I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 80: Forward

The first stretch of the journey was deceptively easy.

The Snowveil Mountains loomed in the distance like jagged teeth tearing out of the earth, veiled in white mist and sharpened by secrets. But the land leading up to them—flat, still, and unsettlingly silent—offered no resistance. No familiar bite of the wind, no monsters lurking around corners. Just emptiness.

The farther the group travelled, the more that silence took on an eerie edge.

But despite the lack of danger, their pace was painfully slow—far slower than it had been when it was just the four of them, and a crawl compared to how fast Vale could’ve flown on Dragon’s back. With this many people, every narrow path became a bottleneck, and every bend in the terrain was a delay.

Vale tilted his head to the sky, thoughts drifting to the freedom of flight. Riding Dragon would cut the journey in half, maybe more. He was lost in thought when Ayla’s voice snapped him back to the present.

"Maybe we should ditch everyone and just use your dragon," she said, flashing a wide grin.

"Huh? I’m the only one who knows the way. They’d never make it without me," he replied, blinking at her.

Ayla sighed, exaggerated and theatrical, then sped up without saying another word.

Vale frowned.

"What was that about?" The confusion clung to him like a shadow—he didn’t realise she was only joking.

Maybe it was the silence getting to him. Often, the quiet could feel worse than facing a visible enemy. At least with monsters, the person knew what they were fighting. But here, here, anything could be waiting behind the next step. And not knowing what was far more terrifying.

The quiet dragged on for a couple more hours—until, finally, a sudden roar tore through the silence as a small pack of Ice Golems erupted from the walls.

Vale, with his weapon already summoned, turned on his heel—ready to cut down any enemies.

But before he could even dash toward the monsters, they were already dead, slaughtered by the massive group of people stretching behind them.

"Tskk. I’m starting to like this less and less," Dain muttered, snapping Vale’s gaze toward him. "Leave some for the rest of us!" he shouted, earning a few strange looks from the group, as if they were staring at a madman.

Vale couldn’t help but let out a soft smile at the sight. For the past few months, he’d been stuck with the presence of the Demon—but now, seeing his companion’s erratic nature brought him an oddly calming feeling.

"Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of fighting when we get there," Vale said.

"I’ll take your word for it, my friend," Dain replied, his usual wide grin returning to his face.

The second stretch of the journey was far more eventful than the first. More and more monsters started to emerge, trying to ambush the massive group.

But it was still a far cry from what the group had faced during their journey to the Dark Castle.

The monsters stood no chance.

Vale had begun to question if they were heading in the right direction. It was hard to believe that they would soon face a creature so powerful that even a Demon was fearful of it.

Then it struck him—he remembered the silence of the ruined city, the empty corridors, and the countless dead bodies. The Four-Armed Devil had slaughtered everything in sight. If the Centurion was as strong as the Demon claimed, then maybe anything weaker had already been wiped out in the same way.

Vale continued to dwell on the fight ahead as the group pressed forward. Even when they were ambushed, his mind remained half-absent, trapped in thoughts of what was coming.

They continued on, covering as much ground as they could before it was time to make camp.

As night fell, Vale found himself sinking deeper into thought. Unease gnawed at him the more he imagined the battle to come. He knew they had a chance—otherwise, the Demon would have kept training him longer—but what did that chance really mean? How many would have to die to bring that monster down?

His eyes drifted to his companions: Ayla, Dain, and Klein. He had grown used to their presence... even fond of it. An unwelcome thought entered his mind, but he shook it away, unwilling to waste energy on questions to which he had no answers.

"This is the only way," he told himself, just as the group came to a final stop for the day. He hadn’t even noticed the night creeping in—it was already time to rest.

Vale summoned his spirit—the Dark Knight—to stand watch, then lay down on a thin sheet of fur, ready to surrender to sleep.

But he wouldn’t get much of it.

"W—what is it?" he muttered, eyes fluttering open as the knight gently shook him awake.

Instinctively, he summoned his weapon—but the spirit shook its head. A first.

"Weird..." he thought, watching as the spirit silently turned and walked further down the narrow path.

Annoyed at being disturbed, he followed—until he saw a figure sitting at the edge of the passage, her legs dangling over the cliffside.

"Ayla?" Vale said, confusion clear on his face.

The girl turned her head and greeted him with a soft smile.

"Hi," she said. "I’m sorry. I asked your spirit to wake you up."

She gestured to the empty space beside her. "Would you like to join me?"

Vale sat down without a word and looked ahead.

The usual thick fog was gone. In its place, a stretch of pristine, snow-covered mountain tops loomed in the distance. Oddly enough, the usually deadly and terrifying Snowveil Mountains looked strangely beautiful.

They sat in quiet companionship for a while, letting the stillness settle between them, as they admired the view ahead of them.

Then, finally, Ayla broke the silence.

"One more battle..." she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, her expression distant and complicated.

It was only then that Vale understood the look in her eyes.

She was afraid.