The Northern Duke’s Daughter Will Never Fall – Chapter 104

Chapter 104: The Path to You (4)

【“Calm down! Deep breaths, deep breaths!”】

The real Astrid desperately tried to soothe the panicking fake Astrid.

Astrid wanted to look around, to assess her surroundings, but her panic kept her rooted in place, unable to move her gaze.

【“Pull yourself together! Weren’t you a man? What’s with this reaction?!”】

But the real Astrid wasn’t much calmer herself.

Just moments ago, they had been standing in the snowy plain.

She had been idly watching Baizik cast his incantation and the fiery Prominence as it soared through the sky.

Then, without warning, her vision shook, and suddenly, she found herself somewhere completely unfamiliar.

“What… What the hell? What’s going on?!”

Astrid frantically looked around, her voice trembling.

She had been standing on the snowy plain, surrounded by Wolfgang, Ashray, and the others. But now, they were all gone.

Before her stood the massive tower, its walls imposing and close.

On either side stretched the same endless snowy landscape, but now it was eerily empty.

【“Calm down, calm down!”】

“Calm down?! How am I supposed to stay calm?!”

【“What’s your plan if you lose it now?!”】

“I don’t know what happened! Why am I the only one here?!”

【“Shh.”】

Astrid froze at the real Astrid’s sharp command.

But it wasn’t just her words that stopped her—Astrid herself had felt it too.

【“Shall we switch?”】

‘…That’s probably for the best.’

A moment later, Astrid’s demeanor transformed completely.

Her eyes, already sharp, now gleamed with the cold precision of a well-forged blade. Gripping the greatsword strapped to her back, she prepared herself.

As if waiting for that very signal, shadowy figures began emerging from every direction.

They slithered and crawled out of the snow, revealing forms so grotesque and unnatural that it was clear they were no ordinary creatures. They looked like something dragged straight out of the abyss.

【“What… what are those things?”】

“Demons. I don’t know why they’re appearing in a place that was supposed to be abandoned by everyone but barbarians.”

Even as the real Astrid provided an explanation, the fake Astrid was no less shaken.

She’d seen monsters before—during her training at the academy, she had even encountered and defeated a Hellveig.

But compared to the things now surrounding her, the Hellveig had seemed almost tame.

A spider-like creature with over ten legs. A humanoid monstrosity wielding a club, its three grotesque heads turning in unison.

And countless others—twisted, misshapen beings in unnatural hues—all of them converging toward Astrid, their numbers blackening the snowy landscape.

‘…Isn’t this a bit too much?’

【“It does seem excessive.”】

Despite the overwhelming odds, Astrid didn’t falter.

She tightened her grip on her sword, Snow Flower, her expression hardening with determination.

The unmistakable malice radiating from the horde closed in around her.

She stood alone, surrounded by what must have been dozens—no, over a hundred—of demons. They were forming a tightening circle, their dark forms stark against the snow.

Outnumbered.

The phrase echoed in the fake Astrid’s mind.

“There’s no way I’m dying here. I don’t know what’s going on, but even if it’s hard to deal with that many demons… it’s not impossible.”

The fake Astrid fell silent.

This was the first time she had heard the real Astrid admit that a battle might be difficult—or that she might even lose.

“But I can’t lose. I haven’t even gotten married yet. I have to get married first. I have to marry my prince.”

Astrid’s eyes gleamed as she untied the belt of her Miterien ducal uniform.

Everywhere she looked, she saw demons—monsters as far as the eye could see, a moving wall of them.

This wasn’t a battle against many with many. This was one versus all.

Astrid would have to fight in every direction—front, back, above, below.

【“What are you doing?”】

“Getting ready to fight.”

The demons had now closed in so much that they were nearly within striking distance.

She could feel the foul stench of their breath pricking her nose.

Everywhere she turned, grotesque, salivating faces leered at her, their grotesque features dripping with hunger.

“…Tentacles are always the worst,” Astrid muttered.

【“What are you doing now?!”】

Astrid had tied her belt around the hilt of Snow Flower and her hand, ensuring the weapon would never slip from her grip.

The white belt bound her hand and sword together, the fabric stained red from her bleeding palm.

“Just in case I lose my grip.”

【“W-wait, stop—!”】

Before the fake Astrid could finish her shout, the real Astrid charged forward.

Her greatsword cleaved through the first demon, a one-eyed giant, splitting its torso clean in two. The battle had begun.

***

Astrid had disappeared.

Right after Prominence had launched and the group had been distracted by its destructive aftermath, she vanished.

Now, Wolfgang, Ashray, Baizik, and the soldiers had abandoned all thoughts of the tower and focused entirely on searching for Astrid.

But there was no trace of her anywhere.

“If she’d walked off, there would’ve been tracks in the snow. Baizik, you’re sure there were no mana fluctuations?”

“None. If she’d been forcibly teleported, there would’ve been a surge of mana, and I would’ve noticed it immediately.”

Baizik was just as bewildered as the others.

While it was true that he had gathered a large amount of mana to cast Prominence, there was no way he would have missed a teleportation spell happening right next to him.

“Something’s not right. How could she vanish without a trace like this?”

“Which is why we’re investigating now. Ashray, hand me that scrap of paper.”

Baizik extended his hand toward Ashray, who promptly handed over the strange yellow scrap they had found where Astrid had vanished.

The paper, charred and singed at the edges, was as inexplicable as Astrid’s disappearance.

Baizik scrutinized it, turning it over in his hands.

“…Wait a moment. This…”

The paper, damp from the snow, had begun to dry. As it did, its original color and markings became clearer.

“This is… a talisman.”

Though two-thirds of it had burned away, the remaining fragment was enough to reveal the intricate red lines and symbols drawn on its yellow surface.

“Wolfgang, are there any nearby tribes?”

“There haven’t been for years. We wiped them out ages ago.”

“Father, there is one,” Ashray interjected.

Wolfgang and Baizik turned to him, their eyes demanding answers.

With a faintly exasperated expression, Ashray replied, “At the estate. The turncoat from the tribes.”

“…Azdavarka!”

“Yes, he’s a former tribal shaman, isn’t he?”

At Ashray’s words, Wolfgang immediately grabbed Baizik’s arm and began dragging him.

“Let go, Wolfgang! I can walk!”

Wolfgang released him, letting Baizik stumble slightly before turning to Ashray.

“Ashray, split the soldiers. Leave two-thirds of them here to continue the search, under the command of the centurion. The rest, along with you, Baizik, and me, will return to the estate. We need Azdavarka to examine this talisman immediately.”

“Yes, Father.”

While Ashray relayed Wolfgang’s orders to the centurion, Wolfgang cast a hard glance at the distant tower.

“It seems some pathetic trick has been played, but if they’ve taken my daughter for their schemes… they’ll regret it. A leopard hunts alone.”

With that, Wolfgang turned and marched away.

***

Drops of red blood splattered the snowy landscape.

Astrid’s sword, still tied to her hand by the belt, was soaked in blood, as were her gloves.

She wiped the blood trickling down her face with her hand, letting out a deep, heavy breath.

Behind her, a tentacle lashed through the air, but she swatted it aside with her bare hand, regripping Snow Flower tightly.

The snowy field was no longer white—it had been overrun by shadows.

Astrid darted between the demons, her sword carving through their ranks. Every swing of her blade left shattered, broken bodies in its wake.

But the odds were overwhelming.

The battle dragged on long enough that the real Astrid and fake Astrid switched places, causing a significant drop in power.

Even with Divine Arms and Divine Power, there were limits to what a human could endure.

“Haa… Haa…” Astrid exhaled heavily, struggling to stay upright.

Her once-pristine uniform was torn and bloodstained, and exhaustion was etched across her face.

Yet the demons still numbered many.

Forcing her trembling knees to hold firm, Astrid stared ahead with unyielding determination.

“…I don’t know why I’m going through this. I thought this sort of thing was behind me.”

【“Yes, I thought there’d be no more battles like this.”】

“Even so, I have to keep my promise. I have to fulfill it… and then I’ll go back.”

【“What promise?”】

“What do you mean, what promise?”

Her face stung—it must’ve been scratched by something.

She scooped up a handful of snow and pressed it against her face. The icy cold cleared her mind just enough to keep going.

“My promise to marry him. I’ll marry my prince, and you’ll get to go back to your world!”

With a loud thud of her boots against the snow, Astrid charged forward once more.

There were still too many demons left to kill.

It wasn’t time to rest yet.

【“That’s backwards! You’ve got it completely reversed!”】