Chapter 54
#54. The Hidden Wonder Beyond the Mist
Kuaaahaaaaah!
A flock of wyverns cut across the gray sky through the northern wind.
A small, elite expedition party had departed from Winterwald Grand Ducal Castle.
They had crossed one unexplored region after another that Northern adventurers had yet to chart, traveling ever deeper into the unknown.
"……."
At the head of the formation, Kylan held the wyvern's reins and gazed down indifferently at the scenery below.
The farther they traveled from Winterwald, the more the land began to defy common sense.
Only moments ago, snow-white mountains had stretched endlessly before them, but after crossing one peak, a crimson landscape roiling with lava had suddenly appeared.
In another place, a black forest rose as though it might pierce the sky, while beside it stretched an endless wasteland split by deep cracks.
'It didn't seem all that impressive when I read about it in the novel, but seeing it in person, this really is one insane place.'
Kylan was clicking his tongue inwardly when—
"Your Highness! L-Look at that!"
Qasim's shout reached them through the wind from behind.
The wyverns were flying close together, so they could barely converse if they raised their voices.
"That's a camel! They only live in the southern deserts! How could one be in the North…!"
At Qasim's cry, Kylan glanced down as well.
But he could only confirm that some sort of herd was on the move.
The saying that people from the South had excellent eyesight seemed to be true after all.
"W-Was that really what camels looked like!?"
Galad also looked down and sucked in a startled breath.
According to his explanation, hulking beasts at least six or seven times the size of an ordinary camel were racing along in a herd.
Apparently, each one was literally the size of a house.
- Kweeeeeek!
Their cries echoed all the way up to the sky.
"This is completely insane…! A camel's teeth are sharper than a shark's!"
"Its tongue is as long as a snake's…"
"P-Please stop with the disgusting descriptions, both of you!"
Aria, the Tower Master, clung tightly to Lumiela's back and squeezed her eyes shut.
She looked as though she wanted to cover her ears but could not.
The adventurers from the South had to continue flying for quite some time with their faces pale.
A little while later.
To conserve the wyverns' stamina, the expedition landed briefly in front of a massive cave halfway up a cliff.
It was a cave large enough for a dragon to settle in and live.
"Grrrr…… Fffrrr."
The wyverns exhaled rough breaths through their noses and sprawled on the ground.
Kylan silently gazed down into the sheer canyon below.
Just then, Galad cautiously approached and spoke.
"Your Highness, the Grand Duke. The wyverns seem twice as exhausted as usual because of the ominous demonic energy."
What he meant was that they were tired and frightened and wanted to know when they would arrive already.
In any case, the man possessed enough nerve in front of the Northern Grand Duke to make even adamantite look insignificant.
"......."
Kylan did not answer.
He merely stood there facing the wind and gazing silently into the mist beyond.
In the suffocating silence, Galad swallowed hard and quietly backed away.
Just then, someone tapped Galad on the back, then peered out of the cave.
"Oh~ If I caught one of those, I could feed my little brothers until their bellies burst for several days!"
A super rookie who had not even been an adventurer for a year.
Hans, a Mithril-rank adventurer.
He smacked his lips as he watched the herd of monstrous camels passing below the cliff.
At that absurd remark, Galad turned with an incredulous expression.
"You think you could catch one of those monsters? You'd be lucky if it didn't swallow you whole in one bite!"
"Aw, what are you talking about? Of course I could catch one."
Just then, Lumiela, Master of the Mage Workshop, who had been catching her breath nearby, suddenly cut in.
"Honestly, Mr. Hans! How could you eat something that big in just a few days? I think it would take at least a month!"
"No, us Northern men could easily finish something that size in three days."
Galad's jaw dropped.
It was understandable, considering they were discussing whether they could finish eating that horrifying monster rather than whether they could subdue it.
The Green Tower Master, who was also from the South, joined in with a pale face.
"That's not the issue here! If you eat something that saturated with demonic energy, you'll get sick and die on the spot! Why do Northern people keep eating strange things they find lying around?!"
"Hehe, if you boil it thoroughly with Her Highness the Grand Duchess's special garlic sauce, all the poison comes right out."
Lumiela licked her lips and casually wiped the corner of her mouth.
"U-Ugh……."
Aria's face turned deathly pale, as though even imagining it was horrifying.
"Anyway, Southerners have lived only in warm places, so they've had it too easy. Isn't that right, Mr. Hans?"
"Haha, exactly."
Hans laughed heartily and nodded along amiably.
'……They seem to have gotten fairly close during flight training.'
Kylan glanced sidelong at the group and let out a small, hollow laugh.
Aria was at her wit's end, while Galad looked dizzy.
After listening for quite some time to the banter between the Southerners who knew common sense and the Northern predators, Kylan quietly called for the Tower Master.
"Tower Master."
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"
Aria hurriedly ran over.
"Did you bring the Heart of Verdancy?"
"O-Of course! I also brought every single golden sunflower seed, just as you instructed!"
"Good. Keep them ready so you can take them out immediately when I give the signal."
"Ah…… Y-Yes! Understood!"
Though Aria tilted her head, she gripped the pouch at her waist tightly.
Kylan headed toward the wyverns.
"That's enough rest. We're setting out again."
It was not long after the expedition took to the skies once more.
At some point, mist began to creep up and slowly started swallowing the flock of wyverns.
"W-When did the mist get like this!?"
Qasim, who had been watching the path ahead, looked around in surprise.
They had clearly been flying beneath a spotless sky only moments ago, yet they were now surrounded by mist so thick that they could barely see an inch ahead.
"Huh, h-huh?! It's getting harder and harder to see anything!"
"Your Highness the Grand Duke! Are we really continuing forward?!"
Kylan merely stared silently ahead.
'Not yet.'
The sunlight was gradually fading as the mist obscured it. But it was not time yet.
The key to this barrier was cutting off the light.
Only once the sunlight from outside was completely blocked would they be considered to have entered the 'inside.'
If they fled clumsily, they would circle the edge of the barrier forever.
Only after being plunged into complete darkness would the path finally open.
A sunflower instinctively followed the sun.
If it was a golden sunflower, it would point toward 'that thing' beyond the barrier.
Just a little more.
ㅡ Kweeeeeek!!
Zephar screamed for the first time during the journey and broke formation.
The other wyverns were the same.
They were foaming at the mouth and thrashing in midair.
They instinctively feared the demonic energy contained within the mist.
Galad desperately pulled on the reins.
"Your Highness! We have to turn back!! If we keep going like this, we'll all crash!"
That was the judgment of a man who was, in name at least, a wyvern master.
"A-A barrier!?"
Lumiela shouted as she adjusted her glasses.
"This mist isn't a natural phenomenon! It's a gigantic barrier!"
"What do you mean?! Are you saying we can't get out of here?!"
The situation grew increasingly desperate.
As every direction turned pitch-black and they could no longer even distinguish up from down, everyone fell into a panic.
"Kyaaaaaaah! Tower Master, save meeeee!"
"Where is everyone?! Damn it, Zephar! Lead the group! Don't let anyone fall behind!"
Even Eleanor tightly hugged Kylan around the waist and whispered in an anxious voice.
"Your Highness……?"
Only then did the corners of Kylan's mouth rise.
The sunlight had vanished completely.
'Now.'
"Tower Master. Now."
"Ah, yes!!"
At Kylan's calm voice in the darkness, the group's ragged breathing settled for a moment.
Aria hurriedly pulled a golden seed from her breast and tossed it into the air.
Her legendary-grade staff.
Green mana shot out from the Heart of Verdancy.
"Secret Artㅡ! Rapid Germination!"
The mana-infused seed sent out a stem at a terrifying speed in midair and grew into a large flower bud.
Then Eleanor reached out toward the flower bud.
Warm solar mana flowed into it generously at her touch.
Fwooooooosh!
In the pitch-black darkness, a gigantic golden sunflower bloomed in full.
"Wow…… It's pretty."
Lumiela muttered, entranced.
Golden pollen burst from the fully bloomed sunflower like a blizzard.
The pollen became particles of light that pierced the black mist and formed a clear path like the Milky Way in the night sky.
"Let's follow that light."
At Kylan's command, Zephar led the wyverns.
Even the terrified wyverns instinctively began flapping their wings after the warm sunlight.
How long did they fly along the path of light?
Swoooooooosh─!
A strange sense of incongruity swept through their entire bodies.
It felt as though they had broken through a thick membrane.
The pitch-black mist blocking their vision vanished at some point.
"Wow……."
"W-What is this……"
Instead, a blue sky spread out before the expedition party.
It was impossible to believe they were above the demonic-energy-polluted Northern mountain range.
It was a clear, pristine sky.
"L-Look! There's something over there!"
Qasim of the Far-Sight shouted as he pointed ahead.
Everyone's gaze turned in that direction.
"N-No way……."
"An island…… is floating in the sky……?"
Galad's jaw dropped.
Above a sea of clouds, a massive landmass floated in the sky.
It was the legendary floating island known to the Winterwald family only from stories.
Waterfalls poured down beneath the clouds.
A fantastical land covered in dazzling greenery.
- Gulp…….
Without anyone leading the way, everyone swallowed nervously.
Was this what Columbus had felt when he discovered the New World?
To an adventurer. A mage. A developer. No, even to the lord who ruled the North—
The unknown land could be nothing but infinite resources and mountains of gold.