Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 307: Dwarf Cave Mantamia (9)

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Chapter 307: Dwarf Cave Mantamia (9)

“I’m afraid I can’t keep fighting for much longer.”

Ketal bound the mine with his enchantments and used his mystery to strengthen his body enough to lift it.

His mystery was nearly depleted.

He needed to finish this quickly.

“So, die.”

“A…ahhh!”

Ketal charged forward.

Raphael flailed his arms in a panic, screaming like a child, filled with fear of death.

He thrashed his strength wildly.

Adamantadium rose up, forming a wall to push against the space around him.

This wasn’t so much an attack on Ketal as it was a desperate plea for him not to come closer.

Ketal seized his axe, infused with mystery, and swung at the wall blocking his path.

The wall of adamantadium, resilient against even Ketal’s strength, was sliced apart like cheese. Nothing could hinder Ketal’s advance.

In an instant, Ketal was upon him, swinging his axe ferociously.

Raphael twisted his body, narrowly evading the attack, but not entirely— a long gash appeared across his chest.

To Ketal, the wound was insignificant.

He’d dealt with countless demons by now, smashing their heads and tearing their limbs apart.

A mere cut was nothing.

For most demons, it wouldn’t even qualify as an injury.

But Raphael’s reaction was different.

“Aaahhh! AAAAAHHHH!”

Raphael screamed, responding as if he were an ordinary human wounded in battle.

His elegance and noble bearing as a jewel demon vanished, replaced entirely by a terror of death.

“AAARRRGHHH!”

“You do nothing but scream.”

CRASH!

Raphael exploded with force, convulsing in his desperation to push Ketal away, but Ketal cut down each attack.

Every swing of his axe split the space around them and drained Raphael’s power.

Ketal closed the distance in an instant.

CRASH!

“Gahk!”

Raphael’s body was flung backward.

He turned hastily, as if he intended to flee.

“…Ah.”

Behind him loomed a massive wall, blocking his escape.

This was a mine.

Apart from the single exit, there was no way out.

Deep despair spread across Raphael’s face.

“…Ah!”

In his despair, he let out a gasp as an idea struck him.

He raised his hand, and dark, thick energy began to gather there.

“Hm.”

Even Ketal couldn’t afford to ignore this kind of demonic energy.

It must have been Raphael’s last desperate attempt, so he readied himself to counter any attack Raphael launched.

But Raphael had no intention of attacking Ketal.

Instead, he plunged the demonic energy he’d gathered into his own chest.

Ketal’s eyes widened in shock.

“Huh?”

BOOM!

The demonic energy exploded.

Unable to withstand it, Raphael’s body collapsed.

Slowly, he began to disappear from the surface.

He was being forcibly recalled to the underworld.

“Aaah…”

On Raphael’s vanishing face was an expression of deep relief.

And just like that, Raphael, the demon from hell, disappeared from the surface world.

Ketal observed him disappear and spoke.

“Did he…commit suicide?”

[It…seems like it?]

“Why?”

Ketal tilted his head in confusion.

Every demon he had encountered before fought ferociously until the very end.

Even if they died on the surface, they would simply be returned to hell, so they had no reason to fear death.

But Raphael was clearly afraid and took his own life, almost as if being cut by Ketal’s aura would mean actual death.

“In any case, I won.”

The demon who had seized control of Mantamia was banished.

Ketal had achieved complete victory.

The Holy Sword, restraining itself from asking before, finally spoke up.

[How were you able to unleash your mystery all of a sudden?]

Until now, Ketal hadn’t been able to draw on his mystery.

He had come here precisely to make that possible.

Yet, suddenly, he could access it.

The Holy Sword had stayed silent because of the battle but had been very surprised.

Ketal answered.

“I made a deal.”

[A…deal?]

“I convinced it that once this was over, it would be beneficial for it too. So I was able to draw out a little bit. Very nice.”

Ketal grinned with satisfaction.

The Holy Sword was uneasy.

[It’s your own power, and yet you had to negotiate to draw it out? I’ve been curious for a while— is it really mystery?]

It seemed to possess its own will, resisting Ketal’s control.

Communication was possible.

It felt less like mystery and more like a foreign entity.

“Hm.”

Ketal couldn’t deny it.

Until now, he had forced himself to believe it was mystery, thinking it was simply resistance from the will of the world.

But now, he was beginning to have second thoughts.

“Well. I think it’s fine.”

[It doesn’t seem fine to me…]

“I think it’s fine.”

After all, the entity posed no harm to him.

There was nothing to worry about.

Ketal continued chatting as he walked out of the mine.

Outside, dwarves and Ignisia were waiting for him.

“…How did it go?”

“It’s over,”

Ketal said.

“Raphael no longer exists on this surface.”

“Oh… Ohhh.”

Sounds started to rise from the dwarves, growing louder until they turned into cheers.

“Woohoo!”

“We won! We won!”

“We’ve reclaimed our holy land!”

They had won.

Their triumphant shouts echoed for a long time.

* * *

“…It’s been a while.”

Grombir entered Mantamia with a nostalgic look on his face.

They had finally reclaimed their homeland, once taken by the demon.

Though some of Raphael’s influence remained, it would fade with time.

Afterward, returning it to the holy sanctuary of Hephaestus would complete their reclamation.

Grombir expressed his gratitude sincerely.

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“Thank you. We owe it all to you.”

“Don’t worry about it—it was just a deal. But, are you sure everything’s fine? It looks like some issues have cropped up.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

Grombir frowned.

Ketal moved the mine with the weight of a mountain and set it down on the ground, causing a massive tremor that shook Mantamia.

As a result, Mantamia’s flawless design and structure were now filled with subtle and not-so-subtle misalignments.

The ceiling of a building tilted.

Tiles that had been perfectly laid on the floor now scattered loose.

Cracks appeared between the columns.

The imbalance was visible throughout all of Mantamia.

To be honest, just watching it was enough to make one's chest feel tight.

But that wasn’t all.

Ketal had thrown the mine to the surface, which meant that now, they had to think of ways to deal with it being exposed.

“But still, we won. This is far better than having it taken by the demons.”

“Thanks for accepting it that way.”

“You fulfilled your end of the deal admirably. Now it’s our turn.”

Ketal had successfully driven out the demon, as the dwarves had requested.

Now, it was their turn to fulfill Ketal’s request.

“Wait a moment. I’ll summon Hephaestus again.”

“I look forward to it.”

Ketal smiled.

And the next day, Hephaestus descended once more, possessing Grombir’s body.

[Such monstrous strength.]

“You were watching?”

[My eyes are wherever my followers are. I was curious how you’d resolve it, but I never expected you to lift the entire mine and throw it. That was… unexpected.]

Hephaestus's voice had an undertone of disbelief.

Even as a god wielding immense power, this was a remarkable sight to behold.

“I apologize for throwing it out there.”

[No harm done. It’s much better than having it emptied from within. You did well.]

Hephaestus fell silent after saying that.

There was a faint hint of curiosity in his calm gaze.

[However… you resolved it much faster than I anticipated. That persistent creature wouldn’t have backed down so easily. What did you do?]

“I used this.”

Ketal held up an axe, a mysterious energy shimmering around it.

Hephaestus’s eyes deepened.

[…Mystery? The ‘Being Within’ is wielding this? Truly bizarre. But even so, that creature wouldn’t have simply fled because of it.]

Hephaestus, watching intently, frowned.

[Hold on. Something’s different.]

“Different?”

[Let me give you a simple example.]

Hephaestus explained in a low voice.

[If our holy relic became tainted by the pollution of the rat, would it still be our holy relic?]

“No, it wouldn’t.”

The rat’s filth had the power to corrupt anything in the world.

It would be something entirely different, though it might retain the form of a holy relic.

The Mystery Ketal held was the same.

[It seems that something twisted has awakened, triggered by the Mystery. However… there’s something familiar about it.]

Hephaestus’s eyes flickered as he watched Ketal.

[The Monstrosity?]

In an instant, Hephaestus’s aura surged, his hostility pricking sharply at Ketal.

But Ketal simply stared, showing no reaction, and Hephaestus gradually calmed down.

[No… it’s not quite the same. It’s not Mystery, but it’s not the monstrosity either. …Could it have been tainted as well?]

Hephaestus let out a groan.

[Everything seems mixed together. There are things I can’t even comprehend. Who… or what… are you?]

“A resident of this world.”

Ketal answered lightly.

Hephaestus chuckled as if he’d heard a funny joke.

[Is that so.]

“A strange one, indeed. But there’s no problem.”

The beast of mystery within him was fundamentally his own.

He knew, at least, that it posed no threat to him.

[A bizarre thing. If you use that, you could kill the demons.]

“You mean, not just banish them?”

[No. You could truly kill them. Erase their very existence.]

“…Ah.”

Ketal understood.

It explained why Raphael had chosen to end himself using his own power.

It was an attempt to escape through reversal summoning before Ketal could kill him.

[The oldest beings can defile us. The oddity was that you couldn’t before.]

In fact, things were now just as they should be.

[The power of the monstrosity is particularly suited for killing. I don’t know your connection with it, but it’s not surprising.]

“You’re remarkably open. I’m sure I must be a hard-to-trust existence to you.”

[Some gods feel that way. I don’t.]

Hephaestus’s tone was indifferent.

[You hold no intention of hostility toward us. Some may wish to remove you for the danger you pose, like a bomb that could go off at any time… but as long as you don’t, there’s no problem. In fact, you may prove beneficial to us. And you already have.]

Ketal had greatly helped in reclaiming the sanctuary of Mantamia.

Without him, the sanctuary would still be in Raphael’s grasp.

[Neither here nor there, are you. Let’s continue to maintain a good relationship. We’ll make the necessary preparations to fulfill your request.]

“I’d appreciate that.”

Ketal smiled.

Hephaestus departed.

Ketal bid farewell to Grombir, who was breathing heavily, and stepped out of the tent.

“Monstrosity, huh.”

Ketal had heard that name before.

In the Kingdom of Denian.

The assassins who had targeted him there had worshipped something called Monstrosity.

“It could just be a coincidence.”

But Ketal’s instincts told him otherwise.

“Was there something more behind it?”

He had considered keeping some alive to get information, but they’d died, as if out of despair, before he had the chance.

“I suppose I’ll find out eventually.”

Ketal dismissed the thought neatly.

If the Monstrosity those assassins worshipped was truly connected to the axe he wielded, they would come after him.

If so, they would cross paths one day.

If they didn’t interfere, he’d speak with them; if they got in his way, he’d deal with them.

It was hardly a concern.

To Ketal, that was all it was worth.

He hummed as he continued on his way.

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