Chapter 209

Chapter 209

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 209: King of the North (3)

“What the hell is going on?”

A piercing scream echoed from outside the tent. Ronan, clutching his sword tightly, rushed outside urgently. Adeshan and Jaeger followed closely behind.

“What... is this?”

“Oh my goodness.”

The moment they stepped outside, they instinctively sensed that something was very wrong. A malevolent and sticky energy clung to their skin. The air they breathed tasted bitter, like insect innards.

“Ugh...! The air...?”

“Damn it, the curse has intensified.”

His fingertips tingled. The shadows cast by buildings and people were abnormally thick. Although they didn’t know the reason, it seemed like the curse placed on the tribe had become stronger overall. What trick had Barka pulled?

“Aaargh!”

“S-Stop it!”

Amidst the chaos, screams continued to pierce through. Ronan quickly scanned the direction of the noise. The malformed Werewolf children were writhing and undergoing transformations. The sight of their swollen limbs and teeth tearing through their jaws was far from pleasant.

“Grrr...! Grrrr!”

“Brother, snap out of it! Brother!”

Werewolves that seemed to be family members surrounded them, their feet shuffling anxiously. It seemed that with the intensification of the curse, their bodies were changing even more rapidly.

An ominous feeling crept over Ronan. If they didn’t resolve this quickly, something very unpleasant would happen. Perhaps they would suddenly become violent, attacking their own family. Ronan shouted loudly.

“Cita!”

“Bwaah!”

The echo reverberated. Cita, who had been circling in the sky, landed in front of Ronan. Ronan tore a piece of his clothing and hastily scribbled a brief note with a pen. Tying the cloth around Cita’s leg, he said,

“There’s a city called Rundalian to the west. Find Professor Sekreet there and bring him back. Your sense of smell should be able to track him despite his fur being thickened. Hurry.”

“Bwaah!”

With a nod, Cita immediately took off. Bringing in an expert seemed like the best option given the circumstances. Ronan turned to Adeshan and spoke.

“Sunbae, please prevent the malformed children from rampaging. Can you handle it?”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Adeshan immediately rushed towards the malformed children. Shadow mana spread through the cursed air, calming down the malformed children who seemed on the brink of exploding.

“...Impressive.”

Jaeger murmured in admiration at their flexible handling of the situation. He even wondered if these humans could stand up to Barka. Suddenly, a sharp sound came from behind him.

“Ahhh.”

“Hmm?”

Jaeger turned his head. A Werewolf boy, about ten paces away, was staring at him intently. His arms were slack, and one leg seemed uncomfortable. His untrimmed nails looked like ten daggers.

“Are you also... a resident of this village?”

There was no reply. Jaeger, thinking the boy was another malformed child due to the curse, twisted his lips. Then, the boy pointed at him with his index finger and asked,

“This... you?”

“Yes. I’m Jaeger. Since the atmosphere here is unusual, you should hurry and go inside the building.”

“...Jaeger. Jaeger.”

However, the Werewolf boy ignored Jaeger’s words and started approaching him. At that moment, Ronan turned his head towards the boy.

“What is that?”

The boy gave off a different impression than the malformed children he had seen before. There was even an eerie aura about him. Ronan was about to give a warning when the boy’s form blurred for a moment and then reappeared behind Jaeger.

“Wait, it’s dangerous!”

Ronan shouted, but it was already too late. In an instant, the blurry figure of the boy reappeared behind Jaeger. Not realizing the situation, Jaeger looked puzzled.

“What?”

“Jaeger. Jaeger. Jaeger. Jaeger.”

The boy murmured rapidly. Suddenly, five long, red lines were drawn diagonally across Jaeger’s chest.

“Ugh...!”

Before Jaeger could scream, he felt a sensation akin to when his limbs were severed. His eyes widened before he could even utter a word. Swoosh! Five streams of blood gushed out along the lines. In his blurry vision, Ronan’s voice reached him.

“Damn it, Jaeger!”

“Ugh... Ack...”

The bleeding was unrealistically excessive. Blood splattered across the snow in an arc. Rising steam emanated from the crimson puddle. Jaeger instinctively felt his entrails being torn apart into pieces. Thud! His faltering body slowly toppled backward. The sky, veiled in a pale white cloud, filled his sight.

“Jaeger. Jaeger. Jaeger. Jaeger. Jaeger.”

Amidst it all, the boy continued to mutter to himself. From a distance, he gazed at Jaeger and raised his right hand. It seemed like he was about to deliver a final blow. In that fleeting moment when the boy’s figure began to blur once again, Ronan leaped forward and intercepted him with a landing.

“What the hell are you, you bastard!”

“Grrrr?!”

Ronan swung his sword horizontally. The Werewolf boy evaded by pressing the back of his head against his heel. Crack! A loud, cracking sound echoed as if a spine had snapped.

“What...?”

Cita flapped her wings and giggled. Ronan, who was watching the ridiculous scene, spoke up.

“...Thank you.”

“Yeah, I know! She just told me to ride on her back without any warning, and now look at this mess! Oh, my word!”

Sekreet got up. They had arrived ten times faster than expected. Ronan had joked that Cita could even carry a person, but he never imagined she would actually lift someone. Ronan flicked his finger once and pointed to Jaeger.

“That’s right, now’s not the time. Cita, please fix up this bleached tiger.”

Jaeger was still alive. He wasn’t expected to last more than five minutes, but for now, he was alive. Cita, as if responding, spread her four wings.

“Bweeh!”

A red mist enveloped Jaeger. Soon, the bleeding stopped, and the wounds began to heal. The blood that had flowed out of his body was now returning into his wounds. Jaeger’s mouth, which seemed like it wouldn’t move again, twitched.

“Haah... I... feels refreshed.”

“Are you alive? Close your mouth and lie down.”

“...Thanks.”

It seemed they had passed the urgent crisis. After expressing his gratitude, Jaeger lost consciousness. Turning his head, Ronan noticed that Sekreet was already looking around with a serious expression.

“Alright. The curse has definitely intensified. We need to deal with this urgently.”

It seemed like the situation had already been assessed. Without asking for further details, Sekreet immediately prepared for the ritual. Ronan asked,

“Do we need any ingredients for the ritual?”

“It would be better if we had some, but we’ll have to make do without them for now. Ronan, make sure no one approaches me.”

“Sorry?”

Suddenly, Sekreet dashed into the middle of the village. Picking up a branch, he began drawing geometric patterns on the ground. It didn’t take long for Ronan to realize that it was a magic circle.

“This is...”

“Ruzinka, Lanaviel, Derado.”

As Sekreet chanted the spell, the magic circle began emitting a faint light. The white light seeping out of the magic circle gradually dispelled the darkened shadows, expanding slowly with a slightly brighter glow than the surroundings. Soon, a hemisphere covered the area with a light brighter than the surroundings.

“Gr-gr-geuk...”

“Dear, are you... are you awake?”

“Wh-what is this light?”

The transformation of the deformed child stopped. The screams from all around subsided. The bitter air and intensified shadows returned to their original state. Sekreet, who collapsed in place, wiped his chest.

“Phew... for now, I managed to alleviate it.”

“Amazing. Does this mean the curse is lifted?”

“Unfortunately, no. He’s a much stronger opponent than I anticipated. But before anything else, let me ask you something.”

Ronan expected Sekreet to ask something. His gaze lingered on Jaeger, who was lying down and breathing heavily. Ronan nodded.

“Anything. But please, let me explain first and then ask your question.”

“Explanation?”

“Yes. I’ll give you a brief explanation. So...”

Ronan briefly explained his experiences and what he had heard. The real mastermind was Barka Turkon, and the fact that they’d have to follow him to Heiran. The round eyes of Sekreet widened.

“My goodness. The Sword Saint had a brother? And he’s a curse caster?”

“That’s not all. It seems he also uses necromancy. Do you have any more questions?”

“No... none at all.”

It seemed Sekreet was also unaware of Barka’s existence. Not wanting the conversation to drag on, Ronan asked a question.

“Professor, how do we completely remove the curse? We’re running out of time.”

“...We either have to make the curse caster lift the curse or kill him. This is truly... unbelievable...”

Muttering to himself, Sekreet established his hypothesis and future plans. It was an action stemming from a mage’s insatiable thirst for knowledge. It was evident that he would continue like this for some time.

“In the end, blood must be shed.”

Ronan took out the Blood Needle. Perhaps Barka was not within range yet, as the needle remained still. Adeshan, who had finished her work, approached him.

“Thank you, Sunbae. It seems like things have escalated.”

“...Yeah.”

“Is everything okay?”

Concerned about her unusual tone, Ronan asked. This time, there was no reply. Adeshan’s gaze lingered on the Blood Needle, indicating Barka’s location. Her large irises were submerged in dark, murky gray.

“...Sunbae?”

Ronan asked again, there was still no response. He couldn’t tell what was going on inside her head, but it seemed like she wasn’t having positive thoughts at the moment.

“I’m... fine. Sorry for worrying you.”

Adeshan, who belatedly lifted her head, smiled faintly. However, it wasn’t the usual kindness, but rather a smile like a millstone used to suppress emotions.

Having completed their tasks, the three and Cita returned to Rundalian. Thanks to them, the Werewolves who had narrowly avoided a crisis bid them farewell. Jaeger took some of the tribal people to their headquarters in the Najun Mountains.

“Well, shall we depart?”

“Yeah.”

With the curse intensifying across the entire area, there was no time to waste. After spending just one day in Rundalian, Ronan and Adeshan embarked on a new journey. Their destination was Heiran, the northern end of the continent and the base of Barka Turkon.

[Translator – Peptobismol]