Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Ch. 88 .｡.:✧ Perfect Barrier (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“This can’t be happening!”
Basel’s sky had suddenly been covered by a black curtain.
The bright sun had instantly transformed into a black sun.
Gloomy darkness descended all around, creating the illusion that they were in the demon realm.
Since we were close to the edge of the curtain, I tried pounding on it, but as expected, it didn’t budge at all.
The moment I touched it, I sensed it.
My intuition said that this was a wall I couldn’t even scratch with my strength or telekinesis.
Just in case, I tried pressing Kali’s dead soul against the barrier wall, but it was useless.
The demonic energy was completely shielded, so the dead soul couldn’t absorb it.
This solid wall was clearly…
‘A perfect barrier.’
Barrier.
Among barriers, there were various types like sound-blocking barriers, light-blocking barriers, magic-blocking barriers, and so on.
But what was called a perfect barrier was the ultimate form of barriers.
It was a barrier that prevented any influence between the inside and outside, no matter what method was used.
In other words, we were trapped in a reality completely cut off from the outside.
So how do we get out of here?
There were two ways.
Wait until the caster can no longer maintain the barrier or take out the caster.
In other words, there was no need to panic just because we were trapped in a perfect barrier.
The ones in a hurry weren’t us.
It was the opponents who had to kill us before the barrier disappeared.
“Wh-what have you done?!! Because of you! We’ve been tracked because you boldly walked around with something stolen from the Great Druid!”
“Why are you making such a fuss? Calm down.”
“Do I look like I can calm down? We’re going to die! We’re all going to die…!”
But Transylvania’s condition was strange.
They were not only much stronger than the Four Heavenly Kings.
They were at a level far above me.
To put it bluntly, they had enough fighting power to not be overwhelmed even if they fought two of the Four Heavenly Kings simultaneously.
For Transylvania to be this flustered, what was wrong with this person?
Weren’t they of monster origin?
“Return that mana stone to the Great Druid immediately! Then there might not be any bloodshed!”
“No. How can I return this to someone who’s already dead?”
“What do you mean?”
“This. It’s a mana stone created from the gathered demonic energy after I killed Kali.”
“What…”
Transylvania’s expression distorted, then turned pale.
No, they were already pale to begin with, so they didn’t exactly turn pale.
Anyway, after making a shocked expression, they slowly backed away.
Seeing them so surprised, it seemed they didn’t know anything about Kali’s dead soul.
I shouldn’t have said anything.
I ended up revealing my hand for nothing.
“This can’t be! To think you’d even develop pathological lying! You’ve gone completely mad!”
“Believe it or not, as you wish.”
“I warned you clearly! Return the stolen item! That’s the most peaceful path!”
“They didn’t just come to retrieve an item. We can’t avoid a fight. Won’t you stand and fight with us?”
“You’re out of your mind! Stand and fight? Don’t say such nonsense! I don’t fight on anyone’s side! I always maintain neutrality between monsters and humans! That’s my creed!”
I knew well that Transylvania maintained neutrality, not siding with either monsters or humans.
But to back out even in a situation where they were being unilaterally attacked?
This was somewhat different from the Transylvania I knew.
The Transylvania I knew was belligerent and didn’t avoid fights that came to them.
“Maintain neutrality? Is that right? As someone of monster origin, you must know that this world will be destroyed in 1000 years. Having a body that can theoretically live forever, you’ll quietly die when the world is destroyed in 1000 years? Isn’t that contradictory?”
“Shut up! Short-sighted fool! As expected of a human, you can’t see the big picture!”
“Don’t tell me… Are you scared?”
“What? Huh? Ha! Really now! Scared? Me? Me, Transylvania, who can single-handedly crush armies, scared? Your mouth seems to be spewing nonsense like a leaky faucet, but I’ll let it slide just for today! I’m in a hurry, you see! I’m absolutely not running away because I’m scared!”
After expressing all sorts of irritation, Transylvania quickly mounted their horse and disappeared into the mountains.
“They were scared.”
“…Scared.”
It was clearly obvious to anyone that they were scared.
Could they have some trauma from being severely beaten by the Four Heavenly Kings in the past?
Seeing them flee in such panic, it seemed impossible to bring them back.
It looked like getting help from Transylvania was out of the question.
Now I had to face whoever cast this barrier with just Undecided and myself…
“Do you sense anything?”
“…It’s quiet.”
Even when I calmed my breath, activated mana control, and concentrated on my five senses, everything around was just quiet.
Even using my sixth sense, I couldn’t particularly feel any stirring of magical power or demonic energy.
“Are they planning to attack with a time delay? Let’s go to the town for now. I need to check if Tay is safe.”
“…Okay.”
It seemed there was still some time left before the attack.
We needed to go meet Tay first.
She was the craftsman who would be processing my mana stones for the rest of my life.
It would be troublesome if anything happened to her.
“Aaaaah! What on earth is happening!”
“It’s the apocalypse! The apocalypse has come!”
“Everyone run away! We need to evacuate!”
“They say the roads are blocked? Some kind of wall has been erected…”
The streets of Basel were in complete chaos.
It was absolute pandemonium.
There were people holding crosses and wailing towards the sky.
There were people packing their belongings and setting out to evacuate.
There were also people who had already given up and were just quietly praying.
While the types varied, there was one common point.
Everyone had completely failed to predict this situation.
They had no idea that a being capable of spreading such a massive barrier existed.
‘Is this Belphegor’s doing?’
This demonic energy was so thick it was suffocating.
Although I wasn’t particularly good at distinguishing demonic energy scents, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was familiar.
It was almost certain that Belphegor was involved in creating this barrier.
But did Belphegor have enough power to cover all of Basel with a perfect barrier?
That was a bit ambiguous.
Until now, Belphegor had been at the stage of sucking power from their contractors.
In other words, it was before their awakening.
Were they already this strong?
Something felt off.
“Please leave! We’re closing this building now!”
“Hurry up and get out!”
We finally arrived at Tay’s workshop.
As expected, it was in as much chaos as everywhere else.
Though, thanks to having many well-trained staff, there seemed to be some semblance of control.
“…Hey. Earth to shorty.”
“Oh! Tay!”
At that moment, Undecided tugged on my sleeve, helping me spot her.
Tay was coming down from the elevator, surrounded by bodyguards and heading somewhere.
When I waved my hand and shouted while pushing through the crowd, Tay finally recognized me and stopped.
“Ms. Tay! You mustn’t stop! Quickly, to the bunker…”
“Let me go! It’s safest by that person’s side!”
Despite the bodyguards’ attempts to hold her back, Tay ran towards me.
Then Tay bumped her head against my stomach.
She hugged my waist tightly and looked up at me with worried eyes.
“I’m so glad! Ahh! I was so scared! I feel relieved now that the investor is here!”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? How’s the workshop?”
“Everyone’s safe. We were all startled when the sky suddenly turned black… But we haven’t suffered any direct damage yet.”
“Do you have a place to evacuate to?”
“Yes. We built a bunker in the basement when constructing the building. It’s large enough to accommodate all of the employees with room to spare.”
“Then take shelter there. Ah, burn all the letters that came for me.”
“Why?”
“We need to erase all evidence of your connection to me. If things go wrong, you might face retaliation.”
“…!”
Tay’s eyes widened.
It seemed she hadn’t imagined such an extreme situation.
“N-no! That can’t happen! Tell me you’ll come back alive!”
“I will. But just in case-”
“There shouldn’t be any ‘just in case’…!”
“There is. We should always prepare for the worst, right? If those letters are found, it’ll be trouble for both of us. So we have to burn them all. Understand?”
“Yes…”
Though she initially rebelled, trembling as if having a fit, when I grabbed her shoulders and explained calmly, Tay quickly calmed down and nodded.
“After that, go straight to the bunker and stay there. By the time you come out, the sky should be bright again.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do to help you, Investor?”
“No. You being safe is the biggest help. That way I can fight without worrying, right?”
“That’s… Certainly true… I’ll believe in you and wait!”
Then she clenched her fists and looked up at me with determined eyes.
She was a smart kid.
She wouldn’t do anything reckless.
I roughly patted her head once, then pushed her away.
“Go quickly! Don’t look back!”
“Yes…!”
As Tay ran off, we also left the workshop building and returned to the chaotic streets.
Now I noticed that the workshop employees were guiding citizens to the bunker.
They said there was plenty of room, but were they letting in complete strangers too?
It was a policy very much like Tay.
“…What’s the plan?”
In the midst of that chaos, Undecided asked cautiously.
She seemed afraid of fighting in such a crowded place.
“First, we need to lure the enemy to a place with fewer people.”
“…How?”
The worst-case scenario was being attacked in the crowded downtown area.
If Belphegor appeared emitting that thick demonic energy, thousands of people here would all die or be severely injured.
We had to avoid that at all costs.
So I had one plan in place.
“They’re chasing after Kali’s dead soul, right? I put it in a place with few people.”
“…Where?”
The moment Undecided asked,
BOOM!
“Kyaah?!”
“An explosion?”
“It’s a disaster! The disaster has finally begun!”
In the distance, black smoke rose from the mountains with a thunderous roar.
It was there.
“I secretly slipped it into the bag on Transylvania’s horse.”
“…Wow.”
Undecided opened her mouth wide in admiration.
They had definitely come here following the scent of Kali’s dead soul.
Since they couldn’t smell it when it was disguised, I put it in the bag attached to the horse’s saddle while keeping it disguised.
Then what if I undid the disguise at this point?
Transylvania was bound to be attacked by the enemy chasing Kali’s dead soul.
We now knew the enemy’s location from that explosion just now.
Now we just had to join and intercept them while Transylvania fought in our stead.
“…You’re really mean.”
“What did I do?”
It was a common play method.
Giving a lure item to an NPC and then tracking in reverse.
Real villains would give it to weak NPCs who couldn’t resist and would be instantly killed.
I gave it to one of the strongest beings in the world, so I was relatively benevolent.
Besides, I couldn’t bring such a dangerous thing into the downtown area.
There was no other way if I wanted to avoid putting innocent citizens in danger.
Blood ghouls weren’t human anyway.
So it shouldn’t matter whether I deceived them or backstabbed them, right?
“…I’m on. Yoo-jin’s side. For life.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“…I’ll never. Betray you.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“…No matter. What happens. Absolutely. Never.”
“I said thanks, didn’t I? Why do you keep saying that?”
All the way as we ran towards where the explosion had occurred, Undecided, who was tightly holding my hand, kept repeating the same words.
Why was she suddenly acting like this?
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[Lol even undecided got scared of him cuz that shit was straight up diabolical]
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