Chapter 181: The Thing That Emerged Into the World (3)

The monster before them looked like an ape, but its entire body and even its eyes were pure white. Its claws were long and cruel, more like blades than nails.

Ketal knew exactly what this thing was. It was a monster from the White Snowfield.

He had spent an unimaginable amount of time trapped in that desolate place, the White Snowfield, only managing to escape after countless years and endless struggle. When he finally met the conditions to leave, he was able to come to the fantasy world he had always yearned for. After enduring so long in that frozen prison, he never wanted anything to do with the creatures from there ever again.

Yet now, he was confronted by a White Snowfield monster in this world. The feeling was surreal, almost impossible to put into words.

Why is that thing here?

Ketal’s thoughts whirled.

“That thing is dangerous, Ketal. It’s strong and fast. It looks like the Demon Realm apes, but it’s an entirely different being,” Aquaz quickly tried to explain, a warning in her tone. But Ketal replied in a calm, almost casual voice, as if none of this surprised him.

“I know what it is,” he said.

“What? You do?” Aquaz was startled, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“That’s right. I know it very well,” Ketal replied, his expression unwavering.

“How... how can you possibly know about it?” Aquaz was visibly shaken. Something this bizarre shouldn’t exist anywhere else in the world. The idea that Ketal would know such a creature seemed unthinkable. But then a memory flitted through her mind—Ketal was not a barbarian from this continent.

“That’s a monster from the White Snowfield,” Ketal confirmed. “I don’t know why it’s here.”

“Is that... really true?” Aquaz asked him, almost in a whisper.

The White Snowfield was a vast Demon Realm at the center of the continent. Long ago, even an emperor who conquered most of the continent tried to claim it, only to fail and return a broken man. Adventurers and heroes from every corner of the world had tried their luck in the White Snowfield, and most never came back.

And now, one of its monsters was standing before them.

“W-wait, what did you just say?” Baker, who had been silent, suddenly cut in, his face pale with shock. “A monster from the White Snowfield? That thing? But—how do you know that?”

“Ah, right, you wouldn’t know,” Ketal said with a hint of amusement.

Baker had never realized that Ketal was the Ashen-haired Barbarian from the White Snowfield. The realization dawned on him slowly, his gaze drawn to Ketal’s gray hair.

“You... you’re not—” Baker stammered.

“Exactly what you’re thinking,” Ketal said, flashing a faint smile.

Baker gulped hard, his face a mixture of awe and fear.

“I’d love to take my time explaining this, but now isn’t really the time,” Ketal added lightly.

“

Waaah...

” The monster regarded Aquaz and Baker with nothing but hunger, ready to pounce with no caution or hesitation. But against Ketal, its demeanor was completely different—it watched him warily, keeping its distance. Ketal wasn’t prey. He was an enemy.

“What exactly is that thing?” Baker whispered.

“As I said, it’s a monster from the White Snowfield. It’s a deep-sea dweller from there,” Ketal answered.

“From the White Snowfield... there’s an ocean there?” Baker repeated, still struggling to believe it.

“Yes. There’s an ocean, and I’ve been down to its depths. I never considered it a true fantasy sea, but it’s there all the same. The deepest part of the White Snowfield—no currents, no movement, just a vast and silent abyss. This thing is one of the monsters that live there.”

“We used to call them Whities,” Ketal added, his tone almost nostalgic.

Aquaz blinked in surprise at the unexpectedly cute nickname.

“They’re rare to encounter. Their habitat is so deep and isolated, I hardly ever saw one,” Ketal said, scanning the area. Nearly a thousand ape corpses littered the cavern, their bodies in various states of decay. “It must have crawled out and killed them all. I wondered why the apes seemed so weak.”

A thousand Demon Realm apes would have been a terrifying threat. Only fifty or so survived by luck—barely more than refugees. Ketal examined the pile of corpses. Many of them had died trying to escape, but something had blocked their path.

Did the restriction on these Demon Realm apes lift later than the one on theWhite Snowfield monsters?

Ketal thought.

It seemed that not all Demon Realms had their restrictions removed at the same time.

The apes had only appeared outside their Demon Realm about a month ago. If the Whitie entered before then, it made sense that it had massacred the others first.

“With that thing’s power, it’s no surprise. Even I had trouble with them back in the White Snowfield,” Ketal admitted.

“You? You struggled against something like that?” Aquaz stared at the battered monster, trying to comprehend what that meant. Ketal, who seemed invincible, had once been troubled by this creature.

“

Waaah...

” The monster let out a cry, its voice strangely like a child’s wail—unpleasant, and unnerving. Then, it screamed, unleashing a wave of force that shook the cavern.

Aquaz and Baker braced themselves to keep from being swept away.

Now, all its murderous intent was focused on Ketal. However, Ketal just smiled.

“You don’t know who I am, do you? I suppose that makes sense. I never came to your part of the sea.”

The monster lunged, moving with explosive speed. The water erupted in its wake. Ketal pivoted lightly, dodging its claws with ease. Its claws sliced through empty water, but even the shockwaves left scars on the cavern walls.

Baker yelped, dragging Aquaz back to a safer distance. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Y-yes!” Aquaz agreed.

The two retreated, watching the battle unfold from afar.

Explosions echoed through the cavern as the monster darted around, striking at Ketal from every angle. Its movements were almost too fast for even their Transcendent eyes to follow.

Ketal, meanwhile, stood motionless, appearing almost passive.

From a distance, it looked like he was failing to keep up. Baker gulped nervously. “Is... is he in trouble?”

Aquaz could only watch in anxious silence.

Ketal was certainly a monster in his own right—his power was beyond their comprehension. But the same was true for this creature. If even Ketal had once struggled with it, the fight could go either way.

Aquaz tensed, gathering the last of her divine power in case she needed to intervene.

The monster finally found its moment. It crouched low, its muscles swelling, and then launched itself forward with tremendous force. The cavern wall where it had stood exploded into rubble.

However, Ketal moved faster. He reached out and twisted his body, catching the monster’s arm mid-strike. With a single motion, Ketal twisted the arm, overpowering the creature’s struggles. Then he slammed it to the ground. He followed up with a heavy stomp, pinning the monster and drawing another agonized scream.

“

Waaaaaah!

” the monster screamed.

Ketal pressed down harder, bones in the creature’s abdomen beginning to give way. The ground shattered beneath the pressure.

At last, the monster broke free and tried to flee, but Ketal clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Lucky,” he muttered.

“What...?” Aquaz, who had been preparing to help, stared in shock.

Not only had Ketal turned the tables in a heartbeat, but he had almost finished it off entirely. The difference in power was clear for all to see.

“Ketal, didn’t you say you had trouble with that thing?” Aquaz asked him incredulously.

“I did. It was hard to catch them in the White Snowfield, since they lived so deep in the sea. Their hides are tough enough to withstand incredible pressure, and their claws make perfect weapons and tools. That’s why I used to hunt them from time to time. But it was always difficult to get them at those depths.”

Understanding dawned on Aquaz. Ketal had hunted these monsters in the deepest part of the sea, without any of the blessings or divine power that she relied on. He had done it with his bare hands.

Ketal raised his fist nonchalantly. “Back then, I had no way to move freely in the water. That made things hard. But now, it’s different.”

He advanced, and the monster shrieked and tried to escape. What followed was a one-sided battle. The monster shrieked and scrambled to get away, but Ketal battered it relentlessly, striking, kicking, and tossing it about as if it were weightless.

“W-wow...”

“How strong is he, really?”

Aquaz and Baker watched in awe at first. The creature that had overwhelmed them was now being utterly dominated. But their expressions gradually grew more somber.

Crunch.

Ketal grabbed the monster’s arm and slammed it to the ground again, then pounded it with his fist, leaving deep scars in its flesh. The creature thrashed, but Ketal only tightened his grip until, with a sickening sound, its arm broke.

He stomped its chest, more bones cracking under the pressure. The monster wailed in agony, a chilling, primal sound that sent shivers down their spines. But Ketal didn’t hesitate for a moment. With a look of irritation, he grabbed the monster’s mouth and forced its jaws apart, shattering its jaw with brutal strength.

“Uh...” Baker unconsciously took a step back. Ketal’s power was truly beyond comprehension.

Normally, people feared what they could not understand. However, neither Aquaz nor Baker felt any great fear of Ketal himself. They knew him too well, and he always carried himself with an easy, relaxed manner—even in battle. He fought with overwhelming force, but there was always a certain humanity, a lightness to his actions and expressions.

However, now, in this moment, Ketal was different. This was not the calm, relaxed Ketal they were used to. There was no trace of mercy in his eyes. He was intent on erasing this monster from the world, completely and utterly.

The raw, unfiltered will radiating from him was suffocating. Ketal muttered as he crushed the monster beneath his foot, “You never should have come here.”

This was his world, the fantasy he had fought so hard to reach. He could not allow something so loathsome from the White Snowfield to defile it. Ketal’s smile was cold as ice.

How dare you. How dare a creature from that place invade my world,

Ketal thought. He would not allow it. The White Snowfield was not fantasy—it was a nightmare, a prison, and nothing more. Its monsters did not belong here. They were meant to stay locked away—forever.

“You things have no place in this world,” Ketal said, his voice cold enough to freeze the air.

Obsession and a twisted sense of ownership pressed down on the space around them like a heavy weight. Ketal reached out and grabbed the monster’s head, one hand gripping its skull, the other its jaw. The creature tried to resist, but it was already dying, its body barely moving.

With a final burst of strength, Ketal wrenched his hands in opposite directions.

Crack.

The monster’s body went limp, the sound of its neck breaking echoing through the cavern.

[Quest# 788 has been completed.]

[Rewards will be granted.]

Ketal stared at the monster’s corpse with an unreadable expression. After a moment, he turned to face Aquaz and Baker. A gentle, bright smile spread across his face, so peaceful that it almost felt out of place.

“It’s over. Are you both okay?”