The Blizzard and the Red Moon

Chapter 21

I could already see a few bruises swelling on the illusionist's forehead. He was tending to his wounds when I clapped sharply to get his attention. He winced as if expecting another beating. "I asked you a question!" I said coldly.

He looked around at the three of us before sighing. It is evident that he had accepted his situation and began talking with a resigned tone, "The Duke ran into the throne room. So did Eris and his fiancée Jessica followed by a dozen guards. They took refuge behind a powerful enchantment, guarding the throne room. But I expect the others would have broken it down by now."

"Tell me about them, the others who came with you," I said with authority. The illusionist crumpled under my glare, his face pale with fear. I cracked my knuckles, and he flinched.

"There were ten of us in total," he spoke frantically. "F-Five of us, including myself, were stationed to guard the castle… but you've already defeated them. The other five stayed behind at the throne room. They had to break down the enchantment and capture the Duke."

"And you don't know if they've gotten through the enchantment yet?" Ghis pressed.

The illusionist hesitated. "No. But one of our most powerful mages, a high-ranking member of the Council is here. It won't take him long to get to the Duke."

I sighed, rubbing my temple. "Tell me about the remaining five. What sort of magic do they use?"

"Three of them are nothing special honestly," the illusionist licked his lips. "But like I said, one of them is a high-ranking member and amongst the strongest Council mages, The Blizzard. He uses very powerful ice magic."

"That makes four. You're missing one," Laine pointed out as if showing off that he could count.

The illusionist rubbed his head again, trying to soothe his bruises. "The last one is even more dangerous. He's the right-hand man of the Council's Master, an extremely capable swordsman called the Red Moon. Usually, he sticks by the master's side, guarding him," he looked right at me before continuing. But he's come here just for you."

"Me? What does this guy want with me?" I frowned.

The illusionist hesitated before answering, "because you took out his disciple, the Crimson Fang."

"Ah. Him," I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Her," Laine corrected me. "The mercenary you knocked out with my hard-won valuables."

"Oh."

Suddenly, memories of that fight rushed through my mind. She had attempted to attack Eris while we rescuing Ghis' father from the dungeons. She had seemed capable, but a vase had been enough to take her down.

"Well. If the Red Moon is anything like his disciple, he'll be easy to defeat."

"Should I go find a vase?" Laine joked.

Ghis spoke up. "We can't waste any more time. We need to reach the Duke. There's a tunnel leading directly to the throne room," Ghis continued. "Erwin told me about it. We can use it to sneak in."

"Let's split up, then. You and Laine take the tunnel and get the Duke out while I create a distraction by fighting off the Council."

Laine snorted. "You sure you can find your way to the throne room by yourself?"

I grinned. "I have a guide."

I gestured at the illusionist, who looked even more shaken. "Oh no. No, no, no—"

I grabbed him by the collar and started walking. "Lead the way."

The castle was eerily quiet as we walked through the corridors. We turned a corner and came upon a bizarre scene. The hallway ahead was covered in snow and frost, with the walls lined by eerily lifelike ice sculptures.

"The Blizzard's handiwork, no doubt," the illusionist chuckled nervously.

I stepped closer, examining one of the sculptures, and the cold realization hit me. These weren't just ice statues. They were frozen soldiers, their expressions locked in permanent terror. The illusionist hadn't been lying about how powerful the Blizzard was.

"You still sure you want to fight him?" the illusionist muttered.

I ignored him and began thinking about what I could do when I faced the Blizzard.

I considered summoning fire magic, but my past experiences with magic were… unpredictable at best, so I shrugged off the thought.

'Whatever. I'll figure it out when the time comes,' I thought to myself.

The deeper we went, the thicker the snow became. The once-grand hallway was reduced to an icy wasteland, the snow crunching under my boots as I trudged forward. I was starting to feel colder, and my breath began to come out as a white mist.

The illusionist shivered violently beside me, his teeth chattering. I couldn't tell if it was the cold or fear. I was tempted to ask him to get a grip but figured he was already miserable enough. At last, we reached the throne room. The massive wooden doors loomed before us, their surface slashed and battered as if by a giant blade. At their base, three veiled men lay unconscious.

"I suppose the enchantment got them," the illusionist murmured. "It probably had some counter-measures that launched when it was broken."

"I don't suppose any of these three is the Blizzard or the Red Moon," I said, hoping I had gotten a lucky break.

"Afraid not."

I patted him on the shoulder. "Well. Thanks for the help anyway. This is where we part ways."

The poor guy had just started to smile before I knocked him out cold. I put his body gently on the snow and stepped inside.

Inside, the air was just as frigid as the hallways. More frozen soldiers stood scattered throughout the room, their weapons useless in their frozen grasp. At the far end, standing on the raised platform, were Jessica, Eris, and a proud-looking man who I expected was the Duke.

The Duke shielded Jessica with his body. Eris stood in front of them, sword in hand, ready for a fight. I sighed as I took in the scene. "It would've been better if Eris had been chosen as the hero instead of me," I thought bitterly.

Shaking off the thought, I turned my attention to the two men standing below the throne, facing Eris. One was slightly chubby, dressed in the same robes the other Councilors, but with a thick scarf wrapped around his neck. The other was lean and taller, with two swords hanging from his hips.

As I walked closer, both of them turned to face me. The fat man wore no mask and was missing his right eye. The tall one was wearing a smooth silver mask, featureless except for a single slit where his right eye should've been.

"You must be Sam, the Loony Lord," the fat man said, his eye glinting with amusement. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Blizzard. And my friend here is the Red Moon."

The Red Moon said nothing, only tilting his head slightly as if sizing me up. I sighed, "Aren't you embarrassed calling yourself that?"

The Blizzard grinned. "You should hear what they call my other colleagues."

I shrugged. "None of the others I defeated gave me a name." I hoped the casual remark would shake him and make him rethink this whole thing. I could avoid another exhausting fight.

But his grin only widened. "That's because they were mere foot soldiers. I, however, am one of the Council's high-ranking members. I know our true purpose. Tell me; do you really understand why we want this Dukedom?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Money and power!"

The Blizzard smirked, his lone eye glinting maliciously. "Do you really think this is just about power?" he asked, voice thick with amusement. I folded my arms. "Yeah. That's usually how these things go. Plus, I heard it straight from your lackey, the one playing the role of the Duke's Advisor."

He shook his head. "That's what we told the simpletons, the low-ranking members. Sure, it'd be nice to have a Duchy under our control, but there are plenty more that would be easier to take over. No, there's something here in this Duchy which is far more valuable than power. Something that your little noble friends don't even realize they're sitting on."

"And what would that be?" I raised an eyebrow.

The Blizzard chuckled. I could tell he was enjoying being vague and secretive.

I actually didn't care and was trying to buy time until Ghis and Laine came to escort the Duke away.

"Finally taking us seriously, are you?"

"Not really," I deadpanned.

His smirk widened. "No curiosity at all?"

I shrugged. "Not my problem. I don't care."

His expression darkened slightly. "Sooner or later, you'll understand why we're really here. And by then, it might be too late."

I let out a dramatic yawn. "Yeah, yeah. If I had a silver coin for every time someone warned me about things I didn't care about, I'd be rich."

The Blizzard clasped his hands behind his back like a teacher about to give a lecture. "While my friend here would prefer to carve you apart, I see value in you. Join us, Sam. You have power. Serve the Council, and you can be part of something greater. Or—" his grin grew wider, "—die here like a fool."

I rolled my shoulders, already bored of this speech. "Yeah, see, I just don't have the motivation to help take over the world. I'm only here to help my friends."

The Blizzard let out an exaggerated sigh. "A shame." He lifted his hand, and the temperature in the room plummeted. "I suppose I'll have to turn you into an ice sculpture and add you to my collection."

A swirling vortex of wind and snow began gathering around him. A small hurricane formed in his hands before he hurled it at me. Instantly, the entire throne room became a swirling blizzard, with me at its center.

The cold bit deep into my skin. My fingers began to go numb, and I instinctively rubbed my hands together to keep warm.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the storm dissipated.

I stood there, shivering but otherwise completely unharmed.

The Blizzard narrowed his eyes. "It seems I underestimated you. No matter, the next spell will be your end."

Yeah, no thanks. I wasn't about to sit around and let him try again.

I focused on my magic, willing warmth to come to me. A familiar object materialized in my hands.

An electric heater.

I sighed. "There isn't even electricity in this world, man."

Wordlessly, I grabbed the heater and hurled it at the Blizzard before he could cast another spell.

The Red Moon moved instantly, his blade flashing as he cut the heater cleanly in two. The halves went flying across the room.

Before I could even process it, two figures shot out from behind the throne: Ghis and Laine. Both of them caught one of the falling halves mid-air and, in perfect sync, slammed them into the back of the Blizzard's head.

The mage let out a strangled yelp and crumpled to the ground.

I blinked. "Huh."

I turned my attention to the Red Moon, who remained eerily still. His masked gaze flicked to the Blizzard, then to Ghis and Laine, and finally back to me.

Then, without hesitation, he unsheathed his sword, stepped forward… and stabbed the Blizzard straight through the heart.

The Blizzard gasped with blood spilling from his mouth. "Why?" he choked.

The Red Moon's voice was devoid of emotion. "You have your orders. And I have mine. Failures are not tolerated."

He withdrew his sword, and the Blizzard began bleeding all over the snowy floor.

I tensed as the Red Moon turned to me. For a moment, I thought he was about to attack.

Instead, he simply walked by me, whispering, "I'll see you soon."

With that, he left the throne room.

I exhaled slowly, shaking my head. "What the hell was that about?"

Ignoring the fallen Blizzard, I made my way up to the throne.

Jessica's eyes widened as she finally got a good look at me. Her voice was hesitant, uncertain. "He called you the Loony Lord. Is it really you? The mage from the caravan!"

I realized that this was the first time she was seeing my real face. Before this, I had been under a disguise, thanks to Ghis' magic.

I ignored her; I had bigger things on my mind.

I turned to the Duke, who seemed oddly composed despite being rescued. "So," I said, stuffing my hands into my pockets. "Can I ask why you made a bounty poster for me?"