Thunderbolt Trap
The moment they reached the vicinity of Karina Castle.
- Kraaaah!
One exposed to the light of the holy relic Amor screamed from atop the ramparts, bursting into flames. At the same time, the soldiers began to waver.
"Kyung!"
Wolrang's senses detected the foul energy that had filled most of the soldiers' minds vanishing.
'They're not going to open the gates properly.'
Thud.
Ignoring the closed gates, Tiny leaped straight onto the ramparts.
"Awooooooo!"
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!
A soldier with a frantic face rang the emergency bell upon hearing Wolrang's howl, but assessing the castle's layout took priority, so Tiny quickly turned away.
A small castle roughly a kilometer in diameter. It barely qualified as a small town.
Most civilians lived in villages outside during peacetime, farming, and only gathered inside for a siege in emergencies—a purely tactical fortress.
'No variables.'
Having instantly mapped the terrain, Tiny turned toward the inner keep.
A scale where entering the center would incinerate every demon worshipper inside.
'Karina really was bait to split the capital's forces.'
The hypothesis he'd discussed with the Sword Emperor solidified into certainty.
Clang-clang-thud.
"Hm?"
Arrows shot from somewhere bounced off Wolrang's hide and armor, and one aimed precisely at a vital spot was caught in his hand.
Looking toward the source.
"H-Hiiik!"
A few archers, pale as ghosts, collapsed and scrambled backward.
"Brave soldiers. But you'd best stay put for a while. Unless you want to be branded traitors."
Tiny's calm voice, infused with mana, spread throughout the castle. The word "traitors" hit especially hard, echoing inside, and the hands of other brave soldiers gripping spears or nocking arrows went slack.
And then.
"I've come to purge the demon worshippers hiding in the castle! Innocents, make way!"
"Kraaaang!"
His roar shaking the air, amplified by Wolrang's even greater howl, instantly quelled even the soldiers' minor resistance.
The charge resumed. The relic's barrier, nearly a kilometer wide, swept the entire castle in an instant.
- Kraaak!
- Aaak!
Throughout the rush, screams erupted alongside black-red smoke from every corner.
'Looks like I won't even need to lift a finger.'
Just carrying the relic dealt massive damage to demon worshippers—he confirmed it anew.
By the time he crossed the outer wall into the open-gated inner keep.
- For a new world!
A familiar slogan rang in his ears, and a surge of foul energy hit him.
"Kyung!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
Thinking he might finally get some action today, Tiny gripped his extended Stamp fiercely.
But what met his eyes were still just black-red burning corpses. They had lasted a bit longer than those outside, but ultimately low-rank demon soldiers incinerated by the relic's power.
All except one.
'That one!'
Standing firm, bracing against the relic's barrier like pushing back its force. At least a Blader-rank demon soldier.
Tiny flashed a feral grin.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Whoosh!
Stamp hurled with mana-infused force.
'Let's see you tank this, trash! Assuming it survives once, plan for the second and third strikes.'
Kwaaaaaang!
Pathetically, it shattered in one blow, scattering as chunks of flesh.
'Aw...?'
As he smacked his lips in vague disappointment.
"Kyung!"
Wolrang's warning cry rang out, and the entire front courtyard before the keep sank, black-red flames erupting.
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Black-red flames enveloped his body in a tingling shock. Without instinctively summoning his Ironclad Body, it would've been a serious hit.
In other words, something he could endure.
The problem was...
'What the hell is that?'
A pit over ten meters deep, somehow dug unnoticed. At the bottom, fist-sized round objects piled up.
'Those objects... feel familiar...?'
In that instant, the strange spheres glowed red, influenced by the black flames. Before Tiny could recall, his instincts screamed danger first.
Sensing crisis, his thoughts accelerated, creating the illusion of slowed time.
And then, he instinctively unleashed his strongest technique.
'Hup!'
Making his body as light as possible, Tiny maxed his mana, splitting it into red and yellow streams gathering in each hand.
The insight from the capital battle last time. Not fully internalized for other uses yet...
'But this'll do now!'
As he clapped his hands, the two opposing manas—one red, one yellow—merged, infused with reverse gravity attributes.
They violently repelled, expanding dozens of times the input energy.
He hadn't pushed it this far in Valentia practice. Why? Too dangerous.
'Nngh...'
All he could do now was control the expansion direction. Even as he wielded it, the principle eluded him—this mad energy's name came quickly.
Ferocious, intent on smashing everything...
- Destruction attribute, wide-area deployment.
Gray energy, charged with his full power, shot toward the red spheres at the pit's bottom.
As it devoured over two-thirds.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
A massive shock slammed his body, launching him skyward. Wolrang's flesh, bearing the brunt, was forcibly unsummoned.
- Kyung!
Amid his soul companion's scream, Tiny felt tingling pain spread through him as he opened his eyes midair.
"...Hoo."
Such absurd power...
The psychological shock outweighed being flung dozens of meters.
'Something my mana sense missed packing this punch?'
His confused gaze took in the hellscape below. The entire front courtyard was cratered, black smoke rising everywhere.
'What artifact has power like this...?'
As the thought peaked, a past-life memory from Argon surfaced.
- Before I figured out how to spot them, the damage was insane because of their 'Thunderbolts.'
- No mana used, but groups make disposable artifacts look weak—terrifying things...
- Fist-sized orbs that glow red and... boom! Explode. Taboo to make now, though.
"...Thunderbolt!"
Not quite an artifact—an artifact nonetheless. Memory flooding back, Tiny landed on the ruined ground.
Thud.
"Ugh!"
Massive mana drain caused dizziness, botching the landing. Ankle throbbed, but the acrid stench from the smoldering black-smoke pit demanded attention more.
"No mana... and it does this?"
A scene defying common sense. Demon soldier corpses crumbling to dust barely registered.
'If... the palace too?'
- The palace defenses are airtight. Even assuming insiders, I'm curious how your 'disaster' struck.
The Sword Emperor's words chilled him.
Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?
'No. I didn't expect this level either.'
Untried in his past life, he'd dismissed it. Even if he had, as an Aura User, mana-less physical blasts would've been negligible.
'But for others...'
Such explosives smuggled into the palace? Knights and Sword Emperor guarding only against mana users, mages, artifacts...?
"Damn it! Comm orb! Where's the comm orb!?"
Bang!
Shaking off the shock, Tiny burst through the keep's doors.
"Kyaa! S-Save...!"
"Where's the comm orb! Comm orb!"
"I-I don't kn...!"
"The steward—or acting lord—would know!"
Interrogating castle folk yielded nothing; they were terrified by the sudden catastrophe.
Tiny bolted straight for the throne room.
Bang!
Smashing through the grand doors.
"...Heh, heheh. E-Equality forever."
A madman drooling, trampling shattered black orbs, muttering nonsense. Eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth—clearly unhinged.
"Lost your mind? I'll slap it back in."
Tiny knew the perfect cure for this.
Grind.
Grinding his teeth, he strode up and backhanded the nameless fool.
Smack!
"Snap!"
Smack!
"Out!"
Smack!
"Of it!"
Smaaack!
"Or I'll beat you dead!"
Smaaack!
Brutal slaps sending teeth flying left and right. Face unrecognizable, the man trembled under Tiny's killing intent.
"Tell me now! Where's the comm orb!!!?"
Not truly broken—just escaped reality via mental shutdown...
"Th-This backwater territory... d-doesn't... h-have one."
Overwhelming violence snapped him back. But the answer sucked.
"You sure?"
"Y-Yes. Yes. H-Heh. S-Save... me..."
Terror and blows restored faint reason; eyes half-rolled, foaming. Experience said no lies here.
Thus.
"Fuuuuck!"
Tiny could only sprint madly back outside.
'Gotta go now! Not too late. Before the wedding...'
But more problems.
- Grrr. Kyung!
Unsumming Wolrang left him unsummonable for now.
"Ah, damn it!"
Snarling irritably, Tiny glared at the late-arriving group outside the keep.
"You lot!!"
Two dozen knights and hundreds of soldiers. Facing the hapless Tiny, they hesitated despite numbers.
The wrecked front courtyard, one man causing it all. His chilling killing intent said he was beyond them.
"You. Get down."
"...Pardon?"
"Off the horse!"
"Wh-What?"
"Shut up and hand it over before I execute you traitors on the spot!!"
The lead knight on the largest horse dismounted instinctively under the soul-stirring intent.
Hiiing!
The horse, rejecting the non-owner rider.
"Run if you don't wanna die!"
Overwhelmed by killing intent, it shuddered forward bit by bit.
Then soon.
"Run!"
Dududududu.
Gaining speed, it vanished beyond the inner keep through the outer gates.
And.
"What the hell."
"Scary..."
"What happens to us?"
"What even went down here...?"
The rest, enthralled by demon worshippers then threatened by the mad knight, could only stare blankly from the ruined inner keep toward his vanished direction.