Escape again

The Wendigo race, by their very nature, are wild and antisocial beings. That's why the rumors about Wendigos in the world always describe them as solitary. But this isn't always a good thing. Like now, for instance.

Right now, it was highly likely that the entire village was hostile toward him—which meant 10,000 Wendigos.

Despite that, no one around him knew he was actually the wanted fugitive. The guards he had blinded in the arena cell struggled to spread the word, but in a society where everyone viewed each other as enemies, it wasn't easy. So much so that by the time the other arena guards were informed and search efforts were launched, Yuel had already vanished.

They were traveling on the back of a 120-meter-tall crystallized mammoth. Since this mammoth had just been acquired, no buildings had yet been erected on its back—except for the driver's cabin mounted on its head.

Yuel's plan was to build a sort of fortress. If they couldn't shelter everyone in buildings within a week, they would freeze to death... or they would have to move fast enough to outrun the Eternal Winter chasing behind them. Which... was extremely difficult.

But there had to be a way. The Wendigos must know something. He was finally alone with the clan now, so... it was time to talk.

He didn't need to make a grand motivational speech. After all, every member's mind had been brainwashed—so even if what he said didn't make sense, they would still believe it. Given that, there was no need to think hard about delivering a rational or well-structured speech. He could just say what he wanted.

Also... stepping in front of a crowd wasn't really his style. That could be handled by Lumen, the one who outwardly appeared to be the sect's leader. First, Yuel needed to hold a meeting with the sect's most knowledgeable and competent members. The only usable room was the driver's cabin, so that's where they gathered.

All his friends were dead, and he couldn't even do anything in their memory... Maybe the Wendigos had alcohol? He had never drunk before, but he'd heard as a kid that alcohol helped sad people forget.

Maybe it could help him too, huh? But now wasn't really the time.

Slowly, all the key members gathered and sat around the table. Yuel took the seat at the far end.

Seeing that Yuel had taken his seat, the others sat down too—a show of respect. That's how effective the brainwashing was. But for it to last long, he would eventually need to renew it. After all, a brainwashing that lasted forever required an immense amount of mana. Most who possessed such an ability started with a few months or years and gradually extended the duration.

Otherwise, they simply didn't have enough mana to maintain it. The same applied to Yuel. In just two weeks, the first person would break free of the brainwashing, and afterward, the number would increase with each passing day. That's why they needed a source of mana crystals.

"Greetings to you all. From now on, I'll refer to you as the Council. In that case, I'd like to ask the Council a few questions. Is there any known method to speed up this crystallized mammoth? A way that could boost its speed enough to get us beyond the Eternal Winter in a week or two?"

After Yuel spoke, not a single person questioned him. They only focused on answering his question. As the Council members thought, eventually someone spoke.

"Of course there is, but we can't acquire it right now. It's a rare species found in this region—one that loves magma. Though we call it magma, it's more like a kind of pig. That race inherits the magma Bloodscript, so we call them that. They're born at Stage 3. We can only find them at the border between the Inksworn Depths and the Frozen Hollows. But that border is now behind us."

The council fell silent... Now it was Yuel's turn to think.

After a lengthy internal discussion with Null (so long that some Wendigos began to think they'd angered their god), Yuel finally decided to speak.

"Then our only option right now is to fight. We'll attack and seize one of the hundreds—maybe thousands—of crystallized mammoths traveling through the snowstorms within the Frozen Hollows. There's no other way we'll survive this."

The entire Council was plunged into deep thought by Yuel's words.

...

After a long silence, one of the Wendigos spoke.

"My god, what you say is true. But if we attack one of them, they will officially declare us enemies. We're already considered enemies for abducting you, but for now, only the police know that—and only the police are hunting us. If we attack one of the crystallized mammoths, we'll make enemies of all Wendigos."

Yuel could have gone back into thought, but he had already thought enough and realized there was no other way. So without hesitation, he spoke.

"What was your name again?"

"Huo, my lord."

"Wendigo naming customs are strange... Alright, I understand. Huo, from now on, you will be responsible for managing diplomacy between our sect and the other clans. But for now, since we have no other choice, we will proceed with this plan. I hope you understand."

"Of course, my lord. Your words are the words of God."

"Then inform all the Wendigos aboard this crystallized mammoth... We are going to war."

The Council then left the room. As the sound of the snowstorm pierced Yuel's ears, Null spoke.

"How about stepping outside for some fresh air? You just got out of the arena. You need to relax a bit before commanding a cult."

'You're not wrong. Fine, I'll go out and take in the view.'

Yuel stepped outside the cabin. The back of the massive crystallized mammoth was covered with fur that looked like grass, but was much softer and grey in color. That fur was gradually being blanketed in snow. Dozens of Wendigos sat on the fur, chatting amongst themselves. When Yuel stepped out of the cabin, all the Wendigos greeted him. Yuel didn't really care. He walked over to the area where the mammoth's left shoulder would be, sat down, and let his legs dangle over the edge.

Aria was dead, Onur was dead, and Shiro was now his enemy.

Did no one in the world want him? Would he never have a real friend? Would he always be plagued by misfortune?

Even now, there was no guarantee he wouldn't die just like Aria or Onur. Shiro would likely emerge from the arena in a year, stronger than ever—and Yuel would have to be strong enough to face her.

"Yuel, I think you're underestimating the time traveler."

'Null, what do you know? It was obvious with her... She was just a pure girl. She got along with all of us. She brought us together.'

"I wish you could have spoken with her more—maybe we'd have found a clue, maybe... we've already missed our chance. Anyway, I'm just warning you. Be careful with time travelers. They're always the smartest—because they've lived everything once before. Cunning psychopaths like that don't die easily."

'Aria wasn't a psychopath!'

"Did you love her?"

'Of course I didn't love her! You'd know if I did—you read all my thoughts... but at least she was a friend. And what's wrong with mourning a lost friend? I'm sixteen, about to turn seventeen, and I haven't been able to properly interact with people since I was eight. Just when I thought I was rejoining humanity—when I thought I'd made friends—a tragedy struck only days later. I fell into the depths of Frozen Hollows and lost all of them. We didn't even have a proper chance to talk or share our abilities... I thought I was finally going to have a real friend, but the world didn't even grant me that."

"Yuel, there must be a reason. Don't blame the world."

'Null. Sometimes I feel like you know far more than you let on. Care to explain?...'

'Null?'

Null didn't reply after that. He probably didn't want to answer—and probably did know more than Yuel suspected.

Yuel stopped thinking and talking to Null and turned his gaze to the scenery of the Frozen Hollows. He could now understand why Aria had such a fascination with landscapes. Only those who had witnessed such beauty would understand. And those who wandered the nature of Undergarden would often encounter such breathtaking sights.

Judging by the fact that they were still inside the snowstorm, the Eternal Winter was about to swallow them—that much was certain. But what exactly was the Eternal Winter? What lay at the heart of that storm? Who could know?

He wasn't even at the level to lay eyes on it properly yet—but when he stared long enough into the storm, into that perfect landscape, it felt like he was gazing at God... He had felt this sensation only twice before. That thing was definitely a Stage 7 Titan, and whatever lay in the lake wasn't it. This "Eternal Winter" was the one at Stage 7. The source of the poison in the lake was Stage 6.

So... was it possible to pit them against each other? He wasn't sure. But he didn't want to try. Any mistake could bring forth a creature even more terrifying than his greatest enemy. Something above Infection... He didn't want that.

For several hours, Yuel stared at the landscape and remembered his dead friends... or those who could've been his friends. The world had treated Yuel so cruelly that it hadn't even given him time to properly say goodbye or get to know them. Everything had just... happened.

After those hours of mourning, they slowly emerged from the snowstorm—and before them lay a vast, endless floor of the Frozen Hollows, crawling with massive, towering crystallized mammoths—dozens, maybe even hundreds of them.

The sole survivor of the only successful raid on the Frozen Hollows—how had he failed to see this?... Damn it, he had definitely been a Wendigo. He had utterly deceived everyone.

Once Yuel returned to humanity, he would uncover everything.

But first, he had to survive a war.

The Wendigos roared. The driver steered the crystallized mammoth toward another mammoth, and the two giants crashed into each other. The first battle of the Bloody Night Cult had begun...