Chapter 121
Chapter 121
My knight order, White Wolf , set out on its first battlefield. The mission given to us was to search for demons. The stage of this operation was the deep snowfield within the Winterbell territory.
In this desolate land where blizzards raged, something that threatened humans was hiding.
Demons.
They were not mere monsters.
They were living nightmares, predators that grew stronger with blood.
The more demons devoured humans, the stronger they became.
And the stronger they became, the more humans they hunted.
We had no choice but to hate each other.
We had no choice but to fight.
Because they pursued endless 'power' and coveted humans.
As the successor of Winterbell,
As the master of White Wolf,
I would find every last demon hiding in this place without leaving a single one behind.
The pure white snowfield stretched endlessly.
With every step I took, the snow crunched and shattered underfoot.
Cold air dug into my lungs.
When I inhaled, the chilling cold slid down my throat, and every time I exhaled, white breath bloomed into the air.
The sky was covered with ashen clouds, and even the faint light of the sun was scattered and dim.
All around was quiet.
When the wind calmed, it felt as though the entire world was holding its breath.
Yet even within that stillness, I had to remain wary of the dangers hidden beneath the snow.
Beneath the snowfield, or behind some rock, a beast might be crouching.
Demons were beasts even worse than humans.
They were always waiting for an opportunity.
Whenever the blizzard surged, my vision blurred.
The white wind lashed across my face, and the snow piled on my shoulders scattered.
It felt like my fingertips would freeze, but I could not loosen my grip on the sword.
This was Winterbell.
A land made of snow and ice.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes! I’m fine.”
“Don’t overdo it, and if anything hurts, report it immediately.”
“Yes!”
Perhaps because it was their first deployment, all the knights were brimming with energy. On one hand, I felt proud, but I couldn’t shake off a sense of unease. They had never encountered demons before.
Even with long years as mercenaries, they likely had never seen one. Demons were not something you could easily come across.
Unless they were low-ranking demons.
As for high-ranking demons, they were even harder to encounter.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
These damn vermin-like demon bastards.
Noticing my darkened expression, Cecil, who was beside me, carefully spoke.
“Young master. Are you alright?”
I smiled and nodded.
“Yeah. I’m fine, Cecil.”
We continued walking across the snowfield.
The search went on.
The blizzard raged.
The snowfield stretched endlessly, and the sky hung low, clouded in gray.
The white land remained frozen and silent.
But we knew.
Somewhere here, demons were hiding.
I pulled my black cloak tighter and moved forward.
Each time my boots pressed into the snow, a crunching sound echoed.
The knights of our White Wolf followed silently behind. Everyone maintained sharp vigilance.
The snowfield felt like a massive grave.
Each time the hushed wind brushed past, an ominous presence seeped through the silence.
Demons were beasts that resembled humans.
Creatures faithful to hunger and desire.
They always hid, waiting for the moment to hunt.
One of the White Wolf knights spoke quietly.
“My lord, there are traces.”
I stopped walking.
Where he pointed, a deeply indented patch of snow.
Footprints were left in disarray across the pure white snowfield.
Steps that were too light.
Strides that were too consistent.
It was not a trace that an ordinary human could leave behind.
I stretched out my gloved hand and lightly brushed away the snow. Beneath it, there was a faintly stained mark.
Blood.
“……It’s a demon.”
The knights around me gripped their swords tightly.
Sharp gazes scanned in all directions.
The wind blew fiercely, blurring our vision.
The snowfield was vast, and within the wind, even the sound of footsteps was erased.
“It’s nearby.”
I muttered lowly as I drew my sword.
The cold steel reflected light beneath the dazzling snowfield. The beast hidden within the snow would already know that we had approached.
We began walking again.
Following the demon’s traces,
Toward the predator hidden beneath the snow.
This time,
We would find them first.
---
Within the endlessly stretching snowfield, a faint groan could be heard.
I immediately stopped.
Even within the piercing blizzard, it was unmistakable.
Someone… was asking to be saved.
“……Help…… please……”
The voice trembled.
Though it was sometimes swallowed by the harsh wind, the desperation within it could be felt.
I turned my gaze and scanned the snowfield.
A pale silhouette was buried within a mound of snow. In this place filled with a cold that could burn the skin, the very fact that someone in that condition was alive was a miracle.
The survivor lay collapsed in the snow, barely moving their body.
A long trail of blood stretched across the white snowfield.
Their clothes were torn, and their skin had frozen, turning a bluish hue.
They stretched out a hand and cried again in a trembling voice.
“Please…… please…… help me……”
I tightened my grip on the sword.
A sense of discomfort seeped up from beneath the soft snowfield.
His presence… was far too unnatural.
This was the snowfield of Winterbell.
One would either freeze to death, or be torn apart and eaten by predators.
In a place like this, it was impossible for someone so severely injured to survive alone.
The fact that he had not died meant that he himself was likely a predator.
I took one step, then another, approaching him.
The knights of White Wolf followed me cautiously, scanning the surroundings.
Some already had their hands on their swords, while others showed signs of preparing magic.
All of us instinctively sensed that he might not be human.
I knelt down on the snow and examined his face closely.
Faint eyes, hollowed cheeks, frozen lips.
He certainly looked human.
But I saw it.
Deep within his eyes, the trace of a beast.
A faintly concealed dark crimson aura.
The mark of a blood-starved predator.
There was still a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth that had not yet faded.
Even in the cold air of the snowfield, there lingered a faint… smell of blood.
And in that moment, I realized.
‘This one is a demon.’
Yet he still desperately reached out his hand.
“……Please…… I don’t want to die……”
His eyes were filled with fear and despair. But I could not be certain that it truly came from fear.
Demons could shed tears like humans.
Demons could beg desperately like humans.
Because they could feel emotions like humans, and imitate them.
But in the end, there was always……
Death and betrayal.
I slowly drew my sword.
The blizzard swept in and brushed against the blade.
The cold gleam of metal cast a faint shadow over the white snowfield.
He looked up at me.
The beastly nature buried deep within his eyes was finally revealing its true colors.
“……Will you spare me?”
“Yeah. I have a duty to protect the people of this territory. So don’t worry.”
No.
I could not let him live.
I tightened my grip on the sword.
On the snowfield, the fierce wind surged once more.
The blizzard howled even more violently.
The cold wind brushed past like a sharp blade, as if it were slicing through skin.
On the pale snowfield, the fallen survivor was still begging to be spared.
But I knew.
That it was a lie.
I raised my sword.
[Ran Winterbell. You’ve probably already noticed, but that one is definitely a demon.]
Just as the cold steel cut through the air, about to strike down toward the demon’s neck—
“Kh…khk…”
A laugh echoed.
The mouth of the man lying on the snow twisted grotesquely.
From between his frozen lips, which split open, long and sharp teeth were revealed.
The wider he opened his mouth, the more distorted his form became.
In an instant, his face began to change into something no longer human.
“You took the bait.”
He muttered.
At that moment—
“Kraaagh!”
His arm suddenly shot out and struck toward my sword.
I immediately twisted my body and knocked it aside.
Then his fingers stretched out, writhing through the air like tentacles.
That movement was something no human could ever make.
“Not bad.”
The one who had been buried in the snow rose to his feet.
At the same time, his skin split apart as a dark crimson aura spread outward.
Muscles writhed beneath his skin, and his bones twisted as if breaking.
In an instant, he discarded the shape of a human and transformed into something beast-like.
However—
That wasn’t the real problem.
Boom!
The snow mound collapsed.
“……Khk khk khk.”
“Hahaha!”
From all directions, from beneath the snow,
Things that had been holding their breath began crawling out.
I instinctively lowered my stance and looked around.
“Demons! It’s demons!”
“Demons have appeared!”
“Damn it. They look disgusting just by their appearance.”
Dark crimson figures surged up from the snow.
They had the form of humans, but they were not human.
Those who rose from the snow all shone with an unnatural presence against the dazzling white snowfield.
The knights of White Wolf also sensed it and quickly moved.
Swords were drawn, and spear tips were lowered into position.
I muttered lowly.
“So they were hiding in the snowfield.”
From beneath the snow, demons crawled out one after another.
Some had arms that stretched unnaturally long, dangling grotesquely, while others had bodies twisted like four-legged beasts.
Some stretched out their tongues and licked the hardened snow.
They had been waiting.
Holding their breath, enduring,
For the moment we let our guard down.
But.
Wolves are not hunted so easily.
I raised my sword high.
And then,
I shouted loudly.
“Hold formation!”
The knights moved in unison.
Without scattering, without losing balance for even a moment.
Even as the wind howled and snow whipped through the air,
Our movements did not falter.
“Watch each other’s backs and hold your ground. Wipe them all out!”
The demons snickered and laughed.
The predators that had lurked beneath the snow finally began to move.
A dark crimson aura spread, and I could feel their beast-like gazes locking onto us.
Hidden within the blizzard, the demons were surrounding us.
But we knew.
This was Winterbell.
A land made of snow and ice.
Only the strong survive here.
And the prey……
Is not us.