Prologue
The ruined land was filled with the debris of destroyed buildings, making it look like a natural disaster had occurred.
You could no longer tell by looking at it that this land had once been bustling with people. The deserted buildings were decaying with trees and vines twined around them, something that wouldn’t happen in just a few years.
In fact—more than 100 years had passed since this land was abandoned.
Looking at it, it wouldn’t be strange to assume that civilization had perished. Depending on who looked at it, this was what it had always been like.
The sight of destruction had survived the passage of time, causing even sorrow to fade away.
The clear blue sky spread out endlessly in all directions, dyeing even the edges of the horizon in blue. The dense greenery was bathed in sunlight and gave off the vivid color of abundant life. It was a majestic landscape.
Animals ran through the trees, frolicking about on the carpet of greenery.
Somebody once said humans were the true vermin of the planet, and this scene confirmed it.
What brought this about was the appearance of an existence that went against the definition of a living creature. Something too unnatural and grotesque mixed in with the laws of nature for them to be described as ‘creatures.’
The introduction of these abnormal monsters that were like something out of a fairy tale caused the normal ecosystem to return to this land. It was the turning point in human history, and the countdown to ruin began.
They didn’t have the wondrous look of the creatures in books, but rather were ominous and hair-raising.
These monsters that could have been sent by the gods as saviors of the planet were the natural enemy of humans.
Thus humanity took to calling these abnormal monsters ‘Fiends.’
* * *
Right now, one young man was clashing with several of these abnormal beings.
The enormous abnormals wielding tree trunks like clubs stood out the most. They easily wielded their lethal weapons that would kill anyone with a single swing.
Meanwhile, this young man was using a short sword, and a crookedly-shaped one at that. Its form embodied dread as a symbol of bloodlust. Its purpose was to reap life. It was a weapon made for the sake of killing the abnormals before him.
Affixed to the short sword’s handle, at the bottom, was a thin chain that extended from the scabbard hanging off the man’s waist. It was an odd weapon that one would think would be ineffective against the giant Fiend several times the size of the man.
Fiends were extremely diverse. It was normal for even Fiends of the same species to look different enough to be assumed to be of another species entirely. The only thing they had in common was their sinister and ugly appearance.
There were one-eyed giants, but there were also those with the upper half of a human and the lower half of a beast.
At the moment, the young man faced more than ten Fiends.
And those were just the ones he could see. He felt the stares of even more behind him and in the woods, with dangerous glints in their eyes as they looked at him.
Perhaps due to their arrogance as absolute predators, they were looking down on him as their prey to play with.
It was a situation that would cause anyone to despair. To even struggle would be useless.
Yet the young man showed not the slightest trace of panic.
In fact he approached the Fiends, taking light, elegant steps. His jet-black hair swayed with each step he took.
As the edges of the young man’s lips rose—the Fiends attacked all at once.
The massive frames piling atop the young man blocked out the sunlight, making it look like night had fallen. In that instant—the first Fiend’s war cry was cut short and replaced with silence.
That was because its body burst open as if it had been crushed by something from both sides.
As for the young man, he had his hands pressed together.
With the Fiend between them.
Deep green fluids rained down, but the ferocious Fiends didn’t so much as flinch.
The young man must’ve known they wouldn’t react. As he continued to bisect Fiend after Fiend with his short sword lightly grasped in his hand, it was like an absolute force trampling a swarm of ants.
His breathing was practically normal.
And the short sword that was supposed to be in his hand seemingly vanished in an instant.
Explaining the disappearance was the chain’s free movement through the area. But not in a straight line—rather it wove its way toward its targets.
Only the metallic sound of a chain being dragged rang through the air. Several Fiends were pierced by the chain and were now perfectly still. It was a mysterious silence, leaving it unclear whether they were dead or alive.
Despite their brutish excitement, the Fiends that had been frothing at the mouth were stopped by a mere short sword piercing them just before they reached their prey.
The chain continued to run through the abundant trees. Bizarre death screams rang out in succession.
Then the young man finally spoke. “That’s all of them.”
He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, but simply remarking to himself.
He stroked the chain with his finger, before setting his eye on one of the small rings making up the chain.
‹‹Resonate››
The young man pulled the small ring.
The 207th Chain Formula—the chain’s rings were so plentiful you’d go crazy counting them—each ring had a magic formula for a unique spell engraved on it. The sound of a bell caused slight tremors in the air and tickled his earlobes.
And the Fiends pierced and connected by the chain all burst open from the inside at the same moment.
The area was now stained with the Fiends’ body fluid. Lumps of their body meat scattered all over in a gruesome sight. It was as if the parts were superimposed on the beautiful and vividly colored world.
Despite being in the middle of it all, not a speck of fluid or meat touched the young man’s body.
Even so, the vile stench that filled the area was getting stronger, so he pulled out a canteen from his pouch. Throwing a glance at his surroundings, he let loose a sigh as he opened the canteen. Inside was perfectly regular, yet crystal-clear water.
He stared up into the heavens.
A beautiful sky. Each white cloud had a different shape. The clouds freely drifting in whatever direction they pleased made him a little envious.
Ironically enough, this scenery only existed in the Fiends’ world... the Outer World.
While some had the chance to visit the Outer World on missions, where the Fiends ran rampant, those unrelated to this line of work would likely never see this sight.
This sight was probably something that people instinctively yearned for. Longing for the ‘real world’ that humans once lived in. It was just like people to realize the value of something only once it was gone.
With his sight fixed on the never-ending sky, the young man raised his arm above his head and poured water over himself.
As there wasn’t much water in the canteen, the flow soon stopped. He shook the water off his face and turned to the skies once more. At some point this had become his tradition. Looking up at the beautiful sky after refreshing himself with a quick shower gave him a different impression.
Doing this might have shown how much his heart ached for it.
The young man regretfully left the scene, before more Fiends were attracted by the scent of the body fluids.
This young man’s name is Alus Reigin.
Of the Magicmasters who oppose the Fiends, he stands at the very top.
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