Extra in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 139
139 – Legend (8)
“T-this is…!”
“Ah…”
Hearing Ethan’s voice filled with horror and the near-screams of others, I stiffened my expression.
To be honest, I had anticipated this.
That Arminanon, a monster that surpassed the level of calamity, would not be easily defeated.
Considering the hardness and size of its scales, it might be difficult to express simply from a general perspective, but if that were all there was to it, it would have faded into obscurity as just another monster from legends.
But should I say “indeed,” or “as expected”?
Among the many monsters and beasts that appear in the legends of heroes, Arminanon possessed a power befitting its prominent status.
The problem was that this was not particularly good news for us.
—
“…It doesn’t make sense.”
Ethan’s voice, laced with disbelief, echoed through the air.
“To think such a monster possesses this level of regeneration…”
Given that Ethan had directly experienced the hardness of the Arminanon’s scales, it was perhaps understandable that he reacted this way.
The hardness itself was beyond reason, and the cruel truth was that even if we managed to pierce it and behead it, it would be meaningless.
My expression was equally grim.
The worst-case scenario was beginning to rear its head.
However, there was no time to indulge in such dark thoughts.
Crack!
The black lightning began to surge once more.
Whoosh!
As soon as I recognized the spark, I hurriedly swung my sword.
Boom!
“Graaah!”
This time, the creature’s lightning was faster.
“…I have no idea what to do with this thing.”
Ethan’s voice, rarely tinged with anxiety, reached my ears.
My answer to that was simple.
“…For now, we have no choice but to keep striking.”
I didn’t know the conditions of its regeneration, how much it could regenerate, or for how long.
So, the only option was to keep attacking it relentlessly.
With that in mind, I reignited the sword’s aura.
Swoosh—
As naturally as breathing, the aura settled back onto the blade.
Then, I swung the sword once more, infused with that aura.
Slash—
Once again, the Arminanon’s head split apart.
“……!”
“Please…!”
Once more, those around us watched the scene with eyes filled with desperate hope.
—
Srrr—
In a moment that betrayed my expectations, Armianon’s head was restored to its original state.
“Damn…!!”
As a voice filled with despair and exhaustion slipped out, I thought.
‘The regeneration interference doesn’t work.’
As I stepped into a new realm, my will became capable of interfering with the opponent.
For instance, when facing the shadow monster, I had applied that to stop its regeneration.
However, it was not effective against Armianon.
I still didn’t know whether it simply possessed a level of regenerative power that surpassed mine, or if it could disregard the interference of my will.
I didn’t even have the luxury to experiment with that slowly.
What I could do now…
Woom—
Was merely to swing my sword.
*
“Hmmm… I don’t understand.”
Baran said, looking at the man standing before him.
The man stood there in a state where it wouldn’t be strange to lose consciousness at any moment, his entire body drenched in blood.
Kahim.
Baran couldn’t quite grasp his actions.
Kahim’s wounds were severe.
Even Kahim, with his superhuman physique, was hindered in his movements.
Though he was still moving now, considering the extent of his injuries, it would be more than reasonable for him to stop and focus on healing immediately.
Yet, Kahim did not step back and stood once more before Baran.
What troubled him even more was the look in his eyes.
There was not a hint of wavering in Kahim’s gaze.
And what resided in those eyes was a clear malice and competitive spirit.
In other words, Kahim had not yet given up on the fight.
“Do you want to die?”
Baran couldn’t help but ask, confronted by that gaze.
There was no need to argue; Kahim had no chance of winning.
—
Even if Kahim is a martial artist who has approached the realm of ideals, there exists an insurmountable wall between those who have awakened to the ideals and those who have not.
Thus, to Baran, it only appeared that Kahim wished to die by his own hand.
However.
“…….”
Kahim did not answer Baran’s question.
He simply raised his two fists toward him.
“…Well, if dying is your wish, then I can’t stop you.”
If he wanted to die, there was no reason to dissuade him.
To be fair, Baran didn’t hold any particular grudge against Kahim, but he also had no loyalty strong enough to save him.
‘The plan is already as good as successful, but…’
Baran’s gaze flickered.
Toward the black dragon, Armiannon.
The crux of the plan was to resurrect Armiannon.
Using the resurrected Armiannon to eliminate those gathered and bring disaster to the continent.
That was the purpose of the plan.
To prepare such a grand stage and set things in motion.
‘Could it be that I can really resurrect Armiannon…?’
Though Baran was in charge of this plan and its execution, he was not the one who conceived it.
In the first place, Baran did not know much about Armiannon.
He only had a vague understanding of it as a monster that appeared in the legends of heroes, uncertain even of its existence.
However, after hearing about the plan from ‘that person,’ he came to know.
That Armiannon was not a monster.
That Armiannon was a creature born from the remnants of a ‘great being’ that had descended upon this land long ago.
And that those remnants still existed on this land.
‘That person’ had devised a plan to resurrect Armiannon using those remnants, and Baran moved faithfully according to that plan.
The two most important preparations for the plan were:
The preparation of the ‘stage’ and the ‘materials.’
Those preparations were carried out simultaneously.
With the help of the mages within the order, and with direct assistance from ‘that person,’ a tomb was constructed within the forest, and it was processed.
They created a fake tomb that even the ‘Scholars of Alundel,’ the gathering of the continent’s greatest intellects, could not help but be deceived by.
Expressing it in words seems simple, but in reality, it was anything but.
Even with the full power of the order, it took a considerable amount of time.
Thus, the task of creating the shell was quite laborious, but constructing the interior was no easy feat either.
It was necessary to conjure an entirely new space through magic.
This space was not merely a place to deceive people.
It was, in a sense, both a ‘ritual’ and a ‘stage.’
A place to make contact with the ‘great being’ and to complete the plan.
To achieve this, the very composition of the space was made to resemble the nature of the space where the ‘great being’ resided.
In this way, the preparation of the ‘stage’ was roughly completed.
The preparation of the ‘materials’ took even longer than preparing the ‘stage.’
The remnants of the great being were far too complex a substance.
However, in the end, the order succeeded and produced results.
After countless trials and errors, they finally created a monster from the remnants.
Of course, many failures were born in the process.
Most of them were disposed of immediately, but some entities were released into the forest to gather data instead of being discarded.
Most of those released into the forest did not leave behind meaningful data and perished, but there were instances where they provided more significant data than expected.
One entity even showed signs of affecting the forest’s ecosystem and exhibited a growth rate that astonished the researchers.
In the end, even that entity lost its response.
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Though it was a disappointing outcome, the order did not harbor great doubts about it.
The ‘forest’ was a place that even the order could not fully comprehend.
They judged that no matter how special an entity was, there was ample opportunity for it to be hunted.
Moreover, despite being special, it was still a failure.
There was no real reason to hold onto it.
In any case, after going through such a process, the ‘stage’ and ‘materials’ were prepared, and the plan was executed.
Rumors spread that the hero’s tomb had been discovered, gathering those with exceptional skills from across the continent.
And so, those who gathered were placed in this special space, fed to the ‘materials’ born from the culmination of research, allowing them to grow.
Finally, they made contact with the great being and resurrected Arminanon using that monster as ‘material.’
Thus, the plan was now on the brink of success.
‘Was such a plan really necessary…?’
Balan believed in the order’s strength.
I’m confident that I could seize the continent without resorting to such measures.
However, it seemed that ‘He’ had a different perspective.
‘He’ always said:
One must not underestimate the resilience of the continent, of humanity.
Approach with caution, He insisted.
Never let your guard down.
From Baran’s standpoint, who understood the power of the Order and ‘His’ strength, this attitude felt excessively cautious.
Of course, he never voiced such doubts.
For ‘His’ will was absolute.
Yet, he thought to himself:
‘His’ worries would turn out to be unfounded.
But when the lid was finally lifted, things did not unfold as he had anticipated.
Despite the resurrection of Arminanon, the complete annihilation of the humans present did not occur.
The Ten Blades and the Two Spirits appeared suddenly, and an entirely unexpected entity emerged, toppling Arminanon and even severing its head.
This was a scenario he had never accounted for when devising his plans.
It was a fact guaranteed by ‘Him’ that as long as Arminanon was resurrected safely, the likes of the Ten Blades would pose no concern whatsoever.
Still, to prevent even the slightest variable from arising, he ambushed the Silver Knight and the Blood Flame, inflicting wounds upon them.
He believed those two were the only potential obstacles.
However, despite going to such lengths, a variable had indeed emerged.
‘I suppose I need not worry too much…’
An unexpected variable had arisen, yet Arminanon was still a monster beyond measure.
Even if it hesitated for the moment, the outcome seemed all too clear.
‘But, I can’t keep this up forever.’
Even if the result remained unchanged, he could not rest easy until that result was confirmed.
Especially since, with recent plans going awry, ‘His’ intentions appeared to be anything but ordinary.
The death of Hamel, who had been a significant asset to the Order, and the subsequent change in its ruler had caused this unease.
Thus, he needed to convey good news to ‘Him’ as quickly as possible.
And to do that, he first needed to eliminate the obstacle before him.
“Let’s truly bring this to an end now.”
Baran aimed his sword at Kahim.