sacrificial duo felt bloodlust envelope their entire bodies. They felt a sinister intent so thick it felt like they were drowning.

Fortunately, the bloodlust vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Tch. Fucking maggots, disturbing our celebration."

"Be glad, elves. Had our spell failed again, the two of you would no longer be of this world."

The elves started noticing something was strange.

What's going on?

The Scylla's voice felt a lot different today.

How should they describe it?

It felt… more human?

Thinking that it was probably due to the blizzard muffling everything, they continued kowtowing there, not even daring to look up at the seven-headed creature.

They also didn't dare utter another word.

Now that King Lark wasn't here, they didn't know what this Scylla would do to them if they angered it further.

The Scylla ignored the elves completely.

"My body feels a bit stiff."

"Kekeke, so this is what it feels like, eh?"

The elves heard loud cracking sounds. It sounded as though someone was forcibly relocating the bones in their body.

"Ah, there are still scales over here."

"Hehehe, isn't this easy? Exclusive to Dragons, my ass. There's nothing impossible with our talent!"

"Didn't Agnus say it took him at least ten years to master this spell?"

"Bah! Why compare him to us!"

"What do you expect from that hatchling! He's not only dumb, he's talentless!"

"I can't wait to see the faces of those lizards once they see us! Kakaka!"

The elves felt several presences headed their way.

What's going on?

There were a lot of questions currently running through their minds, but they didn't dare look up.

"Long ears."

The voice was definitely that of a human.

"Look up. We'll give you the honor to be the first to lay eyes on our new bodies."

"Hey, shouldn't we show it to God Evander first?"

"No, think about it. What if we look hideous? It's our first successful attempt, after all."

"That's right. Although I don't like these stupid elves, it's better for someone else to confirm it first."

"Elves, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to look up?"

The elves cautiously raised their heads.

And upon seeing the source of the voices, the elves' eyes widened. The one who ordered them to look up wasn't a seven-headed monster but an old man with a long, ashen beard.

Some parts of the old man's body seemed odd and out of place, and there were black scales covering a portion of his face. His reptilian eyes were familiar.

"A-Are you L-Lord Blackie?"

The old man's voice was raspy.

"I'm a part of it."

It was the third head of the Scylla.

Behind the old man, six others emerged.

And surprisingly, they all had the same appearance – face, hair, skin, body.

The elves realized that in just a couple of days, the Scylla had succeeded with its polymorph spell.

The third head stroked his beard, "What do you think, elves? Don't we look more majestic than those stupid lizards?"