LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 133
133.
Amidst the ruins blanketed by a snowstorm, even accounting for the harsh conditions, my vision felt inexplicably hazy. As I tried to heighten my senses to discern the faces of the assailants…
‘Thread?’
A blue thread came hurtling at me, sharp enough to pierce my heart.
I quickly wrapped mana around my hand and grabbed it, feeling a chill run through me as frost began to accumulate.
‘What’s this? Cold?’
It felt like all the frost from the north had condensed into this one thread. The hand holding the thread had already frozen, and the frost was slowly climbing up my wrist to my arm.
Even with mana encircling my entire arm, the cold was still penetrating. Without mana, my body would’ve frozen in an instant.
This was a rather cruel attack despite its unassuming appearance.
“RRAAARGH!”
The White Beast bristled and darted forward. It was heading straight for the side of the person who shot the thread, going after another Dark Cultist who was raising mana.
“Guh! You…! You’re no ordinary beast!”
“Grrr!”
As the cultist with the sword fought the White Beast, rolling in the snow-laden ruins…
GAACK.
Something tugged on me. I looked down to see the blue thread, taut and vibrating. Since I’d made no move to react, it seemed they were trying to reel it back in from their side.
‘Alright. Then let’s…’
Though I was caught off guard by this new type of attack, it wasn’t particularly threatening.
After boosting my mana and shattering the frost encasing my arm, I firmly yanked on the thread I had in hand.
“Guh?!”
A dark shape split through the snowstorm with a startled grunt.
It seemed they hastily canceled their technique because the thread had disappeared, but the inertia had already launched them into the air. I lightly flicked my hand to cancel their momentum and reached for their exposed neck.
“Gk!”
I controlled the pressure so the person wouldn’t lose consciousness entirely and examined them.
What lay beneath the hood of the cultist who had ambushed me while lurking in the ruins seemed to be female by the hairstyle peeking out.
“Thump. Thump.”
The cultist violently struck my arm where I held them. Frost formed on contact, starting to slowly spread.
I lightly jabbed my fist into the cultist’s abdomen, resisting unnecessarily.
“HUUH!”
Their flailing limbs went limp. I adjusted the force not to cause internal harm but to ensure unconsciousness. Blood didn’t trickle from the corner of their hood, so it seemed my control had been adequate.
I gently grabbed the cultist’s hood.
Given that they’d made their way back to the scene, they were likely the principal figure responsible for Vulkon’s destruction.
The minor resistance had likely disappeared by now, so a mark might be enough to wake them later. Let’s see their face.
I wondered what they looked like and pondered what to interrogate first while lifting the hood. And the face that appeared was…
“Pointed ears?”
A sharply pointed ear protruding from black hair flowing like a galaxy, combined with northern white skin, a sharp jawline, and well-proportioned facial features harmonized.
Even with her eyes shut, she was quite beautiful. She had a mystical aura, and strangely, she looked familiar.
Erika’s face suddenly popped into my mind.
‘…Could it be?’
When I lifted her slightly closed eyes, unfocused, blue irises became visible.
Black hair, blue eyes…
And pointed ears.
Traits unique to the Devalleta family.
With Reios gone, the Devalleta bloodline is carried only by Pesaha and Erika. Erika was dealing with a corrupted tree near Yelkin and had short hair.
‘…Why is Pesaha Devalleta here?’
Just in case, I activated a mark, but there was no response. This meant that whoever it was wasn’t a cultist in disguise. It was undoubtedly Pesaha herself.
“…”
I gently laid Pesaha on the ground and gathered mana once more.
A blue light forming in my right hand swept out an invisible energy in a large arc, and I raised my hand.
The heavy sensation that landed on my enhanced palm.
KANG!
“GHUH!”
Following the sword that had been gripped, I turned my gaze to see the face of a middle-aged man beneath a wildly flapping hood, eyes bulging with rage.
“…You fiend!”
The sword in my hand twisted and turned as he struggled to pull it free. As he moved his arms wildly, I realized…
CRAAACK!
…that only a few sparks scattered, but the blade didn’t budge an inch.
The white light embedded in the sword grew stronger. The man’s face grew intensely red, suggesting he intended to pour all his remaining mana into the effort.
With veins popping out on his forehead, the man shouted in a trembling voice.
“Dark Cultist! Even if I meet my end here, I’ll certainly defeat you and take your head as a trophy to the goddess’s side!”
Judging by his words, it seemed we had misjudged each other as cultists and fought accordingly.
‘Tss.’
Indeed, standing alone amidst the ruins covered in a snowstorm, it was understandable that there might be a misunderstanding. Especially since the ambush came right as I was heightening my senses to confirm identities.
“Urgh!”
The man’s eyes flared with a blue flame.
Simultaneously, the hand gripping the sword violently shook. A blue light bloomed among the white lines engraved into the sword.
‘…Dear me.’
Had he started burning his essence in earnest?
A situation similar to when Iand entered a temporary transcendence. The sword I held began piercing through my mana’s defenses, slowly creeping into my palm. If this continued, things would get messy.
I immediately channeled mana into my other hand and struck the man’s abdomen.
“OOOOF!”
SSSSHHH.
The man’s eyes rolled back, and a gush of blood spewed from his mouth.
The potency of the sudden burst of energy, with the force suitably tempered, seemed to have shaken his insides well. Thanks to the controlled application, the man lived.
“…”
A civilian Pesaha is one thing, but…
Given the man’s position as a knight wielding mana, I had to deploy such force. Seeing the posture of his swordsmanship and clean, efficient sword techniques, I could tell he was an experienced knight with a strong build.
Like a broken puppet, the man collapsed. I quietly placed his sword aside.
Judging by appearances, he seemed to be Pesaha’s guardian knight.
Given his ability to briefly transcend using life energy, likely a high-ranking knight from the Winter Tree Knight Order, similar to Arthur.
Perhaps even the commander of the knights capable of guarding Pesaha.
‘Damn.’
The current head of the Devalleta House and the commander of the Winter Tree Knights.
I had both of them out cold.
*
*
*
It wouldn’t do to leave them in the snowstorm.
I started digging a shallow pit for a temporary shelter.
Having done this sort of thing often in the north, I quickly finished the pit and gathered some wood from the ruins to set up a small fire.
With the soaked clothes drying in the snow, I waited for the two to awaken.
“Bear with the tight space.”
“GRRHHH.”
Just in case, I made the pit big enough to accommodate the White Beast this time.
It was spacious when compared with before, but with the White Beast inside, it felt tight. Apparently, the White Beast had grown rather large.
‘We only plan to rest briefly anyway.’
I neatly stuffed the unconscious pair into the White Beast’s curled-up embrace, gave the beast a light rub on the head for complaining about its damp fur, and so forth.
After time enough for about two cups of tea had passed, a hoarse voice echoed within the pit.
“Um…”
“Kherrr…”
As they had both lost consciousness at the end, there was a definite risk of them acting impulsively upon waking.
I spread an invisible energy around and gently waved a hand in front of their eyes.
“You’ve awakened. Can you recognize what’s in front of you?”
Pesaha showed no reaction to the hand waving in front of her. The man beside her, who had been staring blankly at the palm of my hand, gradually regained focus in his eyes.
Before the recovered man could shout at me, I cut him off.
“Hold on. I am not a cultist. Let’s calm down and have a chat.”
“…Not a cultist? Now that’s what you’re telling me?”
“Yes, trust me. There seems to be some slight misunderstanding.”
I waved my hand to interrupt him again, keeping the mark activated as I looked at the two. A warm energy bloomed from my neck along with a faint light. The man’s pupils widened upon seeing it.
“I belong to the Bright Sect. Calling me a cultist, well, technically constitutes blasphemy. Do you understand?”
The man who had been stammering something shut his mouth.
Even if it was a very weak blessing, it was still divine energy after all. Chasing away the cold that had crept into Pesaha and the man’s bodies was about as easy as drinking warm soup.
“And if I were a cultist, do you think the two of you would still be alive?”
Our eyes met.
It would’ve been decapitated in an instant.
It seemed he understood as his expression hardened.
The situation happened in a flash, but the skill gap was evident.
Pesaha was effortlessly subdued.
And the man who flew in, shaken off by the White Beast, fell into the same category.
“…I am grateful for your mercy.”
“Just knowing that is enough. Now, are you ready to converse?”
The man nodded quietly and turned his head.
The image of the woman sitting amidst the White Beast, dazed, came into view. Pesaha showed no signs of unrest or trouble even after awakening.
After completely dissipating the invisible energy, I addressed her.
“Pesaha Devalleta.”
“…”
“Are you still disoriented?”
Even after calling her name a few more times and waving my hands in front of her, she…
…didn’t respond at all.
Pushing aside the growing doubts in my mind, I turned to the man who, after pondering for a moment, carefully opened his mouth.
“Her Highness the Duchess cannot see.”
At his words, I carefully examined Pesaha’s face.
Her eyes lacked any focus.
Her center of balance also seemed slightly askew.
Even shaking my hand right in front of her produced no reaction in her empty gaze.
‘She is blind.’
Recalling Erica’s words, it came back to me.
Her eyes had been blinded by the Eternal Sleep, hadn’t they?
It was understandable that she hadn’t reacted.
After all, waving my hand in front of a blind person wouldn’t cause a reaction.
I gave a slight nod to the man and turned back to Pesaha, but paused.
I had already addressed her before.
Even if she couldn’t see, shouldn’t she still be able to hear?
‘Unless…’
I slapped my hands together strongly to make sure the sound reached her.
Once.
And the next clap was right by Pesaha’s ear.
Even after two loud sounds, she didn’t show any reaction.
‘What the…’
I frowned and stroked my chin as the man suddenly bolted upright. His face, looking at Pesaha, had turned pale.
It seemed he had also noticed by now.
I extended a hand toward Pesaha one last time.
The steady rise and fall of her shoulders indicated she was still breathing. If she wasn’t still unconscious, she should be responding now.
When I lightly tapped her shoulder, her head swiveled abruptly.
“…Sir Reinbight?”
Thud.
The man, who had been standing there in a daze, collapsed like a broken doll. His trembling body had redness creeping into his eyes as he looked at Pesaha.
Meanwhile, Pesaha drew her body inward and carefully opened her mouth.
“Sir, what’s the situation? Given that I’m alive, it seems you have dealt with the cultists. Since there’s silence around us, it feels somewhat unresolved… Did you fail to defeat the cultists perhaps?”
As she started to check her surroundings, I approached and helped her up.
“It seems it’s all over, doesn’t it? But why don’t you speak? …Did you suddenly get the urge to joke around, unlike your usual self? I remember you were quite lively in your youth too. However, no matter how calm the situation may be, we are still on the front lines. We can’t rule out a monster attack, so…”
I felt her body tremble slightly. Detecting her unease, I slowly started writing messages on the palm of her trembling hand.
Initially, Pesaha tried to withdraw her hand as if dismissing it as a joke.
But when she realized it was braille, she stopped moving, matching the letters written on her palm with those in her mind.
Finally.
The moment I finished composing the message that we were still continuing our conversation through this, Pesaha screamed and collapsed to her knees.