Chapter 11

The wild boar spirit threw itself forward with eyes rolling like a pig with its tail on fire, but even so, it was still a spirit.

Roots and branches sprouting from the ground intertwined, increasing the size of the wild boar spirit. It wouldn’t have been strange if its speed decreased due to the increased size, but the wild boar spirit actually increased its speed.

“I’ll tear that ragged body of yours apart!!”

The charge of the wild boar spirit, armored in tightly woven roots and branches, was as heavy as that of a tank.

The wendigo moved the cold energy to erect a large and sturdy ice wall in front of him.

The wild boar spirit was surprised by the large wall, but soon realized that not much mystery was imbued in the ice wall and sneered.

“You fool. Trying to conserve energy in a fight between spirits!”

The wild boar spirit was certain that the spirit before it was newly born.

No matter how noble spirits are, experience cannot be ignored.

Spirits that have lived for a short time often don’t know that they shouldn’t conserve mystery when fighting other spirits. After all, weak mystery is enough when dealing with humans and monsters.

It shouldn’t be like that with spirits. Because they are equal beings, shallow tricks only maximize the consumption of mystery.

It wasn’t for nothing that the wild boar spirit had used excessively strong mystery to don its armor. The wild boar spirit really intended to finish the wendigo with a single collision.

As the wild boar spirit’s heavy body shattered the ice wall, its fragments soared into the sky. The wild boar spirit squinted as the fragments sparkled in the sunlight.

“Where are you! Stop hiding like a coward and come out!”

As fragments and sunlight obscured its vision, the wild boar spirit shook its head and searched for the wendigo.

The wendigo did not hide but revealed himself. He was in a stance with a large ice sword held high amidst the debris of the ice wall.

Sinister mystery swirled around the ice sword.

The ice sword, enveloped in dark blue energy, shimmered softly, containing such strong mystery.

The wild boar spirit, which had turned its body intending to ram into the wendigo immediately, was shocked. The mystery emanating from the ice sword was extraordinary.

“Y-you madman! Are you planning to spew out all the mystery you’ve gathered until now?!”

Fights between spirits are about killing with a single blow. That’s true, but… there were no cases of preparing for a single fatal blow to such an extreme as the wendigo.

Mystery that wouldn’t be strange even if it contained everything of one spirit pulsated around the ice sword.

The wild boar spirit turned pale at the terrible collection of mystery that appeared before its eyes. It instinctively felt that if it were hit directly by that, its own mystery would crumble instantly.

The wendigo swung the ice sword, his blue eyes flashing. With a chilling sound like a scream, the ice sword flew towards the wild boar spirit’s head.

The wild boar spirit realized there was no way to dodge the ice sword.

If it stopped, it couldn’t control its speed, and if it charged, it would be hit directly by the ice sword.

The wild boar spirit decided to accept some damage. Instead of being completely destroyed, it decided to twist its body to minimize the damage.

Kagagagak!!!

The ice sword cut through the wild boar spirit’s root armor. No, it was closer to tearing it off rather than cutting.

The wild boar spirit’s front leg, which had frozen along with the ice sword without even a chance to be cut, was torn off with a chilling sound. The only fortunate thing for the wild boar spirit was that it wasn’t hit directly by the attack.

The fierce cold energy contained in the ice sword froze the village buildings and wooden fences as it struck the forest.

If it had been a direct hit, the wild boar spirit would have become frozen pork. Although it was fortunate to some extent, the wendigo’s strike didn’t stop there.

The dark blue energy flowing from the ice sword penetrated the wild boar spirit and began to eat away at its mystery. The roots and branches that formed the spirit’s body turned white and crumbled.

The wild boar spirit trembled at the mystery that felt terribly malicious.

“Th… there’s no way a being with such energy could be a spirit. You… what are you?!”

The wendigo didn’t open his mouth.

‘How can I speak when I don’t know myself?’

Even the wendigo himself couldn’t judge who he was. But one thing he could be sure of.

The wendigo transformed the ice sword into a sharp spear. A double-edged spear said to have been used for hunting wild boars revealed its form.

“Judging by your tantrum, you’re probably not a spirit at least. Thanks to that, I know this isn’t fratricide, so I’ll send you off comfortably.”

“How dare, how dare you mock me!”

The wild boar spirit desperately drew out its mystery. Roots burst through the ground and wrapped around the wendigo’s body. The roots writhed as if alive.

The wendigo silently shook his body. Perhaps seeing this as catching him off guard, the wild boar spirit burst into laughter.

“Ku, kuhahaha! Yes, I am the wild boar wrapped in roots and branches. A spirit that has lived for over a hundred years! To think that I would easily fall to the likes of you, whose origins are unknown…”

“How dare this damn pig wrap tentacles around my body!!!”

As if expressing the wendigo’s emotions, a sharp cold wind whirled, freezing and tearing apart the roots.

The wendigo gave in to the passion he felt for the first time since opening his eyes in this world. The spear changed its form viciously, as if expressing his emotions.

It was closer to a harpoon than a spear.

The spear dug deep into the wild boar’s body. The wild boar spirit tried to find a way to survive in the midst of pain, but there was no chance.

“Gu, gweeeeeek!?”

“I don’t know about anything else, but you won’t be able to die peacefully.”

Ice flowers with thorns bloomed at the tip of the spear. The ice flowers extended their stems into the spirit’s body, growing thorns.

Although it was just a created body, the wild boar spirit writhed in agony unlike anything it had ever experienced in its life. It was pain that could have broken its mind.

“Stooooop!!! Please, please stop!!!”

“Stop? We’re just getting started.”

The wendigo created three or four more spears and thrust them into various parts of the wild boar’s body. The mystery imbued in the spears resonated with each other, rapidly increasing the size of the flowers.

Beautiful ice flowers bloomed on the wild boar spirit’s wretched body. The spirit wanted to return to mystery rather than endure this, but it couldn’t.

The bizarre energy contained in the spears held onto the wild boar spirit’s soul. The wendigo looked down at the wild boar spirit for a moment before grasping one of the spears.

Kwaddeuddeuk.

“Kyaaaaaak!!! Please, please end it!!!”

As the ice flower was torn out along with the mystery, the wild boar spirit prayed to lose its status as a spirit and return to nature.

The wendigo continued to pull out the spears indifferently. His anger had subsided, but a new question had taken its place.

‘What is this fragrance?’

A subtle fragrance he hadn’t noticed at first.

For some reason, the fragrance he had smelled in the house of the shaman who died alone was felt deep within the wild boar spirit. He wanted to find out what it was.

“Kuaaaaaaak!!!”

Because of this, the wild boar spirit wailed, but well… it was reaping what it sowed.

As the last spear was pulled out, the wild boar spirit could no longer maintain its form. The only part that remained somewhat intact was its head.

Breathing roughly and with trembling eyes, it looked like it could die at any moment.

The wendigo thrust his hand deep into the head. His rough hands rummaged through the head and pulled out the source of the fragrance.

It was a seed.

“This doesn’t seem to be the seed that the shaman guy pulled out… Hm?”

“Sp-spirit! O spirit!!”

The wendigo felt the spirit’s mystery dispersing and looked at the head. The head lost its vitality and seemed to be discoloring, then turned to dust and scattered.

As the last lifeline he had been relying on disappeared so miserably, Lyurik turned pale and tried to grasp the dust, but the spirit did not return.

The wendigo slowly approached Lyurik. Lyurik tried to run away, but his legs were already frozen.

“What is the identity of this seed?”

“I-I don’t know! I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry! I was deceived by the spirit and ended up being disrespectful to such an esteemed being… Kahuk!?”

Lyurik couldn’t break his habit and moved his tongue, but the wendigo grabbed his tongue and blew cold energy into it.

Lyurik’s brain froze to death from the cold energy that penetrated through his tongue. It was a miserable death for a shaman who had contracted with a spirit that had lived for over a hundred years.

After throwing away the corpse, the wendigo tried to understand the energy he felt from the seed. What the seed contained was not ordinary mystery.

“It feels like something more fundamental than mystery…”

“Wendigo-nim. May I say something?”

Skadi, who had approached without notice, carefully spoke to the wendigo. She was trembling slightly with reverence and anger.

If the reverence was directed towards the wendigo, who was the anger directed at? The wild boar spirit? Lyurik?

It was none of them. Her anger was directed at herself. She was angry at herself for not properly understanding what kind of being she was serving as a shaman contracted with the wendigo.

Skadi was a woman who used anger rather than burning it.

‘I need to be of at least some help to Wendigo-nim to maintain my dignity as a shaman!’

When the wendigo asked Lyurik about the identity of the seed, her sharp mind quickly rotated to guess the identity of the seed.

As he nodded, Skadi opened her mouth.

“Spirits are beings made of mystery. But mystery isn’t all that makes up spirits. In the first place, not all the mystery that spirits come into contact with is mystery that the spirit itself can handle.”

“Indeed, not all spirits can eat delicious offerings or live sacrifices even if they’re given.”

“Yes, the reason spirits can handle the mystery gained through sacrifices or worship with their own power is because spirits are born with a source.”

Source (根源)

All spirits have a source. Wasn’t it because the wendigo also had a source presumed to be the forest that Skadi considered him a spirit in the first place?

The wendigo fell into thought at the mention of the source.

The seed that didn’t exist at first. The fragrance that flowed out when the mystery was scraped away. The wild boar spirit that presumably died when the seed was pulled out.

“Then are you saying this seed is the wild boar spirit’s source?”

“It’s a guess, but I think it’s the only possibility. It’s… shining too brilliantly to be called mystery.”

Skadi swallowed dry saliva as she answered. She felt proud as the wendigo took her seriously.

The wendigo pondered as he rolled the seed around with his claw.

How could he use this seed that was presumed to be the source?

The wendigo smelled the fragrance once again. The subtle fragrance captivated him and…

“It’s making my mouth water.”

“Pardon?”

Skadi asked back in an uncharacteristic manner because the wendigo’s words were so unexpected.

The wendigo felt saliva flowing naturally at the fragrance emanating from the seed. This was a desire from a different realm than hunger.

This time, the wendigo decided to give in to his instincts.

“Skadi, watch the surroundings. Tell Geron and Hegilson not to approach me.”

“Wen-Wendigo-nim? Wendigo-nim, wait a moment!!”

Skadi urgently called his name, realizing what the wendigo was about to do, but it was already too late.

The wendigo chomped down on the seed.

Numerous roots and branches burst out from the wendigo’s head and wrapped around his body.

Skadi watched this scene in dismay.