Chapter 567: The Red Mist [PART 1]
The entire landscape panned out before them as they moved forward. Compared to before where everywhere was simple to navigate, things became a bit more complicated than that.
Their boots sloshed against a thin, murky film of water that clung to the ground, slippery as oil.
Step by step, the water rose, creeping up their ankles, then their shins, clinging with a cold grip that seeped through leather and cloth.
Each of their steps sank deeper, pulling harder as if the ground wanted to hold them there. Northern, noticing what a toll this simple transportation was costing everyone, glanced at Ryan. A sly grin broke through the strain on his face. His eyes glinted, a challenge in their depths.
A wordless exchange passed between them, one that needed no explanation.
Ryan's brow furrowed, his jaw clenched-he knew what Northern was asking of him, even if he wasn't thrilled by it.
Ryan let out a sharp sigh, more an acknowledgment of the request than any willingness to comply.
He faced the team, his voice low and calm, the tone of someone who knew his role in this unspoken game.
"Jump," he ordered, glancing at Northern one last time.
Although several of them seemed puzzled by the sudden request, they all complied. They all bent their knees and leapt, bodies suspended briefly above the murky ground. As they rose, Ryan's hands shot forward, his fingers splaying in a swift, precise motion. In an instant, the slick, shifting water beneath them began to crystallize, a web of frost stretching outward from Ryan's touch.
Ice snapped and spread across the surface, turning dark and solid. By the time they landed, their boots met a frozen, glistening pathway, sturdy and secure.
Northern's grin widened.
Lieutenant Dante, watching from behind, arched an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He hadn't expected that from the boy.
This level of control, the seamless way he froze the path without a single word exchanged... Dante's gaze lingered on Ryan, a glimmer of something fierce and covetous lighting his eyes. He had not even looked at Ryan before now. Of course, he had perceived his strength and the fact that despite looking so young, he was a Master.
But seeing the boy's ability like this made him covet. However, there was still no one he wanted more than he wanted Northern.
If Northern was on his side, he would be able to surely go through with his plan of dominating the Central Plains.
But obtaining such a blessing was difficult; he could tell without having to look deeper.
The deep light that burned in Northern's eyes, they resonated equally with his, and he could tell, those were the eyes of a child born to dominate.
He didn't believe in destinies and things like someone's fate being written down from the beginning.
But he does believe in rarity.
There are some kinds of people that are born into this world; they are born with a kind of eyes that many seek but never find.
Resolve. Determination. Reason. Conviction.
The ones that don't need such feeble concepts to back up actions or pursue a goal.
The ones that despite not being resolved enough. Not determined enough. Not reasonable enough. No conviction at all, still do it.
Just because they want to.
Those were the kind of people that were more difficult to obtain.
Because if they never want something, nothing will make them submit.
Fear, bribery, happiness, love, if they don't want to do it. All that is useless.
That is the kind of person Dante has considered himself to be. And honestly, that is the kind of person he has always sought.
Those who neither resolve nor reason could move, those who bend to nothing but their own will-these were the rarest and most dangerous.
And for the second time, Dante had encountered one he could never possess.
He clicked his tongue in irritation, staring down at the ground of sturdy ice as they trekked.
'I guess I can do it with him too,' he thought as they moved forward.
After a while of trekking, the entire cohort began to notice something-a red fog slowly clouded their view.
The only thing about the fog was that they had not even caught wind of it, not at one point exactly it fully saturated the air.
Well, except one person. Who looked like he was enjoying the show.
The fog didn't simply obscure their sight; it crept along the ground like a living thing,
twisting and swirling around their legs as if testing the weight of their steps.
The crimson haze thickened, turning the air sharp and metallic, a biting scent that stung their
nostrils.
The path beneath them seemed to shudder with every step they took.
Dante slowed his pace, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the surroundings.
He could feel it—a subtle pulsing beneath the surface of the ice.
This was no ordinary fog; it was something more insidious, something alive, as though the
land itself resisted their presence.
Ryan, still recovering from his recent exertion, clenched his fists, his breathing slightly
heavier.
He stole a glance at Northern, whose gaze was fixed forward, sharp and unyielding.
They both felt it—the unnatural pressure closing in, tightening around them like an invisible -cage.
"Everyone, stay close," Dante ordered, his voice carrying a rare edge of concern. "Keep your pace steady. Don't stray."
But even as he spoke, tendrils of red mist began seeping up from the ground, wrapping around ankles, slipping under armor, cold and damp as death itself.
A shiver ran down Ryan's spine, his instincts screaming that this was more than just fog. It
was an omen, a warning.
Northern paused and narrowed his eyes and brought his hand to touch his face.
His skin was becoming pale; it was already naturally pale but suddenly seemed to be becoming more pale, like he was freezing, cracks began to appear.
But instantaneously he felt a ridiculous amount of blood surge towards his face, then the cracks in his skin began to meld together and become whole, the color also getting a bit
warmer.
His face was the only exposed area of his body and was the only part that was affected. And the effect of Chaotic Regeneration was so instantaneous that he almost didn't feel anything
wrong.
Hence, he missed it for that second. However, his thoughts dwelled on it.
Cautiously, they tried to move, then Northern's eyes somehow drifted to the others, Shane in
particular.
He glanced at her back and saw the same thing happening on the exposed skin of her neck.
A dark frown immediately settled on his face.
"Everyone stop."
They all stopped and turned to look at Northern. That was when his eyes widened.
Everyone, aside from he, Ryan, and Lieutenant Dante, had their faces cracked and didn't even
seem to be aware of it.
When they managed to turn was when the Lieutenant looked at Shane and realized. He
glanced over to Rafel, the same thing.
Hansel was wearing a full face helmet, only his eyes could be seen.
Alystren, Shin, even Jeci and Lynus, all their faces were broken with cracks.
"Oh shit... we are under attack," the Lieutenant's voice reverberated.