Wendigo (5)

“Die, servants of Yaegas!”

Walter gripped his staff, attempting to cast a spell by combining a hand seal with his staff, but before he could finish, Azadine’s sword pierced through his throat.

“Guh… Heh… Hehehe.”

Walter died with a satisfied smile. He had never expected to counterattack and do anything to Azadine in that moment anyway. He was laughing because he believed that not just Azadine, but all the servants of Yaegas and humanity as a whole, would suffer immense devastation at the hands of the Wendigo.

“…Unlike certain others, he was a proud orc.”

Shati observed the scene and made that remark.

“What an idiot. The Kurt Pantheon isn’t even worth that kind of devotion.”

Even though Scott was an orc himself, he had a harsh opinion of the Kurt Gods, which only irritated Shati further.

“What? How dare you!”

As Shati yelled in anger, Scott added another remark.

“A descendant of the great orcs, yet playing at the same level as those snake-heads? Religion and tradition really are terrifying. Even the most intelligent beings become slaves to their customs. Otherwise, how could an orc lower himself to the level of a naga?”

Meanwhile, the Wendigo continued to release freezing air into the underground passage. It no longer launched physical attacks, but its intent was clear—it was trying to freeze the entire underground space by continuously breathing out frost.

“Are… are you alright, madam?”

Brock approached the fallen Lady Lise.

“Ugh… Not at all.”

Lady Lise grimaced and raised her arm. It dangled unnaturally—she had likely broken her wrist when she was flung back and landed on the icy ground.

‘Seriously… this man…’

Azadine sighed inwardly as he watched Sir Brock, who had recklessly provoked the orc and forced a premature conclusion to the battle, all in the name of saving his wife. He then rummaged through the orc’s corpse.

Among the orc’s possessions, he found two copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth—one had lost its light, while the other still emitted a faint glow. Even the one that had lost its brilliance still retained a lingering shimmer along its edges, hinting at its extraordinary nature.

“Now, madam. You have a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth, don’t you? Hand it over.”

“What? No way.”

“…….”

At that moment, the ice surrounding Azadine began to shatter.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes. You do have a copy, don’t you?”

“So, you people are after the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth… Your archery skills, your movements—you must be from the Messenger Clan.”

Lady Lise pulled out a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth from her coat. The glow had mostly faded, likely because its power had already been used.

“You’d be a fool to mess around with the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth in front of the Messenger Clan. Here.”

“Thanks.”

Azadine took the book from her.

“Damn it… Our Nagasura Empire worked so hard to collect these.”

“To be precise, it was the Kurt Pantheon’s coalition, not just the Nagas. Don’t act like your people were the only ones who contributed.”

“Shut up, traitor.”

“Anyway, what are we going to do about that?”

“We’re still not safe. It’s getting colder!”

Sir Brock muttered as he took off his cloak and draped it over Lady Lise. He was acting like a devoted husband.

‘Why is this guy like this?’

Azadine found the scene frustrating.

“We’re trying to slow it down.”

If they stayed still in the underground passage, they would eventually freeze to death. To prevent that, Sir Zebec and Sir Brand advanced toward the tunnels leading to the underground reservoir, methodically eliminating the Wendigos that were exhaling cold air without engaging in direct combat. By doing so, they reduced the influx of freezing air.

“But the temperature is dropping outside as well. Every time the Wendigo’s main body manifests in the physical world, it releases an enormous surge of cold.”

Sir Zebec shuddered at the impending doom.

“If we don’t banish it quickly, a terrible disaster will strike this entire region. Or perhaps…”

Sir Zebec trailed off, but everyone knew what he was thinking. The King’s Church, the nobles, and the Yaegas God Tribe—all of them were corrupt. Could they really stop a monstrous entity like this? And if they couldn’t…?

“…….”

Lady Lise trembled from the cold and the pain of her dislocated wrist. She leaned against her husband, Sir Brock, keeping her lips tightly shut.

‘She knows something. But if I ask her directly, she’ll just avoid answering.’

Instead, Azadine turned to Scott.

“Any ideas?”

“The reason the Wendigo from the Nether World is appearing here is because something in this realm is linked to it. The Kurt Pantheon—those gods of Kurt—claimed to have sealed away the creatures of the Nether, but in reality, they only sealed their sacred artifacts.”

“So the Nagasura Empire must have brought one of those sacred relics here to summon the Wendigo.”

“Exactly. We need to figure out how they awakened the relic and where it is now.”

Scott pointed at Lady Lise.

“She participated in the ritual to summon the Wendigo. She should know where it is.”

“Damn.”

Lady Lise pulled something out of her coat. It was a dagger made of bone. The origin of the bone was unclear, but it exuded a dark, sinister energy.

“The sacred relics of the Nether have an irresistible allure for magicians. Anyone who possesses one becomes enchanted by it.”

“This is the Cannibal’s Dagger. A sacred relic of the Nether that cannot be destroyed by any force or magic of this world. As that orc said, it’s incredibly alluring. Just holding it fills you with power, and it constantly whispers sweet words to you.”

So that was why Lady Lise had been so reluctant to speak—she didn’t want to give up the relic.

“Even though you’re about to freeze to death?”

“This kind of cold is perfect. It numbs the pain.”

She held out her dislocated wrist.

“Mediam.”

“Yes.”

Mediam stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and reset the dislocated joint.

“AAAHHH!”

A sickening pop echoed through the tunnel, accompanied by Lady Lise’s scream. At the same time, Mediam smoothly snatched the Cannibal’s Dagger from her hand and handed it to Azadine.

Azadine accepted it and asked Lady Lise.

“How did you awaken the Wendigo?”

“There is a Sacrificial Altar at the deepest part of this underground passage. You place a member of the same species as the caster on it, stab them to death, and consume them. That’s how you receive the Wendigo’s blessing.”

“Did you eat them?”

“I didn’t kill them. I only drew some blood and drank it to stimulate the Wendigo. That was my plan, but those bastards from the Kurt Pantheon…”

Lady Lise frowned.

“Oh, my god.”

Sir Brock, Guillaumevalt, and Zebec groaned upon hearing her words.

A ritual of cannibalism. That meant she had taken part in that horrific, evil practice.

“It wasn’t my intention! I only wanted to borrow a little power from the slumbering Wendigo. But then the Kurt Pantheon’s coalition…”

“So, where is the altar?”

Azadine prioritized dealing with the Wendigo over deciding Lady Lise’s fate.

“Follow the flow of the water downward, and you’ll reach the deepest part. But you won’t get there easily. The altar is now a literal hell compared to what we’re facing here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Most of the Kurt Pantheon’s coalition and the Nagasura Empire’s warriors died there and became Wendigos. Instead of dealing with them, you might as well convert all the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth copies into the Light of the Crown… Oh, but that’s impossible now. That orc burned through the stored energy.”

That explained why the orc mage Walter had died laughing. He had exhausted the white mana stored in the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth, believing that the humans who had slain him would inevitably fall to the Wendigo.

‘Well, I still have plenty of charged copies…’

Azadine couldn’t afford to lose any of the pages.

‘I’ll have to resolve this without sacrificing them.’

If he wanted to end this crisis without losing the books, they would have to enter the underground area where powerful warriors of the Kurt Pantheon’s coalition had been transformed into Wendigos.

Meanwhile, Sir Brock began defending his wife to Guillaumevalt, who was acting as the Count of Lantarique’s representative.

“Sir Guillaumevalt, my wife was merely being controlled by that vile relic of the Nether. It was never her true will.”

“……”

Guillaumevalt was at a loss for words at Sir Brock’s unwavering defense of his wife.

The best they could say about Lady Lise’s actions was that she “had no intention of unleashing the Wendigo.” But beyond that? Lies.

No, perhaps not outright lies, but even so, her crimes were serious enough that she could be burned at the stake ten times over. And yet, her husband was standing up to defend her? If nothing else, it was a show of pure devotion.

‘But didn’t this bastard cheat on her?’

It wasn’t unusual for nobles to keep multiple wives and mistresses, but Sir Brock’s case was something else entirely.

“First, we should find the altar. But…”

Azadine frowned. As they descended, the temperature kept dropping due to the accumulated cold air.

“If we just rush in, we’ll freeze to death. We need to reorganize.”

“Reorganize?”

Mediam asked curiously.

“Yes.”

Azadine took an axe from Guillaumevalt and began breaking through the ice, pulling out submerged wooden debris. Among the garbage that had washed into the sewer, he collected anything that could be used as kindling.

“Scott! Start a fire.”

“I’ve already used up a lot of magic today.”

Scott grumbled but still cast a spell, igniting the wood.

“Ugh. It’s too damp, making it a pain to light.”

“……”

Even so, as the fire took hold, the cold air eased slightly.

“Impressive.”

Zebec muttered unconsciously.

Scott had proven his usefulness today. Without his necromancy, they wouldn’t have been able to fend off the Wendigos without casualties.

His abilities extended beyond that as well—creating glowing stones for visibility, igniting damp wood—his versatility was undeniable. Even if his words provoked others, his contributions were significant enough to tolerate.

But as a Holy Knight, Zebec found himself in a dilemma.

‘I cannot condone necromancy…’

Yet, he couldn’t deny Scott’s effectiveness.

“Good. This should help.”

Azadine let the fire burn and gathered Guillaumevalt, Brock, and the injured Lady Lise around it.

“Give me your cloaks and blankets.”

“Ah.”

These three were incapable of fighting. Azadine planned to take their insulating gear and distribute it among the stronger fighters.

For knights like Guillaumevalt and Brock, being told to give up their cloaks and blankets was akin to being told they were too weak to go further down. Under normal circumstances, their pride wouldn’t allow it.

“Very well!”

But having already witnessed the overwhelming power gap, they immediately handed over their cloaks and blankets.

“Mediam, stay by the fire.”

“What?”

Mediam’s eyes widened at Azadine’s order. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“…Keep an eye on Lady Lise.”

“Ah.”

Someone reliable had to stay behind and monitor the magician.

“I’ll stay too. I hate the cold.”

Shati also chose to remain by the fire.

Mediam swallowed hard. Lady Lise was injured, and she likely underestimated Mediam’s abilities, but Shati knew her well.

She would have to keep an eye on both of them.