Chapter 37

Chapter 37
## Chapter 37: The Warlock’s Trail (3)

The search yielded no meaningful results for several days.

To the north of Remtana, a sprawling, unobstructed plain unfolded. There were very few trees to block one’s vision; instead, a sea of primroses, cat’s claw blossoms, and an endless variety of wild flora created a brilliant tapestry of color. It was a picturesque setting for a spring stroll, but a logistical nightmare for finding a sorcerer trying to remain hidden.

Concluding that this direction was a dead end, Kadim turned his attention to the east. The outskirts consisted of modest farmsteads, which eventually gave way to flatlands similar to the north. The elusive magic user was nowhere to be found there, either.

Eventually, Kadim visited the commissioner’s office to inquire about alternative leads. Enrico rubbed his temples, a deep crease forming on his brow.

“Actually… I intended to question a clerk working under Ymir, but she hasn’t reported for duty in days. She left a brief message claiming personal leave, yet the timing is suspicious. We are currently looking into whether Ymir himself is linked to these events.”

Kadim’s gaze sharpened. This news carried an ill omen.

He shifted his line of questioning, asking if there were any specific locations—regardless of distance—where someone could realistically hide. Enrico spent a long moment studying the parchment map before tapping a finger on a specific landmark.

“Aside from the Twin Canyons in the southwest, the only significant feature is this stony peak about a two-hour trek to the west. However, there are no known caverns or structures there… I find it unlikely Ymir would choose such a spot, but…”

Kadim scrutinized the area Enrico indicated. Slowly, a confident grin spread across his face.

“On the contrary, I believe that is exactly where he is.”

Without delay, he sprinted westward from Remtana.

He moved with the velocity of a gale, traversing the two-hour path in less than thirty minutes. Upon reaching the destination, Kadim let out a sharp whistle of realization.

The moment he drew close, a repulsive sensation crawled across his skin. A thick, suffocating aura rose from beneath the earth—a miasma of stagnant energy and the stench of various foul creatures, reminiscent of his past run-ins with trolls. There was no question; he had found the mark.

Kadim looked up at the rocky formation.

The sight was intimately familiar. Just like the Twin Canyons, he had explored this peak during his previous life and within the game world. It had been the site of a minor quest involving a stolen heirloom. He had hunted a band of highwaymen to this very location, discovering their secret lair.

To a casual observer, it appeared to be nothing more than a desolate, low-rising hill of stone. In reality, it sat atop a sprawling subterranean stronghold, a relic built by a fallen civilization for their final stand.

‘I didn’t expect anyone to be utilizing this ruin anymore.’

The gateway to the fortress was perfectly camouflaged against the natural cliffside. It required a specific incantation to trigger the mechanism that crumbled the stone facade. While the interior was likely decaying, it provided a perfect sanctuary for someone with dark secrets.

Kadim held the secret phrase in his memory, but he didn’t enter immediately. He wasn’t entirely ready for a direct confrontation with the warlock. Instead, he wedged himself into a narrow crack in the rocks to keep watch.

After a half-hour vigil…

*Rumble—*

A section of the mountainside shifted and collapsed. From the dark opening, a group of small creatures emerged.

* *Chiiik, chiik!*
* *Chiiiik!*
* *Chiik, chiik, chiik!*

They were Monoeyes, beasts he had fought before.

The wizard’s presence was confirmed. Four of the creatures took flight, and the stones hovered back into place, sealing the entrance as if it had never been disturbed.

However, one of the scouts sensed a presence.

* *Chiik?*

Rather than following its kin, it descended, peering into the shadows of the rock face. It hovered directly in front of the barbarian.

With a movement like a striking viper, Kadim snatched it out of the air and crushed it within his palm.

* *Jiiik!*

A high-pitched shriek ended abruptly. Viscous fluids and mangled bits of flesh leaked through his fingers. Kadim wiped the filth onto the stone and prepared to retreat.

He decided the assault would happen tonight, once his final preparations were in order.

—

Returning to the workshop of Gullak, Kadim was met with a startling admission.

“…It was a failure.”

“What did you say?”

“The refinement process I attempted… I couldn’t pull it off.”

Kadim’s face darkened with a murderous shadow.

What was this old fool talking about? He had bragged about his skill being equal to the dwarves of legend. After Kadim had provided him with top-shelf liquor, this was the result? A cold rage began to simmer in his chest.

Fortunately, the blacksmith continued before Kadim could react.

“…I lost two of the pieces. I tried to melt the fragments down to the core to fashion them into shortswords, but the divine enchantment dissipated during the process. I only managed to succeed with the four daggers where I limited myself to sharpening the original shards. I apologize for my arrogance; this is a mark of shame for me.”

Gullak reached for a rack and carefully presented four daggers.

They were housed in crimson-tinted metallic sheaths that matched the hilt wrapping. Even inside the scabbards, a faint warmth radiated from them, though the material did its best to contain the heat.

Kadim gripped one of the handles. The custom grooves were a perfect fit for his large hand. He secured the ring on the sheath and pulled the weapon free.

*Whoosh—!*

A crimson blade erupted with a fierce, burning energy. What had once been a jagged, broken piece of metal was now a lethal point. A fire reminiscent of the underworld, smelling of brimstone, danced along the edge, seemingly hungry to burn anything it touched.

These were daggers forged from the armor of a holy knight, repurposed into hilts and sheaths to house the shards of a shattered divine blade.

This was the singular method to harness the power of a holy weapon without it rejecting the wielder.

To be honest, Kadim had been skeptical they could be created at all. This outcome exceeded his expectations. He offered a rare word of praise to the dejected smith.

“These are exceptional. You did well, old man. Had I taken these to anyone else, I doubt even one would have survived the forge.”

Gullak’s expression brightened, and he revealed a gap-toothed grin. His professional pride, though bruised, remained intact.

After retrieving his upgraded Mosquito, Kadim paid a handsome sum in gold. He left the forge and went straight to his lodgings to finalize the rest of his gear.

He donned reinforced leather spaulders over his clothes. He applied wax to his boots and secured the laces. He tightened his belt—reinforced with an iron core—and systematically attached his various weapons to the loops and rings. He then decanted demon blood into portable glass tubes.

The high-grade blood intended for ‘Agility’ had spoiled and thickened. He decided it would be best to exhaust that supply during the coming battle.

The blood used for possession was still viable. Knowing the warlock likely specialized in mental manipulation, he packed two extra doses.

He had only a small amount of Hydra blood left, which he designated as a last resort. Consuming three different types of essence in a single night would push his internal frenzy to a catastrophic level.

Fully equipped, Kadim rolled his shoulders and vaulted out of his window, once again sprinting toward the west.

The horizon was painted in the deep reds of a dying sun. As the light faded, a cool dusk settled in. There would be no moon this evening, leaving the twilight feeling thin and hollow.

Reaching the base of the rock mountain, Kadim realized he wasn’t the only one who had been getting ready.

* *Kiik, kieeek!*
* *Shiiiik, shiiiik…*
* *Kerrrr…*
* *Kuwoooooh!!*

Goblins with glowing yellow eyes, orcs breathing heavily, a troll wielding a massive bone club, screeching harpies…

A chaotic assembly of monsters that usually fought amongst themselves now stood in a unified line, guarding the entrance to the peak. It was as if they had been expecting his arrival.

“Hah.”

A dry laugh escaped him. He was aware the warlock could influence beasts, but this scale was unprecedented. The region was supposed to be clear of monsters—evidently, the warlock had been breeding or gathering them within the fortress.

Standard military doctrine would call for an entire battalion to clear this many foes. And this was likely just the vanguard; more surely waited inside. Any sane person would have turned back.

Kadim was not concerned with sanity.

The number of enemies didn’t change the objective. It simply meant there were more throats to cut. The barbarian bared his teeth in a predatory snarl. He pulled a vial from his vest and crushed the glass of the spoiled demon blood between his teeth, swallowing the contents.

A sickening, iron-like taste coated his throat.

* *Kieeeek!*

Adrenaline and bloodlust flooded his veins.

*BOOM!*

Kadim launched himself forward, a blur of motion.

“Hwaaaaah!”

To the monsters, the barbarian seemed to vanish into thin air.

* *Kuruk?*

He reappeared in their midst like a reaper.

*Squelch!*

* *Huerk…*

A goblin at the front barely saw a shadow before trying to scream. Instead, it choked on its own blood. It died without ever realizing its skull had been split in two.

* *Shii…*

An orc standing nearby was next. Before it could even turn its head, Kadim’s blade took it in the side, twisted through its vitals, and erupted through the ribs. The force of the blow lifted the massive creature off its feet. Blood geysered out, instantly absorbed by the thirsty edge of Mosquito.

*Stab, slash!*

* *Kii…*
* *Kiee…*

Kadim moved like a whirlwind, piercing a goblin’s neck while simultaneously disemboweling another. He hacked the limbs off a third and kicked it aside. He twisted his body to avoid a bone mace and buried his sword deep into a troll’s open mouth.

* *Kerrruk…!*

His movements were too fast and his blade too dark for the monsters to track. They only understood the carnage through the sensation of cold steel and the terrifying heat that followed each strike.

Kadim, however, saw everything with crystalline clarity. His heightened senses processed every detail: the panicked retreat of a goblin, the trembling hand of an orc, the ruined face of the troll, and the overwhelming scent of fresh iron in the air.

*Whirl, thud!*

* *Kuwek!*

He launched a hand axe, shattering a troll’s head. The giant dropped its weapon and crashed to the earth. A hulking orc lunged at his back, but Kadim spun on his heel, parrying the clumsy axe and swinging Mosquito in a devastating horizontal arc.

*Slash, tear, crack!*

The orc and several surrounding monsters were caught in the radius. Flesh was stripped, organs were exposed, and bones were pulverized into a red slurry. It wasn’t just a sword wound; it looked as though they had been caught in a mechanical shredder.

Checking his weapon for damage after such a brutal display, Kadim was pleased to see the blade was unscathed. The blacksmith’s reinforcements were holding up.

A small circle of empty space formed around him. No monster dared to step into the blood-soaked ground that now surrounded the barbarian.

Then, the aerial threats descended.

* *Kirruk, kirruruk!*

Harpies dived with their talons extended, a high-speed assault that usually left ground-based warriors helpless.

Kadim met them head-on. He leaped into the air as the first one reached him, grabbing it by the leg and slamming its skull into the dirt using its own momentum.

*Crunch!*

* *Kek…!*

The harpy’s head burst open. The others shrieked in terror, trying to pull out of their dives. Kadim decided to end their flight immediately.

*Zing, roar—!*

He drew one of the heat-infused daggers. He threw it, and it streaked through the air like a bolt of crimson lightning. He followed with three more in rapid succession.

Each blade found its mark in the wing joints of the harpies. The fire embedded in the shards ignited upon impact, expanding into roaring infernos that consumed the creatures mid-air.

* *Kieeeek!*

The power of the hellfire daggers was absolute.

One by one, the flaming harpies fell like meteors. Kadim walked to a charred remains, retrieved his blade, and threw it again, pinning another bird to the sky. His sheer strength turned the daggers into projectiles more lethal than any siege engine.

*Whoosh, burn!*

* *Kieek, kieek!!*

The night sky was momentarily lit as if the sun had returned. The screaming, burning harpies created a macabre display of fire and death.

The spectacle was brief. Before the dust could even settle, the harpies were reduced to ash.

* *Kirrurur…*
* *Kir, kek…*

Charred feathers mixed with the growing lake of blood. Disemboweled orcs, mutilated goblins, and a headless troll lay scattered across the battlefield.

The few monsters left alive could only stare in horror.

* *Kiii, kiiiing…*
* *Kuu, kuuuk…*

“…”.

Standing in the center of the carnage—surrounded by severed limbs and the stench of death—the barbarian stood still. His eyes glowed with an unnatural, predatory red, his blades still dripping with the remnants of his enemies.