Two sorcerers’ magic flies in. Though each had mastered different schools, both were magicians who had surpassed the wall.
No matter the school of magic, once you surpass the wall, its power becomes unimaginably great. So much so that magicians are called the flowers of war and gods of the battlefield.
─Kyaaaaaaaak-!
─Die, die, dieeee…!
─Come with meee…
Countless ghosts fly through the air, approaching the barbarian warriors. The warriors, who had been swinging their swords to drive away the ghosts, frowned as they saw an overwhelming number of spirits blocking their view.
“Karl, do something! Hurry up and move that thing!”
“Uh, uh—! H, Hippocradon!”
Among the warriors appears a boy so small that no one would think he belonged to the same race.
A boy with limbs too thin to even properly hold farming tools, let alone the mighty weapons the barbarians wielded proudly, immediately commanded the monster next to him, which was crying “Goo Goo.”
That was why this fragile boy could stand among the warriors. His innate Force ability: ‘Monster Control.’
Following the boy’s command, the Hippocradon swiftly opened its mouth and activated its ability. An energy-devouring skill it had learned to survive in the food-scarce North.
─Gwoooooooo-!
The moment it opened its broad, hippo-like mouth, all the ghosts flying around began getting sucked inside.
Only then did the warriors realize their vision had cleared, and they cheered as the bothersome ghosts disappeared.
“You damn southerners-!”
“I’ll kill them all!”
“Let’s fill our bellies with meat today!”
But the barbarians’ joy was short-lived as the sky began to change into dazzling colors. A sudden climate shift. Only magicians could do such a thing, so the warriors remained tense, guarding every direction.
And then it fell.
Plop, plop-.
“…What is this?”
“What’s going on?”
From a sky that turned somewhere between pink and purple, candies began to fall. Even to the barbarians, who had never seen candy in their lives, these objects were quite enchanting.
Coated in sugar with sparkling surfaces, emanating an unknown fruity scent. The sweetness was electrifying, almost numbing when tasted lightly with the tongue.
Even knowing the candies were some sort of enemy magic, they couldn’t resist the temptation for some reason.
“It’s delicious.”
“What is this…?”
“Don’t touch them! It’s the enemy’s magic—Gah, Gack-!”
Warriors secretly licking candies, others swallowing them mid-shout, and some outright crunching on them without hesitation.
Caught up in the atmosphere, the barbarians began munching on the candies falling from the sky.
And the effect was immediate.
“More, give me more-.”
Their brains filled with candy. Beyond that, they started to mutate. Fellow tribesmen and warriors began to look like giant walking candies.
Starved for sugar, the warriors instinctively bared their teeth at their comrades without discrimination.
There were no screams. They were already like drug addicts.
Cannibalism.
Under Merlin’s spell, they began infighting despite having enemies right in front of them. But could this really be called internal conflict?
“Hmm…”
Uunosu, the tribe’s grand warrior watching from behind, groaned as he witnessed his tribesmen biting and tearing at each other.
He knew they were under the enemy’s spell. But that didn’t excuse their current actions.
“A demon has possessed the warriors.”
Kill them.
As soon as Uunosu gave the order, the barbarian warriors waiting in the back charged forward, mercilessly cutting down their own kin.
Uunosu joined the massacre.
Swish-!
In an instant, Uunosu drew his Aura Blade and began slicing the throats of the sugar-crazed warriors.
Amidst the blood, screams, and heat of battle, the Aura naturally spread, waking each of their minds one by one.
“W-what have I done…?”
Swish-!
Uunosu slaughtered even those who regained their senses. No exceptions. Weakness had no place among warriors.
Weak warriors ensnared by magic were useless.
“Listen to me.”
After annihilating the warriors driven to cannibalism by the spell, Uunosu infused his voice with Aura, drawing everyone’s attention.
Realizing all eyes were on him, Uunosu raised his sword and pointed it toward the Great Wall.
“There lies our goal.”
A land flowing with milk and honey.
A fertile land where planted trees grow to pierce the sky.
The homeland stolen from their ancestors long ago.
“Our homeland.”
Hearing Uunosu’s words, the barbarians gripped their weapons tightly and began breathing deeply.
They knew only one Duke guarded this Great Wall, and they had spent weeks tormenting him, draining him completely.
How he still had the strength to cast such spells just now was unclear—but—
“Let’s take it back.”
Woooooooo-!!
At Uunosu’s declaration, the warriors roared and charged forward.
With ease, they crushed traps and magic standing in their way, reaching the Great Wall in no time.
Just as they thought climbing the wall would be the final step—a man wearing only a loincloth dropped right in front of them.
“What the—?”
Clearly jumping off the Great Wall, yet no landing sound could be heard. Mastery over Aura allowed him to control his weight freely.
Before Uunosu could stop the charging warriors, the man who jumped down unsheathed his Demon Sword.
“Demon Sword Unleashed.”
Apophis.
Into the world of illusions.
Black darkness enveloped the world, and in the next moment—the barbarian warriors were all pulled into the Demon Sword.
* * *
“…Where am I?”
Upon opening his eyes, Uunosu realized he had been dragged into a pitch-black world and immediately went on guard.
He had been with hundreds of warriors just moments ago, but how this magic worked was beyond him.
But not for long—his senses picked up someone’s presence nearby.
“There you are!”
Assuming anyone met in this strange environment was an enemy, Uunosu swung his sword, only to see Kail casually deflect it with a chuckle.
An Aura Blade-infused strike, difficult to block even with another Aura Blade—how was it deflected so easily?
But Kail, paying no mind to her confusion, began complaining while picking his ear.
“Seriously, I’ve got weapons and full access to Aura, but this is all I can use?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Hey, damn demon brat. Let me use a bit more… What? If I use more, my soul gets shaved off? Screw it, whatever!”
Watching Kail gesture at thin air, Uunosu realized he wasn’t talking to her.
A moment later, after finishing his invisible conversation, Kail scratched the back of his head and looked at Uunosu.
“Alright, let’s finish this quickly.”
“…Who are you?”
“Me? Kail Meyer.”
“I didn’t ask your name, but—Uunosu.”
“Don’t care if you’re Uunosu or Uranus—wanna fight?”
Seeing Kail’s lack of interest in her identity, Uunosu gripped her sword. After all, what did words matter to a warrior?
What mattered was the clash of swords and the fight that would decide the victor and the loser.
Blocking Uunosu’s charge, Kail noticed her sword was surprisingly light. Even considering it was an Aura Blade, it felt unusually so.
Indeed, Uunosu’s blade whirled around Kail’s, striking with incredible speed.
‘This guy…’
Sensing something odd, Kail exchanged a few blows before leaping back to reassess.
“—You’re not the same person.”
“What do you mean?”
“The spear-throwing bastard. I thought you were the Master…”
Every day, an unknown barbarian had thrown spears, shaking the barrier. He assumed it was Uunosu since she led the warriors and was an Aura Master.
But no. Kail realized Uunosu’s arms were too thin to throw spears repeatedly—her strength was lacking.
She seemed aware of this herself, opting for swift strikes rather than the heavy swords most barbarians used.
Using Aura Blades for swift strikes was terrifying, but it was far removed from the spear techniques that had tormented the Duke for so long.
“I am a Master.”
“…What?”
“He’s one of the Grand Warrior candidates. We were lucky enough to have many born in our generation.”
Claiming himself the strongest, Uunosu boasted of her power. After a brief pause, Kail nodded, conceding it made sense.
For someone like him, an Aura Master whose mere graze could kill, raw strength wasn’t crucial. What mattered was technique to block attacks and speed to strike faster.
Still, if killing this guy meant another Master would come…
“Can’t you just give up?”
“Give up what?”
“Trying to cross the Great Wall or raiding the Empire. If you join under the Empire, I’m sure the Emperor would welcome you.”
Hearing Kail’s words, Uunosu’s expression twisted as if insulted. Her face flushed red and blue, veins bulging.
“Give up, you say?”
“Yeah, surrender.”
“Why should we?”
Boom-! Uunosu’s Aura surged outward. Kail realized his usable Aura had increased.
But this wasn’t good news. In this dream world where power scaled with the opponent’s strength, gaining more power meant the enemy had grown stronger too.
“You guys should surrender.”
“That’s not happening…”
“We’ve always given in. Today, yesterday, even long ago.”
“One more time wouldn’t hurt.”
“─So you’ll push us to the end?”
Uunosu spoke, gripping her sword with both hands. Odd, considering her swift one-handed strikes were her specialty.
Kail sighed, tightening his grip on the sword handle. Seeing this, Uunosu smirked.
“See? This was inevitable.”
The next moment, two streaks of light pierced through each other.
