Chapter 91: Nameless Veil
But through this, hunters realized something. When fighting a spirit colony that has a spirit king, all you need to do is exterminate the spirit king alone.
"This is an opportunity!"
"An opportunity, huh..."
"Yes! Right now, with you having destroyed nearly all the Frost Crown Stones, is the one and only chance we’ll have to exterminate the spirit king."
If they dragged their feet here and the spirit king were to grow completely, then they’d end up in a situation where they couldn’t exterminate it even if they wanted to.
So the only chance was now.
But Walfred didn’t carelessly join in with Margaret’s argument, and kept silent.
"..."
The reason was simple.
He had no reason to go out of his way and risk danger to take part in a spirit king extermination. Just as he was quietly drawing a line in his mind.
"Don’t worry."
"...Yes?"
"I have no intention of asking you to fight the spirit king alongside us."
Had she read what was on his mind?
Margaret said it with a smile.
"Instead, I’ll ask just one thing of you."
"And that would be...?"
"I’d like you to clear a path so that we can approach the spirit king."
The spot estimated to be where the spirit king would be born was the liberated gate in front of West Philadelphia Station. From here, it was about two miles to the gate entrance.
And that path was swarming with thousands of frost spirits.
To break through all of them, they’d be exhausted before they even reached the spirit king.
Walfred, on the other hand, was different.
"With that skill of yours."
He didn’t get attacked by the frost spirits.
Margaret knew this fact well too, which was why she’d made such a request. Having grasped her intent, Walfred answered with a sigh.
"My skill only works on me and Elsa."
[Frost Resonance] only applied to beings connected to the Blessing of the Frost Dragon. So it had no effect on Margaret, who hadn’t received the blessing.
"So I can’t grant your request..."
"It’s all right."
Before Walfred could even finish.
Margaret smiled brightly. Then she pulled something like a thin blanket out of a large backpack.
"Because I have this."
"What is that?"
"It’s a tool that erases your appearance and presence."
She handed it to Walfred.
The moment he reflexively took the tool, its detailed effect unfolded before his eyes.
-----
[Name]: Nameless Veil
[Rank]: Rare
[Special Skill]: Wide-area Concealment
[Everyone draped under the veil has their appearance and presence erased, entering a temporary concealment state.]
[While concealed, you won’t be perceived by ordinary monsters of B-rank and below. However, if a monster enters the threshold range, the concealment state is lifted.]
[Threshold range]: 10-foot radius
-----
"As you can see, as long as we keep a 10-foot gap, we won’t be detected by the spirits."
A single remark laced with strong conviction.
Margaret promptly bowed her head.
"So I’m asking you, please."
She stressed it again and again.
That she had absolutely no intention of dragging Walfred into the fight with the spirit king, and that if he just cleared a path 10 feet wide, she wouldn’t ask for anything more than that.
Walfred mulled over the request.
’I was originally planning to slip away quietly, though...’
Because he didn’t want to get tangled up with a powerful foe like a spirit king.
But as he kept listening to the story, his resolve started to waver.
Three A-rank hunters.
A spirit king that hadn’t become an adult.
And on top of that, the fact that exterminating just the spirit king would make every spirit vanish like smoke.
’Like Margaret says, maybe the chance to exterminate the spirit king really is only now.’
And besides, if he left like this and this shelter ended up wiped out?
It would just leave a bad taste in his mouth for no good reason.
’And besides, if I exterminate the spirit king...’
The Frost Crown Stone in front of West Philadelphia Station plaza.
He could snatch up the snow made of pure mana stored inside it too. After a long stretch of deliberation, Walfred soon nodded with a sigh.
"I’ll only open the path."
"...!"
"The fighting is up to you all."
"Yes! That’s all we need."
Margaret’s expression brightened sharply.
She grabbed both of Walfred’s hands and expressed her heartfelt thanks.
"Thank you. Really, thank you so much!"
With that passionate word of thanks as the close.
Walfred talked with Margaret a bit more.
Once they’d finished saying everything they needed to, Margaret bowed her head once more and said:
"Then I’ll flesh out the extermination plan by daybreak and contact you again."
"Contact me?"
How would you know where I am?
When Walfred tilted his head, Margaret gave a meaningful smile.
"It’s possible as long as you’re inside Philadelphia Station."
It seemed she had some means of contacting him limited to the space of Philadelphia Station. Walfred nodded and then rose from his seat.
"Oh! And they say the search for Erica is nearly finished too. They just need the reports to come in from each shelter, so please wait just a little longer."
"Understood."
He answered that way, but he didn’t have high hopes.
If she hadn’t been found by now, there was a good chance she wasn’t here. After that, Walfred left the shelter entrance with Elsa and headed aboveground.
And.
Whooooosh!
The moment he stepped aboveground, a powerful blizzard greeted Walfred. Of all the blizzards he’d encountered on the way to Philadelphia Station, this was far and away the most intense.
’At this level it feels almost like the blizzard I went through at the White Dome...’
As he was thinking that.
Elsa’s voice broke through his thoughts.
"Daddy. Look over there!"
"Hmm?"
"The sky looks super weird!"
The spot Elsa pointed to was in the direction of West Philadelphia Station.
At that, Walfred reflexively turned his gaze and looked at the sky. And his eyes went wide.
"The sky is..."
It was grotesquely warped.
Dark blue storm clouds swirled and coiled, and within them, blue flashes reminiscent of lightning glinted one after another.
It was a sight that seemed to announce that the spirit king’s birth was imminent. Standing in the fierce blizzard, Walfred gazed at that eerie sight for a long while.