Ch.197Chapter 197

Through the teeth, a dark blue liquid flowed from the beast’s body, and the grip of the liquid constricting its body loosened.

The Wendigo, not wanting to miss this opportunity that would never come again, bit into the beast’s neck even harder. The creature writhed in pain, spewing dark blue liquid.

Crack! Crunch!

The uncontrolled dark blue liquid pierced through arms and legs and struck down on the back like a club. The excruciating pain, unlike anything experienced before, grew like a seed planted in the brain.

But the more intense the pain became, the stronger the Wendigo’s jaw clenched.

An intuition that if the flow wasn’t seized here, it would be the end.

And…

‘There are too many connections I still need to protect to die now.’

A sense of responsibility that wouldn’t allow him to let go of the thread of life forced his body to move.

His teeth penetrated through the beast’s hide and flesh, digging deeper and deeper. Naturally, the beast’s blood, or rather liquid, gushed out.

The Wendigo swallowed it all. There was no time to consider the dangers.

Thud!

“Don’t… retreat!”

The beast tried to back away, sacrificing its own flesh, but the Wendigo’s determination wasn’t something that could be shaken off so easily.

Like a hungry wolf, he extended his neck forward and bit into the beast’s neck deeper and wider.

The beast’s body writhed in silent screams. Its kicks struck his body, and the liquid, transformed into sharp blades, flew at his limbs.

But… the flow had shifted to the Wendigo.

Crack.

The tree bark that sprouted from the Wendigo’s arms blocked the dark blue blades. Soon, the bark even formed sharp claws, and the Wendigo’s arms swung toward the incoming blades.

The wooden claws cut through the liquid and embedded themselves in the beast’s body.

Though it was still difficult to move due to the wounds on his arms, the claws and arms created by his will unconsciously took over that role.

With the help of his wooden arms, the Wendigo moved closer to the beast’s body and sank his teeth even deeper.

The ice blade on his other arm melted, and the melted ice wrapped around his arm, filling the wounds and seeping into his nails.

As he swung his whitened arm, the dark blue liquid froze, scattering into the air as dark blue ice fragments.

Crack!

Both hands’ claws embedded in the beast’s body, and the Wendigo, with his mouth wide open, stared at the cross-section of the beast’s severed neck.

The liquid flowing from the beast’s neck targeted his throat, undulating in an octagonal pattern. It looked menacing, as if it would pierce and sever his neck at any moment.

‘Should I retreat now?’

Having inflicted enough damage on each other, withdrawing to recover wounds was one option.

No, rationally, that was the right choice. Since the flow had shifted, how could proceeding more safely be considered a wrong choice?

… But the right path is ultimately determined by the individual.

Crack!

The last thing he remembered was the dark blue liquid rushing toward his neck, something filling his mouth… and the eerie sound of flesh being cut.

The Wendigo’s consciousness sank into darkness.

* * *

How long had he been unconscious?

When the Wendigo regained consciousness, he was walking through a forest thick with fog. He couldn’t tell how long he had been walking in this forest.

“… Am I dead?”

Having lost consciousness during battle and waking up in an unfamiliar place, the likelihood of death was high.

The Wendigo stopped walking and turned to look behind him. But turning around didn’t make the forest disappear.

After contemplating for a while, the Wendigo turned back and continued walking along the path.

As he walked aimlessly, the Wendigo heard animal cries in the forest.

Eagles and wolves, tigers and foxes… he couldn’t understand why different beasts were crying from the same direction.

The Wendigo’s footsteps naturally headed toward the source of the sound. If something strange was happening in a strange place, it was obvious that clues to solve the problem would be there.

How long had he been walking through the fog and undergrowth toward the sound?

“Grrrr.”

“… More than I expected.”

Dozens of pairs of eagles and crows, hawks and owls perched on branches, staring down.

Wolves and tigers were sprawled on rocks and the ground, looking up.

Small creatures like mice, rabbits, and squirrels were perched on other animals, tilting their heads curiously.

… And at the center was a strangely familiar deer, holding its head high.

“So you’re the owner of the head.”

As if confirming his words, the deer nodded. The deer’s appearance, with its glossy golden fur and majestic pure white antlers, was beautiful.

But it was different from the other animals. The deer’s body flickered like an illusion made of smoke.

The deer pointed somewhere with its antlers, and the Wendigo’s head turned in that direction.

A path covered in deep darkness, difficult to describe as merely the forest’s shadow, entered his vision. Strangely, just looking at the path brought a sense of peace.

It felt like walking along that path would allow him to let go of all worries, attachments, regrets, and sorrows.

“… Is that the path to the afterlife?”

Again, the deer nodded. Now he could understand why the resurrected begged to be killed.

They must have been resting in peace at the end of that path, having let go of all attachments, regrets, and worries.

Having such peace forcibly taken away… there could be no greater punishment for those who had found tranquility of mind.

After silently staring at the path to peace, the Wendigo asked the deer:

“Am I dead?”

To the Wendigo’s question, the deer shook its head. The Wendigo, who naturally thought he was dead, looked at the deer with confusion.

If he wasn’t dead, why was he facing the Beast of Death at the threshold of the path to death?

“… Hmm?”

While pondering this situation, someone walked along the dark forest path. It was a somewhat familiar face.

“You are?”

“It’s been a while… or perhaps not. Let me introduce myself properly. I am Alkeides.”

Wearing a toga, Alkeides revealed his name with a rather stylish smile.

The Wendigo looked at him with a somewhat awkward gaze. It was quite embarrassing to face someone again after having personally driven a lance through their chest.

Alkeides, seeming to understand this feeling, burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, you have a more sensitive heart than I expected. Why would I hold a grudge for dying again when I was already dead?”

“I’m glad you think that way… but why have you come?”

“Hmm… since I failed to receive forgiveness for my sins by my own hands, I came to offer what little help I can.”

Alkeides said while stroking the hazy deer’s head. The deer leisurely enjoyed his touch, apparently not holding a grudge against Alkeides who had cut off its head.

“You must be quite confused. We both struck each other in the final moment, yet both of us are here.”

“Yes, if one of us had died, only one should be here… going to the afterlife, right? Or are we both dead?”

“We’re not dead. Those who die regain consciousness by the river, not in this forest.”

This was the Forest of Rest, where the Beasts of Death, who guide the dead, reside.

The dead could visit this place, but visitors were rare. Those at peace had no particular reason to visit the forest.

“If you ask who won, I’d say you did.”

Alkeides said, looking at the flickering deer. If this creature had won, it would have retrieved its head and returned to the afterlife in complete form.

And the fact that the Wendigo regained consciousness in the forest, not by the river, meant…

“I think Death has given you a choice.”

“A choice?”

“Yes. To choose between life, with its continued hardships and adversities, and death, with its promised peaceful rest.”

How many would choose death over life when given the choice… Yet the Wendigo’s gaze was fixed on the forest path that Alkeides had mentioned.

If one could wash away all pain, attachment, sorrow, and despair, and spend eternity in a happy dream… could that truly be called death?

After all, if one dies, they will eventually reunite with everyone, so is life meaningful enough to endure hardship and fatigue?

“I…”

After long deliberation, the Wendigo opened his mouth. Hearing his answer, Alkeides nodded with a smile, as if he had expected it.

* * *

The war between the living and the dead.

People praised the brave northern warriors who had stopped the army of the dead led by the Emperor.

How could they not praise the warriors who, with blood and courage, had stopped the hatred of the dead who wished for all living beings to die?

However, the warriors who had been present at the scene found the songs of the minstrels and the admiring gazes of family and friends burdensome.

Anyone who had cut through corpses and advanced on the battlefield knew. That it wasn’t they who had ended this war.

“Yet the one who deserves the most praise cannot rise…”

“I’m ashamed. If we, no, if I had been stronger, the tragedy of His Majesty breaking through the enemy lines alone wouldn’t have happened!”

“Once again, His Majesty sacrificed himself for the people. We… we could only watch.”

The warriors who had endured on the battlefield with fire, steel, courage, and despair, relying on flame and faith, had clearly seen the anomaly that occurred on the battlefield.

When a howl that seemed to tear the sky echoed across the battlefield, both the corpses that repeatedly charged with despair and pleas, and the old heroes trapped in the past, melted away with expressions of joy.

The liquid that filled the battlefield like a dark blue swamp surged toward somewhere like an ebbing tide…

The standard-bearers, exhausted but not losing their loyalty, urged their tired bodies in the direction the Wendigo had gone.

When they arrived at the Wendigo’s side, what they saw was the Wendigo devouring the liquid with his mouth wide open.

His limbs were riddled with holes, and his chest was crushed as if a huge rock had been embedded in it.

After swallowing all the liquid in a state that seemed impossible to be alive, the Wendigo sat down and lowered his head.

The warriors paid their respects to the king who had defeated the dead Emperor and sent the dead back to where they belonged. But the king did not respond.

At first, thinking he was too tired to answer, the warriors guarded the king and waited for everyone to gather.

But even when the warriors arrived, the king did not wake. Even when the ministers arrived, even when close confidants like Geron and Dario arrived, the king did not wake.

Even when the woman he loved, whom he had promised to marry, called his name, the king did not wake.

The king merely remained with his head lowered in silence.

The forest people who had been with him since ancient times told people that the king had fallen into a temporary sleep after sealing away evil.

They believed that as he had risen in the past after such incidents, he would do so again this time.

And so, as in the old days, people built structures around the Wendigo and stationed warriors, waiting for the king to rise.

“You’re in a deep sleep again today, Lord Wendigo.”

Only one person could meet the king in his deep sleep: Skadi.

Skadi entered the room called the bedchamber with a faint smile.

Inside, talismans with healing properties were connected by ropes and filled the ceiling, and precious herbs from various regions were hanging on the walls to dry.

With familiar movements, Skadi selected talismans and herbs to brew a medicinal decoction.

“L-Lord Wendigo, don’t worry, even though you’ve fallen into a deep sleep, the kingdom is running well. Mr. Dario, Mr. Geron… everyone else is working hard too.”

She spoke with difficulty while looking at the herbs boiling in the cauldron.

Stories about how Mr. Geron and Mr. Dario were working so hard they could use two bodies due to the king’s sudden sleep.

Stories about a nobleman who was beaten nearly to death by warriors for impudently suggesting they should elect a new king.

Stories about warriors setting off on journeys to find ways to wake the king…

“This is all because you fell asleep without saying anything, Lord Wendigo.”

Skadi picked up the bowl of medicinal decoction and turned to look at the Wendigo.

Under the pretext that the king’s resting place shouldn’t be shabby, they had decorated the surroundings with golden ornaments and candlesticks, and had merchants place the Wendigo on a throne…

But Skadi didn’t like the throne, the decorations, or even the candlesticks illuminating the surroundings.

Why did they want to decorate the deeply sleeping Lord Wendigo like that?

The sight of elaborately decorating the motionless Wendigo seemed to Skadi like burial goods placed with a corpse.

“……”

Skadi approached the Wendigo, climbed onto his lap, and carefully poured the decoction into his mouth. In truth, the decoction didn’t have much meaning.

The Wendigo’s body had already recovered. His body, once in tatters, had long since healed thanks to Skadi’s devoted care.

… But this was all she could do.

When the decoction was empty, Skadi placed the bowl on an empty part of the throne and leaned against the Wendigo’s body.

His body was always cold, now as before, and she had never heard his heartbeat.

Nothing had changed. Nothing had changed, but…

‘What if, what if His Majesty truly never wakes up?’

Nevertheless, it was inevitable that Skadi’s heart would waver.

As weak thoughts began to eat away at her mind, Skadi burrowed deeper into the Wendigo’s embrace, trying to shake off the bad thoughts.

But thoughts tend to continue, one leading to another.

If Lord Wendigo truly never wakes up, I…

“Lord Wendigo…”

Her voice echoed emptily in the room..

Crash!

“Ah…?”

Had she accidentally knocked it over?

The bowl she had placed on the throne fell to the floor. Staring blankly at the shattered bowl, Skadi somehow felt like crying.

But she couldn’t cry. For just, just something like this, she couldn’t—

“I’m… sorry.”

… Had she finally gone mad?

When the Wendigo’s voice rang in her ears, Skadi held back tears with shuddering shoulders. She couldn’t shed tears over an auditory hallucination.

Yes, not over a hallucination.

The Wendigo, awakened from his deep sleep, carefully embraced Skadi, who was sniffling on top of him.

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed. At least, if she was burrowing into his body and sniffling, it certainly wasn’t a short time.

The Wendigo inwardly cursed Alkeides and the Beast of Death. But that wasn’t what was most needed now.

After brief contemplation, the Wendigo honestly opened his heart.

“Thank you for always being by my side. And… I love you.”

Finally, Skadi burst into tears.

Because her beloved had rejected death and returned to her side.