Chapter 123

In the darkness.

Takarion opened his eyes.

'Am I... alive?'

He groped around. The area was filled with cold snow.

Takarion cleared away the snow and poked his head out.

'Ah...'

An expansive snowfield came into view.

The avalanche had transformed the surroundings into a pristine white landscape.

Takarion staggered and took a step onto the white snow.

One step, then another.

He took unsteady steps.

'I...'

Takarion closed his eyes.

The afternoon sunlight reflected off the snow, making it difficult to keep his eyes open.

But the brightness was just an excuse.

In truth... he simply wanted to forget everything once more.

'What... have I done?'

Memories resurfaced in the darkness.

Takarion had tried to run to Ian but tripped and fell.

It was a truly pathetic action.

'I...'

Takarion took a deep breath.

He tried to calm himself, but his trembling limbs refused to stop.

Because of his stupid mistake, Takarion had almost lost his life.

If Ian had rushed to save him, Ian's life would have been in danger too.

He had endangered the life of a comrade.

'I... I...'

A lump rose in Takarion's throat.

It was a wretched sob.

"Heugh, heuuugh...!"

Hot tears streamed down Takarion's cheeks.

Once he started crying, there was no stopping it.

Takarion collapsed on the spot, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Waaah!"

Those were not tears of joy.

Despite surviving a miracle, Takarion felt no happiness.

'Why am I... so pathetic!'

The emotion that brought Takarion to tears was self-loathing.

Like others, he wanted to excel with remarkable talent like Belenka, Kira, or Pyra, and carry his weight perfectly.

Takarion had dreamed of a hero's life since he was young.

He wanted to be a wonderful person, respected by others.

But.

Though his dreams were grand, reality was a mess.

Instead of becoming a hero, Takarion was bullied, subjected to violence and ridicule by other orphans in the monastery.

It was his inherent limitations, a lack of talent.

Yet Takarion constantly admired heroes and found success in writing gospels depicting the deeds of saints.

Takarion just wanted to become a greater person.

He thought he would be respected if he reached a high position.

Though he couldn't become a hero of the battlefield, he believed he could receive religious praise.

So, he left the monastery.

He thought he could become something if he left the monastery.

But everything that happened to Takarion was horrific.

He barely escaped after being kidnapped.

He got caught in an avalanche and stranded...

A series of mistakes.

Unskilled, with nothing but pathetic results.

'Am I... a useless fool who can't even walk properly? Is that who I am?'

Takarion clutched the Arcana card and wept.

Wizard Ian.

Unlike Takarion, Ian was incredibly skilled and always produced amazing results.

At one point, Takarion had been jealous of Ian's abilities.

Now, it seemed laughable.

Takarion was so pathetic that he couldn't even be compared to Ian.

'Should I just die?'

Takarion looked out at the empty snowfield with dry eyes.

He had always talked about the stories of heroes, but he was nothing compared to Saint Marcus.

How shameless, Takarion.

To scribble over the great deeds of a saint with your ugly, fat fingers!

Shame and self-loathing wrapped around Takarion's body like a snake.

If he surrendered to these feelings and gave up everything, it felt like he would find peace.

But then, Takarion fiddled with the Arcana card.

It was a card with an illustration of a girl with dark blue hair smiling brightly.

'Beautiful...'

Captivated by the beautiful illustration drawn by a god, Takarion temporarily forgot about his thoughts of dying.

Otaku were naturally weak to pretty illustrations...

'What is this?'

Takarion examined the card.

It was labeled with rune letters that read [Number 17, Star], but Takarion couldn't understand it. Even a monk wouldn't necessarily know northern runes.

Takarion didn't know the meaning of the [Star] card.

Number 17, Star, is a card that symbolizes hope.

The star is a guide for the lost, a symbol that whispers wisdom and inspiration.

At the moment when Takarion was engrossed in the pretty illustration.

He remembered Ian's last shout.

[Survive! Takarion!]

[When we meet again, I will definitely send you back to the empire!]

"Ah..."

Takarion rubbed his tear-stained eyes.

He was a pathetic human, full of mistakes.

But if he threw his life away here, he would be an irredeemable piece of trash.

'I can't die in a place like this.'

Takarion walked across the snowfield with all his might.

His steps were unsteady, but he never fell.

For the sake of Ian, who even helped someone as pathetic as himself.

Takarion would survive no matter what.

'... Huh?'

Takarion, upon climbing a snow-covered hill, saw a scene that left him with his mouth agape.

'Ian!'

It was Ian's party fighting against monsters.

'What should I do...? What should I do...!'

The number of monsters was overwhelming.

Even with a party that included a wizard, a shaman, and a knight, it would be hard to fend off dozens of monsters attacking all at once.

'If Saint Marcus were here...'

Takarion calmed his trembling limbs.

For a moment, he imagined Saint Marcus descending and sweeping away those evil monsters.

But Takarion knew well that such thoughts were futile.

From childhood until now.

The hero from his imagination had never once come running to save Takarion.

'If there's anyone who can help Ian...'

Takarion straightened his back.

'... It's me!'

Only action can change reality.

Takarion looked down the hill.

'Like Saint Marcus.'

Takarion took a deep breath.

In a thunderous voice, he scolded the monsters!

"You foolish creatures of the underworld! Who do you think you're baring your teeth at!!!"

"Kieek...?"

"The sun shines so brightly! Are you not afraid of the sky's wrath?!"

It's always hard to speak up at first.

Once he started raising his voice, Takarion used his abundant vocabulary, honed through his writing skills, to attract the attention of the monster horde!

"Craaah!"

About half of the monsters were drawn to Takarion.

As the monsters rushed up the hill, Takarion felt a thrilling chill.

'I did it! I did it!'

He was delighted because he succeeded in provoking the monsters.

'... But what do I do now?'

He was terrified because he was now being chased by monsters!

'Just run!'

Takarion began to run across the snowfield with all his might.

Ian cursed the North in excitement.

"Damn this northern hell!"

Shortly before being attacked by monsters.

Their thrilling snowboarding was short-lived.

Ian had discovered the frozen grave and sensed that something was seriously wrong.

"Pyra, if we say the Mountain King attacked the northerners to hide this... is that too far-fetched?"

"No. It's entirely possible."

Pyra muttered with a shocked expression.

The Mountain King had no interest in the Yagons. The Grendels hunted them for meat, but most of it was for humans.

Yet, a Yagon grave was discovered deep in the Mountain King's territory.

And there were an enormous number of corpses.

"We need a tribal council."

Pyra said with a grim face.

If the Mountain King started interfering with human food supplies, he could no longer coexist with humans.

He had to be hunted.

"Let's gather Takarion and get out of here quickly."

"Do you have a way to find him?"

Pyra asked from the perspective of Northern common sense. When dealing with ignorant barbarians, such questions were essential.

But the other party was a wizard from the empire.

"We'll find him with magic."

"..."

Oh. I didn't think of that simple solution.

Pyra looked at Ian with a dumbfounded expression.

Ian had given Takarion an Arcana card, knowing that he was alive somewhere.

To search for Takarion, there were many ways: asking the mysteries of the ice, or sending Oberon to find him.

But before that, the monsters arrived.

"Kaaargh!"

"Kyah!"

It was the Grendel horde, the Mountain King's sentinels.

"Ian! Enemies!"

"Yeah. Those damn things!"

Blue mysteries flared in Ian's eyes.

Pyra worriedly patted Ian's shoulder.

"Are you... okay?"

"What if I'm not!"

Ian's typical wizardly grumpiness resurfaced.

Ian had used too much magic today.

Even when he touched the Arcana cards, he couldn't feel any mysteries.

Instead, he had to overexert his body.

In return for drinking the elixir, it seemed he had to work himself to death.

"[Ice!]"

Ian invoked the mysteries of ice and faced the enemies.

"[Rise up!]"

Ice chunks surged, creating a narrow passage.

Staying there, at least they wouldn't be surrounded.

"Magic circle! We need to draw a magic circle!"

Ian decided to request the help of the unholy mystery once more.

But unlike last time, when he used the Arcana card, he had to draw a summoning circle this time.

The unholy mystery was very powerful.

It needed to be properly summoned and sent back peacefully to avoid future problems.

"Got it! We'll buy you time!"

While the others fought the monsters, Ian hurriedly drew the magic circle.

'Quickly... quickly...!'

"Ian!"

"Just a bit more!"

Time was running out.

The problem was the sheer number of enemies.

But then, a booming shout struck the monster horde from afar!

"You foolish creatures of the underworld! Who do you think you're baring your teeth at!!!"

'... Takarion?'

Ian looked up to find the source of the voice.

He saw Takarion standing on the hill.

The afternoon sun shone brightly on Takarion.

It looked almost as if he was surrounded by a halo...

Ian wondered if Takarion had become a saint but quickly shook his head.

'What a crazy thought.'

Ian pushed away the distracting thoughts and focused on the magic circle.

[Who calls upon me?]

"[It's me! Sorry! Can you help me one more time?]"

The unholy mystery showed reluctance, but it did not refuse Ian's summoning request.

[Kiaaaaak!]

Ian used the unholy mystery to drive away the Grendels.

Then he immediately ran to Takarion.

"Ahhh! Save me!!!"

"..."

He had shouted so gallantly from atop the hill.

As soon as he got down, Takarion was being chased by a monster.

Ian drove away the remaining Grendels and approached Takarion.

Takarion was sitting on the ground, panting heavily.

"Hey, Takarion. You looked a bit like a saint earlier."

"R-Really...?"

Physically, with a halo of light.

Ian swallowed his last words and extended his hand.

"Yes, really."

Takarion smiled and took Ian's hand.