The Road to the Capital

The Road to the Capital

The journey from the village had taken them through increasingly treacherous terrain. What had started as familiar snow-covered forests had gradually transformed into something more imposing—ancient trees that seemed to watch their passage, mountains that pierced the clouds like the fangs of sleeping giants.

Ichino walked alongside Lily's carriage, preferring to stay on foot rather than ride with her and her guards. The snow crunched beneath his boots with each step, and his breath formed clouds in the frigid air. Behind his mask, he observed everything with the sharp eyes of a hunter.

Lily, however, had finally grown tired of the silence.

"Get in the carriage, idiot," she called from the window. "We need to talk."

"I'm fine walking."

"That wasn't a request."

Ichino sighed but complied, climbing into the ornate carriage. Inside, Lily sat with perfect posture, her red eyes fixed on him with an expression somewhere between annoyance and determination.

"If you're going to survive in the capital—hell, if you're going to survive the journey there—you need to understand what you've become," she said. "So listen carefully, because I'm only explaining this once."

Ichino settled into his seat, his hand instinctively resting near his blades. "I'm listening."

Lily leaned forward slightly. "Let's start with the basics. Magic. All living beings possess mana—the fundamental energy that flows through everything in this world. Plants, animals, even the stones beneath our feet contain trace amounts of it."

"And humans?" Ichino asked.

"Humans," Lily said with a hint of disdain, "are pathetic. Human mana is so weak, so diluted, that you might as well be magicless. You can't cast spells, can't manipulate elements, can't do any of the things that other races consider basic."

"Other races?"

"Elves, demons, spirits, dragons—beings whose mana is naturally strong. An elf child can conjure flames before they can walk. A demon can manipulate shadows from birth. Compared to them, humans are little more than insects."

Ichino felt a flicker of irritation but kept his voice level. "So how do humans like you use magic? You clearly can."

A smile played at Lily's lips. "Unkoi."

She let the word hang in the air for a moment before continuing.

"No one truly knows where Unkoi came from. Some say they're fragments of an ancient god that shattered eons ago. Others believe they're manifestations of the world's mana given consciousness. There are scholars who've spent entire lifetimes trying to understand their origin, and they're no closer to the truth than when they started."

"But what are they?" Ichino pressed.

"Unkoi are beings made of pure mana," Lily explained. "They exist in various forms, possess different levels of intelligence, and wield immense power. When a human kills an Unkoi, something remarkable happens—the Unkoi's essence doesn't simply disappear. It merges with the killer, binding itself to their soul."

Ichino thought of Sefa, her voice still lingering in the back of his mind like a distant echo.

"Once bound, the Unkoi's mana becomes the human's mana," Lily continued. "Suddenly, that pathetic human can perform magic on par with—or exceeding—other races. The Unkoi grants access to its power, its knowledge, and sometimes..." she looked at him pointedly, "its consciousness."

"Sefa's still in my head," Ichino confirmed. "I can hear her sometimes."

"That's because you absorbed a Supreme Unkoi—the rarest and most powerful type." Lily held up three fingers. "There are three classifications of Unkoi, ranked by intelligence and power."

She lowered one finger. "Third are Beast Unkoi. These are essentially magical animals—powerful, dangerous, but driven purely by instinct. They hunt, they kill, they feed. No different from a wild bear or wolf, except they can kill you with magical flames or lightning. Most Unkoi users have Beast Unkoi, because they're the most common and the easiest to kill."

Another finger lowered. "Second are Semi-Beast Unkoi. These are where things get interesting. They possess beastly appearances—horns, fangs, claws, tails—but they can speak, reason, and strategize like humans. Some are cunning, others are honorable, but all are formidable. They retain some of their bestial nature—territorial instincts, hunting behaviors—but they're intelligent enough to be truly dangerous."

She lowered the final finger. "And first are Supreme Unkoi. Like Sefa."

"What makes them different?"

"Supreme Unkoi can switch between human and beast forms at will," Lily said. "They're the most powerful, the most intelligent, and the most rare. There are only a handful of confirmed Supreme Unkoi in the entire world, and most of them are..."

She paused, choosing her words carefully.

"Most of them have titles. The Unkoi of Destruction, like Sefa, are a specific subset—seven Supreme Unkoi known as the Seven Stars of Blood. Each one is a walking catastrophe, capable of destroying entire cities. And you just absorbed the Third Star."

Ichino absorbed this information in silence. Inside his mind, he felt Sefa stir, as if pleased by the description.

"So what does that make me?" he asked.

"Dangerous," Lily replied bluntly. "It makes you dangerous. And a target. There are organizations, kingdoms, and individuals who hunt Unkoi users—either to steal their power or eliminate potential threats. The fact that you have a Supreme Unkoi, especially one of the Seven Stars, will paint a target on your back the size of a mountain."

"Wonderful," Ichino muttered.

"But," Lily added, "it also means you have incredible potential. Sefa's power is yours now. Her regeneration, her blood manipulation, her centuries of combat experience—it's all accessible to you. You just need to learn how to use it."

"And that's what you're going to teach me?"

"That's what I'm going to try to teach you. Whether you're capable of learning is another question entirely."

Before Ichino could respond with a retort, the carriage suddenly lurched to a stop. Shouting erupted from outside, followed by the clash of steel.

Lily's expression hardened instantly. "We're under attack."

They burst from the carriage to find chaos. Lily's guards had formed a defensive perimeter around the carriages, their swords drawn and ready. But they weren't facing bandits or wild animals.

Orcs.

At least twenty of them, each standing over seven feet tall with green skin, muscular frames, and crude but effective weapons. Their small eyes gleamed with predatory intelligence as they circled the carriage train, clearly sizing up their prey.

"Orcs this close to the capital?" Lily hissed. "That's impossible. They shouldn't be this far south."

The largest orc stepped forward, a massive battle-axe resting on his shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was a deep rumble that carried over the snow.

"Little humans. You carry nice things. Shiny armor. Pretty weapons. We take them now, yes?"

"I don't think so," Lily replied coldly, ice already forming around her hands.

The orc leader laughed—a sound like grinding stone. "Little girl thinks she can stop Grok? Grok break many humans. Grok break little girl too."

Ichino drew his blades, the familiar weight bringing him comfort. "How do you want to handle this?"

"I'll take the left flank," Lily said. "You handle the right. Try not to die."

"Same to you."

The orc leader roared, and the battle began.

Three orcs charged Ichino immediately, their weapons raised. He moved with the fluid grace of a trained hunter, his blades singing through the air. The first orc swung a crude sword at his head; Ichino ducked beneath it and slashed across the creature's midsection. Blood sprayed, and the orc staggered.

But it didn't fall.

The wound began to close almost immediately, and the orc grinned through bloodied teeth.

"Orcs have regeneration abilities," Lily shouted from across the battlefield, currently freezing two orcs solid. "You need to take their heads or destroy their hearts!"

Of course they regenerate, Ichino thought, dodging another attack.

Inside his mind, Sefa's voice emerged, sultry and amused. "Need some help, little human? I'd hate for my new host to die so quickly."

"What can you do?" Ichino thought back.

"I can do many things. But let's start simple. Focus on your hands."

Ichino barely had time to process the instruction before red energy began swirling around his blades. The blood from his enemies' wounds lifted into the air, forming crimson spirals that converged on his weapons.

"What the—"

"Blood manipulation," Sefa purred. "My specialty. Now, let's paint these walls red, shall we?"

The enhanced blade cut through the orc's neck like butter. The head tumbled to the snow, and this time, the body didn't regenerate. It simply collapsed.

"Excellent!" Sefa laughed. "Again!"

Two more orcs rushed him. Ichino moved like a dancer, his movements sharp and precise. The blood coating his blades made them impossibly sharp, cutting through flesh and bone with ease. Within moments, two more orcs lay dead.

But the orc leader, Grok, had noticed.

"You!" he bellowed, pointing his axe at Ichino. "You have magic! You not normal human!"

"I get that a lot," Ichino replied, settling into a combat stance.

Grok charged with surprising speed for something his size. His axe came down in an overhead swing that would have split Ichino in half. Instead, Ichino rolled to the side, letting the weapon bury itself in the ground.

He slashed at Grok's exposed side, but the orc leader twisted away with unexpected agility, pulling his axe free and swinging it in a wide arc. Ichino jumped back, feeling the wind from the blade pass inches from his face.

"Fast," Grok grunted. "But not fast enough!"

The orc leader began a relentless assault, each swing powerful enough to shatter stone. Ichino found himself on the defensive, dodging and parrying, looking for an opening.

"You're being too cautious," Sefa chided. "Use my power properly. The blood around you—it's a weapon. Command it."

Ichino saw the pools of blood from the fallen orcs scattered across the snow. He focused, reaching out with his newfound power.

The blood responded.

Crimson tendrils shot up from the ground, wrapping around Grok's legs. The orc leader stumbled, surprise crossing his brutish features.

"What is this?!"

"Checkmate," Ichino said.

He dashed forward, both blades positioned for a killing strike. Grok tried to defend, but bound as he was, he couldn't bring his axe to bear in time.

Ichino's blades crossed in an X-pattern, cutting through the orc's thick neck.

Grok's head fell to the snow with a heavy thud. His body swayed for a moment before collapsing.

The remaining orcs, seeing their leader dead, broke and ran. Lily's ice picked off two more before they could escape into the forest, but the rest vanished into the trees.

Silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by heavy breathing and the whisper of falling snow.

Lily approached Ichino, observing the blood still swirling around his blades. "Not bad for your first real fight as an Unkoi user."

"That was barely controlled," Ichino admitted, the blood slowly dissipating. "I could feel the power, but it was like trying to hold water with my bare hands."

"That's normal. It takes time to synchronize with your Unkoi. Weeks, sometimes months." She studied him carefully. "The fact that you could use blood manipulation at all this early is... unusual."

"Sefa helped."

"Of course she did. Supreme Unkoi are more hands-on with their hosts." Lily turned to assess her guards—three wounded, but none dead. "We were lucky. Orc raids this close to the capital suggest something is wrong. The military should be patrolling these roads."

"Maybe they are, and something's keeping them busy," Ichino suggested.

Lily's expression darkened. "That's what I'm afraid of."

They spent the next hour tending to the wounded and clearing the bodies from the road. As they worked, Ichino noticed Lily watching him with an unreadable expression.

"What?" he asked.

"You adapted quickly," she said. "Most new Unkoi users panic when they first access their power. They either can't control it at all, or they're so overwhelmed by the Unkoi's consciousness that they freeze up. You did neither."

"Should I have?"

"No. It's just... interesting." She turned away. "We should keep moving. The capital is still two days away, and I'd rather not spend another night in orc territory."

As they climbed back into the carriage and resumed their journey, Ichino found himself thinking about what Lily had said. About Unkoi, about power, about the world beyond his village.

He'd thought killing Sefa would bring closure—that avenging his brother would fill the hollow space in his chest.

Instead, he'd opened a door to something much larger. A world where humans fought with magic, where monsters existed in forms he'd never imagined, where power came at the cost of binding yourself to ancient beings of pure mana.

"Having second thoughts?" Sefa's voice whispered in his mind.

"No," Ichino replied silently. "Just... processing."

"Good. Because things are about to get much more interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"The capital," Sefa said, her tone almost eager. "It's where the real players gather. Unkoi users, political schemers, ancient monsters hiding in human skin. You'll need to be careful, little human. Many there would kill you just for the power you now possess."

"Then I'll get stronger," Ichino said firmly. "Strong enough that they can't."

Sefa laughed—a sound both beautiful and terrifying. "I knew I chose well. Very well, Ichino. Let's see how far you can go. Let's see if you can master the power of a Supreme Unkoi... or if it will consume you instead."

Outside the carriage window, the landscape continued to change. The snow-covered forests gradually gave way to rolling hills, then to farmland dotted with small villages. In the distance, barely visible through the afternoon haze, the capital city rose like a crown of stone and steel.

Ichino's journey was just beginning.

And somewhere in that massive city, forces both ancient and new were already moving, drawn by the emergence of a new Supreme Unkoi user.

The Snow Hunter was coming to the capital.

And nothing would ever be the same

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***