Chapter 127


    Sssssss…


    The mes that had spread in all directions gathered around Eor, leaving not even a trace of heat behind.


    Those converged mes burned brightly, maintaining an iplete form, as if they had been forcibly confined to a specific area.


    It was unclear whether it was impossible to control them perfectly or if this state was intentional.


    But one thing was certain:


    They carried an extraordinary and ominous power.


    Eor, with a slightly fatigued voice that failed to hide his exhaustion, spoke calmly.


    “Defend against it, evade if you must. However, you’ll have to give up the camp. From here to there is all within my range.”


    Karta nced back briefly before assuming a stance.


    The flow of mana into his de wasn’t negligible, and it emitted a dazzling brilliance. The arc of light it traced was both exquisite and lethal.


    The tip of the de was aimed at Eor’s neck, heart, and danjeon—every target, a critical point.


    [TL/N: Danjeon is a Korean term that refers to a focal point in the body where the mind, body, and spirit are unified]


    Yet Eor didn’t defend against them. He merely extended his hand forward, allowing the strikes toe at him.


    Ka-ka-ka-ka-kak!


    The sword strikes rushing from afar grazed Eor’s body but failed to prate the mes surrounding him.


    Nor could they interrupt the magic he was casting.


    The mes surged outward.


    Fwoooosh!


    The start was subtle. The mes that erupted needed a moment to expand.


    But only for a moment.


    Compressed mes suddenly exploded outward, rapidly swelling and racing across the ground.


    The sight of a vast area being engulfed in mes in an instant was nothing short of a dragon’s breath.


    Fwooooooosh!!!


    It was majestic. Awe-inspiring and overwhelming.


    From a distance, those watching trembled, feeling a thrill that reverberated through their entire bodies.


    Ian, unconsciously, smiled brightly.


    “Beautiful.”


    It wasn’t mere ttery but genuine admiration. Ian couldn’t help but think of himself as fortunate to witness it.


    The scale was immense, the power overwhelming—but the cost in mana consumption was just as enormous.


    This was excessive for use against a single target, an attack that no one would mistake as overkill. It was clear Eor was showing off intentionally.


    Was this a disy meant to be a lesson? A message to observe and learn?


    The sheer amount of information absorbed through Ian’s eyes was staggering, the inspiration flooding his mind profound.


    He found himself wanting to embrace the raging torrent of those mes.


    Even though it was impossible to grasp all of the expertise Eor had cultivated, being able to absorb even a fraction of it was remarkable.


    “How do I block something like that?”


    If Ian were to stand before it, he could think of a few ways to counter it—but only because he wielded the Bane of Evil to manipte fire. Pure swordsmanship alone wouldn’t offer any viable solution.


    However, Karta showcased an entirely different idea from Ian’s line of thinking. He stomped the ground with force.


    Boom!


    It wasn’t a meaningless act. The moment mana seeped into the ground, the earth’s surface flipped over.


    The scene was like an ind suddenly rising in the middle of a vast, endless ocean.


    Hwaaaah!


    The mes that surged forward like a tidal wave couldn’t destroy the ind and instead split into two, diverted to target something else entirely.


    “Ha.”


    It was a true shift in perspective. Unexpected and unconventional, yet effective.


    To think Karta would build a physical barrier to counteract the mes waspletely unforeseen.


    The mes that followed weren’t as menacing as the initial surge. But how things would unfold next was clear.


    Beneath the upturned ground, Karta had hidden himself. A fleeting moment was all that was needed to let the mes pass.


    Moreover, he had achieved his goal of protecting the mercenary encampment in the rear.


    “!”


    And it turned out that hiding had been a tactic to buy time. Beneath the waves of fire, a ck light erupted.


    The movement resembled the careful precision of cutting fine silk. Karta, cloaked in the ck aura, was now charging against the roaring mes.


    Ian felt a chill watching him.


    “Does Eor know?”


    The fire dazzled. Its splendor captivated not just enemies but anyone.


    Perhaps Eor didn’t realize. Maybe he thought it was over.


    Unlike Ian, who was observing from above, all Eor could see were the surging mes.


    “Eor…!”


    Ian hurriedly called out the arbiter’s name to warn him, but it wasn’t necessary.


    As if fully aware, a handful of mes gathered in Eor’s hand and transformed into a sword.


    Fwhoooosh!


    Karta emerged through the mes.


    Eor’s reaction was calm, as though he had been expecting this. The residual mes around him elongated like whips and surged toward Karta.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Yet, before the mes could strike properly, they were shattered in ce by a brilliant sh.


    It didn’t end there. Karta continued pressing Eor relentlessly, leaving no room for respite.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Borrowing power from the Outer Gods, he disyed intense movements even within the suffocating heat.


    The ck aura shed with the mes, canceling each other out and scattering. The ck energy repelled the suffocating heat binding his body.


    It was desperate.


    Both sides were doing their utmost to crush the other’s throat.


    Karta, as the vanguard of the Battle Wraiths, sought to defend the foundation needed to bring his kin within their lines.


    Eor, as the arbiter of the Scorching Judgment, aimed to prevent the chaos the Outer Gods’ followers would unleash.


    Neither side yielded an inch.


    “Hah.”


    Ian, watching, was at a loss for words. A priest was going toe-to-toe with a Battle Wraith. With swordsmanship, no less.


    Of course, it was only for a brief moment. It quickly became evident that Karta was being pushed back by divine magic and overwhelmed by fire.


    That was to be expected. Even if his swordsmanship was exceptional, it couldn’t match Eor’s raw physical capabilities.


    Through mana and divine blessings, Karta had narrowed the physical gap, allowing him to fight briefly on equal terms.


    But even that was enough to prove his abilities.


    “Was he always this versatile?”


    Ian had always known Eor to be one of the Pantheon’s most talented figures but had never imagined it to this extent.


    It was tempting. Though Eor’sziness was slightly concerning, that was only in rtion to mundane tasks.


    When it came to the Hero or important missions, he always gave his best—just as he was doing now.


    Companion.


    Hero Abe hadn’t surrounded herself with so many allies without reason.


    No one could protect everything alone. Trustedrades were necessary.


    Ian, too, was moving forward with the intention of bing a pir of strength for Abe. That was all there was to it.


    It wasn’t a noble ideal of fighting alongside the Hero. Of course, he didn’t wish for the world’s destruction, nor for the Empire to fall into chaos.


    He simply didn’t want to see it. The hero bing unhappy. Her falling into sorrow.


    Like the ending of a fairy tale, when everything is over and the conclusion is reached, all he wants is to close it with, “And they lived happily ever after.”


    Just like back then.


    What he wants to avoid at all costs is the image of the hero, who defeated the Outer Gods, bowing her head in silence and swallowing her solitude.


    ‘…To prevent that.’


    He couldn’t just stand idly by and watch.


    But he had no intention of intervening in that fierce battle. It was clear they were nearing the end, even without his help.


    Eor still maintained the upper hand.


    Boom!


    A faint explosion drew Ian’s gaze. Over at the encampment, something sharp had shot upward—a sh, perhaps.


    It didn’t look like a battle was taking ce. It was more like someone was destroying something. Alongside that, people began crawling out from the encampment.


    They must have sensed that their leader had no chance of victory. What would staying in the encampment achieve other than certain death? They were doing their best to find a way out.


    ‘Or maybe it was all prearranged.’


    However, the forest terrain had beenrgely reduced to ashes by Eor’s divine magic.


    The White Owls scurried like insects across the charred ground.


    Their directions were all over the ce. If they escaped now, tracking them downter would take significant time.


    It was necessary to reduce their numbers, even if he couldn’t capture them all.


    ‘It’d be ideal to retrieve those rings, too.’


    Whether for the Mage Tower or the Pantheon, having more samples might prove useful someday.


    Ian pulled out a doping potion, popped it into his mouth, and began chasing the fleeing White Owls.


    Their movements were fast, but they were leaving trails behind, making it easy to follow.


    The first group he found consisted of five individuals running swiftly.


    ‘They’repletely disoriented.’


    They didn’t even look back. It seemed they hadn’t considered the possibility of being pursued.


    Ian closed the distance as stealthily as possible andunched a surprise attack on the White Owl trailing at the back.


    “Gah!?”


    He tripped the target by stomping on his back, then plunged his holy sword into his spine.


    The others, startled by themotion, turned around in shock.


    It was a good start—one down already.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As they froze in ce, Ian spoke calmly, a slight smirk on his face.


    “Where are you all rushing off to in such a hurry?”


    Their eyes darkened, filling with malice, and they reacted in an instant.


    “You bastard!”


    “Kill him!”


    They drew their swords and charged.


    Having already fought White Owls before, Ian had a good grasp of how to handle them. At first, thebat techniques of the Battle Wraiths had felt unfamiliar, but now he was used to them.


    “Argh!”


    He used fire to restrict their movements, gradually taking them down one by one.


    “Damn it!”


    One of them, realizing the tide had turned, turned to flee. Ian didn’t let it happen.


    Using Bane of Evil liberally without holding back his mana, the time it took to finish the fight was drastically reducedpared to before.


    “Ugh…”


    There wasn’t time for interrogation. Even now, more Battle Wraiths were fleeing the encampment.


    Some had already moved beyond his detection range. Ian stabbed the dagger into the forehead of the fallen enemy and set it aze.


    Whoosh.


    Ian retrieved the ring. Capturing all those who had resolved to flee was impossible.


    There wasn’t any groundbreaking means of transportation avable, and while these White Owls were weaker than the one he had first encountered, taking down multiple enemies still took time.


    At some point, he realized there was no end to the chase. Deciding to let it go, he returned to the initial location.


    “Are you unharmed?”


    As expected, Eor was sitting down, having defeated the Battle Wraiths, taking a moment to rest.


    The mes that had engulfed the area were extinguished, leaving behind only faint embers.


    Though he had maintained the upper hand, it seemed Karta hadn’t been an easy opponent. Eor’s face wasden with fatigue.


    Despite his victory in the intense battle, there was no hint of joy. Nodding, he spoke in a weary tone.


    “As you can see, I’m fine. What happened to the ones who fled?”


    Even though Ian hadn’t mentioned it, Eor had already deduced why he’d left.


    Removing his wooden mask, Ian replied, “I tried to capture as many as I could, but a few escaped. They were quick.”


    “Tch, Battle Wraiths running away, huh?”


    It wasn’t an umon urrence. They weren’t mindless brutes who fought recklessly.


    These were enemies who knew when to strike and retreat. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t have been so troublesome in the first ce.


    Eor let out a sigh.


    “I should have pushed harder and mobilized the Pdins… This was my mistake.”


    “What’s the point of regret now? The deed is done. Issue a bounty under the name of the Pantheon. Or,” Ian suggested, lifting a blood-stained leather pouch and shaking it slightly, “you could use this to track them down.”


    “What is that?”


    “A ring.”


    “By principle, relics from the Outer World are supposed to be destroyed immediately, but in this case, we have no choice. Hand it over. I’ll take care of reporting it to the Pantheon.”


    Eor chuckled faintly as he rose to his feet. The groan that escaped him made it clear he wasn’t in perfect condition.


    Ian promptly handed the pouch to him.


    “Well, I’d be grateful if you could handle that, your honor. Now, shall we get moving? There’s still more to do, isn’t there?”


    “…What?”


    “We need to inspect the encampment, of course.”


    ———