Chapter 438: Battle Against Hekqet (3)

The skies spewed fire all over the continent, as though the heavens were enraged. Amazingly, Toska’s Sun seemed to spare the humans, scorching only the Hekqet.

“What the....”

The knights clenched their fists, feeling an intense surge of heat wrapping around them as soon as the light fell on them.

“Everyone, charge!”

The commanders shouted as if they couldn’t bear that heat any longer, letting it burst forth.

The soldiers felt the same.

“

Waaaah...!!”

The Hekqet leaders were quickly incinerated by Toska’s light. With that, the lesser monsters scattered in disarray, pushed back by the Free Army.

Clang, clang...!!

The clash of weapons rang out across the battlefield.

“Skreeee...!!”

“Grrrk...!!”

The monsters roared ferociously as they lunged at the human forces, but it was futile. They could no longer stop the momentum of the Free Army.

“Fight on!”

“Push them back!”

Battle lines stretched across the continent, from the Maron Gorge to the Kivell Coast and even along the upper and lower reaches of the Fonein River. Fierce battles were fought everywhere, but wherever Toska’s light reached, the cheers of the Free Army echoed.

[The Free Army’s front line is advancing rapidly, pushing back the Hekqet around the Fonein.]

Using the Superior Vision, Israphil reported the current situation to Karyl, his voice quivering with excitement.

“The solar power of the Golden Dragon is truly incredible,” Allen murmured in disbelief, staring at the radiant rays on the horizon.

“Not even you could’ve covered the entire continent without the Astral Chamber of the Ivory Tower and the trigonal quartz.”

“And the sorcerer who operated it. So in the end, you’re saying this is a creation born from the union of human and draconic power.”

“Just like the Bladers did.”

Karyl recalled how they had joined forces in the Mythical Era to oppose Yula.

No one could do everything by themselves, no matter how powerful they were. That was perhaps the most important lesson Karyl had learned by going back in time. He had struggled and fought, becoming a Sword Saint with nothing but his blade, and yet, those heroic efforts hadn’t been enough to save humanity.

“So that’s why you assembled the Ten Godslayers,” Allen remarked.

Karyl nodded. “But even that isn’t enough. I believe everyone, from spirits to dragons, needs to focus on this war. Of course, all non-human species united in the Great War... and still lost to the gods.”

“But wasn’t betrayal the cause of that?”

“Yes, which is why we need even stronger unity. There can be no more losses... Not a second or third defeat.”

From the losses of the Mythical Era to Karyl’s own defeat from his past life, those who had dared to oppose the gods had always met with failure. To break that cycle, Karyl had crafted a flawless plan—one even the gods could not foresee.

“Don’t worry. You’ve done well so far. I mean, look how well we’re handling the Second Calamity. Victory is within reach. All that’s left is for you to bring it home.”

“Right.”

Even then, Karyl could envision his soldiers valiantly defending the continent from those abominations, as if they were right before his eyes.

“As the Hekqet ranks grow thinner, the remnants will converge on one spot. That’s where the real one will be.”

Karyl watched how the slimy fragments merged into one mass, like cells fusing together, and shot away through the air.

[My lord...!]

Just as Karyl grabbed the reins of his red wyvern, preparing to pursue the Hekqet, Israphil’s urgent voice reached his ears.

“What is it?”

[A report has come in...! There is one Hekqet in the northern gorge that hasn’t been located!]

“...What?”

Karyl furrowed his brow, disconcerted by the report. He swallowed dry—something he rarely did, as his composure was usually unbreakable.

“Are there no forces nearby?” Allen asked warily, nearly startled by Karyl’s reaction. “We prepared magic circles precisely for situations like this. Israphil, go handle it yourself.”

[Uhm... With all due respect, Master Allen, the gorge is quite far from any magic circle we’ve set up in the north.]

“For fuck’s sake! Didn’t we deploy troops to every point where Hekqet was expected to emerge?!”

“It seems... It seems like this creature waited in hiding, almost as though the real Hekqet deliberately concealed it.”

“What the...? Where exactly is it? Damn it...! I can’t believe that ugly piece of shit is scheming like this!” Allen fumed, gritting his teeth in frustration.

The Grand Sorcerer had suspected that this Second Calamity was significantly more intelligent than the first, given that the creature could speak the language of the humans. Now, the monster’s calculated maneuver confirmed his worst fears.

“Hekqet can regenerate and create new monsters almost instantly. Has our plan failed?”

Even the mighty Allen Javius was at a loss.

“The remnants of the monsters are still gathering. For it to regenerate, it would need to reclaim all those fragments first. We still have time.”

“Huh...?”

“Tell me where Israphil is. I’ll go myself.”

Karyl turned his wyvern northward.

Swoooosh...!!

The red-scaled creature flapped its wings fiercely, soaring ahead.

“Karyl, why not focus on the main body? Even if you head there now, you won’t reach it in time!”

“How many times do I have to say it? We’re dealing with the Calamity of Proliferation. Even if a single fragment remains... Hekqet will come back.”

Karyl’s expression was riddled with unease.

“Damn it...” Allen gritted his teeth, unable to think of a solution.

[It’s in the gorge deep in the north. That place doesn’t appear on any maps, which is likely why it wasn’t fortified.]

“The northern gorge?”

[Yes. I’ll show you.]

With that, Israphil linked his Superior Vision to Karyl, showing him the exact location.

Karyl immediately recognized it.

“Is that... the Thousand-Year Ice Cave?”

Hekqet had cunningly hidden a minion in a secret location known only to the northern people.

“Out of all places... Why there...?”

Since outsiders weren’t allowed entry, the cave was essentially undefended. It was a severe—maybe even fatal—oversight.

“Fuck... What do I do...?”

Anger welled up within Karyl as he realized this might be checkmate. There was nothing he could do.

“Leave it to us, my lord.”

“...?!”

Startled by Hashir’s voice, Karyl turned around.

“Hah, seems like you’ve found yourself in quite the pickle, Karyl.”

Hashir wasn’t alone.

“Hunt down the real Hekqet. We’ll handle that last minion,” Hwarin declared boldly.

“Please put an end to this.”

“That creature won’t expect us to rush to a secret location that doesn’t even appear on the map.”

Beikan, Lilliana, Kayla Spear, and many others had shown up.

“How... How are you here...?” Karyl’s voice quivered with disbelief. He hadn’t expected them to return from Pharel so soon. He had urged them to clear the 10th Floor, and having experienced that part of the tower himself, he had estimated how long it would take for them to return.

But it seemed his estimation was way off.

“I hope you didn’t abandon the task I gave you to come back prematurely... did you?” he asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

“Did you really think we’d dare face you after failing?” Hwarin replied, as if she’d been waiting for that question. “Leave the cleanup to us and head to the battlefield. A hero shouldn’t look back. They should always press forward.”

Her words brought a faint smile to Karyl’s face—and a spark of hope to his heart.

“Heh, it seems they’ve managed to surpass your expectations,” Allen remarked with newfound optimism. “Well, I suppose there was a monster in the north as formidable as Gordon himself. Sending that woman to Pharel was a masterstroke, one only you could make.”

“Hmph.”

At that moment, Karyl turned his wyvern in the opposite direction and pulled on the reins firmly.

“Ghrrr...!”

The wyvern growled as though resonating with Karyl’s newfound resolve, flapping its wings with renewed vigor.

“Indeed, war isn’t fought alone.”

Allen Javius didn’t miss the faint smile on Karyl’s lips.

***

Bubble... Bubble...

“Quite the spectacle.”

When Karyl arrived at the place where the remnants of the Calamity were gathering, he was met with a horrific sight.

There was a massive mass of what could only be described as slime. It was bubbling, releasing a horrible, noxious stench in the air.

“Okay, so the remnants are clearly gathering here. Why not destroy this thing now?”

“To destroy the Tarak, you must destroy its heart. But right now, it has no heart. Only when it’s fully merged into a single body will it form.”

“Hmm... Then what do we do?”

“We just have to wait,” Karyl said in a low voice, glancing back in the direction he had come from. “Until every last fragment fuses into the main body.”

No sooner had he spoken than another piece of the Tarak surged forth from the direction of the Thousand-Year Ice Cave, reaching the bubbling mass to fuse with it.

Grrr... Grk...!

With that, the slimy mass quickly solidified and began to swell, growing in size.

“Great timing. They’ve already dealt with the last one.”

“Their growth is undeniable.”

Karyl could roughly gauge how powerful his comrades had grown after returning from their first quest in Pharel.

“The Calamity of Proliferation...”

Slowly, Karyl unsheathed his sword.

This was the Second Tarak, one of the most monstrous beings in the history of the Divine War, responsible for the deaths of countless people.

It’s coming.

He could feel it—a chill crawling down his spine as memories of that fierce battle resurfaced.

“GHRAAAAARHH...!!!”

The Tarak let out a thunderous roar as his form took its final shape. Hekqet’s minions had been massive, but his true form was so colossal that looking up at it strained the neck.

Karyl could see it—the crimson heart pulsing and glowing through the gaps in Hekqet’s armor.

As he tightened his grip on his sword, Karyl reminded himself of one stark difference between now and the last time he had faced this Calamity. His hand wasn’t trembling from fear as it had before, but from the seething fury within him, from the overwhelming desire to obliterate this abomination as swiftly as possible.

Woosh!

Without hesitation, Karyl lunged at Hekqet, ready to bring an end to this Calamity, once and for all.