Vol 2. Chapter 410: Night and Light (6)

The saint of the God of Chaos.

This was the first time Cale had properly seen what he looked like.

“Ahh— It’s the saint—”

“O Light of Chaos—”

The believers around Cale openly revealed their deep faith toward the saint without hesitation.

He’s different from what I expected.The Heavenly Demon’s transmitted voice reached him.

Rather than a saint, he looks more like a butcher.He was right.

Cale’s gaze turned toward the saint.

The first thing that caught his eye was the gray color of his eyes.

The God of Chaos.

The wave of gray aura that god had unleashed.

Those gray eyes, which brought that wave to mind, somehow looked hollow.

The next thing that caught his eye was his build.

That body is thoroughly trained.

He was the complete opposite of Jack, the saint of the Sun God.

Even through the loose priest’s robe, it was easy to tell that he had a solid physique.

It was a body trained just enough rather than overloaded with muscle, so rather than a warrior, the word knight—

No. The Heavenly Demon was right. He really does look like a butcher.

Lean, yet solid.

Long limbs.

Straight posture.

Moderately tall.

And—

His eyes.

Those hollow eyes were somehow cold and murderous.

Cale felt like he understood why the Heavenly Demon had described him as a butcher.

The saint seemed to carry a scent of blood that could not be explained.

That did not mean he literally smelled like blood.

It was just that peculiar atmosphere unique to someone who had walked that kind of path.

He won’t be easy.The Ancient Tree said a word.

He smells unpleasant.The Water that Devours the Sky revealed its disgust without reserve.

Then it added one more thing.

Cale. Until you reach the point of the plan, don’t reveal yourself any more than absolutely necessary.It warned him.

The dominating aura, and even me. Even if you use your powers, do not bring either of us out today.The Water that Devours the Sky and the dominating aura.

The moment the slightest trace of either of us is revealed, that saint will immediately realize that we possess the power of the God of Chaos. And he’ll know exactly who we are and where we are.Those two powers had one thing in common.

Because we carry chaos.Cale expressed through silence that he would follow that meaning.

He won’t be easy.

That bastard of a saint was no joke.

Because he carried the air of a butcher.

And he isn’t even trying to hide that air.

He was openly revealing his bloodlust.

No. It’s not bloodlust—

It was different from the kind of force that comes from deliberately trying to harm someone.

Rather, it was simply that he had been born—

Right. That kind of murderous force is natural to that saint. It’s inborn.

Cale glanced around.

“Ahh—”

“O Saint—!”

Primordial Night.

The center of the basin.

The believers sent even more fervent cheers toward the man slowly descending there.

The saint was doing nothing, not even using divine power, and yet people were yielding to the murderous force he gave off and praising him all the same.

“......”

Even in the middle of that, Cale looked around.

Believers packed in tightly.

Cale was currently standing to the north of the basin. It was the very path the saint was taking as he descended toward the basin.

The saint’s back as he walked toward the sacrifices entered Cale’s sight.

The east.

Eruhaben and Gashan were there.

The west.

Rosalyn and the Heavenly Demon were together.

East and west.

The moment Cale sent the signal, Eruhaben and Rosalyn would immediately activate the large-scale flight magic circle.

The south.

Cale looked toward where Alberu Crossman was standing.

Hmm.

Their eyes met.

Alberu had already been looking at Cale.

They were quite far apart, but Cale was sure their eyes had met.

Hm?

But something was strange.

Tilt.

Alberu tilted his head to one side, then looked up at the sky.

Even though it was still the gray sky.

Alberu stared at it and kept tilting his head, as if something about it was strange.

Hm.

Cale was curious, but stopped paying attention.

Because—

THUD!

The moment the drum sounded briefly—

“......”

“......”

Everything around them fell silent.

The saint stepped into the center of the basin where the sacrifices were.

Step. Step.

Only he was moving.

The believers watched him with bated breath.

And the sacrifices—

“......!”

“!!”

They wanted to say something, but their mouths were gagged, and their hands and feet were bound, forcing them to remain kneeling.

“......”

Cale quietly watched them.

Not yet.

There was only one moment to send the signal.

When the sky opens.

The moment the saint stepped onto the center of Primordial Night, the Upside-Down Night, and was about to begin the ritual.

The gray mist clears, and the sky opens.

The dark moon would appear.

At that moment, Eruhaben and Rosalyn would immediately activate the large-scale flight magic circle according to Cale’s signal.

The two of them had already finished all the calculations, and Rosalyn had even taken out every last magic stone and carved additional magic circles to shorten the time.

Of course, they’ll be discovered instantly.

It was magic meant to lift over five hundred people into the air all at once.

No matter how great an ancient dragon and a great mage they were, it was not the kind of magic that could be carried out in only a few seconds.

They’ll need shields too.

They were planning to raise the sacrifices upward while also deploying shields around them.

It takes time.

In other words, it had already been expected that both casting the magic and carrying it out would take a certain amount of time.

Handling that part is our job.

The Heavenly Demon, Gashan, Alberu, and Cale.

That was the portion assigned to the four of them.

Before the ritual began, after looking around this place, the Heavenly Demon had said in an indifferent tone,

More than a third of the believers here have strength equal to that of a typical Demonic Cult warrior.

A regular Demonic Cult warrior.

In other words, strength equivalent to a second-rate martial artist in the Central Plains martial world, which meant about the same as a lower-ranking knight of a royal palace.

Swordsmen, mages, spearmen. The believers here are quite varied.

On top of that, the kinds of power they possessed were varied as well.

Cale. This won’t be easy.

If one judged by absolute strength, there were only a few people here who could truly stand against Cale’s group.

But the large number of believers and priests of the Order each possessed a certain level of combat ability.

This won’t be easy.The Ancient Tree swallowed a groan as it spoke.

Right. It would not be easy for only four people to face all of them.

Cale.Eruhaben’s voice rang out.

The saint’s side won’t be easy either.And the people who had come with the saint.

The only one walking toward the center of the basin was the saint himself.

But the central figures of the Order who had appeared here with him all looked strong.

The bishop?

One bishop, and priests who looked like high-ranking figures.

On top of that, even several people who looked like holy knights.

Six people.

At minimum, Gashan’s level.Just as Eruhaben said, they all looked like experts at least on the level of Gashan, the Tiger Tribe Chieftain.

THUD!

The drum sounded again.

The ancient dragon and the Ancient Tree no longer spoke to Cale.

There was no helping it.

Splash.

The saint took a step.

The Upside-Down Night.

Toward the small pool of water at the center, the lake.

Splash.

Without giving off any particular aura, he walked across the surface of the water.

No matter how much murderous force he carried.

No matter how little his appearance and facial atmosphere suited the title of saint.

Splash.

The way he walked was upright.

And from the sight of him walking atop the water as if walking across land, there was something holy about him.

Splash.

The moment he reached the center.

In other words, the moment he reached the altar—

Hah... hah.Suddenly the Miser of Destruction, the Fire of Destruction, began breathing heavily.

Mine...!That altar was already the Fire of Destruction’s property.

Sniff, sniff.This time the Sound of the Wind was sniffing again.

The divine relic. The divine relic under the water has started to stir little by little! That... mine, no, ours......!No.

It belonged to Blue Wolf.

But Cale did not want to make the Sound of the Wind feel down, so he simply remained silent.

Duke Hinpa.

He recalled the memories of Guide Hinpa.

Because he knew the moment of the ritual that was about to unfold.

“......”

The saint looked around.

The last place his gaze stopped was the circular ground surrounding the Upside-Down Night.

The arena where the sacrifices would kill and be killed by one another.

“......”

Meeting those emotionless eyes, the sacrifices instinctively averted their gaze, chilled by some unknown dread.

THUD—!

The drum sounded.

The saint raised a hand.

Cale knew what was about to happen.

Because he had seen it in Duke Hinpa’s memories.

Swooosh—

The saint swept his hand through empty air.

SHAAAA—

Wind swept across the center of the basin.

Crackle.

“!”

“......!”

The people captured as sacrifices opened their eyes wide.

Gray gags, shackles, ropes.

Everything that had restrained them disappeared.

No, it turned into smoke and drifted upward into the sky.

“!”

“......!”

They immediately opened their mouths, trying to say something.

THUD!

But the drum sounded once more.

“!!”

“......!”

And they could do nothing.

Hmm.

Cale looked down at his own arm.

Goosebumps had risen on it.

It’s the aura of the God of Chaos.The Ancient Tree’s low voice rang out.

SHAAAA—

The wind blew once more.

The saint’s robe flapped.

Wind spreading out from him.

That gray aura carried on the wind.

Fear.

It was the Fear of Chaos.

Of course, the intensity was extremely faint.

“!”

“......!!”

But it was enough to plunge the sacrifices into fear and keep them from speaking carelessly.

“Ahh—”

“Ah—”

And at the same time, it was enough to throw the believers into ecstasy.

The ability to make tens of thousands of people all feel the same aura evenly, and to regulate it just enough so they could sense his power.

He’s strong.

That saint. That bastard was really strong.

He might even be stronger than Wanderers Cho and Ryeon.

SHAAAA—

The saint, who had stirred up the wind, carefully knelt down.

Looking up at the altar, he clasped both hands together.

“O Chaos—”

Thud.

All the believers around him fell to their knees.

And joined their hands together.

Cale did the same.

Only the sacrifices watched this and trembled anxiously.

The saint continued.

“The night has come to return to the beginning, where all things first began.”

The moment he said that—

RUMBLE—

The ground shook.

More precisely, the cliffs of the gorge surrounding this land trembled in fine vibrations.

Glance.

Cale’s gaze turned upward.

It was opening.

No, it was disappearing.

The gray mist was gradually growing thin.

Darkness was visible beyond the mist.

At last, the sky was opening.

And—

RUMBLE—

The Primordial Root was withdrawing the bridge that had connected the cliffs.

“......”

Cale closed his eyes.

It was that moment.

Cale. Not yet?Eruhaben’s voice rang out.

It’s too slow.Even in the middle of that, the saint’s voice echoed out.

The wind was carrying his voice clearly even farther.

“For the return of Chaos—”

Cale, they’re about to brainwash the sacrifices—Cale opened his eyes.

I hear it.

Far away.

The news he had been waiting for reached him.

A grin spread across his lips.

Whoooosh—

Wind gathered around his ankles.

Then he stood up.

He had his hood pulled low, hiding his face, and the believers looked at him in confusion—

But Cale was already moving.

And there was someone else who realized the abnormality next.

“!”

The saint stopped speaking.

He sprang to his feet.

The very first place his gaze turned was the south.

KWAHHHHH—!

A deafening roar was coming.

But that roar did not stop. It was growing closer and closer.

Incredibly fast.

“!”

Under the dark moon night sky, now that the gray mist had cleared—

Something could be seen shooting upward as if piercing the sky.

Ice.

Ice was thrusting upward like a spike toward the sky.

KWAHHHHH—

Then it shattered in an instant and covered the surrounding area.

And—

Fire!

There was fire ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) as well.

Fire shooting upward as if it too would pierce the sky.

But something was strange.

It was not ordinary fire.

Like liquid, like lava, scarlet fire swept across the area like a wave.

And that wave was coming closer.

Closer and closer.

The two people standing atop that wave of fire also began to come into view.

“So the saint is over there! You chaos bastards, you dared betray us?!”

“......”

Wanderers Cho and Ryeon.

It was the two of them.

An instant.

In truly only a few seconds, they were rapidly closing in on this place.

And in that brief time in which everyone recognized it—

“!”

The saint could not respond to them.

Whoooosh—

The sound of wind came from behind him.

But it was not his wind.

Not the wind raised by chaos.

Wind approaching fast.

The moment his attention was caught for just an instant by the confusion created by fire and ice.

That very fleeting instant.

Whoooosh—

A single gust rapidly reached all the way to the saint.

It was the leap of someone prepared.

At the same time, the ones who had noticed the anomaly almost as quickly as Cale had were already moving.

WOOOOONG—

WOOOOOO—

Red mana and platinum mana, enormous pillars of mana, shot up from the west and the east.

Then their mana poured toward the center, toward the sacrifices.

Caw, caw.

Beside Eruhaben, Gashan had already entered a berserk state and was summoning crows from all directions.

The night sky.

A night where only the starlight of the dark moon existed.

The crows shot upward into that dark night sky.

WOOOO—

And Rosalyn, rapidly casting magic while wielding red mana.

Beside her stood the Heavenly Demon with his arms crossed.

Dark red aura slowly rose around him.

Fainter than the divine aura the saint had been releasing, yet an aura filled with absolute conviction.

The Heavenly Demon, the god of the Demonic Cult, stood by Rosalyn’s side like a gatekeeper.

“......”

And Alberu looked up at the sky and gripped the hilt of his sword.

Wooo—

The sword that held the sun was trembling little by little.

It conveyed its will to him, telling him to draw it from the scabbard at any moment.

But Alberu looked north.

Whoooosh—

The saint had no time to pay attention to the sudden anomaly rising among the believers.

The massive turbulence of mana and magic.

Because—

Wind.

Wind that had forced its way in between the winds of chaos.

A wind that felt refreshing, yet somehow eerie.

The saint turned his head.

KWAHHHH—!

KWAHHHH—!

Even in the middle of that, explosions from the fire and ice advancing to destroy this place kept resounding.

But the saint’s senses told him—

I’ll die.

This wind at his back right now.

If he failed to avoid it, he would die.

The saint’s hand moved.

BANG!

With a short explosion, the saint retreated backward.

Splash.

The saint stood upon the water, knocked back from the altar.

A man was smiling in front of him.

The hood fell away, revealing the man’s appearance.

“Hi.”

It was Cale.

He greeted the saint.

Then he said brightly,

“That’s a shame. If possible, I was hoping to ambush you a little.”

The saint’s eyes shook.

“—!”

He could not speak.

He had no time to pay attention to the sacrifices.

No time to pay attention to those coming to destroy the holy land.

Not even the smallest opening remained.

All of his attention was focused solely on the man whose hood had fallen away.

The man wearing a black mask.

The saint reached out his hand.

But—

“No need to drag this out.”

Cale had already prepared everything.

The ritual?

The sacrifices?

Cale thought.

From the saint’s perspective, the ritual could simply be done again.

It would take more time, but it was not something he would abandon just because it failed once.

But what would make the saint and the rest of this Order’s leadership completely lose their minds?

What would suck all reason out of them the fastest?

Flaaap—

Five parchments spread open with a flutter.

“Heh.”

Smiling, Cale tore one of them.

Of course, if it had been ordinary parchment, there was no way it would have torn from Cale’s hand strength alone.

RIIIP—

[Go to the hidden place in the archive room and acquire the ‘Record of the Power of Chaos’.]

[Go to the Upside-Down Night and tear up the acquired record.]

Because this was a game!

“---!”

The saint could not even speak as he stared in horror.

Watching him, Cale cheerfully tore up the treasured “fear” record of the Order.

Then he shouted boldly.

Toward the saint and the leadership of the Order rushing at him.

“Don’t come any closer!”

He threatened them.

“If you do, I’ll tear all of these up!”

Holding the remaining four records, Cale grinned happily.

All anyone could see was the crooked smile not covered by his mask.

“And this too!”

THUD!

Cale stomped down with wind in his step.

Standing atop the altar, irreverently even bracing one leg as he thumped the altar with his foot, Cale shouted,

“If you touch me, I’ll break this too!”

Once Cale got this far, he could not hold it in anymore.

“Kahahaha!”

He burst out laughing without even realizing it.

You sound like a villain.He ignored the gluttonous priestess.

And thought,

This is weirdly fun.

He felt like he understood why villains acted like this.

For the first time in a while, it felt like Cale’s stress was being relieved.

The dark moon.

Under the opened night sky.

At the center of Primordial Night, the holy land of the Order of the God of Chaos, Cale stood there in a mask, laughing in delight.

“...This is insane.”

Alberu, who had been calmly watching all this unfold amid the urgent and pressing situation, squeezed his eyes shut.

But the corners of his mouth were twitching upward too.