Chapter 31

Chapter 31
## Chapter: 31

### Chapter Title: Twin Canyon (4)

The high official of Remtana, Enrico Turis, was utterly unable to trust his own sight. He rubbed his eyelids with frantic energy, trying to wipe away the hallucination, but the nightmare before him remained stagnant and real.

“No, this is impossible… Heavens, Remillion.”

Throughout his forty years of life leading to this administrative post, he had encountered every manner of spectacle, from the sublime to the grotesque. He had prided himself on the belief that no circumstance could ever shatter his professional mask.

That was a foolish vanity. At this moment, his chest throbbed with a pulse so violent it felt as though his heart might rupture.

The troll occupying Twin Canyon had been Enrico’s primary source of distress. With the alternative passages to the east and west currently obstructed, Twin Canyon served as the sole artery connecting Remtana to the southern lands he governed. To maintain the flow of commerce and tax revenue, the removal of this beast was a matter of extreme urgency.

Eliminating the creature should have been a straightforward task. While trolls were terrifying adversaries for common men, this region held assets far more capable of dealing with such a threat.

Specifically, Ymir Demil, the strategist sent by the governing body of Vesta.

He was a practitioner of the mystic arts from the Magic Tower, the crown jewel of that seaside metropolis. He was no mere apprentice, but a Conjurer, occupying the third tier of prestige within the tower’s hierarchy. Had he applied his talents, a lone troll would have been little more than a nuisance.

Yet, he had vanished, offering no assistance to the commissioner.

The motivation behind his absence was transparent.

“He finds no profit in helping a rival official. In fact, that snake likely wishes for this district to collapse. It would give him the leverage to claim that the subsequent commissioner should be appointed from Vesta’s ranks…”

Enrico had not simply waited in vain for the truant mage. He had dispatched numerous couriers to his kin and his governing council seeking reinforcements. However, every messenger vanished almost immediately upon leaving, never to return. No corpses were discovered, leaving him in total ignorance of their fates.

Ultimately, Enrico was cornered into addressing the troll problem with his own limited resources.

Regrettably, Remtana housed no other sorcerers. His personal commissioner guards possessed minimal experience in the art of monster hunting. Consequently, Enrico had publicized a massive reward, hoping to lure mercenaries to the task. It was only after the recruitment posters had begun to rot and peel that a band of warriors finally stepped forward to take the contract.

“The bounty is 50,000 luden, correct? Hmph, leave everything to us, Commissioner! Our group consists entirely of veteran beast slayers!”

Their demeanor had seemed suspicious, but his options were exhausted. Remtana was a modest territory with little monster activity, making mercenaries a rare sight. He could not afford to reject a willing party after months of stagnation.

Thus, Enrico had organized the boastful mercenaries and twenty of his own guards for the expedition…

Splat—thud, splat—thud!

“Gah!”

“Help, save me! I… I don’t want to die here!”

“Aaaaaagh!!!”

…and he stood witness as those mercenaries were slaughtered the very moment the engagement began.

Contrary to their grand declarations, the mercenaries had no history of fighting monsters. They had been seduced by the promise of wealth and had charged in with blind greed.

Their initial tactic—believing that long-range javelins and crossbow bolts would ensure a safe victory—was a fatal error. The troll plucked the projectiles from its skin as if they were harmless splinters. The lacerations they managed to cause sealed up in a heartbeat, as easily as water filling a hole in the sand.

Rawrgh!!

“Wh-what?”

Instead of weakening it, their clumsy efforts only served to incite the creature’s fury. Had they maintained a rigid defensive wall, the death toll might have been mitigated—but the mercenaries were incapable of such discipline. Keeping one’s wits in the face of a rampaging troll was a feat beyond the uninitiated.

“Urgh…”

“Gaaah, run for your lives!!”

The formation shattered instantly. It began with the skirmishers in the front fleeing in terror, and soon the entire mercenary unit was scattering like frantic insects. A few warriors in heavy plate tried to stand their ground, but the troll’s brute force was not something that amateur defenses could repel.

Thud, splat—thud!

“Agh!”

It was a horrific trade: a single claw swipe for a human life. Any damage they dealt was erased by regeneration in seconds. The courageous were crushed, the cowards bolted, and within moments, the mercenary presence had evaporated.

With the mercenaries gone, the commissioner guards were the next targets. The troll stalked toward the soldiers with a terrifying speed. Every blow from its primitive club left a trail of broken men. Soldiers with shattered skeletons and spilled viscera lay in the dirt like discarded puppets.

Rawrgh!!

“Aaaah!! My leg!! It’s gone!!”

“Agh, the pain… please, it hurts…”

Enrico groaned in despair. The guards were meant for escorting and the eventual cleanup after the victory. They were never intended to duel the beast. He was preparing to signal a full retreat when…

Abruptly, a barbarian emerged from the shadows of the canyon walls.

Crunch, crunch, rip!

With terrifying efficiency, he overpowered the troll on his own and ended its life.

Rgh…

With a series of dispassionate axe strikes, the head was detached. The creature’s massive, hooked nose was smashed into the mud. The barbarian calmly wiped the gore from the area around his eyes.

“…”

The unstoppable monster that had seemed like a god of death was slaughtered like common livestock. Enrico found himself robbed of speech.

“…”

If the commissioner was paralyzed by shock, his men were even more so.

They had felt the weight of that monster’s power personally. It had torn through armored mercenaries with ease—and this stranger had ended it solo? With nothing but a blade and an axe? The reality was too absurd to be believed.

Yet, they were given no time to process the feat, for the next sight was even more unsettling.

Ssshhk.

The barbarian carved open the troll’s abdomen and began digging through the internal organs.

“…”

“…Urp.”

Dark blood flooded the ground, and the heavy scent of death filled the air. Ruptured entrails lay twitching in the muck. It looked as though a scene from the deepest abyss had been transposed into the world of men. The soldiers couldn’t distinguish between the cold rain and the cold sweat running down their spines.

The grizzly display only ended once the troll’s remains were a tattered heap. The barbarian turned his blood-stained, terrifying visage toward the survivors and spoke.

“Who are you people? Identify your leader.”

The soldiers shook with fear, their eyes darting toward the commissioner. Despite the horror, Enrico composed himself better than his subordinates. Demonstrating the resilience of a veteran official, he regained his footing and walked forward with purpose.

“I am the one in charge. Enrico Turis, commissioner of Remtana. And you—who are you?”

“Kadim. If you have knowledge regarding this troll, I want you to tell me every detail.”

“…”

In the empire, a commissioner held authority similar to a landed lord. It was a profound insult to be addressed so bluntly.

However, Enrico was too wise to prioritize etiquette in this moment. Without this stranger, his men would be nothing but meat. He resolved to speak carefully, ensuring he did not provoke the man who had just butchered a monster.

As the guards tended to the survivors and cleared the path of the troll’s corpse, Kadim held a brief council with Enrico at the mouth of the canyon. After receiving a summary of the situation, Kadim knit his brows.

“There have been no trolls reported in this pass recently?”

“None. Our archives indicate the last major hunt happened long before my tenure. The Magic Tower essentially purged all threats from this sector. Since then, trolls have been nonexistent—we rarely even see a common goblin.”

The man seemed to be speaking the truth. Kadim hadn’t seen a single predator while traversing the forest, had he? Though, he had crossed paths with holy knights, a six-armed leper, a cluster of mutated vipers, and a nine-headed demon…

“…Standard beasts would have been a relief.”

Kadim dismissed the thought and continued his inquiry.

“Then what explains the sudden appearance of this troll?”

“That remains a mystery to me. Had monsters been a recurring issue, I would have been prepared, but it appeared without warning, leading to this catastrophe…”

Enrico looked back at his guards. Though few had perished, half were badly mangled—it was a bitter sight. If they had been battle-hardened by regular hunts, they wouldn’t have been swindled by fake mercenaries or suffered such a defeat.

Kadim, meanwhile, squeezed his fist with a grim look. Upon dissecting the second troll, he had discovered the same shadowy grime he’d seen in the first. It was a pattern he couldn’t ignore.

“Are there demons active in this vicinity?”

Enrico paused briefly before shaking his head with conviction.

“No. If demonic entities were present, Ymir would not have remained passive. The Magic Tower hunts demons with the same fervor as the Elga Church.”

“Who is Ymir?”

“He is one of my advisors. Politically, we are at odds, so he provides little help… but his competence as a Magic Tower mage is undeniable. If a demon surfaced, he would have been the first to eliminate it.”

Kadim’s gaze became piercing.

“Is there a possibility he used magic to place the troll here as a blockade?”

Enrico recoiled, his frame trembling slightly.

He rubbed his temples, lost in a spiral of contemplation. After a long silence, he spoke through dry lips.

“…I cannot rule it out. I am aware that certain spells can dominate the minds of humans or beasts.”

“What about a pact with a demon?”

“Highly unlikely. The Magic Tower has strict prohibitions against such things. If mages began selling their souls to demons, the holy knights of the empire would have burned the alliance to the ground long ago. Unless Ymir has lost his mind, that is impossible.”

“…”

The pieces didn’t fit.

Magic was fueled by mana, the natural energy of the world—a force separate from demonic corruption. Standard sorcery should not produce a byproduct that looked like demonic essence.

Kadim had suspected a mage in league with demons was responsible. But if that was out of the question?

“…”

The situation was murky, and the trail had gone cold. For now, his focus shifted back to his payment.

Kadim rose to his feet. Enrico seemed to struggle with something he wanted to say, but ultimately he just lowered his head in a gesture of gratitude.

“…Regardless, on behalf of Remtana and its people, I thank you. Without your intervention, this passage would have remained closed. You have saved many lives today.”

“Keep your thanks. The leader of Eckl promised me a fee. They were the ones truly suffering.”

“I see. So that is how it is…”

As Kadim began to move, Duncan approached quickly. He had been assisting with the medical needs of the injured. Kadim looked at the nervous Duncan and then at the battered guards, making a suggestion to Enrico.

“The wounded need rest. Why not travel to Eckl to recover? I am heading there to collect my reward anyway.”

“That is a wise proposal. I intended to visit the village regardless… I will join you.”

Kadim and Enrico took the lead. Duncan and the injured were placed in the middle of the column, while the healthy soldiers took up the rear guard. As they entered the narrow pass, the soldiers cast frequent, fearful glances at Kadim, their postures tense.

The spring showers were beginning to cease. A humid draft blew through the canyon, which had been devoid of human traffic for some time. Massive stone walls rose like fortifications, casting long shadows. The symmetrical layers of the earth on either side made the “Twin” Canyon title feel appropriate.

Enrico was too preoccupied with theories about the barbarian and his advisor to notice his surroundings. The soldiers were physically and mentally spent. The brush with death had left them hollow. Duncan, despite having been here before, was focused on helping the maimed.

Only Kadim noticed the change.

They were in the very heart of the canyon, equidistant from both ends. The path was narrow, hemmed in by stone. Suddenly, wisps of smoke drifted from the peaks. A low tremor hummed through the air, and the heat began to distort the view.

Then, the sharp scent of sulfur reached him.

“…”

Kadim ground his teeth. This wasn’t a natural fire. It was a coordinated strike designed to box them in.

There was no time to evade.

Boom!

A violent blast shook the air, and stone rained down from above. Burning timbers fell alongside the boulders.

――――― Rumble rumble, crash, boom, boom!

The impact rattled the earth, and thick clouds of grit rose. The flames on the wood and rock refused to die even in the dampness. The path forward was instantly blocked by a wall of fire.

“Urgh!”

“What’s happening?!”

“Look out! It’s coming from behind too…”

Boom!

The exit was similarly cut off. A deafening explosion heralded a second wall of fire and debris. In a few heartbeats, the group had been turned into trapped prey.

Before they could even react, a bolt of pure lightning struck the ground ahead of them.

――――――― Roar, boom!

A blinding flash erased every shadow in the canyon. It felt as if a sun had touched the earth, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. A wave of searing heat followed, the air becoming a physical weight that burned the lungs.

As the light subsided, the source of the lightning was revealed.

She had flowing bronze-gold hair and was draped in holy robes that billowed like a blood-red cloak. Her armor shined like cooling magma, and she held a red longsword that radiated the fury of a furnace.

She looked like the personification of celestial vengeance.

The soldiers cried out in terror.

“An Arch Paladin…! From the Elga Church!”

“Why is one of them here…?”

Her green eyes were locked onto a single target. From her vigil on the cliff to her descent, she had never looked anywhere else.

Arch Paladin Helia Munel spoke, her voice thick with loathing.

“At last… I have found you, you hooded monster.”

“…”

“Your transgressions are a festering wound… The time for holy retribution is here. This blade’s fire will incinerate your filth until not even ash remains…”

Kadim stared back at the holy knight in silence. Then, with a casual movement, he looked over his shoulder.

“Duncan, didn’t you claim that Arch Paladins never cross the border?”

“I-I did? Uh… well… I don’t understand why this is happening either…”

Duncan looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown. Kadim let out a silent sigh.

A massive variable had ruined the plan. Either the Arch Paladin had secured permission with impossible speed, or she had abandoned her vows to hunt him illegally.

Regardless, a fight was unavoidable. Trying to run now would only lead to another trap. He had to take the fight, even if the odds were poor.

Finish every job completely. Kadim reminded himself of his core rule. His hand moved toward the water container at his hip.

But then, a voice interrupted the standoff.

“What is the meaning of this?! You are a holy knight of the empire! How dare you commit such an act of aggression on alliance territory?!”

A furious Enrico stepped toward the wall of fire without fear. Helia’s eyes narrowed.

“That is my identity, yes. But who are you? I am performing a holy mission. Do not interfere; step aside…”

“I am Enrico Turis, commissioner of Remtana, representing the Delutana Council! This land is under my jurisdiction, and I received no notice of your arrival! This is a criminal violation of our borders! Withdraw this instant, or I will file a formal grievance with your church through the highest channels!”

“…!”

Enrico produced a signet ring bearing the Delutana Council’s mark—an absolute proof of his legal standing.

For the first time, a look of genuine confusion crossed Helia’s face, sharp and clear despite the surrounding fire.