“Who are you?!”
Irnatol shouted as he put up a shield. He immediately used a clairvoyance spell to see beyond the wall.
“You are that twin!”
He was astonished to see the frail, powerless-looking twin boy beyond the wall.
“How dare you!”
Irnatol roared in anger and fired black smoke at him.
Ernolf immediately raised a barrier. The black smoke that collided with it split into dozens of strands and encircled him.
Holes opened all across Ernolf’s barrier. Irnatol’s magical power was several times stronger than Ernolf’s.
“Ugh!”
When the black smoke that entered through the holes touched Ernolf’s body, overwhelming pain crashed over him.
Ernolf gritted his teeth and conjured flames, burning away the black energy. The skin touched by the power of darkness had blackened and rotted. Before he had time to examine his wound, another enemy attack followed.
CRASH!
A flash of light burst through the wall.
The one who had fired the flash was the priest who had been pierced by a stone spear while trying to avoid the stone pillars earlier.
The wall that had stood between Ernolf and the priests collapsed with a rumble.
‘Fire Bolt!’
Ernolf unleashed Fire-Attribute Magic at the flash.
Though it was not as effective as Holy Magic, Fire-Attribute Magic worked better against dark magic than other Attribute Magics.
While the subordinate and Ernolf fought, Irnatol lifted the baby from the cradle and held him in his arms. Another priest stepped forward to protect Irnatol and the baby.
“Damn it, I thought it was strange that those mercenaries kept snooping around. Are you in league with them too?”
Irnatol attacked Ernolf as he asked the question.
Ernolf responded quickly. Because of his Mana Heart’s limits, he could use only lower-tier spells, but the Mana Soul he possessed belonged to a high-level mage.
Therefore, he could execute spell chains faster than anyone else in the room.
Ernolf fired off fireballs in rapid succession while using Earth-Attribute Magic to make the floor heave.
As the stone floor undulated like waves, the priest attacking Ernolf panicked.
At that moment, Ernolf increased his movement speed and slipped into the opening.
GRAB.
Ernolf’s hand clutched the priest’s chest.
Ernolf’s hand glowed red. The priest’s blood boiled, and his heart exploded.
“Kuhk!”
The priest vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
The attack Ernolf had just used was a technique that inflicted fatal wounds with little mana and a low-tier spell formula.
It was highly efficient, but because it required direct contact, it was dangerous to use twice.
Irnatol’s face stiffened as he watched the priest dying in a pool of blood.
“Your little tricks are fairly impressive.”
It was common for young mages to use low-tier techniques.
However, it was uncommon to execute spell chains so quickly that one might mistake them for two spells being cast at once. Moreover, each spell was highly refined and powerful.
“Then again, anyone who wants to kill Irnatol cannot be ordinary.”
Unlike the priests who had panicked after the unexpected ambush, Irnatol remained at ease.
“Reveal who instigated you!”
Holding the Lord’s son, Irnatol shouted fiercely.
“Who do you think it is?”
“What?”
“You. Your sins instigated me.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?!”
Whether Irnatol understood him or not, Ernolf intended to kill him.
‘Fire Lance!’
A spear of flame flew toward Irnatol.
“Take cover, Priest Irnatol!”
The remaining priest blocked the flames in Irnatol’s place and countered with blue lightning.
Ernolf covered his body in an Armor of Earth and cast the most basic Water-Attribute Magic spell.
‘Aqua.’
The moisture in the underground air gathered and absorbed the flash of lightning.
Ernolf returned it to the priest in its entirety.
“Aaaah!”
With a final scream, the priest fell down, charred black.
Seeing Ernolf cast two different Attribute Magics almost simultaneously, tension flickered in Irnatol’s eyes.
‘What is this bastard? Double Casting is not a technique just anyone can use.’
To cast two Attribute Magics almost simultaneously, one had to be a high-level mage.
Yet every spell the bastard used was a lower-tier formula. What did that mean?
It meant that he was a novice who had awakened only recently, yet had been born with an innate gift for magic.
‘That does not mean he is not dangerous.’
The boy mage in front of him was not the only problem. Every awakened person had a Guide.
Irnatol did not know who the boy’s Guide was, but he did not think they would be ordinary.
‘Who could possibly have instigated people like these?’
The Order came to Irnatol’s mind.
‘Have they finally caught my trail?’
The Beast King’s Heart had not originally been his.
Even though he possessed such a remarkable artifact, he had nested in the countryside because he had too many things to hide.
“I am a savior who will save humanity! I am the savior who will give you more perfect bodies and eternal life!”
Ernolf could not believe that this oblivious, self-important bastard, who should have been kneeling with his head bowed and begging forgiveness, was the ringleader who had succeeded in the Chimera Creation Art.
“Monster tissue with powerful life force does not necrose after transplantation, but it alters human genes. The recipient’s mind is corrupted by their transformed body, and eventually they become a monster.”
The longer he dragged things out, the more disadvantageous it became. Recalling those he had been forced to kill with his own hands, Ernolf gathered every last bit of mana remaining in his body.
“What......?”
“Listen carefully, Irnatol. What you created is a monster that will exterminate humanity. You are not a savior. You are nothing but an enemy of humanity!”
Ernolf prepared a spell that would melt everything within a certain range with intense flames.
It was the strongest offensive technique that his current Mana Heart could handle.
After this fight, he might be completely unable to fight again. But if he killed this man, he judged that he could leave the rest to Kazar.
“Ha-ha, did you see the failed specimens at the farm?”
Irnatol continued talking as he sought an opportunity to counterattack.
“Every attempt comes with failure! For evolution, sacrifices on that scale must be accepted!”
“Who asked for such sacrifices? They wanted you to heal them. They did not ask you to turn them into monsters. You only deceived and used them!”
The formula was complete.
‘Inferno!’
Intense heat erupted from Ernolf as though exploding outward. In an instant, the stone melted, the floor turned soft, and the walls and ceiling began to melt away.
“It is impressive that you have perfected Inferno to this extent at your age. But it is useless!”
Suddenly, Irnatol bared his chest. A dark-red gem was embedded in his thick flesh.
The moment Ernolf saw the gem, his body flinched. It seemed to be the Beast King’s Heart.
Irnatol cried out triumphantly.
“Come out, Flame Eater!”
A monster burst forth from the Beast King’s Heart amid black smoke.
The giant creature opened its jaws wide and began absorbing the heat of the Inferno Ernolf had unleashed with all his strength.
‘No!’
Ernolf hurriedly tried to cast another spell. However, nothing happened.
‘My mana......’
His vision blurred and his head spun. Because he had forced the spell too far, his Mana Heart had been completely emptied.
***
The Goblins huddled together at the cave entrance, clashing their spears and shields as they shouted.
“GRAK! GRAK! GRAK! (Win! Win! Win!)”
For three long years, they had lived in terror of when they might be devoured by Cannibals who traveled in packs and ate anything in their path. Now, a savior who had suddenly appeared was opening a path to survival for them.
Humans were enemies of the Goblins as well, but those monsters were on a different level. They appeared at all hours to hunt Goblins and tore Goblins apart alive in front of the cave.
“GRAK TAK SHRAK! (His flank is open!)”
“CLACK-CLACK! GRAK! (Kick him! That is it!)”
When the small human kicked a Cannibal in the flank, the Goblins whistled and erupted in cheers.
The Cannibal who had been kicked flew away, broke a tree, and rolled across the ground.
“GRAAAH! (Die!)”
The Goblins hurled curses at it.
The instant Kazar kicked one Cannibal, another rushed at the young human.
The young human kicked off the ground and leaped clear of it, then drove his blade into the nape of the Cannibal he had knocked down moments earlier.
“SKREE! SKREE! SKREEE!”
The Goblins shed tears and shouted in triumph. However, their joy lasted only a moment. Another Cannibal pounced on the young human.
“GRAAAAAH! (Die!)”
The Goblins narrowed their eyes and cursed it again.
When the Cannibal whose neck had been pierced rose perfectly fine, as though its neck had never been pierced, the Goblins erupted into chaos.
Its head had to be crushed so that it could not revive. No, its heart had to be stabbed. Its limbs had to be chopped into pieces!
The Goblins offered their advice with utmost enthusiasm and sincerity.
“You’re so loud, it’s driving me insane.”
Kazar frowned irritably. He did not like being treated as a spectacle by the Goblins.
“Heh-heh, it looks like those things think you’re some kind of savior. What a pity.”
“Khahahaha!”
The three Cannibals mocked Kazar. Although the three of them had fought one person for quite some time without settling the fight, they remained relaxed.
‘They are fucking hilarious.’
Kazar found them laughable. The reason was simple.
“When I came here eleven years later, there were guys like you too. Individuals who had grown especially strong after receiving monster-body transplants.”
“What kind of bullshit is this about coming here eleven years later?”
“It looks like he’s lost his mind.”
“Then again, he wouldn’t have come here if he were in his right mind.”
The three of them snickered among themselves.
Kazar did not care whether they believed what he said. They were going to die anyway.
“They killed the Lord and occupied Talisa. Do you know what happened afterward?”
“Heh-heh, what happened?”
“You madman, why are you taking his nonsense so seriously?”
“Fuck, I’m curious.”
Kazar smiled as he listened to them chatter.
“Those mongrel bastards spread a disease, and they all fucking died.”
Eleven years later, Kazar had attacked Talisa on his way to conquer the surrounding countries. Yet when he finally arrived with his army, it had already become a complete mess.
Those who had received monster-body transplants had become hosts and spread an epidemic. The infected had their bodies covered in boils, while their skin and internal organs melted, spilling blood and pus before they died.
“All I could do then was set fire to the whole place and burn it all down.”
“What are you babbling about?”
“It means all of you are going to die, you idiots.”
What still puzzled Kazar was that the Blue Vine Temple had been unable to use any power at all back then.
They possessed medical arts remarkable enough to transplant monster bodies into humans, yet not only had they stood by as the epidemic spread, they had become infected themselves and were on the verge of collapse.
Kazar still wondered what had happened during those eleven years for their medical arts to have regressed.
“The game ends here. It looks like that damned brother of mine has caused trouble.”
A faint glow rose from Kazar’s body like a heat haze. It soon traveled down his arm and pooled in the dagger he held. As the white light stretched out, the dagger lengthened into a longsword in an instant.
“What is that?”
Though they did not know what it was, the three mongrels instinctively sensed danger.
“Aura Blade. Is this your first time seeing one?”
Even someone with an innate talent for manipulating Aura had to train steadily for at least five years before they could manifest an Aura Blade. Kazar succeeded in doing so after only a few days.
He knew the principle because he had used the technique as naturally as breathing for half a century, but his body had not kept up with him, so he had been unable to use it.
‘Its strength is terribly weak for the amount of Aura it consumes, but for now......’
Kazar’s sword pierced the Cannibal’s chest and burst its heart.
The Cannibal stabbed by the sword could not even scream. It spouted blood like a fountain and collapsed.
“GRAK! GRAK! GRAK! (Win! Win! Win!)”
Seeing that, the Goblins screamed wildly.