Marhalta in Sight
The journey from the Gray Wasteland to Marhalta was finally coming to an end. Ahead of them rose a rocky mountain so immense that its true scale could hardly be guessed, its entire mass a single stretch of gray. Even from this distance, the mountain itself seemed to exude despair.
Deeper than death.
Marhalta, the territory of Zigritria, the Magic Dragon of Despair.
“Looks great.”
That was Yoon Sang-hyuk’s brief assessment of Marhalta.
They were still fairly far away, but the hostility pouring out from Marhalta felt like it could rip flesh from bone. Yoon Sang-hyuk glanced at the others in the party. As expected, they were trembling, their eyes full of fear. If he could feel the killing intent from here, then it was already exerting direct pressure on them.
“Lord Sang-hyuk. Would it not be wise to rest here before entering Marhalta?”
“Did we walk here? Did we run? We came in a carriage in comfort, so why would we need a rest? We’re leaving now.”
Zephyr could hear the faint excitement in Yoon Sang-hyuk’s voice. He looked at him with a helpless expression, then promptly returned to his own carriage.
The carriage set off once more.
“How long are you planning to keep acting so cool?”
Valender von Graus turned his head and looked at Yoon Sang-hyuk. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Valender von Graus felt different from before. Not in a bad way, but in a good one.
“You’re looking forward to it too, aren’t you?”
“Facing a strong opponent is always exhilarating. No swordsman would refuse the chance to prove his blade.”
His voice carried the emotionless tone unique to a Death Knight.
By contrast, Ibrahmut, leaning back in his seat with his arms folded, looked anything but calm. His mouth, which never seemed to stop running, was firmly shut, and his fist rested on his knee with such force that the knuckles had gone white.
“You scared?”
“S-scared? Me? Who do you think I am? I’m Ibrahmut, the first Balrog, the Lord of Flame. Sure, my name doesn’t amount to much compared to Zigritria, but still... that doesn’t mean I’m scared or anything.”
“Yeah, you’re scared.”
“I’m telling you I’m not!”
Watching Ibrahmut shout in outrage, Yoon Sang-hyuk gave a faint snort of laughter. He had only been teasing him to ease the tension, and it worked immediately.
“Want to make another bet?”
“Yes. Let’s do it! What are we wagering this time?”
“Shouldn’t you hear the wager before deciding what to stake?”
“Then what’s the bet?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Ibrahmut for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“Zigritria’s head. You win if you cut it off.”
“Hic.”
Ibrahmut suddenly started hiccuping.
“You really are scared this time.”
“N-no... I mean, think about it. Chopping off Zigritria’s head? Does that even make sense? That bet can’t stand.”
“Is that so?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk had no intention of killing Zigritria. Whether he had the power to do it or not, he still didn’t know, since he had not faced the dragon in person yet. But even if he could, he would not kill him.
Zigritria was one of the important pillars holding the Demon Realm together. If he were to die, the balance of the Demon Realm would collapse, and with it the balance against the Divine Realm could also crumble. The consequences might reach places no one could predict, and Earth might end up paying for it.
That was also why he had not killed the Hell Worm, the Banshee Queen Isophia, or Ibrahmut on the way here. They had already confirmed that they could gain experience by hunting demons and monsters while traveling through the Demon Realm. If it had only been about satisfying his own greed, he would have killed them all.
“Then let’s change the wager. You make Zigritria admit defeat.”
“You really are something, hyung-nim...”
“Why? Think I can’t do it?”
“……”
Ibrahmut had no answer.
In his head, he was certain Zigritria could never be beaten. And yet, for some reason, the thought kept sneaking up on him that maybe Yoon Sang-hyuk could actually do it.
That was probably because of all the things he had seen and felt while traveling with him. Yoon Sang-hyuk was strong. Stronger than Ibrahmut could even begin to estimate. And now that strength had deepened again after some new realization. That must be why. It felt as though Yoon Sang-hyuk might even be able to defeat the magic dragons that even a Demon King would think twice about facing.
“So? In or out?”
“Fine. I’ll take the bet.”
“How?”
“The subject of the bet is just you alone, hyung-nim. It’ll be whether you win against Zigritria or not.”
“Excellent. Obviously you’re betting on me...”
“I’m betting that hyung-nim wins.”
“……”
Yoon Sang-hyuk stared at Ibrahmut in disbelief, then burst out laughing.
“You little punk. You’ve gotten pretty good.”
* * *
“Zephyr, Zeronia.”
“Yes, Lord Sang-hyuk.”
“You know what you’re supposed to do, right?”
The two bowed their heads. Yoon Sang-hyuk walked slowly ahead, with Valender von Graus and Ibrahmut taking positions on his left and right.
In front of them, massive stone golems stood in orderly ranks. There had to be several hundred of them at a glance. Hundreds of golems, each treated as a strategic weapon, gathered in a single place.
If such a force had been deployed in a war among humans, the conflict would have ended almost instantly in a crushing victory.
They were huge golems, each one easily over ten meters tall from the soles of its feet planted in the ground to the top of its head. Among them, the three golems leading the formation were clearly different from the rest.
The one at the very front was about fifty percent taller than the others, and sharp structures like demon fangs jutted from its joints at the shoulders and elbows. The two golems standing behind it were likewise far larger and more grotesque than the ones in the rear.
“The commander and his adjutants?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk smiled faintly.
“Looks like I’m finally going to get some real hand feel. Those are mine, so don’t even think about touching them.”
“That’s unfair.”
“If it bothers you that much, then you can be the older brother.”
“Ugh.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk drew a weapon from his subspace. It wasn’t a sword. Instead of Song of Doom, his treasured blade, he pulled out a grim-looking club. A round structure was attached to the end of it.
Thunder Rod.
The weapon Yoon Sang-hyuk used when he wanted to feel every impact to the fullest. It was the unique-grade blunt weapon he had obtained after defeating the Thunder Giant all by himself in the world of Eternal World. Rather than the myth-grade Song of Doom, he had chosen the unique-grade Thunder Rod.
A myth-grade weapon was certainly impressive. But what mattered more was who wielded it. Even a unique-grade weapon, when used by Yoon Sang-hyuk, could display power on par with a myth-grade weapon.
“I was disappointed by that first greeting of yours. This time, though, you’ve come properly prepared. Now then, comrades, the appetizer for the main dish has arrived. If you’re ready, fire!”
With a broad grin and a cheerful glint in his eyes, Yoon Sang-hyuk kicked off the ground and shot forward. Valender von Graus also surged ahead almost at the same time.
“Haah... those hyungs are at it again. Aaaagh!”
Ibrahmut followed close behind. With every step he took, his body grew larger. In his true form, horns crowned his head magnificently.
He swung two whips of flame through the air and charged straight at the golems.
Rumble, rumble, rumble-
The golems began moving as well.
The three who looked like commanders fell back, while the rank-and-file golems advanced toward Yoon Sang-hyuk’s party.
Tap-tat-tat- crack- crack-
Yoon Sang-hyuk shattered the knee joint of the foremost golem. As it lost its balance and toppled forward, he brought the Thunder Rod up beneath its head like a boxing uppercut. In an instant, the golem’s head vanished. But that was not the end of it. Yoon Sang-hyuk slammed the Thunder Rod directly into the center of its chest a second time.
He felt something breaking through the weapon and into his hand.
“Bingo.”
A golem could restore its shattered body parts until its core was destroyed. The breaking sensation he had felt when he struck the chest just now was the feeling of the core being crushed.
He completely destroyed one golem and moved on to the next. Even though he knew the core was in the chest, Yoon Sang-hyuk did not aim there first. He smashed the limbs, then the head, and only at the end did he destroy the chest core.
Since arriving in the Demon Realm, he had not really gotten the chance to loosen up his body properly. The undead he had fought last time had been too weak for him to feel anything at all.
“Break apart!”
He wasn’t using any special skills, nor was he overextending his energy, yet every time the Thunder Rod landed, the golems shattered to pieces.
As the number of golems broken by Yoon Sang-hyuk’s hands increased, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened. He kept roaring strange sounds as he destroyed them one after another.
Valender von Graus was showing no less skill than Yoon Sang-hyuk. His movements had already been compact before, but now they had become even simpler than before. He moved only as much as he absolutely needed to, sending his sword out only as far as necessary to subdue his opponent.
Not a single motion was wasted. And yet he was cutting down the golems even faster than Yoon Sang-hyuk. The insights he had newly gained were clearly pouring straight into his swordsmanship.
Ibrahmut’s battle, on the other hand, was all spectacle and ferocity.
Long streams of flame laced the air. The golems wrapped in those flames melted in an instant, as though ice were being dissolved by fire. Sometimes he lashed a golem and used the whip to sweep through others, and sometimes he trapped more than ten golems inside a storm of flames created by the whips, then lashed at them without pause.
The number of golems, once in the hundreds, was dropping far too quickly. It was impossible to tell whether this was a battle or a one-sided slaughter.
From a distance, the Zephyr siblings, who had built a wall with their carriage to protect the Ariane clan while watching from afar, had their mouths hanging open.
“What exactly are we looking at right now?”
Zephyr and Zeronia had grown stronger thanks to Yoon Sang-hyuk’s help. Because they were already at a higher level than the others in their family, they could see more as well. The two of them could dimly make out the battle between Yoon Sang-hyuk and the others.
“I thought getting a little stronger meant we were doing well...”
“Heh, this is ridiculous. The strength we possess doesn’t even reach their fingertips.”
The sight of the three of them tearing through the golems like wolves among a flock of sheep was like...
“Gods of war.”
“Yes... that fits perfectly.”
If a god of battle existed, it would surely look like that.
Zephyr and the others watched with eyes full of admiration.
“If we keep training, can we become that strong too?”
“Of course.”
Zeronia looked at Zephyr in surprise. She had assumed he would say something negative. Feeling her gaze, Zephyr gave an awkward smile.
“It’s obviously possible. It’ll just take a while...”
Zephyr scratched his cheek and muttered,
“Maybe ten thousand years?”