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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Chapter 183
Rustle-
Cuculli impassively drove her horse.
Even in midsummer, a chilly coldness lingered in the air.
The tip of the nose tingled from the biting wind, and the sight gradually blurred into a pale white.
It was a sign that her hometown, North Hale, was getting closer.
‘…How many days has it been?’
Cuculli blinked her sore eyes.
It was strange.
She was exhausted, yet sleep eluded her completely.
Every time she lay down, a sharp sensation pierced her chest, preventing her from falling asleep.
So, she decided to hurry instead.
Once she reached her destination, this pain would cease.
‘Father. Father.’
Cuculli repeated those words aloud.
“Father.”
The hand gripping the reins trembled uncontrollably.
The blue eyes that always held laughter now seemed like shattered glass.
‘Why. Why on earth.’
…Cuculli recalled the events of a few days ago, over and over again.
It was after the drinking session ended.
The children had all stumbled into their rooms drunk.
But Cuculli couldn’t get drunk, let alone sleep.
This night was regrettable.
It was the moment when she, feeling strangely dizzy, decided to enjoy some time alone by the river.
The incident happened without any warning.
“Huh…?”
Suddenly, a pitch-black darkness enveloped her.
She couldn’t see anything, couldn’t feel anything.
It felt like vast stretches of time and infinite space were intruding between her and reality.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?”
She was about to scream.
A colossal and otherworldly presence called out her name.
Cuculli!
A voice echoing wildly.
It was the summons engraved in her blood, in her soul, at her core.
Cuculli trembled as if struck by lightning.
‘Wait, this…’
She remembered stories her father had told her about a situation similar to this.
Cuculli’s head slowly shook.
‘No.’
The darkness vanished suddenly, just as it had arrived.
As Cuculli blinked a few times, she found herself back in reality.
But the starlit river no longer looked beautiful.
“…No.”
Cuculli’s face contorted with fear and horror.
“No!”
The time for baptism had come.
In other words… the previous baptist had died.
.
.
.
She couldn’t remember much after that.
It seemed like instinctive judgment had taken over.
Crack-!
Cuculli froze the surface of the Payrun River.
She couldn’t freeze it all, of course, but it was enough to pave a way forward.
After rising to the surface, she stole a horse from a nearby village.
And she kept running.
Whenever a horse foamed and fell, she immediately stole another and kept running.
She neither slept nor ate.
She didn’t want to sleep nor eat.
As blood oozed from her hand gripping the reins, she managed to reach the northern outskirts.
“……”
Only then did the girl halt the horse’s head.
The sky was clear, revealing distant ice-capped mountains and pristine glaciers.
The familiar scenery of North Hale provided a backdrop sufficient to paint the face she missed.
“Father, I’m here.”
As she spoke, the girl’s expressionless face broke.
Through the gaps, her sorrow and… anger emerged.
She had heard detailed gossip about Dorempa’s death while stopping by villages to steal horses.
“They say they fell to the remnants of the Demonic Church?”
“Huh? I heard their leader himself came out?”
“Fucking bastards. Thought they were uprooted years ago, but apparently they’re still thriving.”
Nonsense.
Cuculli’s fist clenched tightly.
Her father wasn’t someone to fall to the likes of the “Demonic Church remnants.”
He possessed a strength even formidable commanders couldn’t easily overlook.
She remembered the communication that had continued from the Solintail Territory.
[Hey, you’re the daughter of this gruff old man, aren’t you? I’m Ivar. You can call me Uncle Ivar.]
[I’m on a very important mission. I can’t tell you what it is.]
Furthermore, he was accompanied by a member of the renowned Dawn Knights, famous for their martial skills.
Even if the full force of the Demonic Church attacked, it would be impossible to kill Dorempa.
Something’s not right.
Cuculli was certain that things were going wrong.
It was difficult to pinpoint exactly where, but something had gone subtly awry.
But she couldn’t rush to resolve it immediately.
Of course, she yearned to find the culprit and take revenge.
However, what her father had wanted most for her was to inherit the power of the Frost Dragon.
‘…First, I have to head to the sanctuary.’
If the baptism is delayed, the bond between the Northern tribes will weaken.
Then, the demons will peer over North Hale as if waiting.
She didn’t plan on letting what Dorempa feared and guarded against happen.
‘Moreover, whoever the culprit behind this is, they are a formidable opponent, capable of killing my father. If I can’t inherit the power, there will be no revenge. Let’s steel ourselves.’
She tightened her grip on the reins once again.
At that moment, Cuculli’s gaze also shifted to the rear.
She thought about what she left behind in the warm south.
“Farewells… I couldn’t even say goodbye.”
She didn’t know when she would see them again, but there would never be a time when she could see them as her true self.
“…There were still so many things I wanted to do together.”
Finally, Cuculli shook her head.
The girl lying on the horse sobbed violently.
* * *
Somewhere in North Hale, in a remote cave, muffled conversations were taking place.
“We’ve located the target and confirmed their movement. They seem to be cautious, but we won’t let them slip through.”
“After the old man, we’ll get a taste of the young dragon’s blood.”
——————
HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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The leader of the Demonic Church, Kalende, nodded slowly.
“We’ll follow them for now. At this rate, we’ll soon know the location of the sanctuary.”
“Who would have thought the beginning of our grand mission would go so smoothly? Your Majesty will undoubtedly be pleased.”
…If anyone heard Kalende’s conversation partner, they would undoubtedly raise an eyebrow.
Eyes turned inside out, a tone devoid of any highs or lows.
With each syllable uttered, the man’s body convulsed violently, foam gathering at his lips.
Kalende’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Human magic is hindered by the demonic energy of the demon world, but magic using demonic energy has almost no restrictions.
Thanks to this, Kalende could communicate freely with Malekia, the Queen of Agony, at the depths of the Demonic Realm.
Not through the communication beads commonly used by humans… but through the insects of the demon realm that burrowed into the brain.
These so-called “communication bugs” vividly conveyed Malekia’s voice.
…The only drawback was that they died once the communication ended.
‘A grand mission…’
Indeed, those words were not wasted.
If they could smoothly track Cuculli Evans and discover the Frost Dragon’s sanctuary, the balance of the impending war would shift significantly.
They would destroy the sanctuary and kill all the Frost Dragon tribe.
Thus, eliminating the force guarding the North.
For the demon army, this meant a new avenue of advance into North Hale, while humans, heavily focused on defending the mountain ranges and the entrance to the West, would be defenseless against the invasion from the North.
The leaders focused on the East would have no idea that such a plan was unfolding.
The escape of Stagnum, the activities near Harlem, and the factories in the North were all part of this grand mission.
In fact, since they successfully lured out and killed the Dorempa, one could consider it half successful.
“Child, are your preparations for armed conflict going well?”
“…Our ally is temporarily unable to carry out operations due to severe injuries suffered during the battle with Dorempa. For now, we’ll mobilize the forces guarding the factories and the special forces waiting beyond the Ice Mountains…”
“Those alone won’t be enough. Remember what I said about sending my assistant.”
After Malekia finished speaking, she leaned close to Kalende’s ear and whispered like a snake.
Kalende’s eyes widened slightly.
“‘The Giant’… Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, since it’s the Northern area surrounded by the sea, it should be easy for him to land.”
Kalende nodded eagerly.
Even without the Dorempa, the tribes of the North, including the Frost Dragon tribe, were not easy opponents.
It would be a good way to sow discord while their unity was weakened.
With the Giant, it would be much easier to destroy the North.
“I am a little worried about the whereabouts of the Hero. Fortunately, he was last seen near the southern area… But once we know the situation, he will undoubtedly head to the North.”
“We have many eyes and ears in the West. No matter where he appears, we’ll know. And the moment his location is confirmed, my loyal servants will do their best to hinder him.”
As the defenses in the West weakened due to the Eastern operations, many demons and collaborators had infiltrated various parts of the West.
They were all spies and barricades.
‘…Moreover, Larze, who is in charge of mobility, is bound by the Demonic Realm.’
He won’t arrive in the North at the right time.
Maybe after the situation is over.
Once assured, Kalende got up.
“I’ll be excusing myself for a moment.”
“Go ahead and handle your business.”
Plop-
As blood gushed like fireworks from the ear of the parishioner connected to the communication bug, his body convulsed on the ground.
But Kalende paid no attention to the former subordinate who once served her loyally and briskly walked deeper into the cave.
Squeak-
It was an excited pace.
There was a narrow gap there.
It was so small that an adult would have a hard time passing through.
Trembling breaths could be heard coming from there.
“I found you.”
Crack-!
As Kalende’s fingertip triggered the “severance,” a part of the wall was cut off and collapsed diagonally.
The newly awakened scream was buried under the collapse noise.
For a moment, a cloud of dust surged and then settled, and Kalende greeted the silhouette beyond.
“Hello?”
White hair, large rabbit ears sticking out in between.
Red eyes and a fluffy tail.
A snow rabbit was trembling, flipping dust around.
“Oh, oh….”
Just moments ago, she hid in the crevice while out collecting.
Listening to the ongoing transmission, she vaguely realized the identity of the other person.
Eyes directed towards Kalende’s forehead.
As she confirmed the ominous pattern, a wave of fear washed over her.
Kalende looked at her expressionlessly, tapping her head with her fingers.
“You heard everything.”
“P-please spare me.”
“If you hadn’t heard, I would’ve spared you.”
“Oh, oh….”
The sight of the snow rabbit stirred strong feelings of sympathy in the observer.
But the opponent was in the wrong.
She was a ‘misplaced’ Homunculus.
“Blame your big ears.”
Crack-!
As ‘severance’ activated, the snow rabbit was sliced into hundreds of small pieces, falling to the ground.
All that remained intact were its ears.
“Tsk.”
Amidst the scattering crimson threads, Kalende licked the air with her tongue.
It felt disgustingly bland and mushy.
Nothing like what she felt a few days ago.
Thinking of sturdy horns and rustling scales, Kalende’s body shuddered.
Her red eyes also shifted southward simultaneously.
“Quickly come. Cuculli.”
Cheer me up like your father.
* * *
At the heart of the World Tree, emerging from a giant hole, I was greeted by noisy voices louder than the bright midsummer sun.
I blinked as I faced the three people rushing towards me.
…Why are they all so agitated?
And their gazes seem unstable.
Although I expected them to worry after our long silence, the atmosphere was even more serious than anticipated.
As I paused to scrutinize their expressions closely.
“Professor! What the heck happened inside! If you were just one day later, we would’ve stormed in with swords!”
“Leader! People have circumstances! Are you trying to shorten an elder’s life?”
Finally, Pia grabbed my wrist and pulled me.
I hesitated, looking into her trembling eyes.
“…There’s something you need to hear right away, Hero. They say Dorempa Evans is dead.”
[TL/N: Shit’s about to go down bro, ngl I kinda liked Dorempa.]
[PR/N: Kinda hoping for cuculli to get baptised without losing her personality but oh well…also now we know kalende is the homunculus made by depikio. Crazy.]
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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