CHAPTER 109

Pababat—

Barasen swiftly crossed the flames and reached the central temple in an instant.

Due to his race's keen sense of smell, he had already detected that Elric's mana scent had reached the central temple a few days prior.

Sure enough.

As he crossed the hallway filled with numerous statues and reached the central area, several gods of the flowers blocked his path.

[Intruder!]

[Why are you here?!]

[We never called for you!]

[This is sacred ground!]

[Unbelievers cannot come here!]

The gods of the winter flowers had faces full of anger.

Understandably so. Even though they had fallen from grace, they were still beings who had attained divine status.

For them, not only was the desecration of the temple unforgivable, but the very idea of a being who neither respected nor worshiped them, but instead diminished their dignity, was intolerable.

Barasen had indeed come here with the intention of defeating Melvinger, but only a few days ago, like any other beastman, he deeply revered the gods.

He quickly offered a respectful gesture in the hopes of calming the anger of the winter flower gods.

"I deeply apologize for disturbing your rest, revered gods. I humbly accept any punishment for the blasphemy I have committed today."

[There's no need! Disappear!]

[Go away!]

[Do not enter further!]

The winter flower gods were furious, but Barasen looked troubled.

"I would gladly leave if I could... Unfortunately, we have been informed that a fugitive we are pursuing has taken refuge here. I humbly ask for your understanding and generosity, revered gods."

[No one's here!]

[There's no one here but us!]

"I do not doubt the words of the revered gods, but the report we received seems quite credible."

[No! You can't search the temple without permission!]

"My apologies, but I must insist."

Barasen forcibly pushed past the gods of the winter flowers blocking his way and entered the central area.

[You can't do this!]

[You're not allowed to enter without us!]

The gods of the winter flowers stomped their feet in frustration.

A hundred years ago… no, even just 40 years ago when Usdun Melvinger came, they would have had no trouble expelling an intruder like this!

The temple was a sacred place, and the gods who resided here were, in essence, supreme beings who governed all the laws of nature within this sanctuary.

But ever since "winter" arrived, causing most flowers to fall into a deep slumber, and even the winter flowers to wither away, things had changed.

Now, with hardly any worshippers visiting, and their divine power nearly depleted, the gods had become so weakened that they couldn't even stop a single beastman from entering.

[Even Lady Camellia hasn't woken up yet!]

[What are we going to do?!]

To make matters worse, their leader, Camellia, was temporarily absent, helping Elric with his arrangements.

Elric was currently in a small secret chamber next to the central temple, focused on the preparations for Melvinger's arrangements.

Camellia had given them strict instructions.

They were explicitly told not to allow any disturbances while Elric was focused on the arrangements.

-Do you understand? If anything happens to disrupt the mind realm, both Melvinger's descendant and I could end up trapped there. You must ensure that no one interferes.

While the gods didn't fully understand what it meant to be trapped in the mind realm, they knew one thing for sure:

They couldn't let Barasen through, no matter what!

Whi-whi-whi!

Vines burst through the marble floor, wrapping around Barasen's ankles. Flower petals fell from the sky, filling his vision.

But—

Chwa-chwa-chwa-chwa!

Barasen swung his claws wildly, cutting through the vines and tearing apart the petals.

"Surely you know that this won't be enough to stop me!"

His race was the Barbary Lion Tribe.

'Barbary Lion' also known as 'Sand Lion,' a race that once thrived in the desert regions.

In terms of hierarchy among the beastmen, they had once been a prestigious family, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Tiger King family.

Though they now served the Blood Wolf King and the Spirit Fox Tribe, Barasen still took great pride in his lineage.

Trying to stop a lion's stride with mere plants?

It was almost laughable.

Moreover, he was one of the top five fighters in Fury.

If something like this could hold him back, how could he ever call himself a ruler?

[Nooo!]

[Stop right there!]

The more the flower gods grew desperate to restrain him, the more Barasen's confidence in his assumptions grew.

"Sniff, sniff! The scent is definitely coming from this direction...! Is it over there?"

He twitched his nose and noticed another passage leading to the central area. He started moving toward it.

[No, don't go there!]

The gods of the winter flowers, especially the God of Daffodils, flapped her wings desperately toward that direction, but suddenly, a fierce wind swept past her.

Whirl!

[Aaah! I'm dizzyyyy!]

The God of Daffodils, unable to fight against the wind, spun like a top in place, barely managing to regain her balance. She quickly looked toward Barasen's direction.

Where the fierce wind had struck, Herman was clashing with Barasen, his blue aura rising like that of a fierce lion.

Boom—

"So it's that annoying human I saw in Anthromorph. Get lost!"

Barasen, recalling how his subordinates had suffered heavy losses during the siege, quickly transformed into his beast form. His body grew to over two meters tall, with a long mane extending around his neck.

Roar!

He extended his claws, attempting to shove Herman aside, but Herman didn't budge an inch. Instead, he pushed Barasen back.

The Sand Lion and the Blue Lion collided.

It was the moment when two lions clashed.

***

At that very moment.

Elric, unaware of the situation outside, was still in the final stages of the preparations.

Boom, boom-boom—

Rumble!

The Tiger King Yul was overwhelmingly pushing General Winter back, while Elric continued to support him from the side.

The coordination between the two was flawless, like a well-oiled machine. Every time they struck, General Winter's limbs would shatter, and she'd be sent flying again and again.

Elric's Body Strengthening Art had become more refined than ever. Even the Tiger King was rapidly growing stronger by watching Elric's future Body Strengthening Art.

However…

'This isn't right.'

At some point, Elric began to sense a threat, feeling as though the momentum might shift in the enemy's favor.

[You'd do well not to underestimate General Winter.]

The God of Camellias, as if reading Elric's thoughts again, continued in a calm tone.

[No matter what, that being has wandered alone for a long time after being split from me, gathering all manner of malicious thoughts and concentrating every bit of evil it could find.]

Her eyes, as they looked upon General Winter, were devoid of any emotion.

Was it intentional, or had she truly disassociated herself from it?

Elric wasn't sure, but he had no choice but to agree with her words.

'She keeps... getting stronger.'

General Winter seemed to possess limitless mana, regenerating every time she was destroyed. There was no end in sight.

In fact, the parts of her that regenerated were even stronger than before, and her once simple movements were becoming more precise with time.

Even now—

Ssshhh—

Despite having lost half her body, she was rapidly regenerating in the swirling snow.

Her movements were now much faster than before.

This creature, which looked like a ragdoll on the outside, clearly had the ability to learn.

"...This is a disaster."

At that moment, Tiger King Yul muttered in disbelief as he looked at General Winter.

Then he suddenly turned to Elric.

"We can't win, right?"

"...Yes. Probably not."

Elric nodded heavily.

"I can see the others getting worn out."

If they were only dealing with General Winter, that would be one thing, but with the number of ice monsters under her control steadily increasing, the exploration team was gradually facing more danger. As time passed, injuries were piling up.

"Well, our mission was to figure out exactly what this damn General Winter is, so technically, we've accomplished that much."

Tiger King Yul furrowed his brow deeply.

"But it doesn't seem like those bastards are going to let us go easily... Tch! We have no choice. Hey."

"No."

"I didn't even say anything yet."

"Do you really need to say it? I know just from hearing you."

"Anyone would think you're using mind-reading or something."

Tiger King Yul gave Elric a look of disbelief, but Elric stood firm.

What the Tiger King was really saying was that he would stay behind to buy time, while Elric led the exploration team to escape.

If it were just Tiger King Yul, it might have been possible, but if they stayed any longer, the exploration team was headed for total annihilation. Without them, the future of the beastmen was as good as gone.

But to Elric, it was a plan not even worth considering.

Abandon Tiger King Yul?

How could that possibly make sense?

But

Tiger King Yul's expression hardened.

"Take the exploration team and leave. Right now, you're the only one who can get them out safely."

"Do you really think they'll listen to me? I should stay behind. You lead them out, Chieftain."

For Elric, this seemed like the obvious choice.

They were inside a carefully laid out plan, and if this round ended in failure, he needed to learn as much as possible about General Winter. After all, the final challenge of the plan would undoubtedly be him.

However—

"Don't forget you still owe me for those key techniques."

"…"

Tiger King Yul said it so bluntly, there was no room for argument.

He raised his fist, curling one side of his mouth into a sly grin.

"If you refuse, I might charge you with insubordination and knock you to the ground. What's it going to be?"

"…Damn it! Fine! I'll do it, alright!"

Better than starting the whole cycle over again with no progress.

Elric finally let out a sigh and spoke.

"I'll be back soon. Just don't die in the meantime."

"Hah! Die? Me? Who do you think you're talking to?"

Tiger King Yul's confident response brought a bitter smile to Elric's face.

He had a gut feeling.

It felt like this round was nearing its end.

'Maybe this will be the last time I see him.'

Of course, if the cycle repeated, they could meet again as many times as needed.

But Elric couldn't shake the feeling that this version of Tiger King Yul wouldn't make it through. It weighed heavily on him.

Tiger King Yul had been one of the people who showed Elric the most care and treated him with warmth.

The other beastmen from Anthromorph were the same.

From Ralph and the four mutts, to various tribe members, they had all helped Elric in ways he couldn't overlook.

Because of this, even though it pained him a bit, Elric felt it might be for the best.

Though it was a mind realm that would reset if he died, he didn't want to witness them falling hopelessly in this frozen wasteland.

And for the sake of a final goodbye, he planned to lead the exploration team back to Anthromorph, and then somehow return here.

"I'm leaving now."

"Yeah. Stop talking and just go."

Tiger King Yul, watching Elric turn his back, once again charged at General Winter.

Elric poured mana into his voice and shouted loudly.

"Retreat! The entire exploration team, retreat to Anthromorph!"

***

Elric managed to lead the exploration team out of General Winter's territory.

The ice monsters pursued them relentlessly, but with Tiger King Yul's continued interference and Elric's magic, they successfully shook them off.

"Hah... hah... are we alive?"

"Damn... I thought I was dead for sure."

"What are those monsters...? Can we even beat them all?"

The members of the exploration team breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to have survived, yet their faces were still filled with concern.

Just the sight of General Winter made their knees weak. If that monster pushed its way into Anthromorph, they had no idea how they could possibly resist.

Meanwhile—

Ralph and the Four mutts rushed over to Elric with anxious expressions.

"Elric, shouldn't we go back and save the Chieftain?"

"I won't ask you to come with us, but at least teach us that magic you showed before!"

The elite guard was ready to charge right back into General Winter's territory. Every fighter in Anthromorph was prepared to mobilize.

"Elric? Elric!"

But Elric couldn't hear Ralph's urgent voice.

His gaze was fixed elsewhere.

The camellia tree he had carefully nurtured for the past 100 days... was blooming.

A vibrant, blood-red flower, as if stained with drops of blood, had blossomed.

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