Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Who Gave Him a Shield?

Raven Saitz was a haggard sight.

His hair was disheveled, covered in leaves and dust. His sword was nowhere to be seen—only the empty scabbard dangled at his waist. His face showed a mixture of bewilderment, relief, and suspicion.

Adrian Deconti called out to him again. The Mountain Rabbits still hadn't lowered their weapons. A mediator was needed to dispel the mutual distrust between both sides.

"Raven? Raven!"

"......Lord Adrian. Please forgive my rudeness."

"There's nothing to forgive. But it looks like you've been through quite an ordeal!"

Raven tried to catch his breath after assessing the situation, but Calix noticed his fingertips trembling faintly.

'He's terrified.'

The light of fear. Extreme terror reflected in his eyes. The state of his Neural Accelerator was no different. Blue mana was fluctuating unstably.

Calix read the other's psychology and kept his mouth shut, while Captain Royce took the lead in the conversation.

"I am Royce of the mercenary company 'Mountain Rabbits'. What happened? Where are your attendants?"

"......They're all dead."

The heir to the Saitz Duchy simultaneously released suppressed anger and sorrow.

How excited he had been when summoned to the investigation team. He had brought eighteen knights who followed him and dozens of servants, but the forest had devoured them all.

Disaster.

Yes, this was a disaster.

As he began muttering to himself, Adrian stepped forward with a serious expression and asked again.

"What on earth did you see to end up in such a state?"

"The forest...... Moved."

He looked back toward the forest with terror-filled eyes.

"When I looked back, the path had changed, and the trees...... The trees closed in from all sides. As if alive, the forest attacked humans. Some fled into the darkness, others swung their swords at allies. It was, it was—"

"Like magic, isn't it?"

The one who took up his words was Zahira. She muttered lowly and exchanged meaningful glances with the Dwarf Basim.

Naturally taking the baton, Basim expressed his concern to the Captain.

"If magical forces are at work, it won't be easy to enter and exit even once."

"But we have no choice. The enemies have already approached within arm's reach."

Uuuuuu—

As soon as he finished speaking, wolf howls echoed from behind, and the atmosphere rapidly froze. They were too close, far too close.

Hadiya urgently shouted.

"The enemy is in sight!"

Calix looked back. At the edge of the horizon, hundreds of murky-colored forms entered his view. Assassins.

"Everyone enter the forest. Keep the intervals tight. Don't lose each other!"

The Captain gave brief orders and approached Adrian Deconti. It was to request proof that the commission had been fulfilled.

"Mm, so this is where we part?"

"Yes. Just as written in the mission proposal. We plan to escape by going around the forest. Until then, let's stay together."

Whether it was misfortune or fortune, there was no need to debate.

***

The Mountain Rabbits entered the Storm Forest. Befitting the terrain created by a mage, the size of the trees was extraordinary. The roots exposed above ground were as thick as a human thigh, with diameters too wide for two adults to reach around, even holding hands. As for height, it was better not to mention since looking up made one dizzy.

Naturally, no sunlight reached this place.

Dim visibility.

*Rustle—*underfoot, dry branches and bushes caught and created noise. At that moment, the surrounding scenery subtly distorted.

The positions of the trees kept changing, and despite clearly moving in a straight line, the distance between companions widened.

"......Everyone stop."

"Hadiya?"

"This is the path we came from earlier."

The first to notice the anomaly was Hadiya, who was skilled in terrain reconnaissance. The mark she had carved into a tree trunk with her dagger appeared again.

They were lost.

"Wait, we've lost Ungcap too!"

"Ungcap!"

[I'm here!]

In turn, voices searching for companions burst forth all at once. How long had it been since entering the forest, yet chaos struck in that instant?

And it was Calix's role to correct this.

The main reason stragglers didn't lead to disappearances despite their occurrence.

"Romance, Kotchap! Move inside."

"Basim! Not that way!"

"You can't get any farther!"

Calix used the colors visible in his sight and his ability called Sixth Sense to bind the Mountain Rabbits together. Even the forest's magic couldn't suppress the Ranita bloodline trait.

This innate leadership caught the eyes of two nobles.

"You have their deep trust. Even veteran mercenaries follow your words as if it's natural. The more I watch you, the more interesting you become. You show a different side every time."

The former was Adrian Deconti, who let out pure admiration, but the latter, Raven Saitz, harbored opposite emotions.

'I've lived my entire life as the heir to a duchy, learning how to command knights. Yet how does that nameless mercenary so easily lead people? My subordinates died futilely......'

Inferiority and jealousy were clearly evident in his complex expression. It wasn't that he hated Calix's existence. As a noble, he didn't live caring about the existence of mere mercenaries. In fact, he didn't know who the Mountain Rabbits and Calix were.

He simply didn't want to accept it.

'Can I return to the main house? But with what face would I return? All the knights dead and only I survived. I fear my father's reproach.'

Calix also perceived Raven's complex emotional state but deliberately ignored it for now. There was a more important problem.

Swaaaaaak.

From far away, something was flowing in.

"Captain."

"Calix, what is it?"

"I have a bad feeling. Something strange is approaching."

"Assassins?"

"No. It won't be an ordinary living creature."

"......"

It emitted the unique light of mana, but it was too much to view as a Neural Accelerator. It wasn't a level an individual creature could handle. It writhed while compressed within a certain range.

Fortunately, Royce didn't add any secondary questions. He briefly stopped the Mountain Rabbits and waited until the identity of the anomaly could be identified.

Adrian didn't miss the timing and clung close.

"Truly an interesting conversation. Did you sense something too?"

It would be ridiculous to deny it now.

"......Because I have a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling. It sounds like you believe in fate."

"I believe in my choices, not fate."

"Is that so? But fate is like a flowing river. Going against the current only makes you tired. In the end, it flows according to established laws."

"If I can't change the river's flow, I'll dig a completely new waterway and get out."

"......I see. Perhaps that's why you're special."

Then, the second anomaly revealed its identity from beyond the forest.

Thick fog.

***

The fog rolled in, spread across the ground. Due to the forest's core being damaged and mana becoming unstable, the power to distort reality grew stronger as they approached the center.

"This is......"

"Cook comrade, cover your mouth and nose with cloth! It might be toxic! Cough, cough. Ah, I can't breathe so I absolutely can't block it!"

"......"

Gregor's advice-that-wasn't-advice was meaningless. Before they knew it, thick particles slowly crawled up from their toes.

Heavy and high density.

The fog that had only been hazy soon took form. Small particles intertwined and tangled, transforming like a bundled skein of thread. Then it climbed up their bodies as if extending a hand. A cold sensation was felt on the skin and soon filled the lungs.

The more so, the surrounding scenery became blurry, and spatial sense disappeared. Trees, rocks, and even the forms of fellow mercenaries lost their shapes, melted, and blended into one.

Eventually, their vision was completely covered in white. Even their feet could barely be seen. The moment they fell into that endless abyss of fog.

A voice he couldn't forget, even in dreams, flowed into his ear.

"Calix! Calix! My son!"

"......Mother?"

The past appeared before his eyes. The scene from when he parted with his mother in the Ashapel Mansion was reproduced exactly. The burning inner castle, soldiers stained with murderous intent, and even his mother's desperate voice crying out his name.

'False, it's false.'

He knew it was only an illusion, but it wasn't easy to shake off. As much as he longed for reunion with his mother, reason and emotion were violently colliding.

[Detected mana interference]

[Judged as mental attack]

[Activating autonomous defense system]

However, the dilemma didn't last long before being washed away.

[Rotating mana at maximum output]

[Combat enhancement, '2.4'x]

He came to his senses with a flash at the Neural Accelerator's message, and above all, thanks to something settled in Calix's heart that wouldn't tolerate such nonsense.

Whiiiiiii!

'Divinity' is a selfish mana. Just as faith doesn't tolerate impure forces, what was contained in his body also reacted extremely sensitively to external intrusion. His heart pounded as if it would burst, then clear energy surged through his blood vessels.

It pushed away the fog particles clinging to his skin, and those that had invaded his lungs were simply devoured and made his own. Taking the crisis as an opportunity, he instead increased in size.

Huuu—seup.

By exhaling, he expelled the purified fog, and by inhaling again, he sucked in additional mana. Thanks to this, the Ranita bloodline trait increased in real-time, and the Neural Accelerator's notifications rang endlessly, but Calix shook his head as soon as he regained his reason.

'Excess is worse than not doing it.'

The pain rising through his blood vessels and the excessive heartbeat—there wasn't much time given.

He looked around searching for the presence of the Mountain Rabbits. Though the fog obscured vision, faintly sparkling lights were visible.

The Mountain Rabbits, regardless of veteran or newcomer, would be in a difficult situation. They had been extremely sensitive since entering the forest. There would be no capacity left to resist mental attacks.

Nevertheless, the person he should help first was, naturally, his partner.

"Gregor!"

"Uuugh......"

"Gregor, snap out of it!"

The veteran mercenary wasn't far away. At most five steps distance. However, the moment he approached closely, Calix's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Just as he had been, the old mercenary was also captivated by afterimages of the past. He reached out his hand toward the form of some woman created by the fog.

And he was crying.

"Mother...... My strong mother......"

Last time, he had blocked the evil energy of the Draug, but couldn't turn away from the illusion created by the forest's pure mana.

Should he wake him?

Though he knew he naturally should wake him, Calix couldn't easily make the decision. Because the wrinkled face with tears flowing looked extremely happy.

***

Gregor was born and raised in the Niboria Empire in the northern continent, in a remote village at the northernmost tip. He lost his father early, but he had three siblings and above all, a wise mother.

"Greg, what did mom say?"

"That I'm the older brother."

"Then how should an older brother act toward a younger sibling who made a mistake?"

"Hit them one more time."

"......Greg."

"Give them a chance to reflect on their mistake!"

Though the mother alone raised the children in poverty, looking back, those were truly happy times. Young Gregor was called 'Greg' and, as the eldest son of the household, led all the children of the village.

When playing war games, he always stood at the forefront, and adults would click their tongues saying 'a remarkable person has emerged from our village'.

Strength unsuited to the age of eleven, tactical judgment, and a fearless personality. In the military powerhouse Niboria, he had perfect conditions for success.

And that confidence, that arrogance, led to an irreversible mistake.

Crackle!

The shabby thatched house located on a hillside at the village outskirts burned well. Young Gregor didn't know why the fire started, but he knew his siblings were inside.

So he ran in.

Because he was brave. Because he was the eldest son. Because he had to fill his father's empty place.

Crash, thud!

"Aaah!"

The moment he confirmed his seven-year-old sister and nine-year-old brother lying collapsed. A pillar fell and covered Gregor's body.

Though he had exceptional strength, it was still the strength of an eleven-year-old. With wooden pillars as thick as an adult's forearm piled and fallen, there was no way to escape.

"Aah, mom! Mom!"

He shouldn't have called. Even if his waist pinned under the pillar burned and he collapsed, he shouldn't have called for mother.

"Greg! Date! Anya! Where is everyone!"

"......Mom? Cough, mom! Here!"

The woman appeared suddenly and ran into the house without delay.

"Greg!"

"Save Date and Anya first!"

She dragged the two children out of the house, then returned to Gregor and lifted the wooden pieces with her bare hands. The wooden pillar embracing flames glinted wickedly.

It must have been unbearable pain. Nevertheless, mother did it. Though the flesh of her forearms became mushy and her hands trembled violently, she ultimately held her eldest son in her arms.

Now they just needed to get out.

One step, two steps, and three steps.

However, the desperate escape stumbled at the threshold.

Crash! Bang!

The thatched house completely collapsed and covered mother and son.

"......I'm alive. How did I survive?"

When young Gregor came to his senses, everything seemed to have worked out. Though his siblings coughed constantly, they looked fine on the outside. So did his own body. There were burn marks on his waist and his hair was cut off in places, but that was getting off cheap.

Only mother paid a great price.

"Mom......?"

"Don't touch her. Your mother needs rest."

At the last moment, she suffered burns all over her body as the price for protecting Gregor. Her facial skin was hideously melted, and her forearms and fingers need not even be mentioned.

And sometimes, children's mouths are most cruel.

"Your mom is disgusting!"

"I heard her mouth only opens halfway!"

"And only one eye is visible!"

The leader of the kids became an object of mockery all at once.

Did Gregor become intimidated?

No. He was rather proud of his mother. He held the woman's hand who had risen from her sickbed and walked around confidently, shouting at the top of his lungs toward those who whispered.

"My mother is someone who survived even a dragon's breath! She's stronger and cooler than anyone!"

Old Gregor thought this might have been a struggle to hide his guilt. Hadn't mother been hurt because of him?

However, just one thing.

Just before leaving the village after coming of age, the promise he made while holding his mother's hand was decidedly pure.

"You going?"

"Only if I go, only if I succeed, will you be comfortable. The villagers won't be able to look down on our family anymore. Neither you, mother, nor my siblings."

"......"

Before the woman who couldn't even speak clumsy words and cried sorrowfully, young Gregor continued with clenched teeth.

"Mother, don't cry. Just as you protected me, this time I will protect our family. I won't die. I will survive. And someday, I will return."

"......"

"I...... Will become your shield."

Thus, he vowed.

***

Calix watched all of Gregor's recollections. Though knowing he shouldn't, he couldn't cut it off. It was a rude act he couldn't even make excuses for.

But thanks to that, he came to understand him.

Where the old mercenary's upright values and strong mentality originated from—he saw and learned the essence beyond the eccentric words and actions.

However, since he couldn't just watch forever, he placed his hand on the old man's shoulder where joy and sorrow coexisted.

There was no need for a loud voice. As 'Divinity' moved toward where emotions surged, white smoke escaped from the old man's mouth.

Soon as the fog's illusion dispersed, Gregor's eyelids opened halfway—seuruk. An expression as if he'd had a bittersweet dream.

"I'm not ashamed. Not once have I been embarrassed......"

Only a low murmur remained like an echo.