＜ 136. Come Spring (1) ＞
#136
“Welcome to Rodolan.”
Showing an eerie smile, Karaka entered the fortress. A group of people who looked at each other’s faces alternately followed him in.
thud. The moment the door was closed, the warmth mixed with the sea breeze disappeared without leaving a trace. With each exhalation, the white steam crumbled. Ronan spit out swear words in a biting chill.
“Damn it, I thought it was a little better.”
“If you wear this, you will feel better.”
The cabinet next to the door was full of overcoats worn by guards and interrogators. Karaka, who was rummaging through the cabinet, said as she turned to Asher.
“Hmm, I don’t know if there are any clothes that fit the lady’s physique.”
“Oh, ah, I’m not a girl…!”
Asher clenched her teeth and protested. Fortunately, I was able to find clothes that fit. The four men, wearing fur hats and gloves, started walking again.
“There are no people inside.”
“The entry and exit is also controlled, so I can’t stand it. On average, three times the amount of time spent facing the witch was spent warming up. It would be a little better if you had prepared a separate defense measure, but there is no such thing, so it doesn’t seem like much.”
“Okay… Shit, but isn’t this too thick?”
Ronan, who was going down the stairs, muttered angrily. His clothes were so thick that it was hard to see under his feet.
“I bet you’ll think it’s too thin for a little while. Fasten your collar tightly.”
Karaka said confidently. The Witch of Winter seemed to be great. He said a lot has changed since the witch was sent to Rhodolan.
“It’s a bit annoying to make sure the prisoners don’t freeze to death, but it’s not bad. There are a lot of new torture methods… No, there are a lot of interrogation methods.”
“What is it?”
“It’s simple. They just take off their clothes and throw them in the prison near the witch. After a few repetitions, even the most staunch prisoner will break down in body and mind.”
Karaka detailed the sensation of cutting frozen fingers and toes with scissors. The story of a prisoner whose tongue stuck to the floor and had to be cut off.
“We call it ‘frozen.’ hahaha, isn’t it fun?”
Karaka shrugged and snickered. So no one laughed. Only Ronan, who had become accustomed to it now, responded with a dull voice.
“Why don’t you just warm up the top and just take off your pants and throw them? Even if your legs are broken, you can still hear the answer.”
“Hey, you seem to have a talent for being an Inquisitor. Have I not talked to you before?”
Erzebet and Asher looked at them as if they were demons from hell. Hearing the screams of the prisoners, they entered the depths of Rodolan.
As I went down the stairs, I felt the temperature drop sharply. People with bluish lips passed by crossing them.
“Hey, damn…! Go quickly!”
“It’s impossible to break that… Curse, cursed witch…!”
As Karaka said, they were people who went out to warm themselves up. The sound of footsteps echoed non-stop. After walking about thirty minutes, they stopped in front of a huge gate.
“Now it is all over. This is the deepest part of Rhodolan, Abyss Judeka.”
It seemed to have descended to the root of the reef. Because it was the sea floor outside, my ears were deaf. The all-black door seemed to block even the invisible ghosts from entering.
“It took Rodolan’s three-year budget to build this door. If you look in the corner over there, the names of the craftsmen who worked hard for the security of the empire are engraved.”
Karaka, who had been arguing with the local information, put the key in the door hole. Curlleung…! The door opened with the sound of thunder vomiting. A chill that had never been experienced before hit you.
“Hey!”
“Hey, to this extent…”
Asher screamed. Erzebet, who had maintained her composure in her own way, distorted her face for the first time. Ronan, who wore the fur hat harder, took a breath.
“Damn…!”
“Huh, huh. Isn’t that huge? Because of this, all the heinous criminals imprisoned in Judeka had to be moved upstairs.”
Ronan clenched it. As Karaka said, the coat was meaningless. The cold air that had turned into a knife seemed to tear the skin and tear the intestines apart.
It was the same level of cold that I felt when I caught a witch in my previous life. The group moved forward along the long hallway. A blue light was glimmering in front of me.
The hum was coming from there. Soon, an open space appeared. The group’s eyes widened.
“here···.”
It wasn’t as wide as I thought. About a dozen or so people gathered around three or five.
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Most seemed quite accustomed to coming here. It was impressive that each of them had prepared their own defenses to withstand the murderous cold even a little longer.“Damn, if I had known it would be like this, I would have brought something…”
There was a woman holding a magic tool that gave off heat, and an old man wearing the hide of an animal he had never seen before. They were looking at Ronan and the others, who were only wearing thick clothes, as if they were looking at a strange animal. Karaka, with her index finger outstretched, pointed to the back of the people and said.
“That’s the girl in question.”
A huge pillar of ice stood in the middle of Zuteka. A bluish luster was seeping from the surface of the ice.
Although there is color, it is basically transparent, so you can see inside. Erzebet, who opened her axe’s eyes, muttered while stroking the scar on her neck.
“Evelyn….”
The Winter Witch, Evelyn Drosa, curled up inside her like a fetus. She was an ordinary girl who was a little skinny. He was buried in his lap, so he couldn’t see his face.
Her hair, which had hardened as it was sobbing in the air, was white. Far from Iril’s beautiful white hair, it was an eerie white color like dead coral.
“Damn… it’s so damn cold, hurry up!”
A knight in splendid armor and a man who appeared to be his servant walked out from the crowd at that time. In the hand of the knight as huge as a bear, he was holding a battle hammer that was so ugly that it was believed to be a street lamp. He looked around and shouted.
“I am Baron Bunta, a knight of the Kingdom of Hmatou! By breaking the skin of the evil witch, I will save the empire from chaos!”
It was a loud roar as if it were ominous. The servant next to him clenched his fist and shouted.
“You can do it, Bunta! You will become the hero who saved the empire!”
“Of course not, ah-ah-ah!”
A knight called Bunta raised his arms above his head. The hammer that fell in a huge arc struck the ice.
Aww! A roar rang out and the hammer head exploded at the same time. Bunta, whose face was hot like lava, smashed his buttocks and collapsed.
“Aww! Hands, my hands…!”
The metal gloves were shattered. The hammer with only the stick left fell to the floor. There was not even a small scratch on the ice surrounding the witch. Bunta, who was about to get up, screamed.
“Huh! Cow, your hands are on the floor…!”
“Joe, hold on! I’ll take it off!”
The seed ran in haste, but his hand could not be lifted. Bunta was finally able to regain her freedom only after dedicating some of the skins of her palms to Rhodolan. He escaped Zuteka, hiding his hands, which had turned into gloves as if his blood had frozen.
“I don’t even know what to say about Hmatou or what. A man like that is a baron.”
Ronan smirked as if he was stunned. Seeing that handprints like that were left on the floor, it seemed that this was not the first time for an idiot like Bunta. Karaka looked at his back and sighed.
“Most of these days are such idiots. I want to be a hero.”
“Can I just go and try it?”
“Waiting for your order comes first. Everyone here is here to break the shell.”
Karaka looked around the people and said. Before the sound of Bunta’s sobs disappeared, another person came out and stood in front of the ice.
A middle-aged woman was wearing a robe engraved with a full moon tower. she said in a hoarse voice.
“This is Meiji Uslow from the Full Moon Tower. let’s begin.”
Apparently, it was customary to reveal the name and affiliation. A muffled chorus came out of the woman’s mouth. oo… Nine huge magic circles were created as if surrounding a witch, and then nine huge rock pillars shot out like a spring.
Aww! The sound was about nine times louder than Bunta’s hammer, but the ice pillars that were exposed as the dust settled and were still alive. She licked her lips and turned her back.
“Excuse me.”
“It’s better that way.”
It was not bad to accept failure calmly. After Bunta and Urslo, the attempts continued. People tried to break the ice in their own way, and they all failed.
Among the challengers, there were especially many wizards, and among the magic they used, there were some that even Ronan, an outsider, could see. Each time, Asher and Erzebet looked at the magic with their eyes shining.
“How can you draw a mana circuit like that…! There are also a lot of outstanding talents coming.”
“Yes. I think it can be applied to other places as well.”
I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sure seemed like a positive influence. Good thing you brought it too. It was a car to spend time thinking about. Ronan noticed that no one was coming forward.
“Oh, it’s my turn.”
“Lo, Ronan…! cheer up!”
“I could.”
Asher said, clenching her fists. Erzebet also sent light encouragement. Ronan, who strode forward, stood in front of a pillar of ice. The witch was still asleep, curled up.
‘Also.’
Seeing the ice, Ronan twisted his lips. His vague reasoning was consistent to some extent. The skin surrounding the witch gave off a feeling similar to the crystal that covered her body.
‘…a little different.’
But when I asked if they were exactly the same, it wasn’t. It seemed similar, but it felt different.
Is it the difference between a shield and a prison? If Ronan’s crystal was made to protect something, it seemed like it was made to contain it. I put my finger on it, but it didn’t melt or crack the ice.
‘I don’t have a choice.’
Now I had no choice but to destroy it. Ronan pulled the hilt. Shreung! The sword of La Mancha, dyed red, appeared.
“This is Ronan from Phileon.”
He fixed his gaze on the witch and opened his mouth. There was no need to delay. Ronan took a stance and swung his sword. Kaah! A belated crash rang out.
“It’s a surprise!”
“What, what? When did you swing it?”
Surprised people shrugged their shoulders. No one at the scene saw his sword strike. Feeling the sensation of howling bones, Ronan frowned.
“…you are strong.”
The ice was alive. Although about 30% of the blade had penetrated inward, it was far from the ‘complete destruction’ he was aiming for. The confused people sighed.
“Well then.”
“Wait, isn’t that a blade with a blade inside the ice right now?”
“It can’t be. You must have seen it wrong.”
As if they had not expected it in the first place, they all reacted bitterly. Either way, Ronan had no intention of giving up.
‘If even a little of it is cut, it will be broken someday.’
Even huge rocks are eventually eroded by raindrops. It was about time he pulled out his knife for a retry. Something strange caught my sight.
‘Well?’
Ronan narrowed his eyes and looked at the ice. Sharp scars were engraved on the bluish surface. It was a faint trace that you could not help but miss if you didn’t look closely.
‘I saw this shape… somewhere.’
Ronan tilted his head. It looked like it was drawn randomly, but there was a sense of balance. It was unnatural because it happened by chance. Ronan, who had been thinking for a while, switched the core.
‘perhaps···.’
From here on, it was an act done purely by intuition. Ronan raised his hand and touched the pole. And the sparkling mana flowed over the surface of the ice. Suaahhh, mana started filling in the scars like water flowing down a ditch.
“What are you doing?”
“Hey, if you see all the balls, get out of the way. We must destroy it before the dragon arrives.”
People waiting for their turn began to grumble. The sparkling mana was invisible to the eyes of others, so it was inevitable. Mana, which had been spreading along the scar, stopped expanding. Ronan’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
“This···!”
It wasn’t a coincidence either. The scratches in the shallow ice were drawing a familiar picture. It felt like a voice was being heard in my head.
-【Funny sound. Do you think my servants and the lives of your worms are worth the same?]
– At least for me.
The scenes I had seen at the time of Haeju passed by my eyes at high speed. Ronan still remembered the world he had seen through his eyes. Ronan stretched out her hand as if possessed and touched the shining scar.
‘What the hell…’
I’ve only seen it a few times, but I’ll never forget it. It was the sword of swordsmanship used by the savior, the progenitor of Nebula Clazier, who slashed the sky and slashed dragons.
