90. Gunshot

Bang.

Yes, the sound of a gun. That loud noise.

She reflexively looked up.

The mountain covered in snow. The mountain surrounding us and the demonic beasts was blanketed with snow.

The snow pile that had accumulated to its limit. The snow pile that would soon collapse with the slightest provocation.

“Someone take Count Alexei’s gun away right now!”

After calling for help from those around her, she cried out, “Sylraphe!”

Push my back, Sylraphe. So I can go straight to Count Alexei’s side!

“If an avalanche starts, we’ll all die!”

* * *

And at that moment, Sylraphe’s wind pushed Anette’s back. Shooting out like a bullet, Anette reached for Count Alexei’s gun.

“You crazy woman!”

“The crazy one is you!”

Bang.

Bang bang. Bang bang bang.

Boom.

Several bullets fired recklessly. And the demonic beasts excited by those bullets. As all the impacts accumulated, the snow-covered mountain finally collapsed.

“The snow pile is collapsing!”

“Fall back, you’ll die if you get caught in it!”

“Anette!”

“Grand Duke! You must retreat!”

Darius tried to save Anette, who was close to the cascading snow. Those around him tried to stop him, but he heard nothing. And just before he threw himself toward her.

“Sorry for getting your wife caught up in this! I’ll repay this debt later!”

The foreigner prince was faster than Darius.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

In those very brief seconds before the avalanche truly hit.

Arshama appeared with incomprehensible words, pushed Darius out of the way, and disappeared into the terrifyingly cascading snow. Along with Anette.

* * *

Blink, blink.

Her vision alternated between blurry and clear.

〈Kweeeeek, kwoooo!〉

〈Hey, Grand Duchess! Over here!〉

〈Arshama?〉

〈Hey, be grateful for having a reliable guide by your side! Such luck doesn’t come around often!〉

Rumble.

The roar that shook the earth.

The disaster created by the collapsing white snow.

The demonic beasts that had lost their senses tried to attack me and Count Alexei regardless of the falling snow. At the moment when I thought I was going to die, there was an arm that grabbed my hand and led me. And a man who ran fearlessly forward.

“Are you coming to your senses now?”

Despite the major accident, Arshama’s light tone remained unchanged. Arshama’s voice seemed like it would remain bright in any serious situation.

“What about the demonic beasts? They were chasing us.”

“I shook them off, but only for a very short time. Since their sense of smell is more sensitive than humans, they’ll soon catch up.”

While talking to her, Arshama continued to move around. He seemed to be looking for something.

“Where are we anyway?”

“The foreigners’ temple.”

“Temple? There’s a temple here?”

“Yes, our foreigners’ temple. Though it’s been quite a while since foreigners themselves couldn’t come here.”

She was dumbfounded.

“What about Count Alexei?”

“I was busy saving you. You’re not thinking of blaming me for not saving that person too, are you?”

Her last memory was struggling with the Count as he tried to fire his gun.

“……Is he dead? Count Alexei?”

“I don’t know, but to others, we probably look dead too, yet here we are alive?”

Though she disliked him, it wasn’t pleasant to think about someone who had been with them until just now dying. Especially considering that Count Alexei had volunteered for the North.

But Arshama was as cheerful as ever.

“Listen, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“Does it matter in this situation?”

“This temple has a protective function.”

“You mean the temple can protect us? From the demonic beasts?”

If so, that would be truly fortunate. If they could wait under the temple’s protection until Darius arrived……

“Now for the bad news. That protective function is only possible if we offer a sacrifice to the temple.”

Sacrifice?

“This temple wants blood. Come to think of it, that old hag elder said something about entrusting a curse. And she didn’t even tell me about this? Hah, I got played.”

“Blood?”

“I read the ancient foreigner script engraved in the temple, and it says ‘The essence of humans, something powerful that moves nature, what the crouching god desires.’ ……By my interpretation, it seems like if exactly three people are offered to the altar, the temple’s protection will activate.”

“That’s the same as dying!”

“Sorry, maybe I should have tried to save Count Alexei after all. He would have been useful at this moment.”

“Even if you decided Count Alexei would be the first sacrifice, we’d still need a second and third…… Wait, no! We shouldn’t sacrifice people!”

“But what can we do? What this temple wants is human sacrifices.”

After hearing Arshama’s words, she finally took in her surroundings.

Arshama stood in front of a stone altar. Difficult-to-recognize pictures were engraved on the altar pillars, which seemed to be the ancient foreigner script Arshama had mentioned.

The one that said blood must be given.

‘Now that I hear it, the altar where Arshama is standing seems to have dark brown marks on it.’

……No way. No, it would be troublesome if we just escaped from demonic beasts only to find a man-eating altar waiting for us.

“The essence of humans, something powerful that moves nature. What the crouching god desires.”

She muttered Arshama’s interpretation once more.

‘Though I want to kick out Count Alexei, who caused all this trouble, one person on the altar wouldn’t count as three anyway.’

“How about spirit power?”

“Hmm?”

“Something as precious as blood. What if we offer spirits instead of people?”

“……I’ve never heard of offering spirits as sacrifices?”

Thump, thump, thump, heavy footsteps could be heard from outside. It seemed unlikely that Darius’s army had already come looking for them in such a positive turn of events.

“Spirits don’t actually die when they’re attacked and their summons are broken; they just return to the spirit realm.”

“Are you trying to trick the temple?”

She wished she could ask Sylphid for advice, but unfortunately, there was no time.

“Kweeeeek!”

The cries of the demonic beasts were already audible nearby.

He said three, right?

“If it’s not enough, we can try bleeding later!”

Pop, pop, pop.

She summoned three sylphs on the altar.

Surge.

“Ugh!”

Summoning three spirits simultaneously was too much for her level. Blood rushed back. At the same time.

The temple, having received its sacrifice, poured out a white light.

Surge.

Something was wrong.

That was the thought she had as the white light engulfed her.

‘Protection? You said temple protection?’

She instinctively felt it. This wasn’t a power to protect them from demonic beasts. Rather, this was……

〈Prophecies are metaphors. But for us, they’re intuitive.〉

When she turned her head, she saw Arshama being swallowed into the altar’s light with her. He was smiling.

〈Return to the past and resolve the mistakes of your people. That’s the prophecy I received.〉

〈That old hag elder said something about entrusting a curse.〉

She recalled the words Arshama had spoken.

〈I’m sorry for using you. I’ll try to keep you uninvolved as much as possible.〉

Her last memory was looking at him in disbelief.

No way.

This crazy bastard isn’t taking me to the past, is he?

The foreigners’ mistakes, the sins of the people that needed to be resolved. Arshama who followed Darius’s army.

And this temple that received sacrifices and emitted light.

Surely Arshama’s prophecy didn’t mean there was something tied to this temple, and we needed to go to the past to solve the secret and return?

I’m just a pitiful extra! This kind of thing should be done by the female lead!

* * *

Sunlight poured down brightly.

Same building, but a different feeling.

The place where they had hurriedly hidden their bodies from the avalanche was dark and gloomy. The temple, where ceremonies had long been discontinued, was almost collapsing.

“Wow, so this is what it was originally like!”

Dazzlingly white pillars. Hot and humid weather. Decorative vines growing nicely along the temple pillars.

“Mmm! This humid jungle weather! I can’t even imagine it’s the same place as before!”

“What? Keep me uninvolved? Is this what you call uninvolved? What the hell is this!”

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry! I didn’t know it would turn out like this either!”

The guy who claimed he didn’t know was laughing so carefree!

Arshama looked her up and down, then opened his eyes wide.

“Oh, by the way, you were coughing up blood earlier, but now you’re completely fine? Amazing! Is this also the efficacy of our temple!”

“You bastard, you can talk like that because you weren’t in mortal danger! Yes, let me show you what I can do with this restored health!”

As she rushed toward Arshama with the intention of pulling out all his hair, suddenly there was a presence.

Thud.

“Sa-sacrifice.”

Gulp, a man who appeared to be from the temple dropped what he was carrying and shouted when he saw them.

“The god has directly sent us sacrifices! Now we can perform the ceremony!”

What is he talking about now?

* * *

A thousand years ago.

When the foreigners had not yet lost their name and were still called the Mountain People.

The chief of the Mountain People had his head full of worries and concerns.

Drought, famine, and plague had successively visited the Mountain People. As the calamities continued for three years, the Mountain People asked their shaman for the reason.

The shaman answered that a sacrifice was needed.

〈The god is already angry. Pigeons, sheep, cattle! How can you hope for the god’s forgiveness with such things! Animal blood will only gain forgiveness for animals!〉

The one who had recently risen to the position of shaman of the Mountain People was a beautiful woman with red hair.

〈The previous tribal shaman also offered himself to the altar. He knew what the god wanted.〉

The shaman solemnly added.

〈It is time for the prince to come. Our Mountain People are a special tribe waiting for the prince who will save the world. But that prince does not just come. Therefore, our Mountain People must rightfully show our sincerity. If we do not offer the most precious thing, the god will not respond!〉

If they do not perform the ceremony with many people, this calamity will not cease.

The shaman declared.