“Wow~ If it hadn’t been for you, Hero, how much longer would we have suffered? Thank you so much!”
“You hunters provided a lot of help. I only gave a little assistance.”
“Haha! You’re too modest, Hero! Aren’t you taking all the credit for yourself?”
“That’s right! If you’re that considerate, how are we supposed to compete with the ladies?”
Aswell, carrying monster parts along with the hunters, headed back to the village.
Even as he conversed with them, his thoughts drifted to his companions back in the city.
‘Now that the requests are nearly finished, I should head back to the city.’
Truthfully, he hadn’t intended to complete so many requests for the nearby villages.
But after a conversation with Aria a few days ago, he had been avoiding her, choosing to focus on these tasks instead.
‘...I wonder if she’s still staying up all night.’
He wished she wouldn’t, for the sake of her health.
Yet at the same time, he chided himself—what right did he have to interfere with her lifestyle?
“Well then, since the request is complete... how about it, Hero?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on! You really don’t get it, do you, Hero? It’s time for a drink, of course!”
“A drink after a job well done is a sacred tradition!”
Aswell glanced up at the sky.
The sun was high, nearly noon.
Even though it had been an overnight request, drinking in broad daylight felt a bit awkward.
‘Still, I suppose I owe them for helping...’
“Whoa, what’s that horse? It looks amazing!”
“Yeah, that’s not Hero’s horse, is it? His horse was white, right?”
“Is that a knight’s horse that wandered in?”
Following the hunters’ gaze, Aswell looked toward the source of their attention.
“...Knight Lux?”
There stood the black horse that she cherished so much.
Why was Knight Lux here?
Could it mean she had come to this village?
Aswell quickly scanned his surroundings, but there was no sign of her, either near the village or around Knight Lux.
“Hero, is that your horse?”
“That’s my companion’s horse. But... why is it here?”
Slowly, Aswell approached Knight Lux.
Looking closer, he saw that his own horse, Tempest, was also standing nearby.
However, something seemed off about Tempest.
The horse stood motionless, as if mesmerized by something...
“...Knight Lux.”
When Aswell met Knight Lux’s gaze, a powerful mental shock hit him.
Knight Lux’s eyes were glowing with a blue light.
But none of the hunters around them seemed to notice.
Only Aswell could sense Knight Lux’s will.
“...”
A brief silence passed.
Then, as the blue glow faded from Knight Lux’s eyes, Aswell adjusted the sacred sword at his side and mounted Tempest.
Seeing the two horses prepare to ride out, the hunters looked confused.
“H-Hero?”
“I’m sorry. I have to return to the city.”
Something was wrong in the city.
Magic.
I loved magic.
That’s why, when I trained under my mentor, I didn’t focus on mastering just one type of magic—I worked hard to learn as many spells as possible.
If there were spells I couldn’t use because I lacked elemental mana, then I would compensate by learning other magic.
I would keep studying and researching until I could create my own spells and techniques.
This dream took form in the creation of the master key.
It’s a staff I designed to accommodate as many types of magic as possible, tailored to my abilities.
That’s what the first form is—[Dream].
But there is another form, one developed to elevate my magic’s power and precision even further.
Its original purpose was to fulfill my mentor’s warning:
“You’ll need a safeguard for your unique magic.”
It’s a safeguard for my personal magic, a condition for its activation, and a way to amplify all my spells.
The second form—[Ascend].
“Shield.”
Clang—!
A massive barrier spread over the commercial district, which was closest to the mine and the first target of Behirastok’s attack.
Its large, sharp teeth vibrated rapidly as they struck the barrier, but to no avail.
Of course, maintaining the barrier’s durability required a constant supply of star mana.
But since I hadn’t used much magic over the past few weeks, Ultima’s holy spear was filled with plenty of star mana.
For now, there was nothing to worry about.
‘The problem is Behirastok’s offspring.’
Behirastok was called the God of Thousand Worms for a reason.
The resemblance to the smaller worm-like monsters I had seen inside the mine confirmed it.
There were thousands of smaller worms, each the size of a human.
There were a hundred medium-sized worms, about the same size as a building.
And although their names weren’t mentioned, there were also ten enormous worms the size of buildings.
By now, they were likely spread all over the city.
The rising fires and the chaotic noises from different parts of the city were proof of that.
Unlike in Alpareth, the citizens were suffering significant losses this time.
‘I’ll have to leave that part to my companions.’
For now, I had to focus on the two beings in front of me.
“All you do is put up shields, shields, shields. Is that all you can do? Or are your offensive spells just that bad?”
Mercadia grumbled, kicking at the ground like a child throwing a tantrum.
Her behavior was unsettlingly eerie.
“...”
“You won’t even talk to me? This is getting boring!”
My goal was to stall for time until the Hero arrived.
There was no need to fall for her provocations. If I could, I would simply keep her tied down like this...
“Maybe if I break that shield, you’ll start talking?”
Boom!!
Crack...
“Ugh...!”
All it took was a single punch, and cracks began to form in the barrier.
Even though her body was harder than metal, the raw destructive power she displayed was staggering.
“One or two more punches should do it.”
Mercadia grinned, swiftly closing the distance between us.
But this time, I had anticipated her movement.
“Repel!”
I reinforced the spell engraved in my robe with the master key.
The repelling force of the robe amplified, and as Mercadia’s fist struck the barrier, it was deflected.
“Now you’re finally fighting and talking.”
Mercadia’s right fist had been shattered.
But it twisted and contorted back into shape almost instantly.
‘Should I be more amazed by her power, or by her ability to regenerate even after such devastating force?’
So far, all she had done was throw punches, but from that alone, I had learned that she possessed three physical abilities that far exceeded both humans and demons.
[The imperial army’s swords and spears couldn’t harm Mercadia, and even repeated barrages of magic had no effect on her.]
The same description had been given of her in the original story’s epilogue.
In terms of physical prowess, Mercadia was likely the strongest of all the demon dukes.
Considering I couldn’t even run for five minutes, there was no way I could either outrun or fight her head-on.
So...
“Master key. Begin intensive calculation.”
Whirrrrr!!
Four large and small pillars began spinning fiercely, glowing brightly.
At the same time, preparations for a specific spell were underway.
Rumble...
Above, Behirastok continued to strike the barrier covering the commercial district, now using its tentacles in an attempt to shatter it.
Just as Mercadia’s next attack was about to hit my barrier, the master key completed its calculations.
At the same moment, Behirastok’s many tentacles struck the commercial district’s barrier.
And Mercadia’s fist hit the robe’s shield.
“Synchronize.”
The two barriers connected, transferring the force of the impacts between them.
----!!!
Clang—!
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёwebnovel.com.
Rumble...
“Haa... haa...”
The rapid mana consumption made me dizzy for a moment, but I quickly assessed the situation.
Mercadia had been flung backward by Behirastok’s strength, crashing through the dust cloud far beyond the mine.
As for Behirastok, it stumbled, disoriented by the force of Mercadia’s blow, and collapsed onto the mine.
‘It worked once, but I can’t do that again.’
They weren’t stupid.
If it worked, they’d see through the tactic and prepare a counter.
I poured more mana into the robe’s barrier to recharge it and checked that the people in the commercial district had safely evacuated.
At this point, I could deactivate the barrier over the commercial district.
‘Now...’
How should I deal with them next?
In some ways, this was the worst matchup for me.
Against opponents who overwhelmed me physically, my non-combat spells were of little use. The only option was to use their own strength against them.
There was another option, but...
‘I don’t think I should use that.’
Now that Mercadia had descended into the mortal world, if I used that spell, the aftermath could be catastrophic.
Click.
I pulled a modified sky cannon from my subspace and prepared to attack Behirastok.
‘I’m sure Behirastok has a weakness.’
There had to be a way to incapacitate that giant worm, even if only temporarily.
If I could remember it, I could take out at least one threat.
“Charging.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I focused mana into the sky cannon’s tip, unleashing an artificial mana storm.
Just as I was about to fire at Behirastok’s eye, a voice interrupted me.
“You’ve never hit Behir before, but you broke that streak because of her.”
It was a calm voice, different from the lively tone I had heard earlier.
Crack.
Snap.
With eerie cracking sounds, Mercadia reappeared, her expression unsettlingly serene.
“Behir wanted to be loved, you know. I’ve lived for Behir, and Behir’s lived for me.”
“Such devotion.”
I kept my eyes on the sky cannon, ready to fire, ignoring Mercadia’s ramblings.
‘...Gone?’
But Behirastok had vanished.
There had been no tremors, no loud noises. How could something so massive disappear without a trace?
I quickly turned back toward Mercadia, but Behirastok was nowhere to be seen.
“For you to try and break our bond... You’re no fun.”
With that, Mercadia turned away.
It was as if she had lost all interest in me.
She casually sat on a pile of rubble, like she was waiting for something.
“Guess I’ll wait for the Hero. Hmph.”
For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
Then, a line from the original story flashed through my mind.
[Mercadia was a physical fighter, but as a demon, she had her own unique magic. That magic led to the deaths of countless imperial soldiers. It was called...]
“Behirastok, you can eat.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
----!!!
The ground beneath me shook violently, and Behirastok erupted from below.
I couldn’t dodge in time as its mouth engulfed me.
[Eternal Predator. A being that devours even concepts, an endless predator.]
With that, my vision was swallowed by darkness.