Chapter 29 : [Gehenna Festival] II

A crack appeared in the barrier as Van stared at it with his glowing red eyes. Without hesitation, Van immediately passed through the crack before it closed again.

'Ugh, it hurts. I pushed myself too hard using these eyes today,' Van thought.

After successfully escaping the barrier isolating the [Colosseum], Van immediately ran after John.

His eyes also scanned the surroundings, where chaos reigned everywhere due to the attack by the [Gehenna Cult].

Explosions were happening all around.

Fire raged fiercely, burning everything and turning the sky a different color.

Blood and body parts were scattered everywhere.

Only the ruins of buildings could be seen as far as the eye could see.

Screams of pain, fear, and pleas filled Van's ears.

'They really are a bunch of lunatics,' Van thought as he observed the aftermath of the [Gehenna Cult]'s attack.

"[Huginn & Muninn]. Find Oliver for me," Van murmured.

A pair of black and white crows emerged from Van's shadow and flew into the sky.

*WHOOSH

A black fireball shot toward where Van stood. Realizing the attack was aimed at him, Van immediately jumped away.

*BOOM

The black fireball hit the ground and exploded with enough force to kill a cow.

"Khekhekhe, sweet child, why don't you come with Uncle? Uncle will give you lots of candy," said a chubby middle-aged man.

Seeing the greasy, pimply face of the middle-aged man, Van couldn't help but feel nauseous.

"Move! I don't have time to deal with you," Van said coldly.

"Naughty child," the ugly middle-aged man said, revealing a transformed hand.

'A Demon's Arm! He's a member who has made a contract with a Demon,' Van thought as he observed the ugly man's arm.

"Come on!" the ugly man said, appearing in front of Van in an instant. He swung his black arm, equipped with claws at the tips of his fingers.

'He's fast! Around level 30,' Van thought, immediately jumping back.

Seeing Van successfully dodge his attack, the ugly man didn't feel the slightest bit angry.

"That's how it should be. You're the mouse, and I'm the cat," the middle-aged man said.

'Tch. His level is estimated between 28-32. The gap is huge,' Van thought, remembering that his own level was only 20.

While Van was still focused on his thoughts, the ugly man appeared in front of him again.

"Don't lose focus, kid!" the ugly man said, swinging his arm.

'Tch, no time. [Void Eye]!' Van thought as he saw the sharp claws right in front of his eyes.

Thinking victory was within his grasp, the ugly man grinned widely, as if anticipating the moment Van's head would be pierced by his attack.

However, what happened next was different from what he expected. He saw his Demon's arm, capable of cutting through steel like tofu, suddenly pass through Van's head without harming him.

'What?!' the ugly man thought, his eyes wide with shock.

"Got you. [World Treasure: Sigurd Balmung]!"

[Sigurd Balmung]: [A sword with the ability to penetrate all defenses and weaken the target by 90% upon stabbing]

Van's cold, flat voice echoed in the ugly man's ears.

Van summoned a one-meter-long sword with a black hilt, radiating a terrifying holy aura.

As Van held [Sigurd Balmung], he felt a quarter of his [Mana] drain.

"What?! Why do you have a [Holy] attribute?!" the ugly man screamed, his face contorted in pain. Clearly, holy magic was the enemy of Demons.

After analyzing the ugly man's attack, Van realized that the man had made a contract with an ordinary Demon.

If it were a noble Demon, like a Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, or Duke, they would have significant resistance to the [Holy] attribute.

Van then swung [Sigurd Balmung] horizontally, successfully cutting the ugly man in two.

The ugly man's bisected body fell to the ground. Despite being cut in half, he wasn't dead yet.

"Khekhekhe, naughty child. Uncle will be waiting for you in [Hell]," the ugly man said with a cold laugh.

Van shuddered upon hearing the ugly man's words.

*TAK

Van stabbed the ugly man's head with [Sigurd Balmung], instantly killing him.

Van then stored [Sigurd Balmung] back into the [World Treasure] and checked his remaining [Mana].

[MANA: 20,000/50,000]

'Three-fifths left. It should be enough to deal with that skinny guy,' Van thought.

*KAW

Van looked up and saw a black crow flying in the sky.

"[Sleipnir]," Van murmured. From Van's shadow emerged an eight-legged horse emitting blue flames.

Van then mounted [Sleipnir]. [Sleipnir] began running at the speed of sound.

It was so fast that Van couldn't even see clearly.

'[Sleipnir]'s speed is at the speed of light. Unfortunately, summoning [Sleipnir] at this speed consumes a lot of [Mana],' Van thought as he tightly held onto [Sleipnir].

*BOOM

[Sleipnir] finally came to a stop in a charred forest. Van saw Oliver kneeling on the ground, his body covered in burns.

- - - - -

Half an hour earlier.

Seeing Van being intercepted by one of the [Gehenna Cult] members, John immediately ran away toward the forest outside the capital.

Upon reaching the forest, John leaned against a tree, panting heavily.

"Damn it, everything is so exhausting," John muttered. As a mage, his physical abilities weren't great.

Unbeknownst to John, Oliver, who was on his back, had already awakened.

*RAWR

Oliver bit John's neck with his teeth, causing him to scream in pain.

"ARGH!" John screamed, throwing Oliver off his back.

John then touched his neck and saw fresh red blood on his palm.

"You brat!" John growled angrily.

"Puh." Oliver spat out saliva mixed with blood in disgust. "Your blood tastes salty and rotten."

Hearing Oliver's insult, John gritted his teeth and glared at him coldly.

"To hell with the mission. I'll kill you!" John said.

John snapped his fingers, and dozens of fireballs appeared in the sky. The fireballs immediately shot toward Oliver.

Seeing a similar situation to what happened in the [Colosseum], Oliver showed a confident smile.

"The same trick won't work on a hero like me," Oliver said, jumping to avoid all the fireballs attacking him.

"A hero, huh?" John muttered coldly. "I hate heroes."

*BOOM

*BOOM

*BOOM

Explosions erupted as the fireballs detonated. Fortunately, Oliver managed to dodge all of John's attacks.

"How's that? Don't get too cocky!" Oliver said proudly. "Wait a minute, why is it so hot?"

"Didn't you realize? I wasn't aiming for you from the start. I was aiming for the forest around us," John said with a sinister grin.

Oliver looked around and saw the forest burning due to John's attacks.