Chapter 127
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Kimaris
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A black knight appeared on horseback through the path cleared by the demonic beasts.
The moment he looked straight at the fiend, Pernyan recalled the last prophecy he had seen.
“So he has finally descended completely. That fiend, Kimaris, at least he fulfills his duty.”
A mumble from the original future when the 69th-ranked demon, Decarabia, had safely descended.
At the time, he had been too preoccupied with the egg being the medium for Decarabia's descent to pay it any mind.
But the truly important part wasn't Decarabia.
It was the one who had made Decarabia descend.
‘Kimaris…!’
The 66th-ranked demon, Kimaris.
A warrior with jet-black skin, riding a massive black steed.
*King Collomo and the 72 Demons* had described Kimaris as such, and it was utterly accurate.
‘Decarabia isn't the main force leading the legion south from the north! A demon had already been summoned!’
Why hadn't he thought of that until now?
Because summoning a demon was by no means an easy task.
Andromalius had descended in a half-baked state even after using the special item, the Branch of the World Tree.
Seere, who had tried to ruin the Continental Academic Conference, had also attempted to descend using a Mana Stone aggregate, the very essence of mana, as a core.
‘Then when? How?’
If one were to summon a demon naturally, there would have to be signs, and the Bercefes were no fools; they wouldn't have just overlooked them.
Then it had to be one of two things. Either the Vile Breeds had hidden it with near perfection…
‘Or a major incident had occurred, so large that it couldn't be stopped even if they knew.’
The monster wave from over a decade ago, which had pushed Bercefe to the brink of ruin, came to mind.
A major incident where tens of thousands of monsters had swept through Bercefe all at once.
Perhaps it was just a guess.
‘What if they summoned a demon using the blood of those monsters and people as a sacrifice?’
However.
‘A monster wave of tens of thousands had never happened in the last thousand years of history.’
With everything fitting so perfectly, could this be a simple delusion?
‘Above all, he's incomparable to Andromalius…!’
Just facing him made his skin crawl. An instinctive fear kept trying to rear its head.
His overwhelming presence and the power to demolish half the fortress wall in a single blow were vastly different from the half-baked Andromalius.
‘They said the ‘rank’ of demons wasn't a real ranking. If so, there is only one difference between them.’
That Kimaris has been steadily recovering his strength for over a decade since his descent. If so, all the assumptions fit perfectly.
‘Could this fiend be the mastermind controlling the Vile Breeds right now…?’
That made it all the more chilling. Could they stop a complete demon without Aint?
Kieeeeek!
Kyaaaaah!
Apart from his fear, the demonic beasts began their advance.
At the sight of the huge scar carved into the fortress wall, the soldiers, though panicked, forced themselves to grip their weapons and tried to repair the wall.
“I will open the gates with my knights and ride out to intercept the demon.”
And the Marquis gave a completely unexpected order.
“If we fight here, the fortress will fall. Then it's a problem even if we stop the demon.”
But it was also an unavoidable choice.
If one of the bulwarks defending the north were to fall, Bercefe would suffer immense damage.
The Marquis had no intention of letting that happen.
Even if it meant fighting a disadvantageous battle on their own ground, it was better to lure the demons away from the bulwark.
“Garrett.”
“Yeah, I'm going too. With my Red Wolves. I never thought I'd be fighting alongside you again after becoming a Royal Knight.”
The Red Wolves were Garrett's personal mercenary group. Though only fifty strong, they were powerhouses known as the continent's number one mercenary group.
“That's reckless!”
“Staying here is more reckless. If we fight that fiend, this whole area will be decimated anyway. We must get as far away from here as possible to prevent the fortress from collapsing and the soldiers from dying needlessly.”
“But to throw yourselves into that horde with so few men…!”
“It'll all be over once we take down the demon. The demon is the focal point for those demonic beasts.”
The Marquis casually dismissed Ruina's objection. His gaze fell upon Pernyan.
“Pernyan Fallenberg. It seems I have you to thank. Your choice to hire Garrett was an excellent move.”
“I'd prefer you show your gratitude with concessions rather than words.”
“For that to happen, we must kill that fiend.”
“Wait, take this with you before you go.”
Pernyan held out two small vials. One for the Marquis, the other for the Mercenary King.
“It's the last of the holy water.”
“I'll make good use of it.”
Taking it, the Marquis descended from the fortress wall. The White Lion Knights followed him.
The Mercenary King and the Red Wolf mercenaries did the same.
‘Perhaps…’
In that sight, Pernyan saw hope.
Yes, no matter if their opponent was a complete demon.
No matter if Aint Armian, the Adversary, wasn't here.
There were two Royal Knights. Two men who, with a little exaggeration, were called one-man armies. How could they not kill it?
Before the demonic beasts reached the fortress wall, the gates opened.
The thundering of hooves—
Knights and mercenaries, armed and mounted on armored warhorses, began to charge.
At the head of the two groups, split to either side, were the Marquis and the Mercenary King.
A blue aura flared from the Marquis's greatsword.
A red aura rose from the Mercenary King's spear.
And then.
────!
Kiaaaaak!
Keeek!
A deafening roar that shook the heavens echoed across the battlefield. The screams of demonic beasts, bursting out with the shockwave, tore at their eardrums.
The shredded remains of corpses scattered in all directions.
Like lines drawn in the sand with a branch, two paths were carved into the fiends' formation. Paths of blood, drawn with the gore of the demonic beasts.
Despite the killing intent of the two Royal Knights charging toward it, the demon remained impassive, its sword resting on its shoulder.
The distance between the three gradually closed.
Without halting their charge, the knight and the mercenary suddenly swung their sword and spear.
Slashes of different properties aimed for the same direction.
The demonic beasts blocking their path were swept away in an instant.
───!
And struck Kimaris directly.
A massive explosion erupted, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
But that was all. Kimaris, who had at some point raised its greatsword to block, was completely unscathed.
And the two Royal Knights' goal wasn't to inflict a fatal wound on it.
Having launched their preemptive strike, they reined their horses and changed direction.
Neither toward Kimaris, nor back to the fortress.
It was a blatant lure.
“How pathetic.”
Nevertheless, Kimaris lightly pressed its heels into the horse's flanks. Understanding its master's intent, the black steed began to run.
“Move aside.”
The demonic beasts parted, once again creating a path.
“Take the fortress before I return.”
The formation, which had been disrupted while chasing the Royal Knights' charge, was restored in an instant.
They began their advance again, and Kimaris leisurely followed the two Royal Knights.
Immediately after, the battle at the fortress began. The demonic beasts arrived within reach, and the prepared spells rained down.
“Fire!”
A second gift of arrows fell upon the demonic beasts that charged forward, absorbing the magic with their bodies.
“Hold them back!”
“The fiends are swarming toward the broken section of the wall!”
“Deploy the knights!”
In the gap of the broken wall, knights formed a shield wall. Massive demonic beasts slammed their bodies against it.
Kwaaaang!
The shield wall, bound by aura, shook violently. Through the tiny gaps that appeared, swords and spears stabbed at the demonic beasts.
A fierce, close-quarters battle.
Although there was a difference in numbers, it didn't seem like the fortress would fall easily.
“Ruina, Hyde. We're going to follow the Marquis.”
“…Did I hear you correctly?”
“…Pardon?”
“Does that mean I don't have to go?”
Having made his decision, Pernyan called out to Ruina and Hyde, who had just lopped off the head of a demonic beast climbing the wall.
Gismond's face brightened considerably upon realizing he was excluded.
“If those two are defeated, the world ends. We must prevent that at all costs.”
“Even if it's a demon, there are two Royal Knights. I don't believe my father will lose.”
“Under normal circumstances, that would be true. But the opponent is a demon. Can you guarantee there won't be an unforeseen event?”
Royal Knights are strong. He knew that.
Two Royal Knights are even stronger. He knew that, too.
And yet, Pernyan was anxious.
If they were Royal Knights, their opponent was a demon. A proper demon, not a half-baked one like Andromalius.
The great adversaries who had once tried to destroy the continent.
Could they be defeated without Aint?
“What is there not to be sure of? I cannot imagine the two of them losing.”
As she spoke, Ruina's eyes didn't waver in the slightest.
‘…That's right. No matter if it's a demon, the Royal Knights are the strongest on the continent. Not just one, but two of them. There's no reason to be this anxious…’
No.
Even if Aint is the Adversary, is he stronger than a Royal Knight? No.
After a moment of thought, Pernyan realized the source of his anxiety.
‘Kimaris. The Prophecy Book never mentioned him.’
Kimaris was not a demon that appeared in the Prophecy Book. The current situation had also never been mentioned.
He didn't know about the future, but at least for now, it had never crossed Pernyan's mind.
A complete unknown. It was the first time he'd experienced this since obtaining the Prophecy Book.
Until now, even when the future changed, the grand scheme hadn't. It wasn't that new events occurred, but that existing ones were slightly altered.
But not this time.
That was what made Pernyan even more anxious.
*Grind.* He bit his lip.
‘Since when have I ever relied on a Prophecy Book…!’
Knowing the future is good, of course. Even if it's the worst possible future, it gives you time to prepare.
He had changed the future that way, stopping the Vile Breeds and demons.
But relying too much on an uncertain future was foolish. Obsessing over it would only make things worse.
‘By hiring the Mercenary King, I've done all I can.’
That was the best Pernyan could do for now.
What more could he ask for? No, what could they even do if they went?
“…You're right, Ruina.”
Having finished his deliberation, Pernyan swept his hair back.
“For now, cleaning up here is the priority.”
This place was no easy task either. The nearly ten thousand demonic beasts were by no means weak.
They were vastly outnumbered, and they couldn't boast of superior quality either.
Kwooooar!
“It's a Varga!”
Seeing the 4th-class demonic beast, a Varga, approaching in the distance, Pernyan gripped his staff.
The sight reminded him of when they were transporting the Branch of the World Tree.
Back then, that beast had been an insurmountable foe.
“The bane of my golems…”
He had lost several golems because of it.
“What are you suddenly talking about? The bane of your golems?”
“I still remember. Four of them! Exactly four! Right, Hyde?”
“Yes. It was exactly four.”
Drrrrr—
A pile of rocks rose and formed the shape of a giant.
It was neither a golem nor anything else. It was merely Pernyan infusing mana into rocks to shape them into the form of a golem.
But even so.
───!
It withstood the Varga's charge.
Kwaang!
In fact, when it slammed its fist, the Varga's body swayed.
“It held.”
It wasn't just Aint who had clashed with demonic beasts and Vile Breeds, or fought demons.
Pernyan had always been there, too. He had always prepared in advance.
“I haven't been slacking off either.”
While he had prioritized Aint, he hadn't neglected his own training.
Because he knew that in the end, the only one who could protect his money was himself.
That had led to the current situation.
He had blocked a Varga, which he couldn't stop before even with golems, by simply clumping together a pile of rocks.
His earth magic had become more solid, harder, and more flexible.
Enough to block a Varga's charge, albeit briefly.
It was still far from enough compared to a demon, but…
“It's more than enough to avenge my golems on you…!”
The pile of rocks disassembled and enveloped the Varga's entire body.
The beast struggled to move, but it was futile.
And in that moment.
*Crunch—*
An incomparably sharp blue aura sword severed the Varga's head.
“So what on earth have you been talking about this whole time!”
The sword's owner was, of course, Ruina. The true genius who grew by 100 while Pernyan grew by 10.
Having cut off the Varga's head, Ruina kicked off its shoulder and landed back on the fortress wall.
“What do you mean, 'what'?”
Pernyan extended his staff forward.
“I'm telling you to protect me well, Ruina. If I get even a speck of a scratch on me, I'll be demanding compensation.”
“You're joking at a time like this…?!”
Ruina yelled.