The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns
Chapter 246

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 246

“What… What do you mean?”

“She broke through the barrier and escaped. It happened so quickly and cleanly that we couldn't even pinpoint the location.”

“Haa… What am I going to do with this troublemaker…”

“I’ll go check it out first. It’s probably nothing, but just in case.”

“…We’ll dispatch the professors as well. But, Young Master… you’ve already used a significant spell earlier. Are you sure you can move right now?”

“It’s not that difficult.”

“From the outside, your mana is barely perceptible… how is that even possible…?”

“Maybe it’s just the way I’m built.”

Saying that, I pulled Baril out again from the shadows where I had stored him.

He spread his wings and let out a thunderous roar, exuding overwhelming presence, startling everyone again.

But the Shadow Dragon Baril, at my command, soared high into the sky.

“Let’s release the scouts. We can’t trace where she disappeared to.”

At my words, Baril’s wings flapped high above, and from them, massive clumps of shadow began to rain down like bombs across the distant forest floor.

“All units, mobilize. From now on, locate the troublemaker.”

Ashuria Abelgard. In my opinion, she’s the most skilled — and also the biggest troublemaker.

Compared to her, those proud heirs from the Spear Saint’s family or Magic House are downright adorable.

* * *

If Ashuria broke out, then it's necessary to consider her goal.

But this girl is so unpredictable that it’s hard to make a quick judgment.

“By the way, it’s almost been a month. Why haven’t we heard from Isna?”

[If it’s related to the Red Moon, we need to expect the unexpected.]

“That’s true.”

At least, it’s a relief that she’s not in any serious danger.

Undeads from all over the forest began flooding me with information almost instantly, but nothing stood out.

So, I resonated with the undead’s energy, synced their vision with mine, and began processing the vast flood of information all at once.

I rapidly scanned through the visual data streaming in at a tremendous speed.

Still, I found nothing unusual — until…

“Wait. Stop everything.”

At my command, the undead froze in unison as if pre-arranged.

I retraced the data like rewinding time.

Then I found it — the only trace in what appeared to be an empty space.

“Got you.”

I ordered Baril to fly to the location where the suspicious trace had been found.

There were no obvious clues at the site.

But among the scattered signs, I caught one tiny detail.

A faint trace of a spell cast by that last-minute fool of a student.

Sensing something odd, I didn’t hesitate and threw a punch into the empty air.

Crack! CRASH!

The intact space instantly began to warp.

Five long, stretched-out massive traces.

I had hoped I was wrong, but…

“The worst-case scenario is unfolding.”

A monster from the Demon Realm.

Presumed to be a king-class beast.

It’s the trace of an ancient monster — Berga.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the communication artifact.

“All units retreat. Do not cross the boundary.”

—KZZZT! What are you saying, Young Master?! That’s—!

“A monster king has appeared. It’s definitely Berga. It won’t cross the barrier, so retreat immediately.”

—What… Berga?! Why would a monster king be in this forest?!

“That’s what we need to find out. Regardless, stay behind the boundary. I’ll handle the troublemaker.”

Based on the traces, besides Ashuria, there were at least two more individuals involved.

That giant beast doesn’t move right after eating — so it probably hasn’t gone far.

“Baril. Maximum speed.”

Most likely, it was lured here by a massive stampede gate, devoured Ashuria, and is now heading back to its lair.

The problem is, to save Ashuria — if she’s already been eaten — I’ll have to go inside the creature, not just capture it.

Berga is a cautious and meticulous beast.

It’s not just powerful — it’s careful.

Even if it has natural predators, dealing with it is no easy task.

Worse yet, its senses are so sharp that if it notices me, it’ll probably flee immediately…

For a monster king, it's quite the coward — but all the more dangerous for it.

“There’s got to be a way…”

I dismissed all the undead and was deep in thought when Luna reached out her hand.

“If we just camouflage ourselves a bit, it'll work, right?”

“How?”

“I have a decent method.”

From her hand, light shimmered and then transformed into a thin, transparent cloth.

She draped it over us.

“Berga is crazy about certain mana patterns. It’s sensitive to unusual energy — particularly because that’s how it feeds.”

Though it’s massive, its primary diet consists of abnormal energy — mana and aura, to be exact.

It devours prey and absorbs their mana as nutrients.

The problem is, it’s smart enough to value its own life.

It only targets safe levels of mana and instantly flees if it senses a real threat.

“This veil is like a distortion field. Leon could probably manage it alone, but this makes it easier.”

At her words, I gradually adjusted my mana.

If Ashuria’s been eaten, then exuding mana similar to hers will definitely tempt this thing.

As I released my adjusted mana, the space around me began to distort.

There you are, you damn beast.

Come and take the bait.

THUD!!!

A massive mouth distorted the reflected light in the air and devoured Luna and me in one gulp.

Infiltration: successful.

“Just hold on a bit, you damned troublemaker.”

The space changed instantly.

It looked like the inside of a creature’s body — an enormous cavern.

All around us, numerous monster corpses were burning on the ground.

“Magic and spear marks… Judging by this much destruction, I’d say those two troublemakers were together.”

Seriously… Just because you’ve got some talent doesn’t mean you should act so recklessly…

“It won’t be hard to find them.”

It looked like they had fought their way through the enemies inside this place.

These guys weren’t weak.

However, Berga’s internal space is structured so that the more you fight, the more your mana gets drained.

No matter how skilled they are, they’ll collapse from exhaustion soon enough.

The key was to find them before that happened.

Fortunately, there was no chance of missing the trail—evidence was left out in the open.

Gradually, the traces left behind on the corpses of monsters began to change.

The marks that had been deeply engraved were beginning to fade.

And not long after, through a space where even sound couldn’t travel properly, came the booming noise of explosions and the sound of someone shouting in chaos.

Thankfully, it seemed they were still alive.

But more than that, it was obvious—the situation was dire.

* * *

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Huff... huff...”

Basara, gasping for breath, was carrying the unconscious Rubas on his back as he trudged forward.

“Damn it... does this place even have an end?”

BOOM!

Ashuria was still slaughtering the monsters with a calm expression, but you could feel it—

she was under a lot of strain too.

This place felt strange.

The more they used aura or mana, the heavier their bodies seemed to become.

“This is definitely the inside of that monster’s stomach.”

“No way a living being’s insides would be like this.”

“At this rate, we’ll all be digested.”

Logically, none of this made any sense.

Honestly, they weren’t even sure why they had to go through all this just for chasing Ashuria in the first place.

“Can we even get out? Is heading deeper even the right move?”

“I don’t know. You can’t think of this as a normal biological body.”

From the beginning, the cave they entered had no path leading backward.

It was designed to force them to go deeper.

Sitting around wouldn’t change anything, so going forward was the only option.

The monsters weren’t necessarily getting stronger, but with two of their group near exhaustion, things were definitely getting worse.

“Ugh...”

“Hey. Hey! Rubas! Stay with me!”

Even without fighting, their mana was being drained, making Rubas’s condition deteriorate.

He had resisted well at first, but constant battle had taken its toll.

By now, there was no denying it.

Ashuria Abelgard’s strength was on an entirely different level compared to the two of them.

Regardless of pride or hierarchy, Basara had long since abandoned any illusions of being a genius or elite.

He had to admit it.

Among their age group, there probably wasn’t anyone in the world stronger than her.

BOOM!

With a violent explosion, Ashuria wiped out the surrounding monsters in one strike—then staggered and collapsed to her knees.

“Hey! Are you okay?!”

“Haa... haa...”

On the surface, she just looked exhausted—but you could tell the fatigue went deeper.

“No good... I can’t manage the mana consumption anymore.”

“Damn it. We need to find someplace to hide. If we stop fighting, we’ll lose less mana and aura—urgh?!”

Just as he said that, a monster suddenly sprang out and pounced on Basara.

‘Too late!’

It came too fast for him to react—he was about to be helplessly struck down.

SPLAT!

But even though blood splattered, Basara wasn’t seriously hurt.

“Ashuria Abelgard!”

“......”

The sharp claws of the monster had pierced not Basara, but Ashuria’s shoulder.

“Why... why did you...?”

“Can you still stand?”

Instead of answering, she asked a question in return.

“......”

CRACKLE!

She unleashed her signature magic, lightning, and cleared away the monsters, then pointed in one direction.

“There’s a small gap over there. Let’s head that way.”

“O-Okay.”

Struggling to move, they entered a small hole in the wall of the cave.

As soon as they were inside, Basara laid Rubas down gently.

Then, he rushed over to Ashuria, who had collapsed against her staff.

“Hey! Are you alright?!”

“Don’t shout. My head’s ringing.”

She said quietly, closing her eyes slowly.

“Damn it. If this keeps up, we’re all done for. Is there any way out of this?”

“No.”

“Then does it even matter if we keep moving?”

“If we stay still, we’ll die anyway.”

Listening to her plain, emotionless responses, Basara couldn’t help but feel she lacked all humanity.

Still, he began to gather his aura.

“At this rate, we won’t even last 10 more minutes. You’ve used far more mana than us.”

“20 minutes. Maybe less if the fighting gets intense.”

The only small relief was that the monsters didn’t seem to follow them into this narrow crevice.

“Why is there even a space like this in a monster’s stomach...?”

“It’s like an antibody cell. We’re being treated as foreign bodies. That monster’s food is our aura and mana.”

The human body, in contrast, was just useless waste it didn’t need to digest.

“Let’s at least take care of your wounds first.”

Basara rummaged through his belongings and took out a small medicine box.

“Not sure how effective it’ll be, but it’s great for stopping bleeding.”

“...Thanks.”

Without flinching, Ashuria took it and applied the medicine to her wounded shoulder without showing any sign of pain.

[Translator - Night]

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