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Chapter 187

Even if they all fail, well, there will be no end to the corrupted ones.

Having reached this conclusion, Ian shook his hands. The fireball he released from his grip illuminated the torch and scattered upon hitting the cave wall. The cave\'s interior came into view. Despite fighting a void monster, there were no traces of it. The only evidence of the event was the skull in his grasp and the now-empty shards of chaos.

So, it really was a separate space.

Thinking this, Ian finally opened the information window for the skull. It only took a few seconds for a bitter smile to spread across his lips.

All void spell levels increased...? Void spells, huh? It would have been nice to get an increase in chaos power recovery or something like that.

Well, the original purpose of dark relics was for the corrupted. It wasn’t surprising for such an option to appear. Besides, all other options, except this one, applied to him as well.

Besides boosting his Health and Mental Fortitude, it also slightly increased his relatively low Intelligence by one and came with various resistance options. Picking up the storage box that had fallen to the ground, he finally stood up.

There was no need to put the Skull of the Rift Walker back into the storage box. It appeared to be specifically made for securely sealing cursed objects, making it useful if he kept it on him.

At the very least, I can sell it to an imperial merchant.

Having tossed the storage box and the skull into his pocket dimension, he moved forward without even carrying a torch. He had no sense of how much time had passed. Whether only a few minutes or several hours had gone by, it wouldn\'t be surprising either way.

"...?"

Ian’s brow furrowed as he saw the cave entrance in the distance. The faint sounds of battle cries and shouts, the sharp clash of weapons, reached his ears. The unmistakable stench of monsters wafted to his nose.

Time wasn’t the problem.

Ian let out a wry chuckle as he propelled his body forward.

"Ugh, ugh—"

"Stop advancing, Thesa! Maintain your position!"

The cries of the monsters. The shouts of his companions became clear. As he dashed toward the cave entrance, Ian’s brow furrowed even more. The screams and shouts of the monsters weren’t just from one or two kinds.

There shouldn’t be many other monsters near the cave troll\'s nest.

Typically, such an unlikely event wasn\'t a good sign. Kicking off the ground and exiting the cave, Ian drew the Black Sword of the Third Apostle. The cool touch of the scabbard met his hand as the blade glided out smoothly and silently.

... As expected.

Ian surveyed the scene in an instant. It was exactly as he had heard. Not only goblins and kobolds but also beasts driven mad, like man-eating wolves and giant bats, filled the area.

Additionally, there were undead, like ghouls and skeletons. Creatures that normally killed each other were now mingled together, surging forward. Even around the companions standing with their backs to the cave entrance and the carriage, there were already heaps of remains of these monsters.

Normally, these creatures would have scattered in fear long ago, but now they charged relentlessly, as if bewitched.

... What, are they under some kind of dark magic?

"My lord! Finally...!" Philip turned around and shouted with a bright expression.

The other members, who were holding their positions, also turned their gazes.

"Well done," Ian muttered as he passed through them, immediately swinging his black sword.

Slash!

With a single swipe, the blade effortlessly sliced the charging goblin in half, as if it were nothing more than a piece of paper. The blade sliced through effortlessly, barely causing him any sensation. The goblin, now collapsing in a heap, let out a final, pitiful groan.

"Guard the carriage, pointy ear!"

"Philip! I\'m counting on you!"

Charlotte and Mev shouted almost simultaneously as they began their assault from their positions. Philip, who had originally been guarding the front of the carriage, adjusted his shield, and despite her displeased expression, Thesaya stood beside him.

Judging by the monster fluid covering their leather armor and weapons, they had already killed quite a few monsters. Their movements displayed incredible coordination, as if their sole focus was to prevent any monsters from entering the cave.

Slash, swish—

Ian, who had advanced ahead, continued to swing his sword relentlessly, occasionally unleashing the Whirlwind or Frost Wave to sweep away the monsters. It was a one-sided massacre.

These creatures weren\'t much of a threat in the first place, and their numbers made little of a difference. To protect Ian from being surrounded, Charlotte and Mev pressed on, defeating any monsters in their path.

Swish—

"Ki

... ek...."

The battle ended in less than ten minutes. Most of the monsters lay in pieces, their bodies crushed and torn apart.

The remaining creatures, as if their survival instincts had finally kicked in, hesitated before scattering in all directions.

Screeeech, screeeee—

The screams of the fleeing monsters echoed through the mountains.

"Did they really just gather by coincidence...?" Ian murmured, tilting his head as he tossed his black sword, untainted by a single drop of blood, back into his pocket dimension. The sword let out a low hum, as if reluctant to go, but it couldn’t resist Ian’s command.

"Did the ritual go well, Ian?" Mev approached, catching her breath. Her armor bore the evidence of the intense battle with various monster fluids covering it.

"There was a minor incident, but it went smoothly enough," Ian replied as he turned to look at the carriage beyond the darkness.

The carriage was intact, and none of the horses had died. Thesaya was holding the head of one horse with both hands, whispering something to it. The horses didn\'t even flinch, completely entrusting themselves to her touch. It seemed their calm demeanor was thanks to something she had done.

What could it be, since she can\'t use hypnosis anymore?

Ian pondered, observing Philip as he rummaged through the monster corpses with his sword.

Finally, Ian added, "When did this start happening?"

"Not long after you entered the cave," Charlotte replied, who was holding her battle ax.

She looked back as if piercing through the darkness of the forest and added, "They started gathering from all directions. Their target was the cave."

"The cave...?"

Ah, so that\'s what attracted them.

A faint, wry smile appeared on Ian\'s lips.

It seemed that the void magic emitted by the skull had attracted the monsters. Like moths to a flame, it must have been an irresistible lure. The cave couldn’t completely block the power of the void as perfectly as the secluded chambers of the corrupted ones.

"It seemed like every monster in the entire mountain had gathered here. Perhaps they even came from outside the mountain." Philip, who had entered the carriage empty-handed, came out carrying several leather canteens and spoke.

He handed a canteen to each of the three approaching the carriage and added, "We’ve been seeing monsters almost daily, but today was something else. I thought we might actually die from these things in the middle of nowhere."

"Anyway, you\'re exaggerating."

"I was half-serious. Look around. Even if there are more monsters, this is far too many."

Ian chuckled while drinking water and handed the canteen to Thesaya without a word.

However, Philip continued, pointing to the ground. "With this many, it\'s not surprising if they soon form groups and attack the villages. Besides, these creatures, whatever they’ve been eating, are unusually large."

That guy. He really doesn’t know when to stop.

Ian, clicking his tongue and lowering his head, quickly narrowed his brows and shrugged.

"Indeed, that’s true."

"Right? Even though they\'re not as big and monstrous as the ones we saw in the demonic realm, the goblins have an exceptionally well-built physique. Maybe only the stronger ones have survived near the Empire..."

"More likely, the environment has become more suitable for them," said Ian, kicking aside the corpses around the campfire.

"What do you mean by ‘more suitable environment’?"

"I told you, the entire frontier is being tainted by the madness of the Black Wall."

Ian added as he rekindled the campfire with a flicker of flame. "It’s affecting even the monsters outside the demonic realm."

In the game, when the borderlands turned into a demonic realm, even the regular monsters became bigger and stronger. It wasn’t surprising for a game to recycle old monsters with new colors or larger sizes. Now, similar changes seem to happen in reality.

Does it really need to be this realistic...?

Philip nodded as he sat across from Ian. "So... the Black Wall is the reason monsters are rampaging across the continent."

"The Empire might not be safe anymore. Monsters move in packs when their numbers grow. They’ll spread across borders."

Mev, sitting by the campfire, took off her helmet and placed it beside her. Thesaya dropped a bag next to Philip immediately after.

"What\'s the difference? Those bastards are everywhere, and we\'ll just kill them as we see them. Haven\'t we always done that? Stop talking nonsense, I\'m starving to death, so hurry—"

At that moment, a flash of light streaked across the distant sky, casting deep shadows on Thesaya’s face. A beat later, thunder rumbled. The horses neighed and stomped, and Thesaya, frowning, stood up and approached them. Again, the distant sky flashed, followed by more thunder.

"... Should we head into the cave? It looks like it might rain." Philip, who had been taking a bottle from his bag, looked up at the sky and asked.

Charlotte, who had stopped mid-sit, stared at the distant sky and said, "No. It won\'t rain."

"... With this thunder?"

"I’m a beastfolk. I can tell what the weather will be like today. It won’t rain. This thunder isn’t the kind that brings rain."

As if to answer Charlotte, the night sky flashed noisily. And it wasn’t just one thunderclap that followed.

The sky gave the impression of collapsing as a series of roars followed one another, from far away to relatively close.

"W-well, definitely. It doesn\'t seem like normal lightning–-" Philip, who had been speaking in a deliberately light tone, froze.

This time, even the dark clouds above their heads flashed brightly. Philip, whose whole body seemed to shake from the roar, mumbled in a daze.

"Did I see it wrong? Or did the clouds really flash purple...?"

"... I saw it too, Philip," Mev answered in a subdued voice, and as Charlotte was about to frown and confirm his words,

"It seems like something is happening," Thesaya said in a flat voice. She had been calming the horses, but now she was gazing at the distant northern sky.

Her voice continued, "I saw something strange. Far away, beyond the clouds."

"What exactly... Did you see?"

"I\'m not sure. It\'s gone now. But I definitely saw it."

As she spoke, Thesaya turned her head toward the campfire.

By then, veins had sprouted along the corners of her eyes, pulsating. A faint magical power flickered in her eyes, which were deep green like a swamp.

Looking straight into Ian\'s eyes, she added, "It was a gigantic shadow. Wriggling like fingers."