The Berserker’s Second Playthrough Novel - Chapter 64

Chapter 64
## Chapter 64: Descendants of the Untamed (7)

The elimination squad was fully occupied with putting down the last of the monsters and tending to the site of the clash.

Because the demonic entities had been incinerated down to their very foundations, there was little to scavenge from the charred remains. However, they stumbled upon an unexpected treasure right in the middle of the clearing.

It was the collection of spiked vines that Kadim had systematically severed during the fight.

“Leader, you have to see this!”

*Thud—!*

A combatant snatched one up like a javelin and drove it into the earth. The loose dirt turned to solid timber in an instant. The transformation was more sluggish than when the beast was alive, but the property remained intact.

Not every shard had kept its ‘petrification’ charm. Only a handful of the longer sections still functioned. Even so, the sheer volume of debris allowed them to salvage about a dozen working specimens. Kadim, resting against a makeshift lean-to crafted from fallen limbs, gestured toward the pile.

“Place one of those stalks here by me. Secure the others elsewhere for when the need arises.”

“As you command, Captain!”

The infantrymen set to work with renewed vigor and bright expressions. Kadim let out a dry, breathless laugh. He wasn’t entirely sure when he had inherited the title of ‘Captain.’

At that moment, the combatant who had sacrificed an arm, Perun, approached. His stump was bound tightly in linen for immediate care. He looked at the spike on the ground with a fleeting look of trauma, but he quickly regained his composure to face Kadim.

“Eldest brother, I am here to seek our next objective. Now that this horror is purged, are we retracing our steps to the frontier garrison?”

“…Who gave you the impression the hunt was finished?”

Perun snapped his gaze upward, visibly startled.

“Are you suggesting… that this creature wasn’t the ‘prime demon’?”

“…”

Kadim pulled his stiffening frame upright, his joints popping with the effort. He turned his eyes toward the vast eastern plains stretching into the horizon.

During the heat of the fray, he hadn’t fully sensed it. But with the high-ranking demon gone and its essence evaporating, the truth was undeniable. The foul energy didn’t just prick at his skin anymore; it felt like a blade’s edge pressing against him. Looking toward that distant point felt like staring into an abyss that threatened to swallow his sight.

The massive reservoir of life force that had lured him into the wild was still very much alive.

Kadim addressed the one-armed fighter.

“Take the elimination squad and return to the garrison.”

“…What?”

“The next adversary we encounter will dwarf this one in power. It may possess strength that breaks all logic or skills that defy the natural order. Wounded fighters and common infantry will only be liabilities. Go back to the frontier and bolster the defenses there.”

“…”

Perun’s jaw tightened. Kadim’s reasoning was sound, but the burning desire for a glorious struggle made the order hard to swallow. He prepared to offer a desperate argument, even if he knew it might be pointless.

But before he could speak, a frantic shouting rose from where the demon’s remains lay.

“What is happening!?”

“Wait—where did it vanish to?”

The soldiers were in a state of confusion. Kadim and Perun broke off their talk and hurried over. The Atalain combatants converged on the spot simultaneously. Everyone present was struck with disbelief.

The hulking remains of the demon had evaporated. In its place stood nothing but a frail, thin sapling, barely more than a twig.

Kadim narrowed his eyes and demanded an explanation from the nearest soldier.

“Explain this.”

“I… we were trying to take the trophy. To prove the kill, we needed the horn. But as we began to saw through it… the entire carcass just dissolved. It left nothing behind but this scrap of wood…”

Perun crouched to study the plant. After a moment, he spoke up.

“It appears to be a ‘golden ironwood’ sprout. It is barely developed. The stem is thin, the height is negligible, the roots are shallow, and…”

“…”

“…it bears no horn.”

A look of realization crossed Perun’s face. Simultaneously, a thought struck Kadim like a bolt of lightning.

Based on the evidence, this tiny plant was likely the demon’s actual identity. It seemed impossible. How could a puny, hornless twig morph into a titan of thorns, burn to ash, and then revert to its original state?

Yet, it couldn’t be ruled out. When dealing with a ‘demon’ and its reality-warping traits, the impossible became mundane.

‘Wait… did it reclaim the blood when it shifted back?’

Kadim reached into his gear and felt the glass container. To his relief, the demon’s blood remained inside. It seemed only the physical body that was still intact had undergone the reversion.

Perun, having witnessed the monstrosity’s power, reached the same conclusion. He saw a chance to push his case. He stepped toward Kadim and pleaded with sincerity.

“Brother, if the coming foe possesses the illogical power you describe, even your strength might meet its limit. You may require a mind to coordinate a diversion—or simply bodies to serve as shields while you find an opening.”

“…”

“My kin and I will fill that role. We will embrace our end if it serves the cause. We didn’t come here to bleed out in the dirt for nothing—we want to spend our lives on a ‘field of meaning.’ If our natural strength is lacking, we will even call upon the ‘miracles of Atala’…”

Kadim looked at the warrior. A missing limb hadn’t diminished the fire of the Atalain. His dark gaze was fixed with the determination of one ready to leap into a furnace if it meant achieving his goal.

The ten Atalain fighters who had gathered around nodded in silent agreement with Perun. The twenty-five soldiers of the auxiliary army, though they didn’t fully grasp the weight of the moment, nodded along as well.

“…”

However.

Kadim did not accept their offer.

“All of you, withdraw.”

“…”

“A ‘field of meaning’ is not exclusive to this place.”

The mercenary in charge of the group gave a final, unyielding directive.

“Go provide support at the frontier garrison. If you don’t, it will fall to the shadow hordes. If that happens, your great metropolis will be the next place to burn.”

“…”

“There is also a trader named Duncan there. He acted as my scout for this trek, but he cannot defend himself yet. Ensure his safety when you arrive.”

The group went quiet. Perun’s eyes flickered with emotion. He looked up one last time, trying to find a crack in Kadim’s resolve.

“I hear your words. I know you possess the power to challenge the great darkness alone. But as I mentioned, what if a hurdle appears that cannot be cleared by force? Surely we could be of use then…”

Kadim silenced him with a grim, predatory smile.

“There is no obstacle in this existence that strength cannot overcome.”

“…”

“Particularly when the task is to annihilate wretched demons.”

A cold dread washed over the listeners. Perun found he had no words left to offer. He could only look on in silent respect at this wild warrior who had ascended to a level beyond his comprehension.

It was a sensation he hadn’t felt since standing before their own ‘great warrior’ patriarch.

—

The Ninth Guard Post of the Golden Highway.

The auxiliary soldiers of Galentana were locked in a gruesome struggle against waves of dark creatures pouring over them.

“Curse it all, may the City of Knowledge endure forever!”

“Fall, you miserable runts with guts the size of peas!!”

*— Skreeee, skreeee!*

An enraged goblin swung a heavy wooden club. A soldier caught the blow on his shield and lunged with his blade, gutting the creature. A predatory wolf leapt from the side, its teeth sinking into a soldier’s flank. Another man’s heavy mace came down, crushing the beast’s skull into the mud.

*Crunch!*

*— Whoosh!*

“Arrgh! Help me!!”

A kobold drove a rusted pickaxe into that man’s lower back. Bowmen standing atop the dirt ramparts rained shafts down on the kobolds. Orcs threw boulders over the fortifications with terrifying strength. Mounted soldiers surged forward, using their horses to trample the orcs into the earth.

*Snap, crack—*

*— Hiss, hiss!!*

It was a never-ending cycle of killing and dying. Men and monsters were a tangled mess of violence, using steel, claws, arrows, and fangs to tear at one another. Every small success was paid for with horrific wounds.

Heads were smashed until the bone gave way; jagged shards of bone tore through muscle; blood sprayed from severed veins; men desperately tried to hold their own intestines inside their bodies… The momentum of the battle refused to shift, simply creating a growing mound of corpses.

Then, the balance was shattered in favor of the monsters.

“Demon!! A demon is on the field!!!”

“…!!!”

The panicked shout came from the front lines. The soldiers’ faces turned the color of ash. The monsters, smelling the scent of an impending rout, grew even more violent.

*— Roar, roar!!!*

*— Skreeeeeee!!*

Captain Yulitan, the officer in charge, scrambled up the wooden lookout tower past the main gate. When he shouted for a report, the lookout’s voice was shaking.

“Th-three of them. They all have single horns. It looks like… three intermediate demons…”

“What? Curse it, that can’t be right! Get out of the way!”

Yulitan looked through the glass himself and realized the boy was telling the grim truth. He let out a low groan. He wished the soldier had been lying.

A single intermediate demon was enough to crush their defense. It would take every man they had left just to slow one down. Three appearing at once was a death sentence.

“Noooo!!!”

“Help me!!”

Dark circles seemed to grow deeper under Yulitan’s tired eyes. The forward units were already being decimated, and the rest were falling back in a frantic scramble. The lookout turned to him, terrified.

“Wh-what are the orders, Captain? Do we sound the retreat?”

“…”

In that moment, the images of the elimination squad he’d sent out days ago came to his mind.

The brave Atalain warriors, or that savage sellsword they called the ‘Demon Slayer’… if even one of them had stayed behind, they might have stood a chance against a few demons… He shouldn’t have let them leave so soon…

“Eek! D-demons? Are they really here?”

A squeaky, frightened voice broke his thoughts. Yulitan looked down into the courtyard.

“…”

Unfortunately, the only reinforcement left was that thin, pathetic-looking merchant. Sending him to fight demons would be less effective than asking a flea to stop a wagon.

“Captain! The order…”

“…Secure the rear before the front—get the men back. We are abandoning the garrison. We leave before those things reach the walls.”

“…!”

Giving up this fort meant that Galentana—home to thousands of people and their kin—would become the next slaughterhouse.

It was the only logical choice, but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach. The soldiers holding the signal flags froze, unable to bring themselves to give the sign.

Suddenly, the lookout gave a shocked cry.

“Captain! Someone is attacking the demons from the front! It’s not our men!”

“…What?”

“Look! A demon’s head just flew off! He’s charging the next one! What—the second one is down!”

“…How?”

Finally, the kid has lost his mind, Yulitan thought. Or he’s seen a ghost.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Yulitan shoved the lookout aside to see for himself. Incredibly, it was the truth. A solitary, massive figure was carving a path through the monsters, executing the demons one by one.

The giant wasn’t alone for long. A group of seasoned fighters followed in his wake. They sliced through the monster ranks like a blade through silk, clearing out the smaller beasts surrounding the demons.

The moment the giant’s weapon split the final demon in two, the entire momentum of the war shifted.

The new arrivals and the garrison soldiers made quick work of the leaderless, panicked monsters. The survivors scattered into the woods, ending the engagement in a massive victory for the relief army.

The entire outpost stood in stunned silence. Even though they had watched it happen, the reality seemed impossible. Soldiers, their chests still heaving, began to whisper the name of the alliance’s legendary founder out of habit.

“By Remillion…”

“Remillion be praised…”

“In the name of Remillion… how is this possible…”

The lookout was the first to find his voice. He turned to Yulitan.

“Captain…? Those fighters—they’re all Atalains, aren’t they? Did the elimination squad come back?”

“…”

Yulitan had initially thought the same.

Such immense strength and size were rare. It was hard to imagine anyone but that blood-drenched mercenary pulling this off. The group following him must be the Atalain warriors who had departed with him…

But as the figures got closer, Yulitan saw he was wrong.

“No… that isn’t the elimination squad. That mercenary didn’t carry a massive black greataxe. And there are far more Atalains here than we sent out…”

“Th-then who are they?”

“…I have no idea.”

The newcomers were slowly walking toward the gates. They clearly weren’t hostiles, but the tension was thick. When you are faced with someone who can solo three mid-tier demons, followed by a small army of Atalains—you don’t just open the door without thinking.

But the concern was unnecessary.

As he looked down at the giant standing before the barrier, Yulitan’s eyes widened. It was his first time seeing the man in the flesh, but he knew the face. Very few people in the alliance wouldn’t recognize the owner of that specific helm.

“You are… wait, why have you come here…?”

“…”

The giant rested his hand on the handle of his axe, his gaze fixed on the watchtower.

From beneath the helmet adorned with ivory tusks, eyes that burned with the fury of a wild bull stared back with a terrifying intensity.