Chapter 193: Those Who Return
It did not take long for the Alliance Forces' banners to be raised across the northern front.
The snow melted away, and the breath of spring rose in full. People began leveling the earth again and rebuilding crumbled walls. New banners were planted where the ashes had scattered, and the sounds of broken weapons and plows being sorted mingled together into a strange sort of peace.
Ella walked slowly. With each step her feet touched the ground, young shoots swayed faintly, and a dim golden mist bloomed in her wake. It was the Rite of Purification.
To fully erase the darkness Verhas had left behind, the Order repeated the ritual every night across each region. Ella stood at the center of it all, and by now, she had become someone no one could lay a hand on.
The one who turned a battlefield into sacred ground, and the one who seals away the darkness. It was only a matter of time before the Elvra Holy Empire was rebuilt—and it seemed as though the one who would rise to the seat of the Pope had already been decided.
Her gaze traveled to the group approaching from afar.
It was the mounted unit led by Volga. The Mountain Rabbits and the remaining forces of the Alliance Forces were patrolling the northern front under his command. Burned villages, broken walls, and resistance fighters who had joined the Alliance—he rode up to Calix and gave a short report.
"Most of the stragglers have surrendered. The bulk of the resistance fighters were handed over to the Order's side."
Calix gave a quiet nod, and Ella looked at him with a small smile. But that smile did not last long.
With the sound of hoofbeats, Hadiya returned leading a scouting party.
"Enemy spotted! Over 3,000 in number, currently moving east."
"Their speed?"
"Not fast. What's strange is—they noticed the scouts and didn't react at all."
In that moment, Calix's gaze turned northward. Almost simultaneously, the tips of Ella's fingers trembled slightly. A strange current ran through the air.
Something remaining on the battlefield was stirring, as if rejecting the light of purification.
"They're coming this way."
Ella's voice dropped low. The Mountain Rabbits and the knights all turned their eyes to her.
"Could it be remnants of the resistance or enemy stragglers? They don't seem to be many in number……"
At Zahira's question, Ella answered firmly.
"No. This is…… The power of the dead. An evil resonance."
With her words, the ground trembled faintly underfoot. It was an extremely weak vibration, but it felt as if something enormous was stretching itself awake from deep below.
The wind changed direction. It carried warmth, yet the smell was different. The stench of the dead.
Ella recited the prayer once more. Golden dust swirled in the wake of the woman's will. As if preparing for an enemy whose nature was yet unknown.
***
The identity of the enemy became certain by evening.
This time, Hadiya's face had grown heavy with a dark expression.
"They are wicked things. Their direction is a straight line southeast…… I could not approach closely. The soldiers were affected by the anomaly."
At those words, the surroundings fell silent.
Royce turned his horse's head and looked at Calix. The two nodded at the same time.
"Let's confirm it ourselves."
"Agreed. Keep our numbers to a minimum."
A short while later, in the valley area to the northeast.
As the sun dipped and the sunset spread in a pale gray haze, faint black lines stretched across the snowfield. What caught the eye first were thousands of shadows.
Calix's brow furrowed slightly. They moved slowly, yet within them, there was no sense of vitality belonging to the living.
Dark magical power was propping up bodies that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"……They are all corpses."
"So it seems. And yet those corpses are marching."
It was unmistakably a march.
Yet it was far too silent to be called a march. A blizzard whirled along the path they walked, yet not a single banner stirred. The dead were walking while propping each other up by the shoulders. Their faces were half-rotted, and their armor was caked with mud and blood.
Their footsteps did not stop for even a moment.
"They aren't the Corrupted. They look closer to…… The power of a Legion Commander."
Airien murmured low. The elven woman bit her lip and continued,
"The dead are sharing a single mana among themselves. Someone is holding them together."
Just then, a massive figure emerged from the center of the enemy formation. Flesh had melted away from various parts of its body, leaving it far removed from any human shape. A crumbling form, decaying flesh—and yet, a power that refused death.
The mage Yelayen calmly identified its nature.
"'The Spreading One', Drenv. A Legion Commander who wields pestilence."
He was a subordinate of De Generitum and one of the great figures who had conquered the Elvra Holy Empire alongside Verhas. But the state of his body now was a wreck.
Dark red blood welled up from a hole torn through his chest. It regenerated endlessly, yet simultaneously, the wounds only worsened in a repeating cycle.
"It seems the mage 'Gatekeeper' gave him quite the thrashing. Even so, caution is warranted."
At that moment, Drenv stopped walking. Behind him, thousands of the dead halted as well. He slowly lifted his half-melted head.
[I…… take these ones with me.]
His voice was rough as ground iron filings, yet it settled lower than even a spring breeze. The beast's breath froze in midair and scattered into fragments.
[To Him. Returning—to the Land of Shadows.]
Though they were far apart, Calix knew those words had been directed at him. There was no meaning in concealing his presence. Just as he was looking into Drenv's darkness, the other was feeling his chaos in turn.
Red eyes flashed.
Their gazes met, and a silent exchange passed between them. And at the end of it, a completely unexpected statement was made.
[……Open me a path.]
Drenv's killing intent buckled.
***
Snow fell upon the place where Drenv's forces had come to a stop.
The Alliance Forces' main body had gathered and closed in, and soon the two processions were face to face. The snowfield of the northeast valley held its breath, and the air cooled and refused to move.
Calix drew his horse to a halt at the vanguard. At the end of his gaze were thousands of the dead. Those who, though dead, had not collapsed. A silent order bound together by darkness stood there without moving.
"Do not advance beyond a certain distance!"
At Royce's command, the cavalry halted. Behind them, the Order, the knights, and the Mountain Rabbits all took their positions. Snow cascaded from the sky, and the banners representing both sides billowed.
"How strange. Asking us to clear the way. Isn't this a first?"
Hadiya was the first to speak.
"That's what makes it more ominous."
Marik answered immediately.
"They aren't human. They're nothing but corpses led by a beast."
Drenv's proposal had thrown the Alliance Forces' leadership into confusion. He stood still in place, as if desiring peace, waiting for their decision.
Ella looked back toward the enemy formation. Her divinity clashed against the darkness again and again. It was a black current.
"I say again—we must not underestimate the enemy."
Yelayen stroked his beard and offered his counsel.
"He is wounded from the Gatekeeper, but he is still a creature no different from a wild beast. Bear that in mind if you intend to settle this."
At those words, Gregor suddenly stepped forward and added his voice.
"Fight again? That works too. But comrades—we've already lost quite a lot. Don't forget that war always comes with a price."
The old man who had lost his memories let out a dry chuckle, yet revealed his characteristic wisdom in how he spoke. At his words, the veteran Mountain Rabbits nodded. The battles in the north were over, and their supplies of weapons and food were dangerously thin.
If a large-scale battle were to be fought again in a short time, great danger would follow.
Of course, those on the Order's side maintained a firm stance.
"We cannot simply send wicked things back the way they came. They must be purified."
Volga instinctively gripped his sword hilt with one hand as if in agreement.
"If we let them go like this, it will become another calamity."
Just then, there was movement among the Alliance Forces' ranks. Some of the Niboria nobles nocked arrows to their bowstrings. Seized by impatience, they acted without orders.
Fwsssh!
Before anyone could stop it, a single arrow tore through the air. After crossing hundreds of meters, the arrowhead buried itself in the ground before Drenv's procession.
In an instant, every one of the dead raised their heads. Inside their pale, dead eyes, hostility stirred. The mercenaries instinctively drew their swords.
But what happened next was beyond anyone's expectation.
Drenv raised his hand. Most of his fingers had been crushed into nothing, and yet within that gesture was a strange dignity.
[Return to sleep.]
At the firm command, the killing intent of the dead subsided in an instant. A strange silence drifted around the valley.
Calix watched the scene without a word, then opened his mouth.
"Watch, but do not attack first."
There was something to be gained, yet this was also a fight with much to lose.
Volga felt the heat at the tips of his fingers fade away. Nothing was as hollow as a battlefield where the reason to fight had disappeared.
***
The snowfall grew heavier and heavier. Nothing but stillness filled the valley. Both sides had halted, keeping a certain distance between them.
Then, Drenv moved first.
As the massive figure slowly advanced, the dead around him all bowed their heads in unison. With every step he took, black mist rose upward. The sound of flesh tearing away and blood boiling rang out, yet the sheer force of his mana remained unchanged.
"……Hold."
When Calix spoke quietly, the command passed through the entirety of the Alliance Forces' line.
At the same time, he advanced as well. With each step he took on horseback, the falling snow changed its direction. It was a subtle change, but it was enough to make the line dividing each other's domains clearly visible.
Drenv did not cross that boundary. It was less that he could not—more that he understood he must not.
Soon, with roughly 100 paces between them, Calix and Drenv stood face to face. A brief silence passed. No sword was drawn, no clash of mana occurred.
In that silence, the killing intent of 2 beings entwined as they took each other's measure.
Calix did not waver, and Drenv did not rush in recklessly either. They were simply observing each other's domain.
Immediately after, Drenv opened his mouth.
[You are…… The center of this chaos.]
His voice was rough, yet composed. The sound of iron grinding ran through it, but that was from the wounds he had taken earlier—not from fear.
Calix did not answer. Instead, he simply looked at him. There were times when silence was stronger than words.
Drenv then gave a slight tilt of his head. It was not submission nor surrender. In this moment, on this road, it was the acknowledgment of a powerful being encountered.
Then, the beast's gaze moved past Calix to the rear. The Mountain Rabbits were waiting in a stance that said they could draw their swords at any moment.
Drenv picked out a suitable target from among them and addressed him.
[Young warrior.]
Volga glanced around, then quickly realized the words had been directed at him. The beast's eyes were fixed on the young man who had grown up in Bamba Village.
[Remember your master, Calix.]
"He's not my master! He's my friend!"
Volga snapped and cried out. Those monster types always repeated the same thing. But no matter his displeasure, Drenv did not stir.
[Yes. That 'friend' of yours…… Will ultimately come to see the end of this road.]
At those words, Yelayen let out a small sigh, and Adrian's brow deepened. Calix had started to cut off the other's words, then lowered his hand and simply listened.
Drenv continued,
[The road you have walked. This road that darkness destroyed and light protected. At the end of it…… He shall come to face the Corrupted Lord.]
Volga clenched his fist tight.
"That's even better, then. We've had to work ourselves half to death filling in the holes you lot tore open. I've been wanting to see that face of yours for a while now!"
But Drenv had already finished speaking and turned his gaze back to Calix.
The gazes of 2 powerful beings met for a brief moment. It was far too quiet for a warrior's greeting, and far too composed to be an expression of hostility.
The agreement was settled.
Drenv slowly turned away. Calix did not stop him. Soon, the dead began to move, following in the beast's wake.
Not a single one of them looked at the human army. Only in one direction—southeast. Toward the Land of Shadows.
The place where Drenv was born, the ground where the dark legion began, the land cast beneath 'His' shadow—one step, then another step.
The vast procession crossed over the snowfield, returning toward the place it had originally come from.
And so, the Alliance Forces achieved victory without a single clash.
"……We should send a messenger."
Yet even in that moment, Calix did not miss the message Drenv had left behind.
"We need to hear news from the southern front of the continent. If it were mere retreat, there would be no reason to leave those words."
They had not been left like the last desperate raving of something cornered.