Chapter 150

“You’re pulling off skills beyond magic? What kind of principle is behind this structure?”

To cut it short, ownerless ground.

In the afternoon, scorching heat bakes the land, and when the sun sets, the encroaching cold sweeps through the surroundings in a ruthless manner.

In this space where not a single proper plant can be seen, self-sufficiency seems utterly impossible.

If there were at least a place to supply water, it might be a different story, but even that doesn’t exist.

Really, if you want to cross this place, you might need to steel yourself and prepare thoroughly.

All you can see are bottomless sand pits, sand dunes, hills, and flatlands chaotically mixed together.

Crossing them over and over, what once seemed like mere sand has now become a barren wasteland thriving with nothingness.

Rarely, some grass appears, but even that’s only in parts.

Even such sparse vegetation serves as food for certain creatures, which have started appearing sporadically.

The problem is, most of these creatures are either hostile or strongly cautious towards other life forms.

Normally, it would take at least two weeks, and up to three without rest. But Carriel managed to traverse it in less than two weeks.

His astonishing ability to move amazed Zora, who initially tried to keep up but eventually decided to perch on his shoulder instead.

Before starting their desert journey, while Zora pondered whether they should purchase camels and other equipment near the village, Carriel casually demonstrated his ability to store items in thin air.

Zora’s eyes nearly rolled back in shock.

Thanks to this, they could travel light with just the two of them.

As soon as they reached a certain point, various demons and monsters buried in the sand began attacking relentlessly.

Threats came from all sides without end.

However, Carriel dealt with these threats using inexplicable techniques—pulling out or forming something black from his bare hands, swinging it around, shooting it off, or sometimes teleporting short distances.

Watching this, Zora couldn’t help but gape in disbelief.

“What are you really?”

“…….”

I’m not entirely sure myself.

Swordsmanship is ingrained in my body.

My body has been restructured from scratch to handle the sword effectively.

But even that isn’t enough.

Looking at it another way, it’s more accurate to say I reconstructed my body not just for wielding the sword, but to optimize it for combat and fighting.

-The source of your power currently revolves around gravity. Think of it as an ability to attract and pull things. It stems from forces originating from celestial bodies.

Though I’ve heard this many times from Grandeous, it still confuses me.

Why didn’t he explain earlier? Now the Demon King is slowly unraveling the details.

Objects naturally fall downwards.

But that’s not necessarily obvious.

There’s a reason why things fall.

And this very reason is fundamental to how the world works.

The flow of water from high to low is possible because of this principle too.

-Still, there’s no need to think too narrowly about it. You already understand much of it instinctively.

For instance, imagine a massive monster swinging its arm at you.

Despite getting hit by such an attack, your body neither flies away, breaks apart, shatters, or gets cleaved in half.

Why is that?

-Being able to control the application of force gives you advantages and strengths that wouldn’t normally be possible. If you can control the force acting upon you faster than it affects you, you can defend against things in ways others cannot.

Your ability to use your sword to manipulate an opponent’s center and mana flow, twisting their control over their body or disrupting their energy flow, is somewhat similar logic.

Aren’t you feeling more comfortable with this compared to before?

-If you can apply this control at speeds beyond what phenomena can follow, even without a weapon…

Puuk!

A colossal scorpion’s tail swings toward him with a momentum far exceeding any ordinary whip.

Yet, despite allowing the blow to strike his side, the ground beneath Carriel’s feet was the only thing deeply gouged.

That too, not too deep due to the sandy surface.

But that wasn’t the end.

Gripping the scorpion demon’s tail as it attempted to retreat, Carriel twisted his body and hurled the beast sideways, causing its massive frame to roll and collapse onto the sandy ground.

-If you can control the force faster than it acts upon you, feats like this become possible.

“…….”

Without expending much effort, he had flipped a creature dozens of times his size.

It’s truly mind-blowing.

Aside from this, there were countless encounters with various creatures constantly rushing or leaping at them.

“Wouldn’t explaining through dreams be more suitable?”

-Things are different now. Your consciousness has expanded and deepened since before. Naturally, it will consume far more vital strength than before. Consider it a reaction to growth. There’s no need to regret it.

“…….”

-You need to fill a larger vessel with more content than before. Do I need to spell out such a basic analogy for you to understand?

“No. I get it. It’s just… I can’t quite grasp the connection between this and what you’re teaching me.”

-Let me explain the higher principles of magic. Would you understand if I did? Picking up an object and lifting it may seem simple, but breaking it down involves dozens of processes. Can you explain step-by-step how food enters your mouth, breaks down, turns into nutrients, becomes poison under certain conditions, or medicine in others…?

“You’re making good points, but stop talking to yourself—it ruins the cool factor.”

Zora jumped onto the giant scorpion and stood on its back, addressing him.

From her perspective, it probably looked like he was muttering to himself while dealing with the demon.

Despite the thick carapace, Carriel easily handled the beast barehanded.

She must have watched in awe at this superhuman display.

“How does someone like you, scared enough to hide underground and escape covered in filth, manage this? Did you assassinate a king or something?”

“…No way.”

Come to think of it, it’s surprisingly close to the truth.

I didn’t assassinate anyone, but I did give someone a thorough beating.

“But seriously, what’s the principle here? It’s definitely not magic. No manipulation of mana is detectable. It’s not an issue of mana attributes or properties either. How is this possible? Calling it an innate ability feels absurd.”

“…….”

This feat is possible because the demon was so powerful.

The essence remains the same: I don’t use my own power but exploit theirs fundamentally.

And utilizing that power with zero waste in extreme efficiency.

Thus, every action the scorpion took to kill or subdue Carriel ultimately rebounded fully onto itself.

In hindsight, it was karma.

Every time the beast swung its tail or attacked with its pincers, I condensed and redirected those actions back at it in mere moments.

For example, I remain as strong as when I first learned the Fool’s Sword technique—growing stronger as the opponent attacks fiercely and violently.

Conversely, I weaken when the opponent is weak—a paradoxical situation.

Did Grandeous design it this way to prevent oppression of the weak?

Or is this the inherent nature of the power?

It remains unclear.

On one hand, it makes sense.

Being able to wield such power inevitably comes with corresponding drawbacks and counteractions.

Nothing in the world exists with unlimited advantages and no disadvantages.

If something seems that way, it’s merely an illusion.

Balance, surprisingly, is quite fair.

After several days, we’ve reached this arid land.

Enduring the harsh and unreasonable environment, Carriel muttered.

“Books describing deserts as lands of scorching heat really know nothing.”

“Same difference, it’s still a desert. And… we haven’t escaped yet, anyway.”

Somehow, the wind feels less severe than the blazing sun.

We replenished water through Zora’s water spirit and ate dried bread while moving. When resting, we boiled food in a pot to survive.

“Eating bread in a place like this, huh?”

Seeing Carriel effortlessly pull bread out of thin air, Zora suggested he’d make a fortune as a street vendor, shaking her head in disbelief.

If not for our current resilience to the environment, it would have taken twice as long to reach here, enduring twice the suffering.

In contrast, Zora seemed skilled in this area and showed great patience.

Nowadays, she answers Carriel’s numerous questions without hesitation, unlike before.

“How can there be no people around after traveling such a long distance?”

“There are intelligent beings, but you’d need to go further to find them.”

“…How much further?”

“At our speed, a few days? Originally, just reaching here would have taken at least a month, assuming no major dangers. With delays, it could have stretched to two months. But that’s not the end. Keep going much further, and… well, you’ll see when we get there.”

Indeed.

We traversed a distance that would normally take a month in just eight days—clearly at supersonic speed.

Had there been sights to see, the journey might have been more interesting.

Experiencing the wonders of nature is satisfying for a few days.

Afterward, seeing endless repetition day after day wears you down.

Even if your body holds up, your mind tires.

Ironically, being attacked occasionally feels almost welcome—can you believe that?

Most importantly, there should be oases in deserts, and mirages too, but we encountered none along the way.

“Mirages appear when they’re somewhere nearby. Not here, but elsewhere. The reason you don’t see them? There’s nothing around here to cause them. Go further, and you’ll see them everywhere, whether you like it or not. But when you actually get there and find nothing, watching people lose their minds over it is hilarious.”

Of course.

These conversations happened during brief pauses caused by sudden battles or occasional breaks.

While moving, there was no chance for idle chat.

“Hey! We’ve changed direction!”

Except when Zora, perched on his shoulder as a red bird, pointed this out by pecking his forehead.

Otherwise, there were rarely reasons to stop.

“It’s thanks to me that we aren’t suffering from dehydration. Consider it lucky. Normally, people would suck on stones to keep their mouths moist while traveling. Just in case, remember this as common knowledge.”

If you’re ever so thirsty you think you’ll die, consider collecting your own urine. Don’t try catching it with your hands; wrap your clothes around it and suck it out later. Not hard, right? Avoid this by drinking plenty beforehand. Remember this.

“…….”

Anyway, the barren land and natural formations—ridges, ravines, hills, bald mountains, valleys, and plains—gradually turned red.

When the sunset painted the world crimson, it unconsciously reminded me of the Demon Realm shown by the Demon King.

After piercing through the desert and crossing the arid land for six more days without rest, we sensed something strange.

“?”

Without any warning, the moment his foot touched the ground, it felt like a threshold had been crossed.

Huge eyes—not one, but several pairs—were staring down at him.

…….

……….

“Snap out of it!”

My forehead hurts.

Guess she pecked me pretty hard.

“Why are you spacing out?!”

“…Didn’t you feel something just now?”

“Absolutely nothing! Except for your zoning out!”

“…….”

It was a terrifying and unsettling experience that couldn’t be dismissed as a hallucination.

Let’s put it this way… it was like…

-You’ve finally reached the edge of your world.

Seemingly aware of the anomaly here, the Demon King suddenly chimed in without warning.

“……?”

The edge of our world?

-You’ll understand once you experience it. Just go through it.

He does this again.

…Seriously, why can’t he just spill everything plainly? Would it really harm him somehow?

I suppress the urge to sigh.

‘What can I do?’

Another bad habit surfaces, but I let it slide. This isn’t the first or last time it’s happened, right?

Still, the vague warning leaves me slightly wary…

“??”

“You felt it too, right?”

Caught off guard by an unknown presence, Zora returned to her human form from her perch on his shoulder.

“Weren’t you asking why there are no people around here?”

After waiting a bit, a distant figure approached—a towering man with reddish skin accompanied by a small dwarf leading a wolf and some mysterious giant ash-colored beast.

“……?”

Stopping about twenty paces away from us, the towering man with prominent fangs asked first.

“Are you travelers from another world riding the sandstorm? What brings you to this land?”

Aside from a leather lower garment resembling a skirt, the man wore little else—just a necklace made of bones. His muscular build resembled a statue, and his body bore diverse scars, giving off the impression of a seasoned warrior who had faced countless trials.

Here, Zora stepped forward.

“We are travelers heading toward the ancient ruins of the Fire Giant.”

Having disclosed her destination en route, Zora could confidently mention it.

…Rupert was indeed helpful in this regard, despite his other shortcomings.

“Have you received permission from our gods to visit this land, infidels?”

“Permission? Permission from a god? What are you talking about?”

At her puzzled response, the man continued.

“The one in your party appears to be blessed by a foreign deity.”

“Blessed?”

Zora glanced back at Carriel, who asked curiously.

He had indeed received a blessing. So what?

“Is receiving a blessing from your god the reason you must come here with permission from ours?”

“……How do you understand our language?”

By this point, there’s no other explanation but a special ability.

Carriel stopped questioning this long ago.

When something sounds clear and expresses itself without hindrance, why complicate it with explanations?

“A blessed envoy of a foreign deity. This is a blatant violation of the covenant.”

The problem is, hostility is creeping in instead of goodwill.

Threats and caution seep through his tone.

So? Are we supposed to turn back quietly here?

Ignorant of everything?

Achieving nothing?

“…I’m unfamiliar with this story. I have no intention of engaging in hostile acts. Please enlighten me on what I’m missing. Surely, such goodwill can be extended without much trouble, can’t it?”

“This is a covenant between gods. Breaking it is a challenge to the divine. Just as we do not intrude into your world, you must refrain from doing so here.”

“I… have no intention or desire to intrude. I am merely seeking the ancient Fire Giants said to have perished…”

“Lord Endecatheon will not forgive you. Revering ancient tyrants who dared defy the gods themselves is nothing short of blasphemy.”

“…….”

Clear hostility.

A fighting spirit radiates from his dimmed eyes, exuding readiness for battle at any moment.

Though not outright killing intent, his body is clearly tensed, ready to leap into action.

But… Endecatheon?

“Eleven gods? Is that what you called them?”

“How do you know Kllēnikó? That’s a tongue forbidden to infidels. Are you then an emissary of the foreign deity, speaking on behalf of their voice here?”

“…….”

I honestly don’t know.

Come to think of it, why didn’t I foresee this situation sooner?

“I’m genuinely curious. Which deity do you refer to as ‘foreign god’?”

“Do you not know your own god? The one you call the sole ruler, the heavens, the master of all creation—whose name you dare not utter directly?”

Four letters.

Tetragrammaton.

“And do you not fearfully call the radiant morning star, beloved by Him but rebellious, Trigrammaton? Stories tell that even challengers among you avoid mentioning their names freely. Am I wrong?”

“…….”

My head is spinning.

Glancing at Zora, she too seems equally clueless, blinking repeatedly.

By the way, what does he mean by ‘challengers’?

“What exactly do you mean by ‘challengers’?”

“You know nothing, it seems. Does this imply your master keeps you ignorant? Obedience and submission demanded without room for doubt or question, banishing you from paradise for original sin, enforcing unconditional guilt, demanding purity while forbidding evil. Is this your master?”

The towering man growled disdainfully.

“Listen carefully. I recall hearing that you call those challengers ‘Demon Kings.’ Surely, you can’t claim ignorance of this too?”

…At this, I reflexively looked up at the Demon King.

-One or the other.

Hovering in the air, the Demon King of Wisdom, or the Golden Demon King in the form of a young girl, simply chuckled dismissively at this.

As if it were all too trivial and unremarkable.

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