I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 658

Caleb’s eyes widened.

Despite the great distance and the towering trees and blizzard obscuring his vision, the keen-eyed Northern scout could faintly make out the shimmering shadows. They were cursed figures, looking like nothing belonging to this world.

Screech— Scree—

Faint, distorted shrieks echoed through the wind. The feeling that darkness was surging toward them was no illusion. Every monster in the forest was converging on the intruders.

Boom! Fwoosh—

Even so, the explosions lighting up the darkness did not cease. To Caleb, the flickering lights seemed to drift farther away, proof that the Great Warrior was pressing through the demonic realm without slowing.

"They say it’s a mix of creatures that spilled over during the erosion and mutated monsters from the snowfields." A clear voice pierced Caleb's ears.

Keeping her eyes fixed on the flickering lights in the distance, Thesaya continued, "The ones that crossed over are familiars of an archdemon called Akihatara. Have you heard of it?"

"Akihatara... yes." Nasser nodded. "I remember reading about it in the Great Church’s records. A harpy matriarch that once ruled a colony in the Akihar Mountains, beyond the northeastern front, past the Northern Line."

"Those flying things? They’re nothing special."

"Usually, yes. But on rare occasions, a queen emerges, one that rules an unusually large colony. That creature was one of them. No one knows how it began, but it is said to have taken in other monsters and expanded its forces."

Narrowing his eyes as he searched his memory, Nasser stroked his chin and continued. "They called it the Godmother of the Feathered Crown, or the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. It rarely showed itself, but whenever it did, the casualties were catastrophic. Survivors claimed that when it passed by, heads were severed cleanly, and trails of blood carved through the air itself."

"Not bad, Half-Ear. Your memory still works," Thesaya said with a chuckle, shrugging nonchalantly. "Either way, it looks like there are creatures carrying the same kind of chaos as the familiars they ran into in the Black Lands."

"Does the Great Warrior's familiar tell you all that?" Caleb, who had been listening blankly, asked.

Thesaya looked back at him and giggled. "Yep. Whispers it straight into my head. That thing isn’t an ordinary familiar. Your Great Warrior subdued a fragment of an ancient god."

Caleb’s eyes widened once more. There was no doubt this time, only the thought that he truly was a demigod. Born under the blessing of thunder and lightning, they said. Even bound to a mortal shell, subduing a mere fragment of an ancient god would have been easy for him.

"Eyes forward, Beard. We've already entered the demonic realm." Thesaya added after taking a sip of wine.

Snapping back to his senses, Caleb faced forward. Darkness churned endlessly beneath the raging blizzard. The road seemed subtly wider now, more winding. Worse still, the white horses were drifting toward the edges.

Caleb yanked the reins sideways. Fortunately, the horses did not resist and veered back toward the center of the road. It seemed they hadn’t been fully ensnared.

That was close...

As Caleb exhaled in relief, memories surfaced of fellow scouts who had nearly been ensnared by demonic realms. They had said they were clearly walking along the outskirts, yet in the next moment, they found themselves drifting straight into the darkness.

Screech—

Meanwhile, the monster’s screams grew fainter, melting into the sound of the wind. The firelight now looked like nothing more than flickering orange glows.

Not long after, Thesaya, who had been leisurely sipping wine, muttered, "The connection's cut."

Caleb kept his eyes forward and his ears pricked as Nasser said, "Didn’t you say it was close?"

"Well, relatively. Yog’s abilities aren’t that precise. Or maybe..." She paused briefly, then said, "Maybe they're almost at the source of the demonic realm, and the spell is being disrupted."

Almost simultaneously, a brilliant flash flared in the distance. Caleb flinched, his head snapping to the side. It was too far to make out the situation with the naked eye, but it was clear that a fierce battle was underway.

Scree—

A few minutes later, a monstrous shriek, like a demon’s wail, rang out. With it, the raging blizzard abruptly died down. The silence, however, did not last long.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

The ground shook heavily. Eyes wide, Caleb lowered his stance and tightened the reins. Fortunately, the white horses only stopped and panted, not thrashing about. It was almost as if they’d been through something like this before.

"Looks like it's over," Thesaya said in a bored voice that didn't match the situation.

Still gripping the reins tight, Caleb turned to her. "You’re saying the source was destroyed this quickly?"

It hadn't even been an hour yet.

As the tremors subsided, Thesaya took another sip of her drink and shrugged. "Yeah. Looks like we ended up just watching from the sidelines."

That was when the screams of monsters echoed from beyond the darkness. It sounded as if the entire forest was vomiting screams.

Narrowing his eyes as he stared ahead, Nasser slowly curled one corner of his mouth. "You should watch your words from now on, Elder."

The darkness beyond was rippling like waves.

Caleb’s brow twisted as he stared into it. "Don’t tell me that’s—"

"It seems the remaining monsters are fleeing," said Nasser. He rose at an unhurried pace, drawing a shield from behind his cloak with his left hand while gripping the hilt of his longsword at his waist with the right.

"As you can see, it looks like we'll get swept up too." Nasser drew his sword.

Thesaya capped the bottle and said, "Actually, that's better. I get to have some fun."

Loosening the front of her cloak, she stood up. "You guys stay back. This Elder will block them."

"... I was joking earlier, you know," Nasser said, letting his sword hang low with his shield secured on his left arm.

Chuckling, Thesaya turned to the side of the carriage. "Relax. I only need to buy us time."

She tossed the wine bottle she was holding into Caleb's arms and tilted her head. "Keep moving, Beard."

"Y-Yes! Elder!" Caleb shook the reins, though his eyes never left her.

Blue magic was gathering in her eyes. He had seen red mages, but this was his first time seeing a blue one, as he lived in the North. There were superstitions saying that lingering too long in environments aligned with one’s spells could drive a mage mad.

Screech—

At the piercing shrieks, Caleb looked to the side. The surging darkness was taking shape. A tide of monsters was closing in.

Though still faint, Caleb could vaguely make out their forms. Monsters with mismatched wings sprouting from their shoulder blades and beasts with thorn-like horns all over their bodies were running toward them.

Snowfield wolves?

Caleb’s brow furrowed. Mixed among them were even undead, their eyes blazing with purple light. Drawn by the source of madness, monsters of every kind had formed a single horde.

"It must have been quite a battle, judging by how terrified those creatures consumed by madness look." Nasser’s calm remark stood in stark contrast to what Caleb was feeling.

Of course, despite his tone, Nasser was crouched low, ready to move at any moment.

Thesaya, standing with her silver hair fluttering, smiled. "With their leader dead and the source gone, what did you expect?"

"True. Madness doesn’t erase instinct," said Nasser.

Thesaya nodded, her cloak fluttering as much as her hair. Between its folds, her hands, drawn together at her chest, briefly came into view.

"Don't lose the reins, Beard."

Thesaya thrust her left arm forward. In her open palm, a gemstone glowed with a brilliant blue light.

Swoosh—

Almost at the same time, a wave burst from the gemstone, carrying a chill that made Caleb’s shoulders stiffen. In the distance, ice crystals spread through the forest.

Crack, crack, crack!

Caleb turned back to look at the Crystal Curtain spreading out in a line. He had no way of knowing it was shaped like magnified snow crystals, yet it was unmistakably beautiful.

Beyond it, the surging wave of monsters grew ever more distinct. A few seconds later, Thesaya, still holding her left arm outstretched, clenched the gemstone tightly in her grasp.

Boom, boom, boom!

At the same instant, the Crystal Curtain detonated. A fog-like shockwave rolled outward, swallowing everything beyond.

Screech!

The beasts’ screams tangled chaotically. Thesaya, however, had already drawn both hands to her chest, her eyes half-closed.

Whoosh—

She thrust her hands forward again just as the tangled shapes of the monsters emerged through the aftermath.

Crack, crack, crack!

A chilling wave swept over Caleb. Along the edge of the road, the Glacier Wall rose, cutting off the monsters as they trampled the fallen and shoved one another aside.

Crack— Crunch—

Thesaya’s silver hair and cloak billowed, but she did not lower her outstretched arms. The pulse spreading from the gemstone did not falter either. As a result, the wall that rose to block the roadside continued on, extending in the direction the carriage traveled.

Crackle, thud!

From beyond the wall came heavy impacts and frantic screams. The surging monsters must have slammed straight into the barrier. Yet the Glacial Wall did not collapse or shatter. Instead, it grew more opaque as cracks spread across its far side, continuing to extend onward.

Thud! Screech!

Of course, not every part held. Far behind the carriage, monsters burst through portions of the wall that were evaporating away.

Nasser, now standing on the rear roof, glared at them with his shield raised. However, he didn't need to fight. The monsters that spilled onto the road did not slow; instead, they charged straight into the forest on the opposite side.

Grr...

It was the same ahead. A wave of monsters swept past barely ten meters away, creatures with glowing purple eyes spilling across the road. The only reason they were not drawing closer to the carriage was that the Glacial Wall continued to rise.

Caleb couldn’t tear his gaze away from the nightmarish procession.

"Are you alright, Elder?" Nasser shouted, glaring at the monsters.

Thesaya, arms outstretched, responded immediately, "Of course! I can keep this up for a while."

Turning to look back at Nasser, one corner of her mouth curled upward. "Though I won’t need to."

Just then, a booming explosion erupted from beyond the wall. Nasser and Caleb turned their heads at the same time toward the top of the Glacial Wall. Beyond it, the world brightened, as though dawn were breaking.

Rumble!

Explosions surged closer in rapid succession. Flickering firelight rippled across the ash-gray surface of the ice.

Caleb stared entranced at the light reflecting off the ice. For an instant, it almost seemed as though purple trails were writhing beneath the surface—but that had to be his imagination.

Screech—

The number of monsters fleeing across the front and back decreased rapidly. Thesaya lowered her outstretched arms only when no monster passed by.

Shwaaaa...

The Glacial Wall, holding the flickering firelight, melted from the top down as if evaporating. As the screams from the other side faded, a strange silence settled over the area.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

The first to emerge from beyond the vanished wall was Ian, his hooded cloak pulled low, riding atop Moro as the beast advanced at an unhurried pace.

Caleb stared at him blankly for a moment. "Oh, Karha..."

Moro glistened as if coated in rippling light. Viscous fluids slicked across its full armor, reflecting the glow of the fires.

Ian, by contrast, seemed to swallow light itself. His hooded cloak was pitch-dark, and the blade hanging loosely in his right hand reflected nothing at all, its surface ominously black.

It was a sight that inspired both fear and awe.

"Good work!" Nasser’s shout snapped Caleb back to his senses. Having already retrieved his sword and shield, Nasser strode briskly toward the side of the carriage.

"Please wait a moment!" Caleb added as he bent down and opened one of the carriage doors. In the next instant, Nasser hopped lightly inside, almost like a practiced trick.

Caleb sprang to his feet immediately afterward.

"Th-Thank you for your efforts! Demigod!" he shouted energetically, bowing his head slightly in the Northern manner. With the Glacial Wall now completely gone, the scene beyond naturally came into view.

Fwoosh...

Torn and charred remains of monsters lay scattered in every direction. Orange sacred fire burned corpses here and there, lighting up the surroundings like torches.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

A white horse carrying Lucia and Mev crossed through the carnage and approached. The sacred fire clinging to Lucia’s hood was already dying down.

Mev, seated behind her, looked as though she had been splattered head to toe with monster fluids. Faint flames still flickered along the thin, elongated blades of the swords clenched in her hands.

"You guys worked hard too," Ian said, approaching diagonally to the side of the carriage. "Leaving you behind was the right call."

As Caleb finally raised his head, Thesaya, sitting on the roof, said, "So the leader was an ogre demon?"

"Yeah. It even talked," Ian replied, returning his sword to his waist.

At that moment, Nasser leaned out of the carriage door and handed him a cloth. Pulling back his hood, Ian took it and began wiping the fluids splattered across his face.

"If we’d waited any longer, it might have evolved into an archdemon," Lucia added, approaching from behind.

She pushed her mask up onto her head, revealing her face. "Good thing we killed it before that happened."

"Well done, Sister," said Thesaya, extending a hand toward Caleb.

Caleb quickly bent down and handed her the bottle he had leaned behind the driver’s seat.

Meanwhile, Nasser handed a cloth to Mev as well and added, "There were more monsters than expected. It seems the wasteland had drawn in a great number of creatures from the snowfields."

"Yeah. This probably isn't the only place," Mev replied as she wiped down her visor, having already sheathed her swords.

Lucia grasped Thesaya’s hand and climbed up onto the carriage roof—only to slump down as if all the strength had drained from her body.

"The ones that fled will probably flow into other wastelands."

Her gaze swept the forest on the other side of the road. The fleeing monsters had already vanished into the darkness and the falling snow.

"Unless they clash with whatever lives there, we’ll end up facing more monsters as we go."

"It doesn’t matter," Ian said, wiping the back of his neck.

Almost at the same time, the bottle in Thesaya’s hand flew through the air and landed squarely in his. Caleb’s eyes widened at the power the demigod displayed so casually.

Ian lifted the bottle to his lips and added, "By then, it won’t be just us."

"True, I guess." Nodding, Lucia leaned back on the roof.

After taking a long gulp of the strong liquor, Ian tossed the bottle to Mev and asked, "We haven’t lost our way, have we, Cal?"

"O-Of course not, Demigod!" Caleb answered immediately and sat down.

A fork in the road was coming into view. Pointing to the left, he looked back at Ian. "If we go that way, we’ll likely pass another demonic realm before dawn."

"Then let's keep going. It doesn't look like we need to rest yet."

Shrugging, Ian grabbed the reins and added, "And drop the demigod title already."

***

Whoosh—

A biting wind swept over Ian, carrying snow with it. The snow-covered forest lay silent, as if time itself had stopped.

Staring into the dim expanse ahead, Ian said, "Feels like another demonic realm isn’t far."

From the driver’s seat, Caleb nodded, his frost-covered hood pulled low as he turned his gaze. "This area hasn’t been fully scouted yet, but it should be deeper in there."

They were cutting straight through the heart of the wasteland. On the way, they had already eliminated two more sources of demonic realms. A new ecosystem was taking shape here. If left alone for a few more years, it would not have been strange for it to turn into a small Black Land.

"Well, we’ll know when we get there," Ian said as he looked back.

Despite the fatigue that must have built up, Mev calmly lowered her visor when their eyes met and pulled her frost-rimmed fur hood down further.

"I’m ready too." The carriage door opened almost at once, and Lucia leaned halfway out, her mask already in place. She reached toward Mev without hesitation.

From the gap in the doorway, Thesaya poked her head out. "Same as usual, right? Go on, then!"

She’s not even complaining anymore.

Ian let out a chuckle. As the cold deepened and the blessing faded, Thesaya and Nasser had stopped leaving the carriage unless it was absolutely necessary.

After checking that Lucia was in position, Ian drew the sword at his waist. "You heard her. Same as usual."

"Yes, Great Warrior!" Caleb shouted with a nod. With every battle, his attitude had only grown more like that of a fresh recruit.

You could relax a bit, you know.

Ian shook Moro’s reins.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

As if waiting for a signal, Moro surged forward and cut ahead of the carriage at an angle. Despite days of constant travel without proper rest, the beast’s stride was still full of vigor, likely thanks to the steady diet of monster flesh and blood it had been enjoying.

Yog, too, was bloated from devouring chaos again and again and was now asleep, preparing for yet another molt.

Ian didn’t hesitate as he charged into the forest.

Thump... thump...

The essence bead of chaos had been sending out signals for some time now, and with his third eye open, following the sharpened pull of his instincts was more than enough.

Before long, Ian’s brow twitched. They had been in the forest for a while, yet not a single monster stood in their way. Instead, a faint stench drifted to his nose.

He soon realized why.

Beyond the forest, torn and butchered monster corpses appeared. It was clearly a trace of the barbarian subjugation squad sweeping through.