Chapter 719
Not a single one of those creatures will be allowed to live.
That was both a declaration and a vow.
Ian stretched out both hands and gripped the Idgal sword, calmly facing the monsters swarming like dark storm clouds. Everywhere he looked, the land was overrun with fiends. Each one was roughly the same size as the demon associated with Deputy Rajoo.
Could it be…?
‘Might these creatures be connected to something on Gaia, just like Deputy Rajoo?’
Like him, they wore human masks in secret, planting the black seeds of Bariel—those beings who transcend time and human limits. If the root source of these monsters could be destroyed, they wouldn’t last long.
How could something with its roots severed possibly endure? Even the faintest sunlight of Bariel would wither them to dust.
“Ian, sir. We’re ready.”
“Just give the order.”
“We will follow without hesitation.”
The mages behind Ian stared fiercely at the monsters, their faces grim but resolute.
Instinctively, they understood why they had been granted divine power, why they were born in this era, and why fate had brought them to stand alongside Ian against these abominations.
“We will protect Bariel.”
Both the Bariel of the present and the Bariel of the future.
The mages’ lips curled into faint smiles, a mixture of tension and joy. It was an honor—greater than any mage of any age had ever known.
Feeling the mages’ unwavering resolve, Ian whispered softly.
“Watch closely. This is what I learned from you, and what you learned from me.”
Ziiing! Ziiing!
All the truths Ian Verosion had absorbed within the Mage Department now lived on as the mages’ legacy. And beyond that, what they were about to learn was the future power Ian was passing down.
In the interlocking gears of fate, the mages’ vision for uncovering truth sharpened.
“Thunderfire.”
A nature magic attuned to the abyssal sea surrounding them. Thunder and lightning crackled wildly along Ian’s Idgal sword, while unquenchable flames roared upward around it.
The mages quickly memorized the magic circle Ian traced and replicated it with their eyes.
“Ah—!”
Thunder, lightning, fire. To combine all three elements of nature into one spell—it was possible! Each mage summoned their own radiant light, their hearts swelling with awe and exhilaration.
Kreeeek!
The monster, its palate shattered by Ian’s strike, writhed with a screech like metal scraping. The surrounding fiends responded with piercing shrieks, sending jagged shockwaves rippling outward.
“Grrk!”
The mages instinctively ducked and winced, but Ian faced the storm head-on, his long hair whipping wildly.
“Ian Verosion.”
A grating voice echoed from somewhere nearby.
Ian lifted his head slightly and saw Deputy Rajoo, his body tattered and ragged, blood still oozing from his chest. The darkness he had summoned clung to him.
Though clearly dead, Rajoo’s eyes rolled wildly and his mouth moved unnaturally—a fiend’s trickery.
“Aren’t you afraid? We have existed in your world long before you knew it. If you defy fate, not only will we vanish, but you might disappear as well.”
“So lay down your sword and become one of us. I swear this: on that day, I will not let you die like this. Just as the gods gave you Bariel, we will give you your Bariel too.”
Rajoo’s teeth clicked as he muttered, but Ian only smiled.
“I already told Arsen.”
That dying means nothing to me. For Bariel, nothing else matters.
Ian lowered his stance and charged at Rajoo without hesitation.
“And I have already heard the god’s command.”
Change everything, even if it means changing existence itself.
Ian vaguely understood what the revelation from Chief Winchen meant. By becoming Ian Hiel instead of Ian Verosion, there was a path forward.
Even if his actions now would completely alter the future…
‘I believe.’
I will meet Naum again, and my Bariel will bloom fresh and vibrant. That’s why I’m here.
“Ian, sir! Watch your blood!”
As Ian neared Rajoo, Hale called out anxiously. They had just been tainted by that darkness—the abyssal water and the hallucinogenic effects of Laromedia, they guessed.
Rajoo’s dark crimson blood spread more fiercely.
Swoosh!
But Ian brushed it away with a light swing of the Idgal sword.
There was no more darkness. His darkness had been shattered, broken, and vanished into nothingness. Now, this was nothing but filthy monster blood.
“Do not fear!”
Ian shouted as he cleaved Rajoo’s body in two. Blood gathered thickly around him, almost drowning him, but Ian did not disappear.
“Even if darkness falls, I will save you. Remember this: the moment you realize darkness is nothing, it ceases to exist.”
Swoosh!
Ian charged straight at the monster’s core. The mages, hands glowing with magic, followed without hesitation.
Kraaaang! Bang!
Kraang!
“I’m coming too! You bastards!”
Beric swung his sword wildly, unable to stay still.
Watching this, Banusa fell silent. How could one describe this? Each monster was like a towering mountain, yet these small humans showed no fear. Instead, they tightened their grip on the fiends’ breath with fierce determination.
‘Majestic.’
Ah, yes. If one word could sum it up, that would be it.
The fragments of gods standing against the monsters to protect their world was nothing short of majestic—holy and sublime. Banusa could only watch in awe at the breathtaking battle.
“Ah.”
A chill at the back of her head snapped Banusa out of her trance. Curious about the temple’s situation, she had connected her senses remotely from the Tolrun Monastery. She squeezed her eyes shut and slipped away.
Swoosh!
‘I cannot let Tolrun know.’
That the mages were all gathered in the temple, that the underground god’s monster hovered on the edge of life and death…
To erase the shadow’s deep roots in Tolrun, the mages’ help was vital. Or rather, Banusa herself, like Ian Verosion for Bariel, had no choice but to protect Tolrun.
With eyes closed, she slipped into the darkest, most secluded place she could find.
“Your Majesty, is something wrong?”
Twelar noticed even the slightest movement from Jin.
The emperor, who had been staring straight ahead, tilted his head slightly, and Twelar’s gaze followed. Perhaps the emperor wished to look back on the path he had traveled.
“No, nothing.”
“If there is any discomfort, please say so immediately. We still have a long way to go.”
“I was just worried and curious about the temple. It’s an unusual place.”
A place tangled with Damon and Rutherford’s mysteries. A place where foul water flowed and the deputy wielded astonishing power. Naturally, the more he thought about it, the more he had to look back.
Twelar hesitated briefly, then asked cautiously.
“Who are you worried about, Your Majesty?”
“Who else but those who have risen for Bariel?”
Jin replied gruffly, as if annoyed by the question. He was also wary, suspecting it might be a veiled reference to Eirin.
But Twelar’s answer was unexpected.
“Your concern for those who stand for Bariel is fitting for an emperor. But you must not go too far, nor favor anyone in particular.”
“What do you mean?”
Jin genuinely couldn’t grasp his meaning. Lately, Twelar’s blunt words seemed to carry hidden implications.
As Jin’s voice rose slightly, the nearby officers slowed their pace and gave them space. Twelar fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke.
“Your Majesty, who do you believe is the final gatekeeper of this war?”
Jin considered the question.
Burgos? The dynasty had already fallen, and the bloodline of Bariel was preparing to usher in a new era. Luswena? The palace gates were torn down and the king’s corpse hung in the streets just for crossing the border.
Clifopod had become an ally, but without Bariel, the fractured capital could not be rebuilt. The three neighboring nations? All under Bariel’s influence.
Then suddenly, Jin realized the question was strange.
“…Sir Twelar.”
‘Not where,’ but ‘who’?
Jin hesitated.
“Do you think it’s Tolrun, the destination? That defeating the underground god deeply rooted there will end it all?”
If that were true, Gaia would surely know peace. But that would not guarantee the Bariel palace’s tranquility.
Twelar looked at the emperor with unusually gentle, personal eyes—eyes full of soft loyalty Jin had never seen before. Jin was taken aback. Twelar had always treated him with the stance of a warrior.
“…Forgive me, Your Majesty. An old man worries too much.”
“Sir Twelar, what is it?”
“As Minister of Imperial Defense, I will lead this war to victory. This will be the defining moment of my life. The same goes for Sir Ian. It is his duty to eliminate the underground god. Once he accomplishes that, his own defining moment will become clear. But what about Your Majesty?”
“What do you think Your Majesty will gain from this war? Burgos, Clifford, Luswena—how did they all come to Bariel’s doorstep?”
“Please, think carefully.”
The old man warned solemnly, “Your Majesty’s final hurdle will undoubtedly be Sir Ian. This isn’t about who’s better or worse. It’s fate.”
“The gods sent Sir Ian to this era not only to erase the traces of the monsters but, I believe, also for Your Majesty’s sake.”
“For the throne of an emperor must always shine alone.”
Jin fell silent, unable to respond. It was a mix of awe, confusion, and a sudden broadening of his perspective.
He asked himself,
What history will I, as emperor, create with my own hands?
The past ten years, the void left by Sir Ian was a time for his growth. But now? And going forward?
His thoughts tangled and spun in a dizzying whirl.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
From the lead unit ahead, flags waved and the sound of a water buffalo horn echoed. They had found the village.
“Your Majesty, we have arrived.”
This was Landarin Village, the gateway they had to pass through to reach the capital of Toorun. Taoma had emphasized its importance in his letter. The village was home to the native Toorun tribes, and he had kindly warned that it was a gloomy place, with a stark difference between front and back—so caution was necessary.
“Please give your orders.”
From a distance, the village looked peaceful. Smoke curled from chimneys here and there, and strips of dried meat hung on rooftops to cure in the sun.
Jin hesitated briefly, then gripped the reins tightly and gave the command.
“We enter.”
This was a place they had to pass through without the help of the Magic Department. Jin nodded calmly, as if resolute.