Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 725

Ian looked down at the mangled corpse of High Priest Raju with a cold gaze. The man’s eyes, wide open and staring into the void, seemed as if they might move again at any moment.

A subordinate of the shadows, existing regardless of the era.

But Ian knew that wouldn’t happen now. The demonic creature connected to High Priest Raju was also tattered and drifting nearby.

Ian watched it for a moment, then turned away without hesitation.

“Haa, haa….”

“Damn it! It never ends!”

“We’re almost done, Beric. If you’re hungry, why don’t you pick up something over there and eat it?”

“You eat it!”

“Everyone, stop talking! It’s draining my strength!”

Swish! Swish!

How many hours had passed?

No, how many days had passed?

Hundreds, thousands of demonic creatures that had surged from the depths of the abyss were being torn apart and scattered one by one. Everywhere one looked was filled with pieces of demonic corpses.

“Ah….”

“Snap out of it!”

“Y-yes! I’m sorry!”

What endangered them wasn’t something else, but extreme fatigue. Everyone except Ian could barely keep their eyes open due to the overwhelming exhaustion. The movements of the mages had become noticeably sluggish, and their power had naturally decreased as well.

The one who was in the best condition was Beric.

“Hey! Wake up! If you fall asleep, you’ll all die!”

The red mana greatsword was being swung wildly at the front. Thanks to that, they were barely able to keep their sanity.

Swoosh.

Now, there were only about five left. There were no more coming from behind. They had thought it would never end, but even so, there was an end.

Ian stepped forward and instructed everyone.

“That’s enough. Everyone, step back.”

“Yes? But there are still-”

“It’s alright. Many have lost consciousness, so those who can still move should help them. I’ll take care of the rest. Then we’ll go out together.”

‘Going out together,’ those words were so reassuring…. The exhausted mages unknowingly relaxed, and at the same time, some of them tilted their heads back and fainted.

Hale grabbed the fallen mages, tucked them under his arms, and asked Ian.

“Ian, I’ll send the incapacitated ones up first. I’ll be right back down, so don’t overdo it.”

“Okay. Let’s clean up.”

Zzzing, zzzing!

“Iannnn! I’m still full of energy!”

“Really? You look like you have dark circles under your eyes.”

“Huh? No, I don’t! Here I go!”

Just five, nothing compared to the number they had cut down so far. Beric’s figure shot forward like an arrow.

The mages, while moving their companions, couldn’t take their eyes off Ian and Beric’s backs. In many ways, they had accomplished something truly great.

‘Those things are not ordinary demonic creatures.’

Judging by their size, the time they appeared, and their danger level, these were similar to the demonic creatures connected to High Priest Raju. The thousands of scattered demonic creatures were the same.

That meant that they had cut off the root of the thousands of black seeds existing on the land of Gaia. Now, they would not be able to live for eons, and furthermore, they would not be able to exist in the future of Bariel.

Clench.

Ian thought so too, so how could killing demonic creatures be difficult? He was pleased. Rather, he was delighted, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Beric shook his head slightly as he looked at Ian. I’m something, but Ian, that guy….

‘Crazy.’

It was said that a purposeful advance never stops, and unlike the other mages, Ian’s attacks were still full of power.

How could he be like that? Beric clenched his teeth to not lose and swung his greatsword wildly.

Slash!

It was the same as before. Just like before, the creatures were helplessly cut down by Ian and Beric’s attacks.

But-

“……?”

Ian, who was casting a spell, paused and stared at one spot.

Deep in the abyss. It was the very place where the demonic creatures had surged from, far from the entrance connected to the temple.

Beric roughly wiped off the demonic blood and turned his gaze to where Ian was looking.

“…Huh?”

In the distance, something was standing.

Something huge like a magic tower. It was a figure with human limbs, all black from head to toe.

The remaining mages also noticed it and murmured.

“W-what is that?”

“Isn’t that a person?”

“It’s too black to be a person. Ian, do you know what it is?”

Ian pulled out Idgal, which he had embedded in the demonic creature’s gills, without hesitation and answered.

“…Shadow.”

“Yes?”

The master of these things, the shadow of the god crouching in the abyss. They were the ultimate target they had to deal with.

Its appearance was quite different from when he had seen it before. Ian calmly watched it, and the mages watched the situation with pale faces.

“I-Ian! You can’t go!”

A mage shouted urgently.

At that, Beric and the others looked back at him, not knowing what was going on, but soon agreed. Well, everyone was exhausted. Ian might not show it, but he might have suffered some internal injuries.

More than anything, if they went deeper, they might experience another time gap….

“That thing, it’s smiling.”

“……!”

At someone’s warning, Beric frowned in surprise.

It was faint and hard to see. But what was certain was that it was standing there, looking directly at Ian. As if it wanted him to attack.

“Yeah. I see it. It’s disgusting.”

Ian roughly shook off the demonic blood from the Idgal sword and muttered.

A being that was black from head to toe, like a burnt corpse. However, the smile that stretched to its ears was clearly visible.

Naturally, one being came to mind.

‘Undergod.’

But something was strange. Wasn’t it clearly different from the Undergod he had seen before?

With that, Ian was certain.

‘It’s a trap.’

He didn’t know what that thing’s identity was, but one thing was clear. It wanted Ian to come closer.

“No way.”

Beric, sensing the danger, blocked Ian’s path with a firm tone. He was preventing Ian from going and at the same time, protecting Ian from that thing.

“You can’t go.”

His face was serious, unlike usual.

Of course, Ian had no intention of doing so either.

“…The Undergod is different from High Priest Raju. There’s no need to step into an obvious trap. The Undergod is an existence that doesn’t disappear.”

“Doesn’t disappear?”

“Everything has a shadow.”

It was the shadow of a god. As long as the god didn’t disappear, the shadow would always exist.

“What we have to do is create a strong light so that it doesn’t become thicker and longer. These are part of that process.”

Ian pointed to the demonic corpses that had been torn to shreds by the Idgal sword. The things that moved in place of the Undergod outside of Gaia were dying and disappearing, which was the same as its limbs disappearing.

Ian frowned as he looked at the shadow that was sneering at him.

‘Something….’

“What the hell are you smirking at, you bastard!”

“Yeah, good job, Beric! Chop it up more!”

“Get lost! Before I beat you up!”

“Hey! You know our Beric has a bad temper, right? Get lost!”

The moment he was about to recognize that it was strange and unsettling, Beric and the mages all started cursing at the shadow.

But even so, the shadow remained still in its place.

“It’s a trap, alright. Tsk tsk. You’re not creative.”

“Ian, the mages who fainted have gone up. It seems like there are no problems with the timeline either, since they didn’t say anything. Let’s go up right away.”

“We should also clean up the pieces of demonic corpses that have crossed over to the temple side, and it would be good to fill the hole for now. Even if we seal the Masantar Temple itself, we can’t leave a space where they can come and go.”

Ian nodded as if agreeing.

At that signal, the mages quickly cleaned up, pushing the house-sized demonic corpses as far as possible into the abyss, and Beric looked around.

“But where’s that guy? The one you said you brought with you.”

“Who?”

“Banusa.”

“Ah! That’s right. Where did he go?”

They had been so focused on the battle that they hadn’t even noticed that Banusa had disappeared.

While everyone was looking around, Acorella waved her hand as if she didn’t care and focused on tearing off samples of the demonic corpses. Her pouch quickly became full.

“I told him to get out on his own if it seemed like he was going to be connected to Toolun, so he probably did. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if he ran away. Hey, put this in your pouch.”

“Is it my pouch?”

“Mine’s full. Can’t you see?”

“No, Captain. Why are you collecting those things?”

“Why else? Have you ever seen a demonic creature that lives in the abyss?”

“No. I haven’t seen one until now.”

“Exactly. In terms of research value, it’s top-tier, the best of the best. Everyone, open your pouches! Fill them up with these!”

Then, poong! She opened the glass bottle she always carried and neatly filled it with the water from the abyss. It was a mixture of demonic blood and the temple’s groundwater, but even that was something! No mage in any era had ever researched the traces of the ‘abyss’!

“Ehehe, hehehe, heh….”

“Crazy. The Captain is laughing like that again.”

“Don’t make eye contact. The next test subject might actually die.”

“I’ll go out first!”

“Your pouch is empty! Take it with you, you bastard!”

Since the mages had finished cleaning up, the finishing touch was Ian’s responsibility. Ian placed his palm on the temple floor and created Idgal. The amber-colored transparent Idgal rose up and filled the hole.

Swoosh!

The demonic corpses that they couldn’t clean up, and the broken fragments of the temple, were all trapped in the Idgal and hardened.

Ian hoped that this would never collapse again, and continued to cover and cover over it. Until the black shadow in the distance, smiling at him, was distorted by the Idgal.

‘Solidly, more solidly.’

He needed enough Idgal to completely engulf not only the hole but the temple itself.

The mages stepped back, worried that they might get in the way, and watched the scene, and Ian firmly bound the entire Masantar Temple with Idgal.

“Ian, I think that’s enough.”

“We’ve covered it with multiple layers of Idgal walls, so the demonic creatures won’t be able to get close. Will all the stagnant water here disappear over time?”

“Probably? So, Captain Acorella, stop collecting. You can always come back and get more if you need to.”

“Tsk tsk. You’re stupid. Do you think the water that was connected to the abyss and the stagnant water have the same composition? I’m doing research with guys like you. You! As punishment, when we return, move your desk next to my lab.”

“I-I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

Acorella raised her fist and said something, then turned to Ian.

“Can we go now, Ian?”

“Yeah. Let’s go out.”

“Ah, have we been here too long? My skin feels all bloated.”

They swam up to the top of the temple, with Acorella leading the way. All around was quiet. Just blocking the hole connected to the abyss made it feel peaceful.

Swish!

“Phew!”

“What? Why can’t I breathe?”

“Ugh, I got water in my nose.”

The mages, who had poked their heads out of the water, exhaled roughly. It meant that the water had become normal, and that meant that the influence of the abyss had disappeared.

They coughed and crawled up to the top of the temple. The other mages, Cedric, and Eirin, who had been waiting for them, supported them.

“Are you alright? Haa, I’m so glad everyone is safe!”

“Oh my, thank you.”

“How long were we down there?”

“It’s been two full days. The sun has risen three times.”

“Wow, hearing that makes me suddenly sleepy.”

The mages lay down with their soaked bodies and closed their eyes. Cedric also offered his hand to Beric and greeted him.

“You’ve worked hard, senior.”

“Oh, you’re being polite.”

“Just being polite, you know.”

And then, finally, Ian came out. The figure of Ian Verosian disappeared, and only the green-eyed Hiel remained. The mages were a little disappointed, but also relieved, and gave a faint smile.

Suddenly, Beric reached out his hand to Ian.

“I like this form better.”

“Really?”

Ian also smiled and came out of the water.

They caught their breath, scattered here and there, and looked up at the night sky. Ah, the peace that comes after a battle.

“Aaaah! A g-ghost!”

“Huh? Nonsense.”

But then, someone’s scream broke that peace. A mage, with a pale face, pointed towards the water.

Banusa, who had secretly revealed his face, was staring at them quietly. As if asking if everything was done.