Chapter 6

The wendigo marveled as he looked around through the ice necklace.

‘To be able to see outside the forest without leaving it. Remarkable.’

It wasn’t just about seeing. Through the necklace, he could hear sounds and smell scents, and even communicate with the wearer.

It was all thanks to Skadi. As soon as she made a contract with the wendigo, she asked him to make an accessory, and instantly created this artifact.

[You said you were a shaman’s daughter, but aren’t you just a shaman? Be honest. Didn’t you not need my help when you were escaping?]

“No way. Humans have almost no way to handle mysteries without the help of spirits. At best, we can only perform small rituals through objects imbued with mystery.”

Humans are inherently beings with little mystery.

Rarely, some humans are born with mystery, but generally, that’s how it is.

That’s why shamans are obsessed with mysterious objects and spirits. They need at least one of the two to perform rituals.

If Skadi, who wasn’t born with mystery, hadn’t met the wendigo in the forest, she wouldn’t have been able to avoid death. Meeting the wendigo was nothing short of a heaven-sent luck for her.

“Meeting you in the forest was truly lucky, Wendigo-nim.”

[I think so too. It seems meeting you was fortunate after all.]

As she smiled and stroked the necklace, the wendigo nodded in response. The wendigo thought that encountering her was definitely fortunate.

At first, he thought he’d gotten involved in a troublesome affair, but who would have known she had such abilities?

“Ah, hahaha. I’m embarrassed by your praise. By the way, I wonder if people will willingly hand over the items? The things in my mother’s hut were quite valuable…”

Skadi changed the subject, perhaps feeling shy from the wendigo’s praise. Her doubt was quite reasonable.

A shaman’s possessions were mostly precious things.

A branch from a lightning-struck ash tree, scales from a hundred-year-old snake, a rose that bloomed in winter…

Objects imbued with mystery had an inherent power to tempt people. Moreover, her mother was a renowned shaman, wasn’t she?

If it was known that she had collected these items, it was obvious that shamans from neighboring tribes would try to acquire them at high prices.

Of course, the riffraff of the village would try to hide them out of greed…

The wendigo answered her question nonchalantly, as if she had asked something obvious.

[They won’t hand them over willingly. Humans are driven by their greed even when their lives are at stake. But what does that matter? Are you thinking of just going back if they don’t hand over your belongings?]

“… Absolutely not. Those are my mother’s mementos, and they’re my belongings as well as yours, Wendigo-nim.”

[They’re not my belongings, but… Anyway, those who hid the items have essentially ignored the warning. It’s only natural that they pay the price for that.]

In simple terms, it meant he would take their lives if they tried to cheat. Skadi nodded with a smile.

Skadi could take the lives of the villagers a hundred times over for the wendigo she served.

---

Rolo shouted loud enough to wake the village as he relayed Skadi’s message, driven by a sense of mission to save people. However, despite his efforts, the results weren’t very good.

“That cursed wench made a contract with a spirit? Nonsense! Everyone in the village knows she failed to contract with spirits!”

“She must be trying to trick us after finding a corpse somewhere. I’ll teach her a lesson!”

The Skadi that the villagers remembered was a half-wit. They thought of her as a cursed girl who hadn’t inherited her mother’s talent.

Despite Rolo’s warnings, those with fiery tempers each grabbed weapons and went to find Skadi, only to freeze to death with a single gesture from her. Skadi made the survivors drag those corpses away.

Only after witnessing the frozen corpses firsthand did people realize the gravity of the situation. To think that Skadi, whom they had so disregarded, had really returned after contracting with a spirit.

With the urgency of the situation dawning on them, people moved busily.

“Quickly, gather the things you took from the hut!”

“If you can’t remember, just bring everything you can. It’s better than dying!”

The more sins committed, the greater the fear.

Afraid of offending Skadi, people quickly gathered items and headed to the village square. Skadi looked down at the people in the square.

They trembled in fear when their eyes met Skadi’s as they glanced at her. It would have been less frightening if she had shown anger or mockery, but Skadi was looking down at the people expressionlessly.

[There are many items.]

“It seems they brought everything they could gather out of fear. If only they hadn’t stolen in the first place.”

Skadi moved among the people, checking the items. She used her spirit eyes to discern items imbued with mystery among the objects.

People swallowed dry saliva and trembled every time she passed by. It was out of fear that she might freeze them at any moment.

One person, two people, three people…

As she was checking the items one by one, she stopped in front of one man.

Sven, the village carpenter, swallowed hard as she stopped right in front of him.

He was such a greedy person that he was the first to visit the hut when he heard that Skadi’s mother had passed away.

Even though Sven had witnessed Skadi freezing people with his own eyes, he still couldn’t kill his greed. How could he give up when selling these items well could make him a village elder, not just a dream?

Above all, Sven was confident in his own way.

‘No matter how smart she is, surely she can’t remember all the items that were in the hut?’

If there were few items, it might be different, but a shaman’s house had quite a lot of various herbs, skins, and rare items.

He inwardly sneered as Skadi looked over the items he had brought. How could she know about the items hidden at home just by looking, he thought.

However, Skadi’s examination of the items was to check for mystery, not to determine if items were hidden. She didn’t need to do that.

[This fellow is underestimating you. The smell of sin is strong, he must have hidden items.]

That’s because the wendigo could check such things.

As the wendigo passed judgment, Skadi stabbed Sven’s chest with her sword without hesitation. Due to her weak strength, the sword didn’t go in deep, but even a small wound was enough.

“Kuhek… Kkeok!?”

“Wendigo-nim says you’ve hidden items. How dare you try to deceive him… Atone with your life.”

It was just a wound about the size of a finger joint, but Sven couldn’t breathe. The cold energy imbued in the sword had frozen his lungs.

As he struggled in pain and breathed his last, people screamed at the terrible sight. Skadi beckoned to Rolo with her finger. He turned pale and hurriedly approached her.

“D-do you have any orders for me?”

“Check the houses of those who passed Wendigo-nim’s judgment and this man’s house. And if you find any items, bring them. If even one is missing… You know what will happen, right?”

“Yes, yes of course!”

As Skadi gave him a vicious look, Rolo answered as if having a fit. Others also nodded their heads until their necks nearly broke, following her orders.

After they left, Rolo and the people returned with ghost-like expressions, bringing the items they had found.

Finding the items themselves wasn’t that difficult. How big could a farmer’s house be in such a small village? With several people searching a house, there was nothing they couldn’t find.

But is it easy to determine whether someone has hidden items or not?

Of course not. That wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Only then did those who realized a spirit was helping them startle and beg for forgiveness.

“I-I’m sorry! I forgot and left some items behind. Please allow me to correct my mistake even now!”

“I was wrong. I was wrong! I must have been possessed by an evil spirit for a moment!”

The wendigo was dumbfounded as he watched through the necklace. There were more people asking for forgiveness than he had expected.

No matter how greedy humans are, to hide items to this extent in a life-or-death situation.

[It’s rather fortunate that I used my ability through the necklace. Otherwise, I might have turned the village into a sea of blood, unable to contain my disgust.]

“If that’s what Wendigo-nim wants, that could be one way to handle it.”

As she muttered while fiddling with the necklace, people trembled. It was chilling to see a woman who had just killed someone smiling and whispering.

She looked like a witch possessed by an evil spirit to anyone who saw her. Skadi took her hand off the necklace and ordered them with a vicious face.

“The merciful Wendigo-nim has decided to give you one last chance. Go and bring the hidden items. If you do, I’ll show leniency this time.”

“Thank you! Thank you!!”

People got up hurriedly and headed to their homes. When they returned, Skadi was shocked, though she didn’t show it on her face.

‘How much did these crazy bastards hide!’

They had hidden things so thoroughly, from small herbs to large animal skins.

Skadi glared at the people with contempt in her eyes. She wanted to kill them right away.

[Calm down. There’s no need to use force against such lowlifes.]

“… Sigh, if that’s what Wendigo-nim says, I’ll follow. Go and bring a large cart to load the items. Three men prepare to pull the cart. Ah, and bring my mother’s body too. I can’t entrust even a single hair of my mother to you lot.”

Realizing that Skadi was planning to leave, people quickly prepared a cart and piled up the items. On top, her mother’s body was placed in a coffin.

After carefully loading the coffin to avoid any scratches, people looked at each other. They had loaded everything, but who should pull the cart?

One might think anyone could pull it, but the problem was that those pulling the cart would inevitably have to leave the village with Skadi.

It took more than ordinary courage to pull the cart of a shaman who had killed people as easily as squashing bugs. What if Skadi got in a bad mood and froze them?

‘Surely they wouldn’t ask an old man to do such a dangerous task?’

‘Surely they wouldn’t ask a young man with a bright future to do such a dangerous task?’

An untimely battle of wits broke out, and in the end, Skadi decided who would pull the cart.

Rolo, who had been following her orders from the beginning, Hugo, the leader of the vigilante group, and Ralof, the owner of the cart and a hunter.

Skadi set out from the village with these men who stepped forward with expressions like they had bitten into a bug. Before leaving, she looked back at the village.

She recalled old memories… old memories…

‘The only memories I have are the times spent with mother.’

She snorted and climbed onto the cart.

“Let’s go. Pull it to the edge of the forest, and you’ll be free.”

The three men nodded silently and drove the cart.

---

Hugo, a rich farmer and the leader of the vigilante group, was very displeased at being designated as a porter by Skadi. He was a pillar of the village, the leader of the vigilante group whom young men didn’t dare to look in the eye.

If it had been her mother, he might have acted like a porter albeit reluctantly, but Hugo was the one who had prayed for Skadi’s death more than anyone else.

Such a man was unlikely to obey Skadi’s words docilely.

Hugo lifted his head while pushing the cart. His eyes fell on Skadi’s unguarded back.

Could he kill her now?

Fear, depending on its kind, could easily be diluted. Especially for those like Hugo, who were ignorant but wealthy.

He whispered to Ralof, who was pushing the cart with him from behind.

“Aren’t you ashamed of being pushed around by that witch?”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Why, your brother Maxim was also killed by that wench. Shouldn’t you avenge your brother?”

Ralof flinched at the mention of Maxim’s name. Of course he wanted to avenge his brother.

Nevertheless, Ralof couldn’t easily nod. He wanted revenge, but Ralof was afraid of Skadi’s power.

Seeing him act scared, Hugo inwardly clicked his tongue. To think a hunter would tuck his tail between his legs, scared of a mere girl.

Hugo knew well what was an instant remedy in such situations. It was greed.

“Think about it carefully. If we kill this witch now, not only will you avenge your brother, but it’s also a chance to become rich.”

“Rich…”

“Yes, to become rich. How long do you plan to wander the forest and suffer? If we just take the items in this cart, you can become a rich farmer like me.”

Ralof’s gaze turned to the inside of the cart as if bewitched. Just selling the herbs in here would fetch an unimaginable amount.

As Ralof swallowed his saliva, Hugo smiled slyly. He felt his persuasion had worked.

Hugo handed Ralof a dagger he had hidden at his waist.

“We’ll arrive at the forest boundary soon. That wench will let her guard down thinking she’s left the village, so seize that moment and stab her in one go.”

“What about Rolo? He doesn’t know about our plan.”

“He’s a quick-witted fellow. He’ll make the right judgment when the situation arises.”

“…Since Rolo isn’t part of the plan, we’ll split the items in half.”

The two greedy men hid the dagger in the cart with vile smiles. So they could draw it out at any time.

How much time had passed?

The cart stopped as it reached the boundary. The two men carefully reached for the dagger. However…

Skadi had already noticed their plan. Skadi turned her head and looked at the two.

“If only you hadn’t had such a stupid idea, you could have returned alive.”

“!”

As Skadi sneered, the two realized she had noticed. There was no way to retreat, but they didn’t give up.

At least if they attacked from both sides, there might be a chance to kill the witch!

“Rolo, grab that wench!”

“Even a witch will die if stabbed with a knife!”

The two shouted at Rolo as they drew their daggers. They thought if he had any sense, he would pounce on the witch.

Of course, Rolo was quick-witted. The problem was that Rolo was even quicker-witted than they thought.

Rolo closed his eyes tightly and sat down.

At that moment, something flew from the forest and pierced Ralof’s head. No, it didn’t just pierce, it shattered it into pieces.

Hot blood sprayed, and Hugo was covered in blood. Hugo fell over and flailed in surprise.

“Uh, uwaaaaah!?”

“Worm-like bastards. The smell through the necklace was terrible, but the smell up close is unbearably awful.”

The intense cold made the warmth of the blood wash away as if it were a lie, and Hugo looked up at the monster that appeared before him, trembling in fear.

It was a giant. A giant with deer antlers was looking down at him.

The wendigo created an ice spear and thrust it towards Hugo’s heart. Hugo tried to block the spear with his dagger, but how could human strength overcome the wendigo’s monstrous power?

The wendigo’s spear shattered the dagger and pierced Hugo’s heart. When he pulled out the spear, only red ice formed where there should have been a wound.

“Ah, aaah…”

As two people died instantly and a monster appeared before his eyes, Rolo lost his words and wet himself. The wendigo looked at Rolo.

“I don’t sense any malice from you. I’ll spare your life, so go back with the corpses.”

“Y-yes?”

The wendigo didn’t speak twice. He pulled the cart and headed into the forest. Skadi also followed him and disappeared into the forest.

Left alone with two corpses, Rolo stared blankly at the forest.

It was only after a long while that he came to his senses and left the forest. And as he returned to the village with the corpses, he made a vow.

To never enter the forest again.