CHAPTER 121

When did it all begin?

The Blood Wolf King couldn't remember when exactly he had started cultivating.

He had simply been taken in by a hermit when he was wandering as an orphan after losing his parents, so it was only natural that he followed this path.

However...

As his power accumulated, a desire for the mortal world began to grow in a corner of the Blood Wolf King's heart.

A desire that made him wonder: Couldn't he reign as a 'king' somewhere with this power?

Having lived his entire life in the mountains, luxuries always felt like something from a distant world.

'I want to live in a huge mansion like that.'

'I want to have many servants and live lavishly.'

'I want to wield enormous power.'

And so, he rose up. He gathered forces who admired his strength and sought to swallow up the Empire.

But soon, he had to admit that he had underestimated the world.

In the midst of his rising power, a man stood in his way.

–So, you're the one causing trouble in the Black Snowfield lately?

The man had rare golden hair that seemed to blaze like fire, and cold green eyes.

Melvinger.

That's how the man introduced himself.

–Sorry, but you'll have to turn back. The wall here is something we made as a final line of defense. We'd like to keep everything this side of it as quiet as possible.

Melvinger spoke, but the Blood Wolf King didn't listen to a word.

He was simply furious at the fact that an impudent human was blocking his path.

At the same time, part of him was curious about this field of "magic" that humans liked to use. He wanted to crush this human with his carefully cultivated taoist magic to prove his greatness.

And then... he was defeated.

Utterly.

The Blood Wolf King was forced to confront the fact that all the taoist magic he had cultivated for centuries were useless. What good was this power if he could lose to a mere human who wouldn't even live a hundred years?

But the most shocking event came later.

Tiger King Yul.

The great beast king who once unified the Black Snowfield appeared and forced the Blood Wolf King to kneel.

–Why? Why am I not enough? How can I... how can I be crushed so completely by such mortals? Fine. If that's the way it is, then I will gain power. Power that no one can match!

From then on...

The Blood Wolf King abandoned the taoist magic he had honed and obsessively pursued black magic.

The taoist magic became dark sorcery, and the taoist power turned into spirit power. The path he had been cautious of for so long was now one he walked willingly, stepping into the domain of demons.

Non-human.

In other words, he had become a demon.

But since his power was still incomplete, he chose to hide. That was why he bowed his head and took shelter under the shadow of the Tiger King Yul. He became the King of Fury Tribe and quietly laid out his plans.

And four hundred years passed.

The Blood Wolf King believed that now, no one could stand in his way.

After all, it was no longer an era of brilliant geniuses like the Tiger King Yul or Melvinger.

However...

–Sorry, but you'll have to turn back.

Once again, the Blood Wolf King was stopped.

This time, by a man who looked exactly like the one who had made him kneel four hundred years ago. And just like before, he called himself Melvinger.

As the Blood Wolf King returned to Fury, he reflected.

Yes, the timing had been wrong this time. I just need to be better prepared. Not only should I grow stronger, but I must also strengthen my subordinates. If needed, I'll even bring General Winter under my control.

If I use every card I have, I'll succeed. Perhaps I should even consider aligning with the demons, who I rejected last time.

So, he joined hands with Gregory, who had been waiting for an opportunity among the humans. Then, he waited for forty more years, rising in time for General Winter's unsealing.

This was his third uprising, one into which the Blood Wolf King poured everything he had...

–Wow, you're really ugly.

And yet, his third uprising was blocked.

By golden hair and green eyes Melvinger.

Melvinger, Melvinger, Melvinger…!

Because of those damned people, the Blood Wolf King had been defeated again and again.

Was there really nothing he could do?

What made it worse this time was how unfair it felt compared to the first and second uprisings.

During the first and second, at least he had been able to use the power he had gained. But this time, he was destroyed alongside General Winter.

And his body had been shattered after his tail was severed.

That fact alone…

It filled him with overwhelming regret and bitterness.

"Do you feel wronged?"

Just then, in the fading consciousness of the Blood Wolf King, a voice echoed.

It was impossible to tell who it belonged to. It felt like his own inner voice, but also like the whisper of some devilish presence by his ear.

No, it was something even more fundamental.

The voice felt strangely familiar.

It was the same voice he had heard when Andrew and Gregory's demons had come to him, proposing an alliance. The ominous voice they claimed was from their 'god.'

"If you feel wronged, build it up. Let it fester and grow."

"Corrupt it, and corrupt it again."

"Become a greater demon."

"If you do, a new path will open. What do you say? You're going to die anyway. Why not become a stronger demon?"

The voice sounded gleeful, as if it had found a new toy.

The Blood Wolf King, however, knew exactly what answer he would give.

Thud!

And with that, his consciousness was abruptly cut off.

***

[Game of tag? What do you mean?]

The God of Camellias tilted her head in confusion at the riddle-like words Elric had tossed at General Winter.

She simply couldn't understand.

But Elric only smiled silently, moving closer to General Winter.

Kiaaak!

Whoooosh!

The closer he got, the more General Winter let out eerie cries, summoning blizzards and freezing winds to block him.

Yet none of it could hinder Elric, as all of the attacks were absorbed by the Ice Crystal and the Seal of the Winter Wind.

『You've seen something, haven't you?』

Mephistopheles, who had been quietly observing Elric's strange behavior, let out a knowing laugh.

After all, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

Hadn't Elric acted like this the first time he encountered the Ice Mountain King's arrangements?

Whenever Elric returned from places Mephistopheles couldn't see, it was always as if he had 'seen something.'

Later, Elric explained that he had 'understood' the Ice Mountain King by glimpsing her achievements.

So Mephistopheles guessed that this time was similar.

Elric must have seen not only things related to the God of Camellias in the Seal of the Winter Wind, but also events tied to General Winter.

And indeed, Elric had glimpsed fragments of what happened after the God of Camellias's death in the Winter Palace.

–Winter should remain winter, shouldn't it?

After the God of Camellias had passed, the demon god had breathed life into her discarded skin, transforming it into the enigmatic being known as General Winter, who began wandering down to the world.

At first, General Winter had no malice toward the living. Newly born, the world was still full of curiosity for her.

The problem was that this curiosity didn't last long.

To General Winter, the world quickly revealed itself to be a place filled with nothing but malice.

–What… what is that monster?

–It's freezing! It's too cold, even my fur is freezing over.

–Get out! Don't come near here!

The General Winter only wanted to play.

She wanted to blend in with the children of the beastmen playing in the Black Snowfield. She wanted to laugh, shout, and eat with them.

She wanted to hunt with the monsters, to leap between trees, and to bathe in the rivers.

But no one wanted to play with her.

The beastmen tried to drive her away because their crops would freeze wherever she went. The monsters fled in fear whenever she approached. The trees were consumed by darkness, and the rivers froze solid.

The monsters that followed General Winter were not of her making.

She had only approached them, hoping to become friends, but had unintentionally frozen them solid.

The General Winter, who had no parents or companions, had no idea how to approach people, how to make friends. Her clumsiness ruined everything.

Thus, General Winter came to believe that the world was filled with malice toward her. And if they treated her that way, she decided she would do the same to them.

That was why General Winter became a walking disaster, spreading winter wherever she went.

However...

'Deep down, she still longs for something.'

That was the most important thing.

The General Winter's desires weren't grand.

Game of tag.

All she wanted was to try the game she had seen the children of the beastmen play when she first came down to the mortal realm.

It looked... so much fun.

So...

Elric decided to release General Winter and bring her to Fury, disguising everything that happened as a game of tag.

"You're the tagger. I'm the one moving. But guess what? Time's up."

Kiaaak?

The General Winter, who had been perplexed by Elric's strange words, tilted her head in confusion.

The human who had been mocking her suddenly saying such strange things must have seemed odd.

Her head, which resembled a ragged doll, moved in an eerie manner.

But Elric paid it no mind and continued speaking.

"So now I'm the tagger. What do you say?"

Kiaaak!

General Winter raised her head high in shock.

Whoosh!

Elric really began chasing after her.

General Winter turned and fled.

To avoid being caught by the tagger.

Kiaaak!

***

Their game of tag continued for a long time across the Black Snowfield.

They took turns as the tagger, chasing each other.

In the process, countless blizzards and waves of darkness raged, but Elric deliberately guided General Winter toward uninhabited areas or cities related to Fury.

And the more they played, the more General Winter was whittled away.

The Ice Crystal constantly absorbed the freezing winds she emitted. But General Winter didn't seem to mind at all.

In fact, she appeared to be enjoying herself, now able to focus entirely on the game without any distractions.

[...Hide-and-seek, really?]

The God of Camellias muttered in disbelief as she watched Elric and General Winter's strange game.

Who could have guessed that such a simple solution could protect the garden and the shrine of flowers she had worked so hard to preserve?

However...

The God of Camellias realized that this solution made perfect sense.

'I was lonely, too.'

After sending off her people and servants, the God of Camellias had been left alone, guarding the Winter Palace.

To ease her loneliness, she had nurtured the camellia trees.

'But while I still had my garden, General Winter was left with nothing.'

A discarded remnant is always imbued with the thoughts and emotions of the one who left it behind. In this case, General Winter had inherited the God of Camellias's loneliness.

A cold, bitter loneliness, like winter.

And now...

Elric had become a 'friend,' helping to alleviate the loneliness that had built up in General Winter's heart.

Tss, tss, tss—

For the first time, General Winter's lips, which had always been pressed into a tight line, began to curl into a 'V' shape.

As the loneliness dissipated, so did General Winter's coldness.

Finally, Elric reached the true body of General Winter, who no longer radiated bitter cold, but had become warm like spring.

Tap!

The tagger's hand lightly tapped General Winter's shoulder.

"Got you."

And...

Tss, tss, tss—

The General Winter, now fully smiling, slowly crumbled away and was absorbed into the Ice Crystal.

[T/L: I will try my best to regularly upload the chapters of this novel. Thank you for your patience readers.]

[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]