Wolves of Hader

Chapter 99

Everyone was watching the fallen Guardian.

Whatever magic it had been under, its body gradually turned into golden light dust and scattered away.

The swirling light dust, as if it would dissipate into the air, hovered around all of us standing in the pupil.

Then, it slowly seeped into our bodies.

"Young lord?"

"Wait a moment."

Everyone was flustered, but things looked different to me.

The nature of this light dust was similar to the brilliant light that Eilin had emitted just moments ago. It felt like a cool breeze.

Maybe that was why.

Much more light dust entered Eilin than the rest of us. Eilin was surprised, but she did not panic.

After about a minute, the golden dust was absorbed into everyone's body and vanished.

There was no unpleasant or uncomfortable feeling at all. Quite the opposite—it felt refreshing.

"Is, is this okay?"

Allen muttered, but nobody replied. Our bodies did feel refreshed, but we still didn't know what the light dust was.

"Young lord."

"What is it?"

"It seems my internal injuries have been healed."

It was Mont, who had coughed up blood earlier, speaking.

Come to think of it, my own injuries had healed quickly as well.

Only then did Allen realize his own serious injuries had recovered, and he looked bewildered.

Donnie, inspecting his own body, also spoke.

"There's a slightly unusual energy in my body."

"Unusual energy?"

"Yes. It seems to be from the absorbed gold dust, but it's different from magic power. And it doesn't mix with it."

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"Not at all. If anything, I feel a bit cooler inside. It doesn't feel foreign in the slightest."

I could only vaguely feel a sense of coolness, nothing more.

The other unit members, on the other hand, agreed with Donnie and tried to sense the energy within themselves.

The elemental hadn't shown any rejection, so it wasn't of a dark nature.

In fact, it seemed pleased, just as it had been surprised when Eilin had shone that brilliant light.

I approached Eilin.

"Did that light come from this sword?"

"Yes. I don't know how it happened either."

"May I take a look at it?"

I took the sword Eilin offered me.

It was a short one-handed sword, without any symbols or decorations.

It was plain to the point of being unimpressive, and even the blade was chipped.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed both the sword and Eilin herself had been shining with light earlier.

Yet, right now, the sword had no radiance at all—not even a subtle glow.

"Was it inside the corridor?"

"Yes. When we were cornered at a dead end, I picked it up because I saw it. The two Drans were protecting me until they collapsed, so I grabbed it to fight too."

I didn't know what this sword was, but it definitely had some special power.

I wasn't sure about the nature of the light, but it had taken care of the Guardian's minions.

Could it perhaps be an ancient Elin weapon?

"We should go into that passage."

Everyone headed to the corridor where Eilin had been.

We had to duck since the passage was narrow, but after taking about ten steps, a fairly spacious room appeared.

That room had six corridors in total.

"This way."

We entered the passage at two o'clock.

It seemed Nabak had blocked this corridor, as there were countless chunks of ice scattered about.

We hadn't gone far before we stopped.

Even seeing it with my own eyes, it was hard to believe.

I had expected something, but this exceeded my imagination by far.

"Wow!"

Allen exclaimed behind me.

We had expected something, but he clearly hadn't. Who knew why things like these were stockpiled here, but—

There was a huge pile of gold coins.

Not only gold coins but all sorts of weapons, armor, and gems that looked like ancient artifacts were stacked up haphazardly.

The phrase "a mountain of treasure" wasn't an exaggeration; there was that much.

The armor and weapons hadn't rusted at all. They didn't look like ancient Elin weapons.

"Where was the sword?"

Eilin climbed atop the mound of gold coins. With coins sliding under her, she struggled to climb up, and finally pointed below her atop the heap.

"It was stuck right here."

"It was just stuck there?"

"Yes. I was desperately looking for a weapon, and this was the only one I could hold."

She said she hadn't chosen the sword because she felt drawn to it.

She had simply grabbed whatever she saw.

"What do you think that light is?"

"I don't know. This is my first time experiencing it."

It seemed to be a power of divinity.

If divinity dwelled in this sword, why had the Guardian been guarding it?

I had thought that the Guardian wasn't just guarding treasure.

Could this be the holy sword of the paladin Hanuk?

No.

The hero Hanuk, who supposedly disappeared, couldn't have died while trying to come after the Guardian.

Does the sword only respond to Eilin?

Would the same happen if someone else held it?

Maybe because the Guardian's monsters weren't here now, the light was gone.

"Hey, we're rich! Hahaha!"

Donnie burst out.

"Not you."

"What are you talking about? I played a big part too. Didn't you see the monster's head drop with my final blow?"

"Are you talking about the one our young lord cut off?"

"So, right now?"

Allen looked at me and the unit members.

"Are you saying you're going to keep all of this?"

"Of course."

"You think the Council of Elders will just let you have it?"

"Catching the monster changed your viewpoint, did it?"

"If we fought together, shouldn't we share it?"

Donnie and Allen practically grabbed each other's collars, growling at each other.

Truthfully, Donnie was not greedy. He just acted first to make sure we wouldn't get cheated.

I silently asked the elemental something.

Is it possible even if it's not a single item?

The elemental sent me an affirmative answer.

"Allen, there's a condition."

"What is it?"

"Don't tell the Council of Elders that this treasure was here. The Chief Elder may know, but he'll turn a blind eye. After all, we'll have taken it already."

"You think the Council of Elders won't find out just because I don't tell them? They'll send an investigation team."

"They still won't be able to find anything."

"What does that mean?"

Donnie and the unit members caught on.

Smiles crept onto their faces.

"We take nine tenths of the gold coins and gems. You and the two porters split the rest. Even counting headcounts and contributions, nine to one is fair."

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"Or should we just take it all?"

"We three can't split the rest of the treasure anyway. The Council of Elders won't let that happen, and how are we supposed to transport all this? Gag the porters?"

"That's your problem to figure out."

"What are you even talking about?"

"All right, let's start sorting it out."

We walked to the pile of treasure.

It looked like at least three hundred thousand gold coins. Ancient gold coins were far heavier and thicker than current ones.

I still didn't understand why the Guardian's lair was stacked with gold coins.

The Guardian was too strong just to be guarding treasure. There had to be something more to this place.

"What are you doing? Aren't you taking your share?"

"Now? Right now, we're supposed to carry this?"

"I never said we had to carry it with us. Just set aside your share somewhere else. The two Drans and Eilin as well."

"Are you really giving some to us?"

"Yes. Just move it outside the corridor."

The porters eagerly hauled off gems and gold coins. Even Allen began carrying treasure.

I spoke to my unit members.

"Donnie, stay here. The rest of you, search the exits to the surface and look for anything unusual."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone except Donnie dispersed into separate passages.

While moving gold coins, Allen spoke again.

"Damn. How are we supposed to move all this? Not like we'll take it all with us immediately, but who knows what'll happen."

"Stop complaining and just move it."

Donnie and I watched with our arms crossed.

Since the two porters hadn't contributed, they just filled their backpacks, trying not to be shameless.

Eilin did the same.

After Allen moved treasure for the seventh time, he just dumped it.

"Screw this! I'm done! What's the point of all this!"

"Did you take your share?"

"Fine, let's just say I did."

Allen plopped down.

As if fate had forced him to do hard labor.

The guy snickered and said,

"You fools. Once we return, our porters will move the whole treasure anyway. If the elders find out, your greed will come to nothing. Hahahaha!"

"That could happen."

"Of course! Are you going to carry all the treasure yourselves? No way. What if I secretly send some porters and siphon off your share?"

"Whatever, go ahead."

"Ah, I just don't understand people."

Allen lay back with a plop.

The Dran porter sat beside him and took a break as well.

Eilin had been staring dazedly at the sword for a while, occasionally glancing at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Take a short rest too, Eilin."

"All right."

I went alone to the mound of treasure.

Donnie, quick on the uptake, stood watch at the center of the passage to keep Allen out.

I took the Shrinking Magic Stone out of my backpack.

Until now, I'd thought I could only shrink single items, but I'd been wrong.

As long as the elemental's power could reach, it didn't matter how many—it was magic, not science.

I placed the magic stone on top of the treasure pile and started pouring in magic power.

As before, the elemental appeared, and green energy began to spread.

As my mind connected with the elemental, only the treasure was precisely enveloped in green light.

This time, I didn't need as much magic power as before.

The greenish light engulfed the entire mountain of treasure, swirling wildly as if about to explode.

I quickly stepped back.

A blinding flash erupted.

Flash!

All the vast treasure was utterly gone.

No—in place of the treasure, there was a tiny ornament. About the size of a big button.

I touched it to be sure nothing was stuck to it, and tiny gold-dust fragments crumbled away.

I scooped the shrunken treasure up with the tip of my dagger and placed it in my gem pouch.

I returned to the open area.

Most of the unit members had returned.

"Is there a passage to the surface?"

Hans answered.

"There's a place where underground water flows. We couldn't figure out where the water leads, though."

"Allen, do you know anything?"

"Underground water? That's probably the ancestral village's water supply."

"Where does it flow?"

Allen scratched his close-cropped hair.

The answer came from a porter.

"It leads to the southern lake. That lake has no upstream, so the underground water is its source."

Was the underground water connected to the bottom of the lake? If we'd have to swim for a long time, then that route is impossible.

I asked Allen,

"There's got to be a passage to the surface, right?"

"Of course. It's a bit far from here, but these shafts were dug by us Dran—of course there's a way up."

"Does it go all the way to the village?"

"If you change lines, you can reach the village. From here to the surface it's a steady uphill, so you can't take the train."

So, we'd ride the elevator platform up as high as possible, and then take the downhill train from there.

At least the return route was sorted out.

I asked Hans again,

"Did you find anything unusual?"

"There's one thing. You should see it yourself."

"Let's go."

Everyone except the three Drans followed Hans.

We came into another spacious area.

When I saw the sculptures inside, I couldn't help but chuckle. All this time, we'd wondered what the Guardian was protecting.

It was a demon gate.

There was only one gate, but it was enormous.

There was no stone coffin or demon statue.

It was an arched gate, just a frame with a wall inside like the demon gate I'd seen before. Ominous dark energy flowed gently within.

"I can sense a faint power of darkness."

I went closer to the demon gate.

It was weaker than the gate on Little Devil Island, but there was still power of darkness leaking from it. Though there was only one gate, it was far more ornate.

The light dust that had dispersed when the Guardian died resembled divine power.

That kind of Guardian had been guarding a demon gate.

Do Guardians protect demon gates?

Or just here?

The Guardian's minions were indeed demons; they had vanished by the holy sword.

But the Guardian itself had been a holy entity. What did this contradiction mean?

"Allen, come here!"

Since the power of darkness was obvious, there was no reason to investigate further.

Destroying it with my sword would be hard, so we needed the hammer Allen had. He ran up at once.

"Hey! Your treasure is gone!"

"What?"

"I'm serious! I saw it—it's gone!"

Donnie shouted, furious.

"You bastard! Where'd you steal it?"

"Steal it? How could we steal that?"

"Did you use magic?"

"I don't have anything like that!"

"Just destroy this structure first. We'll figure out later where the treasure went."

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!"

"Hurry up and break it."

Allen, with a face full of injustice, looked at me and then struck the demon gate with his hammer.

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang—after four strikes, the wall cracked and the frame collapsed.

The black wave of power disappeared, and no more darkness leaked out.

Allen had no idea what he'd just destroyed. He spoke again:

"I swear, it wasn't me!"

"Say something that makes sense. What, did those gold coins sprout legs? Or did something gobble them up?"

"Man, this is driving me crazy!"

As everyone else left, only Eilin remained.

She stared vacantly at the ruined demon gate. Then she looked at the sword she was holding in her right hand.

"Does something feel wrong?"

Eilin gazed at me quietly.

An indescribable tangle of emotions appeared in her eyes. As if tears might fall at any moment.

"What's happening, Eilin?"

Tears gathered in Eilin's eyes.

Her emotions grew even stronger.

Why was this happening?

Could it be that she too—

Saw some vision?

Through that sword?