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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 338: All-Out War (3)
Just before Ketal arrived at the Demon King’s Castle, a mighty hero had already reached the place.
His name was Alejandro, a Swordmaster of the Hero class.
He turned to the mage standing behind him and asked,
“Have you delivered the message?”
“Yes, I’ve informed the Tower Master! They should arrive soon!”
“Good. So this is... the Demon King’s Castle.”
Alejandro gazed up silently.
The castle was not particularly large, comparable in size to a regular human fortress.
But from within, he could feel an overwhelming and terrifying power.
Alejandro understood—inside that castle, demons were waiting for them.
“This is ominous. We can’t act rashly. Take defensive positions until the others arrive.”
“Yes, sir!”
They hastily arranged themselves into formation.
The Demon Lord Castle showed no response to their actions.
Alejandro frowned.
“So they’re waiting for us to make the first move. How cautious.”
“They have no choice,”
A voice suddenly responded, calm and cold.
“Our goal isn’t to kill you.”
“...!”
Alejandro instinctively drew his sword, infusing it with a flickering aura.
Without hesitation, he swung it toward the source of the voice.
An attack from a Hero-class warrior, powerful enough to rend the world itself.
Clang.
But it was effortlessly deflected.
The immense power dissipated completely.
“Well, it seems I’ll have time to deal with the early arrivals,”
The dry voice remarked lazily.
A demon swung their sword nonchalantly.
Alejandro felt a sharp, lethal force approaching his chest.
His eyes widened.
“Ack—!”
“Alejandro!”
At that moment, his allies threw themselves toward the demon in desperation.
The demon moved their sword again, as if bored.
Swish.
A single swing.
With that, their heads fell, cleanly severed.
Despite their superhuman strength, they couldn’t even respond.
But their deaths were not in vain.
It gave Alejandro just enough time to retreat.
“You… you…”
Alejandro’s eyes trembled.
The demon had been right next to him, yet he hadn’t noticed.
The demonic aura was so faint that it made detection nearly impossible.
And the display of swordsmanship—like a miracle.
There was only one being who could wield such skill.
“The Demon of the Sword… Caliste.”
The Lord of Hell who had nearly killed the Tower Master and the Sun God’s Saintess.
Alejandro chuckled bitterly.
“Well, this is quite the honor. I guess retreat isn’t an option… is it!”
Crunch.
In an instant, Alejandro’s body moved forward, closing the distance to Caliste.
Logic dictated that he should retreat, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
The reason was simple.
How could he miss the chance to fight against the pinnacle of swordsmanship?
He was a Swordmaster of the Hero class.
A man consumed by the sword.
Alejandro gripped his sword with both hands and struck downward.
There was no trace of carelessness in his movements.
He was ready to counter any action Caliste might take.
But Caliste simply raised his sword.
As the descending blade approached, Caliste swung.
Alejandro’s eyes widened.
“What?”
His sword was cut cleanly, like a rotting branch.
Caliste’s sword didn’t stop and continued its path.
Alejandro frantically tried to respond, but Caliste took a single step forward.
That single step completely neutralized Alejandro’s movements.
Death loomed.
‘What the—!’
Alejandro’s mind raced, desperately trying to figure out how to evade.
But—
Swish.
His head soared into the air.
The Hero-class Swordmaster, who had spread his name far and wide and trained hundreds of disciples, died just like that.
“On my way here, I saw corpses.”
Headless bodies with no other visible wounds.
“One of them was a face I recognized. Alejandro, wasn’t it?”
A Swordmaster of the Hero class.
During a journey across the continent to stop Necronovix, this person had challenged him to a duel.
While busy and unable to accept at the time, they had promised to duel if they met again.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise. Was it you who killed him?”
“Alejandro, was it? His name didn’t leave much of an impression,”
Caliste muttered indifferently.
The attack of a Hero-class Swordmaster was so insignificant to Caliste that it was barely worth remembering.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re what’s important.”
Caliste stood slowly from their chair.
“The Abyss blocks the interference of the gods. Meanwhile, Materia is preparing the Demon King’s descent ritual.”
At present, Caliste was the only Lord of Hell who could act.
“If you defeat me, the gates of the Demon King’s Castle will open.”
Caliste, the final gatekeeper of the Demon King’s Castle.
“But if you fall to me, the gates will remain closed.”
RUMBLE!
Power exploded around them.
The forces of Hell and the surface clashed with their lives on the line.
“If you defeat me, we lose. But if I kill you, we win.”
“A battle for the fate of the surface and Hell.”
And that fact thrilled Ketal.
He was now standing in the climax of a fantasy.
His heart raced, and his emotions were clear on his face.
Gripping his axe tightly, Ketal exuded a fierce fighting spirit that seemed to envelop the surroundings.
Seeing this, Caliste smiled faintly.
“Well then…”
“Let’s do this!”
BOOM!
Ketal launched himself forward, far faster than Alejandro had been, swinging his axe down with immense force.
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The power to cleave mountains and split oceans was in that swing.
A force too great for Caliste to endure.
But Caliste neither dodged nor retreated.
Instead, he raised their sword toward the descending axe.
When the axe and sword collided, Caliste’s blade moved in a strange manner, perfectly deflecting the force contained within the axe.
Clang!
As a result, Caliste held their ground without budging an inch.
Ketal quickly recovered and swung his axe upward.
Caliste’s sword rotated smoothly, flawlessly defending again.
Ketal let out an honest exclamation.
“Your swordsmanship is still miraculous!”
A tremendous force, neutralized with sheer skill.
Ketal knew exactly what he was witnessing.
‘Softness overcoming hardness.’
The epitome of this principle.
Ketal had seen it in fictional stories where wooden swords deflected steel blades.
But experiencing it in reality was awe-inspiring.
Clang, clang!
Ketal’s axe moved fiercely, but Caliste’s graceful sword movements blocked every attack.
After a series of clashes, Ketal noticed Caliste’s intent.
“You’re focusing on defense. I suppose it makes sense—your goal is not to kill me but to guard this entrance.”
“Our goal is the Demon King’s descent,”
Caliste replied calmly.
“I don’t really need to risk my life fighting you. If I could, I’d throw everything aside and go all in, fighting to the death... but I’ve already failed. I can’t afford to be stubborn.”
“That’s unfortunate. But I can’t move based solely on my personal desires, either.”
Ketal’s eyes darkened, and aura began to gather around his axe.
Caliste frowned.
“...The power of the Monstrosity.”
The power of the Abomination.
It annihilates all things.
Unless one has some exceptional defense, like Necronovix’s, surviving it is impossible.
Ketal took a step forward, accelerating in an instant as he swung his axe, aiming to cleave Caliste into pieces in one blow, defenses and all.
But Caliste didn’t retreat.
As always, he raised his sword.
The axe, imbued with Ketal’s aura, collided with Caliste’s sword.
CRASH!
Ketal’s eyes widened.
Despite clashing against the aura-filled axe, Caliste’s sword didn’t break.
With a smooth motion, Caliste diverted the force of the axe and moved to slash at Ketal’s stomach.
“Whoops!”
Ketal twisted his body, narrowly dodging the attack, then quickly leapt backward.
Caliste raised an eyebrow, surprised.
“You managed to evade even in that situation. Impressive reflexes.”
“...It didn’t break.”
Caliste’s sword, which had clashed with the power of the Abomination, didn’t have so much as a chip in its blade.
“So that’s your weapon, then.”
“My sword.”
Caliste was the demon of the blade. His power was contained in a single sword.
“This sword, imbued with the power of severing all things, is as strong as my will.”
As long as Caliste’s will didn’t falter, neither would his sword.
Even a power that could kill everything couldn’t extinguish Caliste’s unyielding resolve.
Ketal chuckled bitterly.
“You’re still not as useful as I thought.”
[Shut up. If I had my original power, I’d snap that sword like a twig. It’s your fault for being lacking.]
The Abomination spat in annoyance.
Ketal let out a hearty laugh and withdrew his aura.
“Well, this isn’t going to be that easy, huh? Looks like I’ll have to overpower you directly.”
“Come at me.”
“Here I go!”
Ketal took a step forward.
The axe moved relentlessly, carving dozens of trajectories within a single second, aiming to rip his opponent apart.
It carried a power beyond monstrous.
Even those who prided themselves on being of hero-class strength couldn’t endure it.
Not even the defensive magic of the Tower Master could withstand it for long.
But Caliste didn’t retreat.
His sword moved smoothly, redirecting and deflecting the axe’s strikes, flowing with the torrent of overwhelming power as if untouched.
CRACKLE!
Caliste scraped his sword against the axe, dispersing its force, and turned it into a counterattack aimed at Ketal’s throat.
Ketal swung his axe to parry, but Caliste’s sword didn’t bounce away.
Instead, it clung to the axe blade like a magnet.
Ketal’s eyes widened further.
“Oh?”
He raised his arm to shake off the sword, but it wouldn’t budge.
Caliste pressed in closer, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
SCRAAAAPE!
The sword slid down the axe blade, aiming for Ketal’s hand.
“Whoops.”
Ketal let go of the axe, narrowly avoiding the slash.
The blade grazed the axe’s shaft as Ketal clenched his fist and swung it at Caliste.
Caliste lowered his posture and used the flat of his sword to block the blow.
BOOOOM!
The sheer force pushed Caliste all the way to the castle’s front gate.
With a flick of his wrist, he steadied himself.
“What monstrous strength. Even the God of Strength himself might not be able to match you.”
“Thanks for the compliment!”
Ketal grabbed his falling axe, putting strength into his shoulder.
He took a step forward and hurled it with all his might.
THOOM!
The spinning axe flew toward Caliste.
At first, Caliste prepared to dodge, but then he realized something—he was standing in front of the Demon King’s castle gate.
He couldn’t dodge; otherwise, the gate would be destroyed.
Yet blocking it head-on seemed impossible with such overwhelming power.
So, Caliste extended his sword.
CLANG.
As the spinning axe collided with the tip of the sword, Caliste twisted his body.
He slid his blade inside the axe’s trajectory and gently redirected its momentum.
Ketal’s eyes widened further.
The axe, spinning violently, changed direction, flying in a new arc.
Caliste completed his spin and thrust his sword forward again.
The redirected axe flew toward Ketal with the same ferocity as before.
Ketal extended his hand and caught the axe handle.
WHIRRR!
Unable to fully absorb the force, Ketal was pushed back.
He paused, standing still for a moment, before letting out a dry laugh.
“What... is this?”
Caliste had manipulated the flying axe’s trajectory, preserving its immense power and sending it back at its original wielder.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, it was hard to believe.
Attempting to replicate it would have been impossible.
Ketal couldn’t help but be impressed.
And at the same time, he realized:
“I won’t be able to break through you with brute strength alone.”
Sheer force wouldn’t overcome that sword.
His usual approach wouldn’t work.
He briefly considered using a spell, but an unfamiliar power against such a skilled opponent seemed unlikely to succeed.
After a moment of deliberation, Ketal looked at Caliste with an odd expression.
Depending solely on a single sword, mastering technique and skill to stand against overwhelming foes...
‘It reminds me of my old self.’
Forgotten memories resurfaced.
In that case...
“Let’s see if I can go back to the basics.”
Skill against skill.
Ketal adjusted his grip, holding his axe closer to the handle.
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