The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 161

19. Ruins: The Burping Bastard

Blue mana, green mana, and dragon blood.

The three energies combined and swirled wildly within my body. There was no need to distinguish the core anymore. My entire body had become a single, raging power source.

The whole process resembled a volcanic eruption, gathering energy before exploding. The outlet was Baihui [a pressure point at the crown of the head], the crown of my head.

Kukwakwakwakwa!!!

It was different from before. The three sturdy pillars provided exquisite balance, and a stream of emerald light broke through towards the exact point that stabilized the center of gravity.

There was slight resistance at the end, but I pushed through, anticipating this moment. Finally, with the sensation of the crown of my head opening, a new world unfolded.

“Ah…!!!”

It was a vast universe. A Milky Way cascaded down like a waterfall, welcoming me. Meteor showers flashed past. Stars shone proudly in their places.

The book Lord Lloyd had given me mentioned a solitary adventurer. I felt it deeply once more. In the vast universe beyond nature, I could only be a humble pilgrim.

‘I want to become one with the universe.’

Doo-geun, doo-geun

The birth of the universe was palpable. It was the biggest heart in the world. The chains of causality that composed it swayed within reach, like tree rings.

But why?

It felt incomplete. I had glimpsed a new world, but the partially awakened Three-Origin Mana was not enough. It gradually sank and settled.

‘Next time, I will…!’

I had only just set foot on a new adventure. I would start again and accumulate experience. Only those who have gone through that process can be called myths, Grand Masters.

Today, I decided to be content with seeing the other side and essence of the world. The energy that had stretched to the sky returned to the core. The emerald light that had dyed the entire lake and ruins was also gathered.

Flash!

I slowly opened my eyes. The world looked different. My sense of distance became ambiguous. The spatial distortion I had felt during the battle with the Lust Demon was no coincidence.

Even now, if I stretched out my sword, it felt like I could reach a place far away. This place where I breathed felt like it was touching my skin, so homogeneous that I could mistake it for a part of my body.

Was this the feeling of a Master? As I clenched and unclenched my fist, the Heavenly Demon spoke in my mind.

– Brat, you are finally walking the true path of the sword. Congratulations.

“Thank you, Heavenly Demon.”

– Don’t get cocky. As you well know, this is just the beginning.

“Of course.”

– You are still far from catching up to me, brat. Mwahahaha!!!!

I was relieved to have the Heavenly Demon geezer. Even though he was a bit of a fool, it meant there was someone walking far ahead of me in that vast wilderness. At least it wasn’t a lonely and solitary voyage.

“Young Master! Are you alright?”

My companions rushed into the cave. I nodded to Zion, who asked anxiously. They all rejoiced as if it were their own accomplishment, even though they couldn’t believe it.

“I knew Vice-Captain would do it. Sword Master before thirty. What am I even witnessing?”

“Sir Khan has become even stronger than he already was.”

“My real name is Henon Lloyd. Please call me Henon.”

After telling Ilina my real name, I faced Sage Orneo.

In fact, the Mermaid King’s Orb was a treasure the Sage had been searching for his entire life, but I had unexpectedly swallowed it.

I was going to apologize out of guilt, but the Sage beat me to it.

“Don’t say anything.”

“Yes?”

“It’s a treasure I would have given up on if it weren’t for you. I have eyes, I saw it. It wasn’t that you ate the Orb, but that the Orb chose you. It went to find its own master.”

Sage Orneo patted my shoulder.

“I coveted the Mermaid King’s Orb for my personal thirst for knowledge, but you have a greater mission. In a way, it’s for the best. It’s like entrusting hope to a new generation.”

As expected of a Sage. If it were a thug like the Horned Butcher, he would have foamed at the mouth and swung his sword, but he was different.

Ilina, who had been watching our conversation, encouraged Orneo, saying,

“Don’t be too disappointed. If this goes well, I will give you one of the royal treasures as a token of gratitude.”

“Really?”

“Yes, after suffering together in the ruins, I know. No matter how strong the Kraken is, I think you can win. Especially with Henon here.”

‘Finally, my long-cherished wish is coming true.’ I comforted Ilina, who was sobbing.

We obtained the Orb and the corpse of the legendary monster, the Imoogi [a Korean mythical serpent]. We had even dealt with the Merman thugs who had been following us, so our business was more or less finished.

“Let’s go back. To Poseidon City.”

Now it was time to turn the gluttonous octopus head guarding the palace into takoyaki [a Japanese snack made of octopus]. My fighting spirit blazed, and the unique aura of a Master rippled from me.

* * *

The Kraken was always hungry. He had eaten Mermen until he was sick of them, but his hunger remained. The only time he felt full was when he consumed concentrated energy.

Concentrated energy was hard to come by. It was only found in masters above a certain level or in spirit herbs and elixirs buried deep within the earth.

Then he heard rumors of the Mermaid King’s Orb. It was the greatest treasure of the underwater city, an energy left behind by the founder of the Mermaids, a powerful sorcerer.

He couldn’t just sit still after discovering the ultimate delicacy. He moved himself, but was blocked by a powerful barrier that blocked magic.

Was that why?

The Kraken’s fantasy and obsession with the Mermaid King’s Orb grew even stronger. He held martial arts tournaments in various places to gather masters, and deliberately kept the descendants of the Mermaid King alive.

But as time went on, his disappointment grew. The capture teams he painstakingly assembled failed every time. His patience was already at its limit.

“Ilina is the last. If that woman fails, I will devour all the Mermen in the underwater city and advance to the surface.”

The Kraken knew that there were much tastier humans on the surface. Yet, the reason he stayed in the underwater city was fear.

‘There are monsters everywhere.’

From the Druid who awakened him in the temple to all sorts of masters. The scariest of them all was the old swordsman.

Just thinking about that old man he had met a thousand years ago still made his knees weak. He had only swung his sword once, but the sky split and the earth soared.

The old man was not human. He was something else in human form. Since then, the Kraken had hidden deep in the underwater city, only visiting the surface when necessary.

But he had endured for a thousand years, which was long enough. There was no way the human old man was still alive. More than anything, he wanted to gorge himself on fresh, chewy humans instead of smelly Mermen.

Ilina would surely fail in her mission. She would die in the ruins. It was time to move. First, he would devour the Mermen in the palace.

Just as he was about to reveal his true colors and start a bloodbath,

“Your Highness! Just in! The Prime Minister is returning with the Orb!”

It was amazing. He hadn’t expected it, but Ilina had actually succeeded.

‘If I eat the Orb before going to the surface and then eat Ilina, who will be useless, it will be perfect.’

He had kept Ilina alive because of the Mermaid King’s Orb; otherwise, he would have eaten her long ago. The Kraken’s mouth watered at the thought of the upcoming feast.

* * *

As soon as we entered Poseidon City, a hippocampus carriage was sent from the palace.

At the main gate of the palace, the Mermaid King’s direct warriors lined up on both sides, raising their spears to welcome us.

“It feels like being a triumphant general, doesn’t it?”

Ilina replied to Campbell, who was excited, in a calm voice.

“It’s just to make you feel good before you die. If I know the Kraken, he will swallow the Orb and turn me, who is no longer of use, into food.”

We soon arrived at the audience chamber.

The Kraken, who always laid out a table full of food and ate it all, was unusually calm in welcoming us, unlike usual. It was as if he was starving before going to a buffet.

“We greet Your Highness.”

“Oh! Well done! Where is the Orb?”

“Before that, there is someone I would like to introduce to Your Highness. This human helped us break through the ruins…”

“Ah, never mind. So where is the Orb?”

The Kraken’s eyes turned red, and he barely listened to Ilina.

It was time for me to step in.

“Your Highness, do you remember me?”

“I don’t remember. I’m running out of patience, so bring the Orb to me immediately.”

“It’s right in front of Your Highness’s eyes. Can’t you see the Orb?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

The Kraken narrowed his eyes and scanned us. But there was no way the Orb was there. I had swallowed it.

“Isn’t the Orb right here?”

“Is it a transparent item?”

“No.”

I stuck out my stomach and patted it. I even burped once.

“Burp~ That was delicious~”

“…What are you doing?”

“I said it was delicious. The Mermaid King’s Orb. It was tasty.”

The Kraken was momentarily speechless.

He had reigned as a symbol of terror for a thousand years. There had never been such an impudent madman.

The Kraken rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, denying reality.

“Ilina, explain. I don’t understand. Are you seriously saying that the human ate the treasure I told you to bring?”

“That’s right.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

He stared at me blankly, so I deliberately burped again.

“Burp~ So delicious.”

“Stop it. It’s hurting me too.”

“I’m sorry, Sage.”

I unintentionally cast a wide-area taunt. Anyway, I had scratched him enough, and finally, he reacted.

“Keuk! Kkahahaha! Kkahahaha!!”

The Kraken grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter. He rolled off the throne and then suddenly stood up. His face was stiff.

“It’s been a thousand years since I’ve had such a funny joke. It’s all for the best. Whether you succeeded or failed, I was going to swallow you anyway. If I eat you, who ate the Orb, I’ll end up eating the Orb.”

Kugugugugu!!!

The entire palace trembled. The walls cracked, and debris rained down from the ceiling. The Kraken was finally revealing his true form.

Kuwoooo!!

The Kraken finally revealed himself. The giant octopus’s thick eight legs broke the building’s pillars like reeds. The most beautiful building in the Mermaid City collapsed in an instant.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Run away!”

“Save me! What’s going on?”

It was a bolt from the blue for the people in the palace. They were panicking and running away, and it looked like there would be heavy casualties.

“Zion, Campbell, the Sage, and Lady Ilina, please get the people as far away from the palace as possible right now.”

Ilina’s eyes widened at my words.

“What? Are you saying you’re going to fight alone?”

“That’s right.”

“Even so…”

A wrinkled hand came up to Ilina’s shoulder as she was about to say something more. Orneo nodded to her as she turned around.

“Don’t worry and trust that man. He is already one of the top masters on the surface.”

Zion and Campbell had already left to evacuate the Mermen, following my orders. It was a testament to their trust in me.

“Then… I’ll leave it to you.”

Once Ilina and Orneo disappeared, all that was left in the collapsed audience chamber was me and the Kraken.

“Keu keu keu keu, so many surprising things are happening today. You’re trying to be brave by yourself when you should be attacking together?”

Let him talk all he wants.

I already had the measure of him.

I had fought the Kraken in Merlin’s memories a thousand years ago. I might be somewhat lacking as a Druid compared to Merlin at that time, but my physical abilities were overwhelming.

In the end, it didn’t matter how much stronger that octopus had become over the past thousand years. He hadn’t gotten any stronger from just eating all the time.

“Die!”

A shadow fell over my head.

His intention was to crush me whole.

Kwakwakwak!!

One side of the palace collapsed.

That was how enormous the Kraken was, and the destructive power of each of his movements was also great.

“It’s over. How boring.”

The Kraken regretted it for a moment. It had been a while, so he hadn’t been able to control his strength. If he crushed me so much that he couldn’t even find my corpse, the Mermaid King’s Orb would be gone with me.

“Should I have been a little gentler?”

The Kraken, grumbling, hurriedly tried to retract his leg.

As it turned out, there was no need to. An emerald flash severed the monster’s leg.

Seogeok!!

The octopus leg was cut off so cleanly that anyone who saw it would exclaim in admiration. In the middle of it, a human stood alone, proudly holding an aura sword.

The Three-Origin Mana swirled around my body, boiling fiercely. My confidence was already at its peak. He was no match for me.

“I’ll cook you into takoyaki.”