Ch.1267Why Are You Coming Out of There?

The next day.

We abandoned the ruined central outpost and headed back to Nastaria.

We split into three paths: the devastated land route, the intermittently broken waterway, and the underground passage for me who couldn’t venture out under sunlight.

If only the supply waterway had remained intact, we could have returned quickly, but the underground waterway we had painstakingly maintained was partially collapsed from the impact of falling rocks, making it barely passable.

As a result, we had no choice but to rely on the land route, which significantly slowed our marching speed.

“At this rate, it’ll take forever. I’ll take some quick troops ahead to assess the situation and report back. I’ll also deliver news about our situation.”

Unable to bear the frustration any longer, Ophelia van Sigmillus approached me during a brief rest period after a full day’s march and asked if she could go ahead with a small group.

“You want to split our forces? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I think it’ll be fine. Looking outside, it’s quite bright everywhere, and demigods can’t come out in that light, right? As long as we’re not ambushed, we should be safe.”

“If that’s the case. I’m counting on you. Be careful, just in case.”

After hearing her reasoning, I had no particular reason to refuse.

As Ophelia said, powerful demigods would be wary of the light from Heaven’s Wall just like me and unable to move properly.

They’d all be holed up in dark, enclosed places like underground or in the corners of ravines, like shut-ins hiding in their rooms.

So the possibility of encountering hostile demigods and being annihilated was slim, and as long as they didn’t meet demigod-level enemies, there shouldn’t be any danger.

I couldn’t imagine the current Ophelia being defeated by enemies who weren’t even demigods.

And then, another day later.

“Ophelia’s mana wave… disappeared?”

The faint mana wave from Ophelia that had been transmitting all day completely vanished, beyond even my ability to detect.

—-

Ophelia’s presence disappeared without a trace.

While it sounds like she was suddenly attacked and killed or went missing, that wasn’t actually the case.

‘How quickly did she move? She’s already beyond detection range?’

[Given the situation, she probably preferred to push through all at once rather than drag it out for days, so she could rest properly afterward.]

If she had clashed with someone, her mana wave would have intensified.

The fact that I couldn’t sense her presence simply meant that Ophelia had moved faster than expected and left my detection range.

She must have hated missing a few meals more than exhausting her mana.

Or… though she didn’t show it in front of me, perhaps she was genuinely concerned about the condition of our main force.

Well, either way, it wasn’t really my concern. With her thorough personality, she’d handle things well.

That’s why I didn’t attach any particular meaning to her disappearance and focused only on managing the soldiers’ morale as we followed behind her.

Another day passed.

“—It’s been a while. Median of Stars and Dawn, the variable from another world who has achieved transcendence.”

Until that familiar—not exactly familiar, but certainly unforgettable—voice reached my ears.

“The depth of your Karma and the quality of your divinity have changed remarkably. But you haven’t forgotten me, my voice, have you?”

“…Feirius.”

Alfodhr’s first apostle, the half-soul sorcerer Feirius Haransior.

On the third night of our retreat, the bastard I had desperately wanted to meet but who had hidden so well I couldn’t find him anywhere, finally appeared before my eyes.

“Let me tell you in advance, just in case—”

– Crack!

“…This body is a puppet made with half-soul magic, so breaking it is meaningless.”

Feirius—no, Feirius’s homunculus—whose limbs were torn off immediately upon appearing, becoming like a roly-poly doll, spoke while bleeding profusely, as if sighing.

He was telling me not to waste my energy since no pain would be transmitted to his original body no matter how much I mutilated the homunculus.

“I know that, you bastard.”

I spat at the homunculus as I trampled on its chest lying on the ground. His condescending tone with that sigh was extremely unpleasant.

Did he really think I couldn’t distinguish between a homunculus and its master?

How could I not recognize that after spending so much time with a grand sorcerer specializing in artificial soul creation and homunculus operation?

“Trash naturally fears the cleaner. And you’re the king of trash. As if you’d have the guts to face me directly.”

“Your insight has improved. Is it thanks to your enhanced divinity? By the time you ascend, you could become a philosopher.”

Look at this bastard mocking me.

“Enough, just spill what you have to say while you still have life in you. Why did you crawl all the way here? Surely you’re not suggesting we become friends now?”

“Friends…”

Feirius raised just the corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“That wouldn’t be so bad. How about a cup of tea?”

Should I just kill him?

“Cut the crap and tell me why you’re here.”

I growled, pressing down harder with my foot.

His ribs cracked and his chest caved in. If it weren’t a homunculus, it would have been instant death. Even as a homunculus, it wouldn’t last much longer.

“To give you answers.”

Feirius replied, blood streaming from his mouth.

“Answers? The only answer I want from you is where you live so I can hunt you down.”

“That’s because you don’t even know what to ask. Like all ignorant fools.”

…Did this bastard just call me stupid?

Hah, if this weren’t just a projection, I would have carved him up until he begged me to kill him. This is really annoying.

“Fine. If you’re going to waste time, just get lost.”

I slightly lifted my right foot that was crushing his chest, then stomped down hard again like stamping a seal.

A devastating blow that penetrated through his flesh, spine, and even the ground beneath.

The earth rippled and overturned, and what remained of his body was torn to shreds and scattered everywhere.

– Thud. Roll…

The only part that remained intact was his head with the cervical spine attached like a tail. Even then, his eyeballs had burst from the pressure, with vitreous fluid and bloody tears mixing and dripping.

“—Is that all? Your temper and rough handling remain the same as before.”

Somehow the soul was still connected despite his condition, and he continued talking through magic even though his throat and vocal cords were completely gone.

“Hah, all mouth even now.”

I nudged his head with the tip of my foot and drew Durandal, pointing it at him. Ready to skewer and stir him like a kebab if he uttered one more nonsensical word.

Only then did he say something of value.

“…Three-tenths of Naraka has collapsed. Don’t you want to know who’s responsible?”

“Responsible? Isn’t it you?”

“Of course not. If I had that kind of power, I wouldn’t have used it ‘that way.’ I’m not the one who destroyed Naraka’s wedges.”

“Then who?”

“A man you know well.”

Feirius moved his lips and conveyed his voice through magically generated wind, revealing the identity and intentions of the culprit behind this great collapse.

“An apostle who went insane after losing his master, a specter who spreads death throughout the world to fulfill an impossible wish.”

…Isn’t that half your self-introduction?

“The Death Demigod, Aurelius Garmerlic Pendragon. He and his legion are responsible for this great collapse.”

Death Demigod Garmerlic. Feirius uttered that loathsome name in a low tone, like a spy revealing classified information.

“That bastard again?”

This is getting really tiresome.

Like a childhood friend you dated for over a decade only to break up after they cheated, that name keeps coming back just when you’re about to forget, bringing back unpleasant memories.

At this point, I was starting to think that half of all the problems I’d ever faced were either caused by that bastard or had him involved as a backer.

The other half would be the fault of the one under my foot.

“He annihilated the giant tribe of Geirrod and resurrected them as undead, using that army to hunt down Naraka’s wedges one by one. Now he commands Naraka’s largest military faction.”

“Oh, really? So what was this undead warlord thinking when he suddenly blew away three-tenths of Naraka?”

“Isn’t it obvious? To fill both the surface and underground with death. For the glorious resurrection of his vanished goddess.”

According to Feirius, the great collapse that struck Naraka’s underground was one of countless atrocities Garmerlic committed to resurrect his goddess.

And it wasn’t just a one-time event—we were merely in a brief respite period, and the catastrophe could repeat anytime if needed.

“…So, I need to deal with him as quickly as possible, before he has a chance to repeat this madness. That’s what you’re saying.”

In short, if we don’t eliminate him during this respite, the remaining intact ceiling would soon come crashing down as well.

And probably, I was the only one who could fight and defeat the current Garmerlic.