Chapter 190
Chapter 190: Memorial Portal. (3)
Hardin plopped down on the ground while Lucilis held out a potion in one hand.
Their eyes met, and a moment of silence passed between them.
“What is this?”
“…It’s a potion.”
When Lucilis replied with a slightly sheepish expression, Hardin pointed at himself and asked again.
“No, no. I know it’s a potion. But are you handing this to me to drink right now?”
“…You could say that. Well, whether you take it or not is up to you, Young Master Hardin.”
“Hahaha, then I’d better accept it gratefully.”
Hardin snatched it up without hesitation and chugged it down.
“Ahhh, that hits the spot! This must be an expensive one, huh? I can feel it working right away.”
“Yes, well.”
As Lucilis continued to respond with an awkward expression, the corner of Hardin’s lips twitched slightly.
‘He’s got a cute side to him.’
Well, it’s not like it’s hard to understand.
He looked barely into his early thirties at most and was already a 4-star Expert-level knight.
Once you reach that level, nine times out of ten, people catch the same illness.
‘Swordmaster Syndrome… I had it too.’
That thing where you get drunk on your own strength and start saying stuff like you don’t need anyone’s help, or that everyone just gets in your way…
It seems like there’s no cure once it starts, but usually, one real crisis or getting beaten up by someone stronger knocks it right out of you.
Unfortunately, I never ran into anyone stronger, so mine lasted quite a while…
— You still don’t seem cured, though?
Ah, Sister Wendy. Please, quiet down.
Just as Hardin shook his head at the hallucination that came to mind out of nowhere, Lucilis hesitated briefly and then spoke.
“I truly owe you an apology.”
“Hm? For what?”
“For being rude and not trusting you and the knights of Daphne. And yet I’m here receiving your help… I’ve got no excuse, even if I had ten mouths.”
Hmm, looks like this guy’s already cured of Swordmaster Syndrome.
Hardin gave a small smile and waved his hand dismissively as he replied.
“Ahh. It’s fine, really. These things happen.”
“…You’re forgiving me?”
“No?”
“…Pardon?”
Lucilis’ eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
‘What, this guy thought he was getting off for free?’
There’s no such thing as a freebie in this world.
With a sly grin, Hardin replied.
“When all this is over, buy us drinks. For me and all my men. How about it?”
At that, the tension visibly melted from Lucilis’ face.
“Sounds good. That much, I can gladly do.”
“Hoho, it’s a promise, yeah? No backing out?”
“Don’t worry. I serve the Imperial family — when I make a promise, I keep it.”
Lucilis answered confidently.
Then—
‘That guy’s made a big mistake.’
‘He has no idea how much we can drink.’
‘Free booze? Hell yeah.’
A wicked grin spread across the faces of the Daphne Knights.
Just as the mood had fully lightened—
Lucilis turned his head to the side and spoke.
“Only that place remains now.”
“Yes, well. That’s right.”
At the end of his gaze—
“Uwaaaah! Attack!”
— Kieeeek!
They saw illusionary soldiers charging desperately at a massive fortress.
Of course—
— Kieeeek!
The moment they met the counterattacks from the monsters inside, they were turned to ash and scattered, again and again.
According to the preliminary investigations by the mages before this mission… Beritarun was supposed to be inside that fortress.
“……”
So Beritarun, that damned bastard, was in there.
Hardin stared intently at the fortress.
“Young Master Hardin, are you alright?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
When Hardin asked back, Lucilis responded with a slightly concerned expression.
“Your expression just now… it didn’t look good. How should I put it… you looked angry.”
“Ahh. It’s nothing. Just… thinking about having to face a former High Demon got me a tiiiny bit anxious, that’s all.”
“If that’s all, you needn’t worry. This time, I’ll use every bit of strength I’ve got and take that bastard’s head myself.”
“Now that’s reassuring. I’ll count on you, Vice-Captain Lucilis. Hahaha!”
“Yes! Leave it to me.”
Confident smiles spread across both of their faces.
Of course—
If that’s even possible.
Hardin’s true thoughts… didn’t quite match Lucilis’s optimism.
---
Roughly a hundred paces from the fortress.
The Beritarun Subjugation Force had set up their position.
At the very front—
“Grrrrrrr…”
Five imperial mages were drawing up their mana, murmuring an incantation under their breaths.
A magic circle was etched into the ground, spinning slowly as it amplified their power.
Perhaps sensing the unusual nature of this ritual—
— Kieeeek!
“Not so fast!”
Demonkind rushed in from all directions toward the mages, but they were quickly shot down by the knights.
How much time had passed like that?
Kwa-jijijik!
The ground split open, and a massive boulder soared into the air.
It was the size of a house—no, several houses combined.
“Grrrrrr…”
The higher the rock rose, the more violently the mages trembled, blood running in streams from their noses.
And then, when the boulder had risen high enough—
The mages exchanged glances and nodded.
“Pyro!”
One mage thrust their staff forward and fired a blast of mana.
Immediately, flames erupted atop the boulder, growing larger and fiercer.
“Oooooohhh!”
“Holy sh—…”
Everyone watching from below had their eyes wide open in awe.
A colossal, flaming boulder floating in the sky.
It was obvious to anyone watching what kind of magic the mages were preparing to cast.
Hardin, arms crossed, let out a long breath through his nose as he thought to himself.
Meteor.
A monstrous mass attack that slammed a massive flaming boulder into the ground.
Its destructive power alone made it one of the ultimate spells of annihilation.
The downside, however, was that there were few mages capable of casting it on their own. And even if there were such a mage…
The problem is, it takes a damn long time to cast this thing.
But that also meant—if you could just solve those two issues, there was no magic more effective than this.
As the flames burned brighter and reached their peak—
“Release it!”
At Lucilis’s signal, his sword thrust forward—
“Haaaaah!”
“Graaaaah!”
The mages simultaneously extended their staffs and unleashed a torrent of mana.
Their eyes flushed crimson as if they might burst, their entire bodies trembling violently.
And then the massive floating boulder shot forward—straight toward the fortress’s main gate.
— Kieeeek!
— Kiek! Kieeeek!
Several monsters threw their bodies forward in desperation to intercept.
Kwa-jik! Kwa-jijijik!
But the overwhelming mass and searing heat turned them to ash in an instant.
At last, the meteor reached the fortress’s gate—
KWA-AAAAAAAAANG!
With a deafening explosion that shook the very ground, the once-sturdy iron gates shattered into flying pieces.
A gray plume of smoke rose, followed by pillars of fire at the impact site.
A scorched-earth assault, pure and total destruction of the area.
“Holy… shit…”
“With this, I don’t think we even need to do anything else. No way even this ‘Beritarun’ guy survived that, right?”
Everyone’s voices brimmed with expectation.
And at that moment, Lucilis spoke in a firm tone.
“Advance! Stay calm and maintain formation as we move forward! Mages, drink your potions and recover your condition immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
At his command, Hardin nodded to himself, thinking—
You want to strike before they recover their senses?
Not a bad call.
Giving them time would only let them regroup—far better to charge in now while the inside’s still in chaos and tear through them before they can react.
“Let’s go, us too.”
“Yes!”
At Hardin’s order, the Daphne Knights wore solemn expressions as they pushed toward the front of the fortress.
As they stepped into the ruined entrance—
— Kieek… Kiek.
Monsters that had been burned, badly wounded, or otherwise heavily damaged began to counterattack.
Compared to the ones they’d fought outside, these were larger and more grotesque in appearance.
But—
Kwa-jijijik! Kwa-jik!
“Don’t give them a chance to strike back!”
“Yes, sir!”
There was no way they could mount a proper counterattack after taking a Meteor head-on.
These things might be hard to kill, but they weren’t immortal.
The subjugation force picked up their pace, slaughtering the monsters as they pressed forward.
And after a short while—
“That one… is that Beritarun?”
Lucilis extended his arm to the side, halting the advance.
At the innermost part of the fortress, atop a low hill—
A man in the shape of a knight was crouched down.
A massive greatsword, even larger than himself, rested on his shoulder.
With hair and features that resembled a wolf, the knights instinctively showed puzzled expressions.
“What kind of sword… is that?”
“Can he even swing that thing properly?”
As for Hardin…
Still alive, huh. Bastard’s got a hell of a stubborn lifeline.
He frowned deeply, his face twisting with displeasure.
Still, this was someone who had once been a friend.
Seeing a guy like that now, reduced to such a pitiful state… a sigh escaped from his lips without him realizing.
“Everyone, spread out. We’ll surround and eliminate him.”
At Lucilis’s gesture, the knights and soldiers began to widen their formation, encircling the man at a distance.
And then—
“Boring… boooring… Come… more…”
Beritarun slowly began to move his lips.
“So boring…”
A flat, lifeless voice, void of emotion.
As he repeated the words a few more times, Hardin let out a long breath through his nose.
Just a shell now, huh.
Well, after being trapped in this place for so long… it was almost expected.
Guess I worried for nothing.
It wasn’t just his mind—his power had clearly deteriorated as well.
Compared to the peak of this bastard’s prime, the level of demonic energy he was giving off now wasn’t even a tenth.
What a letdown.
Here I thought I’d be reuniting with an old friend turned scumbag for a real showdown.
…Guess I’ll just end it quickly.
“Let’s join the surround.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Daphne Knights gradually spread out alongside the Imperial Knights, forming a full encirclement around Beritarun.
Hardin gripped his sword tighter and channeled mana into the blade, initiating Gyre.
And then—
Sniff! Sniff-sniff! Sniff-sniff-sniff!
Strangely enough…
Beritarun suddenly started sniffing the air, jerking his head left and right like a mangy mutt.
“…What’s with him?”
“Don’t let your guard down.”
The knights were confused, but they kept their focus sharp.
Then Beritarun twisted his lips into a grotesque smile and muttered,
“The sea… The scent of the sea… This is…”
Whoosh!
Beritarun’s head snapped around, and for a moment, his gaze locked with Hardin’s.
“Varlach! You bastard, you’re Varlachhh!”
Drool dripped from the corners of his mouth as a greedy expression twisted across his face.
“…What did he just say?”
“Varlach? Did he say Varlach?”
Everyone’s eyes filled with tension as they glanced around in confusion.
“This’ll be fun! This is going to be so fun! Uhuhuh! UHUHUHUHUHUHU!”
KAANG! GAANG!
Beritarun slammed his greatsword against the ground over and over, bursting into maniacal laughter.
This… this doesn’t feel right.
A deep wrinkle formed on Hardin’s brow at that exact moment.
“Attack!”
“Uaaaaaah!”
Lucilis gave the order, and the knights charged forward with him.
End him with the first blow.
Mana surged into Lucilis’s blade.
He poured everything he had into it, intending to finish the enemy with a single strike.
As it reached its peak—
KWA-AAAAANG!
A shockwave erupted from the tip of his sword, hurtling straight toward Beritarun.
This is the end!
But—
SPLAAASH!
Beritarun swung his greatsword horizontally, and the shockwave Lucilis had released was torn to shreds, scattering into the air like it was nothing.
“…What the hell…”
“He blocked that?”
He blocked Vice-Captain Lucilis’s attack?
Shock and disbelief rippled across the knights’ faces.