by Road Warrior
Something holding him together inside had crumbled. A horrible shriek filled with a mixture of shock and anger reverberated within the tent followed by the sound of an object being shattered. Soon, a different Marakia came out of the tent.
Bertelgia let out a groan. “The spots… grew darker.”
Was it due to the shock? Marakia’s spots grew much darker. Sungchul could smell the stench of death from his body.
“How did this happen?” asked Marakia with a shaky voice.
“Your race fell after performing the ritual held for you, and those that remained were captured by the Cave Elves and raised as livestock,” responded Bertelgia.
“Livestock… I can’t believe it.”
At that moment, a single young Nahak crawled out of the tent. He was one of the rare blue Nahaks among the countless white feathered ones. Marakia believed it to be a sort of divine revelation. He spoke as he held the young Nahak. “As long as I live, the Nahak will rise again and reclaim the skies.”
Marakia created an Orb of Knowledge. It was the physical manifestation of the language and the secret of the Nahaks. The orb was soon absorbed into the blue-feathered chick.
The blue Nahak that had been making cries of an unintelligent animal shivered once and then looked at his surroundings with a different set of eyes. Different than before as though he had regained a bit of his intellect, but when the chick recovered its intelligence, black spots like those of poisonous mushrooms quickly spread across its body.
Sungchul muttered in a low voice. “The moment he was freed from being livestock and regained his intellect, the Calamity of Extinction returned.”
The young Nahak whose entire body was covered in spots let out a shrill scream before it became limp in its king’s grasp. Marakia stood dumbly as he looked at the young Nahak’s corpse with eyes filled with disbelief.
“This is too cruel. Simply too…” He couldn’t manage to finish his words. He fell to his knees with the young Nahak’s corpse in his grip.
In this moment of silence, Bertelgia spoke in a soft voice. “They can only preserve their race as cattle…”
“…”
Sungchul moved toward the kneeling Marakia. Marakia who felt his presence looked up. His violet eyes held a single tear.
“Is this what a Calamity is?” Marakia asked.
“This is also a Calamity,” said Sungchul.
“Also?”
“That’s right. It is in the Calamity’s nature to destroy all manner of hope and leave behind only a cruel reality,” Sungchul responded. “This is why I wish to destroy the Calamity.”
Fal Garaz appeared in Sungchul’s hand. When he swung Fal Garaz, the cloth covering the poultry farm blew away and tens of thousands of Nahaks within were revealed. When the cloth that was obstructing their vision disappeared, the young and curious beasts began to flee from the poultry farm and spread out everywhere. The white-feathered Nahaks looked towards Marakia with curiosity. These Nahaks flapped their underdeveloped wings and drew closer towards him.
Marakia did not reject their touch. Instead, he rose from where he sat and extended his hand towards Sungchul. “I will put my faith in you, human.”
“…”
Sungchul wordlessly extended his own hand and met Marakia’s. There was warmth no different than one between two humans in this grip.
“What is your name?” Marakia finally asked.
“Sungchul Kim.”
“Sungchul Kim, eh? What a strange name. However, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it.”
Marakia looked back toward the Nahak chicks once again before looking at Sungchul. “I leave my people to you.”
Sungchul nodded.
Marakia closed his eyes. His one remaining wing covered his upper body, and soon he began to glow in a bright light. He was burning the last bit of life energy that remained in him to transform the vast power contained in his body into a single object. Marakia, who was covered in blinding light, disappeared and all that remained in his place was a large egg and a fist-sized sphere emitting a mix of black and white energies.
“…”
Sungchul first lifted the large egg. It was a black egg. When he held it, a faint smile formed on his lips.
[Marakia’s Egg]
“I have heard a legend that some Nahaks can return to the form of an egg at the time of their death… like a phoenix.”
Bertelgia spoke beside him. Sungchul carefully placed the egg inside his Soul Storage, and lifted the orb that had been beside it.
[Soul Inheritance]
It was an object that held Marakia’s will. Sungchul showed his respects towards Marakia by lowering his head then gripped the hand that held the Soul Inheritance tighter. When he did, the marble shattered and the power within it was absorbed into Sungchul. Messages flooded his sight in a bright light.
[Your strength is higher than the inheritance, therefore your strength did not increase.]
[Your dexterity is higher than the inheritance, therefore your dexterity did not increase.]
[Your vitality is higher than the inheritance, therefore your vitality did not increase.]
…
After all the messages that he had expected had flowed past, the words Sungchul was waiting for appeared.
[You will inherit the magic power within the inheritance.]
[You will inherit the intuition within the inheritance.]
…
When the inheritance ceremony was complete, Sungchul opened his status window. It was a status window which excluded bonus stats originating from external sources; a status screen showing only his base stats.
[Status]
Strength 999+ Dexterity 853
Vitality 801 Magic Power 323
Intuition 334 Magic Resist 621
Resolve 502 Charisma 18
Luck 18
Magic Power and Intuition now exceeded 300. He had broken through what was commonly called the threshold of Superhuman in a single blow. Immediately, a long list of things that had suddenly become possible came to mind, but Sungchul had something he had to do first.
–
“Look after these Nahaks. If I can’t hear the cry of Nahaks when I return, it will be the day that your entire race will meet extinction.”
Sungchul made his ultimatum in front of the Cave Elf elders. The Cave Elves had already experienced his godlike strength and were simply bowing their heads in agreement. Sungchul visited the poultry farm once again before he left the Underground Kingdom. In front of the poultry farm lay the remains of Marakia left behind after his death. An unwelcome guest waited for him there.
It was the Despair of the Abyss, but its actions were strange. The oozy creature stood before Marakia’s remains and simply stared at it. Sungchul observed it for a while and saw no change. The creature simply stared at the ground where Marakia had disappeared like a statue. Sungchul and Bertelgia left the scene.
“What was that?”
Bertelgia popped her head out and spoke while they were in the shuttle on the way to the surface.
The salty winds of the surface were blowing with force. Hair and clothes were fluttering wildly, and Bertelgia let out a short scream before hiding her body behind Sungchul.
A ray of light pierced through the darkness and fell across Sungchul’s eyes.
“Well.”
Sungchul brushed aside his fallen hair and spoke in a calm voice. “It might be someone like me.” He could hear the familiar cries of demons off in the distance.
Chapter 9 – Crusaders Of Salvation
The serene area around the Tower of Recluse was teeming with an unprecedented amount of people. In the sky above the tower were many airships with flags of many countries, all tied and anchored down to alters, and on the ground were rows of lumbering mobile fortresses. There was only one possible reason for all of these representatives of prominent nations to have been gathered at the Tower of Recluse. It was due to a single piece of news.
[The con
tents of the Scripture of Calamity have been altered]
The Kings and the feudal lords of the many nations were gathered because of the letter sent out in the name of Porpyrius, the master of the Tower of Recluse. The visitors gathered at the holy site of the Scripture of Calamity, filled with concern and fear. They had witnessed it with their own eyes; the new contents detailing a brand new Calamity.
But soon, the tower became filled with murmurs.
“Hm?”
One man tilted his head from confusion. It was because the contents were no different than before. The contents were listed in order as they were in the past: the Calamity of the Demon King, the Calamity of the Seven Heroes, and the Calamity of the War. There was nothing new.
Porpyrius’ face froze. He immediately called over one of his servants that kept the grounds of the holy site and spoke in a low voice.
“What happened?”
“I…it… disappeared.”
“What?”
“The Calamity of the Avian King suddenly disappeared.”
“What kind of nonsense are you uttering? How could that be possible?”
Despite his disbelief, the Scripture of Calamity was, without a doubt, showing that his subordinate was speaking the truth. The atmosphere within the holy site was growing restless. No one spoke as such, but the gathered sovereigns looked towards Porpyrius with eyes of reproach.
Within these piercing gazes that were sharp and painful as arrows, Porpyrius swallowed deeply and attempted at an explanation.
“T-that is to say… The Calamity ended up disappearing due to an… unexplained circumstance.”
Porpyrius the Reclusive became the boy who cried wolf. The reputation that he had built for half of a century crumbled overnight. That day, he had to swallow more insults than he ever had in his life, so he decided to use the strongest card in his hand.
“The Scripture of Calamity does not lie. Therefore, what we saw was not false which means that an unknown power has interfered with the Scripture of Calamity. Your task will be to find out exactly what it was.”
The one who was prostrated before Porpyrius lifted her head. Her red draconic eyes glowed underneath her deep hood.
“…Understood, incapable old man.”
The half-man, half-dragon Kha’nes. Her name wasn’t widely known, but all those who were well-informed knew it. This woman whose blood was mixed with that of the dragons, the most powerful race, was a being who existed outside the boundaries of the ordinary. This exceptional figure had just received a special command and now set forth from the tower for the first time in several centuries.
However, Kha’nes’s personality was anything but diligent.
“Wouldn’t it be human of me to graciously accept all the delicious food out there since this is my first outing in a long time?”
This is how the most powerful Recluse, Kha’nes, began her hunt for famous restaurants in search of the most delectable food.
–
Frontlines of the Demon Realm
The Suicide Unit was caught up in an ominous silence. The reason was simple. The vice commander, Aaron Genghis, was in a foul mood. He had taken a hundred members of the unit on an airship, and he only managed to return with the single mage who followed him. There were no other survivors.
Although it was a common occurrence, Aaron seemed to have been greatly shocked this time; he had withdrawn to his tent and did not emerge for an entire month. The veterans of the Suicide Unit who had seen this assumed that Aaron had realized his own shortcomings, but only a single man, number 34, knew the inside story.
He is right to be scared now that he abandoned Willie Gilford. He’s not a man known for his forgiving nature.
This man, Sungchul, had returned to the Suicide Unit. There was no special reason behind it. The unit didn’t particularly restrict his activities and allowed him easier access to information, but these weren’t decisive enough reason for him to return. In truth, he returned without much thought and spent his days following a stable routine.
Recently, he had become acknowledged for his Alchemy and had begun to make Alchemic items for his fellow soldiers. He left the unit early in the morning to gather materials and returned to synthesize the items in his cauldron later in the day.
He had made everything from antipyretics to decorative lightings and all sorts of miscellaneous sundries in between. And no one rebuked him for spending his time this way because he did everything on his own. He was sometimes commanded by the higher-ups to create healing potions or other medicines, and this was met with favorable reception as they were known to be highly effective.
Sungchul who made the transformation from a bold patrolman to a talented Alchemist in one month’s time had a secret nobody knew about. He snuck out once a week to test his magical prowess on the Deep Sea Demon known as the gatekeeper of the entrance to the Demon World.
He had mastered a new spell since the time he absorbed Marakia’s power. Meteor: a powerful offensive spell that symbolized the might of Cosmomancy. He ruthlessly struck the back of the demon’s head with this fearsome spell whose power had few equals.
“Guuuuh!!!”
Glare could only singe the creature’s skin before, but the situation had changed now. The meteorite that fell from the sky possessed enough force to cause the Deep Sea Demon’s body to go weak. He also gained another boon through his empowered magic power.
[Echo – 1]
He was now able to activate the Echo Mage’s skill. Although he was limited to a single Echo, the might of consecutive descent of the meteors was destructive.
One month ago, it was a target he could not deal any kind of damage to, but he was now able to deal a considerable damage to it with nothing but the power of magic.
Even the basic magic, Glare, had become intensified by the multiplicative effects of the echo and grew powerful enough to pierce through the thick skin and burn the soft tissue underneath, spreading the sweet scent of freshly cooked meat through the air. Sungchul pounded the Deep Sea Demon to within an inch of death before leaving.
“Hm. Not bad.” Bertelgia who had been floating in the air observing the fight gave her thoughts.
However, Sungchul shook his head and downed a magic essence. “It’s still not enough. I am only at about the level of a court mage.”
It was clear that he was far superior to someone like Dolorence Winterer whom he had met in the Summoning Palace, but if he were to compare himself to a mage of the calibre of the Dean of Airfruit, then there was still a long way to go. Sungchul could guess that Altugius’ magic power was 450 at minimum. He wanted to exceed that number and reach at least 500 before he headed to the Demon King. The reason was simple. Sungchul wanted to finish this in one go. If he made a half-assed attempt and failed, he might not get another chance. The Demon King was extremely crafty. Sungchul wanted to ambush the Demon King at a time he wouldn’t expect with an attack he didn’t think was possible. This was Sungchul’s overall strategy.
Primordial Light. That is my only answer.
This is why Sungchul chose the demon of the deep sea to mark his progress. If he could kill the Deep Sea Demon in one blow, then he would also be able to kill the Demon King in one blow. Especially since Sungchul assessed that the Deep Sea Demon had similar or superior magic resistance to the Demon King’s.
The Intuition required to learn Primordial Light was 500. Sungchul was currently over half way through at 340. He still needed 160 more points in Intuition, but Sungchul did not rush. He switched between combat and Alchemy to slowly train his own capabilities and would calmly gather information within his reach in the meantime.
And then one day, he heard a strange rumor within the barracks. It was a rumor that had been circulating for a while, but the information had gained fresh momentum as of late. It said that there was about to be an expedition sent to attack the Demon Realm.
“I’ve heard they’ve organized the Crusaders of Salvation.” Prisoner 0, Arkaard the Dwarf, spok
e in a sigh.
“Crusaders of Salvation you say?” Sungchul’s expressions darkened. The origins of the Crusaders of Salvation went back to the days of the Seven Heroes. Various countries had ceased their wars and hostilities at the time and had joined forces in an effort to face the upcoming Calamity with their most elite of elite warriors. This was the birth of the Seven Heroes. They met and overcame the Calamity of their era.
The Crusaders of Salvation was a facsimile of the Seven Heroes. The countries would gather the elite and create punitive forces to oppose the Calamity as was done thousands of years ago in the past.
The problem was the quality of these elites. The great powers of the Other World did not send their best anymore. They sent subpar or completely untested rookies and claimed that they had done due diligence. This is what was told to the residents of the Other World that were trembling in fear.
Sungchul, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked Arkaard a question, “Which attempt is this one?”
Arkaard thought for a moment before relaying that this was the 13th Crusaders of Salvation.
“Number 13...”
This meant that the previous twelve returned as failures. This begged the great question: How many people were killed or sacrificed in the name of salvation.
So they’re still doing things like this.
They were likely to continue this practice into perpetuity since the ones in power were all fine as long as the world was in status quo for the duration of their lives. They only thought of the Crusaders of Salvation as a cheap sacrifice to this end.
Sungchul thought all these thoughts but ultimately kept them to himself before leaving the area.
But the next day, Aaron called up every member of the Suicide Unit. He looked emaciated as he had shut himself away for the past month, but those that had been with him for a while realized that he hadn’t changed much from the rockhead that he was before. Especially that overly confident smile on his face before he revealed a suicidal mission.