Chapter 84

This is an alternate version.

After parting ways with Riz and the others, Zangyo went to the monster stable to pick up Yuki and Azurona.

"---Clear the way!"

A flustered gatekeeper forcibly pushed the people around the gate, including Zangyo, to the side.

Confused, the people complied, and as the space in front of the gate opened up, an armored magic beast carriage pulled by two scale horses, which looked like a cross between a horse and a lizard, slowly moved forward.

The scale horses, which combined the speed of the combat horses used by cavalry and the endurance and defense of the armor lizards used for long-distance travel, were highly valued for their rarity and capabilities. During wartime, commanders would ride them, and in peacetime, they were used for royal parades and the transportation of government officials.

The fierce-looking scale horses snorted and slowly moved through the gate.

No one showed their face from the armored magic beast carriage, nor did they show any sign of stopping the scale horses.

The gatekeeper stood stiffly, tense.

On the side of the imposing armored magic beast carriage, a crest with a pair of gauntlets crossed was engraved, and the people around, tilting their heads, whispered to each other, "Is it some important person?"

Zangyo, listening to these whispers, lowered his head and waited for the armored magic beast carriage to pass.

The armored magic beast carriage slowly disappeared into the city of Maranova.

Sighs of relief escaped from the gatekeepers, merchants, and citizens present, and Zangyo, exhaling in the same way, finally left the city.

Outside the city, snowflakes fluttered in the cold wind.

Snow rarely accumulated in this area.

In the northern regions, beyond the small countries, in the Kingdom of Albaum and the United Kingdom of Elrodania, snow would start falling as early as the first day of the White Moon and accumulate in some places.

However, in this area, even if it snowed, it would only accumulate a few centimeters, and occasionally, a heavy snowfall called the "Sigh of the Ice Spirit" would occur, but the snow would melt within a few days.

Zangyo, exhaling a white breath, walked away from the usual road where magic beast carriages and caravans passed, heading towards the direction of Dragon Mountain, where no one was to be seen.

Thinking about whether to return to Dragon Mountain or wander around while hunting, Zangyo was about to speak to Yuki when,

"---Buh!"

His mouth was covered by Azurona's tail.

Startled, Zangyo turned his eyes to see Yuki's small ears moving busily.

Zangyo immediately braced himself.

But---

A wooden stake suddenly protruded from the ground without a sound.

Zangyo hurriedly rolled to avoid it, and Yuki leaped back with ease.

However, there was no place to run. Ten attackers, dressed like hunters with their faces covered, surrounded Zangyo and Yuki.

"Guah, Gruah!?"

Yuki's unusual cry, filled with anxiety, made Zangyo glance over as he got up.

Yuki's claws were extended forward, as if stopped by an invisible wall.

It seemed that Yuki could not move any further, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.

The soft yet hard-to-describe sensation made Yuki immediately try to leap back, but something prevented even that.

It was as if Yuki was trapped in an invisible cage, which only increased her anxiety.

The attackers had approached without any detectable presence.

Before Zangyo could realize it, he was completely immobilized by an unknown force.

Yuki, recalling the well-planned tactics of a group led by giants she had seen as a cub, was more anxious than ever.

They would gradually corner their opponent with movements as coordinated as a pack of wolves, and then deliver a powerful blow. Individually, they might not be much, but as a group, they were a formidable monster far more powerful than a pack of wolves.

Yuki was more anxious than ever.

"…Autonomous magic, perhaps."

Zangyo, still confused by the sudden attack, could think of nothing else that could immobilize Yuki.

Only autonomous magic, which could temporarily 'deceive' or 'twist' the rules of the world, could do such a thing. Even magic beasts, which were sensitive to the rules of the world, found it difficult to detect autonomous magic that deceived those rules.

Before the discovery of elemental magic, it could be said that the human race was able to gradually develop the Mid Continent thanks to autonomous magic.

Even if the user of autonomous magic was inexperienced, it was possible to detect their presence.

However, if the user could suppress their presence and even prevent the detection of elemental magic, it would be difficult for even Yuki to detect the already hard-to-detect autonomous magic.

Most autonomous magic is still kept secret, and the amount of magic power required to use it is considerable.

It was unlikely that a hunter in this area would have obtained and used it for hunting.

If there were autonomous magic that could immobilize a magic beast like Yuki, other hunters would likely use it as well, and even if Zangyo was not well-informed, he would have heard about it. However, he had never heard such a story. It was probably either newly developed or had been kept secret until now.

The fact that the people in front of him, who looked like hunters, were not what they seemed was clear from this alone.

Who were they?

But there was no time to think about it.

Zangyo immediately formed a sphere of ice and earth. He also formed a sphere of ice and earth around Yuki, covering the invisible barrier.

He took out his magic book and channeled magic power into the 'Twin Shields of the Flying Dragon,' forming a shadow magic circle inside the sphere and beginning the incantation of a 'Barrier.' But---

A line of fire shot out, and the snowflakes that danced in the air instantly evaporated.

Yuki, who was immobilized, was ignored, and the lines of fire from all sides converged on the sphere of ice and earth.

The ice walls evaporated like the snowflakes, and the earth walls turned red-hot and were penetrated.

The lines of fire did not penetrate the magic barrier of the life spirit magic, which was the last line of defense, but Zangyo interrupted his incantation, repairing the ice and forming ice walls on the inside of the sphere to cool the earth walls.

More lines of fire shot out.

The ice melted and was repaired, melted and repaired again.

It was like constantly letting magic power flow to the spirits, leaving no time for incantation.

The 'Flame Line' of fire spirit magic, which was used when Yuki's parents were hunted. It was an intermediate-level fire spirit magic that condensed a basic intermediate-level fire spirit magic using a technique called 'Concentration.' This technique narrowed the range of an intermediate-level magic, which was usually activated in a small area, and dramatically increased its power.

Furthermore, they possessed fire spirit orbs.

A basic elemental magic required one unit of spirit, an intermediate-level elemental magic required ten units, and an advanced elemental magic required a hundred units. In this area, near the end of the White Moon, there were not enough fire spirits for four people to use the Concentration technique to activate an intermediate-level fire spirit magic.

With the exception of some cases, the fundamental nature of spirits was that the more water there was, the more water spirits there were, and the more fire spread, the more fire spirits there were. To fundamentally increase the number of fire spirits, which were few in number, they would set the surrounding area on fire and use the gathered fire spirits to cast intermediate or advanced magic, but the attackers showed no such signs.

Therefore, it was deduced that they, like Maxim, who hunted the parent magic beast, possessed fire spirit orbs.

The walls were built and destroyed, repaired and destroyed again.

Zangyo could feel his magic power decreasing.

The attackers changed their positions and continued to emit Flame Lines, so even when Zangyo scattered ice spears and earth stakes, he could not hit them.

Would this state continue, or would they use the autonomous magic that captured Yuki?

The attackers' attacks showed no sign of stopping, but Zangyo was at a loss.

Zangyo did not have the legs or skills to get close to the enemy while dodging the Flame Lines.

There was no way to break the current situation.

Zangyo still thought, trying to find a way.

But the attackers did not even give him that time.

A thunderclap like a scream pierced his eardrums, and a shock like being hit by a giant hammer momentarily knocked Zangyo unconscious.

The moment the sphere of ice and earth was weakened by the Flame Lines, a concentrated bolt of lightning from an intermediate-level thunder spirit magic called 'Thunder Hammer' destroyed Zangyo's sphere of ice and earth in one blow.

Moreover, the four people who were not emitting Flame Lines used the Concentration technique to cast 'Thunder Hammer' in unison.

Zangyo hastily thickened the earth wall above his head with as much magic power as he could, but he could not withstand the greatly enhanced Thunder Hammer, which was cast in unison and synchronized to increase the power of the elemental magic. Zangyo was hit by the lightning and the shockwave.

Immediately after, the attackers, like wolves targeting weakened prey, rushed into the dust cloud raised by the shockwave of the Thunder Hammer.

Even after the sphere of ice and earth was completely destroyed, Zangyo managed to withstand the lightning strike with the Twin Shields of the Flying Dragon and the magic barrier of life spirit magic. He caught a glimpse of the dust cloud shaking in front of him.

He hastily raised his shield.

A sword strike.

The heavy, reinforced sword strike made Zangyo's body stiffen for a moment, and he could not withstand the follow-up attack that came through the shaking dust cloud.

The follow-up attack hit his back and legs, and Zangyo fell forward on his knees.

Then, the toe of an iron boot was thrust into his throat.

The impact was muffled by the armor and face guard made of the leather of a dusky black horse, but it still choked Zangyo's throat.

From that point on, there was no time to channel magic power to the spirits or to chant spells due to the pain in his throat. All he could do was activate the physical barrier and healing magic of life spirit magic and curl up like a turtle.

For some reason, the attackers seemed to be attacking with the flat of their swords, and there were no fatal wounds. However, it was no different from being continuously hit by a block of iron.

Zangyo eventually lost consciousness.

After confirming that Zangyo's body was completely limp, the attackers stopped their attack.

One of the attackers pulled out a tag from Zangyo's neck, checked it, and put it back without taking it. After touching Zangyo's eyes and arms, he made Zangyo hold a piece of paper.

Without doing anything to the captured Yuki, the attackers left the scene.

While Zangyo was fighting, Yuki continued to attack the invisible cage that surrounded her.

She rammed her body, swung her claws, hit it with ice, and even used Azurona, who was on the ground, to attack with her ice-covered tail, but the invisible cage could not be destroyed.

"Kaa!!"

The ominous sound of thunder was heard.

When Yuki sensed that Zangyo had stopped moving, she attacked the cage with all her might.

The image of her parents dying in front of her flashed through her mind.

She thought she heard a short roar that echoed through the mountains.

In her anxiety, Yuki forgot to accurately sense Zangyo's presence and continued to attack the invisible cage.

Azurona watched Yuki, who was desperately attacking something. Though her heart was still underdeveloped, she realized for the first time her own powerlessness.

After Yuki's dozens of attacks, the cage disappeared.

The invisible cage vanished like mist, and Yuki, breaking through the sphere of ice and earth that surrounded her, picked up Azurona with her tail and rushed to Zangyo's side.

The mysterious attackers were gone.

Only the desolate land, the snowflakes that gently fell, and Zangyo, who lay on the ground, remained.

Azurona, who was on Yuki's tail, chirped worriedly.

Yuki, with Azurona still wrapped around her tail, coiled Zangyo around the middle of her tail and carried him on her back, and took off.

She could not go to Dragon Mountain.

She felt that it was dangerous to go to the hideout in Dragon Mountain, where she was sealed by a mysterious force and where there was a power like Akikawa's.

A place where they could be treated and where they would be treated kindly.

She recalled the face of a certain old woman and the itchy smell of herbs, and Yuki accelerated.

Yuki's full speed took them from Maranova to Donolbo, a two-day journey by magic beast carriage, in just a few hours.

By then, it was already dusk, the temperature had dropped further, and the amount of snow falling had increased.

There was no one following them.

If there were, Yuki would not have allowed it.

Ignoring the gate and even the gatekeepers, Yuki ran straight to Ilargi's house.

"Kwoooooon"

She roared in front of Ilargi's house.

A worried Ilargi, who had weak legs, was replaced by his daughter, Aise, who rushed out.

Aise was momentarily startled by Yuki's massive body but immediately understood the situation when she saw Zangyo on Yuki's back.

She signaled to the gatekeeper, who had finally made it down the hill, that there was no problem, and quickly led Yuki into the house.

"Hey, today you---put him down there."

Ilargi, sitting in a chair, called out to the familiar magic beast, but then noticed Zangyo on Yuki's back and pointed to the examination table in the corner of the room.

Yuki placed Zangyo on the examination table.

"I understand your concern, but leave the rest to me."

Ilargi examined Zangyo's face, checked his pupils, and took his pulse.

Meanwhile, Aise removed Zangyo's armor and shield.

Yuki's tail moved restlessly.

Azurona, who was also worried, watched, but her vision swayed with the movement of Yuki's tail.

Yuki, worried, had completely forgotten about Azurona on her tail.

"…Alright. Well, he's not going to die. Part of it is due to his toughness, but there are no fatal wounds. Still, he's been pretty badly beaten. There are more than one or two fractures.

This… is it the flat of a sword or something? It looks like… well, you can see it. Well, when you're a hunter, this kind of thing happens."

After Ilargi finished examining Zangyo, Yuki finally remembered Azurona on her tail.

Looking at the tip of her tail, Azurona had fainted.

The sound of a log popping woke Zangyo in the middle of the night.

The indescribable smell of herbs made him wonder where he was, but as he tried to sit up, his body screamed in pain.

"Guruu"

Yuki poked her head out, looking dejected. Azurona was clinging to her head.

It was the first time since the battle with the monster in the Aldoria Mountains that she had shown such a face.

Zangyo tried to move, casting a healing spell on himself to try to repair the damage quickly.

His bones creaked, and a sharp pain like needles piercing his fingertips shot through his body.

Zangyo immediately slowed down the healing.

Still, the dull pain was severe. His bones were broken, and it seemed that they were misaligned, causing pain as they returned to their original position.

Zangyo stretched out his less painful arm and tickled Yuki's soft throat.

"Are you okay?"

Yuki rubbed her face against Zangyo's hand.

"You seem to be fine. Is Azurona… okay? She can sleep if she wants."

Azurona, who was clinging to Yuki's head and looking sleepy, had been trying hard not to worry about Zangyo, but seeing him safe, she collapsed at his words. She was about to fall off Yuki's head but was supported by Yuki's tail.

"Anyway, where are we?"

Zangyo, stroking Yuki, looked around the room.

The rough walls with hanging herbs, the mortar and pestle, and the indescribable smell of herbs made him realize he was in Ilargi's house, and he thanked Yuki.

Yuki's tail extended and placed a piece of paper in Zangyo's hand.

Zangyo, feeling a