I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

25 – 025. Snow Flower (1)

I sensed something amiss when we entered a small village.

“Ariel. How much further to the Helios Magic Tower?”

“Umm, probably about two days? If we push it, a day and a half, maybe!”

It was a typical conversation, as the carriage slowly rolled into the village.

“……?”

An odd atmosphere caught my eye.

A farmer feeding his livestock, a merchant seemingly from out of town, a carpenter diligently packing shavings.

It looked like an ordinary village, nothing remarkable. At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.

“Something’s…off…”

Inside the carriage, headed for the village inn, I let out a voice laced with wariness.

A peculiar ambiance permeated this entire little village. Like an antlion pit waiting for ants, the lack of even a glance towards a strange traveler felt extremely odd.

…Yeah. It was as if they were ‘intentionally’ ignoring us.

“What do you mean something’s off?”

Lancelot, knowing my intuition was never wrong, asked.

“Something, something feels weird. I can feel an ill will that I can’t quite put into words.”

“Ill will.”

“Yeah. Ariel, when you came to Roben, did you pass through this village as well?”

“Yeah! It wasn’t exactly memorable enough to leave a strong impression.”

“……”

I scanned the village landscape again from inside the slow-moving carriage.

Ordinary. But, something not ordinary was present. That was my judgment.

‘Is this… the influence of ‘Insight’?’

[Trait: Insight]

A myth-grade nullification trait that invalidates all schemes and conspiracies. That trait was sending me a warning.

“Driver.”

“Yes! My lord.”

“How far is it to the next village?”

“Maybe… about a day. If we go through this village, I think we’ll have to camp.”

“……Let’s get out of here. This village. Quickly.”

There was no need to hesitate.

Grandpa had warned us. If we encountered the Blood Cult, run without looking back.

‘…Is it them?’

The reason for the instinctive, almost primal reaction, it had to be those ‘Blood Cult’ b*stards. Which meant, this whole village… was under the Blood Cult’s control.

“Ah! I understand. We’ll pass through the village.”

Had the driver, with his years of experience, also noticed the strange atmosphere?

He nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

“Eeeh? Frey. We’re going past this village? Can you explain first?”

Ariel kicked her legs. But it couldn’t be helped. Gambling our lives for a rest indoors was just madness.

“This village is strange. There’s something. Something hidden.”

“Hidden?”

Ariel’s face hardened, having seen my serious expression. She seemed to sense that something was about to happen.

Creak, creak.

At the same time, the carriage turned. It was diverting away from the road to the inn, and back towards the edge of the village.

But then.

“Wh-what?!”

In that brief moment, countless villagers began to swarm around the carriage. It was almost a collision with the people. Naturally, a rough voice erupted from the driver.

“H-Hey! Watch it. You almost got hit!”

“……”

“Tch! Where in the hell are your eyes, anyway!”

The coachman, sounding a little angry, huffed out a hot breath. And the moment the carriage slowly started moving towards the edge of the village…

*Whoosh!*

“Coachman, sir! Run!”

“Huh? My lord. What is this…”

*Thunk!*

“Uwaaack!”

*Screech… Thud!*

The carriage, having just begun to move again, came to a sudden stop. The reason was simple. A piece of unknown metal had flown from between the buildings surrounding the village, a projectile of unknown origin.

“Goddamn it.”

My heart instantly sank. The coachman, who had helped make the two-day journey comfortable, was dead on the spot. The cause of death was a sharp dagger that had pierced his chest.

“Frey.”

Lancelot, his face set, murmured quietly.

It seemed he, too, realized things had gone wrong from the start, one hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.

“W-what? What is this? What’s happening…!”

Ariel’s face, white as a sheet, shuddered as she cried out.

“Calm down and listen. It seems we’ve entered the territory of the ‘Blood Cult’ that the Sword Master warned us about.”

“W-what? But… when I came this way, nothing like this happened?”

“…They killed them.”

“Killed? Who? Who did they kill?”

“The Blood Cult. They killed everyone in this village and are pretending to be the villagers. You were lucky to have passed through this village before the massacre.”

It wasn’t hard to predict the horrific reality. The Blood Cult, who were originally afraid of leaving traces, enjoyed causing this kind of bloodbath in ＜Silvering＞.

“Your role is crucial, Ariel. Lancelot and I will take care of the outside, so I need you to do a big one.”

“A b-big one? That’s too sudden?!”

“I believe in you.”

Ariel’s mouth fell open. But, facing the reality of the situation, she quickly clenched her small fist and shouted.

“Okay!”

She was a senior mage of the Magic Tower. Which meant, she could use area-of-effect attacks like it was second nature. Naturally, she had to play a part in the upcoming battle.

‘Escape… isn’t impossible. The problem is that we need to clear the guys outside before we can move.’

As I assessed the situation, which was briefly visible through the window, I muttered inwardly.

The coachman was killed instantly. Naturally, there was no one to drive the carriage, but we had the all-purpose problem solver, ＜Knight＞ Lancelot.

“Lancelot.”

“Yeah.”

“Can you, uh, drive the carriage?”

“Of course. A lower-ranked knight joining the Order starts with learning how to handle horses and carriages.”

Lancelot’s confident tone made me nod.

My mind organized the next steps. Quickly take out the blood cult b*stards outside, get the carriage out, and escape this area. Clearly… these guys aren’t the only remnants of the blood cult.

*Click.*

I gripped the carriage door handle and spoke low.

“Get ready.”

“I’ve been ready. Let’s go.”

Through the gap in the carriage door, I could see their pale, bloodless faces. Blood Technique, or Blood Demon Technique. The grotesque trait of those who develop powers by consuming blood.

*Screeeeech!*

The door flew open.

And then.

*Zzzzzzzz-!*

*Swishhh!*

My body launched outward, slicing through the air. The endless wave of blood cultists numbered easily in the dozens, no, maybe close to a hundred.

“Woman! Get your magic ready!”

*Thump, thud.*

Lancelot, like a monkey, scaled the outside of the carriage and yelled from the roof.

As I could see, they were too many. The most vital thing at this moment was the power of magic.

*Swishhh!*

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“…Fucking insane.”

*Scrrrrtch!*

The blood cultists, disguised as villagers, charged at us like souls possessed.

Most were 2nd or 3rd tier, seemingly just having awakened their mana. But hacking down the fanatics rushing in without regard for their own lives was no easy task.

And furthermore…

‘If you encounter them, don’t even look back, just run. They’re not your match yet.’

Remembering Swordfather’s advice, these weren’t the blood cult’s actual combat force. Which meant we had to get out of here. Now. Quickly.

‘To think they’d swallow an entire village…!’

We’d taken the Sword Demon’s warning and planned our travels in ‘village’ units, camping less. But wouldn’t you know it? Those damn blood cultists had killed all the villagers and were impersonating them. Unbelievable.

*Shwoosh!*

A black mana-infused sword unleashed a spray of blood. Lancelot, clearing the area around the carriage, was also swinging his sword like a madman.

“O Queen of Seasons.”

Ariel’s voice, peeking out of the carriage, echoed across the battlefield, right then.

*Whoosh!*

Mana, filling the entire space, was instantly drawn into one person.

*Ziiing——! Slash!*

As I beheaded one of the enemies, it dawned on me.

‘That magic I saw before, it was this.’

A start-up word from memory. Start-up, incantation, manifestation. A simple voice corresponding to the ‘start-up’ of the magic’s three-part process.

“Three lights that illuminate the heavens. Lanterns of despair that lead to ruin.”

*Whooosh-!*

The surging mana that shook the surrounding area was far from ordinary. Ariel, an unidentified genius mage not even mentioned in ＜Silver Ring＞… she was preparing her vision.

“Descend here now, and lead the world into winter.”

“Frey! They’re pushing harder!”

“Just hold out a little longer! We just need to buy time until the magic manifests!”

*Whoosh———!*

Frost, coldness, and blue snowflakes.

*Crrrack!* With a sound, the space rapidly began to freeze.

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

“Kill! Dismember! Devour! We are free!”

As Lancelot said, the enemy’s numbers were increasing. But it was alright. A tactical nuke was about to drop here.

At the heart of the chaos… it was then, inside the carriage, that Ariel’s clear voice guided her magic to the stage of ‘manifestation.’

“…『Blizzard』.”

Crack! Crack! Crackcrackcrack!

A cold air envelops the surroundings. Beautiful snowflakes bloom, a vibrant blue. The queen of the white season, impartial and unforgiving, declared death here.

…Wait, wasn’t that the magic she intended to use on Lancelot?