Barbarian's Adventure in a Fantasy World-Chapter 260: The Demon of the Flower (6)

Deep within Ketal, the beast of Myst prowled restlessly. It was a wellspring of power, a monstrous spirit chained within, yet it had never truly accepted Ketal as its master. Whenever he tried to command it, the beast resisted, snarling and lashing out like a stray dog rejecting a new owner’s hand. This was why, despite possessing an Advanced amount of Myst, Ketal had struggled to do anything with it except reinforce his own body.

There had been only one time when the beast had ever acted willingly, and that was when Ketal had fought Ferderica, the one who had opened the gates from the heavens. At that time, the beast had howled with irritation, unsatisfied, its instincts flaring as Ketal was attacked. The creature reacted as if a stray dog had found a trespasser threatening its territory; unwilling to let an outsider harm what it begrudgingly saw as its own. Just like then, the beast was now crying out, its dissatisfaction clear as Ketal fought Materia. Throughout the battle, it stirred and grumbled inside, as if resenting the presence of such a formidable foe.

Ketal’s laughter rang out, joyous and wild. Back then, he had suppressed the beast, not wanting to reveal all his cards, but now he had no reason to hold back.

“Come on. Show yourself,” he called out.

The beast inside let out a jubilant howl, shaking itself free and roaring in delight. The sound rumbled through the world like a thunderclap, carrying across the battlefield and beyond. Those watching from a distance, faces pale and trembling, heard the animal’s cry echoing through the air, sending a chill down their spines.

Ketal gripped his axe tightly. Myst surged along the blade, swirling and coalescing into a razor-sharp edge. The power became tangible, like a living extension of his will.

Materia’s expression shifted as she watched, her eyes narrowing with alarm.

That is dangerous. Truly dangerous, she thought. She wanted to react, to defend herself, but she had already gathered so much energy for her attack that she could not move in time.

Ketal planted his foot and swung his axe. He charged at Materia, channeling Myst into his weapon, and let it slash across the space between them. For a brief moment, nothing happened. It was as if he had merely lashed at the air, and only the whisper of wind could be heard.

Just then, the world itself seemed to split. A deafening crack rang out, and the fabric of reality was sliced in half. Space itself divided, perfectly clean as if someone had taken a pair of shears to a sheet of paper. Fortunately, Ketal’s attack had been aimed slightly upward. The rift he created only split the sky; had he aimed at the ground, the scar left upon the earth would never have healed.

Within the path of that division, Materia was cut cleanly in two. The immense power she had gathered was also split, the energy torn in half by the rending of space. The dark strength she wielded was not unleashed; instead, it was sucked into the warped, severed world and annihilated.

Ketal let out a long breath, lowering his axe.

“Outstanding. Truly powerful. That was marvelous!” he exclaimed, unable to hide his satisfaction.

Even the beast within him quieted, purring in contentment. It felt the beast bowed its head within him, finally appeased. A broad grin split Ketal’s face. At last, he understood how to handle this willful creature inside him.

With light, eager steps, Ketal approached Materia. Split in half, she had collapsed onto the battlefield, yet her upper torso still clung to a semblance of life. Materia managed a hollow laugh, propping herself up.

“What in the world...” she muttered, almost incredulous.

“Oh, you’re still alive in that state?” Ketal observed with genuine curiosity.

“I’ll be forcefully banished soon. This is absurd,” Materia said. She might have been vulnerable, but this was still her avatar. Normally, her form would be protected by a powerful barrier, making it nearly impossible to inflict real damage. Yet now, she had been sliced in two with a single blow.

“You... What was that? Why didn’t you use it earlier?” she demanded.

“I didn’t avoid it on purpose. There were various reasons,” Ketal replied with an easy, cheerful smile. “Thank you. I owe it all to you. I sincerely mean that.”

Materia laughed weakly. “Ha... I’ll definitely get an earful when I get back.”

She began to crumble, the damage she had taken proving too much for her vessel to bear. If not for that final strike, she might have been able to remain in this world a little longer. Now, there was nothing to be done.

“Well, at least I learned something. That’s some consolation... Ketal, was it?” She fixed her gaze on him, holding his eyes. “This is only my avatar. Next time, let’s meet when I bring my true self.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Ketal said brightly.

Materia gave him a knowing smile, and then her body twisted and dissolved into nothingness. The horrifying evil that had set foot on the world was banished back to Hell. The battle was over.

Ketal stretched, a broad grin on his face. He could not hide his delight. His steps were light, his spirit buoyant.

“That was invigorating,” he muttered.

***

Ketal approached the surviving members of the group. They had all but collapsed, pale-faced and half in shock. When they saw Ketal, a wave of relief passed through them, and several of them slumped to the ground.

“W-what happened here...?” the Archbishop stammered, his voice trembling.

Something truly terrible had just unfolded; a presence so powerful that they had been afraid to even raise their heads. It had been as if a god had descended to the Mortal Realm, but this had been something even more dreadful, more terrifying than anything Floris could ever have conjured.

“And... and...” The Archbishop trailed off, staring behind Ketal.

There, a rift in the world stretched across the horizon—an open wound in reality itself. The sight was too much to comprehend, too alien to accept.

Ketal answered calmly, “A demon descended. She called herself the Mother of All Demons. Materia.”

“What?” The Archbishop’s eyes widened to the point of pain. He sucked in a panicked breath. “M-Materia! Good heavens!”

“So you know her?” Ketal asked him.

“Good heavens! Is that really true? Oh, no... What’s happening to the world? Oh, Divine Earth Goddess, what has happened?” The Archbishop was utterly distraught, unable to hold a coherent conversation.

Ketal turned to the Mercenary King for help, but he was little better.

“M-Materia. Really? I can’t believe it,” the Mercenary King stammered, his face pale with shock.

It was not just the Archbishop and Mercenary King. The name “Materia” drained the color from every survivor’s face. No one could speak, not even Ketal’s closest companions.

Ketal regarded them for a moment, then quietly released a wave of his own power.

In an instant, the Archbishop’s panic faded, his expression shifting as calm returned.

“Are you feeling better now?” Ketal asked him.

“Y-yes. What did you just do?” the Archbishop managed.

“I simply pressed down on you all,” Ketal said.

The minds of those driven mad by the demon’s overwhelming presence had been soothed by the weight of his own aura, a sort of antidote to the venomous fear that had seized them. The Archbishop’s face twisted in a strange, uneasy smile.

“I-I see...,” the Archbishop stammered.

“So, who is this demon Materia?” Ketal pressed.

“She is one of the four Lords of Hell,” the Archbishop answered, gulping hard.

The Demon King ruled over the concept of demons themselves, not just the Hell, which was their domain. As such, the task of managing Hell fell to a handful of powerful demons. These were the Four Lords.

“They have been called by many names over the ages. At one time, they were known as the Four Pillars of Hell.”

“The Four Pillars of Hell?” Ketal’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

The Archbishop nodded, explaining, “They are, for all practical purposes, the rulers of Hell. Their strength is enough to rival the gods themselves. In the ancient days, during the Divine-Demonic War, before the Demon King even set foot in this world, countless gods were destroyed by the hands of these demons. The ones who did this are...”

“The Four Pillars of Hell...,” Ketal said, finishing the sentence.

“That’s right,” the Archbishop said, his breathing ragged. He was no longer panicking, but awe and terror still held him. Materia was a being out of myth, far beyond Floris in power or presence. For such a creature to descend to the Mortal Realm was an event almost beyond comprehension.

Yet, the barbarian before them, Ketal, had defeated Materia.

Who is this barbarian? Just how powerful is he? The Archbishop could not help but wonder.

“There are many things I’d like to know about them...” Ketal mused. He wondered what power Materia truly possessed, and who the other Demon Lords might be. The questions burned inside him.

The Archbishop was equally curious, wanting to ask how Materia had managed to descend, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

“What about those? Don’t they need to be dealt with?” Ketal said as he raised his finger and pointed.

He indicated the field of pink flowers—corpses transformed by Floris’s power, now blooming in the aftermath of the battle.

“We can’t just leave them there. We need to act quickly,” the Archbishop said, snapping out of his trance.

Those pink flowers were a form of demon authority. If they were left alone for long, the land itself would become corrupted. They had to be dealt with right away. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“We can talk later. Let’s take care of the aftermath first,” Ketal suggested.

“Understood,” the Archbishop replied.

The survivors hurried to address the aftermath of the battle, cleaning up and disposing of the flowers. Some of them groaned in despair at the sight of the severed, riven world that stretched out before them.

Ketal helped as well, assisting the others in the work.

Materia..., he thought.

She was a truly powerful demon. She had not yielded even to his most serious efforts, holding the advantage until he had unleashed Myst. And that had only been her avatar, not her true self. He wondered just how strong the real Materia was—whether, with her true strength, she might even be able to contend with the beings of the White Snowfield.

What was certain was that she was strong. This world held opponents that could not be easily overcome, and that fact filled Ketal with delight.

Next time, I’ll meet her true form, he thought, a smile touching his lips.

***

“Hmm...”

At that moment, in the depths of Hell, Materia stretched and rose to her feet.

“That was fun,” she said aloud.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” a voice asked her from behind.

Materia turned, a slightly guilty look on her face.

“You’re here?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice a surge of power like that?” The formless demon behind her sighed. “I told you to restrain yourself, but in the end, you couldn’t hold back.”

“Sorry,” Materia replied.

“It’s fine. I expected as much. It’s not easy for you to suppress your instincts.”

The formless demon was calm as it continued, “What matters is whether you accomplished anything. What did you learn from facing that barbarian?”

“He’s strong. And he’s fascinating. I want him even more now,” Materia replied, grinning. Her eyes burned with intense longing. “No matter what, I’ll have to put him in my treasure box someday.”

“If you manage to conquer the Mortal Realm, you can do as you please. For now, information comes first. Tell me what you learned about the barbarian,” the formless demon said.

“All right, all right. You’re such a nag,” Materia replied, rolling her eyes.

The formless demon watched her for a moment, then asked her with genuine confusion, “What’s that on your chest?”

“My chest? What do you mean?” Materia looked down at herself, puzzled. She stared for a moment, then realization struck her. “Oh... there’s a wound?”

A small cut had appeared on her chest, mirroring the wound Ketal had given her avatar with Myst.

She gazed at the wound in surprise. It made no sense. The attack had only struck her avatar, not her real body. No matter what had happened to her vessel, her true self should have been untouched.

Yet, in the next instant, the wound on her chest suddenly split open.

Blood erupted from the gash, flooding the ground beneath her. It was the kind of wound that would have killed any ordinary person instantly. Even the formless demon was taken aback.

“What... is this?” Materia muttered. She stared down at her injury, eyes wide with shock.