Chapter 43: Wall Defense

[Bricalla.]

Unlike now. In a calmer, lower voice, Silverna spoke those words.

[It’s the name of the monstrous beast that Wolfdren Caldias, the founder, hunted when he first established his foothold in the north.]

‘Bricalla?’

[“Guardian of the Ice Thunder,” I think it meant something along those lines. That’s why the Great Den Lord ended up with the same name.]

[It was a disaster of a beast. At the time, I couldn’t even dare stand against it with the skills I had back then.]

‘That strong?’

[If you’d seen it yourself, you wouldn’t be saying that.]

Kwaaaaah!

Its roar drowned out the memory of Silverna’s voice.

Lightning crashed down from all sides, as though protecting Bricalla. From its perch on the spire, the beast’s gaze settled on the somewhat weakened Malidan Barrier.

“R-run away—!”

Just as Sharen muttered those words, Isaac grabbed her by the back.

He shouted through clenched teeth at a terrified Sharen.

“If we run, then who’s going to fight that thing?!”

“……!”

“I know it’s scary, but we have to do it.”

If the barrier collapsed here, the front line would be breached. There was no telling how far the damage would spread after that. At the very least, the neighboring villages would almost certainly be annihilated.

The only slight advantage was that the beast was already injured.

Blood dripped steadily, flowing down the spire. Its roar carried more agony than threat.

On the other hand…

‘Even with a wound like that, it’s still that strong.’

Its thrashing looked like the death throes of a beast, squeezing out every last drop of strength—something beyond the norm for any mere monster.

“Where’s the captain?”

They looked around for the company commander to lead the remaining forces. But everyone was too stunned to speak, so Jonathan answered.

“H-he was on that spire over there.”

Even at this distance, the crackling electricity made one’s skin tingle as though paralyzed. If he was directly under the beast, it was fair to assume he was already dead.

“Raise your spears!”

Isaac bellowed, veins bulging in his neck so as not to be drowned out by Bricalla’s thunder.

“The main forces are coming! Hold out so it can’t cross the barrier!”

Having witnessed battle against the transcendents many times, Isaac knew that in chaos like this, it was best to stick to the chain of command. But with the commanding officer’s status unknown and no clear successor, there was only one quick solution:

In these situations, whoever could shout the loudest should grab the banner and lead.

“Raise your spears!”

“Protect the barrier!”

“The main forces will be here soon!”

As Helmut’s son-in-law and a comrade-in-arms until now, Isaac was someone they trusted. Hearing his rallying cry, they quickly fall in line.

At that moment, Bricalla saw them gathering around Isaac and snorting.

Electric sparked crackle, Zzzzzz!, with its breath. Electricity flew once more through the beast’s body, making thick veins bulge across its powerful muscles.

“Scatter! Scatter—!”

At the urgent shout, the soldiers sprinted across the barrier, dispersing in all directions.

Suddenly—like a bolt of lightning—Bricalla dropped into the very spot where the troops had been massed a moment earlier.

Kwaaaaang!

Part of the barrier was damaged, but not enough to collapse it entirely.

Dust, debris, and static discharge were scattered in all directions.

Through it all, Bricalla fixed its gaze on Isaac, standing at the forefront.

“Grrrrrr.”

Zzzzzzzzz!

“Ugh!”

At close range, it was far more than a mere sting. The surge of electricity made it feel nearly impossible to stand, and his eyes burned so badly they felt like they could catch fire.

But Isaac couldn’t close his eyes. The moment he does, Bricalla’s fists would slam into his body without mercy.

“Red Flame Wave!”

Everyone else was paralyzed by Bricalla’s electrifying presence—but the first to act was, surprisingly, the youngest girl here.

A crimson aura burst from her greatsword and engulfed Bricalla. The rushing red energy swallowed up the surrounding electric currents as it collided—

“Grrrrrrrrrr!”

—but Bricalla swatted it away and, enraged, slammed its fist into the ground.

“W-why is it reacting like that?!”

Sharen yelped at the beast’s excessive response. But Isaac had a hunch.

“Rihanna and the knights of Helmut were the main force. It’s probably furious you’re using the same power they did.”

Among the wounds carved into its body, there was no doubt some of them came from Helmut.

Sure enough, Bricalla’s gaze zeroed in on Sharen.

Sparks of electricity snorted from its nostrils as it charged in on all fours—four hands clawing the ground.

“Jonathan, help me!”

“Glory to the great Helmut!”

Jonathan rushed to Sharen’s side, planting his greatsword into the ground to serve as a wall.

Seeing this, Sharen quickly imitated him, bracing her own greatsword with her shoulder.

Kwaaang!

Bricalla’s fist slammed down on both their swords at once.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

“Ugh!”

They clashed with its monstrous strength head-on and managed to hold. Their two crimson auras burned in distinct shades, forming a sturdy barrier.

But the beast had four fists.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Once the opportunity arose, Bricalla unleashed a barrage of blows without pause.

“Do something already!”

“I’m gonna die heeere!”

Before Jonathan and Sharen could even finish shouting, Isaac had already leaped forward.

He stepped on Jonathan’s shoulder and soared upward.

Suspended in midair, Isaac gazed down at the beast’s head. Despite the crackling electricity assaulting his whole body, he drew the sword at his waist.

‘This time, I won’t make a mistake.’

He’d practiced over and over, determined to atone for the blunder he made against Nortemus—

A single strike, the most powerful move Isaac could perform right now.

The moment the blade left its scabbard, the move was called Iaido—the “quick-draw slash.”

With silent swiftness, the razor-sharp blade ripped through the air, tearing past the electric discharge to slice at the creature’s thick neck.

Rustle!

He was certain he cut it.

Isaac hadn’t slipped up. If his old master were here, she would’ve applauded such a clean attack. It landed exactly where he intended.

Zzzzzz!

Yet, on that thick neck, there was only a shallow cut—barely enough to call a scratch.

‘The electricity damaged my blade…?!’

The sword—lightened at Isaac’s insistence—failed to endure even that split second of drawing.

He wanted it feather-light; it was. But in return, its durability was abysmal.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

The beast roars in rage. It knew full well that in that brief instant, it nearly lost its head.

One of its four hands, initially poised to smash the greatswords, changed trajectory and flew straight at Isaac.

For a fleeting moment, Isaac thought he was dead.

But just before the blow connects, the beast’s fist jerked to a stop.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

While Bricalla was distracted, other soldiers drove their spears into its back.

Thanks to them, Isaac—untouched—manages to land. He exhaled shakily with relief.

“Isaac-nim, you okay?!”

“Thank goodness!”

As they rushed to Isaac, who was supporting himself on one hand, he was ready to bite down in frustration for wasting the golden chance they created—then he mumbled:

“…Isn’t it cold?”

Isaac brushed his hand over the ground. His palm still tingled from the electricity, but there was a distinct chill piercing his skin.

“Of course it’s col—!”

Whatever Sharen was about to say died in her mouth.

She realized the white mist spreading around them wasn’t just leftover debris—it was something deliberately produced.

“What’s going on?!”

“Argh, it’s freezing!”

Even their dulled senses, numbed by the fight, felt the biting cold.

Isaac’s eyes went wide as he recalled what he once told the two of them:

‘The first Caldias cast magic on this barrier to manipulate the climate in order to protect the kingdom.’

If something beyond that was happening—

The barrier might have detected danger and triggered some dormant spell. Or the beast’s lightning might have destabilized the magic, causing it to go out of control.

No matter the cause—

“Get off the barrier!”

It was dangerous to stay here.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

A hair-raising, freezing sound echoed from somewhere.

Their soles felt like they were sticking to the ground.

Northern boots were tough and durable, so with force, they managed to pull free—but if they didn’t leave the barrier soon, they’d be frozen in place.

“Grrrr!”

A shriek from Bricalla erupted behind them. Turning back, they saw it struggling. As it rips its foot free, chunks of flesh tear away, causing it to writhe in pain.

The barrier’s cold was affecting the beast, too.

‘Wait, if I can keep it here—’

They could hold it.

They might even freeze it solid for a clean takedown.

Besides, going back down with it was riskier. A larger space than the barrier itself would give Bricalla even more room to run wild.

‘This is surprising.’

Until now, Isaac had only watched his comrades charge into life-or-death battles.

They used to call him the “Silent Sword,” praising him for his wisdom—

But to Isaac, he was just someone standing behind, watching their desperate struggle, thinking how powerless he felt.

He had always asked himself:

Could he ever be like them?

If he was the one holding a sword, forced to fight on the front lines…

Could he charge headlong into a blazing inferno without hesitation, even if it might cost him his life?

‘Truly surprising.’

He hadn’t even had time to decide.

Because Isaac was already sprinting toward Bricalla.

‘All I’ve got left is one sword and Falchion…’

The weapon Isaac pulled out was the Falchion.

His light sword was useless against the crackling electricity coiled around the beast.

Gripping Falchion in both hands, Isaac stood before Bricalla. The creature attempted to flee the barrier by leaping into the castle interior.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

With a wide slash of Falchion, Isaac cuts across the beast’s thigh.

Though the wound was long, blood did not flow.

The gash froze over faster than any blood could escape.

“Grrrrrrr!”

Perhaps because of that, Bricalla showed no sign of serious pain. It swats one arm like shooing a fly, trying to knock Isaac aside—

But anticipating that, Isaac swiftly pulled back and leveled his sword at the beast.

“Grrrrrrr!”

Another roar. It felt as though Bricalla was demanding to know why Isaac was blocking its escape below the barrier.

It was almost as if the creature was saying that if they stayed here, both of them would die.

“Hehe.”

Isaac tried to smirk, but his stiff, frozen cheeks wouldn’t let him.

Frost clung to his black hair, and he could feel his body weakening, likely from hypothermia.

Still, Isaac did not back down.

“Either one of us dies—”

Or both die.

The cold was so harsh it felt like it could freeze his lungs. He couldn’t finish his sentence, but his intent was clear enough.

Bricalla, understanding that intent, charged with electric energy bursting around it.

And then—

From behind Isaac, two shades of Red Aura poured in.

“Agh, seriously!”

Surrounded by a crimson glow, Sharen looked significantly better off than the others. She was using Red River as armor. While that was a common technique, hers was woven more finely and precisely, forming a mesh that partially blocked the supernatural cold.

She’d devised this personal style of Red River ever since fighting Pollu and the yeti, so she wouldn’t freeze in battle again.

“Why would you just rush in by yourself!”

As Sharen came closer, Isaac felt warmth returned to his body.

Her Aura spread to him, and the trembling in his hands subsided somewhat.

Then there was another Red River—dark-red and viscous—belonging to Jonathan. Usually, it was unstable and full of holes, but now it seems wild and fierce, like a raging beast.

Struck by this energy, Bricalla skids backward across the barrier.

“Isaac-nim—!”

Standing beside him, Jonathan—his eyes entirely black, with no whites—appears in the form Isaac has seen once before.

“Hah! Hah! If—! If I turn into one of those transcendent beings, then—!”

He pleaded tearfully, but Isaac cuffed him on the back of the head and yelled,

“Didn’t you say your heart was made of roses?! Snap out of it!”

At that, Jonathan bites his lip with his elongated fangs and roars,

“Ahhhhhh! Glory to the great Helmut! My heart is made of roses!”

“…He’s got some serious issues,”

muttered Sharen, a direct descendant of Helmut, but Jonathan pretended not to hear.

Either way, his fixation on Helmut was what was keeping him sane.

The two different colors of Red spread around Isaac, letting him withstand the cold to some extent.

“Grrrrr.”

But to a beast with intelligence, their newfound “heat” presents a prime target.

Through the softly falling, pale-blue crystals of snow, something swirls in the air. It was mana.

So much mana that it was visible to the naked eye gathers around the monster.

“Huh!”

“S-so intense…”

Even Sharen and Jonathan gasped in fear, and though Isaac lacked deep knowledge of magic, he could sense the beast’s enormous mana reservoir prickling his eyes and skin.

Then—

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

A colossal bolt of blue lightning crashed down onto Bricalla’s head, like a raging tempest from above.

At first, it looked as though it was harming itself—

Indeed, the creature did seem to be taking damage.

However—

“Grrrrrr!”

Saliva drips from Bricalla’s jaw.

Under normal circumstances, such a detail might seem trivial, but—

“It’s not freezing,”

Isaac muttered, and the other two nodded sharply in realization.

The creature’s saliva did not freeze.

The electricity now surging across its entire body was far more intense than before. The dense white fog around them couldn’t even approach Bricalla anymore.

By injuring itself, the beast had amplified its entire body with electric power, driving out the cold.

It was practically—

“M-my own technique?”

Just like Sharen was using Red River to fend off the cold,

Bricalla had done the same with its lightning.

Now liberated, Bricalla stomped heavily and charged straight for the three of them.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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