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Chapter 256: The Demon of Flowers (2)
Chapter 256: The Demon of Flowers (2)
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 256: The Demon of Flowers (2)
“K-Ketal. How did you get here so quickly...?”
Cain stammered as he asked.
Ketal had been flung so far away that he was no longer visible.
Considering Karvaraks’s power, it must have been at least a hundred kilometers.
It hadn’t been long since he was sent flying, yet he had already arrived here.
Ketal answered,
“I ran very hard.”
“...”
Cain was at a loss for words.
Ketal stroked his chin as he surveyed the surroundings.
“I had a bad feeling, so I did my best to get here. The situation doesn’t look good.”
All the people were dead.
The only ones left alive were the Mercenary King, the Archbishop, Cain, and maybe two or three others.
In less than five minutes, everyone else had been annihilated.
“What happened?”
“…A flower bloomed. And from it, a demon descended.”
“Ah. The flower was harboring the demon.”
Ketal looked at the woman with pink hair, Floris.
He assessed her power for a moment and then muttered,
“She looks quite strong.”
“…According to Piego, it’s the Demon of the Flowers. Floris. Not only does she have a name, but she also holds a rank.”
“Oh.”
A ranked demon.
He had heard of them a few times before.
They were far stronger than named demons.
“This is the first time I’m seeing one with my own eyes.”
“…She’s strong. I cannot judge her level, but she’s definitely hero-class.”
“Good. Very good.”
Ketal’s expression brightened even more at Cain’s words.
“I’ll take her on. You all should retreat.”
“Is that alright?”
“You wouldn’t be of any help anyway.”
“…”
Cain bit his lip, but it was the truth.
He quickly signaled with his eyes, and the Archbishop hurriedly supported the fallen Mercenary King.
“Please, good luck.”
“Ketal, be careful… That thing is strong.”
The Mercenary King spoke with a voice that was on the verge of death.
Ketal chuckled,
“Understood.”
The survivors quickly retreated from the battlefield.
And Floris did nothing.
She simply watched them leave.
“Thanks for not interfering.”
“I’ve already planted the seeds. I can kill them anytime. Besides… they’re not the important ones right now.”
Floris narrowed her eyes.
“You… I know who you are. The one my mother spoke of.”
“Mother?”
Ketal’s face showed intrigue.
“Even demons have parents, huh?”
So demons were born through their mothers?
His curiosity was piqued.
But, naturally, Floris didn’t answer.
“A barbarian strong enough to fight against gods. But I know.”
The demon spoke confidently.
“You’re lacking. You can’t break us.”
In all his previous battles, Ketal had never been able to defeat a demon on his own.
He always needed external help.
“There’s no one here to help you. Go ahead, struggle all you want. I’ll ignore you and destroy the world.”
Floris had made her decision.
She decided to disregard Ketal completely.
No matter how much he hit her or damaged her body, she could regenerate without any harm.
There was no need to respond.
“Is that so? Then shall we test that?”
Ketal laughed heartily as he stepped forward.
In an instant, his body appeared right in front of Floris.
Floris didn’t react.
She simply stared at him, as if daring him to try.
Ketal clenched his fist, and mystery gathered within it.
“…!”
At that moment, Floris’s expression changed.
Ketal swung his fist.
BOOM!
A powerful force exploded.
The mighty wind from his punch swept across the front, pushing the air and snapping the trees in the distant forest.
A portion of the vast plain was carved out.
Ketal marveled,
“Oh! You dodged. The delay is still an issue. Fixing that will be my next task.”
“…You.”
Floris’s face twisted.
“You… How did you wield mystic power?”
“I just learned it recently.”
Ketal replied proudly.
Floris’s face was shocked, as if she had witnessed the impossible.
And indeed, that was the case.
The Demon of the Flower.
Floris.
She was an extremely ancient demon.
From the era before the Great War between gods and demons.
She had existed even before the concept of “demons” came into being.
That was why she knew.
“You shouldn’t be able to wield mystic power.”
“The traveling merchant said the same. I must be quite special.”
“…”
Floris calmed herself.
Though she didn’t understand, the barbarian before her had learned to wield mystic power.
He now had the means to counter her kind.
She could no longer afford to ignore him.
Floris’s eyes grew cold.
“Well… it doesn’t matter. I know you’re strong, but that’s all.”
She was the Demon of the Flowers.
Floris.
A great demon with rank and status.
Long ago, during the Great War between gods and demons, she had fought and triumphed over countless powerful opponents.
“Bloom.”
SWOOSH.
Petals rose up behind Floris, forming the shape of wings.
Ketal marveled.
“Flower wings. Impressive.”
Floris spread her hand.
A flower stem rose and took the shape of a spear.
“Following my mother’s will, I’ll kill you.”
“Hahaha, that sounds fun.”
Ketal grinned.
Cain’s explanations were unnecessary.
His instincts were telling him.
The demon before him was a hero-class demon.
One of the strongest he had encountered outside.
This was exhilarating.
He tried to suppress the smile that was blooming on his face, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling up.
The air buzzed with tension.
Floris frowned.
“…A barbarian is a barbarian.”
“I’m a man of reason and knowledge.”
“What nonsense.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter right now.”
Ketal drew his axe.
There was genuine intent in his grip.
“Let’s begin.”
BOOM!
The ground exploded.
In an instant, Ketal launched himself at Floris.
WHIZZZ!
Floris thrust her spear.
Her speed was lightning fast.
It was faster than any attack Ketal had seen outside.
She could carve a tunnel through a mountain with that force if she wanted.
Ketal gripped his axe tightly.
CLANG!
The axe blade and spear tip collided.
The impact surged outward, shaking everything around.
Those retreating from the battlefield were thrown to the ground by the shockwave.
“Uwaaah!”
“Urgh!”
The first clash.
Floris was the one pushed back.
Unable to withstand the force, her body slid back.
Floris clicked her tongue.
“As expected, I can’t win in raw strength.”
Ta-at!
Ketal kicked off the ground and appeared right in front of Floris.
She narrowly avoided the axe by throwing her body backward.
Kwachik!
But a scar appeared on her chest.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Even though she had dodged it, the aftershock alone was enough to leave a wound on Floris's body.
Floris stepped back, placing her hand on the ground.
"Bloom."
Hwaaaah!
Pink flowers bloomed.
She was the demon of flowers.
She could manipulate her demonic energy in the form of flowers.
The blooming flowers pushed everything away, excluding them.
Ketal laughed heartily.
"Such beautiful power!"
He gripped his axe tightly and swung it with all his might.
Kwa-da-da-dak!
The flowers shattered.
Fragments scattered in all directions.
Floris was at a loss.
The flowers she had just bloomed contained the power to destroy even the holy sanctuaries of the gods.
And yet, it was shattered with a single blow.
Ta-at!
Ketal rushed at Floris once again.
Floris's eyes became serious.
Ketal brought down his axe.
Floris raised her spear.
Kwoooong!
The ground, unable to withstand the force, caved in.
Floris's knees buckled.
She groaned under the immense power.
But, she endured it.
She succeeded in blocking Ketal's full strength.
She reached out her hand.
That hand touched Ketal's chest.
"Bloom."
And flowers bloomed around Ketal's body.
Ketal's eyes widened.
"Oh?"
The flowers overlapped and engulfed Ketal.
Floris quickly waved her hand.
"Close."
The flowers that had bloomed began to close.
It was a seal using her authority.
In the distant past, during the War of Gods and Demons, this power had sealed even the Spirit King for a whole year.
However.
Creak, crack, crack.
Cracks spread across the flowers.
A mysterious light flickered through the gaps.
Kwoooong!
The flowers exploded.
Floris clicked her tongue.
"To break free from something that could seal even the Avatar of Nature for a year in just a few seconds? You're disgustingly strong."
"You can even seal things! Such versatility!"
"If you're so impressed, I wish you'd let yourself get caught."
Floris grumbled.
She narrowed her eyes.
'Pushing him away isn't working.'
Sealing was impossible too.
In that case.
Floris decided on her next move.
She raised her hand toward the sky.
"Bloom."
Dozens of flowers bloomed simultaneously in the air.
She clenched her fist.
"And, twist."
The flowers that had bloomed snapped shut and twisted.
They twisted and squeezed to their limit, soon transforming into a single line.
"Oh ho."
Ketal's expression changed.
Dozens of lines were formed in the sky.
The power contained within them was no joke.
It was a force comparable to the dragon-words Ignisia had unleashed.
If it struck directly, even he could be in danger.
"Fire."
The lines shot out.
They traced a path to pierce through Ketal.
Ketal quickly assessed the situation.
Could he dodge?
No. It was impossible.
The trajectory made evasion impossible.
In that case.
Ketal raised his axe.
He swung it toward the first line descending upon him.
It wasn't an attack meant to shatter the line.
It was an attack meant to twist its trajectory.
The axe made the line's trajectory go off course.
It collided with another line.
The collision triggered a chain reaction, causing them to collide with each other.
Ka-ga-ga-ga-gang!
With a single axe swing, the lines collided with each other and shattered.
Ketal stood his ground, neutralizing the attack without moving.
Floris groaned.
"...Deflecting and redirecting the trajectory?"
"I told you, I'm a man of reason and knowledge."
Previously, when facing assassins in the Denian Kingdom, he had changed the trajectory of their thrown weapons.
He had drawn upon that experience.
Ketal gripped his axe tightly and charged again.
Floris clicked her tongue and grasped her spear.
Kwoooong!
The axe and spear collided.
Floris's body was pushed back, but she held firm.
She quickly regained her stance and made more flowers bloom.
She used the flowers to block the charging Ketal.
Ka-ga-ga-ga-kak!
Power clashed.
Floris gripped her spear and charged forward.
She did not retreat, did not fear, and moved ahead.
"Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
Ketal couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight.
'She's strong!'
A hero-class warrior.
Someone who could withstand Ketal's full power.
This wasn't the first time he had faced such an opponent.
Queen Karin of the High Elves.
The Ancient Dragon Ignisia.
And if he included Federica, that made three so far.
But he couldn't say he had fought any of them seriously.
Karin was a non-issue, and the wandering merchant interrupted his fight with Ignisia after a brief skirmish.
He had fought Federica with full sincerity, but it wasn't a fair fight since he had the upper hand.
But this time was different.
A hero-class warrior.
One of the strongest in the world.
He was engaged in a life-or-death battle with such an opponent.
And she was enduring his attacks.
This filled Ketal with such joy that he felt like losing his mind.
This world was not weak.
There were those who could withstand his full power.
He had never wanted fragile toys that would break at the slightest touch.
This was it.
This was the power he had longed for in a fantasy.
"Ahh. Ahhhhh..."
Ketal trembled with ecstasy.
Floris felt chills run down her spine at the sight.
This barbarian was genuinely delighted by her strength.
'A broken monster.'
That phrase came to her mind.
"Please. Please, I beg you."
Don't break.
Please keep fighting with me.
Ketal sincerely whispered, a twisted smile spreading across his face, as he charged at Floris again.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]