Chapter 57: The War Fiend’s Fury and an Illusive Confrontation

A fierce fire ignited within Ketia as he clenched his fists. Perhaps sensing his wrath, cryptic, scrawled inscriptions slowly began to surface on his arms, face, and back.

“Haaah!”

Unleashing a roar that seemed beyond human capability, veins bulged violently across Ketia’s entire body.

The sound of cracking bones echoed as the long body of the purple serpent was torn asunder by Ketia.

Waves of turbulent air erupted from Ketia, sweeping across the entire area.

The Maiden, who had previously caressed Ketia’s face, had already retreated dozens of steps after sensing that something was amiss.

The serpent’s body dropped to the ground with a faint thud.

Slowly tilting his head, a soft crackle emanating, Ketia, smoke seeming to curl from his eyes, stared at the Maiden standing still in the distance.

“War Fiend!”

Ketia extended his left hand, forming a claw, and pointed at the Maiden, emitting a low growl.

A seven-pointed star magic array materialized on the ground. From within the array, a thick, orange giant hand suddenly emerged.

As the magic array dissipated, a colossal, upright turtle, ten meters tall, let out an enraged roar towards the sky.

“A little… turtle?” The Maiden, enveloped by the War Fiend’s shadow, tilted her head slightly, gazing up at the orange War Fiend, which still emitted smoke from its mouth.

Meeting the War Fiend’s crimson eyes, tinged with orange, the Maiden let out a joyful sound.

“Little turtle, it’s a little turtle!”

With light steps, she walked to the War Fiend’s feet and embraced it, her joyful sounds continuing incessantly.

Exhaling hot air, Ketia slightly raised his hand.

The War Fiend summoned by Ketia also simultaneously raised its gigantic, slowly clenching fist.

The War Fiend heavily swung its massive fist, tearing through the air and smashing towards the Maiden.

Gazing at the approaching colossal shadow above her, the Maiden smiled serenely.

With a thunderous crash, smoke and dust billowed.

Squinting his smoke-emitting eyes, Ketia stared directly at the smoke-shrouded area.

Once the dust settled, a fragmented body lay motionless on the ground.

Walking with heavy steps to the side of the shattered Maiden, Ketia slightly crouched down and picked up a piece of her fragmented body lying on the ground.

“…Not… human?”

Ketia gazed at the wooden fragment in his hand, which encased a thumb-sized, purplish-gold crystal. His voice slightly hoarse, he voiced his question.

Ketia tightened his grip on the fragment and stood up. His expression gradually darkening, he looked down at the crater created by the War Fiend’s strike, where the Maiden’s body lay—not of flesh and blood, but a wooden form composed of small, finger-thick lines linked together.

“Colonel Ketia, you’re incredible!”

“Hahaha, the Colonel is strong indeed!”

“Of course! Do you even know how long Colonel Ketia has fought alongside His Majesty to conquer the world?”

The guards, who had formed a circle, chattered amongst themselves.

Yet, these murmurs only fueled Ketia’s irritation. The guards were right; he had campaigned with His Majesty for so long, and yet he had to resort to the power of a War Fiend to slay this mysterious Maiden. It was a disgrace, an absolute humiliation!

The more he dwelled on these thoughts, the more his entire body began to emit a tangible, dark, smoldering flame.

The nearby War Fiend, as Ketia ignited with flames, also began to exude an ominous aura.

Thick, V-shaped patterns, like reinforced steel, surfaced on the War Fiend’s forehead. Its crimson eyes, previously tinged with orange, gradually turned entirely crimson.

“Colonel Ketia?” A slightly younger Knight among the onlookers was the first to notice something was amiss, and immediately whispered with concern.

The other Knights, who had been enthusiastically recounting Colonel Ketia’s glorious deeds, heard the younger Knight’s worried words and also turned their gaze towards Ketia in the center.

“Colonel Ketia? What’s wrong?”

“Colonel Ketia, are you alright?”

The Knights, witnessing such a sight for the first time, all voiced their apprehension.

This alone was enough to show how esteemed Ketia was in the hearts of the Knights.

As the worried voices echoed in his ears, Ketia furrowed his brow slightly, and his expression grew hazy.

‘What’s happening? Why are there so many worried voices?’

Submerged in a dark space filled with sneering faces, Ketia slowly lifted his head, gazing at the pitch-black sky.

‘Hmph, Ketia, you’ve disappointed me greatly.’

Amidst the mocking laughter, a familiar voice suddenly resonated with Ketia.

‘Your Majesty?’

Gazing at the clear figure gradually emerging from the darkness, Ketia, whose body had been about to rise, knelt once more on the black floor.

‘Ketia, to deal with a mere child, you actually resorted to the power of a War Fiend. You… you have disappointed me greatly.’

Novas, clad in a white robe embroidered with golden patterns, frowned deeply, gazing with a look of disappointment at Ketia kneeling on the ground.

‘Your Majesty, I…’

Ketia, who had slightly parted his lips, intending to offer a defense, finally lowered his head under Novas’s disappointed gaze.

Indeed, His Majesty was right. He had indeed used the power of a War Fiend to defeat the Maiden; he had no words to offer in rebuttal.

Clenching his jaw, Ketia slowly lowered his proud head.

The pitch-black floor began to writhe. Thin, purplish tendrils snaked up Ketia’s plate armor, even rapidly extending towards his face.

Ketia’s once vibrant eyes gradually lost their focus and dimmed.

The sneering faces around him vanished into the darkness as Ketia transformed into a faint purple cocoon.

A faint light shone down from above, and a green-haired Maiden, with light steps, appeared in the space.

“Oh, splendid! I finally have a new toy! La la la.”

Walking to the cocoon, the Maiden hummed a song of unknown meaning.

With a ripping sound, the cocoon tore open with a small hole, and a hand engulfed in fierce flames reached out, seizing the Maiden’s fair neck.

Despite her neck being scorched by the flames, the Maiden, acting as if nothing was amiss, seemed somewhat perplexed about what was happening.

Raging tongues of fire consumed the cocoon, and Ketia’s form was revealed.

“Such tricks are useless against me.”

A dangerous smile played on Ketia’s lips as he watched the Maiden.

In truth, the moment the worried voices began, he had realized this was an illusion, especially with the appearance of Novas, whose image and aura were distinctly different from reality.

“Oh, my toy is gone~”

Wrinkling her small nose, the Maiden’s eyes welled up with glistening tears.

Frowning slightly, Ketia exerted force. With a snap, the Maiden’s head fell onto the pitch-black floor, creating a faint ripple.

With a clang, the dark space began to shatter like a mirror, and rays of sunlight streamed down.

Opening his eyes, Ketia surveyed his surroundings, taking in the worried gazes of the Knights.

“Colonel Ketia! Are you alright?”

Hearing this, Ketia sighed, his bulging veins receding, before he offered a smile. “Nothing, all is well!”

The Knights breathed a collective sigh of relief at Ketia’s response.

“Not fun, not fun at all.”

A resentful voice rang out as the shattered fragments on the ground floated into the air, coalescing to reform the Maiden’s figure.

However, a piece was missing from her chest, revealing the intertwined lines within her body.

“Give it back to me!”

Glancing down at her chest, the Maiden extended her left hand towards Ketia.

Clenching the fragment in his hand, Ketia remained silent.

“Bad guy!!” the Maiden shrieked.

“If you say so, then it must be so!” With his left hand on his hip, Ketia shrugged.

Gritting her teeth, the Maiden glared fiercely at Ketia.

Under her intense gaze, Ketia merely chuckled softly.

The Maiden, frustrated to the point of grinding her teeth, finally could not hold back and lunged forward.

“Excellent!” Ketia roared, swinging the hand that tightly clutched the fragment.

With a resounding crash, a fierce gust of wind erupted.

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