Arden reached into his backpack.
Light was flowing from his mother's keepsake—the broken, crushed necklace.
“Why is the necklace—”
But the question was short-lived. A familiar sensation made Arden twist his body aside. SLASH—! A pitch-black tentacle swept past Arden’s side. His clothes tore slightly. Fortunately, he was not injured.
“This isn't the time for this. I need to focus.”
Right. This was no time to let his attention wander.
Before him stood a monster, one of his greatest objectives.
To kill it, he had to concentrate.
Arden nodded, shoved the necklace into his pocket, and rushed forward.
―GRRRRRR....
The black liquid slowly began to boil. Then pitch-black tentacles erupted from its entire body. That mass of tentacles rushed in from every direction, as though to pierce Arden through.
―SHLAAAAASH....
Within the slowed time, Arden quickly checked his surroundings. At that speed, the tentacles would easily pierce even trees.
...Then there was nowhere to hide. He had to confront it head-on.
Moreover, the presence he felt from the monster was far from ordinary.
There would be no benefit in dragging this out.
―GRRRRRRRRR....
It was because a pressure he had never felt before weighed down his entire body.
For now, he could endure it, but he did not know what would happen as time passed.
Arden's body was not fully developed yet, and it had many unstable aspects.
The longer this lasted, the more disadvantageous it would be for him. He could not hope for the monster to grow tired.
“Hup—!”
Arden nodded and slid away. SWOOOOSH—! A tentacle shot toward his upper body and thrashed through empty air. The tentacles tangled with one another, and a wet, sticky sound rang out. But it did not end there. The bundle of tentacles immediately changed its path and pursued Arden. CRUNCH—! It began to tear up the frozen ground.
―CRUNCH!
―CRUNCH!
―CRRRRUNCH!
But no attack reached him. The frozen earth was helping Arden move forward.
Gliding straight ahead, Arden drew his sword. At the same time as he rose, he turned and cut through the bundle of tentacles.
―SLASH!
The tentacles that had been following Arden were severed and fell with a SPLAT—! The tentacles sprawled across the ground writhed violently, then evaporated. The severed ends curled inward with a CRRREAK—.
―GLOOOOOOOORGH!!
As though in pain, the black liquid let out a wail. It sounded like a voice screaming underwater. Frowning, Arden looked ahead. Something was wrong with it. Its lower abdomen was continually twitching. That was not all. His entire body tingled.
―GRRRRR....
Clenching his teeth, Arden immediately rolled to the side. At the same time, a mass of tentacles burst from the creature's belly and bored into the spot where Arden had been. Its power was far stronger. With a thunderous roar, pieces of hard-frozen earth struck Arden's cheek. He shuddered at the sudden cold.
Thanks to that, his mind cleared. He could assess the situation a little more calmly.
“......”
...Time was certainly moving slowly.
Yet dodging merely by seeing the attacks was nearly impossible.
All he could do was react with his instincts.
What in the world was that thing?
The question rose in Arden's mind.
“......!”
But he could not even pursue that thought now. He felt a faint vibration through the ground. To live, he had to move.
―CRRRRRRUNCH!
Tentacles burst up through the frozen earth. Just before his ankle was pierced, Arden threw himself aside again. He rolled over the hard-frozen ground. His palm was scraped a little, but that was a relief. If he had been even a little slower, he would have died.
“Hiss....”
Arden inhaled and brushed the dirt from his hand. He wiped the beads of blood on his pants. Then he gripped his sword tightly and closed the distance. He endured the stinging pain. At this rate, he had no chance of winning.
‘I have to end this quickly.’
The creature was growing faster as time passed, as though it were awakening from sleep. At this rate, Arden would soon be unable to react at all. And that was not all. The cold was gradually slowing his movements.
That was why.
“Hup!”
He had to end it now.
Arden gripped his sword tightly and cut through the tentacles.
―SCREEEEEECH!
When its successive attacks failed, the creature flew into a rage. But it did not charge. Avoiding Arden as he tried to close in, it continued to thrust bundles of tentacles at him. It knew it would win if things continued as they were.
But its intention was obvious, so Arden did not remain still either. He gradually closed the distance. He cut through the tentacles blocking his path. One by one, he severed them. A sweet taste filled his mouth, and his body began to sag. With every step, his muscles screamed. But he did not stop.
If he stopped here, it would be over. The Warming Orb's effect had already reached the point of being useless. In contrast, the center of the forest was fucking cold. He had to deal with it before the heat in his body cooled.
―SLASH!
It was when his sword reached the creature's chest.
“――!”
The creature's bubbling chest split open vertically. A bright-red tongue shot out. SLLLLLITH—! The tongue wrapped around Arden. Pain as though his bones were being crushed made his mind go blank.
“Kuhk!”
Arden coughed dryly and gripped his sword tightly. With all his strength, he drove it down onto the tongue. CRRUNCH—! The tongue slowly split apart. But it was being dragged in faster. No matter how much force he put into his legs, it was useless.
SKRRAAAPE—! The hard-frozen ground split apart. Behind Arden, nothing remained but the trail where he had been dragged.
“Hnnngh!”
He gripped the sword so tightly that his palm tore. Rotating his shoulder to its limit, he drove the sword into the opening. CRUNCH—! The tongue burst and curled inward. Seizing the chance, Arden tore the tongue wrapped around his body away. Taking a deep breath, he kicked the creature.
―THUD!
The pitch-black liquid lost its balance and fell.
“Hup!”
Arden did not miss that opening and closed the distance. But the creature did not remain still either. It pulled tentacles from behind its back. Pushing against the ground, it rose to its feet.
At the crossroads of life and death.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
The creature let out a monstrous scream and thrust its sharpened tentacles forward. Tentacles rising from all around intertwined into a massive stalk. It rushed forward, slicing through the air.
“――!”
Arden drove his body, which had reached its limit, forward. Trusting himself, he swung his sword as though throwing his body into the attack.
In that fleeting instant, the sword flashed as though time had stopped, leaving a pure-white afterimage as it cut through the target.
―SLASH!
With a THUD, the tentacle that had rushed to Arden's eyes stopped moving. Starting from its tip, it gave off black smoke and evaporated. THUD—! The head, already lolling to one side, soon fell to the ground. It came to rest at Arden's feet. GUSH.... Black blood burst belatedly from the curling severed end.
“――!”
―HUMMMMM!
At the same time, the light that had covered the sword faded.
The necklace in Arden's pocket vibrated continuously.
Feeling curious, Arden carefully took out the necklace.
At that moment, the necklace flew out of his pocket and into the pool of blood.
It was too fast for Arden to react.
―CRACK, CRACK!
“What?”
Arden's eyes soon widened. Something unbelievable was happening.
As the blood pooled on the ground diminished, the necklace was slowly restored.
Of course, only part of the severed chain regenerated.
But even that was enough to surprise Arden.
―HUMMMMM!
After absorbing all the blood, the necklace slowly rose.
Then, as though nothing had happened, it returned to Arden's pocket.
“What in the world is this necklace...?”
Arden reached into his pocket and muttered.
Was there something special about the keepsake his mother had left behind?
He still did not know.
He had only confirmed that it could repair itself.
But it was worth finding out whether it had other abilities.
“Right. Let's find out.”
Arden decided to include repairing the necklace in his journey.
After all, killing monsters was one of his main goals, so it should not be a major problem.
“Hm.”
Having added another goal, Arden looked around.
...The corpse of the monster he had killed moments ago had vanished without a trace.
In addition, the cold that had pierced through the Warming Orb's protection had eased considerably.
Looking closely, he saw that the frost which had clung here and there had melted, if only slightly.
“Is it because I killed that thing?”
After looking around for a while, Arden muttered.
Of course, the exact reason did not matter.
As long as it helped him leave the forest, that was enough.
It meant he could conserve the four Warming Orbs he had left.
“I should get going.”
Even though the cold had eased somewhat, the north was still the north.
He needed to get out of the deep forest before the orb's effect ended.
And because he could encounter another monster like that creature, Arden intended to leave this forest as quickly as he could.
“I should keep going.”
Opening the map, Arden began walking. His tired body could recover as he went.
***
At the top of the Arcane Temple's Balkan branch.
Someone hurriedly opened the door and entered.
He was Drake, a priest.
“High Priest! The Black Shard in the Seal Chamber has shattered!”
Drake shouted to the High Priest sitting in a chair.
She set down the documents and slowly raised her head.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. The Black Shard that indicated the Shadow's survival has disappeared without a trace.”
“For a shard made by an Archdemon to shatter... that means the Shadow has truly been subjugated. But was there anyone who would go to the Corrupted Forest?”
The High Priest narrowed her eyes as she asked.
The people living in Balkan knew how dangerous that forest was.
As a side effect of Corruption, the forest's interior was so cold that people could barely move through it.
Moreover, the more people there were, the worse the cold became.
Because of that, every subjugation party Balkan had sent into the forest had frozen to death.
Even the few knights who survived and pushed onward had been slaughtered by the Shadow.
For that reason, unless someone wanted to die, no one went near the forest.
‘Who in the world...?’
Who had killed the monster that even the Temple had half given up on?
“Could it be.”
Then one child suddenly came to mind.
“Arden. Arden's destination....”
“Pardon? As far as I have heard, it is Beyond the Continent. That is why he is traveling all the way to the southern end.”
“Then that means there is no one but that child who would go from this city into the forest.”
After thinking carefully, she continued.
“Can a seventeen-year-old boy deal with the remnant of an Archdemon?”
“It is impossible. A child cannot accomplish what no one else has ever accomplished. It even possesses regenerative abilities close to immortality.”
Drake shook his head as he answered. To him, it was impossible.
A month ago, twenty Holy Knights dispatched by the Temple had entered the forest to kill the creature.
And only one had come back alive.
―Th-th-that thing....
As the survivor described what had happened in the forest, he added one remark.
The Shadow was an immortal entity that regenerated instantly even after being wounded.
Yet a seventeen-year-old boy had defeated it alone?
That was impossible.
But.
The High Priest thought differently.
“If Arden really is the hero written of in the Book of Prophecy....”
“Y-yes, the Book of Prophecy?”
At Drake's question, she silently nodded.
Drake tried to object at the High Priest's expression.
“But the Book of Prophecy—”
―BANG!
At that moment, another man burst inside.
He caught his breath, then shouted,
“High Priest! The Grand Epic, which stopped long ago, has begun recording again!”
“That boy really is....”
Drake looked at the High Priest with disbelief in his eyes. She had been right.
“......”
That was not all.
Even the High Priest, who usually showed little emotional agitation, opened her eyes wide.
The Grand Epic awoke on its own only when a hero appeared, recording that hero's journey.
Moreover, the Grand Epic did not react to ordinary achievements.
Only a great deed that everyone could recognize awakened the Grand Epic.
In other words, the subjugation of the Shadow was a great feat worthy of being recorded in history.
“H-here. Please confirm it....”
The man took a parchment from inside his clothes.
It had been sent down in haste from the central headquarters.
The High Priest took the parchment and silently began to read.
[In the Age of Chaos, there was a young boy who erased one of the remnants of an Archdemon.]
“......”
It was only one line for now.
It was a Grand Epic whose ending no one knew.
But for the people living in the Age of Chaos, it would become a light of hope.
And the High Priest had no intention of extinguishing that light.
“Keep everything about Arden a secret.”
“Understood.”
“Yes.”
Everyone gathered here knew how the heroes of the past had fallen.
That was why they agreed.
So that the flower could bloom.
So that he could take root on his own.
They would conceal the fact that Arden was a hero.
In the Age of Chaos.
To witness the birth of the hero who would quell it.
***
Two days later.
Arden was still in the forest.
“Now....”
By his calculations, the end of the forest should be coming into sight soon. He had kept moving while resting as little as possible.
At that moment.
“――!”
In the distance, a faint light flickered.
He had reached the other side.
With a small smile at the fact that he could finally leave the forest, Arden quickened his pace.
Two days without proper rest had left fatigue piled up, but at this moment, strength surged through his body.
―FWOOSH!
At last, Arden emerged from the forest.
“Whew.”
He sank down in the field, caught his breath, and opened the map.
...To leave the north, he still had a long way to go.
Roughly three weeks.
And that was only if the weather cooperated.
It seemed he would have to rent a horse in a nearby village. He still had a long way to travel to reach Beyond the Continent.
At this pace, he had no chance.
“Of course, I should rest too.”
Arden checked for a nearby village.
There was one not far away.
He needed to replenish the food he had run out of and ease the fatigue built up in his body there.
“Then....”
As Arden nodded and rose to his feet.
Someone entered his sight.
She was a girl who looked about the same age as Arden.
But her arms and legs were covered in small wounds.
She looked exhausted, as though she had been running for a long time without rest.
She looked as though she could collapse at any moment.
Realizing this, Arden's eyes widened. He ran over and stood in front of the girl.
“P-please save me.”