Chapter 271

Long plains. Harsh air. Silent Arctic.

Crossing the long, snow-covered tundra, we went. Azahadaka no longer conserved his magical power and advanced at full speed.

It wasn’t the suffocating pain or bone-grinding agony that whipped and urged us. What made us rush wasn’t any external factor but an inner whisper.

We all simply resonated with it. We had already entered the final stage, and thinking beyond this was meaningless.

It was a gamble, staking everything on one last bet. Success or failure. There was no in-between. We could only clash with all our might, with no room for holding back.

Everyone was too tense to speak, but it was just tension.

“It feels like waiting to see if a coin toss lands on heads or tails.”

-And if it’s tails, we all hold hands and head to the underworld.

Grimudo had already left Polaris Fortress. With him gone, it didn’t seem like any difficult task awaited us there.

Our job was to dig through the now ownerless fortress’s underground, find the core of the Primal Body, and drive the Thorn into it. And that’s as far as we could go.

If we drive this Thorn into the Primal Body’s vital point, can we really kill it?

There’s no way to know until we try. Half the odds are with us, the other half with the heavens.

That’s why, no matter how you dress it up, it’s still a gamble. But if we don’t take this gamble, we have no chance of winning. At least, we must do all we can and leave the rest to fate.

Originally, we wouldn’t even have been given the chance to gamble. If there’s any opportunity to act, we have no choice but to do our best.

If we fall, everyone falls. If we retreat, all opportunities vanish. The fate of not just a nation, but an era and the world, rests on our shoulders and this Thorn.

Even if luck doesn’t favor us and the Thorn’s power falls short, the people here wouldn’t truly suffer a great blow.

-The faith directed towards me is dwindling even now. My followers are dying or giving up their faith. Probably both. It can’t be helped. I failed in my duty as a god. What right does a god who can’t protect their followers have to ask for faith?

Only one, the evil god Oberta, who lives on faith, will vanish if this fails. But the dragon Azahadaka is different; if things go wrong, she can just flee. If she tried her best and it didn’t work, she bears no moral responsibility.

Roka and Yanid also have no obligation to perish with the world’s end, so even if this fails, they won’t face any life-threatening crisis. Ironically, the Arctic, the Primal Body itself, is the safest place from the cycle.

We haven’t seen a single one of the so-called Reapers that Grimudo mentioned. In fact, thinking about it, it was obvious. It wouldn’t be worth it for those massive creatures to cross this vast tundra just to devour three people and one dragon.

With creatures to devour everywhere, there’s no reason to come all the way to the Arctic. Even if the whole world is swept away, the Arctic is different.

But just because we’re safe doesn’t mean we’re at ease. Our lives aren’t at stake in this gamble, which makes it even heavier.

“Don’t worry too much. If it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t. If it really comes to that, we’ll just dig a hole and hide.”

Roka, holding my shoulder and whispering, had a somber expression. She tried to speak cheerfully, but her voice lacked strength.

The Roka I first met might have felt nothing even if the world ended. She might have even welcomed it with open arms.

To someone with nothing precious left, destruction would mean nothing. Back then, Roka didn’t even value herself.

But now, after helping me on this journey and reaching this point, Roka has formed many bonds. Lady Kisea and the beastfolk are the main ones, but even beyond them, there are good connections in the Capital and the Citadel. She’s also acquainted with the people of the Aldehir Church.

Though the time spent forming these bonds was short, and the relationships aren’t deep, they are still acquaintances. The thought of them all dying and being the only one left is terrifying.

So, we can only pray that such a thing doesn’t happen.

“Look, Polaris Fortress is in sight!”

[I guess Grimudo isn’t there?]

-To think I’d come here three times. My luck is really messed up.

In the distance, the once devout and beautiful ice fortress slowly revealed its outline.

Though it had melted and cracked from the previous battle, the remaining parts still stood tall, waiting for us. The sound of the wind hitting it was deafening.

Like Oberta, this was also my third visit to the fortress.

The grandeur I felt upon first seeing it had significantly faded. Before, I felt awe and wonder at this structure, but now, there was no time for sightseeing.

-What are you doing? Hurry up and go in.

[Wait a moment. Let’s look around first. If that guy is still inside, charging in with our current strength would be suicide. Let’s play it safe.]

So, I thought we’d go in right away, but the dragon had different ideas. She circled above Polaris Fortress, carefully observing the interior. Having narrowly survived a recent battle, her caution was understandable.

It seemed the one-on-one battle with the Demon King had left a deep scar. After cautiously scanning the air, the dragon quietly landed on the fortress’s highest point. Though the original top had long since crumbled, it was still the highest remaining part.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the wind changed direction, and a fierce gust blew. Even the massive dragon staggered, and we almost fell off. Heat rose from the ground, meeting the Arctic chill and creating steam. The dragon hastily spread her wings and retreated.

[Wh-what’s going on? This isn’t magic…]

The ice on the ground instantly melted into water. Not stopping there, it began to boil, creating a thick fog that obscured our vision. When the fog froze and disappeared, a bright light streaked past, briefly illuminating everything.

“My eyes…! I-I can’t see!”

“Only white afterimages remain…”

Roka and Yanid screamed in panic. Just seeing the passing light had temporarily blinded two of the continent’s top fighters.

If my eyes hadn’t turned into those of an Apostle, I might have lost my vision too. It wasn’t supernatural power, just the light itself was overwhelmingly intense. Just looking at it was unbearable!

But the light itself wasn’t the scary part. Roka and Yanid were caught off guard by the sudden flash; otherwise, they would have had countermeasures.

What’s truly frightening is the heat the light carries. Looking closely at where the light shot out, the ice had completely melted, forming a large lake.

Bubbling and boiling, ripples formed on the lake, and a large eye rose to look at us. Yes, an eye. That’s the only way to describe it.

Sizzle…

The Arctic’s intense cold quickly refroze the melted ice, restoring it. But only temporarily. As it melted and refroze, the ice became transparent, and light seeped through, causing the ice to boil even more violently.

A curtain of light stretched out, blocking our path. Even though the heat had diminished after melting the ice, its power was undiminished. Just being exposed to the light was hot and suffocating. It felt like my breath was suddenly cut off.

“A monster… that’s a monster, right?”

-It seems so… but, what is that? I’ve never seen anything like it. A monster unknown until now.

[Was Grimudo using something like that as a mere guard dog?]

-Probably. If such a uniquely shaped monster had been active, it would have been known. Rumors would have spread, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.

This time, even as the ice refroze, the eye was clearly visible. No emotion could be read from that massive pupil. But one thing was certain: it was getting closer.

The Arctic is a terrain formed by glaciers on the back of the Primal Body, a creature floating on the sea. Unlike the continent, the ground here is made of snow and ice, not soil and stone.

The underground, between the glaciers, seems to be where this creature moves by melting the ice with light. It’s trying to rise to the surface using that method.

[This isn’t good. While it’s in the ice, even if it aims and shoots the light at us, it refracts and scatters, missing us. But if it comes out into the air…]

“Then we have to destroy it. It’s blocking our way! What else can we do but smash it?”

[It’s not as easy as it sounds.]

The third strike. When the third light beam shot towards us, it pierced through the glacier, refracting and scattering in the steam, missing us. As Azahadaka said, this attack wasn’t too threatening. It just startled us a bit.

[That thing… we shouldn’t underestimate it.]

But now, that unrealistically large eye has surfaced. With the sound of the ground refreezing behind it, the eye emerged. It turned its pupil, accurately aiming at us.

Now, we can’t expect the same luck as before.