Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

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Chapter 329: The Tide Turns (3)

"Can you take me to hell?"

In an instant, dozens of possibilities flashed through the Tower Master's mind.

From them, he extracted the one that seemed closest to the correct answer.

[...Are you interested in hell?]

"I'm curious. About what kind of place it is."

What would the scenery there be like?

What exists there, how do demons live, and what kind of lives do the monsters lead?

He was so curious it was driving him mad.

He had to see it for himself.

The Tower Master muttered as he saw the greed flicker in Ketal's eyes.

[...A personal desire, is it? You want to travel there?]

"Exactly."

It wasn’t the worst possibility.

The Tower Master was genuinely relieved, though he didn't show it and instead stroked his chin thoughtfully.

[It's not impossible, but...]

"Is it difficult?"

[It's not easy, but as I said, it’s not impossible. You mean to go to hell directly, yes? Hmm. It’s not a bad idea.]

As he pondered further, the Tower Master realized that Ketal's proposal wasn’t entirely unappealing.

[Honestly, it's irritating to just sit back and take it. The gods seem to be eyeing the other side too. Getting a foothold there isn’t a bad move. This is a good opportunity. I accept. Just wait a bit—I’ll make the preparations.]

"Oh! Thank you!"

Ketal sincerely expressed his gratitude to the Tower Master, who then moved cheerfully to the sacred grounds of the elves.

"Ah! You’re here!"

Serena bounded toward him excitedly.

"Just as you instructed, I’ve been diligently treating Karin and Ignisia!"

She looked up at Ketal with sparkling eyes, clearly expecting praise.

Ketal stroked her head, and Serena giggled happily.

She had held her ground admirably against Necronovix on her own.

Back then, Ketal had praised her and patted her head, which made her extremely happy.

Since then, Serena had begun to seek his approval regularly.

It wasn’t hard to oblige her, so Ketal would casually praise her when appropriate.

After patting Serena’s head, he turned his gaze.

"Karin. Ignisia."

"You’re here?"

"Ketal, you’ve come."

"How are you feeling?"

The two had fought with all their strength against Necronovix's construct.

They had sustained numerous injuries and were in poor condition, especially Ignisia, who had attempted a self-destructive move, shaking the power within her body, leaving her with near-fatal wounds.

"I’m fine. Serena did an excellent job healing me."

Ignisia's complexion wasn’t as pale as expected.

Serena, possessing the Holy Sword and a hero-class divine power, was unmatched in healing.

Ketal was relieved.

"That’s good to hear. If anything had happened to one of my few friends, I would have been deeply saddened."

"Thank you for saying that... Ketal."

Ignisia looked at him with a somber expression.

"That monster... You defeated it, right?"

"I did."

Ketal nodded.

Ignisia let out a faint laugh.

She had already known, but hearing it directly brought mixed emotions.

"You really did..."

Karin and Ignisia, both hero-class warriors, had fought with all their might but could barely hold their ground against the creature.

And it wasn’t even the creature's true form but a construct.

Such a monstrous being it was.

And yet Ketal had emerged victorious against it.

"You truly are a monster. It’s chilling to think about the time I fought you."

Ignisia shivered as she recalled how Ketal had once fought her with the intent to kill.

She was acutely aware that, had he been serious, she wouldn’t be here now.

Then, a commotion broke out outside, followed by the door bursting open.

"Ketal! You’re here!"

The person entering was none other than Arkamis.

Ketal greeted her with a delighted expression.

"Oh! Arkamis, it’s been a while!"

"Wow! It really is Ketal!"

Arkamis ran up to Ketal with a joyful face.

Karin laughed as she asked,

"You’re back, Arkamis. Have you resolved your issues?"

"I’ve handled them perfectly!"

Arkamis, a superhuman-level warrior, roamed the continent confronting evil.

As an alchemist—a rare profession—she hardly had a moment’s rest.

Only recently had she found some time to return, and to her surprise, Ketal was here in the sacred grounds.

She couldn’t help but be excited.

However, as her sparkling eyes settled one the one behind Ketal, her expression hardened.

"...Huh?"

At the end of her gaze was Serena.

"Ketal. Who’s that child?"

Serena flinched under Arkamis’ stare and instinctively hid behind Ketal.

Arkamis’ eyes wavered wildly.

"Uh, uh... Is she your daughter?"

"I get that misunderstanding a lot. No, she’s the Holy Sword."

"Huh? The Holy Sword?"

Ketal explained Serena’s situation.

As she listened, Arkamis’ confusion gradually faded.

"She requested my protection, so for now, I’m acting as her guardian."

"Ah, I see."

Arkamis let out a sigh of relief.

She glanced at Serena for a moment, then, as if deciding something, stepped forward.

"Serena, was it? Nice to meet you."

"Y-yes? Nice to meet you...?"

"Shall we be friends? Want me to show you around the sacred grounds?"

"Oh, uh, okay."

Serena nodded hesitantly, and Arkamis began leading her to explore the sacred grounds.

Though flustered, Serena obediently followed her.

Watching them, Karin murmured,

"...It’s peaceful."

It was truly peaceful.

The war was nearing its end, and that feeling was evident.

The atmosphere was bright and hopeful.

But this wasn’t hell.

Boom!

An explosion erupted, filled with divine power.

From within the explosion, a single hand emerged.

It swung roughly, crushing and dispelling the blast.

"You damned bastards."

Materia scowled as she surveyed the scene.

A vast lake—a popular resting spot for demons in hell.

Now, it lay in ruins, reduced to ashes by divine destruction.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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* * *

Materia returned to the shelter after cleaning up the aftermath.

Waiting there were the Demon of the Sword, Caliste, and the Demon King's first tool, Abyss.

“How did it go?”

“We stopped it. But the lake was completely buried under divinity and obliterated.”

Materia slumped into a chair.

“The gods are invading Hell.”

Kalosia had warned Ketal that the gods would attack Hell.

And within days, they acted.

Descending upon Hell in various places, they wreaked havoc.

Demons scrambled to defend their home base, leaving no capacity to attack the surface anymore.

“At least we made them pay dearly,”

Materia muttered, narrowing her eyes.

The gods themselves had descended into Hell.

That meant they could strike down a god if needed.

“We managed to ensure one of them couldn’t return. Caliste, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Leave it to me,”

Caliste replied calmly.

Materia pressed her forehead.

“The situation isn’t good. To be honest, it’s the worst. Is this… a loss?”

Materia murmured, but no one refuted her.

Silence filled the space.

“What are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know,”

Caliste murmured.

Materia scowled.

“Ah, how frustrating.”

Caliste only cared about his sword, and Abyss, being a mere instrument, was difficult to converse with properly.

It had been Necronovix who actively gathered and organized everyone’s opinions.

His absence was sorely felt.

Materia sighed.

If there was no Necronovix, she had to step in.

“Are we retreating?”

“…If we do, when will the next invasion be?”

“I don’t know.”

Materia clicked her tongue.

“Necronovix is dead, and many magicians on the surface are gone. The gods will reinforce their barriers even more. Just intervening through black magic could take millennia. A full-fledged invasion might take ten times that.”

Even for demons, it was a long time.

Abyss spoke.

[What about the Demon King's descent? Status?]

“That might take a hundred times longer.”

It could even be impossible.

Such was the extent of the damage.

“Are we really going to retreat like this?”

Caliste murmured, running his fingers along his sword hilt.

“I don’t want to.”

[Agree.]

The atmosphere grew heavier.

Materia narrowed her eyes.

“There are two options. Accept defeat and retreat, or… be prepared to abandon everything.”

“Like back then,”

Caliste replied.

In the distant past, during the Divine-Demonic War, demons had been pushed to the brink of defeat by the gods.

But they hadn’t accepted defeat.

They had made one final desperate attempt.

“This gamble is riskier than back then. This time, we’d truly have to abandon everything.”

A gamble that would risk the entire demon race and Hell itself.

“To be honest, I want to do it. My pride won’t let me retreat like this.”

Materia grinned.

“What about you?”

“I have no intention of retreating. Besides, I now have a purpose,”

Caliste said, his eyes gleaming with resolve.

Within them burned the will to fight.

“I want to face the barbarian who killed Necronovix.”

[No retreat. The Demon King's descent must happen.]

“It’s decided, then.”

All the remaining lords were in agreement.

Materia stretched as if relieved.

“Then let’s do this.”

And the next day, all of Hell trembled.

* * *

“How’s the preparation coming along?”

[Almost done. It should be ready in two more days.]

“I see.”

In two days, they could descend into Hell.

Ketal looked up at the sky with anticipation.

It was nighttime.

The dark sky was filled with countless bright stars, far more dazzling than those seen on Earth.

As he stared blankly, Ketal tilted his head.

“Tower Master.”

[What is it?]

“The sky seems… strange.”

[Hmm?]

Hearing this, the Tower Master looked up.

And he, too, saw it.

The cracks spreading across the lofty sky.

[Confirming location.]

The Tower Master cast a spell to pinpoint where the rift was forming.

Magic surged high into the sky.

But no matter how long they waited, no information came.

The meaning was clear.

The rift was so far away that even his magic couldn’t reach it.

[...Is it at the height of the stars? What is this?]

The Tower Master tried to grasp what it was.

But his efforts were rendered meaningless when the cracks in the sky began to expand.

BOOOOOOOM!

A deafening roar echoed across the world.

It was a pure, unenhanced sound, yet it shook the entire realm.

Those with sensitive ears had their eardrums torn apart.

Ketal grimaced at the unpleasant noise.

“What is it?”

[…Wait.]

CRACK. CRACKLE.

The cracks in the sky grew larger and larger.

Beyond them was a deep, dark void.

But it was not a space of this world.

The Tower Master swallowed hard.

[...A dimension is breaking apart?]

And then, from beyond the dimension, it slowly revealed itself.

RUMBLE…

It was a star.

A black-and-red star broke through the dimension and emerged into this world.

The massive planet filled the vast sky.

And then.

SCREEEEEEECH!

Malice radiated from the star.

A density so thick it felt almost natural.

The Tower Master gasped in shock.

[That, that is!]

“Well, Tower Master, it seems your efforts were for nothing,”

Ketal whistled.

The Tower Master had worked tirelessly to descend into Hell.

The fact that it was now pointless could only mean one thing.

The black-and-red, malice-filled planet—

That was Hell itself.

“The enemy has come to us instead,”

Ketal muttered with amusement.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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