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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 335: Encirclement (1)
Creak.
Ketal tightened his grip on the axe and swung it in a diagonal arc.
Crash.
The world split apart.
A sharp gust of wind rose, slicing through everything within its range.
With a single swing of his axe, hundreds of demonic beasts were slain.
[Kaaaaah!]
[Krreeeek!]
Their bodies piled up, but even more demonic beasts surged forward.
Ketal crushed a demon's head in his hand and calmly assessed the situation.
'There are too many.'
The enemies were overwhelming.
They stretched out beyond the horizon, and even with his senses expanded, he couldn’t see their end.
Counting them was meaningless.
And they were strong.
Dozens of hero-class demons were present.
The number of superhuman demons and demonic beasts easily surpassed the hundreds.
Even compared to the forces of the surface world, their strength was evident.
‘Now I understand why it took gods to oppose them.’
Individually, they weren’t much of a threat, but in such numbers, the situation was different.
Particularly, the hero-class demons could injure Ketal, making them dangerous.
Right now, the full might of hell was focused on him.
It was literally the world itself.
The Tower Master and Helia were frozen in place, their expressions rigid.
Yet Ketal felt nothing.
This situation was no different from what he had faced countless times on the White Snowfield.
It wasn’t particularly special.
‘When I think about fighting swarms of billions of bugs, this is nothing.’
And in all those situations, he had emerged victorious.
That was why he was here.
Ketal coolly re-analyzed the situation.
‘There are a lot of them, but they’re not all that threatening.’
In the end, space imposed physical limits.
No more than ten could attack him at once, no matter how many there were.
And most importantly, the Demon Lords were not moving.
Even Caliste, who had clashed with him earlier, remained hidden.
For some reason, they didn’t seem to have the luxury to intervene right now.
And the biggest reason of all—
“Now, when I kill you, you actually stay dead!”
Ketal laughed, swinging his arm.
Three named demons had their necks snapped all at once.
“Guhh.”
“Argh.”
Their bodies collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
This was hell.
There was no space left for reverse summoning.
Death here was true and final, even for demons.
Ketal stepped forward and infused his step with mystery, crushing the earth beneath him.
Kuuuuung!
The ground rippled like waves, sweeping across the battlefield.
Ancient trees exploded in reaction, and over a thousand demonic beasts were buried under the debris, their bodies crushed.
A few demons, unable to respond quickly, were also swept away.
But the vacant space was quickly filled by more demonic beasts.
‘Killing them all isn’t practical.’
There were simply too many.
Of course, it wasn’t a problem for him, but it would be for the Tower Master and Helia.
There was no advantage in prolonging the fight.
‘What should I do?’
His mind worked quickly, guided by the instincts and judgment that had helped him survive in the hellish White Snowfield.
He reached a conclusion in an instant.
“Hoo.”
He steadied his breathing, relaxing his body and calming his mind.
He controlled his mystic energy.
He reinforced his body, ensuring no energy was wasted.
Even his aura was conserved.
“Die!”
Crack.
He grabbed a charging demon’s head and twisted it.
But this time was different.
Instead of killing it instantly, he shattered its limbs and struck its heart, rendering it unable to fight.
He then hurled the demon’s body toward the other demonic beasts.
Kuuuuung!
The demon’s body collided with the demonic beasts, forcing them to scatter instead of trampling it.
Since the demon wasn’t dead, the demonic beasts hesitated, creating a temporary gap in the encirclement.
Ketal seized the moment to regulate his breathing, slicing off the head of another approaching monster.
One patient demon thought it saw an opening and lunged at Ketal.
Above his head, it spread its hand.
“Seal!”
Kiiiiiing!
A black void appeared, trapping Ketal.
The demon burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha! I did it!”
The demon’s name was Lubonos, the Demon of Oppression—a hero-class demon with rank and power.
Using his authority, he had imprisoned Ketal, pressing down with all his might to amplify the oppression.
“I don’t expect to hold you forever! But at least, I’ll make you burn your strength!”
Creak. Creak.
The oppression intensified, pressing Ketal down with increasing force.
Lubonos believed no matter how powerful Ketal was, he wouldn’t escape easily.
But—
Crash.
A crack appeared in the black void.
A hand burst through, grabbing hold of the void and forcefully tearing it apart.
Tear.
“W-What?!”
Lubonos recoiled in terror.
He couldn’t comprehend how Ketal had broken free.
Using aura, Ketal had created a small fracture in the void, then gripped it and tore it apart with brute strength and minimal mystic power.
“Seal—”
Crunch.
Lubonos tried to imprison him again, but it was too late.
Ketal was already in front of him, and Lubonos’ head was torn off.
[Kruoooooh!]
From above, a flying crocodilian beast charged down toward Ketal.
His eyes glinted.
“Ooh! Leviathan!”
A hero-class monster.
It was a famous beast that had fought in the distant God-Demon War.
Leviathan crashed into Ketal with immense force.
Ketal laughed joyfully and clenched his fist.
Crash!
His punch smashed through the Leviathan’s body, reducing it to pulp.
The ground exploded from the impact, sending demonic beasts and demons flying.
“W-Where is he?!”
“Find him!”
The demons scrambled to locate Ketal, expanding their senses to pinpoint his location.
“He’s inside the Leviathan’s corpse!”
“He’s recovering his strength in there!”
“Kill him!”
The demons frantically tore at the Leviathan’s body, but its hero-class scales were extremely durable.
As a result, Ketal gained several precious seconds of rest.
The demons soon realized the truth.
Ketal was conserving his strength.
“Don’t let him rest!”
“Kill him!”
The demons abandoned all other targets, focusing entirely on Ketal.
Almost all of hell’s forces were now converging on him, giving the Tower Master and Helia unexpected breathing room.
“Ketal!”
They tried to gather their power to help him.
But at that moment, Ketal locked eyes with them.
In that gaze, they understood.
[…I see.]
Understanding Ketal’s plan, they slowly retreated into hiding.
The demons paid no attention, their focus entirely on Ketal.
They threw everything they had at him.
With minimal effort, Ketal fought back, conserving his strength.
Crack.
Another hero-class demon fell in the process.
From a distance, Caliste let out a dry laugh.
“What a monster.”
Even as hell itself attacked him, Ketal did not falter.
No, he advanced further, as though intent on slaughtering every last being in hell.
“Is this really something you can handle alone?”
"......"
The demon standing next to Caliste couldn't answer.
Its face had hardened into a rigid expression.
No matter how strong an individual may be, there were limits to their strength.
As long as they were a living being, stamina would be consumed, and their mystical power would dwindle.
Breathing would become ragged, and strength would inevitably fade.
Therefore, they decided to mobilize hell itself to surround and dry out Ketal.
The plan was perfect.
The problem was that Ketal's power exceeded their imagination.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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"...I know that he defeated Necronovix. But during that battle, Necronovix was already weakened from controlling his puppets. He wasn’t at full strength. Considering the strength Ketal spent in that process, I thought we could kill him..."
"That was a miscalculation. The name of the Demon of Calculation would weep."
"St-still, he's managing his power. It means he has limits to his stamina. If we have enough time..."
"Time. You know we don’t have that luxury."
Caliste narrowed his eyes.
"We don’t know when the heavens will move. For now, Abyss is holding them back, but it won’t last long. We need to deal with him before that."
The demons didn’t have much time either.
At most, they had about a week.
In that time, they had to kill Ketal.
But with Ketal’s current response, it looked impossible.
"He's surprisingly clever."
Caliste clicked his tongue.
He considered taking the Tower Master or the Saintess as hostages, but they were the strongest beings on the surface.
No matter how capable he was, if they decided to flee, it would take considerable time to chase them.
And in that time, who knew what Ketal might do?
After much deliberation, Caliste made a decision.
"There’s no other choice. Step aside."
"C-Caliste! But..."
"This is beyond your abilities. If we consider the plan, hell cannot afford to lose more power. Three demons of rank have already died."
"……."
The demon fell silent.
Caliste lightly stepped forward, and his figure instantly closed the distance to Ketal.
The sharp tip of his sword aimed precisely at Ketal's nape.
Ketal bared his teeth and moved his axe.
Clang!
The sound of blades clashing echoed.
Caliste quickly regained his stance and stepped forward.
His sword collided with Ketal’s axe.
Ketal grinned and asked,
"Weren’t you just here to watch?"
"Unfortunately, it seems hell alone cannot kill you. I can’t afford to hold back."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His sword moved, aiming for every part of Ketal’s body.
Ketal swung his axe in response.
But the blade never reached Caliste.
His sword moved in a bizarre pattern, deflecting every trajectory.
Rumble!
The shockwave spread everywhere.
Demonic beasts and demons recoiled in fear.
"You're strong!"
Ketal exclaimed with genuine admiration.
"You're strong in a completely different way than Necronovix! Just how much time have you spent on that sword?"
"A lifetime."
Caliste replied quietly as he lunged forward.
Ketal gripped his axe tightly and slammed it down.
Boom!
The ground shattered into pieces, and demonic beasts fell into the cracks, crushed to death.
Caliste twisted his body to dodge the attack and closed in on Ketal.
Ketal lifted his leg and delivered a powerful kick.
Caliste didn’t evade.
Instead, he moved his other arm to deflect the kick.
And then, with a gentle motion, he redirected the force entirely.
The power of the kick passed behind Caliste, crushing dozens of demonic beasts.
Thunk.
Caliste's sword sank deep into Ketal's abdomen.
Caliste had succeeded in wounding Ketal's body.
But his expression stiffened.
The reason was simple.
The sword, embedded in Ketal’s abdomen, was trapped by his muscles and wouldn’t come free.
"Got you!"
Ketal bared his teeth and clenched his fist.
Mystical energy filled his hand.
He swung his fist toward him.
While Caliste was undoubtedly strong, his strength came from his swordsmanship.
His body was that of a nameless, ordinary demon.
If that punch landed, his bones would be obliterated.
Caliste let go of his sword.
He relaxed his entire body and allowed the gust from Ketal’s punch to carry him.
His body flew through the air as if launched.
He landed safely with a controlled roll.
Ketal gave a sincere exclamation of praise.
"Perfect. I didn’t expect you to dodge without a scratch."
But it didn’t matter.
This was exactly the situation he had been aiming for.
Caliste’s assault had forced the demons and demonic beasts to back away.
And since Caliste had been flung far away to avoid the punch, Ketal now had room to breathe.
"Tower Master! Helia! I’m counting on you!"
"Gate of the earth, blessed by the divine!"
[Open! Dimensional Gate!]
A hum resonated as the Tower Master and Helia, who had been quietly gathering power, activated the gate.
Mana and divinity combined, creating a path from hell to the surface.
Caliste's expression hardened.
"Stop them."
"Kraaaa!"
"Keeek!"
The demonic beasts and demons charged forward.
Ketal, of course, wasn’t going to let that happen.
He gathered his remaining mystical energy and stomped the ground.
Crack.
Cracks spread instantly across the earth, and then the ground exploded.
"Uwaaah!"
"Kyaaa!"
The earth rose and fell like waves, collapsing into destruction.
Even demons of hero class couldn’t approach easily through the seismic destruction.
Caliste grabbed a weapon from a nearby demon and rushed in, trying to stop Ketal.
But Ketal didn’t sit idly by.
He no longer needed to conserve his strength.
Aura engulfed his axe.
Crash!
The beast-like blow shattered Caliste’s weapon.
Unable to deflect the unstoppable attack, Caliste had to back away.
Ketal grinned.
"That was close! Not bad!"
"……."
This power.
Caliste’s eyes narrowed.
"You were acting."
"As if a fight like this would tire me out."
Ketal laughed loudly.
His stamina was practically inexhaustible.
He had once fought nonstop for half a year in the snow wasteland.
A battle like this wouldn’t drain him.
"But those two couldn’t say the same."
He had intentionally minimized his movements and faked exhaustion to pressure the demons into focusing all their energy on him.
This had given the Tower Master and Helia enough time to gather their strength.
It had worked perfectly.
They had fallen for it.
"Seeing you move confirms it worked well!"
"You're cunning."
Caliste clicked his tongue.
Even he had been completely fooled by Ketal’s performance.
That was how convincing his act had been.
"I thought you were a simple bear, but you’re a clever fox."
"If I were just a bear, I wouldn’t have survived there."
Ketal laughed.
The White Snow Wasteland.
That horrific place didn’t let anyone live unless they clung to life itself.
Hum...
The path to the surface was nearly complete.
Demons frantically tried to stop it, but Ketal punched them away each time.
Finally, the gate opened.
"It’s done!"
"Come forth!"
"Then, farewell! Caliste, was it? You’re strong! It’s a shame we couldn’t have a proper fight this time!"
Ketal bared his teeth.
"So next time, let’s fight for real! With our lives on the line!"
"...I’ll be waiting."
His eyes glinted with a hint of madness.
Caliste felt a chill run down his spine but masked it as he answered quietly.
Ketal threw himself through the gate to the surface.
The gate closed behind him.
What remained was a ruined, desolate hell.
"Ca-Caliste..."
"We’ve failed. It can’t be helped."
Caliste shook his head and spoke.
"Prepare yourselves. The surface and the gods will soon come to hell."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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