Chapter 273

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Each faction had completed their preparations, and the cult was ready to activate their curse formation.

I placed my hand on the faintly glowing necromantic barrier.

Even if the wielder was someone consumed by the red moon, the source of that power was still their own.

They might be slightly better than the others… but in the end, they’re still cultists.

I drew upon necromantic mana and interfered with the massive barrier.

An immense wave of necromantic mana surged forward, as if trying to assert dominance…

Boom!!!

The necromantic mana slumbering within me had long since exceeded what a mere necromancer could handle.

In an instant, my mana spread like a veil over the necromantic spell and began to erode it, clinging intricately to its form.

One second… two seconds… three seconds.

Longer than I expected, but not difficult.

Crash!!!!!

Barriers like this are hard to break with brute force.

But with something so massive and intricate, breaking just one gear in the mechanism can have a massive impact.

Watching the barrier melt away and lose its form, a cult executive named Dobel shouted,

"Everyone! Activate the curse formation!!"

At that moment, the Holy Kingdom responded with holy magic to counter it.

The elves unleashed their spirit magic.

They made horrified expressions as monsters engulfed in hellfire swarmed in like a pack of wild dogs—but none of them retreated.

They had clearly realized the monsters affected by the curse formation had slowed down more than usual.

“We’ll break open the frontline. Deploy the Divine Radiance Formation.”

The Holy Knight Commander, who had taken over command in place of Diablo, drew his sword, and divine energy began to surge through the bodies of the holy knights.

“Grant us the power to vanquish evil in your name.”

“Ah… We act in your name.”

It was as if they were having a conversation.

Alongside this mystical prayer, golden divine energy radiated from the holy knights, turning their entire formation into a massive spear.

“All units, draw swords.”

Shrring! Clang!

All at once, the holy knights drew their swords, taking stances like cavalry preparing to charge.

“Charge.”

Claaaang!!!

With shields and swords raised, they charged as one, forming a single piercing lance that tore through the mass of monsters like Moses parting the sea.

This wasn’t a simple charge.

Such coordination would be impossible without long and meticulous practice.

The holy knights, in their formations, became dozens of battering rams that shattered the enemy lines.

“Rangers. Load.”

At that moment, the high elf gave the order, and the elves, as if on cue, raised their bows in unison like falling dominoes and drew their strings.

“Fire.”

Boom!

It looked like a rain of javelins falling from the sky.

Bringing only the elite of the elite had paid off—their attacks were heavy and precise.

Their arrows pierced through the skulls of the monsters whose formation had crumbled, suppressing the rear lines.

I began to walk toward the path that had been cleared in an instant.

“Let’s go. We’ve got to rescue our precious little angel and stick a damn sword right between that bastard Nyala’s eyes.”

What’s been done to us—we’ll repay in full.

“I don’t know what ‘precious little angel’ means, but… it doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

Following the path opened by the holy knights and elves, Luna, Diablo, and I swiftly entered the ancient fortress.

Creeeak… THUD!!

As expected, the enemy tried to block our advance. A strange light surged around the massive gate of the fortress as it forcefully shut…

BOOOOM!!!

…but Luna's high-speed flying kick shattered the door into pieces.

“Even in her corrupted state, that insane hand-to-hand prowess remains unchanged.”

The holy knights and elves flinched in shock as they saw the gate pulverized.

Most of them didn’t know who Luna really was.

They knew I was strong, but not many knew about Luna—despite her having just forcibly mediated between them, most didn’t realize the extent of her power.

That made their surprise even more pronounced.

Just as we were about to enter the fortress…

FWOOM!!

Luna, who was trying to enter first, was thrown back as if by a massive gust of wind.

“What the…?”

While Diablo and I entered without issue, an invisible wall blocked Luna’s approach.

“Leon. It'll take a lot of time to disable this.”

“I’ll break it for you.”

“No. I’ll stay out here and handle any external threats.”

Whatever had changed in her mind, she didn’t hesitate—she kicked one of the fortress’s entrance pillars and brought it down.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

In the end, leaving Luna behind, Diablo and I pushed deeper into the fortress.

Outside, chaos was unfolding.

But inside… it was eerily quiet.

“Do you see out the window? Hah.”

At his words, I turned to look and let out a low whistle.

“A red sky. Feels like we’ve stepped into an entirely different world.”

A 10-meter-high corridor with a width of at least 3 meters—we walked down this massive hallway, taking in the view from the window.

A red sky.

A desolate land.

Completely different from what we saw outside when we first entered.

“Perhaps… they’ve remodeled this entire space into their own domain.”

“What does that mean for us?”

“It means they can draw far more power. It looks like they paid a heavy price and made serious preparations. That archangel Remiel must be incredibly important to them.”

Eventually, the door at the end of the corridor began to open by itself.

And from within, a crimson glow so intense it obscured everything else burst forth.

“Prepare yourselves.”

From within the red light emerged humans—each armed and ready for battle.

No—something in the shape of humans.

Their entire bodies were ablaze, their skin cracked and blackened like charred wood, glowing with fiery pulses between the fissures.

Though they looked like people who had burned for ages without dying, they entered with weapons in hand, exuding an overwhelming presence.

There were dozens of them.

“This confirms it. I don’t know about Nyala, but if Cthugha loses this battle, he’ll likely suffer a critical injury.”

“You know what those things are?”

“Knights consumed by karmic flame. From what I’ve heard, they once served the Fallen King. They were utterly incinerated by Cthugha’s flames—without even ashes remaining.”

The Fallen King…

Stretching lightly, I stepped forward at the explanation.

“What will you do?”

“What else? I didn’t come here for a staring contest.”

What kind of place is an extra-dimensional realm?

Honestly, I don’t really know.

But if I had to guess—maybe it’s not so different from this world we live in.

Even the Fallen King Sullivan, though of another race, was still a king—of a nation.

That means civilization once existed, and that life forms were present.

Of course, that’s all just speculation.

Who knows what the truth is?

What matters more right now are the beings in front of me.

Srrrng…

As the cursed sword Elekstra moved, red afterimages bloomed from its tip like a ballerino’s graceful steps in midair.

Let’s test the waters.

I captured in my vision the monsters slowly approaching—then suddenly accelerating.

A sharp thrust shot out toward my throat in the blink of an eye.

But the speed was underwhelming compared to what I’d expected.

Screeeee!!

I tilted my head slightly to dodge the smoothly connected, bullet-like stab and brought my sword upward in a diagonal slash.

An attack from a blind spot, outside the creature’s vision.

Like a starving snake snapping at its prey, the sword tore through the inside of its body at high speed—creating a miracle like Moses parting the sea.

Less resistance than expected.

Was that all?

It all felt oddly anticlimactic, considering the fuss.

And so, an uneasy feeling took root.

The creatures didn’t fall after being cut just once.

As if twisted flames were returning to their original form, they began to regenerate.

But the process was slow.

At this rate, their resistance would soon stiffen.

With that conclusion, all that remained was to act.

Using the walls, floor, and ceiling as footholds, I collapsed their formation.

One by one, the burning knights fell.

Some tried to ignore me and charged toward Diablo…

But this place was completely sealed off from the outside.

The fact that Diablo could now use powers normally inaccessible was a fortunate turn.

With just a gesture, black shadow-like tendrils burst forth, tearing and devouring the enemies.

“Not as bad as I thought.”

“Stay alert. That’s probably not all there is.”

Of course, those fiery remnants weren’t weak by any means.

Each one far surpassed the flame-wandering monsters from outside.

Still, something felt off. It didn’t seem like their full strength.

Like they were wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit.

“It seems the cult’s curse formation is working. Be careful—if you get hit multiple times, it may cause severe sensory distortion.”

Now that I think of it, there was a curse from the cultists.

Seems it’s not entirely useless after all.

“We’ll break through as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll cover you.”

Unlike ordinary undead, these things showed signs of self-awareness, even appearing confused at their own bodily states.

But even in peak condition, they wouldn’t be able to hold us off for long—so in their current state, they had no hope.

That’s when they began revealing their trump cards.

Whoooosh…

“An aura blade? No… That’s something else—strange.”

“At the very least, we can be sure touching it won’t end well.”

Whatever it was, it meant their attacks came with a bundle of debuffs.

At the same time, the creatures charged in at a much faster speed.

I took a deep breath.

They say no one can withstand being mobbed—but even a swarm becomes helpless before overwhelming force.

Dozens of crimson threads danced through the air each second as my blade moved with grace, and their bodies collapsed.

“A phenomenal power.”

I brushed off Diablo’s genuine admiration and pushed forward.

Beyond a massive door, the space shifted again—it felt like we had entered yet another realm.

“Nyala.”

There, I saw a grotesque being in a black suit and a black top hat, greeting me with elegant gestures.

The shape of its mouth—made of light—stretched into a wide, unnatural grin.

“Welcome, Leon Cascadia.”

I answered not with words, but with a swing of my blade.

The sword style I mainly used was a reactive one—by accelerating in an instant, it created the illusion of moving on a different axis of time entirely.

However, such acceleration puts a heavy strain on my body, so I usually restrict it to brief, reactive moments—resulting in a naturally passive fighting style.

But if I slightly reduced the speed of acceleration, the duration could increase significantly—making it viable for offense as well.

And that efficiency had already been proven.