Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Translator: Penny
Chapter 15
The Cave's Secret, Part 2
Agron and Baek Woon pushed against the stone wall and entered the cave.
As they stepped beyond the pitch-black stone wall, a deep, resonant humming echoed from within.
"What's that sound?" Agron asked.
"It sounds like someone's chanting a spell," Baek Woon replied, his brow furrowed as he closed his eyes and strained his ears.
The magical melody and incantation seemed to slither thickly through the air, crawling across their eardrums like viscous syrup.
"What do you make of it?" Agron asked.
"I can't identify the specific spell, but judging by the Magic Array carved into the stone wall and the fact that they're chanting in this desolate cave, these aren't ordinary practitioners."
"I didn't need you to tell me that," Agron retorted.
"Ahem."
Baek Woon cleared his throat awkwardly.
In truth, identifying a martial arts style by observing sword techniques or deciphering a spell's nature by examining its magic array was something only possible in novels.
In real life, such calculations were usually impossible in life-or-death situations. If one truly wanted to understand, they would need to bring several books, compare them meticulously, and study them thoroughly.
"Think about it! How could you possibly identify a spell just by hearing a distant humming sound? Can you tell what kind of bird it is just by hearing its song?!"
"Yes, I can."
"...Spells aren't like bird songs, you idiot! Even if True Immortal Tae Eul himself came, it would be impossible!"
"Who said anything? I was just asking how you were doing."
"..."
Baek Woon, his face flushed with embarrassment, covered his face and hurried ahead.
What a stubborn, impossible man.
"Let's go together, Elder. It's dark."
"I don't need your help! I won't stumble in this darkness, so don't worry about me!"
"No, I need you to guide me. I can't see well in the dark."
"..."
"The echoes make it hard for me to find my way. Hurry up."
I want to kill him.
Baek Woon suppressed his murderous intent and hurried toward the source of the chanting.
Boom!...
Deep inside the cave lay a modest chamber. At its center, a group of figures sat in a circle around a single pillar, chanting incomprehensible incantations.
There were nearly twenty of them, their eyes gleaming as they stared at the pillar rising from the ground.
"The Master will awaken soon! Increase the pace!"
A man who appeared to be the group's leader stepped forward and untied a sack placed before the pillar, revealing its contents.
"P-please... spare me... spare me..."
Inside was a girl who looked to be about Agron's age.
"Heh heh heh, you won't die. You'll live forever within The Master."
"Please, spare me... spare me... sob..."
"Too late. Become a sacrifice for The Master!"
The man drew a knife from his robe and raised it high.
Thwack!
In that instant, the man's head vanished completely.
"...What was that?"
"What happened?"
The spellcasters and those channeling magic into the Magic Circle stared blankly at the headless man.
Is this part of the ritual too?
The chamber, where instruments had been playing and incantations murmured moments before, fell into complete silence.
"Tch, throwing it is too inefficient."
Just then, someone tore through the darkness and strode toward them.
It was a young man with muscular arms, sculpted abs, and eyes that burned with the regal intensity of a lion.
"W-what's going on?! A Barbarian's invaded!"
"What are the guards at the entrance doing?"
"Damn it! What about the ritual?!"
"Intruder! Kill him first!"
Those who belatedly grasped the situation rose from their seats and charged at Agron.
"No weapons... guess I have no choice."
Agron punched the first attacker in the face, shattering his skull with a casual motion, as effortless as crushing a cookie.
He then gripped the man's leg tightly, a smirk curling one corner of his lips.
"If you don't have one, make one."
Agron swung the man's body like a weapon.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of flesh colliding echoed through the chamber as three men instantly fell dead.
The movements were as light and swift as a bear snatching a salmon, but to the charging attackers, they were anything but.
"H-heck! What is this?!"
"F-fuck! He's just one guy! Kill him!"
"We have to summon The Master ourselves!"
The people panicked, desperately trying to stop Agron by any means necessary.
If the Master is resurrected, this wretch won't stand a chance... We can't let everything we've achieved slip away now, when we're so close to success.
"It's quite amusing to manipulate these humans."
Agron's momentum was unstoppable, like a raging storm tearing through a forest, each movement shattering everything in his path.
"Ugh! We have to fight like we're ready to die!"
The spellcasters brandished their daggers and charged at Agron.
The person he had been holding was now a mangled mess, stripped of flesh and reduced to bare bones.
"This durability is terrible."
Agron hurled the remains at the charging enemies and simultaneously lunged forward, his fist striking like lightning.
Crack!
The man struck by the fist flew several meters through the air before crashing into his comrade, killing them both instantly.
"M-madman...! M-monster!"
The enemies were beyond losing their will to fight; their minds had gone blank, unable to even process the situation.
A single barbarian had suddenly stormed in, not only disrupting their ritual but also slaughtering their men.
How were they supposed to make sense of this?
"W-who will kill that barbarian—"
Crunch!
"You're one to talk, mouthing off like that. Hiding in caves, kidnapping and killing girls—pathetic." Agron sneered, his words dripping with contempt.
"S-shut up! We have a noble purpose—"
Crack!
"I have a purpose too: to beat to death every dog who dares to shit in my fief." Agron's piercing blue eyes blazed with fury.
It didn't take him long to slaughter the remaining survivors.
With his bare hands, he twisted the jaw of one man chanting a spell and snapped the arm of another, plunging it into his heart.
Some tried to flee, but Baek Woon's Talisman trapped them, burning them to cinders on the spot.
"N-no way..."
One man, who had managed to complete his incantation, stared in horror as his comrades turned into cold corpses. He was a high-ranking member of the organization.
"I can't let it end like this...! After everything I've sacrificed to get here...!"
He had abandoned even his precious family to reach this place. He couldn't collapse and give up now.
He lunged toward a pillar.
The spell was complete.
His magical energy had been fully expended moments ago.
Now, all that remained... all that remained was the sacrifice to The Master.
But the women they had kidnapped had already escaped, lost in the chaos of the commotion.
There was no one left to sacrifice.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
The executive officer, standing before the pillar, roared with a voice sharp with resentment and frustration, as if trying to grasp the years he had poured into this endeavor.
The summit was within reach, just one final step away.
He stared down at his legs.
The final step.
"There's no turning back now."
With those words, he drew a dagger from his robe and slashed it across his own throat.
Thwack!
Crimson blood gushed down the pillar, staining its surface.
His body trembled violently as he smeared the blood across the pillar with his hand, muttering curses under his breath.
Agron, who had been dealing with other targets, frowned at the sight.
"What in the world is going on?"
Agron turned to Baek Woon with a bewildered expression.
"I'm just as clueless as you are. Do you think I know more than you do? I've never seen these kids before today."
"What do you think the final suicide meant?"
"Hmm... It seems like they were making a wish to their 'Master.' This ritual was likely meant to summon that Master."
Baek Woon stroked his beard as he examined the densely inscribed Magic Array and the sacrificial offerings around the pillar.
While methods varied from person to person, making it difficult to categorize, judging by Eastern magic principles, this format and structure closely resembled a ritual for summoning the dead.
Agron approached the last person who had committed suicide.
Rummaging through the corpse's robes for clues, Agron discovered a small tattoo on the neck: a circular symbol depicting a snake biting its own tail.
"Ouroboros."
Agron recalled the knowledge he had gleaned from books:
A being that endlessly cycles, eternally repeating creation and destruction.
"Death and life... I believe it symbolizes immortality and infinity."
He couldn't yet determine whether this was the man's personal tattoo or a symbol representing his organization.
However, he decided to memorize the emblem carefully.
His primal instincts told him they would cross paths again someday.
"..."
In that instant, Agron felt an unsettling sense of déjà vu—as if someone were watching him from somewhere.
It wasn't the gaze of a beast, but a thick, sharp, distinctly human gaze brimming with emotion.
There were no living people nearby.
Then—
Agron swung his fist at the pillar.
KWAANG!
The pillar crumbled with a deafening roar, filling the cavern with thick dust.
The strike had been almost instinctive.
"Well, you're quick on the uptake," a languid voice drawled from within the swirling dust.
Agron felt the hairs on his body stand on end, a chill running down his spine.
He was certain that if he had hesitated even half a second longer, the creature would have attacked him first.
"What are you?" Agron demanded.
The naked figure radiated a ferocious aura as he replied, "I am your god."
"A god?"
"Weren't you the one who summoned me? Why do you know nothing about me?"
The gaunt man tilted his head, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
He looked human, yet utterly inhuman.
"This is a rather humble abode for a god," Agron remarked.
"That's because you humans sealed me away," the man retorted.
The man clicked his tongue and pointed a finger at Agron. "You. From now on, you are my slave."
"...?"
"Come closer and take off your clothes. Hand them over to me."
The man's gaze and voice radiated immense power. Overwhelmed by his unyielding, regal demeanor, Agron slowly took a step forward.
"No, Agron! Snap out of it!" Baek Woon shouted.
"That old man—is he a Daoist from the East? It's too late. No human can defy my commands. I'll make you a slave soon enough too."
The man, who claimed to be a god, turned his haughty gaze toward Baek Woon.
Agron approached the man and slowly gripped his hand.
"Hmm? Is this slave retarded? He should be handing over his clothes, not grabbing my hand—Aaaagh!"
In an instant, Agron crumpled the man's hand and arm like paper.
"A god, you say?"
"Gaaah! Th-th-this madman dares to...!"
"Then I shall become the warrior who slays gods."
Agron's eyes flashed with an icy blue light as he drove his knee into the man's face.
Crack!
"Gah... Wait! You... you're not a slave anymore! You're my right-hand man now...!"
"Hmm? You want to get beaten with my right hand? Understood."
Agron raised his right fist and began pummeling the man mercilessly.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny