Chapter 18 : How To Snap Someone Out Of It

Eden lightly swung his palm.

Smack!

The wizard who got hit—Fade—couldn’t even figure out what hit him.

It was far too solid to be just a palm.

Massive, thick, heavy.

And hot.

Fade collapsed to the ground, not even realizing he had muttered a monologue straight out of Berserk.

His mind went blank.

Drip. Drip.

His nosebleed dripped onto the floor in so many streams it looked like dozens, as he couldn’t keep his balance from the dizziness.

Eden looked down at Fade, who was lying on the floor, bleeding, and quietly fell into thought.

‘Did I hit him too hard?’

Eden’s overwhelming strength came with one minor flaw—he had trouble controlling it.

He had only meant to give a light tap to wake him up, but this frail wizard had crumpled like a goblin peeing itself in fear.

Eden clenched his iron-like palm a couple of times.

“Get a grip, will you?”

“Guh…!”

Fade looked up at Eden, tearfully.

Eden’s pitch-black eyes stared down at him, completely emotionless.

That lack of reaction struck terror into Fade’s heart.

Eden raised his palm again.

“W-Wait! I’ll talk!”

Should’ve done that from the start.

Eden squatted in front of Fade.

Because of their size difference, Eden still ended up looming over him.

“So. Who the hell are you?”

“I-I mean… uh…”

“From now on, if I ask a question and you don’t answer like a person, you get another slap.”

Fade wiped his tears and murmured,

“Cough… I understand…”

018. How to Snap Someone Out of It

Eden stared at Fade with a blank expression.

When he recalled how this wizard had sent a horde of corpses toward the village, and even used a barbarian’s corpse to attack him—being turned into a corpse himself would’ve been too kind.

“My name is Fade…”

“Who said I cared about your name?”

“I-I’m a wizard! I’ve been doing research in this area for about ten years! I was studying the resurrection of the dead, but the magic tower kicked me out because it wasn’t profitable, so I stayed here!”

As Eden’s brow slightly furrowed, Fade’s personal information came spilling out in a rush—from his age, to his hobbies, and probably even how he slept at night. Eden raised his palm again to stop the flow

“Eep!”

Fade flinched at the sight of it.

It looked like a spiked mace to him.

Eden thought back to the walking corpses of the villagers.

Resurrection of the dead, huh.

“What’s the reason you suddenly attacked the village?”

“W-Well, you see…”

Fade trailed off, nervously watching Eden’s reaction.

Slow learner for a wizard.

Eden flicked his jaw upward with the back of his hand.

“Gah!”

It was a much lighter hit than before, but broken teeth and blood spilled from Fade’s mouth.

He gasped and slammed his face into the ground.

Eden didn’t wait and grabbed him by the head, lifting it up.

When Fade saw his expression, he quickly shouted,

“T-The barbarian’s heart…!”

“…?”

What heart?

“I thought if I had one more heart of a barbarian with such vitality, I could make progress in my research, so when I saw the barbarian—no, teacher—staying in the village, I… I couldn’t help myself…”

In the short time since his profession changed from barbarian to teacher, Eden realized that this wizard hadn’t attacked the village for the village’s sake.

What the wizard had targeted was Eden’s heart.

Eden glanced at the body of another barbarian lying nearby.

The body had a large scar on its chest, in addition to the wounds Eden had left.

The heart of a barbarian.

It was a prized research material for wizards.

The heartbeat was several times faster than that of an average person.

That’s why barbarians tended to go around topless.

Eden asked Fade,

“The guy wasn’t some weak warrior who could be taken down by you. What method did you use?”

“…I heard he was afraid of fighting, so I approached him saying I’d teach him how to build courage…”

Fade hesitated and cautiously continued his explanation.

“To use that method, you first have to take the heart, the source of courage, out…”

Hearing the full story, Eden placed his hand on his forehead.

This guy probably needed a few more hits.

Eden stood up with a menacing air, and Fade, petrified, crawled to hide under Neb’s feet.

“P-Please, spare me! Please stop that barbarian! Please!”

However, Neb ignored Fade’s cries and continued inspecting the fallen barbarian’s body.

“Hmm… So that’s how it was. I thought something was off about the direction.”

Fade froze at Neb’s words.

“This magic must have been difficult from the start. It doesn’t seem to have been created with the ‘complete resurrection’ purpose in mind.”

Neb muttered as he rolled up his sleeves.

“Well, still, this much should be possible.”

His voice was full of confidence.

It was hard to believe these words were coming from someone who had complained all day about walking.

Eden’s eyes widened.

A blue light shimmered around Neb’s fingertips.

Then.

With the composure of a conductor leading an orchestra, Neb casually traced his fingers through the air.

Following his movements, a transparent light trail left a shimmering arc.

…It was magic.

Something that couldn’t be explained by physical laws.

Eden, who had the profession of a barbarian, could not wield such miracles.

Wondering why Neb hadn’t used magic like this before, Eden quietly watched.

The result was astonishing.

Above the fallen barbarian’s body, the transparent form of him appeared, resembling the man in life.

“…!!”

Fade’s face, swollen from his earlier blows, was filled with shock.

It wasn’t the resurrection of a body as Fade had studied, but it was impossible to call this anything but a ‘resurrection.’

-…?

The barbarian, who had reappeared, seemed to assess the situation, glancing around.

When he spotted Eden, he gave a sly grin.

He looked like a cheerful, handsome guy.

Eden felt a little uncomfortable because he looked more like a barbarian than he did.

Anyway, the barbarian raised his hand, as if to give Eden a high five.

In a slightly muffled voice, the barbarian greeted Eden.

I am Gordon of Torgard.

Torgard, the homeland of the northern barbarians.

Eden recalled the setting from the game Ascending Hero.

The barbarian’s way of greeting.

It was like a noble introduction.

With a brief pause, Eden grabbed Gordon’s hand in the air.

“Eden Cheon of Seoul.”

Maybe I should’ve said Anyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Eden briefly thought as he tried to match strength with Gordon.

Despite the fact that it was clearly just the soul remaining, Eden could still feel a clear sensation through his hand.

The two’s arms shook, their contest of strength was like an arm-wrestling match in midair, comparing their powers.

Of course, Eden was the winner.

“As expected, you’re strong. You won.”‘

Gordon didn’t even check his arm that had been knocked aside.

His greeting was a clumsy one, but Eden felt a kind of nobility in it.

Gordon’s form vanished into the air again.

“…Thank you, great warrior.”

He left only those words.

Eden felt a strange emotion.

Talking to the dead.

Meanwhile, Fade, who had been watching the entire scene, creaked like a broken machine.

“…How? Something I couldn’t achieve in 10 years of research, you did in an instant…”

His face was even more dazed than when he was slapped by Eden.

He muttered to himself, laughing softly, staggering about in a daze.

‘Is he losing it?’

Well, it would be enough to drive someone mad if they’d been alone in a cave, handling corpses for 10 years.

Eden didn’t pay much attention to the frustrated wizard.

He slowly reacted to the event that unfolded with Fade.

“So it’s true… Heh. Did I predict this moment all along? If I’d known this was going to happen, I would’ve given up long ago…cough.”

Fade took out an old piece of parchment from his pocket.

With eyes full of life, he stared at Neb.

His eyes were bloodshot with burst blood vessels.

“…Thank you! You’ve made me give up, you damn things…!”

“What nonsense are you spouting…”

Before Eden could even finish his sentence, Fade collapsed onto the ground.

In an instant, he transformed into a ghastly form, resembling a skeleton.

Then, the air around them shifted.

[······.]

Eden gripped his axe.

He felt an ominous sensation.

His heart pounded, and his back felt cold.

Suddenly, something appeared above Fade’s head.

[Hmm… the scent of this fragrant despair.]

It was an incomprehensible presence.

[Sweetness, no matter when consumed. Time of harvest, only 9 years, 7 months, 18 days, and 22 seconds.

An outcome beyond expectations. Very, very satisfying.]

The entity, shaped like a large circle, was filled with darkness, like a hole in space.

In the center, a pair of red eyes emerged.

[The method for imperfectly passing on impossible magic. It seems to be quite efficient. Record completed.]

The darkness continued to mutter to itself.

Eden knew what this entity was.

It was a monster that harvested the negative emotions of intelligent beings and found joy in those emotions.

“A demon.”

Upon hearing that voice, the demon’s round eyes in the darkness moved.

[Who?]

Eden felt an overwhelming presence, as if the entire cave had filled with pressure.

It was like being deep underwater.

But Eden didn’t show any signs of it.

[Another intelligent being. A pleasant encounter. Do you want something? I will grant your wish. I will show you the way. If you make a certain promise and pay the price.]

The demon seemed unable to fall from the dead wizard, its eyes moving alone to look in Eden’s direction.

‘Has only part of it appeared here?’

Eden deduced that from the demon’s gaze. The demon hadn’t noticed Neb’s presence, as it hadn’t spoken.

In an instant, Eden considered ‘another way home’ but quickly erased that option from his mind.

A demon.

The creature that appeared as a boss in Ascending Hero.

A being that finds happiness in the pain of intelligent beings.

Even if the demon’s words were the true answer, Eden had no intention of listening.

Thinking of Fade’s last moments made that decision even clearer.

[Waiting for a statement. No need to fear. A honest contract. If you want something, I’ll grant it—.]

Eden interrupted the demon’s words.

“Your life.”

[······.]

“What I want is nothing more than that.”

The demon, whose voice had been monotonous, grew silent.

Its red eyes traced a long arc.

Laughter.

The eyes were laughing.

And from within the darkness, dozens, hundreds of other eyes appeared.

All of them were focused on Eden.

[Mordellan City.]

Had its time run out?

With those words, the demon vanished.

Eden realized that the demon’s answer referred to the location of its true body.

Was it misfortune, coincidence, or fate?

That place wasn’t as far as he thought.

And so.

Only Eden and Neb were left in the cave.

Suddenly, Eden asked Neb a question that had popped into his mind.

“By the way.”

“Hmm.”

“Why do demons still exist in a world where gods are clearly present?”

Eden couldn’t understand.