HOWL!
Cold air rushed violently into the cave through the open entrance, sending a sharp shiver down Maxwell's spine.
"Holy hell… this is unfair."
As far as the eye could see, the world was buried under thick layers of snow. Blizzards raged across the land, wind howling like furious beasts. A massive ravine split the ground before him, separating the cave from the towering mountain to the south.
"Setting aside how dangerous this terrain is," Maxwell muttered, "how does that guy expect me to reach that mountain? The gap is way too wide."
The ravine was over a hundred meters across.
No normal human could cross that—at least not without help.
To defeat an enemy, one must first know oneself.
Maxwell shifted Snowy's view away from the ravine and scanned the mountain where the cave was located, searching for another cave, a path, anything of interest.
BOOM!
Maxwell's attention snapped back to the ravine.
A colossal figure had landed on the other side, covering the hundred-meter distance as if it were nothing.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
The thunderous sound came from the landing of a massive creature that had leapt across the ravine. It looked like a grotesque fusion of a mythical unicorn and a bull—at least five meters tall, with the muscular body of a bull, a long spiraling unicorn horn, and a thick tail. Its skin was pale white, almost blending with the snow.
Its red eyes burned with savage intent.
Since its prey—the Snow Hawk—had escaped, it had followed the scent relentlessly.
The wretched creature had dare to attack it while it slept, intending to finish it at its weakest.
Now, it had finally caught up.
The beast charged forward, snow exploding beneath its hooves. Its long pursuit was nearing its end.
Maxwell's heart nearly stopped.
The creature was heading straight for the cave.
If Snowy hadn't flown out earlier, they wouldn't have known until it was already upon them.
"What do I do…?"
Terror wrapped tightly around Maxwell's chest.
They had barely survived fighting an injured Snow Hawk. Facing something like this? That wasn't bravery—it was suicide.
Maxwell rapidly weighed his options.
Fight?
No chance. There wasn't even a twenty percent probability of victory. And Maxwell never fought unless he had at least an eighty percent chance.
Run?
That wasn't much better. Leaving the cave meant exposure to the deadly cold. He could freeze to death within days.
"Why me…?" Maxwell cursed under his breath. "Why is it so obsessed with this cave?"
Then realization struck.
He wasn't the only one inside.
"It's you, isn't it?" he said, glancing at the dead Snow Hawk. Not that it could answer him.
Decision made, Maxwell moved quickly.
Bag. Book. Sword. Flower.
He packed everything, strapped the sword to his belt, and recalled Snowy back into the cave.
The white bull didn't even spare Snowy a glance.
Its target was the Snow Hawk—and nothing else mattered.
The bird scent was already marked. There was no escape.
After recalling Snowy, Maxwell tried to chop off the Snow Hawk's talons—but even after hacking repeatedly, he barely left a scratch.
"Tch… figures."
He gave up, secured Snowy's legs—one on each shoulder—and double-checked his belongings.
Snowy took flight.
They burst out of the cave.
The white bull noticed them immediately but showed no hostility. Its focus remained on the Snow Hawk. It didn't consider Maxwell a threat—nor worth the effort.
The insignificant human could wait. It had its scent too.
The beast watched them pass, indifferent.
"That was… way too close,"
Maxwell muttered, forcing a shaky smile.
The cold was unbearable.
The air felt like knives against his skin, and the wind only made it worse.
After more than thirty minutes, they finally reached the edge of the ravine.
Maxwell stared in awe.
The abyss stretched endlessly left and right, its depths hidden in darkness.
"Here goes nothing."
They took flight.
Instant regret.
The ravine seemed to expand before his eyes, transforming into a bottomless abyss from hell itself.
Fear clawed at his chest.
Sweat soaked his palms.
Snowy faltered.
"What's going on?" Maxwell panicked. "You were fine earlier!"
Snowy began to descend slowly.
Panic spiraled out of control.
Below him—darkness.
Cold.
Silence.
Then—
A faint white light.
Maxwell squinted.
A crack?
No.
A cave entrance.
"A cave!" he shouted, redirecting Snowy instantly, completely forgetting the possibility of danger.
They crashed inside.
Snowy released him, and both tumbled across the cave floor.
"We made it…" Maxwell laughed breathlessly, rolling on the ground with a stupid grin plastered on his face.
Then—
"Who dares desecrate this sacred ground?"
A deep, echoing voice thundered through the cave.
Maxwell froze.
Right.
He was still very much in unknown territory.