Chapter 98 – The Snowstorm Arrives (2)

A small and insignificant ember.

Even in that place where the leadership and the magic engineering department engaged in their own fierce competition to achieve their respective goals, crisis arrived.

The snowstorm of Eternal Magic, which swept across this continent again in half a year, was exactly that.

Whoosh—!

At first, it was a strong wind. A powerful gale dug up the snow-covered ground, announcing that something was approaching.

Next, snow—snowflakes literally as large as large bowls—poured down as a heavy snowfall. The snow that had been falling sparsely along with the strong wind began to densely fill the space in between.

In the square, by the side of the Eternal Embers, which was like a sun rising on the ground, people’s mouths began to gape wide.

“How… how can snow fall like that?”

“I do not know if it is alright to say this, but it is a wondrous and ecstatic sight. To think this is the power of nature… no, magic.”

“Wow, it’s so pretty…”

It was hard to even view them as snowflakes anymore. The density was so packed that the human eye could not distinguish the gaps between the flakes. It was more accurate to describe it as a massive wall of snow filling the void between heaven and earth, falling from above to below.

‘It’s overwhelming…’

Watching the snowstorm from below the basin surrounded by ice cliffs, I clenched my fists, which had begun to sweat.

That trembling and excitement were not solely due to fear. I had faced snowstorms many times in as well. Even if it was not the final storm called the Blizzard of Doom, smaller but non-negligible snowstorms blew in from time to time as I progressed through the acts.

However, although the snowstorms in the game were powerful, the visual effects had not been this dramatic. The standard falling snowflakes merely became slightly denser, that was all.

The reason lay probably in smooth gameplay. It was already a game boasting high-resolution graphics, and if tiny elements like snowflakes were expressed realistically, graphic cards would not be able to handle it.

So, it was no different from me witnessing what a real snowstorm was for the first time.

‘That is just a wall. I cannot even tell if it is moving…’

The level at which snow could be described as ‘falling’ had already been passed long ago. To my eyes, time in the boundless great snow outside the ember seemed to have stopped. Like a screen filled with Tetris blocks that could not be cleared.

It was indeed a terrifying and wondrous sight.

“Should we not head inside soon? Seeing the snow getting closer and closer, it seems there is not much time left.”

“Let’s watch a little longer before going in. Even if it is a disaster, when will we ever see something like this again?”

“That is true. It is a spectacular sight in many ways…”

Even until then, the people were watching the approach of the snowstorm in real time without much worry.

In any case, the blowing wind and snow vanished upon meeting the heat emitted by the Eternal Embers. Metaphorically speaking, we were viewing the disaster outside from within an formless greenhouse.

However, everyone knew that the time to watch the snow beyond the greenhouse was drawing to a close. Although the snowstorm was still not visible, they could see the snow gradually approaching as the area covered by the Eternal Embers’ heat narrowed.

The so-called stalemate zone, where snow and heat neither advanced nor retreated. The narrowing of that canceling boundary meant that a snowstorm powerful enough to push back the heat was approaching.

It was just when a sense of dread crept in as the sphere of influence of the Eternal Embers narrowed.

“Citizens, please enter the shelters now! Five hundred people to each designated area, as previously announced by the Propaganda Department. You may move to the Leadership, Magic Engineering Department, and Hunting Squad Headquarters!”

Yan, who had climbed onto a platform made of wooden planks, began to shout at the top of his lungs. He was trying to send the people back to the shelters before their morale was crushed by the overwhelming majesty of the snowstorm.

Although he was a guy I disliked, as a leader, it was a wise decision.

“The personnel composition is tailored to the resource consumption rate of each shelter and the essential personnel for each occupational group, so even if you must temporarily part with family, friends, or lovers, you must move to the designated places! Only then will there be no setback in the survival plan. Since it is a matter of life and death, please follow this strictly!”

Yan and the leadership controlled the people in an orderly manner, repeatedly telling them to go to the designated shelters.

The people did not complain, even as they promised a reunion with their loved ones that might be at least a month or two away. Their trust in Yan and the leadership was still firm, and there was a reasonable cause for their handling of matters.

“Lord Aylen, are you not going in? I believe you are assigned to the same Hunting Squad Headquarters shelter as us.”

“Go in first. I will enter last.”

Together with that leadership, I was checking the headcount in front of the Hunting Squad Headquarters, letting people inside.

I was not already acting like a leader just because I was controlling the crowd. It was because Yan and the leadership had appointed me as the ‘Director of the Hunting Squad Headquarters Shelter.’

‘Entrusting such a role to me, his competitor… I cannot tell what his scheme is at all.’

While checking the list and letting people in, I stared at Yan over by the leadership building.

Even in this situation, he did not lose his smile, shaking hands with each citizen to encourage them. He was indeed the model of a true leader.

However, knowing his true nature, I found every single one of his actions disgusting. That act of being a man of character would not last for even a few months.

Although I could not specify when, I knew the day he would reveal his true colors was not far off.

In the square, now empty after everyone had entered the shelters, right in the middle of the fierce battle between the snowstorm and the heat of the Eternal Embers to push each other away.

“…”

“…”

Before closing the doors, our gazes tangled in the air. We did not show any expression to each other. However.

‘Now the end is drawing near.’

Staring at that expressionless face while wearing an expressionless face myself, I had that thought, and I felt certain that I was not the only one thinking so.

On the day the snowstorm ended, everything would be changed.

* * *

Creak, thud!

The heavy main door of the leadership closed, a loud noise echoing inside. Yan had come in, closing the door last as the director of the leadership shelter.

With his hand still holding the closed doorknob, Yan glared.

‘Arrogant bastards… this snowstorm period will indeed be your funeral. I will tear your bodies to shreds so no trace can be found, and throw you as wolf food!’

In fact, he was half out of his mind. Though Yan was a brilliant politician who was rational in everything, he could not help it because there was a sign of this tedious fight over the ember’s power being extended once again.

If it were up to him, he would have gone over with a mana gun right away to end the fight. He was sick of acting like a man of character that did not suit him. He wanted to climb to the position of absolute ruler as soon as possible and seize absolute power.

‘I must be the leader. That is the only way everyone can live.’

The first time he had such a thought was a pure yet toxic desire to protect the ember and his loved ones. Before settling in this ember, he had a past where he lost both his young daughter and his wife due to the incompetence of the previous ember’s leader.

Yan, who had been a soldier, experienced at that time the truth of the saying, ‘There is nothing more terrifying in war than an incompetent superior.’

Since then, he made up his mind to become a leader. That incident was also the trigger for his belief that he had to hold absolute power. So that the unfortunate past of the ember’s defeat due to an incompetent leader would not repeat itself.

At that time, he led the three hundred survivors on a long journey. The ember where they settled was this very place; though smaller than their previous ember, it had a solid foundation, and there he rose to success by awakening a leadership talent he did not know he had.

Even the citizens from the previous ember had become his enthusiastic supporters. Seeing them happy due to his choices and outcomes, Yan had also felt a sense of pride.

However, there is a saying that even rivers and mountains change in ten years.

‘I cannot lose anything to the back-seat driving of other retarded bastards. I alone must run the ember, only me…’

Without realizing it, Yan had changed. From a leader who used power as a means to protect the ember, to a filthy and dirty leader for whom power had become the end.

He did not admit to himself that he had changed. Because if he admitted that fact, he would be no different from the incompetent leader who drove the ember and his family to death.

However, since he possessed leadership and political ability incomparable to that foolish leader, it was not difficult to rationalize that ‘I am allowed to do this.’

As time flowed on in that way, Yan had lost his original purpose and become a monster that only coveted power.

The only ones who did not know that fact… no, did not admit it, were himself and his close associates.

“Lord Yan, the citizens are anxious.”

“…Nikolai.”

Yan, who was lost in thought, raised his head abruptly. Turning his gaze back, hundreds of pairs of eyes staring only at him with anxious faces came into view.

“Lord Yan, is there something wrong? You look pale.”

“Is it not because you have been unable to sleep at all lately? Now that the snowstorm has arrived, please catch some sleep, Leader.”

“If there is any worry, please tell us at any time. The ember is led together, not alone.”

“…!”

Yan felt emotions welling up inside him. This was because he thought his appearance had amplified the citizens’ anxiety about the snowstorm. However, they were simply worried about Yan, whose complexion was poor.

“Everyone…”

Yan’s voice, soaked in emotion, trembled pathetically. Amidst the unconditional support and encouragement of the citizens, he recalled the value he had forgotten for a long time: family.

However.

‘How can I entrust these precious things to someone else’s hands…!’

It had been twenty years since he became a leader. Having grown greedy over the long years, he was already twisted to the core. Reflecting now and changing his mind was an impossible task.

‘…I have already crossed a point of no return.’

He had committed things that should not have been done to protect his position. Even if he changed his mind, the past could not be changed, so all that was left for him was to move forward.

“Then everyone, please listen to my words. Today, in this place, I wish to announce a significant fact and make the final decision to set our lives and the fate of the ember right.”

Thus, in a quiet and solemn atmosphere, Yan’s speech began.

It was the moment a storm incomparable to the snowstorm, one that even the Eternal Embers could not pacify, swept over the ember.