Chapter 12

Rebirth (2)

The mountain range of nature was vast and expansive.

As we crossed the ridges and entered a region where the undergrowth was thick, I realized that bringing a guide was indeed the best decision. Finding a way in such a complex place would have been impossible.

If I had relied solely on memory, I would have lost my way back before even finding the place where the secrets were hidden.

'This is going to be harder than I thought to find the Hidden Pieces.'

Indeed, there is no easy task in this world.

After a brief moment of contemplation, I took my eyes off the flowing stream and stood up.

"Let's keep going."

"Yes, my lord."

Kan, who had been surveying the surrounding ground, took the lead again. Ashe and I followed behind.

While Ashe, of course, and Kan were not of low level, I was not so fortunate. Every time my stamina ran out, I had to pretend to admire the scenery to catch my breath.

If I were to show my exhausted, panting state, my authority as a lord would plummet. It was a truly pitiful struggle.

'If only this body were just a bit above average...'

Still, I decided to stop complaining since I wasn't the only one suffering.

Kan, who had been tense from the start, seemed to be under considerable pressure by my presence. However, this was a significant improvement from when we first set out.

I could understand. Who would have imagined that a lord would need a guide in the middle of their adventurer life?

"How far into the mountain range have you gone?"

I suddenly became curious and asked Kan.

I remembered that the deeper parts of the Luthus Mountains were home to quite powerful monsters.

"I haven't gone very deep. There are more ferocious monsters than I expected, making it a dangerous place for me."

"What kind of monsters have you encountered?"

"The most memorable one was a giant bear. It wasn't an ordinary bear; it had sharp, spiky protrusions all over its body..."

He was talking about a Spike Bear.

As I asked more questions, Kan seemed to relax and began to talk more freely. He seemed to be a talkative person by nature.

"And recently, there's a ridiculous rumor going around. An adventurer claimed to have seen an incredibly large snake in the northern mountains."

A giant snake?

If it's the northern mountains, that's here.

"Someone said that if such a monster were to come down to the city, no one could stop it, and it would turn everything into a wasteland in an instant. They were so terrified that they demanded the Grand Duchy to send reinforcements."

"So what happened?"

"The mayor listened and plans to form an investigation team in conjunction with the Adventurer's Guild, but most people don't believe it. They say the snake is larger than the city walls, which is absurd. The Luthus Mountains aren't a demon realm; such a monster shouldn't exist."

A snake larger than the walls of Jenix City.

A list of snake-like monsters flashed through my mind.

Only one monster came to mind that matched the description Kan gave.

'...Bervago?'

That monster is a named boss in the demon realm, not in these green mountains.

I thought it might be an exaggeration and considered other possibilities. Maybe it's just a regular Giant Snake?

'Has a Giant Snake appeared in the Luthus Mountains before?'

Well, in reality, monsters don't always appear in fixed regions.

Giant Snakes live in forest areas, so it wouldn't be strange for one to wander here.

A fully grown one is at least level 50, making it a disaster-level monster by normal standards.

But even if we encountered it, I didn't think it would be a problem.

We had Ashe, who was a far more formidable monster.

And in this vast mountain range, the chances of encountering it were slim...

Rustle.

At that moment, the nearby undergrowth rustled, and something appeared.

【Lv.22】

A wolf.

It was twice the size of an ordinary wolf, and at the end of its long tail was a thick, sharp object like a flail. A Flail Wolf.

Kan tensed and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The creature, with its eyes fixed on us, was circling and growling lowly. Suddenly, it lunged at us.

Swoosh!

A flash of blue light split the creature in half.

Spraying blood. The cleanly bisected meat fell to the ground with a loud thud.

I blinked and looked at the corpse, then turned my gaze to the side.

Ashe, with a blank expression, had already sheathed her sword.

Kan, half in shock, alternated his gaze between the bisected corpse and Ashe.

I pretended to be nonchalant.

"Let's go."

"Ah, yes..."

Indeed, there was no need to worry about monsters.

We had a formidable and reliable guard with us.

***

The deeper we went into the mountains, the more frequently we encountered monsters.

We met various beasts, including the Spike Bear Kan had mentioned, and even a powerful Troll.

There were no night attacks, but during breakfast, giant bird-like creatures suddenly flew in from somewhere.

Grrr.

Not long after we resumed our journey, we were surrounded by a herd of boars.

These weren't ordinary animals; they were Armored Boars, monsters with armor-like bodies. But...

Swish!

Ashe swung her sword, and a massive horizontal blade of energy cut through them all in one strike. The forest was stained with blood.

She was performing her role as a guard perfectly.

None of the monsters we encountered on the way had even come within five meters of me.

I asked Kan.

"Do you often encounter monsters this frequently when you climb the mountains?"

"Not this often. Usually, we avoid them by being cautious and thorough..."

Kan explained that if they detected any ominous signs, they would retreat or change direction.

In other words, we were now going straight ahead, regardless of any signs. There was no reason to be cautious, so it would be a waste of time.

As we continued, the sun rose high in the sky, and we reached the base of a cliff.

It was a sheer cliff, easily several dozen meters high. Kan said something absurd.

"If we climb up here and move a little further, we'll arrive."

What?

I looked at him, and he gave an awkward smile.

"Ah, I'm fine. The terrain has many footholds, and I've climbed this height before, so I'm used to it."

"..."

No, I'm the one who's not fine.

I looked up at the vast height.

I had momentarily forgotten because he made it sound so trivial.

For the superhumans in this world, climbing a cliff with their bare hands is no big deal.

They see it as a path to climb, not an obstacle.

"Is this the only way?"

"Perhaps there are other paths, but they would take much longer. I'll go up first."

Kan said this and started moving.

He didn't seem to imagine that I couldn't climb this height.

'Maybe I should have brought a mage...'

Kan began to climb the cliff like a lizard on the wall.

I watched him in dismay and then turned to Ashe.

...There's no other way.

"Ashe."

"Yes."

"Carry me up."

"...Yes?"

Ashe looked at me with a doubtful expression, as if questioning whether she had heard correctly.

I said as confidently as I could.

"Carry me up."

"..."

There was a moment of silence.

She had a complex look on her face, trying to understand the purpose of my command, but she eventually offered her back.

Boom!

And the climb was over in an instant.

With a single step, she shot up like an explosion, and without touching the wall, she reached the top of the cliff.

It was a thrilling and dizzying speed, far beyond any amusement park ride, but I managed to suppress my scream.

'...Ouch.'

I don't want to do that again.

I calmed my tingling aftereffects and got off Ashe's back.

Looking down, Kan was about a third of the way up and would soon reach the top.

If Ashe went down again, Kan could easily climb up, but since he was doing well, I decided to wait.

"..."

At that moment, Ashe stared intently at something.

I reflexively looked in the direction of her gaze but saw nothing.

Suddenly, a pungent smell hit my nose.

'Blood...?'

It was a strong scent, easily detectable even by me.

Kan, who had just climbed up, also seemed to notice the smell and looked around, brushing off the dirt from his clothes. He then said casually.

"There seems to be a monster's corpse nearby."

We continued moving.

The deeper we went into the forest, the stronger the smell of blood became. We were getting closer to the source.

When we reached a certain point, the scene before us left us speechless.

"..."

The corpse was that of a giant snake.

A gray-skinned snake, with a head as large as a human body. It was undoubtedly a Giant Snake.

What was noticeable was that it was dead.

Its body was not just cut in half... the middle section was completely missing, as if it had been ripped out by something much larger.

It looked like it had been eaten in one bite by something far more massive.

"Is this... the one from the rumor...?"

Kan muttered.

The giant snake sighted in the northern mountains.

But whether this was the one from the rumor was irrelevant. It was dead.

'...What could have done this?'

I looked around.

The nearby ground was desolate, and trees were knocked down, creating a strange landscape.

Kan also seemed to realize the situation, his face turning pale. Ashe was already on guard.

Squish.

A faint sound echoed in my ears.

A disturbing sound that triggered a primal fear, accompanied by a vibration in the ground.

The dense undergrowth on one side collapsed, and something massive approached us. Yet, no one could move.

Rumble.

Eventually, an overwhelming mass rose, casting a shadow over the ground.

Ashe and Kan, with their minds blank, stared at 'it'.

【Lv.90】

...It was a massive, black snake.

A snake so large that the dead one in front of us looked like a newborn in comparison. It could easily be mistaken for a dragon.

I knew exactly what it was.

'Bervago...'

One of the named bosses in the demon realm.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard about a giant snake, but I never thought it would be here.

'Why is it here?'

The answer came immediately.

This was a point in the past.

If it hadn't yet established its territory in the demon realm, it could be anywhere.

So... it's not impossible, but I never imagined the giant snake would be this one.

Squish.

The massive, slit pupils scanned me and the other two.

It seemed to be deciding which prey to taste first.

Kan looked like he was about to faint, and Ashe wasn't much better.

She was pale, and her hand trembled on the hilt of her sword. Like a frog in front of a snake.

'Is this... fear?'

A different, unpleasant sensation from the killing intent I had felt before.

Some monsters have the ability to induce extreme fear and panic in weaker targets, a kind of fear ability. Bervago was one of them.

Even Ashe, despite her strength, was significantly affected by the fear from a much higher-level opponent.

In a battle, there was no chance of winning, and even fleeing was impossible.

I was unaffected by the fear due to the spirit of a lord.

Still, the situation was dire.

How could my luck be this bad?

I had braced myself for some danger, but not this soon. It was almost laughable.

'...If I can just touch it.'

I knew that to survive this, I had to do something.

Just one touch would be enough.

If I was crushed by that massive body before I could activate my skill, it would be over, but I had no choice but to risk it.

I slowly took a step towards it.

***

An overwhelmingly large size.

It was absurd that we hadn't even sensed its presence despite being so close.

Ashe realized for the first time that such a massive creature existed in the world.

She instinctively knew that even with all her strength, she could never stand against this monster.

No, she couldn't even fight now.

'My body... can't move...'

Just being in its presence made it hard to breathe, and even moving a finger was difficult.

She gritted her teeth, trying to resist the fear. She struggled to maintain her resolve.

But she still couldn't even draw her sword.

The fear seeping into her from the depths of her being was impossible to shake off.

All she could do was feel despair and helplessness, and desperately try to gather her mana to break free.

Then.

Thud.

The sound of footsteps broke the silence.

Her eyes widened.

The 7th Lord was slowly approaching the monster.

The intense pressure seemed to have no effect on him, and he walked as if on a leisurely stroll.

The monster tilted its head, slowly lowering it.

The slight movement created a wind pressure and made the ground shake.

It seemed curious about why this prey could move so freely.

Within arm's reach.

The 7th Lord, standing in front of the monster, looked as if he would be sucked in by a single breath.

He slowly extended his hand.

To Ashe, it was a calm gesture, devoid of any malice or intent. And the moment his fingertips touched the monster...

He smiled, as if the monster was insignificant, and said softly.

"Did you see me as your prey?"

...Boom!!

A massive tremor, and the monster's massive body collapsed.