Ch.676Are you really human?

The impregnable capital of Dane, Edricsa.

The capital’s residents, who had been enjoying their peaceful daily lives without even hearing about the Ka’har invasion of Dane, trembled with shock and terror.

“Good heavens, what is that…?”

“The royal palace…!”

The inner castle of Edricsa, towering high on the hill, shook with screams.

First engulfed in flames like a fallen comet, then a dark red beam stretching across the sky, and now even a sideways storm. A disaster with power far beyond any magic they had ever known was tearing the royal palace to pieces.

– Rumble!

The ground shook. Part of the hill beneath the palace collapsed with a thunderous roar, like a landslide. The resulting avalanche of earth and stone crashed down like a tidal wave, crushing buildings below the hill.

A wave of mass that no wooden structure could withstand even for a moment. Some of the defense forces rushing toward the palace were swept away by collapsing buildings, screaming as they were torn apart.

“Monsters! Monsters have appeared!”

“Run away!”

The entire capital fell into chaos. The residents, who had believed death would never come for them, lost their reason in terror and ran in the opposite direction from the palace.

“Back! Get back, I said!”

“Damn it, we can’t advance like this…!”

A flood of people filled the streets.

The Edricsa defense forces tried to calm the residents and push through to the palace, but just as a wooden fence cannot hold back a tidal wave, their voices could not stop the panicked citizens of Edricsa.

The defense forces couldn’t very well cut down the citizens they were sworn to protect with their swords, and even if they did strike down those at the front of the crowd, they would only be trampled by those following behind.

“Argh! My arm, my arm!”

“Rebels! These bastards must be rebels!”

“Kill them!”

Some citizens even mistook the sword-wielding defense forces for hidden rebels and beat them to death.

Defense forces would never swing swords at citizens.

Those men swung swords at us.

Therefore, they must not be defense forces but rebels.

It was an absurd leap in logic, but the citizens in panic were beyond rational judgment and didn’t question their own actions at all.

Blood stained the alley walls.

The defense forces, far from advancing toward the palace, had to do their best just to avoid being killed by the citizens.

“Damn it…! Knights, jump onto the rooftops! Use the roofs as stepping stones to advance! Defense soldiers, stand by! Follow after the citizens have evacuated!”

In this regard, knights were better off than regular soldiers. They were unlikely to be injured even if attacked by frenzied citizens, and they could bypass the crowded streets by leaping across rooftops toward the palace.

—-

Hrafn, watching the commotion from a distance, sighed.

“Did that woman go to assassinate or to invade? It seems like the latter to me.”

Whether she had misunderstood the instruction to fly into the palace as an order to smash it, or had intended this from the start, she had crashed into it like a comet wreathed in flames.

Now she seemed intent on leveling the entire inner castle, causing phenomena close to natural disasters and plunging the whole city into shock and terror.

Thanks to her, the Edricsa defense forces couldn’t enter the palace, but even if that had been her intention, it was an absurdly excessive method.

“…Perhaps to Ka’har, those two words meant the same thing.”

Frigg shared his sentiment. Even she hadn’t anticipated such chaos.

They say that where the Empire’s First Sword draws her blade, only ruins and debris remain—and the rumors proved true.

‘She said she would signal the timing to breach by collapsing the palace walls after killing Ragnar… but by then, there might not be any walls left.’

The storm that was grinding away entire sections of the palace didn’t seem like the “signal” Haschal had mentioned. Unlike the ignorant commoners, she had an idea what that storm was.

The Lance of War’s Beginning. It was the power of Volberg that she had seen many times before. Though the power and scale were on a completely different level from what she remembered.

“Was Ragnar really that strong? Even Ceylon of the Golden Seal, the Holy State’s strongest Paladin, wasn’t this powerful.”

“Do you think I knew he was capable of this? I don’t know what his intentions were in hiding such power.”

“Whatever his intentions, it’s clear they weren’t benevolent.”

Hrafn, Frigg, and Knut beside her frowned as they watched the inner castle spewing thunderous noise.

Knights who had transcended the realm of Masters and entered the new domain of “Heroes.” A power equal to or greater than theirs was swirling there.

What Knut felt witnessing this scene was anger.

If he possessed such power, why had he never once used it until now?

With that power, he could have protected countless kingdom citizens from Ka’har raids, and could have exterminated the frequently appearing monsters without sacrificing troops.

‘Did he think King Hestein would be wary of him? No, that makes no sense. If he harbored such ambitions, he’d had plenty of opportunities.’

If Ragnar Lokan had intended to kill Hestein and his children to take the throne, King Hestein would have been assassinated long ago. After all, Hestein trusted Ragnar completely.

Only one answer came to Knut’s mind.

That man, Ragnar Lokan, simply couldn’t be bothered. Great power comes with great responsibility. The moment he revealed his strength, he would be summoned everywhere and forced to lead the protection of the kingdom’s citizens.

That’s why Knut was furious.

Even Aishan-Gioro Haschal, who had been close to a maniacal murderer, had been fighting tirelessly to protect Imperial citizens since being accepted into the Empire.

Yet this man, a member of Dane’s royal family, had hidden his power because he found the duty of protecting Dane’s people troublesome.

That was proof that Ragnar valued the lives of Dane’s people less than insects.

‘Ragnar…!’

Just as when he had faced Haschal a year ago, Knut glared at the collapsing palace with indescribable fury.

With Hrafn and Frigg’s gazes fixed on the palace, no one noticed that Knut’s body, trembling with rage, was now surrounded by a shimmering gray haze.

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

In a state of heightened perception where time seemed to slow, I stared at the nine streams of storm approaching me.

The flow of the swirling currents, the destructive power contained within the storm, was vividly clear as if I could grasp it with my hands.

Feeling both an eerie sense of danger and thrilling excitement simultaneously, I unleashed without reservation the heroic power dwelling in my body that transcended humanity.

– Crack!

The ground beneath me shattered in concentric circles under the pressure. The steel armor I wore creaked and groaned. Strength far beyond human limits. Even the air trembled and wailed.

My first battle with a powerful opponent since my fierce fight with Orhan. I had already grown stronger than I was then.

“Kyaaaah!”

I swung my sword, converting the heat in my chest into a roar.

A sword strike that tore through the air.

The Lance of War’s Beginning that collided with my blade burst into pieces.

One.

A crimson whirlpool wrapped around my left hand that had released the sword hilt.

I thrust my fingertips toward the center of the second storm, releasing the blade of murderous intent intertwined with Frosting.

The whirlpool of Karma of Murder that erupted sliced through the Lance of War’s Beginning and scattered it.

Two.

I leapt, kicking off the ground.

– Boom!

As if hit directly by a battleship’s main gun, the earth beneath my feet disintegrated as my body shot upward.

Two streams of storm, having lost their target, ground up the debris on the ground before dissipating futilely.

Four.

The twelve tentacles controlled by Hersella became twelve spears, piercing toward the Lance of War’s Beginning that was chasing me.

The whirlwind of holy light and the spears of Karma of Murder collided and canceled each other out. Blood-colored fragments scattered in all directions.

Five.

Four storms remained.

I held Durandal’s hilt in my teeth to secure it, and stretched out both arms toward the Lance of War’s Beginning converging from both sides.

[ ᚲ ] [ ᚺ ]

“Kenaz, Hagalaz-!”

A fierce stream of fire like a dragon’s breath incinerated the approaching storm, and the Lance of War’s Beginning approaching from the left was shattered with a thunderous explosion.

Two left ahead.

I spewed Karma flames behind me and charged toward the approaching storm.

The reclaimed true sword gleamed like the blue sky.

“Is this all you’ve got-!”

A blue-silver arc cut through the atmosphere. Once, then again. Endlessly.

The overlapping vacuum blades became a massive shell and shot forward. Like a giant’s fist striking down toward the earth.

The Lance of War’s Beginning that collided with the invisible powerful shell broke like a toothpick and ruptured.

The aftermath of the exploding power swept in all directions, scattering thunder and lightning.

“You’re breaking through all of them?! Are you even human?!”

Ragnar shouted fiercely in disbelief as he hurriedly dodged.

The next moment, the destructive shell that had shattered the Lance of War’s Beginning pulverized a corner of the royal palace.