Chapter 988

A low growl rumbled through the air.

Kroni’s face, half of it shattered and crumbling, heaved with ragged breaths.

Not only Ian but the mages around him froze in shock. No matter how they looked at it, wasn’t that the mark of a monster? Kroni’s right and left eyeballs spun around, staring at each other as if his consciousness had split in two.

“Grrr, damn it, damn it, damn it!”

With every roar, a dark energy surged anew around him. Ian quickly subdued the struggling Beric with one hand and shouted to the mages.

“Raise the shields!”

It was a signal to focus even more on their protective barriers. Whatever had revealed itself inside Kroni, the density of its power was unmistakably different.

‘Is it a monster inside Kroni? No, if that were the case, Beric would have sensed it by now. If it’s not a monster…’

Ian frowned. Could Kroni be some kind of ‘gateway’? A conduit the underground god used to exert influence beyond Gaia—a literal rift.

Because it was neither human nor monster, but something in between, the usual countermeasures layered by the magical department, starting from the light of the oracle, might have been ineffective.

“Iaaan!”

“Ian!”

The mages thickening their shields called out to him. At the same time, Beric’s voice overlapped, charging at Ian once more. Ian instinctively grabbed Beric’s wrist and twisted it, pinning him down.

Thud!

Ian forced Beric flat against the ground and whispered,

“Beric, relax. Let go of your strength.”

“Ahhh!”

Crack!

Ian twisted Beric’s ankle, rendering him immobile. If he kept struggling, Ian might have no choice but to kill him. The battle with Kroni about to begin was going to be on a whole different level.

“Damn it…”

Beric curled up, clutching his useless ankle. The mages grimaced as if their own ankles had been broken but knew there was no alternative. They couldn’t let a mind-controlled human into the palace, and above all, no one was to get close to Kroni. If the mages lost their own consciousness, the fight would spiral out of control.

Swish.

Ian rose and approached the still-conflicted Kroni. His body moved erratically, as if split in two, right and left acting independently.

“Kroni. Was the mind control too much for you?”

“Shut up, you damn brat.”

Two voices emerged from one throat. Kroni twisted his body, sweat pouring down his face. One side seemed to guard against Ian, the other side against itself.

“Maybe you should’ve just lived within your limits.”

Trying to wield divine power with a non-mage’s body was bound to tear it apart.

Ian circled Kroni slowly, observing. Thousands of Imperial Defense soldiers, their wills stolen, swarmed the fortress walls like moths to a flame—battering, ramming, clawing like beasts, howling.

“I can do this! Just give me a little more time! Please, damn it!”

Something was clearly wrong inside Kroni. Like those whose minds had been stolen, he was on the verge of being consumed by something.

Ian decided he couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.

Ziiing. Ziiing!

“Hooked Scythe.”

White light gathered at Ian’s fingertips, forming a massive hooked sickle. It was as beautiful as a crescent moon at dawn, yet chillingly cold.

Whoosh!

Ian swung with all his might, aiming for Kroni’s upper body. He intended to cleave him in two with a single strike. His gaze flashed sharply in the air.

Kroni dodged swiftly but was a moment too slow. Blood burst from his right shoulder.

“Gahhh!”

Clutching his shoulder, Kroni bent over. Ian closed in, sharpening the edge of his hand. The Hooked Scythe was too large for close quarters, so to cut the neck, he had to use his bare hand.

“…?”

Ian noticed the blood seeping through Kroni’s fingers was black. Moreover, like half his face, his right shoulder had transformed into something monstrous.

Ian hesitated, and Kroni shouted,

“Yeah! Come on, try and cut me! Here in Gaia, in Bariel, right before the imperial palace! If you want to face the underground god!”

Kroni roared and swung his spear at Ian with desperate fury. It was as if he had nowhere left to retreat. Inside, the underground god was gnawing its way out, while outside, Ian aimed for his neck. Trembling, Kroni unleashed relentless, destructive attacks.

Boom! Bang!

What exactly was he trying to destroy? Ian couldn’t tell. Was it Ian himself? The imperial palace? Or perhaps his own self?

“Arrghhh!”

As Kroni spat black blood and launched attack after attack, Ian dodged, buying precious time.

‘What should I do?’

If he killed Kroni, the underground god would likely manifest in Gaia through the opening. But just restraining this rampaging beast was impossible.

‘I don’t want to.’

Ian bit his lip hard. He wanted to sever Kroni’s neck right now, but he knew this moment was critical. What should he do? What could he do?

“Ian!”

Then, the mages atop the fortress walls shouted,

“Fight! No matter what, keep pushing forward! Fight on your terms! We’ve got your back!”

“Yeah! Don’t worry! We’re here!”

It was encouragement to finish this, even if the underground god were to be reborn.

What was there to fear? The underground god was but a shadow of the divine. Its existence proved the gods were real. With the gods on their side, there was no reason they couldn’t win—then, now, and always.

“Ian! Sister Ako’s here!”

And then came Ako’s voice. She stood on the fortress wall, balancing a huge bucket on her head. The mages turned to her, eyes wide in surprise.

“Captain Ako?”

“Why is the captain here? Aren’t you in charge of the south gate?”

“I heard the soldiers here went crazy, so I came! The south gate’s holding fine!”

Ako kicked the bucket into the air. Thanks to magic, the liquid inside burst forth like a fountain, spraying everywhere. Sparkling blue particles mixed with the rain and vanished instantly.

“An anesthetic!”

“Huh? Captain?!”

“I’m putting all the soldiers to sleep!”

The effect was immediate. As Ako’s potion entered the noses and mouths of the soldiers climbing the walls, they collapsed lifelessly. The ones charging wildly also dropped in an instant. Ian’s eyes went wide, and he covered his mouth with his sleeve.

“Ugh! Hey! Ako, you’re crazy! What about me? Help me too!”

Beric, lying face down with a twisted ankle, flailed in surprise. He covered his face to avoid swallowing the liquid, but it was unclear if it helped.

Growl.

With the soldiers’ attacks neutralized, Kroni twisted his body and charged straight for the fortress gate. Ian caught up immediately, but Kroni’s target had shifted—from Ian to the protective shield.

Ziiing. Ziiing.

A massive light gathered at the tip of Kroni’s spear. The mages instinctively felt their hearts drop and focused on the glowing point.

“Ah—”

Whoosh!

Ian hurried to block the attack, but Kroni ignored him and thrust the spear forward.

His stance left many openings—something he would never have risked before. But now? The more Ian cut into Kroni’s body, the clearer the underground god’s presence became. Ian couldn’t bring himself to strike decisively.

“I will kill you all!”

Vwooom. Boom.

“…!”

“…!”

Ian, who took the spear’s blow head-on, was the first to feel it. The shield shattered in the first wave, and Kroni’s immense force drove into his abdomen.

Then—

Crack.

The mages’ shields trembled violently.

Cracks spiderwebbed around the fortress gate. The mages gritted their teeth and poured out explosive magic, but the pressure was overwhelming.

“You think you can protect them all? Ridiculous!”

Crash!

Ian gritted his teeth through the pain and held firm. Blood trickled down his mouth, but he had no time to care.

Ziiing. Ziiing!

Ian clasped his hands to repel Kroni’s advancing force. A magic circle bloomed in a sphere beneath his palms, and Kroni laughed.

“How do you think they’ll protect you? Huh?”

Kroni gestured toward the fallen soldiers. What did he mean? Ian’s confusion was brief before he realized Kroni’s intent and shouted,

“Kroni!”

He was about to inflict pain on the unconscious soldiers. Since they were knocked out by Ako’s potion, any shock might wake some of them.

If their human bodies couldn’t endure and they died, that was inevitable—a necessary cleansing of the dead weight.

Crackle! Crackle!

Lightning sparked and split from Kroni’s spear. His attack struck the fortress gate and the fallen soldiers. Ian instinctively reached out toward the soldiers.

“Ian!”

“Iaaaan!”

If he had to choose—if he could only pick one between the fallen thousands of Bariel soldiers and the gates of the palace—countless thoughts flashed through Ian’s mind in an instant. Ian and the mages exchanged glances, their faces troubled as they silently looked at one another.

Thaat!

But the outcome was clear. These people were Bariel’s own. Innocent souls caught in Crony’s scheme, dragged here without knowing a thing.

Ian and the mages simultaneously raised their protective shields once more, directing them toward the soldiers.

Ziiiiiing!

Shhhhhh!

Though the shields successfully blocked Crony’s assault and protected the soldiers, the dispersed magic caused the palace walls to tremble violently. Cracks spread rapidly, until the walls shattered like glass.

Chaeaaang!

Fragments of the shield fell like stardust. Crony, with his half-masked face, gazed up at the spectacle with a twisted smile. Then, as if to show off, he turned to look at Ian, who was bleeding in front of the soldiers.

“See? There’s no point in protecting them all together. One will always fall in the end. Isn’t that right?”

Ian wiped the blood from the back of his hand and lowered his stance. The mages tried to reactivate the palace’s shield, but Ian raised his hand to stop them.

“On the contrary.”

“Huh?”

“Reverse the shield.”

He ordered them not to protect the palace, but to weave a new shield around the soldiers and the people outside.

“The underground god can’t be fought by mages alone.”

Faith—the people’s belief—that was the most important thing, wasn’t it? Didn’t their ancestors teach them that a hundred years ago? Even if the emperor lay frozen in the palace, there was no other choice now. The emperor himself would have made the same decision if he had witnessed this.

The mages hesitated but ultimately followed Ian’s command and moved outward.

“It’ll take some time, Ian.”

With the shield broken, the flow of the mages’ magic was disrupted. They had to redraw the magic circles, so it was clear it would take a while.

But Ian nodded, unfazed.

“As long as the soldiers are safe, I—”

Shhhhhh.

Ian’s golden eyes flared fiercely once again as he gripped his magic sword.

“I’m not going easy anymore.”

As the shield lifted, the sky above the palace fully opened. Watching this, Crony’s half-face curled into a smirk, clearly reminded of that day a hundred years ago.