Barbarian in a Failed Game

While Khan peeked into the memories of Chaos, the lingering Spirit of Resentment that had been on the brink of annihilation due to Chaos invading his mental world let out a laugh.

『This, indeed….』

At the moment the blade of the Dragon Slayer Draupnir pierced through Khan’s head.

『So, you plan to push Chaos out with my power, do you?』

Unable to regain its former self—a resentment parasitizing the mental world of a mortal—it had no choice in the matter. However, the situation began to change.

『I was planning to quietly disappear, watching the end of the world from within this crazy human’s mind.』

The Spirit of Resentment felt its own level rapidly rising. No, it was not rising. It was regaining its original status.

『What a vile child.』

In the past, dragons had clashed with the ancient empire over dominion of the Midland. The being that had been the ruler of these transcendent beings was the Spirit of Resentment itself.

After the dragons were defeated by the empire due to the emergence of the monster Karyan, it was forcibly dragged down from its position as Dragon Lord, a humiliating peace treaty ensued. Its soul was torn apart by dragons and sealed away.

『Fine, I’ll play along. I also wanted to see this human’s end.』

Having regained most of its original memories while accompanying Khan, the Spirit of Resentment could fully restore its original status if given the right trigger. That trigger was the core of its soul, separated by Tilly Ashanumos.

Rumble─!

Khan’s mental world shook. The tremors were so intense that they even reached Khan, who was inside the memories of Chaos.

The soul of the Spirit of Resentment continued to expand endlessly. It was not just any dragon’s soul, but the soul of the Dragon Lord. The overwhelming ego, too large for a mere mortal’s mental world to contain, began to press back against Chaos.

Moreover, as the Spirit of Resentment’s influence grew within Khan’s mental world.

The Spirit of Resentment was even threatening to take over the position of the mental world’s owner. In truth, even a transcendent being would struggle to protect their mental world against the Spirit of Resentment, who was starting to recover the majesty of a Dragon Lord.

However, Khan’s mental world was exceptionally sturdy. It was vast enough to accommodate the Spirit of Resentment’s expanded soul.

『This is troubling.』

Ordinarily, it would have been. If Khan’s soul had not become weak as if asleep after Chaos ran rampant, he would not have yielded control to the Spirit of Resentment, who was regaining the Dragon Lord’s power.

『There’s no other choice.』

The Spirit of Resentment made a simple decision. It would push out all of Chaos. At the very least, it would completely establish a barrier to prevent Chaos from invading the internal mental world. Simultaneously, it would bolster Khan’s weakened soul.

The material for this was the Spirit of Resentment’s own status.

『Normally, this would be impossible, but….』

Now, the Spirit of Resentment was planning to turn its own status—its very soul—into a barrier for the mental world. It was essentially merging the Dragon Lord’s soul with a mere mortal’s soul. How much of it could be integrated depended solely on Khan’s capacity.

During this process, various unintended changes might occur, and there was a possibility that the Spirit of Resentment might take over control of the mental world entirely.

『Come, take as much as you can.』

Crash!

The Spirit of Resentment, having pushed out the last of Chaos from the mental world, let out a wry smile.

***

‘Ah, I’m back.’

He suddenly realized it.

While he was engaging in a nonsensical dialogue with the ‘God’ who had an audacious manner of speech, he had returned to reality.

“Dieee!!”

“…What did you just say?”

He locked eyes with Ron, who had been screaming and about to smash his head.

“…Oh. Are you back, boss?”

A chilly silence fell momentarily.

It was good that he was back, but wasn’t the timing a bit off?

“Ha. Hahaha! Boss! I knew you’d come to your senses! Look at this, everyone…!”

Whether he sensed the strange atmosphere or his highly developed survival instincts kicked in, Ron, grinning slyly, retrieved his hammer and shouted towards the comrades scattered around.

Only then did Khan’s gaze turn to the rest of the party.

They were all in a terrible state. Not one of them was unharmed. Leo, who had taken the brunt of Khan’s attacks alongside the Great Warrior, had his iconic paladin shield crumpled and ruined, and Maya’s spear was broken and missing.

Even the relatively unharmed Jan was covered in dirt, having apparently rolled on the ground while being targeted by Khan.

“Kahahaha! Indeed, the staff is effective!”

“Great Warrior.”

The ones with the most severe injuries were undoubtedly the Great Warrior and the Beast God. The Great Warrior had gotten overly excited, treating it as a long-awaited training session, resulting in them fighting chaotically without any teamwork.

It was somewhat self-inflicted, but Khan wasn’t pleased with the outcome. For some reason, the Beast God had lowered her gaze, as if feeling guilty.

‘Why are all these guys sprawled out like this?’

He knew he had rampaged while consumed by Chaos, but the way his comrades were lying around was peculiar. It didn’t seem like they had been struck and blown away.

『The roar of a dragon subjugates all lower beings.』

Then, with a voice that had somehow become clearer, the Spirit of Resentment spoke ominously.

『Your soul is now somewhat akin to a dragon’s. After all, it has mingled with mine, so its status has naturally risen.』

What?

Khan was about to retort, but then he felt a sensation from behind and frowned.

“We could be considered kin to some extent now. Don’t you think?”

He had already sensed who it was before hearing the voice of the person embracing him from behind. A lesser dragon, a highly advanced one. Perhaps closer to a true dragon than a lesser dragon

“Tilly. You…”

Why was she dressed in a maid’s outfit from Argon Castle? What had she done to him? What was her purpose in the Great Forest?

Many questions swirled in his mind, but instead of voicing those obvious ones, Khan sighed and asked something else.

“…Did you achieve what you wanted?”

“Of course. Although it was a bit surprising to see you in Midland before my plan even started. Thanks to that, I saw something quite interesting.”

“My lord.”

Maya, who had been watching the conversation between the two, subtly pushed Tilly away from Khan and intervened.

“I have something to report regarding that plan.”

She still had a slight tremor in her fingers, likely from the exposure to the Dragon’s Roar, but she judged the situation urgent enough to step forward.

“We need to close the passage opened by the demon contractors. Unlike Lady Ludmilla’s original plan, since you have returned on your own….”

“Ludmilla? Plan…?”

Maya hesitated for a moment. The plans Ludmilla had orchestrated and executed to bring Khan back were, in a way, negating Khan’s achievements and bringing chaos to the Empire. But it was only a matter of time before Maya’s tightly shut lips parted.

And.

While fighting the Beast God who had descended at the cost of their allies’ sacrifice, and stalling to prevent Khan, who had been consumed by Chaos, from causing more harm.

It was only a matter of time before the demon contractors completed their summoning ritual, taking advantage of the chaotic battlefield.

Flash!

Suddenly, Khan’s vision began to magnify as if looking through a telescope. His vertically slit pupils glowed golden, and his ashen eyes flickered with a mystical light.

Far away—Khan noticed the fully open dimensional passage. And the mysterious grand magic plunging towards that passage.

Dragon’s Eye.

It was the authority of a dragon, said to pierce through the mysteries of all things. A wave of information threatened to overwhelm Khan’s mind, but the solid status of the Dragon Lord protected his mental world.

‘A summoning ritual based on bloodlines. It deconstructs and usurps dark magic that governs dimensional passages from the ground up. And it overlays long-distance spatial movement.’

Despite having no magical knowledge, Khan calculated the structure of the grand magic and its potential outcomes, forming a peculiar smile.

“… They’re digging their own graves.”

***

The appearance of the Beast King, the descent of the Beast God, and the turmoil caused by Khan, who had been consumed by Chaos.

Taking a step back from these series of events, the demon contractors, who had been merely observing, subtly attempted to complete their summoning ritual.

Of course, fierce battles erupted with the warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge present on the scene, and the demon contractors, recklessly projecting the authority of the demons, were gaining the upper hand.

─────!!

The Dragon’s Roar that erupted from afar brought all the humans present to their knees. The warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge were no exception, and the demon contractors, their souls wounded, spewed thick black blood.

But that was all.

The demon’s authority protected the demon contractors. At the very least, it allowed them to move sufficiently to complete the summoning ritual.

“Finally-! The Great One descends upon Midland─!”

Thus, the completed summoning ritual opened a dimensional passage connected to Hell.

The demon contractors trembled with joy.

The dense darkness seeping from the dimensional passage was undoubtedly that of Behelanokto, the rightful heir of the Arch Demon. Just the opening of the passage filled their souls and replenished their depleted dark magic.

“Oh, Great One─!! Please, smite these wretched beings with the great power of your authority!”

The demon contractor, who had contracted with a demon of Behelanokto’s lineage, shivered, emitting intense dark magic. Just tasting a fraction of Behelanokto’s darkness elevated the status of their soul. If Behelanokto himself were to descend?

“Oh. Ohhh-!!”

As the demon contractors convulsed in ecstasy, the warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge, barely shaking off the Dragon’s Roar, began to rise. No matter what, they knew for sure that they had to stop them.

“Not a chance─!”

However, the darkness flowing from the passage was restoring the demon contractors. No matter how seasoned the warriors were, it was impossible to defeat fully restored demon contractors with their exhausted bodies.

One by one.

As the warriors of Hoarfrost Gorge fell to their knees, a seven-colored beam struck the dimensional passage. The spatial grand magic, completed by Ludmilla and the scholars of the Five-Color Tower, eradicated the dark magic rooted in the summoning ritual and replaced it.

Karyan.

And Gordi Khan.

The summoning ritual based on the blood of the two was activated.

“W-What…?!”

The dark mages were greatly perplexed by the sudden turn of events. However, upon confirming that the dimensional passage was still intact, they sighed in relief and mocked the barbarian warriors.

“Hmph! You seemed to have some hidden trick, but who could interfere with the concept of dimensions! Unless an ancient mage were to resurrect…! Kahaha!”

Then it happened.

From beyond the dimensional passage, something so overwhelming began to descend that it took everyone’s breath away. There was no need for anyone to tell them what it was. The Monarch of Hell, Behelanokto!

“Come, Great One……! Cover this land of unbelievers with your darkness─!!”

『Hmm, that would be problematic.』

“……?!”

The faces of the demon contractors turned to shock.

The gentle voice that suddenly emanated from beyond the passage was too different from the Behelanokto they had imagined. It wasn’t just the voice.

“Blood……?”

The dimensional passage, once composed of darkness, had turned into a pool of blood. And suddenly, a name of a Hell Monarch associated with ‘blood’ flashed through their minds.

“Es, Esperus! Lord Esperus is descending…!”

“Ooooh!”

It was indeed Esperus, the Hell Monarch shrouded in rumors due to never having a single contractor until now.

Why had Esperus, who had remained in seclusion all this time, chosen this moment to appear? Such questions didn’t matter. After all, Esperus was also a Hell Monarch. Instead, the demon contractors harbored new hope. Perhaps they could fill the vacant position of contractor—

‘But, why did he say it would be problematic…?’

It was a belated realization.

Only when blood tendrils surged from the blood pool connected to Esperus, piercing the foreheads of the demon contractors and dragging them into the pool, did they comprehend their own deaths.

『Because my new sibling would not want that.』

Swoosh!

With those words, the blood pool converged into a small point and vanished, swallowing all the demon contractors.

And in place of the demon contractors, new figures appeared at the site of the blood pool.

“Hmm. So this is the world where the boss resides? The opportunity came sooner than expected! Now, it’s my chance to shine, I, Tulkan of the Four Heavenly Kings!”