Chapter 528
I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain
"Ian Hope!" Nehat snarled his name through bared teeth, her nose ridge twisting with rage.
The very next instant, Ian pivoted sharply to the side, holy light blazing along the blade in his grip.
Boom, boom, boom—
Her right arm swept across like a scythe, carving through the air with a clawed slash. A gray arc of condensed mist followed, tearing through space as it surged toward him.
So she hasn’t lost her reason completely.
Ian narrowly dodged the trajectory. In any case, his provocation had clearly worked.
Clash!
Even as the blade of mist lost its form and scattered, it blew a hut behind him to fragments. As debris flew in all directions, Ian regained his posture and charged forward.
Gray magic swirled in his eyes as he glared at Nehat. A wind mixed with mist and dust wrapped around him, which was imbued with a faint red divinity.
Swoosh—
Nehat was already swinging her dangling left arm toward him. A gray diagonal line, tilted a bit more horizontally than before, shot out, slicing through the air.
Tap, tap!
It was then that Ian stepped on a log sticking out from the debris and leaped. Once more, the Wind Blade propelled him as he spun diagonally.
Boom—
The gray trajectory that was tearing through the air skimmed beneath him. As the red afterimage was swept up and scattered in its place, Ian finished his spin and raised his Light Sword.
Woosh!
The blazing yellow blade, drawing a chaotic curve, soared and rushed toward Nehat. She had not yet even recovered her raised left arm.
However, she wasn't defenseless. Beyond her thick forearm, the red, cross-shaped glint in her eyes flared for a moment.
Clash!
A thick, gray mist erupted from Nehat like steam. Almost simultaneously, Ian brought down the Light Sword he had raised.
Boom, boom, boom!
Even with a blade forged with dragon magic, he couldn't slice through the dense, swirling mist in one strike. As the sensation of slicing through hard mud spread through his hand, blazing yellow sparks flew from the blade as it cut through the mist. The high-density chaos was likely neutralizing the dragon’s magic.
The durability is going to drop again.
Despite him shaking as though hit by the mist, Ian gritted his teeth and brought the sword down to the very end.
Slice—
With a clear sensation, the blade, having cut the mist diagonally, came out the other side. The white body of the sword, glowing with yellow magic, was revealed.
The moment he landed, Ian kicked off the ground and shot backward. A red light was ominously blazing beyond the billowing mist.
Boom, boom, boom!
In the instant he instinctively raised his Platinum Barrier, the mist exploded. The mist explosion swallowed Ian for a moment and threw him, tangled with debris, into the air as if a truck had hit him.
Even as his vision swam, his Concentration and Intuitions shot to their peak.
Thump…
In the endless sensation of time slowing down, the resonance emitted by the bead of chaos essence spread clearly.
He couldn't tell if it was Inaskurgl’s chaos within the essence bead resonating, or if it was simply craving Nehat’s chaos. The important thing was that, thanks to it, his consciousness became crystal clear in an instant.
"----!" A scream mixed with pain and anger followed. The sight of Nehat, her upper body thrown back as she howled, flashed past Ian’s eyes.
As expected, it was a shallow cut.
Though it was just an instant, that was enough to confirm her condition.
The middle of the roaring Nehat’s left forearm was sliced open diagonally. That must have been the source of the sensation he felt through the hilt at the last moment.
Unlike with Inaskurgl, the severed surface from which blood should have gushed did not seem to regenerate. Instead, the surrounding mist was gathering toward it as if being sucked in.
Woosh!
As Ian hurtled through the air, his vision spun in a slow, disorienting arc. When storm-black clouds rolled into view overhead, he realized something that hadn’t crossed his mind until now—the sun hadn’t even set yet.
Does this mean the gods’ influence has weakened that much? Or is this only possible because we’re in the backwoods of the South, with no proper churches?
The thought felt strangely out of place for the moment, a loose thread in the chaos, and yet it flickered through his mind before being swept away.
His vision continued its rotation, and the shattered debris below came into view. The palisades that had once enclosed the settlement were torn apart, as though bombarded by artillery.
"----!"
"------!"
The shockwaves had done it. Beastfolk warriors, cloaked in gray mist, howled like maddened beasts as they unleashed bursts of force. Nehat’s savagery had consumed them, twisting them into her vassals.
The haze spread like a living thing, seeping into the bodies of fallen warriors strewn across the ground. The flow of chaos contained within it felt strangely clear to him.
Do all the ones with tails end up like that?
The realization surfaced unbidden as his gaze caught a flash of crimson cutting through the carnage.
It was Charlotte, gripping the jagged sword. Instead of the sword, she was slamming her fist into the beastfolk warrior's face.
"Wake— up— already! Move— you— idiots—!"
The one shouting like a stretched-out tape was Thesaya, her cloak fluttering. Like before, the magic radiating from her became clear, as if briefly focusing.
Palmer and Idris, who had caught up at some point, were dragging the fallen warriors away from the surroundings. Both of them had served Kruxica in the past, yet they seemed completely unaffected by the thick mist.
In any case, I can’t drag this out.
For now, they were only responding to Nehat’s roar, but soon enough, they’d lose themselves completely. The beastfolks with intact tails were overwhelmingly many. Of course, there were old beastfolks mixed in, but once devoured by bestial nature, age or disability would not be an issue.
Most importantly, Charlotte clearly had no intention of killing them. Indeed, just seeing her run over there without being stubborn was enough to know how much she valued her kin.
Thesaya, on the other hand, wouldn’t hesitate—but even she couldn’t turn this tide alone.
So first…
Ian’s gaze turned to the ground, which was approaching at an angle. Debris was scattered chaotically. A head-on impact there would not end well. Ian, who had been carefully observing the ground below, finally thrust out the Willful Grasp with all his might.
Boom! Crunch—
The debris convulsed upward in a tangled heap, like marionettes yanked on unseen strings. Ian twisted mid-fall, reversing his spin just as the earth lunged closer, and the Platinum Barrier unfurled beneath him.
Boom, boom, boom!
The impact slammed through him like a battering ram, bones screaming as his boots gouged twin furrows into the dirt. He skidded backward, anchored only by the Platinum Barrier he’d driven into the ground.
Woosh!
A mountain of rubble crashed against the barrier’s surface, the force rippling through his frame until, finally, the momentum bled away. Ian dropped low behind the Platinum Barrier, breath harsh, muscles quaking under the strain.
It wouldn't have been strange at all if something had broken.
But before he could even recover from the shock, instinct screamed a warning. Ian’s eyes flew wide as he raised the Platinum Barrier.
Swoosh!
The Barrier of Light draped faintly over it.
Shiek!
A gray arc cut through the air at terrifying speed, closing in fast. The red glint of her eyes, drawing a long arc, was already right above him.
She’s faster than she looks, fuck.
A massive blood-dark mist slammed down on the Barrier of Light. It looked like the claw of some monstrous beast.
Crunch—
It was a Grasp of Mist, extending from Nehat’s severed left arm. That crimson tint had to be her blood.
The hand, which had crushed the Barrier of Light in an instant, pressed down on the Platinum Barrier beyond it.
The very next moment, the whole thing blazed, boiling with heat, and the Grasp of Mist exploded.
The surrounding debris shot up all at once, and the ground in a wide area around Ian caved in. Upon the Platinum Barrier, which was being crushed and flashing precariously, the debris that had shot up rained down.
Nehat, who had flipped backward, landed on a pile of debris. She crouched, panting raggedly for a moment.
"The true Great Chieftain… is me!"
Her voice rumbled with a low, growling undertone as she rose. She plunged her right hand into the wreckage and pulled out a broken sword.
Even with its blade broken, it was as long as a longsword. It must have originally been a fang greatsword.
"Only I… the heir of Inaskurgl!"
As gray mist seeped and rose from the broken blade, Nehat raised her head, scattering the cross-shaped glint of her eyes.
"Only I! The new revival! The era… of the clan!"
Her words were becoming incoherent as her bestial nature consumed her further. Already, about half of what she said sounded like mere growls.
Crackle, crackle…
She was, even at this moment, twitching and growing larger bit by bit. Her severed left arm was also squirming and regenerating. She gave a roar without even glancing toward the pile of debris where Ian was buried.
"Obey!"
Rumble…
The dark clouds swirling in the sky flashed. From beyond, the howls of the beastfolks echoed chaotically.
Following that, the beastfolks engulfed in gray mist ran toward Nehat in a swarm, ignoring the opponents they had been fighting just moments before. However, they couldn't reach her because a thick wall of ice rose at tremendous speed, blocking their path.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
The massive Glacier Wall appeared, cutting the wrecked town in two.
Thud!
The charging beastfolks slammed straight into the barrier and were thrown back. White cracks and bloodstains spread across the barrier’s surface, but instead of collapsing, it rose even higher.
"Where do you think you’re going, you idiots? Ian! Busy over there? Gonna take long?"
As Nehat’s eyes narrowed, Thesaya’s shout echoed from beyond the wall. Following that, a red trajectory shimmered from behind the thick ice. Charlotte must have charged toward the beastfolks.
Nehat growled low and crouched, ready to spring toward the Glacier Wall.
Thud, thud, thud—
The heap of rubble ahead erupted outward, debris blasting in every direction. Nehat froze for a heartbeat and turned, just in time to see Ian emerging from the wreckage, the Platinum Barrier raised high.
He spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and let the barrier lower, his face as unreadable as ever.
With a casual twist of his neck, he shifted his gaze to Nehat and said, "For all that talk about Inaskurgl, you still seem to be a long way off."
Though his main purpose was provocation, it wasn’t an empty taunt.
It might have been different if Karha had bestowed a proper blessing, but if that last blow had been from Inaskurgl, he would not have been able to recover from the shock and get up like this. He would have exploded into fragments long ago.
"Ian—" Nehat, her face contorting, roared and kicked off the ground. Debris shot up chaotically from her kick.
Ian did not dodge. Gripping the Light Sword, which had once again flared up brilliantly, he charged straight to meet her.
Boom!
Even as he hurtled toward the beastfolk, now over two meters tall and consumed by madness, his mind was perfectly calm. His intuition didn’t so much as whisper a warning of death. In a way, it was expected. Nehat was certainly strong, but she wasn't even a complete demon yet.
If Charlotte hadn’t been here, things might have been different.
As he stared down at the approaching Nehat, who seemed to move in slow motion, an unintentional hypothesis flashed through his mind like a ray of light.
If this went just like the game, Nehat would have already claimed every beastfolks of Maro Tel without interference.
With the Round Table backing her, she would have sunk deeper into corruption, growing ever stronger.
After Chapter Four, Maro Tel would have transformed into a giant boss dungeon teeming with corrupted beastfolks. If he hadn’t sent Charlotte to the South, and if a little more time had passed, that nightmare might have bled into reality.
Swoosh!
It was then that Nehat, a step ahead, twisted her waist and swung the sword in her right hand. The broken blade, from which gray mist was rising, shot out as if to tear Ian apart.
Ian did not stop. He kicked off the ground harder, raising his Platinum Barrier diagonally. The blazing blade of mist slammed into its center.
Golden sparks flew brilliantly on the barrier’s surface. Though he was pushed sideways, Ian did not lose his balance. He calmly extended the Willful Grasp to the side, forcefully pushing away any debris he might collide with.
Boom!
In that time, the blade that slid across the barrier’s surface passed right over Ian’s head. As the hot aftershock washed over him, Ian lowered his stance and kicked off the ground again.
He swung the Light Sword in his hand in a rising diagonal slash.
Crunch!
The soaring yellow arc passed right through the middle of Nehat’s right arm, which had just passed over Ian’s head.
Her arm had become incomparably thicker than before, but the only sensation transmitted through the hilt was that of slicing through thin mud.
It was natural. Even Inaskurgl had not been able to withstand the Platinum Claws with a bare body.
Slash—
Nehat’s right arm, still clutching her blade, dropped away, but Ian didn't even spare a glance. He simply took another step forward.
He tilted the right arm he had raised diagonally in front of his face to the side. Her torso lay wide open before him.
As if realizing the situation, Nehat’s eyes contorted. He had felt it before, but she possessed a level of cognitive ability similar to Ian's when he entered a state of high Concentration.
However, even so, it didn’t allow her to stop or reverse time. The instant Nehat opened her mouth wide, her eyes blazing, Ian swung the Light Sword horizontally. The extended yellow trajectory sliced into Nehat’s side like a knife through tofu.