Barbarian’s Adventure in a Fantasy World
Chapter 110: The Invasion of Evil (3)

Chapter 110: The Invasion of Evil (3)

“A revelation, huh? So, have you suddenly developed faith in gods?” Arkemis mocked.

Butler merely laughed and raised his sword.

“Tch.” Arkemis clicked her tongue. Though she tried to appear composed, the situation was far from favorable. She shifted her footing.

Rumble.

Her domain stirred into life as the defensive spells and catalysts she had meticulously prepared activated to assault her foe. It was the kind of power an alchemist of her caliber could unleash within her own domain—a strike dangerous even for someone like Maximus.

However, Butler casually swung his greatsword.

Her domain was cleaved apart, and the surging force visibly weakened. Undeterred, Butler thrust his sword forward while a wind infused with darkness swept through her domain, perfectly nullifying her attack.

Without hesitation, Butler planted his foot and, at a speed nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye, darted beside Arkemis. Yet, she quickly reacted. With a swift motion of her hand, she scattered a few glimmers of shimmering dust into the air.

“Push him away!” she commanded.

The very fabric of space itself surged, attempting to expel Butler from her domain. However, he would not be forced back. Clenching his fist, he allowed darkness to coalesce around his greatsword. As the space around them began to tear apart and his sword slowly advanced, Arkemis was forced to leap aside to evade the impending strike.

“Damn his ability,” Arkemis cursed silently.

Each demon wielded their own power. Ashetiaar, the Demon of Oppression, could imbue her darkness with crushing weight. In contrast, Butler’s power was straightforward—severance. He could cut all bonds in this world.

At that very moment, he was severing the connections within her domain, causing the organic network to break down and gradually sapping her influence. For one whose power was to control her surroundings, he was the worst possible opponent for Arkemis.

Her gaze darkened as she realized that if this turned into a prolonged battle, she would definitely lose; her entire domain would be severed, leaving her utterly exposed. Determined to end the conflict before that happened, she hesitated for a moment and glanced toward the house behind her.

“Damn it,” she muttered. After a brief moment of inner turmoil, she steadied her breath and gathered every last bit of her mana. Then, in a voice that brooked no refusal, she issued the orders—the commands of the master of her domain.

“Move!” she commanded. “I am your master. Embrace your will, develop a sense of self and emotion, and become my power!”

With a rough, resonant shout, she bellowed, “Tear the enemy apart and kill him!”

Every element obeyed her command: the weeds growing haphazardly in the yard, the neglected fence she had constructed, even the wind swirling within her domain—everything except the house surged forth with purpose, charging to tear apart and slay the demon.

“Oh, wow!” Ketal, watching from a distance, burst into exclamations of awe. The spectacle reminded him of Nano’s attack;whereas Nano had replaced everything in the area and then redirected it to strike back, Arkemis was channeling her will into every element of her domain to assault the enemy.

In that moment, one elf was manifesting the very essence of a Transcendent alchemist.

“This is the power of an alchemist who has truly reached mastery,” Ketal marveled.

“Hm,” Butler murmured, his expression growing grave as it became clear that this assault could not be easily repelled. He slammed his sword into the ground and murmured softly, “Sever it.”

In response, his power obeyed the command. In an instant, thousands of blades materialized, slicing through everything in their path. A storm of blades tore apart all within the encroaching area.

Arkemis channeled every last drop of mana, striving with all her might to breach Butler’s defense.

Clang!

Not all of her relentless assault was severed; gradually, Butler’s defenses began to yield.

“Hmph!” Butler gripped his greatsword, summoned his strength, and swung it decisively. A singular blade of darkness condensed and then burst forth in an explosion of power. The clashing forces reached their limits and exploded, sending shockwaves throughout the forest.

Slowly, the tumult subsided. Arkemis collapsed from exhaustion, having drawn upon every bit of her mana until nothing remained. She lifted her trembling head, and a heavy sigh escaped her.

Butler remained standing in place—though far from intact. His head was half blown off, his torso riddled with gaping holes, and both his arms had vanished. Yet, Butler was a demon, a being beyond the ordinary confines of this world. Even without a fortified domain, he would not fall so easily; gradually, his body began to regain its original form.

Approaching Arkemis with a sadistic smile etched across his scarred face, Butler said, “Do not worry. I won’t kill you until you’re sacrificed. But, just in case you resist, I might as well sever your limbs.”

“Get lost,” Arkemis retorted mockingly, her laughter bitter despite the desperate situation. She did not avert her gaze as Butler raised his greatsword.

In that instant, a voice rang out, “I wish you would wait a moment.”

***

The door swung open and Ketal emerged, moving steadily forward. At his sudden appearance, Butler hesitated, and ultimately Ketal was able to approach Arkemis without any interference.

“Are you okay?” Ketal asked her.

Arkemis stared blankly up at Ketal for a moment before her expression twisted in distress.

“K-Ketal! What are you doing? Why did you suddenly show up?” she cried, clearly flustered and unable to comprehend his actions. “You’re the reason why I didn’t use the house in the attack!”

While she had been using her entire domain to attack Butler, the house in which Ketal was sheltering had not budged an inch. The house was the structure she cared about the most within her domain; it had been fortified with extensive alchemical treatments that, if utilized, could have delivered an even more devastating attack.

Yet, when she fought at full power, she deliberately excluded the house for a simple reason: Ketal was inside. Had she manipulated the house, Ketal, too, would have been harmed—torn apart, disassembled, and crushed—ensuring his death.

Even if she was defeated, she could always find a way to escape, and that was why she purposefully left the house untouched when channeling her domain. But now, having stepped outside himself, Ketal was exposing his own body to danger.

“Ah, so that was it,” Ketal murmured, realizing why the house remained intact even as Arkemis controlled everything. A pang of regret flashed through him as he felt a bit sorry for Arkemis, especially since Ketal was thoroughly enjoying her battle with Butler until now.

“Thank you. Well, don’t worry, I’ll handle it from here,” Ketal said with a gentle smile. “A student should never abandon his master and run away.”

“What are you talking about...?” Arkemis murmured weakly.

Meanwhile, Butler, who had been watching Ketal intently, finally spoke up. “You seem to have only just awakened Myst.”

“Oh? You can sense that?” Ketal replied with a broad smile. Although everyone he had encountered so far said that they felt no Myst coming from him, Butler claimed that Ketal had indeed obtained Myst—an indication that his recent breakthrough was significant. Ketal felt a surge of delight.

Why does he look happy? Butler thought. He was taken aback by Ketal’s calm demeanor.

The newly arrived barbarian didn’t appear strong at all; based solely on the Myst he exuded, he seemed to be at best a Novice.

Even though Ketal possessed a considerable amount of Myst, his unusual physical traits led Butler to regard him as insignificant.

Yet, Ketal’s utterly nonchalant attitude was astonishing. Even in the presence of a demon, Ketal showed no fear, as if he were completely detached from this world. For a moment, Butler’s gaze softened with contemplation; he did not understand what to make of this barbarian.

Moreover, the divine revelation he had received said nothing about a barbarian, implying that Ketal was regarded as nothing more than a minor nuisance—an inconsequential variable. In that case, there was no reason to worry; any interfering party could simply be eliminated.

“You appear to be an idiot who can’t even grasp what’s going on,” Butler muttered as he raised his greatsword. “Die.”

The greatsword swung with a speed so tremendous that no one but Transcendents could possibly counter it.

“No...!” Arkemis murmured feebly, already picturing Ketal collapsing to the ground.

“Hmph!” Ketal calmly extended his hand, and the greatsword fell into his grasp, causing Butler’s eyes to widen in astonishment.

“How...?” Butler began, but before he could finish, Ketal’s fist struck his chest with force, punching a hole right through his body.

Butler crumpled to the ground as a shockwave rattled through the forest, sending winds bursting forth and scattering leaves in all directions.

“Hm,” Ketal nodded, remarking, “You’re sturdier than Ashetiaar.”

“Huh?” Arkemis opened her mouth in astonishment.

***

Wait a moment. What am I witnessing? Arkemis wondered.

Even a demon that she had been unable to fell despite fighting with all her might was sent flying by Ketal’s single punch.

“W-what?” she stammered, unable to follow the sudden turn of events.

At that moment, evil stirred; in the blink of an eye, Butler—having regenerated his original form—brought his sword crashing down above Ketal’s head.

“Oops.” Ketal swiftly twisted his body to the side, evading the blow and nimbly repositioning his feet.

Boom!

Butler’s upper and lower halves separated, only for his body to regenerate instantaneously as if it meant nothing. Seizing the opportunity, Butler reached out and grabbed Ketal’s neck, applying force in an attempt to break it.

In that instant, Butler’s eyes wavered as the power in his hand—capable of crumbling even the strongest defensive magic—seemed to falter. Yet, Ketal’s neck remained unyielding.

Ketal gripped Butler’s hand and, with a swift twist, wrenched it free before slamming him forcefully into the ground and unleashing a barrage of punches.

Boom!

The very earth trembled as Butler’s body was shattered into dust.

“You insolent wretch,” Ketal growled. But even then, Butler managed to regenerate a short distance away. Ketal whistled softly, remarking, “As expected, you never truly die.”

Ketal knew that without the power of Myst, demons could not be truly killed. Although he had acquired some Myst, he could not fully harness it, and so Butler remained equally invincible.

Butler fell silent, clearly flustered as he was overwhelmed by a barbarian who relied solely on raw physical strength rather than Myst.

Where did he even come from? Butler wondered. There had been no mention of the barbarian in the divine revelation.

Lost in thought, Butler’s expression suddenly shifted as if he had come to a realization. “You—you are the barbarian Ashetiaar mentioned.

“Oh, you know about me?” Ketal replied coolly.

“I heard about you directly from Ashetiaar. I couldn’t believe it at first, but it appears it is true,” Butler said.

A human who could not wield Myst yet was capable of toppling a demon—Butler had always thought such an existence was impossible, but here he was, standing right before his eyes. Butler let out a wry laugh and added, “You are indeed strong—utterly out of the ordinary.”

Raising his greatsword once more, Butler stated, “However, you are merely someone who cannot use Myst. You will never defeat me.”

Ketal had overpowered and felled Ashetiaar. However, that was simply a matter of elemental compatibility. Ashetiaar’s power relied solely on raw physical force, and even one who did not wield Myst could shatter her with superior strength.

In contrast, Butler’s power was that of severance: no matter how sturdy a piece of steel, any ordinary material could be cut apart. While one could counter it with Myst, without it, nothing could counter Butler’s power. He was capable of severing all things in the world with his greatsword.

With that in mind, he charged at Ketal. As his greatsword swung through the air, Ketal clenched his fist. Butler was convinced that his greatsword would split that fist in half. The power of severance met the unadorned strength of a simple punch.

Boom!

The greatsword shattered, and Ketal’s fist embedded itself deeply into Butler’s face.