Chapter 228: Canyon (1)

A lot changed once they entered Lehainjar. Firstly, the weather was god awful. It wasn't eternally snowing in the snowfield, though more than often, it was, but there were times when the sun sent down its warm rays. But it was quite difficult to even see the sun in Lehainjar. Of course, the sun would be busily going about its day somewhere high in the sky, but the insane blizzard made it impossible to even make out the color of the sky. With it snowing nonstop like this, it was hard to think of the never-ending crystal of white as anything other than simple trash.

It didn't just snow, either. Occasionally, or rather quite often, chunks of ice that were larger than pebbles but smaller than boulders would hail down from the sky, and these chunks were hard enough to crack open a normal man's head with a single blow.

"What the fuck is wrong with this mountain? It's like Sienna cast a spell on it," grumbled Eugene while glaring at the onslaught of snow and ice.

Sienna had always been the definition of all brawn, no brains, so she would always cause natural disasters right before a large-scale battle. Among the many spells in her repertoire, Sienna had always favored casting murderous snowstorms and hail over a large area.

Of course, the snow and hail of Lehainjar were no match for Sienna's blizzard, and it certainly wasn't strong enough to break Eugene's skull or bones, even if he stood out in the open for several days. Even so, he had no intention of suffering a perpetual beating, so he cast a spell around him to block the snow and hail.

However, wasn't it natural to feel crappy after being pummeled for an extended period of time?

"Kieeng." Abel cried out in discontent. Since entering Lehainjar, Abel suddenly became more obedient to Eugene. He clearly understood that Eugene protected him from the snow and hail.

"It's getting more difficult the higher we climb," commented Kristina.

As patient as she was, she also felt quite tired of this mountain. Apart from Noir Giabella's attack, or rather mischievous greeting, they had not encountered any difficulties. Most monsters had avoided them due to Eugene's presence, and the blizzard had also been bearable.

But Lehainjar was different. Even though the mountain was connected to the snowfield, it felt like a desolate area completely separate from the snowfield. It was to the extent that the Samar Forest seemed like a nice place for a stroll compared to here.

Moreover, the monsters of the mountain were fearless and fierce. Even without Eugene hiding his presence, the monsters rushed in, bearing their fangs and claws.

[This is the northernmost part of the continent, after all,] Anise commented.

The vast snowfield they crossed was at the northern end of the Northern Kingdom of Ruhr, and Lehainjar was a snowy mountain that stood tall at the northernmost tip of the snowfield. This was the edge of Ruhr.

—The Bayar Tribe protects the continent's end.

Molon would say such things with a proud expression whenever he talked about his home.

—The monsters and demonic beasts of the devildom are fierce, but the monsters living at the northern end of the continent, which is protected by our tribe, are just as fierce. I've hunted such monsters since I was a child, so the demonic beasts and monsters here feel like gentle sheep.

—Bullshit. You almost died last time when you were surrounded by demonic beasts.

—Even gentle sheep can kill a man if hundreds gather and trap him.

—Why would a gentle sheep want to kill someone in the first place?

Molon had kept his mouth shut for hours after being asked the question.

—The name of the land guarded by the Bayar Tribe is Lehain. It is my home, and as terrible as it is, I also miss it. Climbing further north from Lehain, you will find a mountain range of snow and ice tall enough to pierce the sky, Lehainjar. Lehain means north in the language of the snowfield, and Jar means mountain. In other words, Lehainjar means the northern mountain in our language.

—Well.... Is there a reason you have to be so arrogant while explaining the name...?

—Bayar means valor in the language of the snowfield. So a warrior of Bayar means a valiant warrior. I am Molon of Bayar, Brave Molon.

—Right....

—But neither Lehain nor Lehainjar can be called the true end of the world. Beyond Lehainjar lies Raguyaran. A desolate land of nothingness, a land that must not be crossed, the end of the world. The Tribe of Bayar resides in Lehain and Lehainjar to prevent anyone from crossing into Raguyaran. As well as to protect anything from crossing over from Raguyaran.

—What do you mean by that?

—There is an old legend of Bayar. Perhaps it is only a story to scare the children. I heard such stories from my mother and father when I was young. In the deepness of the night, the Nur rises in Raguyaran. The Nur treads the wide stretch of land and crosses over into Lehainjar. Any children who refuse to sleep would be devoured by the Nur....

—What's the Nur?

—Just a monster. I just told you, didn't I? It's an old legend, a story to scare any misbehaved children. I was no longer a child very early on, and as a warrior of Bayar, brave. Very brave indeed. So to prove my courage, I have crossed Lehainjar before.

—So, did you get to see Raguyaran.

—It was a vast land, a place where the sky was furious. There was no sun, no moon, and no stars. The sky was foggy and dirty, just like snow trampled on by muddy feet. It was like that as far as the eyes could see. Standing on the tallest mountain peak of Lehainjar, I could see the wide sea at the end of Raguyaran. It was a frozen sea. There was no Nur. In fact, there was not a single living soul on that land. It was a place incapable of hosting any life.

Three hundred years ago, Hamel and Molon had shared such a conversation by the bonfire, and when Molon spoke of Bayar and the snowfield, his eyes had glistened like a child. Such sparkling, clear eyes did not match Molon's large figure at all, but at the time, Hamel had listened to his story without making fun.

—But instead of telling me these stories, you can just take me there someday, right?

—Will you go to the snowfield with me?

—I don't know when this damn war will end, if ever, but when it does end.... Well, I'll be bored and relaxed in many ways, so wandering around new places wouldn't be bad.

—Hamel, if you go to the snowfield with me, I will help you get with the second most beautiful female warrior of our tribe.

—What are you saying, you moron?

—Sienna, don't worry. If you wish, I will make sure you get with the second bravest warrior of our tribe....

—Stop with your nonsense.

—But why the second best?

—You're asking the most obvious question. It's because I am the bravest warrior in the Bayar Tribe. Do you want to marry me, Sienna?

—Go kill yourself.

—I knew you wouldn't like it. And the most beautiful female warrior in my tribe is bound to get together with me. So, Hamel, I will let you have the second most beautiful female warrior....

—Get lost!

Eugene recalled how Sienna had howled at Molon as he looked up at the tall, snowy mountain. Lehainjar stood as the gatekeeper of Raguyaran. It was tall and wide. Although Eugene was climbing the mountain under Abel's guidance, he couldn't tell exactly how much longer he would have to climb to reach the Grand Hammer Canyon.

"Woof."

Abel suddenly came to a stop. After sniffing around, he stared into the blizzard with his ears pointed. However, he didn't glare or emit threatening cries like when he sensed a monster. Eugene followed suit and stopped in place without passing Abel. It wasn't until Kristina, who was following closely behind the two, came to a stop that a bright orange light illuminated from the far side of the blizzard.

The light came from the Rangers of Lehainjar. They wore thick winter jackets and held magic lanterns that emitted an orange glow in their hands. It had been pretty noticeable even from a distance, but their large stature became even clearer when they approached. The three rangers stopped at a distance from Eugene and the others. Each of them was well over two meters tall.

"Abel." It was the ranger at the lead who called out. His eyes glowed in recognition behind his thick goggles. The ranger glanced at Abel's wagging tail and Eugene before asking, "...Lionheart?"

"I'm Eugene Lionheart."

"I am Kristina Rogeris."

The two introduced themselves.

"Why are you with Abel?" the ranger asked.

His voice was husky and indistinct. He appeared proficient at listening and speaking the common language, but his pronunciation wasn't completely accurate. It was difficult to make out their faces because of their thick clothes, hats, and goggles, but Eugene assumed them to be the descendants of the Bayar Tribe.

"His Majesty, the King of Ruhr, allowed us to borrow Abel. He said Abel would show us the way to Lehain," explained Eugene.

"It is not this mountain where the Knight March will be held. So please go down," the ranger responded.

"His Majesty, the King, suggested we go to the Grand Hammer Canyon of Lehainjar. I came here following Abel as His Majesty wished, so will I really have to climb back down?" asked Eugene.

Instead of answering immediately, the rangers exchanged a glance. Finally, the leading ranger answered after a moment, "We will allow you passage if His Majesty has given permission, but know that the two of you may be in danger."

"We came all this way with just the two of us, but I didn't feel any danger," said Eugene.

"The Grand Hammer Canyon is the border of Lehainjar. The closer you get to it, the more dangerous it will become," the ranger explained.

"Are there more monsters, and do they become more ferocious? Or does the weather get even worse than it is now?" asked Eugene.

"No. The Nur come out in the Grand Hammer Canyon," said the ranger. Nur — it was the monster Molon spoke of three hundred years ago.

When Eugene took on a curious expression, the ranger continued, "The Nur is a monster, but it's different from other monsters. It's not a demonic beast, either. I'm sure you will feel it when you see it, but explaining it with words is impossible."

"What does that mean?" Eugene inquired in surprise.

"I said it was impossible to explain with words. If you are not afraid of the Nur, please continue following Abel up the mountain. If you two insist on climbing the mountain with His Majesty's permission, the rangers will not block your path. However, we rangers will not be able to guide your path. If you are not fond of the danger, please return down the way you came," the ranger made things very clear.

The rangers didn't attempt to actively block Eugene's way, perhaps thanks to the king's permission. However, they didn't allow easy passage for them either. It was because Eugene belonged to the Lionheart family and Kristina Rogeris was the Saint Candidate of the Holy Empire. The two of them had come to the Grand Hammer Canyon at the recommendation of King Ruhr, and if they happened to die on their way to the Grand Hammer Canyon, the responsibility for their demise would ultimately fall on the King of Ruhr.

"We already came all this way," said Eugene with a smirk. He took a step forward. He wasn't thinking of any political issues, real or potential. He could just climb, then descend. The Beast King Aman Ruhr, the King of Ruhr, had said that the legend of the royal family was handed down in the Grand Hammer Canyon. He had labeled it as the place where descendants of the royal family were reborn as warriors.

And what about the Nur?

Molon had said that such a thing did not exist three hundred years ago. Was the legend of the royal family referring to the Nur? The Kingdom of Ruhr was founded by Molon. Didn't that mean the legend of the Grand Hammer Canyon also originated from Molon?

"Please be careful," the rangers warned after moving aside once they saw that Eugene wasn't about to stop.

"Nur?" asked Kristina.

"Apparently, it's a monster that lives on this mountain. Molon told me about it three hundred years ago," answered Eugene.

"Lady Anise said she's never heard of it," said Kristina.

"Well, I'm sure she hasn't. When Molon told me about the Nur, Anise was drinking in the corner like a crazy woman, saying that it wasn't interesting," said Eugene.

[Well, it wasn't. What else did you expect?] grumbled Anise. Kristina involuntarily burst out laughing in response.

After the encounter with the rangers, the two climbed Lehainjar for two full days. They never slowed down and never rested except for when it was necessary. The only obstacle was the mountain's freaky weather, its steepness, and how fast Abel could travel. Abel had been relatively fast through the snowfield but had slowed down significantly after entering Lehainjar and climbing the mountain. He continued to sniff while warily looking around and changed directions while finding the way.

Lehainjar was as big as the Uklas Mountain, where the Black Lion Castle was located. So it was inevitable that it would take quite some time to locate the Grand Hammer Canyon. The rangers had warned of the dangers of the Grand Hammer Canyon, but Eugene had not experienced anything over the past two days that explained the warning. Indeed, the number of monsters and their ferocity had increased, but Eugene didn't think it was worth the warning.

On the second night, they set up a large tent and a barrier to block the blizzard. The tent was the same one they had used since their journey through the snowfield. Just as they did in Samar, Eugene and Kristina took turns taking the watch. The only difference was that the time they spent on the lookout wasn't as dull as before, thanks to the presence of Mer and Anise. Mer would entertain Eugene while he took on the watch, and Anise recounted stories from three hundred years ago during Kristina's turn.

"The hot springs in Lehain. Am I going in with you, Sir Eugene?" asked Mer.

"Are you crazy?" asked Eugene.

"I brought my swimsuit. Sir Eugene, don't you have yours?"

"It's not a matter of whether I have it or not. We won't be the only ones going in."

"Are you saying you're embarrassed because of what others might think? I'm completely fine with it. I'm a familiar. Did you forget?"

"Stop spouting nonsense. You're going in with Kristina, or you can go in with Ciel."

"But what if you miss me? Right? You might want to see me."

"I won't."

"Then what do you think about Lady Sienna? A mixed bath... with Lady Sienna... swimsuits... hehe...."

Eugene didn't bother to respond. He didn't want to imagine a mixed bath with Sienna, nor Sienna in a swimsuit. But the image kept circling in his head....

[Kristina, did you hear that? That nasty familiar is trying to seduce Hamel,] Anise said in irritation.

'Sister...! I need to sleep.'

[Why do you always lie like this? Kristina, I can clearly feel a burning, evil flame flaring deep inside your heart, just like flames coming straight from hell.]

'Sister! I know we've been through a lot, but I am still a priestess, a worshiper of the Light! How could you say that flames of hell are burning deep inside my heart? Even if it's you, Sister, please refrain from saying such things.'

[Oh, my.... I'm not speaking to the Saint of Light. I'm speaking to Kristina Rogeris. Why do you keep trying to hide it, Kristina Rogeris? The only one who sees you now is... hehe, it's just me.]

'Uah....' The exasperation in Kristina's thoughts was evident.

[So you don't have to hide or lie to yourself.... Uhehehe...] Anise continued with her teasing.

"Kyaaaaahk!" Kristina suddenly burst out screaming while covering her ears. The memories of the fireworks had suddenly come flooding in. Anise's mean teasing was marring a miraculous, dreamy moment. A memory that was as beautiful and sweet as a dream, a memory she wanted to cherish for the rest of her life, was being warped by Anise....

"That scared me."

"Why are you screaming all of a sudden?"

Both Eugene and Mer were staring at her after the sudden scream. Kristina jumped to her feet, opened and closed her lips, then slapped her burning cheeks with both her hands.

"Ah.... I had a nightmare," she lied.

"A nightmare?" asked Eugene.

"Yes. An ominous, vicious... devil appeared in my dream and whispered in my ears," she said.

"Could it be.... Was it Noir Giabella? Did that dirty old slut dig into your dream?" asked Eugene.

"Yes.... No, what? N-no, that's not it. It wasn't the Queen of the Night Demons. It was... just a devil.... Yes, just a devil," responded Kristina.

[I was the most brilliant Saint of Light in the history of Yuras. How could you call me a devil...? This is sacrilegious. Blasphemy!] grumbled Anise, but Kristina ignored her.

Kristina calmed her quivering heart and turned her gaze outside the tent. The ground was littered with corpses of monsters that had dared to approach during the night and at dawn. About half of them had their heads smashed in by Kristina's flail, while the other half had been mutilated by Eugene's magic.

"Why don't we just get going?" said Kristina after a pause.

"Did you get enough sleep?" asked Eugene.

"The devil's whisper blew away all my fatigue," Kristina answered with a sigh.

She opened the tent's flap. The inside of the tent was dark enough to sleep comfortably, but the same wasn't true outside. Although everything looked obscure and foggy because of the intense blizzard, the sun sat unmoving high in the sky. It was a familiar sight. Strangely enough, the sun never set after they entered Lehainjar.

"If you say so," said Eugene. Abel also rose from the ground while wagging his tail. Eugene patted his head, then started dismantling the tent.

They did not need to rush anymore since tall, rugged cliffs were visible on the far side of the blizzard. From this distance, the soaring cliffs appeared similar to the head of a giant hammer.

Eugene and Kristina were currently in the valley leading up to the cliffs of the Grand Hammer Canyon. If they had decided not to spend the night here, they would have already arrived at the Grand Hammer Canyon by now. However, taking into account the warning of the rangers and minding their conditions, they had decided to rest for the night before continuing on.

"I'm fine with going on, but why don't we have breakfast first? You're on duty today," said Eugene.

"...To be precise, it's not me but Lady Anise," answered Kristina.

"I don't want that porridge that Anise makes. It's like swine feed. Can't you do it instead...?" asked Eugene.

"Lady Anise asked me to tell you not to get ahead of yourself. Her porridge is a complete diet focused on efficient absorption and recovering stamina. And why are you saying that you don't want to eat her food when you ate it just fine in your past life?" said Kristina.

"Well... that's because we had no other choice. And there was Sienna, who was even worse at cooking than Anise...." muttered Eugene.

"Lady Sienna's cooking is excellent," said Kristina.

"You've never even tried it," said Eugene.

"It can't be helped. And you just said it, Sir Eugene. At that time, there wasn't enough supply for proper meals. Lady Sienna was the one who made a meal out of such terrible ingredients. Which means! Maybe Lady Sienna's cooking skills weren't so bad, right?" said Kristina.

"Yeah, no. Sienna was the worst cook among us all. But next was Anise. Even Molon was better off than those two at cooking up something edible. The best cook was Vermouth," said Eugene.

"Lady Anise says that Sir Vermouth was better at everything than Sir Hamel," said Kristina.

"Switch with Anise right now. I'm going to hit her once. Can I?" asked Eugene.

"No, you cannot. This is my body," replied Kristina with a firm expression.

Eventually, the preparation of breakfast began. However, Anise wasn't actually the one who was cooking, but rather Kristina. Anise only gave instructions inside her head, while Kristina obeyed and used her hands.

[Let's add wine.]

'What?'

[Don't you know? Wine helps to eliminate any pungent smell of meat and enhances the flavor of the dish.]

'But this is porridge....'

[If you add red wine, it enhances the color of the porridge as well.]

There was no shortage of ingredients, thanks to Eugene's thorough preparation. Kristina poured wine into the boiling pot, as per Anise's instruction, and while the horrendous breakfast was being prepared, Eugene cleared the bodies in their vicinity. Although it snowed all night, there had been simply too many monsters, and they had been so big that the corpses weren't completely buried in white.

Eugene had no intention of looking at such a horrible scene while eating. After all, he was stuck with eating something that was less than desirable, to say the least. Sure, it wasn't a big deal three hundred years ago, but... there was no reason to do the same as in the past when they were living in a different era.

Eugene suddenly froze while in the process of tossing the bodies of monsters. Kristina stiffened as well in the process of emptying the contents of an entire bottle of wine into the porridge, watching the wine color the ingredients. Abel, who had been hovering around her, curled up into a ball and held his breath. Mer had it worse. She didn't simply stiffen up but rather collapsed on the spot. As a familiar, Mer was very sensitive to any changes in mana.

Eugene immediately embraced her and took her inside his cloak. No matter what happened here, she would be fine in the isolated space inside the cloak. Mer finally managed to breathe after entering the Cloak of Darkness.

[S-s-sir Eugene.]

[Hamel.]

Mer called out in a panicked voice, and Tempest spoke from inside Wynnyd as well. Before he knew it, Kristina was at his side. Likewise, she was looking at Eugene with a pale expression.

"Hamel," she called out, but it wasn't Kristina. Similar to Mer, Kristina had lost consciousness in the moment, transferring control of the body to Anise.

"Yeah." Eugene nodded.

Fwoosh!

Eight wings unfolded behind Anise's back, and Eugene utilized the White Flame Formula to robe himself with purple flames. The two did not hesitate as they ran out of the barrier. It was no longer snowing, unnaturally so. There was simply no snow falling from the sky, as if the phenomenon had been artificially stopped. Nevertheless, the world still looked as hazy as before.

The two ran and flew toward their destination, but the distance to their target did not seem to change at all. Eugene was unfamiliar with the things he was feeling now. He felt disgust and fear... as well as other similar negative emotions. He instinctively felt repulsed by the Grand Hammer Canyon. He did not want to get near it. In fact, he wanted to get as far away from it as possible. However, though it was an unfamiliar feeling, it wasn't exactly the first time he was experiencing such emotions.

He had experienced it once, three hundred years ago.

'Why?'

Eugene and Anise shared the same question. They had experienced the same, irresistible fear once before, a fear that was seen but could not be understood. It belonged to one of their targets of elimination, an existence beyond comprehension.

'Why here?'

The Demon King of Destruction.

The mysterious, unexplainable existence had existed in Helmuth three hundred years ago. As was the case with the other Demon Kings, the Demon King of Destruction had never left Helmuth, and it rarely showed itself.

The first time its existence was witnessed was in Ravesta, where most of the dragons were killed off. It was a place located far from the capital of Helmuth, Pandemonium, and also the territory of the Demon King of Destruction. After the first spotting, the Demon King of Destruction started roaming Helmuth like a natural disaster, and any armies unfortunate enough to stand in the way of its ruin were eliminated without exception. Three hundred years ago, when Hamel and his companions saw the Demon King of Destruction from afar, fifty thousand troops belonging to Nahama had disappeared without leaving a single body.

It was just as Vermouth had warned — don't fight with the Demon King of Destruction. It was such an existence, a presence impossible to battle against. Yes, it was true that all Demon Kings were like natural disasters, but the Demon King of Destruction was a living destruction in itself. The only solace was that the Demon King of Destruction no longer wandered Helmuth after the war but returned to Ravesta and remained silent for hundreds of years.

Eugene couldn't understand. This wasn't Helmuth. Instead, this was Lehainjar, a mountain acting as a barrier blocking passage into Raguyaran, which was the end of the world. So what reason did the Demon King of Destruction have to leave its territory, Ravesta, after hundreds of years of silence just to come all the way to Lehainjar?

'...No, this is different.'

Eugene contemplated the situation once more. It wasn't as if he could see the Demon King of Destruction with his eyes, just that he was struck with the same, or rather, a similar feeling as when he encountered the Demon King of Destruction in the past.

'This is not the same. Just look at me now; even though I feel it, I'm not running away. I'm heading towards it. It's not the Demon King of Destruction up ahead,' Eugene surmised.

Then what was it? The first explanation that came to his mind was... Oberon, one of Fury's four heavenly kings. After the death of the Demon King of Fury, Oberon had submitted to the Demon King of Destruction. In the end, he was killed by his son, but Jagon still resided in Ravesta, the territory of the Demon King of Destruction.

'A lackey of Destruction? Is that why I feel this way? It's not the Demon King of Destruction, but someone who's received its power....'

He couldn't tell. Eugene couldn't possibly make an accurate judgment, so he decided to forego more analysis until he saw what was responsible for causing him to feel such things. Anise came to the same conclusion. Neither of them was struck with an irresistible urge to flee as they did three hundred years ago.

Something moved on the cliff of the Grand Hammer Canyon.

"Jagon..." muttered Eugene after coming to a stop. It felt as if he had not been getting close at all, but before he knew it, the two of them were already at the bottom of the cliff. "...No, it doesn't seem like him."

Jagon's father, the Depraved Oberon, had been a bear, so Jagon would also be a bear. But what stood atop the cliff wasn't a bear. Instead, it was a... monkey? It was either a monkey or a gorilla the size of a giant. Although vicious horns jutted from its head, the creature definitely resembled a monkey. It was a huge two-legged, two-armed monster with white fur. No, was it a demonic beast...? The ominous aura emanating from the creature was similar to a demonic beast, but it wasn't quite the same. Moreover, the repulsive feeling it struck into Eugene's heart was different from demonic beasts.

~

—The Nur is a monster, but it's different from other monsters. It's not a demonic beast, either. I'm sure you will feel it when you see it, but explaining it with words is impossible.

~

Eugene remembered the ranger's warning from two days ago.

"Nur?" muttered Eugene while looking up at the monster. He saw hideous eyes peering back down at him. The creature's mouth opened wide to make way for a grotesquely long tongue. Black saliva dripped from its sharp teeth and slithering tongue.

"Krrr."

The creature lowered its posture as if readying itself to jump off the cliff. Eugene placed his hand inside the cloak to grab a weapon.

Fwoosh.

But before Eugene could take out a weapon, the monster's head fell to the ground. The snow began falling once again, and in the flurry of white, a giant slung a clean, shiny axe over his shoulder.

Eugene stared up at the cliff, unable to say anything. He could see someone stepping on the decapitated head.

"...Molon."

Eugene spoke the name of his friend from three hundred years ago.