The Republic of Faraiya, one of the five major powers, was located in the southwestern part of the Pangaea continent.
The country had a vast territory, with its southern half forming a protruding subcontinent, enjoying a warm tropical climate year-round.
Even the northern part of the republic was sufficiently warm, especially during this season, where one could sleep outside without freezing to death.
However, what spread before Wilfred and his companions was a stone city buried in snow.
The wind that blew mercilessly stole away body heat and energy, bringing death—a wind from the northern lands that was harsh yet reminiscent of their homeland.
“Hey, there’s no way back!”
As they stood in a daze, an airborne cavalryman at the rear raised a panicked voice.
When everyone turned around to look behind them, they saw only a small two-story tower standing there.
There were no city walls, nor was there a gate tower that served as a checkpoint integrated with the walls.
“What is this building? Isn’t it the gate tower?”
“There’s no way out…”
Indeed, the group had just passed through the entrance of the city walls and through a building, only to find themselves lost in this strange snowy city. But when they looked back, the path to their original location was gone.
Inside the stone tower, there were only small rooms that seemed to serve as guard stations or rest areas. Even the sky dogs, who had entered the building, had disappeared somewhere.
“This stone tower… It’s a defensive barrier deployment facility of the royal capital, Terra Ruale…”
Catherine muttered with trembling breath as she pulled out a small package from the item pouch at her waist (likely a magic item with the capacity of a container) and handed it to Wilfred.
“Wilfred-san, please take this.”
“…What is it?”
“Candy. It has the effect of dispelling illusions. Someone with more battle training like you might find it more effective.”
Following her instructions, Wilfred unwrapped the package and put a toxic-looking green candy in his mouth.
It tasted horribly like the burnt crust of an overcooked fish dipped in sugar, but that was all.
“Nothing’s changed…”
“Same here.”
The Imperial soldiers also seemed to be pulling out strange talismans or something, trying to use techniques to break the illusion, but Dairei shook his head.
“In that case, try this.”
This time, Catherine pulled out a small bronze-colored spinning top.
Even after she let go, the top remained floating in the air.
“Oh, an ‘Airquake Top Revertop’. Quite a rare item you have there.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a spinning top that floats and spins in the air. It has a deliberately intricate mechanism and is finely adjusted to maintain balance. When it detects anomalies in the surrounding space or the world itself…”
When Catherine flicked it, the top began to spin in mid-air but soon started to wobble like a drunken man, its axis shaking.
“The spinning is off. So, this place is… another world?”
“A ‘Hidden Village’?”
“Yes. I’m not an expert, so I can’t say for sure.”
“Are we being spirited away?”
As an adventurer, Wilfred was familiar with the existence of such “Hidden Villages”.
Forgotten relics of the gods, small worlds within our own, remnants of the divine on earth.
Whether they were dangerous or not depended on the situation, but once you accidentally stepped into one, it was sure to cause serious trouble.
Indeed, the current situation felt very much like a story of being spirited away.
They had wandered into an impossible landscape and lost the way to return.
“…Quiet.”
Suddenly feeling as if the back of his neck had been chilled by ice, Wilfred killed his voice and sharply called for attention.
In the darkness.
There was a shadow, writhing in the light of the raised torches.
“…Ah, ahh… i-it hurts. Hurts, hurts, hurts…”
“Undead!?”
A moaning voice was heard.
Footsteps, as if dragging, were heard.
A dimly glowing, pale, translucent figure approached from the darkness.
It was an ordinary middle-aged man.
Except that his chest had been cut open, his abdominal skin had been peeled away, and blood was flowing from every hole in his face.
The air around him was charged with a menacing aura, his gaze clearly lost to madness, glinting with a wolfish hostility.
“≪Consecration≫!”
“≪Ki Edge≫!”
One of the airborne cavalrymen blessed his comrades with holy magic, and Wilfred drew his katana and simultaneously activated a martial technique, imbuing his blade with fighting spirit.
The magic-like martial technique, known as “Ki”.
In general, it was something one naturally acquired by mastering martial arts. Unlike magic, it couldn’t be learned simply by wanting to. Even those who reached the level of masters sometimes lacked this ability.
However, the dojo where Wilfred had trained had developed and taught a limited number of “teachable martial techniques”. Apparently, the martial monks of the Khenis Empire did something similar at their temples.
“Ki Edge” was one such technique. It was a secret move that could even cut through intangible objects by enveloping the katana in fighting spirit.
“Haaah! Sushi!”
Wilfred stepped forward to counter the slow-moving specter, slashing together with the airborne cavalryman who wielded a sword imbued with holy power.
The katana, charged with fighting spirit, touched the specter’s shoulder…
“What!?”
Nothing.
There was no sensation at all.
As if he were simply swinging through air, Wilfred’s katana passed right through the evil spirit.
The same thing happened right beside him.
The holy sword didn’t inflict any damage on the specter, passing right through it, and the airborne cavalryman, now wide open in front of the enemy, was seized by the specter.
“Hurts! Hurts! Hurts!!!”
“Aaahhh!”
Two spine-chilling screams echoed out.
The specter, grabbing the airborne cavalryman, let out a howl of agony, and with unbelievable strength, it tore the soldier’s body apart as if splitting a bundle of cotton.
Entrails and fresh blood splattered onto the cobblestones, steaming and making a wet, squelching noise.
“Step back! …≪Holy Arrow≫!”
The airborne cavalryman wielding holy magic shouted, and beams of sacred light pierced the darkness.
Numerous arrows of light shot out from his short staff, tracing geometric paths, spreading out first and then converging rapidly, pummeling the specter.
But.
The specter continued to drift forward as if brushing off the light, or rather, as if nothing had happened at all.
“It’s not working…? That’s impossible!”
A voice of despair rang out.
Indeed, a weak undead might not take much damage from a half-hearted holy attack, but this was different.
Not a single fragment of damage had been dealt.
“Ah, ah, ah…”
“It’s no good. Run!”
“Catherine-san, your hand!”
Everyone came to the same conclusion.
Even though this group comprised elite soldiers and seasoned adventurers, they turned on their heels and fled from a single specter.
The group sprinted along the stone-paved streets, where a thin layer of snow had settled.
The roads had anti-slip treatment, so as long as the surface didn’t freeze, there was no risk of slipping. It was a familiar sensation.
“Damn it, it’s persistent!”
The group ran through a cityscape that seemed somewhat familiar but was clearly larger than the royal capital, with no end in sight.
Looking back, the pale, bloodied figure continued to chase them.
The only light came from torches carried by someone, and besides that, there was no light in the city, no sign of people, only a deep, unsettling darkness. Their own footsteps echoed eerily and loudly.
–It’s not good, all the undead have unlimited stamina. If they keep running, first granpa Dairei, then Catherine, will be caught in a heap
As the group fled, Wilfred realized something dire—undead beings have infinite stamina. If they kept running, Dairei would be the first to collapse, followed closely by Catherine.
The group couldn’t speed up because they were sticking together. The soldiers matched their pace with Dairei, and Wilfred stayed just behind Catherine.
Although the pursuing spirit wasn’t moving any faster than an ordinary person, the group couldn’t outrun it, and eventually, it would catch up to them.
“Let’s hide in a building.”
Catherine gasped between breaths.
“But it’s a spirit-type undead, right? Wouldn’t it just see through our hiding spots and pass through the walls?”
“That only happens if it’s ‘aware’ of its surroundings. Many vengeful spirits are bound by their memories from life… That one has been visually tracking us this whole time!”
Wilfred glanced back and realized that Catherine was right. The spirit hadn’t phased through buildings or taken shortcuts—it was following the path like a living person.
Dairei, who had been listening, turned around.
“Let’s split up and hide for now.”
“Got it!”
If they all hid together, they’d be found more easily.
So, when they reached a crossroads, the group split into three directions.
Wilfred, along with Catherine and an Imperial soldier, darted into a nearby temple, while the others scattered.
The plan was to hide without going too far from each other, to regroup later.
They needed to stay close enough to find each other but far enough apart to avoid detection.
The temple should have been a sanctuary, but there was no sense of holiness. Instead of a calming, sacred aura, there was an eerie emptiness.
The dark hall had the atmosphere of a ruin, even though it wasn’t in disrepair.
Wilfred and Catherine rushed through the chapel, up a staircase next to the altar, and into what seemed to be the head priest’s office.
As Catherine caught her breath, Wilfred peered out the window.
“Did we lose it…?”
The street below was empty, the silence almost painful.
He had no idea how far the soldier being chased had gone, but he hoped they had managed to hide successfully.
Finally, Wilfred sheathed his katana, which had been drawn the entire time.
“What was that thing? My technique I can understand, but even holy magic had no effect.”
Wilfred, who prided himself as a samurai, felt both a hint of fear and a deep unease.
As an adventurer, he had fought undead before and won without trouble. His approach had been correct this time too, yet nothing had worked.
Catherine, now calm, stared sharply into the empty space, deep in thought.
“Wilfred, your technique works by disrupting the dark energy holding the undead together. Holy magic neutralizes that energy with sacred power. But these methods only work under the assumption that undead are sustained by dark energy. If this is another world, the rules governing undead could be entirely different. What if the very fabric of this world is what animates these spirits, like how a golem is controlled?”
“Are you saying they’re invincible!? That’s absurd!”
f the enemy was simply strong or weak, there would be ways to handle it. But the idea of an opponent that couldn’t be defeated, no matter what—this was like a bad joke. For Wilfred, who became a samurai to protect the weak and fight for justice, this was a despairing thought.
“I can’t be sure… It all depends on how this world operates. We need to understand this world first if we’re going to—”
“…Figure anything out…”
Suddenly, the scent of stone and snow was overwhelmed by a suffocating stench of blood and iron. Wilfred was engulfed in it.
A trembling, pale lip whispered in a familiar female voice right beside Wilfred’s ear.
