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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.

"You came here to deal with the demons, didn\'t you?"

"Well... Yes."

And so, Cain didn’t notice the dangerous glint in Ketal’s eyes as he looked at him.

* * *

A few hours later, they gathered in a small tent.

Speaking calmly, the Archbishop of the Earth Mother goddess said,

"Since you two have just arrived, I should explain the situation. I couldn\'t gather everyone, so only those at a superhuman level or higher are here."

"There are many of them,"

The Mercenary King commented with slight surprise.

Even with the superhuman-level condition, there were ten people inside the tent.

The archbishop was the first to speak.

"I am Teranos, holding the humble position of Archbishop in the Earth Mother goddess’s church."

The Earth Mother goddess’s church was the largest religious organization on the surface.

To hold the title of archbishop in such a church required immense strength.

"I possess the strength of a superhuman-level upper rank."

"Ooh,"

Ketal exclaimed in admiration.

Superhuman-level upper rank was just below the highest level.

Next, others began to introduce themselves.

There were three bishops from the Earth Mother goddess’s church, all at a superhuman level.

The next three were magicians from the Magic Tower, also superhuman-level and specialized in siege warfare.

And then there was the swordmaster, Cain.

In total, there were eight of them.

No matter where they went, these individuals would be treated with respect and honor.

Having eight such powerful people gathered together was truly a grand sight.

But even these individuals seemed insignificant compared to the two before them.

"The Mercenary King, Blood Edge. Pleased to meet you."

"...I never thought I\'d see the legendary Mercenary King with my own eyes."

Cain muttered in awe.

The most powerful mercenary on the continent, possessing superhuman-level top-tier strength.

Only heroes could rival him; without them, no one could defeat him.

In his presence, even the Earth Mother goddess\'s Archbishop and the Magic Tower magicians seemed to lose their brilliance.

Even the Mercenary King himself wasn\'t the main character in this place.

"I am Ketal, the Barbarian. Nice to meet you,"

Ketal said with a grin.

Teranos bowed cautiously.

"...It\'s an honor to meet you, Ketal. I never thought I\'d be fighting alongside someone like you."

"You\'re too kind."

"It\'s only natural, considering what you\'ve accomplished."

The Church of the Earth Mother and the Church of the Sun were the most powerful religious organizations.

As such, they often exchanged information with each other.

Therefore, the archbishop knew what Ketal had done.

"We are truly grateful that you are with us."

The great Archbishop of the Earth Mother lowered himself before Ketal.

He swallowed nervously.

\'...A newly emerged hero of great power.\'

A person who could project his will onto the world.

Even in the mighty Church of the Earth Mother, only one person had reached the level of a hero.

It was a rare and extraordinary rank.

One person alone could be considered equal to an entire organization.

Such a person couldn\'t be treated carelessly.

And even beyond his strength, Ketal deserved respect.

He had saved the Holy Land of Kalosia, the Holy Land of the Elves, and had aided the merfolk.

He had defended a kingdom.

The things he had done were enough to earn the admiration of all.

If the truth about the incident with the Federica Church were revealed, things might change, but as long as the Mercenary King kept his mouth shut, no one would know.

The archbishop treated Ketal with the utmost humility.

His subordinate bishops did the same.

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for your good deeds."

"I\'ve wanted to meet you, great hero."

The magicians of the Magic Tower were no different.

Spellweaver had returned to the Magic Tower and shared information about Ketal with those of superhuman strength.

As for Cain, there was no need even to mention it.

"Oh,"

Ketal said with a curious smile.

It was a strange feeling to be treated with respect immediately upon being recognized for his power and deeds.

It was rare.

It felt like being honored.

It wasn\'t a bad feeling at all; it was quite pleasant.

Ketal grinned.

"I\'ll do my best to cooperate. Let\'s work well together."

"Thank you,"

The archbishop replied, maintaining his humble posture.

He began to talk about others.

"There are also numerous believers, magicians, and mercenaries of first- and second-rate caliber."

The total number was around a hundred.

The Mercenary King muttered,

"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.