The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 26: Coming Across a Fiend Again 

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

The moment Niss moved past the swirl, she felt like she had stepped into another world. The air was warm, the sun was high above the sky, and hills were everywhere. Feeling lost, she looked around to search for her companions. 

“I thought you were not coming.” Fern was seated by a tree as he looked at a map. 

“Why wouldn’t I…” Niss examined her surroundings and shuffled toward her companions. “Where is this?”

“I believe we’re now in Tarantara Hills.” Fern pointed at the South of Doyle on the map and said. “Unless we’re no longer in Wallis.”

“Do you know where exactly we are in Tarantara?” Stan frowned. “Or where should we be going?”

“I don’t know.” Fern shook his head before turning to Rae and Niss. “Did any major event happen in Tarantara before?”

Rae rested her head on her right palm and pondered on it. “If I’m not mistaken, the first time the Dark Tide appeared in Wallis, they were defeated by the alliance right here in Tarantara.”

“Will we go through the war again?” Stan guessed.

“Maybe. It’s still too early to come to any conclusion.” Fern got on his feet and scanned his surroundings. “The most important thing now is that we have to figure out where we should be going.”

“Look no further,” Rae suddenly said sternly. “I can feel that they’re not far from us. There are many of them!”

“Are they zombies or fiends?” Fern asked anxiously.

“Both. I think the zombies are being led by one or more fiends.” Rae closed her eyes to sense them. 

“What should we do then?” Niss was flustered as she still remembered vividly their previous experience of being raced after by the wolves.

“Come what may, the Doylans are not afraid of the Dark Tide.” Stan unsheathed his sword and said solemnly. 

Opening her eyes, Rae stared at Stan. “Are all Doylans as reckless as you are?”

“What did you say?” Stan was displeased at her remark, but as a knight, he couldn’t flare up.

“Stop it. Do you think the fiends can’t hear you?” Fern chided. Then, he pointed at the shrubbery thirty yards away. “All of you, stay inside the shrubs. I’ll go up the hill and have a look.”

Sheathing his sword, Stan shot a look at Rae and trotted toward the shrubbery. 

“Fern, don’t do anything silly again.” Rae pressed the tip of her magic cane against Fern’s chest and chanted a spell before retracting the cane. “I’ve left a mark on your body. Even if you wander off, I’ll still get to find you in two days. Got it? Don’t run away on your own again.”

“Don’t worry. I’m just going to see where the Dark Tide’s army is heading.” Fern touched his chest, but he couldn’t feel anything unusual.

Rae nodded and gazed at Niss. “Let’s go.”

However, Niss was still extremely worried. “Fern, you must come back to us. We’ll be waiting for you there.”

“Alright. Go now.” Fern turned around and sprinted toward the nearest hill. 

Rae urged Niss to follow her, whereupon Niss took one last look at Fern’s figure and strode toward the shrubbery.

Upon closer look, Fern realized that it was just a larger mound, so he managed to reach the top with ease. Then, he snuck into the underbrush and observed the flatland in the distance.

*** 

A moment later, a group of zombies led by a fiend came into sight as they headed in Fern’s direction. If it weren’t because of Rae’s warning, he would have mistaken them to be a human army.

Fern turned around to look at the shrubbery his companions were hiding in. Upon making sure that they were safe, he decided to stay on the mound and keep an eye on the Dark Tide’s army, for the place they were heading for might be Fern and his companions’ next destination as well. 

The army was coming near, so Fern hurriedly crouched down and held his breath. He had experienced how powerful a fiend could be, so he knew that he stood no chance of defeating it. 

When the army moved past the mound Fern was on, he could finally see the fiend’s face clearly. Previously in Paradies, the entire place was dim, and he wasn’t ready psychologically, so he couldn’t make out what a fiend looked like. Now that he saw a fiend in broad daylight, he realized that its hair was thin, its scalp was wrinkled, and its face was extremely pale, which gave off a terrifying feeling. 

Fern gulped and hoped that these monsters would go away quickly. Just then, the fiend stopped in its tracks and turned to look in Fern’s direction. In such a distance, Fern could see that the fiend was like a puppet, but it was obviously more ferocious than a puppet. Its facial features were incomplete, and there was no emotion on its face. 

In an instant, he felt suffocated in fright as he tried to stabilize his breathing. Gripping the hilt of his sword with his left hand and clenching some grass with his right hand, he tried to fight with his own inner fear. Hang in there, Fern! Despite succeeding at controlling his breathing, he was still engulfed in fear. Apart from his hands, he couldn’t feel his body. 

Fern and the fiend stared at each other as everything seemed to have frozen, including the air. He had wanted to turn his head and warn his companions, but his rational mind told him that he should never expose his companions’ whereabouts.

Damn it. W-Why am I still so frightened when it’s the second time I’ve come across a fiend? Fern hated the state of helplessness he was in, but his mind was soon occupied by horror again.

Just when Fern thought he was going to lose hope, the fiend suddenly turned to look ahead and moved on, whereupon the zombies started leaving as well. 

Fern didn’t dare to be complacent. It was until the Dark Tide’s army disappeared from his sight did he lie down on the ground and start panting.

***

Upon regaining his strength, he rushed back to the shrubbery as he wiped away his sweat and explained, “It was a small group of the Dark Tide’s army. About twenty zombies are led by one fiend. They’re heading West now.”

“How did you feel about encountering a fiend for the second time?” Rae asked impassively. 

Fern shook his head helplessly. “I was horrified and couldn’t move a muscle. I almost screamed.”

Worriedly, Niss stared at Fern. “Hopefully, we’ll never have to fight with fiends.”

“What should we do now? We don’t even know where our destination is.” Stan asked anxiously. 

Fern paced around and said, “We should follow them. Maybe we’ll find some clues by doing so.”

“Alright. We’re even stalking the Dark Tide’s army now. How exciting,” Rae said with a bitter smile.

“Unless you have a better suggestion. Otherwise, we’d better get going now. Remind me if we’re too close to them.” Fern took a look at the sun and ascertained the correct direction before leading his companions to race after the Dark Tide’s army. 

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