Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 201: Passage of Hell (2)

Boom!

Schwarzwald Forest.

One of the largest forests on the continent.

Now, it was in chaos.

Half of the forest had been burned by hellfire.

If the Spirit King of the Wind had not controlled it, the entire forest would have been destroyed.

And the Elven Holy Land, Elfo Sagrado, had turned into a battlefield.

A sanctuary that had been peaceful for centuries had become the frontline.

Monsters were charging in with screams.

Elves were desperately moving to protect the sanctuary.

Among the elves, there were also strong individuals of superhuman level.

But the monsters were so strong that even those elves could not easily defeat them.

In most places, they would have been the main players of the battlefield.

But not here.

They were merely side characters.

A massive power was sweeping over their heads.

Boom!

Dark trajectories poured out from three Quiklons.

The attack was truly powerful.

The power contained in just one trajectory was enough to burn down a magically protected castle.

Dozens of such trajectories were pouring out simultaneously.

It was an attack that literally shook the continent.

Boom!

But it did not penetrate even a single person's defense.

Despite the relentless bombardment, all of it was blocked by the shaking wind.

Boom!

The demons were trying to somehow break through Karin's defense.

The dark trajectories poured out once again.

This time, they drew curves and aimed to directly strike the interior of the sanctuary.

The trajectories surrounded the sanctuary in branches.

At this rate, the sanctuary would be directly hit and turned into ruins.

"Such a trivial trick."

But Karin lightly sneered and stomped her foot.

Whoosh!

The wind spread out.

The spreading wind began to rotate around the sanctuary.

The rotation accelerated.

And then.

Rumble!

A massive typhoon surrounded the sanctuary.

The trajectories that were drawing curves were blocked by the typhoon and disappeared without a trace.

The demons were at a loss for words due to such overwhelming power.

[...What.]

"Die."

Karin swung her arm.

Dozens of spears of wind were simultaneously created and flew towards the Quiklon.

The demon of Destruction, Abaddon, gathered darkness to defend.

The Quiklon was not just a fortress that strengthened attacks.

Rather, its power was specialized in strengthening defense.

A top-tier superhuman demon formed a powerful dark barrier with the support of the Quiklon.

Crack!

But the moment it touched the spears of wind, it cracked and shattered in an instant.

[Abaddon!]

Other demons urgently attacked the spears of wind.

It took the combined strength of three demons to barely block Karin's attack.

Karin clicked her tongue.

"Demons with a sense of camaraderie, huh."

[...Unbelievable.]

The demon of Fall, Bael, laughed dryly.

They were currently fighting in a very advantageous situation.

They had used hellfire to exclude the Spirit King of the Wind, Minerva, from the battle.

Considering that most of a spirit master's power comes from spirits, it was a significant penalty.

And Karin was not alone.

Behind her was the elven sanctuary, the World Tree.

Considering the purity of the World Tree, even a trace of demonic energy was not allowed. She had to pay considerable attention to its protection.

It was no exaggeration to say her hands and feet were tied.

On the other hand, the demons were very free.

They had succeeded in a perfect descent with no significant power restrictions.

They could draw out greater power using the airborne fortress Quiklon.

It was not much different from three fully armored knights fighting a bare-handed warrior with bound limbs.

But they could not penetrate.

No, not only could they not penetrate, but they were also being pushed back.

If even one condition had been lacking, they would have already been annihilated.

[...A hero is still a hero, after all.]

[We can't break through even after capturing the Spirit King? Damn, this is humiliating.]

The demon of rotation, Steno, grumbled.

[This Quiklon is useless. I'm not the type to pour out this much power.]

The Quiklon was an airborne fortress that assisted demons.

Its power was specialized in bombardment and defense.

But each demon had their own powers.

Steno's power was rotation.

A wielder of twisted, rotating power.

He was not a demon who could handle the Quiklon well.

[Originally, the demon of the Demonic Lines, Rubitra, was supposed to come, right? Why was I needed?]

[Originally, yes, but unfortunately, he got injured and needs to rest. He had no strength left.]

[…Ah, you said he lost to some barbarian? That's really something. Things are quite strange on the surface.]

[Stop chatting and help me!]

Bael screamed.

The demons came to their senses and started wielding their demonic energy.

Boom!

However, no matter how hard they fought, it didn't seem possible to break through Karin's defense.

At this rate, they would slowly be pushed back.

[Damn. This is really humiliating.]

[She's a hero and a strong one at that. We can't win unless someone of a higher rank moves. Besides, we didn't come here to overpower her with brute strength.]

[That's true.]

Bael readily agreed with Abaddon.

Their goal wasn't to defeat Karin.

It was to draw her attention to themselves.

Bael muttered.

[I wish they would hurry up and deal with this.]

* * *

Boom!

The battle continued outside the holy ground.

Nothing had significantly changed from before.

The demons were busy defending against Karin's attacks and couldn't mount a proper counterattack.

At this rate, Karin would win without much difficulty.

Therefore, Karin frowned.

'...Something is off.'

Three top-tier demons, Quiklon, and the Incarnate of Hellfire.

It was a powerful force.

It could easily destroy several kingdoms.

It was a force capable of shaking the entire continent.

But against her, a hero, it was insufficient.

Even if they used the incarnate to hold down the Spirit King, they couldn't reach her.

Hell must have known this too.

Yet, there were no further movements from them.

'What is this?'

They didn't come here just to burn the forest.

They had some purpose.

But she couldn't guess what it was.

The passage to Hell had also become very small.

Monsters could appear, but not enough to change the course of the battle.

Karin shook her head after a moment of contemplation.

The demons were aiming for something, but she couldn't figure it out.

In that case, her task was simple.

Kill the enemies in front of her.

Her eyes grew cold.

Rumble!

The wind blowing towards the demons became even stronger.

It was now becoming difficult for the demons to defend.

Karin raised her hand towards the sky.

[Come. Winds from above the clouds. Fierce winds existing at the edge of the planet.]

The wind descended from the sky.

It was a wind that couldn't exist on this earth, coming from above the clouds.

It was a savage wind that tore everything apart and allowed nothing to exist above it, descending upon this world by Karin's will.

Rumble!

The wind pressed down on the earth.

Hundreds of small and large whirlwinds struck all at once.

Yet, the trees of the forest remained unharmed.

The force was concentrated solely on the enemies, the demons.

It was neither an exaggeration nor a metaphor.

The winds of this world were being controlled by a single elf.

In the face of this overwhelming power, Bael screamed.

[This is crazy!]

The demons abandoned their attacks and put all their strength into defense.

The massive aerial fortress Quiklon entered defense mode.

Crunch!

Their defenses were quickly eroded.

The descending wind was literally shaking the entire ground.

No matter how powerful the demons' aerial fortress was, it was impossible to defend.

Boom!

The aerial fortresses were destroyed in an instant.

The demons' faces turned pale.

They finally realized.

They had only been able to withstand Karin's attacks because she had been holding back, wary of Hell's plans.

Karin gathered the swirling wind into one place.

[Descend.]

And at the same time.

The Quiklons ceased to function.

The demons wanted to scream, but they couldn't.

Their bodies lost all freedom.

They were perfectly bound and couldn't even blink.

'...Insane!'

Even a hero!

To overpower the three of them like this!

It was unacceptable.

But Karin lightly gathered the wind as if it were no big deal.

"Just die."

She spoke coldly and was about to use the concentrated wind to destroy the aerial fortress when...

Rumble!

A wave of energy spread from within the holy ground.

It was a wave of terrible demonic energy.

Karin's eyes widened.

"What!"

Why was there a wave of demonic energy inside the holy ground!

Startled, she inadvertently released her power.

The demons, who had barely regained their freedom, sighed in relief.

[Phew, we almost died.]

[Why did it take so long? Hurry up already.]

“How is this possible!”

She had surrounded the entire holy ground with a typhoon.

It was a wind that could even block Quiklon's attacks.

It was impenetrable, and even if it was breached, she would immediately notice.

Yet, she didn't realize that a demon had infiltrated the holy ground.

The demons mocked her.

[There's a demon as sneaky as a rat. We were worried whether he could blind a hero, but it was worth the effort to divert your attention.]

Three top-tier named demons.

Quiklon supporting them.

And the Incarnate.

It was a force strong enough to shake the entire continent.

But even so, they couldn't defeat a hero of her caliber.

Hell also knew this fact.

They weren't after Karin's life.

They had a different goal.

There was a named demon.

This demon had committed numerous atrocities on this earth.

He had corrupted religious churches, destroyed nations, and led people to ruin.

Yet, he had never fully revealed himself.

His name was Bruno.

The Demon of Shadows.

He was entirely unknown on this earth.

Even the leaders of the dark wizards were unaware of his existence.

He was one of Hell's trump cards.

“Damn it!”

She realized.

While she was blocking the demons, another demon had infiltrated the holy ground without her noticing.

The attack from outside the holy ground was just a distraction.

She hurriedly tried to return to the holy ground, but the demons didn't miss the opportunity.

Trajectories of attacks poured toward the holy ground.

She wielded the wind to defend.

[It's already too late. You've lost.]

Abaddon taunted Karin.

[The World Tree will be defiled. The connection between the earth and the spirits will be severed, and you will lose your power. All for the great one's descent.]

“…!”

Karin couldn't refute.

The demonic energy was spreading inside the holy ground.

It meant it was already too late.

She shouted with a sorrowful face.

“Ah! I failed to protect the World Tree! Such a disastrous mistake!”

“Why so upset?”

“I failed to protect the World Tree! I allowed the intrusion of evil!”

“That’s unfortunate. But it’s okay. I stopped it.”

“…What?”

Only then did Karin realize.

Ketal was right beside her.

Ketal smiled warmly.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“Oh, oh… Have you returned?”

“I just got back. Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Wh-what is it?”

“Could you take care of this guy?”

Karin looked at where Ketal was pointing.

There, an ordinary-looking man was held by the head in Ketal's hand.

“L-let me go! You bastard!”

He was struggling to escape Ketal's grip, but Ketal’s hand didn’t budge.

As she looked closely at the man, Karin could feel the demonic energy emanating from him.

“…Ketel, who is this demon?”

“When I returned, he was up to no good in front of the World Tree. I couldn't ignore it due to our deal, so I subdued him right away.”

Ketel's face looked very satisfied as he said this.

Karin could only stare at him in a daze.