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Chapter 250: Fortress of Evil (3)

"...What! This is absurd!"

Karvaraks snapped out of his stupor.

Even as he cursed in disbelief, he quickly swung his hand.

The collapsed wall was instantly restored to its original form.

"Reinforce it!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

No, it was more than that.

The wall became even stronger, growing larger and thicker.

It was the best defensive effort Karvaraks could muster.

Yet, it was meaningless.

Boom!*

Ketal swung his fist again, and the wall shatterred.

Ketal grinned.

"Well, it\'s certainly a bit sturdier now."

But that was all.

Those watching groaned in despair.

Their faces showed a mix of awe and terror.

"Oh my god..."

"Such power... It really exists..."

The strength of those called heroes was beyond comprehension.

They knew that much.

But no one had ever witnessed that power firsthand.

After all, situations where heroes had to fight on the continent simply didn’t occur.

So people believed heroes were strong, but they had set limits in their minds.

And now, those limits had been shattered.

"That is..."

The power of a hero-class being.

They gasped in awe at Ketal’s strength.

Karvaraks screamed as he continued to rebuild the wall.

But it crumbled the moment it was restored.

This repeated over and over again.

It was only then that they sensed something unusual.

"...Huh?"

The wall kept regenerating.

Initially, Karvaraks was slow to repair it because he was flustered, but once he regained his composure, he did so quickly.

He was restoring the wall even before it had fully collapsed.

He was perfectly repairing the wall and even the defensive weapons atop it.

There was no delay.

And there was no loss of power.

There was only one reason for this.

The Archbishop muttered in confusion.

"Why isn\'t he using mystic power?"

* * *

Amidst his frustration, Ketal finally stopped pounding on the wall.

His body remained unscathed.

"I can break it, but it doesn\'t mean much."

"That\'s right if you\'re just using brute force."

The reason Karvaraks could restore the wall without losing energy was simple.

Ketal was only attacking with physical strength.

Evil was not of this world.

Attacks without mystic or divine power cannot harm them.

And this place had already transformed into a sanctuary of evil.

No joke—mere physical force meant nothing here.

"Is there a reason you aren\'t using mystic power?"

The Archbishop asked.

He couldn\'t fathom that someone as powerful as Ketal wouldn\'t be able to wield mystic power.

Ketal replied.

"I can\'t use mystic power."

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

Everyone there was stunned.

The Mercenary King’s eyes widened.

"You can’t use mystic power?"

"Yes. It\'s because of the peculiar nature of my body. Although I possess mystic power, I don\'t know how to wield it."

"Now that you mention it..."

Ketal hadn’t used mystic power even when fighting dragons.

They assumed it was simply because he didn’t need to, but in reality, it was because he couldn’t.

"Unbelievable..."

They were all in shock.

A hero who couldn’t use mystic power?

It was hard to believe, but Ketal had no reason to lie.

Only Cain seemed unfazed.

‘Same as ever, I see.’

When Ketal and he first met, Ketal didn’t even know what mystic power was.

Because of his body\'s uniqueness, he couldn’t even sense it.

It seemed that he had finally acquired some mystic power, but it wasn’t surprising that he still couldn’t use it.

The Archbishop, deep in thought, suddenly realized something.

‘...Wait.’

Then all the strength he had displayed was purely physical, without any mystic power?

The Archbishop shuddered, his entire body breaking out in goosebumps.

But that wasn’t the most pressing issue right now.

"Huff, huff. Damn it."

In the sanctuary of evil, Karvaraks was sweating coldly.

He barely managed to calm his racing heart.

"...Yes."

That barbarian couldn’t use mystic power.

Karvaraks had known that from past records.

He had simply forgotten in the face of the overwhelming spectacle before him.

He bared his teeth.

"In that case, he’s powerless here!"

The Archbishop muttered.

"Then... Ketal’s strength is meaningless."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes."

If it were an ordinary fortress or castle, brute strength alone would have been enough.

He could have exhausted the demon by forcing him to expend energy.

But this place was a sanctuary of evil.

The land itself was tainted with evil.

Ketal murmured with a curious expression.

"Territorialization?"

Demons had the power of territorialization.

A demon that completed territorialization couldn’t be harmed by anything but divine power.

The Archbishop shook his head.

"No. It hasn’t gone that far. It’s more like drawing power from the sanctuary. If you had mystic power, you could deal significant damage."

But mere physical force was meaningless.

No matter how much Ketal rampaged and destroyed, it was in vain.

He couldn’t even force the demon to expend energy.

At best, he would only kill a few dark magicians.

The most critical parts—the fortress and Karvaraks—would remain unaffected.

Simply put, no matter how much Ketal rampaged, Karvaraks could simply ignore him.

Since the wall was restored even before it collapsed, no one else could intervene either.

It was like cutting through a lake.

No matter how fiercely you slashed, the lake would return to its original state.

It was practically a declaration that his power was useless here.

Yet Ketal seemed pleased.

"Of course, it\'s just as I thought. Mystery is indeed important."

"No, this can\'t be... Is there really no way?"

"A way, huh..."

Ketal stared at the fortress of evil in silence.

\'If you ask whether there\'s no way, well, it\'s not that there isn\'t one.\'

He could genuinely try to destroy the fortress wall.

If he really put his heart into the attack, he might succeed.

After all, he had broken through the word magic that commanded the world with his sincere effort, so it seemed possible.

But there was a problem.

\'I just don\'t feel like doing that.\'

He couldn\'t bring himself to try to destroy the fortress wall genuinely.

It was a matter of the heart.

No matter how much he tried, it was like being unable to immerse himself in a fun game fully.

He simply couldn\'t take this opponent seriously.

In the end, Ketal shook his head.

Despair spread across the archbishop\'s face.

"No, this can\'t be..."

It was also impossible for him to assist Ketal.

The demon was far too powerful for that.

There was a high chance he\'d be wasted without any real effect.

Likewise, the holy relic of Kalosia couldn\'t be used either.

They were essentially stuck.

"Well, don\'t worry about it."

But Ketal grinned.

"I can\'t handle mystery. So, I just need to learn it from now on, right?"

"Huh?"

"I couldn\'t learn it before because I didn\'t meet the qualifications. But I just recently gained that qualification."

The qualification to learn and wield mystery.

"If I start learning now, do you think I can use it in this fight?"

"...Probably."

The Mercenary King, after thinking for a moment, answered.

It was strange that someone as powerful as Ketal couldn\'t handle mystery.

Even if he started learning now, he could probably use it in battle right away.

"From what I can tell, your mystery level is already first-rate. I don\'t know why you can\'t wield it, but you should be able to handle it without any issues."

"Oh, really!"

Ketal\'s eyes sparkled.

The archbishop let out a sigh of relief.

"That\'s a relief..."

Ketal just needed to learn mystery.

So, they needed someone to teach him.

Since Ketal was a physical combatant, it made sense to use aura.

Naturally, their gazes turned to the Mercenary King.

The Mercenary King was an aura user, and one of the best at that.

If anyone were to teach, it should be him.

Everyone thought the Mercenary King would be the one to teach.

The Mercenary King himself thought so too.

But Ketal smiled and confidently walked toward Cain, who was standing there in a daze.

"So Cain! I\'m counting on you!"

"Huh?"

Cain, momentarily startled by the unexpected development, was shocked.

"Wait! You want to learn mystery from me?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, no."

There were nothing but problems.

Cain hurriedly looked over at the Mercenary King.

"There\'s someone stronger than me here! There\'s no need to learn from me!"

Cain was only at the lower end of the superhuman tier.

Compared to the Mercenary King, he was nothing.

Of course, he should learn from the Mercenary King.

But Ketal had no intention of doing so.

"But you were the one who taught me about mystery in the first place."

It was Cain who had first taught Ketal, who knew nothing, about mystery, checked his physique, and informed him about swordsmanship.

To Ketal, Cain was practically his first teacher.

With him around, Ketal never even considered learning mystery from someone else.

To Cain, this was a disaster.

\'No, why me!\'

Cain screamed internally.

Though he had explained mystery to Ketal before, it was little more than basic information.

But this time, it was different.

He would have to teach a legendary hero in front of everyone, in the truest sense of the word.

How embarrassing.

It was like being asked to lecture the Tower Master on magic.

The mere thought made his stomach churn.

He absolutely did not want to do it.

Cain quickly looked around.

He was searching for someone to stop this madness.

But his hopes were utterly betrayed by those around him.

"Hmm..."

"Well, if Ketal wants it that way."

"If he wants to learn, we can\'t stop him."

Everyone had already accepted that Cain would be the one teaching.

Cain looked to the Mercenary King with his last shred of hope.

But the Mercenary King crushed that hope without hesitation.

"It doesn\'t seem like a bad idea. I\'ve never taken a disciple. My swordsmanship is something I\'ve honed in battle, so it\'s not well-suited for teaching others. But Cain, I hear you have a disciple."

"I-I do. He\'s right here, following me."

"Oh! So, he\'s your senior disciple then!"

Ketal muttered in delight.

Cain\'s stomach churned again.

"Since you already have a disciple, you must be good at teaching. You\'re also a strong enough warrior. You should have no problem teaching him."

To be honest, the Mercenary King didn\'t want to teach Ketal either.

The thought of teaching mystery to someone far more powerful than himself was absurd.

No one in their right mind would want to do that.

So, the situation was naturally leading to Cain teaching Ketal.

Cain let out a groan.

"Aaah..."

"Hmm. If you teach me, you\'ll no longer be just a mentor in my heart, but a true teacher."

When Ketal had learned many things from Cain in the past, he had considered him a mentor in his heart.

But now, he would truly become his teacher.

And with this new reality, there was something Ketal wanted to say.

He spoke sincerely.

"Then please take care of me, teacher."

"Ah."

At that moment, Cain\'s stomach truly twisted.