Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Wolf’s Howl (2)
“Are we breaking through the Poison Swamp like this?”
“Yes. You’ve been there a few times, so you know the way.”
Even so, I had only traveled along familiar routes, so if the destination changed, it was meaningless.
“Where is the destination?”
“The center.”
At the Imperial Princess’s answer, I shut my mouth tight. The Imperial Princess intended to completely eradicate the Poison Swamp. At its center stood the structure where Anash had been.
Naturally, that structure would be wiped out as well. Strictly speaking, it belonged to the Anaye Order, but the situation was too urgent to dwell on that.
“Are you heading straight to the center?”
“That is the last resort. The best option is to restore the ancient barrier. We will inspect that first.”
After hearing the Imperial Princess’s plan, I stepped ahead of her and the Vice-Commander.
“I will guide you to the barrier.”
Fortunately, the Vice-Commander knew the way well. Guided by her, we headed toward the Poison Swamp. As we approached the boundary, the clashing sounds of weapons grew louder.
“Open the way!”
At the very front, Ethan, the Knight Commander, who had just smashed the head of a Hellhorn Bull, shouted loudly. The Imperial Knight Order was slaughtering monsters with their respective weapons.
At Ethan’s command, the Imperial Knight Order moved busily. Even while fighting, they maintained formation and carved a path through the center.
“I’ll break through!”
I surged forward quickly and summoned the Holy Scripture. The number of monsters densely surrounding the boundary was considerable.
Judging that it would be nearly impossible to break through with ordinary close combat, I immediately summoned the Lightning Spike of Anaye from the scripture.
“I shall go first!”
A towering strand of lightning began to take shape. Before that, Ethan raised his weapon high.
Emerald-colored magic began to gather around his massive halberd.
-Kuuuuung!
The halberd Ethan swung with full force unleashed fierce magic. It carved out a massive trace as if a beast had slashed through, pouring into the monsters.
With that alone, most of the large monsters occupying the front were knocked down. Seizing that moment, I fired the Lightning Spike, shaped like a spear.
-Kiiing.
With a strange sound echoing as it burned through the air, the lightning shot forward. The mass of high-heat current melted most things that stood in its way, carving out a blackened path.
The Lightning Spike, aimed toward an area with fewer heavily armored large monsters, completely vaporized the monsters behind them.
“Protect Her Imperial Highness!”
Before the monsters could fill the gap, we moved quickly. From behind us, Ethan’s booming voice rang out.
***
“Mm~ are you okay?”
“Huff huff! Yes? Huff! What hu—what do you mean?”
“You look~ fine.”
Canis asked Winter, who was diligently following behind her, if she was okay. The reason they were hurrying like this was because she was worried that Winter might be harmed by the poisonous fog.
The Academy Director’s barrier was powerful enough to isolate space itself, but it did not have the function of purifying the poisonous fog that had already entered.
“Mm~ this should be useful~”
Arriving at the chapel, Canis immediately opened the door. She smiled at the clean air she felt.
The broken greatsword enshrined to one side emitted a faint light, purifying the surroundings. Since it was too heavy to carry directly, Canis used magic.
“Shall we open the Gate of Valhalla?”
“Mm~ no~ let’s grab gas masks~ and while we’re at it~ let’s take antidotes too~ you know where, right?”
“Antidotes? Ah, yes! I know where they are.”
Winter, who had extensive knowledge in medicine, was well aware of the antidotes to use against the poisonous fog. First, Canis headed toward the supply storage.
Inside the large warehouse within the academy were various items, but the poisonous fog had thickly settled there.
“It’s here!”
Canis, who had been searching separately, quickly turned at Winter’s words. Winter, who had opened the Gate of Valhalla, was already placing gas masks into the portal.
“We will immediately join the rescue efforts.”
Soloven, who received a gas mask from beyond the portal, said that.
“Don’t worry about who it is~ just bring everyone~ I’ll take the antidotes too~”
After saying that, Canis used magic to shove all the gas masks into the portal. It was quite a forceful action, but no one took issue with it.
“Here.”
“Thanks~”
Winter handed Canis a gas mask she had prepared in advance. The two, now wearing gas masks, immediately left the Academic Department.
The infirmary where they could obtain antidotes was located in another building, not within the Academic Department.
“Ah~ I should’ve put the greatsword in too~”
Canis groaned as she realized the amount of magic required to handle the heavy greatsword was no joke.
“Sh-should I open the door?”
“No~ I’m kidding~”
Canis gently refused Winter’s suggestion. A remarkable ability like a portal would surely come with an equivalent burden.
Canis wanted to preserve Winter’s condition as much as possible.
“Monsters~ get ready~”
“Huh? Yes?”
While moving quickly, the group entered a building. Due to the nature of the infirmary requiring a steady supply of medicinal ingredients, it was located within the Alchemy Department building.
After entering, Winter guided the way. Following behind her, Canis heard a strange sound coming from the end of the corridor.
“Climbing Thorn Bees~”
Recognizing the sound as the buzzing of Climbing Thorn Bees, Canis mentioned them in advance. Winter steeled herself and gripped her flag tightly.
“Yaaah!”
The moment the Climbing Thorn Bees came into view, Winter thrust her flag like a spear. Her posture was quite clumsy, but her speed and strength were decent.
As the flag pierced through a bee’s abdomen, Canis launched a cluster of crystals.
“There aren’t that many~ let’s take them down quickly~”
The real danger of Climbing Thorn Bees usually lay in their massive swarms. However, there were only about ten occupying the corridor now.
Canis could handle them alone, but since she needed to conserve magic, she decided to rely on Winter’s help.
“Aaaah!”
Surprisingly, Winter was quite helpful. Aside from the initial ambush, she didn’t land many proper attacks, but her evasion was excellent.
She skillfully dodged incoming strikes, and her defense using the flag was fairly solid. While being impressed by Winter, Canis continuously fired crystals.
The creatures were so fast that most attacks missed, but those entangled with Winter’s flag were struck and burst apart by the crystals.
“We got them all!”
“Move right away~”
Winter said that as she tossed aside the Climbing Thorn Bee that was still twitching on her flag. Canis immediately urged them to move.
Even though Winter should have been tired, she promptly guided the way again.
“Ugh… I should’ve set coordinates.”
“Complaints later~ antidotes first~”
As soon as they arrived at the infirmary, Canis comforted the groaning Winter and took position at the entrance.
“Winter~”
“Yes?”
“Once you’ve gathered all the antidotes~ deliver them right away~”
At Canis’s call, Winter tilted her head. Not fully understanding what she meant, she made a blank expression.
“They’re enemies~ human, but I can feel hostile intent~”
“…I’ll be back soon.”
At Canis’s words, Winter bit her lower lip. Watching her quickly gather the antidotes, Canis let out a small chuckle.
Closing the door behind her, Canis surveyed the surroundings. The empty corridor felt devoid of any life.
“Hmm~ what a strange presence~”
Sensing a faint presence from the end of the right corridor, Canis turned her head. In her sight stood a person wearing a black robe.
“Obviously~ suspicious~”
The black-robed figure, no longer attempting to hide their presence, walked forward boldly with heavy steps.
With a dry laugh, Canis set down her greatsword and began to draw up her magic.
“Canis Ulbushis.”
Since she did not know his identity, Canis had been about to intercept him safely from a distance, but lowered her outstretched hand when the suspicious figure called her name.
“You~ know me?”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t.”
Unexpectedly, the black-robed figure seemed willing to talk. After rolling her eyes for a moment, Canis nodded and joined the conversation.
“How~ do you know me?”
“The only daughter of the Ulbushis Family. The top-ranked freshman of the Magic Department. Every one of those titles draws attention.”
Canis’s eyes gleamed. It was widely known that she was the only daughter of the Ulbushis Family.
However, being the top-ranked freshman of the Magic Department was not something one could know without being connected to the academy.
While it was possible he had heard it from others, Canis began to suspect that the person before her might be the traitor Davide had mentioned.
“So~ what’s your purpose?”
“Purpose? Yes, purpose is important.”
At Canis’s words, the black-robed figure began to laugh darkly. Canis slowly examined him.
Slightly shorter than Davide. A similarly thin build, clearly male. His voice sounded distorted, making it impossible to identify him.
“We are on a great journey. Canis, I want you to join us in that journey.”
At the mention of recruitment, Canis let out a hollow laugh.
“What~ can you offer~? From what I see, it doesn’t look like you have anything I~ want.”
Canis spoke with heavy sarcasm. The black-robed figure smirked at her words.
“You seem to think the Ulbushis secret is something remarkable.”
“…….”
At his words, Canis’s expression hardened frighteningly. A secret known only to Davide and herself had been mentioned by someone else.
“In fact, I probably know more than you and Davide.”
“…….”
“Aren’t you chasing a deep and dark truth?”
Hearing the sinister voice, Canis’s face grew even colder. Not only her secret, but even her goal had been exposed.
Just like Davide, and now this black-robed figure—how did they know such things?
“So~ if I join your side, you’ll tell me the truth?”
“Yes.”
Canis wondered if this was some kind of advanced psychological tactic. There was no need to trust the words of a hostile stranger she had just met.
“You don’t seem convinced. Then let me tell you an interesting story. A story about someone I know.”
Reading Canis’s expression, the black-robed figure spoke with a dark smile.
“The person I know was born into a great family, but from birth, he lacked something. The emotion of sadness. When his parents died in an accident, he didn’t shed a single tear. Because he didn’t feel sad.”
The black-robed figure slowly observed Canis’s expression. Her face remained completely calm.
“Watching his younger sister cry for three days and nights, he realized he wasn’t normal. Do you know what it feels like to realize you’re different from others?”
“…….”
Canis could not open her mouth at his words.
“He set out on a journey to find himself. And he hoped that such a thing would not be passed down to his child. But he failed. His child was born in a far worse state than he was.”
Canis stared at the black-robed figure with steady eyes.
“His child couldn’t feel anger. No matter how much injustice they faced, they couldn’t feel anger, only accept it like a fool. A half-wit who survives by mimicking others’ reactions. That’s you, Canis Ulbushis.”
-Graaah!
The moment the black-robed figure finished speaking, Anger burst out. Opening its massive jaws, Anger let out a furious roar as it shot forward.