Ch. 317 - Dusk Soil Moon (5)

Crackle. Crackle.

The campfire, which was made from dry branches and leaves, burned steadily, filling the quiet space with soothing ASMR-like sounds.  

Inside a small underground cave, Baek Yu-Seol sat staring blankly at the flames. An elven knight broke the silence and spoke to him.  

"If you're tired, you should sleep first. We'll take turns standing watch."  

"I’ll sleep in a bit."  

Baek Yu-Seol wanted to offer to stand watch with them, but he decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to conserve his strength for what lay ahead. He accepted their kindness.  

Screech—!

Thud! Thud...  

The tortured wails of wraiths echoed from outside the cave, along with the distant sound of massive footsteps from the giant wraiths.  

Although magic blocked sound and light from escaping the cave, the thunderous steps of the enormous wraiths still reached their ears, making it impossible not to feel a little tense.  

"How do you think they became wraiths?"  

One of the elven knights, a young woman and one of only three female knights in the group, suddenly asked. Baek Yu-Seol remembered hearing she was the youngest among them.  

"Ha Na-Rim. Don't waste time on useless thoughts."  

"I was just... curious. They say wraiths are born from powerful grudges, but nearly all the giants became wraiths. Isn't that strange?"  

It was a question no one had ever asked before. But Baek Yu-Seol already knew the answer.  

"They were born from rage in the first place."  

"Excuse me?"  

Ha Na-Rim looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if what he said made no sense. Baek Yu-Seol stirred the campfire with a stick as he elaborated.  

"They’re always angry. That whole 'gentle giant' legend? It’s a lie. The reason people didn’t know about their nasty temperament is because they were too busy fighting and killing each other. The frequent earthquakes recorded back then? Those were caused by the giants fighting among themselves."  

"Is that… True?"  

Ha Na-Rim fell silent for a moment before asking, "Then… How do you know all of this?"  

"I just do."  

Baek Yu-Seol appeared tired of making up excuses. He gave a curt response and fell silent again, staring into the fire. Ha Na-Rim turned her gaze toward the cave entrance.  

The sight of dozens of massive wraiths roaming outside was so chilling that it reminded her of hell itself.  

"Do you think we’ll be able to resolve this?"  

"We have to."  

"I don't know... I just can’t shake the feeling that going to Dusk Soil Moon won’t actually fix anything." 

"Ha Na-Rim, that's enough. You have a real talent for dragging down morale, don’t you?"  

"T-that's not it! I'm just really worried. They say Dusk Soil Moon has always been hostile to living beings. What if—just what if—something terrible happens to Baek Yu-Seol the moment he gets close—"  

"Ha Na-Rim!"  

Unable to listen anymore, a senior knight shouted.  

"That's not for you to concern yourself with. Do you think it's your place to worry about Baek Yu-Seol? He knows what he's doing, and Her Majesty the King herself has vouched for his abilities. Who do you think you’re worrying about here?"  

"... I’m sorry."  

"Honestly, there's no need to get mad over it..."  

From Baek Yu-Seol’s perspective, having a pretty elf worry about him wasn’t exactly something he’d object to. It seemed the senior knight interpreted Ha Na-Rim's words as an insult to Baek Yu-Seol’s honor.  

"And really, there’s no need to worry. You saw how Dusk Soil Moon looked, didn’t you?"  

"Yes. It was incredibly massive..."  

"It’s so bloated it can’t even move anymore."  

"Oh... That’s a relief..."  

"But it will get up."  

"What?"  

Baek Yu-Seol casually dropped the shocking statement as if it were nothing.  

"It’s one of the ‘Twelve Divine Moons’, after all. Once it regains full awareness, moving that enormous body will be no problem at all."  

"T-then..."  

"That’s why we’re hurrying now. To deal with it before it can move."  

"I... See..."  

"Let’s get some sleep now. We’ll be leaving early in the morning."  

"Understood. Please rest first. We’ll take turns standing watch."  

"Thank you, as always."  

With that, Baek Yu-Seol quickly slid into his sleeping bag and fell asleep. Ha Na-Rim alternated between looking outside the cave and glancing at him. She shivered slightly.  

To think that ghosts were wandering just a few steps away, yet he could fall asleep so calmly—his mental fortitude was both impressive and enviable.  

- - -

Thud! Thud...

Though technically ghosts, these wraiths possessed physical power. But how many mages could confidently face such massive and heavy creatures?  

Even when Florin encountered wraiths for the first time, she had been caught off guard. However, her exceptional mental strength, honed to communicate with the World Tree, allowed her to quickly regain composure and respond calmly.  

"Your Majesty! Three wraiths have latched onto the White Castle!"  

"I see them. I’ll handle it—remain inside and wait."  

As giant wraiths began appearing across the World Tree, the entire city descended into chaos. 

‘How could this happen...?’

Florin had assumed that the disasters caused by the ‘Awakening of Dusk Soil Moon’ would only amount to earthquakes. It was fear of those earthquakes that made her push for evacuation. She never imagined an even greater calamity would strike first.  

‘Why are the wraiths of dead giants invading the World Tree...?"’

During her reclusive years, she had read every book in the archives, but not once in history had such an event ever occurred.  

‘Is this the price of a failed seal?’

It all began with the sudden appearance of Fawn Prevernal Moon.  

His interference had caused the sealing of ‘Dusk Soil Moon’ to fail, and as a result, unprecedented events began to unfold.  

With a flap of her green fairy-like wings, Florin soared into the sky, gathering golden energy in both hands before shooting it high into the air.  

Boom!

The massive branches of the World Tree moved according to her will, wrapping around the enormous wraiths attacking the White Castle.  

These wraiths, significantly larger than average, seemed to be drawn by the immense life energy dormant within the White Castle.  

“I cannot allow that.”

Crunch!

Screeeeech!!

As the branches squeezed the wraiths' forms, they crumpled like paper and began to vanish. The divine energy infused into the branches eradicated them before they could fully manifest.  

While she managed to quell the immediate danger, the overall situation remained dire.  

“This is unbelievable…”

The White Castle, perched atop the tallest tree of the World Tree, allowed Florin to sense the entirety of the city's landscape with just a bit of focus.  

“Every city is completely overrun by wraiths…”

It was a despair-inducing sight, enough to make her legs give out. But if she gave in now, everything would be over.  

Standing on the highest point of the White Castle, Florin spread her wings wide and brought her hands together in prayer.  

“Primordial World Tree, please, just once more, shine your light upon your children.”

Within the World Tree, Florin could wield power comparable to that of a class 9 mage.  

Her specialty lay in protection and healing.  

While she couldn’t destroy the wraiths with explosive magic, she could at least ensure the safety of her people.  

But... How long could she protect them?  

Even now, magic warriors across the World Tree were battling endlessly. Yet, for every wraith they struck down, another would awaken, plunging the cities into further chaos.  

An endless war.  

‘This can’t go on...!’

In the midst of the chaos, Florin gritted her teeth as she spotted several High Elf Elders secretly fleeing. Her frustration grew unbearable when she also saw the ‘Tree Guardians’—those tasked with protecting the cities—abandoning their posts and running away.  

"Was this why they opposed the evacuation?"

Those very individuals had argued against evacuating the people during the previous meeting. Shouldn’t that mean they had an even greater responsibility to protect the citizens?  

A few Guardians remained, doing their duty to the end, but most fled, leaving Florin overwhelmed with the crushing weight of responsibility and stress.  

‘I can do this. I am the King.’

As the one who could communicate with the World Tree and embody the nurturing spirit of a mother, the Elf King did not rule or reign but instead embraced and protected her people.  

She had no clear solution to this crisis, but there was one thing she clung to.  

‘I just need to hold out a little longer.’

If she didn’t give up and kept fighting, surely a glimmer of hope would eventually shine through.  

———-

Flame leapt through the rubble of the collapsed school building, recoiling in horror as a black substance grazed past her head.  

"Yikes!"  

Had she hesitated for even a second, she might have been decapitated on the spot. Heart pounding, she slammed her staff into the ground.  

Thud!

Flash!

White beams of light shot out behind her, wrapping around the black, humanoid wraith.  

But it didn’t last long.  

Snap! Snap!

The bonds broke with a loud crack, and the wraith freed itself almost immediately.  

"Take this, then!"  

Using the brief moment she had gained, Flame conjured a massive arrow of light and drove it into the wraith’s chest.  

Roar!!

Her attack only seemed to anger the wraith further, its effect minimal.  

"Damn it!"  

She quickly rolled to the side as a black whip lashed down where she had just been standing. Realizing she couldn’t keep this up, she began casting another spell.  

But before she could finish, the wraith lunged forward, lowering its stance and charging directly at her.  

"Ack—!"  

Flame instinctively cast a shield, but she knew immediately it wouldn’t be enough to withstand the blow.  

At that moment, a massive hand of ice rose from the ground, intercepting the wraith’s charge and stopping it in its tracks.  

Crash!

A deafening crash reverberated, as if threatening to shatter her eardrums, and the ice barrier crumbled. Thankfully, however, the giant’s charge was significantly slowed, allowing Flame to escape from its path.  

"Are you okay!?"  

From a distance came Eisel’s voice as she ran toward her. The hand-shaped ice magic was unmistakably inspired by Ma Yu-Seong’s signature spell, which Eisel had seemingly tried to replicate.  

"Yeah. I’m fine. But for now..."  

Flame raised her head, her eyes locking onto the giant as it slowly steadied itself.  

She had successfully lured it away from the other students, drawing its attention, but its overwhelming power made even dealing with a single wraith a struggle.  

“We’ll have to take it down, right?”  

“Do you even know what that thing is?”  

Eisel shook her head, clearly uneasy.  

“It looks like a fragmented wraith, but I don’t know anything else.”  

“One thing is certain. It needs to be destroyed.”  

Screams echoed from all over the academy. That meant there wasn’t just one wraith but multiple wreaking havoc. The professors were likely fighting them off as well, but there were too many for them to handle alone.  

“Do you have a plan?”  

“The underground shelter—it’s protected by a sacred barrier, so the wraiths shouldn’t be able to enter. We need to evacuate the students there.”  

“But… I saw it on my way here. The entrance is completely blocked by debris, and there are already dozens of wraiths blocking the path, likely drawn to the life force inside.”  

“Then we’ll need help from the other students and professors. First, we take down this thing, move forward, and gather allies along the way. Simple, right?”  

Flame grinned confidently, and Eisel nodded in agreement.  

"I’ll take the lead. You remember ‘League of Spirit’, don’t you?"  

“Let’s do it like we did back then.”  

As Eisel gripped her staff tightly with both hands, a massive explosion of flames erupted in the distance.  

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The relentless bursts of fire were so wild and chaotic that it was obvious who was responsible.  

“Looks like one of the allies we need to collect is over there.”  

“Yes, let’s go!”  

Eisel led the way, freezing the ground beneath her feet and sliding forward. Flame followed closely, summoning arrows of light as she ran.  

‘We can do this.’

She couldn’t shake the fear. How long would this catastrophe last? Was it even possible to truly end these wraiths? The uncertainty was terrifying.  

What made it worse was that this disaster had never even been mentioned in the original romance fantasy story, leaving her with no clear reference. The sense of the unknown gnawed at her.  

But Flame wasn’t the type to back down.  

‘Someone has faced this kind of situation thousands of times. If they could do it... Maybe, just this once, I can too.’

————-

Comments