ocean-life Chapter 273: To the North (1)
Chapter 273: To the North (1)
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 273: To the North (1)
[BUOOO!]
The gates of hell opened.
A terrifying monster opened its maw, creating a passage to the surface.
With shrieks, the demons burst forth.
“Hahahahaha!”
“This is the scent of the surface! Ahh! Wonderful!”
Demons, who normally required rituals to descend, began appearing on the surface one after another.
Old demons who had lived between the gods and demons since the Great War expressed awe.
“Aaaaah!”
“Oh, our beloved homeland that we longed for!”
Originally, this land was theirs.
But they had been forcibly expelled by the gods.
Many demons had never seen the surface again.
Now, they had returned to their homeland.
The demons were overwhelmed with emotion.
Some even shed tears.
“Ooooh...”
“Thank you, Demon King.”
It was all thanks to the Demon King's grace.
And now, they began to move to repay that grace.
Their purpose was to trample and destroy the surface.
Demons began defiling the earth.
They destroyed cities, attacked capitals, and surrounded sacred lands.
The world, the continent, was plunged into chaos.
And this news reached the holy sanctuary of the Swords.
“Ah, aaaaaah!”
The Saint clutched his head, his face pale as he screamed.
The world was in chaos.
Evil was attacking the surface.
Not just the Saint, but everyone in the holy sanctuary realized this.
The joy of the festival vanished, replaced by fear and anxiety on people’s faces.
“Hmmm.”
Meanwhile, Ketal chewed on his skewers, watching them.
He had stayed in the holy sanctuary to finish up the matter of the Holy Sword.
“It’s chaotic.”
[Of course it is. The barrier has been broken.]
“You’re talking about the powerful wave of energy from a few days ago?”
The blow from the Demon King.
It had shattered the world's barrier.
Ketal had felt that immense power as well.
‘It was incredible.’
Even Materia had seemed insignificant like a bug before that power.
He had been awestruck by the sheer difference in dimension, and it filled him with joy.
[Yes. It seems the demons did something to break the barrier.]
“What exactly is this barrier?”
[It's the barrier that protects this world. It blocks hell and prevents it from intervening on the surface. It is what made this land the domain of the gods, protecting the surface.]
But now, it was destroyed.
The surface was no longer the domain of the gods.
The Holy Sword explained this calmly.
[It was expected. The fact that I descended meant that the rift in the world had grown too large to handle. Even though the gods can’t interfere directly with the surface, they must have judged that a great power needed to be bestowed.]
And Ketal had broken that Holy Sword.
“...It seems I caused quite a big problem.”
[You could say that it wasn’t a small one, right?]
“Hmph.”
Ketal folded his arms, and the Holy Sword flinched, watching him carefully.
[Perhaps I should’ve said it wasn’t your fault? Was I being too tactless...?]
“No, it’s fine.”
The Holy Sword’s words were true.
Because of him, the hero could not appear.
Ketal clicked his tongue.
“But where is the Empire involved in all of this?”
The only place left was the North.
But that area belonged to the Barbarians.
It didn’t seem likely that the Empire would be there.
The saint bit his lip.
“...The Empire is in the southeastern direction. If they wished, they could intervene in the Eastern continent and turn the tide of the war. But there hasn’t been any movement from them.”
“No movement? Why not?”
“I don’t know! Why on earth not?!”
The saint cried out in frustration.
“The demons are invading the surface! The entire continent is in danger! Yet! The Empire is showing no reaction! If they moved, the situation would be much better!”
The saint gritted his teeth.
The Empire was powerful.
Its strength was at the pinnacle of the continent.
Even the information that was publicly known pointed to that, but the Empire was hiding even greater strength internally.
If they showed their true power, they could shake the entire continent.
But the Empire hadn’t made a single move.
It was as if there were more important things than the demonic invasion threatening the entire continent.
“Why. Why. Why?”
The demonic invasion was a crisis for the whole continent.
Even the Empire couldn’t ignore it.
It was incomprehensible.
It was as if they were acting like they were somehow separate from the continent.
“It is indeed strange.”
Ketal’s face briefly showed interest, but the Empire wasn’t the main issue right now.
He pondered.
‘Where should I go?’
The West was stable, so the options were the East or the South.
He could go to the East and learn magic from the Magic Tower or go South to study dragon words.
He had reached a point where he could handle some mystery, so both were possibilities.
And in his mind, the North wasn’t even an option.
That was only natural.
The North was the territory of the Barbarians, and Ketal despised the Barbarians.
In this vast fantasy world, the one place Ketal had little interest in was the North.
Still, he thought he should ask.
Ketal spoke up.
“What about the state of the North?”
“Well... I suppose they’re holding up well? Honestly, there’s not much information.”
The North didn’t have much contact with the outside world.
They were a people who mostly kept to themselves.
The saint, looking at Ketal cautiously, added:
“...They’re a strong people who don’t fear battle, so I imagine they’re defending against the demons well.”
Normally, he would have insulted them as simple-minded brutes.
The saint himself had suffered from the Barbarians’ reckless attacks in his younger days and harbored no good feelings toward them.
But because Ketal was a Barbarian, the saint had to choose his words carefully.
“......”
After hearing the saint’s words, Ketal’s expression changed.
He looked at the saint with a strange expression, making the saint’s heart skip a beat.
‘Huh? Did I say something to offend him?’
“The Barbarians are incredibly strong! They’re truly manly, admirable people! I admired them when I was younger! I wanted to have a body as strong as theirs!”
The saint shouted hurriedly, thinking that Ketal might have been offended and trying to smooth things over.
But Ketal’s strange expression wasn’t because of what the saint had said.
‘What is this?’
[789th Quest.]
[Respond to the anomaly in the North.]
A quest window appeared.
It meant that something related to the Forbidden Lands was happening in the North.
But the reason Ketal’s expression had changed wasn’t because of the quest window itself.
If it had just been a simple quest window, he would have reacted calmly, as if it were only natural.
His gaze moved downward.
Below the quest description, there was a warning.
[Warning: If you do not respond quickly, it could be dangerous.]
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]