< Chapter 16 - Winter Flowers #2 >
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Just as fantasy brings to mind swords and magic, there were numerous swordsmen in the Pleiades, the world of heroic tales.
More than half of all characters used swords, and the playable characters also had a high proportion of swordsmen.
In particular, all four of the pearl-like characters, Landius and Kamael in Part 1, Maximilian in Part 2, and Luichel in Part 3, used swords as their main weapons, so all of the characters called pearl-like characters used swords.
“So, the Four Great Inspectors can be said to be the strongest characters representing the Chronicles of Heroes.”
Among the many, many inspectors, the four major inspectors selected by users.
It was not a title that existed in the settings, and was a kind of meme like the Four Heavenly Kings or the Four Generals, but because it was used so widely, it was practically treated as an official title in the biographies of heroes.
“Kamael, Maximilian, Luther, Scarlett.”
There was a lot of talk about who was the strongest of the four, but in any case, it was Kamael who proudly took first place among the four great swordsmen, considered to be the strongest among allies and enemies alike.
‘He is also the only character to appear in the entire Heroes Chronicles series.’
That’s why some say that Kamael is the true protagonist of the Heroes series.
‘Because it appeared from the first episode, it has a lot of fans.’
Although Uther himself liked Landius more, Kamael was ranked first among all the characters.
‘Anyway, Kamael.’
The Sword Ghost.
The strongest member of the Holy Cross Guardians, excluding the mysterious leader Elendia, whose every detail is shrouded in mystery.
He is one of the Four Great Swordsmen and the owner of the ultimate magic sword Almas, one of the seven great swords of the Hero Chronicles.
Unlike Landius, who had undergone a shocking visual change over the past 10 years, Kamael looked familiar as a character who had appeared in the second film.
Black clothes with a hood that can be pulled down to the head and pure white hair.
A beautiful face with a neutral charm and cold, jewel-like blue eyes.
As expected from the setting where he doesn’t even show a small smile except when he’s with Landius, who has been with him since the first episode, his expression is frozen stiffly.
He looked at Yuder quietly, then opened his mouth again and spoke.
“I was observing your movements at Landius’ request.”
Uder nodded slightly at Kamael’s words.
Because Landius was generous, not naive.
He was not the kind of person who would just abandon his disciples and leave.
“It’s in the north- I actually wanted to stop there, but I couldn’t. It’s because Solusia has moved.”
It was Soluzia, one of the six branch leaders of the Devil’s Hand.
The power of the upper-level mines was comparable to that of the leaders of the Holy Cross Guardians, so the Holy Cross Guardians could not help but be on high alert.
“We found you and saved you while tracking Soluzia’s movements.”
It was a story that was somewhat understandable.
And it was truly Kamael-like of him to start with an introduction, a slogan, and an explanation.
Basically, he wasn’t interested in anyone other than Landius and his companions from the first game.
“Where were you guys going? If you keep going north, you won’t be able to get out of the border.”
It was a low but beautiful voice.
Uther said, pointing to the red wind that was hesitating behind Cordelia.
“I am Red Wind, a member of the Great Storm Tribe. I was on my way to the Wild Lands beyond the border to cure my father of his illness.”
Yuder was reluctant to call him a barbarian because he was listening to the Red Wind, but there was no other term to call him at the moment.
Kamael frowned at Uder’s explanation.
“What kind of connection does the children of the twelve northern families have with the barbarian girl?”
“There was a revelation from the great storm, the wild god.”
As Cordelia stepped forward and spoke, curiosity dawned on Kamael.
“Wild God?”
“yes.”
Cordelia answered again, then glanced at Uther. Since she meant to ask for help, Uther added his words as well.
“The Great Tempest is a wild god of wind who watches over the Great Tempest Tribe. And… I have heard that the disease of Red Gale, the father of Red Wind, seems to be connected to the power of demons.”
At Uder’s words, Red Wind opened his eyes wide in surprise, while Kamael’s eyes narrowed.
“Indeed, it might be worth investigating.”
Kamael knew little about the demon followers who had taken root in the savage lands beyond the border.
However, it was Kamael who declared the Dragon’s Oath to eradicate all the demon followers on Earth. For the first time, emotions appeared in his eyes, which had been indifferent until then.
“I see, your goal is to cross the border. I’ll help you get there, considering Landius’s face.”
“Before that, Kamael, there is one thing I would like to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Regarding the movements of the devil’s hand. Do the enemies have any foresight?”
As far as Uther knew, there were no prophets in the hands of the devil.
But the devil’s hand was not an ally, but an enemy.
In the natural game, its true nature could not be fully grasped.
‘It appeared as if it had been waiting for me.’
Hellhounds of the Devil’s Hand.
It was only when Frost Anvil was discovered that the location was specified, and since Yuder had a clear motive to go to Frost Anvil in search of the Sunflower, it was possible to gather clues and track them down.
But now this place was a snowy area that was so deserted that it had completely disappeared.
Although it was possible to follow the trail, it was impossible to predict where it would go and lie in ambush.
In response to Uther’s question, Kamael looked at Uther with considerable interest and asked back.
“Why do you think it’s a precognitive ability?”
“Even if it’s a clairvoyant ability, it can’t explain the ambush. And… my guess is that their foresight ability is imperfect.”
Judging by Kamael’s reaction, it seemed that the demon had a precognitive ability in his hands.
Fortunately, however, it was likely an imperfect ability.
At Uder’s words, Kamael’s face became like that of a teacher testing a student.
“Why is it imperfect?”
“Because the hellhound has appeared.”
If it was a perfect foresight, it should have been Solusia, not Hellhound, or at least Mines, who were there.
But what appeared were hellhounds.
There is one thing we can infer from this.
Their foresight is imperfect. Since their foresight is not perfect, they released their forces over a wide area, and one of them encountered the party.
At Uder’s hypothesis, Kamael smiled faintly and whispered in a small voice.
“Are you really Landius’ disciple?”
Although he wondered what connection there was between Landius and reasoning powers, and why Cordelia was suddenly acting so proud, Kamael, who had come to his senses on his own, spoke with a stiff expression again.
“That’s correct. The Devil’s Hand has a mid-level mine called Kanos who has an imperfect ability to foresee. According to our research so far, it seems that he can’t foresee anything other than general locations. And judging from the fact that it doesn’t happen very often, it seems that he can’t control his foreseeing itself.”
“I see.”
Imperfect foresight.
When I think about it that way, what happened at Frost Anvil makes sense.
They knew that Uther and Cordelia were going to Frost Anvil, but they didn’t know when or what route they would take.
And that’s why I committed the mistake of waiting on the first floor.
‘A price paid for being so lucky at the casino and auction house.’
There was no such thing as a law of total luck, but it was natural to go crazy when a series of successive fortunes that could not be controlled at will were successful.
‘Anyway.’
If a person with the ability to foresee was on the enemy side, it would inevitably be a nuisance. Once they crossed the border, they would be out of the Devil’s Hand’s territory, so there would be no need to worry about it for now, but when they returned later, they would definitely have to deal with it.
But that was just then.
Cordelia suddenly pulled on Uther’s sleeve and glanced at him.
‘It’s strange.’
‘what?’
‘It’s just a little weird.’
Kamael is strange.
It was a story with no beginning or end, but it bothered me because it was Cordelia’s words.
And at this exchange between the two, Kamael smiled faintly again.
“You have a good feeling, girl.”
“···It’s Cordelia.”
Kamael, who had a similar way of speaking to Landius, might be considered a friend of his.
He looked back at Yuder and said.
“What is here now is my alter ego.”
A clone created using the secret arts of the Holy Cross Guardians.
Since it had appeared several times in Heroes Chronicles 2, Yuder was surprised but soon came to understand.
‘No, wait. If it’s a clone, that’s a problem.’
The strength of Kamael, one of the four great swordsmen, was on a different level from that of the other leaders of the Holy Cross Guardians.
Even a high-level mine like Soluzia is not enough with just two, and requires three to stand up to it.
But if it was a clone, the story was a little different.
‘It would be possible to fight against Soluzia, though.’
It was only at a possible level. If they fought properly, there was a high chance that Solusia would win.
“I am currently heading north to attack Soluzia.”
The Holy Cross Guardians did not operate only in the Kingdom of Seilun. They operated across the entire continent, so Kamael did not always stay in the Kingdom of Seilun.
‘That’s the reason why I use clones in the first place.’
“Don’t worry too much. I won’t abandon you, who have even received revelations from the Wild God. I will protect you all the way to the border.”
As Uther’s expression became serious, Kamael spoke straightly.
But Uder shook his head.
“No, I think it would be better if we moved separately.”
Does not accompany Kamael.
Red Wind blinked at Uther’s words, but Cordelia did not. This was because she understood Uther’s true intentions.
“Only Kamael can stop Soluzia. On the other hand, Soluzia is absolutely necessary for the other side to stop Kamael.”
“so?”
Rather than being truly curious, this time it was a look of testing.
That’s why Yuder explained in detail like a student giving a presentation.
“When Kamael-sama reveals herself, Solusia has no choice but to move. If she mistakes him for her real self and immediately tucks her tail, that’s fine, but if she realizes he’s a clone, it’s not bad either. Solusia won’t be able to leave Kamael-sama alone. Of course, she might think that we’re hiding where Kamael-sama is. If that doesn’t work, Kamael-sama can just hit Solusia.”
Exchange each other’s strongest cards.
The white queen and black queen on the top are interlocked and cannot move.
Kamael now knew Yuder’s true intentions. That’s why he asked with his jewel-like eyes narrowed.
“Can you do it?”
What Uder meant was simple.
As long as it’s not Solusia.
All other enemies can be passed through by one’s own power.
In that case, we will first remove the greatest risk factor, Solusia. We will remove Solusia itself from the battlefield and then move.
“We can do it together.”
As Uther spoke, holding Cordelia’s hand, Cordelia nodded vigorously as well.
If we two work together, we can do it.
The Red Wind, who was unable to join in on the declaration, made a gloomy expression behind him for a moment, but Kamael only looked at Uther and Cordelia. And then he smiled.
“It reminds me of Landius.”
If the two of them are together, they can do it – that was what Landius would often say during the chaos of the Paragon Kingdom.
And indeed, Kamael and Landius did it.
That’s why Kamael nodded.
“Okay, I’ll move according to your plan. But before that······.”
Kamael, whose voice trailed off, walked straight towards Yuder and stopped one step ahead. He looked straight into Yuder’s eyes and asked.
“I heard you ate sunflower. But was there anything wrong with it?”
In response to Kamael’s question, Uder nodded after some hesitation.
Because it was true.
It was Yuder who once stopped absorbing the sun flower to save Cordelia and went into battle.
But Uther didn’t look back at Cordelia. He was worried that Cordelia might feel burdened.
Cordelia fidgeted with the hand she was holding with Uther.
Kamael spoke again.
“Indeed, the absorption was not done properly. It’s not that it wasn’t absorbed completely… it just wasn’t completely established in your body. Thanks to that, the nine-syllable pulse was also cured.”
Having said that, Kamael placed his hand on Uther’s shoulder. He looked down at him and continued speaking.
“There is no cure right now. However, the distortion caused by the interrupted flow during absorption can be corrected.”
Cordelia’s face brightened at Kamael’s words.
“Really?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Because he was none other than Landius’ disciple.
If it were anyone else, Kamael would have ignored whether or not the absorption was done properly.
“I will correct the distortion. Then the Heavenly Martial Arts will be able to exert its power more properly.”
“Wait a minute, is that real power?”
Cordelia asked again.
No, then what on earth is the red light I’ve been receiving until now?
“Cheonmujiche is a talent bestowed by heaven. Just correcting the current distortions will not be enough to fully unleash its power. The years that Cheonmujiche has been suppressed by the old syllables have been too long.”
In short, the current Cheonmujiche was not a proper Cheonmujiche.
Even after Kamael’s treatment.
‘Cheonmujiche is a total fraud.’
Cordelia looked at Uther with bewildered eyes, but her face soon brightened again.
Because Yuder wasn’t someone else’s fraud, he was my family’s fraud.
“I don’t have time. Can I start right now?”
“Yes, please.”
Yuder was not one to turn down an opportunity.
No, I met the main character in the first part, so there should be this much fate.
When Uther agreed, Kamael smiled slightly but mischievously, as if he were his own kind.
“It will hurt so much you might die.”
“yes?”
That was it.
Excruciating pain gripped Yuder’s entire body.
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< Chapter 16 - Winter Flowers #2 > End
