Chapter 2

Skadi was born amidst insults and contempt. The reason was her cursed white hair and red eyes she was born with.

To people who were born and lived their entire lives in a small village, her white hair was an anomaly that defied age, and her crimson eyes reminded them of blood.

It took no time for differences to become discrimination. People branded her as a cursed child, speaking of misfortunes that hadn’t even occurred and clamoring for reasons to kill her.

The reason she was able to survive was that her mother was the tribe’s shaman and loved her enough to not care about any curse.

“If you so much as touch a hair on my daughter’s head, your flesh will rot while you’re still alive, and your soul will wander this world unable to find salvation, crumbling in agony!”

If she had been an ordinary shaman, it might have been different, but Skadi’s mother was a shaman so exceptional that she was renowned even among other tribes.

People feared her shamanic powers and the spirits of nature as much as they feared the curse Skadi supposedly carried. While the curse was an invisible fear, the shaman’s power was a tangible force.

Skadi’s mother demonstrated her will by commanding a burning wolf and a bear made of tree roots, earth, and rocks, and thus began the uncomfortable coexistence between Skadi and the people.

Regardless of people’s curses, Skadi grew into a beautiful young woman. The funny thing was that even this was considered ominous by the people.

“Look at those bewitching eyes. Such a woman must feed on men’s vitality. If a young man in the village dies prematurely, it’s because that wench has ensnared him.”

“Lustful wench. I hear she got that pretty face by offering sacrifices to evil spirits? That girl is destined to become a witch, not a shaman!”

The wife who committed adultery with the neighbor’s husband cursed Skadi while pointing at her emaciated husband, and the buck-toothed woman spat curses whenever the man she secretly loved glanced at Skadi.

Skadi found it absurd. Why were they blaming their own problems on her?

Nevertheless, Skadi didn’t voice her complaints. She had learned painfully in her childhood that they wouldn’t listen anyway.

Instead of wasting time on that, Skadi received the knowledge and power of a shaman from her mother. Fortunately, she had an abundance of talent as a shaman.

Seeing mysteries invisible to others and memorizing the primordial characters left by the gods, she grew into a well-prepared shaman. However… she wasn’t without her own problems.

She couldn’t form a contract with any spirit. While spirits could be capricious and mischievous, that wasn’t the reason she couldn’t make contracts.

“My child… I’m sorry. Mother is so sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault, Mother. It’s all, all because I’m inadequate. It’s because I’m lacking, why are you apologizing!”

It wasn’t just humans who felt uneasy about her white hair and red eyes. Even the spirits found her unsettling and refused to contract with her.

Her mother begged Skadi for forgiveness until the day she drew her last breath. She thought her daughter had inherited her own sin.

Unfortunately, Skadi wasn’t even allowed time to mourn her mother’s death. She was attacked by the village men before she could even hold a funeral.

“Kill the witch! Kill the witch!”

“She’s a cursed wench abandoned even by the spirits. Burning her will please them!”

Some were consumed by superstition. Some just for fun. If not that, then to covet a beautiful woman.

As soon as the shaman breathed her last, people attacked the shaman’s hut like starving wild dogs. Skadi had no choice but to abandon the hut filled with memories of her mother and flee.

The problem was that those who desired her were far too persistent. She looked back as she ran through the forest, her heart pounding.

Torches flickered in the darkness-shrouded forest. She trembled in fear as if they were the eyes of beasts.

As she ran through the forest, she pleaded with the spirits for help. She hoped that anyone would save her.

“O burning wolf, O bear born from the earth. I, Skadi, daughter of Brunhild, beseech you, please grant me your aid!”

She sought help from the spirits her mother had contracted with, but it was futile. The spirits were arrogant and cold-hearted. They weren’t kind enough to help just because she was related by blood to their contractor.

When they remained silent, she recalled the knowledge her mother had taught her and continued to call out the names of spirits.

The snake that drinks rocks, the giant born from a thousand-year-old tree, the eagle that eats lightning…

Her spirit eyes saw mysteries moving here and there. She realized these were spirits, but she wasn’t pleased.

If they had intended to help, they would have revealed themselves, not wander around in their mysterious forms.

‘Damn this world, damn the spirits!’

If they weren’t here to help, they must have come to watch her die. Skadi felt like she could hear the spirits’ mockery.

“The witch is over there!!!”

Skadi wished she really was a witch. If she were a real witch, at least she could command evil spirits to kill those chasing her.

As she fled on trembling legs, she failed to notice a tree root hidden in the darkness and fell. She groaned at the scrape on her knee.

“Ugh… hic?!”

Was it true that misfortunes come in succession?

Skadi covered her mouth and trembled, not even having time to overcome the pain. A large bear was glaring at her, drooling.

At the sight of the bear looking ready to tear her apart at any moment, Skadi finally burst into tears. She exhaled in despair.

‘Yes, maybe this is better. Rather than suffering as a plaything for men and then dying, perhaps dying in an instant is…’

The desire to live and the desire to give up clashed, making her head spin.

Just as she was about to give up everything and let go, a giant ice spear flew through the air with a thunderous roar, piercing the bear’s heart.

“Kyaaaaaak!!!”

She screamed and curled up. Even in this state, her spirit eyes examined the ice spear. It was definitely no ordinary spear.

The ice spear, brimming with mystery, had frozen even the bear’s blood, as not a single drop spilled. Moreover, the spear, half-buried in the ground, didn’t have a single scratch.

While she didn’t know every spirit in the world, at least among the spirits she knew, none could do something like this.

‘What kind of being could possess such power?’

Her gaze turned beyond the bear.

There stood a being she had never seen or heard of in her entire life.

A giant wearing a deer’s skull was watching her from the darkness. She felt her heart freeze.

---

The wendigo let out a sigh. He instinctively realized that the woman had seen him.

‘How long has it been since I vowed not to get involved with people, about 2 hours?’

Indeed, the world never goes as planned. If he had told anyone about this, he would have died of embarrassment.

The wendigo considered just leaving. The bear was clearly dead, and the only person who had seen him was that woman.

Of course, if that woman returned to the village, she would say, “There was a monster wearing a deer skull in the forest!” but honestly, he didn’t think people would believe her.

The only evidence would be the dead bear and the spear. The spear would melt away once he withdrew his power, and while the corpse would remain, there was no way the woman’s frail arms could drag a bear back.

Just as he was leaning towards the option of leaving, he realized that the woman was shouting at him. He listened to her voice.

“Whether you’re a spirit or a demon, I don’t care. O great one, please help me!”

The wendigo was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the woman to speak to him first. Judging by her willingness to speak to a hideous monster, she must not be an ordinary woman.

The fact that she was asking for help meant there was some problem…

The wendigo quickly calculated. What could he gain by helping her?

‘At the very least, the fact that she’s asking a monster for help means she must be familiar with beings like me. Otherwise, screaming and running away would be the normal reaction.’

If one encounters strange events, one should ask those who deal with strange things.

At least, judging by the way she addressed him as a spirit or demon, she must know quite a bit.

The wendigo leaped towards Skadi, pushing off the ground. Skadi felt awe at the wendigo who approached without a sound.

‘This is definitely no ordinary spirit!’

The wendigo didn’t know, but his body was a collection of mysteries itself. Although the energy was cold and somewhat dark, it wasn’t evil enough to be called a demon.

Skadi felt the spirits retreating as he approached. Through the surrounding mysteries, she realized that the spirits were trembling in fear.

For a spirit strong enough to make even the most arrogant spirits retreat in fear, it must certainly be no ordinary spirit.

‘I must definitely hold onto this being!’

‘Her gaze is unsettling, I feel like I’ve meddled with something I shouldn’t have.’

The wendigo looked at Skadi with a wry expression. From afar, she had seemed like an ordinary beauty, but up close, her gaze was overwhelmingly intense.

He decided to help her quickly, find out what he needed to know, and then part ways.

“So, what do you mean by asking for help?”

“I, Skadi, daughter of Brunhild, greet the great spirit. Please take pity on this humble shaman…”

“That’s burdensome, speak comfortably. And state your business briefly.”

Skadi looked at the wendigo in surprise. The spirits she knew were arrogant. Their arrogance was comparable to that of tribal chiefs and warriors renowned for their strength.

Naturally, shamans who dealt with spirits showed them utmost respect. If they didn’t, the spirits would throw tantrums and cause havoc.

Of course, the havoc caused by spirits was troublesome. They would burn down houses, ravage farmlands, and in severe cases, even take human lives.

Given the danger of dealing with such beings, shamans’ attitudes were naturally cautious, and the spirits enjoyed this… but this spirit showed none of that.

‘Is it a kind spirit, unlike its appearance?’

Skadi couldn’t believe her own thoughts. A kind spirit? The existence of a well-behaved ogre seemed more likely.

But she couldn’t deny what was right in front of her…

As she stared with a complex gaze, the wendigo urged her.

“For someone asking for help, you seem quite leisurely. Is it not a serious problem?”

“Ah! Actually, there are people chasing me…”

“There she is! The witch is over there!!”

Speak of the devil, the people chasing Skadi appeared. They each held a weapon in their hands and glared at Skadi with chilling eyes before spotting the wendigo and gasping in shock.

‘Now that’s a normal reaction. But… what’s this?’

The wendigo looked them over and felt disgust. For some reason, their filthy desires were transmitted to him without any concealment.

‘Is this also an ability of the wendigo?’

Being able to read others’ dirty and vulgar emotions wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing. He pulled out the spear stuck in the bear.

Gundar, a tribal warrior, pointed his axe at the wendigo and shouted boldly.

“The witch has summoned an evil spirit. But don’t be afraid! An evil spirit that has revealed its form is nothing more than a monster that can be defeated!”

The people who had been hesitating regained courage at Gundar’s words. While Gundar was known for his foul temper, he was equally famous for his excellent combat skills.

As other warriors stepped forward, the people cheered. The wendigo felt bewildered at this sight.

To show such a reaction to a monster twice their size. Do people in this world have no fear?

“Aren’t they afraid of me?”

“They don’t know the great spirit’s power. That’s why they can spout such foolish nonsense.”

Skadi mocked the people’s foolishness. It was ridiculous to see them throwing away their lives, intoxicated by mere desire and superstition.

The wendigo read sadness and anger from her. Although he didn’t know exactly what had happened, he could tell that she had lived a life of persecution.

‘At least they don’t seem to be good people.’

He transformed the ice spear into a sword.

The crude greatsword with a rectangular tip was not only large in size but also emitted a terribly cold aura around it.

Despite the sufficient distance, the cold air swept over the warriors. The cold was so intense that it stung their skin.

One of the warriors, realizing something was amiss, expressed concern.

“Th-that doesn’t seem like an ordinary evil spirit. Wouldn’t it be better to retreat?”

“Ha, have you forgotten what kind of woman she is? Unlike her mother who was an excellent shaman, she’s a woman who has never once contracted with a spirit. How strong could an evil spirit summoned by such a woman be! That appearance must be nothing more than a shell!”

Ignorance sometimes becomes courage. At Gundar’s confident declaration, the warriors swallowed their fear. They couldn’t retreat shamefully as warriors.

Gundar inwardly mocked the warriors. In fact, the reason for Gundar’s confidence was that he had something to rely on. He fingered the necklace around his neck.

‘As long as I have this exorcism amulet I got for helping the shaman from the neighboring tribe last time, no evil spirit can touch me. While the others risk their lives fighting, I’ll gain both honor and that woman’s body.. hehehe.’

Gundar had faced an evil spirit once before. When the exorcism amulet began to shine, its light weakened the evil spirit, and in that state, a few axe swings were enough to exorcise it.

So no matter what kind of evil spirit this was, with this exorcism amulet, he absolutely couldn’t lose!

“Once we capture that witch, the evil spirit won’t be able to do anything anyway. Capture the witch!”

With a battle cry, they charged towards Skadi.

The wendigo watched them for a moment, then took a stance, holding the greatsword at an angle. It was a posture that clearly telegraphed a horizontal slash, making Gundar sneer.

‘I’ll easily dodge such a heavy-looking weapon!’

The wendigo’s greatsword swung. The sword that had seemed slow suddenly accelerated explosively with a chilling sound, causing Gundar to be shocked.

In the blink of an eye, the wendigo’s greatsword had reached right in front of his nose!

Gundar threw himself to the side in panic, dodging the greatsword. However, this wasn’t enough to escape death.

The cold energy enveloping the greatsword swept the surroundings along its trajectory. Gundar felt the pain of his skin freezing and being torn off while still alive.

“Kuuuh… ack.”

The cold energy penetrated his skin. Flesh, blood, and even bones were invaded by the cold and froze. As death began to creep in, he felt anger.

Why hadn’t the amulet that had emitted sacred light and protected him when facing evil spirits helped him this time?

Gundar painfully moved his eyes, which hadn’t frozen yet, to check the exorcism amulet. The amulet had lost its original color and was frozen black.

It wasn’t that the amulet hadn’t worked, but rather that a mere shaman’s trinket of an amulet couldn’t withstand the wendigo’s cold energy.

Only then did Gundar realize that he had messed with a being he shouldn’t have. But it was too late for such realizations.

His head flew off from the wendigo’s greatsword. His head, rolling on the ground, showed a hideous mix of bewilderment and fear.

Beside him lay the bodies of others, split in half. A heavy silence fell over the forest.