Chapter 172

Chapter 172
## Chapter 172

### Kyushu Crisis (4)

A modest peak was completely enclosed within a bizarre, semi-spherical barrier that resembled cracked glass.

Rumble—!

A thunderous detonation, violent enough to rock the heavens and the earth, tore out from the epicenter.

Simultaneously, a terrifying shockwave of sheer destruction rippled through the immediate area, though such a sight was no longer unexpected.

The terrain had become entirely unrecognizable, fractured and gouged with deep craters as though it had endured a relentless saturation bombardment.

Shredded remnants of uprooted trees and shattered boulders littered the landscape, serving as a testament to the utter devastation.

Inevitably, the modest mountain cabin that had stood nearby had already vanished without leaving a single trace.

Along with the unfortunate decoy trapped within its walls.

“Kuwooooh!”

Boom—!

A metallic, muscle-bound monstrosity measuring over three meters in height was thrown backward, crashing into a distant ridge and causing it to cave in with a violent rush of displaced air.

He pulled himself out from the mound of debris after a short delay, looking every bit as durable as his appearance suggested, yet he staggered unsteadily—likely due to the compounding force of the impacts—and abruptly spat up a glob of dark, blackened blood.

[“Curse it! Are you fools giving me proper backup? I was nearly killed just now!”]

[“W-what are you blathering about? You are only drawing breath because of my reinforcement!”]

[“Tsk, shut your mouth and rejoin the fray if your wounds are mended! We have no time for petty squabbling!”]

[“Squabbling?! What utter rubbish!”]

A brief, chaotic argument flared across the telepathic link they had established for rapid coordination, but they swiftly reformed their lines and united their strength to hunt down the Demon King who had manifested in the mortal realm.

The majority of these individuals were hardly the sort to engage in teamwork, but the immense wealth of experience they had gathered on their journey to the pinnacle of power made overcoming that flaw a simple matter.

“Hooo!”

The metallic fiend, ‘Tank’, who had fully mended his flesh in a flash owing to his absurd regenerative traits and the auxiliary magic of his comrades, inhaled deeply and propelled himself forward once more like a guided rocket.

He moved at a preposterous velocity, shattering the supersonic barrier.

Rumble!

A colossal shockwave battered the terrain as the very atmosphere in his trajectory detonated.

It was a ruinous charge, one capable of pulverizing any obstacle in his path through sheer, unadulterated mass and momentum.

Boom!

Yet that massive, careening projectile was halted dead in its tracks prior to reaching its destination, precisely as had occurred every time before.

“Ugh! Dammit, this wretched filth!”

An localized manifestation of the abyss, conjured in total defiance of natural physical constraints, soaked up the momentum and writhed erratically before beginning to seep directly into Tank’s flesh.

He possessed transcendent physical durability and exceptional resistance to sorcery, yet this bizarre energy was progressively eroding his form in a manner entirely distinct from standard mana.

[“Ugh! Dispel it, hurry! This sickening mire is eating right through my spell resistance!”]

However, the operatives of Heaven’s Turn Society had come well-equipped and were not about to endure the assault passively.

“Almighty Myurel! Cast your divine radiance upon this domain!”

A soft, twilight luminescence radiated from a modest-looking woman who was administering auxiliary spells from the rear guard.

The malevolent energy of the abyss, upon making contact with the sacred power of the individual known as the ‘High Priestess’, lost its vigor and was ultimately driven back, failing to breach Tank’s innate defenses.

To be sure, she had not entirely neutralized the void through her singular might; she had merely diminished its potency. Even so, the combatants present were sufficiently skilled to capitalize on that brief window of vulnerability.

Boom!

Rumble—!

Violent detonations flared across all sectors, tearing through both the soil and the skies.

The vanguard of Heaven’s Turn Society launched a relentless, synchronized assault to overwhelm through sheer numbers, while Hahoe Mask continuously flickered through the dimensions, unleashing a staggering barrage of destructive spells in every direction.

It appeared as though his reservoir of mana was utterly boundless.

“…To think a Demon King would manifest in a place like this. How can a mere mortal wield such catastrophic power…”

The High Priestess, who whispered under her breath while summoning her holy light once more to bolster the frontline, suddenly went rigid as a paralyzing chill washed over her.

She had swept her eyes across the battlefield to pinpoint Hahoe Mask’s coordinates, and…

Their gazes locked.

It lasted for only a fraction of a second, but…

Crackle—!

A single moment of drifted focus in an arena of this caliber was more than enough to forfeit one’s life.

Crunch!

Grotesque, jagged fangs erupted from the earth directly beneath the High Priestess’s boots, instantly consuming the localized space before sinking back into the dirt.

The patch of land stood entirely vacant, devoid of any remnant, as though nothing had ever occupied it.

Scarcely anyone possessed the reflexes required to evade a sudden ambush that carried neither warning nor presence, and lamentably, she lacked that degree of prowess.

However, that implied…

It was not as if the battlefield was entirely devoid of someone capable of intervening.

“Ugh… My deepest gratitude. I was on the precipice of death…”

The High Priestess, completely unscathed, patted the cold perspiration from her bloodless features as she stood beside a gentleman clad in a suit toward the rear.

[Hmm—.]

In response, Hahoe Mask’s focus, dripping with profound irritation, shifted entirely toward that individual.

This occurred even as he maintained his dizzying evasion across the warzone, flanked by dozens of manifesting arcane circles, while simultaneously holding off nearly thirty top-tier combatants.

‘Truly extraordinary.’

The gentleman in the suit, serving as the manager, felt a surge of internal respect for his adversary while meticulously guiding his internal energy, ensuring his focus remained absolute.

His innate ability, known as “Administrator of the Small World”, was far more complex than a simple mechanism for sealing off an area.

That attribute was merely its most elementary function; the entirety of this enclosed domain was a realm completely subject to his jurisdiction.

Granted, he was no deity—merely an ‘administrator’—meaning he could not reshape the environment purely by whim, but wielding even a fraction of that authority granted him immense leverage.

He could even temporarily bypass the fundamental restrictions imposed by the laws of Earth.

‘Yet he remains a force at that baseline.’

The administrator clicked his tongue softly while shifting the spatial coordinates with a mere twitch of his finger.

Whoosh—

The patch of ground where he had been standing a mere breath ago was instantly consumed by pitch-black incinerating waves, dissolving into bubbling slag.

‘He is deliberately throttling his output to the absolute minimum, yet he executes maneuvers of this caliber. Had we not established this specialized zone, our entire force might have been annihilated by now.’

There was an explicit reason why Yulryeongja had persistently drummed in the necessity for absolute wariness.

Initially, he had dismissed it as the exaggerated complaints of someone who had suffered a humiliating defeat elsewhere, particularly since that individual was not even specialized for direct engagement…

‘Nonetheless, this territory belongs to me now. Hahoe Mask, you shall find no path of retreat from this place.’

Curbing the adversary’s output, bolstering the attributes of his comrades, and instantly transferring those in mortal peril to secure sectors.

He acutely perceived every single occurrence transpiring within his bounded field, progressively recalibrating the parameters of the engagement.

All to thoroughly cripple his target.

—

An endless array of esoteric spells burst forth from the magic arrays that manifested in rapid succession.

Arcing currents, raging infernos, abyssal fire, summoned fiends, undulating shadows, and blinding rays of light shattered the landscape in an instant, flaunting their destructive grandeur.

Yet the caster’s inner state was far from tranquil, despite the magnificent display—.

‘This is becoming incredibly tedious.’

Such was the reflection dominating Hans’s consciousness as he maintained his clash against Heaven’s Turn Society.

‘I anticipated they would devise a countermeasure of some description, but I did not foresee an encirclement of this caliber.’

Furthermore, it was not merely the spatial confinement that was dampening his capabilities.

He could not ascertain the exact number of participants contributing to the effort, but a multitude of distinct debuffs had been layered over him, binding his actions.

His typically flawless manipulation of dark mana was stumbling, and minor inefficiencies were beginning to mar his otherwise perfect spell matrices.

It felt precisely as though the overarching laws of this artificial environment were actively suppressing his existence, dictating an artificial ceiling to his capabilities.

‘Additionally, those holy casters present a distinct annoyance. Divine energy, which naturally counteracts the abyss, has been integrated with the spatial boundary, vastly magnifying its potency.’

Subduing them would have been a far simpler task had they been nothing more than conventional powerhouses.

However, awakened individuals who commanded an assortment of anomalous traits were not entities whose martial value could be calculated solely through raw output.

As Hans scanned for a tactical vulnerability while sustaining the chaotic melee,

“#$%@#.”

An unintelligible incantation drifted from his blind spot, capitalizing on a momentary lapse in his defenses.

‘Tsk!’

Thump! Rumble—!

Dozens of concussive impacts converged into a singular, devastating strike.

Hans reacted with immense speed and pivoted, but before he could execute a countermeasure, his protective ward—already worn thin—finally collapsed entirely while intercepting the enemy barrage.

Just as his nearly inexhaustible dark mana surged forward to reconstitute the barrier,

A fist, radiating a blinding aura of pure divine energy, buried itself deep into his diaphragm.

Crack!

Boom!

Hans’s form was propelled backward by the concussive force of the blast.

Even so, the mature martial artist in the traditional dobok who had delivered the precise strike bore an expression that was far from triumphant.

“#*%^&…”

Whoosh—

The reaction was entirely logical; the fist that had been coated in holy light was now thoroughly tainted by the corruptive essence of the abyss, and a malignant hex had triggered the instant contact was made, spreading across his entire frame.

“Gasp!”

He managed to purge the clinging remnants of the void by forcibly expelling his internal reserves, yet he could scarcely mask his deep apprehension.

[My word, they are quite persistent.]

Conversely, Hans had already restored his defensive ward, appearing entirely unscathed as though he had sustained no trauma whatsoever.

Yet that did not imply the assault had left him completely unaffected…

He had mended the damage instantly owing to the ‘undying’ properties of his “Immortal Heart”, but an offense infused with holy attributes—the polar opposite of his abyssal energy—within this irritating enclosed territory was consistently wearing down his reserves.

He was required to formulate an alternative approach before the situation deteriorated further.

Should the attrition persist indefinitely, he would ultimately be forced to withdraw from the field.

‘How absurd. I might permit those who fled to wander free, but for me, Hans, to retreat?’

This transcended the mere reputation of Hahoe Mask.

It was an entirely unfeasible course of action when weighed against the dignity of the ‘Immortal King’, the ultimate terror of Auterica.

‘The suppression within this pocket dimension is the primary source of frustration. Were it not for this boundary restricting my baseline output, I could easily override the secondary debuffs.’

Furthermore, his inability to decisively terminate his targets due to the gentleman in the suit manipulating the coordinates was proving to be a massive obstacle.

The singular casualties he had successfully claimed thus far were the two divine casters caught off-guard at the onset and three individuals of lesser capability.

Following those entries, he had failed to secure another kill because the suit-clad administrator was entirely preoccupied with extracting his personnel from harm’s way.

‘Regardless of how I analyze the situation, shattering this artificial realm is the most logical path. Yet they will scarcely grant me the leisure to attempt it.’

He commanded a technique capable of disrupting dimensional fabrics to dismantle this bounded field, but naturally, he could not orchestrate such high-tier sorcery without adequate preparation.

It was an impossible feat in an environment where the engagement pressed onward without a single breath of respite.

‘It might succeed if I were to flood the boundary with the abyss—an energy of a far superior tier—but he is highly vigilant against that specific vector, and the restriction applied to it is exceptionally severe.’

The dampening effects were growing increasingly precise the longer he remained within this territory and allowed the adversary to analyze his composition.

They were no longer merely weakening Hans’s raw output; they had begun to systematically throttle the ‘unidentified energy manipulated by Hahoe Mask’.

He might have found success had he counterattacked immediately prior to the enemy deciphering his nature.

The abyss, which already operated at a reduced efficiency upon Earth, was now further diluted by the specialized dampening field, rendering a sudden breakthrough of the barrier highly improbable.

However…

Flawless systems did not exist within reality, and every construct possessed a vulnerability.

‘He is suppressing the void by analyzing its manifestation through my person. To put it simply, the barrier cannot counter it so long as I am not the source channeling the abyss.’

An independent entity tied directly to his existence, yet distinct from his own body.

An entity of sufficient caliber to endure a highly concentrated infusion of abyssal power.

Hans directed a massive torrent of dark mana and abyssal energy directly into his “Immortal Heart” while maintaining his defensive maneuvers.

Unceasingly, compressing the mass to an extreme density.

The frequency with which he absorbed enemy strikes multiplied during this process, but he was a deathless being who could not perish so long as his core remained intact.

To pulverize his core, they would need to execute an assault capable of severing space itself…

In a sense, it was an engagement where defeat was an impossibility.

However…

Merely ‘avoiding defeat’ was entirely insufficient.

The sole outcome that befell Hans was total triumph!

And it was required to be an ‘absolute, crushing victory’.

[Hehehe— You are truly proving to be quite capable. In that case, I can scarcely afford to remain passive, can I?]

“What sort of deception is he preparing now?!”

“Maintain your focus! Do not break the line!”

The “Immortal Heart” throbbed and spasied with terrifying violence.

Ultimately, the moment it breached a critical concentration point,

Hans invoked a high-tier undead creature bound intricately to his soul.

[Manifest, Heratos.]

Squirm—

The Bone Dragon Heratos, fashioned from the skeletal remains of the Mad Dragon that had been utterly consumed by ‘insanity’.

Unlike an entity such as Entracio, this creature possessed restricted autonomy due to Hans personally serving as its substitute Dragon Heart.

Yet that arrangement implied…

In inverse terms, its absolute obedience surpassed that of any conventional thrall—.

Flap— Flap—

[Kyaaaaaah—!]

Heratos’s entire skeletal structure was already saturated with the condensed essence of the abyss as he materialized directly beneath Hans’s boots, hoisting his master upon his skull and surging into the air.

Crackle— Crack!

Naturally, his physical vessel was progressively fracturing under the sheer weight of the energy, but given that it was the calcified framework of a dragon, it possessed the durability to withstand the strain for a temporary window.

“What in the world?!”

“What is that monstrosity! How can an entity of that scale exist upon Earth?!”

“Hold on! Look at its maw…!”

A frontline operative of Heaven’s Turn Society pointed a trembling finger toward Heratos’s open jaws.

This was the culmination of continuously filtering the abyss and dark mana through his core prior to manifestation.

Despite having only just materialized, a catastrophic concentration of volatile energy was swirling within his maw, appearing on the verge of a violent detonation.

“Administrator! That entity, bring it down immediately…!”

“Ugh, it has surpassed my control…!”

Finally, that concentrated mass of power…

Before the assembled awakened could even begin to coordinate a defense,

[Kyaaaaagh—!]

Was unleashed directly upon the structural perimeter of the pocket dimension, focused to an absolute point.

Delivered in the highly direct manifestation of a dragon’s cataclysmic breath.

Rumble—!

Boom—!

“Ugh! Fall back! Abandon the engagement, sound the retreat!”

“M-Myurel! Shield your follower!”

“Abort the operation! The pocket dimension is fracturing! Instantly—”

Frantic vociferations erupted across both the telepathic channel and the open air as the collective force was utterly overwhelmed.

[Hahaha— Ah, the relief is exquisite! Indeed, this is the proper state of affairs! Hahaha!]

The “Small World” that had completely isolated the peak finally shattered into nothingness.

Hans, Heratos, and the surviving leadership of Heaven’s Turn Society materialized openly upon a ridge located within the southern territory of Kyushu.

Situated on the mountain slope overlooking the municipal area, a short distance from where the secret syndicate’s cabin had originally stood.

“Huh, what? W-what is that thing over there? A monster?!”

“M-mommy! Help me!”

“Kyaaaack—! What are the official Guardians doing?!”

It was at this precise juncture that the Bone Dragon from an alien realm—an entity no soul could have possibly foreseen—finally asserted its presence within the skies of Earth, framed by the panicked shrieks of the populace below.