Chapter 656
Episode 166: Traces on the Caldaran Snowfield (3)

Jin’s hand trembled slightly as he clutched the red hair. Holding the strands close to his chest, he stepped deeper into the cave.

Outside, Zephyrin’s area was gradually being secured. The knights assigned to her lacked the anti-air capabilities to face a dragon of Zephyrin’s caliber.

“Hmph, that damn demon dragon is tough, no doubt. Looks like it’s almost over. If things go well, Heddo might even lose.”

“It’s not over yet, Sandra Ziphl.”

“Oh? It looks like you’ve wrapped things up.”

“Reinforcements are on their way.”

Sandra tilted her head in confusion, glancing at Heddo.

“What do you mean? The Twelve Riders?”

“Focus for a moment, Tower Keeper. At first, I thought the spiritual energy was only concentrated near the cave, but as soon as the battle began, I started sensing faint traces of other energies from far away.”

Closing his eyes briefly to sharpen his senses, Heddo’s expression quickly shifted to surprise.

Even to him, the new energy was barely perceptible—like spotting a tiny insect hidden in the grass. It was so subtle that unless he was certain it existed, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all, especially amid the blizzard on the Caldaran snowfield.

“You’re saying you sensed this without focusing harder?”

“For some time now, I’ve been unusually sensitive to spiritual energy. It’s not just one place—it’s gathering from all around the snowfield. They’ll probably arrive here within the hour. And more reinforcements will follow behind them.”

If the spiritual energy was faintly detectable from over an hour away, the force they’d face up close would be enormous.

“Tower Keeper, can you inform Zephyrin about the situation?”

Sandra’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the request.

“Go quickly, and come back as late as possible.”

As soon as Heddo left, Sandra was left alone in the cave with Jin, and the thrill nearly overwhelmed her.

What’s more, Jin was walking very slowly.

Of course, that was because he wanted to examine the cave thoroughly, especially since Valeria had disappeared here. But Sandra chose not to think about it that way.

“Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve walked alone with you like this. It’s so nice…”

Jin was so focused on observing the cave that he didn’t even hear her. After chatting for a while, Sandra grabbed his shoulder.

“Jin, is that person very important to you?”

“Yes. That’s an obvious question all of a sudden.”

“That hair might not even belong to her. So don’t get too anxious.”

“This is definitely the hair of the person we’re looking for.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s a rare color.”

Of course, Valeria wasn’t the only person in the world with red hair.

But Jin recognized it as hers with absolute certainty—something beyond words.

“If I get kidnapped somewhere next time, you’ll come looking for me like this, right?”

“That depends on the situation.”

“You’re cold but cool, so I forgive you. Still, I believe you’d come to save me.”

“I don’t want to go through this again. So always stick close to the Tower Keeper.”

Sandra twisted with joy, while Jin continued his careful inspection.

‘So far, as Ronil said, there’s nothing unusual…’

The cave wasn’t very deep. Even though they seemed to have reached the middle within minutes, Jin found nothing remarkable.

From then on, Sandra stopped chatting and began helping Jin search every corner.

‘The knights have been stationed here continuously, so some spiritual energy remains, but since Valeria disappeared, the Sword Garden hasn’t interfered further.’

Despite the disappearance of an important figure, they only deployed personnel without disturbing the land.

That fact was telling.

“It seems Runcandel… no, the Sword Garden is treating this place very cautiously. Even though Hister disappeared, they haven’t dug or broken the walls. The icicles are all intact—some must be decades or even centuries old.”

“I was thinking the same.”

“You said the first head of Runcandel’s family’s tomb is an interdimensional space, right? I think they’re trying to find a way into that space. If Runcandel knows about it, that is.”

“That’s a plausible theory.”

By the time they reached the cave’s end, Heddo returned from informing Zephyrin.

“Ah, why are you back so soon? We were having such a nice, quiet moment—like a muscle-bound brute with no sense.”

“They’ve secured their side, and Zephyrin said she’ll conduct a precise reconnaissance first. If possible, she’ll try to delay or annihilate the reinforcements.”

“Understood, Tower Keeper.”

If Zephyrin could do that, it would buy more time before the reinforcements arrived, though how much was uncertain.

The cave’s end was a chamber filled with transparent ice walls resembling salt crystals, none of which had been broken or reformed.

“Ronil was right—there’s only one exit. To leave, we have to retrace our steps or break through the ice wall… Hmm, now I understand why the family couldn’t find Hister’s survivors despite their pursuit.”

Even after searching for residual magical energy in the cave, Jin and Sandra found nothing significant.

The blue spear of recorded magic Ronil had seen was gone, naturally, since the caster had vanished.

‘Before disappearing here, Valeria was out of contact for about two months… and left no clues about Temar’s tomb in Tikan.’

That suggested she was in a dire situation, unable to communicate with Tikan during those two months.

And she vanished completely at this very spot, with only a slight cut on her hair.

‘Though Ronil never met the master face-to-face, it’s certain that Rosa’s knights fought Valeria.’

After fleeing that battle, Valeria must have come to this cave. Ronil tracked her, and so did Runtia.

No matter how Jin pieced together the information from Ronil, the case only grew murkier.

Several minutes passed.

“Twelve Riders, I’m starting to think this is a trap. Rosa Runcandel must have expected you to come here.”

“Most likely.”

“If that’s true, they’d have deployed more troops, prepared an ambush for when we entered, or Rosa Runcandel herself would have appeared. Don’t you think it’s strange that Rosa seems to be deliberately giving you time?”

Jin nodded. He had been considering that possibility all along.

“As you said, Tower Keeper, the presumed location of Temar’s tomb here… maybe they’re waiting for me to find a way in.”

Suddenly, the image of Sir Padler Runcandel flashed through Jin’s mind.

‘Sir Padler is likely the guardian of the fifth tomb. If the prophet pulled him out, that means he’s entered the fifth tomb at least once.’

Then why is Rosa giving me time as if she wants me to find this?

‘Could it be because Valeria is still inside the tomb? And for some reason, the prophet who left the tomb doesn’t know how to get back in.’

The problem was, Jin himself didn’t know how to enter the tomb. There was no key like the first tomb, nor any guides.

Time was slipping away mercilessly.

“Twelve Riders.”

“Yes, Tower Keeper?”

“It will be difficult for us to return here again. If it becomes clear you have no other way, Rosa will seal this place completely. So why not try something they haven’t done yet, quickly, and then leave?”

“You mean destroy the cave?”

“Yes. I don’t see any other option.”

“I won’t destroy the cave. Even if we leave empty-handed today, I don’t want to eliminate any reason to come back later.”

“Then you plan to stay here indefinitely? You need to be more pragmatic.”

For Heddo, keeping Sandra safe was more important than finding Hister—especially in such a bleak situation.

“Heddo! Jin said that person is very important to him. Come up with a more groundbreaking idea!”

“Better than doing nothing, I suppose, miss.”

Heddo was right.

If no progress could be made, they needed to return quickly and reconsider their search.

“I’ll try one last method. If it doesn’t work, we’ll withdraw.”

“Good thinking. What’s the plan?”

“I’ll fill the cave with spiritual energy. If there’s no reaction, we’ll retreat without delay.”

Jin sat down and released his spiritual energy. When Murakan used the key to the first tomb, he had also infused a large amount of energy like this.

‘Maybe the space itself is the key that reacts to spiritual energy. Please open…!’

If spiritual energy was necessary, then Valeria’s entry into the tomb would be impossible.

Jin was grasping at straws.

Spiritual energy rapidly filled the cave.

But even as Jin poured out a massive amount, sweat breaking out on his brow, there was no response.

Sandra bit her nails anxiously and turned sharply to Heddo.

“Heddo, do something! At least pray! Don’t just stand there.”

“Is prayer what you want?”

“Yes, sincerely. Pray that Jin finds Hister.”

Sandra closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. Hedo let out a deep sigh as he mirrored her posture, sitting beside her.

It felt ridiculous, but there was no other choice—if they didn’t do this, she’d surely throw a fit.

Then, just like that, Jin was struck with a sudden shock, as if he’d been hit from behind.

‘The spiritual energy is being drawn to a single point…!’

For the first time, something was changing.

Jin immediately shifted his gaze to where the energy was converging—right where Sandra and Hedo stood side by side, praying.

“Hedo! Your sword! It’s glowing and forming something. The heavens are answering our prayers!”

“I see it too, miss. What on earth is this…?”

Jin was overwhelmed by a powerful intuition.

Hedo’s sword was the key to the fifth tomb of Temar.