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Chapter 141: Advent of the Great Evil (1)

“So you’ve come, you filthy creatures.”

The leader of the dark magicians greeted them.

Until now, he had always been extremely angry and annoyed whenever he faced Ketal.

But now, as if it had all been an act, not a trace of those emotions was visible.

“The power of a girl who can read the scriptures, huh? You managed to come here.”

“Ugh.”

Rakza groaned.

There was an altar in the basement.

From the altar, thick and dark malevolent energy was flowing out.

It wasn’t darkness, but pure evil energy.

It didn’t physically obscure vision.

However, it was so dark here that it was hard to see even a step ahead due to the darkness.

The malevolent energy was thick and abundant enough to take shape.

It was confusing whether this place was the surface or the demon world.

“…You filthy minion of evil!”

Rakza roughly drew his sword.

“How dare you! Defile our sacred ground! Attempt to stain it with evil! Commit such a sin!”

“Hahaha, how laughable. This world originally belonged to us.”

The leader of the dark magicians mocked Rakza.

“The one you serve merely usurped it and disguised it as his own. The rightful owner of this world has always been the great one. You, a fool ignorant of true history, spew misplaced anger.”

“Nonsense!”

“Well, no need to debate with a nonbeliever.”

“You seem confident.”

Ketal spoke up.

From the dark magician leader’s perspective, they had discovered and attacked his hidden ritual.

However, there was no trace of panic in the dark magician’s demeanor.

“Because everything is already prepared.”

The dark magician smirked.

“I commend you for making it here, but it’s already too late.”

As soon as he finished speaking, darkness erupted from the altar.

Boom!

Darkness shot up like a pillar, piercing the ceiling and reaching towards the surface.

The darkness surrounding the plain thickened in an instant.

The concept governing the world began to overturn.

Rakza was astonished.

“You bastard!”

“This land will return to its rightful owner! As the sacred ground of the great one, it will bear the first mark of his steps!”

“You think we’ll let that happen?”

The ritual had just begun.

They could still stop it by destroying the altar.

“In the name of Kalosia!”

Divine power began to envelop Rakza’s sword.

Ketal gripped his axe.

“This might be interesting, but I have no intention of just watching.”

Ketal and Rakza prepared to attack.

The dark magician frowned.

“Well, I admit it. If you both attack me, I can’t stop you.”

The dark magician was at a similar level to Rakza.

With Ketal joining in, there was no way he could handle them alone.

However, his expression remained unfazed.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve prepared countermeasures for him as well. Don’t you find it strange? We’ve spent a long time preparing to devour your sacred ground, yet we’re attacking with just this much power?”

The dark magician pointed out what Ketal had mentioned to Rakza.

He hummed a tune.

“Why am I the only one here?”

“……”

Rakza’s face stiffened for a moment.

This was the altar for reversal.

A place that the dark magicians had to protect at all costs.

Yet, only the leader was present.

Realizing this, darkness exploded from the surface.

It was extremely thick and vicious.

It began to take shape and appear on the surface.

Rakza’s face turned pale.

A dreadful evil, unpermitted on this earth, was descending.

“The advent of a demon…!”

And not just any demon.

It was so dense with malevolent energy that even Ketal, who couldn’t handle mystic arts, could feel it.

A demon with a name.

One of the highest ranks.

“This is insane!”

Rakza couldn’t hold back his curse.

The dark magician burst into maniacal laughter as if delighted by his reaction.

“The great being will descend upon this earth! In this place, which will become the cornerstone of his sacred ground, everything profane will be burned and reduced to ashes!”

This was the prophecy given to the dark magicians.

A revelation from the lord of hell.

“You will all be destroyed, leaving not even a cornerstone behind!”

“Th-this!”

Rakza was unable to hide his dismay.

They intended to create a sacred ground of evil, but summoning a demon was beyond his expectations.

And the dark magician mocked Rakza’s reaction.

“A holy knight who can’t even handle the scriptures. You’re nothing. Just a bug that will be swept away by the tide. But… you’re not the problem.”

The dark magician glared at Ketal, narrowing his eyes.

“You are the hindrance. Damn barbarian. Why did you have to get involved here?”

“That’s quite a compliment.”

Ketal smiled faintly.

Amidst the chaos, his expression alone remained perfectly calm.

“So, it’s my role to stop you. I pray! O Great One! I offer myself to you! Please subdue and suppress your enemy!”

The dark magician’s prayer was answered.

All the power contained within his body drained out.

This drained power formed a prison, trapping Ketal.

Ketal’s expression changed slightly.

“Oh?”

“K-Ketal!”

Rakza hurriedly swung his holy sword, but the prison around Ketal didn’t even get a scratch.

“What the—!”

“Choose, dog of the gods! Will you stop the ritual, or will you watch your comrades die?”

Rakza’s mind was in turmoil.

Ketal was trapped in the prison.

Although the dark magician seemed exhausted from the backlash, stopping the ritual wouldn’t be easy even without interference.

To break through the thick, dark malevolent energy and destroy the altar, Rakza would likely have to expend all his power.

If he did that, he wouldn’t be able to stop the demon descending on the surface.

All the believers would die.

It was a dilemma.

Ketal spoke to the hesitant Rakza.

“Go to the surface. You must protect the believers.”

“But…”

“Leave this place to me. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the demon.”

“…Understood. I’m sorry, Ketal.”

Rakza bit his lip and left.

Only Ketal, trapped in the prison, and the dark magician, slowly dying on the floor, remained at the altar.

“It’s our victory, barbarian.”

The dark magician smirked.

“You’ll never break that prison.”

The prison trapping Ketal was created with the dark magician’s life and soul as a sacrifice, making it a prison of malevolent energy.

It was incredibly strong and sturdy, crafted by the sacrifice of a superhuman-level being.

Even a believer who could handle the scriptures would have a hard time breaking it.

There was no way a mere barbarian who only wielded brute strength could break it.

The dark magician’s life would end soon.

In other words, until then, Ketal would be trapped.

“Is that so?”

Ketal lowered his head.

Thinking the barbarian had fallen into despair, the dark magician was convinced of his victory.

“You will die! The great demon will kill all your friends who are defiling this land, and this place will become a holy ground for the great ones to descend upon!”

The holy knight was strong.

The sacred ground also had a saintess.

But even they couldn’t stop the demon now descending.

The downfall of the Kalosia Church was certain.

“Afterward, the great ones will tear you apart and take your soul!”

The dark magician trembled with excitement, unable to contain himself.

“O great Demon King! I have bound your enemies according to your will! Please! I beg you to take my soul and bring me to a higher realm!”

The dark magician felt no regret even as he neared death.

He was filled only with joy.

He had no doubt he would receive a great reward in the afterlife for aiding the grand plan.

“You’re too interested in me. Do you hate me that much?”

“Did you think you could interfere with us and survive? Die regretting your choice!”

“I see.”

Ketal nodded.

“I understand. It’s impossible to have a meaningful conversation. What a pity.”

“…Wait.”

The dark magician hesitated.

He looked puzzled.

“Why are you smiling?”

Ketal was imprisoned, a demon was descending, and his friends were on the brink of death.

Yet Ketal’s face was full of smiles.

“Well, I thought I shouldn’t smile in front of you, so I was holding back. It’s quite hard to suppress my joy.”

“Joy? Are you mad?”

“How could I not be happy?”

Ketal said cheerfully.

A group of dark magicians trying to turn a holy ground into an evil one.

And a demon descending to burn the sacred ground.

It was a situation that could only bring laughter.

“…You.”

The dark magician finally realized.

The barbarian before him had an entirely different set of values.

“Well, that doesn’t mean I plan to just watch. No life should be wasted in vain.”

Ketal raised his axe and swung it at the prison.

The dark magician snapped out of his daze.

‘Right.’

Even if he was different, the fact that he was trapped in the prison didn’t change.

With a prison that was hard to break even with the scriptures, that barbarian wouldn’t be able to affect anything outside.

The moment he believed that, Ketal’s axe struck the wall of the prison.

Boooooom!

The dark magician’s eyes widened in shock.

A crack, visible to anyone, had formed in the wall struck by Ketal’s axe.

“What?”

The dark magician stood agape.

The prison, which he had crafted with his own life as a sacrifice, was breaking apart with just a single swing of the axe.

“Stop…”

“It is sturdy, I’ll give you that.”

It’ll take some time.

Muttering to himself, Ketal calmly raised his axe again.

The axe lodged into the prison wall.

* * *

“Yaaawn.”

Holy knights were standing guard on the outskirts of the holy ground.

However, their expressions showed no signs of tension.

Although Rakza had warned them not to let their guard down, it didn’t really resonate with them.

They had repelled every invasion so far.

The monsters had vanished from the darkness-covered plains.

By anyone’s reckoning, it was their perfect victory.

They followed orders because they had to, but they thought Rakza was overly anxious.

As they were passing the tedious time, suddenly, the darkness over the plains thickened.

It meant the dark altar had been activated.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

The holy knights were startled by the sudden change.

As they tried to grasp the situation, several dark magicians appeared in front of the holy ground.

One superhuman-level dark magician and several first-rate magicians.

It was the dark magicians’ force.

“Everyone! Prepare for battle!”

The holy knight who spotted them first hurriedly gathered his comrades.

The holy knights scrambled to prepare for battle.

But the dark magicians didn’t react.

They gathered in one spot and slowly began to chant.

“O Great One.”

“You who descend upon the earth.”

“O mighty lord of hell.”

“You who oppose the gods.”

It was a prayer.

A prayer from the dark magicians to the great demon king.

Their wish to their deity.

“Please. Please.”

“Take us as your sacrifice and devour us.”

“Send your servant to this land.”

Crack!

The prayer ended.

The bodies of the dark magicians were simultaneously crushed.

The holy knights’ eyes widened in shock at the sudden mass suicide.

From the crushed bodies of the dark magicians, dark energy began to seep out.

Crack.

The seeping dark energy created a rift in the space.

Beyond that rift, a hand emerged.