“Ugh!”
A scream burst from Andrew's mouth as he stuck his leg into the fire pit.
Even if he stayed still, it was a dangerous situation to jump onto the lava, so Andrew, who had rushed to the side with a chance of survival, was suffocated by the pain beyond his imagination.
'Can I hold out?'
He had no confidence at all.
But a shred of reason kept him going despite the burning pain in his legs.
'Hillen... those children... must be saved.'
If he was destined to die in vain without being saved, he wanted to at least save his beloved younger sibling and the innocent children.
He didn't come here to kill anyone.
He just wanted to save Hillen.
He was not so wicked as to be selfish until the very last moment.
Like his father, who suffered all his life from the guilt of betraying his comrades and lord.
It was only at this moment that Andrew realized that he was not much different from his father.
If Hillen, he, and even the children who had nothing to do with him were all caught up in this and killed, he felt like he wouldn't be able to close his eyes properly even after death due to the emptiness.
“Ugh!”
He braced himself against the door, using his body as support.
The wizard fired magic at Andrew, who ran out.
But Andrew stood there, holding onto the broken door, desperately trying to block it.
Behind Andrew's shield, the children threw a table towards where the lava seemed to be shallowest and jumped onto the table with Hillen.
But it was still a very long way to get to safety without touching the lava.
While he hesitated, the wooden table was instantly engulfed in flames, and the wizard's gaze was now turned to the children who had jumped out to escape.
But then it was.
Whioooooo!
The strange sound of the wind grew louder, and soon the two children and Hillen disappeared without a trace.
Even though the Ronheim people were said to be very resistant to the cold, that was only compared to ordinary people. They did not have the incredible ability to withstand the cold to the point of defying the power of Mother Nature.
To endure this blizzard for too long was to invite death.
Before his men could lose body heat and become exhausted, Callius was about to order a retreat, though he felt sorry for them.
Suddenly, at one point in his field of vision, a flash of light appeared.
A light appeared in the forest, illuminating the darkness.
Callius, who had narrowed his search to the immediate vicinity of the cabin, finally saw the cabin.
Coincidentally, the enemy's magic served as a signal flare that informed Callius and his party of their exact location.
Callius saw the wizard emerge from the cabin and begin to scorch the ground around the cabin, taking stock of the situation.
'There must be something wrong inside.'
Did they have a fight among themselves?
Anyway, Callius was sure there were children in the cabin.
He whistled a short, sharp whistle, and the keen-eared snow cats responded with a long howl from across the forest.
After locating the snow cats, Callius blew a long whistle to signal the start of the hunt.
The snow cats, with Andrew in the lead, came out of the cabin at that moment, grabbed Hillen and the two children who were rolling on the lava, and threw them in front of Callius in the blink of an eye.
“Ugh!”
“Ouch!”
The three of them let out short groans as they were thrown somewhere around Callius.
The knights quickly gathered the three men.
"Good job."
Callius, just in case, threw the fattest part of the boar meat he had brought in his pocket to the snow cats as a reward.
The snow cats, satisfied with receiving tasty food in return for handing over Hillen and the two children, who were tasteless and easy prey, to Callius, bit the thrown food and disappeared into the darkness.
Callius asked Luca.
“Luca, can you turn off that light?”
“I don’t have that ability right now.”
Even with the mana stones Chloe gave him, Luca couldn't cast magic that could counter that level of magic.
As soon as he heard Luca's answer, Callius galloped away without even thinking and shouted at the knights.
“When the magic stops, search the cabin!”
If you can't counter magic, the best way is to neutralize the opponent's magic.
And the easiest and quickest way to neutralize magic was the death of the spellcaster.
The wizard, who noticed that Hillen and the children were gone, prepared another spell while keeping a close eye on the surroundings.
Callius quickly approached the wizard, hiding himself in the darkness as much as possible.
'A little more.'
He took the bow on his back and pulled the string.
Because of the strong headwind, it was difficult to control the bow's range and angle.
While Callius was still unable to release the bowstring, the wizard became aware of his surroundings and tried to turn his head.
Then the knights shouted from the opposite direction, drawing the wizard's attention.
They were elite knights who had been on the battlefield together with Callius for a long time.
“...!”
The startled wizard turned back towards the cabin.
He tried to pull up the lava boiling on the floor like a pillar and pour it down on the knights who suddenly appeared.
At that moment, Callius' arrow, shot from atop a galloping horse against the wind, pierced the wizard's back and struck his heart.
The lava pillars sank helplessly, and the ground that had been heated by magic cooled as rapidly as it had been heated artificially.
But the hut that had been burned down eventually collapsed.
“Recover the wizard’s body! The traitor still lives!”
Callius left the dead wizard and the unconscious Andrew in the care of some knights and ran to the cabin.
Many people hurriedly searched through the burnt rubble.
The task was not easy, as the fire went out and the surroundings became dark again, but the knights managed to pull Edzel and Basto out of it.
“What about the child? Is he alive?”
The knight who had put his ear to Edzel's chest nodded.
“Yes! He's alive!”
Edzel was barely able to breathe, even though he was unconscious in the fire pit.
It seems that he was able to survive by inhaling less smoke because he passed out.
“Just stay alive.”
Callius whispered to Edzel.
"Just hold on until you reach the castle. Then you'll survive. You can do it, right?"
Edzel was still unconscious, but Callius hoped his voice would reach the boy.
Although Basto's condition was so bad that it was a miracle he was still alive, he seemed to be barely breathing.
Why is Basto here?
To find out why, it was best to get to the castle quickly while his life was still hanging on.
Callius shouted.
“Back to the castle!”
I waited for Callius, shivering, in front of the window with the best view of the city gate.
Lamia kept nagging me, putting warm stones in my pocket.
“At this rate, the madam will fall ill before the master even returns!”
“No, I’m fine.”
“It’s not okay. Even though you’re shaking like this.”
Lamia pulled the blanket wrapped around my shoulders closer.
It was a blanket that Ramia brought me because she couldn't stand to see me shivering in the wind with the window open, wearing only a shawl.
"Oh, really. Even if you weren't standing here in the wind, Master would have returned safely."
“When he comes, I want to be the first one to find him.”
I was arguing with Lamia the whole time.
Time passed terribly slowly.
'Callius...'
I couldn't stand the anxiety that he would die, like in my past life.
Let's go into the room, let's close the window. Lamia tried to persuade me, but I resisted with a stubbornness I'd never shown before in my life.
It was at that time.
I saw a familiar figure across the hallway.
'Karl?'
Behind Lamia's back, Karl was waving his hand with a mischievous smile.
It was Karl I hadn't seen in a long time.
Before I could tell him the good news that Callius had accepted his existence and that he no longer had to hide, I was afraid that he would run away because of Lamia, so I hurriedly asked Lamia for help.
"Could you bring me a few more heated stones from the room, Lamia? The ones I brought you earlier got cold quickly."
"Of course, the stone will cool down quickly when you're exposed to the wind like this! Don't do that, just go in."
“Please, Lamia.”
As I spoke, almost pleadingly, Lamia sighed deeply and went into the room to get the heated stone.
"Karl."
I quietly gestured to Karl.
Only after Lamia disappeared did Karl come closer to me.
“Are you worried about Marquis Rodrian?”
“You know.”
“I heard the servants talking about what happened.”
I, who had pretended to be strong in front of Lamia, collapsed helplessly in front of Karl.
"I'm so worried. What if something goes wrong with him? I don't think I can bear it. What should I do?"
Karl gently stroked my shoulder.
"It's okay. I'm here. When he's dead and Ronheim falls, let's get out of here and go far, far away. Let's stop caring about Kabbalah and Andrea and go somewhere no one can find us and hide. You know how well I hide, don't you?"
“...”
"You've run so far away, yet they still come right before you and torment you. They're vicious. How are you supposed to defeat them? It's scary and difficult."
“...”
"Don't worry, Chloe. If the worst comes to worst, let's run away together."
I stared at Karl with wavering eyes.
As expected, he saw through my anxiety and fear better than anyone else.
A scream burst from Andrew's mouth as he stuck his leg into the fire pit.
Even if he stayed still, it was a dangerous situation to jump onto the lava, so Andrew, who had rushed to the side with a chance of survival, was suffocated by the pain beyond his imagination.
'Can I hold out?'
He had no confidence at all.
But a shred of reason kept him going despite the burning pain in his legs.
'Hillen... those children... must be saved.'
If he was destined to die in vain without being saved, he wanted to at least save his beloved younger sibling and the innocent children.
He didn't come here to kill anyone.
He just wanted to save Hillen.
He was not so wicked as to be selfish until the very last moment.
Like his father, who suffered all his life from the guilt of betraying his comrades and lord.
It was only at this moment that Andrew realized that he was not much different from his father.
If Hillen, he, and even the children who had nothing to do with him were all caught up in this and killed, he felt like he wouldn't be able to close his eyes properly even after death due to the emptiness.
“Ugh!”
He braced himself against the door, using his body as support.
The wizard fired magic at Andrew, who ran out.
But Andrew stood there, holding onto the broken door, desperately trying to block it.
Behind Andrew's shield, the children threw a table towards where the lava seemed to be shallowest and jumped onto the table with Hillen.
But it was still a very long way to get to safety without touching the lava.
While he hesitated, the wooden table was instantly engulfed in flames, and the wizard's gaze was now turned to the children who had jumped out to escape.
But then it was.
Whioooooo!
The strange sound of the wind grew louder, and soon the two children and Hillen disappeared without a trace.
***
Even though the Ronheim people were said to be very resistant to the cold, that was only compared to ordinary people. They did not have the incredible ability to withstand the cold to the point of defying the power of Mother Nature.
To endure this blizzard for too long was to invite death.
Before his men could lose body heat and become exhausted, Callius was about to order a retreat, though he felt sorry for them.
Suddenly, at one point in his field of vision, a flash of light appeared.
A light appeared in the forest, illuminating the darkness.
Callius, who had narrowed his search to the immediate vicinity of the cabin, finally saw the cabin.
Coincidentally, the enemy's magic served as a signal flare that informed Callius and his party of their exact location.
Callius saw the wizard emerge from the cabin and begin to scorch the ground around the cabin, taking stock of the situation.
'There must be something wrong inside.'
Did they have a fight among themselves?
Anyway, Callius was sure there were children in the cabin.
He whistled a short, sharp whistle, and the keen-eared snow cats responded with a long howl from across the forest.
After locating the snow cats, Callius blew a long whistle to signal the start of the hunt.
The snow cats, with Andrew in the lead, came out of the cabin at that moment, grabbed Hillen and the two children who were rolling on the lava, and threw them in front of Callius in the blink of an eye.
“Yikes!”
“Ouch!”
The three of them let out short groans as they were thrown somewhere around Callius.
The knights quickly gathered the three men.
"Good job."
Callius, just in case, threw the fattest part of the boar meat he had brought in his pocket to the snow cats as a reward.
The snow cats, satisfied with receiving tasty food in return for handing over Hillen and the two children, who were tasteless and easy prey, to Callius, bit the thrown food and disappeared into the darkness.
Callius asked Luca.
“Luca, can you turn off that light?”
“I don’t have that ability right now.”
Even with the mana stones Chloe gave him, Luca couldn't cast magic that could counter that level of magic.
As soon as he heard Luca's answer, Callius galloped away without even thinking and shouted at the knights.
“When the magic stops, search the cabin!”
If you can't counter magic, the best way is to neutralize the opponent's magic.
And the easiest and quickest way to neutralize magic was the death of the spellcaster.
The wizard, who noticed that Hillen and the children were gone, prepared another spell while keeping a close eye on the surroundings.
Callius quickly approached the wizard, hiding himself in the darkness as much as possible.
'A little more.'
He took the bow on his back and pulled the string.
Because of the strong headwind, it was difficult to control the bow's range and angle.
While Callius was still unable to release the bowstring, the wizard became aware of his surroundings and tried to turn his head.
Then the knights shouted from the opposite direction, drawing the wizard's attention.
They were elite knights who had been on the battlefield together with Callius for a long time.
“...!”
The startled wizard turned back towards the cabin.
He tried to pull up the lava boiling on the floor like a pillar and pour it down on the knights who suddenly appeared.
At that moment, Callius' arrow, shot from atop a galloping horse against the wind, pierced the wizard's back and struck his heart.
“Yikes!”
But the hut that had been burned down eventually collapsed.
“Recover the wizard’s body! The traitor still lives!”
Callius left the dead wizard and the unconscious Andrew in the care of some knights and ran to the cabin.
Many people hurriedly searched through the burnt rubble.
The task was not easy, as the fire went out and the surroundings became dark again, but the knights managed to pull Edzel and Basto out of it.
“What about the child? Is he alive?”
The knight who had put his ear to Edzel's chest nodded.
“Yes! He's alive!”
Edzel was barely able to breathe, even though he was unconscious in the fire pit.
It seems that he was able to survive by inhaling less smoke because he passed out.
“Just stay alive.”
Callius whispered to Edzel.
"Just hold on until you reach the castle. Then you'll survive. You can do it, right?"
Edzel was still unconscious, but Callius hoped his voice would reach the boy.
Although Basto's condition was so bad that it was a miracle he was still alive, he seemed to be barely breathing.
Why is Basto here?
To find out why, it was best to get to the castle quickly while his life was still hanging on.
Callius shouted.
“Back to the castle!”
***
I waited for Callius, shivering, in front of the window with the best view of the city gate.
Lamia kept nagging me, putting warm stones in my pocket.
“At this rate, the madam will fall ill before the master even returns!”
“No, I’m fine.”
“It’s not okay. Even though you’re shaking like this.”
Lamia pulled the blanket wrapped around my shoulders closer.
It was a blanket that Ramia brought me because she couldn't stand to see me shivering in the wind with the window open, wearing only a shawl.
"Oh, really. Even if you weren't standing here in the wind, Master would have returned safely."
“When he comes, I want to be the first one to find him.”
I was arguing with Lamia the whole time.
Time passed terribly slowly.
'Callius...'
I couldn't stand the anxiety that he would die, like in my past life.
Let's go into the room, let's close the window. Lamia tried to persuade me, but I resisted with a stubbornness I'd never shown before in my life.
It was at that time.
I saw a familiar figure across the hallway.
'Karl?'
Behind Lamia's back, Karl was waving his hand with a mischievous smile.
It was Karl I hadn't seen in a long time.
Before I could tell him the good news that Callius had accepted his existence and that he no longer had to hide, I was afraid that he would run away because of Lamia, so I hurriedly asked Lamia for help.
"Could you bring me a few more heated stones from the room, Lamia? The ones I brought you earlier got cold quickly."
"Of course, the stone will cool down quickly when you're exposed to the wind like this! Don't do that, just go in."
“Please, Lamia.”
As I spoke, almost pleadingly, Lamia sighed deeply and went into the room to get the heated stone.
"Karl."
I quietly gestured to Karl.
Only after Lamia disappeared did Karl come closer to me.
“Are you worried about Marquis Rodrian?”
“You know.”
“I heard the servants talking about what happened.”
I, who had pretended to be strong in front of Lamia, collapsed helplessly in front of Karl.
"I'm so worried. What if something goes wrong with him? I don't think I can bear it. What should I do?"
Karl gently stroked my shoulder.
"It's okay. I'm here. When he's dead and Ronheim falls, let's get out of here and go far, far away. Let's stop caring about Kabbalah and Andrea and go somewhere no one can find us and hide. You know how well I hide, don't you?"
“...”
"You've run so far away, yet they still come right before you and torment you. They're vicious. How are you supposed to defeat them? It's scary and difficult."
“...”
"Don't worry, Chloe. If the worst comes to worst, let's run away together."
I stared at Karl with wavering eyes.
As expected, he saw through my anxiety and fear better than anyone else.
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