Forest. (2)

"Tsk…"

Reylie felt their killing intent stick to her skin. The uninvited guests were slowly surrounding them, releasing their auras with no thoughts of hiding.

"Ms. Knight."

Reylie looked at Julie. But she was unable to continue to fight, badly injured and slipping in and out of consciousness. The opponent she had fought was a tiger. Even if it was Julie, she needed to rest to heal.

"…"

That meant all she had to rely on was herself…

At that time, a group of unidentified assailants appeared from the shaded areas of the snowy field. Reylie looked at each of them, but they were all covered by robes; not a single one of them showed their face. Even what she could see was covered by a mask.

"Phew."

Reylie warmed up her mana with a sigh, inspecting the circuit and preparing a spell. A second later, an explosion rocked her.

Boom, boom, boom, boom—!

An eruption of mana kicked up snow, sweeping through the field. Reylie protected herself and Julie using the spell Dukan Barrier, but the dark red flames persisted around the barrier. She was hemorrhaging mana to maintain it.

Craaaack…

Pandemonium surrounded her. The ground was violently hollowed out, and a cloud of thick smoke obscured her vision. Reylie glared through the smoke from inside the barrier.

"Oh, you motherfuckers! Say something before you shoot!"

There was no response; only her voice echoed out. They prepared a second and similar spell.

"…There's no answer."

She bit her lip and muttered softly. Survival appeared unlikely. If she dismantled the barrier and resorted to offense, Julie would be in danger. Reylie couldn't even guarantee she could kill all of them. However, even if she maintained the barrier, there was no possibility that she could fend off their consecutive attacks.

"…No way."

Suddenly, Reylie recalled something tucked away in her mind. Deculein was on a business trip to the North. It was part of the mission given to him by the chairman, but… something was strange. There must be a reason why Deculein obediently headed up to the North.

"Hey, you bastards! Did Deculein send you?!"

But they didn't answer. They continued to prepare their second destructive spell.

"So, Deculein sent you! That crazy motherfucker! What he did wasn't enough?!"

Reylie's roar echoed through the frost-covered trees, spreading out further and further. Inside an empty forest. Eventually, the answer to her suspicion returned.

"Stop having crude thoughts."

"…?"

Vrooooom—!

The din of a loud engine cut through as a snowmobile soared through the air and stopped near Reylie, slipping past the group of people in robes. Reylie's jaw dropped. No blood and no tears. From the very beginning, I'm the villain – that's what his face was saying. The one responsible for the massacre of thousands of Demon Blood, the mortal enemy of Julie and Reylie, the Head of the Yukline.

Deculein.

"…Ehem, sorry. I was mistaken…"

His eyes stared past Reylie to Julie, who was asleep next to her. She appeared near-dead with her pale complexion; her breath was so quiet it might stop at any moment.

"…Excuse me?"

Reylie was confused by the light in Deculein's eyes. A strange pain swayed in them, clear as the pride they revealed.

"Take Julie and go."

"…Really?"

Deculein moved his wood steel without a further word.

Claaaang—

Metal rang out as nineteen pieces of steel shot out to the robed assailants.

"I'll take care of these insects."

Reylie was curious about his confidence. No, she was also curious why he was helping. Where did he suddenly come from? Anyway, she had a lot of questions….

But she was lost for words as she watched his onslaught. The wood steel soared into the sky and fell like meteors upon the robed group.

Schwaaaa—

They hurriedly formed a barrier, but it was quickly destroyed by Deculein's rapid interference. What happened next was obvious.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—!

The nineteen pieces of steel shot to the ground, generating shockwaves and dust. The bombing shook the forest and left nothing of the enemies.

"…"

Reylie watched with blank eyes, going through magical analysis in her head. The way that Deculein killed those wizards was with overwhelming violence, without using any magical equipment. He took a piece of steel using Psychokinesis and amplified it with kinetic energy and mana. It all looked too simple, but if his opponent was a wizard, it was impossible to deal with it.

This was all a result of Deculein's mental capacity. He dismantled all of his opponents' barriers just before the flood of steel came down. He understood and interfered with the magical structure at a glance…

"…Hmm."

Deculein looked back. Reylie stepped back into a crouch, but his gaze was fixed on Julie. She still showed no signs of waking. Looking at her, Deculein spoke in a low voice.

"You're as pitiful as always."

Reylie's blood boiled.

"Excuse me. All of this is because of you!"

Deculein looked at Reylie, his expression saying one thing:

—You're even more pitiful.

"Go. We'll clean up after you."

"…We?"

At that moment, the Assistant Professor—

Pyong—

-popped out from under the snowmobile. Allen smiled and bowed.

"Hello, I'm the Assistant Professor, Alle-"

"Also."

Deculein covered Allen's mouth.

"Don't tell Julie anything."

"…"

Reylie looked around. Between their assailants' destructive spells and Deculein's bombardment, the area looked like a scene from Hell.

Reylie nodded.

"I won't. Also, thanks for saving us. Honestly, I don't even know why you helped us…."

*****

I collected their bodies with Allen. Combing through the pieces of robes, crushed bones, smashed flesh, the result we concluded was that it was the Altar, as expected.

[Main Quest: Named Hunting]

Main Quest. It was a quest in which the Altar began to attack the Named one after another. They would choose a Named that could interfere with their goals and ambush them, and Players were no exception. In technical terms, it was a random encounter. There would be quite a few Named that would die from this quest, so from now on, I needed to go all out.

"The Altar?"

Allen asked with widening eyes. Maybe, this kid also knew about the Altar. I could now tell when she truly didn't know something or pretended not to know.

"They're a group of fanatics who circle undeveloped areas in the North."

"Oh… what? Can people live in those lands?"

Allen's eyes changed from table tennis balls to baseballs. Her acting skill wasn't to be underestimated.

"The undeveloped areas are still a part of the continent, and with the land dying, agriculture and raising livestock are impossible. Monsters and beasts also run rampant. It is possible to stay there for a short while, but long-term is nearly impossible."

The Altar's sanctuary resided there. This dark group believed in the resurrection of god and tried to manifest them at any cost. But what they were trying to revive was not a god but another religious fanatic. The whole story was revealed in the main quest.

"Aha… but this… how did you know that these corpses belong to Altar?"

"Dark energy is flowing through their body. There are also traces of artificial blood vessel transplants."

"Huh! Blood vessel transplants?!"

I looked to the distant horizon beyond the forest. Over there was the unclaimed land, not all that far away either. There was no division whatsoever separating us.

"Yeah. Blood vessel transplants. It's also proof that these guys are Demon Blood."

"…Demon Blood?"

Allen's voice trembled slightly.

"Compatibility is important in transplanting blood vessels. Transplanting a dark-energy-flowing blood vessel into an ordinary human being would kill the human in just a few days."

Even organ transplants had complications, and non-human blood vessel transplantations were only possible for those with Demon Blood. Since dark energy flowed through those with Demon Blood, their body could last even after the transplantation process.

"Of course, the lifespan of the Demon Bloods isn't long. Six months at most. They are being used as disposable soldiers by the Altar."

"…"

"Whether they were brainwashed and fooled, or they volunteered, now that it's done, it's better to die. Their pain will only grow worse."

Allen didn't answer.

She didn't know this much either. Well, human modification, including transplants, wasn't revealed until the second half of the main quest.

"Is that… so? It's somewhat cruel…"

I looked at Allen. Her head was down, but I could feel her sorrow as snow landed on her hair.

"Let's go. There's still a lot to do."

I put my hand on Allen's little head. Then, she looked up as if nothing had happened.

"…Yes!"

I got back on the snowmobile and took the handles. Suddenly, I looked toward where Julie was being carried away by Reylie.

"…"

The woman shook Deculein's heart with just a glance.

"Seriously."

I wanted her to love me. At the same time, I hoped she wouldn't forgive me. I hoped she didn't look back. That she would hate me, loathe me, and survive… then, after she survives, I wanted her to come back to me.

"What a troublesome woman."

Perhaps, I couldn't do anything about this selfish mind. It wasn't a common affair for one to hate me and live. I didn't just wish for anyone to be happy, more the less, without me. I loved her too much, and at this point, I couldn't distinguish whether Deculein loved her or if I did.

"…Professor?"

Allen spoke to me while I was staring in the air.

"It's nothing."

I stepped on the gas.

Vrooom—!

The amplified snowmobile cut through the snow.

*****

… It had been more than a week since they came to the North. During that time, Epherene gradually became used to this snowy-white world. She was having fun in her way, finding many things to do like staring contests, hunting wild boars, camping, and more.

"Whew."

More than that. The second time wasn't far away, and she would go to see Deculein.

"Epherene, can't you even do simple arithmetic?"

"…What?"

Deculein snapped her out of it. While reviewing the report submitted by Epherene, he sent the pages scattering off the table.

"Look at it yourself."

The documents fell. Epherene narrowed her eyes.

"Are you distracted? If you make another mistake like this, I will kick you out."

"I'm sorry."

What kind of mistake was it? Epherene quickly picked up the papers.

"…Oh."

Looking over it, the dark energy concentration of the soil in the area was calculated incorrectly. The result of Epherene's calculation was 0.0004%. However, the correct value according to the depth wasn't included, and if corrected, it was around 0.00056%.

"0.00056… 0.0004% is also serious. Isn't it too high?"

"If the figures come out like that, no matter how hard it is to believe, it has to be true. We need to strengthen the northern region's policy by informing Central."

"…Yes. I'll be right back with the telegram."

Epherene went upstairs, taking the report with her.

Trudge, trudge.

Once they were connected with the tower, Epherene began to send the report-

"It's a document that records astronomical activities that haven't happened yet…."

"!"

An aloof voice flowed in from behind her. Epherene straightened up. Then, she looked behind her to see red hair that was burning in the dark.

"Very mysterious."

Emperor Sophien. She thought Sophien had left yesterday; why did she return? Epherene also thought she hadn't read the document properly before, but she had.

"That… just as I said before, it's just a prediction. It is not absolute…"

"You are lying."

"…"

"Telling a lie in front of me… that's a grave offense."

"Ah, ahhhh, it's nooooot—!"

Epherene knelt in fear. Sophien smirked.

"It's fine. I'm just curious. It deserves a compliment for raising my curiosity."

"…"

Epherene sighed with her head down.

"That's right, Epherene. If a shooting star falls, are you going to the future?"

Her deduction was accurate. No, it was just an assumption.

"Hgh!"

However, she was convinced by Epherene's loud reaction. She hit the nail on the head. Even so, there was nothing she could do, whether she knew or not.

"That's amazing. Well, it's understandable considering your talent."

"It… it's an honor…"

"Never mind. Don't write what you just heard."

"Yes, yes…"

Sophien went down on one knee and raised Epherene's head. She looked into her shaking eyes.

"Then, can I go there too?"

…Gulp.

She swallowed nervously. Epherene felt so flustered right now, but she knew how to answer.

"I'm not sure either. It's just… I also just happened to go there…."

"Good. Then, the shooting star is in two days."

"…Yes."

Sophien wore a deep, captivating smile that made Epherene even more nervous.

"I will go, too. If I can go, then I will; if I can't, then I won't, but then I'm sure of the reason."

Time. Sophien was confident time would surely be on this person's side.

"…Yes."

Epherene had no choice but to raise herself, though Sophien blocked her when she was about to bow.

"Stop it. You don't have to. You're so warm and cute for some reason, so just stay as you are."

With the Emperor's compliment, Epherene replied with earnestness.

"It's such an honor…"