Chapter 70 – The Variable (２)

“…!!”

Isabel’s brow furrowed.

…This power?

A power diametrically opposed to the darkness of Tartaros.

Holy power.

That vile energy had begun to pour out from somewhere ahead.

A sizzling hiss tore through the air—then another, sharper one.

Even from this impossible distance, the mere shockwave made her skin sting and ache—that was how overwhelming it was.

‘What the hell is going on?’

A storm of thoughts raced through her mind.

‘No way…’

Had another human actually walked in here?

And had that human joined hands with the Seeker?

‘How?’

It was impossible.

The Gatekeeper of Hell, Manta.

Without that bastard’s Orb, no human could set foot on this land.

But Manta was currently suppressed by the Lord’s power—rendered incapable of being created anew…

‘Then…’

There was only one possibility.

‘Hamal. That damned bitch…’

Hamal had made a move.

With the Generals weakened and the Lord occupied with keeping them in check, Isabel could only conclude that Hamal had pulled strings behind the scenes.

‘Goddammit!’

Only then did she force herself upright.

‘There’s no other choice now.’

She would have to personally put down that insolent human spewing the disgusting holy power herself.

Rising to her feet atop Grant’s back, Isabel was instantly shrouded in pitch-black Magi.

Black armor materialized over her body as twin claws extended from both hands.

‘I need to finish this as fast as possible.’

If she couldn’t bring down the human carrying that holy power, her plan to strike at the enemy alongside Kremton in a single coordinated assault would fall completely apart…

Flash!

She launched herself into the air.

Straight toward the source of that burgeoning holy power.

And then—

Blaze!

“!!”

Her vision flooded with gold.

Then came the explosion.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BLAM!

‘…Dammit.’

Such overwhelming holy power.

Strong enough to make even her flinch.

But—

Ssssssh!

The holy power scattered into the empty air.

‘If not for this treasure bestowed by the Lord…’

The treasure the Lord had granted her.

[The Darkness of the Darkest Instant]

A divine armament containing the power to detect an enemy’s attack autonomously and unfold a veil of shadow in response.

“…Ooh.”

At that moment, a woman’s voice reached her.

“Impressive.”

A human had appeared before her, seemingly out of nowhere.

She was clad in brilliant golden plate mail, one hand gripping a shield nearly as large as her own body.

“My name is Hera. This is the first time I’m showing respect to a monster, but… hmm. I don’t really know. Well, that’s not important, is it? Now then—from this moment on, I’m going to cut off your head.”

*

“Cover my back!”

Jun shouted as he kept firing Fireballs.

“Got it! Leave this side to us!”

The Plains Warriors’ cries rang out from behind.

Gijun pressed forward, and behind him, Amalta and the plains warriors cut down the Demon Beasts that tried to strike at his back.

‘It’s this way.’

Libre said.

“Tell me about it.”

No exaggeration.

Even this far away, the Demon Beasts here were being affected by Hera’s divine power.

‘Still a long way to go.’

Woo Jimin, White Wood.

And Hera.

They walked in different realms, but after facing those who stood at the summit, Gijun felt a bone-deep ache at how much road still lay ahead of him.

But that only made his blood race more.

‘Let’s rise.’

Gijun was certain.

It was a chance to steel his will anew and fix his gaze on the goal.

And in his mind, he could already picture his future self.

Himself standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those pinnacle beings.

And at the same time — just the thought of how strong he’d be when he got there sent a thrill through his chest.

‘So a bastard like this should be nothing—’

The General of the Underworld he’d soon face.

Gijun knew he had to sweep aside trash like that without breaking a sweat.

‘Let’s go.’

He pushed his speed higher, surging forward.

Shhhk-shhhk-shh-hack!

If he kept moving in this direction, one of the Generals of the Underworld would be waiting.

With every step Gijun took, Strong Wind and Orca’s Footsteps tore through the Demon Beasts around him, shredding their bodies.

And the ones that stupidly charged from ahead were incinerated without a trace by the transformed Fireball, turned to ash.

About ten minutes of running like that, and—

‘There.’

Some hundred meters ahead.

A massive figure pouring out an abnormal Magi.

Around him, even the Demon Beasts couldn’t approach due to the oppressive Magi.

He stood there, clad in thick Armor befitting his bulk, a giant axe clutched in one hand.

Above that axe—plainly no ordinary weapon—Magi boiled up like flame.

[Lv. 350 General of the Underworld, Kremton]

Then it happened.

Gijun surged faster.

And behind him came Amalta’s voice.

“Going straight in!”

“Of course!”

The two moved as one now.

They closed on the General at tremendous speed.

In that instant—

Whoosh!

Kremton, the General of the Underworld, swung his axe.

CRACK-CRASH-BOOM!

A brilliant halo of light exploded from behind him.

Magi burst from the axe’s arc, overturning the earth as it rushed at them.

“Not so fast!”

In that moment, Amalta—his whole body wreathed in flames—drove his Spear with all his might.

Flash!

A raging blaze erupted from the Spear, shooting toward the wave of Magi.

A flash of radiance.

‘It’s started.’

That meant Hera’s fight with the General had begun.

[Truly, she’s a terrifying human.]

Flame and Magi collided, the air rippling from the impact.

But Amalta was losing ground.

He was far stronger than when they’d first met, true — but even so, he couldn’t match a 350th-Level General of the Underworld.

It’s fine.

Still, it was fine.

On his own Amalta would struggle, but Gijun was here too.

Gijun had already cast Fireball in an instant, the spell streaking forward.

He was barely closing in on Level 150, yet at that moment, the sheer destructive force of his magic defied description.

By now, his stats had long since surpassed what his level suggested.

His Magic Power increased by a full 4 points every time he leveled, and his affinity for the fire element rose alongside it.

On top of that, he had two Heart Fragments, that absurd weapon, and the amplifying effects of his Skills all working together.

Go.

And so the Fireball merged with Amalta’s own flames, pushing back against the wave of Magi from Kremton.

At that instant—

Crack! Boom!

A shockwave so violent it made the very ground shudder erupted.

At the same time—

BOOM!

A massive hole was punched through the center of the Magi wave, opening a path.

“Move!”

“Right!”

Both of them launched themselves through the opening, breaking past the wave in a single leap.

“You little bastaaaaards!”

Kremton roared at the sight of them.

Gijun could sense it instinctively — even the General was shaken in that moment.

He must not have known about Hera.

Gijun was certain of it.

He probably thought that if the two of them struck him together, he’d be helpless.

But Hera’s existence had turned their plan to ash.

Worse for them, Gijun was far stronger than they’d anticipated.

All because he’d found Tubaku — a man who bore a deep grudge against them.

Then…

Gijun decided to stoke Kremton’s growing dismay even further.

I’m coming right now.

He activated another Skill.

Flame Unity.

He intended to press the attack from the very start and rattle the bastard’s nerves.

KWAH!

In an instant, Gijun’s entire body was engulfed in raging flame.

*

‘Arrogant wretches!’

Kremton was undeniably rattled.

An unexpected Holy Knight had thrown their plans into disarray.

‘I don’t know what trick they pulled.’

But in any case, the situation was back to square one.

‘Do you think that changes anything?’

That was what Kremton believed.

‘You defeating me was never even a possibility.’

Isabel hadn’t extended her hand to Kremton out of fear of losing.

It was purely a contingency measure.

There was no chance they would lose.

But just in case.

Even the faintest possibility of disgracing the Monarch — they wanted to eliminate that too.

‘But that arrogant look on his face…’

But the Seeker blocking his path wore an expression so smug it made Kremton’s blood boil.

That arrogant face — like he thought he’d already landed a hit on Kremton himself.

I’ll kill you.

The answer was simple.

Cram that bastard with such absolute terror that he’d never dare make that face at him again — never dare climb back up.

He moved.

And in that instant—

“Krrruaaahhh!”

A roar erupted from the flank.

It was the barbarian warrior who’d come with the Seeker.

The bastard’s whole body blazed crimson, even his eyes flickering with red light.

His spear flashed as it thrust toward Kremton.

Crash!

Kremton raised his axe and caught the blow.

But a numbing shock jolted through his grip.

And that wasn’t all.

Whir!

The bastard twisted his spear and struck again at Kremton.

Kremton moved to block.

But then—

Flash!

“…!”

A blast of searing light and heat erupted from behind Kremton, and he whipped his head around.

Damn it.

Right.

There were two of them.

The fact slammed back into him.

But it was already too late.

CRACKLE-BOOM!

A spear-shaped jet of flame shot forward in an instant and slammed into Kremton’s back.

“Khak!”

Kremton coughed up bile from the impossible force of the impact.

What the hell…

That power was beyond anything he’d expected.

No wonder they got taken down so easily.

Only now did the three generals who’d fallen first come back to his mind.

These bastards are no joke.

Maybe one-on-one they’d be manageable.

But charging in together like this? They were anything but easy opponents.

As if to prove the point, the barbarian’s spear moved again.

Whir!

This time Kremton dodged.

But—

Once again, a pillar of flame surged from the other side.

Voom!

He swung his axe again.

CRACKLE-BOOM!

The axe caught the flame head-on.

But—

Rumble… BOOM!

Wind had come from somewhere, merging with the fire to coil around Kremton’s entire body.

“Kraaagh!”

The fire, joined with the wind, magnified its heat to a terrifying degree in that instant, searing Kremton’s Armor red-hot.

The shock left his mind reeling.

And that wasn’t all.

The wind wormed through the gaps in his Armor, slicing into his flesh.

Son of a bitch.

It didn’t end there.

While he was reeling from the Seeker’s magic, the barbarian’s spear came raining down from the other side.

CRASH!

The relentless combination had no end in sight.

The moment Kremton turned to face one direction, an attack erupted from the opposite side.

The bastards kept moving, boxing Kremton into the center and striking without end.

A joint attack that was nothing short of infuriating.

Left, right, above.

They swapped directions in an instant, trading positions as if they were a single organism, and under that relentless barrage, Kremton could do nothing but scramble to defend.

‘You worthless little flies…’

Kremton’s brow furrowed.

The damage was climbing steadily.

Not that this was enough to mortally wound him.

His monstrous Magi healed every gash the moment it opened, sealing his flesh in an instant.

But—

‘If this keeps up, it’ll be trouble.’

Even his Magi wasn’t infinite.

Pour it all into regeneration like this, and eventually it would bottom out.

‘This stings my pride.’

He was angry.

To be toyed with by the likes of them.

‘I never wanted to use it.’

But now was the time to swallow the last shred of his pride.

The time to draw out the Authority bestowed upon him by the Monarch.