Ch.94Starlight Knight

‘The smell of blood…’

In the middle of the path leading to the summit of a mountain shrouded in pitch-black darkness, Seo-rin detected the pungent smell of blood. The trail of blood along the path was quite thick. Moreover, it still contained moisture, suggesting it had been spilled not long ago.

There was no distinctive monster stench. This meant it was human blood. However, there was no human presence to be felt in the vicinity. Seo-rin’s expression darkened.

Rustle-

“Oh no…”

At the location where she followed the blood scent, just as Seo-rin had expected, children’s corpses lay scattered about. Perhaps their belongings had been the target. Their clothes and possessions were thoroughly ransacked.

A familiar face. The boy who had spoken of becoming a great knight to protect the country was now growing cold.

Seo-rin’s gaze shifted to the children’s waists. Their swords hadn’t even been drawn. They only realized the presence of an enemy moments before death. Their expressions were frozen in half-surprise.

Seo-rin kicked the ground again. Though she wanted to collect the children’s remains, there was no time. Even now, Hakam, who might be a reincarnator, was roaming the mountains. If she delayed, there would be more victims.

Strong gusts of wind erupted with each step Seo-rin took on the ground. With each stride forward, the aura emitted by the small girl grew more immense. This was no time to hide her abilities. She released all the power she had been suppressing.

Whoosh!

As the controlled power began to unleash freely, the entire mountain shook. The wind emanating from her body spread widely, expanding her domain. Her heightened senses sent back a wealth of information.

‘Ashen.’

Seo-rin immediately changed direction. She had located the position of Hakam, the being who was once her brother. The scent transmitted through the wind and the expanded domain of Ashen clearly recognized his presence.

‘I need to run faster.’

It was at that moment Seo-rin recognized the need for a new transformation. The spirit power engraved in her soul gently wrapped around her legs. The spirit’s power often naturally responded to the martial arts of the White Frost tribe. This time was no different.

‘This is…’

Recently, Seo-rin had neglected the White Frost tribe’s martial arts while exploring various other martial disciplines. But when she unconsciously began to mimic the gait of the frost wolf, a significant change occurred.

The mana consumption drastically decreased. Yet the wind enveloping her legs didn’t lose its power. Instead, it blew even stronger and fiercer than before.

It was as if the wind was whispering to her. That this was how the spirit’s power should be used.

It felt like a dormant sense was awakening. Seo-rin had a premonition. Perhaps today, she might be able to weave together all the martial arts she possessed.

The martial arts from the Central Plains and the White Frost tribe’s techniques had not mixed well before. After obtaining the White Dragon Sword, she primarily used the Taebaek Snow Dragon Sword and the White Dragon Heart Sutra. Since she couldn’t incorporate the White Frost tribe’s techniques into those martial arts, she only used them occasionally as supplementary skills when necessary.

She had chosen superior martial arts to become stronger. But now it was different. The spirit’s power had been added to the White Frost tribe’s techniques. It had become more effective than adding spirit power to the Taebaek Snow Dragon Sword.

This meant the two martial disciplines had become equal. She realized it too late. This power was obtained from ancient ruins related to her tribe. Why hadn’t she thought of combining it with the tribe’s martial arts?

Belated regret washed over her.

Whoosh!

A white wolf sprinted across the dark mountain. The strong gusts erupting around it pushed everything away. The longer she ran, the more the tribal martial arts ingrained in her body began to awaken. The muscles in her arms, legs, and waist were subtly adjusted, and the breath that once exhaled white frost began to hold warm heat.

In that moment, faint animal forms appeared over Seo-rin’s body. Wolf, bear, hawk, marten, fox, and Ashen resembling a mouse. Though the flickering forms quickly disappeared, their characteristics clearly remained strong in Seo-rin’s body.

The wolf in her steps, the hawk in her eyes, the bear in her heart, the marten in her breath, the fox’s sensitivity on her skin, and Ashen’s hearing in her ears.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

As she began to use the tribe’s martial arts in earnest, another heartbeat sounded from within Seo-rin. She instinctively understood that this heartbeat belonged to her younger sibling.

“You’ve awakened.”

Still, no answer came. But Seo-rin could tell. That she was sharing the gaze she was now seeing with her sibling. She continued her sprint without stopping. Towards her sibling, towards the reincarnator who had taken over that body.

“Let’s go greet the chief, our sibling.”

Whoosh-

As Seo-rin’s form blurred in the wind, a transparent wolf followed closely behind.

***

The once-quiet mountain became noisy. It started after a loud explosion was heard. The knight candidates who had gone to bed had to hurriedly pack their belongings.

“Was that a bomb or something?”

“It was a shock strong enough to halt the training…”

Children from noble families had received much information about this training from their families. If an unforeseen accident occurred, the training would be suspended. If something happened, they were to either head to the iron barrier at the foot of the mountain or to the Starlight Lighthouse at the summit and wait for rescue.

If they couldn’t move, they were to burn a leather pouch to signal for help.

The children recalled these instructions and moved urgently. Initially, they tried to descend the mountain. But they couldn’t. The monsters that had been sleeping were awakened by the shock.

The path down and the monsters’ migration routes overlapped. The number was too great for the knight candidates to handle. Yet, there were those who bravely stepped forward.

For those who confused recklessness with courage, death was the peace that awaited. As boys and girls died and the smell of human blood spread, hungry monsters frantically searched for the knight candidates.

That wasn’t the only problem. Occasionally, shocks like the one before erupted from various parts of the mountain.

Boom!

Each time, the number of knight candidates rapidly decreased. It was then that the instructors, who had been observing the situation, began to move. Their response was delayed as they investigated the first accident site.

Everyone’s destination naturally turned towards the mountain summit.

Under the large full moon shining down on the summit, a few surviving children panted as they approached the lighthouse. Among them were Handel and Edenhofer.

“Where’s Rona?”

“I don’t see her…”

Edenhofer shook his head at Handel’s question. They had come up to the summit after a series of large shocks and the mass migration of monsters. They looked around hoping to find Rona, who was part of their group, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh no…!”

“Wh-what should we do?”

“I guess we should go down…”

Edenhofer’s voice trailed off. The area was bright as the moonlight shone directly down. Looking at the forest bustling with commotion, his legs weakened.

The roars of monsters, the occasional screams of peers, and the terrible smell of blood carried by the wind made his body stiffen. Hazy smoke rose from various parts of the forest. It was a signal for rescue.

The surviving children huddled together. They entered a large astronomical observatory building, stood back to back, and gripped their weapons. They didn’t hide the trembling tips of their swords. Everyone was the same.

It was then. From the foot of the mountain, a beast-like pungent scent suddenly surged. The moonlight revealed its form without concealment.

“A person…?”

“He’s huge…”

“Maybe the instructors sent him? To save us…!”

It was a person, not a monster. Though he was excessively large and emitted growls and a strong pungent scent from his mouth, the children were initially relieved that it wasn’t a monster.

But that relief didn’t last long. As he gradually revealed himself from the foot of the hill, they saw a human head in his left hand.

“C-crazy…!”

“Everyone be careful!”

The knight candidates chose to confront rather than tremble in fear. Taking a big step forward, they each pointed their swords at the man.

The man, staring at them, shook his head from side to side.

“Not time yet?”

Not time yet. His words and actions suggested he was waiting for something. It was at that moment the man threw the head he was holding.

Whoosh-

The direction of the wind changed. From right to left. The wind’s intensity suddenly increased. It felt like a storm was approaching, so everyone’s gaze followed the direction of the wind.

At that moment, a snow-white wolf appeared beyond the large moonlight. The wolf’s form quickly disappeared. Next to appear was the form of a small girl. Beyond the wavering, blurry form, the beautiful girl’s figure descended with the moonlight.

Boom!

Wind erupted around the girl, sweeping through the scene. The man’s pungent scent was completely blown away. Seo-rin opened her mouth, with the children protectively behind her.

“Hakam.”

Seo-rin took in the man’s appearance. The man who retained his appearance from before they parted. Hakam stood there. A fierce flame rose in Seo-rin’s heart at the cruel reality.

Still, a glimmer of hope remained. If Hakam wasn’t a reincarnator…

At that moment, Hakam’s mouth opened.

“You’re the one I saw last time…? This wasn’t mentioned…”

Incomprehensible words. He seemed to recognize her, but his gaze held annoyance, irritation, and anger rather than joy. This man was not Hakam. Seo-rin bit her lip and drew her sword.

Shing-

The Moonlight Sword, once drawn, absorbed all the moonlight shining from the sky. All light gathered towards Seo-rin.

At that moment, countless shooting stars began to fall from the sky.