Chapter 102: The Golden Barrier 

Returning to the embrace of Varta.

That meant submitting to the Varta Kingdom.

In a way, it could be an offensive thing to say.

But Mason felt no offense at all.

If anything, it put his mind at ease.

It was no different from gaining a safe haven.

“May I ask your name?”

“Gaon Varta.”

“Ah, as expected from the Varta royal family… Wait?”

Mason paused mid-sentence upon hearing Gaon’s name.

His status was indeed no ordinary one.

He was royalty of the Varta Kingdom.

Of course, Mason’s hesitation wasn’t because Gaon was royalty.

He had already known the man was someone extraordinary.

What made him pause was the name “Gaon” itself.

“You mean that Gaon.”

Gaon smiled faintly and confirmed.

Mason immediately dropped to his knees in prostration and exclaimed.

“I greet the great monarch!”

He had never seen him in person.

Only in history books.

Yet Gaon was an overwhelming existence that demanded such reverence.

Of course, there was no proof it was truly Gaon.

It was just words.

But Mason had no choice but to believe.

And for good reason—he had brought Kaltra’s head.

That meant he possessed the power to kill a beast that had crossed the wall.

Even if it wasn’t the real Gaon, the situation demanded belief.

“Is there anything I need to prepare separately?”

“Focus on reclaiming territory and strengthening your foundations. I’ll contact you soon.”

“Yes, I await your orders.”

“Then, good luck.”

Gaon vanished as abruptly as he had appeared.

Mason stared at the spot where Gaon had been and thought to himself.

…This isn’t a dream, right?

In that brief moment, unbelievable things had happened one after another.

Everything felt like a dream.

Could it be a dream brought on by the stress of the dire situation?

Ouch!

Mason stood up, pinched his thigh hard, and let out a short yelp from the stinging pain.

“Not a dream.”

Having confirmed it was reality, Mason turned his head to look at Kaltra’s head.

He swallowed hard.

He knew it was dead.

Yet he still felt tense.

It seemed like it could open its eyes at any moment and spew poison.

Whew.

Mason exhaled shortly to relieve the tension and left the room.

He spotted a knight standing guard at the entrance.

The knight’s expression was the same as always.

As expected, he had no idea Gaon had come and gone.

Of course not.

It wasn’t strange at all.

Considering the difference in level, it was only natural.

Mason spoke to the knight.

“Summon the commander.”

The heart of the Abyss’s holy ground.

Only a few of the Ten Strong were present in the depths.

And all of them wore grim expressions, as if by agreement.

The reason for their dark faces was the failure of their plan targeting the Varta Kingdom and Gaon.

And it wasn’t just a simple failure.

It had been utterly crushed.

The one who broke the seemingly endless silence was Papuren, ranked fourth, who had at least achieved some results.

“Well, what do you all think?”

Papuren scanned the seated Ten Strong as he posed the question.

Kamadir spoke up.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Clearly…”

At Papuren’s counterquestion, Kamadir trailed off and glanced at Verbon, ranked sixth, who remained silent.

“Didn’t you say a 7-star demonic rift opened?”

“Yes, a 7-star demonic rift did open.”

Verbon nodded in response.

According to his subordinates’ reports, a 7-star demonic rift had indeed opened in Palagas.

Kamadir continued in his characteristically gravelly voice.

“Let’s say Gaon could handle a 5-star one. We could do that too. But how did he close a 7-star demonic rift? No, it wasn’t closed—it was annihilated. Is there anyone here who could annihilate a 7-star demonic rift alone?”

“What if he wasn’t alone?”

Bagelina countered.

Kamadir shook his head.

“You know, right? No mages left Gardion.”

After the incident at Gardion Tower, the Abyss had mobilized all nearby resources to monitor it.

Not a single mage had left Gardion since the incident.

“Everyone knows the situation in the Varta Kingdom, so no need to elaborate.”

“Hmm…”

Bagelina let out a quiet groan and nodded in agreement.

Then Papuren spoke.

“There must be an ally helping him.”

Not Gardion Tower, nor the Varta Kingdom itself.

That left only one possibility.

An ally.

“If it’s someone skilled enough to evade our eyes, that would explain the current situation.”

A powerhouse capable of slipping past the Abyss’s surveillance.

If such individuals were aiding Gaon?

Annihilating a 7-star demonic rift wouldn’t be so strange.

“Besides, strong demons probably didn’t cross over. If only riffraff made it through, that explains it well enough.”

A 7-star demonic rift was large enough for even a demon count to pass through.

But if no powerful demons had crossed?

“Hmm.”

This time, Kamadir let out a short groan at Papuren’s words.

Bao, who had been listening silently, finally spoke.

“Ally or not, riffraff or not, the fact is the 7-star demonic rift was annihilated, right? The important thing now seems to be what we do going forward.”

The annihilation of a 7-star demonic rift was hard to believe.

That’s why they had been discussing it until now.

But it wasn’t worth continuing.

It was already over.

What mattered now was how to respond moving forward.

“As you all know, it’ll be hard to exert force on Varta now.”

Demonic rifts couldn’t be opened at will.

They had poured most of their resources around the Varta Kingdom this time.

Little remained.

And above all, Seionia was watching.

If they caused trouble again now?

They would obviously be blocked by Seionia.

It was at that moment.

Everyone turned their heads toward the entrance in unison.

A figure appeared through it.

It was Murin, Lord of the Abyss.

Murin’s expression was as impassive as ever.

No emotion showed.

“You’ve arrived.”

Bao smiled and greeted him on behalf of the group.

Murin took his seat and spoke.

“I received contact from them. They said Count Kalbornia had marched through the 7-star demonic rift.”

“…!”

“…!”

Everyone was shocked by Murin’s words.

Who was Kalbornia?

A renowned figure across the demon world, holder of a count’s title.

And he had marched?

How could the 7-star demonic rift be annihilated if he had?

Assuming only riffraff had crossed explained the situation, leaving no one able to speak.

They could only stare blankly at Murin.

When no one responded, Murin continued.

“Instead, they asked us. What happened.”

No one answered Murin’s follow-up either.

They couldn’t even imagine how it had happened.

Silence lingered for a moment before Murin spoke again.

“Papuren.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Papuren, who had been dazed, snapped to attention and replied.

“How is the matter in Aletars Swamp progressing?”

“Ah, that…”

Papuren trailed off with an awkward expression.

Murin frowned slightly.

Papuren hurriedly continued.

“An unidentified fellow appeared and caused some issues, but it’s not a major problem. It’s only been delayed a bit. And even if something goes wrong, it won’t affect our side, so no great concern.”

The depths of Aletars Swamp.

A massive altar stood there.

At its center was drawn an unidentified shamanic formation, and embedded around the altar were one thousand demon stones serving as power sources for the formation.

Sigh.

Demon Baron Barshu, gazing at the altar, let out a sigh.

“What’s the point of finishing preparations?”

The sigh wasn’t because of the altar’s condition.

The altar was fine.

All preparations were complete.

Activating the shamanic formation now would open a demonic rift.

An 8-star one, at that.

Barshu turned his head to look at the golden barrier positioned quite far from the altar.

“If not for that damned thing.”

He couldn’t activate the formation even if he wanted to.

Because of the golden barrier.

If he forced activation ignoring it?

An 8-star rift wouldn’t open—a 5-star one would.

To activate properly, he first had to destroy the golden barrier.

He couldn’t open a mere 5-star rift.

The problem was how incredibly sturdy the golden barrier was.

The forces currently in the swamp couldn’t possibly destroy it.

So he had requested reinforcements from headquarters.

It was then.

One of Barshu’s aides approached and reported.

“Headquarters says they’re sending reinforcements.”

“Is it the scale I requested?”

“Yes, Viscount Blanc and Viscount Eto are coming personally.”

“Oh? How long?”

“Estimated to take about two days.”

“Then, plenty of time…”

Barshu trailed off, calculating.

“We can destroy it within a week.”

Finishing his calculations, Barshu gave a bitter smile.

Two viscounts were coming.

And not just them—large numbers of subordinate demons and siege weapons would accompany them.

Even so, it would take a week to destroy the barrier.

That’s how tough the golden barrier was.

Just who is it?

Barshu recalled the human who had appeared right before the barrier formed.

Clad in full-body armor, his face unseen.

That only made him more curious.

What his identity was.

Where this guy had come from.

The Abyss folks don’t know either, so he must be no ordinary fellow.

Barshu turned back.

To check the overall situation once more from the command room.

It was at that moment.

Boom!!!

An explosion rang out.

“…!”

The blast in his ears made Barshu flinch involuntarily.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions didn’t stop at one.

They came in succession.

Barshu hurriedly turned around.

The direction of the blasts was near the barrier.

…Wh-what?

Turning, Barshu couldn’t help but panic.

Smoke was rising around the barrier.

Not from one spot, but multiple places.

And some of those spots, as far as Barshu knew, were where his subordinates were stationed.

Humans!

The ones causing the explosions were presumed to be humans, not his forces.

Barshu spoke to his aide.

“I’ll go ahead. Prepare and follow immediately.”

“Yes.”

Hearing the reply, Barshu spread his wings.

He flew straight toward the barrier.

…Huh!

Not long after, Barshu arrived at the explosion sites and let out a sigh of exasperation.

Nothing remained at the blasted locations.

Everything was dead.

Did an archmage come?

The explosions’ power was exceptional.

It seemed an archmage or someone with equivalent explosive capabilities had arrived.

Where is he?

Barshu focused on his surroundings.

The one causing the explosions should be nearby.

Soon, Barshu’s eyes flashed as he whipped his head around.

There stood a human.

One with deep black hair and exceedingly pale skin.