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289. Engagement Ep – Malhas

“We have to keep the fire!”

But how?

One knight shouted urgently but there was no alternative. There was no way to stop Halpas flying around quickly, nor any way to prevent the fire from extinguishing hopelessly in the strong gusts. Even if we tried to block with our bodies, the wind seeped through our fingers.

Ray shouted in place of the prince, whose eyes were clouded.

“Get items out of the room! Bring them to the corridor, ignite them, and pour oil from the lanterns! We can’t block our sight!”

The knights did just that. Dozens rushed to carry furniture from the royal palace and set them ablaze.

But it took a long time. Moreover, the flint and pyrites provided to the kingdom’s knights were not catching fire easily, due to the excellent quality of the wood.

The furniture had been dried for over a decade in the brutal northern cold, coated with layers of ambergris, whale saliva.

Wood coated with ambergris would not catch fire. It may be expensive enough to trade for a weight in fairy tales, certainly elevating the royal palace’s dignity, but now it was just cruel.

The knights had to settle with stacking curtains and clothes, pouring oil from the lanterns to make fires. The hall was shrouded in darkness, save for a few flickering flames. Then, Halpas’s voice was heard.

– Son, I will spare you this time. Go outside. Go kill that common woman you love, even if it means rejecting the princess of Aisel Kingdom. Only then will you be freed, caw!

Ray turned to look at the prince. But all he could see was darkness, and the number above Ray’s head was dwindling.

In the dark, one tends to focus more on sounds. The knights knew they shouldn’t, but they couldn’t help but listen to Halpas’s incessant cawing.

– Caw-caw-caw-caw-caw! Everyone jump!

In the pitch-black hall, sounds of meat bursting echoed one after another. The knights began to feel an increasing sense of fear.

The command structure was collapsing, and the darkness sweetly whispered to them.

Run away.

If you escape, no one will notice.

Ray felt that the number of knights on the layers above had dwindled significantly. Those who had gone to bring items to burn had not returned, and the hall was becoming engulfed more quickly by darkness and silence. Flap, he heard the sound of wings.

– Caw-caw-caw! Here you are, foolish Swordmaster. I’m right in front of you. Want to jump again like before? Caw!

“Damn! Cowardly bastard. Why don’t you come down? Let’s fight fair!”

– You come fly up. I’ll be here. Caw!

They were around the 3rd floor below. Ray shouted while guessing the number Arpen would have received.

“Baron Arpen! Don’t listen to what he says!”

“This bastard is really getting on my nerves!”

– Caw-caw! Caw-caw-caw-caw! Look at you, how pathetic. A baron, huh? A barbarian has risen to success. Is that why you dress like that? You’d be better off living as a barbarian. You know that, right? Caw!

“I can’t hear you! I can’t hear… oh?”

– Caw?

What is this? Suddenly, it became quiet below.

Ray felt his heart drop, thinking Arpen had also succumbed to Halpas, but soon came the sound of his hearty laughter.

“Kuhaha! What’s going on? Nothing is happening?”

– N-no…

Could it be because he was chosen by the god and became the Swordmaster? Even after receiving a ‘1’, Arpen was still fine. Instead, as the number above his head vanished into thin air, Halpas clacked his beak in frustration.

– That filthy divine bastard has gone and done everything! Well… Jacob wasn’t charmed either. Caw! Then I’ll just leave you for now…

Halpas changed his target. He decided to deal with the Swordmaster last and flew up higher. Leaning against the railing, Ray felt the darkness in front of him tremble.

A gust of feathered smell hit him. Halpas was right in front of him.

The number above his head had turned to ‘2’. Ray tried to block out everything; he would defend if attacked and try to distract when Halpas opened his beak, but Halpas was clever.

– Was it Leira? Don’t you wonder what happened to your lover? Caw!

“Ah! Leira!”

Halpas wore a triumphant smile. But soon… he began clacking his beak nervously.

– Damn it.

His pride, the “Binding Fate,” didn’t work on the divine plaything. “Hahaha! What’s wrong? Are you an idiot?” The mocking tone from below infuriated him, causing him to flap his wings harshly.

Halpas turned his head. I am going to kill these insects.

In the darkness, Halpas dove down swiftly. Ray used {Tracking Skill} to check on Leira’s life and was startled; then, an idea struck him.

I have the ability {Divine Sense}.

Why hadn’t I thought of using this sooner? With this ability, I could have found Halpas even in the dark.

Ray immediately used {Divine Sense}. And he was taken aback. To him, the hall was no longer dark. Instead, it was… bright red.

Up down, left right, everything was.

What he saw through {Divine Sense} showed… no, the castle of Manubiul was dyed in red. Save for the marble and pillars, furniture, carpets, and ornaments, everything was simply red, causing his eyes to hurt.

“This… this is…”

Then, Ray realized why the walls of Manubiul Castle and the outer walls were glowing red. They had been built considering the magical warfare using a mineral called ‘Manubium’ that did not allow magic—Manubium had the property of amplifying divine power.

Whether it was of the Divine or Not, it didn’t matter. Divine power is fundamentally the same, just at different levels.

There was a reason Halpas chose Fortress Manubiul as his capital.

He had been steadily feeding divine power throughout the castle and the royal palace, and the divine power amplified by Manubium was comfortably maintaining [Battlefield Call]. That was the reason Halpas didn’t tire easily and didn’t manifest in a massive form like Malpas.

‘So this place… is really dangerous. I should have waited for the Holy Woman!’

Regret always comes too late.

Unless the cycle is broken, it is irreversible. Ray rubbed his tearful eyes and looked down. To survive here, he had to deal with that monster somehow…

With his red-tinged vision, below him Halpas was vividly clear. The creature was pecking at broken eggs.

“Ugh! No way!”

The cubic shape resembling pyrites. Halpas’s divine power began to change rapidly, and Ray was shocked.

This was truly absurd.

The flat faces began to rise in height and volume, soaring far beyond the level of Oriax, now approaching that of Astroth. Ray rubbed his eyes and looked again. And soon realized he had been fooled.

The cube was indeed a cube, but it only appeared so from the front, while the back was hollow. It was trying to deceive, glittering like fool’s gold.

Ray let out a sigh of relief. However, he couldn’t leave it be.

– I don’t like merging with Malpas again… From now on, I will become Malhas!

As Halpas said, something pecking away at the egg was bulking up, and red light was appearing in its black feathers.

Malhas. Long ago, it was an ancient Not like none could rival before being torn in two by Saint Azra in the Eastern swamps.

Ray gulped, realizing he could give no more time to the creature… and stepped off the railing.

Five floors it was.

Even a good landing would break his legs. Ray suddenly remembered how Leira had fallen to her death in the previous ending. However, because of that, he could muster courage.

I must save Leira even if I die.

The red royal castle seen through {Divine Sense} ignited his determination. Yes, my name is ‘Ray’ Dexter. The name given by my late mother ─ ‘Courage’.

Ray jumped quietly. He readied his sword, aiming at the creature’s back. A gust of wind swept through his hair…

– Caw-caw-caw! Did I ever say I like reckless courage?

Halpas was watching. Moving his eight eyes separately, he kept a lookout in all directions. The creature responded to Ray’s courage by stepping aside with a caw.

“AAAHHH…! You bastard…!”

– How foolish.

The creature would soon crash to the ground. With no way to change direction in mid-air, Halpas focused on pecking at the remaining shell. When it fell, it would peck…

“Cough! I didn’t see it coming, but you’re a man too! Damn it! Let’s go!”

Falling from the 5th to the 4th floor, then from 4th to the 3rd, Arpen lunged at him. He leapt from the 3rd floor, arms wide to embrace Ray’s waist.

“Baron Arpen!”

“Stay focused!”

– Caw!

Halpas flapped its wings in a hurry. But it was too late. The two man, now accelerated, hit him directly.

Thud! Ray’s sword pierced Halpas’s neck as he hung onto the embedded sword, while Arpen clung to its wing. The creature’s soft feathers cushioned the impact.

– Caw!!

“Die!”

[ Achievement: Monster Hunt – ‘1’, a trace of mana lingers in your body. ]

White light exploded from Ray’s sword.

The long-preserved Oblivion Blade slashed through the creature’s neck, and the achievement count diminished. However, Halpas did not die gracefully.

– You filthy insects!

Countless eyes sprouted on Halpas’s crow-like head. It was grotesque. Its size had multiplied, and with multiple wings sprouting, it soared upward. The creature’s voice began to change.

– I, Malhas, am the god of war and king of all raw beasts! You shall call this body celestial and worship me!

“What nonsense! Have you gone mad because it’s your time to die? Ugh, uh…?”

The wind blew from below.

Halpas, no, Malhas stopped flapping its wings and began to rise silently. Its crimson feathers turned into blades, and its voice deepened.

– The wind is mine as well! Everything that sparkles in the world is mine, and I shall fly to the deities to claim ownership! You who do not recognize kings, insects! How dare you cling to me, scum of the ground! I will not forgive you!

Blade feathers rose like a storm.

The royal palace trembled, the marble fixtures attached to the walls crashed down, and the rocks forming the palace, Manubium, shone brightly red, to the point where light was no longer needed. That light rapidly flowed into Malhas’s body.

Arpen, wounded by the blade, couldn’t hold on any longer and shouted.

“Hey!! Cut it! Quickly cut it or we’ll all die!”

[ Achievement: Monster Hunt – ‘0’, a trace of mana lingers in your body. ]

But Ray neither answered nor managed to pull the sword lodged in Malhas’s neck.

He lacked mana.

The Oblivion Blade flickered and went out, and Ray was no longer a Swordmaster. No, he was still a Swordmaster, but he couldn’t draw out the divine power.

His sword was merely stuck in Malhas’s neck.

“What are you doing! Cut it!”

“…Baron Arpen. Could you possibly come this way?”

“How the hell do I get there, you idiot! Stop being so relaxed and kill it! Hurry up!”

Caught in a bind.

Malhas continued to rise, the feathers turned blades pierced their bodies. Arpen, hanging onto Malhas’s right wing, was now far away due to Malhas’s size multiplying.

Was this… the end? Just when he thought that,

“Ray!!”

Before he knew it, Leira Ainar had jumped down from the top floor of the hall. In her hand, she held aloft,

A’ bota.

The sword that Toddler Akiunen had used to slay the God Lachar. Leira Ainar, plummeting like a meteor, plunged the sword vertically into Malhas’s nape.