Wolves of Hader

Chapter 84

"We're going in!"

"Hang on tight!"

As soon as we entered the Storm Sea, terrifying swells surged toward us. Even our crew, hardened by blood and storms, were shaken by the sheer size of the waves.

"We're going up!"

The ship tilted almost seventy degrees as it shot upward.

"Uwaaah!"

The ship, which had risen so steeply, descended along the swell as if falling. Seawater slammed onto the deck, and before we could catch our breath, the ship soared upward again.

Everyone clung desperately to the net ladders, swaying uncontrollably. Ta-iki's storm hadn't been this bad before.

"Isn't something wrong?"

"Wundbark! Trust in the young lord!"

"It won't last long!"

"Something bigger is coming!"

The ship stood almost vertical.

It was only for a moment, but everyone hanging on became as if suspended in thin air.

Then the ship crashed back to the sea's surface. Each time we hit, the surging waves seemed to swallow the ship and lash at the crew.

"If you just try to endure, you'll get flung off!"

"Urald is right! Go with the movement! Just watch out for the incoming water!"

"We're dropping!"

Boom—crack—

With every hit on the sea's surface, the shock resonated, yet the ship didn't overturn.

Even the mast didn't break.

Those who had experienced this before reacted the same way.

"It's similar to the Ta-iki storm!"

"It doesn't seem like we'll actually face danger!"

"How long is this going to last?"

"Three days, I'd say!"

"Here comes another!"

The ship lurched upward again at that moment.

Everyone was gritting their teeth, hanging on, when suddenly lightning struck the main sail.

Kukwa-kwang—

At the flash of light, our vision went white.

/ / /

How long had I slept?

No, had I passed out?

When I opened my eyes, the sea was suddenly calm, and the ship drifted peacefully.

It wasn't just me.

Everyone looked around in confusion, as if they'd just awoken.

"How much time has passed?"

"I don't know! I think I fainted, but when I woke up, it was like this!"

"Is everyone safe?"

"Yes! Everyone who was on deck is unharmed!"

"Did we all pass out?"

"I guess so! Even the deck chief passed out?"

"Yes! It seems he was electrocuted when the lightning struck!"

It was true that we'd been electrocuted. My body tingled from the shock.

But was it possible to be fine after a lightning strike?

Everyone was still hanging on. It seemed we'd traversed the Storm Sea, but something felt off.

For everyone to pass out at once—what a bizarre occurrence.

It was as if the storm had disappeared in an instant.

My body was still soaking wet, but I wasn't thirsty. Just then, several Dran came out onto the deck.

"What happened?"

"Did you also faint?"

"Faint? We just came out because things suddenly got quiet."

"It suddenly got quiet?"

"That's right. A light exploded right in front of our eyes."

When the lightning hit the mast, a definite flash of light had exploded.

Unlike normal lightning, it was as bright as midday. Had we passed through some kind of Gate of Magic?

There'd been a pirate ship behind us; its crew also stared at the sea bewildered. Not a single cloud was in the sky now.

"Anyway, we made it through the Storm Sea. Glad the test was short."

"There's an island ahead!"

"Already? It should have taken a few more days!"

Everyone ran to the bow.

I went forward and gazed at the sea.

There was a large island ahead of us.

"Incredible."

"I don't know what magic it was, but we've somehow leapt right over the Storm Sea. We ought to have needed three more days."

After Wundbark's words, everyone silently stared at the island. It was our first such experience, leaving us at a loss.

That island was Demon Exile Island.

I'd only heard of it—never set foot on it.

"There are evil spirits on that island."

Everyone looked at Urald after his comment. In this world, people feared demons far more than monsters.

"Spirits of the demons?"

"Who knows. Back in the western mountains, I once encountered a ghost ship in the northern sea. I sense the same aura here as from the dead on that ship."

Donnie asked, "How do you kill an evil spirit?"

"You need a holy weapon. In the old days, there were holy knights, but after the demons vanished, the holy knights gradually disappeared as well."

There was something odd about this that I'd already wondered about.

People just accept it as history, but if you think about it, the whole event is strange.

"They say the demons occupying the whole continent suddenly vanished, but do you know why?"

"It's still an unsolved mystery. After the war, they were gone. The survivors went into hiding, and no one knew where the demons had gone."

The world's histories only recorded that the demons had vanished all at once. Afterwards, two theories emerged.

One was that the great dragon 'Noble Dignity' killed the Demon King. The other was that a great rebellion broke out in the demons' world.

"Do the Dran not know why the heroes split apart?"

Urald and Wundbark hesitated to answer.

Their faces said they knew but found it difficult to speak.

"It was because of a slip of the tongue."

"A slip of the tongue?"

"Yes. That's what the Dran records say. The slip of the tongue itself likely wasn't the real reason; there must've been an unknown problem among the heroes."

Wundbark added, "Because of that slip, it's said one of the heroes may have entered the world of demons."

"A hero in the world of demons?"

"It's a theory held by the southern Dran elders. They say the hero went to catch the Demon King and thus saved this world."

"Makes sense."

"Does it, though? Is there any solid reason?"

"There is. According to the records, when the Demon King descends, this world becomes the demons' domain. But he never appeared. Meanwhile, three heroes went missing. After that, the demons who had ruled the continent disappeared."

One hero had sacrificed themselves to save the world.

Who could that hero have been?

"Who were the missing heroes?"

"The dragon Amir. A human. And the giant Gadisil."

"Do you not know their names?"

"None are known. All the heroes vanished when the war ended. Although, our Dran hero was called the Great Warrior Blemvor."

"That's a name I've never heard."

"I only learned from Wundbark that Tak's hero was called Vargar. Outside the southern Dran, few would know."

It's true the heroes didn't have time to announce their names.

They'd emerged when the world was nearly destroyed. It even seemed as though someone had wiped their names from history.

The seven tribal heroes.

Human. Amir. Dran. Tak.

Elin. Gadisil. And Yan.

All seven looked similar to humans.

The Yan are a people with completely distinct looks and civilization from us, living in isolation from the outside world.

Amir supposedly resides far to the south on the open ocean, but he may not still exist.

Gadisil was said to have gone extinct.

Of the seven, three heroes went missing, Dran and Tak's heroes died, and only Elin and Yan's heroes returned to their homelands alive.

In other words, only the Elin and Yan would know the cause of the demons' disappearance and the reason the heroes split.

Just what was the problem—how could a mere slip of the tongue drive them apart?

"Do you know what Blemvor's power was?"

"You mean the power the gods supposedly gave the seven heroes?"

"So you do know."

"Of course. But the heroes never revealed their powers. No one witnessed their battles. I wonder if the elders of the ancestral village know those powers."

While we were talking, the ship approached the island.

However many times I saw it, this island was truly strange.

The sea was sweltering in summer, but the island alone was gloomy and dark.

Thick fog made it look like black mist lay over it from afar.

"Will the evil spirits attack us?"

"The spirits themselves aren't to be feared. But if they merge with physical objects or materialize with the forces of darkness, then it can be dangerous. Living skeletons are a prime example."

Undead!

Those creatures were as dangerous as demons during the ancient wars.

Since they were reanimated corpses, they didn't die easily.

"Urald and Wundbark, stay on the ship. I'll go in with the crew."

"Understood. Don't take unnecessary risks."

The elemental lord permitted our landing. They hadn't let us in just for curiosity.

"Lower the landing craft!"

I and the crew donned our armor. There was no chance an evil spirit would possess any of us.

We had elementals, far more powerful than evil spirits, protecting us.

After donning our greatswords, we all boarded and rowed toward the island. The closer we got, the more ominous the energy felt.

After landing, we tied the boat to a tree and walked into the island.

It was just as dark as it had seemed. The fog was so thick that we could hardly see ten steps ahead.

"This doesn't seem like a natural phenomenon."

"Right. I think the darkness has cut the entire island off for ages."

It must have been years since sunlight shone here, because it was chilly and damp.

The ground was soft and stank of rot. It was as if time itself passed more slowly here.

"Look over there."

I looked where Hans was pointing.

Beyond the fog, a rocky mountain ridge was visible, and on that rock face, a stairway led downward.

"Move quickly. If we stop, we'll sink up to our knees."

That's what I said, but it was nearly impossible to walk.

Tall grass resembling reeds grew up to our shoulders, and we couldn't see ahead at all.

We barely crossed the marsh and reached drier ground. Now the fog, sticky and reeking, was the most bothersome.

The mist had a viscous feel and a fishy smell. Thin black smoke whirled around us like ghosts.

Krrraaa—

From deep in the forest came a sound like a monster's cry.

Pudaduduk—

Birds in the reeds scattered in a flock at the sound. Swarms of bugs flew annoyingly around us.

"Young lord."

One of the crew members ahead stopped and called to me.

It was a slightly steep ridgeline, but when I looked below, I was startled.

On the opposite side of the ridge was a sheer cliff.

But below, countless skeletons and remnants were piled in heaps.

"They're Elin."

"There were lots of bones in the marsh too. I kept stepping on swords and armor."

We all began heading toward the cliff stairs.

Even around the ridge, bones were everywhere.

Most were so decayed not even the bone remained, only fragments of corroded armor and weapons.

The higher we climbed, the clearer the view of the island became.

The entire island, it turned out, was filled with Elin bones.

Only in the marsh had the bones sunk deep.

Following the ridge, we reached the stairs seen from the marsh. They descended infinitely into the depths below.

"No higher to climb?"

"Just big rocks up above."

"We go down."

We followed the precarious stairs carved into the cliff.

As Hans said, there was no higher ground, and the stairs seemed the only way to the island's central area.

There were no ruins or buildings anywhere. The island was nothing but rock and swamp, barely visible in the fog.

We climbed down for a long while.

The stairs were treacherous, cut right into the cliff.

Sometimes dark shadows brushed past us, almost threateningly.

The deeper we went, the stronger the eerie, heavy air became.

The strange noises and sharp winds only grew.

At last, we reached the bottom, where our whole party fell silent, staring ahead. It wasn't because of all the Elin skeletons scattered about.

A very narrow gorge stretched before us.

It wasn't just any gorge; it was practically the Valley of Death, filled with sinister energy.

"There are a lot of evil spirits in there."

No one answered Hans.

Whether evil spirits or simply the dead—

Something was definitely lurking in that gorge.

Kihihiii—

An eerie cry wailed out from the ravine.

Something there didn't want us to enter.

The elemental lord had permitted our arrival, but the evil spirits rejected us.

It meant they needed our help and rejected us for the very same reason.

"Light the torches."

"Yes."

Tatak—Hwarruk—

A crew member struck flint and lit a torch. Even so, the darkness on the far side of the gorge wouldn't yield.

It was as if that darkness was completely unaffected by the light.

"We're going in."

I took the lead, stepping into the darkness of the gorge. Unlike the open field, a chill washed over us.

Krrhakaak—

Urrrrr—

"Something's coming! Stay alert!"

Eyes wide open, I walked forward, staring straight ahead.

From the far end of that dark, endless gorge—countless writhing shapes were surging toward us.