The winter that made my bones ache.
The cold that seemed to tear at my skin.
Only the pitiful memories remained.
A past that dragged me down to the ground.
A nightmare that ripped apart my spring.
Karpeng, who shattered everything about me, has awakened.
I vowed that one day I would take my revenge.
No matter what, it had to be me.
I believed only I could take that bastard’s neck.
I buried my emotions.
I abandoned my dreams.
I let go of my past.
If I could have sold my soul, I would have done so.
That’s how I lived, consumed by hatred.
To overcome the past.
To wake from the nightmare.
To honor my dead brother.
But why.
Why.
Is this damn body trembling in fear?
Why can’t I stop and move?
“Lu, Luchi….”
The shaman’s trembling voice reached me.
“What the hell…”
The shaman, drenched in sweat, sighed as she looked south with trembling eyes.
“W-why has Karpeng… w-why has he awakened… the barrier was definitely…”
I looked around.
Indeed, the barrier was firmly in place, as the shaman said.
If so, someone must have intentionally awakened Karpeng.
And that someone is probably…
The Pope of Erden, who distorted Hablan in the people’s memories.
The one behind all the false rumors that led to the deaths of all the survivors.
Alstein of the Erdenst Castle.
“Luchi.”
Heinzel’s serious voice broke my thoughts.
His voice and expression held much meaning.
I glanced around.
The chaotic scenery of the village, affected by Karpeng’s roar, came into view.
People were sitting down.
They were convulsing, foaming at the mouth.
They were collapsing, spitting blood.
They looked soulless.
That scene.
The same scenery as the past Hablan.
If we flee from Loholan now,
the four of us would survive.
Without a doubt, we would survive.
And this village would become like the past Hablan.
Beautiful structures would crumble into piles of rubble, the fertile land would dry up,
and all creatures, including livestock, would die.
Everything left behind would become a second Hablan filled with monsters.
Forgotten from people’s memories.
Erased from maps.
Only distorted rumors would remain.
In exchange for that.
We could promise ourselves a future.
Survive and look forward to the next day.
Wake every morning.
Eat, train, and live the peaceful life of an adventurer.
So now.
“Let’s retreat—”
“Luchi. Is that really your true intention?”
Heinzel’s serious eyes were fixed on me.
As if he could pierce through my innermost thoughts, he looked at me deeply.
“My true intention…”
Karpeng is still terrifying.
I felt goosebumps.
My clenched fist was full of sweat.
My body shook, and memories of the past made it hard to think clearly.
I want to run away.
I don’t want to die.
But.
I want to kill.
I want to fight.
I don’t want to repeat the past.
I want to overcome the nightmare.
To take on that bastard’s axe.
To punch him away.
To tear apart his skin.
To gouge out his eyes.
To chew on his insides.
To break his bones.
In the end,
I want to behead him.
Because that was my life’s goal.
That was the last way to honor my brother, Lux.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I, who had been comforted by Heinzel.
I, who had received his advice, seemed foolish.
“Ha, Heinzel. Our wager isn’t over, is it?”
“Khahahahah! That’s right! We both forgot while counting in the middle. The first place goes to that kiddo! We have to determine the last place!”
Heinzel’s booming laughter echoed in Loholan.
It resonated with my heart.
“Khuhuh… that’s right. We should see which is crappier, your stupid halberd or my sword.”
I clenched my fist and slammed down my stiffened leg.
I struck my own mouth, which blurted nonsense, and my terrified face.
Then, I pulled out my battered sword.
“I guess the steak is off the table. How about we eat something in the village of Ursphere in Karahan?”
“Hmm. That’s a good idea.”
Heinzel also gripped his halberd.
“Everyone… what… what are you planning—”
“It’d be best for the lady to help the kiddo and the villagers escape. I don’t know if we can make it to Ursphere, but at least we need to keep our heads attached, right?”
I looked back at the shaman.
Despite wrapping herself in divine power, she looked like she could barely stand.
“It’s best to do that. Keep the divine power up. Hearing that bastard’s cries might make you faint.”
Then, I turned back and looked south.
In the distance,
the thick, blood-red fur,
the savage teeth,
the claws stretched out aggressively,
and the gaping mouth that seemed to tear everything apart
were rushing towards us.
“Just in case, I’ll tell you. Don’t send Noah this way, even if he awakens.”
“Khahahaha! That’s right. If that kiddo catches him, we won’t be able to find out who is last!”
“You’re going to die… you’re going to die for sure… why…”
I ignored the shaman’s words from behind.
I slowly took a breath.
I loosened my stiffened body.
I wrapped my finely honed magical power around myself.
“During the Manticore hunt, we’ll clearly show who had the bigger impact. You ignorant hardhead.”
“Why not protect your remaining eye? If you get caught by that bastard again, it’ll be a shame that you won’t even be able to die.”
“Nonsense.”
Heinzel’s muscles swelled.
My magic sharpened even more.
Right after that.
[GRAAAAAAAAA-!]
Karpeng’s roar resonated through the sky.
It marked the end of a long, tormenting nightmare.
It broke a painfully repeating, chilly winter.
It shattered a past deeply missed.
Thud-
I took a step forward.
*
Even wrapped tightly in divine power, Karpeng’s roar made my whole body tremble.
It made me feel numb.
I wished to collapse at any moment.
“Hoo… huff… huh…”
I lifted my head to see Luchi and Heinzel moving ahead.
There it was, called the nightmare of the East.
The red wolf, Karpeng.
Its size was at least three times that of a human.
The killing intent oozing from its body.
The blood aura seeping from its claws.
The terrible malice dripping from its fangs.
It was visible.
It made me want to escape immediately.
It made me want to give up.
But.
At the same time.
I saw the people standing firm in that spot.
With bodies infinitely weak compared to the monster.
Wearing shattered armor.
Holding cracked weapons.
Continuing to fight.
They were there.
“You foolish girl…”
I gently laid Noah down on the ground.
I pushed my body to get up.
Pushing away the fear, I concentrated.
So people could rise from their places.
So they could overcome their fear.
So they could gather their thoughts.
Thinking of Noah, who said she would protect me for life,
I spread a barrier of divine power that enveloped all of Loholan.
A small noise echoed.
The sound of people rising.
Ordered breaths.
Crying.
Sighs.
Despair.
Fear.
Engulfed Loholan.
I infused my voice with divine power.
I spread it far away.
“People of Loholan.”
I wore a warm smile on my face.
An expression formed out of habit.
I raised my voice confidently.
“At this very moment, the goddess of the sun, Lilith, is watching over us. So, there is no need to worry.”
I caught the trembling voice and shouted with more strength.
“There was no pointless death. There was no purposeless event. Everything flowed according to the will of Lilith.”
And then.
For the first time in five years, I uttered words.
Words I didn’t even want to speak.
The lies that I despised.
With sincerity, I proclaimed.
“Everything, for Erden.”
The small noise became a bothersome one.
The sound of people rising became steps.
Ordered breaths became heightened voices.
Crying turned into laughter.
Sighs became admiration.
Despair transformed into hope.
Fear became courage.
They all changed.
My teeth ground together.
My stomach churned.
The urge to vomit rose.
My hands trembled.
I felt like I might shed bloody tears at any moment.
The very people you hated.
The ones you looked down upon.
The ones you despised.
The ones you cursed.
The ones you expressed rage towards.
Those people.
The very ones who were sacrificing themselves for you.
Sacrificing themselves for you, dying over there.
Seeing them
smiling,
admiring,
holding hope,
and having courage
was something they should have naturally done.
It meant they should stand firm and defend their lives.
It meant they should take on responsibility.
It was all so disgusting.
So sickening.
The past Hablan has fallen.
My village has fallen.
My heart too.
It had fallen long ago.
But.
You survived.
You managed to protect it.
You guarded it.
You stopped it.
You did all that.
But if only one person.
Just a single word of thanks.
If you had shown that feeling.
A warm word.
A kind greeting.
Just a lukewarm cup of water.
If you had shown even the slightest hint of gratitude.
They would not have had to leave in loneliness.
They would have moved forward confidently.
They could have…
They definitively could have done that.
“Yeah… they could have…”
I too.
The past me.
I could have done that.
But I didn’t.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t.
I chose not to.
I was the same as the villagers.
That realization made me nauseous.
I had acted the same as them in the past.
Thought the same as them.
Yet now I found it disgusting, vile.
That was so…
So revolting.
So filthy.
I utterly loathed myself.
[GRAAAAUUU-!!]
“…Ugh, ha, hahaha…”
Ironically, Karpeng’s roar snapped me out of my pointless thoughts.
“Phew…”
I regained my composure, hugged Noah,
and quietly,
I moved forward.
I had to do what a shaman could do.
What I had been doing for the past five years in a village harmed by monsters.
“Who is the representative of the village?”
“A-a… I’ll bring them here right away!”
The trembling woman said as she pulled back.
“No. I’ll go there myself. Just guide me, please.”
“A-All right!”
The woman started walking with her head bowed.
I followed the woman and looked back at Luchi and Heinzel.
In that moment.
Blood erupted from Heinzel’s body, which I saw in the distance.
The halberd, which looked indestructible, shattered.
His right arm was torn away.
The adventurer, who always stood confidently,
was now crawling pitifully on the ground.
