Chapter 92
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: You've Grown Up a Lot. (2)
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3.
Monsters.
Creatures born from the dark mana of the demon race.
Even the orcs and trolls scattered across the continent were, in a broader sense, a type of monster.
The only difference was that their dark mana had diluted over generations.
But the minotaur before him was no mere subspecies like an orc.
Minotaurs were monsters that had to be created directly by the demon race. They served as the shock troops in demonic legions, nothing less than living, biological weapons.
Nice to meet you.
Dark mana.
The accursed energy of the demons that had stolen his entire past life.
Just facing this energy sent a surge of fury through his mind.
Vwoooom!
Detecting Karrons intense hostility, Guillotine began to resonate without a word.
Azure mana gathered at the tip of its blade.
Roooaaaar!
The minotaur let out a savage roar and brought its massive mace crashing down on Karron.
The mace fell with a speed that defied its size.
Craaaaaash!
It slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater.
But its mace had only managed to pulp other monsters.
Thwack.
Karron, who had already landed on the minotaur's right arm, drove his sword into the limb with all his might.
Its muscles were tough enough to deflect even magic, but before Guillotine, they were like cake.
Lets start with the foreleg.
Vwoooom.
Grind!
Karrons mana flowed into the minotaurs body, settling in its muscles before erupting into a vortex.
The azure vortex began to pulverize the minotaurs right arm.
Guaaaaaaaah!
A pained scream escaped the creatures mouth.
The vortex spun relentlessly like a grinder, tearing the arm to shreds.
A massive amount of blood sprayed into the air, and the minotaur, having lost its right arm, thrashed in agony.
Even the unique regenerative abilities of monsters were meaningless before that merciless vortex.
Thud.
The minotaur violently shook its upper body to dislodge Karron. But Karron effortlessly maintained his balance and leaped toward its left arm.
Guillotine.
What is it, master?
Youre the best.
Youre just figuring that out now?
Even after conjuring a vortex powerful enough to shred the minotaurs arm, Karrons mana hadnt diminished in the slightest.
This was because a far greater amount of mana was flowing into his body than when he had slain the knights.
I was born to purify dark mana in the first place. This is my area of expertise.
This time, Karron plunged his sword into the minotaurs left arm and once again unleashed the torrent.
Grind.
Just like that, the minotaur lost both its arms in an instant, and Karron landed lightly on the ground.
Graaaaaaah!
The minotaurs yellow eyes turned blood-red.
Berserk.
A technique that enhanced oneself through dark mana. It was similar in nature to the Overload used by knights.
The effect of Berserk was a dramatic increase in physical abilities.
Crrrack.
Though both its arms had been torn off by the vortex, the moment it went berserk, veins sprouted from the wounds like worms.
The veins intertwined, beginning to form the shape of new arms.
Karron watched the sight, licking his upper lip. Then he spoke with a smile.
I went to all the trouble of cutting them off so nicely for you. If you had a complaint, you should have said so sooner.
Karron spoke playfully, glancing to the side.
He saw Rion, her exhaustion plain to see.
When their eyes met, Rion managed a weary smile.
Youre here, Karron?
Can you still fight?
Not really. Is there anything I can do to help?
Nope, not a thing.
Karron readjusted his stance and said with a grin.
Just watch closely. Itll be helpful for you, sister.
Karron had noticed that Rion had reached the 6-star level.
She must have learned Torrent as well. Showing her what Torrent truly was would be a great help to her growth.
With that, Karron charged toward the minotaur once more.
No need for me to wait for you to finish transforming.
Thwump.
Guillotine pierced the minotaurs right foot.
Booooom!
The creature's right foot, along with its calf, promptly exploded.
Not stopping there, Karron immediately blew up the left one to even things out.
And then.
Thud!
The massive body of the minotaur finally collapsed to the ground.
Grrrrl.
Even as it fell, the minotaur glared at Karron.
The creature's red gaze fixed on him. The killing intent within, the thick dark mana, began to press down on Karrons entire body.
A kind of fear aura.
Rion flinched slightly at the pressure emanating from the high-level monster, but Karron simply grinned wider and approached the minotaurs head.
Now were finally at eye level.
Karron strode forward.
Gurgle.
Even in that short time, the minotaurs body was regenerating, but that posed little threat to Karron.
Thump, thump.
With each step Karron took, the surrounding monsters flinched and retreated.
An unnatural silence fell upon the battlefield that had been filled with screams and roars.
Karron walked through that silence and finally reached the minotaurs eyes.
Bloodshot eyes, staring directly at Karron.
Someone is watching you through this things eyes, master.
Guillotine, having detected traces of dark magic, spoke quietly.
Is that so?
The one watching this situation through its eyesthat bastard must be the one who brought this disaster upon this land.
Thwump.
Karron plunged Guillotine into the minotaurs eye. Then, he whispered in a low voice to the one he knew was watching from beyond.
Youre next.
Whether the perpetrator was a demon or a dark magician, he didnt particularly care about their identity.
Because.
Ill make you beg me to kill you. It wont take long, so youd better look forward to it.
No matter who it was, he planned to gift them a miserable end.
With those final words.
Boooooooom!
The minotaurs head exploded entirely.
Karron exhaled lightly, evaporating the blood that rained down from the sky with his mana.
An ancient hatred churned in his eyes.
4.
After the minotaurs head exploded, cleaning up the remaining monsters was not difficult.
The remaining creatures were already frozen like ice.
Faced with their natural predator, Guillotine, the monsters met their end without even putting up a fight.
Disposing of the petrified monsters wasn't much of a challenge.
This is the last of them, Karron.
Good work, Utulla.
Utulla unceremoniously dropped the monster carcasses he was carrying in both hands.
In the center of the village, the bodies of monsters formed a mountain.
There were easily over 150 of them.
Are we burning them?
We have to. Leaving them will contaminate the land.
I figured as much, so I brought some oil. Found it by the blacksmith's. I brought all the fuel they had left.
Better to run out of oil than to leave monster corpses behind. Besides it'll be hard for anyone to live here now.
The village was already in ruins.
Not a single building was intact, and most of the residents had lost their lives.
The number of survivors in the village was a mere ten.
Judging by the number of buildings, it seemed to have been a sizable village, but this was no longer a land where people could live.
Alright, Ill light it.
Utulla skillfully doused the pile of carcasses with oil.
Then, he threw a torch he had set aside onto it.
Fwoooosh!
The monster carcasses went up in flames.
Acrid smoke began to rise, but Karron lightly swung his sword, sending the smoke spiraling up into the sky.
Sob
My husband!
Sorrowful wails echoed from all around.
A place where the resentment of the dead and the sorrow of the living mingled.
Karron took a deep breath, taking it all in. Then, he slowly turned and walked over to Leo and Rion.
Leo was still unconscious, seemingly from prolonged exhaustion.
I had a feeling they might send you from the Azure Fortress, and you really came.
Rion spoke, her voice soft as she rested Leos head on her lap.
Karron gave a bitter smile and nodded.
Was I too late?
No. You came just in time.
Karron sat down next to Rion and looked down at Leo.
The crazy bastard really tried to overload his core.
If he had been even a little later, Leo might have suffered severe aftereffects.
Core overload was the most devastating choice a knight could make in their life.
But Karron had no desire to scold Leo.
Hes really grown up.
Hasnt he?
His mana had reached the peak of 5-star, his body had hardened compared to four years agothose were things that should naturally improve with time.
But what made Karron proud wasn't the physical aspect, but the mental one.
He even knows how to make a sacrifice now.
The will to readily accept sacrifice to protect Rion and the remaining villagers.
When they first met, he had been an arrogant brat who only cared about himself.
But now, that same brat had shown he was willing to sacrifice himself for others.
That kind of will was not easily obtained.
It seemed Leo had truly learned a lot over the past four years.
He seems more like an adult than I am.
At those words, Rion smiled softly.
Well, Leos always been your older brother.
He should have acted like one before. But now I guess Ill have to start treating him like one.
He worked so hard, saying he wanted to be useful to you. Of course he grew.
Is that so?
Karron let out a soft chuckle and nodded. He then handed her a potion.
Rion downed the potion in one go, then looked at Utulla, who was silently clearing up the village in the distance.
When did you make another new friend?
Its a long story. I just picked him up on the way No, I mean, we met.
Its not every day you meet a giant.
Its a really long story, so Ill tell you later. Oh, by the way, why were you and brother fighting monsters here?
At his question, Rion let out a light sigh. She answered in a low voice.
Weve roughly identified the source of this phenomenon. We were on our way to the Southern Great Forest.
Whats your reasoning?
The number of monsters increases the closer we get to the Great Forest. It seems like something there is summoning them. We were just stopping here to rest when we were attacked.
Considering the vision-sharing magic on the minotaur, it was highly likely the attack had targeted Leo and Rion from the start.
But Karron deliberately kept this to himself.
There was no need to burden them with guilt.
As long as monsters roamed this land, being attacked by them would have been the villagers eventual fate anyway.
Is there any other information I should know?
Rions brow furrowed slightly as she continued.
On our way here, we stopped by a few villages to get supplies. But all we found were gruesome traces of destruction, no bodies.
How many villages?
Seven, that we could confirm.
Huh. Not a single body?
Right. Maybe the monsters ate them all.
Even so, it was bizarre that not a single body remained.
No bodies left behind?
Then there was the minotaur he had just killed.
Minotaurs were high-level monsters that also stood at the vanguard of a demon army.
A large number of missing bodies, and a minotaur.
It didn't take long for Karron to reach a conclusion.
So thats what this bastard is up to.
He realized what the mastermind behind all this was plotting.
A Chaos Gate.
A gate that summons evil things.
A dreadful disaster in its very existence, spreading death across the land.
Having reached that conclusion, Karrons face contorted into a deep frown as he said.
Looks like we need to hurry.
If they delayed, something they couldnt handle might occur.