Chapter 496 - Successor of the North (1)
Following Eres and Lienje, the Verden party left Chillstead, arriving at the 'Lake of Broken Axes' to the west.
In this lake, warriors who could no longer fight due to injury or age once prepared a small ceremonial axe, broke it with their own hands, and cast it into the water, thus holding their retirement ritual.
It was a tale of the past.
As the Northern lands, once never free from tribal conflicts, were unified under the Kingdom of Prohas, such customs disappeared.
Now, the quarrels of the tribes end not with blood and steel, but with disputes and agreements.
And when that is not enough, they settle it with a duel, yielding to the victor's will, though such cases are rare.
Thus, though the rough nature and boiling blood of the Northerners have not entirely cooled, conflicts have greatly lessened today, and with them the need to become warriors, and traditions have changed.
Just like this lake, which no longer receives broken axes, yet still holds countless of them within its depths.
'...He said we were moving to the edge of the North. I thought they would have at least docked a small airship, but there isn't even an old carriage.'
Isabella looked around, yet found nothing of note.
At most, there was the light snowfall, the Lake of Broken Axes, a snow-covered hill, and a few scattered winter trees.
'And yet the Lord says nothing. Just what is this Ark that they speak of?'
She had not heard the details, so it was difficult to judge.
But seeing that both Verden and the King of the North belonged to it in secrecy... it was clearly no ordinary group.
Adrian, too, reached the same thought.
At that moment, Eres came to a halt.
"This should be far enough. I'll prepare our means of travel soon... Ah yes, this area is concealed, so if you feel stifled, you may remove your hoods."
"Concealed?"
When Isabella turned her gaze outward, she saw a thin veil of ice spread widely, encircling the lake at its center.
'What, when did that happen.'
While Adrian had not noticed, he had been trapped in a false Chillstead, or Isabella had been completely unaware of such a vast concealment field forming.
'It doesn't seem like magic... but since it doesn't feel like it stems from magic power, it's hard to say for sure. Did they use an artifact?'
His doubts only grew.
Eres, receiving their curious gazes, suddenly stretched out his arm.
Whoosh.
The snowflakes falling around him all froze in midair.
"烈寒, Nevis."
As he whispered two low syllables toward the North, frigid currents surged from all sides, gathering into his right hand.
Crack, crackle.
Moisture in the air condensed, linking together.
Slowly, a form began to take shape—a sword filled with frost.
Its blade was plain, yet smooth and clean for that very reason.
The refined guard curved upward at both ends, and in the pommel, carved in the shape of an ice crystal, sat a deep navy jewel.
"This weapon is called Nevis. It has been passed down since the founder of Prohas, the sole holy sword that proves the King of the North. Various functions are built into it, one of which is to serve as a kind of directional key."
"Directional key?"
"In the Ark, the word 'Captain' is used to mean one who guides humanity, but in truth, it also refers to a literal ship's captain."
Eres reversed his grip on Nevis.
Then, clasping the hilt with both hands, he thrust it hard into the lake.
Craaaaaack!
The wide ice sheet split apart.
The quake that followed sent heavy ripples through the still waters below.
As countless fractures spread across the frozen Lake of Broken Axes—
Kwaaaaaaang!
The ice shattered to pieces.
And from within the lake, a massive airship burst forth at a slant.
The airship reserved for the Watcher of the North───Pewyngla.
Its body, tinted in deep blue, adorned the sky.
The sunlight cast a long shadow, draping over the Verden party.
'So this is the first time I see the airship owned by the Captain of the Ark.'
It was not simply a large airship, but an ancient artifact in itself.
Though lacking in information to judge precisely, it seemed likely to surpass even the colossal airship of the Arnak Empire, the Atorium.
Eres spoke.
"Since I summoned Pewyngla from afar, there are no other crew aboard. Thus, I must pilot it myself. Lienje, while I am away, guide our guests."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
At the command of the Watcher of the North, Lienje turned her gaze toward Verden.
"Please, follow me."
"..."
Verden remained relatively composed, but Adrian and Isabella did not.
Both stood with their mouths slightly agape, staring blankly at the airship before them.
[Record name: The Airship that Appeared from the Lake.]
Unnoticed, Alpha had taken a spare memory golem from Isabella's spatial bag, busily recording the scene.
The creature was ecstatic.
And then—
Shooooooo!
From Pewyngla's bow, an artificial blizzard erupted.
A sky-blue oval opened.
As the Ark's airship advanced into it, it vanished from the Lake of Broken Axes.
***
At the continent's far north, beyond that farthest reach lay a colossal wall of ice.
Yet despite its size, enough to seem like it split the world itself, few in all of humanity had ever truly seen it.
Because between Prohas's border and that wall stretched a merciless snowfield.
Beneath thick, silent white clouds that blocked out the sun... the ancient snow still remained unmelted, whirling eternally across the plain.
The abnormal cold there could freeze even blazing flames, and destroy expensive magical items meant to guard body heat.
A Magus's resistance was no different, nor the shields formed by magic.
Those who challenged the wall never returned.
The ancient Northerners, honoring the warriors who boldly marched to the wall but never came back, named the wall and the snowfield together the Icy End, 'Frostium'.
Now, that name was regarded as legend among Northerners.
And yet.
Not even the frost of Frostium could hinder the airship guided by the Watcher of the North.
"...So this is the scenery at the edge of the North."
From the deck of Pewyngla, Verden gazed out at the frozen world, under its protection.
A sense of emptiness pervaded.
And with it, a taste of the unknown.
Verden asked Lienje.
"I had never heard of such a place existing in the North of the continent... should I understand it as an uncharted land, like the Demon Realm or the Desert of Silence?"
"In terms of environment, yes, but this place is even more desolate. Long ago, a few expeditions fully prepared managed to reach the wall, but they discovered nothing and were driven back. Since then, interest has vanished. Now even among Northerners, it survives only as folklore."
"And yet, since we have come here, it means there is something they did not find."
"That's right. Only the Watcher of the North, only the successive Kings of Prohas, can find the path."
Lienje answered, sneaking a glance at Verden.
Eyes that observed.
Yet, though he seemed partly convinced, he still wore a look of uncertainty before nodding forward.
"We're almost there."
Pewyngla shifted through space over the merciless snowfield, crossing the ice wall under the bitter storm.
Not long after, in the very center of the wall, a colossal fissure came into view.
It was a canyon.
Pewyngla slowly lowered its altitude, entering into the gorge.
The passage grew visibly narrower.
And at the end of the canyon, a glacial cave of unknown origin loomed, its pitch-black maw spread wide, exuding a chilling dread.
The entrance was so tight that a collision seemed inevitable, yet Eres, confident in his control of Pewyngla, paid no mind.
Whoooosh.
They slipped narrowly into the wall's interior.
Darkness cut off their sight, but at once, from Pewyngla's control room, a sky-blue wave spread out, sweeping through the cavern in an instant.
In the place where shadows retreated, radiant light filled the air, a glow spilling from the countless ice crystals adorning the walls.
"Wow..."
Isabella breathed in, awed by the spectacle. Could there truly be another ice cave in the world so pure?
Everyone shared the same impression.
'Seeing Pewyngla slowing its pace, we must be nearing the destination.'
Verden stood near the bow, his eyes fixed forward, unblinking.
He wondered what secret the Watcher of the North, what the Ark itself, was hiding.
Soon, as the vessel turned a corner... as expected, what lay beyond was entirely unexpected, an unknown sight.
At the end of the cave stood a massive glacier.
And within it, there was a 'giant'.
***
Its height, about 23 meters.
Its form was vaguely human, yet its immediate appearance was strikingly different.
Five eyes, forming a pentagon on its face, were sunken deep as if gouged by sharp claws.
The body, emaciated to the point bones jutted out, looked dried and skeletal, its skin blackened, almost like a mummy.
The armor it wore was shattered beyond repair, leaving only a ruined husk, and the colossal sword trapped with it in the ice had nothing left but its hilt.
That figure───looked like nothing more than a 'defeated soldier'.
"What is this...!"
"Insane."
Naturally, Isabella and Adrian could not hide their horror. It was the first time they had ever seen a being like this, one that looked like some twisted species.
Of course, neither Verden nor Alpha had any knowledge of it either.
Tap.
Alpha, his single eye gleaming, dropped the memory golem he had barely been supporting with his left arm and body, pointing it toward the giant.
Eres, having finished piloting, emerged from the vessel and stepped onto the deck.
"You dropped this. But I've noticed you've been holding it all this time, what is it?"
[Recording the situation into memory.]
"...A rare item indeed. Not even the Ark possesses something like this. You may record as much as you wish, but, since it could bring great turmoil, it must never be shown to outsiders. Can you promise me that?"
[Confirmed. A promise will be kept without fail.]
Satisfied with Alpha's firm answer, Eres returned the memory golem to him.
Eres then asked Verden.
"Were you surprised?"
Verden narrowed his eyes.
"What is that being?"
"In the Ark, we call it a giant, just as it appears. What we know is only that it is one of the 'Ancient Species' said to have existed long ago. Though, hardly anyone even knows the term Ancient Species anymore."
Ancient Species.
'I've heard of that.'
Before Verden had become a Transcendent... within the labyrinth that became the stage of Ignacia's Scales.
───Have you ever heard the term, Ancient Species?
Disguised as a participant named Sia, Ignacia had spoken the words while mingling with others at an auction.
───I have not.
───Right? I only caught it in passing myself, but apparently, in the distant past, aside from humans, elves, beastkin, and dwarves, there were other races. Some classified them as Ancient Species.
In that memory, the Transcendent of illusions shrugged.
───And among them, supposedly, there were huge humans... but honestly, there are no records, no convincing folklore either. To a Magus, it's no more than a fabricated tale, don't you think?
───What's your point?
───Even if it's fiction, the idea itself is inspiring. So, I reproduced some of it, in part, with my own imagination.
Back then, the giant Ignacia had created was a monster with no eyes, its mouth ripped down to the jawline, with long, stretched limbs.
'Different from the giant encased in ice....'
But both shared the same trait, a form closely resembling that of humans.
Perhaps the true image of the Ancient Species, the giants Ignacia had mentioned, was this very being.
At that moment.
"Observe closely, Asher."
Eres focused his will.
The cavern air stirred.
From Nevis, the sword in his hand, a mysterious light seeped forth, exhaling cold, and then... something unseen until now was revealed.
"That is..."
Chains of ice, linking the ruined giant within the glacier to Eres himself, appeared before the spectators' eyes.
"Could it be a seal?"
"Precisely. As expected of a Transcendent, your perception is most keen."
Eres affirmed Verden's guess.
And yet, it made no sense.
"Why would you seal a giant that is nothing more than a corpse, not even an undead?"
"Because that Ancient Species is not dead, but alive."
Alive?
"...No matter how I look, I sense no trace of life at all."
"On the surface, it looks dead, like a mutilated puppet, hollowed out... but I alone can perceive it. The giant is not dead, but in a kind of slumber."
Eres gently brushed the chains embedded in his own body.
"And the Ancient Species I seal in this way, this is not the only one."
"What?"
"Whether two, or twenty, I cannot say. Even I cannot specify their number or locations. What is certain is that within this wall of ice, beings lie dormant, linked by these chains."
Silence fell.
The faint chains of ice faded from sight.
Eres turned his head, throwing a question at Verden.
"Tell me, do I seem to you like a Magus, or like a warrior who has mastered Ki?"
Verden answered at once.
"Both. But unlike Legrit."
"Haha, among the Transcendents I've met, your insight is exceptional. That's right. She reached the pinnacle by directly awakening and honing both powers. Unlike me, whose case is entirely 'innate'."
"..."
"This stems from a certain 'force' that dwells only within the mana circuits of Northerners."
And in that moment.
The words of Dahit, etched into Verden's mind, rose unbidden.
Eres lowered his voice.
"Shall I tell you an old story?"
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