RGS Vol 8 Part 14

He was in the middle of doing just that.

“Ah! Haa, n-not there, please….”

As Abel twisted his body, Karas pressed his upper body down on Abel to keep him from escaping. Then, he began to kiss and suck on Abel’s neck, murmuring the words that always seemed to work.

“I’m hungry.”

Instantly, Abel’s skin heated up where Karas’ lips touched. Abel had already experienced this act dozens of times, but his reaction remained the same each time. No matter how many times they did this, he never fully got used to it and his embarrassment never seemed to fade. While Karas enjoyed the way Abel became more open and free-spirited after getting drunk, this shy, bashful side of him was still the best.

However, the thought that someone else had seen this bashful side first left Karas feeling irritated, even though it wasn’t really Abel. By morning, Karas resolved to search the entire Ice Mountain and find that person’s corpse, to rip it into pieces with his own hands. And while he was there, he’d even take the opportunity to also check out the polar bear.

“Ugh!”

As Karas’ hand gently rubbed against Abel’s small gen1tals, he swallowed back a moan in his mouth. Then, in a breathless voice, he tried to stop Karas.

“P-Prince, we need to get up early tomorrow to go to the mountain, so we should—haa—go to sleep…hmph.”

“Yeah.”

Karas’ lips bit onto his nipple, which had slightly protruded. Abel shivered, drawing a sharp breath. In response to that reaction, Karas let go of Abel’s pen1s and began rubbing the perineum, moving his hand lower. The wrinkled entrance, already anticipating what was to come, twitched in expectation. Karas lightly scratched around the area with his fingernails to stimulate it.

“Hnng! Haa, ah, we shouldn’t… F-finding the polar bear will take a long time.”

“Hmm.”

Even as Karas responded, he pushed a finger, slick with Abel’s fluids, just slightly inside him. Abel instinctively spread his legs wider and took a deep breath.

“If there really is a polar bear… haa, we should also find out… the real reason why the mountain is frozen.”

Pause.

At that moment, Karas’ hand, which had been teasing Abel, finally stopped. He lifted his eyes from Abel’s chest and looked at his face, flushed with a childlike innocence. Abel, who hadn’t even realized what he was saying, was panting until he noticed that Karas’ hand had stopped and opened his closed eyes. Karas, still silently watching him, resumed moving his hand.

“What are you talking about?”

Without warning, Karas’ finger, which had been teasing the entrance, suddenly plunged deep inside him. Abel took in a sharp breath once again as his chest heaved.

“Ahh! Th-That’s…”

Abel barely managed to get out a word, but the two fingers that had entered him quickly found his sensitive spot and began rubbing it, leaving him with no strength to continue his words. He sobbed and trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably, while Karas just watched him intently, amused.

Karas observed Abel’s gen1tals, which was already on the verge of ejaculating without even being touched, before shifting his gaze. Through the crack of the door, white fog was seeping in. However, the fog seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier was unable to spread around Karas.

The fog, like a living creature, quickly gathered around them but couldn’t come closer, despite growing dense enough to turn gray. Inside the room where the fog couldn’t reach, Karas just then pulled his fingers out and entered himself inside Abel.

“Ahh!”

With Abel’s sharp moan, Karas began to move his hips.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

‘It’s the fog!’

Hearing someone shout, those who had been dozing off woke up with a start, only to find their vision was entirely obscured by the thick fog. Regaining their senses, they quickly grabbed their torches, as the lord had instructed, and swung them at the fog.

Get back!

Fighting as if against an invisible enemy, cold sweat trickled down their spines. However, the fog only scattered briefly when touched by the flames, and soon quickly rushed back as if to envelop their entire bodies. Their legs that were enveloped in the fog felt as if they were submerged in water, weighed down by a heavy force.

They knew that if they let their guard down even for a moment, their entire bodies might really get dragged away into the fog. It was a desperate battle they had to fight alone. As the fog finally began to thin out with the approach of dawn, those who had been swinging their torches until they were drenched in sweat collapsed to the floor, exhausted.

Their limbs trembled uncontrollably. Everyone panted heavily before looking up.

What if someone wasn’t able to make it through?

Their eyes quickly scanned the room that was now cleared from the fog and focused on one spot. The butler, Melmond, and Nani were gone. Strangely, Clara was still snoring, undisturbed.

Why were Melmond, the butler, and Nani taken away by the fog?

After the initial shock of their disappearance wore off leaving them unable to speak, questions began to fill their minds. They couldn’t shake the feeling that the fog had deliberately chosen certain people. The lord seemed to confirm this as he nodded, though his explanation was slightly different.

“It’s strange. The fog usually takes only young children, particularly those with parents. It seems almost as if it’s intentionally taking away those who are loved. But why would it take our guests…?”

[T/N: Sorry to disturb… Remember Clara? Does that mean he isn’t really loved? lmao T-T]

He trailed off, but his point was clear. It was really strange for the fog to take away three grown adults. Then Abel interjected.

“Then it must be because of me.”

As the commanders turned to look at him, Abel explained with a somber expression.

“They are the ones who have always been by my side and taken care of me throughout this trip. To anyone else, it would seem like those are the three people I cherish the most.”

Now that he mentioned it, it made sense. While Karas was important to Abel, it was usually those three people who were always around him.

So, did the fog try to take Abel last night but couldn’t, and then took the three of them in his place?

But why Abel?

“So, in the end, their real target was His Majesty.”

When Kin muttered under his breath, the others looked at him. Ashler nodded in agreement.

“That might be the case. If the fog couldn’t capture His Majesty’s precious Lord Abel, it might have taken the three of them to lure him out. Lord Abel, you should stay in the plains until all of this is over. You must not go near the mountains. We’ll catch the polar bear and bring it to you.”

He firmly emphasized this to prevent Abel from making any more impulsive decisions to see the polar bear himself. However, Abel didn’t respond and instead looked over at Karas, who was standing a little distance away. Karas was staring intently at the now fully visible Ice Mountain, just as he had done the day before.

As the lord had mentioned, two of the mountain’s four peaks had melted, revealing a mixture of gray rocks and green forests. Abel followed Karas’ gaze up to the peaks, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

“I believe they are all still alive.”

“Do you have any reason to think so?”

“Well, because it’s a mountain where even white bears live!”

Ashler suddenly felt an urge to draw his sword for the first time in a long while.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Since there was no longer any need to maintain his disguise, Abel wiped away the soot on his face and began climbing the mountain. Not only Abel, but everyone else was struggling to adapt to the cold, so they wore thick fur cloaks that made them look like a waddling group of bears. The lord seemed concerned about whether they could even walk in such a state, but these were veterans who had fought in a six-year war, after all.

Karas, the four commanders, and even Abel moved so well that the lord himself was struggling to catch his breath. He sat down and finally found an excuse to take an early rest halfway through the valley that led to the plains, using the opportunity to explain their surroundings. The path through the valley was shaped like a U, curving so sharply that it was difficult to see even a short distance ahead.

“Because the path curves like this, many people mistakenly climb the wrong mountain on either side. The white bear you’re looking for, Lord Regas, has recently been seen on this mountain, where the snow has melted.”

As the lord pointed to one mountain, everyone’s eyes followed. He then pointed in the opposite direction.

“That side is the mountain that had been melting for a long time, but there are still sharp ice formations that haven’t melted, making it a dangerous place.”

Whoosh.

Everyone quickly turned to look at the opposite mountain. Strangely enough, the two peaks looked almost identical, like twins. No wonder if someone took the wrong path and got turned around, they might easily confuse the paths leading up to the two mountains. Everyone nodded in agreement as they followed the lord’s finger, who had now become their tour guide.

“And just a little further ahead is where bandits have been appearing frequently lately.”

Bandits?

It was surprising to hear that bandits would exist in such a harsh environment, and everyone, with bread in their mouths, looked in the direction the lord had pointed. Just then, a loud voice rang out from behind them.

“You scoundrels! If you want to save your lives, hand over everything you’ve got!”

The bandits had appeared.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The bandits were stunned. When they spotted their prey at the entrance to the valley, they couldn’t help but laugh. They were overjoyed to have visitors after such a long time. Among them was even the lord himself. Moreover, except for the lord, the rest looked like foolish outsiders wrapped in fur cloaks all over their bodies.

The way they walked cautiously behind the lord practically screamed, ‘We’re easy prey.’ It was like finding money lying on the ground. They were excited to have finally stumbled upon such a big catch only after years of being a bandit.

The group of about ten or so bandits struggled to suppress their laughter.

Since these people were brought by the lord, they must be wealthy.

Seeing our numbers, which were twice theirs, they’ll surely wet themselves and kneel, right?

Expecting as much, the bandits appeared just as the group was about to rest. However, the reaction they got was far from what they anticipated.

Munch, munch.

Except for the lord and a fairy-like beautiful young man, everyone else continued chewing their bread, watching the bandits with mild interest.

In this absurd situation, the one who could be considered the leader among the bandits, known as ‘Limp,’ stepped forward, standing on his uneven legs as his nickname suggested.

“Hey, are you all deaf? I said, if you don’t want to die, hand over everything you’ve got!”

Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—

Limp swung his chain-linked iron flail around menacingly, the chains clanking as he twirled it above his head. The weapon was clearly well-practiced in his hands, circling several times above him before landing precisely on the ground in front of him. Since it was a heavy iron ball with spikes at the end of the chain, it made the task increasingly difficult as it spun, causing a thin sheen of sweat to appear on his forehead, despite it being a mere act of intimidation. His efforts finally elicited a reaction from his prey.

“Wow— it’s like a windmill!”

The fairy-like young man clapped his hands in admiration. While it was a grateful reaction, the rest of the group, except for the fairy, barely showed any interest.

What the hell?!

“You b*stards! Does someone need to have their head bashed in before you’ll beg for your lives on your knees?'”

This threat seemed to have some effect as three commanders directed their annoyance at one person.

“Go out there and shut them up already.”

“What the hell are you doing, youngest?”

“Clara.”

The last commander, Kin, simply called the name, and Clara sprang to his feet. As he stood up, grumbling at the bothersome cleanup task dumped on him simply because he was the youngest, Clara got up as the bandit with the limp continued his threats.

“What? You think you can take us on a fight with just one person? Hahaha, if we were fated to die at the hands of a single man, we wouldn’t have risked our lives escaping from the plains…”

Thud.

Suddenly, Limp’s laughter was cut short as he collapsed to the ground, his mouth still wide open in a grin. His laughing head, severed clean from his body, rolled across the ground. The speed at which it happened was so sudden that confusion overtook their fear. This happened before Clara, who had stood up to deal with Limp, could even have the chance to act.

What the hell just happened?

Why is Limp, who was laughing just now, lying on the ground with his head severed from his body?

However, as they tried to comprehend the situation, another event unfolded before their eyes, one they could immediately understand. Karas, who had beheaded the bandit named Limp, picked up the flail that had fallen to the ground. He swung it effortlessly in the air like a toy and then brought it crashing down precisely onto Limp’s severed head.

Splat!

The sound of the head bursting was like a watermelon smashing, as blood and gray brain matter splattered in all directions like rain. The remains on the ground were so thoroughly crushed that, if not for the bits of hair, it would have been impossible to tell it had once been a human head. The bandits, who had intended to instill fear in them, now found their legs trembling as they stared at the figure before them. His cold yellow eyes swept over them as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Did you come from the plains?”