115. Hellmunt

From atop the towering Malidian ramparts, what would one see?

Uldiran wondered as he ascended the stairs from the dungeon.

The moment he stepped outside, he had to concede that Silbrena’s description of a ‘grotesque structure’ was indeed accurate.

It was a sculpture of a demonic beast.

It had the face of a lion, but the body of a massive serpent, and even horns sprouting from its head.

Even if he low-balled it, its length was easily 50 meters.

One might even say the sculptor had put considerable effort into his creation, it was that alarmingly lifelike.

Winged Transcendants were using ropes to drag it over the ramparts.

They knew that there were no more arrows left that could be fired, nor spears to casually throw, so they crossed over with impunity.

“……Vile lot.”

The moment he saw it, Uldiran could easily foresee what was to come.

He was sick of fighting the Transcendants, and their sorcery always led to nightmarish outcomes.

This time was no different.

As soon as they crossed the ramparts, which were radiating a chilling aura, they released their hold.

The massive, stone-like demon beast regained its color, emitting a breath.

The moment it touched the ground, it had already returned to its original form, unleashing a roar within the Malidian ramparts.

“Disgusting b*stards.”

If there was one thing he’d learned about sorcery, it was that there was always a price to be paid.

What was the price for turning such a massive demon beast to stone?

Uldiran couldn’t know, but whatever it was…

He gritted his teeth, knowing it would be cheap compared to the blood of his comrades who would fall in this battle.

[Arundel’s rival? The only man who could stand against him?]

[What a joke. You know it too, don’t you.]

[He’s far from it.]

Even amidst the deafening roar of the giant demon beast, Uldiran thought he could still hear the black hound’s voice from just now.

[If Arundel were here-.]

“……If *you* were here.”

Holding his crimson greatsword, he would have silently stepped forward.

Red Gang would have covered the dark sky, forcing everyone to retreat.

He was a man even the Transcendants acknowledged.

He was called a rival by those around him, but he knew, deep down, he fell far short of Arundel.

He knew it.

He wasn’t ignorant of it.

But.

“Heh.”

Uldiran subtly lifted the corner of his lip.

The Black Hound’s words felt somewhat childish to him.

“Silberna, you heard what the primordial bloodline said…didn’t you?”

“…”

Silberna, eyes wide, couldn’t answer.

The timing was too coincidental.

He had entered precisely when she couldn’t reply.

Uldiran, smiling ruefully at the thought that he had reached an age to be considered by his daughter, gripped his spear.

“He isn’t wrong.”

“Father, I–”

“To deny it would only make us look pathetic. It’s clear that I can’t match his martial prowess.”

“…”

Silberna had no choice but to remain silent. She, too, had fought Arundel directly.

While the difference wasn’t overwhelming, speaking coldly…

If they fought ten times, Arundel would win nine.

But who could take even one victory against Arundel?

At least, among those belonging to the kingdom, no one but Uldiran.

“But I have never, not once, thought myself inferior to him.”

“…”

“Silberna, my daughter.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Survive.”

*Thump!*

The spear tip struck the ground.

The rampaging demonic beasts around them were slowly regaining their senses.

Yet, all the soldiers focused their gaze on the Guardian of the North.

*Thump!*

The earth resonated with a heavy sound.

Merely, a ground-shaking vibration created by one man’s spear tip.

*Thump!*

It grew longer, deeper, and heavier in its resonance.

As Uldiran moved forward, the other soldiers, as if inspired, also began to strike the earth with their spear tips.

Soon after.

All the soldiers, only gazing at Uldiran, gripped their spears.

Uldiran, standing at the very front, glared fiercely at the enormous demonic beast.

Beyond, more Transcendent were seen shifting a handful of demonic beasts.

Yet there was no yielding.

Before long, a multitude of soldiers gathered behind him, bolstering him.

This was he, Uldiran Caldias.

* * *

The recapturing of the North, five days hence.

The advance could only be described as swift.

Changing tactics, Eisenwolf was marching north at the quickest pace imaginable.

And the predicted events occurred not infrequently.

“Transcendent appear on the right flank! aaagh!”

“Central command requests backup! Three bat-form Transcendent have descended!”

The unit, advancing and advancing, grew weary as Transcendent continued to appear.

“I will visit the command staff.”

“Please do.”

The Grand Master spurred his horse without delay towards the center of the formation. The right flank was Helmunt’s concern anyway, so there shouldn’t be much issue.

As the Grand Master departed, and his eyes took in the sight of the main force sweeping away demonic beasts.

“Up! Up! The Sky!”

A crisis expressed in simple words, revealing the depth of his alarm.

He looked up, and space warped, followed by a Transcendent with horns and tail, wielding a hammer.

*Kuuung!*

A colossal bulk.

“Where…?”

The creature seemed briefly disoriented, but soon, as if understanding the situation, it swung its hammer mightily, scattering humans and horses alike.

“Uwoooarrrgh!”

The brute gave a fierce roar as if in defiance.

On this side, too, there was a man not to be outdone in spectacle.

“Behold! Rayan of House Levis will face you!”

Rayan Levis, radiating brilliant, iridescent aura, raised his sword in response.

Isaac now understood how the Levis siblings had made their names in a previous life.

They, like himself, were ones who could be called dual-wielders.

Or to be more precise.

Rayan and Marilyn.

Two people combining to create a single swordsmanship.

Hidden in Rayan’s light, Marilyn moved. Swiftly penetrating the rear, her thrusting sword allowed the Transcendent’s flank to be exposed.

“Hmph!”

But as one might expect from skin that appeared so tough, the Transcendent seemed unconcerned.

Having fought Transcendent many times already, Marilyn did not overreach, and Rayan, too, only drew attention, never closing in.

And at the moment the two withdrew.

Isaac’s Taedo was drawn with swiftness, radiating a keen, chilling aura.

“……!”

They weren’t called Transcended for naught.

The creature tilted its massive hammer, diverting the trajectory of the sword.

*Shkkk!*

The sword slipped past smoothly.

He blinked, checked again, and found his hammer split in two.

A long gash scored across his chest.

As his vision blurred crimson, the Transcended retreated, and the rest of the company swarmed the beast.

*Thump!*

Disarmed, the creature lashed out with tail and fists, fighting to the bitter end, but it was only a matter of time before its head was separated from its shoulders.

“Haa…haa…damn, that was close.”

“Ugh! I think my arm’s broken, from when that tail smacked me.”

“Try to be careful. The mages are b*tching that they’re too low on mana to cast any more healing spells.”

Barely three days had passed, yet the Azure Stream and the other knights had grown eerily accustomed to fighting the Transcended.

*’Whether this is a blessing, I can’t say.*’

Losses were mounting, the tides of war turning quickly, but they were adapting.

Because if they didn’t adapt, they would die.

“Hahaha! Is this what they call a friendly rivalry? A competitive spirit, perhaps?”

“Good work.”

Rayean and Marlin approached.

“Don’t get any strange ideas about rivalry.”

Isaac frowned, and Rayean guffawed.

“Hahaha! We’re comrades-in-arms! Perhaps I looked down on you before, but that is all forgotten!”

“…My brother apologizes. He tends to be self-centered.”

“I know.”

One might even call him simple-minded.

Rayean didn’t back down, adding a question.

“Aren’t we approaching the Mallidanean Barrier soon?”

“Yeah, we are.”

The imposing barrier should have been visible long ago.

But all that lay beyond the horizon was a snow-covered mountain range, blindingly white.

“…”

Walking along this paved road, he was reminded of his first day in the Northern lands.

Silverna, standing atop the barrier, had shouted at him, mocked him.

Just because he was a Helmundt.

A memory that only brought a smile now.

*’Silverna…’*

As he reminisced, the Grandmaster returned from the war council.

“Well done. How did things go on your side?”

“Five knights dead. Tch, one of them shared his liquor with me last time. A pity.”

Even so, they couldn’t have emerged unscathed.

“The Commander tasked the left flank. The Malidian Barrier grows near, so go on ahead and ascertain the situation.”

Now the distance shrank, and no monstrous swarms were readily visible between the barrier and the battalion.

Reian, leading the left flank, remounted his steed and guided them forward.

Only the rough, impatient thud of hooves echoed.

‘Please, let there be some kind of clue there.’

He sincerely hoped they could find something to restore the Malidian Barrier.

If nothing existed there either, the situation could become truly desperate.

Isaac arrived near the Malidian Barrier with earnest longing.

The first thing to greet them was the scent of roses.

That same scent Silvena had described at their first encounter as [sickly honey, frail flower].

A fragrance impossible to find in the North, thick in the air.

Parts of the Malidian Barrier remained, but most had been lost.

It was cut away in a grotesque fashion, as if someone had taken a huge bite.

The clean-cut edge suggested it had not been broken in an ordinary manner.

And.

At the center of it all.

A man sat, awaiting them.

For a moment, Isaac felt as though an old scene was repeating itself.

Roses strewn across the ground, the skeletal remains of shattered buildings nearby, a red-haired man.

The vision of Arundel Hellmunt’s end flickered through his mind, in this same scene the man wore a faint smile.

He was not Hellmunt.

Of that Isaac was certain.

Because Isaac had never once seen such a man at the Hellmunt manor.

However.

He seemed more fitting to be called Hellmunt than anyone else.

Holding something that could have been a sword or a cane, he greeted them with leisure.

“Have you come?”