By Zephyria 
Sharp cliffs, as if chiseled by frost, split the sky and stood tall.
Everyone drew their swords, but that was all. They blankly watched the Jiangshi climbing the canyon ridge stumble and fall over each other. Roaring sounds echoed and flowed down the cliffs.
The Jiangshi weren’t falling on their own. They were being attacked. Dozens of Gray wolves, each as massive as a water buffalo, were pushing the Jiangshi with their heads and bodies, rolling them down, down into the canyon.
The Orc Jiangshi didn’t target the wolves. They just kept crawling up, up. Then they would fall, and crawl up again… It was a tragic sight.
The wolves, panting with their tongues out, watched us warily but didn’t stop what they were doing.
Leon sighed, exhaling.
“…They’re here. The Gray wolf tribe…”
“Is the Indus Canyon their original home?”
“No, no… that’s not it. Of course, they occupy an Oasis near the canyon and linger around it, but they wouldn’t have come this deep. This is an area where scorpions are abundant…”
Were these wolves aware that the Orcs were targeting us and acting this way? Perhaps they remembered how they were cared for and wanted to stop them somehow.
The Corpse Odor emitted by Jiangshi is terrible. Even beasts must know they are already dead and fallen, yet watching the wolves run around, their fur soaked with sweat, I was at a loss for how to intervene. I didn’t want to cut down all those Orcs in front of the wolves…
Then, my eyes met with one wolf that was looking our way. One, two, three, four… more and more of them began to notice us.
No matter how much they were beasts, each one was enormous. I remembered the ones that tried to carry off Damian when I was young, and I couldn’t just stand by. Even if I felt pity, what could be done? I decided that if they attacked, I would have to cut them down. Just then.
Awooo-.
Led by the roar of a large one, the others followed suit. The beasts’ cries bounced off the dark cliffs, echoing back multiple times. They cried mournfully, like wails of grief.
The wolves pushing the Orcs one by one stopped their movements.
Then, the Orc Jiangshi began to crawl towards us with all their might. Should we cut them down? As I hesitated, Leon, who was at the front, kicked the chest of an Orc Jiangshi, just as the wolves had done, and sent it rolling down.
Then, the wolves blocked the path between the Jiangshi and our group with their bodies. They barked as if to say, “Don’t.” So, we lowered our weapons again. One wolf cautiously approached us and then turned its back. Seeing its tail sway gently, I felt as if I were under a spell.
“…They’re telling us to follow?”
“Should we… fall for this?”
“Sigh. Let’s go. We still need to find out where the Black magician’s lair is, after all.”
The wolves leaped across the cliffs like mountain goats.
There were hardly any places to step on the sharp cliffs and crevices. No matter how many times we crossed, the wolves led the way without slipping. They stepped on solid footholds amidst the soft walls, traversing cliffs that were not even paths. With no light in the sky, it was also a task to help the other children from slipping.
After crossing two ridges like that, our view opened up.
“…Sob.”
A crying sound was heard. Was it Ann, or Marianne? Or perhaps John or Peter. A sob, higher pitched than usual, was filled with human sympathy. I too stood there blankly, gazing at the scene unfolding before me.
The Orc Jiangshi, crawling and rising to attack us, and the wolves, barking incessantly with ropes, likely used by the Orcs in their lives, haphazardly draped around their shoulders and thighs, disturbed the peace.
The wolf that brought us here dropped a bundle of rope in front of me.
Tie them up.
They wanted us to tie them up.
What must those without hands have felt, watching their master stare blankly and act foolishly? The wolves, who hadn’t learned to bury the living dead in their hearts, overlapped with my past self. I muttered with a sense of futility.
“Don’t you know? They can’t come back.”
“Kiying.”
“What’s the point of keeping them tied up here for long? The dead are dead, and the living must live.”
“Kying.”
We were identical to the Orcs, except for the fact that we had hands.
How intelligent they were. The wolves had found the right people to do what they wanted.
An ordinary Human would not be able to tie up Jiangshi and preserve them. We were Sword Masters who could easily kill Jiangshi… and we possessed hands that could tie up the Orc Jiangshi, even if only for a while, as they wished.
Every sigh was so poignant and heart-wrenching.
Instead of dismembering the Orc Jiangshi, we bound them together, back to back. We tied them to nearby trees, or to large rocks. As we tightly bound their struggling limbs to prevent movement, several wolves rubbed against the Jiangshi.
The Orcs, even so… they must have cherished these wolves greatly in their lives.
I was reminded anew of the monsters I had cut down. Marianne, who had been helping to untangle the ropes, as it was dangerous to get close to the Jiangshi, chattered.
“There’s a reason why magic that uses monster corpses, regardless of efficiency, is looked down upon as Black Magic.”
“…”
“I can’t bear it because it’s heartbreaking. It would have been better to kill them cleanly, what is this?”
“…”
I didn’t reply. But Marianne didn’t stop chirping like a lark.
“Seeing things like this… it reminds me of the wizards who argued for coexistence with monsters.”
“…”
“After the work is done, ask them to tidy up the Magic territory a bit more, and as long as we don’t interfere with each other… it would be fine to just live without knowing each other. Can’t we ask for that much in exchange for letting a god sleep?”
“…”
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“Mmm.”
Ruben answered for me.
“The Sun God… was said to be able to use the power of Purification. Asking for a few Orcs won’t be difficult. Even if they are already dead… if they can find peace.”
“We could also beg the God of Oasis. After all, that god likes monsters.”
“Yes. That god treated Jiangshi as living monsters…”
No one complained, even though they were dragged along and forced to do useless work.
My back ached after tying up all the struggling ones. I was contemplating whether the ones we had rolled down the cliff earlier could be brought here, or if these wolves had only brought the smaller ones, when suddenly.
CRUNCH!
Simultaneously with the sound of rotten wood breaking, Peter swiftly drew his sword.
But there was nothing to cut down. As the bound Orc Jiangshi lunged, a wolf pinned it down and stopped it. Seeing the wolf lick the struggling Orc Jiangshi’s cheeks and neck, cradling it like its own offspring, I was dumbfounded.
Peter slowly picked up the rope again.
“When you write your autobiography later, you must include this with tear stains. ‘Peter was brave and kind. He was a thoughtful man who could pity even a dead Orc.'”
I heard him sniffle. I sighed, finding the timid children so endearing and precious.
* * *
After all the work was done, the sky was still as dark and desolate as it had been at first.
We ate a simple meal amidst the struggling Jiangshi who tried to attack us, and while looking at the backs of the wolves circling us. We chewed slowly on dry bread with cheese and jerky, and a few pieces of candied fruit, leaning on each other for rest.
Naturally, the wolves couldn’t communicate with us.
When we asked if they knew the Black magicians’ lair, they brought only bundles of rope, as if they wanted to tie up other Orcs like this.
But we couldn’t spend another day indulging in pity when we didn’t know what might be happening in the Sierran Empire. Shaking our heads in refusal, we watched the whimpering wolves crouch down, their sight lingering in our minds.
The absence of Sylphs is so profound.
It was said that Sylphs who had completed their contracts could also venture into others’ territories. As soon as we left this land, I decided I must first learn how to form formal contracts with Spirits. When I subtly inquired, Marianne said she was also preparing her share of materials, so I planned to tag along.
It was when I was staring blankly at the dark sky and the struggling Jiangshi.
“What is that person doing… over there?”
“…Communing with a wolf?”
At Leon and Marianne’s astonished voices, I lowered my gaze. As my eyes fell upon Elvin Brooks’s high-raised posterior, crouched and growling, scratching the ground while facing a wolf, Ruben covered my eyes with his hand.
“…What…?”
“Ah, sorry. I… I did it without thinking too.”
Why was he covering my eyes when that guy was doing something crazy?
Just as my bewildered heart reached its peak and I was about to say something. Elvin Brooks stood up, brushed himself off, and let out a sharp whistle. Hugh Benson, who was watching the scene with a dumbfounded expression like mine, suddenly scowled.
“…You found it?”
“Mmm.”
“…Found what, exactly?”
Giselle, who had forgotten how to speak respectfully, asked with exhaustion. I saw Elvin Brooks wear such a confident and proud expression for the first time. He puffed out his chest with dignity, nodded his head, and said with emphasis.
“The Black magician’s nest.”
“…Ah.”
The occasional growls of the Orc Jiangshi broke the silence.
According to Hugh Benson’s interpretation, Elvin thought the wolves would know the location where their companions had all become strange. So, he asked the wolves about places that were frightening, places to be avoided.
The most dangerous place. A terrible place he never wanted to imagine again.
He pleaded with them to guide him there and received an answer. It was hard to tell whether the wolves were intelligent or if Elvin was beast-like. I just stared blankly, and when he suggested resting and then setting off, I nodded.
However, something remained utterly incomprehensible.
“…Why did you cover my eyes?”
“…”
Ruben could not answer until the end. Seeing that he himself seemed distressed, not knowing what he had done, I decided to let it go. I couldn’t press further, if only to avoid the embarrassment of seeing them laugh with bitten tongues. I swallowed hollow breaths all night, dumbfounded.