UNDER THE OAK TREE

273 Chapter The expeditionary party traveled north without rest. Though the terrain grew increasingly rugged and the temperature dropped with every passing day, the experience itself was not as fraught as they had anticipated. Despite initial hostilities, Riftan and Kuahel formed quite the team.

Both men valued efficiency above politics. Though there was still the occasional battle of nerves, one would always concede if they thought the other’s judgment sound. As a result, they managed to reach the northern region of Balto without much trouble.

Maxi’s anxiety swelled every day that Riftan ignored her. She stroked Rem’s mane as she cast an apprehensive eye over the back of his head. So far, all her attempts at conversation had been met with a reserved manner and the barest minimum of words. It sometimes felt as though he found her mere presence intolerable.

She recalled the letters by his bedside and that he had rushed to her rescue, but those reassurances no longer did anything for her deep sadness. His cold shoulder was slowly eroding her confidence.

“I sense something ahead,” said Nevin, who had been surveying the land with magic.

He cocked his head from atop his horse. Since wind mages could scout the terrain, they had been taking turns checking for signs of monsters.

Riftan stopped the knights as soon as he heard Nevin’s warning. Maxi pulled her reins and glanced around. Dark pine groves surrounded them, and the sky was overcast in a white haze.

Peering into the shadowy, snow-covered trees, Riftan said stiffly, “Can you tell what kind of monster it is?”

Nevin shook his head after a moment, looking embarrassed. “There is definitely something there, but it feels foggy. A spirit or a monster, perhaps, with strong magic resistance.”

Kuahel immediately drew his sword.

“And the distance?” said Riftan.

“Less than one thradion south. It’s not moving, but I sense powerful magic.”

“Most likely a hibernating dragon subspecies,” Riftan muttered.

The knights drew their weapons in unison, preparing themselves for battle. For a high-grade monster like a basilisk, a thradion was not far at all. Such a creature could cover that distance in the blink of an eye. If the expeditionary party was not vigilant, they could be taken by surprise.

Maxi summoned her mana in case she had to unleash a spell at a moment’s notice.

Tearing his eyes away from the sky, Riftan turned his mount around. “We should head down the mountain. It will take longer, but it’s the safer route.”

“Is that really necessary?” Hebaron argued, scratching his bearded chin. “It’ll be sluggish if it’s hibernating. Slaying it should be a breeze.”

Riftan pinned him with a cold glare. “We don’t know what kind of monster it is or how many there are. Evasion would be wiser.”

“It’s too late to turn back,” Kuahel said, pointing to the baggage wagons. “The snow is coming. If we don’t clear this mountain by tonight, it will set us back days. We are already running out of time.”

Due to the cold arriving early, most of the northern regions had been struck by food shortages. They had been unable to procure enough food or fodder in the last city they had stopped in, leaving them with a third of what had once been a veritable mountain of provisions.

Pulling his robe tighter, Ruth chipped in, “Why don’t we head east to a big city first?”

All the mages turned to look at him. Being the thick-skinned man he was, the sorcerer seemed to have grown accustomed to the attention in a matter of days.

“I don’t see why we have to put ourselves at such risk,” he said calmly. “Why not hunker down in a city until the blizzard passes?”

“No city in this area is big enough to feed and accommodate almost two hundred soldiers for weeks,” Kuahel said bluntly. “And even if there were one, we would find ourselves in the same predicament once we resume. I’d rather not waste the time.”

Riftan’s expression turned icy at his obstinate reply. “Are you saying the Temple Knights consider the task more important than the safety of its party members? What a shocking lack of compassion. A real stain on your name as Guardians of the Western Continent.”

“Well, Mago, you fall shamefully short of your moniker as well,” Kuahel retorted. “You wish to flee because of a few hibernating beasts? You’ve grown rather fainthearted since I saw you last.”

The mages exchanged glances as the two commanders’ hackles rose yet again. After eyeing them nervously, Maxi took a tentative step forward.

“Sh-Shall I try… a tracing spell? They often reveal more details than what wind magic can deduce. If I try hard enough… I may be able to determine the type of monster.”

Riftan scowled, but Kuahel cut in before he could object.

“Please, go ahead.”

Maxi promptly leaped off her horse, her heart racing in anticipation. She had been itching for a chance to showcase her skills in front of Riftan. Even so, she could not help the nerves creeping in just as she was about to start the spell.

Was she being presumptuous? Could a fledgling mage do something that had eluded even her senior?

She took a deep breath to dispel her fears, then circulated her mana along the pattern of a rune. Soon, her mana pathway connected to an earth spirit’s, and her senses sharpened.

She turned her search in the direction Nevin had pointed out. Before long, something caught at the edge of her mana web. She flinched. Whatever it was, it was closer than the wind mage had estimated. As soon as she realized a massive creature was charging this way at an alarming speed, she hastily broke off the spell.

“I-It’s coming this way! We must cast a barrier now!”

Anette and Armin flew into action, and a barrier rose around the wagons. In nearly the same breath, the earth shook violently before something came bursting out of the snow-covered ground. The sudden upheaval overturned one of the wagons. The horses’ whinnies rang out over the trees, and Rem leaped into the air as the ground began to fracture.

Maxi pulled on the reins to steady the mare, then cast a shield around the other mages and herself. Right at that moment, the monster crashed against the barrier with a heavy thud. Sensing a crack in the walls, Maxi increased her mana circulation. A beast big enough to swallow a baggage wagon clawed out of the ground, swinging its thick, scaly tail like a whip.

Maxi poured more mana into the barrier. The earth shook as the monster’s tail struck. Realizing she could not maintain the defenses on her own for long, she looked over her shoulder for help.

“It’s a serpend!” Calto cried, casting another barrier in front of Maxi’s. “Those capable of defensive magic are to assist the knights!”

Unlike Maxi’s, Calto’s shield seemed to withstand the monster’s attacks. Sighing in relief, Maxi removed her helmet. The knights already had the monster surrounded. They lodged their hooks into the serpend’s skin and coiled chains around its limbs. Once the beast was retrained, Maxi got a clear view as the knights retreated.

A dragon’s head atop a serpent’s body — it was one of the highest-grade monsters of the dragon subspecies.

“Move back! We will cast a fire wall!”

The knights stepped away at the mages’ warning. Soon, the mages of Kabala had the monster trapped within a towering wall of flame. As magic was not effective against the dragon subspecies, the mages exploited the serpend’s aversion to fire by restraining it rather than a direct attack.

Pierced by dozens of spears, the monster raised its head and cracked its jaws open wide. Maxi felt the hairs on her body stand. Blue flames formed inside its reptilian mouth. When its throat expanded as though it would spew forth fire at any moment, Maxi raced out from behind the shield.

She was scrambling to throw up a barrier when Riftan blocked her path. She looked up at his majestic profile in a daze. Drawing his sword, Riftan kicked Talon forward. The ebony warhorse charged at the monster like an arrow.

What followed was the most horrific scene Maxi had ever witnessed. She screamed his name. She could not comprehend why no one was stopping him. When she tried to give chase, Ulyseon, who had raced after her, stepped in her way.

Before she could order him aside, she saw Riftan leap straight at the serpend’s mouth. Tilting its head low, the monster’s jaws opened wide and spewed forth a column of fire.

What happened next was more unbelievable still. Riftan’s blade flared dark red, snuffing out the flames in an instant. A heartbeat later, he swung his sword and sent the monster’s head flying. Maxi could not comprehend the sequence of events, though she had seen it with her own eyes. She could only stare at Riftan’s back in stunned silence.

The serpend’s massive body toppled to the snow with a dull thud. The noise jolted her back to her senses. After calming her agitated horse, she galloped over to Riftan.

By then, Kuahel was already casting divine magic over the serpend’s severed head. He scowled when he saw her.

“Serpend blood is poisonous. I advise you not to come any closer until the purification is over.”

“I-It’s all right. I know detoxification magic.”

Though it was clear the Temple Knight had not finished talking, Maxi trotted past him. Riftan paused from wiping his bloody sword when he saw her approach. His face darkened into a dark scowl.

“Were you not told to stay back?”

Ignoring him, Maxi slid off her horse. “A-Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

...

Walking right up to Talon, she looked up to examine Riftan from head to toe. She still could not believe he had charged straight at the serpend’s mouth. Though she had heard the incredible story of how he had rushed head-on into Dragon’s Breath, witnessing it in person was utterly different.

Nearly frantic with worry, she thoroughly examined his armored limbs. Riftan, who had grown rigid beneath her groping hands, swore under his breath and dismounted. He grabbed her by the arm and led her away from the monster.

Staggering, Maxi cried out, “R-Riftan, you were hit by the serpend’s flames. You might be hurt. Let me treat—”

“I told you, I can absorb magic. I did it years ago with Dragon’s Breath, albeit temporarily. This was nothing by comparison.”

When they were at a safe distance from the serpend’s carcass, Riftan stopped and released her. His eyes skimmed the length of her body. Had it been any other time, she would have been elated by this. In that moment, however, nearly out of her mind with worry, she did not register the way he was looking at her. She frantically yanked at his cloak.

“E-Even so, let me heal you, just in case. Take off your armor. Absorbing that amount of magic at once would have put a strain on your body. We should first—”

“That’s unnecessary.”

“I-It will not take long. I need to be in contact with your skin to be able to—”

“I don’t need healing!” Riftan barked, smacking her hand away.

Maxi froze in shock. The blood drained from his face as she looked up at him, her eyes full of hurt. His jaws clenched as if clamping down on his emotions. Soon, a familiar blank mask settled over his face.

“Stop trying to waste your mana. Take care of yourself instead.”

...

With that, he turned and strode toward the knights. Maxi’s faraway look crumbled as she watched him leave. How many times had he turned his back to her over the past few weeks? Was he really turning away so stoically after giving her the fright of her life?

Her pent-up emotions burst forth like an erupting volcano.

Livid, her eyes roamed the clearing before landing on a fallen pine cone. In one movement, she picked it up and hurled it at him.

It was as if he could see through the back of his skull. Whirling around, he caught the incoming object with one hand. He looked down at the pine cone, then back up to glare at her, silently demanding an explanation. Ignoring him, Maxi began grabbing and flinging more forest debris, one after another.

Riftan winced as a pine cone hit him squarely on the forehead. “What the devil—”

“Y-You petty man!” Maxi yelled, scouring the area for a larger projectile.

When she found none, she gathered a lump of snow and threw it at him. He caught the hurtling snowball with his other hand. Not giving up, Maxi furiously packed more snowballs and began slinging them at his face. The incoming blizzard eventually caused Riftan to snap.

Pushing back his hair to dislodge the snow, he was in front of her in just two strides.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snarled, grabbing her wrists.

“I-I would like to ask you the same! How long are you g-going to ignore me? Why can’t you… tell me what you’re so upset about? You petty man! You’re a fool and an idiot!”

When she began kicking and trying to twist her arm free, Riftan clenched his jaw and turned his head toward the spectators they had drawn. After giving the others a cutting glare, he picked Maxi up with one arm and carried her into the forest. Dangling at his side, she struggled like an angry colt while hurling abuse.

“You… arrogant fool! Narrow-minded clod! Have you no… no consideration for how it must have been for me? Do you have any idea how hard I studied so I could return to you as q-quickly as possible? I-If you were just going to ignore me… why did you even follow me here?!”

“And you?”

He lowered her to the ground beneath a huge tree. Maxi pressed her back against the trunk as he leaned close.

“Do you have any idea… how the last three years have been for me?”