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Chapter 326: Necronovix (3)
Boom, boom, BOOM…
As the remnants of power gradually settled, the sight of the ground became clear.
There, Necronovix lay embedded in the earth, a massive axe lodged in its chest.
“Alright,”
Ketal muttered, pulling the axe free.
From the cracked chest, a surge of dark energy spilled out.
Necronovix stirred, trying desperately to muster its strength.
The malevolent energy flickered like a wavering flame, attempting to rise but failing.
It dispersed like a candle in the wind, snuffed out.
Necronovix let out a bitter laugh.
[I can’t even muster strength anymore, huh? This hasn’t happened since the Great War of Gods and Demons.]
“You did well,”
Ketal replied, pulling the axe over his shoulder.
His own appearance was far from intact.
Half of his skin was peeled away, revealing a grotesque and raw form underneath.
One of his arms was stripped of flesh, with patches of exposed bone.
But he was standing, and Necronovix was not.
[I’ve lost.]
Necronovix admitted defeat at Ketal’s hands.
[I thought I could win. You’ve never truly mastered the power of the Abomination. Without it, you’re strong, but not as overwhelming as I expected.]
Necronovix had relied on the assumption that if he could counteract the power of the Abomination, Ketal would lack any extraordinary abilities beyond sheer strength.
And yet, it was Ketal who prevailed.
[You didn’t even borrow the power of the Abomination.]
The terrifying explosion of the Abomination, capable of wounding Materia itself—Ketal hadn’t unleashed it.
Instead, he wielded its power in the form of pure aura, controlled with perfection, and secured his victory.
Now Necronovix understood: Ketal was strong enough to defeat him even without the Abomination.
“You weren’t at your best either,”
Ketal remarked lightly, sheathing the axe.
Necronovix had expended much of his strength controlling his puppets and ensuring the Tower Master couldn’t escape.
This forced him into close combat with Ketal, a disadvantageous situation for a dark magician like himself.
Even so, Necronovix quietly acknowledged:
[Even if I had been at full strength, the outcome wouldn’t have changed.]
The malevolent energy that defined Necronovix’s existence began to dissipate, his form slowly unraveling.
[Death… so this is what it feels like.]
The power of the Abomination—it was a force that killed everything, even concepts themselves.
Not even Necronovix, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, could escape its reach.
[So… this is death.]
An ancient demon, born with the race of demons itself.
From the wars of the ancient ones to the Great War of Gods and Demons, Necronovix had endured.
And now, here, he was dying.
[Hah, hahahaha. So this is what death feels like. I’ve ended countless lives, but this is the first time I’m experiencing it myself. Ah… I see. So this is it.]
Closing his eyes briefly to embrace the sensation of death, Necronovix then opened them and turned his gaze to Ketal.
[You… are our calamity.]
With those final words, Necronovix’s body vanished, his remains scattering into the sky and fading into nothingness.
Vwoooom.
A wave of power swept through the world.
In that moment, all the strongest beings on the surface—those deemed heroes—felt it.
And it wasn’t just them.
In the heavens, struggling to reconnect with the mortal world, and in the depths of hell, working to block the heavens’ efforts, everyone felt it: a terrible evil had been eradicated.
The Abomination murmured quietly.
[You’ve won.]
“You sound dissatisfied,”
Ketal noted with a smirk.
[You never used my power to the end.]
“I wanted to try with my own strength.”
[Tch.]
The Abomination clicked its tongue, earning a chuckle from Ketal.
“What’s this? Are you sulking because I didn’t rely on you?”
[Shut up. As if.]
The Abomination denied it immediately.
[I just… my pride took a hit, that’s all. Even in my prime, I couldn’t easily kill that thing, yet you did without my help.]
The Abomination’s pride had been wounded.
“Well, it’s done now. That wretched creature is gone, and that’s what matters.”
“Exactly.”
Ketal laughed lightly, walking away from the site of destruction to where the Tower Master awaited.
[Cough, cough.]
The Tower Master was half-dead.
It was to be expected—maintaining a barrier strong enough to contain the devastating forces unleashed in the battle had taken its toll.
“Are you alright?”
[No, not at all. I overexerted myself trying to sustain the barrier. My life vessel has cracks. I might die.]
But his efforts weren’t in vain.
A battle of Ketal and Necronovix’s scale would have shaken the entire continent, perhaps more.
Thanks to the Tower Master’s control, the destruction was limited to the immediate area.
The Tower Master, having barely stabilized his internal injuries, rose to his feet.
[So… you won?]
“I won.”
[Necronovix… is dead?]
“He’s dead,”
Ketal replied calmly.
The Tower Master let out a small, incredulous laugh.
[You actually killed him.]
The origin of all dark magic.
A primordial demon said to have been born alongside the Demon King.
Necronovix was dead.
[I can’t believe it. It feels like a dream.]
Even though it was undeniably good news, it was difficult to process.
Shaking his head, the Tower Master steadied himself.
[This is a tremendous victory. Thank you. Because of you, the world isn’t doomed.]
“I’m part of this world too. It’s only natural,”
Ketal replied with a faint smile.
The Tower Master didn’t doubt his words.
[Let’s return.]
The Tower Master opened a portal, revealing Serena, anxiously waiting on the other side.
When she saw Ketal, her eyes widened in shock, and she ran to him.
“K-Ketal! You’re seriously hurt!”
“I can still move. Give it two days—I’ll recover.”
“I-I felt the surge of energy earlier. That…”
“I won,”
Ketal nodded.
“Necronovix is dead.”
Serena gasped.
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“…It’s true, then.”
“You worked hard holding off Necronovix’s puppets alone. Get some rest.”
“N-No. Compared to you, Ketal, I didn’t do much… Really, you’ve done so much more.”
Serena stammered in reply, her eyes still filled with confusion.
Realizing she wasn’t in a state to hold a proper conversation, Ketal told her to rest.
Next, Ketal visited the infirmary, where the barbarians lay wounded.
“Oh, oooooh!”
“Our king!”
Upon seeing Ketal, their eyes widened, and despite their injuries—severe enough to be fatal—they struggled to rise and approach him.
Ketal clicked his tongue and waved them off.
“Stay down.”
“Ah, aah…”
“Yes…”
The barbarians reluctantly lay back down.
After observing them for a moment, Ketal spoke.
“Where’s Thomas?”
Present were the gruff barbarian Greta and the female barbarian Anna.
Thomas was nowhere to be seen.
Greta replied calmly,
“His injuries were severe. He died.”
“…I see.”
Ketal clicked his tongue.
Necronovix was strong; even barbarians could die.
He had known that.
Still, the barbarians themselves likely wouldn’t care about such a fact.
Even Thomas, the one who had died, would have been more pleased to have died following Ketal’s orders than afraid.
Ketal knew that all too well.
As if to prove his thoughts, Greta’s eyes sparkled as she said,
“To die following the king’s command! What an honor! I wish I could die like that, too!”
“Don’t die.”
To barbarians, their lives were worth as little as the snow covering the frozen wastelands.
But that wasn’t the case for Ketal.
Thomas had been a barbarian he had watched grow since childhood.
It didn’t sit well with him.
Sensing Ketal’s somber mood, Anna cautiously spoke.
“Um… My king?”
“What is it?”
“A-Are you disappointed in us? I’m so sorry!”
“What?”
Ketal blinked, perplexed by the sudden question.
But the barbarians were genuinely nervous, anxiously watching for his reaction.
“…Ah.”
Ketal realized something.
The two didn’t think Ketal was upset because of Thomas’s death.
No, they believed it was because they had failed his orders.
Ketal had commanded them to capture Necronovix, but they had not succeeded.
Assuming this failure was why Ketal’s mood had soured, they were fretting.
Understanding this, Ketal chuckled.
“You’re truly exasperating creatures.”
“…We’re sorry!”
“No, it’s fine. That’s not the reason.”
Though he reassured them, the barbarians still looked uneasy.
With grim determination, Greta asked,
“T-Then… Should we return?”
Ketal had given them a condition: If they defeated Necronovix, all the barbarians would be allowed to leave their frozen lands and follow him.
But they had failed that task.
Ketal nodded.
“Yes, you should. Once your wounds heal, return immediately.”
“Ah, ah…”
“Ah…”
Despair washed over their faces, as if the world had ended.
After watching them for a moment, Ketal spoke again.
“For now, rest back home. I will come to you.”
“…Huh?”
“What?”
Their eyes widened.
Ketal’s next words left no room for doubt.
“Once matters outside settle, I will come find you in your lands.”
“…O-Ohhhh!”
“Our king! Truly?”
“Yes.”
Leaving the jubilant barbarians behind, Ketal stepped outside.
The Abominaiton murmured in disbelief.
[You’re really planning to go back there? You loathe that place.]
“There’s no choice.”
The barbarians had risked their lives to help him.
Without them, he’d probably still be struggling to chase down Necronovix.
They had done something for him, so he needed to repay that.
Ketal sighed.
“I’m going to end up making a homecoming I never wanted.”
He figured he could greet them and leave quickly.
Even so, it didn’t make it any less unpleasant.
The next day, Ketal met with the Tower Master.
The Tower Master, upon seeing him, muttered with exasperation.
[You’ve almost fully recovered.]
Ketal’s injuries were severe beyond words.
Half his body had been burned, and one arm had been shredded.
For an ordinary person, these were lifelong injuries.
Yet, within just a single day, fresh skin had grown, and his tattered arm had returned to its original state.
Ketal remarked casually,
“To survive in that place, you need at least this level of recovery ability.”
[This doesn’t seem like mere recovery, but fine. It doesn’t matter now.]
What mattered was something else entirely.
Ketal sat down in a chair.
“I’ve killed Necronovix.”
The demonic overlord of hell had been vanquished forever.
“What do you think will happen next?”
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