The Second Prince narrowed his eyes and raised his head, sensing that intense pressure coming from above the clouds.
"What is that?"
Within the cloud layer, it seemed like something was rolling about, stirring up wave after wave of air currents.
It twisted back and forth in the air, and all around it, dense streams of white airflow drifted and moved.
The clouds concealed it, and the surrounding wind suddenly came to a halt.
Delk stood beside the Second Prince. Even he himself sensed that something was off.
Having lived for years in the extreme north, Delk was long used to the cold, but this kind of weather still made people feel inexplicably uneasy and afraid.
Standing next to the Second Prince, he spoke respectfully.
"Your Highness… should we stop the investigation here for today?"
This already counted as an abnormal situation.
In the northern lands, where wind and snow raged year-round, the wind had actually stopped.
He needed to hurry back and report this matter to the general.
But the Second Prince did not respond.
As if he had noticed something, the Second Prince looked toward the group of knights who were still investigating.
Suddenly, his eyes widened sharply.
"Don't go near there!"
The Second Prince shouted loudly. The knights who were leaning against the ruins of the temple and preparing to inspect them couldn't help but turn their heads back.
But all of a sudden, their bodies stiffened.
It was as if a pair of enormous eyes were staring at their backs from within the stilled wind.
In the silence, they could only hear a distant voice drifting over.
"Run…"
BOOM!!!
A thunderous roar, accompanied by a storm, swept down from the sky.
A huge and dazzling beam of light streaked across, as if a storm had descended upon the mortal world.
Carrying destructive power, it plowed through the snowy ground of the entire ice field and charged straight toward everyone on the ruins.
In that instant, Delk quickly grabbed the staff at his waist and raised it.
The staff instantly burst forth with dazzling light.
[Glorious Protection]
A massive energy barrier suddenly rose up, as if embedded with countless shining gemstones, flashing with blinding brilliance.
But in the face of that violent wind, it looked incredibly fragile.
A horrifying scene unfolded before their eyes.
The storm raged, carrying terrifying pressure, swallowing everything in its path.
Even the seemingly solid barrier swayed precariously within the storm.
In the end, a crack appeared in the barrier.
All that was heard was a sharp "crack!".
Like shattered glass, it could no longer withstand the surging storm.
Delk was blasted back over a hundred meters by the aftershock, slamming hard into an ice wall and instantly losing consciousness, passing out.
Only the Second Prince remained standing in place.
Unknowingly, streaks of pitch-black patterns crept across his face.
The storm did not shake his body. Around him, several thorny vines burst up from the ground, binding him tightly in place.
When the storm finally dispersed, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee.
Severely injured…
Just being caught in the aftermath of that terrifying attack, and that was after the barrier had absorbed a great deal of its force.
And yet he still suffered such grave injuries.
The Second Prince stared at the scene before him in utter shock.
Everything around him was gone.
The temple ruins that had seemed abandoned, the knights around it,
It was as if they had vanished along with the wind. Everything had dissipated under that astonishing storm.
'What on earth was that?'
He suddenly looked up, gazing into the sky. And then he saw it.
He saw its form clearly.
It looked like… an enormous long worm.
Its claws seemed even thicker and stronger than a giant dragon's, clutching a mass of pitch-black clouds as it slowly revealed its head.
A huge, jet-black head.
As black as dark clouds, with what looked like two antennae growing from the top of its head.
Its inky-black body rolled endlessly through the clouds.
"…A snake?"
The Second Prince's eyes widened as he stared at the sky in terror.
That enormous monster that could freely move through the heavens, it was absolutely not something humans could defeat.
And it absolutely could not be a snake.
Suddenly, its head moved.
As if it had sensed something, its eyes, like two bright lamps, turned toward a certain direction.
It violently swam its body and once again slipped back into the clouds.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the weather slowly returned to normal.
Feeling the ice and snow once more fall upon his body, the Second Prince finally moved.
He collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
For the first time, he felt the sensation of death spreading through his heart.
That feeling had come terrifyingly close to him.
"…Greed, are you still there?"
"What was that thing just now?"
At his questioning, Yerm's voice rang out, trembling slightly.
"That was… calamity."
The Second Prince froze in place.
'Calamity?'
'What exactly was that?'
"Don't ask me too much."
"Don't let it discover you. Don't provoke it."
Yerm's voice gradually fell silent.
The Second Prince stood there in silence.
He raised his head once more, looking toward the sky.
Looking at the silhouette of that terrifying monster as it departed.
The direction it looked toward as it left.
"The Pale Mage Association…"
———
[Second-Tier Magic: Water Curtain Veil]
Layer upon layer of magic circles surged up around Erica, merging with the surrounding wind and snow.
Like flowing ripples of water, they spread outward from her body.
Splash~
A stream of clear spring water poured down from the air, like dancing liquid, gathering beside Erica and gradually forming a small whirlpool that wrapped around her.
As the water mist grew thicker and thicker, Erica inside the water curtain became increasingly blurred.
Suddenly, the mist spread outward violently, enveloping the entire water curtain.
Within this veil of water, every part of her body felt as though it was being washed over again and again by flowing currents.
Erica closed her eyes, letting the moisture fill the surroundings, without moving an inch.
"Not bad."
Beside her, Amelia stood there with a lollipop in her mouth.
She quietly watched Erica and nodded in satisfaction.
"Looks like your control over your own magic power has improved quite a bit."
The water curtain held for a while, then gradually dissipated into the wind and snow.
Erica opened her eyes calmly and smiled politely at Amelia.
"Thank you."
Today's magic practice had already ended. She casually sat down on the nearby steps to rest.
But her expression carried a bit more worry.
The Second Prince had come all the way from the royal capital just to investigate the demon incident.
She knew this very well.
Although Erica didn't know whether that Second Prince would uncover anything, she was still a little worried.
After all, that demon had been summoned by Professor Viktor.
Wooo!
Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded. Erica abruptly raised her head.
After being in the northern lands for so many days, she had never heard such an urgent alarm before.
"What happened?"
Amelia stood beside her and said calmly, "When this kind of alarm is sounded, it usually means one of two things."
"A barbarian invasion, or some kind of natural disaster is about to happen."
Erica nodded in sudden realization.
But among the barbarians, the two strongest factions had already been nearly wiped out.
And the remaining barbarians were long past being a threat.
So…
"A natural disaster?"
"No."
Amelia reached out her hand, sensing the surroundings, the wind that had unknowingly already calmed down.
She raised her head, her gaze fixed on the terrifying thing in the sky that had already revealed half of its body.
"I'm afraid it's even worse than that."
Suddenly, something sank deep within Erica's heart.
It was as if something had begun calling out to her, again and again.
She raised her palm.
As if responding to some kind of summons.
Within her palm, a stream of air rose involuntarily.
Erica lifted her head and also looked toward the sky.
That terrifying creature that had revealed half of its body opened eyes as huge as light bulbs.
"!"
Erica knew very well.
The gaze of that terrifying monster, it was looking straight at her.
Suddenly, it withdrew its gaze.
Its body rolled back and forth within the clouds, stirring wave after wave of air currents.
In an instant, it raised its head and let out a long roar toward the sky.
"Roar!!!"
Like the cry of a dragon, it echoed across the entire territory.
Then she raised her head, looking at the sky.
The astonishing wind began to blow again.
And this time, the biting cold wind felt like blades, cutting into the skin.
———
Vladimir, wrapped in a heavy fur cloak, stood atop a snow-covered mountain peak.
Feeling the dangerously frigid wind around him, he raised one hand to pinch the cigar in his mouth.
He took a deep drag.
"Hiss…"
Behind him stood several mages clad in white robes.
Without turning around, Vladimir spoke indifferently.
"Is everyone gathered?"
"More or less." Someone behind him reported.
Vladimir raised his head, looking at the gigantic being in the sky.
The massive long worm constantly twisted its body, radiating an incomparable sense of oppression.
The howling wind whipped his fur cloak behind him.
Pain flared across his cheek. He reached up and touched his face.
A streak of blood smeared down along his hand.
Even the wind carried such terrifying power.
Faced with such a dreadful existence, Vladimir showed no panic at all and instead laughed out loud.
"I've lived this long and never seen anything like this."
"Only gods could make something like that, right?"
He took another hard drag from his cigar, then hurled it onto the snow and stomped it out fiercely.
"Too bad I don't believe in gods for shit."
"Tell the other boys, every child in the territory, the elderly, and all the women who can't fight, move them all to the northern border."
Ever since the Delin family changed hands, and with politicians like Kefra mediating in between, the relationship between the Pale Mage Association and the Northern Knights had eased somewhat.
And now, they had no choice but to seek protection from the Northern Knights.
"Oh right, and that little girl Erica."
"She's Levi's child. Don't let her take part in the fighting."
Hearing this, the people behind him grew anxious.
"General, then what about you?"
If he could avoid fighting, he definitely wouldn't want to fight something like that.
"If that thing could communicate, maybe there'd still be room to talk."
Unfortunately, the visitor meant harm.
That monster was clearly coming straight for the Pale Mage Association.
A bitter gust of wind swept past, mixed with flying snow. The icy chill forced his cheeks to turn a deep red.
He frowned tightly, his gaze locked on the distant sky.
Its massive body churned through the air, dark scales glinting with an evil sheen. Its eyes surged like a raging storm, as if they could devour and erase everything.
"If I leave, who's going to cover your retreat?"
Vladimir bared his teeth. In his smile, there was a hint of madness.
"Even if I die, I've got to peel a few layers of skin off that long worm."
His voice echoed in the wind, filled with unyielding courage.
The cold wind howled, snowflakes flying. Behind him, the violent storm of wind and snow surged fiercely.
His white hair snapped loudly in the wind, like a banner flying high.
He tightly gripped the massive battle axe formed from his gloves. Frosty cold radiated from the blade, freezing even the surrounding air into ice crystals.
Wind and snow intertwined, cold spread everywhere, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.
At this moment, he was like a god of war, cold, fearless.
[Vladimir Lebedev: Lv47]