NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 134
The Giant of the Snow Mountain stood completely still, maintaining the same posture.
The cold that no human body could possibly endure ultimately froze all the knights, except for the Knight Commander and the God of War.
The Knight Commander felt a choking sense of injustice, something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
There was nothing she could do.
Was the Giant of the Snow Mountain much stronger compared to the Elite Outsider?
It wasn’t exactly that.
But she realized why she couldn’t win against this Outsider.
The Giant of the Snow Mountain differed fundamentally from other Outsiders.
The Elite Outsider, existing merely as a concept, was easier to sever.
As a complete entity, they desired nothing from the outside.
However, the Giant of the Snow Mountain absorbed more than just warmth.
The strengths of its targets.
It possessed a ridiculous power that first absorbed such things from all living beings.
Yet it never included vitality within.
The reason was unknown.
And so, the Knight Commander fell into an even more miserable state of mind.
To spend eternity worse than death.
Just as she was thinking this, she realized that she had become the next target of the Giant.
A chill emanated towards the Knight Commander.
No, it wasn’t being shot at; it felt more like something was being taken away from her.
An unfamiliar sensation enveloped the Knight Commander’s body.
Pain.
A sensation of every single cell in her body twisting.
For some reason, her body did not freeze.
Starting from her toes, her form began to twist grotesquely.
It seemed like a rejection response to the power of the Giant of the Snow Mountain.
The Knight Commander squeezed her eyes shut.
If only the God of War had frozen as well.
Then maybe she wouldn’t have to show him her shame.
So overwhelming was her humiliation that she thought such terrible things.
The God of War looked down at the Knight Commander with an unusually serious expression.
“…Commander, was that so?”
His tone was not the usual cheerful one but infinitely grave.
The combination of shame, guilt, and melancholy made the pain she was enduring unbearable.
The voice of the wretched flooded the surroundings.
However, the God of War did not twist his face at the sight.
As if he was deep in thought.
No, that was the expression he made when calculating something before approaching an issue.
Finally, the God of War finished his thoughts and harshly grabbed the Knight Commander’s arm.
In that instant, the Knight Commander felt some relief wash over her body.
The fact that her body felt better at that moment could only imply one thing.
“…No! Stop! My condition could cause your body to crumble!”
She cried out, but the Knight Commander could not stop the actions of the God of War.
Her utterly weakened body found it nearly impossible to even twitch a finger.
The Knight Commander felt a sensation of something escaping her body.
The God of War’s arm shifted into a color somewhere between black and teal.
That skin began to gradually be covered in scales.
The God of War frowned, appearing to suffer.
He looked as if he were in enough pain to sweat cold beads, yet he did not stop.
“Hey, Commander. Do you really think I’d abandon you for such a trivial reason? Is our bond that superficial, huh?!”
Saying this, he kept absorbing whatever it was from the Knight Commander until her body calmed down.
But perhaps due to the backlash.
The Knight Commander felt her consciousness sinking deeper into her body.
Finally, the God of War released the Knight Commander.
However, by that time, his expression looked extremely pained.
“Kuh, Hwaaaak!”
With the God of War’s anguished voice echoing, the Knight Commander’s consciousness slipped away into the distance, into a place called the Unconscious.
#
“It felt as though I was calmly observing my actions from a faraway place. The moment I regained control was when the God of War was glaring at me as if he were about to kill me. It seems the energy he absorbed awakened me.”
The Knight Commander spoke blandly and lightly closed her eyes.
He must be allowing us to calmly gather our thoughts.
However, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled by issues within the Knight Commander’s words that seemed rather sketchy.
“…But, Commander. There’s something strange about this.”
“Hmm?”
“The phenomenon that happened to you, what was it, and that the God of War absorbed it? The explanation is too lacking.”
The Knight Commander gave a bittersweet smile at my words.
“…You’re quite perceptive, Tanton. It seems futile to try to gloss over it intentionally.”
As expected.
I felt like there was an excessive condensation of the narrative regarding something she experienced.
The Knight Commander breathed out softly and then spoke to us.
“Let’s put it simply—I once devoured the flesh of someone.”
With those words, my mind momentarily came to a halt.
Even the Deputy Director, who had been sinking deep into thought, opened his eyes wide at the Knight Commander’s words.
Had the Deputy Director, someone who had spent so long with her, not known about her past?
“I—didn’t hear that right?”
“No, you heard it correctly. It’s been a long time. Back when I was still a probationary knight, there was someone who killed all my comrades. In the desperate struggle to resist him, while trying to land a final strike, I ended up become what I am now. I didn’t stop chasing him to kill him, even amidst the pain of death. Looking back, I realize it was insane.”
Immortality.
A body that would never die, no matter what attack I endured, even the strikes of the Elite Outsider.
“Was that being an Outsider?”
“Yeah, it was an Outsider… wasn’t it? No, I distinctly remember it taking human form.”
The Knight Commander began to falter in her recollection.
If it was such a painful memory, she surely wouldn’t forget it.
Like someone being blocked from something, the Knight Commander scratched her head, visibly frustrated.
Could it be that the effects of the Giant of the Snow Mountain had impaired her memory?
Or was it for some other reason?
I couldn’t tell, but she seemed unable to recall it completely.
“In any case, I guess one could consider me a mutant with the power of an Outsider. Perhaps the memory loss I experienced happened as a process where the powers of the Giant of the Snow Mountain instinctively rejected the abilities of the Outsider.”
That was too serious an past narrative to simply shrug off.
Yet she behaved as if she had grown indifferent towards it, making it difficult for me to voice my thoughts.
Just then, the door to the Deputy Director’s Office swung open, and someone came in.
With a sharp gaze, the God of War now looked clear and was blinking at the Knight Commander.
As if grasping for memories, the God of War nodded his head and then suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
“Ahahaha! My calculations were spot on! Look, Commander! Both you and I are alive!”
He approached, cheerfully patting the Knight Commander on the shoulder, as if seamlessly tying together the Knight Commander’s past.
We were all taken aback at the God of War’s actions.
The God of War turned to the Deputy Director.
“Hey, Deputy Director! So how did we… huh?! Why do you look so old?!”
Only after seeing the God of War’s surprise did we let out a sigh of relief.
His response seemed to indicate that the God of War had fully regained his senses.
#
I asked the God of War to explain the situation, but he refused to elaborate.
“On such a joyous day, do I need to recount something depressing?! Let’s throw a festival instead, Commander! Ahahaha!”
“One day, we must discuss this—God of War.”
The Deputy Director grabbed the God of War’s shoulder with utmost seriousness.
“You need to tell me how you saved the Commander.”
“Eh, you still haven’t shed that resolute attitude? Alright, alright, Deputy Director. It’s good to see you after so long.”
As he spoke like that, the God of War suddenly seemed to remember something.
“Oh dear, how could I forget my head! This isn’t the time! Commander! I’ll leave the festival preparations to you! Hold on, daughter! Daddy’s coming!”
With that, the God of War dashed away panickedly.
For some reason, I felt completely drained afterward.
Now I understood a bit about why the Outsider hiding in the God of War acted so awkwardly.
It wasn’t that he was putting on an act; that was his limit.
While watching that, the Knight Commander lightly smiled, and the Deputy Director subtly approached her from behind.
“Um?”
“You said it was a disgrace, but I wish you would have told me in advance.”
“…I’m sorry, Deputy Director. I guess the fact that I was different from others frightened me. That’s why I ended up hiding it from you.”
The Knight Commander smiled contently at me.
“However, I should learn a lesson from the Author’s actions. That attitude of transforming one’s differences into strengths.”
Oh.
Suddenly, it felt a bit embarrassing to be praised like that.
I scratched my head awkwardly.
“…I’m ready to accept any version of you, Commander.”
The Deputy Director lifted the corners of his mouth slightly as he spoke.
At those words, the Knight Commander looked slightly dazed as she regarded the Deputy Director.
“You think transforming it into a strength separates the different? I don’t see the need to classify it that way. All those aspects included are why I came to respect you, Commander.”
The Deputy Director cautiously knelt down and bowed his head.
“…Thank you, Commander. For returning to my side, despite my foolishness.”
With those words, the Deputy Director had intended to rise carefully from his position.
However, he couldn’t complete his intended action.
Crash!
“Ugh?”
Abruptly, the Knight Commander snatched him up with a speed that even the Deputy Director couldn’t react to.
The expression on the Deputy Director’s face filled with confusion, while the Knight Commander was smiling.
The feeling of that smile…
Was one filled with possession.
“Deputy Director, do you remember what I said before I left for my expedition?”
“You said you must return to my side…”
“No, before that.”
“W-wait a moment…”
At that time, I couldn’t quite catch what was being vaguely said.
What exactly did she say back then?
With a hint of excitement, I continued to watch the scene.
“You seem to still remember that reaction.”
“W-Why are you bringing this up now…?”
“Then can I assume you agree to some extent?”
“…That is…”
The Deputy Director quietly smiled.
“…That’s an overly generous statement for me…”
“Just answer yes or no.”
“…Then yes, I agree.”
“Ugh.”
Immediately upon hearing those words, the Knight Commander’s expression transformed intriguingly.
Yes.
One could say it resembled the expression she wore when Outsiders suddenly attacked me.
“Uh, Commander. We’re quite close now.”
“…Then prove that sentiment right here.”
“Commander! We’re in public! And how can I….”
“…I won’t let you go.”
“W-wait a moment…!”
I decided not to look at what happened next.
Although I had been cheering on the Knight Commander and Deputy Director’s pure love, I felt that watching any further would be an insult to their romantic feelings.
The road back to the Branch felt rather refreshing.
“Master?”
…No, maybe it didn’t feel refreshing at all.