Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 146: Advent of the Great Evil (6)

Boom!

A divine light surrounded Ketal.

The power contained within was unlike the divinity wielded by Shadrenes in its quality and level.

A mighty celestial force beyond the control of earthly beings descended slowly.

A golden aura enveloped Ketal’s axe.

“Oh, wow. Impressive,”

Ketal exclaimed.

“I didn’t expect help in this way.”

He smiled towards the sky.

“Thank you.”

He expressed his gratitude to the being beyond.

Shock and astonishment swept over the surroundings.

“What?”

Rakza couldn’t believe his eyes.

Shadrenes murmured in a trembling voice,

“The grace of Kalosia?”

“No, that’s impossible,”

Rubitra stammered, his face filled with shock and denial.

“How can divine grace be granted to a non-believer…?”

His words were cut off as Ketal grasped his axe and charged.

The light-imbued axe swung down.

Boom!

Rubitra’s body was cleaved in half.

Although he began to regenerate, he gritted her teeth and attacked.

Dozens of demonic lines rained down on Ketal, who swung his axe again, shattering the lines like straw.

The difference in power was evident compared to when he relied solely on physical strength.

“So this is divinity,”

Ketal whistled as he stepped forward, causing the ground to crack as he charged.

Crash.

Rubitra was slammed into the ground, his limbs severed.

Though he continued to regenerate, the process was noticeably slower, indicating that his demonic energy was being gradually depleted.

Divinity had an absolute advantage over evil.

Shadrenes and Rakza were defeated due to an insurmountable difference in power, but Ketal was able to break through Rubitra’s attacks with sheer force.

Boom!

Rubitra began to be consumed without putting up much of a resistance.

Shadrenes watched in astonishment.

“Lord Kalosia has granted grace to a barbarian…?”

A god bestowing favor on a non-believer was unprecedented, yet it was happening right before her eyes.

Even as Shadrenes and Rakza struggled to grasp the situation, Rubitra was unmistakably being depleted.

Despite his desperate resistance due to his immense power, it was clear that he would be forcibly recalled if this continued.

Rubitra let out a furious roar.

“Barbarian!”

Rubitra began using his last resort.

He twisted his hand roughly, causing hidden lines of demonic energy in the ground to rise.

Boom!

The lines of demonic energy sliced and cleared the ground around Ketal, causing his body to momentarily float in the air.

Ketal’s eyes lit up.

“Oh?”

As Ketal’s body slowly began to descend, Rubitra raised his hand aggressively.

A hundred lines gathered in his hand, layering upon each other until they formed a single, powerful line.

Having gathered all his energy into one strike, Rubitra threw the line towards Ketal.

The single line, combined from a hundred, flew towards him.

Ketal raised his hand, and his palm met the line.

*Boom!*

His body was sent flying.

The ground shattered and split apart as Ketal’s form disappeared into the distance.

Shadrenes screamed.

“Ketal!”

“Hahaha! I’ve won!”

Rubitra burst into maniacal laughter.

From the beginning of the battle, Rubitra had been secretly planning for an unavoidable strike.

That strike had now perfectly hit its mark.

Even defending with his divinely imbued axe had failed, as he witnessed with his own eyes.

Despite the mysterious nature of the barbarian’s body, it was his all-encompassing strike.

There was no way he could withstand it.

Rubitra was certain of his victory.

At that moment, an axe flew in and embedded itself in his chest.

Crash.

“What…?”

Rubitra’s eyes widened.

The divine-imbued axe was lodged in his chest.

He stammered,

“How, how…?”

“Was that your secret strike? It was quite powerful.”

Ketal appeared from where he had been sent flying.

His body was unscathed.

Rubitra, with a face of disbelief, spoke up.

“How… it definitely hit.”

“Oh, you mean this?”

Ketal raised his palm.

“It was certainly sharp.”

There was a red mark on his palm, like the kind you get from pressing against the edge of a table.

A mark that would fade with time, something anyone could get in daily life.

That was all.

Rubitra’s all-encompassing strike left only that kind of mark on Ketal.

“Ridiculous.”

Rubitra let out a hollow laugh. Ketal approached Rubitra, grabbing the axe.

He then brought it down with force.

*Boom!*

The suppressed demonic energy erupted.

Rubitra’s body began to scatter slowly.

He was already being gnawed away by the divinity, and his all-encompassing strike had failed.

No matter how powerful a demon he was, he could no longer endure.

Ketal retrieved his axe.

“It seems to be over.”

“Hahaha… How absurd,”

Rubitra chuckled.

He finally understood.

Ketal’s level was immensely high.

He was someone he could never hope to defeat.

“It was impossible for me to beat you from the start. Those with hierarchy need to move.”

Demons granted territories and positions beyond just a name had to move to face this barbarian.

“Hierarchy, huh,”

Ketal muttered with interest.

Rubitra glared at Ketal.

“Wait, barbarian. When we set foot on this earth, we will kill you.”

With those words, Rubitra’s presence vanished from the earth.

Ketal watched the demonic energy disperse into the air and muttered,

“I’ve heard that many times already. I’m getting tired of expecting it.”

Anyway, it was over.

He took a step.

“Are you okay?”

Ketal helped Shadrenes and Rakza up.

“Yes, I’m fine,”

Shadrenes said, stumbling to her feet.

Though she wobbled, she stood firmly.

“Ketal, that axe…”

Her gaze was fixed on the golden axe.

Ketal shook his head.

“I don’t know. I knew something would happen, but I didn’t expect this kind of help.”

As Ketal spoke, the golden light on the axe slowly began to fade.

The divinity disappeared shortly thereafter.

“Was there a time limit? What a pity.”

Ketal clicked his tongue in disappointment, thinking he could handle a divine weapon.

Rakza stammered.

“Did Lord Kalosia recognize you, Ketal?”

“Recognize? I don’t know about that. I don’t even know what he expects from me.”

“Then why? Why did Lord Kalosia grant you his grace…”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to figure that out slowly. But don’t we have something to do first?”

“Ah,”

Shadrenes muttered, coming to her senses.

“Yes, we survived.”

The shocking scene had momentarily made them forget the situation.

They had won.

They had driven out the evil and escaped the crisis of destruction.

They realized this belatedly.

“First, we should clean up.”

“Yes,”

Shadrenes said, stumbling toward the corpses of the holy knights.

She stood in front of them and offered a small prayer.

“It was a noble sacrifice. May their souls safely reach Lord Kalosia.”

After a moment of prayer, she stood up and bowed to Ketal.

“Thank you, Ketal. Truly.”

Without Ketal, they would have perished here.

Kalosia’s name would have faded into history.

She spoke with heartfelt sincerity.

“We may not have much now, but we will offer you the best reward we can.”

“No need,”

Ketal laughed heartily.

“Let’s return to the sanctuary. They’re probably waiting anxiously for the outcome.”

“Understood.”

They opened the gates of the sanctuary, and anxious gazes turned toward them.

In the silence, Shadrenes calmly declared.

“The demon descended on earth has returned to hell. The domain of evil surrounding the sanctuary has also disappeared. There are no more dark magicians or monsters here.”

“Ah…”

Hope began to shine in people’s eyes.

Shadrenes cemented that hope with her next words.

“We have won.”

“W-wow!”

The people burst into cheers, hugging each other in their joy over the victory.

They shouted,

“Lord Kalosia! Thank you!”

Thanking the god who protected them.

And they shouted,

“Lady Saintess and Rakza! Thank you!”

Then they shouted another name,

“Mr. Ketal! Thank you so much!”

The name of Ketal.

* * *

They had won.

But the damage was not insignificant.

Having been surrounded for so long, their finances were nearly depleted.

They managed to acquire supplies somehow, but they had to empty the sanctuary’s treasury to cover the costs, and now it needed to be replenished.

Moreover, all the holy knights were dead.

Most of the holy knights were second-rate, but there were not a few first-rate knights among them.

They were the elite who had survived battles against monsters and were meant to lead the Church in the future.

They had all been annihilated by Rubitra.

Effectively, the backbone of the Church had been severed.

The sanctuary’s barrier was also destroyed, leaving them virtually exposed.

The barrier needed to be restored as well.

It was, in fact, a Pyrrhic victory.

But a victory was still a victory.

The people found strength and began the restoration.

Ketal also helped out, moving his body around as needed.

It took about a week to restore some of the damage.

“Hm.”

Ketal, lying on his bed in his quarters, gazed at his axe.

The divine energy that had once suffused it had completely vanished.

“What a pity.”

Ketal clicked his tongue.

With his strength alone, he couldn’t banish demons.

Having a divine weapon would have been a huge help, but it had disappeared without a trace.

“Kalosia, huh.”

Kalosia, the god of lies and deception.

What did that god expect from him?

“I guess I’ll find out when we meet.”

Ketal got up.

After things had settled down, Shadrenes, who had been resting, requested a private meeting with Ketal.

She was the holy messenger of the god, the one who connected Kalosia to the mortal world.

Meeting her should provide some answers.

He had to go outside, though.

Ketal made a reluctant face.

“Ugh… I have to go out, huh.”

After some hesitation, he gave up and opened the door.

As he left his quarters, he saw the followers hard at work.

The damage was so extensive that it wouldn’t be restored in just a month or two.

It would take at least a year for Kalosia’s Church to return to its former state.

But their expressions were not gloomy.

Everyone was working hard with hopeful faces to restore the sanctuary.

In the midst of this, someone saw Ketal coming out.

They brightened up.

“Lord Ketal!”

“What?”

“Lord Ketal?”

“It’s Lord Ketal!”

The voices spread like waves.

Previously, the followers had addressed him with “Mr.” But at some point, it had changed to “Lord Ketal.”

The followers abandoned their work and rushed toward Ketal.

In no time, a wall of people formed around Ketal.

They shouted energetically,

“Lord Ketal! How are you!”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Is there anything uncomfortable for you?”