Ch.1235What Kind of Monster Is This?

======[ Caliburn ]======

‘This…this is truly a monster.’

At the moment when Haschal was gauging the danger of Caliburn while concealing his killing intent, Caliburn was also observing and measuring Haschal.

Disposition, inner thoughts, intelligence, tactics, combat power, equipment. He was estimating and analyzing every factor that determines a warrior’s strengths and weaknesses, trying to clearly grasp just how dangerous she was.

And, though he didn’t show it outwardly, he was inwardly astounded.

‘Is this really just a human female barely over twenty years old?’

According to reports from his newly recruited subordinates, this monster’s age was at most around twenty.

Considering that it takes at least ten years for a human offspring to become a fully functioning adult, the actual period she had been building her strength as a warrior must have been only about 5 years.

Not 500 years, not even 50 years, but merely 5 years. In just 5 years, a weak human had become a monster with the power to split heaven and earth.

This rapid growth was beyond even vulgar expressions of amazement like “insane.”

This monster’s growth rate had long since transcended common sense, was clearly abnormal to anyone who saw it, and defied even the principles of the world.

At least, that’s how Caliburn saw it.

He was a demigod who had lived for over two thousand years, a warrior who had encountered countless powerful beings throughout his long life, whether as allies or enemies.

Not only after fleeing to Naraka to escape Heaven’s Wall, but also before that, when he walked the earth as the second-in-command of the Werebeast race.

‘How can such a monster exist? Is this even possible?’

But even after recalling all those memories, he couldn’t remember anyone who had gained such power at that age.

Even the Great Chieftain Menes, the strongest warrior of the Werebeasts, the Heaven’s Saint Saulite, the continent’s greatest Paladin Astraea, or the Shadow Queen Ceres hadn’t achieved such power at that age.

Even the universally acknowledged strongest demigod of the era, “The Warrior of Vengeance” Sigurd!

…Of course, that doesn’t mean they were weaker than the current Haschal.

Setting aside Saulite, who as a saint excelled at protection and healing rather than killing, even Ceres, who was vulnerable in direct confrontation due to being an assassin, was stronger than Haschal.

And her age was three hundred years.

Not thirty, but three hundred. It took a full three hundred years to attain that level of power. In fact, even that was an exceptionally fast achievement by demigod standards.

Yes. The powerful are not born overnight.

Heaven-bestowed talent, bone-grinding effort, battles enough to create rivers of blood, heavenly fortune enough to touch divinity, and above all… time.

A demigod powerful enough to qualify for ascension was a being that could only be completed when all these elements came together.

That was the way of the world. At least according to Caliburn’s common sense.

And that common sense crumbled the moment he directly faced the infamous “Winter Predator.”

‘By what means did you create such a monster, Elpinel? Even Sigurd was astonishing enough, but this is on an entirely different level!’

It was certain that Elpinel’s hand was involved. Just like two thousand years ago, when he prepared Sigurd as a sword to destroy the god of slaughter and war who was descending to earth.

However, this human female before him was a monster of a different caliber who would overwhelm even that Sigurd before reaching thirty, growing at an incomparable rate.

She must be a weapon that Elpinel, who failed to destroy Baltyr due to the betrayal of elves, werebeasts, and dwarves at that time, had prepared with all his might, grinding his teeth in determination.

But what price must be paid, what sacrifice made, to create such a monster that defies all principles?

For Caliburn, who was not an ascended being, it was difficult even to guess.

‘Dangerous. This, this monster will become a terrible danger in the future.’

And this monster, whose creation he couldn’t even begin to comprehend, clearly seemed to harbor hatred, hostility, or contempt for the Werebeast race.

He could be certain just by looking at her appearance. This monster regarded Werebeasts as livestock or wild beasts.

Otherwise, why would she appear at a meeting arranged for alliance negotiations wearing Werebeast fur clothing?

Unless it was only meant for headbutting, she couldn’t possibly be unaware that such an act was a serious provocation, the height of rudeness.

The outfit itself was already saying:

Once we’ve dealt with our common enemy, I plan to skin you and make a few new outfits, so wash yourselves thoroughly and wait—that’s what it meant.

In other words, this alliance was ultimately doomed to end in catastrophe, and for the future of the Werebeast race, this monster had to be eliminated somehow.

That had been his intention from the beginning, but seeing her directly like this only intensified his sense of urgency, making him want to advance his original plan considerably.

‘Swift and decisive action. That’s the only option.’

Since it was impossible to guess how much stronger she would become if given time, everything had to be concluded as quickly as possible. That was Caliburn’s judgment—no, his conviction.

‘I don’t know how much time we have left, but it probably won’t be long. So I need to get stronger as quickly as possible. Not just me, but the others too.’

Coincidentally, Haschal was thinking the same thing.

======[ Haschal ]======

The design and negotiation of the alliance treaty went smoothly, and the result was concise and straightforward.

First. When one side is attacked by an enemy, the other side must dispatch troops to provide support.

This was an extremely obvious clause. If you weren’t going to help when the other was under attack, why bother wasting time with all this trouble?

You could just make a non-aggression pact and quietly wait until the other side perished.

There was still room for discussion regarding the scale and selection of support troops, but support itself could be considered an essential part of an alliance treaty.

Second. Since attacking together without ever having coordinated would only cause confusion, when launching an offensive, only battle information would be shared, and the actual combat would be conducted separately.

The second clause was proposed by Caliburn and readily agreed to by me.

The pretext of avoiding confusion in battle was just an excuse; in reality, it was the result of mutual interests in not wanting to expose our forces or tactics to the other side.

The easiest enemy to defeat is not the weak one but the well-known one, and the most dangerous enemy is not the strong one but the unknown one.

Since both Caliburn and I intended to stab the other in the back when the time came, we agreed on wanting to conceal our strengths as much as possible until then.

Third. We would jointly face not only the Undead Duke’s forces but also the monster forces that were currently somewhat quiet.

This was a clause I strongly insisted on adding. Caliburn was openly reluctant but had no legitimate grounds to refuse it, so he had no choice but to accept.

“Monsters…? Those creatures corrupted by dark mana? Why should we concern ourselves with such things?”

“You said the undead are enemies of all living beings, so we should unite. How are monsters any different? They’re the same.”

Whether undead or monsters, they were all creatures hostile to life on the continent.

Both were vermin that needed to be exterminated, so what reason was there to distinguish between them?

For Caliburn, who had brought up the pretext that the living should join forces, there was no way to refute this point.

Fourth. After defeating all enemies, we would divide and rule the entire Naraka region in half, and maintain a mutual non-aggression relationship unless there were special circumstances.

The final clause was not about the alliance itself but about the future after it. An agreement to divide the conquered territories fairly and rule peacefully without fighting each other.

Of course, it was just a lie that would never be kept and that neither side intended to keep. Not just me, but surely this Caliburn was thinking the same?

From the beginning, there were many problems not just with the underlying intentions but with the content of the treaty itself.

Let’s say we annihilate the undead and monsters and divide the conquered lands equally. What exactly would be the standard for this equality?

Pure area? Geographical value and economic potential of resources? Contribution to the alliance’s victory? Military size or population?

No matter what criterion was used to divide the territory, one side would inevitably be dissatisfied. That’s just how territorial division works.

Moreover, that wasn’t the only problem.

Even the latter part about maintaining a mutual non-aggression relationship was meaningless once the phrase “unless there were special circumstances” was attached.

It essentially meant that one could stab the other in the back first and then come up with a suitable justification later.

In essence, this fourth clause was just meaningless talk added for appearance’s sake.

We will not be hostile to your forces even after this is over. We will divide the conquered territories fairly—

—such pleasant-sounding words meant only to lull the other side into a false sense of security.

At least Caliburn seemed to have proposed this clause with such intentions, and I thought the same, which is why I didn’t point out the obvious flaws and let it pass.

And so, an unprecedentedly sloppy and concise alliance treaty in the history of Naraka, consisting of only 4 clauses, was completed by mutual agreement.

And several days passed.