Chapter 100: Nano (2)

Ketal lifted his head. The towering royal castle stood before them. “Are you sure this is okay? If a commotion breaks out, we will draw a lot of attention,” he said, eyeing the imposing structure. The Lutein Kingdom was very similar to the Denian Kingdom in that the royal palace stood at the center of the capital, where ordinary people went about their lives. Nano had only replaced the interior of the palace—it had left the rest of the capital alone. “That won’t be a problem. I’ll conceal their vision so they won’t notice anything,” the Tower Master said. Ketal sounded surprised. “You can do that? Are you saying you can block the view of everyone in the city?” To affect an entire kingdom with just one spell was no small feat. Intrigue flickered across Ketal’s face, but the Tower Master merely said, “Just wait a moment.” He began gathering mana. The ripple of power spread quietly yet unmistakably throughout the capital. As he chanted, he spoke again, “Do you know where Nano came from, Ketal?” “I don’t,” Ketal answered. “They came from the Demon Realm.” ‘Huh?” Ketal muttered, his expression shifting. “Really?” Elene had said something similar once, but it hadn’t been backed by any proof at the time, so Ketal had ignored it. On the other hand, the Tower Master sounded absolutely certain. “Do you know of a place called the Forest of Nothingness?” the Tower Master asked him. Ketal nodded. “Yes. I read about it in the library at the Barcan Estate while researching the Demon Realms.” The Forest of Nothingness looked ordinary from the outside, and anyone could enter it. However, it had one unique property: once a person went in, leaving was impossible. If they tried to reach the border between the forest and the outside world, they vanished on the spot. That was the very definition of the Demon Realm—a forsaken land commonly known as the Forest of Nothingness. “Are you saying those creatures came from there?” Ketal asked the Tower Master. The Tower Master kept his tone level. “I checked on it recently. It really has turned into a normal forest. That happened at the same time these things appeared in the outside world. I even spoke with them to confirm, so I’m sure.” The Tower Master paused and studied Ketal’s face. “What do you think?” Ketal simply replied, “I see. That is interesting.” The Tower Master found Ketal’s lack of reaction odd. By all accounts, Ketal was from the White Snowfield—a Demon Realm. It meant that he wasn’t so different from Nano. The Tower Master had been certain Ketal would have strong feelings about Nano. Yet, Ketal felt no particular attachment to the White Snowfield or any other Demon Realm. He considered this world his home and had no interest in meddling with other realms. So that’s another existence from a different Demon Realm, Ketal thought. Still, something in Ketal’s eyes darkened. The Tower Master resumed speaking. “I’m done preparing. Are you ready?” Ketal answered confidently, “Yes.” “Okay, then.” The Tower Master swept a hand through the air, and mana swirled in a complex pattern before reflecting his will in the world. “Unfold,” he commanded. Like a veil, the mana spread gently through the sky. It was the embodiment of an enormous spell that touched the entire world, separating it for just a moment. The palace boasted skilled mages and even a Transcendent mage like Adamant could be inside. However, not one of them sensed the slightest movement of the Tower Master’s mana. “And now, surround,” the Tower Master ordered. Slowly, that mana veil drifted down and enclosed the royal palace. In that instant, the palace and the capital became distinct realms, partitioned by magic. “Conceal and protect yourselves,” the Tower Master finished. The mana veil changed at his command. Then, with hardly a hint of fatigue, he turned to Ketal. “That’s it.” Ketal blinked. “What exactly did you do?” “I’ve isolated the entire royal palace with my mana,” the Tower Master explained. “No one outside will see or hear anything that happens in there, and obviously no one inside can leave.” “You managed all that in under two minutes?” Ketal asked in genuine awe. Adamant would have required a long incantation for something even half as large. Yet, the Tower Master had separated the royal palace from the rest of the world with an almost casual gesture, and he seemed nowhere near exhausted. So this is the Tower Master, Ketal thought. He knew the Tower Master was beyond the level of a Transcendent mage—he was a Hero. The Tower Master gave Ketal a nod. “Now, you must do your part. Investigate the inside for us.” “I’ll do my best,” Ketal replied. Before entering the palace, Ketal stopped and looked back. “How sturdy is this mana barrier you’ve created?” The Tower Master sounded puzzled by the question. “There won’t be any problems. Nothing can leave without my permission. I’ve woven a barrier so tight that not even the smallest cell could slip through. It can handle a good amount of force without breaking.” Ketal murmured, “I see. Then there’s nothing to worry about. Satisfied, he stepped through the entrance and disappeared inside. The Tower Master watched from outside, curiosity in his gaze. I wonder what he plans to do. He wasn’t expecting a big battle. Their objective was to gather information and figure out how to handle Nano, not to solve everything at once. He believed Ketal would share that approach. After all, the entire palace was now essentially Nano’s domain, and fighting there alone was practically suicidal. The Tower Master anticipated that Ketal would move discreetly, but what Ketal actually did made him gasp. “That crazy barbarian...!” the Tower Master exclaimed in disbelief. *** Ketal came upon a small defensive wall with a gate leading into the royal palace. “An entity from a Demon Realm,” Ketal murmured, thinking over Nano’s origins. He paused, then shook his head. “Never mind.” Brooding on it further had no meaning. His immediate goal was to solve the problem before him and uncover the power of Myst within him. With that in mind, he clenched his fist, channeled power into his arm, and swung. His punch connected with the wall. Boom! The wall collapsed. Shards of debris slammed into the royal palace, and another thunderous crash rang out as more stones crumbled. Ketal calmly stepped over the rubble and walked inside. All around him, people began to stir, awakened by the commotion. Some of them rushed toward him at once. “An intruder!” “Who are you?!” They were the knights Ketal saw when he was escorting Elene. He broke into a smile. “Oh, we meet again. Was your name Lukento?” It was the same Green-Blue Order that had clashed with him before. The moment Lukento saw Ketal’s face, his own twisted in rage. “You mad barbarian! As if kidnapping the princess wasn’t enough, now you dare set foot in this place?! Kill him!” Lukento ordered. The knights charged in perfect unison, a display that might have been awe-inspiring under different circumstances. Ketal stepped forward and threw a punch. The first knight’s chest caved under the impact. Ketal brushed the dying knight aside, grabbed the next knight’s head, and squeezed. Crunch! He tossed the limp body away, then kicked out the knights following behind. They toppled over like rag dolls. There was no mercy in Ketal’s strikes. They had already died once, and now they were just imitations of life. Boom! The knights crumpled before they could even realize what hit them. “You’re already beyond saving,” Ketal said under his breath. “But I will still wish you peace in the afterlife.” He continued on, only to sense the fallen knights getting back on their feet behind him. “Barbarian!” “Stop him!” Ketal took them down again. This time, he noticed the wall he had destroyed was also back in its original state. At some point, every trace of the destruction he had caused had simply vanished. “This feels like a dream,” he muttered, marveling at the strangeness of it all. In that moment, a barrage of wind arrows whirled toward him. Ketal waved his arm, and the arrows disintegrated into harmless sparks. He glanced at the newcomer’s face, then smiled. “Adamant! Good to see you,” he called. “You crazy bastard!” Adamant shouted, horrified that Ketal had actually invaded the royal palace. “You will pay for this with your life!” Adamant whipped his hand through the air, launching a spell that turned into a howling storm. “Excellent!” Ketal laughed, hurling himself forward. His fists shattered the magical tempest with ease. Adamant gritted his teeth. Damn him! He knew this barbarian was strong—strong enough to dismiss him as if he were nothing. Nonetheless, Adamant and the knights had one advantage: they never truly died. No matter how powerful the barbarian was, he was still flesh and blood and would eventually tire. In a drawn-out fight, they were bound to win. He might be able to kill a few of us, Adamant thought, but that level of force is unsustainable. To kill them, Ketal had to grab them in his fist and crush them with serious effort, as he had before. At least, that was what Adamant believed. Meanwhile, the Tower Master was witnessing the battle from outside. “The barbarian is as reckless as ever,” he muttered. In the immediate sense, Ketal might overpower his opponents. He possessed strength that was at least the highest level of Transcendents. However, that was futile against opponents that never died. Nano was an undead-like existence that knew no true death. Even if Ketal could kill a handful, he couldn’t exterminate them all. The Tower Master clicked his tongue. The original plan was straightforward: Ketal would enter, gather information, and withdraw without much trouble. If he ran into any real danger, the Tower Master would assist him. Once they had what they needed, they would strategize how to deal with Nano later. That plan was now in shambles. “So that’s why he asked how sturdy my barrier was,” the Tower Master realized with a sigh. “Even if he can kill a few, it means nothing unless he destroys them all.” However, the situation was already unfolding. While the Tower Master contemplated his next move, Ketal began fending off more attacks with a curious look on his face. Adamant saw that expression and assumed Ketal was struggling. However, Ketal’s puzzlement sprang from a different source. “No matter how much I smash things, you still won’t reveal yourself. You’ve got some nerve,” Ketal said. “Stop spouting nonsense!” Adamant roared. “Well then,” Ketal retorted. “I’ll force you to come out.” With that, he threw another punch. Crack! He pulverized the knights who were rushing at him. This time, they didn’t get up again. Iridescent particles spilled across the floor. The Tower Master flinched in surprise. “What?” Adamant blinked in confusion, unable to process what he was seeing. Those knights—the ones who couldn’t truly die—had just died. Adamant knew that iridescent motes appeared whenever Nano died. However, this time was different. A simple punch had done the job, with none of the extra crushing force Ketal had used before. Adamant had believed that level of raw power was necessary to kill them, but apparently he’d been wrong. His thoughts scattered in the face of the shocking sight. Ketal stepped forward again and kicked Adamant. Crunch! Adamant’s body was destroyed in an instant. “S-stop!” Adamant cried, re-forming almost immediately. Yet part of his body had already broken down into those shimmering fragments. The reaction magic... Adamant thought, horrified. It wasn’t activating. He couldn’t simply react to Ketal’s speed. Impossible! Adamant raged silently. The last time we fought, the reaction magic was enough to keep him at bay. And since when can he kill us with a single hit? Didn’t he need to crush us with everything he had? A disturbing possibility flickered through Adamant’s mind. Could it be that last time... he wasn’t even fighting seriously? Ketal flashed a broad grin, as if to confirm Adamant’s suspicion. “I can kill you whenever I want. If you’re content to die here, that’s your choice, but I doubt you want that.” “You... you...!” Adamant stumbled back. The edges of his form flickered unsettlingly, and horror dawned in his eyes. “No!” That was the last thing he said before his consciousness vanished. Ketal noted this with mild curiosity. “So, now you show yourself,” he remarked. The entire royal palace—the fragments of the fallen knights, the once-broken wall—began to move. It wasn’t so much that they were changing; rather, they were reverting to their true form. A deep, resonant voice filled the space. “Human.” Ketal grinned. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”