Berserk looked at the land of ice formed where snow had melted and then frozen solid again.
White like snow, yet smoothly fused together too firmly to be shoveled apart.
Something nature could never have created.
Tap.
Holding her weapon firmly, Berserk examined the enormous impressions carved into the ground in front of the village.
Footprints shaped like a Y with one extra branch.
A depression gouged into the earth where a fan shape and an oval met.
On either side of that depression, the snow had been swept away… or perhaps pushed aside?
In any case, they were distinctly artificial traces.
As unbelievable as it seemed, judging solely by the shape of the marks, it looked as though a bird had landed there.
A bird enormous enough to span several houses, with a body hot enough to melt snow in an instant.
“…Ha.”
But did a beast like that even exist in this land?
As far as she knew, absolutely not.
The being whose traits matched this hypothesis should have made its nest far, far to the south of here.
“…….”
…Enough.
Whatever that thing was, it didn’t matter.
What mattered wasn’t the cause of the anomaly, but the effect this variable might have.
Having steeled herself that way, Berserk quietly approached the village.
She walked on raised heels, her steps as stealthy and nimble as a feline beast’s.
Neighhh.
Prrr.
“……?”
But the next moment, Berserk had no choice but to be bewildered.
Veteran hunter or warrior, there was one sound she had never once imagined she might hear here.
After all, this was an environment where horses simply could not survive.
“H-Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Whoa, whoa. Calm down.”
“Bauti, they suddenly started acting strange! What are we supposed to do?”
“I-I don’t know either… I’d know what to do…