Chapter 108: Words I’d Never Heard (7)

[108] 16. Words I’d Never Heard (7)

There’s one big problem with short-distance teleportation.

Teleporting within a short distance, say, 100m, is fine. But as the distance increases, so does uncertainty. The probability of arriving at the desired location decreases.

In simpler terms, this kind of disaster occurs.

*BAM-*

“Ugh…”

Rem clutched his mouth, which had just shared a bird kiss with the floor. He managed to get up while muttering curses.

“Damn it, that hurt like hell…”

“Rem!”

Rem reflexively embraced the woman who had thrown herself at him. His bewilderment deepened as he saw her red hair.

“Rosalia…?”

“Thank goodness… thank goodness…!”

She buried her face in his chest and nuzzled against him. But that lasted only a moment before she suddenly looked up at him with urgent eyes.

“A-are you hurt anywhere? Did they do anything strange to you…?”

“Hold on, hold on…!”

“Huh…?”

Rosalia looked at Rem with a puzzled expression at his frantic hand gestures.

Rem gently pushed back on Rosalia’s shoulders while turning his head away.

“Just… give me some space…”

Only then did Rosalia realize how close they were. Their bodies were pressed so close together that not even a finger could fit between them.

“…!”

Rosalia’s face flushed, and she quickly stepped back. She hurriedly averted her gaze, trying to hide her burning ears.

“S-Sorry…”

“Uh, yeah…”

Their stammering voices created an awkward atmosphere. If it were a color, it would be somewhere between red and pink.

But thankfully, that atmosphere didn’t last long.

“Ahem, so what are we planning to do now?”

Dorn spoke while clearing his throat. Only then did seriousness return to their slightly flushed faces.

“Did you retrieve all the magic tools?”

“Here, take a look for yourself.”

Rem opened the box Dorn handed him. After checking the contents, he clicked his tongue with a frown.

“As expected, some of them are broken. Those mages must have fiddled with them out of curiosity and busted them.”

“Will that be a problem?”

“No, it shouldn’t interfere with our escape.”

Then, Rem turned to look at Rosalia. Firming his lips, he said,

“So, there’s only one thing left, right?”

“Yes.”

Rosalia looked out the window.

The Essier Mountains, where the setting sun was beginning to cast its light.

The peaks, where winter slumbered, didn’t lose their majesty, even when framed within the small window.

“Let’s go, to finally end this once and for all.”

***

Adolf screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Hurry up and move! You idiots! Move, I said!”

At the prince’s shout, the soldiers scrambled. Their pale faces seemed more like they were fleeing in fear rather than following orders.

Adolf found that displeasing.

No, actually, Adolf found everything about this situation displeasing. It had been like this ever since that damned cripple disappeared like smoke right before his eyes.

Literally, it felt like his blood was boiling.

He had already beaten seven mages to death and even beheaded that idiotic lord of Essier, but his rage showed no sign of subsiding.

“Bring that bastard before me this instant!! Right now!!”

Adolf pounded the table furiously, as if trying to scrape off his anger.

His blood suddenly turned cold the very next moment.

“Still as angry as ever, I see.”

A voice engraved in his memory, impossible to erase. A voice that would probably haunt him even as his mind melted with old age.

Adolf felt his hands trembling as he turned toward the voice.

Black robe and green hair.
And the mystical eyes that gleamed beneath the robe.

The witch approached Adolf with a cold smile.

“So, what happened, Adolf?”

Unfortunately, that’s when Adolf’s knight came to his senses.

“Halt.”

A cold blade turned toward the witch. The knight, with a cruel expression on his face, continued,

“Who are you? How did you get here without a sound…”

“Get out.”

The knight turned to Adolf in bewilderment.

“Your Highness?”

“I said get out of my sight. And take those useless wretches with you.”

Adolf spoke while glaring at the knight. It was clear evidence that those words were directed at the knight.

“Ah, understood…”

Although baffled, the knight obediently followed Adolf’s order. Adolf watched the departing knight with contempt before turning back to the witch.

“…What do you want?”

“An explanation of the situation.”

Adolf’s face twisted.

“I clearly told you where they were going. I also told you what they were looking for. So why haven’t you captured them yet?”

“…That bastard tricked me.”

“And you just let that happen? You’ve grown quite dull, Adolf.”

Adolf’s teeth bit into his lower lip. It didn’t take long for blood to flow.

“…I’ve already sent out a search party. They’ll be captured soon.”

“Captured soon, you say…”

The witch stroked her chin, then pulled out a thick book from within her clothes. It was a rather old book titled ‘The Porter’s Tale.’

The witch opened the book and read a passage. Her lips tightened as she muttered.

“…As I thought, this wasn’t in the original story… So it’s that person again after all.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

The witch closed the book. Then, looking at the distant mountain range, she smiled faintly.

“Because in the end, the grand narrative cannot be changed.”

And then, the witch walked towards the map spread out on a nearby table. Picking up a quill, she looked at Adolf with cold eyes.

“I’ll tell you where they’re going once more.”

“…Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

The witch drew a circle in the center of the mountain range with the quill as she spoke.

“I’m only doing this for my own freedom.”

***

Rem decided to be a little honest with himself.

When that supposed all-knowing witch had told him that the way to fix the Dragon King’s Essence was in the Essier Mountains.

Rem thought that as soon as they entered the mountains, a fairy or a snow fox or something would appear. You know, a guide.

Because don’t those things always appear in stories like this?

That, well. For the sake of a quick resolution or the author’s convenience.

But reality, in the end, is reality.

Rem felt the snowflakes hitting his face and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Rosalia!! Is that damn stone reacting to anything?!”

“Don’t call the Imperial treasure a ‘damn stone’!! You walking corpse!!”

“If it’s broken and useless, then it’s a damn stone, what else would it be!!”

“Quiet!! Both of you shut up and help look for the path!!”

At Dorn’s thundering voice, Rosalia and Rem’s mouths snapped shut. Then, they began looking around with dissatisfied expressions.

But the scenery was no different from an hour ago.

It was simply white, everywhere.

The sky, the earth, and even their own bodies.

The only difference between the sky and the earth was the grey crevices visible between the clouds.

Rem, Rosalia, and Dorn trudged through the white snowfield as if struggling.

And after who knows how long.

“___!”

A faint sound coming from behind them.

Rem, who had been struggling through the snow, grimaced.

“Damn it! Did they catch up already?!”

“I hear dogs barking, it seems like they’re using dog sleds! If this keeps up, they’ll catch up soon!”

“Weren’t the mercenaries we left behind supposed to buy us some time, brother-in-law?!”

“This must be as much time as they could buy us!!”

Rem snapped back and then pulled out the teleportation magic tool from his pocket.

“Everyone gather around! We’re teleporting again!!”

“Are you sure that thing is safe?!”

“I’ve used it dozens of times and it was fine, brother-in-law!! Hurry and grab on!”

Rosalia quickly grabbed Rem’s arm and shouted. Dorn hesitated for a moment, but after hearing the noise getting louder behind them, he grabbed Rem’s other arm.

“We’re teleporting again! [eleptort]!!”

And then, everything turned blue.

Their feet leaving the ground, their sense of direction vanishing. A floating sensation enveloped them, a strange nausea settling in their chests.

And then, in the next moment.

“Ugh-!”
“Eek-!”
“Oof-!”

The three of them reunited with the ground in various, ungainly positions.

Rem got up with a groan. Then Dorn and Rosalia also struggled to their feet.

“Where…”

“A cave?”

Just as Dorn muttered, they were in a cave.

A cave so wide that three cows could walk side by side with room to spare. Faintly glowing magic stones embedded in the walls illuminated the space.

Rosalia looked around in bewilderment.

“A cave…? Did you do this on purpose, Rem?”

“No.”

Rem frowned as he looked down at the teleportation magic tool in his hand.

The magic tool was glowing red-hot. Mana was leaking from the cracks that had appeared.

Seeing this, Rosalia’s eyes widened.

“Wait, don’t tell me that thing is broken?”

“Somewhat.”

Rem scratched his head irritably.

“I left it charging for too long, so it overloaded.”

Originally, the magic tool required time to charge its mana. But, considering the situation, Rem had filled it to the brim beforehand.

Even when escaping from the prince, he had asked Rosalia to teleport the already charged magic tool to him.

But it seemed like the magic tool hadn’t been able to handle the prolonged charging.

“Don’t worry, I think we can use it at least one more time.”

Rem said calmly as he used the snow on his body to cool down the magic tool. But Rosalia could sense the anxiety beneath his tone.

“Wait, sister-in-law, and Rem. Come here for a moment.”

Rem and Rosalia’s gazes simultaneously turned to Dorn.

Dorn was stroking the cave wall with a strange expression. He ran his hand down the wall and looked at Rem and Rosalia.

“Do you see this?”

“…If the wall is a metaphor for our dark future, then yes, I see it very clearly.”

“…You’re more twisted than I thought. Anyway, that’s not it, look again.”

Dorn ran his hand down the cave wall again. Only then did Rem seem to notice something, his eyes growing round.

“It’s incredibly… smooth.”

There were no bumps or rough patches that you’d commonly find in a cave.

The wall formed a smooth curve, as if someone had polished it.

“Does this mean this cave was artificially made, brother-in-law?”

“That could be the case, but…”

Dorn looked at the wall again with a suspicious look in his eyes.

“Could human hands make a cave this smooth?”

At that moment, a single thought crossed Rem’s mind. It was a hypothesis too absurd to accept as reality. It was a speculation with little evidence, closer to delusion than a guess.

But that thought stuck to Rem’s mind, refusing to let go.

As if someone had glued it there.

“Let’s find the exit first. I don’t know where we are, but wherever this is, that crazy bastard will follow.”

“Right, finding the exit is our top priority…”

And so, they began exploring the cave.

No, calling it an ‘exploration’ would be an overstatement. It was closer to a stroll.

The wide passage stretched straight ahead, without a single fork in the road.

And the deeper they went, the smoother walls gradually became rougher. It looked as if moss had turned into fossils and hardened.

Strange shapes were visible within the walls. Something that looked like a plant’s stem stretched out endlessly, like a spiderweb.

And a short while later.

They finally arrived at a vast open space and stopped. All of them wore blank expressions.

A giant cavity spread out before them.
And there, in its center, was a giant, irregularly shaped sphere.

No, sphere isn’t the right word.
Its shape was something that anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of anatomy would recognize.

They stared at the giant, stone-like heart.

Rem’s absurd guess had been correct.

They were inside the body of the Dragon King, who had been put to sleep by Alain 200 years ago.

***

The knight leading the pursuit frowned as he looked at the footprints in the snow.

Three sets of footprints, each one different in size and depth.

Not much time had passed since they left, as the footprints were still clearly visible.

But the footprints, which had been trailing along, suddenly converged in one spot, and then disappeared.

As if they had evaporated on the spot.

“Damn it, teleportation again…”

The knight muttered while rubbing his face. The soldier driving the dog sled looked at him cautiously and asked,

“What should we do, Sir Knight? Should we retreat?”

“Of course we pursue them. Even with teleportation, they couldn’t have gone too far. So…”

The necklace around the knight’s neck suddenly vibrated, interrupting him. The knight picked up the necklace with bewilderment.

Inside the blue crystal of the necklace, a small text appeared along with a rough map.

[Go to this location immediately. The weasels will gather here.]

“Sir Knight…?”

“No, change of plans. Do you know where this is?”

“This is…”

The soldier tilted his head before nodding.

“Yes, I know where it is.”

“Good, lead the way. They say those people will come here.”

As the knight spoke, a nearby snowdrift suddenly stirred.

The snow shifted slightly, revealing the gleaming blade of a blue axe.

“They’ll come here… How did His Highness know that?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m just following His Highness’s orders. Be quiet and guide…”

*WHOOSH-*

The snowdrift exploded and a sky-blue eyes glowed.

The knight instinctively drew his sword and turned around.

“Huh…?”

But the next moment, all he saw was his own severed lower body.

The knight’s upper body was thrown into the air, spraying blood.

“AAAAAAHH!!”

The soldier who got splattered with blood collapsed to the ground. He looked at the axe-wielding woman with trembling eyes.

“I-it’s the Dwarf Maker!!”

“K-kill her!”

“Iyaaaaaah!!”

Ignoring the fallen soldier, other soldiers charged towards the woman.

But the results were gruesome.

A flash of light, and an arm was severed. Blood sprayed, and heads rolled on the ground.

Before long, only one soldier remained.

The soldier who had been splattered with blood and collapsed to the ground,
And the one who had witnessed the entire carnage while wetting his pants.

The blood-soaked woman walked towards the terrified soldier. She spoke while letting her blood-dripping axe hang.

“Gu…ide…”

“Y-Yes…?”

“Guide… me… To the place… where they’re going…”