Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World
Chapter 316: Necronovix, the Four Lords of Hell (5)

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Chapter 316: Necronovix, the Four Lords of Hell (5)

A Little While Ago...

In the Magic Tower, a fierce battle raged between the Tower Master and Necronovix.

BOOM!

Darkness exploded, and the Tower Master emerged from the blast.

His condition was far from good.

The robe covering his entire body had long since been torn to shreds, and the bones making up his form were cracked and broken in several places.

Yet, he did not fall.

Necronovix was impressed.

[Even an ancient dragon would die ten times over from that attack. Truly, you possess power worthy of being called the strongest magician on the surface.]

[Then it would be great if you could just leave!]

[I can't do that. Piercing Bullet!]

Necronovix fired a bullet.

The Tower Master quickly cast a spell.

[Space Severance.]

The space in front of the Tower Master was sliced apart.

The bullet flew into the severed space.

[Space Connection.]

He then linked the severed space to a different location, positioning it directly behind Necronovix.

The Piercing Bullet struck Necronovix in the back, yet nothing happened.

Necronovix spoke calmly.

[A near-perfect countermeasure. But ultimately, it is still my power. You can't harm me with it.]

The Tower Master simply waved his skeletal fingers.

[Explosion.]

Suddenly, Necronovix's body shook as if a bomb had gone off inside him, his eyes widening.

[...You hid a spell within the bullet. I didn't notice it at all.]

[And yet, you don’t have a scratch on you.]

The Tower Master clicked his tongue.

What he had done was essentially plant a bomb inside Necronovix by hiding a spell in the enemy's own attack and detonating it once it was inside his body.

Yet it had no effect on Necronovix. It was almost absurd.

'This is tough.'

It was hard to endure.

Each of Necronovix's dark magic attacks carried the power of death itself.

Normal defenses or counterattacks were ineffective, and it felt like his mind was about to shatter.

'What kind of terrifying power is this?'

A bizarre force that nullified everything it touched, returning it to nothingness.

The Tower Master was dumbfounded.

It was too destructive to be called mere dark magic.

[You are strong.]

Necronovix was genuinely impressed by the Tower Master's strength.

Despite wielding such deadly power, the Tower Master was still alive, countering his attacks, and even retaliating.

It was nothing short of astonishing.

Necronovix soon realized why.

[You're using circle magic.]

[An outdated technique, suitable for an old man like me.]

[That’s not the point. You’re casting multiple spells simultaneously.]

Severing space, expanding severed space, maintaining the integrity of connected space, and moving the severed space behind his opponent—all these spells at once.

By Necronovix's count, the Tower Master was casting a total of seventeen spells simultaneously.

This was why he could endure against Necronovix's death-infused attacks.

[That's impossible.]

But it was something unimaginable.

It was not about capability but the very nature of magic.

Casting multiple spells at once would cause the mind to overload and shatter.

It was beyond what any normal magician could endure.

Necronovix, realizing this, was surprised.

[You've modified your own mind.]

[One of the benefits of becoming a lich is not being constrained by physical limits.]

The Tower Master had partitioned his mind, assigning separate personalities to handle different spell incantations.

[All for the sake of magic.]

It was a unique magic he had developed for himself.

[What do you think?]

[It's madness.]

Necronovix was astounded.

Partitioning one's own mind just to cast multiple spells simultaneously was something even demons wouldn’t dare to do.

[You’re insane. If this were in my prime, you'd be known as the most feared dark magician in history.]

[I appreciate the flattery. Now, it's my turn. I thought I was going to die holding out.]

By splitting his personality, the Tower Master could prepare spells requiring lengthy incantations even while fighting.

Now, the spell he had been preparing since the start of the battle was finally ready.

Necronovix gasped.

[This is…]

[Take this.]

With those words, the sky opened up, and a pillar of light filled the space, engulfing Necronovix.

Despite being magic, the attack was imbued with a divine aura, causing onlookers to exclaim in awe.

"Oh, ohhh!"

The light was blindingly holy.

Even a powerful demon couldn’t remain unscathed against such an attack.

Elian approached the Tower Master.

"Master, did we... win?"

[Don't come any closer, you fool.]

The Tower Master immediately pushed him away.

[I knew it wouldn’t work, but this is still a bit humiliating.]

[You mimicked divine power with magic. Impressive.]

As the light faded, Necronovix reappeared, unharmed. Elian's eyes widened.

"Not a single scratch?"

[Oh, don’t say such disappointing things. It was a formidable attack. Look at this.]

Necronovix lifted his hand, showing a slight burn on his fingertip, like it had been pressed against a dying candle.

That was it.

The Tower Master's trump card had merely singed the tip of Necronovix's finger.

The previously jubilant faces of the spectators turned to despair.

The Tower Master clicked his tongue.

[You can even kill the holy? This is insane.]

[I’m the one impressed. To think you could pierce through death. Your power lives up to your reputation. I think I need to finish you off quickly.]

Necronovix reached out his hand, and the Tower Master braced himself for another clash.

But that was all he could do.

[...I don’t even have the strength left to lift my power. I’ve exhausted too much elsewhere.]

[Hmm?]

The Tower Master's pupils trembled.

Necronovix's form began to fade.

[It was enjoyable, Tower Master. Until we meet again.]

With those words, Necronovix started to disappear.

[Do you think I'll just let you go?]

The Tower Master swiftly moved, attempting to capture some remnants of Necronovix.

His intervention, nearly at his full capacity, caught a part of Necronovix off guard.

[Oh, I didn’t expect you to intervene this far. Truly impressive.]

Necronovix laughed.

[I’ve decided. You must die.]

And with that, Necronovix vanished completely.

The Tower Master, exhausted, collapsed to the ground.

[Damn it. At my age, going through this…]

"I-Is it over?"

[Yes, my disciple. This is the first time in a hundred years I’ve used this much power. Help me up.]

"Y-Yes."

Elian hesitantly supported the Tower Master, confusion evident on his face.

"Did we... win?"

[As if that would be the case, you foolish disciple. He just failed to control the power he drew from another location.]

"W-what?"

[Necronovix isn't only here.]

The Tower Master clicked his tongue.

[There are three of them on the surface. One is in the Elven Sanctuary, another is here, and the last one is in the Dwarven Sanctuary.]

"Wh-what does that mean...?"

[Look there.]

The Tower Master pointed to where Necronovix had disappeared.

Elian's eyes widened.

There lay a human corpse.

"...What is that?"

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[It’s the reason why there could be three of him appearing at once. It’s a true catastrophe.]

A formidable monster.

A being that even the Tower Master could not defeat.

Such a thing had descended upon this world.

The biggest problem was that they couldn't even grasp the enemy's abilities.

For the first time in a long while, the Tower Master felt a wall he couldn't overcome.

[…I suppose there's no choice then.]

The Tower Master, after some deliberation, made a decision.

He couldn’t solve this problem alone.

He needed help from others.

[As much as I'd like to leave it alone, given the situation, I can't. I'll have to ask for assistance. Elian, keep the corpse stored away. I'll analyze it later.]

"Huh? Yes, understood."

With those words, the Tower Master vanished, leaving Elian standing there with a bewildered expression.

* * *

The battle between Ketal and Necronovix had ended.

The overwhelming presence that had been crushing the world was now gone.

However, even so, Grombir and Serena couldn’t approach.

Just remembering it made it hard to take a step forward.

And soon, Ketal arrived.

"What... What happened?"

"We won. For now, at least."

"What?"

"My god, really?"

Grombir and Serena were stunned.

It was a natural reaction.

"Did we really drive Necronovix out of this world?"

One of the four great lords of hell had been defeated.

It was hard not to think so, given the situation.

Yet, Ketal's face looked uncertain.

"...I'm not sure."

It was because Necronovix had accepted Ketal's final attack too easily.

As if he had already fallen before the strike even landed.

"Was it a clone?"

"No, it wasn't a clone."

What he faced was definitely the true body of Necronovix.

But there was something off.

"Did I really defeat Necronovix?"

"W-What do you mean by that?"

Grombir couldn’t understand what Ketal was saying.

Ketal had said he defeated the true body, but now he was questioning if he really had.

It was hard for Grombir, who hadn’t seen the actual battle, to comprehend this.

"We need to verify this. Can we summon Hephaestus again?"

"Lord Hephaestus... No, wait. I'll offer a prayer. Please wait a moment."

Grombir left for the temple to call upon Hephaestus.

Meanwhile, back in their quarters, Ketal spoke to the Monstrosity.

"Do you know what happened?"

[Do you think I remember the strength of every weakling I meet?]

The creature answered dismissively.

"So you don’t know."

[It's not that I don't know; I just don't care.]

"Isn't that the same thing?"

[…You.]

"Serena, do you have any idea?"

Ignoring the creature's response, Ketal turned to Serena.

She shook her head with a firm expression.

"N-No. I have no idea either."

Even the Holy Sword had almost no information about the four great lords of hell.

The little they knew was minimal.

"We’ll have to wait for Hephaestus, then."

An hour later, Grombir called for Ketal.

With a stiff expression, Grombir spoke.

"Connection is impossible."

"Hm?"

"No matter how much I pray, my prayers aren’t reaching the heavens."

"...Has something happened to Hephaestus?"

"No, it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like the connection itself has been cut off."

"Did the demons do something?"

"That seems to be the case."

Though they didn’t know how, it appeared the demons had severed the connection between the heavens and the mortal world.

"They won't be able to block it for long, but we may not be able to rely on heavenly help for a while."

"That’s troublesome."

In the end, they couldn’t obtain any information about Necronovix.

Yet, Grombir remained calm.

"Regardless, you fought Necronovix and won. It wasn’t a clone or an avatar, correct?"

"Yes, that’s right."

It had definitely been the true body of Necronovix.

Grombir’s face was filled with awe.

"...This is incredible."

Necronovix, one of the great lords of hell—a being practically akin to a god—had been fought and defeated by Ketal.

Though they knew his strength, this was beyond their expectations.

"Even if Necronovix managed to escape, the amount of power he expended means he won’t be able to intervene in this world easily again. At least for now, it’s not an immediate concern."

"Hmm."

That was definitely true.

Yet, something bothered Ketal.

It felt like he had a thorn stuck in his throat.

"You seem tired from fighting such a powerful foe. That’s why you're overthinking things. For now, you should rest."

[But you won't have that luxury, Dwarven leader. His hunch is probably correct.]

"Wh-Who’s there?!"

Startled by the sudden voice, Grombir instinctively drew his weapon.

Krrrack.

At the same time, the space around them began to tear open.

Grombir’s face filled with shock.

"H-How is this possible?!"

This was Mantamia, the sacred land of the Dwarves.

It was a place heavily guarded by barriers and divine wards, making it impossible for an external entity to breach it.

Even Raphael had been unable to infiltrate and had to force his way in from the front.

But now, the space within this sacred land was being torn apart.

It meant that whoever was entering was far stronger than Raphael.

Grombir quickly braced himself.

[I am the one who has come, foolish leader of the dwarves. Have you already forgotten my voice?]

Through the rift, a figure began to emerge.

It was a being made of bones.

Grombir’s eyes widened.

"...The Tower Master?"

"Oh! It’s been a while."

Ketal greeted with a happy expression. T

he Tower Master looked at Ketal and spoke.

[The situation calls for cooperation. Can you lend me your aid?]

"Of course, no problem."

Ketal nodded cheerfully.

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