part0004

Although he looked perfectly fine on the outside, Agreas could feel that his core was reaching its limit. The amount of mana he’d expended when he altered the portal, coupled with the injuries he’d sustained during the Great War had taken their toll on his body.

“I’ve become too old,” he muttered to himself.

He remembered the times when he was still in his prime. As a demon who specialized in ice magic, he was tasked by the former tribe leader to investigate the Frost Mountains of Yleonor over a thousand years ago. And there, he met that human.

Looking back, it was indeed one of the most exciting moments of his life. He remembered the times when they journeyed through Marut and visited various monster settlements in the wasteland. They ate together, fought together. A bond that transcended the boundaries of both races.

“With this, I’ve fulfilled my promise to him.” Agreas gently smiled as he reminisced.

He looked at the flock of sky demons surrounding him and at the sea of demons below.

Now that he’d managed to take down Malphas and Naberius, he decided to end everything using the strongest spell he could muster in his current state. He decided to take as many enemies down with him as possible.

Agreas started casting his spell and a colossal magic formation that covered a large portion of the sky manifested itself. Without hesitation, he poured all of his remaining mana into it, wringing his core dry in the process. The magic formation continued sucking the torrent of mana coming from Agreas. Slowly, Agreas’ muscular body reverted to its former twig-like state. He didn’t stop, even when he became nothing but skin and bones, even when the sky demons started attacking him and cutting his body with their claws.

And finally, the spell was activated.

The magic formation glowed brightly for a moment, shattered into numerous particles of light, and turned into a massive spinning vortex of ice.

“I’ll take at least half of you with me,” said Agreas.

This was his farewell gift, as the Elder of the tribe, to the other Arzomos who’d managed to escape.

He clasped his hands together as though in prayer and willed the ice vortex to swallow everything in sight. The sky howled as a massive hailstorm struck the region and quickly froze everything it touched.

Even the fire giants, who’d been trying to break Naberius free from the ice, were helpless against the attack. Several dozen of them managed to run away on time, but more than a hundred instantly turned to ice.

The leaders of the army issued the order to retreat, but it proved futile. The wraiths and tormentors quickly managed to move back, but most of the lesser demons, flesh eaters, and a third of the parasitic demons couldn’t evade the attack.

Even the corrupted tower that had been summoned by the Lord of the Corrupted Land froze before it could infest the ground.

Eventually, the ice vortex vanished and the hailstorm receded, revealing millions of frozen demons in its wake. The demons who saw this sight shuddered not just from the cold, but from sheer terror.

They wondered how strong that old demon had been in his prime.

So, this was the might of the demon who sealed the Demon Lord Barkuvara and killed the Demon Lord Kalkarus.

Even the Lord of the Fire Giants and the Lord of the Sky Demons were rendered helpless against his might.

They looked up to the sky and saw the demon who’d cast the catastrophic spell. He looked so shriveled, as though the spell sucked not only his mana but also his remaining lifeforce.

The old demon wobbled in the air, lost consciousness, and finally fell toward the ground.

“As expected of the one who sealed the Immortal Demon.” Elrenar, the Lord of the Red Tower, chuckled. His three faces, which had been stitched together, were smiling broadly. The first face was that of a lesser demon, the second was that of a beastman, and the third a grotesque-looking monster.

It was a well-known fact in the Demon Realm that the Lord of the Red Tower used to be a lesser demon before he became the monster he was today. But unlike those mindless brutes, Elrenar had been blessed with intellect far surpassing his peers. Despite being a lesser demon, using his own abilities, he rose in rank and eventually founded the Red Tower. A place where he conducted experiments to satiate his never-ending thirst for knowledge.

Due to the limit in the lifespan of a lesser demon, Elrenar even went as far as merging himself with the body of a windigo—an ancient monster who could live for thousands of years. Even the beastman head he’d been using was a prominent figure who’d lived more than a thousand years ago. A beastman who once united all of the beastmen tribes.

Unlike the other tribe leaders, Elrenar had expected something like this to happen when he’d heard that only Agreas remained in the village. He ordered the tormentors under his command to move toward the rear of the army, preventing most of them from being swept up by the spell. Unlike the other armies, his tormentors were practically untouched.

‘ My beloved pet. Secure the bod y , ’ Elrenar gave a mental transmission to the creature hiding underground.

The creature had the head of a death worm, the body of a gryphon, and the core of a high-ranking parasitic nest.

The culmination of all the research Elrenar had done in the Red Tower. The strongest creature he had ever created. Elrenar was confident of surviving this war accompanied by this monster.

Under Elrenar’s command, the chimera quickly moved underground, as though it was running on flat ground. It unburrowed itself next to where Agreas’ body landed. Using its mouth filled with serrated teeth, it grabbed the unconscious body and brought it to its master.

The chimera gently placed the body of the unconscious old demon on the ground and gazed at its master with expectant eyes.

“Good work.” Elrenar stroked the monster’s head as he looked at the unconscious body lying on the ground.

Finally, he’d obtained the body of an Arzomos. And not just anyone—he’d obtained the body of one of the strongest in the tribe.

Judging by Agreas’ withered body and the faint mana oozing out of him, this old demon had very little time left to live. Since he was going to die anyway, why not become the Lord of the Red Tower’s fourth head?

Elrenar could already imagine how powerful he would become once he’d merged with this demon.

“Elrenar, we should kill him while we still have the chance,” said the Lord of the Corrupted Land.

Elrenar said, “No. It’s up to me to decide what will happen to this Arzomos.”

The Lord of the Corrupted Land glared at Elrenar. “Don’t be a fool. Didn’t we agree beforehand that we’ll be killing all of the Arzomos!”

Elrenar haughtily replied, “Now that Naberius is dead, we’re free to do whatever we want. This body, it’s mine. Instead of grabbing my prey, shouldn’t you focus on breaking the huge barrier protecting the Great Cavern instead?”

Indeed, right now, the pinnacle-grade barrier was still protecting the cavern.

The Lord of the Corrupted Land didn’t like what Elrenar was saying. In a deep voice, he spat, “Kill him. You’ve seen how dangerous that old demon could be.”

Although Elrenar could merge with an already dead body, according to his research, merging with a creature on its deathbed would always produce the most ideal results.

“I will,” said Elrenar. “But not until I’ve merged with the body of this Arzomos.”

The Lord of the Corrupted Land was clearly dissatisfied with Elrenar’s reply, but seeing the chimera by his side, he backed down. He clicked his tongue. “Do what you want.”

The Lord of the Corrupted Land looked around the battlefield. He roared, “Plagas! Where are you! Come out!”

From the ground, a tentacle demon squirmed out.

“You damn coward! There you are!” said the Lord of the Corrupted Land.

Plagas looked left and right. He stuttered, “I-It’s over, right? He’s… He’s dead, right?”

“How long are you going to keep hiding? Azrath already started breaking the barrier.”

Plagas looked at the entrance of the Arzomos village. Azrath had summoned tens of thousands of phantasms—a higher form of wraith—and ordered them to simultaneously attack the barrier protecting the cavern. Even the sky demons, flesh eaters, and the fire giants that had managed to survive started attacking the barrier.

Still, despite the number of demons trying to break it, the pinnacle-grade spell refused to budge an inch. It started forming cracks—but that was it.

“That barrier was probably created using the mana from the mana well,” Elrenar concluded. “It’s even more powerful than your typical pinnacle-grade spell.”

Plagas looked at Elrenar, and upon seeing the withered demon he was carrying over his shoulder, he shrieked in terror. Color drained off his greasy face. “T-That’s! What are you doing? Why is that monster still alive?” shouted Plagas, his tentacles pointing at the unconscious demon Elrenar was carrying.

“Calm down, fool. He destroyed his core with that last attack,” said Elrenar. “Even a weakling like you should be able to kill him right now.”

Although Plagas had several complaints, he chose to shut his mouth. The chimera sitting next to the Lord of the Red Tower was too domineering. He was afraid of becoming its meal if he overstepped his bounds. Although Plagas was a high demon, he was still the weakest among the tribe leaders gathered here right now.

Elrenar grinned as he looked at the barrier. “Now, let’s free the so-called Immortal Demon, shall we?”

Elrenar issued out his commands. The hundreds of thousands of tormentors under his command, along with the chimera, joined in with the attack.

[Behemoth City—Capital of the Kingdom]

It had been several months since the king’s health had recovered. Thus, he decided to partake in the hunting competition, held annually at the end of spring.

At the forest edge near the capital, just outside the barrier, over a hundred nobles gathered. Accompanied by a guard and a few servants, they all held bows—while some of the younger ones brought knives and swords.

“There are a lot more nobles attending the competition this year,” remarked Marquis Carlos. The retired general stood by the king’s side and served as his personal guard. “Disgusting turncoats. Now that Duke Kelvin’s imprisoned in the dungeon and His Majesty has recovered his health, they’re trying to jump to the royal faction.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” King Alvis said wisely, “Even if it’s only a pretext, as long as it brings peace to our people, shouldn’t we embrace it with open arms? When we were young, didn’t you hate me too, Carlos?”

Marquis Carlos didn’t expect the king to bring up the past like this. He awkwardly scratched his stubble. “I was still a kid back then, Your Majesty.”

King Alvis chuckled. “You even pointed your sword at me. What was it again? ‘You don’t deserve to be the crown prince! Someone like you! The spawn of that tyrant king!’”

The king skillfully mimicked the way Marquis Carlos had threatened him. Seeing the flushed face of the retired general, the king laughed heartily.

Marquis Carlos lowered his head and gazed at the ground in embarrassment. King Alvis patted his lifelong friend on the back. “But look at us now. We’ve been friends for four decades, right? These nobles too. Let’s give them a chance.”

King Alvis looked to where most of the nobles had gathered and saw several familiar faces.

“Carlos, what is the best archer of the kingdom doing here, in a hunting competition?” said the king.

Marquis Carlos frowned. “I didn’t invite Farsight, Your Majesty. He’s never attended a hunting competition before. That man… he hates crowded places.”

Elias ‘Farsight’, the best archer of the kingdom and one of the royal court magicians, was walking toward the king. Beside him were Priestess Thea and Lady Ropianna.

The other nobles, who’d been preparing for the hunt, momentarily stopped and stared at the new arrivals.

The three paid their respects and greeted the king.

“I didn’t realise that the three of you enjoy hunting competitions,” said the king.

Farsight remained silent. Priestess Thea smiled and shook her head. She said, “Lady Ropianna here requested we accompany her to this event, Your Majesty.”

“Ropianna did?” said the king.

Lady Ropianna slowly nodded her head. In her usual raspy voice, she said, “I’ve received a revelation from the Water God, Your Majesty.”

The elderly female magician looked around her for a moment, as though afraid of other people hearing her next words.

“Although it was not clear, the Water God told me to accompany you today, Your Majesty. And to bring the priestess with me,” said Lady Ropianna. “It’s rare, even for me, to receive a lengthy message from God Nereus. Something of great importance will probably happen today, and that’s why I forced Farsight to come and guard this place.”

Although Elias ‘Farsight’ remained as stoic as ever, as though he wasn’t even interested in the Water God’s revelation, he’d been constantly watching the surroundings should any danger arise.

“With Elias here, nothing too dangerous should happen,” said the king. “But it makes me wonder… For the Water God to ask all of these people to gather here at this moment.”

Baron Morivar, the chosen host for this year’s hunting competition, approached the King, bowed his head and obsequiously said, “Your Majesty, everything is ready.”

Under normal circumstances, very few nobles would have attended this year’s hunting competition since it was being hosted by a mere baron. But the sudden declaration of the king that he would be overseeing the competition made the nobles sign up for this event. Although they obviously came to build deeper connections with the ever-growing royal faction, Baron Morivar was still pleased that the event he was hosting had been such a huge success thus far.

Prestige was of great significance for the nobility. After hosting this event, Baron Morivar could proudly boast to the other nobles that King Alvis attended the hunting competition he’d hosted.

King Alvis went up the dais and said to all of the nobles, “It’s been several years since I last attended the annual hunting competition.”

The voice of King Alvis was soft and unhurried, but it held an authoritative air. The nobles could clearly see that he’d indeed regained his vitality.

“When I received the letter of invitation from Baron Morivar here”—the king looked at the baron, smiled, then gazed at the nobles gathered around the dais—“I realized that it’s been a while since I enjoyed a hunt. I’ve got to say, Baron Morivar has done a great job organizing this event.”

Baron Morivar raised his head upon hearing those words. After his second son, Omie, joined the small group led by the trash of the Marcus Duchy, their family had been losing their prestige. Maybe with this hunting competition, the Morivar Family would be able to recover the reputation they’d lost due to the black sheep of the family.

“As much as I miss the thrill of a hunt, I’m afraid that I can’t join the competition this time.” King Alvis stretched his arms wide. “We’ve released fifteen silver foxes and five red boars in the forest. It should be easy to identify them with the tags on their necks. Your goal is to hunt these elusive creatures and retrieve the tags. The one with the greatest number of tags at the end of the competition will receive a reward from the royal family itself.”

The last part of the statement stirred up the nobles. They all knew how generous King Alvis was, based on the previous awarding ceremonies held in the capital.

“Enjoy the hunt,” said the king. “And good luck!”

The hunting competition began.

For several hours, the nobles participating in the competition delved into the forest, accompanied by a single guard. Although the foxes weren’t a threat, the five red boars were capable of killing even a veteran soldier.

On the other hand, the female nobles gathered together over sweets and tea. While the males were busy with the hunt, the female nobles tried building connections with powerful individuals. They even invited Lady Ropianna, but the elderly female magician refused as she didn’t wish to leave the king’s side.

The event went on for several hours. And when it was almost dusk, those who were participating in the hunt finally returned. The winner of the competition was a fat noble from a declining Barony. Judging by the bloodstains on his guard’s armor, it was apparent that he’d received some help to win the competition.

But no one complained, nonetheless. Without anyone to monitor the forest, it was well-known that such things always happened during these competitions. Even the other nobles who’d lost received some help from the guards they’d brought. Only a handful of the nobles who participated didn’t pull off this kind of underhanded trick.

Nevertheless, the king decided to reward the winner as promised.

“Baron Cromwell, for winning this year’s hunting competition, the royal family bestows upon you the insignia of the silver arrow. A testament to your skills with the bow. Proof that you won the hunting competition,” said the king.

Elias Farsight clicked his tongue. He looked at the beautifully carved insignia that was now pinned on the fat noble’s chest. Disgusted that someone so unworthy was receiving an arrow emblem.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” said Baron Cromwell. “This emblem shall become our family heirloom. A treasure we’ll pass from generation to generation.”

The king was about to hand the monetary reward to the baron when suddenly, lightning flashed, and the sky rumbled. Tremendous pressure swept through the hunting ground.

Elias Farsight pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow. He roared to the royal guards, “Protect His Majesty!”

Farsight noticed before everyone else: massive clumps of mana had formed in the sky. So colossal that it even far exceeded the mana used to create the barrier currently enclosing the capital.

The royal guards moved quickly to secure the king. Lady Ropianna cast several barriers around them and Marquis Carlos unsheathed his blade.

“What is happening, Farsight?” said Lady Ropianna.

The sky continued to rumble, as though it was going to be ripped apart at any moment. A pressure so massive that even the non-magicians could feel it had swept over the kingdom.

Normal humans wouldn’t be able to see that thing in the sky. But Farsight could see it despite the distance.

“It’s in the direction of Wizzert? No, it’s probably near the lake,” Farsight mumbled to himself.

“What’s going on, Farsight?” Lady Ropianna raised her voice as she repeated the question.

But Farsight didn’t answer. He channeled more mana into his eyes and was mesmerized by what he saw.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered.

A vortex of lightning had formed right above the skies of the Lake of Full Moon. Judging by its size, it was probably as large as the lake itself. And inside this vortex, an azure sphere slowly emerged.

The azure sphere glowed brightly for a moment, before receding inside the vortex. The vortex rapidly spun and slowly shrank, eventually disappearing from sight.

The rumbling of the sky finally stopped, but the nobles were still rooted by fear on the ground.

Lady Ropianna was about to ask Farsight about what he saw in the sky, when suddenly, her vision turned white. She felt something warm touching her face and neck, as though someone was embracing her body.

The sensation was oddly familiar.

It was the same sensation she always had when she was speaking with the Water God.

‘My child. As we’ve promised, we shall give a revelation when the time has come. The demon sealed in the ice prison has been set free. Seek the help of the one who traveled through time. It is the only future wherein the human race survives.’

And the vision ended.

Lady Ropianna found herself standing on the hunting ground once again. She looked around and saw the nobles still rooted by fear on the ground. When her eyes met Priestess Thea’s, she realized that she was not the only one who received the message from the Water God.

“You heard it too?” said Lady Ropianna.

Priestess Thea slowly nodded her head, her face pallid from horror. “It’s the first time I’ve heard her voice. But somehow, I’m sure that it was her… God Nereus.”

“And what did she say to you, Priestess?”

“She told me”—Priestess Thea looked up at the sky—“to seek the help of the one who traveled through time.”