Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 147: A mission from the Prophet

Nelliel navigated through the dense forest carefully, looking around.

’Nothing here, it seems.’

The forest was quiet. The only sound she could hear was the rustling of leaves as the wind blew.

As she continued forward, she suddenly came across a puddle of water on the ground. It was clean and looked safe to drink from. Still, she was not thirsty enough to need to drink it yet. But she chose to stop there and rest for a minute or two.

’Man, this is such a chore.’

The Prophet had personally ordered her to investigate this part of the forest. He hadn’t given her any reason why she was assigned this task, nor had he told her exactly what she was supposed to look for.

But this mission had taught her something new. She learned that there was nothing more annoying than vague orders.

Letting out a sigh, she turned her attention to the puddle and observed her reflection on its clear surface.

Nelliel had grown significantly in these five years. Her brown hair had grown longer and was tied into a ponytail. If she had any complaint, it was that her face now looked colder than before since her facial features had become sharper.

It made her look intimidating to others.

But what occupied her mind the most was something else.

’I’m fourteen now and will turn fifteen next month... yet I’m still a priest candidate... Ugh, those brats will probably make fun of me for this.’

After sulking for some time, she shook away those thoughts.

’I should stay positive. As Uncle Rolf once said, not everyone can be like Brother.’

Still, she would definitely find the courage to attempt the trial before she turned fifteen.

And so, she ended her brief rest and continued her investigation in the forest. She climbed up trees to look around, inspected the ground for any strangeness, and even went as far as inspecting the trees themselves.

But in the end...

’Ah, hell.’

...She didn’t find anything.

’Maybe I should stop her now and return.’

It would probably be wiser to tell the Prophet that she didn’t find anything than to continue her investigation fruitlessly.

She knew that there must be a reason why the Prophet had given her this task, since he could look into the future. But her job wasn’t to speculate.

But as she turned around to leave, she froze.

’W-what?’

Her eyes widened in horror.

Right behind her, a massive white serpent was sticking its head out from a large and dense tree. The serpent’s head itself was as large as a tree trunk, and its blood-red eyes with vertically slit pupils were fixed on her.

Two white antlers were growing out of the serpent’s head.

Having never known about a serpent with antlers, it was clear to her that this serpent was a monster. And even though the rest of its body was hidden within the dense tree, its head alone was large enough that it would easily be able to gobble her up.

Her heartbeat quickened.

’I have to run!’

She really had to, but she was unable to move even a single muscle, remaining frozen on the spot.

But she wasn’t frozen because of fear. It was as though an invisible force was binding her in place.

Just then, she recalled something her brother had told her in passing.

’An Origin ability that causes the target to freeze in place after making eye contact with the user...’

Her heartbeat quickened even more as she realized that she was under the effect of such an Origin ability. It made her completely helpless, unable to even put up a struggle against the monster before her.

’Monsters having Origin abilities like this is just so unfair!’

Letting out a hiss, the white serpent slowly brought its face closer to her, observing. And then, it suddenly opened its mouth wide, as if to devour her all at once.

’NO!!!’

But just when she expected the serpent to devour her... Its head suddenly fell down to the ground, sliced cleanly off from its body. At the same time, the invisible force holding her in place was broken, causing her to lose balance and fall down.

She turned to her right.

Someone was standing next to her.

It was a tall boy wearing a bluish-black cloak. Long, jet-black hair fell loosely down his back. His face remained expressionless as his piercing grey eyes observed the beheaded servant.

He held a sword in his hand. A sword that was covered in starlit black energy.

He had changed so much in these five years, growing tall enough to nearly match an adult’s height. His face had also changed, becoming sharper and more refined.

He slowly turned his gaze toward her, causing her to open her mouth unconsciously.

"B-brother? How are you here?"

"I noticed that you were taking too long to return," he replied evenly. "So I followed your trail to check on you. It looks like I was able to reach you in time."

Hearing him, she suddenly felt warm inside.

Indeed, if he hadn’t come, she would’ve most likely been devoured by the serpent monster. Even though she had almost lost her life moments ago, she didn’t feel terrified anymore.

Instead, her lips slowly stretched into a smile.

’He is so dependable.’

Having spent five years with him, she couldn’t think of a person more dependable than him. The more she got to know him, the more she was glad that she could call him her family.

"Anyways," he looked around. "What were you doing here? I don’t think you have any tasks that require you to go into the woods."

She shook her head.

"No, Brother, I’m here because of an order from the Prophet. He asked me to investigate this part of the forest."

He narrowed his eyes.

"And why did he give you such an order?"

"Well... that’s..." Her expression turned awkward. "I... don’t really know since he didn’t tell me any more than that."

He let out a sigh.

"You should’ve asked him. It would’ve been better than going clueless."

She lowered her head, unable to reply.

’Ugh, he’s going to think of me as an irresponsible kid now, isn’t he—Uh?’

She suddenly paused.

Seeing that, her brother tilted his head.

"...What happened?"

"I..." She turned to the ground, her expression turning more serious. "I feel something. The ground... it’s shaking slightly."

It was very mild, but the ground really was shaking.

The two of them looked at each other quietly. Then they both turned to a tall tree next to them and climbed to its very top. It gave them a clear view of the distance.

Nelliel’s heartbeat sped up as she looked ahead.

A large horde of horned wolves was coming in their direction, raising a small cloud of dust as they moved.

The shaking of the ground was probably caused by them.

"It’s a migration." Her brother spoke from the side as his sharp gaze remained locked on the hoard. "This is really bad. If the hoard continues moving in this same direction, it will soon reach the cult’s settlement."

’No...’

It would be horrible if something like that were to happen.

Suddenly, he grabbed her and jumped off the tree, landing cleanly on the ground.

He looked into her eyes and spoke in a serious tone.

"Nelliel, you need to go back to the cult and inform them of this. I will stop the hoard here and buy you all some time."

"N-no, Brother." Her heart sank. "How can you—"

"Nelleil," he cut her off. "You will go back."

His tone was so firm, shutting down all arguments.

She ground her teeth as she forced herself to turn around and ran without looking back.

She ran as fast as she could, and there was only a single thought on her mind.

’Just hold on, Brother, I will bring reinforcements to save you! So please... please hold on!’