Chapter 83 : Chapter 83
Chapter 83. Polar Night
Even in the Kerno Gorge, the darkness lifted slightly during the white night.
“Stay close.”
On top of that, by using the lantern containing the ‘Salamander's Heart’, we could see the inside of the gorge.
Just like now.
Fwoosh—!
As Hyunwoo held the lantern forward, the scenery inside the gorge began to reveal itself.
Dull, black minerals were embedded everywhere on both cliffs.
Generally, minerals are substances formed when components dissolved in magma cool and combine.
The clash between the dragon and the Demon King generated heat greater than magma, and the result was the mineral before their eyes.
The mana-infused mineral was the medium that generated the ‘darkness’ inside the gorge.
“Van. Touch the mineral on the wall.”
“…It looks quite ominous. The color is like a beetle’s carapace.”
“There’s something I need to check.”
“Alright.”
I didn’t know if there were cockroach-like insects here, but as Van said, the mineral was exactly that color.
Van, who had approached the wall, placed his hand on the mineral.
He snatched his hand back in surprise.
I spoke with surprised eyes.
“What's wrong?! Are you okay?”
“…It’s cold.”
“You're okay then? I thought something had happened.”
“I’m fine. Hmm… It feels a little strange, but there’s no problem.”
As expected, Van was not greatly affected by the mineral.
If one had a weak mind, they would have been immediately devoured by the darkness just by touching it.
“Lucas. I’ll say it again, be careful not to let your body touch the minerals.”
“Why only me…”
“You’re a High Orc.”
The High Orcs were a race that dealt with ‘curses’.
The tattoos they carved on their bodies were the pinnacle of techniques made of curses.
They were born with high mental strength, enough to be able to strengthen their souls by carving tattoos on their bodies.
What he had just confirmed was the mental strength of Van, a High Orc.
Seeing that he was fine even after touching the mineral, it seemed he could withstand the darkness to some extent.
Saaa—
The darkness of the gorge continued to clamor to devour the light.
In the brief moment of delay, the light of the lantern flickered back and forth as if in fear.
Fwoosh—
Watching the dying light of the lantern, Hyunwoo’s expression hardened.
‘It’s going out faster than I thought.’
He had asked Pierre to get as many lanterns as possible just in case, but he was worried if they would last.
He took out a new lantern from his subspace pocket.
Fwoosh—!
Looking back, Lucas’s complexion was pale.
His body was stiff, as if he had been exposed to the darkness.
Hyunwoo urgently shook Lucas.
“…I’m fine. It's certainly not ordinary darkness.”
Lucas straightened himself in the saddle.
His pupils were unfocused.
“Lucas!”
“Hmm… What did you say? I’m really fine now.”
At Hyunwoo’s shout, his wavering gaze returned.
To be like this just from a slight exposure to the darkness.
It seemed he had to be more thorough with the lantern management.
Hyunwoo glanced back and confirmed that Van was alright before starting to lead the way again.
“We're done with the check, let's move again.”
Not long after they started moving again, a faint light appeared in front of them.
The first one to spot the light was Lucas, with his good eyes.
“I see something up ahead.”
“What do you see?”
“The shape of protruding branches… it looks like the tree you mentioned.”
“We’re here.”
And not long after, as Lucas had said, a huge tree was slowly revealing itself.
A giant, pure white tree with not a single leaf.
It was a tree called the ‘Nameless Tree’.
The light that bloomed solely from the tree did not allow the darkness to invade.
Hyunwoo approached the tree and slowly examined it.
Van, who had come up beside him, let out a groan.
“…Horrifying.”
Grotesquely distorted corpses were embedded in the tree all over, as if they were one with it.
The bodies of the corpses, with expressions of ecstasy, had turned completely white.
‘……Those who were consumed by the darkness.’
Those who were consumed by the darkness lost their sanity and became one with the tree.
“Is this what happens when you’re eaten by the darkness?”
“Yeah. So be careful not to leave the light.”
“Didn’t you say the minerals were more dangerous?”
“Did I?”
“…Never mind.”
“Are you sulking?”
Hyunwoo bantered with Van, loosening his stiff body.
It was an act to relieve each other's tension.
The sight of the corpses, one with the tree with expressions of ecstasy, was enough to send a chill down the spine of anyone who saw it.
Hyunwoo looked up at the top of the tree.
At the very top of the tree, there was a branch of a different color.
A single red branch that stood out in the pure white background.
A red branch that had changed after absorbing the life and blood of the dead.
It was the ‘Branch of Ramus’, which contained the grudges of lost spirits.
With that branch, he could make a weapon to face the Harpy Queen.
“That’s it.”
“The red branch? I just need to get that?”
“Be careful. It’s an item full of grudges. There might be a curse left on it.”
“Hmph—! I’m not afraid of things like curses. Anyway, I just need to get that, right? I want to get out of here quickly.”
Van snorted and climbed the ‘Nameless Tree’.
Van was to break off the branch.
Breaking the branch might attach a curse, but he expected that Van, being a High Orc, would be fine.
‘Because they’re a race that carves curses themselves onto their bodies.’
High Orcs had a basic resistance to curses.
Curses and spells were two sides of the same coin.
The two systems could be seen as almost the same.
The curse would be dealt with by Van’s body, but the real problem was what came next.
In the meantime, Van broke off the branch.
Snap—
With the small sound of the branch breaking.
Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh—!
“Ugh!”
At the indescribably grotesque and high-pitched scream, Hyunwoo covered his ears.
At the same time, a change began to appear in the ‘Nameless Tree’.
Having lost the Branch of Ramus, the pure white light from the tree’s body quickly faded.
And then came a pitch-black darkness.
Saaa—
A pitch-black darkness spread out in all directions with the tree at its center.
The darkness that started in the gorge began to change even the weather outside.
The sky, which had been full of bright sunlight just a moment ago, instantly became dark.
‘…Has it started?’
A phenomenon opposite to the white night.
Polar Night .
A pitch-black darkness bloomed like a night falling in the day.
If they were swallowed by the darkness, it would be the end.
Van, as soon as he broke the branch, jumped down.
Thud—!
Lucas caught Van and put the branch in his subspace pocket.
“Run!”
Hyunwoo shouted to everyone.
The party spurred their Ghost Horses and began to move away from the darkness.
Saaa—
The darkness, which was spreading low to the ground, was closely following them.
The darkness, flicking like a snake’s tongue, was swallowing the light of the lantern in Hyunwoo’s hand.
Fwoosh—!
Hyunwoo continuously took out new lanterns and replenished the light.
The ‘Salamander's Heart’ inside the lantern pulsed precariously.
The flickering light was swallowed by the darkness and was newly conceived in Hyunwoo's hand.
In a short time, the battle for territory between light and darkness continued several times.
One wrong move and the darkness would instantly swallow everyone.
Fear suddenly rushed in in the darkness where it was difficult to distinguish even an inch ahead.
Hyunwoo, as if to escape the fear, clenched his teeth and shouted with all his might.
“Direction—!”
“There!”
Lucas, who could see ahead at least through the light of the lantern, answered.
Fortunately, they were going the right way.
However, cold sweat began to form on the back of Hyunwoo’s neck.
‘Damn it…! Why?’
The surging darkness, as if it would devour the party at any moment, was right behind them.
The speed at which the darkness was spreading was excessively fast.
It wasn't the speed Hyunwoo had predicted.
If there was a possible reason….
Hyunwoo glanced back at Van.
‘…Is it because he broke the Branch of Ramus?’
The encroaching darkness seemed to be particularly obsessed with Van.
At that moment.
Fwoosh—!
‘Oops!’
It was a kind of accident.
A mistake made while momentarily pondering an unforeseen variable.
Before Hyunwoo could take out a new lantern, the lantern he was holding flared up and instantly went out.
Fwoosh—!
Hyunwoo quickly activated a new lantern and looked back at Van again.
The darkness that had covered the party in that fleeting moment.
“Van!”
Van's pupils had turned completely white.
It was a phenomenon of being consumed by the darkness.
Could it be that even a High Orc couldn't withstand the polar night?
Hyunwoo bit his lip hard.
Thud—!
In the end, Van fell from his Ghost Horse.
As Hyunwoo stopped his Ghost Horse, calling for Lucas, Lucas, who was following behind, turned his horse and rushed to Van.
When Hyunwoo arrived, Lucas was off his horse and taking care of Van.
Mutterings could be heard from Van’s unfocused pupils.
“…Are you giving me the chance to carve a tattoo?”
Van, as if unconscious, began to talk nonsense to the empty air.
“There’s no way I would dare to refuse. If I can just get a tattoo, I’ll do anything…”
“Get a grip!”
Lucas slapped Van's cheek, but it was no use.
Van’s whitened pupils were staring unwaveringly at the path they had just passed.
When consumed by the darkness, the desires deep within one's heart were materialized before their eyes.
But in reality, what was beyond Van's gaze was probably the ‘Nameless Tree’.
The tree was fervently calling out to the prey that had appeared after a long time.
Fwoosh—!
In the meantime, Hyunwoo urgently rummaged through his subspace and took out all the lanterns he could get his hands on.
As a dozen or so lanterns emitted light at the same time, the darkness around them seemed to lift slightly.
“Lucas! Put Van on my horse!”
“What are you going to do?”
Lucas slung Van over his shoulder and put him on Hyunwoo's Ghost Horse.
In the meantime, Hyunwoo threw something like a rope to Lucas.
The long rope had several small bells attached to it.
Tinkle— tinkle—
Hearing the sound of the bells, his head felt clearer.
“Tie this around your waist! You, me, and Van!”
It was a rope he had prepared as a last resort.
A rope made by twisting the sinews of a race called ‘Shalman’.
⌜Shalman's Rope⌟
It was an item that protected the mental strength of those who were in contact with the rope.
They connected their bodies with the rope.
Tinkle—
At the clear sound, Van flinched and reacted.
A faint groan was heard.
It seemed his consciousness was returning.
Fortunately, it seemed to be effective.
‘As long as one of us can hold on.’
If they were bewitched by the ‘Nameless Tree’, they would die like the white corpses there.
The three, connected by the rope, were now one.
If just one of the three could move with a clear mind, they could survive.
The light of the lanterns began to fade.
A terrible darkness descended.
Hurrying to move, Hyunwoo put his hand in his subspace pocket.
The dozens of lanterns he had prepared were no longer within reach of his fingertips.
It was already the last lantern.
“Hurry!”
Lucas came up beside Hyunwoo, and they spurred their Ghost Horses side by side.
They madly galloped towards the exit.
The light of the lantern began to be devoured by the darkness at a rapid pace.
Fwoosh—
‘Please!’
His vision began to black out with the dying light.
And.
Hyunwoo's pupils also began to turn white.