Chapter 92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Harbadonia
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Harbadonia is the end of the world.
In this eternal land of death, as vast as the territory of the Holy Human Empire, sat the great empire of the Spider Lord, Ashuron.
There was no sign of human life in Harbadonia.
In this land of uninhabited snowfields and glaciers, there was no echo of the living, only an eerie silence.
The Harbadonia of today is a harsh world, but it couldn't even compare to the time when its master reigned.
The ceaselessly swirling blizzard itself was a Grade 3 Abyss. Crystals of rapacity that clung to the body and slowly ate away at the flesh.
Perhaps this was why Ashuron earned the epithet, the Profane Mystery.
Therefore, conventional attacks were impossible.
The power sources of warships would freeze unless they were BTT-04 Hyper Carriers—flagship-class vessels.
Even for the flagships, there was no guarantee how long they could last.
I relayed the story I'd heard from Karenden to the Enuel Assault Squad.
"You should all go back. Go, start families, and live happily. I will end this fight."
Silence fell within the warship.
In their minds, the profane blizzard of Harbadonia must have been spreading like a white sheet.
‘I'm certain the history of the Enuel Assault Squad suddenly vanishes somewhere around this point.’
It was strange.
Olen Duren became the new Grand Duke of the North, but where did the other leaders like Griffisorn go?
As if sensing my question, Griffisorn broke the silence.
"Yes, we'll go start our families. After we finish this expedition with you, Captain."
"......?"
"Of course I'm going too."
It was Varaniye.
Then, as if competing, everyone raised their hands and stood up.
"We're going too."
"Captain, us too."
I was so shocked I was speechless.
If I was this shocked, I could only imagine how Enuel must have felt at the time.
The extent of that shock could be inferred from the fact that the dialogue synchronization script, usually so calm and devoid of emotional fluctuation, appeared much later than usual.
"Did you not hear me? I said humans cannot go."
"If we cling to His Holiness Karenden's coattails and beg, he'll figure something out for us. Won't he?"
Varaniye winked. The other squad members laughed heartily in agreement.
My mouth…….
My mouth wouldn't close…….
Were my emotions synchronizing as well? In that moment, I could feel the heart-wrenching sorrow that Enuel felt.
Hot tears welled in my eyes.
I couldn't tell if they were Enuel's tears or my own, shed for the memory of the old White Skeleton Corps and the Iron Cross Knights.
"You are all truly, hopelessly foolish."
"Yes, we take after our captain."
And this was the origin of the beastkin warriors.
The main force would soon subjugate the Purple Cloud Woman, Requine, and open the way, so Karenden had no time. Not even enough time to bestow the blessing of light on everyone.
Thus, Karenden decided to proceed with physical modification.
By granting them innate weapons not permitted to humans within the order of creation—fur, claws, wings, and the like.
Of course, even this was rushed, so Karenden devised another bold tactic.
[Karenden: We'll cross as much of Harbadonia as we can with the Rin.]
"But Your Holiness, didn't you say the power core would freeze? And that the blizzard would disrupt the force field, making jump propulsion impossible..."
[Karenden: We'll fly at low altitude. If the power core freezes, we'll crash into the ground. Then we'll use the flagship itself as a forward base. We can provide cover fire for the assault. I'll finish the physical modifications by then.]
Even today, a ruin called the Battleship Base exists in Harbadonia. To think this was actually Karenden's flagship, the very place where the beastkin soldiers were created…….
"Your bodies will become like beasts. You may face the scorn and hatred of other humans. Are you still willing?"
"Yes."
"Don't have any regrets. His Holiness Karenden says it can be reversed, but there's a 1.46% chance it won't be."
"We will never regret it."
Of course, not everyone could become a beastkin soldier.
Of the thousand-some members of the assault squad, twenty-six were deemed unsuitable.
One of them was the founder of the Grand Ducal House of Duren, Olen Duren. One of the five Prince-Electors of the Empire.
"C-Captain... please let me go with you. I'll go too! I won't be a burden! If I become a burden, abandon me without hesitation! So please!"
The unsuitable ones, with Olen as their representative, knelt and began to beg, but there was no time for such stubbornness.
[Karenden: The force field is lifting. It seems Tersia succeeded. Prepare for launch! All hands, board.]
Just then, the profane mirage that had blocked all paths to Harbadonia by sky, land, and sea began to dissipate.
Olen pleaded more urgently.
Enuel then grabbed Olen's shoulder and said.
"Olen, you will protect this place."
"Captain...!"
"This war will be over soon. With the main forces all advancing north, I worry for the safety of those left in the south. You will protect them. I entrust this task to you. We are the kindling; burn your body to protect the light of creation."
The Rin, the Spring Breeze, spewed flames and launched.
Left behind in the eternal swamp, Olen and the other unsuitable ones saluted the departing flagship.
Olen shouted until his throat was raw.
"I will protect it, Captain. I will protect this northern land. Until the day you return, I will keep the light burning! It has been an honor to be with you all this time..."
Standing in the still-open hatchway, Enuel received his sentiment.
He struck his own heart with his fist.
Then, opening that fist and pointing it toward the heart of the one being saluted—this was the salute of an AuthenticWarrior, a way of showing the highest respect.
"The honor was mine."
At that, they collapsed, beating the ground and weeping.
Was their own powerlessness, their inability to follow Enuel to the very end, that sorrowful?
And what must Enuel have felt, having to exchange that sorrow not with a long conversation, but with a brief salute before departing?
Perhaps…….
They had a faint premonition…….
That this was a final farewell…….
Finally, the hatch closed with a gust of wind, and the flagship headed for the heart of Harbadonia at maximum speed.
At last, the final battle of the Mythic Age was about to begin.
Mythic Age,
Tarhye Rondel · Eldia · Rebirth (13)
[Harbadonia, Shen Plateau.]
- Cosmic Century, 4th Generation, Year 635, April 24.
The Shen Plateau is located in the heart of Harbadonia.
Far to the north of the plateau, the foothills leading to the 'Mountains of Madness' stretched out, and on the highest peak of that range stood Ashuron's castle keep.
Beyond the raging white blizzard, providence itself was being dyed the color of a dark blue abyss.
[Logistics Monitor: Grade 1.5 Abyss approaching. Emergency measures required.]
Only a being with absolute divinity could defile providence.
Therefore, this phenomenon meant only one thing.
The master of the Abyss, Yotos, was descending.
[Logistics Monitor: Grade 1.5 Abyss approaching. Madness level exceeding 120%.]
After the Spring Breeze crashed into the ice floe, Karenden immediately headed for the castle keep, and I joined up with Alkaios.
The primary objective is the Marquis, Jayun. Second in the Obongwi hierarchy, his current Abyss concentration rivals that of a True King.
His spiderweb attacks flew endlessly. With Sharrilion, I carved a rune into the core of a web and detonated it, setting off a chain reaction of explosions.
[Logistics Monitor: Madness level approaching 140%. Anomalies detected in the operational sensors of Grade 11 equipment.]
The problem wasn't just the Obongwi.
This blizzard…….
In the furious blizzard where I couldn't even see what was right in front of me, even the equipment made by [The Ones Who Came] was freezing over.
[Alkaios: I don't know how many minutes we've been held here. It seems they intend to pin us down completely. Enuel, you head for the summit and help Their Holinesses. I'll try to open a path.]
"We should go together."
[Alkaios: If I could, I would have already. Leave this to me and get to the castle keep.]
Enuel hesitated for so long that the synchronization script didn't appear for quite some time.
"Captain, I wish you luck."
Could such a simple phrase truly convey Enuel's feelings?
[Alkaios: Assault Squad, you go with him.]
[Varaniye: Don't worry, we were going to do that even without your orders!]
The braggart Varaniye had become a wolf-type beastkin.
Griffisorn, the vice-captain of the assault squad, was an eagle, possessing more dignity than any other beastkin.
And Elsara, who might have been an ancestor of Eltram, was a polar bear.
[Alkaios: Reliable. I'll open a path shortly. Enuel, do you know? That we are the kindling, and the duty of kindling is devotion.]
"......?"
[Alkaios: Kindling burns itself to protect the flame and light up the world. We must protect the flame. Her Holiness Tersia must survive. If someone must die in the process of ending this war... it must be us. Remember that.]
Alkaios crossed Galadiel and Rivelden, taking a stance.
Where the blades met, the unique colors of each True Holy Sword—crimson and blue light—bloomed beautifully and intertwined.
Watching this, I prepared to kick off the ground with the assault squad.
[Alkaios: I can only create an opening for an instant. You must get through.]
The next moment, a crimson bolt of lightning flashed, and the prison of spiderwebs tightening from all sides was torn apart and set ablaze.
Simultaneously, Jayun shrieked in pain, and in the gap created by his scream, a path opened.
As I kicked off the snow and slipped through the opening, Jayun roared and shot out webs and spider legs.
[Alkaios: Go, now!]
Of course, that attack was rendered meaningless by four crimson bolts of lightning that struck in that same instant.
"Captain, we made it out safely. What's your status?"
[Alkaios: It seems I won't have time to communicate. Don't look back now. Just go straight ahead, Enuel.]
Even after escaping Jayun's grasp, the journey was arduous.
The desolate gloom of the polar region and the maddening mountain winds assailed us, and the standard madness concentration reached 95%.
Given that ordinary people's heads explode and they die at concentrations above 80%, one can imagine how intense it was.
[Elsara: Where do you small fry think you're going! You're not even worthy of dancing with me!]
[Varaniye: Haha, this body is incredible! They're not even a handful!]
[Griffisorn: Captain, I see the mountain range beyond the edge of the plateau! The target is in sight!]
The closer we got to the mountains, the more profane disorders began to appear from all directions.
Kakrebush.
That thing, which at first glance looked like a colossal spider, was a high-ranking Old One. It was on the same level as Kyulryun of Shu'yulkulla.
[Griffisorn: They're Old Ones! We'll handle them, Captain, you head forward!]
Enuel hesitated greatly.
His feelings were clear from his lack of response.
As if to hurry him along, a faint, intermittent communication from [The Ones Who Came] came through.
[Karenden: ...I'll take the White Spirit. Tersia, we must deal with Ashuron before Yotos arrives...]
The White Spirit, Shar'kas, was third in the Obongwi hierarchy and guarded the mountainside. He would have received power slightly less than that of a True King.
[Varaniye: Captain, hurry!]
[Logistics Monitor: Assessing threats on path. 584 Grade 3 Abyss entities, 4,223 Grade 4 Abyss entities, and 392,334 Abyss entities below Grade 5 are approaching at high speed.]
[Elsara: There's an avalanche from the northeast! We need to move!]
[Kanrus: Kill them quickly! One down!]
[Griffisorn: Captain, please go! We will handle things here!]
Faced with the primordial terror closing in from all sides, a panting Enuel finally spoke.
"Wait for me. Until I return."
Did he really have to go now? To the profane palace beyond the unknown mountain range.
Did Enuel know?
That these words would be his farewell.
"Cheonghyeonseok, I'll leave this with you for a while."
As if promising he would definitely return for it, Enuel removed the guard ornament from Sharrilion.
A silver-blue gem that shone with a dazzling, bewitching light in the darkness. Within it, an immensely powerful light swirled.
Did the beastkin soldiers who received it as a token of his promise know as well?
[Griffisorn: We will wait, Captain. No matter how long it takes.]
That this very answer would become a covenant of honor, passed down through generations to their descendants a thousand years later.
[Varaniye: You can take your time, maybe go for a walk and come back slowly. We'll be waiting, telling stories about you to the grandchildren we'll have someday.]
This tearless yet tearful farewell was difficult to comprehend.
Why do the beastkin of today live under such scorn, treated as profane beings? Aren't they the ones who should be respected even more than the elves?
From a certain point in time, the perception of beastkin plummeted into the abyss.
Even Raida Eijin, praised as the Wise Emperor, and the Dragon Sage, Rain Ludwick, failed to reverse that perception.
Before them, the Three Divine Dragons, and after them, the Three Spirit Dragons, all tried, but to no avail... it is said that ordinary people feel a primal revulsion.
Could this, too, have been the work of the Abyss?
[Elsara: ......Movement complete! I'll deal with the rest of them as best I can......!]
[Varaniye: ......An Old One is coming......!]
[Griffisorn: ......Hold this position until the Captain returns......!]
[Hayets: ......A whole swarm of those spider bastards is coming......!]
As I ran up the snow-covered ridge, getting closer to the castle keep, the cries of the assault squad gradually faded.
In their place, the shouts of [The Ones Who Came] began to grow louder.
The communication lines must have started to connect, piercing through the disruptive field caused by the blizzard.
[Karenden: ......Tersia, the firmament is being covered by the Abyss. Yotos's descent is imminent. Deal with Ashuron quickly......!]
[Tervel: ......I'm trying. But this thing keeps changing the internal structure. I can't find Ashuron......!]
[Shurigan: ......I'll handle the Boy. You two, press forward......!]
[Tersia: ......Shurigan, your body is in no condition to face him alone......!]
[Shurigan: ......But that doesn't mean there's no way. Tersia, have you seen the children freed from the Abyss? Seeing their starved, emaciated forms, I can't stop crying. Let's end all this sorrow. Don't ever turn back time. My will.......]
[Tersia: ......You've endured so much until now.......]
[Shurigan: ......I leave the rest to you, Tersia, Tervel, Karenden.......]
Soon, from the magnificent castle keep soaring atop the distant mountain peak, Shurigan's crimson miracle erupted.
To use the power of creation that purifies the earth with blood and tears for battle, Shurigan detonated his own body.
To seal the Boy, Alkyuta.
[New Enemy: The Boy, Alkyuta.]
- Alkyuta is fifth in the Obongwi hierarchy and is the caretaker of the castle keep.
- Alkyuta has protected the king's repose from intruders by freely changing the structure of the castle keep.
- Alkyuta continuously altered the space to block the advance of [The Ones Who Came], but was ultimately sealed by the Crimson Sun, Shurigan.
Judging from the information, Alkyuta wasn't the strongest enemy, but he seemed to be the most troublesome, especially in a time-sensitive situation like this.
[Logistics Monitor: ......Labyrinthine transformation of the castle keep has ended. Searching for the king's coordinates. 12 bliks to the east.......]
Shurigan's sacrifice opened the way.
That was the end of the Lord of Light, who was said to have wept tears of blood for the pity he felt for this world.
[New Enemy: Alkyuta's House Spider.]
- They are the royal guards of the palace who serve Alkyuta, the caretaker of the castle keep, and punish profane intruders. Do not make a sound.
The castle keep, Ashuron's residence, was a castle that pierced the heavens.
Castle walls, symmetrical with bizarrely identical structures and heights, wound around the mountain peaks, stretching out endlessly.
This extreme regularity evoked a sense of supernatural terror, and it exuded a profane majesty even while buried in snow.
[Tervel: ......Coming from the right, Tersia......!]
[Tersia: ......Don't worry about me......!]
As I ran through the desolate, profane fortress, field-mouse-sized spiders attacked endlessly.
They were small, fast, and annoying.
I cut them down, again and again, but there was no end in sight, and the corridor leading to giant stone pillars also seemed to stretch on forever.
"This is Enuel! I am moving to the operation area, but my distance isn't decreasing from 93 bliks."
[Karenden: Enuel, I've confirmed your signal and uploaded the castle keep's maze data to the logistics monitor. Follow its guidance. I'll join you soon.]
"Moving immediately."
[Karenden: Hurry. I can't rely on Tersia and Tervel alone.]
[Logistics Monitor: Confirmed new information update. It is a map of the castle keep's maze. Registered as a top-priority mission. Would you like to view it?]
There was no need to read the map.
Directional guidance began immediately on my visual UI.
Now, all I had to do was press forward, cutting down the house spiders that writhed with twelve tentacles resembling spider legs and flew long distances with their wings.
[Tervel: Got a hit in!]
[Tersia: We have to move! Tervel, move!]
[Tervel: No time to dodge! I'll block it, you go forward!]
[Tersia: You're so stubborn......!]
[Tervel: Go!]
[Logistics Monitor: Eldia Kata(05), the king's throne is through the opposite corridor. 2,578 Grade 4 Abyss entities, designated 'House Spiders,' are gathering in front of the corridor.]
A flash of pure white.
Over two thousand house spiders are swept away in a single breath under the light of Sharrilion's blade.
However, the house spiders continued to hatch from eggs that clung like sticky jelly all over the fortress.
[Tervel: How many times does this thing regenerate?]
[Tersia: Its regeneration speed is too fast. Spiderweb! Dodge!]
[Tervel: Guh......!]
When I arrived at the location indicated by the map, I frowned.
What is this?
Beyond this, there should have been a vast throne room... but there was no passage, only a wall.
It was less a wall and more a spiderweb.
It was gooey and sticky, yet incomparably sturdy compared to something like brick.
When I threw a stone, it was instantly caught by the web and pulled inside.
The logistics monitor provided analytical data.
[Logistics Monitor: Grade 1.5 Abyss. Presumed to be a spiderweb created by the authority of the primary objective, Ashuron. There is no way to enter.]
"There's always a way."
I take two steps back.
Gripping Sharrilion's hilt, I unleash a single strike.
The power burning with sacred heat upon the blade carves the letters of creation along the trajectory of the slash.
Benekom, shatter.
The power of light that created the providence of this world descends in the form of letters.
[Tersia: Tervel!]
The moment the light converged upon the scattered letters along the trajectory and then ran rampant, cracks spread across the entire outer wall.
[Tervel: I'm fine, don't come over here......!]
Through the cracks, even more light poured out.
[Karenden: Tervel, your life signs... I just finished off the White Spirit. I'm coming. Don't die, don't you dare die!]
The light widened the cracks, prying them open... and finally, with a deafening roar, the wall collapsed.
Ruuuuuumble—!
And then, profanity.
The Profane Mystery, Ashuron, who wore a transcendent body above the mundane world.
Just as the Spider Lord swung his divine body to crush Tervel.
────CRAAAAAACK!
A single, brilliant flash of light.
The touch of the outer cosmos, which made even the light of providence tremble, was blocked by the blade of the True Holy Sword Sharrilion.
At the profane event that had occurred before him, a slight wrinkle formed on the evil god's brow, and the atmosphere roiled.
Amidst that turbulence that made even providence weep, the hero simply said.
"This is Enuel. I have arrived at the operation area. Commencing the order to subjugate the Spider Lord."