Barbarian's Adventure in a Fantasy World-Chapter 38: The Evil Descends (2)

The group left the estate and began their journey toward the troubled village. The distance wasn’t short—it would take them half a day even if they walked continuously. So, when they reached the halfway point, the guard commander suggested taking a break. The guards loosened their armor and began to rest.

Ketal also sat down by a tree, closed his eyes, and leisurely enjoyed the scent of grass and the gentle breeze. At that moment, he sensed someone approaching him. The presence hesitated, fidgeting as if uncertain, before cautiously moving closer. It wasn’t a familiar presence. It was the first time a stranger had approached him first. Ketal opened his eyes.

“Eek!” The sudden gaze startled the man, causing him to let out a shrill cry. “Hello...”

“Greetings,” Ketal replied.

The man had an intelligent-looking face. Gathering his courage, he carefully spoke. “Are you... Ketal, by any chance?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Aha, I thought so.” The man bowed deeply. “Thank you. I owe you my life.”

“Hmm?” Ketal tilted his head, puzzled.

The man continued, speaking cautiously. “About... the recent Dungeon incident.”

“Ah!” Ketal exclaimed as realization dawned on him. Kartos had taken about nine people hostage. The man in front of him was one of them. Upon closer look, Ketal vaguely remembered his face—though at the time, the man’s expression had been vacant and unrecognizable.

“You were one of the captives. I’m glad you’re safe,” Ketal said.

“Haha, thanks to you.” The man scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “You saved my life, and I thought I had to thank you at least once. So... thank you so much for rescuing me.”

The man bowed deeply again. If not for Ketal, he would have been killed and turned into a plaything of the lich. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was alive today because of Ketal.

Ketal felt equally pleased. Knowing that his actions had saved someone’s life filled him with great joy.

“By the way, what should I call you?” Ketal asked.

“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet,” the man replied, straightening his modest attire. “My name is Guraishan. I am a mage. Well, technically an apprentice mage since I haven’t officially earned the title yet.”

“A mage, you say!” Ketal’s eyes widened in interest. The man flinched under his gaze.

Did I say something unnecessary? Guraishan thought nervously. Barbarians and mages didn’t get along well. Barbarians despised mages, viewing them as weaklings who relied on tricks, while mages mocked barbarians as ignorant brutes.

However, Ketal was the one who had saved him. Guraishan had thought it necessary to explain himself, but now he regretted it.

However, instead of disdain, Ketal leaned in with a curious expression. “So, you can use magic?”

“N-no, not yet. I am still just an apprentice.”

“An apprentice...” Ketal said, intrigued.

Guraishan began to explain. He had been an ordinary village youth until a passing mage recognized his potential to wield mana. The mage had granted him permission to pursue the path of magic, accepting him as a temporary apprentice.

“Oh, I didn’t know that was possible,” Ketal mused.

“It’s rare, but apparently, there are cases like mine. They say magical talent sometimes manifests out of nowhere.”

“Then, does that mean you already knew about the Myst?” Ketal asked.

“Not exactly, but the mage said that I showed potential to manifest Myst and that potential led me to the path of magic.”

“What an interesting journey,” Ketal said, impressed. It was the quintessential fantasy tale. Yet, at the same time, it stirred a sense of melancholy within him.

I haven’t even had the chance to check if I have that kind of talent, Ketal thought. He quickly brushed away the fleeting gloom. A village boy being chosen by a wandering master—it was practically a protagonist’s story. Naturally, Ketal’s curiosity grew.

“So, why are you here?” he asked.

“My master’s first command was to reach the Magic Tower on my own,” Guraishan replied.

“The Mage Tower!” Ketal’s eyes sparkled.

Among the knowledge he had gleaned from the library, there had been mentions of the Mage Tower—a place where the greatest number of mages in the world resided. It was the hub of diverse schools of magic and home to many archmages conducting their research.

“The Mage Tower...,” Ketal repeated. “So, you’re on your way there.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, I got caught up in that mess with Kartos along the way. Ugh.” Guraishan shuddered, recalling the horrific experience. He now had another complaint to share with his master.

“I’d love to visit the Mage tower someday,” Ketal said.

“Excuse me?” Guraishan looked at him in surprise. A barbarian visiting the Mage Tower was a pairing as unlikely as a fish living out of water. But Ketal’s expression was utterly serious.

Guraishan cautiously responded. “If you ever come to the Mage Tower, mention the School of Shadows and my name, Guraishan. I am just an apprentice, so I might not be of much help, but I will welcome you as best as I can.”

“I’ll remember that,” Ketal said with a grin.

However, Guraishan didn’t dwell on it too much. Realistically, the idea of a barbarian setting foot in the Mage Tower was absurd.

“So, this commission is to fund your journey to the Mage Tower?” Ketal asked.

“Yes. The task is simple, and the pay is good. I saw no reason to refuse.”

“There are ominous rumors about this job,” Ketal noted.

“I’ve heard them too, but come on. The worst thing that could happen has already happened to me. What are the chances of that happening twice in a row?” Guraishan shook his head, laughing lightly.

Ketal merely smiled in silence.

***

A few hours later, they arrived at the village as dusk began to fall, with the sun dipping below the horizon. The world was painted in a crimson hue as the group entered the village, their faces tense, weapons gripped tightly in anticipation.

“What do you think?” the guard commander asked.

“I don’t sense any presence,” Aquaz replied quietly.

“Then it’s possible they simply fled,” the frowned commander remarked, gesturing sharply. The guards quickly began to search the village.

“Mercenaries! It’s your turn. Look for any signs or traces!” the commander ordered.

“Yes, yes.”

“Understood.”

Ketal scanned the village. It wasn’t large—barely big enough to house around a hundred people. Yet, it wasn’t a number that could vanish without leaving a trace. The guard commander was certain they would find something, even if it was small.

However, the more they searched, the stranger things became. One of the guards approached with a bewildered expression. “There’s food left behind.”

“It could be from people fleeing in a hurry,” the commander explained.

“No, that’s not what I mean, sir. There’s freshly cooked food—still warm,” the guard clarified.

“What...?” The commander’s face hardened. “Show me.”

The guard led him to a small house. Inside, a table was set with steaming potatoes and coffee. The rising steam indicated the food had been cooked just moments before their arrival.

The commander’s face twisted in confusion. “What is this?”

Contact with the village had been lost several days ago. Since then, numerous groups had come but never returned. The commander considered two possibilities: either the village had been overtaken, and its occupants subdued, or as Aquaz had suggested, some form of evil had descended upon the village.

Yet both possibilities seemed to be disproven. If evil truly existed here, there wouldn’t be freshly cooked food. And if someone had turned the village into a base, there should have been people around—but the village was deserted.

“Were there any traces of humans?” the commander asked.

“None, sir,” the guard replied, shaking his head in disbelief. “There’s no evidence of anyone leaving or hiding—not even a single footprint.”

The final possibility, that someone had fled in a rush after spotting their approach, was also ruled out.

“Just continue searching,” the commander ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

The others were equally perplexed. There were signs of life everywhere—freshly cooked food, untouched belongings—but not a single person was present. It was as though the village had been abandoned in an instant, leaving behind an eerie feeling. The searchers felt a growing sense of unease.

An hour later, the entire group gathered in the village square.

“What’s the situation?” the commander asked.

“It’s the same everywhere, sir,” one of the guards reported. “There’s evidence people were here moments ago, but no sign of anyone now. No tracks either.”

“Aquaz, do you have any insights?” the commander asked.

“I don’t know...,” Aquaz admitted, visibly unsettled. If evil had descended upon this place, the land itself should have been shrouded in darkness. Yet the village felt entirely ordinary, as if nothing had happened.

And yet, the strange circumstances were too unnatural to dismiss as coincidence. The group murmured anxiously, but even Aquaz could not provide an answer.

As the guard commander bit his lip in frustration, his gaze landed on Ketal. “Do you know anything?”

Ketal, who had once defeated a Swordmaster, was a man of extraordinary strength. If anyone could uncover something, it would be him.

However, Ketal also shook his head. “I didn’t find anything unusual either. There are signs of life, but no evidence of anyone leaving the village. I can’t sense any presence either.”

“This is maddening,” the commander groaned. Even with two Transcendent-level individuals in their midst, they had found nothing. As the commander wrestled with his thoughts, Ketal suddenly spoke.

“Instead of driving ourselves crazy, why not ask someone who might know?” he asked.

“Aquaz doesn’t know either,” the commander replied.,

“I wasn’t talking about her. There’s someone else, isn’t there?” Ketal replied casually.”

“What?” The commander’s eyes widened.

Ketal tilted his head, as though surprised. “What? You didn’t notice?” “W-wait, what are you talking about?” the commander stammered.

“Exactly what I said. Didn’t you find someone here in the village?”

The commander froze, his mind racing. He scanned the faces around him, and then he saw her.

There was a woman—a face he hadn’t seen when they started their journey. She was so seamlessly blended among the group that no one had noticed her arrival. Or rather, it should have been impossible not to notice her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, to the point of being unnatural. The commander could not believe such an exquisite woman suddenly appeared without anyone realizing it.

Except for Ketal, no one else had noticed her presence.

“Huh?” The woman looked at Ketal with curiosity. “How interesting. My disguise was perfect. How did you notice me?”

“When the numbers suddenly increase, and a new face appears, it’s impossible not to notice,” Ketal said bluntly.

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“No, that’s not what I mean. You shouldn’t have been able to perceive that fact at all. Even the great Inquisitor of the Sun God couldn’t detect me,” she said with a sly smile, her eyes brimming with intrigue as she stared at Ketal. “You don’t seem like someone who’s awakened to the Myst. Who are you? You’re an unexpected discovery.”

“Everyone! Step back!” the guard commander shouted, snapping out of his daze. The group scrambled to distance themselves from the woman, forming a wide circle around her.

“Aquaz?” the commander asked urgently.

“I didn’t feel her presence either...,” Aquaz whispered, her voice tinged with dread.

Aquaz, an inquisitor of the Sun God, was among the best in detecting evil and demonic presence. The fact that she couldn’t sense anything meant one of two things: Either this woman wasn’t evil or demonic, or she was such a high-level being that even Aquaz couldn’t perceive her.

The woman sighed in boredom. Ah, what a shame. I wanted to tag along and visit your estate.”

“Sorry, but I can’t allow that,” Ketal said firmly.

“No, it’s fine. This is amusing enough, so I will let it slide,” the woman replied with a chuckle.

As she laughed, her form began to melt away like an insect shedding its skin. Her human shape crumbled, and something far more sinister emerged. A massive, overwhelming presence of evil filled the air, and the mercenaries' and guards’ faces turned pale. Aquaz’s face reflected pure horror.

—I’ve made my decision.

A voice rumbled, shaking their minds and gnawing at their consciousness. It was the voice of an overwhelming evil.

—Amusing barbarian, I will take you as my slave to Hell.

“I think I’ll enjoy that journey,“ Ketal replied, laughing heartily—the only one unshaken.