Lizardden.
“Over there is Lizardden. It’s the place where my kin gather.”
Following Kaiyak’s guidance, Yona paused for a moment, holding her breath as she looked down from the mountain ridge.
With determination, she took in every detail of the Lizardden scenery.
The walls were made of what seemed like bundled hay, not quite clear what they were.
Inside the enclosed space marked by that wall were houses topped with the same hay.
A fairly spacious wooden platform made from planks, complete with a flat stone laid down as a footrest.
The sight was incredibly similar to the thatched house in Yona’s memory.
If examined closely, there might be differences here and there, but nevertheless, Yona found those shapes really familiar and lost her words.
“Come on, let’s go down. Everyone’s probably waiting.”
Only after Kaiyak’s urging did Yona and Alex follow his lead and descend the ridge.
On the way down, there were stairs made from earth carved out and wooden boards hammered into place.
With each step down these stairs, Yona felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with Lizardden.
“Kaiyak!”
Just as they entered Lizardden, more than ten Lizardmen came charging over and surrounded Alex, Yona, and Kaiyak in an instant.
Despite none showing hostility or malice, the surrounding giant figures instinctively filled Yona with fear, making her tremble slightly.
“No need to be scared, Yona. There’s not a single soul here that means you harm.”
“Uh, mm.”
Yona responded in a tiny voice, glancing around.
Sure enough, each Lizardman looked slightly different when viewed closely.
In other words, it was tough to tell them apart until one looked carefully.
Among them, Kaiyak stood out as particularly large, and while the others were smaller than him, they were still at least two heads taller than Yona, creating quite the intimidating presence.
“You’re the priest who helped us earlier, right?”
One of the Lizardmen took a step forward.
Before Yona could even respond, he kneeled and bowed deeply.
“I apologize for the late greeting to my benefactor. Please forgive my rudeness.”
As soon as he bowed, the other Lizardmen quickly followed suit, kneeling down and bowing to Yona.
In this situation, it was Yona who became flustered, fumbling about in confusion before turning to Kaiyak.
“Thanks to you, everyone was able to return with their lives, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed.”
“That’s not possible.”
Kaiyak looked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Both Alex and Yona seemed just as perplexed, not knowing what to do in this situation.
*
“This village may look this way, but it has quite a deep tradition. From the construction style to etiquette, we maintain everything just as learned from the hero Siu.”
Kaiyak tore off a leg of a well-cooked chicken and handed it to Yona.
After a moment’s hesitation, Yona accepted it and took a careful bite, her eyes going wide.
“What is this taste…?”
“It seems it suits your taste. Thank goodness. Alex doesn’t seem to like it much, though.”
Just as he said, Alex held the dripping chicken, looking confused about how to eat it.
It was awkward to tear it with a fork, and if he tried to use his hands, the broth would just run everywhere. The name of this dish was Chicken Soup.
This dish, made by boiling various herbs from the mountains and freshwater shellfish, tasted a bit different from what Yona remembered, but it was definitely Chicken Soup.
“This is one of the traditional dishes too. Does it suit your taste?”
Yona had already demolished one chicken leg.
Holding his bowl up, she slurped up the broth without needing Kaiyak to ask more, blinking her eyes in reply.
Steamed rice with mountain vegetables, salted grilled fish, and lightly blanched greens mixed with a few seasonings.
It was a meal that suited Yona’s taste, and she filled her belly to the brim, enjoying the long-awaited feast.
After the meal, they served scorched rice water.
Yona, who emptied her bowl of the steaming, nutty, and savory scorched rice water, was patting her belly with a face of mixed agony and satisfaction.
“Alright, now that we’re all stuffed, shall we talk about our side?”
“Sure.”
It seemed like Alex didn’t particularly enjoy the meal, but as Yona excitedly described the dishes she had in her world, he tried really hard to eat, his eyes sparkling, and he moved closer to Kaiyak.
“So, to put it plainly. We Lizardmen are a tribe that serves the deity, and since our deity is said to be asleep, the sanctum is regarded as a holy place.”
Kaiyak opened a drawer in the corner of the room and pulled out a pipe.
Then, a small Lizardman next to him quickly brought out a tiny box, stuffed a few leaves into the pipe, and another little Lizardman lit the leaves.
Another little Lizardman set that leaf on fire.
A grayish cigarette smoke billowed out from the pipe.
With every deep breath Kaiyak took in and let out, hazy smoke emerged, but oddly enough, the typical stench of tobacco was nowhere to be found.
“That sanctuary… has turned so black. I don’t even know why. It was some moment, precisely the day after I arrived at Lizardden after visiting North Kantasia.”
Kaiyak’s house is in North Kantasia.
While he was away, his family left North Kantasia and returned to Lizardden, and not knowing this, Kaiyak came back to Lizardden from the Kantasia River after hearing the moving news.
And the day after he arrived, something happened to the sanctuary.
Without any forewarning, the sanctuary had transformed into a pitch-black torrent.
“Isn’t this all too familiar? Alex, Yona.”
Amidst the hazy smoke, Kaiyak’s yellow eyes glinted brightly as he looked back and forth at Alex and Yona.
Who could decipher the gaze of a Lizardman? However, Yona and Alex both felt the same sense of déjà vu from the story.
“…It looks similar to what happened in James’s village.”
After a while, Yona finally spoke up.
It was akin to the incident with the divine tree that happened in the village where she met James.
The difference being, one— the divine tree had a reason for its disturbances, while the sanctuary did not.
Aside from that, the phenomena were the same—
“Yeah, similar. So similar that aside from one detail, it’s exactly the same.”
Kaiyak exhaled a long plume of smoke.
Shaking the ash out of his pipe into the ashtray after tipping it over, he set it down, and the little Lizardmen quickly cleaned it up.
“So, Yona.”
Those little Lizardmen were so adorable, their mini Kaiyak-like stocky tails wagging around as they hurriedly moved about, which made Yona watch them intently.
Then, suddenly called upon, Yona shifted her gaze to Kaiyak.
“I want to give you a request.”
“A request?”
“Yeah. A request.”
Kaiyak straightened his slouched position and sat up.
His previously dull gaze regained its sharp glimmer as he turned to Yona.
“Purify that sanctuary for me, Yona. Alex, I’d like you to help out as well. As you saw earlier, it’s impossible with just our strength.”
Kaiyak’s expression was exceedingly serious.
*
“The heavenly god said, ‘Those who are wicked shall find no place to stand.’
“The heavenly god said, ‘You shall lead the vanguard.’”
“You will stand at the forefront.”
“The Divine has spoken, to move forward without fear.”
“The Divine has spoken, I will guide you with light.”
Every time the prayer was recited, a low mechanical sound echoed from the armor.
With each eerie sound, divinity blossomed, and soon that divinity transformed into a brilliant golden pattern.
It rises, but it is not smoke; it is loyalty toward the Divine,
It burns, but it is not fire; it is affection toward the Divine,
It ascends, but it has no wings; it is a longing toward the Divine,
It sinks, but there is no torment; it is a sinking towards the Divine.
Thud, thud—
As divinity blazed into golden patterns, the silver armor added buffs along with the designs.
Scarlet quietly inhaled with his eyes closed.
Thorns emerged from the morning star he gripped, and the shield in his other hand grew even sturdier.
“Sir Scarlet, the Vanguard… Are you alright?”
Even when Vigrind’s voice called, Scarlet did not turn.
It was not polite to ignore the Saint who had personally come to speak, but prayer to the Divine took precedence.
“I am fine. Even if there is a problem, it will not be a problem.”
As Scarlet spoke, divinity bloomed.
Suppressing intense excitement, Scarlet finally turned to Vigrind.
Now, Vigrind was dressed not in the Divine robe but in her Saint attire.
Though hidden under his helmet, Scarlet smiled at the petite and delicate figure of the Saint.
“I will open the way ahead. Saint, please be careful.”
“…Yes, Sir Scarlet.”
It was a march.
Scarlet would lead the way into the fog and simultaneously guide the allies advancing from the rear through the sturdy rope fixed at his waist.
“Then, I will begin.”
Scarlet turned.
Taking a step into the thick fog that obscured visibility, the creeping mist was pushed away by the thick divine presence enveloping his body.
“In the name of the Divine, I shall grant you eternal slumber in ceaseless agony.”
To the wicked, death.
A hellish and tormenting slumber.
Scarlet repeated those words as he slowly stepped into the fog.
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