Chapter 124
Chapter 124
The battle had ended.
The corpses of the Demonic Race lay scattered across the white snow.
Dark crimson blood seeped into the ground, staining the cold snow.
Claws that had tried to tear flesh but froze mid-motion, eyes that had turned to ice, and horns that had been shattered to pieces without being granted even a single ambush.
But more importantly—
“Casualties…?”
“There are none.”
Fortunately, there were none.
I let out a breath I had been holding.
As I exhaled in relief, I drew in the cold air.
‘That’s a relief.’
They had stood here looking only at me.
The reason they had endured the harsh training in the frigid North was not for the honor and duty of knighthood, but to follow me.
They had only just officially become members of the White Wolf, so if even one of them had been killed or injured in battle, its meaning would have inevitably faded.
I opened my mouth.
“Are there truly no casualties?”
It was something I had to confirm as the lord of the White Wolf.
“Yes, there are none!”
An immediate response.
There was joy and pride in that voice.
“The injured?”
This time, after a brief silence, an answer came.
“Darius and Rondel are severely wounded. The rest have only sustained minor injuries.”
I quietly closed my eyes.
For a first battle… it exceeded expectations.
These were knights facing the Demonic Race for the first time.
They had to fight monsters whose physical abilities far surpassed those of humans.
Even so, finishing the battle without casualties was a significant achievement.
‘But I can’t be satisfied with this.’
I approached Darius and Rondel, who were severely wounded.
They were sitting in the snow.
Blood seeped through the gaps in their badly torn armor.
Among them, Darius forced a smile when he saw me.
“Haha! Young Master, I have no excuse.”
I frowned.
A deep wound ran across his chest.
The blood had already begun to freeze, and a dark crimson aura clung to the edges of the wound.
Proof that demonic energy was seeping in.
I spoke shortly.
“Don’t open your mouth. The wound is severe.”
Darius tried to respond, but a groan slipped out of his mouth instead.
“…Yes.”
A wound inflicted by the Demonic Race was not just a simple cut.
It rotted not only the skin, but the inside as well.
If not treated quickly, it would become irreversible.
However…
There was no healer included in this expedition.
From the beginning, due to the composition of the White Wolf, we had moved considering only combat strength.
‘I’ll have to secure a capable healer next time.’
In my previous party, there had been Saintess Nia.
Because she was there, no matter what injuries I suffered, I was able to rise again.
But now—
“It can’t be helped.”
I made a decision.
“Everyone, close your eyes.”
The knights looked puzzled,
but the knights of the White Wolf did not show a single doubt. They displayed absolute trust in their lord’s command.
Except for one.
“Darius.”
I looked down at him as I spoke.
“You as well.”
Darius widened his eyes in surprise,
then, upon meeting my gaze, hurriedly lowered his head.
“Ah, y-yes!”
And so, everyone closed their eyes.
I raised my hand and manifested Makina.
‘—EtMaler, Manifestation.’
An intangible force spread from my fingertips.
It could neither be seen nor sensed.
Yet it was a power capable of twisting the most fundamental laws that made up this world.
I placed my hand on Darius’s wound.
I couldn’t heal his injury right away.
But completely removing the demonic energy that had seeped into his body—
That was something I could do with the EtMaler Makina I possessed.
Chiiiiiiik—!
The air trembled.
In an instant, a dark crimson smoke burst out from Darius’s body.
It was a phenomenon that occurred during the process of removing demonic energy.
“Ugh…!”
Darius clenched his teeth.
As the demonic energy was being pulled out of his body, it must have been causing intense pain.
Yet he didn’t let out a single scream.
I focused solely on the flow of EtMaler spreading from my fingertips.
Demonic energy originally possessed a property that made it impossible to ‘erase.’
However, I could return it to nothingness. As if it had never existed.
‘The power to erase even the traces of demonic energy.’
‘The power to wipe it away as if it never existed in this world.’
That was the power I possessed.
The Makina of EtMaler.
“—Done.”
The moment I withdrew my hand, the last remnants of demonic energy in Darius’s body evaporated.
He let out a deep breath.
“…Haa.”
However, the wound still remained.
I let out a short sigh.
“The demonic energy in your body has now completely disappeared. But the wound remains as it is. Don’t overexert yourself for a while.”
Darius nodded, breathing heavily.
“…Thank you, Young Master.”
“You there. Bring self-heal herbs and bandages.”
I stood up from my spot.
Then I approached Rondel.
“You as well.”
Without a word, he closed his eyes.
I manifested Makina once more.
Chiiiiiiik—!
A moment of silence.
Then a faint tremor that followed.
And finally, even from Rondel’s body, every trace of demonic energy completely disappeared.
I looked at my hands, stained with black blood.
The corpses of the Demonic Race left scattered across the snowy field.
And the fallen knights.
“…We got through this safely for now.”
But next time, something stronger would come.
That was why I—
We had to become stronger.
I quietly steadied my breathing and looked around the battlefield.
Even now, the bodies of the Demonic Race lay strewn across the snowfield.
Dark crimson blood had seeped into the pure white snow and frozen over.
As the cold wind passed, the frozen blood glimmered like glass.
At that moment,
Cecil, who had quietly approached me, spoke.
“Young Master, are you hurt anywhere?”
Her voice was as calm as ever.
But her eyes were faintly trembling.
I rolled my shoulder once and answered casually.
“I’m fine.”
However, Cecil stared at me and frowned.
Then she spoke firmly.
“…I saw you get blown away earlier.”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
It seemed she had witnessed the moment when I was struck by a powerful blow from a high-ranking member of the Demonic Race and rolled across the snow.
Her lips twisted slightly.
It looked like she was about to sigh, but in the end, no sound escaped.
I waved my hand lightly.
“Don’t worry. You know I’m tough.”
Cecil still didn’t withdraw her suspicious gaze.
Her gaze swept over my body.
Cracks had formed all over my armor, and blood stained the hem of my clothes.
Although the traces of demonic energy had been removed, the marks of battle still remained.
On the other hand, Cecil was excessively clean.
As if she hadn’t fought at all.
Not even a single drop of blood stained her sleeves.
But I knew.
A thick scent of blood radiated from her body.
An unseen, yet palpable aura of blood.
There was no need for further proof of how many Demonic Race she had cut down.
And the knights of the White Wolf knew it as well.
The way they looked at her had changed from before.
Before the battle, they had perceived Cecil as ‘a maid who served their lord.’
But now, as they looked at her, their gazes were mixed with fear and awe.
A bloodless slaughterer.
Leaving behind no trace whatsoever,
yet carving in undeniable death.
I looked at her and let out a short chuckle.
“Well, that aside.”
“…That aside?”
“You were asking what we’re going to do next, weren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
As always, Cecil asked back in a calm manner.
I looked over the battlefield once more.
All around, it was still quiet.
However, this silence was not simple peace.
The stillness before a storm.
I spoke firmly.
“We continue the search.”
Cecil narrowed her eyes slightly as she repeated my words to herself.
I continued.
“We ran into the Demonic Race not far from the territory.”
“……”
“If that’s the case—”
Our gazes naturally met.
We had reached the same conclusion.
“That means there are still many of them here.”
I nodded heavily.
The Demonic Race were not mere monsters.
They possessed intelligence.
They did not move based on simple instinct.
They moved strategically, hunted, and sought paths to become stronger.
Could it be that this group of Demonic Race had simply been scattered, hunting aimlessly?
“…There’s a high chance they’re moving under someone’s command.”
I muttered lowly.
“There are ranks among the Demonic Race as well.”
“Right. And the ones we’ve faced so far were clearly moving in an organized manner.”
An army of the Demonic Race.
Not just a small group, but a systematically deployed hunt likely taking place within their ranks.
A bad feeling crept in.
The stirring of the Demonic Race.
Pandemonium.
The North.
Could it be that the Demonic Race were trying to move again?
Had a new Demon King appeared?
My thoughts grew complicated.
However, the decision I had to make right now was clear.
“If a group like this is moving near the territory, then the moment we leave, there’s a high chance another group will appear.”
“…Then what is your decision, Young Master?”
I gripped my sword once, then loosened it.
And spoke firmly.
“We uproot them completely here.”
We track the Demonic Race and hunt them down without leaving a single one behind.
Hearing my words, Cecil formed a faint smile.
A deep darkness settled in her eyes.
“In the end, you’re still the same, Young Master.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve always been like this. Even when a situation calls for retreat, you’ve never chosen that option.”
I shrugged.
“If we let them go once, the next crisis will only be bigger.”
At that moment.
[Do not compare me to those riffraff.]
A powerful mental intrusion.
I frowned reflexively.
A familiar voice rang inside my head.
Arrogant and overbearing, yet an undeniable existence.
‘Alright, alright.’
[The difference in rank. Rank. Even the high-ranking Demonic Race you speak of would tremble before me.]
A magical beast of the Mythical Age, incomparable even to the Demonic Race.
I looked out over the snowfield once more.
Then spoke firmly.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves. We continue the search.”
After making our preparations, we walked for over six hours. Since we had sufficient provisions, there was no major difficulty. Whenever our stamina dropped, we would stop at caves along the way, light a fire, have a simple meal, and then continue again.
Camille, who had been appointed as the Knight Commander, spoke to me.
“There are no notable traces to be found.”
“…Indeed.”
Contrary to expectations, the search was proving difficult.
‘Where the hell are all those damn bastards hiding?’
At that moment, in the distance, I sensed a presence and spotted several faint figures.
I urgently shouted.
“Everyone, halt!”
Both I and the White Wolf remained on guard as we watched the approaching figures draw closer.
Step. Step.
Step. Step.
“……”
“……”
At that moment, my eyes widened.
“Ran?”
“Aunt Izumi?”
A beautiful woman clad in black armor.
My aunt, and the leader of the Black Sword Unit, Izumi Winterbell.
In her hand, she carried a corpse—and at a glance, it appeared to be a considerably powerful high-ranking member of the Demonic Race.