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Chapter 86

Barundel slowly began his story about the past.

"To be precise, it wasn\'t me who was famous, but our party."

"A party... so you had colleagues you hunted with."

"That\'s right. It was a party of four: me, Chrissen, Deimot, and... my wife. I was the leader of the party."

"...I see."

This was the first time Barundel mentioned his wife.

Naturally, I couldn\'t help but become serious.

Perhaps it was because I knew that she no longer existed in this world.

As I silently looked at Barundel, he continued.

"As I said, our party was quite famous. It was partly because we formed a party, unlike other demon hunters who acted independently, but more importantly, it was because each and every member of the party was strong."

"How strong were you?"

"You could say that each of them was about as strong as me."

Four people gathered together, each with combat power comparable to Barundel...

"...No wonder you were famous."

Hearing that, it made sense.

It wasn\'t for nothing that Edward, a noble, knew of their fame from 10 years ago.

"Thanks to that, our party always thrived. People were eager to give us demon subjugation requests whenever they saw us, and our party\'s fame and reputation grew even larger. Eventually, even the demons became aware of our existence."

Clink

Barundel finished his newly ordered beer in one gulp and continued.

"That was the beginning."

"The beginning, you say...?"

"The tragedy of everything."

Tragedy.

The atmosphere sank again at that word.

What kind of tragedy had befallen that powerful party?

"It was when we went out on a hunt, like any other day, after receiving a hefty request. The location was [Enoch\'s Tower]."

[Enoch\'s Tower].

I knew that place very well.

It was a very infamous tower in the dwarven kingdom, Ajeunda Kingdom.

It was the most robust and tallest tower in the world, built by the dwarf Enoch himself, and it was also the unfortunate tower that had been seized by demons after they failed to defend against an invasion.

I heard that it had been sealed for a while to prevent them from coming out...

"Was it open?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Ah, I thought it was sealed."

"Yuhan, you\'re slow on the uptake. How long ago was that? [Enoch\'s Tower] is like a holy ground for hunting in the dwarven kingdom."

"Ah... I see."

For some reason, it seemed that the tower had been opened during the 100 years I was gone.

Well, it was plausible.

As technology and weapons advanced, they would have thought about reclaiming the lost tower.

By the way, what was surprising here was...

"But isn\'t that tower located in the dwarven kingdom?"

The fact that Barundel\'s party\'s area of activity wasn\'t Asternon.

I naturally assumed they worked as hunters in Asternon...

"That\'s right. I was originally active there. That\'s where I made my name. I came here... after the party disbanded. It\'s been a little over 10 years now."

"Ah, I see. I didn\'t know that."

Although I hadn\'t heard what happened yet, I could roughly guess.

Perhaps he left that place as if fleeing after experiencing an unfortunate incident.

People who developed trauma because of demons often left their hometowns.

It seemed like Barundel was one of those people.

Anyway...

"That day, [Enoch\'s Tower] was no different from usual. We skillfully climbed the tower and cut down the demons with the intent to exterminate them. The problem occurred when we reached the 60th floor."

Barundel said, clenching his fist as if recalling the events of that day.

"Suddenly, a red lightning bolt struck [Enoch\'s Tower]...!"

"Red lightning...?"

Barundel nodded at my puzzled question.

"You\'re thinking correctly. That red lightning that once struck Aldeon."

"Huh."

The fact that red lightning struck here indicated only one situation.

A rift connected to the demon world had opened.

It meant that a large-scale invasion would follow, led by a powerful demon.

"To make matters worse, all the doors in the tower were sealed. We became trapped like rats in a cage."

"Why on earth...? Was it the work of a madman like Dercion? Was there someone like that in the dwarven kingdom too?"

Barundel shook his head at my words.

"Not a dwarf. It was the demons\' doing."

"You mean..."

"That\'s right. A Legion Commander intervened in [Enoch\'s Tower]."

At this point, I was speechless.

Everything was full of questions.

Why did the demons open a rift in [Enoch\'s Tower]? Why were the doors of the tower sealed? Who was this Legion Commander who intervened in this incident...?

I couldn\'t even begin to guess.

Barundel said there was only one question out of all these that he could answer.

The reason why the demons opened the rift on that particular day.

"I heard it clearly. That demon\'s voice saying, \'We can finally get rid of those pesky insects.\'"

"...Wait, you\'re saying they opened the rift to catch Barundel\'s party?"

"...I don\'t know for sure. Whether they opened the rift to kill us, or whether we happened to be there on the day they planned to open the rift, I don\'t know. But what\'s certain is that they knew about us and considered us a nuisance."

"...A nuisance."

This showed how strong Barundel\'s party was.

It meant that Barundel\'s party was such a hindrance that a Legion Commander personally called them a nuisance.

If they had been more than just a nuisance...

\'They would have been marked.\'

The \'mark\' was a power that only Legion Commanders and those above them could bestow.

Its effect was to amplify the demon\'s power when the marked target fought against intelligent demons.

It was such a terrifying power that it wouldn\'t be an exaggeration to say that the moment you receive it, you enter hard mode.

However, judging from Barundel\'s story, it seemed like it hadn\'t come to that yet.

It wasn\'t because Barundel\'s party wasn\'t strong enough, but because there was no need to mark them.

From the moment they were trapped inside the tower, they were as good as dead.

Anyway...

"So you don\'t even know who the Legion Commander was who did this?"

"...All I know is his voice and the demonic energy he exuded. He never showed himself, just kept sending demons down from the top of the tower. And after that..."

I could guess what happened after that without needing to hear it.

An endless defense.

Only those who could break through the overwhelming numbers and display an insurmountable gap in strength could survive in that situation.

In terms of magic, an 8th Circle mage.

In terms of swordsmanship, at least the level of a Knight Commander would be needed to barely escape alive.

Gnash!

I heard Barundel gritting his teeth.

It seemed the memories of that day still caused him pain.

I waited for his anger to subside before speaking.

"Did everyone die?"

"...Yes. Everyone except me."

"...How did you survive?"

"After three days and nights of fighting... my wife forced me to use the [Blink Stone]. She gave up everything. She must have wanted to save at least one of us."

"...I think I understand."

"I still regret not stopping her from forcing the Blink Stone into my hand that day..."

Barundel\'s voice was tinged with a slight sob.

Instead of comforting him, I silently refilled his glass.

With whiskey, not beer.

I hoped that this strong alcohol would soothe his bitter heart, even if just a little.

And at the same time, in the corner of my mind...

\'...Those bastards.\'

My hatred for demons grew even stronger.

***

After a while of silently drinking, each of us dealing with our own emotions...

We had entered the pub in broad daylight, but it was only when the day was almost over that we left.

After escorting the now completely drunk Barundel back home, I headed straight to the library.

To find out more about the incident Barundel had told me about.

Since it was an incident from 10 years ago and of such a large scale, there would surely be records of it in books and other sources.

My prediction was correct, and I was able to find a related book before long.

[The Tragedy Brought by Enoch\'s Tower]

"This is it."

The book detailed the history of [Enoch\'s Tower] from its creation, its period of normal operation, the demon invasion, the victims, and so on. Naturally, it also included the incident Barundel had mentioned.

[The Red Lightning that Struck Enoch\'s Tower]

A chapter clearly related to the incident.

Flip! Flip!

I held onto my dizzying mind and slowly read through the book.

Most of it was similar to what Barundel had said, but it was written from the perspective of someone outside the tower, not inside.

It described the actions the dwarven kingdom took immediately after the incident, what kind of demons emerged when the sealed doors were reopened, and how they fought.

Such things were recorded.

The unfortunate thing was... there was no information I was looking for.

"I can\'t figure out which bastard it was."

My current concern was singular.

Who was the Legion Commander that opened the rift in [Enoch\'s Tower]?

However, the demons that emerged from the tower were mostly low-ranking demons, and there was no mention of the Legion Commander.

There were only speculative writings by analysts, guessing who it might be.

As Barundel said, no one could grasp why or who caused the incident.

"Damn it."

I searched for a long time in case I missed anything, but eventually closed the book without any further findings.

I closed my eyes and leaned back.

Perhaps because of the alcohol, my mind was a complete mess.

I couldn\'t understand why I was looking into this, or what I planned to do with the information even if I found it.

Yet, my mind endlessly sought a solution.

"...Should I even ask the Information Guild?"

Just as that thought crossed my mind...

Suddenly, it all felt pointless.

No, I realized it.

Knowing the culprit behind this incident wasn\'t important at all.

Nothing would change even if I found out.

It had already happened, and there was only one thing I had to do here.

Kill all the demons and free people from this endless suffering.

In a way, it was an excessive thought for someone like me, who couldn\'t even protect myself...

"But if I don\'t do it, who will?"

It was also a thought that only I could have.

My complicated mind cleared up as if cold water had been splashed on it.

"Just you wait."

The reason why I had to kill Baal.

It was no longer just about survival and returning home.