Chapter 167: Crackling

A faint vibration rippled through the ice cavern. The unexpected disturbance surged, growing more intense:

Hooong… Hooong… Hooong…

The sound resonated forcefully within the cave. Suddenly, without warning,

Shuuuk!

A black fissure materialized out of thin air, spewing forth five distinct shadows.

“Ugh!”

“Huh?!”

Tania and Kendrick, who had braced themselves for the same high-altitude plummet as last time, were caught off guard. This time, their feet touched the ground directly. Louis tutted at his wobbling disciples, finding their response lacking.

“Tsk tsk, can’t maintain balance with just that?”

“I-it’s… because this is our first time experiencing something like this,” Kendrick mumbled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Of course, Louis wasn’t about to accept such an excuse.

“What? And later when you get stabbed, are you going to say, ‘I couldn’t handle it because it was my first time getting stabbed’?”

“It’s nothing—”

“I’m telling you to be prepared at all times! Stay alert!”

“Yes…”

“Tania, keep this in mind too.”

“I will!”

Kendrick, having received only criticism for his lame excuse, glared at Tania. He felt wronged because despite shaking their bodies together, he was the only one getting scolded.

Under his brother’s glare, Tania stuck out her tongue.

If you just keep quiet, you’ll end up like me—getting the middle—the cold! she thought with a smirk.

Busted! Kendrick retorted silently.

The bickering siblings exchanged a brief eye-roll before surveying their surroundings. Then they shivered.

“Ugh… It’s so cold.”

“I-isn’t it?”

“Teacher, where… where are we?”

Louis answered matter-of-factly:

“The Winter Continent.”

Of course, those who heard this couldn’t possibly find it “matter-of-fact.”

The Flame siblings were utterly astonished.

“W-Winter Continent?”

“My goodness!”

They had merely ascended the magic circle and found themselves on the opposite end of the Spring Continent.

As they blinked in surprise, their eyes widened at the sight of white steam rising from their breath.

“Teacher? Is this… our breath?”

“Is this coming from our mouths?”

Having grown up on the Spring Continent, they had no prior experience with winter.

Louis observed the shivering siblings clad only in the lightweight travel clothes typical of the Spring Continent.

I suppose their affinity for fire makes them more vulnerable to the cold.

Generally, by the time one reached the 2nd Tier, they developed some resistance to both heat and cold. However, the Flame siblings possessed an innate affinity for heat. While this granted them exceptional resilience against high temperatures, it also made them more susceptible to the chill.

Louis retrieved a thick winter coat from his extra dimension and tossed it to them.

“Put this on.”

“Wow… I’ve never seen such a heavy garment before,” they marveled.

“This is what people wear in winter.”

As the Flame siblings donned their new clothes with fascination, the twins approached Louis.

“Louis… where are we?”

“Why did we come to the Winter Continent?”

The twins’ question brought a smile to Louis’s face.

“Do you guys remember…?”

“What?”

“What?”

“That time we visited the bandits’ hideout as a group.”

“Oh! That!”

“I remember it now! Is this really the same place? I feel like I’ve never been here before.”

“Well, we’re certainly nearby.”

He recalled how, for the sake of claiming Grow Fruit for himself, he had left the twins behind and ventured down these underground caves alone. It was no wonder the twins felt like they were seeing everything fresh.

Back then, Louis had hidden the grow fruit from his twin because he didn’t want to share it. But now, there was no need for that. In fact, he wanted to proudly show off how much he had grown after eating the fruit!

Filled with anticipation, Louis shouted at his companions, “If you’re ready, let’s go!”

“Where are we going?”

“Don’t ask, just follow me!”

Louis started moving, with his companions trailing behind him. He followed the same path he had walked with Pablo after cleaning up the Snow Orc village. Finally, he reached the point where he had parted ways with Pablo and continued alone. This was where Louis had stopped because Pablo’s bulk wouldn’t fit through the narrow entrance.

Louis’s expression hardened as he stood before it. ”…Huh?” Something was off. The entrance had been just wide enough for his young self to squeeze through back then.

But now, the entrance had grown so vast that even adult men could pass through without issue.

Yes… that’s possible, Louis tried to rationalize the current situation. Over the centuries, the opening might have naturally expanded due to the elements.

However, Louis’s expression shifted as he studied the entrance more closely.

This isn’t natural, is it?

The entrance appeared as if someone had forcibly widened it. And then there was the most crucial observation:

It’s missing?!

Something that should have been clearly present at this entrance—the signpost he had erected over two and a half centuries ago!

“No way…!” His pupils dilated, and his steps quickened. He moved forward unhesitatingly but suddenly halted. Louis’s gaze was fixed on the ground—or rather, on a wooden signpost split into two halves.

The Louis Estate

Tread with caution!

If you value your limbs (and your life), do not touch this sign. I’ve seen enough of you lot, and I’ll be more than happy to make you join the rest!

It was unmistakable.

This was the very signpost he had erected with his own hands.

And yet, there it lay, shattered and rolling on the ground.

The implications were clear.

Someone has invaded!

His swift pace quickened into a full-blown sprint.

“Louis?”

“Sensei?”

“Mister Louis?!”

Startled, the twins, the flame siblings, and Fin rushed after him, urgency etched on their faces.

As they surged through the passageways, Louis scanned his surroundings relentlessly.

With each passing moment, his expression grew grimmer.

Everything… everything’s vanished!

He had been so certain these sacred scriptures would withstand the test of time for at least three centuries. Now, every single magic circle, painstakingly crafted to illuminate “one centimeter of the future,” had vanished without a trace.

No, to be precise, it had been destroyed—by someone’s attack.

Damn it!

Suppressing his anxiety as his heart raced, Louis ran even faster. Then, suddenly, he came to a halt.

“Oh no…”

Louis’s gaze fixated on what lay before him.

What had been carefully preserved for over two hundred and fifty years—a small glimmer of hope. A fruit that had clung tenaciously to survive until this day, waiting to ripen.

”…It’s gone.”

Gone. All that remained were the withered remains of the Grow Fruit tree, filling Louis’s vision.

After enduring so much, just for today…

The end of all those years of patience?

Damn it all…

It was a dead end.

For a long moment, Louis couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dried-up Grow Fruit tree.

“Louis.”

“Sir?”

“Sir Louis?” The members of his retinue looked at him with concern.

Suddenly,

Tremble, tremble.

A shudder began at Louis’s shoulder and spread through his entire body. Then a roar burst from his lips, as loud as thunder.

“What kind of bastard dares to do such a thing?!”

Hic!

Krkrk!

Meeek!

They knew immediately how furious Louis was—and also what could happen if they messed with him here. As the twins and the Flame siblings scrambled for ideas, Louis spun around with a whoosh.

The onlookers flinched as they observed Louis.

H-h-how scary…

He’s really furious…

The fierce flash in Louis’s eyes warned them that he was angrier than ever. With eyes glowing in fury, Louis started retracing his steps down the corridor.

I can’t believe you couldn’t even protect this one thing!

This matter couldn’t be simply brushed aside. As Louis’s cold anger grew, his footsteps gradually quickened.

After one glance at each other, the twins and flame siblings followed in his wake.

One week before Louis and his companions left the Spring Continent, time took a turn in some part of the Winter Continent.

Crackle, crackle.

Firewood burned in the fireplace.

The room warmed as a man wearing an extravagant fur coat gazed out the window.

Whirr, whirr.

Outside, a blizzard raged, making it impossible to see even a short distance. Such weather was common on the Winter Continent, yet there had been more heavy snowfall this year than usual. The force of the swirling snow had become so fierce that even the natives, who normally detested all things related to winter, were taking shelter.

The harsh conditions froze all movement across the Winter Continent.

Yet on such a day, there were those who ventured out.

They were the ones who prayed for the relentless snow to erase all evidence of their presence. The man in ornate attire, gazing out the window, was waiting for precisely such individuals. As he whiled away the time with a warm glass of wine in hand:

Thwip.

In the perfectly empty room, a figure suddenly materialized from thin air—the man’s long-awaited guest had arrived.

An entity shrouded entirely in white cloth, with only their eyes visible.

Judging by the soaking-wet state of their wrappings, frozen by the harsh weather, this stranger had clearly braved the fierce blizzard to reach him.

The figure doggedly made their way across the silent chamber, offering a respectful bow to the man who remained facing the window.

In response, the man’s voice drifted back to his visitor:

”…The mission?”

“Accomplished, my lord.”

The voice of the figure answering was so hoarse it was impossible to determine if it was a man or a woman. However, their response was very clear and measured.

At the figure’s answer, the man dressed in ornate robes rose to his feet and walked toward the white-robed stranger.

“Give it here.”

At this short command, the white-robed figure took a small box from within their garments and presented it.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, it is.”

The man in ornate robes took the box. It was so cold that his hands nearly went numb, likely due to its exposure to the swirling snow outside. Yet, the man’s eyes that took the object were filled with a strange fervor.

Within this box lies the holy relic of the Pantheon!

How many lives had been lost in the pursuit of this item alone? Though those lives were mere expendable resources, it required a significant investment of resources to raise and train those individuals.

The divine relic he held in his hands now—an artifact of the Pantheon that he had finally acquired by trading the lives of his subordinates. The man’s hands trembled as he realized he’d finally obtained what he needed to carry out his plan. Suppressing his excitement, he carefully opened the box.

Clack.

And then…

“…?”

He blinked. Staring silently at the divine relic in the box, he turned away and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“This really… is the sacred relic of the Pantheon?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re absolutely sure you brought the right one?”

“There can be no mistake. That was the only object being protected under the Holy Scripture at that ‘place.’”

”…Is this for real?”

“Yes, sir.”

Even in the face of his subordinate’s firm declaration, the man couldn’t help but question it repeatedly.

Each time, all he received were the same assurances: “That’s correct,” and “It’s definitely as you say.”

“Hmph…”

The lavishly dressed man was well aware of one thing: the subordinate kneeling before him would never dare utter a falsehood.

This ‘loyal beast’ had been meticulously trained to be utterly dependable.

It was precisely for this reason that an involuntary scoff escaped his lips.

And yet, he simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Heh-heh-heh…”

After investing so much manpower into retrieving this sacred relic of his pantheon…

“Only to end up with this godforsaken knucklebone… of a thing…”

The object in question bore an uncanny resemblance to some grotesque, otherworldly fruit, barely discernible as a mere bone.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The man’s incredulous mumblings were drowned out by the relentless drumming of snow against the windowpane.

Crack, clatter, crackle.

The window emitted a bizarre, unsettling noise.

It was as if the wails of some ominous dragon were foretelling their bleak future.