CHAPTER 19………………………..
. The Great Tree of the Snowy Mountains
Siruella kept swinging her sword.
It was so calm it almost looked like she was dancing.
Every time the blade moved, a pale green light flashed, and the massive body of the Snow Worm began to split apart piece by piece.
Even when it looked as if the sword had never touched, the pale green sword-light fell like lightning, cleaving through the Snow Worm’s flesh.
Shraaak—
Again and again she cut, slashed, and severed.
Grrrk—Rrrghh—
Even the Snow Worm, which had seemed it would never fall, reached its limit.
And Siruella, as if she already knew this—
Shraaaak—!
Swung her sword upward with the greatest force.
The pale green aura surged violently upward along the blade’s trajectory.
Tchrrrk! The Snow Worm’s body split in half.
Ch-ch-chrrrk! From its core, radiant aura burst outward, shredding it into pieces.
The dazzling pale green aura looked like an enormous towering tree.
Baaang! The aura exploded into a blinding light.
It was as though flowers were blooming on branches that sprouted along its path.
The light bursting from the aura was so bright it was hard to keep one’s eyes open.
The shattered remains of the Snow Worm began to burn away in the erupting aura.
Countless smaller worms crumbled like sand in the air and scattered.
Srrng.
Siruella sheathed her sword.
Not a trace of the Snow Worm remained.
Pale green aura petals drifted down like falling blossoms.
Through the shimmering lights, I met Siruella’s calm, dark green eyes.
The white beard covering my mouth twitched.
…Was she smiling?
“That old man…”
After I had conceded the fight to her…
What was needed to wipe out the Snow Worm swarm was a single decisive blow.
I couldn’t use high-circle magic, so I had to rely on the synergy of mid-tier spells.
I had prepared everything for that moment, but…
My eyes shifted back to Ronan, standing once more among the squad members.
His jet-black eyes gleamed as he looked at Siruella.
Ronan must have seen his own potential reflected in her.
The difference between knowing your destination and being lost is immense.
“Well… I guess it was worth giving her the chance.”
I let out a small laugh—good things are good things.
“Our victory!”
“We held them backkkk!”
“Hurraaaah!”
The other squad members shouted in joy without restraint.
And just then, over the ridge, the sun began to rise.
From the fortress bathed in golden light, cries of triumph echoed long and loud.
Down below, squad members embraced each other, laughing and crying.
Only when I saw that sight did true relief wash over me.
It was over.
“Haah…”
I slumped against the watchtower floor, back pressed against the wall.
I didn’t have the strength to even lift a finger.
When I looked at the ladder leading down from the watchtower, a bitter laugh slipped out.
“How am I even supposed to get down…?”
And so…
Morning came.
* * *
Winter in the Snowy Mountains is long.
It snows for more than half the year.
The only months without snowfall are June, July, and August.
But even then, the winds from the valleys keep it far from warm.
Cold—always cold, only varying in degree.
When blizzards rage and the snow piles up, the Snow Worms swarm.
The corpses of fallen squad members stack like a mountain.
Seeing that doesn’t just freeze your body, but your heart and mind as well.
Even when we burn the bodies to prevent Snow Worms from nesting inside them, the ice in our hearts doesn’t melt.
That’s why every winter strips the smiles from the squad’s faces.
Veterans recall the comrades lost the previous year.
New recruits despair at the grim reality.
But this winter was different.
“Two dead, thirty-seven injured. Three of them are severely wounded, unable to move. But their condition isn’t too bad—they won’t be disabled.”
“Hmm.”
Hearing Gardner’s report, Siruella nodded.
“A small loss. Good. And the mood?”
“Excellent. We’ve never repelled a swarm with such light casualties. Everyone’s so elated they can’t calm down.”
“That’s fortunate.”
A faint smile crossed her lips.
Esric, Ronan, Hogg.
Except for those three new recruits, every squad member had already faced at least one swarm.
All of them had seen piles of corpses—dozens, sometimes hundreds.
They would hardly believe it possible to hold the swarm back at such a small cost.
They might even call it a miracle.
But Siruella knew exactly why.
“Summon the magic corps’ captain.”
Captain of the Magic Corps: Esric Spelder.
“We need to tell them about the disaster we must bring down.”
* * *
“Don’t even think about slacking off.”
Arms crossed, I barked at the magic corps members hauling logs.
“If it’s too hard, use your mana.”
“U-uh… y-yes, sir!”
“Y-yes, understood!”
Hagen and the others of the magic corps didn’t rest.
They had been assigned to replace the broken logs in the wall.
“W-why are only we doing this? What about the combat corps…?”
Some grumbled.
“All you did was fling spells from the watchtower. Your mana will recharge with time, but the combat corps burned themselves out with their bodies. Compared to them, you’ve got it easy.”
“Th-that’s true, but… we’re tired too…”
“More tired than me? Or maybe you cast greater spells than I did?”
“….”
Shutting them up wasn’t hard.
“When I say do it, you do it.”
“Yessir!”
The swarm only comes once a year, they’d said.
At first I didn’t know why, but now I understood.
The time it takes Snow Worms to infest corpses, breed, and grow.
The time needed for their numbers to swell.
The time for snow to pile high enough.
Only when all of that aligns does the swarm erupt.
No matter how catastrophic, swelling to such numbers would take time.
So there was no urgent need to repair the walls immediately, but…
“Whiners, when they still have strength to spare.”
There was no need to let them sit idle either.
Besides, this battle had to forge us into one unit.
We had spent too much time divided, even hostile. Now we needed time to become a single corps.
“I’ll help too.”
Ronan, who had been resting nearby, walked over.
“What? No need.”
“I have strength to spare as well. The seniors did all the hard work. I barely did anything.”
And with that, he joined Hogg’s side.
Though Hogg waved him off, Ronan ignored it and hefted the logs anyway.
“We’ll help too!”
“Hey, we were trying to rest… How are we supposed to relax with you guys working right next to us?”
“Let’s just all do it together and finish faster!”
Soon, the combat corps members began joining in one by one.
“Can’t I please just rest…?”
“Get up, you brat! Did you run like the captain? Did you take down something as big as he did? Quit whining!”
“Better us than those pampered magic corps, anyway.”
“…The hell did you just say?”
“Alright, split it evenly! Let’s see who finishes first!”
“Fine! Loser does laundry duty? Huh? Laundry bet?”
“Hell yes! You’re on!”
“We’re not backing out of this!”
In the end, the two corps competed, hauling logs side by side.
The combat corps, with sheer numbers, carried in long lines.
The magic corps, fewer in number, squeezed out the last of their mana to match the pace.
It was neck-and-neck.
“…What are they doing?”
“Hm? A laundry bet, apparently.”
“Laundry… bet?”
Gardner, who had approached without me noticing, tilted his head—then chuckled.
“They look like they’re getting along.”
“People bond by fighting together.”
“Not always. Usually they just kept fighting… then died before they could bond.”
“Now they’ve got the chance, don’t they?”
“…True. Thanks to you.”
Gardner dipped his head slightly.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t be silly. You fought just as hard.”
“Still, it needs to be said. And also—you need to come with me.”
“Huh? Where…?”
“The captain wants to see you.”
* * *
Where to begin?
Siruella pondered.
She sifted through memories so old they no longer remained even as legend in the human empire.
“You called for me?”
Gardner brought Esric.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Gardner tactfully left them alone.
“I think it’s time for judgment.”
“Judgment?”
“There is such a thing.”
Esric waved a hand, pretending it was trivial.
“So what did you summon me for? If it’s to thank me, no need. Gardner already told me—that’s enough.”
“Is that so? Then good. That wasn’t why I called you anyway.”
“Oh? Uh, I see.”
Esric’s puffed-up shoulders drooped a little.
“Then why…?”
“Elrios’s journal…”
Siruella stroked his beard, recalling.
“It ended on June 21.”
“Yes. That was the last entry.”
“That day…”
With a heavy sigh, Siruella began.
“That was the day we slew the Snowy Mountain’s Calamity.”
* * *
We made every preparation possible.
Around 200 heroes remained in Ice Rock.
The knights and mages of the Ice Maker family, rulers of the North.
And the 300 soldiers sworn to their banner.
Roughly 500 in all entered the gorge to slay the Snowy Mountain’s Calamity.
From the very entrance, monsters burst forth to ambush us.
But against heroes who had battled the mountain’s creatures for years, they were no match.
We pushed deep into the gorge, pierced the howling blizzard, and climbed the towering peak.
There, we faced the Calamity.
A dragon.
Its body armored in razor scales that gleamed blue as they shifted.
Its wings, when spread, could blot out the sky.
Its eyes, staring down at us with its head raised, felt like two frozen moons hanging in the heavens.
Just standing before it robbed men of their will, buckled their knees, and made them collapse.
“It was like… living ice itself.”
And so, the Snowy Mountain’s Calamity, the dragon, was named:
Vivryont.
The battle began with Siruella’s charge.
He burst forth with aura, countless heroes and knights surging after him.
The mages cast their enhancement spells, while also chanting the incantations for the great magic that would bring down the dragon.
Victory depended on whether the spell could be completed.
Vivryont answered with a roar of breath.
The Dragon Breath.
One exhalation erased dozens of lives.
Even with magical wards in place, the devastation was immense.
The Ice Maker troops rushed to bind its legs, while knights tore scales from its hide.
The dragon’s talons and fangs ripped men apart, while unimaginable spells rained down from above.
It was endless, brutal combat.
When our numbers had fallen by nearly half…
“The spell was completed.”
Elrios Spelder and countless other mages combined their power, unleashing the spell upon the dragon.
Seizing the moment, the knights burst with aura, striking the beast.
And with his sword, Siruella—
“…took the dragon’s head.”
