Chapter 98 - Gokma

"Tower Master Erica."

"Regent Valdrova."

"Are your internal injuries severe?"

Ferda did not cast his gaze toward her.

It was to protect her dignity as a tower master.

Erica opened her eyes wide with effort and corrected her posture.

"They are not severe enough to hold you back."

"Understood."

Ferda gave a brief nod of acknowledgment and assessed the enemy's forces.

He saw wyverns flapping their wings, a massive man, and a relatively small man.

The small man stared at Ferda and spoke.

"You must be Ferda Rosnova. It is a pleasure to meet you."

At the man's words, Ferda corrected him.

"It's Valdrova."

"Are you struggling to escape your roots after being raised in the Rosnova family? How unsightly."

The man sneered.

However, Ferda was not green enough to be swayed by such a provocation.

"Hestia village is swarming with wolf demonic creatures, and here there are wyvern demonic creatures... Seeing you unleash demonic creatures everywhere like this, it seems you are the mastermind behind the incident in Halim as well?"

"That is correct. Aren't you thankful?"

"Why should I be thankful to you?"

"Did you not achieve brilliant merits in Halim and even obtain a branch of the World Tree struck by the lightning of heaven's defiance?"

The man calmly recited a fact that hadn't been revealed to anyone.

Ferda remained unswayed and provoked him in return.

"Sounds like a defeated dog consoling itself."

"Haha! Now that you mention it, that is true. It's a fact that I severely underestimated you and your surroundings. After all, I fought with the sole intention of killing Chancellor Bernard, yet I failed."

"Are you planning to mess with him again?"

"Unfortunately, there is no need for that. The thing I want to destroy seems to have already fallen into your hands. So please rest assured."

"What makes you think I would believe your words?"

"Why wouldn't you? I am already standing above you, so there is no need for me to lie. For example,"

He swung his mana-infused finger widely toward the ground.

A sudden gust of wind erupted, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground and sending them floating into the sky.

"I know of even such shallow tricks, yet I pretend not to notice."

The ground was cleared, revealing what was hidden beneath it.

A shadow connected from beneath Ferda's feet was chanting a spell.

"What a truly laughable trick."

SNAP!

The man snapped his fingers.

At the same time, an explosion erupted where the shadow hand had been.

BANG!

The shadow hand was blown to pieces and scattered.

"Ugh!"

Externally, its power didn't seem fatal, but the reality was different.

If it had been a real hand, it was destructive enough to tear through mana barriers or armor like paper.

"Oho."

The man showed a look of intrigue.

"I heard that Barbatos's Shadow Art allows you to control shadows like your own limbs, but because it brings over the exact sensations of those limbs, the pain is also the same as losing a real extremity... Yet instead of reacting to the pain of your hand being severed, you reacted as if pulling it away from a burn."

The man analyzed Ferda.

Ferda neither replied nor reacted to those words.

Instead, Ferda tried to analyze his magic, just as the man had done.

'What kind of magic did he just cast?'

Ferda recalled what had just happened a moment ago.

The explosion that occurred with the snap of his fingers.

No, that was not a simple explosion.

It only looked like an explosion at first glance, so it was not an explosion.

'That was...'

Ferda focused on that scene.

Slowing down time in his mind, he tore it apart frame by frame to vividly recall its movement.

'It wasn't an explosion, but a magic that distorted a specific point.'

For a split second, the space had warped, as if sucked into a single point in midair, and then released.

'Magic that distorts a point to destroy an object.'

Once it was clearly explained, Ferda could also identify its true nature.

There was only one person capable of wielding that magic.

A name that had vanished into a single line of history.

"You are Gokma."

Gokma.

When that name was mentioned, the man let out an exclamation of awe.

"Oho. Did you see through my true identity with just that one instance?"

Their ally, Erica, was equally surprised.

She naturally knew he was a Noblesse-class Demon, but she hadn't seen through his true identity.

And rightly so, because Gokma was someone who shouldn't exist.

"If he is Gokma, shouldn't he be the Noblesse-class that died first at the hands of the hero?"

The man readily admitted it.

"That's correct. The Demons of that time had no wariness toward humans. So we died vainly at the hands of the hero."

"Then how are you alive?"

"It's simple. That was a time when neither you nor Erdes were around, only a hero overflowing with passion."

Meaning they lacked the caution and delicacy possessed by mages.

Leaving room for resurrection.

"I never imagined... that Demons would be biding their time and waiting for the future like this."

"Tell me about it. I didn't particularly want to reveal myself either. But I had no other choice."

Gokma's eyes turned toward Ferda.

"Because there's something getting on my nerves."

Getting on his nerves.

That meant it was something that should make him feel bad.

Yet Gokma's mouth twisted upward instead.

"Do your emotions get warped when you become a Demon? You don't seem to know when to smile."

"Demons feel joy too. It's just different from the emotions of those like you who obsess over trivial things."

"Is returning everything to nothingness considered great?"

At Erica's question, he nodded as if it were obvious.

"It is His great will, so it is my great joy."

"Then hurry up and disappear to exchange greetings with those who went before you."

CRACKLE!

A streak of light flew toward Gokma.

However, it failed to pierce his mana barrier and bounced off.

It was a Lightning Bolt shot from Ferda's grasp.

"Do you plan to kill me with something like that?"

"No. I knew it wouldn't work the moment the tower master's magic failed to affect you."

Realizing something from those words, Erica turned her head toward Ferda.

"... Were you watching me?"

An expression laced with resentment, asking why he hadn't come to help her right away.

However, Ferda had his own reasons.

"You were trying to blow up the entire area, so how could I not observe the situation?"

"T-That is true, but..."

"Are you out of your mind, thinking of blowing up a portion of the Grand Duchy's territory entirely?"

When Luri grumbled, Erica shut her mouth.

Having sustained heavy injuries, her emotions were threatening to get too far ahead of her.

"It's nice to see you so high-spirited after grasping my combat power. However..."

Wearing a subtle smile, he said this:

"I don't wish to fight you. How about we part ways amicably like this?"

"This is the Grand Duchy's territory. Are you trying to run away after wreaking havoc as you please?"

"Hmm, in that case."

He waved his finger in the air.

"Let's see you try to stop this."

Another pocket of space tore open and vomited out its contents.

It was a familiar sight to Ferda.

However, the numbers were different from during Halim.

A staggering five rifts opened up all over the place, vomiting out their contents.

Some of them headed toward Ferda and his group, while others turned their bodies toward Hestia village.

At the same time, Gokma and the massive man tried to throw their bodies into the rifts.

Right now, when it was difficult to even take a step, there was no way to stop their escape.

No, it might be possible if Luri stepped in.

She was the child of a Silver Dragon, boasting the greatest speed.

But if Luri stepped in, all those demonic creatures would head for Hestia village.

It was questionable whether the people in the village could handle all those demonic creatures.

"Lord Ferda."

Luri looked up at Ferda.

Her eyes, looking as if she were awkwardly wearing a mask, showed a face that had lost its way.

"Go. Protect what your master wishes to protect."

"What about your safety, Lord Ferda?"

"Do not worry, I am here."

Although she had suffered severe internal injuries, the ring of water surrounding Erica's body did not waver.

"Understood."

Luri picked up her axe and spread her wings.

THOOM!

A fierce gust of wind flew forward without hesitation, sweeping over the demonic creatures heading toward Hestia village.

A silver flash darted through the forest, and only gruesomely butchered corpses were left in the wake of that light.

"How many of them should I take on?"

"I am more than enough on my own."

"Then I will just watch your back."

The opponents were demonic creatures that had lost their reason and were filled only with instinct.

Each and every strike was threatening, but their attacks were monotonous.

The more monotonous they were, the easier they were to read, and Erica's water droplets also easily identified and pierced their vital points.

'Is this Iorga's magic?'

It looked incredibly soft on the outside, but once it left her hands, it was harder and more lethal than any metal.

It didn't just simply pierce through either.

The rotational force behind them twisted and ruptured their insides every time they passed through a vital spot.

Even though she was facing multiple enemies, there was not a single wasted movement, and she dispatched everything in a single strike.

'To think Gokma is someone who could make even an opponent like this struggle...'

Thinking objectively,

it wasn't that they had lost them; it was exactly as if the Demons had let them go.

With that, she finished taking care of every last one of them that had charged in.

Erica sensed the nearby life forces one more time and confirmed that it was safe.

"Phew..."

Then, she collapsed to the ground right there.

There was no composure left in her.

"Are you alright?"

"My life isn't in danger, but I'll need to focus on recovering my mana for a few days."

"Can you stand up?"

Ferda held out his hand.

"Thank you."

Erica took his hand.

A calloused hand, uncharacteristic of a mage.

Erica had touched this man's hand before.

It was then.

At the same time, something flowed along and seeped into Erica's hand.

Erica knew what it was.

It was that mana which had brought her shame.

"Hyaak!"

Erica flinched in shock.

She let go of Ferda's hand and fell back onto the ground.

"... What's the matter?"

Her face flushed bright red.

'What do you mean, what's the matter?! You tried to flow your mana into me again as soon as you held my hand! You pervert! Trying to do something sleazy to me again!!'

She wanted to scream that out, but she didn't dare to.

Ferda had a face that sincerely showed he knew nothing.

It was obvious that only she would end up looking like a fool.

"A-Ahem! It's nothing. I think it would be better for me to do mana cultivation like this. Please keep an eye on the surroundings."

"Understood."

Erica sat cross-legged and simply closed her eyes.

The circuits within her body circulated, building up magic power in tandem with her heartbeat.

In the darkness left behind a single layer of eyelids, the fight she'd had just tens of minutes ago came to mind.

'To think he is actually Gokma, one of the Demon King's Seven Malefic Stars.'

The Seven Malefic Stars.

Those who ranked at the very top of the Noblesse-class, which was right below the Demon King's Emperor-class, and had become legion commanders.

Even after exchanging a few blows and feeling his mana, she hadn't guessed it at all.

She had only known that he was a Noblesse-class.

It couldn't be helped.

She had been pushed on the defensive and had to focus entirely on the battle.

She didn't have the luxury to see through his true identity.

However, even that excuse brought her no comfort.

She was a mage once called the Wisdom of the 12 Heroes.

She had already fought the other six Malefic Stars and had even found breakthroughs against them.

'Besides, Regent Ferda realized it in just one glance.'

He saw through his identity while taking a single attack.

This was a fact that wouldn't disappear just by denying it.

'I was pushed back in magic power too.'

Though she hadn't been fully prepared, it was hard to argue about victory or defeat.

If Ferda and Luri hadn't shown up and she had faced that man alone, would she have won?

'Damn it.'

She inwardly chewed over that resentment.

Although she couldn't know for sure since she hadn't seen the end of it, it was hard for Erica to overlook the sense of helplessness she had felt.

And,

'I'm so embarrassed I could die.'

The fact that she had made a fuss and screamed all on her own was more agonizing than the pain of her twisted internal organs.

She bit her lip and smacked her own thigh with her fist repeatedly.

'Ugh, you idiot. You idiot! Why don't you just die!'

Watching her swallow her torment, Ferda thought to himself:

'Her internal injuries must be very severe.'

A moment later, someone flew over to their location.

Luri, who had left carrying a brutal axe, returned.

"I have taken care of everything heading for Hestia village. They said things are already settling down on Hestia village's end without needing any help."

"Good work."

"It's not over yet. We need to clean up the corpses of the demonic creatures."

"Burnel will be pleased."

The forest was filled with the corpses of demonic creatures.

The green blood and purple flesh exuded an alien and ominous feeling in nature.

"I will clean up this area."

The one who spoke up was Erica, sitting cross-legged.

"There is no need for you to do that."

"There's a lot of them, and if we don't clean them up meticulously, won't there be areas that get polluted? That kind of thing requires the help of magic. After a little more cultivation, I should have enough mana to clean it up."

"Understood. Then I will leave it to you, Lady Erica."

It seemed like things were coming to an end like that, but they didn't.

BOOM—!

A loud, echoing sound.

Its epicenter was none other than Hestia village.