Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Clue
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Before Harley underwent the new branding procedure.
In the aftermath of Valteon's death in Beorsen, the southern region was fully occupied with recovery efforts. The hero party had roughly sorted things out before promptly departing the area.
With the Immortal King Hans's withdrawal, the relentless waves of attacks had ceased, somewhat alleviating the continent's chaos... but they had an urgent matter that absolutely couldn't be delayed.
"Gios, you fool. I told you so. Did you really have to go that soon..."
"...We've kept everything ready for you to return and rest anytime. But you never once came... It's truly too much, family head."
Chehai and his wife, along with the mansion's steward Oliver, wiped away their tears.
A modest funeral was held at the family grave attached to one side of Gios Kalkin's mansion in the Legas Barony of the Resk Kingdom, in the southwestern part of the Ion Continent.
Though it was a hastily arranged ceremony, the attendees were far from humble.
Not only was the entire hero party present, but also Legas Baron, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, nearby nobles, and even members of the Resk royal family and high priests who had made the arduous journey here without a gate.
In truth, as a high noble and member of the knight order who had fallen in battle against the Immortal King, he deserved a grand state funeral. But with the entire continent engulfed in wartime chaos, there was no choice.
Of course, mourning flags had already been raised in the capital and major regions, and word was that the kingdom planned a proper national funeral later.
'Gios.'
Throughout the funeral proceedings.
As I pondered how to spend my karma, I set everything aside and quietly observed the scene through Heinrich and Harley.
Heinrich's expression was one of sorrowful compassion.
Through that righteous avatar came feelings of pity for Gios and prayers that he might reunite with his family at God's side in the next life.
Harley's face held regret mingled with solemnity.
Through that barbaric avatar flowed sorrow for losing a comrade of many years and acknowledgment of his heroic and majestic end.
And...
From the negative, twisted avatar Hans came an indifferent mindset, as if he'd merely crushed a bug in the street.
From the cynical, cold avatar Heinz 2nd came a nonchalant sense that it was simply unavoidable.
And on top of that, successive reactions from avatars aligned with their respective dispositions.
Of course, thanks to Mind Hub, Persona, and mental strength vastly reinforced beyond its previous level, there was no confusion in the process.
Han Seonghyeon, as the central ego, simply existed steadfastly at the core, receiving filtered information and judging it objectively.
'That's the problem, though.'
A self-deprecating bitter smile tugged at my lips once more.
'Connections forged solely through avatars. Ones that don't even exist in the world I live in.'
Having recognized every situation so objectively, the experiences through my avatars inevitably felt like a game.
Even if it was the death of an acquaintance.
'...Guess I should take a walk.'
I'd been steadily venturing out using Entity Projection, but wandering aimlessly without purpose didn't sound bad either.
Even as I drifted into such idle thoughts, time flowed swiftly.
At last, the funeral concluded, and the hero party bustled about to resume their duties.
"I heard. You defeated the Immortal King this time..."
"As expected of the Saint! Surely Count Kalkin as well..."
The royals and nobles clinging annoyingly—almost as if they'd timed it perfectly—were a nuisance anyway.
Heinrich then followed the prearranged plan, making various excuses to entrust the southern situation to Harley.
"Then, matters in Kalkos are left to you, Harley."
"Kahaha! Leave it to me! I've still got things to collect myself!"
The rough hand thumping his chest tattoo sent the massive axe slung on Harley's back rattling noisily.
It was the Giant Killer, a weapon he hadn't drawn lately, after his body—already formidable—had grown even stronger upon completing Ultimate Evolved Lifeform.
A masterpiece crafted by the dwarf Zaonik, but now it was practically just for show.
Obviously, it would shatter in short order if he swung it at full power.
'Howard's planning to forge a new one soon, lavishly using rare metals, but even that probably won't last long as is. Maybe the Mark of the Fighting King will change things?'
It was a problem stemming from lacking ways to enhance weapons for his transcendent body, but if the mark's power to amplify inner energy grew stronger, some solution might emerge.
'An axe is a barbarian warrior's romance—can't give it up!'
After the hero party departed without him.
Harley, left alone, returned south and assisted in quelling the chaos as a knight order member until, at last, he could undergo the 'Mark of the Fighting King' procedure with two great shamans and over twenty shamans in attendance.
And, as expected.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and attained enlightenment. Skill Kalkos-Style Combat Branding evolves into special skill Mark of the Fighting King. The result was a resounding success.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Inside a spacious tent that could accommodate dozens.
"Aggggh—."
"Ugh!"
"Umm..."
Thud—
Over twenty shamans, stationed in various spots, groaned in unison and slumped to the ground.
Some even staggered and collapsed outright, fainting.
"Kuhuhu—quite vicious, eh? I figured it'd succeed, but to think he wouldn't even groan once."
"...Ahh, so cool. The true mark of a man. Haaa—steel-like muscles matched by an equally steely will..."
"This one's lost it again. Snap out of it, you!"
"Aa! G-Grandma?"
At the center, atop a massive altar.
Harley slowly opened his eyes amid the bickering between the grandmother and grandson nearby.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Entity Information ⚡ Name: Harley 💨 Race: ??? ✨ Common Traits: Mind Hub, Persona, Clear Mirror Still Water, Insight 💪 Entity Traits: Ultimate Evolved Lifeform, Tyrant of Madness, Bio-Aura, Gluttony, Jewel Eye: Coercion, Mark of the Fighting King 🍀 Special Notes: Pursued the ultimate as a lifeform and transcended. As long as energy remains, regenerates endlessly even if heart or head is destroyed. Controls madness and converts it to personal energy. All body markings have connected into one. Effects stack and link with more markings, remaining active at all times. Limbs, torso, and head.
The powers of the markings, once separate, now linked as one, coursing through his entire body.
'Impressive. Each marking's effect seems at least five times stronger.'
No need to mention that his Bio-Aura had grown even more potent under its influence.
And this was merely the baseline always-active effect; he could pour in extra energy to amplify it further.
I'd wondered how much help it'd be now that he'd already transcended, but this was more than sufficient.
"Mm, feels refreshing."
Swoosh—
As Harley casually assessed his condition and slowly rose from where he lay.
The bizarre flame patterns etched across his body writhed with the motion of his muscles, asserting their presence.
"Ah..."
"......"
Though it was just a minor movement, the shamans slumped on the floor and even the two great shamans who'd performed the branding stared at him in a daze.
"Huh? What is it?"
Harley tilted his head at the unusual attention.
As one who had reached transcendence, he naturally exuded a powerful presence.
A violent pressure that imposed his existence on the world even when still.
His presence before had strongly evoked a 'lethally dangerous unknown monster.'
But now, an inexplicable charisma accompanied it.
The energy pulsing like a living thing around his markings and the strange aura emanating from it.
It was akin to— the dignity of a king.
The aura of an overlord.
"...King."
"Lord King..."
The shamans, groaning as they steadied themselves, quietly prostrated on the spot.
The grandmother and grandson great shamans beside them did the same.
'...Ah, right. There was that saying.'
In the sudden turn, a memory flashed through Harley's mind—of words from the old shaman who had first branded him.
The name Mark of the Fighting King wasn't arbitrary.
Forgotten over hundreds of years and now meaningless to most, but these shamans were deeply attuned to tradition.
In that barren land where only desperate life-or-death struggles determined survival—
A legend and pact handed down from the earliest days of the Kalkos Tribe Alliance, formed by consensus of various tribes to end the endless wars.
<He who proves the qualification of the Fighting King shall be crowned king.>
This was proof of such a king.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A pitch-black, utterly dark throne room.
[Then, this girl shall take her leave... Rest well...]
The hazy form of the noblewoman who had been giving her report faded away, and at last, the space fell into complete silence.
[Hmm.]
But that quiet was soon shattered by a low hum.
From the Immortal King Hans, seated upon the massive skull throne at the highest point of the vast chamber, looking down below.
He slowly raised one hand to stroke his chest, where the holy sword had pierced him.
No external scars remained, yet the lingering energy of the holy sword continued to gnaw at his own power.
'Should've known—next time, have them stab gentler.'
Not a dire issue, but it was unavoidably stifling.
Of course, that desperation was precisely what allowed Heinrich to reach transcendence.
Hans leaned back leisurely into the throne.
Even in the death-energy-filled Necropolis, this central area was the most efficient spot for his recovery.
It would likely take about a month to fully purge it, but that amounted to merely three days in Earth time.
'Speaking of which, the seed of madness... I figured it was hidden somewhere as a medium, but of all things, that revolutionary snatched it midway.'
The very last fragment to emerge from the Abyss Gate—the largest piece of 'madness' itself, serving as the medium for all the madness now spreading across the continent.
It was the tool Valteon had used to shatter even the mental barriers of realm-attained warriors and brainwash them.
Hans retrieved a small metal fragment from his subspace and gazed at it intently.
This item, taken from the site where the Abyss had opened, was the sole impurity left in an otherwise perfectly cleansed area.
He'd kept it hoping it might serve as a clue...
[Kukukuku— so this really was the key, huh?]
Tracking, curses, summons, and more.
He'd tried various methods using it as a catalyst, only for them all to fail—making him wonder if he'd been barking up the wrong tree.
But through Valteon, he'd gained solid intel on the Abyss Gate and confirmed its true nature.
The one who, after thirty years of preparation, had finally opened the Abyss Gate.
One step shy of transcendence, yet felled by the heart demons filling his mind, never quite reaching it—a grand magus who plummeted.
And also, the host vessel for the seed of madness that emerged upon the surface.
It was a fragment of the item he possessed in the moment he sacrificed himself to open the Abyss.
And that meant...
'In sorcery, the outcome varies immensely based on how precisely you know the medium's origins and history.'
With this, he could now track that man definitively.
Before, vague association had led even the Immortal King to failure, but now that he'd pinpointed the direction, the situation had changed.
At last, the key to seizing that revolutionary's tail was in hand.
'Plus, I've got the Orb of the Mind.'
A treasure that amplified mental abilities.
It would prove immensely helpful for the large-scale ritual to pursue him.
As Hans fiddled contentedly with the orb amid such thoughts.
Various conditions aligned in an instant, and he instinctively realized one possibility.
To be precise.
It was the synergy between this orb and the 'Dimensional Barrier Mitigation' into which he'd invested a whopping five million points.
'This? If handled right...'
Hans had read the minds of countless individuals, collecting their lingering thoughts.
A vast quantity matching the number of humans he'd executed, but for a transcendent being like the Immortal King, no issue at all.
Yet among the thoughts sedimented in his subconscious, one stood out as particularly special.
It was the memories harvested from Earth awakeners—and especially those who had reached transcendence.
'Salma.'
The thought information squeezed out by pouring the Abyss into the spirit and flesh of the Heavenly Demon Mage—a high master who had perfected himself and escaped his mold.
Viewed through the Orb of the Mind amid a weakened dimensional barrier restricting awakeners, it possessed an overwhelming density incomparable to the others.
Even the damaged fragments felt vividly real, as if experienced firsthand.
'Not fully intact yet... but if done right, this could really work.'
The result of those three elements converging.
He had grasped a clue to another world.
The dimension of Salma's origin: the Kanghwan Realm.