Chapter 8: Breaking Through the Barrier
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-
Black soil dust billowed in all directions.
“Krahaha-!!!”
Valuzer stomped fiercely, charging recklessly through the forest.
“Kweeeek-!!!”
Shadow Wolves and demonic beasts were sent flying by his massive body slams.
Valuzer barreled forward with unrelenting ferocity, heedless of any obstacles in his path, while Elinore, carrying me on his back, followed closely behind.
“As expected.”
Elinore let out a quiet murmur of admiration as we sped along a straight path.
Despite the passage of time and the presence of far stronger demonic beasts—ones that made Shadow Wolves seem trivial—Valuzer’s pace showed no sign of slowing.
“Kikikik-!!!”
Even when a giant centipede burst from the ground, writhing and lunging at Valuzer’s face, it was no different.
“Krahaha! Thought you could hide, did you?!!!”
The centipede, now larger and more ferocious than before, was cloaked in a red aura, radiating Magridon’s will to stop Valuzer at all costs.
Kwa-ang-!!!
But it was futile.
Valuzer didn’t hesitate, slamming into the giant centipede, its bodily fluids splattering everywhere.
Neither its potent venom, its constricting coils, nor its sharp pincers could faze him.
No matter how much venom the centipede sprayed or how tightly it squeezed, Valuzer’s charge never faltered, and its pincers were thwarted by his thick muscles.
Kwaduk-
“Kikik-!!!”
Valuzer dragged the centipede, still dangling from him, then grabbed a section of its body and devoured it in a single bite.
Kwaduk- Kwaduduk-
An overwhelming display of dominance.
“It’s done. Let’s go!”
Having devoured the centipede in moments, Valuzer resumed his charge as if nothing had happened, heading toward the barrier Magridon had erected beyond the path blocked by demonic beasts.
***
Kwaang-!!!
“Ugh!”
Valuzer’s relentless sprint came to an abrupt halt with a sound like something solid being struck.
“Lord Valuzer?”
“It’s Magridon’s barrier.”
“A barrier? But-”
The forest’s edge was still far off, and I couldn’t see anything resembling a barrier.
It just looked like Valuzer had collided with something while charging down the forest path.
“He’s set up an additional barrier here, Lumanis!”
“This way-!”
Of course, that didn’t make the divine beasts hesitate.
Even if it was something beyond my perception, that didn’t mean it wasn’t real.
These divine beasts, who had been with me since the forest’s beginning, couldn’t possibly fail to notice changes in the environment.
Far off, through the gaps between branches, a hissing sound accompanied Lumanis' radiant, multicolored magic as it glided brilliantly.
“Let’s go!”
We followed her, racing beneath the invisible barrier wall.
I heard they were heading to destroy the pillars sustaining the barrier.
“Hurry up, Lumanis!”
“Just wait a moment…! Here!”
A mouth lined with massive fangs gaped wide.
Kwaduk-!
The sound of something shattering rang out as her fangs sank into the air.
“Get in!!!”
“This way!!!”
The transparent wall shattered, the barrier melting away.
Valuzer charged through immediately, and Elinore and I followed.
“Damn… blasted…!”
Beyond Magridon’s first barrier, a dark forest teemed with countless demonic beasts.
“Kieeeek-!!!”
“Kwoooor-!!!”
“Kraaaaak-!!!”
“Run!”
“Faster!”
The momentum of our charge, briefly halted, faced a swift backlash.
Despite Lumanis gliding along nearby trees to help deal with the beasts, our pace through the forest was noticeably slower than before.
“Valuzer! Is Sleipnir still not here?!”
“He’ll catch up soon. …Focus, we’re almost clear of these things.”
Garvas, who was guarding the sacred texts at the sanctuary.
Dilayzer and Sleipnir, who stayed behind to protect him and keep Magridon in check.
They said Sleipnir would join us as soon as the threats around the sanctuary diminished.
As a horse that folds space to run, he could catch up effortlessly even if he started late.
For now, we had no choice but to press on with our current strength.
Gradually, scratches appeared on Valuzer’s body, and Lumanis' scales, stained with demonic blood, lost their beautiful sheen.
‘And I-’
Clinging to Elinore’s back, who was pummeling beasts with his fists, I could only muster feeble telekinetic magic.
Shwaaaa-
“We’re almost there!”
A majestic roar of water, the heavy stench of river.
Seeing the approaching river eased my stifled heart slightly.
Though not immensely wide, the rapid current and turbulent waters had an overwhelming presence that left no room for stray thoughts.
“Focus, kid. If we don’t cross now, we might not get another chance.”
Valuzer, with Lumanis draped around his neck, explained that this was the calmest time for the river’s flow.
Without hesitation, he leaped onto small rocks protruding from the water, crossing the river by stepping on stones barely large enough to support his feet.
Elinore followed, going further by smashing larger rocks as he passed.
Only then did I understand why they had stubbornly pushed through the beasts toward this direction.
“Kieeeek-!!!”
“Kwoooor-!!!”
The beasts chasing us were swept away by the raging current as they tried to cross.
“Phew.”
Finally, we had a moment to catch our breath.
“For a creature who’s only just awakened to build an army of this scale and erect barriers… He couldn’t have prepared beasts like those back there all the way here.”
“For that cautious bastard to move so aggressively…”
“He must’ve been desperate to secure the sacred texts and the kid. Though he’ll lose both.”
Kwazik-!
Crunching leaves, snapping branches.
Two divine beasts, a hero, and the hero’s descendant continued deeper into the forest.
***
How much time had passed?
“Elinore, why is Lord Sleipnir moving separately?”
As we climbed over a rocky ravine, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.
I’d heard Sleipnir had joined us shortly after crossing the river, but Claude had never seen him.
“Don’t worry too much. Lord Sleipnir said he’s dealing with the magical and demonic beasts nearby to keep their attention away from us.”
Given the energy we’d expended getting here, it was a signal to conserve strength from now on.
“I see…”
“Claude, it’s to get you to safety.”
“I know, but-”
If Sleipnir joined us to clear the path, couldn’t we escape faster?
Perhaps because our pace through the forest had slowed drastically, that thought lingered.
“Don’t trust me, kid?”
Valuzer’s voice echoed from a distance.
“No, it’s not that…”
“It’s because of Magridon’s barrier.”
Lumanis, silently moving through the trees, continued the explanation.
“Because Magridon split space to create barriers, Sleipnir’s ability to fold space for teleportation is heavily restricted. He can move alone somehow, but taking others with him is difficult, so please understand.”
Lumanis flicked her tongue.
“The path to Shukain’s Ice Fortress. The cliffs of Death’s Pass aren’t far now.”
“Sleipnir will join us there.”
Valuzer added, sniffing the air.
“No telling what Magridon’s prepared.”
Dudududu-
“Now, we’re really almost there. Look up, kid.”
Through the gaps in the towering trees that blocked the sky, not the faint dawn but a grayish-white stone wall began to appear.
The valley of death, surrounded by cliffs.
The ribs of some colossal, unknown creature formed a circle, reaching toward the sky.
Though long dead, flesh still clung to the bones, swaying in the wind.
Below, ice-cold blue rocks lined the ground.
Dudududu-
Black soil dust rose ahead.
Valuzer gradually picked up speed.
“Krahaha! Here we go!”
His fierce determination to smash through whatever lay ahead.
A sudden crunching sound of compression emanated from Valuzer’s body.
Kwa-ang-
A powerful impact.
Ujijik-
A faint crack appeared in a section of the barrier before us, struck by Valuzer’s attack.
“Lumanis!”
“Damn! He set the barrier further forward than expected?”
A massive mouth with enormous fangs bit into the spot Valuzer had struck.
But the barrier didn’t tear easily.
“Help me!”
Lumanis shouted, her mouth full of the barrier’s membrane.
The membrane before her pulsed with dark red energy, rapidly filling the space.
Kwang-!
Valuzer slammed his head into the barrier again.
“I’ll help too!”
Elinore set me down and joined them.
Lumanis had sunk her teeth into the sagging membrane, and Elinore thrust his fists into the gap, pulling it apart.
“Elinore!!!”
“Damn it! Hurry!!!”
Dark blue clouds gathered in the sky above the valley.
Day turned to night, and a massive whirlwind roared.
Beyond, a presence darted through the storm, illuminating it.
“Sleipnir…!”
An eight-legged horse, glowing, battled red lightning in the tempest.
Each gust tore up the ground and uprooted trees as it swept through the forest.
‘The reason the divine beasts didn’t trust me.’
The reason they assigned Elinore, a hero, merely to protect me.
It was because I was so weak that they couldn’t fight at full strength with me nearby.
I’d never seen such a terrifying storm in my life.
Yet, this was merely the aftermath of a battle between divine beasts and demons.
The beasts below wailed pitifully, their bodies sliced and torn by the sonic booms.
‘This… is a demon?’
I stared blankly at the scene before me.
And then.
“Protect the child, Elinore!!!”
A creature with abnormally swollen wings, cloaked in red energy, and a woman’s face—a harpy—revealed itself in the storm.
Its body seemed stitched together from multiple corpses, like a patchwork rag.
The wind howled, and an unrelenting vortex began pulling us in.
And then.
Hwik-!
“Kroooar-!!!”
From afar, the roar of a beast and the sound of massive wings echoed.