Wandering Mercenary in an Open World
chapter-60

Warrior of the Furnace.

That was the title given to those who survived the trials of the ‘Primordial Furnace’ without melting their souls.

It was not just a symbolic meaning. It meant that they endured the heat of the furnace. It also meant that they were warriors who could withstand the hammering of the god of the anvil and the flame, Duermyr.

As if he had plunged a red-hot iron into cold water, a faint steam rose from Ruon’s body. As his melted skin and dislocated joints recovered, he heard the sound of hammering in his head. Clang─clang─

His body began to burn with heat. Surrounded by the heat, Ruon clenched his fist without realizing it, feeling a hot power pulsing wildly inside him.

“You’re too late!”

Belducias did not quietly watch his change. The evil power of the great demon gathered in black lightning, tearing the air and making a loud noise.

Boom-!

But Ruon did not stand still until his body was fully healed. Before the lightning flashed, he broke the rock under his feet and started to charge. His eyes shone brightly.

His body and his amazing concentration began to restore their full state, and the artificial time lag began.

In the slowing world, Ruon saw the four lightning bolts flying towards him clearly. They were not just lightning, they were like giant creatures that twisted and changed direction according to the enemy’s movement.

They were terrible curses that chased him, exploded when cut, and still stunned him when blocked. They felt like inevitable disasters, but Ruon did not care and swung his sword.

─!

The split lightning exploded, and the condensed curse swept the surroundings like a fountain. A red circle cut through the hellish scene of water splashing, lime scattering, and corpses writhing.

The Ego Sword, spinning fiercely, pierced deep into the grotesque body of the great demon. Belducias screamed as his amorphous body twisted.

Then, Ruon kicked the ground and flew up, kicking the pommel of the sword with his heel. The Ruin, which had only the handle sticking out, sank deeper into the body, almost disappearing.

At the same time, he used the recoil to climb on top of the demon’s body and raised his fist high. His fist, glowing with a red light, drew an arc and fell like a meteor.

Crash!

The body, which was tangled with all kinds of races’ body parts, was crushed in an instant. Ruon swung his other hand towards the tentacles that appeared below.

A disgusting mucous substance splashed, and a terrible smell stung his nose, but he did not care. He gritted his teeth. Let’s finish this, you bastard.

At that moment, a stacked madness stabbed his head like a needle. Then, blood gushed out of his nose and mouth. Regardless, Ruon swung his arms in sequence, like a madman. He did not know how long the god of the blacksmith’s blessing would last. He thought he had to finish it without delay.

Of course, Belducias did not just let him do as he pleased. The corpses that bubbled up scratched Ruon’s body even as their limbs exploded, and the sinister tentacles wrapped around his limbs and counterattacked. Not to mention, an unknown and creepy curse poured out endlessly.

But Ruon’s tremendous attack power overcame all the resistance. As if to sublimate his boiling madness into rage, his fist, which repeated the back-and-forth motion with explosive momentum, glowed like a flame.

He smashed, crushed, shattered, and tore.

In the midst of the primal destruction, his body began to collapse without a pause. Belducias, who felt the crisis, roared.

“Get off me!”

Squeak-ya-ya-ya-ak!

Stacked screams, amplified curses, and shockwaves!

• • ··But they did not burst out. A huge arrow of light hit Belducias’ body and prevented the curse from activating.

Thud-

Igor, with a pale face, dropped the bowstring he held in his hand to the ground. He had somehow found the thing that Ruon had thrown in the midst of the battle. The priest, who was spewing blood, still muttered with his eyes wide open.

“…For…my mother’s…will.”

“Damn you!”

As the enraged demon’s curse flew towards Igor, Ruon, who had bought some time, thrust his clenched fist with all his strength. Clang! Flesh flew up and a sword was visible, deeply embedded under the severed tentacle. The red blade was glowing and screaming.

-Grab me!-

Ruon gladly answered the call. He shoved his fist into the tentacle and gripped the handle. He quickly got up.

Standing tall on top of the huge demon, which was about six meters high, Ruon raised his sword. He looked like a judge who was about to condemn evil.

[Devil Judge]

The moment the sentence engraved inside him shone brightly, Ruon roared fiercely.

“Belthucias!”

The red sword flashed under the dazzling light of the flickering source. The demon’s body was torn apart by the storm-like sword strike.

Belthucias shrieked.

“You worm!”

The demon’s torso, which had a complex shape of hands, began to collapse.

By just one human.

Ruon, who was cutting through the surface made of living corpses and the curled tentacles underneath, suddenly heard a loud heartbeat.

He didn’t need to look for the source of the sound. The thumping that came up through his feet clearly told him where it was.

“So you have a heart in that shape!”

Roaring savagely, Ruon spun the handle and gripped the sword in reverse, then slashed it down without hesitation.

As he repeated the motion several times, he saw a crimson heart beating fiercely under the shredded tentacles. It was a horrific sight, connected to the tentacles instead of arteries.

Despite all the interference and counterattacks, Ruon had finally found its heart. Belducius spoke through the mouths of countless corpses at him.

“If you destroy that, you won’t be able to survive, no matter how strong you are! This is not just a heart, but my… the accumulation of hundreds of years of resentment!”

So what.

Ruon ignored the worthless words and raised the sword he had clenched with both hands, muttering quietly to himself.

Ruin.

As if answering his master who had called his name, the runes on the blade shone brighter than ever.

He swung the Ego Sword to give the demon lord a fitting end with his own name.

Screech!

A chilling scream echoed through the cave from the mouth of the demon whose heart had been pierced. At that moment, a tremendous surge of darkness burst from the torn wound.

Ruon reflexively leaned back, but it was useless. The seductive darkness clung to his body and dyed his vision black.

“Ru… stay…!”

“…ing!.. collaps… start…”

He heard a desperate voice from afar. But he had no idea who it was. His sight was blackened, his ears were deafened, and he had no strength left to move a finger.

Ruon lost consciousness as he felt the boundary of his mind crumble.

***

There was a temple.

It was an impressive place with statues displaying dynamic poses, a majestic fountain with elegant charm, and a beautifully landscaped garden. The beautiful exterior was striking.

The large village formed around the temple was always full of vitality. It was hard to find any negative emotions on the faces of the people who smiled brightly. It was peaceful and serene.

Ruon, who had fallen in the middle of the village, looked down at his palm and then lifted his head. He saw the magnificent temple in the distance.

He muttered softly.

“Is this a scene from the past?”

Then, he saw a child running from behind with a laugh, tripping over a stone and falling. Ruon quickly reached out his hand, but the child’s body passed through his arm and hit the ground with a thud.

As the child’s eyes reddened from the scraped elbow, a tear like a chicken droppings was about to fall. Someone picked up the child in a flash.

“Hey, be careful!”

The child smiled broadly at the middle-aged man who smiled kindly.

“Belducius sir!”

What?

Ruon frowned, but Belducius didn’t seem to notice his gaze. He lightly ruffled the child’s hair. The child smiled happily at his touch.

“What were you in such a hurry for?”

The child held out his hand, which he had hidden behind his back, with a shy gesture. In his fern-like hand, there were a few wildflowers of unknown name.

“I was on my way to pray to Ganacus. I thought he wouldn’t listen to my prayer if I went empty-handed…”

Belducius asked with a warm smile.

“What prayer?”

“Well, courage! I’m seven years old, but I’m still afraid of under the bed. Last night, I had to pee, but I held it in. I was afraid something would grab my ankle… So I got scolded by mom. I couldn’t hold it until morning…”

The child wiggled his toes as if embarrassed. Belducius gently put him down on the ground and opened his mouth.

“It seems that Ganacus has already granted your wish.”

“Really?”

Belducius put his hand on the child’s elbow and continued.

“You didn’t cry even though it must have hurt a lot, did you? It’s clear that his courage has already taken root in you.”

The child looked down at his elbow, which had healed cleanly, and smiled brightly.

“If he’s with me, the demon hiding under the bed won’t be able to do anything to me, right?”

“Of course!”

Time flew by as soon as he finished speaking.

People moved at an incredible speed, leaving faint afterimages. Day and night changed in an instant. Flowers bloomed and withered, and snowflakes piled up on top of the fallen leaves.

Everything except Ruon changed with the flow of time. The most noticeable thing was the growth of the child who had wet the bed.

The child, who had grown up considerably, got up early like a rooster and tied his shoelaces tightly. He sneaked out of the house, careful not to wake up his parents who might be early risers. He blew his breath on his palm and walked to the temple.

Ruon followed him naturally, feeling the child’s thoughts and memories flow into him.

The child, who had grown up enough to be called a young man, was named Julio.

He went to the temple before the rooster crowed for a simple reason. He wanted to prove his sincere heart and become a priest of Ganacus.

The god of courage, Ganacus.

He was the lantern and the hope that protected him from his cowardice. That’s why Julio sincerely wished to become his servant.

Of course, the ‘demon under the bed’ was a vain imagination he had made as a child, but the courage that helped him overcome it was the only truth.

Julio went to the temple and headed straight to the chapel. And he was stunned. Belducius, who should always be there before him and pray, was nowhere to be seen.

It was strange. It had never happened in the past ten years.

“Where did he go?”

Julio went outside with an unknown anxiety. He wandered around the temple, and by chance, he found a place where the flagstone on the floor was flipped over. And the stairs beyond it.

Ruon, who quietly followed him, muttered to himself.

That’s the way we came in.

Meanwhile, Julio, whose anxiety had turned into fear, swallowed his saliva. What was that? His instinct was screaming at him to go back home, but he clenched his fist instead. He thought this was a golden opportunity to prove his courage to Ganacus.

Julio cautiously moved to the stairs. Feeling his way along the wall, he went down the stairs that he couldn’t see an inch ahead. His heart felt like it was shrinking, but he endured.

He couldn’t lose his courage!

Julio, who didn’t realize that it was recklessness, finally reached the ground. He found a huge iron gate and walked into it as if he was bewitched.

What is this place?

Enveloped in fear, he walked endlessly along the dark corridor. He finally saw a faint light in the distance. He ran towards it and collapsed at the sight of the unreal scene before him.

On the floor, there were filthy corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses.

And beyond them, a gigantic mass of flesh that looked like it was forcibly piled up. A hand?

Julio vomited at the sight that far exceeded the limit of his sanity. Someone slowly turned his head towards him.

“Hmm? What are you doing here, Julio?”

It was Belducius, who still smiled peacefully.

Leaving Julio behind, Ruon took a step forward and realized what point in time he had come to.

He knew there would be no answer, but he whispered softly.

“Belducius, is this the moment you rise as the demon lord?”