Chapter 295
Chapter 295
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 295
Chapter Title: Obstacle (1)
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The first to notice the uninvited guests was Narita, one of Pandemonium's Great Evils.
As a black mage of the necromancy school, she possessed exceptional skill in controlling the undead.
Her abilities were so highly regarded that Archlich Dorgo had entrusted her with command of the undead legion.
“Do not just attack the walls! Bombard the top of the walls! Kill all the archers!”
While flying through the sky with black magic and manipulating the undead, she spotted a group of people emerging from the forest.
“Where did these guys come from?”
A rather handsome man led the way, followed by elves and humans.
Curiously, the humans surrounded the elves, as if protecting them.
“Humans? Why are humans here?”
Narita stared at them with a bewildered expression.
The only humans in Elfheim were Pandemonium's black mages and knights.
If they belonged to Pandemonium, they should be capturing elves alive. Yet these humans were protecting the elves.
“I need to capture them and interrogate.”
Narita issued orders to the undead at the rear of her forces. The undead turned around.
“Capture them alive. It doesn't matter if half die.”
The house-sized undead understood her command and let out roars.
Their massive size matched the volume of their cries, making the entire field reverberate.
“They must be confident in their skills to step forward like that.”
Narita muttered as she gazed at the human at the forefront.
“But what a shame—our little darlings aren't pushovers either.”
As she said, the undead filling the field were no ordinary creatures.
They were made from monster corpses collected by Dorgo—known as the master of all black mages—over nearly a millennium.
From extinct species to mutants, they varied wildly. Their commonality? They had all been terrifying monsters even in life.
Dorgo had revived them as undead and strengthened them further with black magic.
With forces like these, even a master-class fighter would...
“...Light?”
Light poured from the sword in the man's hand. The moment Narita saw it, she felt an instinctive repulsion.
This was no ordinary light. It was light composed of holy power.
“A Holy Knight? No, it doesn't feel like those hypocrites.”
As Narita reeled in confusion, the man swung his sword.
Light flashed, and a massive sword beam sliced across the entire field.
The densely packed undead were all bisected.
“...”
Narita's mouth fell open unwittingly.
That single attack had destroyed thousands of undead.
Even Narita, who had lived over a century, had never witnessed such a sight.
“Everyone, follow me.”
The man spoke to his companions behind him. Then he stepped toward the gates, trampling the undead corpses.
The instant Narita saw this, instinct screamed that she had to stop them.
If a knight of that caliber joined the elves, the tide of battle could turn unpredictably.
“...Stop them! Kill those bastards!”
The field still teemed with undead. They began filling the gap. Over ten thousand undead moved to attack the intruders.
“He must be exhausted after that powerful strike. If we all rush him...”
As Narita spoke, the man moved again.
Each swing of his sword cleaved away huge swaths of undead.
The legion she had placed such faith in couldn't even approach him before being swept away.
“What are you doing! Stop him! Hold the line!”
No matter how loudly Narita shouted, it was futile. The man and his group drew ever closer to the gates.
-What is happening here?
At that moment, a voice rang in Narita's ear. Someone had cast a communication spell.
Narita reflexively looked skyward. There, a jellyfish-like undead floated in the air.
Atop it stood six men, all radiating overwhelming auras.
“Metrom...”
Metrom, the Helmet-Splitter.
Among Pandemonium's Great Evils, he was infamous for having the most enemies—thanks to his foul temper.
The frustrating part was his skill: he was still alive despite it all.
-You should have reported the anomaly immediately. Why did you just sit on it?
“...I could handle it myself.”
-As if.
Metrom's voice dripped with mockery. Narita bit her lip without realizing.
-I see how incompetent you are. Fall back. I'll handle him.
Metrom and his retainers leaped from the jellyfish undead. They blocked the man's path.
“Halt. You will not approach the castle any further.”
Metrom declared in a voice thick with killing intent.
“You seem quite confident in your abilities... but that confidence was misplaced. To think you could break through here alone.”
Metrom gripped his axe as he spoke.
“I'll end you right here, right n—”
“One Wheel.”
Like oil poured on flames, the man's aura surged in an instant. His body vanished.
In the next moment, Narita witnessed it.
The head of the lead retainer was sliced off along with his helmet.
The next retainer's upper and lower body separated. The one beside him was diagonally bisected through the torso.
They died faster than the blink of an eye. The victims likely never even registered their deaths.
“You little shit...!”
Only one—Metrom—reacted to the man's speed. He leveled his axe to sever the man's waist.
The man brought his longsword down to split Metrom in two. Sword and axe clashed.
And the axe shattered.
It parted like cheese under a hot knife.
“This... this can't...”
The longsword that cleaved the axe continued, bisecting Metrom's head and torso.
Helmet-Splitter Metrom met his end by having his own body split.
“...”
Narita could only tremble in terror.
Metrom's personality was rotten, but his skill was undeniable. He had claimed a seat among the Great Evils with nothing but an axe and no master.
Yet he hadn't even withstood a single exchange before perishing.
It wasn't technique that defeated him. He had simply been overwhelmed by the Aurablade's power.
“I... I have to run. If I stay... I'll be next...”
Then, Narita locked eyes with the man. Her heart froze in the grip of deathly fear.
“Uh... uhhh...”
The man swung his sword. A flash of slaughter poured forth, severing Narita's neck.
Her head and body fell separately to the ground.
* * *
Killing the black mage in the sky caused the undead to lose control and rampage wildly.
Thanks to that, Demian no longer needed to waste his strength.
“Why are you all just standing there? Move!”
His companions, who had been staring dazedly at Demian's exploits, hurriedly followed.
But Demian couldn't go far before he had to stop.
Flames suddenly erupted right in front of him.
The rising blaze formed a wall, blocking Demian and his group.
It was no ordinary fire. Its heat was intense enough to melt iron in seconds.
He had seen this flame in his previous life.
One of Pandemonium's pillars.
Sla, the Weaponmaster, was another pillar of Pandemonium.
This was the flame wielded by the Ruler of Myriad Flames.
“A big fish shows up at the end, huh.”
Demian said with an annoyed look.
At that moment, someone descended lightly from the sky.
The instant Demian saw the man's face, he doubted his own eyes.
In his previous life, the Ruler of Myriad Flames always wore a mask—a plain, polished one without markings.
But this Ruler of Myriad Flames wore no mask.
Even more shocking was the face itself.
Across both his past and present lives, this was the first time seeing the Ruler of Myriad Flames' true face—and it was identical to one Demian knew.
“...Empire's Greatest Swordsman?”
The Ruler of Myriad Flames' bare face matched the Empire's Greatest Swordsman exactly.
The difference was the ears. Unlike the Empire's Greatest Swordsman, they were pointed and elongated like an elf's.
“Demian, that man is not the Empire's Greatest Swordsman.”
Cynthia said urgently. She glared at the Ruler of Myriad Flames with hatred.
“That man is the Ruler of Myriad Flames, Pandemonium's black mage!”
At Cynthia's shout, the Ruler of Myriad Flames looked around and spoke.
“I came because the Eastern Legion's mood felt off... and what do I find? Quite the spectacle.”
The Ruler of Myriad Flames crooked a finger. A peacock made of flames materialized behind him.
The moment the peacock appeared, the surrounding moisture evaporated. The field's weeds yellowed and crumbled.
This was no ordinary spirit. It was a top-grade fire spirit.
“Tsk tsk, turn them to ashes.”
The peacock's tail fanned out. Flames burst from eye-like patterns.
Crimson fire engulfed Demian and his group. The entire field was wrapped in blaze.
The Ruler of Myriad Flames watched the flames with cold eyes. Soon, he furrowed his brow slightly.
“...Huh?”
The flames were converging toward the center.
Their speed increased, drawing in all the fire the spirit had unleashed.
Then it became clear.
The elves and humans standing unharmed.
And Demian, holding a sphere of fire in his hand.
“...What did you just do?”
The Ruler of Myriad Flames asked with a stiff expression.
Demian had devoured the fireball. Despite swallowing flames powerful enough to scorch the field, he was fine.
At the sight, the Ruler of Myriad Flames' brow furrowed deeper.
“I doubt you'd understand even if I explained.”
Demian said as he dusted off his hands.
In his previous life, among the knights Demian had fought, there was one called the Crimson Lotus Knight.
During the War of Ruin, he was one of the empire's so-called heroes—a powerhouse who wielded flames as his epithet suggested.
Demian had encountered him in the heart of the battlefield. After over two days of combat, Demian emerged victorious.
The reason Demian could manipulate flames stemmed from the realm he had stolen from the Crimson Lotus Knight.
“Don't feel like talking, huh? Neither do I.”
The Ruler of Myriad Flames spread his arms. A massive magic circle rose from beneath his feet.
“You seem familiar with flames... but can you handle these?”
A colossal blaze erupted from the magic circle.
Ominously, the flames were pitch-black. Streaked with blood-like red.
The jet-black flames fused, forming a muscular male figure.
Gray stakes were embedded throughout the figure's body. Liquid endlessly oozed from the puncture wounds.
Seeing this, Cynthia cried out in horror.
“Karma! You demonic bastard! What have you done to him!”
Karma.
Demian knew the name. In his previous life, he was one of the two spirit kings Cynthia commanded.
The Fire Spirit King.
A transcendent being said to be capable of incinerating the entire world.
“Karma, sweep them all away.”
The Ruler of Myriad Flames pointed at Demian and the elves. But Karma remained still.
“Not listening again, are you.”
The Ruler of Myriad Flames fiddled with his bracelet. The stakes in Karma's body dug deeper.
-Roooaaarrrgh!
The Fire Spirit King bellowed in agony. The Ruler of Myriad Flames issued the command again.
“I won't say it twice. Kill them.”
The Fire Spirit King's mouth tore open as if its skin would rip. Flames poured from within.
Pitch-black fire consumed the field and scorched the very sky.