"Uh, uh?"
Sharen, flustered, looked at Isaac with a helpless expression, unsure of what to do. But the situation wasn't one that allowed for hesitation.
Black smoke began billowing out from between the piles of corpses and slowly started transforming into something strange.
If one had to describe it, it resembled shadows.
Shadows that had lost their masters began to rise one by one, letting out piercing screams.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Their voices poured out like a chorus. Among them, one shadow stood out, the largest of them all. Even as its neck dangled unnaturally, it was the only one with eyes and fingers.
As its fingers pointed directly at Isaac—
The shadows surged forward like waves, rushing toward him.
"Everyone!"
Anna, sensing the dire situation, galloped over with the horses. They mounted their respective horses and fled the village at once.
"What are those things?!"
Silverna asked, but Isaac couldn't answer. Even though he had witnessed countless scenes in his previous life, encountering the sorcery of transcendent beings was a rare occurrence.
The massive shadow with its dangling neck was followed by its subordinate shadows, pouring out of the village.
"They're… not as fast as I expected?"
Meladik, who was nervously glancing back, stated as much. Indeed, the shadows weren't as fast as one might fear. They stumbled and flailed as they followed. However, the aura they exuded, polluting the surroundings like a swamp as they advanced, was overwhelmingly menacing.
"Running away seems easy enough, but—"
Isaac trailed off.
If they simply returned to the walls of Malidan, nearby villages would be overrun by the shadow subordinates. The situation could escalate, multiplying the shadows' numbers far beyond what they were facing now.
"We have to stop them."
Finally, Silverna reined in her horse.
"We have to stop them. We can't lose any more people."
"I agree, but…"
Isaac understood her sentiment. However, they needed to think rationally.
"Jonathan's condition isn't good either."
"I-I'm fine!"
Jonathan, drenched in cold sweat, spoke up. The color of his pupils was returning to normal, and the dark patterns on his skin were gradually fading, but he still didn't look to be in great shape.
During the Polu incident, Silverna had acted impulsively and nearly paid the price for it. Even in the emotionally charged situation of the Andes Village Massacre, she issued orders with a calm, level-headed demeanor.
"Meladik, take Jonathan and head to the walls of Malidan to request reinforcements."
"Understood."
"But I—!"
"Jonathan, that's an order. We don't have time."
Silverna's firm tone cut off Jonathan's protest, leaving him no choice but to comply.
"Anna, head to the nearby villages and evacuate the residents. You're well-known, so they'll follow you quickly."
"Yes, my lady."
Without hesitation, Anna spurred her horse toward the village. The urgency of the situation was evident in her haste.
"Isaac, Sharen, you two will come with me to lure those things away. We'll buy as much time as we can."
With the orders issued, everyone went their separate ways, leaving the three behind.
"Huff, huff!"
Sharen, clearly nervous, exhaled deeply and gripped her greatsword tightly.
"Isaac, do you have any suggestions?"
Silverna openly sought advice from Isaac. As he watched the shadow subordinates closing in, he recalled what had happened earlier and nodded.
"Sorcery is similar to magic. There's a cause-and-effect logic to it."
Mages use mana. Through magic circles or incantations, one can roughly deduce the type of magic they're casting.
The same applied to sorcery.
"The shadows are probably the villagers. The largest shadow is likely Nortemus."
"Judging by the dangling neck, the sorcery must have activated right before he died?"
Isaac nodded and added, "The corpses had their eyes and fingers mutilated."
Even now, that remained the case.
Nortemus' shadow was the only one with glowing eyes and a finger pointing at Isaac.
No eyes to see.
No fingers to point.
The rest were merely mutilated subordinates compelled to follow.
"So, we just need to deal with Nortemus?"
"They won't be able to attack with intent anymore, at least."
Isaac's words carried a certain logic. At the same time, they raised questions in Silverna's mind.
"You seem to know more about the Transcendents than when you explained about them before."
During the last raid, when the Beom Baek attacked, Isaac had given a brief explanation about the Transcendents to Caldias.
But now, it was clear he knew more than he had let on, prompting Silverna to question him with a slightly annoyed expression.
"…I'll explain later."
Isaac smiled bitterly. This wasn't the time to delve into explanations.
Sharen, who had been glancing nervously between the two, cautiously pointed at the shadow subordinates.
"But can those things even be cut?"
It was clear they were following because they were being targeted. However, they couldn't just herd them around like sheep indefinitely.
"…."
"…."
Neither Isaac nor Silverna could give a definitive answer. Both hesitated with uncertain expressions.
"Let me try something."
Silverna raised her spear once more. While it was difficult to generate full force from horseback, she hurled the spear fiercely at Nortemus' shadow.
Like a cloud pierced, the spear passed through without causing any impact.
"…."
"…."
"…."
All three fell silent simultaneously.
Enemies that couldn't be cut were advancing, polluting everything around them. Even if their speed wasn't fast, if they couldn't be stopped, the result was inevitable defeat.
"Should we call for a mage?"
Silverna retrieved her spear, wrapped in aura.
Crack!
The shadow subordinates caught in the path of the aura-wrapped spear were skewered, losing their form and vanishing.
"Huh?!"
A surprised exclamation escaped Silverna as she reclaimed her spear.
It seemed they could be cut with aura. That meant there was hope for victory.
Just as she was about to say so—
"…But, Isaac."
Sharen glanced at Isaac hesitantly, as if testing the waters.
"Can you use Crimson Descent?"
Unintentionally, Silverna also turned to look at Isaac.
"Sniff."
He had no proper answer. He just sniffed because it was cold and windy, but he felt strangely pitiful.
"Should I teach you Crimson Descent later?"
"It's not just about aura, right?"
The two's awkward attempts to console him left Isaac with mixed feelings, so he simply remained silent.
[Aura?]
Suddenly, a conversation with his former master came to mind.
[There's no need for such a thing.]
'But won't there be times when it's necessary?'
[There weren't any.]
'...You're not saying that because you can't use it, right?'
[How would you feel if I asked whether you could use your legs?]
'….'
[…Get lost.]
Aura was important.
Most knights could wield aura, and certain noble families even possessed their own unique types.
Like Helmut's Crimson Descent Aura.
"…Maybe I should've sent Isaac with Jonathan instead."
It was unfair, but it wasn't wrong.
Meladik could use Aura, after all.
"But, you know…"
Sharen cautiously opened her mouth again, pointing at Nortemus's shadow.
"Isn't that thing pointing at Isaac?"
A question suggesting that the shadow's finger was aimed at Isaac.
Just in case, Isaac nudged his horse to move to the side, and sure enough, Nortemus's hand faintly followed him.
"…"
Isaac had become a bait totem.
***
"Milady?"
At the Malidan Wall, Kelsey, Sharen's maid, cautiously called out to Liana, who was staring up at the sky.
"You don't look well."
"Can you see my expression?"
Her face was fully covered with a mask and headband.
She wasn't being sarcastic; she was genuinely curious. Kelsey gave a faint smile in response.
"I've spent as much time with you as I have with Lady Sharen."
"…I see."
Liana didn't feel much about it.
She simply muttered as she looked up at the stark white sky.
"Something murky is riding the wind."
"Huh? The air feels refreshing to me."
Kelsey took a long breath through her nose.
But Liana replied indifferently.
"There's something… ominous."
Kelsey, who knew better than not to dismiss Liana's words—especially given her Helmut bloodline—began to feel uneasy herself.
"Miss Sharen is on a simple rear-line mission today, so she shouldn't be in danger, right?"
"She'd better not be."
Despite her words, Liana's gaze was fixed on the rear wall.
That was where the wind was blowing from.
At that moment, a commotion arose from the direction of the rear wall.
Soldiers were moving urgently, their hurried footsteps echoing loudly.
"Something… something feels wrong."
Perhaps because of Liana's earlier statement, Kelsey's uneasiness grew.
She worried about the possibility that something had gone wrong with Sharen.
As she worried, Liana grabbed the wrist of a soldier running toward the inner wall to report.
"Ah!"
Startled by her overwhelming grip, the soldier turned to look at her in confusion.
"What, what are you doing?!"
"What's going on that's causing such a commotion?"
The soldier, despite the woman's maid-like attire, was overwhelmed by her presence.
Feeling the crushing grip on his wrist and the sharp atmosphere, he unconsciously blurted out the truth.
"T-The reconnaissance team encountered an unknown beast, and a battle has started. An entire village was destroyed, and some of the recon team members returned severely injured."
"…!"
Liana's gaze turned toward the wall.
Her crimson eyes caught sight of Jonathan being urgently escorted away.
"L-Let go of me!"
At the soldier's shout, Liana released him with a hollow expression.
He fled as if running for his life to deliver his report.
Liana then tore off her mask and headband roughly.
The northern wind began to carry the scent of roses.
As her crimson hair fluttered, everyone around her gazed at her as if entranced.
The Blood Rose of Helmut.
Liana Helmut had descended upon the Malidan Wall.