HKWM | Chapter 34

The second day of the journey started a bit early. Noah, who rarely slept in late anyway, opened his eyes even earlier than usual.

Since there were no restaurants open for business, we spent some time watching the relentless snowstorm from our room before moving to the earliest opening restaurant.

Since yesterday evening, I felt that the food here was designed to endure the cold, with most of the menu being high-calorie, but what was most impressive was the alcohol that came with every meal like it was part of the set. I saw humans passing by on the street drinking from something like water bottles, could it all be alcohol?

While eating breakfast, a map was spread out on one corner of the table. It was to decide where to visit today. Unlike Kimaris, who just listened quietly to any conversation, Phoras made suggestions while looking at the map.

“Young master, they say a monster called the Frost Giant appears here. Oh, and here’s the nest of an Ice Worm…”

Of course, that wasn’t exactly helpful information. What would we do looking at those ferocious monsters… I ignored Phoras’s proposal and pointed to another corner of the map with my finger.

“How about here?”

“The Ice Hill?”

“Yeah.”

The Ice Hill is a sea near the border area, mostly made of glaciers like the Earth’s North or South Pole, and there are ice cliffs as high as any mountain. Maybe if you climb up to the top of the cliff and look down, you might feel like you’re looking at a deep crevasse.

“They say it’s the coldest place in the human world, can we go there too?”

According to records, as Noah said, it’s so cold that not only humans but also monsters and even magical beasts are rarely found there. This means it’s an environment so harsh that even magical beasts, which can survive in severe conditions in the Demon Realm, avoid it.

Of course, as I’ve said before, this was not something we needed to consider.

“If you want.”

“Then I want to go.”

“Let’s go after having a hearty breakfast.”

“Okay.”

“And how about going to the southern region for our next trip? It’s extremely hot there, unlike here, and their traditional clothes are famous. Let’s buy a few sets as souvenirs while we’re at it.”

“Okay.”

After finishing breakfast while talking about things I’d looked up in advance while Noah was asleep, we left the inn. We needed to use magic to go to the Ice Hill. Before teleporting straight to the Ice Hill, I wrapped several layers of warming spells over the artifacts Noah was wearing. Even normal humans would have their skin freeze within seconds, so artifacts alone wouldn’t be enough.

At that moment, Noah, who was looking down at the artifact, asked:

“Did you just cast magic?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“I felt the magic building up on top.”

Phoras laughed brightly upon hearing Noah’s answer.

“Good news! Now that you can feel intangible energies like magic or mana, you’ll probably be able to use basic magic soon!”

“Really?”

“Of course! You can be proud. It’s hard for even the most talented human to learn magic without a proper teacher!”

Phoras seemed even happier than me, and Noah nodded and looked up at me.

“I should learn spatial magic and water-walking magic quickly.”

“Water-walking magic?”

“Yeah, I promised to take Jin to the night sea next time.”

He’s probably talking about our conversation from the day we visited the black market. I nodded and held Noah’s hand.

“I’ll look forward to it. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Okay.”

I guess I’ll have to tell him soon that what he thinks is water-walking magic is actually levitation magic. I wondered if he’d be disappointed when I told him. Imagining his disappointed face, I crossed space with the three of us once again.

Though this place was known as the coldest in the human world, it wasn’t cold enough for a demon to feel, but the visuals were quite intimidating. Unlike the neatly snowing viscounty, here, a blizzard was so intense it dizzied the eyes, and there were towering glaciers everywhere.

This should be called an iceberg rather than an Ice Hill… Whatever it was, it was an overwhelmingly captivating landscape.

“Noah, how is it?”

“…It’s amazing.”

Actually, there were places in the Demon Realm with even harsher and more extreme environments, so it wasn’t that impressive for me, Phoras, or Kimaris, but it was enough that Noah liked it.

“I wonder what it would be like without magic or artifacts, can we check?”

“Of course.”

Demons can use magic better than any race, but among them, they are particularly weak in healing magic. Since magic itself is far from healing, and it’s not something they use often, they’re not skilled at it. Even in the memories of the previous Wrath, the times he used healing magic were few and far between.

“My healing magic isn’t great, so no.”

“Why?”

It was not like something a demon who uses magic like breathing would say, so Noah asked back, somewhat surprised.

“Demons are all clumsy with healing magic. It’s a concept that conflicts with magic, and nobody uses it much.”

Noah looked at Phoras and Kimaris. His look asked if they were the same, and Phoras added an explanation.

“Demons are nearly immortal if their core is intact, and they have excellent self-healing abilities, so healing magic isn’t that necessary. Plus, most think it’s more beneficial to use the magic for healing to attack one more time…”

In other words, it meant they were belligerent and ignorant. Noah looked shocked and turned back to me.

“…I guess I should learn healing magic first.”

His look was like looking at a troublemaker, and I smiled awkwardly.

Boooom-

A strange vibration caught my senses. Phoras also deployed a barrier around us, and Kimaris pulled out a greatsword from the sub-space, the size of an adult’s body.

Crack-

As if to prove our reaction wasn’t an overreaction, the air split, and someone walked out with leisurely steps. At that moment, the storm of magic was so fierce it cleared the blizzard from our sight.

The magic spreading freely without any intent to hide, and the clear malice like that of Greed. It was undoubtedly the arrival of another Archdemon.

“Phoras, Kimaris. Protect Noah with your lives.”

“As you command, master.”

Both were high-ranking demons, but they were far from enough to confront an Archdemon. Only another Archdemon or an Archangel could deal with an Archdemon.

Why they came all the way here, I don’t know, but if they came to this place full of nothing but ice, their target must be me. Whatever the case, it wasn’t a good situation, especially if the opponent was that Envy with its terrible taste.

‘Why now, when I’m with Noah…’

After adding another layer of defensive magic to the barrier Phoras had set up, I stepped out, but Noah grabbed my hand.

“…Jin.”

I hid my troubled heart and smiled gently at the child who was worried about me despite the presence of another Archdemon.

“I’ll be back soon.”

As I moved away from the protective barrier, Phoras and Kimaris stood close to Noah, adjusting their magic for immediate combat.

Alright, let’s think positively now that things have come to this. Meeting Envy when there are no other humans around is something.

“Envy.”

“Hello.”

I also unleashed my magic without restraint, preparing for battle. The magic clashing made the blizzard unable to approach us, creating what looked like a vacuum.

“I was just fine until you came along.”

“Who’s that behind you? Your subordinate? Or a sacrifice?”

“None of your business.”

“Can I take them?”

His eyes were gleaming towards Noah, and he wasn’t listening at all. I was the fool for trying to talk to an Archdemon.

“You should know your place. Shut up and get lost.”

“Why can’t I have him?”

His tone was genuinely curious, leaving me speechless.

“I don’t want to fight you. I’m tired. So, I’ll be satisfied with half.”

His subsequent words sounded like he was doing me a favor, which annoyed me.

“I told you to shut up and leave.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Do you think I can’t?”

“Over one human? What’s so special about that human?”

Envy kept questioning. At this rate, the meaningless Q&A would never end, so I ran my hand over my face. First of all, we needed to move away because this area was getting saturated with magic. It wouldn’t do for Noah to be negatively affected.

Just as I was about to forcibly take Envy back to the Demon Realm, Envy, who had been staring at me languidly, disappeared in an instant.

“This crazy-!”

While I was distracted, Envy had already reached Noah. Phoras and Kimaris tried to block him, but they were flung away by Envy and slammed into the ice wall.

I hastily stepped into space while casting magic over Noah, but by then, Envy had already torn through not only the magic I had cast but also the spells from the necklace.