The wind blew through his hair. He had seen many winters. Evernode’s winters were long, cold, and harsh, unparalleled by any other on the continent. Quenor Stroff was proud to have lived in a world of winter. Winter was all they knew in the North, so he had pride in conquering it yearly.
The horizon gently sucked in the Quenor and the knights. Beyond the veil was pure white nothingness. Quenor looked back. The knights who had served Evernore and him for half their lives were waiting, swords drawn.
“I will lead the charge. Conserve your strength.”
Though he could see only the faintest shadows, Quenor could feel the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of monsters before them. The wind whipped across his cheeks like razors. He inhaled and exhaled; the breath heated by the circulating mana became white steam and scattered.
“We’ll go at once. We must not lose our position.”
“”Yes, sir!!!”
The knights’ answers cut through the wind. The Archduke began to pour out his aura, the mana of the Grand Swordmaster, an inexhaustible fountain. At the horizon, the monster, influenced by the effects of the Fourth Disaster, rushed forward, trusting in its power, and vanished, leaving no trace of themselves behind.
“…This is no joke.”
Quenor gritted his teeth as the snowflakes grew stronger and thicker. He could barely detect the knights’ movements if he stretched his senses, but they were becoming increasingly clouded and dull.
“However, I can still feel the Giant’s presence clearly.”
He continued to encourage the knights. Some barely mustered the energy to reply, preparing for battle. Quenor ran the plan through his mind again. He would be here to stop the Giant’s advance, and the Hero Elroy would hold the ramparts.
The snow underfoot is up to the horses’ ankles. Quenor looked at the monsters before him. Thirty of them, and all are intelligent.
“Thou shall not pass. How dare thou try to reach his feet.”
One Yeti stepped forward and glared. Beside him, gigantic trolls, ravens, ashen bears, and other creatures bared their teeth at Quenor.
“All hands on deck.”
Blades cried, scraping against the sheath. The blizzard that had begun to rage was unfavorable towards the humans. Quenor drew on his power. It was not enough to simply draw it up. He had to attack with force and raise the morale of his knights. He had to be stronger, enough to blow away the storm.
Aura rose from his feet. A vortex of magical power rose like a waterspout, dispelling the blizzard. However, he knew he couldn’t maintain it for long. The Disaster’s magic was unforgiving of humans who defied it. He saw the monsters charged as warm blood dripped from his eyes. Quenor and the knights raised their swords.
“For Evernode.”
With a short whisper, Quenor swung his sword. For the land, the castle, the knights, the soldiers, the people. The empowered creatures pounced on the knights. Quenor released his aura around him, slaughtering the incoming beasts. The knights raised their auras, resonating with each other, growing larger.
“Die!!!”
The Yeti was furious, but the Quenor just calmly deflected his blow. Emotionless. He merely moved to fulfill the plan he had set in motion. Stop the oncoming Giant, and kill as many monsters as possible. He swung his sword, leaving a trail of red blood on the snow.
Two legionnaires nodded to each other and charged at him. They forced him to stop his charge using their abilities to torment him. They had excellent teamwork, something that would have taken decades to perfect. Nails flew, claws dug in and out, making it impossible for him to move forward.
One of the legionnaire’s teeth bit into the horse’s neck, and it fell to the ground. Quenor’s ankles sank into the snow as he jumped off the dead horse. They took advantage of the situation and attacked once more.
“Now give us your head!”
However, Quenor’s aura would not be stopped. He unleashed a whirlwind that slashed through the surrounding area. The approaching creatures, legionnaires, and their minions alike were chopped to pieces, creating a red blizzard.
“…”
He let out a slightly disheveled breath and looked back. He could only see about ten of the fourteen knights who had followed him. The creatures had concentrated their attacks on the horses, and none were still mounted. The fallen bled from their chests and necks, buried in the falling snow. Quenor closed his eyes over their bodies and mourned, then turned and continued. There was no time to collect the bodies.
They walked. They walked for a long time. The snow stretched the space between them. The ruins of snow and fallen trees seemed to go on forever. The cold was already beyond what the average person could handle. Fallen tree trunks rattled and swayed in the wind. Snowflakes began to cling to the knights’ hair and eyebrows.
The knights were used to the cold. But even their hands and feet went numb, and the wind stabbed at their lungs and froze the blood in their veins. They kept their swords in hand, their hearts beating hard, pumping blood and mana into their bodies.
They walked on longer until even the broken trees were covered in a blizzard of snow, and Quenor’s aura began losing its strength. He was the first to stop and look up.
“…This is it.”
Hedwig said from behind Quenor’s back.
“…I now understand what Elroy and Georg were talking about.”
Quenor muttered to himself; it was too much. From the castle, it looked like white smoke rising to the sky. Gradually, as we drew closer, even the snow could not hide it in its entirety.
The Giant stood tall, unwavering, and unmoving.
“…That’s what we have to stall.”
Hedwig spoke in a hushed voice.
“We will have to kill that?”
“It might be easier to topple mountains or dry the sea.”
Quenor laughed, a fierce, bitter laugh. He realized what Elroy was trying to do and why he had to take it down. The power of the Holy Sword and his swordsmanship. None of it mattered.
“Still, it must be done.”
The Giant didn’t move, the conifers of the northern woods rising to his feet. There was a loftiness, a stillness, a divineness about it that was, in a strange way, like a temple. He was higher than mountains and deeper than canyons. Quenor sighed, and a breath mingled with the blue mana leaking from his mouth.
“Have you come to offer yourself up, dark-haired knight?”
Around the Giant’s feet, monsters walked alongside it. From every direction, they were closing in.
“Your destruction is imminent.”
“No, the Giant’s steps stop here.”
The ground rumbled faintly. The Giant was about to move. Quenor sensed death in its movements. He also realized that stopping it would require the end of everyone here. He looked back. The knights were exhausted, but their eyes burned with fighting spirit, and Quenor saw the path he had traveled. The blizzard obscured the view like a veil, making the landscape unrecognizable.
‘Elroy, can I trust you?’
Quenor asked himself, is it okay to trust that light, to risk everything here?
Faces flashed by. Hela, Luke, Karin, the vassals and knights of Evernode. The inhabitants. The summer and winter of Evernode.
Quenor gripped his sword hard. A new night was about to dawn.
***
He slashed.
He felt heavy; for the first time in a long time, he felt like collapsing. Quenor broke through the encirclement and swung his sword with all his might at the Giant. Its legs stiffened, and the Disaster stopped dead at Quenor’s attack. He did not speak. It paid no attention to the creatures fighting at its feet, splattering the ground he walked with blood. Walking forward was its only mission in life.
Quenor felt a chill creep through him. The cost of trespassing on the Giant’s land. His mana churned, blood pouring from his mouth as he felt the pain of an icicle piercing his heart.
But it can be stopped.
Quenor swung his sword with that fact in his mind. The creature fled from the knights behind him, only to be torn apart after the blow. After a short night, the sun rose again. As the sun rose from the east, it disappeared into the west as if sucked in.
‘So much for the promise of returning by morning.’
Quenor dropped his sword and turned around. How many knights were left? Not many were visible in the growing blizzard.
At least a day’s delay.
Quenor exhaled. He should have turned back, but a wall of monsters blocked his path. The Giant looked like it would resume its march at any moment if he delayed his attack. Quenor glanced down at his hands, then determinedly tightened his grip on his sword.
‘Even if it cost me my life.’
“Hedwig.”
Quenor was about to say, “I’ll catch up with you soon, but first, you have to get back to the castle,” until he saw the look on Hedwig’s face. He stared blankly out into the blizzard.
“Did you feel it, Archduke?”
‘Huh?’
Quenor stiffened. Was he sensing something? Was there something else besides the Giant and these creatures? Seeing Quenor’s face harden, Hedwig shook his head.
“…Could this situation get any worse?”
Quenor’s eyes widened. Something glowing, something terrifying, had raced through the blizzard. A blinding blast of sword energy swept past Quenor’s eyes.
Monsters evaporated, and the blizzard weakened to a cold breeze. Quenor opened his eyes to see the face of the hero riding atop his horse, watching them. Like a savior, he had a glowing halo of thorns above his head.
“I told you not to push yourself so hard and to come back if you were in trouble.”
Elroy smirked as he dismounted. Quenor chuckled to himself.
“What are you doing here when you were supposed to guard the walls?”
“I know I broke the agreement, but I believe that the Archduke broke it first.”
With that, Elroy stepped forward. There was an aura about him that was unlike anything Quenor had ever felt. The light emanating from his Holy Sword seemed to be brighter than before.
“Do you intend to take down the Giant?”
Elroy nodded.
“The wounded will be carried back by the other knights who came with me, and anyone who wants to stay should be knocked unconscious and sent back.”
Quenor watched Elroy as he turned to face the knights. In his eyes, there was no anxiety, no fear.
Only determination.
It was the only emotion Quenor could read in his eyes.
“I will ask for the others.”
Elroy spoke, his voice unwavering, firm enough to drown out the blizzard.
“I will end the Fourth Disaster right here, right now.”
