Chapter 118
The young head hunters at the research facility appeared to have been abandoned by Albrecht. However, Erich found this peculiar.
Why would he go to the trouble of clearing out the research facility, only to leave these children behind?
'Was he in that much of a hurry? But if that were the case, he could have just killed them before leaving.'
If that's true, the conclusion is that he couldn't take them with him, but also couldn't kill them. Erich decided to look for answers to this question from Ceres.
Ceres meticulously studied the surviving Barbarians.
Occasionally, there were some shouts exchanged, but nothing serious happened.
That was because Hrung-ga was watching over them.
Surprisingly, though Hrung-ga had shown obvious discomfort toward the artificially created head hunters, he treated these children with unusual gentleness.
He reasoned that it wasn't these children's fault that they had ended up like this.
'It's not wrong, but...'
Still, hearing that from a Barbarian felt odd to Erich.
Anyway.
It didn't take Ceres long to unravel their secret.
When Ceres, results in hand, approached Erich with an excited step—
"I've figured out their role. In the end, they were connected to the previous research facility."
Erich's eyes narrowed.
If it was a result obtained from the previous facility, it must refer to the cultivation of something inside the bodies of half-dead Barbarians.
But back then, they couldn't extract anything, nor grasp anything tangible, so they didn't find a real lead.
Erich replied,
"Is it by any chance that head hunters are grown this way?"
"That's right. The pattern of power inside these children matches the results found at the previous research facility."
Ceres' explanation was quite complicated, but to put it simply:
The seed of power cultivated in catatonic Barbarians was now being grown inside these young Barbarians' bodies.
The power itself was still too immature to truly count as a head hunter—these children were even weaker than the 'mass-produced' head hunters.
However, according to Ceres, once this power matured, it could be extracted and implanted into a head hunter.
Since it was cultivated inside young Barbarians from the start, she believed that it would be possible to mass-produce head hunters without any rejection reactions.
Still, Erich had not yet resolved his previous question.
"But if these children are so valuable, wouldn't it have been better to kill them and erase the evidence? Why did he leave them alive?"
"This source of power is actually harder to detect while the host is alive. Only upon death does it take on a tangible form."
Erich's eyes narrowed. He roughly understood the situation.
If he had killed them to erase the evidence, the power inside their bodies would have manifested, leaving evidence behind.
So if he had decided to kill them, he would have had to hide their bodies—
'He must not have had the time to do that.'
On the contrary, leaving them alive would more likely lead others to simply pass them off as regular Barbarian test subjects.
It wasn't a fully satisfying explanation, but it was plausible. If it hadn't been for Ceres, Erich would likely have dismissed it as well.
Therefore, what Albrecht hadn't anticipated was that there would be a mage on Erich's team on par with the Tower Master's apprentice.
Surely, even he didn't foresee that.
At that moment, Erich recalled something Ceres had once said: every research project has an ultimate direction.
'At first, they grew the seeds of power in Barbarians. Now, they're refining that power inside the Barbarians' bodies. So, what comes next?'
What could be expected? Raising head hunters. But Erich couldn't guess the next question.
'Why is Albrecht so obsessed with this research?'
Fundamentally, Albrecht's primary interest was in the dead. But what connection existed between experiments on Barbarians to cultivate head hunters, and the dead?
Especially to the extent of dedicating two out of five research facilities to this project.
'It surely must be an experiment related to the dead.'
But there were still three research facilities left. Whatever the case, once they reached the end, they would find the truth.
Ceres added,
"I have no idea what the ultimate goal is, but these projects have been in the making for a long time. We can expect even more at the next facility."
She seemed unusually excited. Unlike studying in seclusion at the Mage Tower, personally running in the field to observe results seemed to suit her better than she'd thought.
Perhaps this grand research had stimulated her thirst for knowledge.
"I hope what awaits at the end isn't something terrible."
Since it was difficult to decide what to do with the young head hunters they had encountered, Erich decided to take them along for now. Hrung-ga volunteered to take responsibility for them.
Partly because they were kin, but also because these young Barbarians had no good feelings toward Albrecht either.
Hrung-ga explained that they might somehow become useful to their side.
[These children will be a good reason for the remaining Barbarians to stand up against Ungrim.]
Erich agreed with him. No matter how much the world revolved around the law of the jungle, there was no community that would willingly use children this way.
With these children, persuading the Barbarians who had not yet joined their side would become much easier.
Furthermore, if word spread that Ungrim's head hunters were created in such a manner, it might even incite discord within the enemy ranks.
Anyway, after finally clearing out the now-empty research facility, Erich's unit faced the steadily intensifying snowstorm.
A deadly blizzard began, making visibility almost nonexistent.
Erich felt an ominous sense in the steadily darkening scenery around them—a sense of something sinister staring right through him.
Nevertheless, Erich and his companions had no choice but to enter the storm.
Only by doing so could they shatter the schemes of Albrecht and the other dead.
***
Erich's unit was unable to travel far in the snowstorm.
Though much time had passed since departure, they felt as though they were spinning in circles, unable to make real progress.
So they decided to set up a temporary camp. The consensus was to wait out the storm.
Yet, Erich didn't simply sit idle while they waited; he found a spot out of sight of his subordinates and murmured quietly,
"Shadow."
― Ssuk!
"You called, heir?"
The Shadows appeared in a flash. Erich had no idea how they managed to hide and move around in this empty snowy plain—it was impressive how instantly they revealed themselves at his call.
But at that moment, Erich's eyes narrowed.
"... You don't look well."
"What do you mean...?"
King, at the front, glanced back. The usual perfectly-aligned Shadow formation had gaps here and there.
Erich could sense King's anger even through his mask. Such disorder was unacceptable within the Shadow's discipline.
Of course, Erich had little reason to care.
Erich turned his gaze to the ground beside him and nudged it with his foot.
― Shiver,
The mound of snow shook slightly. From within, a Shadow in black suddenly sprang up, trembling all over as he hurriedly scanned the surroundings.
― Tap tap,
He staggered unnaturally as he rejoined the line. King's glare grew even fiercer.
Erich's expression cooled.
"Is it really necessary to guard me so closely? I doubt it would matter if you loosened up."
"Heir, none should know of our existence."
"Well, everybody knows. There are rumors about weird guys hiding in the snowdrifts, shivering and sneezing..."
"Such things are impossible—"
― Etch! Choo!-
A loud sneeze brought an odd silence. Whoever had just sneezed was not going to get away with it.
'Come to think of it, it's probably their first northern blizzard too. Tsk.'
Erich understood their hardship. The Krupp family's domain was warm southern land—adaptation here could not be easy.
Even in ordinary times, the north was harshly cold, and during these occasional blizzards, even northerners avoided going outside. Even the Watch considered expeditions during these storms to be taboo.
So Erich made a suggestion to them.
"... Don't be stubborn. I called you because I have a job for you."
"As you command."
King's voice dropped low—deeper than before. Some Shadows even trembled at the tone.
"We're stuck here. This environment is rough for us, but it isn't necessarily tough for our enemies. Can you scout even in these conditions?"
"There is nothing Shadow cannot accomplish."
King hesitated briefly, then spoke again.
"There may be some losses, though."
"Serious losses?"
"We will do our best to avoid that."
"Hm."
Erich's voice was full of doubt. King seemed rather prickled by Erich's skepticism and hurried to continue, almost defensively,
"It's true."
"Alright. There are three research facilities left for us to check, but going through them one by one would take too much time. Can you confirm the remaining three?"
"Understood."
"That's it?"
"To carry out orders given to Shadow is our absolute duty. We will fulfill your expectations."
Erich pondered King's words, then nodded. There was no need to undermine their morale by doubting them further.
"Tch. I hope I can trust you."
King's shoulders twitched. With that, Erich walked off, leaving the reconnaissance of the three remaining research facilities to the Shadows.
Shortly after, King glanced over his subordinates at the rear, his eyes glinting oddly.
*
King, leader of the Shadows.
He looked down at the assembled Shadows with a somber air. The Shadows, arrayed in neat formation, waited for his orders.
He spoke in a voice tinged with self-reproach:
"... The heir has great misconceptions about us."
King's shoulders trembled slightly, not just because of the cold northern night, but because of a mix of emotions he couldn't explain.
He pointed at the other Shadows.
"This is unacceptable, simply unacceptable! That our Shadow should be treated like this...!"
The one he pointed at was visibly shaking. The northern storm really was that cold.
Honestly, it was cold, no denying it, but King barked at them,
"Do you plan to keep showing such disgrace in front of the heir? The Shadow's fearsome reputation—supposedly enough to stop a crying child—has been ruined. Can we even call ourselves Krupp's Shadows now?"
Recently, King had begun to notice an odd look in his master's eyes—cold suspicion.
But every time he saw that expression, King felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
Yet there was still a chance to redeem themselves.
"But! Now we have a chance to set this mistake right. If we carry out the heir's orders perfectly—without the slightest error!—we can prove our worth once more!"
"Yes!"
A chorus of the Shadows' signature low, eerie response echoed. Yet—
"Yes! King."
One added his title to his reply, breaking the unity. Unthinkable during their prior family training!
"... Who was that?"
One masked figure quickly raised his hand. King said,
"Don't call me King."
He didn't mean to scold; he just seemed a bit embarrassed. What King felt was...
Truly, grief at his master's terrible taste in naming.
Regardless, the Shadows rose as one to carry out Erich's orders.
Rather than checking the research facilities one by one, Erich's plan was to quickly deploy the Shadows to sweep them all.
But just then—
― Clatter!-
One of them slipped on the snow. King silently bowed his head.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
The Shadows are funny...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】