C877
'What...?'
Raon quickly turned to look at Wrath.
'You say you know them?'
Just a moment ago, Wrath had muttered that he seemed to know the monster wielding the burning sword and whip. Since he wasn't one to usually say nonsense, if what he said was true, there was a high possibility that the monster that attacked the Grey Hammer Guild was a demon or related to demons.
"Indeed it is."
Wrath nodded, narrowing his eyes.
"However, we still lack information. It would be better to listen a little more."
He gestured with his round hand, suggesting that the dwarf speak.
'Understood.'
After telling him to wait, Raon turned his gaze back to the dwarf.
"May I ask your name?"
To ease the dwarf's tension, he first asked his name.
"My name is... eh?"
The dwarf widened his eyes, which trembled in confusion, as if he recognized Raon.
"Raon Zieghart?"
"Do you know me?"
"D-Didn't you speak with our boss here?"
He said, clutching his blackened beard, that Raon had been there when they were making a deal with Borgos.
"Ah, I apologize for recognizing you so late. My memory..."
Raon apologized, bowing his head. Recalling his memories, it seemed he remembered seeing a dwarf with a beard twisted like that.
"No, it's natural that you wouldn't know, since we weren't even introduced. My name is Palenthun."
The dwarf who introduced himself as Palenthun nodded.
"Our boss used to talk about you when he was bored, so I hadn't forgotten you."
By what he said, it seemed he didn't know that Borgos had requested help from Raon.
"But why are you here...?"
"Master Borgos sent me a letter."
"The boss?"
"Yes."
Raon nodded and showed Borgos' letter.
"T-That letter..."
Palenthun widened his eyes as if he now understood.
"You know it?"
"It's the letter the boss sent after much deliberation! To think it reached you...!"
His beard trembled, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion just by seeing the envelope.
"The contents..."
Raon let out a soft sigh and showed the contents of the letter.
"Please help..."
Palenthun closed his eyes tightly as he read the letter.
"The boss is someone who believes we should handle everything with our own hands. After seeing the letter from Sepia, he muttered something about it being fate and to think he sent you a letter..."
He knelt down and sobbed, as if feeling Borgos' emotions through the words that begged for help.
"Please tell me in detail what has happened so far."
Raon said that was how he could help, looking Palenthun in the eyes.
"...Alright."
Palenthun nodded and stood up with difficulty. By his movements, it seemed he had suffered serious injuries to his abdomen.
"Our Grey Hammer workshop is located beneath the tunnels of the Shining Abundance Mountain. It's to make the most of the Earth's heat, but at some point, that heat started to move on its own. So..."
* * *
As always, I was engrossed in my work, losing track of time, when strangely, the flames of the furnace began to act erratically.
"What's this?"
Palenthun lowered his hammer and frowned. When forging swords, a steady flame is as important as intense heat. The flames fluctuated, shrinking and then overflowing, making it impossible to continue working.
"Did something happen outside?"
Palenthun took off his hood and left the workshop. Other masters seemed to have felt the same, as they were discussing it while holding their soot-covered hammers.
"It seems you're having trouble with your furnace too, Master Palenthun."
The boss's main disciple approached, letting out a short sigh.
"Yes. I can't control the flames."
"We're having the same thing. The flames keep getting stronger and weaker, making it impossible to control the thickness of the metal."
He frowned and said they were all in the same situation.
"Indeed..."
Palenthun looked at the tunnel they had dug to extract heat from the mountain. It seemed that unusual heat was rising from the depths.
"Mmm..."
"Will the monsters come again?"
"It's starting to get a little scary now, isn't it?"
"Why is there so much noise?"
As everyone felt uneasy and stared intently at the depths of the tunnel, Borgos stomped his foot.
"Boss. The fluctuating flames are unsettling."
Palenthun approached Borgos and pointed to the tunnel.
"It seems like the monsters are acting up again."
Borgos frowned and said it seemed to be a problem with the monsters that feed on the heat of this burning mountain.
"It must be that. Although it's never been this severe before..."
"Repair the walls and prepare for battle."
He shouted for them to repair the walls built in front of the tunnel and prepare their weapons, saying that the monsters would soon come running out.
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
The dwarves and guild masters raised their gleaming grey hammers as if it were a job they already knew and let out a war cry that shook the mountain. Two days after repairing the walls and preparing the weapons, the monsters started to come out of the tunnel, just as Borgos had predicted. It was something they already knew, but there was something no one expected.
Countless monsters emerged, from giants like the Giant Lava Worm, known as the nightmare of volcanoes, and the Red Dragon Turtle that spews heat capable of melting iron, to medium and small ones like the Giant Army Ant that isn't even scratched by sword aura, and the Ruby Fly that sucks human flesh.
It was as if red lava was erupting.
"Crazy..."
"Why?! Why are there so many!"
"It's not just that there are many! There's more than one or two large monsters!"
"Can... can we really kill all of those...?"
The dwarves and masters trembled, their hands shaking as they held their hammers and axes, seemingly frightened by the approaching monsters. Boom! When everyone was panicking, a loud step was heard from the highest point of the wall.
"Don't be afraid! Trust the walls and the hammers we've forged with our own hands!"
It was Borgos. With a firm gaze, he shouted for everyone to fight.
"I'll take the lead."
As he lowered his hammer, which crackled with lightning, a golden bolt of lightning shattered the body of the Giant Lava Worm leading the charge. Boom! The dwarves, seemingly encouraged by Borgos' feat, prepared their gleaming grey cannons.
The iron cannon, which was said to be more powerful than magic cannons, was the dwarves' most powerful weapon, with which their workshop techniques were maximized.
Boom! As the iron cannons fired simultaneously, the monsters heading towards the base of the wall exploded, leaving no trace of flesh. However, there were so many that some managed to reach the wall and passed the bombardment.
"Trust the boss and fight!"
Palenthun wielded his hammer forcefully. The body of a Giant Army Ant that was climbing the wall shattered and fell.
"How dare you come here?!"
"Don't let a single one pass!"
"Believe! Our walls won't crumble!"
Other dwarves and guild warriors fought alongside Palenthun and Borgos in a battle that involved blood and flesh. The fierce battle continued for two days. The walls crumbled, and the mouths of the cannons were warped by the heat, but fortunately, the endless horde of monsters finally came to an end.
"After all, there's nothing that can stop a blacksmith."
Palenthun smiled as he clutched the hole in his abdomen. Although his wound was severe, he smiled, happy that thanks to the walls and weapons, not a single person had died.
"Stop talking nonsense and get to cleaning."
Borgos, despite being more injured than Palenthun and unable to properly move his right arm, took care of everyone as befitting a chieftain.
"You should rest."
Palenthun snorted and kicked Borgos' butt.
"Do you think I'm as weak as you? I could fight for another month without a problem."
Borgos clicked his tongue and touched Palenthun's wound.
"Puaj!"
Palenthun couldn't take it and screamed, and the other dwarves and blacksmiths chuckled at the sight. Although they were all injured, their faces were radiant. The smile conveyed a sense of relief because now, with the war against the monsters over, they could hammer metal again. However, peace didn't return...
The flames of the furnace became even more uncontrollable, and a chilling resonance could be heard from the depths of the tunnel.
"It seems like the monsters weren't attacking us..."
Borgos remained in the conference room, shaking his head.
"It seemed like they were fleeing from below."
He bit his lip and said it seemed there was some unknown monster in the underground.
"We have to set everything else aside and rebuild the walls first."
Borgos let out a long sigh and said they had to restore the collapsed walls first.
"Understood. This time, I'll perfect them so that no one can violate them."
Palenthun shouted for them to trust him, pounding his chest.
"How do you intend to work with a hole in your stomach?"
"You're the same, boss! You can't even use your right arm!"
"At least I have my left arm!"
Borgos hit Palenthun's head, telling him to regain his common sense.
"Go out and bring some materials."
He nodded and instructed him to go out and find repair materials.
"But..."
Palenthun narrowed his eyes and looked at the letter Borgos was holding.
"What have you been looking at?"
"A letter from that damn pointy-eared bastard."
"It must be from Sterin."
The only one Borgos would call "damn pointy-eared bastard" was Sterin, the Guardian of Sepia.
"...This must be fate too."
As if he had made a decision, he wrote a short note on the letter, tied it to the leg of the bird that had come from Sepia, and sent it flying again.
"We don't have time to waste! Move as fast as possible! Palenthun, take the young ones and go get the materials. No refusals!"
"Ugh, alright. I'll be back quickly."
Despite his serious injuries, Palenthun gathered materials for repairing the wall as soon as possible and returned underground. But by then, it was too late for many things. The lava that seemed to have erupted from the abyss was burning the workshop, and swords and whips made of hellfire were falling on the blacksmiths' heads.
Screams echoed throughout the underground as human skin was peeled off and flesh was grotesquely cut and torn.
"Run! Don't come back here!"
Borgos turned around and slammed his lightning hammer, which had been warding off the demons, into the ground. The stairs leading to the underground workshop collapsed, and the lava that had been threatening Palenthun calmed down.
"Puaj!"
Palenthun bit his lip until it bled. He wanted to stay and fight alongside Borgos, but he was worried about the young ones behind him.
"Get out! Hurry and go!"
Palenthun gestured for the blacksmiths, who were crying, to leave. As he was about to leave the tunnel for the last time, a red whip shot towards him.
If he had been a second late, his ankle would have been caught by the whip and dragged down, but fortunately, he managed to withdraw his foot.
The entrance to the tunnel, hit by the whip instead of Palenthun, collapsed completely, blocking any access to the base of the Grey Hammer Guild. Although there were still eerie groans coming from underground, the Shining Abundance Mountain was as silent as if nothing had happened.
"Ah..."
As Palenthun and the young masters trembled in fear, Dialun climbed the mountain.
* * *
"That's how it happened."
Palenthun bowed his head deeply after recounting everything that had happened. The guilt of not being with his comrades and the fear of the monsters weighed heavily on him.
"Mmm..."
Raon frowned as he looked at Palenthun's trembling shoulders and the blood seeping through his leather armor.
'Is it really someone you know?'
"I can't be sure yet, but judging by that ferocity, it seems correct."
Wrath nodded and said the behavior seemed typically insane.
"Then it must be a demon."
"Indeed. They're quite well-known even among demons."
'Who is it?'
"Balrog."
Wrath mentioned the name Balrog with a short sigh.
"In terms of innate power and characteristics, they're among the top ten forces even among Demons."
'That strong?'
Raon frowned. If Wrath said that, it meant they were really strong, which made him tense.
'Do they have any weaknesses?'
"This King."
Wrath raised his nose arrogantly.
"My mere existence is a weakness to them."
He shook his head and said it was simple.
'You've been saying a lot of nonsense lately.'
"What nonsense! How dare you say that to me, the monarch of Devildom...?"
'Anyway...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Palenthun.
"It doesn't seem like a trap."
Considering the situation Palenthun described, everything seemed sudden. Especially the fact that Sterin sent a letter to Borgos and that Borgos asked for help. They were unpredictable events, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the possibility of it being a trap was nil.
'Of course, that doesn't mean it's not a plan of the Five Demons.'
It could be a scheme of the Black Tower, which was associated with Devildom, so he couldn't let his guard down.
"And now, what should we do...?"
Palenthun clutched his head and said he couldn't do anything.
"Let's go for now."
Raon stood up calmly.
"We don't know if we'll be able to save them or not, but we'll find the answer by going."
"Mmm..."
Palenthun looked at Raon with his chin trembling.
"Are you saying you'll go even after hearing what I said? With such dangerous creatures there?"
"If I don't act after hearing such circumstances, my mother and the House Leader will beat me from behind."
Raon nodded, saying that it was obviously something he had to do.
"Well said."
Sheryl approached from the side with a mocking smile.
"Demon or not, it's not like they can't be stabbed in the stomach."
She flexed her fingers as if she were ready to try it.
"Ah..."
A small spark of hope ignited in Palenthun's eyes, which were filled with despair.
* * *
Raon followed Palenthun towards the Shining Abundance Mountain, where the Grey Hammer Guild workshop was located.
"Ufff, it's hot."
Martha frowned, fanning herself with her hand.
"It seems to be a place with a high level of geothermal heat. If it's this hot from here, I wonder how hot it'll be on the mountain..."
Burren frowned and seemed a little worried.
"Puaj..."
Runaan let out a soft moan, and his shoulders slumped as if he were already exhausted from the heat.
“Normally it's not this bad, but it seems like the geothermal heat is increasing.”
Palenthun shook his head and let out a long sigh.
"It could be because those creatures are controlling the heat..."
He bit his lip tightly, as if the mere thought enraged him. Raon looked at the distant rocky mountain and nodded towards Wrath.
"So Balrog is a race, right?"
"That's right. They're not only strong but also incredibly ferocious. Some of them could have become Demon Kings but decided not to."
Wrath shook his head and said they were crazy for fighting.
'They could have become Demon Kings but didn't?'
"There was one who abandoned the throne, saying he wanted to fight freely as he pleased."
He snorted, muttering that he was arrogant.
'Then...'
Raon clicked his tongue briefly.
'All the dwarves must be dead.'
"They might not be."
'What?'
"If it had been the pointy-eared ones who had attacked, they would all be dead, but being dwarves, they might have survived."
Wrath raised his hand as if to say "wait and see."
'What do you mean?'
"As the dwarf said first, the Balrogs use burning swords and whips. Those weapons are innate in them from birth, but they can be improved."
'Then...'
"They could be keeping the dwarves alive to improve their weapons."
He shook his head and said it was very likely.
"Let's hope so."
Raon nodded heavily and looked at Palenthun.
"Let's pick up the pace a little."
"Of course."
Palenthun nodded as if he wasn't affected, despite his injuries.
"Let's go."
Raon took the lead. He led everyone towards the Shining Abundance Mountain with Garunua's wind.
"T-This is the place."
Palenthun pointed to the black, distorted ground that looked like solidified lava, his eyebrows trembling.
"This was originally the entrance to our Grey Hammer Guild."
He bit his lip tightly as he looked at the collapsed ground.
"This is the entrance?"
Burren let out a sigh of disbelief.
"It's completely solidified. We'll have to work hard to get in."
Martha gritted her teeth and seemed angry.
"I don't like this place..."
Runaan spread some frost to prevent others from being overwhelmed by the heat.
"I only came to provide supplies."
Dorian's chin trembled, as if he couldn't understand the situation.
"Remember that sword? The one the most important disciple of Master Borgos made?"
Raon nodded and pointed to Dorian's sword. Although he could have already obtained many swords, Dorian had never changed it, saying he liked that one.
"Uf, I know."
Dorian nodded forcefully, gripping his sword tightly. Huh! Raon twisted his lips as he looked at the ground.
"There are definitely some terribly strong creatures down there."
Beneath that ground were monsters that enveloped lava as if it were water. Their presence and heat were so strong that he couldn't sense the vitality of other people.
"Your top priority should be rescuing people."
He nodded towards the squad leaders and Dorian, who were preparing for battle, then placed his hand on the Heavenly Drive.
"Then let's begin."
Raon raised his chin and stomped. Boom! A shockwave erupted that seemed to twist the entire Shining Abundance Mountain, and crimson flames rose from beneath the tunnel.
"Fire!!"
"Take cover!"
The martial artists hired by Dialun and Adis retreated in horror at the violently rising flames. But Raon extended his hand towards the fierce fire. The silver frost emanating from his hand completely froze the flames and heat rising up. It was the miraculous power of a Transcendent who could manipulate natural mana.
Creack!
Raon shattered the frozen flames and opened the gates of hell with his blue hand. Along with the white steam, the suffocating heat began to subside.
"Just follow me."
Raon drew the Celestial Path with a cold gaze. The voice of the absolute being who had reached Transcendence calmed the ominous, wavering emotions of the people.
"I'll make sure no one dies."
-
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