Wandering Mercenary in an Open World
chapter-82

A creepy laugh leaked out from the cold helmet. Then, the witch spoke in a heavy voice.

“Yes, it’s Imrek. The descendant of the giant who crossed the Cloransis mountain range, the warrior with an unyielding heart, the owner of the rune hammer that terrified his enemies, and the being who received the attention of the stars and the heavens.”

So what?

Ruon ignored the witch’s words that listed someone else’s achievements as if they were her own. He kicked the ground and rushed forward. His ego sword flashed.

The long sword left a vivid red trail as it faced the giant’s hammer handle that was lifted up. Sparks flew as the two weapons collided.

Ruon quickly spun the dagger in his left hand and stabbed it at the opponent’s side. The giant couldn’t react to the combination that used the blind spot of his vision. Or rather, he did, but by then the blade had already pierced through his thick armor.

Ruon put more strength into his hand to cut off the opponent’s innards in one breath, but he felt a strange repulsion that pushed the dagger away.

He swiftly retreated from the huge resistance and a long shadow loomed over his head. Soon, a thud sound followed by the hammer dropping.

At the same time, Ruon lifted his long sword.

Boom!

The floor couldn’t withstand the dreadful force and caved in, forming a large circular pit.

The giant retrieved his swung hammer and gripped it with both hands. He said,

“How about that? An amazing physique that doesn’t lose to you. You wouldn’t understand the hard work I put in to make this.”

Ruon snorted.

“Why should I care?”

He adjusted his posture to sever the head of the babbling guy from his body. Then, he heard a fierce howl from behind. It was Nightmare.

Heeheehee!

The black horse ran towards him with an explosive momentum and stopped by his side. It had some cuts and wounds on its body, probably from getting involved in the fight on the way.

But the black horse didn’t seem to care about that. It didn’t take its eyes off the giant who stood like a mountain in front of him. There was an unmistakable agitation in its eyes.

The giant tilted his head.

“What’s this? According to Imrek’s memory, that’s his horse, no doubt… I don’t understand how that’s possible. And it looks like a nightmare. What on earth happened?”

Ruon felt a sense of incongruity from the opponent’s words. But his legs were ready to charge at any moment.

“You’re not the one who killed Imrek?”

The giant’s body twitched noticeably as if he hit the mark. His behavior, which didn’t suit his colossal appearance, seemed to show that he was nothing but an evil witch who wore the shell of a powerful warrior of the era.

He said,

“What does that matter? In the end, the soul of the Thunder King came into my hands.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter.”

Ruon’s figure blurred as he finished his words. He closed the distance like an arrow released from a bow and slammed his clenched fist into the opponent’s head. A fierce growl came from inside the dented iron helmet.

The giant turned his head back to its original position and swung his arm with full force. Then, the hammer wrapped in lightning flew at him with a deafening noise.

Ruon bent his upper body to let the attack pass over his head and stabbed his dagger in his fist at the opponent’s thigh. The blade pierced through the thick armor like a piece of paper, but it couldn’t go any further as it was blocked by the skin that was inexplicably hard.

So he made a choice. To put more power into it.

A snake-like vein bulged on the angry muscle and the blade finally penetrated deep into the giant’s thigh.

Crash!

A sharp lightning bolt struck Ruon’s chest at the same time. He flew far away like he was hit by a dump truck and crashed to the ground, smashing the outer wall of a nameless building.

Gehan clenched his teeth and glared at Ruon, who spat out blood-stained saliva as he quickly got up.

“You pierced even the scales of the dragon. What a monstrous strength. Are you truly the slayer of the great demon?”

He tore off his helmet, which was twisted beyond recognition, and threw it to the ground nervously.

His face, finally revealed, was horribly grotesque. Thin scales of turquoise color covered his skin, and his teeth were sharp like a shark’s, gripping his gums.

The most chilling thing was his eyes, which burned red. In the space where one pupil should have been, there were three of different sizes, crammed in and rolling in different directions.

Grrr-oh-oh-oh-oh!

Gehan let out a rumbling roar. It wasn’t just a sound of frustration, as his body changed shape at an incredible speed.

A horn pierced through his forehead, and his left hand, which was not holding a hammer, twisted and withered. His whole hand was covered with dark red flames, his nails grew long, and his five fingers merged into one, forming a huge spear.

As if that wasn’t enough, his wings split open, and blood dripped from the membranous wings that unfolded in a strange sight. Ruon frowned at the sight. That was just a disgusting monster, not an imrek or anything else.

A filthy witch bastard.

The meeting of the slayer of the great demon and the thunder king? A scene that transcended time? It was all nonsense. What he saw before him was nothing but a repulsive beast, nothing more, nothing less.

Purr-

Then Nightmare nudged Ruon’s shoulder with his forehead. He smiled faintly at the black horse’s eyes, which looked at him with a determined expression, and climbed on his back.

He saw the monster slowly rising into the air, pushing away the dust around him. Lightning crackled on his right hand’s hammer, and his left arm, which had mutated strangely, writhed wickedly.

The monster, which looked like the vanguard of death crawling out of the abyss, opened his mouth.

“Brave warrior, who accomplished a glorious feat. From today on, there will be no one to praise you. Instead, everyone will fear the birth of a new great demon.”

Ruon gripped the hilt of Ego Sword with both hands, without backing down, and kicked Nightmare’s flank lightly. He said,

“Let’s go.”

***

Bang!

Kyle frowned at the loud noise that came from afar, but he didn’t turn his head stupidly. He didn’t have the time for that.

He deflected the sword aiming at his face with his shield and stabbed his Arming Sword into the empty space. But the opponent seemed to have anticipated it and quickly backed away, pulling his sword.

“Your mind is all over there.”

“Shut up.”

Kyle tilted his body to minimize the exposed area and positioned his shield under his eye to protect his body. His knees bent naturally and he hid his Arming Sword behind his shield so that it was not visible from the opponent’s position. It was a perfect posture made by bone-grinding effort and outstanding talent.

“No gaps.”

The man muttered softly, and his mouth grew sharp teeth. A sinister aura began to swirl around the longsword in his hands.

“Enough chatter. Paladin.”

The man, who seemed to have grown a foot taller, swung his sword down with all his might. Kyle blocked the attack, which was much faster and heavier, with his shield and moved his step to the side, deflecting the blow smoothly.

Clang-!

The longsword shattered the stone and dug into the ground. As the man quickly twisted his waist and arm to swing his sword sideways, a light flew from somewhere and hit his face.

“Aargh!”

He screamed in pain and threw his head back. Kyle pushed his shoulder and stabbed his sword into his chest.

He was about to finish him off by raising his shield, but he realized that the man’s face was already smashed and dropped his arm.

“Kyle! Are you okay?”

Kyle kicked the corpse and said,

“This is nothing compared to Ruon. It’s just a kid’s play. I bet I could have done it without your help…”

Igor ignored his words and lowered his posture. He grabbed the man’s face with one hand and a light flashed under his palm. Black smoke flowed out.

“To damage not only the body but also the soul… How far do you intend to insult the dead?”

The priest’s eyes glowed with anger, and Kyle swallowed his words and looked around.

“Where are the other two?”

Grrr!

A loud roar was heard. Then the outer wall of a building that looked like a restaurant was shattered, and a muscular man rolled and tumbled from inside, reaching Kyle and Igor’s feet.

The man’s neck was torn to shreds, as if he had been eaten by a huge beast.

“…Just in time.”

“Strabo is carrying someone on his back.”

As the two muttered in turn, a huge beast approached, spitting out the flesh it was chewing on.

“What? Is there something on my face?”

Meanwhile, Tarwen jumped to the ground and said,

“That was fun.”

Kyle asked her, looking at her butt that she was patting.

“Tarwen, what’s going on? That dead guy over there said he was Hella.”

Tarwen nodded at his words.

“Hella tore and mixed her soul into several pieces to control the hybrids that she had trouble controlling normally. It’s a horrible forbidden magic that risks splitting one’s self. It’s clear that she made this extreme choice to kill us all here and use the demon lord’s ritual to reunite her consciousness. Do you understand?”

Kyle blinked his eyes as he looked at her, who finished her speech without losing her breath.

“Y-yeah.”

Then, a thunderous sound that shook the ground echoed.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The group turned their heads to the direction of the sound without hesitation.

Tarwen clenched her teeth and muttered.

“…But the real one seems to be over there.”

Strabo snorted hotly and said.

“Everyone, get on my back!”

They all silently climbed onto the back of the giant beast. Thanks to the goddess’s blessing, Strabo, who had grown even bigger, started to roll his feet heavily without any trouble, carrying three people.

As they got closer to the scene of the fierce battle, they felt a scorching heat. It was because of the massive electricity that heated the surrounding air.

Boom!

A blind lightning bolt fell on the group’s head. But there was no damage because Kyle had raised his shield in advance.

Igor, who supported Kyle’s back with both hands as he was pushed back by the heavy impact, saw something and shouted loudly.

“Strabo, look over there!”

In the direction of his gaze, a huge black horse was zigzagging through the falling lightning.

On the horse that moved with incredible agility, a man was swinging a red-glowing sword and perfectly parrying all the attacks that poured down. It was Ruon.

Kyle looked up at the sky and yelled.

“What is that? A dragon?”

Tarwen shouted at the sight of the monster that flapped its blood membrane wings and stretched out its lightning and tentacle-like arms to the ground.

“I’ll drop that crazy bitch to the ground first! I’ll chant the spell and Hella will notice, so please help me!”

She closed her eyes and focused on reciting the spell, trusting the group. Kyle smiled faintly and gripped his shield.

The monster seemed to sense the power of the spell and glared at the group. Then, it stretched out its right hand and a bright light flashed from the hammer with a rumbling sound, shooting straight at them.

Kyle raised his shield without hesitation. Then, Igor’s prayer came in.

“Merciful mother!”

The shield imbued with holy power glowed faintly as the lightning struck.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At the moment when Kyle lost his balance and fell backwards after being hit by the lightning three times in the same spot, Tarwen opened her eyes and reached out her hand.

“Get off, Hella! You belong to the bottom of the hell!”

At that moment, the monster’s body fell as if gravity was reversed.