The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 56



Only Krnovel

Episode 56. Tongue, Teeth, and Jaw (4)

Anyone who entered a forest littered with corpses with their limbs cut off, necks and waists cut off, and internal organs spilling out would be terrified and heartbroken.

However, Gallardo, the senior wizard leading the Magic Tower support force, was not like that.

Rather, he gently raised his eyebrows. It didn’t matter how many corpses there were. No, the more corpses of soldiers there were, the better. That means there was a demon that strong in this forest.

‘With this level of damage, it’s a mid-level demon… … No, maybe it’s a really high-level demon. It was a good thing I came here.’

However, there was something that bothered me. Perhaps the demon’s body wasn’t taken by the Chasseurs or other magic tower reinforcements first.

The demonic subjugation was over since the magic was gone, but it was unclear whether the corpse would remain intact. There would be no greater disaster than losing the corpse right in front of your nose. Gallardo gave urgent orders to the magicians under his command.

“Dnovan, use detection magic to check the area! Egelon and Sdaelan, go to the south and east of the forest respectively and search for the devil’s body. If the Chasagun or others are carrying the body, be sure to intercept it or hold on to it until I get there!”

“Yes, I understand!”

The search wasn’t long. As the day dawned, the wizards found a vacant lot stained with blood. The corpses of monsters that had been mutilated, and the corpses of soldiers that had been cut into pieces or reduced to charcoal. Under the circumstances, it seemed that the Chamsa army was destroyed while fighting against demons and monsters.

And in the midst of that tragedy, there was, as expected, the corpse of a mighty demon.

“Puh, there are two horns… … !”

“Higher level demon! This is the corpse of a higher level demon!”

One of the wizards raised the severed demon’s head and shouted. Those with weak stomachs retched, but most of the wizards raised the corners of their mouths in joy. The one who was the happiest of all was, of course, the senior wizard leading the reinforcements.

“Congratulations, Gallardo! With such an achievement, you’ve definitely secured the position of Conjurer.”

“Hahaha, actually you should have been promoted a long time ago, but it feels like it’s not too late!”

“Well, actually, there was an offer from another side, but it was worth it to work with Lord Gayardo’s support force instead!”

Not only the successor wizards who had previously followed him, like Denovan, but even those who were not very keen on his methods, were all busy praising Gallardo while farting. The purpose, of course, is to receive a little more recognition for one’s contributions.

“No. It’s all thanks to you! I will definitely not forget you and will tell the Tower Lord about your hard work, so please just work a little harder.”

Gayardo didn’t know that either. But right now, he was in a good mood enough to accept such obvious flattery. The lower-ranking magicians under him also quickly gathered up the demon’s corpse, dreaming of what they would receive as a reward.

But then an uninvited guest barged into the festival.

“What are you guys doing?”

A barbarian who looks like he just came from hell.

The grotesque face and huge body alone were enough to be threatening. The savage was covered in blood stains all over his body. The overwhelming spirit that overpowered even the difference in numbers made all the wizards freeze like stone statues.

“I asked what you were doing.”

“… … .”

The silence grew longer. The wizards looked at each other with stiff faces. At the moment when the barbarian, unable to bear to watch, raised his axe, Gallardo shouted urgently.

“Wait a minute, put your weapon down!”

As the senior wizard with outstanding skills stepped forward, the other wizards finally relaxed their expressions. Gallardo tilted his head and approached the barbarian.

“Barbarians? Mercenaries? I’d rather ask what they’re doing. The Golden Road is blocked, so they wouldn’t have been able to get here by the normal route… … .”

“I got a pass from the captain. I can show it to you whenever you want. And that demon is my prey, so please don’t touch it.”

Gallardo’s eyebrows furrowed. The other wizards behind him looked like rabbits in surprise. A silence filled with astonishment fell on the vacant lot.

But it didn’t last long.

Gallardo glanced at the demon’s corpse and Khadim’s behavior, then slapped his forehead and burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha, is that real? The prey you caught? alone? Hey, you’re saying that you know that the devil is a high-ranking devil, right? So what you’re saying is that you captured that mighty demon solely with your strong forearms and excellent weapons?”

The superior demons were beings that even two or three high-ranking magicians, such as Conjurers, could barely subdue. Even Gayardo, who was quite an excellent magician, could not bring himself to face them directly. It was obvious that he had only caught them after sacrificing countless lives, but he was the one who caught them? There was a limit to nonsense.

“Then why did so many soldiers of the Disaster Corps die here? Did they die while playing with bugs and fire right in front of the devil’s nose? Do you think it makes sense that so many soldiers died without even touching a single hair on the devil’s head, and yet someone survived with both arms and legs intact and cut off the devil’s head?”

“… … .”

“Wow, we didn’t know this great mercenary. A mercenary who achieved legendary feats while others were being killed like flies! We should bring a bard and compose a song for him! No, we should call all the historians of Galentana University and write a biography for him!”

A hearty laugh erupted from the wizards under his command. Hearing Gallardo’s sarcastic remarks, the tension completely eased.

When I thought about it, there was no reason to be afraid. All 17 of them here are magicians of the Magic Tower. They are mysterious seekers with abilities that ordinary people cannot dare approach. No matter how fierce their appearances are, there is no way that mercenary could defeat a dozen magicians alone, right?

Gallardo and the wizards laughed and mocked him for a while. Kadim closed his eyes without saying a word. Then, she quietly lifted her eyelids and spoke calmly.

“I don’t mind taking the body. But before that, I’d like to get a can of demon blood. I really need it.”

The moment he heard those words, the smile disappeared from Gallardo’s face.

“Don’t talk nonsense, barbarian. Where are you planning to put your dirty hands? It looks like you plan to salvage the devil’s appendages and sell them on the black market. Isn’t that something you can’t say in front of me?”

“… … .”

“I am Gayardo Ordale, a wizard of the Invoker rank of the Magic Tower. I will let you off the hook just this once for deceiving with absurd lies and blatantly trying to take the devil’s appendage. If you understand what I mean, then get out of here. I won’t let you off the hook a second time.”

It was a lie. Gallardo planned to use magic the moment Iza turned her back and let her guard down. She would have to eliminate the only witness to take the body of that high-level demon without any regrets.

In any case, he had revealed his identity, so he expected the savage to either apologize, run away, or at least cower in fear.

All Kadim did was rub his chin and ask:

“I don’t know the current order of the magicians. What rank would an Invoker have? Is it higher than a Conjurer?”

“… … Immediately below the rank of Conjurer is the Invoker. This is the end of our tolerance for rudeness, barbarian. If you don’t turn it off right now, there’s a hole in your head… … .”

“That’s good. That Conjurer guy was quite troublesome before.”

“… … what?”

There was desolate darkness in the barbarian’s eyes. A chilling feeling passes through my spine. It was almost an instinctive action for Gallardo to start chanting.

“[Eldra, Ksa… … .]”

However, he was unable to successfully complete the mission.

“… … Ugh!”

Suddenly, a rough hand entered my mouth… …

Blah blah blah!

… … He mercilessly tore something off with a vicious force.

“Ehhhh!”

In the aftermath, Gallardo fell violently to the ground. When I managed to get up, my tongue, which had lost its support, hung down. Sticky blood and mangled syllables mixed together and flowed down onto the dirt floor.

“Eh, ah, ah, ah, ah… … .”

Gallardo looked up in confusion.

In the savage’s hand was a lump of blood that had once been his lower jaw.

Along with the trembling cheeks, the torn jaw joint and skin shook like leather rags. The wizard whose jaw was torn off barely managed to extend his fingertips in that direction while gushing blood.

“Eh, eh, ah huh, ah huh… … .”

“… … .”

“Oh my gosh, it’s sore, it’s sore… … .”

“… … Do you want this back?”

“Oh my gosh, I have to swallow it all… … Oh my gosh… … ”

“Then you shouldn’t have messed with the snout.”

Kadim threw it on the floor and stomped on it with all his might.

Kwa – Jik!

Bone fragments shattered and flesh splattered, and the wizard lost his bright future and his lower jaw to rest his tongue on forever.

*

This time, I was thinking of resolving the issue peacefully if possible.

The fatigue from last night’s battle had not yet been fully recovered. The blood of the Ice Demon had been completely consumed, and the Hydra’s tattoo had not yet reached its cooldown. Above all, there were quite a lot of wizards, so there was no guarantee that they would be completely annihilated.

‘If even one person runs away, it’s a headache. They will definitely report things about me to the Magic Tower.’

Previously, the reason Kadim killed the magic tower wizard was because concealment was guaranteed. If the fact that the wizard was killed became public and the Magic Tower found out, it was obvious that he would be hunted down again and there would be a major setback in the search for Melissa’s records.

… … But as expected, things in this world don’t always go as planned.

I couldn’t hand over the high-level demon I had worked so hard to catch without receiving any blood. Now that things are this messed up, I have no choice but to do my best to silence everyone.

Kadim drank the blood of lesser demons and began slaughtering wizards.

“[Graden, Mol, Delgsium, Sa… … .]”

Parallel ralrack, blah blah blah!

“… … Rugh!”

An axe blade that creates a merciless whirlwind. Named after a migratory fish, the axe cuts through the wind instead of the current, returning with blood and dregs.

“[Astillo, Mograine, Noen, De… … ].”

Hoo, hoo, hoo, joe – ugh!

“… … “A huge amount of money!”

Most wizards had their heads split before they could even recite the spell. Words containing unfinished mysteries slipped fleetingly along the cracked tongue.

“[…] … En, Ercinio, Cullamad!]”

There were some who miraculously succeeded in casting magic, but it was of little significance.

Pachachachang, wedge – liquid!

The barbarian crushed the rising thorns of the earth, burned the wriggling vines, and caught with his bare hands the flying arrows of ice.

Parallel ralrack, blah blah blah!

No one gets a chance to cast the spell twice.

In fact, it was somewhat predictable. Most of the reinforcements are wizards of the Seeker rank. It was difficult to see them all as skilled wizards. The only force that could compete with Kadim was the Invoker rank, Gallardo, but he had his jaw torn off and lost his life before the battle even began.

The wizards were in danger of annihilation in less than a moment. Those who gave up and ran away were guaranteed a longer life than those who fought back with all their might. Even those were quickly cut down by the flying axe blades.

“Ugh, ugh… … Kehek!”

The head of the magician who was running away was cut off, and soon there was no sign of a living person left nearby. Kadim returned to the clearing, wiping the blood from his eyes.

But while counting the corpses of the wizards, I realized something was strange.

‘… … 14, 15, 16 people. … … ‘One person is empty?’

When I first counted, the number of wizards was definitely 17. A deep furrow formed between Kadim’s eyebrows. I couldn’t understand English. None of the ones who ran away were missed… … .

At that moment, a figure suddenly appears from the other side of the forest.

Only then did I realize what had happened.

‘Damn it, he used stealth magic and ran away. Something felt uncomfortable… … .’

Kadim quickly ran in the direction where the sound had appeared. Fortunately, the wizard was unable to use his stealth spells in succession. The distance was not too far, so he was able to catch up quickly.

However, an unexpected problem arose.

“Ahhhh! Aahhhh!”

“Oh, don’t come! Do not come!! “If you take even one step closer, I will kill this woman!”

“… … .”

The wizard grabbed the woman by the hair and thrust a pitch-black magical blade at her. Kadim frowned. Coincidentally, while the wizard was running away, he found the woman hiding in the bushes and her unconscious husband.

At any other time, I would have thrown the ax without hesitation, regardless of whether there was a hostage situation or not, but not now. They were hiding there under Kadim’s orders. I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of responsibility.

The wizard gradually became more energized when the barbarian did not attack.

“Heh, heh, yes. You, too, don’t want innocent victims to become victims, right? When you say nice things, take a step back… … . Oh, if you don’t, I’ll really stab you… … .”

“Huh, huh, huh…” … .”

Kadim wondered if he could hit the ax before the blade sliced ​​through his throat.

The answer was ‘no’. No matter how good his athletic ability was, it was impossible for him to swing an axe faster than a blade the size of a fingernail. But he couldn’t just let the wizard go like this…

I’m still contemplating whether I should sacrifice the woman and throw the axe…

“… … .”

… … I soon realized that it was a needless worry and stopped.

A familiar Shinyoung jumped out from the bushes and secretly took over the wizard’s back.

The wizard had not noticed anything yet. However, the eyes behind him were trembling with hesitation before the golden opportunity. Kadim pushed his back with a short but firm word.

‘Words have the power to change behavior.’

Shinyoung’s eyes changed immediately.

The weakness disappeared. My resolve grew. He drew his dagger, roared, and stabbed the wizard deep in the waist.

“Look behind you, damn it!”

Sigh!

“100 million!”

Whoosh whoosh!

“Aaaahhh, aaaaa!!”

A fire with the smell of sulfur rose up. Her concentration broke and the blade disappeared from the wizard’s hand, freeing the woman from his embrace. Kadim didn’t miss her chance and she threw down her ax.

Parararararararaak, fur – oops!

A head that was split in half and broken. The wizard fell backwards, his brain spilling out in a sticky mess. The flames that rose from his waist gradually climbed up his flesh and completed the cremation on their own.

The sound of new grasshoppers, the gentle afterglow of a fire, and the eerie silence amidst the sharp smoke.

The woman looked at the short man who had suddenly barged in, dumbfounded.

The man stared blankly at the burning corpse as if he had no idea what he had done.

Kadim retrieved the axe, walked up to the man, and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Good job, Duncan.”

“… … .”

The peddler blinked blankly, looking between his blood-soaked hands and the blood-covered savage.