Wolves of Hader

Chapter 95

The path to Dran's ancestral village was extremely treacherous.

Good thing Dran had built things like sky bridges—otherwise, it would have been far too dangerous.

The entire route was lined with cliffs.

Perhaps it was because we'd been walking nonstop for three days.

Allen had been cursing nonstop since day one, and now his voice had grown hoarse.

Thanks to that, things were a bit quieter.

"Just you wait, you damn bastards."

He was muttering, his voice rasping, following behind us.

He didn't eat with us, didn't sleep near us. Even now, as we walked, it was the same.

"Just you wait. You'll see, you'll all see."

What exactly he wanted to show us, I had no idea.

Donnie now completely ignored him, no matter what he did, and just kept marching on in silence.

The rest of us were all pretty worn out, too.

"We're almost there! Down below the cliff!"

At a shouted call from behind, we all looked down.

One of the Dran porters was pointing down the sheer cliff face.

"How do we get down there?"

"There's a shortcut!"

"Then get going! Lead the way!"

"Yes, yes, young lord!"

The Dran porter hurriedly overtook Allen and ran ahead.

Allen even treated a porter old enough to be his father with no respect.

That's to be expected from the young lord of Dran's most prestigious family, I suppose.

At the end of the ridge where we were traveling, there were stairs.

These stairs zigzagged all the way down to the base of the cliff on the other side.

We all began descending the stairs carefully.

"Hey! Isn't there an elevator platform here?"

"There isn't, sir! No one ever needs to come this way!"

"It would've been nice if someone had built one in advance! Just how long do you think it'll take us to get down there? Back in the day—"

Khaaaah—

The group descending the stairs came to a halt. There was a monster's roar from the misty depths of the cliff below.

"What was that?"

"Shhh, be quiet."

"You be quiet."

Donnie turned to glare at Allen.

Allen snorted dismissively.

"I'm warning you. If anyone in our group gets hurt because of you, I won't just stand by."

"Hmph. Like you're one to talk."

We continued down the stairs quietly.

Truly, the stairs seemed never-ending. The gorge down below looked even deeper than any plain.

Even the porters with us didn't know the current situation of the ancestral village.

The most recent recon team had visited three years ago, and back then, there had been monsters in the village.

I had once seen the Guardian on Little Devil Island.

Its minions had been there, too—probably the same sort of monsters as the ones in the village now.

They're not ordinary monsters.

According to the elders' explanations—

The Guardian here takes the form of a massive lion and exudes intense cold.

In other words, it's of the freezing attribute.

In truth, we came because it's a freezing Guardian.

If it were of lightning or gravity attribute, it could have wiped us out.

Luckily, I have some resistance to freezing, so it seemed doable.

These monsters have occasionally made it as far as the ancestral village for ages.

But 28 years ago, they suddenly poured out, forcing everyone to evacuate.

This raised several questions for me.

Why did they surge out 28 years ago?

Could it be they sensed the arrival of the three knights?

The three knights, while fighting monsters, witnessed visions—visions believed to have been sealed away since ancient times.

The stories say they were captivated by some unknown power.

Maybe...

What if the Guardian isn't protecting treasure?

Could it be something ancient is hidden there instead?

When I saw that vision of a sealed future where the Guardian dwelled, it didn't seem a coincidence.

Perhaps only this place's Guardian possessed such things, but still...

/ / /

Everyone walked, holding their breath.

After descending the dizzying cliff, we reached an entrance.

It was the passage leading into Dran's ancestral village.

The passage was so wonderfully constructed, it was stunning.

Countless statues lined either side, and the floor and walls fit so tightly that not even a drop of water could seep through.

It felt like the work of a mysterious ancient civilization—massive stones, cut as cleanly as slicing tofu, expertly assembled.

Not to mention the intricate carvings everywhere.

We must have walked about two hundred paces.

At the end of the tunnel, a vast chamber opened up.

The high roof of a fortress could be seen in the distance, and even from here, a breeze blew through.

"Eilin, please wait here for a moment."

"All right."

"You as well, everyone who came with her."

"Yes."

Only the warriors continued onward.

At the end of the passage, we uttered silent gasps.

An unbelievably huge subterranean city was revealed.

A grand fortress stood at its center, and immense pillars supported the ceiling all around.

The building styles, unlike the ancestral capital, were old and massive, every structure grand in scale.

The buildings' shapes were as they'd always been, but there was much destruction in the details.

Everything was shrouded in darkness; there was no sign of life. Some places were frozen solid.

"We'll have to put on our red cloaks."

Everyone pulled out reddish cloaks from their backpacks.

The cloaks were dyed with powder from the firestone mixed into a fixative.

Wearing one was not just warm—it was hot.

Allen approached, trying his luck.

"Don't you have one for me?"

"And if I did? You'd just drag it along behind you."

"I could just cut it to fit."

"I'm not giving you one."

Donnie and Allen quarreled again.

How did Donnie ever get mixed up with a guy like him?

We donned our cloaks and went down the stairs.

There were countless tunnels in the ancestral village leading to mines, and the monsters had emerged from the tunnel at the 4 o'clock direction.

We descended the long stairs and headed straight for 4 o'clock.

Monster howls echoed from various parts of the city.

They had freezing powers too, or so I'd heard.

Rails were laid on the floor of the tunnel.

There were even little manually operated trains.

"Hans. We should bring everyone along."

"Yes, understood."

Hans backtracked and brought Eilin and the porters along.

It seemed safer to keep everyone together than to leave them behind.

Donnie also gave Eilin a cloak.

Allen, noticing this, piped up.

"What, so now there's another one?"

"I said there wasn't one for you."

"Is this discrimination now?"

"From now on, yes, I'm going to discriminate against you."

"What did you say?"

"Shhh."

Donnie lowered his head.

"Sorry. From now on, I'll just ignore you."

"And who are you to ignore me?"

"Hey, can you please keep it down?"

"Ah, all right."

At Eilin's words, Allen clammed up immediately.

Even yesterday, Allen's antics were infuriating, but now I was just used to him.

He'll have changed by the time we leave this place. Until then, I'll just put up with it.

We entered the tunnel.

Most of the monsters that had invaded the city seemed to have returned to their dens. That's probably because freezing monsters lose strength the longer they stay somewhere warm.

We headed deeper into the tunnel.

At the tunnel's deepest part was the Guardian's lair. Long ago, when Dran dug into this mine and discovered the beast, they withdrew immediately.

The route was easy to follow.

Even if there were multiple branches, we could just head down whichever corridor chilled us to the bone.

The network of tunnels was complicated but incredibly long.

We trudged on for quite a while.

After around three hours, we passed a stopped mine train and emerged into another great chamber—this one as enormous as the city above.

Amazingly, a tangled web of rails crisscrossed the chamber.

It looked like a mess of roller coaster tracks and supports all woven together.

Worst of all, from where we stood, the rails plunged downward at nearly a seventy-degree angle.

It would be hard to go down on foot. At the base of the chamber, the rails connected to a tunnel.

"We're going to have to take the train."

"Will it be all right?"

"We have to lure the monsters out of the lair anyway. If there are too many near the boss, it could be a problem."

"Understood."

Screeee—

The team pushed the train at the back. It was a five-car freight train, but even with everyone pushing, it didn't move easily.

Allen watched, then said,

"Tsk tsk. You call that strength? Step aside."

Allen took his place at the very back of the train.

Everyone stifled laughter.

"Heave-ho!"

Screeeeak—

As Allen pushed, the train started to move.

Since everyone else had stopped to watch, he had practically moved it all by himself.

He was freakishly strong for his size.

Once the rest joined in, the train really started to roll.

"What are you doing! Get in, already!"

We helped Eilin on first, and two porters as well; the others boarded the freight cars one by one.

Four people could sit in each car.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Someone needs to push for speed! Here goes—!"

Allen gave it all he had, then hopped onto the very back of the train as it picked up speed and immediately plunged downward.

"Kyaaah—!"

"Ugh-heogh!"

Eilin and the porters screamed.

The train suddenly gathered speed and everyone panicked. Even Donnie and Hans clamped their mouths shut.

I myself felt like I was riding a roller coaster for the first time in a long while.

Trrrrng—krurururung—

The train rattled wildly up and down the tangled rails, sparks shooting from the wheels and the cars rocking dangerously side to side.

"Hold on tight! Another drop coming!"

"Whoooaaah!"

The train burst through the chamber, entered a tunnel, then plunged down again, gathering even more speed.

It was moving so fast and shaking so hard that a box was flung out.

"One of our food boxes just flew off!"

"Damn it! What are you doing!"

"Young lord! We need to stop! Ahead—!"

Everyone looked ahead—and gasped in shock.

A huge chunk of ice blocked the downward-curving rail ahead. If we crashed into it, we'd all be in serious trouble!

"Allen! Is there a brake in the back?"

"There is!"

"Hit the brake, now!"

"I know, I know! Here goes—!"

Ting—a sound was heard.

It seemed he'd pulled the brake, but the train didn't slow down. Everyone turned and shouted at the back.

"Brake! Stop the train!"

"You idiot! What are you doing!"

Allen, holding some strange metal rod, shot us a hopeless look.

"This... why did it break?"

"Damn it!"

"We're going to crash! Use your backpacks for protection!"

"Aaagh!"

I leaned over to shield Eilin.

Shuuuuuk—

KUKWAKWAKWANG—KWARURURUK

Everything went haywire.

Our bodies were battered by flying shards of ice as the train bounced and leaped over the obstacle, nearly launching us into the air.

But only for a moment.

"We made it through!"

"We're out!"

"Don't relax! There's more ahead!"

Another patch of ice blocked the tracks ahead—

—but only up the right slant of the rail!

"Lean to the right!"

"Shift to the right! Put your weight in!"

Everyone leaned to the right side of the car. Perhaps we moved too late.

The right wheels rode up onto the ice, tipping the train onto one set of wheels.

"Aaagh!"

"The train's twisting!"

"Lean further right!"

Screeeee—

The tipped front cars and the rear cars sped down on a slant.

The front kept tipping—at this rate, we'd all roll off the tracks.

"What are you doing in the back? Push to the right!"

"Damn it! We're all pushing!"

"Somebody move into the back and start climbing down!"

"Yes!"

The team in the third car climbed into the fourth, and only then did the rear start to drop, finally landing with a thud—

Cars that had seemed about to tip over finally hit the rails properly.

The couplers looked like they might snap at any second, but for now, we'd made it.

"Whew!"

Everyone slumped in relief. I finally relaxed and checked on Eilin. Her face was flushed with shock.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

She must have really been scared.

She could barely reply, just staring ahead. Still, she seemed braver than I'd expected.

"The food box is gone!"

"All of it?"

"It must've fallen out just now when we tilted!"

Nobody said a word.

We'd be starving for the next five days, at this rate.

Fortunately, there were no more steep slopes or ice obstacles.

Now it was just a gentle, endless downward ride.

Another twenty minutes went by.

No matter how far we went, the mine tunnels seemed endless.

Then Allen, who had been quiet, spoke up.

"Hey. Back there! Any food left?"

"You didn't even pack any emergency rations?"

"All my food was in that box!"

"Was all four of your boxes filled with food?"

"Of course! What, do you expect me to bring clothes?"

"How much do you eat, seriously!"

"I've lost my appetite! All because of you guys!"

"Captain! Do you hear something?"

It was a voice from the very front car.

Everyone looked ahead.

A thunderous sound echoed from far down the tunnel. Darkness hid whatever was coming.

Uwooooh—

The whole mine began to shake. The sound drew closer and closer, bringing with it a wave of cold.

Shwaaa—

It was a chill that seemed to freeze us to the bone.

The thing hurtling toward us, combined with the rushing train, closed the distance in an instant.

At last, we saw it with our eyes.

A white flood came surging toward us.

They were the Guardian's monsters.