Ch.93Chapter 93

The Wendigo pointed his ice sword at Isabel, who had become a burning skeleton.

Through the lingering mystical resonance emanating from Isabel, the Wendigo could guess her situation.

Offering a person as a sacrifice to a god wasn’t just about surrendering life and flesh.

Why would gods accept useless and tasteless(?) humans as sacrifices unless they gained something valuable?

“Can’t we just end this? Now that you’ve paid your life to a god, the power you so desperately crave seems out of reach anyway.”

The burning bones were merely a medium to maintain Isabel’s form.

What was actually burning was her soul, which was gradually being transferred to her god.

Naturally, once her soul was completely consumed by flames, Isabel’s soul would go to her god…

“Everything, if everything burns, it’ll be fine. I just need to offer another sacrifice to burn in place of my soul!”

Isabel muttered her plan while jerking her head.

She didn’t want to answer the Wendigo’s question, but with her soul burning, her mind was unstable, causing her to speak involuntarily.

The Wendigo was impressed by this novel and surprising idea.

“…Truly an astonishing concept.”

To think of extending one’s life with others’ lives even at the brink of death.

It was clearly an idea only possible for someone who didn’t care about others’ lives in the slightest.

But there was one thing Isabel hadn’t anticipated.

That thirty percent of her soul had already burned away the moment the god fulfilled the contract.

Having examined the source of Djin twice, the Wendigo could sense that her soul was significantly damaged.

“Your plan was doomed from the start. Why not just return to your god? Seeing how it granted your messy request, it seems quite generous…”

“Shut uuuuuup!!!!!”

The Wendigo sincerely advised Isabel, but she took it as an insult.

In truth, it was an insult. Why should he praise someone who burned multiple people to death for her own greed?

As Isabel swung her arms, the black flames enveloping her body split into dozens of streams, flying toward the Wendigo.

The heat was so intense it could reduce a person to ashes before they could even feel pain…

“You throw lives around too carelessly.”

The Wendigo ignored Isabel’s attack, leaping and darting across the ground.

Why bother blocking attacks when Isabel would die on her own once her soul was completely burned?

Isabel let out a rage-filled scream as the flames, which were as precious as her life, scorched the earth.

“I command you. Stay still!!!”

“Now I see why your family fell. Probably because of that sharp tongue of yours.”

Flinch.

Isabel froze as if struck at her core.

The Wendigo seized the opportunity, concentrating mystical energy into his ice sword and swinging it at Isabel. The sword released a dark blue blade of energy with a sound like a scream.

Seeing the blade flying toward her neck, Isabel hastily concentrated her flames.

Influenced by her memories, the flames took the form of soldiers with shields to block the energy blade.

It was a foolish move.

While projecting mental images can sometimes be powerful, Isabel’s mental image was nothing but the pettiness of shifting pain onto others.

Naturally, such weak flames reflecting her pathetic mental image couldn’t block the Wendigo’s attack.

The energy blade sliced through Isabel’s waist, and she screamed as she felt a chunk of her power torn away.

“No! I can’t lose my power, my soul!”

Terrified of losing her existence, Isabel desperately reached for the flames.

She instinctively realized that only those flames could maintain her soul.

After absorbing all the flames, Isabel frantically split them to create soldiers.

The soldiers with burning swords and melting faces charged toward the Wendigo, screaming.

“Kill… him!”

“It’s hot!!!!!”

The lingering thoughts in the flames screamed as they swung their weapons at the Wendigo.

The Wendigo decided to grant their request. His ice sword swept horizontally, cutting the soldiers in half.

The souls suffering from terrible burning sensations smiled as the cold energy seeped into them, then vanished into smoke.

Watching this, Isabel fell into anxiety.

The despair of being betrayed by the world that had always favored her.

That despair was rapidly gnawing away at her last thread of sanity.

“I, I was chosen. Chosen by the world, by bloodline, by the gods!!!”

“Then all those entities must have chosen wrong.”

The Wendigo mocked Isabel, who was still denying reality, and charged forward.

Isabel screamed at her created soldiers to stop him, but it had little effect.

The heat from the flame soldiers, reflecting Isabel’s vanity rather than being intensely concentrated flames, was lukewarm at best.

The flame soldiers dissipated into smoke upon contact with the Wendigo. Watching helplessly, Isabel finally lost her last thread of sanity.

As the flame soldiers collapsed, Isabel concentrated all the flames into her body.

She flew toward the Wendigo who was rushing at her.

“You… if it weren’t for you, I would have!!!”

The Wendigo found Isabel’s resentment toward him absurd.

Had he ever asked her to come to the forest? Everything was simply the result of Isabel’s own choices.

The biggest problem was Isabel’s mindset.

A childish mentality that the world should love her unconditionally, but her mistakes should always be blamed on others.

If she had accepted that the world doesn’t work that way and acted more strategically…

“Come to think of it, why should I even consider this? I’m sick of this, so farewell.”

The Wendigo clicked his tongue and split Isabel in half.

He was certain he had cut through her soul from the sensation at his fingertips.

But…

“Die… you!”

“?”

Even as her bisected form was dispersing, Isabel managed to grab the Wendigo’s neck.

Her reason had vanished the moment the ice sword cut her, but her resentment and sense of injustice remained unbroken until the end.

It was utterly absurd.

That her resentment and anger were stronger than the pain of her followers who had burned to death.

‘Crazy woman.’

Isabel’s vengeful spirit reached toward the Wendigo, following its nature.

As the flames lost their form and began to burn fiercely, the Wendigo burst cold energy from his entire body and opened his mouth.

He intended to blow away the vengeful spirit with a mystical roar.

But the mouth is a vulnerable part for most beings.

Whether by chance or instinct, half of Isabel’s vengeful spirit dove into the Wendigo’s mouth.

“?!”

The Wendigo grimaced and bit down on the vengeful spirit with mystical energy in his teeth.

However, a significant portion had already entered his mouth, and even a small part could cause unpredictable effects.

The Wendigo quickly concentrated mystical energy inside his body, but…?

“Huh?”

Even after removing the remaining half of the vengeful spirit and destroying it with cold energy, the flames that had entered his mouth remained quiet.

He had expected an explosion or some chaos, but nothing happened.

As the puzzled Wendigo stood there, Gulmarg, covered in flesh and blood, approached.

“Is that whining one dead?”

“If you’re referring to the Witch, I’m not sure myself…”

[Hey! You can’t just eat my toy like that!]

“?”

The Wendigo was startled by a voice coming from thin air.

A voice reminiscent of a young girl struck his ears.

The Wendigo set his ice sword on the ground and tried to guess the owner of the voice.

Actually, there was no need to guess.

Who had been giving power to Isabel all this time?

“If it was a precious toy, you shouldn’t have left it in a dangerous place.”

“Wendigo, who are you talking to?”

When the Wendigo grumbled while looking at the empty air, Gulmarg tilted his head.

To someone unaware of the situation, he would look like a madman.

Of course, Gulmarg could understand if the Wendigo went a little crazy.

With constant incidents happening around him without a moment’s peace, going slightly mad would be normal…

“Gulmarg, I can guess what you’re thinking, but I’m not crazy.”

“Wendigo, being crazy isn’t shameful. Denying that you’re crazy is what’s shameful.”

When the Wendigo calmly defended himself, Gulmarg looked at him sideways.

Fortunately, the misunderstanding about the Wendigo was quickly resolved.

[That’s right~ Being crazy isn’t shameful.]

“!”

The Wendigo and Gulmarg raised their weapons at the presence they felt behind them.

A young girl appeared from the flames Isabel had left behind.

A girl with shimmering red-gold hair and dark red eyes reminiscent of lava.

The girl showed her sharp teeth in a smile and waved at them.

“Hello~! I’ve been watching quite enjoyably, but this is your first time seeing me, right?”

“Are you the god Isabel served?”

“Yes. That would be me, Jurtur, the adorable youngest child created last by the Creator God!”

Jurtur pointed at herself with her thumb, her eyes sparkling.

The Wendigo was so dumbfounded by her brazen admission that he was speechless.

Not only her attitude, but he couldn’t fathom what the god before him wanted.

“What’s your purpose?”

“I don’t have one?”

Jurtur tilted her head and answered the Wendigo’s question.

It was such an innocent answer… and the scent emanating from her was surprisingly clean.

If that was true, she really had no purpose…

As the Wendigo grabbed his ice sword in growing irritation, Jurtur jumped in alarm and waved her hands.

“Wait wait wait! I really had no purpose! I just like maniacs, that’s all!”

“I didn’t particularly want to know your preferences. Now that I understand, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”

As the Wendigo’s ice sword drew closer, Jurtur grabbed the blade in panic.

Even if her head were cut off, Jurtur wouldn’t die, but she hadn’t revealed herself without any purpose.

She pleaded with the Wendigo, her eyes wide.

“I’ll leave! I’ll leave, so give me back my toy! If you return it, I’ll give you something good too!”

“By toy, do you mean Isabel? She offered herself as a sacrifice, so you should already have her.”

“But you ate part of her!”

Jurtur screeched, genuinely feeling wronged as she teared up.

The sight of a young girl shedding pearl-like tears was quite pitiful, but the Wendigo felt no remorse.

In essence, she was at least 4,000 years old…

“Stop the creepy act. So, is there a way to return the soul?”

“You could just spit it out?”

“…I’m asking how to do that.”

The Wendigo felt a headache coming on as Jurtur answered as if it were obvious.

Wouldn’t it be cleaner to just cut off her head? If he cut it off every time she appeared…

“Oh, oh no! Are you reaching for your sword again?”

“If you want your toy or soul back, explain the proper method. I don’t want to keep the soul of a crazy woman like Isabel either.”

“Hmm… how about opening your mouth? I’ll look for it myself.”

As Jurtur wiggled her fingers and asked, the Wendigo grimaced and grabbed his ice sword.

He had no desire to entrust his mouth to someone who was clearly insane, or rather, fanatical.

Seeing the Wendigo’s reluctance, Jurtur ran to him, grabbed his leg, and whined.

“Please! This was the first toy I made after returning to the middle realm!”

“Why does that matter…”

“It’s a toy I made after 4,000 years! Do you know how it feels to play with the same toy for 4,000 years?!”

“You should have caused less trouble then.”

Though the Wendigo had just met Jurtur today, he could assert one thing with certainty.

This being must have played a significant role in the Creator God’s decision to expel the gods.