Wandering Mercenary in an Open World

“···Well, I’m glad it’s over, whatever it was.”

Kyle let out a sigh of relief and dropped the hammer he had been holding awkwardly. He had been carrying Amella on one shoulder, so he couldn’t participate in the battle actively.

Then he heard a small voice behind his shoulder.

“Kyle. Let me down.”

At her words, Kyle bent his upper body and lowered his posture. Amella, who had been dangling from his feet, stumbled for a moment, but soon regained her balance and looked at the ice crystals that were scattering. The sparkling fragments were swallowed by the fierce wind and quickly disappeared. She said,

“It’s a pity that this is the end of the man who had the ambition to unify the continent.”

As she said that, Ruon, who saw her blood-stained face, approached the group and asked,

“It must have been hard to get here.”

“It’s okay. It was just an overload on my brain. At most, I shortened my life by a month or so. It was a cheap price to pay for risking my life.”

Amella shrugged her shoulders as if it was nothing. Ruon smiled faintly at the mage.

“It’s good to be positive.”

Then Colin, who had been looking at the hazy fog, narrowed his eyes and said,

“Someone’s coming.”

As he said that, shadows in the shape of people were approaching one by one. Then, Aslan and the rest of the knights, who had been swallowed by the white space, appeared through the blizzard.

They came with heavy footsteps, and they looked very exhausted at a glance.

“Are you all right?”

Colin asked with concern, and Aslan, who was at the front, nodded.

“We were lucky. We would have been unable to hold on if we were a little later.”

Amella scanned the knights, who had noticeably decreased in number, with her eyes and said,

“It’s not luck. It’s amazing that you guys held on in a space where your senses were disappearing.”

It was true. The knights, who had been around thirty, were now less than half of that. Aslan spoke calmly, even though the death of his comrades must have hurt.

“Is this the resting place of the spirits?”

Amella wiped the blood under her nose and answered,

“Yes. All the statues here are the former chieftains.”

As she said, there were huge sculptures scattered around the spacious square. Of course, it was hard to see their exact appearance in the snowstorm.

“If we go a little further inside, we’ll find the sacred tree. It would have been nice if the horses were alive, but···we can’t help it. Let’s move as soon as we’re ready.”

At her words, everyone started to check their equipment. Of course, it was just a formality. In fact, it was more accurate to say that they were preparing their minds for the last time. The fight that was coming up would be incomparable to the previous ones.

“Take care.”

Ruon gently stroked the forehead of Caliban, who was still lying weakly. He was the only black horse that survived, even though all the excellent warhorses had died, but he looked too tired to fight anymore.

He tried to get up with a snort, as if his pride was hurt, but he lay down again under the gentle pressure of Ruon’s neck.

“Don’t push yourself. We’ll be in danger if we do.”

As he patted the black horse’s back and stood up, Kyle, who had come up behind him, asked,

“Ruon. What do we do with this?”

Oh. That was left.

Ruon looked at the ice axe in Kyle’s hand and smiled slightly.

“How about using that too? Weapon Master Kyle. Not bad.”

“What are you talking about? I already have the Arming Sword from Garan. Do you want me to fight with my mouth?”

Kyle chuckled as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. Then Aslan came up next to him and looked at the axe.

“That’s an extraordinary axe. Would you mind if I borrowed it for a while?”

Ruon, who realized that he was asking for permission, nodded readily.

“Sure. Hengel will be happy if you use it well and return it to him.”

Aslan immediately took the axe from Kyle and spun it around with a smooth motion. It was obvious that he had experience with the weapon before. He stretched out his arm and said,

“There’s something strange.”

Ruon and Kyle thought he was talking about the axe, but Aslan brought up something unexpected.

“My brothers and I are strangers to the north. We’ve never even heard of the resting place of the spirits. But I keep feeling like this place is familiar. It’s too specific to be just a hunch···”

Aslan trailed off, as if he couldn’t find the right word. Unfortunately, Amella’s voice calling the three of them was faster than him continuing his speech.

“We have to go now!”

“Let’s go!”

Kyle turned his head and answered, then winked at Ruon as if to say let’s go. Ruon put his hand lightly on Aslan’s shoulder and said,

“Maybe you’ll remember as you walk.”

There were sixteen people left, including Ruon and his group. As they moved towards the inside of the resting place, guarding the surroundings, the situation around them became more vivid.

The evergreen trees that held their hair in the strong wind shook their branches precariously, and the frozen grass crumbled with a dry sound as they stepped on it. On the rough ground, there were sometimes dead animals, but they were so frozen that it was hard to tell when they died.

“···I think I know why the dead god was left here.”

Colin muttered out of nowhere, and continued his words even though no one answered him.

***

“Who would come to a place like this? It’s perfect for being forgotten. In everyone’s memory.”

At that moment, someone spoke from afar.

“You are a human with a decent insight. But your power is so weak.”

The voice sounded strangely clear in the midst of the fierce snowstorm. But apart from that, he couldn’t predict the direction at all, because the voice was coming from all sides.

Amela clenched her teeth and looked around.

“Beolun…”

At her words, the party drew their weapons and adjusted their stance. Before the battle began, they had been informed of the situation and knew that Beolun was the name of the great demon who had joined hands with the barbarians.

“I came to see if there was anyone among the northern shamans who could break my spell… It was your doing, girl. Was your name Amela?”

At his words, Amela bit her lower lip. The wound that had healed a bit burst and blood dripped.

“I didn’t expect you to remember me.”

“How could I forget? You were the one that Quintuanus praised so much. Your father was very sad about the broken oath. My child.”

Suddenly, the voice of the great demon changed as if he was talking to a child. Amela snorted and growled.

“Shut up with your disgusting words and show yourself. Do I have to find you myself?”

“Hahaha. There’s no need for that.”

With a snickering laugh, the space in front of the party twisted and a bent old man appeared. The party swallowed their dry saliva at the appearance of the one who was much closer than they thought.

He smiled so happily that his mouth curled up. The wrinkles that showed the hard times he had gone through folded happily. He said.

“I wondered how you lived after the oath was broken. Two heavenly powers intervened. Tivela and Duermur? What a bizarre combination.”

He tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. His wandering eyes soon fixed on the black-eyed warrior who was looking at him.

“…This is amazing. In the long and long history, you are the first one who has built up such a solid level. A warrior who has prepared a seat in heaven. What is your name?”

There’s always a chatter wherever you go.

Ruon thought that the chief who had rushed in without saying a word was better and answered.

“What do you want to do with a useless name?”

Despite his sullen response, the old man, Beolun, didn’t care at all. Rather, he showed his dark gums and smiled wickedly. Soon, his body began to melt like cheese in the sun.

“It must be a pleasant experience to ruin a young star. It’s something I’ll see in a long time.”

As soon as he appeared, the voice of the great demon disappeared again.

“Come. My adversaries.”

At that moment.

Ruon felt a sinking sensation in his whole body as if his organs were falling to the ground. What if he pulled up the sensation of the viking he rode a long time ago in an amusement park by hundreds of times? Not only him, but everyone who was in the empty lot felt their insides empty and breathed heavily. Some of them couldn’t stand the pressure and collapsed.

“Th-that.”

A fallen knight stretched out his arm. His trembling fingertip pointed to a huge shadow that was blooming in the direction. The moment everyone realized that it was a tree that was hard to fit in one eye. The ground cracked with a tremendous noise.

“Aah-ah!”

The scream of the knight who was caught by something that sprang out of the gap faded away. Immediately after, there was a crunching sound of something being forcibly crushed, and blood exploded in the sky.

“…Huh?”

Blood and flesh poured down like a drizzle. Colin, who had lost his mind for a moment by the fragments of the broken armor and the blade, was pushed roughly by Kyle who was next to him. Right after that, something fell to where he was standing.

Clang-!

For a short moment, Kyle’s body floated up as he swung his hammer hastily at the flying attack. Judging by the weight of the armor he was wearing, it would have been strange if he didn’t break anywhere if he fell like that, but before that, Amela’s spell created several thin shields in the air and reduced the impact of his fall.

Thanks to that, Kyle, who protected his body by rolling on the ground, got up and swung his hammer again.

As the lightning flashed and stretched out sharply, Ruon was swinging his sword fiercely where he fell.

Squeak-!

The thing that screamed in pain as its flesh was cut off was a huge root.

No. Could he call that a root? Not only was it covered with slimy mucus, but it also had suckers and red eyes of crustaceans.

Ruon stepped on the wriggling flesh and burst it with his foot, then swung his sword horizontally at the disgusting roots that were pouring toward him.

A red line appeared in the air. Based on that line, the root that was cut in half spewed black blood. But Ruon, as if he hadn’t started yet, swung his sword at an incredible speed with both hands. The root that was swept away by the storm-like attack lost its shape and tore apart.

Puff-!

Then, the ground behind him bulged up and another root flew in to aim at the back of his head.

But without even looking, Ruon turned his head and avoided it, then hooked the root between his left armpit and squeezed it hard. In that state, he stretched his legs forward.

Squeak-ee-ak!

The root that stretched like a rubber band reached the breaking point and tore apart little by little, then made a popping sound and broke off completely. Only then did Ruon loosen his arm and drop the limp flesh, then chop it down with his sword and looked around.

The party had struggled at first, overwhelmed by the enemy’s presence and the sudden ambush. But they had regained their composure and fought back fiercely.

The situation calmed down temporarily after the last of the roots that had been hit by the blood stream from Amela’s palm shattered into pieces.

But it was only for a moment.

“Look! Something is falling!”

Kyle shouted as he looked up at the sky. The fruits that had been hanging on the giant tree branches that faintly shone through the fog began to free fall towards the ground.

Thud- They smashed the ground and revealed that they were not ordinary fruits like the roots. The creatures that stretched out their limbs that had been curled up were twisted demons.

Kya-ah-ah-ah!

The ones that had no eyes or nose, only a long slit mouth that filled their face, screamed and charged at the party. The party clenched their teeth and gripped their weapons tightly.

Then, they heard Beolun’s voice in their ears.

“Foolish ones. Bow down. I am the legion.”