Barbarian in a Failed Game

093. The Purge of Elpellan (3)

“Truly, I’m going to die.”

Having no idea how long he had been running with his feeble body. His body had been sending signals to rest a long time ago, but Hern continued to relentlessly whip his legs, traversing every corner of the city-state. It was because he needed to finish coaxing key figures into his fold before the chaos subsided.

The nobles who resided in the outer district, who were originally nothing more than bands of thieves but formed a faction and later accepted the Duke’s tempting offer to join him, as well as those who, though not nobles nor commanding any troops like the faction leaders, held significant influence within the city-state.

During his time as a court minister, he had met face-to-face with these individuals, one by one, to engage in conversations. Most of them did not think highly of him, a man who used to be a mere district mayor before rising to prominence under the Duke’s favor.

However, as they were all dumbfounded by the current situation that engulfed the Grand Duchy, he managed to converse with them quite smoothly. In truth, his role in the persuasion wasn’t all that significant…

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was safely able to coax the key figures within the city-state.”

“I only did my part.”

“By fulfilling that role diligently, we can now sooner stabilize the city-state’s unrest. There’s no need for modesty, sister Elena.”

Startled. The girl, who was wiping her rain-soaked hair with a dry cloth, raised her head to meet Hern’s gaze. Feeling a peculiar aura from her look, Hern unconsciously swallowed.

“Well, it seems to me that your eloquence was the more remarkable.”

“… Ahem. Persuading someone engulfed in chaos is quite a simple task. Especially, it was made easier with you by my side, proving the will of the gods. Though the people of the kingdom are not as fervently devout as the imperial citizens, they acknowledge that the gods of the Pantheon always watch over us. Moreover… you even helped suppress the factions attempting to plunder amidst the confusion.”

“That thanks should not be directed at me, but at them?”

There was a sharp edge to her response, prompting Hern to reply,

“Of course.”

Though he said so outwardly, Hern vividly remembered. The foolish-faced mercenary who kidnapped him here, the woman from the North known as Paladin with the spear, and the young mage whose spells were of a caliber unlike the wandering mages.

The executioner’s comrades had driven the factions back, and the number of skulls the petite nun had crushed with her mace-.

“After everything is over, we must properly reward them. As a noble of the kingdom and a devotee under the Pantheon’s care.”

“That would be a prudent decision. Of course, you mean that reward would come after you’ve become the next power in the North.”

“…..”

Hern chose to remain silent. For reasons unknown, he sensed the young nun was in the worst possible mood. Instead, he shifted the topic to future matters.

“Nevertheless. Thanks to your help, we’ve managed to coax all the figures worth persuading. And with such an evil visage overtaking the Grand Ducal Castle. Having heard the will of the Pantheon Cathedral as well. It seems the Duke’s end is near. The gathering of the rebel forces against the duke must have concluded by now. It’s about time we entered the Grand Ducal Castle…”

“No, that would be troublesome.”

Hern did not reprimand the young mage for interrupting him. Before being the executioner’s comrade, the opponent was a mage capable of conjuring terrifying spells. He assumed it was said with a different thought in mind.

“Why is that?”

“Because going in won’t help at all. We’ll only be a hindrance.”

“… You seem to know about the phenomenon.”

“As an imperial citizen, how could one not know?”

Was it a statement ignorant of other nations, or simply an expression of common knowledge among imperial citizens? Though the gap between the empire and other nations was indeed vast. The young mage likely meant no disdain.

“May I hear your thoughts?”

“That’s a magical calamity. Looking at how the mana in and around the Grand Ducal Castle has been completely blocked off and dissipated, it’s almost certain. The erosion has proceeded, which means the Grand Ducal Castle has become an entirely separate dimension.”

Though it was hard to grasp, the gist was simple.

A major disaster, akin to the great magical calamity that engulfed a quarter of the continent, had befallen the Grand Ducal Castle. Hern trembled momentarily with fear but soon consoled himself.

“Then. Entering the magical calamity is impossible?”

“It’s not that we can’t enter. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Even my master couldn’t guarantee your safety inside a magical calamity.”

“That friend’s master is a mage from the tower. It means we’d definitely meet our end if we went in. Lord Hern.”

“……!”

The realization that the young mage was the apprentice of a mage startled Hern. Under normal circumstances, it would be a shocking revelation, but after experiencing one astonishing event after another, he felt merely resigned.

‘Indeed, if he’s an apprentice to a mage, his remarkable magical prowess makes sense.’

And to think that leading ordinary soldiers would result in inevitable death, the phrase made all too much sense now.

“Out of curiosity, how strong does one have to be to usually assault the Demonic Realm?”

At that moment, Hern took a step back awkwardly under the concentrated gaze upon him. It was as if the look in their eyes was lethal.

“Oh, do not misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that the Executioner will fail. From the standpoint of having to manage the chaos in the public domain, shouldn’t we know so we can prepare accordingly?”

His plea was sincere, and indeed, Hern truly hoped for the Executioner’s success. After all, it made sense given he had already committed to being part of the Executioner’s plan.

Perhaps his earnest appeal made a difference. The woman better known by her nickname, the Spear of Palam, sighed and began to speak.

“I heard a story when I was young. Near the end of the Tyrant King’s reign, a Demonic Realm appeared in the Argon borderlands. At that time, the kingdom’s power was at its peak thanks to the deeds of the Tyrant King. They organized a punitive force composed only of the kingdom’s knights and mages, refusing help from the empire. The result was… a horrific failure.”

Hern swallowed hard and asked for details.

“So, how many were in that punitive force?”

“Twenty knights and ten mages. Plus, a hundred royal guards. The kingdom’s number one knight at the time took command. And yet, not a single one survived.”

Hearing this, Hern’s legs gave way, and he slumped to the ground.

And then he realized.

The inexplicable rage and somber expressions of the Executioner’s allies.

‘It’s impossible.’

The Executioner won’t die. Not with the Grand Warrior sent by the Black Wing, but also Kal Elson, the Mercenary Guildmaster!

*

*

*

Boom! Crash! Shriek──!!

A spear of flame as large as an ogre’s forearm pierced down, a gray blade that pierced through plate armor in an invisible speed surged forward, and an ice barrier disrupted the connection while exploding into sharp fragments.

‘Damn, that’s ridiculously powerful…!’

Khan grimaced as he barely dodged a storm of fire that slithered across the ground like a snake.

It felt like facing several Magi at once.

Alpha, who had proclaimed himself a grand magus, began to unleash a torrent of spells of various elements almost instantly as the real fight began. What made things even worse, it appeared there was no limit to his mana.

He was using something else as fuel for his spells.

“You might want to stop assuming my mana will run dry. Didn’t I tell you before? I achieved the rank of a grand magus through the secret of handling souls. Who else but I would possess knowledge of magical tools that use souls as fuel? Especially in this place, the consumption rate is drastically reduced.”

Khan was already physically at a disadvantage.

He hadn’t considered a battle of attrition from the start. Merely closing the distance was extremely difficult, resulting in a stalemate.

‘If I use the power welling up within me, I could break through momentarily… but what comes after is uncertain.’

An S-grade skill was meant for decisive battles.

For Khan, who must use his stamina as a cost for skills, bursting forth with power to clear a path wasn’t an option. Thus, he hoped his companions could break through somehow…

But even that was proving to be difficult.

[O Karyan…!]

Even though Pashantu had enhanced his strength with the power of a relic, relying on external power meant he was bound by its limits. Moreover, as time passed, the power within the relic seemed to be waning, its force noticeably diminishing.

Alpha seemed to have noticed this too, focusing his attacks on Pashantu. Kal Elson wasn’t faring any better. Although trained to the limits of a pure human, ultimately, he couldn’t surpass the realm of humanity.

Despite being able to perform beyond the physical limits due to his exquisite skill, it still exhausted him tremendously. No one knew this better than Kal Elson himself.

“Uaaaaah!”

With a single slash, Kal Elson cut through dozens of spells, roaring. The scream of a sword demon dedicating his life to reaching the zenith of swordsmanship. The killing intent contained within was enough to stop the heart of any ordinary person.

“You’re still overflowing with energy.”

However, this had no effect on the monster that had been resurrected after entrusting its body to the void and reaching the realm of a grand magus in the distant past. Instead, an even more concentrated barrage of spells rained down on Kal Elson, leading to an overwhelming onslaught.

It was but a moment before Kal Elson’s vision was filled with a myriad of colored spells. It was a sight that shattered the common sense that a mage could not escape from a swordsman in confined space. Even for a swordsman, it seemed impossible to cut through the rain of spells pouring down on him.

“Phew.”

He exhaled. And then, he inhaled again. After releasing his anger through a single enraged roar, Kal Elson poured his tranquil mind entirely into his sword, as if wanting to become one with it.

‘Now!’

And at the moment his eyes opened— Above the rushing spells aimed at him, Kal Elson’s sword began to draw a line.

“Ah…!”

A cry of astonishment escaped from Alpha. As the person who had crafted the spells and had reached the realm of a grand magus, he understood exactly how exquisite and exceptional the swordplay Kal Elson had just displayed was.

The line that seemed crooked like a line carelessly drawn by a child precisely targeted the core of the spells.

As a result—

Fsssst…

The bombardment of spells was instantly dissipated.

“Remarkable.”

With just one strike of the sword… Alpha revealed his genuine admiration and once more initiated a spell, this time summoning even more in number, as if challenging Kal Elson to block them again, his face innocent like that of a child discovering a new toy.

This opened a gap, one that the barbarian of the Hoarfrost Gorge did not miss.

Crack.

Like a wolf of the snowfields, Pashantu stomped on the floor of the royal audience chamber. Alpha, with a look of annoyance, flicked his hand to shoot out a few spells, but Pashantu, with his body alone, intercepted the spells and closed the distance in an instant.

The essence power that had been wrapping around his fist seemed to envelop Pashantu’s entire body in protection since who knows when. It was the rampage of the essence.

[Karyan is watching──!!]

Boom…!

The explosion caused by the rampant essence covered not only Pashantu, its bearer, but also Alpha nearby. Although, he seemed unscathed, perhaps shielded by a barrier, he staggered slightly, indicating he was not entirely unaffected.

And in that moment, primed for the opportunity, a thump resonated.

Thud.

Khan had finished charging his throw.

────────.

The axe thrown by Khan turned into light and rushed towards Alpha, embedding itself in his chest before a barrier could even be erected.

But astonishingly, Khan’s axe was repelled, blocked by something.

A barrier thinly spread over the skin in anticipation of unexpected crises. That barrier prevented Khan’s throw.

But as a result, the last shield crumbled.

‘No matter.’

Alpha smiled.

The barrier could be recreated at any time. His power was so overflowing that it could be deemed infinite, whereas they had just squandered their utmost effort. Standing guard would lead them to self-destruct.

Of course, he had no intention of waiting quietly until their strength drained away. Given the situation, crushing them with overwhelming power and turning them into minions seemed a good idea, to serve as vanguards for the erosion of this world…

Slish.

Then,

A chillingly indifferent slicing sound pierced the air. Alpha’s head slowly tilted down, and he belatedly realized a crack had been drawn across his body from one shoulder to the opposite waist — a trace that a sword had skimmed across.

“Huff. Huff… Finally got you, you damn bastard.”

With that voice as the last thing he heard, Alpha’s vision was split into dozens of fragments.