Chapter 90

Even Russel, with his good hearing, said he couldn't hear Max's voice.

This meant it was a voice only Jonas could hear.

The fable leading to the birth of 'The Giant Wandering Through Blizzards' was enticing Jonas.

After calming the anxious Jonas, Russel and he held a quick emergency meeting.

"Are you really going to follow him?"

"If we can go and save Max, I'd like to do that."

"There's no guarantee that will happen, is there?"

"Doing something and failing is different from assuming failure without trying."

"You could be in danger!"

"You're bringing this up now? I've lived in danger every day since I was born."

Looking at Russel, a good idea came to mind.

After taking a deep breath, he explained point by point to Russel.

"Think about it, if I don't even try to find a child's father while I'm trying to build the northern grand temple, would the temple have any meaning? The temple is important, of course. But sometimes God..."

"Yes, God commands us to bestow love and mercy upon our neighbors. Your Grace is right. I was so focused on material things that I failed to practice true neighborly love."

Russel put his hands together in front of his chest and offered a prayer.

It was fortunate that this fellow was still suffering from paranoia.

But when would the paranoia be cured?

"Yes, yes. Love thy neighbor, love thy country. So, no more objections? Let's also take the weapons we brought, just in case."

"Yes!"

Russel answered firmly.

After getting Russel sorted out, he went over to Jonas, who was staring into the distance, and spoke to him.

"Jonas, what do you want to do? Do you want to go?"

Jonas turned his head for a moment, then grabbed his hand and wrote.

-I want to go if I can. But would it be dangerous? Is Dad really there?

"It could be, or it might not be. There's still much undiscovered about this mountain."

-What if this voice isn't Dad?

"Then we quickly run away. Isn't that why we have two legs?"

-Will you go with me?

"Of course."

The questions asked by the child, who would have been no more than an upper elementary school student in Korea, were all careful.

As soon as he answered, Jonas jumped off the sled, found his direction, and then followed Jonas who was walking quickly after waving as if to say "come quickly."

The path, which had been gentle until now, became increasingly steep.

Jonas's steps, far from tiring, only grew faster, to the point where there was a risk of him falling behind.

Jonas, walking effortlessly up the snow-covered slope ahead, seemed like someone possessed by a ghost.

After walking until they were out of breath, they finally reached a place suitable for rest.

A small, flat piece of land that could serve as a resting place halfway up the mountain.

And in the middle of it,

"...Max!"

The person Jonas had been desperately searching for was lying unconscious.

As soon as Russel saw him collapsed, he ran over to check if he was conscious.

After checking his eyes and breath, he sighed with relief.

"He just seems to have lost consciousness. That's fortunate."

"Does everything else seem okay?"

"His pulse is also normal. Having fainted in this cold weather, it's a blessing he didn't freeze to death. God must have watched over him."

As soon as Jonas heard Russel's confirmation, he burst into tears again and clung to the unconscious Max.

As his wet face pressed against Max, a faint groan escaped from Max's mouth.

"Ugh..."

"Are you coming to, Brother Max? Do you recognize who I am?"

"Ah, Sir Knight... And... where on earth am I...?"

"It's alright. You're safe now. Can you get up?"

Max looked fine except for some snow clinging to him here and there.

He looked around somewhat disoriented, then saw Jonas crying above him and burst into laughter.

"How many times have I told you men don't cry? Are you still crying? Stop it, stop."

But Jonas showed no sign of stopping his tears.

Eventually, Max got up with Russel's support.

When Max embraced Jonas, Jonas's sniffling grew louder.

"This kid, stop crying. Did you two deliberately bring my son all the way here?"

"Jonas found you. You were covered in snow and hard to see, but he spotted you right away."

"Thank you. But why I'm here... Ugh!"

Max suddenly let out a short groan and staggered as if about to collapse.

Russel quickly caught Max.

"Be careful, Brother. You might have hit your head. Do you remember anything?"

"Sir Knight said he was going to gather firewood, so I went out to find branches while doing reconnaissance. But it seemed to take too long, so I was trying to hurry back."

Max's hazy eyes blinked.

"Jonas... I saw my son. And in front of him... something, I don't remember clearly... but I thought I had to save Jonas, so I jumped in..."

He didn't seem to have clear memories apart from encountering something.

It could be a matter of mental strength, or it could really be because he hit his head.

But now that they had rescued him, getting off the mountain was most urgent.

"We'll talk about it later. First, we need to go down the mountain. We should take the sled and go around the foot of the mountain."

"What? Oh, yes..."

Max, who seemed puzzled at the sudden mention of going down the mountain, slowly stood up, leaning on Russel.

But before he could take a few steps, Max muttered.

"I woke up feeling cold and completely drained of energy."

"Once we get to the sled, there will be something to fill your stomach."

"My head feels dizzy, am I injured somewhere?"

"I don't know that either. It could be a concussion."

"Is that so...? Did I just mention that I was hungry?"

"You just said that-"

It was as he turned to look at Max.

He staggered and then tightly embraced Jonas, who was beside him.

It was as if he wanted to hug a child he hadn't seen for a while, but something was wrong.

A squelching sound.

The sound of something tough and sticky being torn away.

Jonas's eyes, filled with shock and pain.

Red marks that inevitably fell on the white snow.

Max's face, covered in blood.

Before he could say anything, Russel pushed Max away and took Jonas.

"What are you doing!"

"N-no, this isn't, this is."

Max stammered.

Still, his red hands would never turn white again.

Jonas was in Russel's arms, but a terrible gurgling sound came from the child's torn throat.

Max stretched out both hands pleadingly to Russel.

"It's not, really not! I didn't mean to do it. Give me back my child. Please, please."

"Who are you!"

"I'm Max, Max! I'm his father. It's all a misunderstanding, I didn't do it. I was just, so hungry, just hungry!"

Russel backed away, protecting him and Jonas.

Max could only watch them from where he stood, unable to move.

The tears flowing down his face turned to ice and fell.

"I, really I didn't..."

"Step back. I'll cut you if you come closer."

Jonas stirred in Russel's arms.

Eyes that couldn't focus properly wandered between them and then moved to the other side.

Max was standing there.

As if he had something to convey to him, Jonas's lips twitched.

But that was all.

Jonas let his hands drop lifelessly.

The blood that had been pouring from his neck almost to overflowing no longer flowed.

Max was watching all of this.

"Ah, aaah, aaaaaaah!!"

The north wind blew.

It was a fierce storm unlike anything before, as if it could uproot the entire mountain.

He rolled in the snow, pushed by the wind.

Even Russel was barely holding on while supporting Jonas's body, but was gradually being pushed back.

Max's desperate screams seeped into the wind, and frozen snow whirled.

"No, no, it can't be, no!"

"Max, please come to your senses!"

"Jonas, Jonas! He's my son, it wasn't me, it wasn't!"

A pair of gleaming stars rose beyond the grayish-white sky.

Though he knew what this sign meant, he simply couldn't look away.

Max's shouts, the painful screams once heard mixed with the wind.

Max's feet were slowly rising.

"Max! Max!!"

"No, no, this can't be happening. If this isn't a dream, then just kill me, please kill me!"

The stars that had risen above Max, who was tearing at his own chest, were looking down on this entire scene.

Max's screams abruptly stopped.

He was floating in the air like a sacrificial offering on an altar.

Hands made of ice and icicles were draped over his body.

In that moment, the movement of the air changed.

Max looked up at the sky with a face full of terror, awe, and confusion.

It was then that he realized.

When a formless divinity seeks to descend to earth under the guise of an evil spirit, it always seeks a physical avatar,

The story of 'The Giant Wandering Through Blizzards' was a tale of the sacrifice of those who had such bodies.

"No!"

Screams that seemed to tear his vocal cords started again.

Large antlers sprouted anew, crushing his head.

Below, snow crystals adhered themselves to form a robust, unbreakable skeleton.

Hooves like those of a goat burst through the soles of his feet, spraying blood,

And from within his mouth, which was continuously letting out pain-filled screams, a new head raised itself, breaking the jaw.

Snow, ice, and wind were blessing the birth of a god.

There was no one who could escape this surreal and cruel spectacle.

Max, used as the material to manifest the god he had conceived.

Even his teeth, his cellular tissues were rearranged, twisted, and transformed.

The last to remain were his eyes.

Those kind eyes that had always looked at his son and told him he loved him were now looking at Jonas in Russel's arms.

As a final tear fell as a human, mistletoe branches sprouted in that place.

The giant stretched its body, which had been crouched.

It truly seemed as if it would reach the sky.

Eyes like blazing Mars with fire dripping.

Long fur, swollen and flapping like ropes.

A body covered in white skin with a blue tinge.

'The Giant Wandering Through Blizzards', once human, had forgotten everything—love, those who were precious to him.

It had become a beast bearing only unremembered guilt and pain.