Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 200: Passage of Hell (1)

"Your Majesty. What do you think will happen?"

"Hmm..."

Karin trailed off.

Honestly, she had no idea.

It was rare for the Spirit God to show herself directly.

Even having a conversation with her was almost unheard of.

In fact, even though she was the contractor of the Spirit King, she had never faced the Spirit God herself.

And now, they were going beyond that to make a deal.

Moreover, the other party was the Barbarian of the White Snowfield.

She couldn't help but feel anxious.

"I hope everything ends well."

While the two were anxiously waiting for Ketal to return from the Spirit Realm, they sensed something.

"Hmm?"

"What?"

Their expressions changed as they stood up and looked outside the sanctuary.

They felt it.

A terrible sin was being committed on this land.

"An attack?"

"It seems beyond that level..."

While they were in confusion, a rift opened up.

A passage to hell, comparable to a small mountain, swallowed a part of the forest.

The shadow cast by it covered the sanctuary.

"What!"

"Wait a minute!"

Karin was shocked.

This was not the time to wait idly for Ketal's return.

She swiftly moved, with Arkamis hastily following her.

As they reached the outer part of the sanctuary, they saw elves with pale faces, bewildered.

"What’s going on?"

The elves were relieved at the sight of Karin.

"Your Majesty!"

"The black magicians have sacrificed offerings! A passage to hell has opened!"

"I can see that."

The passage was so large that it cast a shadow over the sanctuary.

In her long life, Karin had never seen a passage of this size.

She bit her lip.

"Did you see what offerings were sacrificed?"

"Y-yes! Dozens of elves. Hundreds of humans. And dozens of black magicians! There seemed to be superhuman-level black magicians among them!"

"What?"

Karin's face twisted.

"Is that all?"

It was not a small number of offerings.

It was enough to summon a top-tier demon.

They could have even opened a small passage to hell.

But this scale seemed absolutely impossible.

The passage before them was enormous.

It was uncertain if an entire kingdom's population would suffice to open a passage this large.

"How on earth?"

A ceremony of this scale must have taken a very long time to prepare.

And yet, she hadn't noticed a thing?

No.

It wasn't just her who didn't notice.

Even the gods and spirits hadn't shown any reaction?

'...I did hear that the oracle system was broken!'

To think it could conceal a ceremony of this magnitude!

Karin ground her teeth.

The eyes beyond the passage continued to watch them.

Every time those eyes landed on the elves, they reflexively shrank back.

"Y-Your Majesty. Is there no way to close the passage before the enemies come through?"

"Once the passage has opened, it's impossible. If we tamper with it, the passage might grow larger. It's better to deal with the demons that appear."

"I-I see."

"Moreover, it seems we don't have time for that."

No sooner had the queen finished speaking than the hellish eyes observing the ground closed.

The queen clicked her tongue.

"They don't intend to give us any time to prepare."

With that, the sound of flames was heard.

Something in human form, cloaked in pitch-black flames, appeared.

Karin's pupils trembled.

"...An incarnation of hellfire?"

"Shoot!"

As soon as the monster appeared, Ash shouted.

The elves drew their bows.

Arrows and the power of the spirits poured out simultaneously.

It was the full-scale attack of the elves guarding the sanctuary.

Among them were quite a few with superhuman abilities.

It was an attack powerful enough to pulverize a fortress.

The incarnation raised its hand toward the oncoming attacks.

Black flames burst forth from its hand.

They burned and melted all the elves' attacks.

Yet its momentum did not diminish.

On the contrary, it grew even larger.

Black flames engulfed the sky.

At this rate, the entire sanctuary would be consumed by the flames.

Karin hurriedly waved her hand.

The wind fiercely swirled and gathered all the pouring black flames, compressing them as if sealing them.

The incarnation of hellfire moved forward, and the plants trampled underfoot were instantly consumed by black flames.

The elves attempted to attack again, but all their efforts were swallowed by the black flames wielded by the incarnation.

Rather than being ineffective, their attacks seemed to fuel the flames, making them even fiercer.

Karin quickly shouted,

"Everyone, stop attacking! That entity controls hellfire! Ordinary attacks won't work!"

"A-ah!"

"Sorry!"

Hellfire is a pure flame burning in the deepest part of hell, capable of incinerating the concepts of the middle world.

This flame never extinguishes; any attempt to put it out would only make it grow larger.

Even a single spark could burn an entire continent.

The incarnation of hellfire is a being formed by the aggregation of hellfire, able to wield its power.

Such a concept of hell could never normally manifest in this world.

"How on earth!"

Karin ground her teeth.

The flames wielded by the incarnation burned the very concepts of the world.

These flames couldn't be extinguished or stopped by the concepts of this world.

However, she was a hero of great strength, able to interfere with the world's laws.

[Come forth.]

She uttered, her hair swaying.

The wind of the entire forest came under her control.

The wind she wielded did not burn, even against hellfire.

[Create a path according to my will.]

Whoooosh!

A fierce wind whipped through the forest.

In an instant, the wind moved to suppress and control the black flames spreading through the forest.

Karin pointed her finger, slamming the rampaging incarnation to the ground.

"Die."

Just as she was about to crush the incarnation, a massive dark trajectory flew in from beyond the passage of hell.

The trajectory, as thick as the circumference of a giant tree, tore through the forest and rushed towards the sanctuary.

Even Karin couldn't underestimate the power contained within it.

She clasped her hands, and the wind gathered.

Boom!

The trajectory was blocked by the wind and exploded.

The aftermath uprooted trees in the forest.

"Whoa!"

"As expected of the Queen!"

The elves marveled at the Queen's power, but Karin clicked her tongue.

'I should have dealt with the incarnation first.'

Despite the appearance of the incarnation, the massive passage still remained.

This meant more would keep coming through.

She had failed to deal with even one.

The entity that had unleashed the huge trajectory revealed itself.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

[As expected of the famous High Elf Queen. If I had been a little late, the hard-earned incarnation would have been destroyed.]

[Hahaha! Everything seems to be going according to plan! Once it's all over, I should kindly take care of the souls of the black magicians!]

[The nest of the elves hasn’t changed with time. How nostalgic.]

Three voices echoed.

Karin's eyes widened.

"...Aerial Fortress. Quiklon?"

An aerial fortress, black in form and the size of a royal castle.

It was a device that assisted and amplified the power of powerful demons.

She had only known of its existence, never having seen it.

It appeared only in the ancient Great War of Gods and Demons, and never since.

Just one could destroy an entire church, as it was controlled only by the highest-ranking demons.

Now, three such aerial fortresses had appeared in the world.

'...Three top-tier superhuman demons.'

Plus, three aerial fortresses.

And even the incarnation.

She involuntarily let out a bitter laugh.

It was a force reminiscent of the Great War of Gods and Demons.

Could such a force be sent to the ground with just that number of sacrifices?

Even so, the passage of hell was now much smaller.

However, it hadn't closed.

The demons introduced themselves.

[I am Abaddon, the Demon of Destruction.]

[I am Steno, the Demon of Rotation.]

[I am Bael, the Demon of Fall.]

At the same time, monsters from hell began to pour out of the shrunken passage.

[Uwooo!]

[Uwooo!]

[In honor of those who need our power, we will destroy the land you must protect.]

The Quiklons activated, and attacks imbued with the powers of the respective demons began to pour out.

* * *

The incarnation spewed hellfire, burning the forest, and the three demons used the aerial fortresses to unleash demonic trajectories.

The ground was filled with numerous monsters.

It was a scene of utter disaster.

Karin shouted loudly.

"I summon thee! The one born from the primordial wind's condensation! I summon thee! The one who governs and controls the wind! Observer of the world's laws! Appear before us! Minerva, Spirit King of the Wind!"

With her declaration, the air settled.

The very concept of wind took shape.

Boom!

The demons' attacks clashed with the wind.

Despite being a very gentle, almost breeze-like wind, it completely neutralized the powerful demons' attacks.

[It's been a while! I'd love to have a leisurely chat, but it seems we don't have the time for that!]

A light voice echoed.

Blue hair swayed.

The Spirit King of the Wind was a beautiful female spirit.

[What should we do?]

Karin was deep in thought.

Three top-tier demons were using the Quiklon to attack the sanctuary.

The incarnation was scattering hellfire everywhere, and monsters were charging in.

No matter how powerful she was, she couldn't handle everything at once.

Karin made her decision.

"Please control the hellfire. Suppress the incarnation and protect the elves from dying in battle."

The incarnation of hellfire was hellfire itself given form.

It would eventually burn itself out quickly, but until then, it wielded immense power.

The spreading flames needed to be controlled.

The elves' lives were also precious and needed protection.

"Is it possible?"

[It's possible. But are you sure? You'll have to face those things alone for a while.]

"I don't mind."

[Well, I guess that's a needless worry. Got it.]

Minerva moved swiftly.

The wind blew fiercely.

Although the incarnation scattered hellfire violently, it no longer spread.

The hellfire that had burned half the forest couldn't spread any further and gradually lost its strength.

The incarnation was also suppressed by the Spirit King's power.

The wind of the earth and the flames of hell intertwined chaotically.

[Just as expected.]

The demons remained calm as if they had anticipated this.

They had summoned the incarnation to bind the powerful Spirit King.

A spirit master's power wasn't solely their own; they drew it out by synchronizing with spirits.

With such a spirit gone, the spirit master's power was significantly reduced.

Kiiiiiing!

Dozens of trajectories simultaneously poured toward the sanctuary, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Even one missed attack would cause the sanctuary to be half-destroyed.

Karin had to respond to all the attacks.

[You may have the power of a hero, but you're not perfect without your spirit. How long do you think you can protect the sanctuary alone?]

"For a lifetime?"

Karin smirked.

She raised her hand.

The wind swirled and gathered, sweeping toward the incoming dark trajectories.

The top-tier demons' power was supported by the aerial fortress.

Each dark trajectory carried a force comparable to the demon Rubitra.

Dozens of such trajectories collided with a single whirlwind.

Boom!

And it was the dark trajectories that shattered.

The whirlwind destroyed every one of the demons' attacks without leaving a single one behind.

It didn't stop there; it raced toward the demons.

The demons hurriedly defended themselves, but the wind tore through their defenses.

The Quiklon, which had been directly hit, staggered greatly, and chunks of the hellish rock that made up the Quiklon fell.

Karin clicked her tongue, displeased with the result.

"Is this all? It seems I have indeed weakened."

[...You.]

"Did you think you could handle me without the Spirit King? That's insulting."

Fierce winds swirled around her entire body.

Dozens of whirlwinds manifested simultaneously.

Each one had the same power as the previous whirlwind.

"I'll make you regret targeting this place. I'll crush and kill you."

The demons hurriedly gathered their strength.

The wind tore through the darkness.