Chapter 64
Aluin and Evan seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
“This is too simple to be the demons’ rules.”
“And full of traps, too. What on earth is a ‘Crystal of Aurora with Eyes’? Surely it’s not some tiny bead. Demons are sly creatures.”
“And it only said ‘a way out of the Winter Territory.’ It never said anything about returning to the human world.”
The last remark came from Meteor.
Everyone here had been to the Demon Realm more than once, so their first instinct was always to distrust whatever the demons said.
At that moment, Lucas’s teeth chattered.
“W-we should hurry and split into teams and start moving. A-at this rate, we’ll freeze to death.”
“Yes. One way or another, someone has to find that long-named crystal. Even if it feels like we’re just playing into the demons’ hands, we have no choice.”
Saying this, Aluin looked around at the knights and spoke again.
“I’ll go with Lucas. Evan, you should team up with Edgar. And Meteor—since you’ll want to protect your sister, go with Crescent.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
It was then that it happened.
A chill swept through them that was colder than the blizzard itself.
Everyone’s gaze converged on a single person. They had all realized the same truth at the same time.
They were supposed to split into pairs—but there were seven of them here.
“Adrian.”
Aluin’s eyes widened unusually as he spoke Adrian’s name.
A flicker of dread passed through everyone’s eyes.
No way…
There had been a trap from the very beginning.
Adrian spoke in confusion.
“What… what about me?”
“Then you can pair with Lucas—”
“Ah!”
“!”
Aluin hadn’t even finished speaking.
The ground beneath Adrian suddenly gave way, and he vanished. He had fallen straight down.
“Adrian!”
Everyone cried his name at once.
No voice was louder than another—they were all equally horrified.
“Aaahhh!”
Adrian’s scream grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared into unreachable depths.
The abyss below was pitch-black, its end invisible.
Time itself seemed to stop. No one spoke. No one moved.
Then the snowy ground around the pit collapsed with a crash.
I flinched, ready to leap back, when someone grabbed my arm and yanked me to safety.
“Careful.”
It was Meteor.
Still, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the gaping void.
The others were just as shaken.
Finally, Edgar forced himself to speak.
“Ad… Adrian. Did he die? Adrian!”
His desperate cries scattered uselessly into the abyss. No answer came back.
Could he really be dead?
Just like that? So suddenly?
He had been standing right beside us only seconds ago.
Of course, death was always possible here in the Demon Realm. But no one had expected him to vanish in an instant.
Then, something shot up out of the pit.
The startled knights recoiled, but the object quickly fell onto the snow.
When I looked closely, my head rang as though struck from behind.
White fabric embroidered with pale blue and gold—too familiar to mistake.
Just moments ago, it had been draped over my shoulders.
“This is… Adrian’s jacket.”
Evan picked it up.
The very coat Adrian had tried to lend me. The one I had refused.
Holding it blankly, Evan turned to look at me.
The others’ eyes followed.
I could see the same thought reflected in all of them.
Could it be that Adrian, even as he fell, had thrown me his jacket? In the face of death itself?
How could he do such a thing?
I couldn’t move or speak, as though my mind had broken.
After a moment, Evan approached, hesitating. Carefully, he held the jacket out to me.
“Crescent. It seems Adrian meant this for you. Given the situation, you’d best wear it. You already look the coldest of all of us.”
“…What?”
His words snapped me back to reality.
Only then did I truly feel the cold. My whole body stung, as if frozen solid.
I needed more layers—anything.
I had spare clothes in my inventory, but with everyone watching, I couldn’t just pull them out of thin air.
Nor did I want to wear another knight’s clothes.
“But… could Adrian really be dead?”
The question slipped out, though no one could possibly know.
My chest tightened with guilt.
Then Meteor’s voice cut through.
“Adrian isn’t dead yet. The sign said, ‘If anyone finds the Crystal of Aurora with Eyes, everyone escapes.’ It wouldn’t kill us before then. If even one dies, it can’t send ‘everyone’ back.”
“…Do you really think so?”
Listening, I realized he made sense.
At the very least, Duke Wintery wouldn’t contradict the words he had carved himself. He might twist them cunningly, demon that he was, but not outright break them.
Aluin nodded in agreement.
“Yes, Crescent. Adrian must still be alive. For now, we have to believe that—and focus on finding the crystal. That’s all we can do.”
“…All right.”
With difficulty, I accepted the coat from Evan.
My head still throbbed.
Why hadn’t I noticed sooner that pairing into twos would leave one person out? How could I have overlooked that?
But even if I had, what could we have done? One of us was always going to be left alone.
Crunch, crunch.
The knights resumed trudging through the snow. I turned away and slipped my arms into Adrian’s jacket.
It felt heavier than before.
The sound of their footsteps was heavier too.
Each second passed like days. No one spoke.
After some time, Aluin’s voice rang out again.
“Here’s where we split. As I said, go in pairs and search for the crystal.”
“Understood.”
“Yes.”
Everyone agreed. Aluin looked around one last time. His gaze was solemn yet steady.
“We will meet again alive. No matter what happens, do not lose your pride as knights of Amath.”
“Yes.”
“Y-yesshir.”
Clack, clack, clack.
Lucas stammered through his chattering teeth.
Everyone politely ignored his garbled reply, instead locking eyes with their partners. This might be the last time they ever saw each other.
Then I turned and began walking with Meteor.
Even with Adrian’s jacket on, my body was stiff with cold.
It wouldn’t warm up quickly.
How much longer could I keep moving like this?
“Meteor, aren’t you cold?”
Would I even be able to fight if enemies appeared?
His answer came quickly.
“This is the coldest place I’ve ever been.”
“Me too.”
So he was suffering as well.
Outwardly, Meteor looked composed, but he too was enduring the chill.
Just talking briefly eased my own shivering a little.
What was happening to Adrian right now? Where could he be?
The thoughts kept circling my mind, but I didn’t voice them.
There was nothing to be gained.
“…Truly demon-like, this place. We may freeze to death before even finding the crystal.”
“That’s the intent. They enjoy watching humans freeze.”
“I’d rather fight demons in some warm place than suffer this.”
Too cold. Far too cold…
Of all the dungeons I’d fallen into, this was the worst.
The cold paralyzed both body and mind, leaving us helpless.
I squinted, forcing my eyes open.
Snowflakes clung to my lashes, blinding me.
No matter where I looked, there was no building, no shelter—nothing.
My longing for my inventory grew desperate.
‘Ah, I’ve got matches in there…’
If only I could light a fire.
I even thought of using a teleport scroll to confront Duke Wintery directly, but with Meteor at my side, that was impossible.
My body shivered as though even my brain were freezing.
And then—
I felt a hand slip out of mine.
