Chapter 68

"Wh-what… what the hell! What's happening!"

The ground was shaking without warning.

Julien left Edwin's panicked shout behind him and whipped his head toward the Guardian Tree.

The tree stood at the center of a violent gust, its branches trembling like outstretched wings.

Teal leaves scattered into the air—and one by one, the guards around them began to collapse.

What's going on all of a sud— no, wait. Is this…!

Julien scanned his surroundings. While everyone else dropped unconscious, he and Edwin alone remained standing—and the picture snapped into focus.

The sleeping sickness seemed to be spreading alongside those teal leaves.

He and Edwin must be unaffected thanks to the food Mikhail had told them to eat yesterday.

Speaking of which. Where's Mikhail?

Julien shifted his gaze downhill. But the figure he was searching for was nowhere in the landscape below.

He bit down on his lip, anxiety twisting tighter.

He'd definitely seen Mikhail heading toward a remote spot just moments ago.

But between breaking up Edwin's spat with the guard who'd been picking a fight, he'd lost sight of him…

"Kang! Kang!"

That was when it happened. The sky foxes barked toward a single point.

Julien snapped his head around and followed where they were looking.

At the edge of the hill, the person he'd been searching for appeared.

Mikhail was sprinting toward them with Nelia, both of them navigating the fracturing ground.

"Mikhail!"

Julien broke into a run toward them. Edwin and the sky foxes moved in the same direction.

The group soon gathered on a stretch of ground just below and slightly apart from the Guardian Tree.

"Hah… hh…"

Julien looked Mikhail over with worried eyes as he caught his breath.

"Mikhail, are you okay? You're not hurt?"

"Hah… as you can see… I'm fine. But more importantly."

Mikhail wiped the sweat trailing down his jawline and turned his gaze up the hill.

"We… need to talk about our next move."

RRRUMBLE!

The source of the roar was above them. Julien looked up at the Guardian Tree.

The massive tree gripped the broad hilltop with its sprawling roots, barely holding the fractures at bay—

While something enormous writhed inside the cracking earth, revealing itself inch by terrible inch.

A coiled, cylindrical body began to rise.

"What in the…"

Tension flooded through him, locking his body tight. Julien swallowed hard and stumbled back a step as the crushing pressure bore down on him.

"—Julien. I need a favor."

A steady voice caught his wavering focus.

Julien stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Mikhail.

Mikhail faced the chaos unfolding before them with perfect composure—not a flicker of unease on his face.

He spoke, picking up where he'd left off.

"Take Nelia and move the unconscious guards somewhere safe. Keep them out of the crossfire."

Julien stared at him without answering.

Setting aside whether the plan even held together… a sudden, ugly premonition was crawling up from his gut, turning his stomach.

Julien took several short breaths. He wrestled his shaking voice under control and managed to stammer out a question.

"Mikhail… then what are you going to do?"

Mikhail tilted his head as though weighing his answer. Then he met Julien's eyes and spoke.

"I'm going to take down the magical beast. By myself."

Julien's heart plummeted.

Above his wide, stricken eyes, worst-case scenarios branched out from every possibility like roots—

Spreading their arms wide, swallowing his vision before he could stop them.

---

Mikhail watched Julien staring at him in stunned silence, then shifted his gaze to the Guardian Tree.

The snake—a creature of earthen power—was tearing through the once-still ground as it awakened.

A massive brown body. Scales etched across its hide, hard and gleaming. A breath that rumbled like a low growl.

Exactly as the legend had described.

Though the anomaly's influence had altered its appearance somewhat—and those changes would reveal themselves soon enough.

Then the next step is—

Mikhail turned toward Edwin. At some point, Edwin had retreated a good distance, his face drained of all color—

Grab.

His body jerked to a halt mid-stride. Mikhail looked back at whoever had seized his hand.

Julien stood with his head bowed low, his outstretched hand trembling as he shook his head back and forth.

"No. You can't do this alone. Absolutely not. This is insane. Let's think this through. There might be a better way than fighting it head-on—please…"

Mikhail let out a quiet sigh and took hold of Julien's rambling hand.

Julien flinched and lifted his head.

Mikhail looked straight into those violet eyes, rippling with fear, and pressed weight into every syllable.

"I'm not going to lose. I won't get hurt, and I won't die."

"……."

"Whatever worst case you're imagining—it's not going to happen. I swear it."

Julien's breathing hitched in short, broken gasps.

His trembling pupils hadn't steadied. But the hand that had been gripping Mikhail's sleeve slowly loosened and slid down.

He looked shaken—startled that Mikhail had seen right through what was churning inside him. Mikhail let a confident smirk settle onto his lips.

"Watch. I'll prove I'm right."

Mikhail turned and walked toward Edwin.

Six or seven paces back, Edwin stood rooted to the spot with a vacant expression, still inching backward.

"Th-that's a snake too, isn't it? It's a snake. But why is it— why is it so damn big…"

Mikhail clamped both hands on Edwin's shoulders before the boy could topple over backward.

Edwin's head snapped toward him, face white as a sheet.

"Wh-what…?"

"Your greatsword. Give it to me."

"My greatsword? Why would you suddenly need—"

KRRAAASH!

In that instant, a massive brown body erupted from the earth near the Guardian Tree.

Edwin let out a yelp and all but hurled the sword off his back, shoving it into Mikhail's hands.

Thunk.

The weight was familiar, but that didn't make it any lighter. Mikhail's body lurched sideways the moment his grip closed around the hilt.

He barely managed to plant his feet and steady himself, then dragged the blade forward a couple of steps.

I need to pin this thing's movement… with this.

Mikhail shut his eyes and focused every nerve on the soles of his feet.

Through the relentless vibrations, something thrashed violently beneath the surface. Occasionally it surged upward.

Once. Twice. And—

Now.

Mikhail's eyes snapped open. He heaved the greatsword overhead and drove it into the ground with everything he had.

SHREEEEE!

The instant a shriek tore through the air, Mikhail turned his eyes toward the Guardian Tree.

CRACK! CRA-CRACK!

The elliptical body convulsed violently, and the snake's head ripped through the earth and shot skyward.

Golden crystals glinted across the brown-scaled head as it rose toward the sky.

Gold crystals. That's the anomaly's mark.

Mikhail studied the sight, then turned to Edwin beside him.

Edwin stood frozen stiff, gaping up at a snake head the size of a house.

Mikhail grabbed Edwin's wrist, pulled him in front of the sword hilt, and shouted.

"—Edwin! Snap out of it! From here on, you're going to control that thing's movement!"

Edwin jolted and fired back, face ashen.

"Are you out of your mind! You want me to control that snake— a snake the size of a house? I can't! I couldn't do that if my life depen—!"

SHREEEEE!

Mikhail whipped around toward the roaring beast.

The reptilian pupils blazed with a sinister light as they swept over the unconscious bodies scattered across the hilltop.

A hunger to devour every last intruder began to smolder in that gaze.

In that instant, Edwin's voice cracked through the air like a whip.

"—God! Dammit! Son of a— hey! Don't you dare look at them like that! Eyes off! Right now! Nobody here's lining up to be your damn meal!"

Mikhail glanced sideways. Edwin had screamed himself hoarse, then clenched his jaw.

He thrust his hand forward and seized the hilt of the greatsword buried in the ground.

CLANG!

Edwin glared at the snake, though fear hadn't fully left his face.

But a heartbeat later, he snapped his head toward Mikhail. His voice came out rough and raw.

"Hey! What do we do now! You know, right!"

Mikhail gave an immediate nod. He met Edwin's eyes with a thin smile.

"I'll handle the head—take it down myself. While I do, you need to hold the tail."

"Hold the tail? How the hell am I supposed to—"

"Keep the sword from pulling free. Grip the hilt and don't let go. That'll be enough to lock down the beast's movement."

RRRUMBLE!

That was when it happened. A deafening roar shook the ground beneath them. Both of them flinched and grabbed the hilt at the same time.

"…Ngh!"

Edwin drove his weight into his knees and pressed the hilt down hard.

Then he sucked in a deep breath and spoke to Mikhail—his voice harder and fiercer than usual.

"That thing. Can you really take it down by yourself?"

"If you hold the line for me."

Mikhail said it without a shred of doubt.

Edwin answered with absolute conviction.

"Fine! Leave it to me."

Mikhail left Edwin planted firmly in place and turned around.

"Kang!"

Han and Ul barked as if they'd been waiting for their cue. Teal energy swirled around both their bodies.

Mikhail looked between the siblings and spoke.

"Give me the blessing. Same as when we caught the pickpocket."

"Krrng."

【Notice: Companion divine beast, Sky Fox, has used the skill [Regional Blessing: Stride of the Green Wind].】

A small whirlwind kicked up at his feet, and his body turned weightless.

Every preparation was complete. Mikhail raised a finger toward the beast.

A faint crackle of static, and a mana sphere bloomed at his fingertip before launching straight at the coiled head.

BOOM!

The sphere struck the snake's skull. Its head rocked sideways—but not a single scratch marred the scales.

It was more than enough to get its attention, though.

Grrrrrr…

The snake's slit pupils locked onto Mikhail, brimming with unmistakable killing intent.

TAP!

Mikhail launched himself forward without a heartbeat's hesitation.