Ch.218218. Justice (1)

# Age of War

An era of countless small factions rising everywhere, fighting and falling daily—a literal age of chaos.

A time when human lives are meaninglessly consumed like expendables in the hands of the powerful, where morality and peace are treated as jokes and objects of ridicule.

In this chaotic world where one needs formidable strength to live with dignity, where might is everything and the words and actions of the powerful become justice…

A pilgrim from a northern tribe wandered the world without destination.

A pilgrimage to find the ultimate answer that would guide the world’s principles correctly, to restore righteousness to this chaos-filled world.

This seeker of truth and enlightenment had cast away all worldly wealth and glory to pursue enlightenment.

Naturally, embarking on a journey alone in this era was tantamount to suicide, but that only applied to ordinary people.

For the pilgrim, a warrior who had reached an exceptional level among the advanced ranks through self-discipline, most enemies blocking his path could be cut down with a single stroke.

Of course, having abandoned his one-handed sword that was his main weapon until he achieved enlightenment, the pilgrim now relied only on a wooden staff and a cowhide robe…

In truth, at the advanced level, proper equipment wasn’t much of an issue.

Even a staff too short to properly use as a quarterstaff and a thin traveler’s cowhide robe could become weapons incomparable to metal when infused with aura.

Anyway, the pilgrim, who made it his duty to wander aimlessly and perform good deeds, heard rumors one day about a mysterious monster while staying in the northern part of the continent.

The monster, resembling a typical werewolf but with an ugly face, had been sighted quite frequently near the village where he was currently staying.

Perhaps it was because these sightings included accounts of the monster tearing apart and devouring human bodies—something the virtuous pilgrim could not simply ignore.

Relying on these sightings, the pilgrim searched the surrounding area for the monster, and one day discovered a small farming village in the forest that reeked of blood.

“……”

Sensing something ominous, he hastened his steps while simultaneously infusing his staff with aura. Praying that nothing terrible had happened, he rushed into the village in an instant—

—CRASH!!

“…?!!”

The scene that greeted the pilgrim as he leaped over the palisade and entered the village was a tragic spectacle so horrific that even he, an experienced warrior, was somewhat shocked.

A village splattered with blood everywhere amidst horribly torn body parts, and in the center of this devastation with signs of destruction all around stood a red monster.

A gigantic werewolf-like creature, nearly 5 meters tall, covered in long red fur so thick that its skin was completely hidden.

The moment this monster, which had been chewing on what appeared to be the lower half of a human body, saw the pilgrim, it spat out the leg it was holding and swung its arm with incredible speed that seemed impossible for such a large body.

Arms impossibly long for a werewolf, with sharp claws at the ends. Its body structure, reminiscent of a troll, was something even he couldn’t have predicted…

THWACK—!!

Instead of predicting, the pilgrim moved by instinct and defended against the attack.

With his staff glowing blue from aura, he struck the inside of the monster’s wrist, pushing it away. Then, putting strength into his legs, he leaped forward, charging into the creature’s embrace.

Perhaps because the unexpectedly long arm had been deflected by the staff’s impact, or perhaps because the long reach came at the cost of difficulty in close-quarters combat…

Whatever the reason, the pilgrim didn’t miss the opening created when the arm was knocked away, and swung his staff, now shaped like a sharp blade with aura—

‘…What?!’

The sound that came when the staff struck the monster’s body was unexpectedly dull, momentarily confusing the pilgrim, but he soon noticed the trick.

Just before impact, the monster had puffed up its fur and infused it with aura, creating something similar to reactive armor.

But the pilgrim, who had no idea what reactive armor actually was, simply noted that this creature was cunning and calculating, while at the same time…

Somewhere in his mind, he found something odd.

Why would a monster of this caliber—one that could engage in close combat with him, a warrior ranked among the world’s finest—attack such a small farming village?

A monster that, if it wanted to, could conquer and plunder dozens of territories?

As he observed the actions of this monster that gave him such a strong sense of incongruity, trying hard to figure out what was wrong—just then.

AWOOOOOOOO!!!

As the suspiciously powerful werewolf monster charged with a howl, the pilgrim stopped thinking, raised his staff, and circulated the aura within his body—

—THUD!

Moments later, the werewolf monster with its skull shattered staggered briefly as if trying to move, but ultimately collapsed to the ground, never to rise again, unable to withstand the initial impact.

※ ※ ※

Immediately after defeating the werewolf monster by blasting away its head, the pilgrim, without even taking a rest, cut open its belly to check its condition.

‘…??’

First, he carefully cut open the belly with the small utility knife he always carried. After rummaging through the corpse for a while to examine its condition, the pilgrim discovered something strange.

This “strange thing” lodged in the giant heart of the werewolf monster was none other than what appeared to be a broken red fragment, like a piece of some sculpture.

Its bizarre appearance, unbelievable to have come from a living being’s body, and its alien material that even he, with his considerable knowledge, could not identify.

Moreover, this fragment emitted a powerful energy response of high density, undoubtedly something considered a “sacred power.”

Feeling uneasy about these three elements while observing the fragment, he suddenly had a strong conviction that if all these pieces were gathered, they would form “something.”

Though startled by this conviction whose reason he himself could not understand, after careful consideration, the pilgrim decided to collect these fragments.

After all, he would otherwise just continue his aimless wandering. Having such a purpose to guide his movements wouldn’t be so bad.

Furthermore, since this fragment was certainly not having a positive influence, it would be safer for him to carry and manage it.

After further dissecting the werewolf monster’s corpse, the pilgrim found traces of physical mutation caused by the fragment.

The circulatory system, including blood vessels centered around the heart, had strangely deteriorated, and various parts of the body were contaminated with something that appeared to be traces of alien magical power.

Therefore, carelessly destroying the fragment might lead to unforeseen consequences.

The possibility that someone might inhale the powdered fragment and turn into a monster could not be dismissed in the current situation.

‘…That way.’

Fortunately, there was no need to proceed forcefully just to find the fragments.

Holding a fragment in his hand allowed him to sense the locations of other fragments, albeit abstractly, and to infer their general direction and distance.

Since the pilgrim could easily traverse even the most rugged terrain, he collected fragments at a truly relentless pace, traveling from place to place.

Starting with the fragment hidden inside the second head of a Twin-Headed Ogre who had been the chief of an ogre tribe.

One from the corpse of a zombie dragon that was in an unusual state, one from a strange life form that could transform into his appearance.

One from an insect-human who went around butchering people covered in blood, one from a demon that had gained a physical body by fusing with a fragment.

One from an iron-skinned bull monster that breathed petrification, one from a lord who had executed countless criminals with merciless judgment.

Once, a fragment was embedded in a sword wielded by a Death Knight, requiring him to kill the advanced undead and its entire army to retrieve it.

After collecting a total of nine fragments and fitting them together, the pilgrim realized that these fragments originally formed a brick-sized mass, and that only one fragment remained to complete it.

And so, as the pilgrim headed toward the location of the final fragment, he finally discovered the ruin where it was located in a certain cave…

‘…Who is that?’

At the entrance to the ruin, the pilgrim encountered a mysterious man.