Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 64: The Land of Ash [3]
After finishing their meal, Monar took the opportunity to restore everyone’s protective shield. Without anyone noticing, he summoned his wooden staff and struck it once against the ground. The magical wave that spread across the area strengthened all their shields before fading away.
Naturally, everyone noticed the translucent veil that suddenly covered them and looked at Monar with confused expressions. He smiled kindly and said, "Better to do it now than to stop again later to restore it, right?"
Azel, who was sitting near the stream, looked at Marco. The blond nodded, relaxed.
’That scared the hell out of me. I thought I was about to turn into ash or something,’ Mitsuki complained inwardly. Seeing that everyone was already getting ready to leave, he looked at the backpack as if it were his natural enemy. ’I don’t think I can carry this thing for the next few hours. I wonder if my Spatial Storage lets me put it away. I should try it, but I’m not sure it’ll work with something filled with a bunch of other stuff.’
Besides, he had no idea how the others would react.
"Hurry up, Mitsuki. We’re leaving," Monar said. "You don’t want to fall behind in a place like this."
Mitsuki looked at him for a moment, then turned back to the backpack.
’Whatever. If it works, great. If not, then it is what it is.’
He pointed his hand at the backpack and used the magic he had obtained at the beginning of his journey. At first, Monar looked confused, but he quickly realized that Mitsuki was trying to use magic. In fact, Azel and Marco watched in silence, as if expecting something extraordinary to happen.
[ Skill "Spatial Storage Lv.1" has been activated. ]
To his surprise, the backpack quickly vanished, wrapped in ash, which impressed Mitsuki.
[ Heavy Backpack has been stored. ]
’Damn... It worked. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have had to walk with that weight for so long!’ Now that he had gotten rid of the burden, the journey would be much lighter.
"What did you do to the backpack, Poison Pastry?"
That nickname... Mitsuki had to hide the fact that his anger was about to explode at those words. Still, Monar was there to explain what had happened.
"You’re using Spatial Storage Magic, a specialty of Arcane Magic. Honestly, I’m not surprised. If you can use Arcane Magic, then of course you can use Spatial Magic." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"Really? You’re full of surprises," Azel added.
Meanwhile, Marco simply rolled his eyes, uninterested, and moved forward, using his sword to cut through the undergrowth.
"It’s better not to waste any more time. Let’s keep going."
Azel followed Marco, disappearing into the distant darkness of the brush. Meanwhile, Monar motioned for Mitsuki to keep moving. They had only just begun, and stopping to rest again wasn’t a good idea. And so, with Mitsuki accepting that this was going to be boring, the journey resumed for the next few hours.
The silence and the strange sense of loneliness they all felt continued to stand out in the gloomy forest. There were still no signs of Cinder Beasts or anything similar hiding among the trees, and in a place like Nemoria, that was far too strange.
"So far, we haven’t encountered any monsters. What do you think is the reason?" Azel asked.
Marco sighed. "Those women probably cleared out the area. On the one hand, that works in our favor. It saves us both time and energy."
’I guess by those women he means Ellegaard and Jeanne. They’re obviously not looking for treasure like we are; they’re trying to confirm whether what Galahad said is true. And I’d like to tell them that everything is true, but it’s already too late for that. I lost my chance when I lost to Ellegaard.’
Thinking about that always brought his mood down.
’Besides... how the hell am I supposed to get stronger if there aren’t any monsters for me to kill? I need XP! I’m falling behind!’
"When we reach the first village, we’ll make sure to change our route and go around the capital of Holylight. That way, we can secure as much profit as possible before heading to the place that matters most."
If that was the goal, then it really wasn’t a bad decision.
By nightfall, they finally reached the first village. It was large enough to be called a village, but compared to Luxar and the capital of Holylight, it was still quite small. The houses were made of rough, weathered stone, dark gray in color and faded with pale marks from the passage of time. The wooden roofs were in ruins, just like the buildings, and much of the vegetation had already reclaimed its place among the stone.
Branches, vines, and trees sprouting from between the bricks decorated the old village, showing how ancient a disaster could be—that disaster that embraced the ruins with the soft gray touch of ash...
The group headed straight for the village entrance—a large stone arch, broken at the corners. Some of the fallen rocks from the ruined arch lay scattered on the ground alongside the long, low brick walls that marked the village’s boundaries, fading into the visible horizon.
There, Mitsuki felt a chill run down his spine—a kind of déjà vu.
’That’s strange... I feel like I’ve been here before...’
As he passed through the arch with the group, Mitsuki ran his fingers along the ash-covered stone. Suddenly, a painful sense of nostalgia overwhelmed him—a feeling like his heart was being torn out. The sensation started at his fingertips and spread to his mind.
"The ash statues are gone, Marco," Azel said with a serious expression.
"Yeah. I don’t think those women would’ve bothered getting rid of all of them. Besides, the statues only move at night when the curse grows stronger, so it’s unlikely there was any major battle nearby."
"There are no signs of a fight either," Monar added.
Walking behind them, Mitsuki frowned.
’So the moving statues aren’t just in the capital—figures—but it still feels strange how they became what they are today. If Ellegaard and Jeanne didn’t get rid of the statues, then I’m the one responsible.’
He had no way to prove his guilt, but he knew well that he had defeated the Master of Cinder. Maybe that was what caused the ash statues to disappear. As always, that would remain a mystery for later.
