Awakening the Great Bloodline Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Waiting for Spring

Winter has co to the northern continent. The season when wars fall silent. After a night of rain, the roads froze over by dawn, turning to sheets of ice. The capital's residents picked their way carefully around the hoofprints.

Clang, clang—the forge's furnace roared with fla, and soldiers caught their breath as they broke the earth with shovel blades.

Amid it all, a morial for the fallen was held at one corner of the plaza.

"Dveral, Porsio, Chivetil……"

The first row always called the nas of children. Then ca a long succession of bows for soldiers and rcenaries, and naless wanderers. On the first day, weeping had broken out, but now heads were lowered in silence rather than tears.

People set down tattered scraps of clothing, rusted pieces of tal, and charred ornants before the wall. Each in their own way, they rembered the dead.

At the allied encampnt, the wounded too were rising from their beds one by one. Even those who had taken pieces of rite-stone embedded in their bodies erged walking, with the help of the Order's clergy. Those who had been groaning in death's shadow just the day before were today eating bread and smiling.

Calix watched it all in silence.

'Darkness, too, does not last forever.'

A fight with no end in sight. Yet upon the ruins, quietly, new branches were beginning to sprout.

"……So you actually told the Emperor he was worse than a stray dog? Are you serious?"

By now, the Mountain Rabbits had clumped together and were chattering away. A barrage of questions was aid at the man who had—with just a few words—sent the ruler of the Niboria Empire packing.

At that, Gregor protested loudly with an aggrieved expression.

"That part is true enough…… But I wasn't trying to insult His Majesty! It really was a magnificent dog! When the thing ca trotting out, even beasts twice its size couldn't bring themselves to et its eyes!"

Unfortunately for him, it didn't seem to have much effect.

The elves and dwarves clicked their tongues quietly, Zahira let out a hollow laugh, and Captain Royce swallowed a bitter smile and said nothing.

At least Dwarf Basim took his side.

"If it was truly so magnificent a dog, then the Emperor had every reason to feel ashad."

"……?"

In fact, rumors were already spreading throughout the capital that the Emperor had taken his own life. Volga, however, had not joined that conversation—he was lost in thoughts of his own.

On the surface, he looked like a promising young warrior. His worn armor had been repaired by Dwarf Basim, and his shield and club had been swapped out for pieces pulled from the imperial armory. Clink—a re clench of his fist sent the chain armor shifting, releasing a heavy sound.

But within him burned a hunger for the next step.

Sure enough, he soon threw out a question.

"Calix, what were you thinking when you broke through to Upper-Rank Swordsman?"

"……Upper-Rank Swordsman?"

"Yeah. I got a neural accelerator injection a little while back, right? Thanks to that, mana is practically overflowing—but when it cos to actually drawing out Falling Fire at the sword's tip, I can't manage it. Why is that?"

Calix thought for a mont, then answered.

"Don't fixate on conjuring the fla. Form isn't everything. What matters is what's held within it."

"……Hmm."

Volga wore an odd expression, but he didn't pour out complaints the way he once had. He too had accumulated experience crossing countless lines of fire. By now, there were parts he understood on his own.

The Mountain Rabbits were much the sa.

So had drawn close to the threshold of Falling Fire; others who could wield Wind's Scar had grown noticeably more nurous. The stockpile of mana stones had grown and new weapons had been acquired, yet it was the qualitative rise that stood out most.

To that, warriors from Niboria had also joined the allied ranks. The knight-captain-level figures of each house had held their positions, but ordinary knights had sought to follow in Calix's wake.

The numbers had diminished, yet the quality had risen.

And the weight of that change was, in turn, Calix's own burden to carry.

* * *

At dusk, on the outskirts of the encampnt.

Warm light spread from the fingertips of Ella and Sier Lagrin. The ritual was not long. The divinity of Kriya seeped into the back of Calix's neck, then unfurled in a circle across his chest.

[Divinity Detected, Absorbing External Mana]

The darkness did not retreat easily. Instead, it shifted to the side. As the pressure within the core intensified, the opposing forces rged and a portion dissolved into chaos. The remaining divinity settled softly at the edges.

"The balance between light and darkness is precarious."

Sier stiffened his brow as he spoke, and Ella whispered low.

"What wavers and sloshes endures longest. It hasn't reached a dangerous level yet."

While Calix closed his eyes and concentrated, the gazes of the two t in the air. The middle-aged man held the rank of Pope, but the one facing him was a Rank 4 Cleric.

The tension was shaken off with a small breath.

Just then, an outsider pushed through the tent's curtain and stepped inside. It was Mage Yelayen, along with the Mountain Rabbits' key mbers.

"Are we early?"

"No. We're nearly finished."

Before long, closed eyes opened. Calix raised his head and looked around at those standing nearby. Yelayen's eyes were clear as always, and Royce and Marik stood at his side without a word.

Then Adrian was the first to speak.

"It's winter now. We've bought ourselves enough ti to hold out. There should be at least a month's leeway—plenty for the newly joined forces to find their footing."

A respite crafted by nature. At its end, one question followed.

"So what will you do now? Calix, you're the one who has to decide."

The Mountain Rabbits seed to have spoken amongst themselves beforehand—only silence hung in the room. Calix answered without hesitation.

"We can't stop here. We've already shed too much blood. The enemy has to be made to pay what they owe."

"So you're saying we march east in the end."

"……Is there another option?"

"Of course, there is."

What followed drew every eye in the room.

"You said there's at least a month's leeway. If you wanted, you could do sothing else entirely. For instance…… You could set your sights on becoming the next Emperor."

It was the kind of thing only soone raised as royalty could say. The atmosphere naturally grew heavier, yet not a single person showed surprise.

"Adrian."

Calix exhaled and opened his mouth, but the other man did not stop.

"You are a descendant of House Ashapel. The founding head, Ashapel Raimund, vanished as a traitor—but he did possess the qualifications of an Emperor. Offer the right concessions and the high nobles won't raise much objection. Not even Marquis Ashapel, your own uncle."

"……That's a story from hundreds of years ago."

"True, but it hasn't been forgotten. If soone still rembers it, it can serve as justification. All the more so when you consider the position you stand in now."

Why was he raising this?

Calix knew the fight was not over. For now, he had to join hands with the Kriya Order and liberate the territories of the Elvra Holy Empire. He would keep his ear to the news from the continent's south, and one day march into the Land of Shadows to face the Lord of Darkness.

He would ask why it had spread hatred across the world, and make it pay the price for the lives of the Mountain Rabbits it had taken.

Yet at the sa ti, it was true that the proposal sounded tempting.

"You're allowed to stop here. The Emperor's seat is sothing anyone would covet. Honestly, if I were you, I'd stop right here. Rather than launching aggressive offensives, stabilize the imperial capital, build a defensive line, and hold out."

"……"

"You've suffered this much until now, after all. You and the Mountain Rabbits deserve to live a life of ease. Don't you?"

He t Royce's eyes. A calm gaze, but one that held trust. As it had been from the beginning, the caption respected Calix's choice.

Vice-captain Marik neither pushed nor discouraged. Gregor just chewed at the snack in his mouth, and Hadiya winked one eyelid with a grin.

In that mont, Basim let slip a few words that sounded almost like an excuse.

"Hey, kid, you need to at least know this kind of view exists, don't you? That's why I let him talk. Ah, I didn't know even he would say it in such a tasteless way!"

"Tasteless? ?"

"You were talking like a bunch of louts with treasure-fever! Are we so band of wandering rcenaries?"

"……We are rcenaries, aren't we?"

"True!"

"……"

"……"

The awkward air lasted only a mont.

Yelayen stepped forward with a soft laugh.

"Adrian did nothing but lay bare the naked face of reality—he spoke no falsehood. The nobles of Niboria need the Mountain Rabbits. Above all, they do not wish to lose you, Calix."

He leaned on his staff and held out one hand. Hanging at its end was a single letter. A fleeting glance at the outer face revealed the crest of the Marquis Ashapel house.

"What is this?"

"A ssage of reconciliation from the Marquis. Or perhaps he's simply gauging the mood."

Thump.

Calix instinctively began to peel away the red wax, then stopped.

『Elnora Ashapel.』

It was his mother's na.

He opened the envelope and read the familiar handwriting.

『To my son, Calix.

I have heard your news. Now that winter has co, there is no need for lengthy words. The walls have worn from wind and rain yet still bear the roof; the well has frozen yet water enough to wet the throat remains.

Your mother need not worry.

Every night, the storybook read aloud on your lap. I tear out its cover and send it as a bookmark. Your hands have worn it in—when loneliness seeps through, let it be a keepsake.

Do not be ashad of the path you have chosen, and choose the one where fewer die and more are saved. Keep people at your side, and do not keep your heart alone. A man is born alone and departs among many.

I stand here. When the spring wind blows, your footsteps will reach first. That day, even if you do not ask, I will answer.

Please be well.』

Calix stared until the handwriting began to blur, then slowly closed his eyes. Cold air swept through his lungs, but his chest felt strangely warm.

He folded the letter again. Before the warmth left at the paper's edge could fly away, he drew out the small bookmark and pressed it beneath the leather strap of his belt.

Imdiately after, he and Yelayen exchanged a wordless look.

He thought he understood now why the mage had not pressed him to decide. More than a hundred words, one letter had carried a far greater aning.

Calix asked back, briefly.

"Yelayen, you said I should et the 'Gatekeeper'"

The mage smiled gently and nodded.

"I did. As the very first mage to awaken, he wields the sa power as you."

"……Chaos."

He struck the floor once with his staff, then pointed east—the sa direction from which the Order's survivors had been rescued.

"Exactly. And winter has just arrived. The season when all things stand still. The Gatekeeper is holding back evil beings in the northeastern mountain range. Follow the path where the sun sets. He will be guarding that passage."

Warmth stirred inside Calix's chest. It was as though the bookmark his mother had sent him lent its strength. His resolve hardened quickly.

'I have no intention of stopping here.'

The Emperor's seat was alluring, but it was not the highest aim. It was nothing more than a byproduct along the journey toward the summit.

"Captain."

"……I'm listening."

"We'll need to select only elite personnel."

No further answer was needed.

Through winter, he had to fill the vacancy left by Imran. And when the cold began to break, he would rise again alongside the Mountain Rabbits.

* * *

Several days later.

In the dawn when the snowfall had thinned, Calix turned his horse's head to the northeast.

"Move out!"

Gregor and Hadiya, Zahira and Volga, and others—only a handful followed. He turned to look back one last ti. The still-sleeping city, the braziers lighting the outskirts of the encampnt, and the nas of the fallen hanging on the wall.

'Fewer deaths, more saved.'

He set his next foot forward, firmly.

The first hoofbeat shattered the silence of winter.