Chapter 117: ‘It’ (1)
Gale Garav. And the ancient being long sealed within him, the Demon King.
‘It’ was a mix of the two, yet neither one nor the other.
“Grrrr…”
Devoid of language, intellect, or reason, ‘It’ simply walked.
Two emotions dominated ‘It’s mind.
An obsession to rise higher, to a brighter place. And…
—Kill!
A deep-seated murderous intent and hatred toward humans!
Destruction, ruin, rage, longing, betrayal, death, apocalypse, emptiness, chaos…!
A tidal wave of emotions seemed to engulf ‘It’ like a wildfire.
It wasn’t the emotions of a single being. It felt as if someone whispered softly in its ear.
—Kill.
‘It’ stepped out of the tower.
To release and relieve the overflowing within.
A purely instinctive movement.
Whiiiir…
The relentless whirlwind, as if it would rage even if the world ended, stopped the moment ‘It’ emerged.
As if nature itself feared ‘It.’
Crack.
‘It’ opened its mouth wide. The human mouth grotesquely enlarged, and black mana gathered within.
The ominous black mana obediently followed ‘It’s will.
In the blink of an eye, an earth-shattering amount of mana condensed in its gaping maw.
In that fleeting moment of silence—
“RAAAH!”
‘It’ roared. With that, the black orb in its mouth shot out.
A mana sphere of immense density.
BOOOOM—!
The destruction stretched in a straight line from where ‘It’ stood to a distant mountain ridge.
The sound of collapsing mountains settled heavily.
“Hic!”
As the noise subsided, silence enveloped the surroundings.
Making someone’s hiccup sound unusually loud.
‘It’s gaze shifted.
There, Gnaude tribe children desperately covered their mouths with small hands.
“Sniff… sob…”
“Hic, ugh!”
The children, keenly aware of the gravity of the situation, tried to suppress their sobs and cries.
Their bodies trembled with fear and terror.
Two men stood in front of them, as if to protect them.
“What… what the hell is that…?”
“…Urgh!”
Hake and Zeraphe’s faces were drained of color, pale as corpses.
“…Gale?”
As those who wielded and sensed mana, they could feel it instinctively.
—‘That’ is not human.
A mere mortal couldn’t possess such sinister mana!
“…Tch! It’s beyond comparison to the Manticore.”
Zeraphe recalled the first time he faced the Manticore he awakened in the labyrinth.
According to records in ancient ruins, the Manticore was a king from a distant era.
A human king who defied the gods. Though he fell, he proved a king remains a king.
The moment Zeraphe first saw the Manticore, the innate majesty of a ruler weighed heavily on him.
—Are you the one who woke me from my long slumber?
But even that ancient monster wasn’t like this.
The mana enveloping it was horrifically malevolent.
As if it had gathered all the world’s hostility and hatred.
Its mere existence sent a tingling pressure through their bodies!
“Hah. I thought one such experience was enough…”
Zeraphe let out a wry laugh. His white breath dissipated futilely.
Having dealt with the Dark Sect and gained ‘dark attribute mana,’ Zeraphe felt the difference even more acutely.
“That’s Gale, right? Or is it something taking Gale’s form? Why?!”
Hake shouted, unable to comprehend.
And rightly so—the inhuman ‘thing’ before them looked almost exactly like Gale Garav.
Blood-red pupils. Black sclera in reverse eyes.
Had it not been cloaked in chilling black mana, one might’ve mistaken it for Gale.
This was natural. The ‘thing’ before them was indeed Gale Garav’s body.
But Zeraphe and Hake, unaware, saw it as something resembling him.
“…I don’t know. But one thing’s clear—this isn’t the time to dawdle.”
Zeraphe glared ahead, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
“It’s coming.”
There was no time to think.
“Krrk! Krk!”
The ‘something’ resembling Gale recognized them.
‘It’ stared, baring its fangs in a grin. As if satisfied.
And began approaching slowly.
“…”
“…”
Zeraphe and Hake exchanged a glance. Facing a life-or-death moment, they realized their thoughts aligned without words.
Swish.
Hake quietly drew a dagger from his thigh, and Zeraphe began casting magic.
There was no chance of winning. So, they resolved to do the best they could.
“Listen, kids.”
They spoke in unison, without prompting.
“While we buy time.”
“Run as far as you can.”
Without waiting for the children’s reply, they charged forward.
WHOOSH!
Roots surged abruptly, attempting to bind ‘It.’
They didn’t entertain the naive hope that it would be restrained easily.
‘If it even grazes the venomous thorns on the roots…!’
The battle would tilt in their favor. The Manticore’s venom could corrode with a mere touch.
“Ice Spear! Poision!”
From Zeraphe’s two magic circles, a massive ice spear and a bubbling venom mass shot out.
Meanwhile, Hake stealthily closed in on ‘It,’ unloading all his hidden weapons.
‘This is our first and last chance!’
Both Hake and Zeraphe instinctively knew this might be their final moment.
“Grrk!”
But the next moment, their desperate efforts were thwarted.
‘It’ swiftly drew a sword from its waist.
“That’s…!!”
Seeing the sword, Hake was certain. It was the artifact Elwin had given Gale.
‘It really is Gale.’
SLASH!
The elongated blade whipped like a lash. Flexible, resilient, its sharp strikes were ferocious.
Their attacks were rendered futile.
CRASH!
The ice spear shattered, fragments scattering. The venom mass lost its target and dissipated.
Countless hidden weapons were deflected by the blade.
“Krrk?”
‘It’ tilted its head, as if asking, ‘Is that all?’
Seeming to deduce the answer, its eyes visibly dimmed with disinterest.
Crack.
Losing interest, ‘It’ opened its mouth again.
An inhumanly large maw formed, gathering terrifying black mana.
‘It’s over.’
They sensed their death.
Already depleted from facing the Mountain Elder and his subordinates, they had no means or energy to evade.
They shut their eyes tightly. A montage of their lives flashed through their minds.
‘Prie, I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you…’
‘I should’ve had a proper talk with Nero at least once…’
Regrets for unfinished business flooded in.
They didn’t want to die yet…!
But cruelly, the time that felt so slow accelerated in an instant.
They felt the sinister presence of ‘It’s mana sphere approaching.
Then! A voice shouted from afar.
“Duck!”
A familiar voice. Hake’s cat ears perked up.
His decision was swift. Hake hoisted Zeraphe, who hadn’t yet reacted, and leaped back.
“H-Hake? What are you doing!”
“Shut up.”
Hake’s gaze turned upward.
“…Looks like we’re going to live.”
“What?”
Zeraphe, following Hake’s gaze, widened his eyes.
A golden curve stretched across the distant sky.
BOOM!
A figure cloaked in radiant golden light crashed down.
Like a meteor in the dead of night. Sudden and wondrous.
“Ha. It’s awake, huh.”
But he was no star—he was a man. A crater formed where he landed.
Brandishing his sword like lightning, Elwin sliced through the terrifying mana sphere in one stroke.
BOOOOM!
The shattered mana sphere exploded, leaving its aftermath.
Elwin, standing calmly with his golden cloak fluttering, turned slightly and smiled.
“Fortunately, I wasn’t late this time either. Are you both okay?”
“Y-Yes! I’m fine!”
“…Thanks to you, we’re unharmed.”
Their tension melted away. Their trembling bodies gradually regained warmth.
Hake stared at Elwin in a daze.
‘…So this is what it feels like.’
In the labyrinth, he’d been hiding under an illusion, pretending to be dead.
Wary of the Top Hunter of Yellow more than the Manticore, he hadn’t felt it then.
‘The feeling of being protected.’
The certainty that with this person, he was ‘safe,’ and the deep reassurance—it was so unfamiliar.
Not just Hake, but Zeraphe felt something similar.
Having been devoured by the Manticore, Zeraphe hadn’t been there when Elwin appeared.
“This is a Top Hunter…”
Like Hake, he had never been protected or saved by anyone in his life.
“Both of you, stay far back. It looks like I’ll need to use force.”
Elwin muttered, glaring ahead with a terrifying expression.
The slight upward curve of his lips was chilling, so Hake nodded silently, carrying Zeraphe under his arm and retreating.
“Really… getting kidnapped so carelessly.”
Though he spoke casually, his voice carried clear hostility and fighting spirit.
“Gale.”
“Grrrr!”
‘It’s reaction to Elwin was starkly different from its earlier nonchalance.
Like a beast facing its nemesis, it bristled with caution.
“KAHAAAK!”
‘It’ struck first, opening its maw and firing several mana spheres in rapid succession.
Smaller than before but numerous.
Each one had enough power to tear through fragile flesh.
“Why go for a war of attrition?”
But Elwin effortlessly sliced them all apart.
“You know it won’t work.”
BOOM!
Mana remnants scattered, kicking up thick dust.
Taking advantage of the obscured vision, ‘It’ swiftly closed in on Elwin.
WHOOSH!
It swung its sword toward Elwin’s position. Elwin chose to evade rather than block.
“…So it has Gale’s memories too.”
While Elwin’s attention was briefly drawn to the elongated blade carving through the ground—
“KAKAK!”
‘It’ reached his nose, cackling mockingly.
Aiming not at Elwin but at the sword he held, it fired a mana gun.
BLAM!
Elwin reflexively raised his sword to block the sudden shot.
CRACK—!
“Oh.”
Unable to withstand the impact, Elwin’s sword broke.
‘It’s target had been Elwin’s sword, not Elwin himself!