Childhood Friend of the Zenith-Chapter 602: The Northern Sea (5)

The sky was black, and a relentless blizzard obscured visibility.

Amid the swirling snow, countless figures moved urgently across the ground.

At the forefront of the group, a man muttered in a hushed tone,

“We’ll arrive soon.”

He spoke without pausing his steps, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Though the blizzard made it impossible to see, the man clearly remembered what he had glimpsed earlier.

‘There was a light.’

Between the raging storm and the dark night sky, he had seen something glowing brightly.

What could it be?

Raising his vigilance, the man scanned the path ahead.

Nothing was visible.

It looked as though nothing had ever been there.

Still, the man did not let down his guard.

‘We’ve lost contact with the ambushers.’

The unit stationed at the gorge had gone silent.

That alone was enough to keep the man on edge.

Could it be...

‘Did they fail?’

The great general who had pursued the White Fox was also said to have headed for the gorge.

The plan was to corner the White Fox, have the ambushers join forces with the general, and capture their target.

But now—

‘Did they fail to hunt the fox?’

Was it possible that even the wounded White Fox had managed to kill the general and the ambushers before escaping?

It was a hard scenario to believe.

‘Something has happened.’

That much was certain.

If the White Fox had indeed escaped after such a failure, what would the higher-ups say?

‘Tch...’

The man clicked his tongue sharply at the chilling thought.

All he could do was hope that wasn’t the case.

‘It would be better if the Ice Palace’s warriors were at the gorge.’

If that were the case, they could at least capture them and offer some explanation.

Adjusting his thoughts, the man glanced back and spoke.

“Everyone, stay alert. We don’t know what might—”

Suddenly—

“C-Captain!”

One of the warriors trailing behind him shouted in a trembling voice.

“Look, over there—!”

The warrior pointed at something, his face pale with alarm.

The man turned to look, his expression sharpening.

“What are you—huh?”

He froze.

Far above, something was floating in the sky.

Could it be the same thing he had seen earlier?

The man narrowed his eyes, staring into the void.

And then, he understood.

‘No. That’s not the same as before.’

The earlier light had briefly appeared in the sky.

This one was different.

It was harsher, brighter, and far more dazzling.

‘What is that?’

What could possibly shine so vividly?

And—

‘Why...?’

Why did it make his skin crawl?

Just looking at it sent cold sweat dripping down his back.

As the man struggled to make sense of the unease gripping him—

“...!”

His eyes widened in shock.

Was it an illusion?

No.

‘It’s not a trick.’

He quickly realized the truth.

The radiant light blazing in the sky was—

‘Growing.’

It was getting larger.

At the same time, the man felt an unfamiliar sensation brushing against his cheek.

“...Hot?”

The wind brushing past him was warm.

Such a feeling was impossible in the frigid North Sea.

Could it be because of the light?

The man stopped in his tracks and raised a hand.

“Stop.”

At his command, the group halted in unison.

A foreboding sense of dread weighed heavily on him.

The blue light—

Just looking at it was terrifying, an overwhelming unease wrapping around him.

What was it?

What could it be to inspire such fear?

For a fleeting moment, curiosity stirred within him.

That primal human instinct to seek the unknown.

But then—

“Warriors, listen carefully.”

The man’s voice was steady, suppressing any trace of that curiosity.

“We are retreating immediately.”

The fear that had gripped him left no room for hesitation.

“Turn back and—!”

Before he could finish his command, the light changed.

The light, which had been steadily growing, stopped expanding and began to move.

The man froze as he watched.

The way the flames moved made it seem like they were searching for something.

Searching for what?

‘No...’

A terrible premonition washed over him.

And as if to confirm that premonition, the light in the sky stopped moving.

This was no [N O V E L I G H T] illusion or guess. It was a certainty.

The light was focused directly on him.

Then—

“...!?”

A deafening roar erupted as the light hurtled toward him.

It was fast, impossibly fast.

“Run...! Retreat now—!”

The man’s shout was drowned out as the light struck the ground where he stood.

Fwoooom!

Boom!

A massive shockwave rippled out.

“Aaaaagh!”

The sudden impact sent warriors screaming into the air.

The fierce winds whipped around them, and many were flung into the void, unable to hold their ground.

“Ugh...!”

The man barely held on, groaning as he braced against the scorching wind that seemed to burn his skin.

If he was struggling this much, what about his subordinates?

‘Damn it.’

That thought crossed his mind, but he had no time to dwell on it.

Through the waves of heat, he spotted something.

The point where the light had struck.

Where there should have been snow, the ground was now exposed, melted away to reveal bare earth.

And atop that spot—

Something was burning fiercely, assumed to be the fallen light.

As the man stared at it warily—

“What...?”

His face twisted in disbelief as he identified the source of the light.

It wasn’t just a simple flame or glow.

Amazingly—

‘A person?’

It had the form of a human.

Someone was slowly rising from the ground.

Flames coiled around them, centered on their body as they burned.

What was happening?

As the man’s eyes filled with confusion, the figure’s gaze turned toward him.

Even through the blazing blue flames, their eyes were sharp and clear.

Piercing blue irises with vertical pupils.

Shiver—

The man’s spine tingled as his gaze locked with the figure’s fiery eyes.

At that moment—

Fwoosh!

The flames surrounding the figure burst outward and vanished.

“Disappea—?”

The man began to speak, but—

“Gahk.”

A short, choking sound came from beside him.

Instinctively, he turned toward the source of the noise.

What met his eyes was the grotesque sight of blood spurting into the air and—

Crunch!

The face of one of his subordinates being torn from their body, head and all, by someone’s hand.

The man tried to twist his body away in panic, but—

Whoosh!

What he saw next was a palm hurtling toward him.

Smack!

“Urgh!”

The hand clamped over his mouth with brutal force.

Fwoom—!

An intense heat emanated from the palm, searing his skin.

“Mmmphhh!!”

The man’s muffled cries were futile as he struggled to form words.

But his blocked mouth rendered him speechless.

And then—

BOOOOOOM—!!!!

The flames from the hand exploded, engulfing the man’s entire body in a blazing inferno.

******************

My ears felt strangely muffled.

It was as though they were filled with water.

Or as if cotton had been stuffed inside, blocking everything out.

The sensation was suffocating, irritating.

That’s what it felt like.

Yet, it wasn’t completely silent.

[Aaaaaagh!]

[Spare me...!]

Unfamiliar sounds echoed in my ears.

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It sounded like someone was screaming.

Or perhaps crying.

The noise was unbearable.

If only there were silence—it would have been better.

‘What a repulsive sound.’

How could it be so vile?

The voices of such insignificant creatures were so detestable to hear.

As that thought crossed my mind, my hand moved on its own.

I grabbed something.

Was it a neck?

I tore it away.

[Gurrk—!]

Crunch!

[P-Please, spare me...!!]

Fwoosh!

When one of them dared to cry out loudly, I clamped their mouth shut and burned them.

The stench assaulted my nose.

The air around me was filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh.

How even the scent of these wretched beings burning could be so disgusting was beyond me.

The thought made me furious.

An uncontrollable rage surged within me.

Why? Why was I so angry?

I couldn’t remember.

All I knew was that I had to release this rage somehow.

[Aaargh!]

As I grabbed and disposed of another pitiful creature, I suddenly understood why I was so angry.

‘Ah. I see.’

Insignificant, filthy beings.

Inferior, contemptible creatures abandoned by the heavens.

The fact that I had to breathe the same air as them.

That must be why I was so enraged. It had to be.

I couldn’t bear it.

Fwoooom!

My rage turned into flames that spread outward.

I burned whatever I could grab.

[Aaaaaghhh!!]

I had to erase them all.

So that I wouldn’t see them anymore.

I had to remove them all until everything was clean.

That was what I needed to do.

It felt like a certainty.

‘Where, where are they?’

I looked around.

The white snowfield was littered with burned and torn remains.

It still wasn’t enough.

‘Not yet. More.’

To calm this anger, I needed to eliminate more.

I would catch and kill every insignificant being in this world.

Then, maybe, this fury would subside.

Rustle—

I heard a sound and turned.

In the distance, one of them was running away.

I took a single step forward.

That was all it took to reach them.

[Gurgh.]

I grabbed their neck.

The creature’s eyes were filled with terror and desperation.

[P-Please... Please spare me...!! I’ll do anything, anything you ask—!!]

Their trembling voice was grating.

[Sob... Sob....]

I could hear them crying.

I didn’t want to hear it anymore. Just hearing it made my ears feel like they were rotting.

I was about to tear them apart again when—

Tap.

A sensation stopped me.

I looked down and saw someone holding my wrist.

“Enough.”

It was another being.

But unlike the others, this one had calm eyes and an air of composure.

Still—

“Whatever has angered you so, shouldn’t you spare at least one of them?”

That didn’t justify this being standing in my way.

“You’re already unwell, yet you’re burning through so much energy... What will you do—”

“Let go.”

“...What?”

The being hesitated at my words, their face a mask of disbelief, as though they had misheard me.

How pathetic.

It seemed this inferior creature couldn’t comprehend the words of one so far above them.

“...What did you just say?”

“I said, let go, you insignificant pest.”

“...”

The moment I spoke, I felt something strange.

It felt as though I had said something I should never have uttered.

Surely, that was a ridiculous notion.

What words could possibly be unspeakable to such lowly beings?

“Well, well.”

Thunk.

The sound of their laughter made me release the creature I was holding without realizing it.

My hand moved on its own.

What was this?

“Anger can cloud judgment, I understand. In my youth, I was the same. That’s why, as your teacher, I must step in to help you.”

Were they running away? Was my body retreating?

‘Impossible.’

There was no way I could fear such a pathetic creature.

“Disciple, do you know the simplest way to cool your head when you’re angry?”

I flared my aura, moving my hand to grab their neck.

I would tear them apart and make them understand the difference between us.

“Usually—”

And then show this wretched being the clear gap in our abilities.

Boom!

“Gah—!”

My legs left the ground as a sudden impact struck my chest.

“Getting beaten until you calm down usually does the trick.”

As my body was flung into the air, I tried to regain control.

Through squinting eyes, I saw something approaching.

A foot.

A foot was inches from my face.

Crash!

“Ugh!”

The blow twisted my head as pain shot through me.

I instinctively tried to shift my body.

But then—

Whoosh—

“Don’t take it personally.”

The air in front of me condensed into a terrifying force.

“This is merely discipline.”

A fist sank into my abdomen.

Thud!

The impact shook the ground.