Chapter 594 – The Wolf’s Ride and the Mountain Where They Hide

000

A wolf was running across the plain.

With all four legs, he was running freely while kicking off the ground.

Freedom? No, it must have been a bit of an absurdity to call it freedom.

Although he didn’t have a leash, it was because there was definitely something guiding him.

A situation where he is being led by something without deciding the direction he will go.

However, he was convinced that going down this road was the right thing for him.

Every time I sniffed, what I could clearly feel was the sweet smell of blood.

It is the smell of the blood of one’s favorite ‘enemy’.

The owner of this blood knew very well that he could no longer escape because his entrails had been ripped out and his limbs had been torn.

My mouth watered involuntarily from his mouth his.

If it is the law of nature that one must take another life in order to survive, adding taste to it is the realm of preference.

As he ran across the plain, remembering that what he had decided to devour was the flesh and blood of an invader targeting the group, he noticed the sudden change of scenery around him.

It would be better to call it a forest, or rather, a mountain.

Also, the floor is a rocky mountain made of stones and rocks, not soil and gravel.

On the dark road that continues thanks to the leaves that cover the sky, what surrounds you is the gaze as if looking at you, and the eyes of a bird of prey perched on a tree branch.

If I could reverse them and kick them out, I would have done that.

For the present self, nothing was permitted except running and seeing.

The path in the forest turns into an animal path as it moves farther and farther away from human habitation.

No, it was a step towards the overgrown side of the road where the beasts did not pass.

If you don’t stop moving your legs while getting hurt by tree branches, pebbles, and malicious traps.

The wolf was finally able to reach the source of the ‘smell of blood’ he was aiming for.

It was a dark, deceitful beast’s lair.

Inside the cave, the bones of animals of all kinds were strewn about, and their hides, meat, and blood were strewn about.

The wolf couldn’t get excited when he smelled the garbage made using that life.

Rather, as the breath that had risen as he ran to this place gradually subsided, he could feel himself becoming calmer.

What nests in the innermost part of a burrow? Is it a snake is it a tiger? If not, is it another rare beast in the world?

Either way, since he swallowed the flesh of so many animals, he must be cunning and dangerous.

Slowly stepping, lowering the body to the ground, killing the presence and moving forward as if crawling.

No matter what jumped out, it did not change to tear it apart with its sharp fangs.

And, in the end, as a result of going down and digging into the deepest part of the cave, what appeared like a bump was a wall.

In a place where no light coming from outside could reach, the wolf could feel it.

Even if you can’t see it, it’s here.

He lifts up the sticky blood clots under his feet and swings his claws at the greasy ground.

Kagak! In situations where the claws might break, they were emerging at the end of the dark burrow, ignited by sparks splashed with oil.

They were animals clinging to the ceiling in the dark and looking down at the ground.

Covering its body with leather wings, it pierces the rock ceiling with its awl-like claws to support its body.

The face looked empty, as if it were wearing a mask, the eyes and nose were nonexistent, but the mouth was properly attached and the mouth was wide open.

While spilling ugly desires, the blood of another being was scattered on the ground.

When the wolf raises its head and tries to open its mouth towards it, which takes the form of something called a bat.

Among them, the biggest one spread his blade wide and charged at the wolf.

The moment when it, boasting an even uglier appearance compared to others, opens its mouth and rushes at itself.

The wolf’s eyes disappeared into the darkness.

001

“Huh!?”

She let out a monstrous scream and when Sasha opened her eyes and pulled herself up, she realized that she had been lying with her head on Cleon’s lap all this time.

“Ah, Sasha. You woke up.”

“Sin-sin, sorry! Time for me!!”

“Ah, it’s okay. It’s not like I’ve been lying down for that long. Is it about 10 minutes?”

Saying that, Cleon glanced up at the sky, where the sun that had not yet passed over his head was shining brightly.

“The Jibakryeong was properly dealt with. It’s all thanks to Sasha’s strength, thank you.”

“I-I see… But why did that Earthly Spirit become so strong?”

It would be close to impossible for such a vengeful spirit to be born simply by presenting one person.

Even if the ghosts are affected by their powers in life, having a power strong enough to harm people requires time to accumulate mana in their bodies.

However, the ghost of the assassin who battled the Cleons had the ability to become a powerful undead in just a few days.

What is not natural is artificial.

In other words, someone deliberately manipulated his soul, and it would be more plausible that he did so while he was still alive.

Come to think of it, he was an assassin who seemed to have a higher rank than other assassins.

If that’s the case, he wonders if the same measures have been taken against high-ranking assassins like him.

“…I think it’s a ticking time bomb that was supposed to explode after some time. As I said before, if I left the core as it is, someday a specter would appear and cause a commotion in this place. Attacking passers-by or killing animals.”

“What the hell was he doing with such an indiscriminate terror method… “

When Sasha muttered that, Cleon shut his mouth for a moment, then opened his mouth quietly as he gazed back at the place where he had fought the assassin.

“Maybe, he was trying to bring me in… I don’t know.”

“Mr. Cleon…?”

At Sasha’s words, Cleon nodded.

“Okay. If something happens in this place- of course, rumors will reach Asteri as well. Because at that time, the thing that bothers me the most will be me. I will come to investigate this place.”

“Ah…”

At Cleon’s words, Sasha nodded her head knowingly.

And when it comes to things like that, Cleon was well aware that he wouldn’t act with anyone.

“If that were the case, I would have fought him here alone, without Sasha. …With a guy who absorbed a large amount of mana and became much stronger than now.”

In that case, victory or defeat, Cleon said, could not be predicted.

Sasha couldn’t imagine seeing Cleon defeated, but in other words, could she think that she saved Cleon…

“That’s right. Thank god…”

So now, I am grateful that both of them were able to survive without getting hurt.

Oh, the ball’s wound was healed with Cleon’s healing art while he was asleep.

Even though Galatea and Caliburn urged her not to leave scars on the girl’s face her.

“How is your body? It’s okay? I was overdoing it with the use of the engraving, so the backlash might come, but…”

At Cleon’s words, Sasha cautiously stood up and moved her body here and there as if she were warming up before entering the water.

There seemed to be no part of her body that flexed and flexed, that did not move as desired.

“It’s okay. I think there is no problem than I thought.”

[Rather than I thought…?]

At Sasha’s words, Ruben’s gloomy voice came from inside.

[You’re a girl! Do you think it’s because you’re lucky that your body endures even after randomly raising the power of your imprint?! It’s fortunate that I somehow managed to bear the burden this time, even if the bones in my whole body would break if I moved in line with the accelerated sensation!]

Hearing the scolding voice from inside her, which could be heard even if she covered her ears, Sasha groaned and twisted her body while letting out a moan from her mouth her.

“Sasha!? Are you feeling unwell after all!?”

“Oh, no! Ruben-sama is getting angry inside… Because of me being overbearing…”

Sasha barely responded to Cleon’s words, but she tried to calm Ruben down somehow, but Cleon let out a sigh of relief and placed her hand on Sasha’s head her.

Then, using her imprint her, she quickly inspected her body her once more and nodded her head knowing that there was nothing wrong with her body her as she said.

“… There doesn’t seem to be a problem with magic either. But if Ruben says something, he must be worried about you…”

[If you do it again next time, I’ll just take your body away!]

“Is that so…”

Sasha let out a sigh as she thought it was fortunate that Cleon couldn’t hear Ruben’s voice in her.

He recalled a dream he had while lying down and asked Ruben about it.

In her dream her, she moved as a wolf and went into a den in a mountain where she encountered a group of bats.

In a way, if there is someone who can understand the meaning of what can be thought of as just a dream, it would be Ruben.

[That… It seems that the core information we absorbed has been completed.]

Sasha couldn’t help but tilt her head at Ruben’s answer, as if asking what could be known from the completed information.

Then Ruben sighed inside and spoke.

[What you saw was not just a dream. According to the information that the remnants of the soul we absorbed, we learned the location of the enemy we had to pursue.]

“Then! It means you found what Cleon-san was looking for!”

When Sasha hears Ruben and she involuntarily raises her voice, Ruben nods inside, and Cleon’s eyes widen as well.

“What are you talking about? Sasha?”

Sasha relays what she heard from Ruben to Cleon, who has been asking such a question.

“…Then Sasha, can you show me the way there now?”

“Yes! Possible… I think!”

The path left by the wolf, which naturally emerges in her head, is reflected on her retina her with the power of an imprint that lights up even if she concentrates even a little.

‘It’s not that far… Halfway between Asteris and here… Maybe. You will enter the mountain, but the mountain is not that high.’

“If you are tired or tired, going back is the way to go. So-“

When Cleon spoke, worried about Sasha’s fatigue in her, Sasha shook her head and clenched her fists in her hands to answer.

“Gwa, it’s okay! Because the condition is really good! Layla and Quon both said it was hard because they had a lot of work! It is important to solve the problem as soon as possible!”

Watching her raise her tension enough to let out her snort, Cleon gives her small wry smile and nods her head.

“Then, please. If there is any problem, let me know right away.”

“Yes! That, then, this way!”

Saying that, Sasha stood up, stretched out her legs and arms, and started walking one step ahead of Cleon, unlike before.

As Cleon chased after Sasha, she placed her hands on the handles of her two swords at her waist.

[Galatea.]

[I know. Although that wolf god is attached, Sasha’s movement earlier… No matter how much I think about it, it’s out of her normal magical operation. Even so, it’s actually impossible that there are no abnormalities left on her body.]

[It would be better to think that the risk was dispersed or postponed… Or, did the wolf inside her take that risk instead? Either way, the strain on her body must have been beyond imagination.]

Even if it’s not the person himself, when it comes to the flow of magical power, there are times when it’s more accurate to see it from the perspective of the two of them.

[—If that’s the case, I’ll have to do my best so that Sasha doesn’t overdo it anymore.]

[I won’t stop that, but… The other person is an assassin, right? Will Sasha and I be okay? If anything, returning Sasha to the city…]

[Even if I say that, I don’t think she’ll go back ~ If it’s her.]

When Cleon nodded in agreement with Caliburn’s judgment, Galatea let out a sigh.

[Why, all the kids around me are stubborn. Do only people who resemble Cleon gather?]

[Does Galatea say that?]

002

“Is this…”

When Cleon muttered in a somewhat tired voice, Sasha blinked her eyes and looked at the mountain in front of them.

In the green forest that I had just passed, the space where the darker trees seemed to have been made by burning more green was followed by a steep slope, so it seemed that I would have to suffer quite a bit to climb.

In addition, since the summit is so high that it is almost invisible, it is difficult to know how many hours it will take to climb the mountain, so it is a mountain that beginners cannot easily enter.

“It looks pretty… High.”

“Uh, uh…?”

When Sasha said that in her flustered voice of her, Ruben gave a giggling voice from the inside.

[Do you feel different from what you saw in your dream?]

[That, that’s… Yes…]

To Sasha, who honestly talked about her feelings about her, Ruben laughed and snorted at her before replying.

[Yeah, that’s just an image. Of course, it is different from the actual terrain. It seems to be a harsher place than the mountain you lived in.]

“Ugh… I’m sorry, Mr. Cleon… After all, it might be a good idea to go back and prepare more…”

Sasha said that to Cleon, but Cleon looked back and forth between Sasha and the mountain for a moment, then began to take out climbing tools from his bag her.

“Uh, how? Mr. Cleon, why are you using tools for mountaineering…”

“No, speaking of an assassin’s base, I thought it might be in a place that’s inconspicuous, so I brought it just in case I had to climb a mountain. Even so, basic things.”

Seeing him say that, Sasha blinks her eyes.

And she herself takes down her bag and searches through it, but unfortunately she does n’t have anything like her mountaineering equipment in her.

“Sorry, Mr. Cleon, I-I didn’t bring any climbing gear today… “

As if he was guilty somewhere, Cleon nodded as if he was okay and took out another piece of equipment from his bag.

“I thought so, so I brought it. Sasha’s luggage should be light, so I thought it would be better if I carried it.”

“As expected, Mr. Cleon… !”

At her attitude her, which seems to be moved by something, Cleon smiles bitterly, but after taking all the things he put down, he looks up at the mountain with Sasha.

“…Well then, let’s go up!”

“Yes!”

With Sasha giving back a lively answer, the two of them took one step towards the mountain, and started climbing the steep slope in tandem.

And, the existence of a secret gaze looking at those two people.

‘No way, I thought the assassination target would come looking for me… It would be better to monitor and report.’

That is, a member of the Enma hiding in this mountain.

Looking at the two people who seemed to have no idea that they were being watched, he smiled viciously under the mask.

Of course, he was the only one who thought so.

[Sasha, can you hear me?]

[Ah yes. It’s been a while since I’ve had a conversation with my imprint.]

“There is a guy following us and watching over us. …If I signal at the right timing, shoot it down.]

[… I’ve got the location.]

Unaware of the conversation between the two, he mistakenly believes that he will drive them away, the fate of the lower end member of the Enma.

It was already after it was decided that it would end in misfortune.