Chapter 414
Chapter 414
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 414
Chapter Title: The Second Purgatory (1)
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The Arun Mountains, located in the northeast of the Tormia Kingdom.
This place, filled with a gloomy aura since ancient times, held the sealing formation of Belkir, who was sealed long ago.
Just as magic existed even when it was unknown, it was the mages who wielded the Law that sealed the demon god.
But now, after thousands of years, the will for good has faded, and Belkir's evil has slowly begun to seep through the cracks, eroding the Law.
And that's the story of the demon god Belkir's revival.
The majesty of Belkir, who had broken through 20 meters of subterranean bedrock to reveal himself in a cavern within the mountain range, was overwhelming.
His colossal body, 15 meters tall and weighing 32 tons, resembled an octopus, and his skin was dark and swarthy, as if rotten.
His two arms looked human, but upon closer inspection, they were a writhing mass of colorful snakes.
On his vicious, reptilian face, his empty eye sockets held nothing but blazing red flames.
Burning with those points of fire, Belkir rippled his twenty-four octopus-like legs like waves.
"I shall destroy the world! All living things will bow at my feet!"
That was the singular Law that constituted Belkir.
However, the superstar of millennia past was forced to feel the transience of time.
Humanity, having built a civilization, was no longer so fragile as to be destroyed by the appearance of a single demon god.
A sect of mages, who had already pinpointed the locations of demon gods based on ancient texts, sent an official request for cooperation to the kingdom's military intelligence.
With the king's approval, a Cage-class party was formed, and 21 mages entered the cave in the Arun Mountains.
Now, 8 hours and 37 minutes later.
Cage B-Team, composed of officially ranked 4th to 6th-grade mages, had severed all of Belkir's legs and was launching their final offensive for complete annihilation.
"Kuaaaaaaaah!"
Belkir flailed his two arms woven from snakes and crawled through the cave.
Though a demon god equipped with all sorts of regenerative abilities, the power unleashed by 21 humans was beyond what he, who had been active thousands of years ago, could handle.
"Insignificant humans! How dare you... to me! Gyaaaack!"
An X-shaped gash was gouged into Belkir's body, and as the flesh split open, a viscous fluid spurted out.
A fat, bald man leaped into the wound and began to swing two fleshing knives even faster.
"Is the X for decoration? Huh? Decoration? Huh? Decoration? Huh? Decoration?"
The man was currently under the effects of 28 different types of ultra-powerful buffs.
His arms showed no sign of stopping, endlessly carving an X into the flesh as he burrowed toward the heart.
The man's face lit up when he discovered a mass of light purple muscle.
And he sank his teeth into the demon god's heart.
"Uwaaaaaaah! It's delicious! So delicious!"
He pulled at the heart with his teeth and swiftly severed the connecting tissues with his fleshing knives, tearing a chunk of flesh away.
The moment it went down his throat, the intense flavor of raw meat exploded in his mouth, like fireworks going off in his head.
"Wooooooh! Woooooooooh!"
Benepis, the Flesh Fiend
Officially ranked 5th-grade combat mage
Amplifies his omnipotence through the ecstasy of eating his prey's flesh
Special note: Runs a butcher shop
"Guuuuuuh...!"
Belkir held on until the very end.
Any normal creature would have died by now, if only out of common decency.
It showed just how tenacious and obsessive the concept from which demons were born was.
"I... I can't be extinguished like this..."
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
A pale-faced woman with white hair cascading down to her waist embraced Belkir, shedding tears.
Every time her hand caressed the demon god's body, the flesh that had been squirming as if to regenerate ceased its movements.
"How much it must hurt. How much pain you must be in. Ehehe! I'm sorry. I can't help it... Eheeheehee!"
An irrepressible laugh escaped between her sobs.
The contrast between her large, tear-filled eyes and the bizarrely twisted corners of her mouth was chilling.
Saintess Moriak
Officially ranked 6th-grade healing mage
Specializes in a wide-area healing magic with a 100-meter diameter
Special note: Severe mania
To be called a demon god in the human world was a status equivalent to a 2nd-awakened Mara by Heaven's standards, but now he was just a demon on the verge of being annihilated by a mere 21 humans the moment he descended.
Belkir finally realized he had been trapped.
The mages' abilities had confined him like a cage, and after being battered for eight hours, he had no way to endure.
As the demon god was on his last legs, Rose, the leader of Cage B-Team, looked for their main damage dealer.
As expected, he was busy slacking off in a corner, smoking a cigarette.
"Hey! Get over here, now! Do you know how much this party costs per hour? You think the Association gets its money from digging in the dirt?"
"Ugh, that witch."
Tarvan flicked his cigarette to put it out and surveyed Belkir.
He was certainly tenderized enough, in perfect condition to be annihilated.
*Just die already, you disgusting bastard.*
As Tarvan rushed toward Belkir, he spread his hands, and a high-frequency sound that pierced the eardrums emanated from his palms.
Kaiser Blast.
Hearing its name, all the mages scattered in every direction.
Tarvan thrust his hands forward, and Belkir's heavy body began to tremble violently.
"Remember this, humans! I am...!"
Pwoooooooosh!
With the explosion, Belkir's form vanished without a trace.
Bits of flesh splattered everywhere, but even they melted away in the heat.
"Mission complete."
This was the result, achieved exactly 8 hours and 49 minutes after Cage B-Team had arrived.
Just then, the eyes of the communication mage, who had been dozing against the cave wall, snapped open.
Information was being displayed on the crystal ball before him.
Roughly four hundred lines of code were needed to transmit a single sentence.
"Team Leader. Team Leader."
As Rose turned, the communication mage floated the crystal ball above his palm and spoke.
"It's a summons from the Association. All members of Cage B-Team are to assemble."
The Magic Association.
The 18th-floor hallway, where the Association President's office was located, was swarming with mages.
The faces of the Cage B-Team members, scattered about distractedly as they waited for their leader, were full of discontent.
Cage B-Team was, by principle, formed by selecting only the best in their respective fields.
It was no exaggeration to say they were the busiest mages in the kingdom, so it was only natural that they were displeased with a summons right after a mission.
"What's with this unsettling vibe? I need to get home and look after my kid. Don't tell me they're going to give us another job here?"
"Anyway, what's taking the team leader so long? Old man, do you know anything?"
Tarvan asked Horkin.
As the eldest member of Cage B-Team and the one who called the shots, he might have known something, but he just wore an enigmatic smile.
When the door to the President's office opened and Rose came out, the mages swarmed her.
Her expression was grim, confirming it wasn't good news.
"Team Leader, what did the Association President say?"
Rupist was currently serving as the interim president, but since they weren't Association employees, they didn't care who was in charge as long as they were paid properly.
"It's an emergency mission. It looks like you'll have to head out one more time."
No one spoke, but the cold killing intent shooting from their gazes made the hallway shimmer ominously.
Saintess Moriak asked.
"Why us? There's also Cage A-Team."
There was almost no difference in skill between Cage A and Cage B.
Tormia's national defense wasn't so weak that it couldn't muster 40 such top-tier talents, even if they were the best in their fields.
However, while Cage A-Team had worked together for a long time, Cage B-Team was composed of members hastily assembled according to the situation.
It was inevitable that a sense of inferiority would creep into that minor difference.
If an Association mission had to be carried out now, the ones to do it should have been Cage A-Team, not them.
"I suggested that, too. But Cage A-Team is currently in a provisionally inoperable state."
Horkin said.
"It's because of Gaold."
"That's right. There's currently a person on Cage A-Team suspected of being one of Gaold's personal guards. Until the truth is uncovered, we are the kingdom's only Cage-class party."
Tarvan said.
"Still, no means no. You were the one who was so strict about the contract in the first place, weren't you, Team Leader? And this guy, Roche, has a daughter who can't even crawl yet. His wife will beat him to death."
"That's right, Team Leader. Please let me sit this one out. I'd rather pay the penalty fee..."
Rose's eyes narrowed.
"Don't get the wrong idea. This isn't a guild. The payment is just a token of appreciation from the Association. A Class 1 national mobilization order has been declared. If you disobey, not only will your Red Line qualifications be revoked, but you'll also be punished according to the kingdom's laws. You all know what the mood in the kingdom is like right now, don't you? It'd be wise to fall in line."
The mages remained silent.
In any case, they couldn't imagine their status without the Red Line, so in the end, they had to do what they were told.
Rose's expression softened slightly.
"As your leader, I apologize. However, the Association has promised ample compensation once this mission is over. You'll receive three times the original contract fee and Fame Points equivalent to a special promotion."
The money was one thing, but at the mention of Fame Points, the mages' eyes changed.
From the officially ranked 6th-grade onwards, the number of points required for promotion was enormous, so if they succeeded in this one job, they would make a huge haul.
Horkin asked.
"So... what is it we have to do?"
Rose hesitated, as if this was the problem.
Even for a Cage-class team, isn't the difficulty too high?
"This time, the target... is a human."
"A human? Which human?"
Rose's eyes flashed sharply.
"We are to eliminate the former president of the Tormia Magic Association, Mikea Gaold."
* * *
The outskirts of Heaven, Purgatory. The Forest of the Profane.
Emerging from a tunnel where light flowed like a torrent, a vast, open sky unfolded before Shirone's eyes.
Beyond the sea of trees, the concentric circles of Heaven were visible, and in certain sections, drones swarmed like crane flies.
Having already experienced this, Shirone took a deep breath and prepared to land.
As expected, his trajectory shifted sharply, and he began to fall vertically.
The sea vanished, and the forest rushed past him.
He kept his eyes wide open until the ground was right in front of him, then twisted his body.
"Hoo."
It was a much more stable landing than before, but no one was there to congratulate Shirone.
The nine who had passed through Geffin's Gate before him were scattered about, each lost in thought as they scanned different directions.
Sein said.
"The Forest of the Profane. It's the habitat of the One-Horned Fiends."
"One-Horned Fiends, you say. A quiet place. Shall we get going, then?"
A quiet place.
Shirone recalled the time he had been caught in an encirclement of One-Horned Fiends.
Thanks to that, he had met Kanya and Lena and been able to enter Heaven, but it was by no means a safe place.
*Then again, for these people, it might as well be a quiet place...*
Sein explained as they walked.
Purgatory was largely divided into three areas: the habitat of heretics, the mainland, and the community outskirts.
The community outskirts, in particular, was a general term for the regions inhabited by those who were not citizens of Heaven, and they were specially referred to as Borderlanders.
Sein's current destination was the place called the mainland, the only neutral zone where heretics and Borderlanders gathered, making it an essential stop for gathering information.
As they were passing through the middle of the forest, the ground suddenly began to tremble as if from an earthquake.
The group, on alert, waited for a new development, and as the sound gradually subsided, they exchanged glances and pushed forward through the forest.
"My word..."
In the plains at the foot of the mountain, hundreds of giants were marching in formation toward some unknown destination.
Giants created through the Art of One Stroke.
At the time, he had been too shocked by the mere existence of giants to think clearly, but according to Sein's explanation, they were currently on their way to Jötunheimr, the land of giants.
There, they would rediscover their identities and return to Heaven to uphold the Law, but if they became corrupted, they would be unable to return to Heaven and would be exiled to a land of fire called Muspel.
"The giants are also a force to be reckoned with. But those are just monsters. It's best to ignore them and move on."
The ten faces embedded in the bushes disappeared without a sound.