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Chapter 260: The Demon of Flowers (6)

The Mystery Beast Within Him.

It was the power of Ketal, but it didn’t obey him.

When he tried to control it, it resisted, growling.

It was like a stray dog rejecting the touch of a new owner.

So Ketal couldn’t handle it easily.

Despite his first-rate level of mystery, he could only manage physical enhancements because of it.

But there was one time.

When the mystery beast voluntarily tried to help him.

When facing Federica, who had opened the Gate of Heavens.

At that time, the beast cried out as if it was dissatisfied.

It responded as if it didn’t like that Ketal was being attacked by Federica, similar to how it reacted when it met an external threat.

And just like that time, now too, the beast was crying out as if it was dissatisfied.

Throughout the battle with Materia, it tried to rise as if displeased.

“Hahaha.”

Ketal laughed joyfully.

Back then, he had suppressed the beast that tried to rise to test his full power.

But not now.

“Come forth.”

The beast howled as if in joy.

It rose violently and roared.

Grrrr!

The howl echoed out into the world.

Those watching from outside, pale-faced, heard the beast\'s sound from somewhere.

Ketal gripped his axe tightly.

The mystery began to envelop the axe blade, forming a sharp shape.

“…What?”

Materia’s expression changed.

That was dangerous.

Truly.

But it was impossible to respond since she was gathering strength.

Ketal gripped the axe tighter and stepped forward.

“Hup!”

He swung the axe at Materia.

The embedded mystery became a blade that slashed diagonally.

At first, nothing happened.

Only the sound of the wind echoed, like a whip cutting through empty space.

But shortly after.

Swoosh!

The world was severed.

The space was split and divided in half.

It was an incredibly clean cut, like slicing a piece of paper.

It was fortunate that Ketal had swung the axe slightly upward.

Only the empty sky was severed.

If it had been directed at the ground, it would have left an irreparable scar on the earth.

“Oh, oh no.”

Materia’s body, which was within the severed space, was neatly split in two.

The power she had gathered was also split in half.

Crackle!

But it didn’t explode.

The severed space twisted and began to suck everything in.

The power defiling the world was swallowed up by the severed world and annihilated.

“Phew!”

Ketal exhaled.

He swung the axe with a satisfied expression.

“Very strong! Excellent! Satisfying!”

Grrr…

The beast also seemed satisfied, quieting down.

It bowed its head quietly inside him.

Ketal laughed joyfully.

He finally realized how to move this troublesome creature.

Ketal walked lightly toward Materia.

Her body, cut in half, lay on the ground.

Materia let out a hollow laugh with only her upper body remaining.

“What is this…”

“Oh. You’re still alive despite that form.”

“I’ll be unsummoned soon. This is ridiculous.”

Although she was in a defenseless state, it was still her avatar.

As it was protected by stauts, it wasn’t easy to harm her physical body.

Yet she was cut in half in a single blow.

“You… What is that? Why didn’t you use it until now?”

“It’s not that I deliberately didn’t use it. There were various reasons.”

Ketal smiled brightly.

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you. I sincerely express my gratitude.”

“Haha… I’ll hear about this when I get back.”

Crack.

Her body began to crumble.

Normally, it would have lasted longer, but the recent blow had inflicted severe damage.

She could no longer remain on this earth.

“At least I got some information, so that’s a relief… Ketal, right?”

Materia looked at Ketal one last time.

“This is just an avatar. So next time, I’ll see you with my true self.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Ketal said cheerfully.

Materia smiled faintly.

And then her body twisted and vanished.

The terrible evil that had stepped on the earth was banished back to hell.

The battle was over.

“Hmmm.”

Ketal stretched.

His face held an undeniable smile.

“Ahhh.”

He was so delighted.

So thrilled.

Ketal moved with light steps.

* * *

Ketal approached the surviving people.

They looked as if they were about to faint, their faces pale with fear.

They collapsed to the ground as if relieved at the sight of Ketal.

“Wh-what on earth happened…?”

The archbishop asked in a trembling voice.

It was terrifying.

Something that they dared not even lift their heads to face had descended upon the earth.

It was like a god had descended upon the earth.

But it was more terrible and frightening than that.

At least, with Floris’s level, there was no way to emit such an overwhelming presence.

“And…”

The archbishop swallowed and looked behind Ketal.

There was a severed space there.

The space extended beyond the horizon.

What was that?

It was a power he couldn’t understand or accept.

Ketal answered lightly.

“A demon descended. She introduced herself as the Mother of All Demons. Materia.”

“…What?”

The archbishop’s eyes widened.

He inhaled sharply as if he was hyperventilating.

“Ma-Materia! My God!”

“You seem to know.”

"Oh my god! Is that, is that really true? Ah, ahhh. What on earth is happening! Oh, Great Mother Earth! Ahhhhh!"

The archbishop had completely lost his mind.

He was in no state for a coherent conversation, so Ketal looked at the Mercenary King.

But the Mercenary King was no different.

With a face full of shock, he stammered,

"Ma-Materia. Truly? My God."

It wasn\'t just him.

The moment they heard that name, Cain and the other survivors\' faces also turned pale.

It was impossible to have a normal conversation in this state.

"Hmm."

After briefly observing them, Ketal lightly exerted his presence.

The archbishop, who had been out of his mind, instantly changed.

He quickly began to calm down.

"Are you calm now?"

"Ah, yes. Yes. ...What did you do?"

"I just suppressed you."

He had used a presence comparable to the overwhelming evil that had driven them into panic to subdue their minds.

It was a form of using poison against poison.

The archbishop\'s expression turned peculiar at that explanation.

"I-I see..."

"So, who exactly is this demon, Materia?"

"...One of the four lords of Hell."

The archbishop swallowed nervously as he spoke.

The Demon King was the ruler of the concept of Demon, not the lord of Hell, which was a smaller concept.

Thus, there were demons who managed Hell on behalf of the Demon King.

They were the four lords of Hell.

"They have been called by various names throughout history. At times, they were known as the Four Heavenly Kings."

"The Four Heavenly Kings!"

Ketal\'s eyes gleamed.

Despite his curiosity, the archbishop continued.

"They are the actual rulers of Hell."

And they wielded power commensurate with that title.

To the extent that they could rival gods.

"In the distant past, during the Great War between gods and demons, before the Demon King had even descended, many gods were annihilated by demons. And those who caused that were..."

"The Four Heavenly Kings, I presume."

"...Yes."

The archbishop took a deep breath.

Although Ketal had freed him from panic, he couldn\'t escape his shock.

Materia was a demon straight out of mythology.

A being on a level incomparable to Floris.

Such an entity had descended to this earth.

And then.

The barbarian before him had defeated Materia.

\'Just what...\'

What was the existence standing before him?

Ketal murmured to himself.

"There are quite a few things I\'m curious about..."

The four lords of Hell, the Four Heavenly Kings.

What exactly was Materia\'s power, and who were the other lords?

He was incredibly curious.

The archbishop was also curious.

He wanted to know what had happened that led to Materia\'s descent.

But there was something more urgent to take care of.

Ketal raised a finger.

"Shouldn\'t those things be dealt with?"

In the direction he pointed, countless pink flowers had bloomed.

They were the corpses of people who had been transformed into flowers by Floris.

The archbishop quickly snapped out of it.

"W-We can\'t leave them be. We need to respond immediately."

The pink flowers were a manifestation of evil power.

If left alone for too long, they would contaminate the earth.

They needed to be dealt with at once.

"Let\'s save the conversation for later and clean this up first."

"Ah. Understood."

The survivors hurriedly began to clean up the aftermath of the battle.

As they were organizing, they groaned at the sight of the space split in half.

Ketal also joined them in cleaning up the flowers.

\'Materia.\'

A powerful demon.

One that didn\'t falter against Ketal\'s full strength.

It had even had the upper hand until he used his mystery power.

And that wasn\'t even its true form, but merely an avatar.

If it had been its true form, just how powerful would it have been?

If it were its true form, could it even put up a meaningful fight against \'those\' in the snowy plains?

One thing was certain: it was strong.

This world had formidable beings that couldn\'t be easily dealt with.

And that was incredibly exciting.

"Let\'s meet again in your true form next time."

Ketal smiled.

* * *

"Umm..."

And at that moment.

In Hell, Materia stretched as she woke up.

"Umm. That was fun."

[Did you enjoy yourself?]

A voice echoed from behind her.

Materia mumbled with a sulking face.

"You came?"

[Did you think I wouldn\'t notice such a powerful ripple?]

A grotesque figure sighed.

[I told you to restrain yourself, but you couldn\'t in the end.]

"Umm. Sorry."

[It\'s fine. It was somewhat expected. Your innate desires couldn\'t be suppressed, could they?]

The figure asked calmly.

[What matters now is whether it was worth it. So, how was it?]

How was the experience of facing that barbarian?

Materia smiled.

"He’s strong. And attractive. I want him even more now."

A fierce desire flared up in Materia\'s eyes.

"No matter what happens, I\'ll put him in my treasure chest."

[If you manage to win against the surface, you can do as you please. But for now, information takes priority. Tell me what you\'ve learned from facing that barbarian.]

"Fine, fine. Gosh, you\'re so naggy."

Materia stood up with a weary expression.

The figure watched her for a moment before asking in a puzzled tone.

[...That thing on your chest, what is it?]

"My chest? What about it?"

Materia looked down at her chest.

After staring at it for a while, she realized something.

"...There’s a wound?"

There was a small wound on her chest.

Materia stared at the wound for a moment before realizing.

The wound resembled the one she received when Ketal used his mystery power to cut her in half at the end.

"Huh? What is this?"

Materia was puzzled.

She had been attacked by Ketal, but that was only her avatar.

It wasn’t her true form.

No matter what damage she had taken, it shouldn\'t have affected her true form.

As she was thinking this, the wound suddenly split open.

Whoosh!

Blood gushed out of it.

The blood quickly filled the ground.

For an ordinary person, such blood loss would be enough to cause death by hemorrhage.

The figure was alarmed.

[...What’s happening?]

"...Huh?"

Materia looked at the wound with wide eyes.