384. Omen (3)
Leaving behind the chaos that swept through the eastern continent, venturing further west, crossing the sparsely populated forests of unnamed deep mountain ranges, one enters a more secluded area. There, vast mountain ranges filled with uninhabited lands appear.
These are the administrative borders of various kingdoms or the outermost edges of empires. Abandoned, undeveloped lands with no resources worth the human effort needed for development, nor any geographical advantages.
Even in this era, where the light of civilization is believed to have spread across the continent, such untouched regions by human feet are still not hard to find.
Dense thickets that recover within a year even after logging. The timber obtainable is too inferior for industrial use, and the mineral veins in the mountains are not economically viable.
Even bandits or slash-and-burn farmers do not live in such mountains. There is no reason for bandits to be in deep mountains without trade routes or passersby, and even tax-evading slash-and-burn farmers cannot seek safety in such areas.
Yes, safety. Where the light of civilized society does not reach, beings unfriendly to humans tend to gather. Sea demons fleeing the light gather under these mountain shadows, harboring endless hatred and disgust.
“Calm down.”
According to elf legends, there is a den of eyeless monsters in the deep sea. In the lightless depths, ancient monsters that have abandoned sight degenerate, their turbid eyes flickering as they roam, seeking prey by smell and touch.
At this moment, the young man thought that the old legend might be a calm narration. In this deep, dense forest where sunlight cannot penetrate even at noon, the young man felt the presence of surrounding beings and awkwardly smiled.
It was the smell of blood. Not only the thick scent of blood ingrained in the young man’s body but also the smell of the wounded prey he carried on his shoulder was stimulating these beasts.
The young man waved the torch he was holding quite threateningly. Squeak, squeak. With a choking sound, a four-legged beast convulsively retreated.
Revealed under the light was a strange, hunchbacked monkey-like creature with long, thin spider-like legs spread in all directions. The young man growled, not hiding his disgust.
“Back off! Step back!”
He rolled up his sleeves and shouted. At that moment, the stench of the surrounding beasts lessened. The weaker ones whimpered, tucked their tails, and hid in the darkness.
A red mark appeared on the young man’s forearm. It looked like a character, a meaningless spot, or, depending on the light, like the head of a beast.
“Fallen ones. Your master has been defeated, and you have no hope left! Submit and make way!”
“Even if you speak human words with a human voice, do you think these creatures will understand?”
A sinister voice flowed from the darkness. The beasts’ breaths were suppressed, and a sticky silence, where not even a single insect chirped, descended under the forest’s shadow.
The young man narrowed his eyes and turned towards the direction of the voice. Rustle, rustle. With a sound like silk brushing, a mask-like white face emerged from the darkness.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman. Her porcelain-like skin and smooth nose bridge floated alone in the thick shadow.
“A noble among the defeated soldiers, what omen is this?”
“Witch. Whose servant are you?”
“Once served the lord of the abyss, but now I serve time and fate. The one existence that even the greatest lords could not escape.”
As she spoke, her mouth did not move at all. The young man put down the sack he was carrying on his shoulder. Thrown to the ground, the person inside the sack squirmed.
“You’ve brought a poor child. Too weak to be a sacrifice, and too far traveled to be sent back with kind words…”
“I am Carlo Magno Pavilos. What is your name?”
“Names hold no meaning here. Neither yours nor mine…”
-Rustle.
The sound of silk fluttering approached. Carlo reflexively placed his hand on the sword hilt at his waist. With the sound of a cricket, a low laugh echoed from the darkness.
“Would you like to cut my body with the noble’s blade? It would be an amusing game.”
“Do not approach, witch. I have no business with you, and you cannot harm me!”
“Neither is true. What you wish to do cannot be done without passing through me, and I can indeed harm you.”
The sound of insect wings fluttering echoed, and soon a long, black rod appeared under the torchlight. The white face rose higher, and beneath it, a giant black insect with a glossy exoskeleton revealed itself.
It was a spider. A spider with a human face on its back, walking through oily silence, dripping white mucus, and looking at Carlo with gleaming yellow eyes.
“You do not seem surprised, noble one.”
“You do not know me. I am well acquainted with your kind.”
Phaeirn Hunting School, an educational institution created under the banner of national defense to hunt sea demons, monsters, and beasts. Carlo was the most outstanding hunter produced by the Hunting School and currently served as a professor.
Among the many beasts and monsters hunted by the Hunting School throughout its long history were these kinds. Creatures that lure with words, mimic human skin, and crave human blood, the beasts of darkness.
Beings that feed on fear. Once a threat to human civilization, they are now mere remnants. Bugs that fled beyond the light of civilization. Carlo stood tall and fearless, looking at the creature.
Carlo waved the torch threateningly. The forest shadows swayed violently with the trajectory of the light. The beasts hiding in the shadows hissed, lowering their bodies in anger.
“What you fear, what you hate, your weaknesses and your thoughts… The ancient secrets you hold are nothing but jokes in old fables. That’s the era. You, once rulers of night and dawn, are now mere remnants of the past, and your time will never return.”
“Then why have you sought us, noble one?”
The spider asked with a voice full of laughter. Carlo dared to chew his lip and glare at it. The spider’s exoskeleton-covered legs made a clicking sound as they touched the ground.
“I sought you? No, you merely stood in my path. If I hadn’t met you here, you would never have stood at the same height, meeting my gaze.”
“Ah, noble one, you are mistaken. The mark of that one on your body… You must have followed that path. I would gladly admire the wisdom that uncovered the history hidden here, but you are already too late.”
“…What?”
Carlo, the spider…
He couldn’t help but pause at the words. Was the information wrong? That couldn’t be. That guy… the saint of the Great Wilderness, that monstrous being, never sought out incorrect information.
Even if he intentionally spread false information, this wasn’t one of those cases. This was the last will he left behind, prepared for death.
The traces of the last Great Demon sealed in the Material World. There was no way he would have carelessly leaked such valuable information. As Karl narrowed his eyes, the spider bustled and spoke with a laugh.
“Why do you think we’re here? As you mentioned earlier, we are the remnants of a defeated army. Our foolish Sovereign fell at the hands of that hypocrite, but even the defeated have their own ways.”
The spider’s eyes gleamed with the violence of bloodshed. Karl instinctively felt threatened and took a step back.
It was a mistake. Beasts instinctively sense the fear of their prey. The spider’s body began to slowly approach.
In the darkness, the spider’s body seemed to swell. A sense of disorientation, the distortion of reality, the reversal of roles between predator and prey… Karl reflexively gripped the sword hilt and the crossbow in his arms.
“Don’t be afraid, noble one. Would we really harm you? If we had intended to, you wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“I heard it was an abandoned mine. If it were truly abandoned, there should be traces of human activity. Creatures like you shouldn’t be able to hide here.”
“Correct. Yet, here we are. What does that tell you?”
“Your master… must have found his tomb first. Probably… recently.”
Karl spoke each word as if chewing and spitting them out, letting out a long sigh. But soon, he felt something was off. He felt like he was missing something…
Tyban. If these guys had found the sealed resting place of that ancient demon and even succeeded in breaking the seal, why were there no signs of it?
Since the Celestial War, no Great Demon has fully walked the earth. So, what would happen if a Great Demon were to break free from its seal? It was a matter of speculation and fantasy.
But one thing was certain: the arrival of a Great Demon wouldn’t be this quiet. It wasn’t just about the low-level corruption caused by Hellish Magic.
Demons, especially Great Demons, are conceptual beings. For such a being to walk the Material World would mean the distortion of the phenomenal concepts that make up the world, twisting its laws.
Karl narrowed his eyes as he looked at the spider. Sensing his doubt, the spider raised its voice as if singing.
“You are wise, noble one. Truly, the apostle chosen by him. Your thoughts are correct. My master did not break the seal. That requires the blood of the living, forgotten knowledge, and the wisdom and power to use it. We cannot do that.”
The spider clattered its legs as it approached, rubbing the bloodstains near the scattered hilt with its foot. Fresh red blood clung to its chitinous leg, and the spider seemed to savor it.
“But… our adversary. That thousand-times-cursed traitor. We can at least anticipate what he plans to do.”
“You read his plans?”
“My master discovered his true nature. After being brought down by him, my master had plenty of time to think. What his plans might be, what those cowards high above in the sky desire. And finally… how fragile and futile this world is…”
Isn’t it amusing? That the Material World we so longed for and coveted might be someone’s dream. The spider whispered with a chuckle. As Karl frowned, the spider took a few steps back and spoke.
“It seems you haven’t figured it out yet. Being here has made me talk too much. Noble one, let me get to the point. What you seek is no longer here.”
“Are you saying the seal was moved? Is that even possible?”
“Not in ordinary circumstances. But there’s always a way. My master found that way and sent us here. To stay and deliver a message to those who come. Perhaps, he thought that traitor would find us first.”
“What message do you want me to deliver to him?”
“If it’s possible to ascend to the heavens, then it must also be possible to fall to the earth.”
The spider giggled as if it had made a malicious joke. A foul stench of decay began to emanate from its body.
As Karl stepped back, the spider whispered, disappearing into the darkness.
“Go back and tell him. Do not return here. Your master will come for you himself. Now, the only one I serve is fate, and fate, as always, will descend to its inevitable conclusion. For your master, for that adversary, and for this world.”
“At least not for me.”
At that moment, a chilling voice echoed from behind Karl. Both the spider and Karl flinched, staring into the darkness. Karl laughed hollowly.
“Damn it, really… things are getting messed up. Why did you come so soon? Huh?”
Karl shook his head and turned around. A faint light slowly rose from the darkness. A cold beam of light formed the shape of a spear.
Seeing this, a suppressed groan escaped the spider’s mouth.
“Shrike…!!”
“It seems the fate you serve didn’t foresee my arrival today, demon.”
“You are nothing but his most ridiculous puppet!”
-Sssssshhhhk!
Instead of an answer, a sound tore through the air. Karl realized too late that something had grazed his cheek and completely shattered the space behind him. The object, faster than sound, crushed the spot where the spider had been and pierced through several trees.
The sound of old twisted trees followed. The presence of the beasts completely vanished. And from the darkness, a figure with glowing eyes approached.
Daryan. The wounded beast with eerie eyes stared straight at him, drawing a blade from his waist.
“Listen, Sir Shrike. Just a moment. Behind you… there’s the last power that can change this world. How can you alone oppose all the hypocrites of the Church and succeed? I’m not saying to join forces or follow us. Think rationally. Just because we share the same goal, let’s move together for a while…”
Karl couldn’t finish his words. Even though the blade was clearly out of reach, Karl vividly felt the sword graze his neck.
Daryan, now beside him, looked down at him with blazing eyes. Beyond him, Karl saw his own headless body collapsing.
He couldn’t go out like this. Karl’s eyes widened as he screamed. But no sound came out.
In his fading vision, Karl heard Daryan’s voice.
“Kill the gods, kill the demons, save humanity.”
In the grip of that mad determination, Karl thought as his consciousness slowly faded. That thing can no longer be called human. It’s just a natural disaster in human form.
Trying to manipulate storms and tidal waves with bare hands leads to this. Karl found it amusing and closed his eyes.
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