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Chapter 290: The Vile Rat that Pollutes the Seas (7)

RUMBLE!

The earth shattered and caves in as the rat\'s body was driven deep into the ground.

"...Huh?"

The people widened their eyes in surprise.

The overwhelming, alien, and almost unwatchable monster was suddenly crushed deep into the earth.

And a single human descended on top of it.

A barbarian, recognizing the face, muttered,

"...Ketal?"

[Screech!]

The rat staggered, shaking its head.

It glared at Ketal.

[You! Barbarian!]

"Hmm,"

Ketal gazed silently at the rat.

The monster that clashed with him endlessly in the snowy plains.

They were all the first creatures born in the universe during the Dark Ages.

This rat must be one of them too.

‘Knowing its origin makes it feel somewhat strange.’

But it didn’t change anything significant.

“Get lost, rat.”

Ketal raised his fist, filled with power.

Blood splattered.

“This is not a place you are allowed to covet.”

His punch, filled with all his strength, was unleashed.

The air was forcefully compressed, creating a vacuum in the area.

The surface of the earth was shredded.

[Screech!]

The rat tried to dodge but it was too late.

Its body was hurled across the ground, rolling uncontrollably.

Then, the sound followed.

BAM!

[Aaaargh!]

A gust of wind slammed into the barbarians and their followers, sending them flying like insects caught in a storm.

"What in the world..."

Those barely holding their ground looked at Ketal in awe.

His strength transcended comprehension, far beyond what they could fathom.

[Screech!]

The rat, which had been rolling across the ground, digged its claws into the earth and stood up.

It opened its mouth wide, aiming at the incoming Ketal.

BZZZZT!

A streak of venomous energy shot toward Ketal.

He clenched his fist and struck.

BOOM!

The clash of forces neutralized the attack.

The rat, barely able to steady itself, wobbled as it rose.

[Barbarian!]

The rat screamed furiously.

[What do you think you\'re doing!? Are you siding with these worthless creatures!?]

Ketal’s attack was clearly directed at the rat, and his actions seemed to protect the barbarians and their followers.

That enraged the rat.

[You’re taking the side of humans! Protecting the weaklings of the outside world! Are you insane!? Traitor!]

"Traitor, huh?"

Ketal murmured with a strange expression.

The barbarians of the White Snowfield.

They had betrayed the world and chosen to become part of the Abyss of their own free will.

Because of this, both gods and demons had called Ketal a traitor.

And now, a monster from the White Snowfield was calling him the same.

“So now I’m a traitor to both sides. In that case, whose side am I really on?”

Ketal chuckled softly.

“It doesn’t matter what you call me. You are my only enemies.”

With those words, he dashed forward, his voice cold and calm.

His fists hammered down repeatedly.

The rat tried to fight back, but its efforts were crushed under Ketal\'s overwhelming power.

[Screeeeech!]

The rat’s limbs were shattered and broken.

Blood splattered everywhere, staining the already filthy ground even more.

Ketal lightly dusted off his hands and asked,

“Do you want to continue? I wouldn’t mind. Beating you up might relieve some stress.”

[...]

The rat ground its teeth in frustration but did not retaliate.

Slowly, it began to sink into the ground, disappearing from sight and leaving no trace of its presence.

It had fled.

“You should have done that sooner.”

Ketal muttered, turning his gaze toward the barbarians and their followers.

“It’s over. I’d appreciate it if you continued to purify this filthy land.”

Ketal smiled lightly.

The people, dazed, nodded blankly.

* * *

“It was quite a commotion.”

“What was?”

“Your power.”

Bayern stared at Ketal as he spoke.

The rat had persistently appeared to attack the barbarians and corrupt their followers.

And every time, Ketal had shown up to face it.

Many barbarians and their followers witnessed his power, the kind that erased space and air itself.

It was a force beyond their understanding.

And when people see something beyond comprehension, they often move from awe to worship.

Bayern spoke,

“Did you know there are people calling you the avatar of the God of Strength?”

“I’ve heard it in passing.”

[The avatar of the God of Strength? The God of Strength is truly powerful. No matter how strong you are, you can’t possibly reach his level... Hmm... Hmm...]

The Holy Sword groaned in indecision.

Ignoring it, Ketal opened his mouth.

“It seems admiration for you is growing too.”

“It’s more attention than I deserve. It’s driving me mad.”

Bayern forced a bitter smile.

Ketal was strong.

His power was enough to be mistaken for the avatar of the God of Strength.

And their king had defeated Ketal.

That meant the king was even stronger than Ketal.

The barbarians marveled at the strength of their king, deeply impressed.

It was actually a burden for Bayern.

“If only I had admitted defeat quickly back then, I could have handed over all these annoying barbarians to you.”

Bayern grumbled with a hint of humor, and Ketal chuckled.

“By the way, you seem pretty relaxed these days.”

“The rat hasn’t appeared lately.”

The rat had been trying to stop them from purifying the land.

But every time, Ketal had attacked it.

After a few clashes, the rat stopped showing up.

Even the zombie-like monsters had stopped appearing.

It was definitely odd.

The area was vast no matter how much Ketal and Bayern tried to hold them off.

If the rat wanted to launch a surprise attack, it could have caused damage.

But there had been no sign of it at all.

Bayern narrowed his eyes.

“Has it given up?”

“No.”

Ketal immediately denied it.

“That won’t be the case.”

He knew what kind of existence the rat was.

It wasn’t something that would retreat so easily.

“It\'s probably planning to use all its power in a final assault.”

Instead of wasting its strength on small skirmishes, it would save everything for when they approached its stronghold.

‘Full power, huh.’

Ketal stroked his chin.

He had fought the rat countless times.

The rat, obsessed with expanding its domain, and the barbarian group, striving to secure their own territory, inevitably clashed.

Their battles had exceeded three digits in number.

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But Ketal had never seen the rat at full power in all those fights.

The reason was simple.

The rat\'s strength was tied to the density of its domain.

The denser the domain, the stronger the rat became.

And the domain grew denser the longer the rat stayed there.

In other words, the rat’s full power could only be unleashed in its lair.

But the rat’s lair was in the ocean.

There had never been a reason to go there, so they hadn’t fought in its territory.

The rat would likely attack him with power even stronger than what he had seen in the snowy plains.

‘But I’m not the same either.’

Ketal had also gained an outside power, a mystery that the rat didn’t know about.

"Hmm."

Would the power he acquired from the outside be effective against the being within?

"I’m curious."

Ketal’s eyes darkened.

Meanwhile, the Rat was deep, deep underground.

[Of all times, I had to encounter a Barbarian right after coming outside.]

It wasn’t going to be easy.

Even for a powerful Rat, the odds were not favorable.

[Where on earth did such an irregular come from?]

The Rat clicked its tongue.

They were the oldest of beings, and had seen each other countless times.

But this Barbarian was a recent arrival, compared to their long history.

In a fleeting moment, the Barbarian had grown in strength and expanded its territory, disrupting the long-standing balance of the snowy plains.

[To think I’d be fighting even the elders… This won\'t be easy. I might even lose.]

But the Rat had no intention of backing down.

[Even so, I am the Rat.]

Malice began to crawl up its body.

The venom it now commanded was far more potent than anything it had wielded before.

[The second creature born from the swamp of filth. Once, I polluted the world. I won\'t retreat so easily. This time, I’ll corrupt and destroy you, Barbarian.]

* * *

Thanks to the Rat\'s absence, they had been able to purify the tainted lands without much interference.

Most of the area had been cleansed.

At the end of their efforts, they arrived.

The beach, where the Rat had first set foot outside.

"...Ugh."

Darkul groaned, his face pale.

The other Barbarians and priests weren\'t much better off.

What lay before them was not a land of the living.

It was nothing but rotten decay.

The land and sea had been completely ruined, resembling a bubbling, boiling swamp.

Ketal whistled.

"How thick."

It was nearly indistinguishable from the Rat’s lair.

It seemed like the Rat intended to make this its new nest.

"Can it be purified?"

Ketal asked.

“It... it will be difficult,”

the saint replied, his face as white as a sheet.

"The venom is too dense. Even approaching it is hard. Only with the scriptures might we barely manage."

Even within their ranks, only a few could purify such a level of contamination.

And it would take months, if not longer.

The venom was that concentrated.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

[Graaahhh...]

Monsters began to rise from the swamp.

There were many of them.

They were creatures the Rat had saved, having not yet used them.

And there was one more.

[GRAAAAAH!]

With a heavy thud, a massive creature burst forth from the swamp.

Bayern’s eyes widened.

"...A bear?"

It was the bear Bayern had seen in the white snowy plains.

Though now twisted and distorted, its form was still recognizable.

But it was smaller.

Whereas the bear had once been as large as a mountain, the creature before them was the size of a small hill.

Ketal muttered in understanding.

"He even corrupted the bear’s cub. Bold move. The bear must have gone mad with rage."

"...The cub of that monster?"

Bayern\'s eyes darkened.

"Leave that one to me."

"Understood. Do your best."

"RAAAAGH!"

"Die!"

The Barbarians and the priests clashed with the monsters.

Protected by divine power, they cut down the beasts.

Meanwhile, Bayern began his battle with the bear.

Their immense strength shook the world as they collided.

And Ketal...

He bypassed the fighting, heading into the swamp.

"Did you really plan to make this your nest?"

[It’s a little lacking, but... it’s not bad.]

The Rat’s voice answered from within the swamp as its form emerged.

Ketal whistled.

"Disgusting."

Its shape was more twisted and grotesque than before, barely recognizable due to the sheer level of corruption.

The Rat was beyond its limits, having absorbed more contamination than ever before.

"You really want to kill me, don\'t you?"

[Traitor Barbarian,]

the Rat hissed.

[You side with the outside world, despite being one of us. How despicable.]

"Shut up."

Ketal cut off the Rat\'s words.

"I am human."

[No matter what you believe yourself to be, your true nature is closer to ours. How dare you betray us and attack? You should be ashamed.]

"It’s funny to hear you say that. You all didn’t get along inside, either."

[...That’s true,]

the Rat chuckled.

Even within the white snowy plains, the monsters fought and killed each other.

They couldn’t tolerate each other’s existence.

"You even corrupted the bear’s cub. The bear must have gone wild with rage."

[It was hard. It even gave up its own territory just to kill me. It wasn’t easy to shake off.]

"Is that so."

They both chuckled, like old friends sharing a moment.

And in a way, that wasn’t wrong.

They had clashed for countless years.

In some ways, they were like old rivals.

Though they were rivals who sought each other’s deaths.

[Now then,]

"Let’s end this."

Murderous intent surged.

Even the Barbarians fighting nearby shivered unknowingly.

The air seemed to warp as their emotions clashed.

Ketal bared his teeth.

"This time, I won’t stop at words. I’ll kill you for real!"

[That’s my line. This time, I’ll corrupt and destroy you, Barbarian!]

Venom and fists collided.

The world began to tremble.

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