Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 328. The End of the World (6)

“Well done.”

Khan mumbled as if speaking to Maya after witnessing Reletalrasa piercing through Aecharis’s core. Although Maya might not have noticed, he had been observing her battle from the very beginning. However, that was not the end. On the contrary, he knew that Aecharis’s death was like the herald of the true battle’s start.

“They are descending.”

As if seeing the same scene through the eyes of the Great Warrior, Karyan spoke, and Khan nodded. Aecharis might have considered himself the vanguard of the Arch Demon, playing the card of ‘descension’, but to the Arch Demon, who was akin to part of the law, he was merely a tool.

A more efficient and easier tool to harvest souls. Ultimately, it became the worst move that severed his own life.

“But it’s fortunate. It seems the restoration rate of the body is slower than expected.”

“Heh. Laughable punk. Even with just one arm, that kind of monster is a disaster.”

True words.

In fact, Khan had once harbored doubts after witnessing the genuine offspring of archdemons, including Esperus.

‘Is it really possible to defeat archdemons with the specs of a game character?’

Of course, in the final stages, player characters who grew to hero level were formidable enough to have few rivals on the continent. But if asked whether they were as strong as E-Urel at the moment, one would be inclined to tilt their head in doubt.

In this world, E-Urel was an outlier monster capable of standing against even the highest divine beings, but in the game, E-Urel wasn’t that powerful.

He thought it was impossible. It might be a different story if it was Aecharis, who was considered a punching bag even by seasoned players. But there was no way to capture a demon much stronger than that.

‘Games are, after all, just games.’

It was impossible to perfectly mimic an existence on the level of a highest divine being. Perhaps the information he knew about the great demons was useless in this world.

‘All I can do is hope Maya does well.’

He had done the best he could. He had bestowed the greatest power upon the Apostle that he could provide. He had also handed over the ‘Play Records’ that naturally came to mind the moment the holy power was awakened. The rest depended on her and her companions.

Crrrack-

It was the moment when Khan was about to take his eyes off Maya. He heard a sound as if something was breaking. They were still in the sanctuary, and there was no reason to hear sounds from the outside. But this sound was different.

Every intelligent being within the dimension of Midland became aware of the birth of a certain existence.

Crrrack- Crrrraack!

Karyan’s face froze slightly, while Khan remained stoic as if he had expected it.

‘Arch Demon.’

The moment of hatching was brief. The entity that emerged from the egg, described as the black sun, was a fragment of the arch demon.

Its left leg hung limp up to the right knee. Additionally, its right arm dangled towards the ground like a puppet bound by strings.

And then.

“The end has come.”

“Just plug your ears, close your eyes, and accept death in silence. Embrace the chaos from which you were born. Obey the will of the world.”

“If you do so, I will grant you the freedom you have longed for.”

The left foot of the Arch Demon, which had been hanging limply from the black sun, touched the ground. It was not just a simple step. It was the first step towards destruction, and just as when it cracked the egg, everyone on the continent felt the tremors spread by its step.

“Thirty percent… no, forty percent perhaps?”

Khan calmly assessed its strength. Seeing that only parts of its body had managed to break free, it was clear that the demon had not harvested enough souls as expected. It had chosen an incomplete resurrection to hasten its end goal.

In that case, there was a slight chance.

If all the forces of the continent, led by Maya, who possessed the authority of Reletalrasa and himself, confronted the arch demon—

“Sorry, but it seems we must move as well.”

“As well?”

Khan nodded in agreement, his train of thought interrupted by the voice behind him. So that’s what it meant.

“How grandiose.”

Karyan sneered. Somehow, amidst the sacred grounds, a pure white door had claimed the very center.

“Aren’t you opening it a bit too easily? Are you really the master of this sanctuary?”

“Shut up. That’s just… unavoidable. Do you think shutting a window stops all the cold air from coming in?”

Karyan’s sarcastic comment made Khan chuckle lightly.

Yes, he understood. The enemy he would face from now on was such an entity. One that could easily interfere with a sanctuary established by a God of Karyan’s caliber, and moreover, a monster capable of destroying the entire world—one with such power and on the brink of executing such a deed.

And alongside that monster was the Supreme God of light, and the half-dead God of death, who, regardless of his condition, would pose a significant obstacle.

On their side, however?

A former royal with an unpleasant face, and a former overweight company employee were all they had.

“That should be enough.”

As they boldly opened the door and stepped inside, they were greeted by a long corridor, decorated to resemble a grand cathedral. Through the stained glass installed on the walls and ceiling, multi-colored rays of light descended.

Given that one of their immediate enemies was the God of light, they shouldn’t have even set foot in a hallway bathed in light. However, as if they had made a prior agreement, Khan and Karyan stepped forward simultaneously.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Do you think I’m really a barbarian?”

“There’s no barbarian as remarkable as you besides my apostle. You fool. So, what’s the plan? What grand strategy do you have to bring them down in one fell swoop? Let’s hear it.”

“You expect me to tell you for free?”

It felt like they were engaging in a light-hearted conversation.

There was no sense of tension between the two people walking down the corridor. It sounded like they were discussing tomorrow’s meal rather than a battle to prevent destruction.

“I’ll squash their heads, so you better use your brain.”

The remark wasn’t even funny, inducing a snicker.

“You just lost to me a moment ago.”

“This guy… Who said I—”

『Do not come closer.』

Their conversation was cut short by a voice resonating through the entire corridor.

『Karyan. My old friend, why do you refuse your given duty and defy the natural order?』

“Damn it…”

Who’s your friend? Karyan’s response, now gruff and annoyed, was somewhat different than usual. His furrowed brow and distinctly agitated tone clearly showed he was conscious of the voice’s declaration.

“I sent you away because you were someone who didn’t need to undergo my trial. Light and death seemed like mere extensions of you, so I just let you go.”

『You must have agreed as well.』

『That this world is distorted.』

『Therefore, didn’t you leave my message to that being from another dimension?』

‘The remnant’ likely referred to Mortalia from the last cycle, marking the end of an ancient civilization. The message was the monologue of Mortalia heard after passing Karyan’s trial. The being from the other dimension referred to Khan, the possessor.

“I never agreed with you. This world… I thought it was a mess, but I never really found it all that strange.”

『I can’t understand.』

『Karyan. My old friend.』

『Do not turn away from the truth. If anyone could see through the world’s truth, it would be you, along with my remnants. You must know that this world, where the set beginning and end repeat infinitely, is false.』

“So what if it is?”

The end of the corridor was not visible, but the two did not stop walking. They knew this sacred but useless corridor was like the final ultimatum of a mage.

The moment they faced the end of this corridor, the real battle would begin. Karyan continued this conversation with the mage, partly to let Khan hear it.

“People live without knowing that anyway. Even the so-called gods. Isn’t that enough?”

『Is it a tragedy or a comedy to live without knowing you’re an actor in a play? Can false freedom truly be called freedom?』

“That’s ultimately a matter of your perspective and mine. Mortalia. Ordinary people consider even the knights and mages we deem insignificant to be catastrophic plagues. They treat goblins, who we can crush with a mere finger, as if they were the embodiment of demons.”

What mattered most to them was tomorrow’s hunger.

“The secrets of the world? Those things are utterly useless.”

Silence returned. Was it borne of anger, or perhaps agreement?

『Being from another world, why do you seek to stand before me?』

『To you, this world must have been nothing more than a part of a playful game.』

『If that deceitful God promised you something, turn your back on them immediately. That impostor has no ability to grant your wishes.』

『If you truly desire something, stand by my side instead.』

Did Karyan deem conversing with her unnecessary anymore? Khan indifferently accepted the volley of conversation that had returned to him.

“Is your head scrambled because of chaos?”

How long had it been since he heard that Mortalia was the reason he was dragged into this wretched world? What? Stand by her side? There was no way that would happen unless he had completely lost his mind. It was not as if piercing a hole into her body would kill him anyways….

“I have no interest in your grand plans. It’s just that my past goal and my present goal align. That’s the only reason I’m following.”

『Goal? Wasn’t your goal to return to your original world?』

There was a time when it was like that. However, long before that – no, even now, there was a goal that hadn’t been abandoned. The goal to confront the primordial beings who had kidnapped him into this world, and personally beat them to a pulp with his own hands.

“So. Shut up and just make the door.”

“Ha, I like that tone. Arrogant descendant.”

『You shall achieve nothing.』

『The seeds of destruction planted by the primordial beings have already begun to bloom. Even if you could stop the full bloom of the seed.』

『It is already too late.』

Bang-! Kwang-! Boom──!!

The corridor they had been walking through collapsed, and the ground beneath their feet disappeared.

Of course, neither Karyan nor Khan were confined by such things. Naturally, as they stood on the thin air and looked up, they saw the mural painted on the ceiling.

A giant made of pure white light had torn off a piece of itself, and that piece flowed like a galaxy, forming a massive cluster of dimensions. In that cluster, countless dimensions coexisted, maintaining a distance from each other.

Creatures of various forms built civilizations in their own unique ways. Each independent dimension developed in its own distinct manner, and inevitably, at the peak of its development, began to observe entities of other dimensions.

Each dimension had its method. In one dimension, it manifested as a dream; in another, as a speculative novel; in yet another, as a form of religion.

And in some dimensions, it took the shape of a game.

‘Midland Quest…’

The contents of the mural did not end there.

The will of the world- an entity that named itself ‘Manager’ was certain that observing between dimensions would lead to the worst outcome.

The independent manager from the Giant of Light had a single purpose: to maintain the integrity of each dimension and prevent their collapse.

The manager transformed itself to hear the Creator’s command. The once beautiful and radiant Galaxy turned into something dark and murky, completely separating the dimensions.

“Void…”

The manager went further, eradicating over-evolved civilizations deemed unnecessary. It sought to eliminate variables detrimental to the survival of the dimensions.

It created catastrophes in the form of “Arch Demon” and rewound the time of any dimensions where uncontrollable variables emerged. These efforts of the manager appeared to bear fruit.

However, with each repetition of these attempts, the variables that escaped the manager’s control gradually increased. Repeated destruction, and then regeneration. Amid this cycle, beings began to appear, embodying the ‘Origin of the Creator’, much like the manager.

The primordial power inherent within the dimension had gradually leaked as it repeated cycles of destruction and regeneration. The ‘special entities’ that observed these cycles became new variables wreaking havoc in the subsequent timelines.

『Karyan. My old friend. Among them, you and I were the most special and dangerous variables.』

The God of Magic, Mortalia, spoke in an emotionless tone.

『We were the special entities that survived to the end within the endlessly recurring destructions. Having observed the destruction and regeneration of the world, we became more exceptional with each new life. And each time, this Midland fell into greater decline.』

The ‘primordial power’ granted to a dimension was finite. A dimension that lost all its primordial power could no longer regenerate. In other words, it meant complete annihilation.

『This is the end.』

A pair of wings, imbued with a radiant aurora of colors, spread out. Unlike the Mortalia with tentacled limbs seen in the Tree of Memories, this Mortalia, with the appearance of a breathtakingly beautiful woman, declared solemnly, as if radiating a real angel’s halo.

『This is the last chance.』

『With the remaining capacity of this world, only one more regeneration is possible. If we miss this chance, time will repeat, and we will face destruction again. Complete destruction.』

『So, I will ask one last time.』

The ominous sword shrouded in death, held in Mortalia’s hand, was directed towards Khan.

『Submit to the destruction.』

『If you do, we can gather all the primordial power of this world to forge a truly perfect world.』

At those words, Khan truly realized. The reason he had been dragged into this world. Why a great chaos had been burgeoning within his body.