BXBX NOVEL Chapter 102 – Nano (4)
Chapter 102 – Nano (4)
Nano was confident of victory.
He had no doubt that Ketal would be crushed beyond recognition.
But it didn’t take long for Nano to sense something was off.
Ketal, whose fist had collided with Nano’s, wasn’t budging at all.
No, it was the opposite.
Nano was gradually being pushed back.
At first, Nano denied it.
It was impossible.
No mere human could withstand such weight and speed.
But it wasn’t a delusion; his fist was steadily being pushed back.
[No.]
This was impossible.
Nano focused even more on his fist, increasing the weight to its limit.
Yet, nothing changed.
His body, once it began to be pushed, was now heading towards the ground.
Ketal applied a little more force to his fist.
At that moment, Nano’s body touched the ground.
BOOOOM!
Nano’s body was driven deep into the earth, the ground rupturing with a thunderous roar.
Physical shock meant nothing to Nano.
But he couldn’t get up immediately.
The dense weight of his being had been overpowered.
By sheer, brute force.
“You were quite heavy.”
Ketal muttered lightly.
Hearing those words, Nano momentarily lost his sanity.
BOOOM!
Debris scattered as Nano rose.
His fierce fist flew once more.
Ketal extended his hand.
Nano’s swinging fist was caught by Ketal’s hand.
BOOOOOM!
The impact alone shook the ground.
The air was violently displaced.
But Ketal didn’t take a single step back.
Grasping the fist, he turned his body.
“Upsy-daisy.”
Using the fist as a pivot, he slammed Nano into the ground.
CRAAASH!
The ground collapsed and shattered.
If the Tower Master’s barrier hadn’t covered even the ground, people would have thought an earthquake had struck and would have jumped to their feet in panic.
Ketal clenched his fist and swung it.
Nano’s body, buried in the ground, quivered from the intense shock.
Multicolored particles burst out in all directions.
[Human!]
In an instant, Nano’s body scattered, returning to independent entities.
When they reformed, he was above Ketal’s head.
Nano raised his foot.
With the help of immense weight and acceleration, he aimed to crush Ketal’s head.
Ketal raised his hand.
CRAAASH!
The ground beneath his feet split.
The force and weight were beyond comprehension.
But Ketal had no particular thoughts.
‘It is heavy, indeed.’
That was all.
‘But in terms of weight, the serpent was much heavier.’
Ketal recalled memories of the snowy plains and brought his hand down on the leg he was holding.
Nano’s body was slammed into the ground once more.
[You’re just smashing everything.]
The Tower Master, watching, chuckled and began chanting a spell.
A single barrier was not enough to guarantee blocking such impacts, so he planned to layer several.
[Human!]
Nano, deeply embedded in the ground, stood up.
He charged at Ketal fiercely.
[A mere human cannot stop us!]
“Well.”
Ketal had an indifferent expression.
He dodged Nano’s swinging fists and slipped inside Nano’s guard.
His fist struck Nano’s abdomen.
Nano’s body flew through the air and crashed into the barrier.
The barrier started making ominous noises.
Nano got up and charged again.
‘It is quite durable.’
Perhaps because of the extreme density, it didn’t burst open even when hit strongly.
But that was all.
Ketal looked at Nano with slightly cold eyes.
‘Is this the alienness of another Forbidden realm?’
The White Snowfield.
That terrible place where he had been trapped.
There are places in this world similar to the White Snowfield.
While he felt a strong aversion to this fact, he was also somewhat curious.
What would other dimensional realms be like?
For Ketal, who had lived through the White Snowfield, this was a natural curiosity, and so he found Nano’s existence as a dimensional being a bit intriguing.
But when faced with it, that feeling quickly turned cold.
“You are nothing impressive or threatening compared to those inside.”
Beings that wielded pure strength were countless inside.
The serpent was a prime example.
A massive serpent that could connect the sky and the ground, creating disaster just by swinging its body.
Nano’s mass and strength in front of him were far insufficient compared to the serpent.
Even such a serpent wasn’t the strongest in terms of pure strength in the White Snowfield.
‘The heterogeneity that shifts forms is somewhat peculiar, but…’
Though the direction differed, entities with heterogeneity similar to Nano’s were abundant within the White Snowfield.
‘There was even a dog-like creature that devoured and merged everything.’
To Ketal, Nano was neither particularly special nor exceptionally strong.
And that sentiment was evident in his eyes.
Nano, feeling immense contempt, was enraged.
But nothing changed.
Ketal lifted his foot.
Nano, who was charging, was slammed into the ground.
He raised his fist and brought it down.
In an instant, multicolored particles scattered in all directions.
Ketal pressed down with his foot to subdue Nano’s movements as he tried to escape, and then raised his fist again.
He struck, and Nano’s chest caved in.
Rumble…
After several rounds of battle, Nano finally realized.
He couldn’t defeat that human.
No, he had known from the start.
He just couldn’t accept it and kept refusing to acknowledge it.
[Monster.]
“Being called a monster by a monster feels strange.”
[No, you are the monster.]
“I am human.”
Ketal said.
Nano didn’t find those words particularly meaningful.
[I will lose to you. But… I won’t go quietly.]
Nano’s form, which had resembled a human, twisted.
He began compressing himself further.
Though multicolored particles started to fall off as he couldn’t endure the compression, Nano didn’t stop.
Rumble.
Eventually, all of Nano was compressed into a small sphere.
[Beings like you should not exist in this world.]
The sphere wobbled precariously, as if it might explode at any moment.
Ketal muttered.
“A suicide attack.”
[I couldn’t free this world. But at the very least… I can’t let monsters like you roam freely.]
Die.
With a short statement, Nano exploded.
Multicolored particles burst out in all directions.
These were projectiles released after extreme compression.
It was a kind of claymore mine.
The speed and destructive power were incomparable to anything before.
“A life-risking attack.”
Ketal murmured.
The opponent’s final attack, made with determination and resolve.
If so, he should respond seriously as well.
Ketal grabbed the axe hanging at his waist.
He took a stance, gripping the axe with strength.
He moved his left foot back to brace himself.
“Hup.”
With a short exhalation, Ketal swung the axe.
All the multicolored particles flying like bullets were cleaved.
In an instant, the space emptied.
The wind pressure from the swing harshly struck the barrier, rushing forward.
BOOOM!
The impact from the axe swing collided with the barrier created by the Tower Master.
Cracks formed on the barrier, and it began to break.
[What!]
The Tower Master was astonished.
The barrier he had just created was breaking apart instantly.
The Tower Master quickly waved his hand.
He created and restored a new barrier.
In an instant, more than ten layers of barriers were formed.
BOOOM!
The barrier trembled greatly.
Though it didn’t break, it couldn’t completely suppress the thunderous noise.
The sleeping people were startled awake, causing an uproar.
[Tsk.]
The Tower Master clicked his tongue and waved his hand.
Mana spread chaotically throughout the capital.
[Sleep.]
A spell of sleep was cast over the entire capital.
Those who were getting up collapsed back down.
The Tower Master, who had barely managed to calm the situation, turned his gaze to where the palace once stood.
[What kind of power is that?]
The barrier he had personally created had almost been destroyed.
Not even from a direct punch, but just from the aftermath.
It was power beyond comprehension and understanding.
Rumble…
The aftermath slowly subsided.
Amidst the scene of destruction, Ketal dusted off his hands.
“It was quite amusing.”
[Amusing?]
The last remaining fragment of Nano murmured.
Though a part of him had barely survived the self-destruction, it wouldn’t last long.
It would soon come to a halt.
Thus, Nano left his final words.
[You… should not exist in this world.]
“That’s not for you to decide.”
Ketal said calmly, shaking his fist.
With an explosion, the last remnants of Nano vanished.
[Quest 786 completed.]
[A reward will be given.]
A quest completion window appeared before Ketal.
It meant that Nano no longer existed in this world.
[Good job.]
The Tower Master’s voice echoed from behind Ketal.
The Tower Master, upon seeing Ketal, suppressed a laugh that threatened to escape.
Ketal was completely unscathed.
Although his clothes were a bit dusty, apart from that, he looked no different from when he had arrived in the Lutein Kingdom.
He might have looked slightly fatigued, but there wasn’t a significant difference from his usual appearance.
No.
Perhaps the Tower Master’s perception of fatigue was just an illusion.
To someone who didn’t know any better, it might seem like he had just come from a day’s work in the fields.
‘It’s absurd.’
Hiding his amazement, the Tower Master asked a pointless question.
[Are you alright?]
“I’m fine. But what about you? It seemed like the barrier almost broke at the end.”
[…It did.]
He had confidently said that the barrier wouldn’t break, but it had almost shattered with one swing of the axe.
If the Tower Master hadn’t quickly created additional barriers, it could have been dangerous.
His mouth felt bitter.
Even though he had lost his sense of taste since becoming a lich, the Tower Master still felt that way.
[The aftermath has spread, but it’s been resolved for now.]
“How did you manage that?”
[I put the entire capital to sleep.]
“…Is that even possible?”
Ketal was surprised.
The capital was vast.
To cast a spell that put everyone in the capital to sleep in such a short time?
Thinking back, the barrier, though it had almost broken at the end, had perfectly separated them from the outside until then.
This was the Tower Master’s magic.
Ketal was genuinely impressed.
And the Tower Master found it absurd.
[You’re the one to talk.]
He felt like he was being mocked, hearing such words from someone who created this scene of destruction without even using magic.
[Anyway, it’s over. But….]
The Tower Master looked towards where the palace had been.
Everything was in ruins.
It was hard to believe that there had ever been a palace there.
[Cleaning up will be a headache.]
The Tower Master shook his head.
[For now, let’s go back.]
Ketal nodded.
Space folded, and their bodies disappeared from the location.
The two returned to Denian Castle, where Barbosa and Elene were waiting with anxious faces.
Barbosa hurriedly asked the Tower Master.
“What happened?”
During their absence, Barbosa had been contacting everyone to prepare for assistance.
He was ready to move at a moment’s notice based on the Tower Master’s words.
He waited tensely for the Tower Master’s response.
The Tower Master spoke.
[It’s over.]
“What?”
[It’s all over. We just need to clean up.]
“…What?”
For a moment, Barbosa couldn’t understand and asked again.