Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 137: The Sanctuary of Kalosia (7)

“You foolish and ignorant barbarian!”

The dark magician ground his teeth.

“Let’s see how long that confidence of yours lasts! Come forth! Shards of twisted darkness! Manifest here and take on a colossal form!”

Boom!

A space of darkness opened, and remnants of the dark slowly crawled out, starting to take shape.

“Ah….”

The faces of the worshippers praying at the holy site turned pale.

Ketal whistled.

“It’s huge.”

The gathered darkness formed the shape of a gigantic giant, its size comparable to a small hill.

“Hahaha!”

The dark magician burst into maniacal laughter, glaring at Ketal with wide, crazed eyes.

“Your information has already been delivered to us! You may have held the advantage with that peculiarity against the Great One, but no longer!”

Ketal had endured the power of Severance with his bare body.

It was undoubtedly an incomprehensible peculiarity.

But at the same time, the limits were clear.

“Your strength is ultimately confined to your body!”

Ketal could not wield magic.

The power Ketal wielded was undoubtedly formidable, but it was confined to his body.

It was purely physical strength.

Thus, the limitations were evident.

Consequently, the countermeasure was extremely simple: respond to strength with greater strength and mass.

A giant comparable to a small hill, purely in terms of mass, was much heavier than Ashetiar.

No matter how strong a human body was, the clear difference in mass was insurmountable.

“Blow him away!”

Boom!

The giant obeyed the command, lifting its massive foot to kick Ketal.

Ketal watched the scene calmly.

Boom!

The ground shook.

The holy knights and monsters fighting nearby lost their balance and staggered.

“Damn!”

Rakza’s face turned pale.

No matter how strong Ketal was, a direct hit from such mass could send him flying far away.

“Hahaha!”

The dark magician burst into laughter, believing he had subdued the foolish barbarian.

It was the moment of his delight.

Boom!

The giant’s body flew through the air.

A massive shadow formed on the ground.

Boom!

The giant’s body crashed into the earth far away.

The dark magician blinked in disbelief.

“…What?”

“It was heavy, but not that impressive.”

Ketal shook his fist.

‘Compared to Nano, it’s too light.’

Ketal murmured indifferently.

Having faced the entire congregation of the royal castle and the serpent connecting the heavens and the earth, Ketal was not impressed.

The dark magician, snapping back to his senses, swung his staff.

“G-get up! Blow him away!”

Boom!

The giant, staggering to its feet, obeyed its master’s command and began to charge at a high speed.

The ground caved in with each step.

Ketal braced himself.

The human and the giant, comparable to a small hill, collided.

And it was the giant that was sent flying.

Crash!

The giant’s body tumbled across the ground.

Staggering to its feet, it swung a fist.

Ketal casually reached out.

Boom!

The fist was blocked by Ketal’s hand.

Ketal did not retreat a single step.

He immediately lunged forward, landing punches.

Numerous holes were instantly punched into the giant’s enormous body.

“Since it’s not a living being, it doesn’t die.”

In that case, he would simply tear it apart until it couldn’t move.

The giant’s limbs flew off in an instant.

The dark magician couldn’t comprehend the scene.

“H-how.”

That barbarian did not wield magic.

He was a being that moved purely with physical strength.

This was verified information.

Unable to wield magic, he couldn’t overcome physical limitations.

Given the clear difference in mass, if he collided with the giant, his body should have been sent flying.

The dark magician didn’t initially believe the giant alone could defeat Ketal.

On this earth, there wasn’t much difference in the rank between the dark magician and a demon of Ashetiar’s level.

Ketal, who had remained unscathed against such a demon, wouldn’t be injured by a mere monster.

The goal was to use the giant’s mass to remove Ketal from the battle.

However, Ketal did not retreat a single step even when colliding with the giant.

Instead, he swung his fist and sent the giant flying.

“Impossible!”

What was that body?

It was as if it defied physical limits.

Boom!

Before long, the giant’s limbs were completely torn off.

Ketal smiled.

“Is there more you want to do?”

“You, you bastard!”

“Seems not. Then it’s time for you to die.”

Ketal stomped the ground and charged at the dark magician.

The magician, panicking, also stomped the ground, lifting himself into the air.

“Retreat!”

The monsters began to flee in haste, leaving only the corpses of holy knights and monsters on the battlefield.

“Wh-what….”

The holy knights stared at Ketal with stunned expressions.

A giant the size of a small hill had been sent flying and trampled by a small human.

It was a scene hard to believe even with their own eyes.

“…We won.”

Someone muttered in the silence.

That marked the beginning of voices rising one by one.

“We won!”

It was a perfect victory like they had never experienced before.

They erupted in cheers.

“Hooray!”

“Thanks to Lord Kalosia!”

Among their shouts, one name stood out.

“You’re amazing, Mr. Ketal!”

Eyes filled with admiration turned towards Ketal.

* * *

Even after that, the dark magician continued his assaults.

It was as if he had made up his mind, trying various methods to kill Ketal with each invasion.

But none of them worked.

“You wretched fool!”

The dark magician swung his staff, shouting in a pleading tone.

“Just die already!”

[Kyakyakyakya!]

A ghostly monster dove into Ketal’s head.

It was a high-ranking monster that could disrupt a person’s mind and melt their brain.

“Did it do something?”

But it didn’t work on Ketal.

The monster, which was supposed to melt and devour his brain, was instead devoured itself.

The dark magician gritted his teeth.

“What are you?!”

Boom!

Ketal moved.

The battle quickly shifted in one direction.

The dark magician’s face twisted in frustration.

“…Retreat!”

The monsters retreated.

The knights, overjoyed with victory, shouted out.

“We won!”

“We won again!”

Cries of victory echoed all around, mixed with groans.

The battles were fierce, and many holy knights were injured.

They staggered back towards the capital.

“Ah….”

One of the severely injured holy knights stumbled and was about to fall.

Someone caught his body.

“You seem to be struggling. Let me help.”

“Ah. Mr. Ketal.”

Ketal supported the holy knight, who looked at him with a face full of gratitude.

“Thank you so much….”

“No problem.”

Ketal smiled warmly.

“We’re comrades fighting together. We help each other out.”

“Ah….”

The eyes of the holy knights looking at Ketal were filled with deep respect and admiration.

They returned to the sanctuary, where the waiting worshippers greeted them with bright smiles.

“You’re back!”

“You’ve worked hard!”

“Mr. Ketal! Thank you so much!”

Like the holy knights, the worshippers also showed deep trust in Ketal.

After dealing with the aftermath of the battle, Ketal and Rakza spoke.

“The battles are getting more intense.”

“Yes.”

The battles were indeed becoming fiercer.

The number of monsters was increasing, and more dark magicians were appearing.

Objectively, it was a dangerous situation, but the atmosphere in the sanctum wasn’t dark.

On the contrary, it was quite bright.

“We are truly grateful. Without you, it would have been very dangerous.”

The reason for this bright atmosphere was entirely because of Ketal.

Ketal consistently displayed great power in every invasion.

Though it was simple physical force, it was also immensely powerful.

People were still talking about how he had sent the giant flying.

With such a strong ally helping them, it was impossible for the atmosphere to be gloomy.

More than anything, Ketal wasn’t just strong.

Despite the grueling nature of the invasions, he participated without fail every time, helping holy knights in danger and assisting with the aftermath.

If Ketal hadn’t been there, at least ten holy knights would have died.

As a result, Ketal’s popularity in the sanctuary was at its peak.

Some even called him an apostle sent by Lord Kalosia to help them.

“I came to help, so it’s only natural,”

Ketal said lightly.

Rakza’s eyes softened even more.

“You’re even humble.”

‘Heize really brought an incredible person.’

From what he heard, Heize had educated and socialized this barbarian.

That in itself was a huge achievement.

‘Once everything is over, I should write about Heize and Mr. Ketal. It would be a record forever etched in the history of the church.’

It was a thought that would make Heize cringe if he knew.

“By the way, is everything alright? Supplies seem to be running low.”

“…Yes.”

Rakza nodded with a bitter expression.

They were currently under siege.

Although they were holding out with the stockpiled supplies, after a considerable time, food and daily necessities were running low.

No matter how well they fended off the invasions, they would eventually starve if supplies ran out.

“There aren’t many merchants willing to come to such a dangerous place. But we’re doing our best. There should be results soon.”

“That’s good to hear, but it’s still disheartening. It’s been over a month since the invasions started, and no one has come to help.”

“…It’s our karma.”

Rakza smiled bitterly.

“Still, thanks to Mr. Ketal, we’re holding out. Thank you.”

“I came to help my friends, so it doesn’t matter.”

Ketal smiled.

Rakza, who had been admiring Ketal’s response, slowly let his face fall.

After a moment of hesitation, he spoke.

“Mr. Ketal, I have a request.”

“Go ahead.”

“…Would you spar with me?”

“Hmm?”

Ketal was surprised.

“Suddenly?”

“I would like to fight you at least once.”

Rakza was a superhuman-level warrior, a rarity in the world.

Reaching such a level required not only talent but also a fanatical obsession.

Rakza’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

Ketal’s strength was unusual.

What was the basis of that power?

And what were its limits?

Rakza had been holding back his curiosity, but it was driving him crazy.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

However, Rakza suppressed his urge.

“It’s too rude to ask someone who came to help us. Besides, the invasions haven’t ended yet.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“What?”

Rakza quickly looked up.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t mind.”

Ketal was actually pleased with Rakza’s request.

He had been facing the leader of the dark magicians with each invasion.

The dark magician’s methods of trying to kill Ketal were becoming repetitive.

Frankly, it was getting boring.

Sparring with a superhuman-level holy knight seemed like a good distraction.

It would be his first time fighting someone who wielded divine power, and he was looking forward to it.

“Do you have a place to spar? A vacant space would be best to minimize the impact.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Great. Let’s start right away. We have some time before the next invasion, so a light sparring session should be fine.”

Ketal spoke quickly.

Rakza was flustered.

Ketal seemed more eager than Rakza himself.

‘Was he waiting for this suggestion?’

For a moment, Rakza had such a suspicion, but he soon dismissed it.

‘No way.’

Ketal was someone who had come to help them without asking for anything in return.

He was almost saint-like.

There was no way he had been eagerly awaiting a fight.

“Come on, let’s go quickly. We should start before it gets too late. Ah, are you in good physical condition? It would be troublesome if there were any issues from the previous battle, so it’s better to check beforehand.”

‘…No way, right?’

Despite himself, Rakza found himself doubting again.