Chapter 170

Episode 170

I checked behind us.

Freya and her subordinate were evacuating the villagers. They were quickly moving away from the danger zone, perhaps due to their regular training.

“People are watching, so let’s make it look convincing. As you know, Lady Freya is the one who’s most likely to listen to us in the north.”

“Hmm, an Enclave won’t be enough. Should I use a shield?”

“Spread it as wide as possible. I’ll create a gust of wind to divert the flow to the sides. Selendis, launch a sword energy if you see any monsters.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Jericho focused his mind and formed hand seals.

『Shield.』

*Thud!*

The torrent of snow was blocked with a dull thud. But if we left it like this, it would accumulate and overflow above our heads.

‘I wish I had the Tornado spell right now.’

Pushing aside my regret, I extended my hand and unleashed pure magic power.

The magic power created a gust of wind.

*Whoosh!*

The gust of wind cut through the center of the shield and surged forward.

*Whoosh—*

As expected, the snow flow split to the left and right, cascading down again. It flowed along the outer surface of the shield, quickly passing by the village on both sides.

We succeeded in diverting the flow. But the real threat wasn’t the avalanche.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Monsters began to emerge from the halted snowdrift.

“These aren’t strong enough to cause an avalanche.”

“You’re right. There must be a demon here. Ha, could Muon be conducting some strange experiment?”

I recalled the words of the corrupted harp player.

— Three shall come. By the three, the path shall be opened, and with their blood, the world shall be plunged into eternal darkness.

It bothered me. It felt like she was talking about us.

Anyway, with Muon’s whereabouts unknown and the outline of his plan to corrupt the Empire becoming clearer, it wouldn’t hurt to be suspicious of everything.

It would be even better if we could find clues during this journey.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Monsters continued to emerge from the snow.

There were two main types.

‘Icemoles,’ monsters native to the north. They resembled moles, but with icy spines.

Their spines were coated with a deadly poison. Fortunately, it could be neutralized with the same potion used for goblin paralysis poison.

Still, getting stabbed by them was troublesome. There was a reason for the adventurer’s adage, “Always avoid anything pointy.”

And then there were the ‘Frostflings,’ butterfly-like flying creatures.

Underestimating them because of their small size was a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

They looked like harmless butterflies, but they would fly close and self-destruct. Their explosion radius was over two meters, so it was best to deal with them with arrows or sword energy.

This combination was very common, a classic encounter for those exploring the north.

And since they appeared frequently, there were many ways to deal with them.

Of course, with two magicians in our party, we didn’t need to learn any countermeasures.

*Slash!*

*Swoosh!*

Selendis’s sword energy sliced through a group of monsters in front of us.

*Boom! Boom!*

The Frostflings caught in the sword energy exploded in a chain reaction. The pristine snowfield was instantly covered in blood and gore.

“They’re endless.”

There were too many of them. The Icemoles that emerged from the snow curled up and charged towards us.

Their spines folded in, and their bodies, now round like balls, began to gather snow.

*Rumble…*

They rapidly gained speed. The creatures, which were initially the size of a head, quickly grew in size.

The problem was that there weren’t just one or two.

A spectacular scene unfolded as snowballs rained down from all directions.

“Are they trying to overwhelm us with numbers?”

“We have to intercept them. It’s difficult to block them at that speed.”

Jericho was right. It was more threatening than the avalanche earlier. The snowballs grew rapidly and sometimes even merged into one.

*Slash! Slash!*

Selendis launched sword energies in succession, but it wasn’t enough, so I also drew the Sword of Chaos and unleashed my own sword energy.

*Whoosh!*

I could have easily dealt with them with ‘Double Casting’ and Firebolt, but I didn’t want to scare the villagers by using offensive magic.

Especially in the north, where fire was a precious resource.

*Boom!*

The Frostflings exploded in a chain reaction, and the movements of the monsters on the snow finally slowed down.

“We’re done here.”

Selendis reported, and I glanced back.

Freya and the villagers were watching us from afar. The Mistilteinn in her hand was glowing with a mystical light.

She looked ready to fire an arrow at any moment.

Jericho dispelled the shield.

“That young lady, she’s called the North’s Divine Archer, but she’s not even trying to help. What a waste of a title.”

“She probably wants to confirm our sincerity.”

“I’m worried we might end up taking the fall for this.”

“If that were the case, she would have driven us out of the village in the first place.”

Judging by our earlier conversation, Freya was at least interested in my plan.

Persuading her and crossing the border was the best option for now.

“This isn’t some kind of test… The demonic energy is still stagnant. I don’t think there’s an altar or anything based on the depth.”

I had a good feeling about this.

I often wished there was a way to level up my ‘Demonic Energy Detection’ skill. I felt like it could also detect the presence of ‘Dark Souls.’

If I could pinpoint the location of ‘Dark Souls,’ I could collect them more efficiently.

“If we’re lucky, we might find another Dark Soul.”

“You know, you’re creepy sometimes. Inspector, you seem obsessed with Dark Souls lately. Are you corrupted?”

“If I were corrupted, would I be doing this? I would have turned the youngest of the Tulu family into my puppet.”

“Hahaha! Anyway, judging by the weak demonic energy, it seems to be a 2-star or lower demon. Should we wait for it to appear? Or should we lure it out?”

“Can we lure it out?”

Jericho puffed out his chest, confident.

“There’s nothing we can’t do with the power of our family. Has anyone ever stayed inside a burning house?”

“Let’s go to a higher ground. There are too many eyes watching.”

Defeating the demon would be easy, but I was worried about retrieving the ‘Dark Soul.’ There were too many witnesses.

Jericho formed hand seals.

Celestial light gathered in his hands, emitting a bright glow.

“We can’t avoid the church’s investigation. This isn’t Kalisto.”

“Let’s pray that the donations we’ve made haven’t been wasted.”

“Here we go!”

He plunged his hands into the snow and unleashed the celestial light. But no matter how long we waited, the demonic energy didn’t budge.

Jericho tilted his head.

“That’s strange. Why is it staying still?”

“You said there’s nothing you can’t do with the power of your family?”

“No, wait a minute. This is strange.”

Fearing for his family’s reputation, Jericho unleashed his magic power and dug into the snow.

*Whoosh!*

The flow of air, like a giant drill, pierced through the snowdrift. After digging about five meters deep, I felt a prickling sensation on my skin from the demonic energy.

There was no demon.

There was only a round sphere, emitting a black light from within the ice.

“You were right, Inspector. It wasn’t a demon, but a Dark Soul!”

But Jericho’s surprise was short-lived. His expression soon turned grim.

“This isn’t a good sign. For a Dark Soul to emerge on its own…”

I remembered the first time we discovered a Dark Soul.

It was during our second mission. While investigating the incidents at Cliff Viscounty, Jericho had said that the appearance of ‘Dark Souls’ might be a continent-wide phenomenon.

Now we had evidence to support his hypothesis.

“We’ve witnessed a Dark Soul, buried deep underground, awaken. This is not a good omen.”

“If the demon realm theory that many scholars advocate is true, then something must be happening there.”

“I think we need to talk to the church.”

For Jericho, who loathed the church, to suggest contacting them meant the situation was serious.

I retrieved the Dark Soul first.

*Click!*

Now I had two. I hoped they would be offerings to reveal the true identities of Lucia and Sommelier.

We carefully checked the surroundings and returned to the village. Freya and the villagers were waiting for us.

Freya approached us.

“On behalf of Aslan Village, I want to thank you. If it weren’t for you, the village would have suffered great damage.”

“We just did what we had to do. House Whitefield has always been a protector of the Empire. Duke Kalisto asked me to convey his gratitude.”

At my words, Freya’s guard lowered slightly.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

The name of this game was ‘Queen Maker.’ In other words, the female characters drove the story.

Come to think of it, there seemed to be influential female characters at every major turning point.

Lucia, the mastermind of Kalisto.

Selendis, the descendant of a fallen royal family.

Beatrice, the Imperial Princess.

And now Freya, the Margrave’s daughter.

‘Could it be that these characters weren’t originally playable?’

If so, the young lady before me could also be a protagonist-level character. It wouldn’t hurt to have her on our side.

“But I have a request for you, my lady.”

“Thank you for your gratitude, but that doesn’t mean I can lift the border restriction.”

“It’s a different request. I think we need to meet with the church. We discovered the source of demonic energy here.”

“What? The source of… demonic energy?”

“We destroyed it, but it might be happening all over the north. You know that the Magic Tower is closed, right?”

Freya nodded. My question made her suspect that Archmage Muon might be involved.

I pressed on, seizing the opportunity.

“Please summon the Inquisitor stationed in Whitefield. We’ll wait here since we can’t enter.”

“…I can’t refuse. Alright. I’ll send someone right away.”

Freya whispered something to her adjutant, who immediately left.

When Freya returned, she gave an unexpected order.

“Village Head, these people are our saviors. Provide them with lodging and treat them well.”

“As you command.”

The lodging issue was resolved. The villagers’ gazes were still cold, but having a place to escape the blizzard was enough.

While the militia patrolled, the village head led us to his house.

Thanks to Freya’s influence, we were able to have a decent home-cooked meal instead of rations. It was just hot soup, but it was perfect for this weather.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen the children play so happily. Splashing around in hot water.”

The village head didn’t ask how we built the open-air bath. He just expressed his feelings.

“If only those children were born in a warmer place…”

“It won’t be long.”

“What do you mean?”

The village head set down his spoon and stared at me.

“This place will become a comfortable place to live. I’ll make it happen.”

“Even if you’re a magician, it won’t be easy. How can you do what the Imperial Family couldn’t?”

“You’ll see.”

The next morning, a group of people came to see us. They wore pendants symbolizing the Lamirach Church.