Chapter 80: The Land Abandoned by the Gods

Chapter 80: The Land Abandoned by the Gods

"...!"

Seeing the massive figure in front of him, Alex couldn't help but whistle. Fina, on the other hand, was so surprised she stood there with her mouth agape, unable to speak.

Before them stood a giant black bear. Compared to the bears Alex had seen in the animal kingdom, this one was much larger. Just lying on all fours, it was already over two meters tall. The bear stood before Alex and Fina, quietly observing the two humans. A moment later, Alex saw Ikaros, the blue-haired angel, walking around from behind the bear.

"How is it, Master? I found this just now. I've already made an agreement with it, and it's willing to temporarily serve as your mount to carry both of you down the mountain."

"Very impressive."

Alex patted Ikaros's head, and the little angel smiled happily. She then placed her hand on the bear's head, seemingly communicating with it. The bear obediently crouched down, signaling for them to climb onto its back. With such a convenient mode of transportation, Alex didn't hesitate to get on. As for Fina, the priestess hesitated for a moment before cautiously sitting behind Alex.

The giant bear then stood up and swiftly began carrying them down the mountain.

Despite its massive size, the bear ran incredibly smoothly. Sitting on its back, Alex and Fina felt even more stable than they would on horseback. Alex couldn't help but wonder where Ikaros had found this bear and how she had managed to "convince" it to serve as a mount.

Nevertheless, with the help of the bear, their journey became much easier. As one of the top predators in the forest, this bear was clearly the king of the mountains—no other animals dared approach them. And contrary to its size, the bear moved with surprising speed. Alex even mused that if it were outfitted with battle armor, it could be a mount worthy of raiding Zul'Aman...

But of course, this was just a passing thought of Alex's to kill time. The bear seemed content living in the forest and had no interest in visiting such a dangerous place. In fact, within an hour, the bear had carried Alex and Fina out of the forest and to the edge of the dark swamp.

This was a dark swamp.

Although Alex had heard from Garrison and Sir Conan about the swamp, and Fina had explained its history, seeing it with his own eyes left him momentarily speechless.

The snow continued to fall, blanketing the ground in white. However, this snow only covered the mountainous and forested areas where Alex stood. In front of him, where the mountain met the swamp, there was a stark contrast between black and white. The snow seemed to leave no trace on the swamp's surface—only dark soil and distant, crumbling ruins could be seen.

The dark swamp was truly shrouded in darkness.

"Roar… roar…"

Standing at the foot of the mountain, the giant bear came to a halt. It opened its mouth and let out a low growl, as if facing some terrible foe. Ikaros flew to its side, placing a hand on the bear's head. After a moment, she turned to Alex and shook her head.

"This creature can only bring you this far, Master. It refuses to enter the swamp..."

"That's fine."

Hearing Ikaros's uneasy and apologetic tone, Alex waved his hand and then jumped down from the bear. He approached the creature and patted it gently. A moment later, a salmon appeared in his hand.

"I don't have much to offer, but this will do as a fare."

"Grumble…"

The bear hesitated as it sniffed the fish in Alex's hand. After confirming it was safe, it took a cautious bite. Once satisfied, the bear gave a low growl, nodded to Alex, and then turned and disappeared into the forest.

"Having a mount sure feels great."

Watching the bear's figure fade into the distance, Alex shrugged and turned to the girls beside him.

"Let's go."

The path through the dark swamp was treacherous. In fact, if Alex had to describe it, the sensation of walking through the swamp was similar to walking on Zerg creep. The ground wasn't solid but soft and spongy, and even through his boots, he could feel a strange warmth beneath, as though he wasn't walking on land but on the body of a giant, foul-smelling monster.

The snow had also stopped falling. In fact, as soon as Alex entered the swamp, it felt as though he had stepped into another world. The thick clouds overhead blocked out all light, making it dark and gloomy even in broad daylight. The wind howling through the swamp sounded like the wails of ghosts, as though the souls of those who had perished here centuries ago still lingered.

"This used to be a prosperous nation..."

Fina gazed at a nearby ruin with a complicated expression. The remains of what once appeared to be a grand estate could still be faintly seen. But now, it had been reduced to charred black wreckage. The columns had collapsed, and only a few walls still stood, bearing silent witness to the past glory.

"But it wasn't demons that destroyed it—it was humans."

Alex glanced around before pulling out a map to check their position, casually responding as he did so. Fina's expression grew even more conflicted at his words. After a moment of hesitation, she asked softly.

"Mr. Alex… do you think war will ever disappear?"

"War… war never changes."

After comparing directions, Alex continued forward without looking back, answering in a matter-of-fact tone.

"To be honest, from my perspective, of course, I'd love for there to be peace and stability forever. I could laze around at home, eating and doing nothing, enjoying a carefree life. But unfortunately, that's not how the world works. Conflict is everywhere, and sometimes you have to fight for something. Frankly, I can understand why that nation did what it did—their only mistake was underestimating their enemy's resolve to resist to the bitter end."

"And what about the battle between order and chaos?"

"Chaos... To be honest, it still feels quite distant to me, though I did encounter a Child of Chaos once..."

At this point, Alex suddenly paused and turned to look at Fina with an amused smile.

"By the way, Miss Fina, have you ever considered something?"

"What is it?"

Perhaps due to Alex's somewhat "mischievous" gaze, Fina instinctively tensed up and asked nervously.

"That maybe... Chaos is also a part of Order?"

"Wha... wha-wha-what?!!!"

This time, Fina was utterly shocked, her eyes widening in disbelief as she screamed before Alex had even finished speaking.

"That's impossible! Order and Chaos are mortal enemies! They're completely different!"

"Oh? Then tell me, based on your understanding, what is Order? And what is Chaos?"

"Well, because Order is..."

Perhaps the question was too unexpected, as Fina stood there with her mouth agape, unsure of how to answer. After a long pause, she suddenly clapped her hands as if she had remembered something.

"Order has identifiable characteristics and follows rules and regulations, while Chaos is disordered, without laws or patterns... How could the two possibly be the same?"

"If that's how you define it, then Chaos is indeed part of Order."

"How is that possible? Chaos has no rules or..."

"Didn't you just describe Chaos's characteristics?"

At this point, Alex playfully winked at Fina.

"You said Chaos is disordered and lawless... Isn't that an identifiable characteristic?"

"That counts?"

Fina was completely flabbergasted at this point. She stood there, mouth open, staring at Alex as if he had just said something utterly blasphemous.

"Why wouldn't it?"

Seeing Fina's bewildered expression, Alex found it rather amusing. He pointed to the ground beneath their feet, then to the snow-covered mountains in the distance.

"It's like black and white. Despite their vast differences, aren't they still just parts of the spectrum of color?"

"That..."

This time, Fina didn't offer any rebuttal. She lowered her head, her expression uncertain. Alex, meanwhile, turned and continued walking forward... Fortunately, Ikaros was keeping watch from the sky; otherwise, Fina's earlier scream might have drawn the cultists straight to them.

Watching Alex's back, Fina bit her lip before quickly following after him.

"Then, Mr. Alex... Do you think our war with Chaos is wrong?"

"I never said that."

"But you just said that Chaos is part of Order..."

"And I also said they're like black and white."

Alex wasn't a cultist and had no intention of brainwashing the poor girl behind him. He had merely brought up the paradox on a whim to tease her. If he ended up leading her astray, that would be troublesome.

"If we're to compare it to nations, we are citizens of the White Kingdom, and Chaos represents the Black Kingdom. They want to turn us black, but of course, we won't let them... I'm sure you wouldn't want to be turned black either, right? It wouldn't suit you."

"Of course not... Haha, Mr. Alex, your analogy is quite amusing."

At this, Fina finally managed to smile, though her gaze toward Alex had grown more complex.

"Then, Mr. Alex, if we are citizens of the White Kingdom, who is the painter?"

"That, I don't know. Perhaps the goddess would know."

"......"

This time, Fina didn't say anything further. She lowered her head, staring at her feet, and softly murmured to herself.

"Maybe... not even the goddess..."

However, before she could finish her thought, Alex's expression suddenly changed. He swiftly pulled Fina into the shadows of a nearby ruin.

"Mr. Alex?"

"Shh..."

Facing Fina's startled look, Alex gestured for her to be quiet and glanced up toward the sky.

Soon, under their watchful gazes, a dark silhouette flapped its wings as it flew overhead.

It had a head resembling a wolf's, the wings of a bat, and a humanoid body with a long, thin black tail. In fact, the moment Alex saw this creature, he didn't need Fina to explain—he knew exactly what it was.

It was a demon.

(End of Chapter)

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