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Chapter 286: The Vile Rat That Pollutes the Seas (3)

"Hmph."

Ketal grabbed his dislocated arm, pulling it back into its socket.

The immense power had caused his bone to pop out.

Without hesitation, he took a step forward.

Crunch.

In an instant, his body reached right in front of the rat.

Ketal’s fist struck the rat\'s chest.

Crack.

The sound of bones breaking—no, the sound of them being ground into dust echoed.

The rat’s body flew through the air, sent flying by the overwhelming force.

[Scree!]

The rat tumbled across the ground, flying several kilometers away in an unsightly display.

[Scree!]

Barely managing to stop its flight by clawing into the earth, the rat avoided rolling endlessly for minutes.

[Huff... That monster.]

The rat groaned, attempting to get back up.

But there was no time for that, as Ketal was already standing before it with an axe.

The rat, panicking, swung both its feet to protect itself.

Ketal brought down his axe, splitting the earth as the rat\'s body was driven deep into the ground.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

Bayern, who had been watching from a distance, stumbled, momentarily losing his balance.

He forced himself to swallow the blood rising in his throat from the shockwave.

“Ugh.”

Bayern barely managed to escape the aftermath of the battle.

He had to put an immense distance between himself and the fight, far beyond the horizon, in order to avoid being caught up in it.

Only a hero-class warrior could even attempt to watch from that far.

"...My god."

He groaned as he gazed into the distance.

The space ahead seemed distorted, as if the sheer force of their clash was warping the world itself.

It was truly a battle between monsters.

"...When he fought me, that was just playtime."

Bayern realized that this was Ketal\'s true power, his full strength.

Boom!

[Scree!]

Though the rat barely managed to block the descending axe, its foreleg was completely shattered.

But Ketal didn\'t stop.

With a cold expression, he lifted his axe and brought it down again.

And again.

And again.

Each strike was like a lumberjack chopping wood.

The rat’s decaying armor was pierced, and green blood splattered everywhere.

[Screech!]

The rat desperately swung its mangled foreleg.

Its claws reached toward Ketal’s head, carrying enough power to injure him.

But the claws cut through empty air.

In a flash, Ketal had moved behind the rat and grabbed its head.

"Just die."

Ketal slammed the rat\'s head into the ground with a grim voice.

Boom!

The earth, soaked in green blood, crumbled.

Another crater was engraved into the northern lands.

The rat let out a painful cry, but Ketal ignored it.

He simply gripped its head and slammed it down, again and again.

Even when fighting demonic creatures from outside, Ketal had always maintained a boundary, a limit.

It was as if the battle had a sense of decorum, a sparring match with mutual respect.

His opponents always aimed to kill him, to erase his existence, but Ketal adhered to his own principles.

But now, that was all gone.

All that remained was savagery, a single-minded drive to kill his enemy as quickly as possible.

He was no longer the world-traveling barbarian, Ketal.

He was the Ashen barbarian of the white snowfields, the chief who had survived and torn countless monsters apart.

Ketal tightened his grip on the rat’s skull.

A cracking sound emerged as the skull began to fracture.

Just as he was about to slam it again—

Sssssshhhh!

A powerful poison mist filled the air.

The ground melted, turning into a sludgy ooze.

This poison was thicker, filthier than anything that had come before.

"Hmph."

Ketal loosened his grip and stepped back from the mist’s range.

At that level, even he would be at risk if exposed directly.

Just breathing it in could melt his lungs.

Although he could recover, there was no reason to expose himself unnecessarily.

[Huff.]

The rat, now freed, struggled to stand, clearly weakened by the prior damage.

[Heh... Such monstrous strength. How could something like you come into existence?]

The rat muttered in disbelief, its eyes filled with fear as it stared at Ketal.

[In all our long years, nothing like you has ever existed. You’re an irregularity, an anomaly. You\'ve upset the balance and ruined everything. Don’t you agree?]

"Shut up."

Ketal spoke coldly.

"You\'re just going to die here."

[It’s true, I can’t beat you in my current state.]

The rat admitted it straightforwardly.

There was a clear gap in strength between them.

Out of a hundred battles, the rat would lose ninety-nine times.

But that didn’t mean the rat would die.

[It’s been a while since I’ve felt pain.]

Crack.

Its broken bones twisted back into place, and the pulverized bones had already long since regenerated.

In an instant, the rat had returned to its original form.

Ketal, too, was recovering.

His distorted muscles, cracked bones, and burst blood vessels all healed rapidly.

An observer might wonder which of them was truly the monster.

[I have no reason to fight you.]

The rat\'s objective wasn’t to battle Ketal.

[I’ll continue to pollute the world. All I need to do is ignore you, my obstacle.]

"Do you think you can ignore me?"

[Yes, I believe so.]

The rat chuckled.

[You can’t kill me.]

Ketal frowned but didn’t argue.

It was true.

In the past, he hadn’t been able to kill the monsters of the white snowfields.

Weaklings like that snow-white creature could be killed easily, but creatures of a certain caliber, like the rat or the snake, couldn’t be killed.

They existed beyond the concept of death.

"Maybe."

Ketal narrowed his eyes.

It could be different now.

Because he had obtained the arcane.

The mysterious power of the world.

With it, killing the rat might be possible.

It was worth a try.

But the rat no longer had any desire to fight Ketal.

[There’s no point in continuing this fight. I have a long journey ahead of me.]

The rat’s body began sinking into the poisonous, corrupted ground.

Ketal spoke icily.

"Are you running away?"

[This place is already my domain. There’s nothing you can do here.]

“That’s the annoying part.”

Ketal clicked his tongue.

The rat’s body was already buried deep in the earth.

Ketal didn’t try to stop it.

After the fight, he knew that once the rat decided to retreat into its own territory, he couldn’t catch it.

[I’ll simply continue to pollute the world, avoiding you. I\'ll face you again once I’ve tainted enough of the world and claimed it as my domain. And then, I’ll kill you, barbarian.]

With those words, the rat disappeared.

Ketal stared at the spot for a moment before quietly muttering.

“I will kill you.”

He remained there for a while before turning and moving toward Bayern, who had been watching with a stunned expression.

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"Are you alright?"

"...Not really. Ketal, that thing... What was that?"

"Let’s talk after we leave. There’s nothing good about staying here."

The poison was slowly eroding Bayern’s body.

He nodded in agreement.

"Understood."

"Got it."

Ketal returned to the northern capital with Bayern.

The waiting Barbarians rushed over with concern.

"My king!"

"What exactly happened?"

A clash of pure power.

Forces so great they shook the heavens and the earth, powerful enough to be felt even in the distant capital.

Bayern brushed off the Barbarians and lay down on the bed.

Ketal stood in front of him and asked,

"How\'s your body?"

"...Not great."

He was gathering his remaining mystery to push out the poison that had seeped into his body.

His condition wasn\'t good, but it wasn’t critical either.

However, the wound on his arm, pierced by the rat\'s claw, was the problem.

The injury from the bear had been overlaid with the wound from the rat, and the area was now decaying, from flesh to bone.

Barbarians boasted an exceptional vitality.

Being of the hero class, Bayern could heal from a wound that would be fatal to an ordinary person within a week.

Yet, he wasn\'t recovering.

"You should rest. Should we call for a doctor?"

"There wouldn\'t be a doctor in this place. Besides, there\'s something more important than resting right now."

Bayern endured the pain and asked,

"Did you defeat it?"

"No. It escaped. If it decides to run, even I can\'t catch it."

"...I see."

A monster even Ketal couldn\'t capture.

"What is it?"

"A vile rat that pollutes the seas."

"...I thought so."

Bayern gave a bitter smile.

A creature that appeared only in legends, a monster of the white snowfields, was now attacking the north. Ketal spoke.

"It was misfortune for the demons. To have a rat appear in the very region they chose to invade."

"Fortunate for us, though."

Demons and rats.

At least the worst-case scenario of having to fend off both didn’t happen.

But as Bayern thought that, he shook his head.

"No. This is the worst case in its own way."

A monster, so powerful that even the emperor\'s legends spoke of it as undefeatable, was now targeting the north.

If this wasn’t the worst, what was?

"We need... to respond."

They couldn’t remain idle.

They needed to prepare a response as soon as possible.

Bayern was about to ask Ketal for information on the rat when,

"...Ugh."

His body swayed.

The poison seeping into him had finally reached a point where his body could no longer endure.

Ketal stepped back.

"I understand your urgency, but you should rest for now."

"...Got it. Sorry. Let\'s talk tomorrow."

"Get some rest."

Ketal stepped outside.

He apologized to the Barbarians waiting for him and returned to his quarters.

Seeing his expression, the Barbarians couldn\'t bring themselves to press him further.

"Tch."

Lying on his bed, Ketal clicked his tongue.

It wasn\'t something he hadn’t anticipated.

The white beast had already emerged from the snowfields.

There was no reason a rat couldn’t do the same.

Still, it was deeply unpleasant.

"...Hah!"

Ketal held his breath for a moment, then exhaled strongly.

There was no point in stewing in his bad mood.

He calmed his emotions and organized his thoughts, trying to shake off the irritation as he muttered to himself.

"What should we do?"

[Um, excuse me. Are you alright?]

The Holy Sword, which had been silent until now, cautiously asked, sensing the mood.

Ketal nodded.

"I\'m fine now. Sorry for showing you such an ugly side."

[No, not at all. Seeing that for the first time was a bit scary, but I’m okay now. After all, everyone wears a mask in life. Even the gods at the Pantheon have been caught cheating and causing scandals, so I understand!]

As Ketal regained his usual composure, the Holy Sword started chatting nervously, seemingly relieved.

Ketal chuckled.

"Even gods cheat, huh?"

[They’re surprisingly human-like. There was a time they didn’t speak to each other for a hundred years after getting caught. Another god had to intervene to mediate... Oh, wait. I probably shouldn’t have said that. Can you, uh, keep it a secret?]

The Holy Sword, realizing it had said too much, started trembling.

Ketal smiled and nodded.

The sword’s chatter helped him release some of his lingering frustration.

"Understood."

[Phew. Thank you. By the way, that rat... It\'s one of the monsters from the white snowfields, right?]

"That\'s right."

[So, they’re still around. And you fought one of them... and won.]

The Holy Sword murmured in a tone of disbelief.

Ketal asked,

"Do you know what they are?"

[I do.]

The Holy Sword confirmed.

[I\'m a Holy Sword. The gods imbued me with knowledge. I have information about them too, though I never thought I\'d actually see one.]

Even the Holy Sword, stored in the Pantheon’s vault, had doubted whether those creatures still existed.

Ketal\'s interest was piqued.

"So you do know."

[I know the basics. I don’t have detailed information about each monster, but I know where they come from.]

"What are they?"

Ketal didn’t know the exact nature of the creatures from the white snowfields.

He only had his experiences from surviving there for countless years.

He had no idea where they originated from or what they truly were.

[Hmm...]

The Holy Sword hesitated, thinking about how best to explain it.

[To explain, I’ll have to start from the beginning of the world.]

"I know the basics."

[You do?]

Ketal gave a vague answer.

This universe, the world, had been one in the beginning.

But then, one day, an explosion occurred, and it expanded rapidly.

That was the start of the world.

After an immense amount of time, the world reached its current state.

That was the history of the world.

The Holy Sword was shocked.

[Wha-what? How do you...? That\'s knowledge only gods and the highest demons are supposed to know!]

"I made an educated guess."

\'Seems like the history of the universe is similar everywhere,\'

Ketal thought to himself as he gave a half-hearted reply.

The Holy Sword, still bewildered, struggled to accept it.

[Uh, um... Well, it’s shocking, but you’re right. That was the beginning of the world. But this world didn’t immediately take its current form.]

"I know that too."

[Y-you do? Well, that makes this easier.]

After the creation of the universe, it took an incredibly long time for the world to stabilize.

During that period, there was no gravity, stars, continents, water, or air.

It was an era of chaos and decay, a time when the universe was still broken and incomplete.

A dark age.

[After that long era, the world finally began to stabilize. Gravity formed, stars were born, continents appeared, and water and air came into existence. The gods and demons were the first life forms to emerge in this stabilized world.]

"Hmm?"

Ketal raised an eyebrow at that.

There was a contradiction.

"The creatures of the Forbidden Lands are called the oldest beings, though."

If the gods and demons were the first life forms, there would be no reason to call those creatures the oldest.

Ketal joked.

"What, are they life forms from before the universe was born or something?"

[Not quite, but remember what I said. The gods and demons were the first beings in the stabilized world.]

"...Wait."

A possibility occurred to Ketal, and the Holy Sword confirmed his suspicion.

[Yes. Before the universe took its current form, during that primordial chaos, before the gods and demons were born, true first life forms appeared.]

They were beings beyond current comprehension, from an earlier concept of existence.

[Those creatures born in the dark age. That is what the beings in the Forbidden Lands truly are.]

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