Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 248: Fortress of Evil (1)

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 248: Fortress of Evil (1)

"It seems you know me."

"Of course..."

It was impossible not to know.

The archbishop swallowed nervously.

Ketal smiled faintly.

"Nice to meet you."

Ketal looked around at the people in the outpost.

'There are many.'

And they were strong.

Each of them was at least first-rate, with many at superhuman levels.

People from various groups had gathered here.

As Ketal watched them with interest, his expression changed.

Among them, he spotted a familiar face.

With a joyful heart, Ketal called out,

"Cain!"

"...Huh?"

The swordmaster who noticed Ketal—Cain—widened his eyes in surprise.

"Cain! It's been a while!"

"Uh, yeah, it's been a while."

Ketal approached him cheerfully.

Conversely, Cain looked more bewildered than pleased, as he hadn't expected to meet Ketal here.

The Mercenary King watched Ketal greet Cain warmly, his expression turning slightly curious.

"So you really do know each other."

"I have no reason to lie."

"No, I didn't think you were lying, but it's still hard to believe."

The idea that this transcendent being had ties with an ordinary human felt jarring.

But it wasn't the most important thing.

The Mercenary King collected his thoughts and said,

"It seems you have things to discuss. Let's reconvene in a few hours. We should all get some rest."

The Mercenary King wasn't in great condition at the moment.

He had pushed himself hard to keep up with Ketal and needed to recover.

Ketal nodded.

"Understood."

"Then, Archbishop, if you would."

"Yes, please follow me,"

The Archbishop of the Earth Mother goddess guided the Mercenary King away.

Ketal moved to a secluded spot with Cain and asked happily,

"How have you been?"

"Well... I've been very busy."

The world had been chaotic.

The Forbidden Lands had begun showing itself, and dark magicians and demons were constantly targeting the surface.

A superhuman like him couldn't just sit idly by.

Especially since Cain had a strong sense of patriotism, he had been even more driven.

To protect his kingdom, he followed the Emperor's orders to investigate the Forbidden Lands and dealt with the dark magicians lurking near the kingdom.

He also resolved the issues with dungeons that hadn’t been properly managed.

He was here now due to a problem that arose near a kingdom that had a blood alliance with his own.

His life had been extremely busy.

ince meeting Ketal, there hadn't even been a week where he could rest properly.

Ketal spoke with concern,

"You've been very busy. It must have been tough."

"...Not as much as you."

"Oh? You know?"

"I do."

It was impossible not to know.

The Tower Master had occasionally visited Cain and told him about Ketal’s deeds.

[The one you challenged holds this much power and has achieved these accomplishments. What do you think, boy?]

The Tower Master would continually provoke him in this way, and the memories were burned into his mind even if he didn’t want to remember.

"...You've really done a lot."

Ketal had defeated a demon that descended upon the Kingdom of Denian, protected the holy sanctuary of Kalosia, defended the mermaids' village, and safeguarded the sacred ground of the elves.

Each of these feats was unimaginable.

Cain looked at Ketal with awe in his eyes.

It wasn't the strength itself that surprised him.

Given Ketal’s power, it wasn’t hard to imagine.

What surprised Cain was the fact that Ketal had performed righteous deeds.

In Cain's judgment, Ketal was someone who prioritized his own interests—almost a broken individual.

Yet all his actions had been about protecting the world and saving lives, which was why Cain was so astonished.

Ketal smiled faintly,

"They were enjoyable experiences."

"...Were they?"

"It's good to see each other in good health."

"Well... Yeah, it's good to see you."

Cain spoke calmly.

Ketal was certainly an unusual being, but that wasn't a reason to reject him.

His actions were clearly protecting the world.

And since Ketal harbored goodwill toward him, maintaining a friendly relationship seemed like the right approach.

"That's a considerable force."

It was no exaggeration to say that they could wipe out a few black magic dens in a single day.

If they had been at Kalosia's holy sanctuary, Rubitra would never have descended in the first place.

However, the archbishop smiled bitterly.

"...Embarrassingly, we've achieved little so far."

"How long have you been here?"

"A week."

"Hmm?"

The Mercenary King's expression changed.

Despite having such a powerful force gathered, they had achieved nothing in a week.

That was strange.

The Mercenary King's face grew serious.

"...What exactly descended?"

"First, let me explain the background of the situation," the archbishop began.

The Church of the God of Harmony, Lupeciana.

It wasn't a church that garnered much attention on the continent, but it wasn't a troublemaker either.

Like any ordinary church, it followed the values of its god and cooperated with the continent.

But a few days ago, without any warning, a demon descended.

The demon attacked Lupeciana's holy sanctuary and destroyed it in a single day.

The archbishop spoke the name of the demon that had descended.

"The Demon of Design, Karvaraks."

"What?"

The Mercenary King's eyes widened.

It was a name he knew well.

A named demon, and one of the highest-ranking ones at that.

A demon of superhuman strength at the highest level.

And a very famous one.

The archbishop groaned as he spoke.

"...A demon who was active during the War of the Gods and Demons."

In the distant past, gods and demons had fought in the War of the Gods and Demons.

At that time, the two factions had fought for control of the mortal realm.

Naturally, they had to defend the territories they had seized.

Karvaraks was a demon who defended such territories.

A demon who built a fortress of evil on conquered lands and defended it.

It was recorded that even several superhuman powerhouses at the highest level would have difficulty breaching a land defended by Karvaraks.

If it was truly that demon, it was understandable that they hadn't achieved much.

The Mercenary King frowned.

"...How could a demon of that caliber descend without any signs or omens?"

"The cracks in the world are growing wider. Oh, Earth Mother, please watch over us,"

The archbishop lamented, raising a prayer.

But mere prayers wouldn't accomplish anything.

It was up to the people of the mortal realm to take action.

The archbishop quickly pulled himself together.

"It would be best if I explained the rest while showing you."

They exited the tent.

Where the holy sanctuary once stood, a towering fortress of evil had risen.

The Mercenary King frowned as he asked about something visible within the fortress.

"What is that flower?"

Within the fortress of evil was a large, closed pink bud.

Its size was enormous, visible even beyond the fortress walls.

The archbishop shook his head.

"I don't know."

He was the archbishop of the Earth Mother Church.

He knew all there was to know about the evil that plagued the land.

But even he had no knowledge of the pink bud.

Ketal, who had been silent, asked,

"Is the demon doing anything?"

"No, nothing at all."

Karvaraks was the Demon of Design.

His power was specialized in defense.

But the demon was currently in an offensive position, invading the mortal realm.

Having consumed the holy sanctuary, he should expand his territory and conquer more land.

They had taken a considerable amount of time to realize that Lupeciana's church had been consumed, so the demon had ample opportunity to devour the surrounding lands.

But the demon had done nothing.

He merely built a fortress and stayed there.

As if protecting the flower was his sole purpose.

"Whatever it is... it isn't good,"

The archbishop swallowed nervously.

If that bud were to bloom, something terrible would happen to them.

Something would go awry.

He had that feeling.

"I see."

Ketal showed an intrigued expression.

In the end, once the demon had fortified his defenses, they would have to breach the fortress.

They would have to break through the fortress and defeat the demon.

"A siege, huh?"

Ketal muttered with a grin.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]