“Woof! Let’s run away again!”
“Baaah! I never want to see you again!”
Lemm fled to the top of the monastery and howled. Whether he did or not, Aji stretched refreshingly, seemingly satisfied with the toy she hadn't played with in a long time.
“Farewell!”
“May the blessing of the Heavenly God be with you, brothers!”
Seen off by the fallen nun and the happy children, we left the Blood Monastery. Keeping only the blessings of the Saintess and the nun.
As we walked down the slope from the Blood Monastery, I said to Rashi.
“Mr. Rashi. Please guide the way…”
I was about to tell him to do so, but I shut my mouth at the scene before me.
The wind blew towards the direction we were heading. As if pushing our backs. The soft but certain breeze moved the wild grass, pointing out the direction we should go.
The fluttering grass blades seemed to draw arrows. It was as if the whole world was speaking through its mouth, saying, 'You must go this way.'
“This way!”
Even Rashi, who was about to guide us, muttered as he felt the blowing wind.
“A tailwind. A good omen. It seems asking the Teacher for help was the right thing to do!”
“Why are you only mentioning Hughs? I’m here too, you know.”
“Haha! Sorry for leaving you out. Yes, boy! You’re here too!”
Everyone had no qualms about riding this flow. Well, what does it matter if a prophetess is a bit creepy? When she's offering to help with my immediate affairs.
We moved as the wind guided us. Rashi possessed stamina that never tired as long as his feet touched the ground, and the cloud-riding Regressor and I flew even faster on the tailwind. Aji showed plenty of leisure, running far away in the meantime and slowly returning.
As the scenery changed and the mountain terrain shifted, indigenous settlements began to come into view. Having passed the wild lands, the barbaric lands where beasts and humans coexisted appeared.
The natives who saw us flying in the sky either screamed and ran away or chased after us to hunt. Of course, most of those attempts passed by without even stepping on our shadows, but thanks to that, a bit of tension was added to our journey.
“From here on is the land of the ancient Mangguk. Teacher, do you know about Mangguk?”
“I do. As much as anyone else knows.”
Mangguk. A barbaric nation built on a land overflowing with life.
The five lords who drove out the King of Humans and seized power spread across the continent and established their own kingdoms.
Among them, Agartha, who was loved by all, came all the way to this far southeastern land, united the barbarian tribes that could never have intertwined with each other, and founded a nation.
“Matriarch Agartha. A descendant of a lord with the ability to be loved by all. She captivated other tribes with her beauty and charm, created a coalition of countless tribes, and reigned over them. Until the day the World Tree burned and fell.”
“You are knowledgeable. As expected of a Teacher.”
When I recited exactly what was written in the history books, Rashi nodded as if he had expected it.
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“But there is a slight difference. That's how it was known in the Military Nation, but the Matriarch's true power was not that. The Matriarch's true power is…”
“I know. It's language. To be precise, conveyability.”
Each beast has its own characteristics, and those characteristics are reflected exactly in the Beast King. The dog Aji is friendly and intimate with humans, and the sheep Lemm has abundant fur.
The same goes for the King of Humans… or so it was. The five lords took away the power held by the King of Humans through some means.
The one who took human strength was the Conqueror. He was powerful enough to pull up a mountain with his bare hands and throw it, wielded all weapons freely, and could fight without resting for seven days and nights.
The one who took human skill was Elik, King of the Golden Nation. He could perfectly reproduce any tool he had seen once, learned all techniques, understood their principles, and could produce masterpieces.
The one who took human sociability was Grandiomor of the Kingdom. No human could be hostile to him, and he had the ability to make even strong and cunning people his allies and control them.
Certainly, they are all characteristics of humans, but they are not characteristics unique to humans. Pure physical strength is greater in bears or tigers, and building nests is something even birds or beavers do. Forming groups can be found just by looking around roughly.
The same goes for Agartha. What Agartha took was language. To be precise, expression.
Even in the past when there was no language, when humans used their tongues only for tasting, there were means to reveal their emotions. Gestures, voices, shouts, facial expressions, movements, and so on. There were infinite ways to spit warnings at enemies and bestow favor upon allies.
And Agartha was perfect in all of them.
“A beautiful face. Gestures that reveal emotions. A soft voice that wins the favor of humans and beasts alike. Even in this barbaric land that uses different languages from the civilized world and believes in over a hundred thousand gods, Agartha subdued everyone with that single power.”
“Hmm. Teacher is much more knowledgeable than I thought. Even as a native of this land, I wouldn't be able to explain it more fluently than you!”
“Being articulate is my strong suit.”
The nation that such an Agartha united and led was Mangguk. Always on the outskirts of civilization, it was not well known, but Mangguk always reigned as a powerful and threatening nation.
In particular, Mangguk, despite being descendants of a lord, distanced itself from the Heavenly God and embraced indigenous faith, making it a subtle object of vigilance.
“There are not many records and little exchange, so it is somewhat undervalued, but in the past, Mangguk was said to be so powerful and had such a brilliant civilization that it was almost comparable to the Empire. You can tell by looking at the remaining ruins, treasures, and spirit medicines of Mangguk. Even now, hundreds of years later, adventurers still come seeking hidden treasures.”
“Now it is nothing but the legacy of a fallen nation! If you know so well, there's no need to warn you!”
“Anyway, I understand why you're telling me to be careful.”
We cannot ignore Mangguk just because it is a barbaric land. Rather, it is fearsome because it is more rootless and free than civilization.
For hardship always comes in unexpected ways...
It should have been.
Even in the barbaric land that would trouble even the most renowned adventurers, the journey was incredibly easy.
“It's getting dark. We should slowly find a place to sleep... What's that?”
“An adventurer camp. Camps set up here and there by adventurers who came looking for spirit medicines to stay temporarily depending on the weather and terrain. They hide them well so they don't get plundered by others. We're lucky.”
Whenever a problem seemed to arise, an appropriate solution appeared nearby. If we needed a place to sleep, a camp or hideout appeared; when we were hungry, a beast that looked easy to hunt passed right before our eyes. The path was flat, grass grew on it, and the usual swamps or pits were nowhere to be seen.
I didn't know if I was struggling through wild lands or walking on a well-maintained national road of the Military Nation. Eating food that happened to be left behind, heated over firewood that happened to be left behind, in a camp we happened to find, I tilted my head in puzzlement.
“A journey doesn't need to be arduous, but this is a bit boring. Was this land always so empty?”
“It wasn't. Even when I left for the monastery, I was attacked more than five times. Three times by beasts, and twice by outlaws. Well, from their perspective, I was the attacker!”
At first, Rashi said it was good that there were no accidents, but he also felt unfamiliar with the strangely peaceful environment. In contrast, the Regressor took this environment for granted.
“It's because the Saintess of the Heavens has blessed our entire journey.”
“What exactly is the principle?”
“Principle? Where is the principle in a blessing? It just happens that way. I roughly heard that it forces a future that converges towards the goal, but it's hard for us who can't see the future to understand.”
“My head already hurts just from hearing that.”
“Well, it roughly means only good things will happen to us. Unless it's something that wouldn't happen at all.”
Is it deleting other futures, or is it micro-adjusting, or is it reading our route in advance and preparing for it? I couldn't guess at all. It might not even match anything I could imagine.
“If everything goes well, mosquitoes won't even appear at night. I'll be able to stretch my legs and sleep at night.”
“Huh? I've been blocking that with a Heavenly Echo barrier since earlier.”
“Ah, really? I thought I was somehow sleeping better at night.”
Even if the Saintess's blessing seems great, if it's all something she can do with her own abilities, isn't it not that big of a deal? Then what meaning does the blessing itself have?
“Let's just sleep for today. We have a blessing, so there won't be any particular threats, but I'll still set up a barrier.”
“Teacher and boy, rest. I will go out and stand watch.”
“You?”
“Teacher and boy are mortals. You must sleep at night. But as long as my feet are on the ground, I neither die nor need to sleep. Since the Teacher is helping me, I should at least provide this much convenience.”
“Is that so? Well, fine then.”
‘If I don't have to deploy a barrier, I can also sleep comfortably without dividing my attention.’
Seeing Rashi step outside, the Regressor and I divided the space. First, we prepared a sleeping spot for Aji near the entrance, and then chose beds from a bunk bed made of hammocks.
“I'll sleep on top. I hate feeling cramped.”
“That works out perfectly. I wanted to sleep on the bottom. Because it's easier to escape from down there.”
We silently found our desired spots. Surprisingly, people with opposite tendencies don't clash much. Because they don't desire the same things.
“Let's sleep well, eat breakfast, and set off.”
“Phew. Yeah. We need to rest like this once every few days. Good night.”
“Mr. Shay. I have something to ask before that.”
“….”
Only the sound of snoring quietly came. Already asleep? Hmm, seeing that his thoughts are cut off, he's really asleep. I was going to extract some information through small talk before sleeping.
He seems to be sleeping deeply, unaware of the world, but if something approached nearby, he would react immediately. It's only because we've become somewhat close that he falls asleep near me.
The more I think back on it, the more I question the Saintess's so-called blessing. It clearly seems to exist, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like it exists.
If one believes there will be no obstacles in their path, does that mean they can do anything, or does it mean they can do nothing? Does a blessing help those who help themselves, or does it force fate?
Tsk. It would be nice to read the Saintess's thoughts, but it certainly won't be easy. Perhaps she is blocked by some means like the Regressor. Even when I read Peruel's thoughts, something was unsatisfying.
Tossing and turning, I finally laid my body deep into the hammock. Since obtaining the Demon God, this body didn't tire easily even after walking for days, but mental and habitual fatigue remained in the body, crying out for rest.
Let's sleep for now. I just need to maintain a moderate relationship with the Regressor. Whether it's the Saintess or the Demon God, since they are closest, let's cling to them like a parasite and find out the clues.
...Well, it'll be meaningless once I regress. But what can I do. It's easier to ignore things you can't resist. Looking at the hammock where the Regressor lay, I soon closed my eyes against the creeping sleepiness.
Feeling a pressure as if a darkness with substance was crushing me.
I don't usually dream, but my sleep was unusually restless today. It felt as if an uninvited guest had come, grabbed me by the collar, and was looking down at me. I wondered if it was some strange nightmare, but strangely, my mind was clear. As if it weren't a dream.
It was not an illusion. I realized that some entity with substance was crushing me. I urgently activated my mind-reading.
Human? No. I can't read their thoughts. Beast? No way. Even if it were Rashi, Aji wouldn't fail to bark. Then what? What is pinning me down? Why isn't Aji barking, and what is the Regressor doing still in dreamland?
This is no time for this. Whether it's a beast, a human, or some bizarre phenomenon, I need to escape from this thing that invaded my hammock without a trace. Fortunately, the pressure isn't that severe. It's at a level where even I can move if I resist.
Then I'll grasp the current situation and escape in one breath before that thing can react. I kept making sleeping sounds, pretending to be asleep, and carefully opened my eyes into slits. Through the tiny gap created by moving my eyelids with Qi, I glanced sideways at whatever had pounced on me...
“...Zzz.”
And when I found the Regressor sleeping soundly on top of me. I felt a greater bewilderment and terror than before.