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Chapter 202: Passage of Hell (3)

Just a few minutes before Ketal, holding the demon\'s head, arrived at Karin.

It was during the fierce battle between the demons and Karin.

"Whoa. This is chaotic."

A man stood right next to the typhoon that raged in the sanctuary.

Outwardly, he looked very ordinary.

He had such a forgettable face that one would forget it upon passing by.

There were no horns symbolizing a demon, and no demonic energy could be felt.

He was Bruno, the demon of shadows.

He had slipped through the hell\'s passage amidst the demons.

"You seem to be struggling."

Bruno looked at the three demons desperately blocking Karin\'s attacks with a pitying face.

"Everyone, struggle a bit more for my performance."

Bruno inserted himself into the typhoon.

A demon was attempting to invade the sanctuary.

Avatar, three demons, and the flying fortress Quiklon.

All of these were merely bait for Bruno to infiltrate the Elven sanctuary.

Under normal circumstances, Karin would have noticed, but she was preoccupied with the demons.

Bruno\'s presence was so insignificant that Karin did not detect him as he penetrated the typhoon.

Thus, the Elven sanctuary allowed the demon to infiltrate, quite futilely.

Bruno twisted his lips as he set his dirty foot in the sanctuary.

"As expected, the spirit barrier has weakened."

Bruno leisurely moved toward the World Tree.

He sensed the gathered Elves.

The non-combatant Elves were gathered in the shelter, praying to the spirit god and the queen.

A sadistic glint momentarily appeared on Bruno\'s face.

He wanted to go and tear the Elves apart right away.

"No, no."

But Bruno suppressed that urge.

He had come with a significant purpose, not just to defile the ground.

Suppressing his emotions, he leaped up.

Tap. Tap.

He climbed the World Tree.

With all the forces focused on the outskirts of the sanctuary, no one was there to stop him.

Bruno reached the top, where the High Elf Karin had stayed, without any interference.

"Ha."

Bruno let out a sound involuntarily at the intense natural energy.

The purest tree in this world.

The World Tree.

Its mere existence purified the air of the entire continent.

This one tree produced enough oxygen to rival the entire Schwarzwald Forest.

And the World Tree had a crucial role.

It connected the spirit world and the mortal realm.

If the World Tree were destroyed or tainted, the connection between the spirit world and the middle realm would be severed.

It was a giant mechanism maintaining the balance.

"Heh heh."

Bruno reached out for his purpose.

Demonic energy gathered in his hand.

He swung it at the World Tree\'s branch.

The branch was cut off effortlessly.

Leaves scattered.

Bruno caught the falling branch and leaves.

"Here you go."

Bruno opened a space.

A small summoning circle to hell opened, and he sent the World Tree\'s branch through it.

Cutting off a branch of the World Tree and sending it to hell.

That was Bruno\'s first mission.

"That\'s done."

And his second mission was to defile the World Tree.

Bruno twisted his smile.

Demonic energy began to gather in his hand.

"It feels good."

He was doing something grand, defiling this world and meeting the conditions for the Demon King\'s descent.

He was extremely satisfied.

Bruno continued to gather demonic energy.

Despite a demon leisurely gathering demonic energy in the sanctuary, there was no interference.

Bruno looked at the World Tree with a sneer.

"Damn gods. Damn spirits. Frustrated because you can\'t activate the all-seeing eye as before? This world is no longer yours. It\'s about to become ours."

And that giant step was about to be accomplished through his hands.

Time passed, and the demonic energy was sufficiently condensed.

It was enough to defile the World Tree.

Thrust.

Bruno thrust his arm into the World Tree.

Demonic energy slowly infiltrated the inside of the World Tree.

"Oh, ohhh..."

Finally.

The pure World Tree, untainted even in the ancient Divine-Demonic War, was being defiled.

This great feat was being accomplished through his hands.

Bruno trembled with emotion.

He intended to explode the demonic energy to completely engulf the World Tree.

His entire focus was on the World Tree, neglecting his surroundings.

Therefore, Bruno only realized there was someone behind him when his shoulder was tapped.

"Hm?"

Bruno turned his head.

A giant barbarian was staring at him blankly.

"...Huh?"

"Seems like a mess after returning from the spirit world. You look like a demon, but do you know where Karin or Arkamis is?"

"Huh, huh?"

Bruno couldn\'t comprehend the situation.

What?

A barbarian?

Why was a barbarian here?

Ketal blankly looked at Bruno\'s blackened hand embedded in the World Tree.

"You don\'t seem willing to answer. You appear to be doing something really bad."

"...!"

Bruno withdrew his hand from the World Tree.

He swung the gathered demonic energy at Ketal.

Ketal casually reached out and twisted Bruno\'s wrist.

The demonic energy grazed past Ketal\'s head and dissipated into Karin\'s storm.

\'Wha, what!\'

Bruno tried to withdraw his arm, but it wouldn\'t budge.

It felt like his arm was embedded in a cliff.

"Sorry, but since we\'ve made a deal, it can\'t be like this."

Ketal raised his axe.

The axe gleamed with a holy light.

Bruno, horrified, tried to shield himself.

Slash.

The axe separated Bruno\'s head from his body.

* * *

And now.

Ketal was beside Karin, holding Bruno\'s head.

Karin, stumbling, spoke.

"You seem in a good mood."

"Of course."

Ketal smiled brightly.

Until now, he could overwhelm demons but could not subdue or reverse summon them.

It was because he lacked divine power.

However, this time, he used the sanctity of Kalosia\'s holy relic to subdue the demon and prevent it from escaping.

It was a very satisfying change.

"Initially, I tried to reverse summon it completely, but it was impossible due to the lack of divine power. So, I brought it here. Can I leave it to you?"

"Ah, yes..."

Karin waved her finger.

A spear of wind materialized and pierced the man\'s torso.

"This damned...!"

The demon of shadows, Bruno, was thus reverse summoned to hell.

A peculiar silence fell amidst the chaotic battlefield.

Karin was quite perplexed, but the demons were even more so.

[…Wait a minute.]

[What? Why is Bruno captured by that guy?]

[The World Tree isn\'t fully corrupted? Did he fail?]

"Hmm."

Ketal gazed at the three floating fortresses in the sky.

"Impressive."

Ketal murmured.

The floating fortresses in the sky were quite impressive, truly a fantastical sight.

"It looks like the demons are invading. Is that correct?"

"Ah, yes."

"Then I need to destroy those, right?"

"Pardon?"

"Is it okay to leave things as they are? It seems the demon did something to the World Tree."

"...Ah."

She hastily turned her gaze to the World Tree.

Demonic energy could be felt from the World Tree.

It was very faint compared to the entire World Tree but noticeable.

For the World Tree, which must remain pure, it was a significant corruption.

Moreover, if left alone, the corruption would grow and eventually engulf the entire World Tree.

It needed to be purified immediately.

And only Karin could purify the World Tree.

"...Ketal, could you handle the demons for me?"

"I made a deal with the spirit god. Don\'t worry."

"Then please, I\'m really sorry."

Karin hurriedly ran toward the World Tree.

[W-Well, I don\'t know what\'s happening, but...]

The demons regrouped.

The Elven queen went to purify the corruption in the World Tree.

They decided to cause as much damage as possible during this opportunity.

As the demons made that judgment, Ketal raised his axe.

"It\'s a shame to destroy such a fantastical sight with my own hands... but a deal is a deal."

Ketal planted his feet firmly.

Boom!

The ground shook as if a crater had been formed.

Ketal\'s body soared through the air.

The demons immediately responded to the barbarian flying toward them.

[Kill him!]

Screech!

A massive dark trajectory shot from Quiklon toward Ketal.

His body disappeared as it was engulfed by the trajectory.

[What an idiot!]

The demon of rotation, Steno, shouted.

Despite being overpowered by a hero, the trajectories they unleashed were far from weak.

Each shot was powerful enough to turn a magically protected wall into dust.

Being hit directly by such a force without any defense meant the barbarian would surely be obliterated without a trace.

So the demons thought.

The trajectory passed through the air, revealing Ketal\'s unscathed form.

[What!]

He looked exactly the same as before being engulfed by the trajectory.

Without losing speed, he flew toward the flying fortress controlled by Steno.

Ketal gripped his axe tightly.

As he reached Quiklon, he swung it.

Boom!

With a deafening roar, Quiklon was shattered.

Unable to withstand the force, it quickly lost its shape and functionality, collapsing.

The hellish rocks forming Quiklon began to fall slowly toward the ground.

In a single strike, the mighty hellish flying fortress was falling apart.

Amidst the falling debris, a figure leaped out.

"Graaaah!"

Ketal grabbed Steno, who was on the fortress, and forcibly dragged her out.

He slammed her body to the ground and swung his axe.

The axe embedded itself in Steno\'s chest.

"Blutka."

Screech!

With a small murmur, a holy light enveloped the axe.

It burned Steno\'s body.

Steno gritted her teeth and swung her arm.

Crack!

Demonic energy swirled, forming a small vortex that pushed Ketal away.

Barely free, Steno hurriedly put some distance between herself and Ketal.

"Still lacking in divine power, huh."

Ketal clicked his tongue regretfully.

The level of divine power from the holy relic was insufficient to reverse summon demons.

At best, it could only subdue them.

Steno, barely escaping, stared at Ketal with eyes filled with shock.

\'What, what is this?\'

Bruno had been captured by this barbarian.

Bruno was not weak.

Though he didn\'t show himself often, his power was on par with the best of them.

And this barbarian had destroyed her flying fortress with a single blow and forcibly dragged her out.

\'...His level of divine power is only second-rate?\'

As Steno observed Ketal for a moment, her eyes widened.

"Are you the barbarian Ketal?"

"Oh, you know me."

"...It\'s hard not to."

Steno gritted her teeth.

The demon of gravity, Ashetiar, had cried Ketal\'s name toward hell.

Due to the peculiarity of his body, he had not been branded, but his name had spread throughout hell.

Continuously, Ketal had hindered the demons\' plans in the Kingdom of Denian and the sanctuary of Kalosia.

Nearly half of the plans executed on the mortal realm were thwarted by Ketal.

Most inhabitants of hell now knew Ketal\'s name.

Hearing this, Ketal smiled pleasantly.

"My fame has spread that far, huh. Not a bad feeling."

"Barbarian! How dare you interfere with us!"

"No, it just happened by chance. If I got in the way, I apologize. It\'s unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?"

Steno was momentarily taken aback by their conversation.

They were demons.

The absolute enemies of this world.

Any being from the middle realm would instinctively hate and oppose them.

But Ketal was conversing with them quite amiably.

There was no trace of hostility in his eyes.

Steno, momentarily flustered, quickly regained her composure.

“…Enough. If you are in front of me, there is only one thing to do.”

Steno took a deep breath and shouted harshly.

“Creatures of hell! Our plan has failed! But right now, in front of us! There is a marked being from this world!”

The demon\'s declaration rang out.

Steno shouted with a twisted face.

“Kill the sinner with the mark!”

At the same time, the monsters attacking the elves turned.

They rushed at Ketal to kill him. The incarnate did the same.

The incarnate shook its body violently.

Hellfire scattered like landmines exploding everywhere.

[What a shallow trick!]

The king of the wind spirits contained and controlled all the erupting hellfire.

Seizing the opportunity, the incarnate rushed straight at Ketal.

The demons did the same.

The flying fortress exploded violently.

It was a kind of self-destruction.

“Damn it!”

Arkamis’s expression changed as she fought the monsters.

The massive flying fortress exploded, scattering debris everywhere.

If left unchecked, the entire land would be drenched in darkness.

Moreover, these elements were not favorable against the spirits.

The elves couldn\'t stop it.

Karin could have stopped it, but she had gone to purify the World Tree.

The elves hurriedly wielded their spirits to block the explosion of the flying fortress, but they were not enough.

Arkamis bit her lip as if making a resolution.

She unfolded her clothes.

All sorts of catalysts flew out from there.

She stomped the ground fiercely.

[Harmonize!]

Screeeech!

The catalysts flew through the air, harmonizing with Arkamis.

The elves\' eyes widened at the enormous power manifesting.

“Huh?”

“Wait. Why does Lady Arkamis have those things?”

An alchemist handles catalysts and materials.

And this was the sanctuary of the elves.

There were precious catalysts that could not be seen outside.

Each one was worth more than a whole castle.

She hadn\'t known before, but now that she had learned alchemy, she recognized their value and coveted them.

So she secretly took some catalysts little by little.

If the sanctuary\'s elves knew, they would be furious and imprison her, even if she were a high elf.

Karin knew this but remained silent, considering it a cute prank.

Now, those pilfered catalysts were manifesting their power.

[Dew that formed at the tip of the World Tree\'s leaf! Root of the ancient rotten tree born with the World Tree! Cocoon of the caterpillar that fed on the World Tree\'s leaves! Powder of the root where high elves are born!]

Each catalyst would cause an uproar if taken outside.

And now, they were being handled by Arkamis.

An alchemist manipulates catalysts.

Depending on the grade and quality of the catalysts, they could easily surpass their limits.

Screeeeech!

The processed catalysts harmonized with Arkamis’s magic.

A translucent barrier unfolded. Quiklon\'s fragments pounded on it fiercely.

“Urrrgh!”

Arkamis groaned.

Blood flowed from between her clenched teeth.

But she did not fall and desperately blocked the attacks.

The elves watched her with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, all the creatures of hell were rushing at Ketal to kill him.

Ketal raised his axe joyfully.

Crunch.

The rushing monsters were literally smashed to pulp.

The demons unleashed their powers.

Destruction, Rotation, and Fall struck Ketal’s body.

The incarnate, who had approached unnoticed, also swung its hellfire at Ketal.

But his body was unyielding.

Despite the onslaught, he did not waver an inch.

The incarnate, now close to Ketal, grabbed his head.

Hellfire engulfed Ketal’s entire body.

The flames only burned his clothes and could not penetrate his flesh.

“That\'s hot!”

Ketal cheerfully swung his axe.

With a single strike, the incarnate\'s body was split in half.

The hellfire forming the incarnate was forcibly extinguished.

Boom!

He swung his axe, deflecting the demons\' powers.

Steno could not believe it.

He was blocking their desperate attacks so nonchalantly.

Instead, he was smiling as if he was having fun.

“A human figure burning black! Very cool! The ‘Outside’ is truly interesting!”

‘Outside?’

Steno paused at the strange word.

The hellfire burned Ketal’s clothes, revealing a grotesque scar on his chest.

Steno’s eyes widened.

“You, that scar. You’re from the White Snowfield…”

“What? You just realized? You’re slower to catch on than I thought.”

“…Impossible!”

Steno shouted in denial.

With a contorted face, she spoke accusingly.

“You are the enemy of the world! Taking one side against the other! That’s impossible!”

“I don\'t think you have the right to define me.”

Ketal replied indifferently and leaped.

He deflected the demon’s attacks and grabbed its head, applying pressure.

The demon\'s head burst.