Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 332. DLC (1)

The Demonic Realm had vanished.

When Maya Eldred’s spear pierced through the black sun, did the Arch Demon’s descent revert to nothingness?

No, it didn’t. Another factor had come into play.

Even after the black sun suffered a blow, the Arch Demon did not perish. Once again, it absorbed an unidentified power from somewhere. Yet, suddenly, that power was cut off as if it had never existed, and the Arch Demon vanished along with the Demonic Realm.

Most people were jubilant. Mourning for the countless deaths? Such thoughts didn’t even cross their minds. The scale of the deaths was simply different.

In battles where thousands perished and only hundreds survived, they might have grieved for their fallen comrades. They might even have been angry and poured out their resentment towards the monstrous enemy that had slain them.

However, this couldn’t be the case in this war. No, one couldn’t even call this a war. It was a cataclysm where humanity struggled to survive against a disaster intent on annihilating the world.

Tens of thousands of humans had been literally ground to death by the Arch Demon. Among those who survived, few were mentally sound, and even among those who were, most were physically impaired.

“Ugh, ahh…!”

“We survived! We’re alive─!”

How could those who barely survived not rejoice purely?

But.

There were undoubtedly those who couldn’t join in the celebration.

‘About two-thirds of the population had died…’

‘In essence, more than half of Midland’s able-bodied men had been wiped out. Even though extinction was avoided…’

‘Isn’t this damage alone already comparable to that?’

Most of those had been Bannerlords, war Mages, or held key positions in the Empire. They couldn’t even savor the joy of survival, being immediately burdened with post-war responsibilities.

It would be easier to think only of the casualties from the Demonic Realm, but…

The foul black sun had affected the entire continent, and just counting the victims gave knights a throbbing headache.

“… Is it really over?”

Ron slumped to the floor, looking around in a daze. It was because he was familiar with death. Not his own, but the deaths of many people swept away in the backdrop of events.

It was a sense naturally cultivated when one was with Khan, whose name was synonymous with catastrophe, and the same applied to their other comrades.

“Everyone’s intact, right?”

“… If you consider having an arm blown off and losing two toes intact, then yes.”

“Absolutely fine, Veil.”

“Shut up, Ron.”

The two mercenaries celebrated their survival with coarse banter.

“Is Lord Arkadnil all right?”

“… With his heart gravely damaged, even if he doesn’t die immediately, it will take a long slumber to recover his former spirit.”

Ron sighed at the permanent wound inflicted on the ancient dragon that soared through the skies of the Great Demonic Realm with him. Arkadnil had sacrificed himself.

Once – just like that time in another era when he burned himself to open the path to the Cradle of Void. For a young dragon named Natrix, he had braced for death.

“Tch. If he was old, he should have known when to step back. The Ancient Dragon probably acted knowing that.”

An elderly voice interjected with words that might have sounded somewhat insulting. However, neither Natrix nor Ron protested or showed anger.

“Anyway – we caught it, didn’t we? Isn’t that right, disciple?”

“…”

Nothing remained below the right elbow, and the left arm was torn below the shoulder. Called the Sword Master, the old man could no longer hold a sword.

Valken Leichtahp, the Sword Master, gazed at Lenair’s silence with a bitter smile.

“Still, it’s fortunate. Your skill has surpassed mine.”

Valken Leichtahp was the master of the Sword Mountain, holding a power just slightly below the peak of the empire. But his perspective differed slightly from a typical powerholder. Was it because he had lived for nearly a century?

That was part of it.

But that wasn’t the main reason.

“A great chaos will come. So many have died.”

He possessed power but did not seek it. However, with the sharp insight characteristic of those who have reached a certain level, he worried about another impending disaster the continent would face and thought about the countermeasures.

“If His Majesty hasn’t been entangled by the black sun, he would put forth a hero to stabilize the situation. And that selection would be…”

His disciple, leniar.

Two young mages named Ludmilla and Jan.

And the young apostles of the church.

They were young in age with exceptional strength, and they had shown outstanding efforts in handling the Arch Demon. No one could dispute this.

“The continent will be on edge, reacting to every single one of your actions from now on. Even a minor cough passing by could throw an entire city into a state of emergency.”

Valken spoke in a calm and experienced manner.

“Moreover, countless predators will come after the influence you wield.”

That would come regardless of their intentions. This was what Valken Leichtahp was most concerned about. There were too many who would try to exploit these young heroes.

Additionally, the factions they belonged to were each different. Though they had united in the face of the disaster of the Arch Demon, the royal family, the Sword Mountain, the church, and the Magic Tower had always kept each other in check while cooperating.

Unless there was some sort of focal point to bind them together…

‘It’s impossible to have a single entity strong enough to control even the transcenders who now have no rival in this continent by might.’

***

“Maya.”

Maya Eldred was looking up at the sky where the black sun had faded. Approaching her was Aries, wearing a holy armor that was barely glowing anymore.

“Khan?”

At the low question, silence was the only response.

Aries’s brows furrowed, perhaps because my response was sufficient.

“The Arch Demon was annihilated—”

“Perhaps by my lord…. No, I am certain.”

“Where did he go?”

“I did not…. hear.”

Like Aries, Khan did not reveal much to Maya. He only granted her power and authority. However, being in a divine and apostolic relationship, there were things she could sense rather vaguely.

“When the connection with my lord grew faint, the Arch Demon perished. And… I no longer feel his presence.”

The statement carried a rather shocking truth. If even Maya, the apostle, could not trace Khan’s presence, then no one on the continent would be able to.

At that moment, something appeared above them and cast a shadow.

Thud!

“There is no need to worry if it’s that child!”

It was the Great Warrior.

“He is strong! If he stepped into the battle by his own choice, he must have fought without a single regret!”

Naturally, his body was far from intact. Only his limbs were barely attached, and he had more than a dozen deep wounds that exposed his bones.

“To a warrior of Hoarfrost Gorge, death is not in vain!”

“Great Warrior, I do not believe that is the point of their conversation….”

“What do you mean ‘not the point’!”

Huffing and puffing, Yoro and other demons along with the head-bowed Beast God, who had followed in the Great Warrior’s wake, arrived. They also had shown significant prowess in the battle, which made Maya nod slightly even in her state of agitation.

“Lady Maya, you are an apostle of him, and Dame Aries is his former comrade. It is only natural not to wish for the death of their ally and friend.”

“Hmm!”

“Wouldn’t it be wiser for the two of you to calm down? Instead of wasting time here, isn’t it better to search for Lord Khan?”

“Demon—Yoro, was it? Do you have any idea where our lord might have gone?”

Yoro—no, the fake Scion of the Arch Demon who had subtly intervened in the battle in Esperus’ place smiled.

“When the false angel fell at the northernmost end, the void creature connected to the black sun also seemed to have gone back to sleep. It looks like there’s a need for some cleanup, and since the Great Demonic Realm will be completely extinguished soon, if you wait until then to head over there─”

Before Espelus could finish his somewhat prophetically ambiguous sentence:

“─Chaos?!”

Startled to the point of cutting off his own words, Esperus raised his head. The other transcendent beings on the battlefield did the same.

Even the ancient dragon Arkadnil, who had been sleeping as if dead, lifted his heavy eyelids.

『Chaos… is dispersing.』

Although an ancient dragon like him, with the vision of the dragon’s eye, could hardly be seeing an illusion, the sight reflected in Arkadnil’s eyes made him question if he was seeing a vision right before his death.

The chaos, which had flowed as if to devour the entire world, and had grown stronger every time the black sun swallowed human souls, was dispersing in every direction.

Not only was it scattering, but it was also spreading as a brilliant light. Arkadnil easily saw through the nature of that light.

『Those are the souls sacrificed to the black sun.』

Even though it was hard to believe what he saw with his own eyes, there was no way the analysis of his dragon eyes could be wrong.

Each light, which was brightly illuminating the Great Demonic Realm, gradually took on a distinct shape and began to return to the body, which could be called the home of the soul.

That majestic sight was not only visible to Arkadnil with his dragon eyes or the apostles who possessed the transcendental power of vision.

“What is that….”

“This might not be the right situation to say it, but it’s beautiful.”

Those who couldn’t overcome the madness of war and were having seizures, those who were groaning in pain from severe wounds, even those who were worried about the great chaos that would hit Midland later—all saw the soul lights spreading from the sky.

The lights flowed like a river.

Everyone was mesmerized by that mysterious sight and then realized:

This must be a miracle of God.

“O God…”

Whether a God existed to whom they prayed, whether there was a God who truly caused the river of light to flow, or if it was merely a natural phenomenon triggered by the death of the Arch Demon, none of these mattered.

They simply prayed.

They prayed that the dead would be revived, that the dark force which engulfed Midland would be dispelled, and that peace would return to the continent once more. They believed, or desperately hoped, that such a future would come to be.

*

*

*

The unprecedented catastrophe of the Arch Demon’s descent was brought to an end by the emergence of a new hero and the miracles of an unnamed God. However, even such an intervention could not prevent the chaos that was to follow.

While the river of light spread across all of Midland, reviving countless individuals, it could not resurrect those who had been physically killed inside the great demonic realm by the arch demon. In terms of sheer numbers, the proportion of those revived was indeed overwhelming, given that so many civilians had their souls absorbed by the black sun.

But the problem was….

“We lack military forces”, said the Emperor.

The emperor, who somehow seemed younger than before, straightened his bent back and flipped through the documents.

“The actual military forces perished, and most of those revived are not suitable for battle. There is nothing we can do about that”, he said with a small groan.

Emperor Friedrick had mobilized the entire Midland military to subjugate the Arch Demon. More than half of those forces had been lost inside the great dark force and could not be revived.

‘Isn’t it okay since all the nations’ forces were wiped out anyway?’ some might think. But the issue was far more complex.

“We are critically short of troops to handle the marauding monsters. The Three Pillars are doing their best to manage, but it won’t last long.”

It was practically impossible for a small number of superhumans to maintain order across the entire continent. Furthermore, the empire had committed the most troops to the great dark force, suffered the greatest losses, and held the largest territory.

In other words, the empire’s influence was in significant decline.

“… I wish I could just hand this damn emperor’s seat over already. Yes, I’m sick to death of it”, Friedrick mumbled.

“Your Majesty. You say so, but ultimately you don’t intend to relinquish the throne, do you?”

“There’s no one I trust enough.”

The Emperor thought of his blood relatives and the heirs of the electors’ families but soon shook his head. There was one decent candidate, but it was regrettable that he was a king of another country.

“Ah, speaking of which, the Half-Dragon King of Argon has requested an audience. He said he would come immediately if we give him permission…”

“Immediately? Ah… teleportation? Truly, the world has changed drastically.”

“It is astounding. Who would have thought that the young king would become a mage surpassing the Tower Master?”

Conrad, the half-dragon knight, shrugged his shoulders. The young king of the Argon Kingdom, Orion, who shared the nickname ‘Half-Dragon’, was currently known as one of the three great mages on the continent, alongside the heroes Ludmilla and Jan.

If someone had said that all these changes happened in just five years since the advent of the Arch Demon, who would have believed it?

“Is that so? It’s already been five years…”

Emperor Friedrick, as though reflecting on the impermanence of time from the name of King Orion, rubbed his eyelids and said,

“What about them? How are they doing now?”

‘Them’ referred to the current continent’s heroes and, essentially, the strongest beings.

“Well, as usual, I suppose. Should we be thankful for that?”

Conrad wore a bitter smile.

“They aren’t doing anything grand. The witch is still holed up in Northland, researching something. The Sword Demon is immersed in training all day in the Sword Mountain, as if possessed by something…”

“What about Maya Eldred?”

“She’s still there, in the place where the Great Demon Battle took place. You know, those beings from hell? I heard she’s doing something with them, but I’m not sure if there’s any progress. The apostles of the church must still be busy dealing with the monsters…”

Conrad recited the information he had received from his aides, unable to erase the bitterness from his face.

If it was information he knew, it must have already been reported to the Emperor’s ears.

Why would he feel the need to reconfirm information he already knew?

“Is it because of that barbarian friend?”

“……”

“Hmm. It feels quite strange, to know that a friend who disappeared five years ago still wields influence all over the continent.”

Gordi Khan.

Once a Great Warrior who resolved countless events across the continent and even earned imperial knighthood despite his barbarian status.

He had never reappeared after the battle against the Arch Demon, and five years had passed without a trace of him.

‘This isn’t the first time this has happened.’

The atmosphere differed greatly—no, vastly—from when he had previously fallen into Aecharis’ trap. The companions who had gathered around Gordi Khan—now hailed as heroes of the continent—had begun experiencing small and large conflicts among themselves.

Considering the power of their influence and individual strength, these disputes could not be taken lightly.

For instance, hadn’t the imperial situation swayed significantly when Leniyar, who inherited Valken Leichtahp’s position as the master of Sword Mountain, and Aries, who was hailed as the Saint of the Church, created a tense atmosphere in a public setting?

The factions following Sword Mountain and the Church were engaged in subtle power struggles, and even the Mage Tower, which tried to mediate, got entangled in the chaos.

“Ugh. I still get chills thinking about it—”

The person who had mediated the fight was none other than Conrad. Since it was a meeting of the empire’s key powerholders, he had no choice but to step in.

In other words, a single confrontation between two heroes had caused the Emperor’s guards to leap into action, the Three Pillars and princes to worry frantically, and the numerous factions within the empire to tremble with fear.

“…Let’s stop talking about this. We can’t keep the King of Argon waiting forever.”

The Emperor calmed Conrad, who was excessively shivering, and then summoned the royal Battle Mage.

Soon, a gaunt-looking Battle Mage infused mana into a crimson-glowing stone fragment.

It was a ‘Signal Stone’ created by the Half-Dragon King using the scales that grew on his own body. The artifact was designed to communicate directly with the Half-Dragon King himself, ignoring any distance constraints within the same dimension.

Vooooom—

Just moments after the Signal Stone began to emit its light, a handsome man burst open the space portal by piercing through the ancient dragon’s barrier spread across the royal domain, and smiled brightly.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”

“Long time no see. It seems your skills have advanced even further. I remember having to open the barrier for you before…”

“Haha. It’s not exactly like that.”

The handsome man, argon’s King and a half-human, half-dragon Arch Mage with the transcendental essence of a dragon. Orion bowed his head slightly with modesty.

“First of all, I would like to talk about the matter for which I have braved the discourtesy of visiting you….”

“Seems urgent.”

“It is such a matter. Do you, by any chance, remember Ron and Veil?”

“How could I not?”

Dragon Knight Ron and Spellblade Veil.

The former was a renowned guide who made a name for himself alongside Gordi Khan and flew through the skies of the demonic realm with his dragon.

The latter, as far as he remembered, had recently achieved significant accomplishments in both swordsmanship and magic.

“Why do you ask about them?”

“Those two have recently formed a group called the Ironhammer Mercenaries and have been exploring the uncharted lands of the continent. It seems they have discovered something.”

“…Uncharted land?”

How many places like that could exist now? The emperor immediately expressed doubt but then showed an expression of understanding.

There was only one place in the current continent that could be called uncharted–

“The Western Great Mountain Range.”

The mighty barrier that separated the Argon Kingdom and the lands beyond. King Orion, with a peculiar smile, reported an anomaly that occurred there.

“From that location, there seems to be a dimensional rift presumed to be connected to another world….”

***

“Mm. It won’t be easy to just dip our toes in, will it?”

“If you really want to die, why don’t you just let the monsters over there bite your head off?”

“That’s a hurtful thing to say. Especially between us.”

“Damn it.”

Veil, a young man who had his long hair tied back, muttered a curse as he approached the rift.

“The rift connected to the heavens is at the main headquarters, and considering I can’t sense any dark magic, it’s not hell either. What the hell is this…?”

He wanted to carefully infuse mana, but he knew there could be unpredictable consequences if he provoked it unnecessarily.

Though Veil’s skills were impressive enough not to bow anywhere, he lacked the capability to handle something as complex as dimensional matters.

Even his employer, King Orion, had shaken his head in resignation and given up.

“Give it up and rest. There’s a more suitable person for this. What’s the point in us making a fuss?”

“Will that person even come here? They’ve been holed up in Hoarfrost Gorge for almost five years now.”

“They will come. Absolutely. Because this might be a clue.”

A clue? Veil’s face stiffened slightly as he wanted to ask more.

“… You’re right.”

The reason why Ludmilla, one of only three Arch Mages on the continent and the creator of dimensional magic, had secluded herself in Hoarfrost Gorge was to find traces of Khan, who had completely vanished over the past five years.

“But is it really true? That person is not originally from Midland…”

According to what Veil had heard from Leniyar, who he ran into by chance, Khan was looking for the “dimension he originally lived in”.

The conflict over this issue between the saint of the church, Aries, and Leniyar, was a famous story among Khan’s companions.

“Who knows?”

Ron evaded the question with a vague response. But inwardly, he had already decided the answer a long time ago.

Of course.

‘No way that godly barbarian came from anywhere other than Midland. Impossible.’

If asked how confident he was about this, Ron would answer confidently. He could stake all of his precious, rapidly receding hair on it.

TL’s Corner:

Ron going bald now.