Chapter 103
“Uwaaaaah!!”
The yeti roared and swung its fist toward them.
Roina and Maili bolted without thinking, but in this space where the dimensions were strangely twisted, there was no proper way to escape.
“Why are we ending up where we started?!”
“Because, there’s, huff, a barrier, here! Ugh!”
Fortunately, the yeti wasn’t particularly fast, but it never tired. At this rate, given enough time, they would be caught. Roina couldn’t focus at all, making it impossible to cast magic.
“Stay back! You monster! I said stay back! Hey, you barely got grazed by the sword, and you’re throwing a tantrum over that?!”
“Maili, you— huff.”
Must be nice to have the energy to yell!!!
Out of breath, Roina couldn’t finish her sentence. But when she shot Maili a fierce glare, Maili seemed to get the message and pouted in protest.
Whoosh!
The yeti’s massive palm came flying toward them once more. Both of them yelped and dodged.
“Roina, over there!”
Maili, seemingly realizing that this situation was unsustainable, pointed toward something. It was the small, quaint cabin Roina had seen when she first arrived.
Maili, perhaps wanting to get Roina out of immediate danger, shoved her behind the cabin’s wall and raised her sword, aiming it at the yeti.
“I’ll buy us some time, so do something in there! I don’t know, bury the thing under a mountain or whatever!!”
With that, Maili jumped to evade the yeti’s swinging palm and, in an unexpected move, latched onto its elbow.
The yeti hadn’t anticipated this. It flailed for a moment, trying to regain balance, then reached for Maili with its other hand. But Maili moved like an acrobat, using the momentum to bounce onto its shoulder, dodging and weaving in a way that threw the creature into confusion.
Thanks to her, Roina had a brief but crucial moment to concentrate.
She could try burying the yeti, but in this space, a more fundamental solution was needed. Physical force alone wouldn’t be enough to stop the giant.
Roina closed her eyes for a moment, scanning her surroundings.
With one sense shut off, the flow of mana became clearer. The song woven into the seams of this time and space—the melody of stillness, of rest…
Then, she sensed something amiss.
It was inside the cabin.
At the exact center of the barrier, something within the cabin disrupted the flow of magic.
She had to open that door.
The decision was nearly instinctive.
Roina flung the cabin door open and strode inside without hesitation.
At that moment, the yeti, which had been rampaging wildly just a moment ago, came to an abrupt halt.
“Huh? Roina, it stopped moving!”
Maili’s voice rang out from atop the yeti’s head. Roina had always thought Maili was nimble, but seeing how she moved now made her question whether a human could truly be this agile.
“Maili… Has anyone ever told you that you move like a monkey?”
“Ook-ook!” Maili, almost like an actual monkey, shrieked in protest.
Deciding that there was no need to entertain such nonsense, Roina ignored her and examined the inside of the cabin.
The interior exuded a warm and cozy atmosphere. Crackle, crackle. A small fire flickered in the fireplace set against one wall. Nearby, a rocking chair and an unfinished knitting project rested beside it.
Strangely, despite the warm spring weather outside, the fire in the hearth gave off only the perfect amount of warmth—neither too hot nor too cold.
The structure reminded her of a hunter’s lodge she had visited before, though this cabin was a bit smaller. Unlike the rough, practical space of a hunter, this home was neatly arranged, suggesting that its owner was someone domestic and meticulous. Though simple, it was far from shabby; everything was just as it needed to be.
One thing stood out—throughout the cabin, the same decorative symbol appeared in various places.
It was an intricate design, a combination of a snowflake and a crescent moon.
The largest of these ornaments sat atop a table beneath the biggest window. In front of it, a candelabrum and what looked like a scripture lay side by side.
There was also a small marble statue of a woman with braided hair, gently holding a deer as it drank water. Her figure radiated serenity, beauty, and solemn devotion.
A sacred image for prayer, perhaps.
If that were the case, then those ornaments must also be holy symbols. Could they belong to the forgotten goddess?
At some point, Maili had entered the cabin as well and was now standing just a step behind Roina, observing the scene with her.
The yeti, Luda, remained frozen in place.
Though Roina didn’t fully understand the mechanism behind it, there was no doubt that the cabin was somehow connected to whatever was holding the yeti still.
“Maili, have you seen this symbol before?”
“Hmm… yeah. It looks familiar.”
Maili narrowed her eyes slightly and examined the symbols from different angles before finally speaking.
“I think it’s exactly what I thought it was. The emblem of the forgotten goddess of the North.”
“As I expected.”
Roina nodded slowly at Maili’s confirmation.
She ran her fingers across the scripture on the prayer table.
The words were written in an ancient language—one they couldn’t read.
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