Wolves of Hader

I headed north again.

Donnie, Allen, and the Tuji brothers stayed behind at the castle. They wanted to offer advice and encouragement to those who had just tasted liberation.

Since we had captured the most impregnable castle, the remaining castles and territories would be handled by the resistance. Amir's forces would arrive soon as well.

"I can't forget the look of awe on their faces. I wonder how much pain they must have endured to react that way."

That was Eilin's comment.

When we left, many of the residents sent us off in tears. Those who had been excited when we seized the castle only truly realized their liberation the next day.

It was already getting dark.

There was a village nearby, but it was completely deserted. Not a house without corpses or bones.

So, instead of spending the night in an empty house like before, we went into the forest. I'd rather sleep around a bonfire in the woods than in a house reeking of rot.

Tak tak tak—

Fwoosh—

I struck flint onto dry leaves to make a fire. I brought kindling from the pile in the village. As someone who travels with elementals, I felt uncomfortable just cutting down trees.

Yuri must have been tired from the long journey and soon fell asleep. She always needed a lot of sleep. Maybe it was a side effect of waking after sleeping for a thousand years.

I grilled lamb while Eilin brewed coffee. It was her first time drinking coffee, but after a few cups, she started having it every day. She even claimed she'd start importing it or something.

"Here, drink."

"Thank you."

I drank coffee with Eilin.

It was still cold, but that made everything feel even cozier. The coffee tasted so much better, too.

Crackle. Crackle.

The sound of the bonfire was really pleasant. The nocturnal insects in the woods added a peaceful touch.

Camping like this felt truly healing. Maybe seeing yesterday's tragedy had made me want to spend the night this way.

"This reminds me of when we first met."

"When we were working on the capital's waterworks?"

"Yes."

Eilin smiled bashfully.

I couldn't help but laugh too.

"I feel so embarrassed when I think about then. You had only come for trade, but I thought you'd come to propose."

"Did a lot of people do that?"

Eilin didn't answer.

I supposed a lot did, since she was a princess.

"Back then, I didn't know you were the way you are now. You looked so young, I thought you were a naive young master. I was shocked to find out you weren't at all."

I listened quietly.

There wasn't really anything to say in return.

"Just like you said, I thought you were just a merchant at the time. I didn't know you were such a strong person. Not just in physical strength, but your spirit too."

She stared quietly into her coffee.

I drank my coffee in silence as well.

"Actually, I used to have strange dreams since I was young. It's a bit odd to say this, but I often dreamt of spending time with someone like you."

"Maybe it was fate that we met."

Eilin gave a faint smile at my remark.

It really could be true.

"I'm not just saying that."

"What kind of dream was it?"

"It's hard to explain."

I waited a moment.

She was trying to recall.

"I lived in a strange world."

"What kind of world?"

"I don't really know how to put it."

Her words trailed off again.

After thinking hard for a moment, she continued.

"I dreamed of living as an Elin. Young girls often dream of becoming beautiful Elin, but for me, that wasn't the case. But..."

Eilin looked at me quietly.

"Even when I lived as an Elin, I was with someone like you."

"Someone who looked like me?"

"Not at all. It's just the feeling. When I was young, I thought I was simply waiting for someone who resembled my father. Even now, I'm not sure if it's just my imagination."

Perhaps Eilin had a prophetic dream about meeting me. It felt a bit embarrassing to say fate tied us together, but maybe it was true.

The atmosphere grew a little awkward.

Both of us just sipped our coffee in silence.

I wondered if I'd be able to sleep tonight.

/ / /

I was restless until dawn.

In the end, I got up, revived the dying bonfire, and boiled water for coffee. While I waited by the fire, I sensed something approaching.

Something was coming near. Since the area was so undeveloped, I'd expected wild beasts.

In the dark, I saw lights.

One. Two. Three...

At first, I thought it was the gleam of wolves' eyes. But their numbers kept growing, soon reaching hundreds. Countless pairs of eyes stared at us from the forest's edge.

"Eilin, wake up. Yuri too."

"What's going on?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Eilin and Yuri woke up too.

"Get ready to leave."

"Alright."

Judging by the height and position of the glowing eyes, they were dwarves. I had heard this region was home to mischievous dwarves — the "Nogg," even smaller than goblins.

Goblins were monsters, but Noggs were classified as faeries. They were corporeal elementals, you might say. Skilled at finding minerals and excellent miners.

Hundreds of these creatures appeared before us.

I was startled by their sudden appearance, but what was even more surprising was that they were all prostrated before us.

"Big sister, why are the dwarves acting like that?"

"Who knows."

They shouted something toward us, praying and pleading as if they were welcoming some deity. Some trembled in fear.

"They won't attack us, right?"

"I don't think so."

Eilin seemed uneasy, while Yuri seemed excited to see the dwarves. The creatures must have recognized Yuri's true identity — that the girl was a dragon.

"Yuri, aren't you scared?"

"Scared of dwarves?"

"No."

"So why are they asking for rescue?"

"They're asking for rescue? The dwarves?"

"Yeah. They want us to save their village."

Eilin and I exchanged glances.

She can understand their words?

"How do you know what they're saying?"

"I just know. There's a devil in the dwarves' village, and they want us to save it. The dwarf king has become a devil."

"Where is that village?"

"There."

Yuri pointed to the western mountains.

It was on the edge of the Beltern central mountains.

The place where we were to rendezvous with the team.

It seems the Noggs didn't come for Yuri specifically. They recognized a "divinity" who could save their village, and that just happened to be where a dragon was.

Maybe the elementals told the Noggs.

If so, then...

/ / /

We headed to the western part of the Beltern central mountains.

We met up with the rest of the team yesterday. The Noggs had been guiding us since then.

The end of the mountain range was extremely rugged. Jagged rocks and cliffs stretched endlessly. Uninhabited. No big trees or herbs to be found.

But the rougher the mountains, the greater my hope.

It was likely that the Noggs' habitat and the place I sought were one and the same. It needed to be a location hard to discover.

There was no reason for the Noggs' habitat to be tainted by darkness unless there was a demon gate, or a devil had been there. If not, then it must be the place I sought.

"They say the western coast is a forbidden zone. Eilin, do you know anything about that?"

"I only heard there's a Forest of Death. They say if you enter, you're trapped in hallucinations and can't get out."

"Hallucinations?"

"Yes. In Robe, they used to threaten disobedient children by saying they'd send them to the western woods. It's so hard to cross the mountains that hardly anyone's been there."

Just like southern Arshaire. Even in Beltern, the western central mountains were uncharted. There was supposedly a kingdom, but it seemed about the size of a small territory.

"Allen, do you know anything about the west?"

"Dran doesn't go there either. I was born in the capital city and only ever lived there."

We needed to purify the darkness that had overtaken Beltern's west. Devils were everyone's enemy — it couldn't just be someone else's problem. Yet the area was so vast.

On the map, a black mark stretched from Beltern's southern coast all the way to the empire's west. Not everywhere was like that, but the distribution matched.

It was as if the devils were blocking Elins from landing. Aindel is straight across the sea from here to the western side of the two continents. There hadn't been anything like this in my previous life.

Nobody spoke as we pressed on.

How far were the Noggs leading us, anyway?

/ / /

About an hour later.

The Noggs went ahead through their own tunnels, and unfortunately, the rendezvous point was below a cliff.

When the team went down to check, they found something. So, everyone climbed down rope ladders to the bottom of the cliff. There was no reason to come here otherwise.

"Over here."

There was a small cave at the bottom of a narrow ravine. The entrance was so small that you had to crawl in. A faint aura of darkness flowed out from within.

"Did you go in?"

"Yes. There's a large gorge inside."

"Let's check it out."

We cautiously entered the cave.

I felt an unfamiliar energy mixed with the power of darkness, along with the musky smell of the Noggs.

The entrance was narrow, but it widened as we went in. There were signs throughout indicating Noggs had once lived here, but oddly, deeper inside, it seemed humans or even Dran had dug it out.

We stopped when we reached the end of the cave.

Just as the team had said, a large gorge appeared. About 50 paces across. There was no bridge.

But on the far side, the Noggs who had guided us waited, as if at a crossing. Was there a way over?

Above, the wall blocked the path, and the further downward slope only widened the gorge. To build a bridge, our side was the better choice.

"Young lord, look there."

Was I seeing things?

Some of the Noggs hopped up and down in thin air at the cliff's edge, motioning for us to come over.

"Looks like there's a bridge?"

"I don't see it."

Allen cautiously reached his hand down the cliff, but of course, there was only a drop. Then Eilin pulled the holy sword from her backpack and unwrapped it.

And at that moment.

The light of divinity dispelled the darkness, revealing a bridge that had been invisible just moments before. It was a bridge like a path made of light.

When I touched it, there really was a bridge. I couldn't tell what it was made of—neither stone nor wood. It was as smooth as glass.

"Let's cross."

I was the first to cross the bridge.

It was only about three strides wide. After we crossed, the Noggs disappeared into another cave.

We went straight into that cave.

It was long as well. After a long walk, we saw a vast open space of a treasure chamber.

As I peered down from the entrance—

My mouth dropped open involuntarily.

There were ancient ruins below.

The scale wasn't huge, but the broad road and buildings stretched far into the distance.

A subterranean city.

Maybe calling it "the ancient path" would fit.

Why would anyone build such a thing?

It looked like Noggs had once lived here, but now it was tainted by darkness. Continuing along that road, I felt like I might actually slip back into ancient times.

Then Yuri spoke.

"They say not to enter the king's tomb."

"This is the king's tomb?"

"That's what the person over there said."

We all looked toward where Yuri was pointing.

There were figures clad in armor.

Definitely human-shaped.

This was the legendary king's tomb. The entrance was hard to find, and the bridge was invisible without divinity. That's why it had yet to be discovered.

But someone had come before us.

For us, at least, the Noggs had led the way.

How had those people found it?

About twenty figures stood in the distance.

All armored, wielding bows or spears, and staring silently at us.

They were far off, standing on a rooftop of one building, with Noggs shuffling around beneath them like zombies.

"They look like ghosts."

"But they're wearing armor?"

Come to think of it, they didn't seem human. But ghosts aren't visible to the naked eye, and can't wear armor. Though the light spirit within my right hand was sensing something close to an anomaly.

My hand, imbued with the spirit of radiance, was detecting a presence. In any case, this ancient ruin held a considerable power of darkness — not as strong as the demon island, but substantial.

What was in the king's tomb?

Viscount Drian had said that the thing I'd find here would become a great source of strength. I couldn't even guess what it might be.

"What do you think?"

"Let's go in. If someone built the king's tomb this big, it must not be an ordinary king."

There were many strange symbols on the buildings.

Not just bizarre—they were grotesque. It felt like staring at some evil secret cult's rites.

"I think I've seen this before,"

Eilin said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Actually... I saw you and the team in a dream, in an underground city with a strange group."

I looked at the team.

A strange group?

"What did they look like?"

"They seemed like knights."

"Knights?"

"But something about them... they looked just like those people."

I looked back at the figures atop the building.

Could they be ghostly knights?

Why was I with them?