Wandering Mercenary in an Open World

A bolt of lightning fell from the flickering sky and left a deep scar on the ground. The black horse, which had been there just a second ago, used the shockwave from the explosion behind it as a propellant and sped through the narrow alley at an incredible speed.

Was this it?

Ruon marveled purely, putting aside the tense situation for a moment. He had ridden the Nightmare for quite some time, but he had never expected it to have such amazing mobility.

The black horse, which showed movements that were impossible for an ordinary horse with its astonishing sense of balance, was truly worthy of being called the horse of the century.

Shriek-

At that moment, something engulfed in dark flames flew through the air, cutting through the void. Ruon parried the attack that aimed at the black horse’s forehead with his sword and frowned at the wriggling mass of flesh that turned around like a snake.

The monster pulled its mutated left arm, which stretched like a rubber band, towards its body and shouted.

“Do you intend to run away until this whole area turns to dust? Fight me! Show me the power that befits your reputation!”

What a load of crap.

Ruon snorted like a person who heard a lame joke. The monster had the overwhelming geographical advantage of being in the air and bombarded him with long-range attacks, but when the attacks kept missing, it told him to fight? He felt a strong urge to punch the face of the witch who was only alive with her mouth and swung his sword.

Clang-!

Ruon blocked the arm that flew at him again, but this time he didn’t let the monster retrieve its arm easily. He moved the sword he was holding with both hands to his right hand and grabbed the grotesque flesh with his left armpit. He clenched his teeth.

“Let go, you crazy bastard!”

The monster was startled and flapped its wings vigorously, but it started to get closer to the ground as the giant-like strength pulled it down.

It must have thought that it would crash if it continued like this, so it uttered an evil spell.

“Tel-Ciagtarone!”

Immediately, a few small dark clouds rose around the monster’s body.

Crackle-Crackle-

Along with the fierce thunder, thin strands of light poured out of the dark clouds and were absorbed into the hammer one by one. The more it absorbed, the more the hammer glowed like it was bleached.

That looks dangerous.

Ruon, who had originally planned to activate the Ego Sword’s shield and block the lightning, then slam the monster to the ground, gave up his greed and loosened the strength in his armpit as he felt the ominous wave of power. Right after that, the monster swung its hammer violently.

────!

It was literally a thunder strike, and everything nearby lost its shape and turned to ashes.

The monster glared sharply at the ground covered with misty fog with its six eyes and twisted its nose.

“···You annoying bastard.”

Ruon’s figure, who was putting away the red shield that was melting, was seen. The black horse, which moved so agilely, was standing upright at a fairly far distance from the explosion radius.

I would have died if I had taken that hit.

Ruon looked at the meteorite crater that was spewing smoke and bit his tongue. If he had allowed that attack to hit him directly, he wouldn’t have even had a chance to be hammered by Duermyr. It wouldn’t have been strange if he had turned to dust right away.

He lifted his head and looked at the monster floating in the sky.

The powerful body covered with dragon scales, the soul and weapon of the strong man who had roared in an era, and the evil witch’s spell.

The monster, which had all those things mixed together, had some aspects that were more difficult than Belducius. It seemed that it wasn’t bluffing without a plan.

“Today, I might as well look forward to leveling up.”

The rune letters that glowed on the blade of Ruin, which was in sync with the owner’s emotion that burned with fighting spirit even against a powerful enemy, came to mind.

-Let’s go!-

Then, the monster’s attack started again. It seemed to be aware of being caught once, so it spared its left hand and focused on throwing lightning with its right hand’s hammer.

Bang! Bang!

Ruon swung his Ego Sword in the lightning that fell one after another. He cut off the light beams that the Nightmare couldn’t avoid and waited for the moment when the enemy would show a gap.

No matter how strong its stamina was, it couldn’t fly forever, and even if it didn’t know how great the hammer was, it couldn’t keep throwing lightning like that.

And the opportunity came sooner than he thought.

“···Tarwen?”

The monster, which had been throwing lightning without rest, suddenly stopped its body and moved its gaze somewhere.

“That damn woman is doing something trivial···”

Ruon turned his head to the direction that Hella was looking at. He saw his companions standing in the ruined corner of the street. His eyes widened.

The fairy sitting with her legs crossed, Kyle’s determined expression blocking the front, and Igor’s figure awakening his holy power.

In an instant, he took in everything in his eyes and decided to believe the assumption that crossed his mind. He kicked the black horse’s flank and said.

“Let’s go.”

Heeheeheeheeng-!

As the black horse neighed loudly and rushed with explosive momentum, he saw three white lightning bolts strike the direction where his companions were.

But Ruon didn’t turn his head. He just twisted his waist and gripped the handle of the Ego Sword with both hands.

“Kyaah!”

At that moment, the monster let out a piercing scream and plummeted to the ground without a chance to flap its wings. The glowing sword flashed in its six hateful eyes as it fell.

Crash!

A dull thud echoed behind Ruon, who had flown past the monster. Then a much smaller sound followed.

He turned his head and saw a severed head rolling on the floor, leaving a bright red trail behind. It had fallen a step later than the body.

But Ruon’s eyes still had a calm swirl in them. There was no trace of joy in his victory.

“Well done.”

He gently stroked the black horse’s mane, breathing heavily, and then jumped off its back. He turned his body toward the fallen monster and opened his mouth.

“Are you going to get up?”

To his surprise, he got an answer.

“…Such incomprehensible and impossible strength. Is this how it feels to face a heavenly god…?”

The headless monster pushed itself up with its bent wings. Then it put its fallen head on its neck, and the cut surface wriggled and fused together.

It was a recovery power beyond imagination, but it seemed to have a hefty price, as its eyes were noticeably dim. It blinked and opened its mouth.

“…Ruon, join me now.”

The monster, or rather Hela, added quickly in a desperate voice.

“Why do you, a powerful being, live under the oppression of the old rules that the heaven created? I don’t understand. You are already a being that has crossed the boundary. If you take one more step beyond, you will become a great variable that can twist the world’s rules!”

Then Tarwen, who had run with the group, snapped at her.

“Stop talking nonsense and face reality. Your other selves are all gone. It’s over when you die.”

Hela ignored him and fixed her gaze on Ruon, spitting out her words.

“If we can destroy the heaven and bring down the lofty divinity to the abyss of the underworld! The world will be reborn in our hands. Everything from one to ten!”

She suddenly spoke in a soft voice, sweetly continuing.

“…Ruon, you must have a world that only you dream of, right? A world that you can’t explain to anyone else, that only you hold. This is your chance to make it happen.”

She whispered like a devil, and Ruon smiled faintly. She thought he had taken the bait, and hastily added.

“I will assist you until the day your world becomes reality. I promise. I will be the loyal servant of the new great devil Ruon.”

Kyle growled fiercely.

“She doesn’t stop spouting nonsense.”

He clenched his teeth and stepped forward, but he flinched at an unexpected sight. Ruon had silently sheathed his Ego Sword.

“Le, Ruon?”

Hela beamed, feeling a mix of relief and joy that her persuasion had worked and the blade had disappeared.

“That’s it! Let’s crush those damned slaves of heaven right now and strip the traitor of his skin and perform the ritual!”

Then Ruon moved swiftly. He grabbed the monster’s jaw in an instant. He said.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’ll smash your head.”

“…What?”

A huge fist slammed into the monster’s face, which had a stupid expression. Blood and flesh spurted from its crushed face.

His fist pushed back by the monstrous strength that defied common sense, he caught the back of its head, which was bent back, and pulled his arm back, hitting its face with his elbow on the other side.

With a crack, blood bubbles gushed from the monster’s mouth.

“Ke, keh!”

It struggled to fight back, but before it could, another fist hit its shoulders and collarbone, making its arms droop. The fist didn’t give it a chance to despair, and hit its face again, making its already battered face explode like a firework.

Thud. The monster finally fell back with a heavy sound. Ruon climbed on its torso and raised his clenched fist high. He said in a cold voice.

“It’s time to keep my promise.”

A muffled sound came out of the monster’s mouth, which was barely recognizable.

“…Di…e…”

Ruon slammed his fist down before the pitiful voice begging for life could finish. The monster’s face collapsed completely with a sound like a ripe watermelon bursting. Blood splattered everywhere, soaking the dry ground and leaving messy marks.

He slowly got up, and his fist had Hela’s proud dragon scales falling to the ground with blood.

“I thought you fell for the witch’s candy when you suddenly sheathed your sword. You have no idea how scared I was. My heart is still pounding.”

Kyle sighed with relief. Igor came up to him and brought his palm, tinged with a faint light, close to Ruon’s chest. The burn wound from the lightning healed slowly.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you more.”

“It’s okay. It’s enough.”

Then Strabo, who had returned to his dwarf form, shouted with excitement. His eyes were shining brightly.

“That’s awesome! You always keep your word… Is there anything more romantic than that?”

He muttered to himself, then coughed a few times and lowered his voice.

“Time to keep your promise. Wow! That’s it!”

Igor turned his head away as if he had seen something unpleasant, watching the dwarf who gave a thumbs up to Ruon.

“Strabo, it’s nice that you’re following Ruon, but do you realize that you’re naked right now?”

“Oh! You’re right!”

Tarwen took off the cloak she was wearing with a frown and handed it over.

“Here, put this on.”

“I’ll wash it and give it back later.”

“It’s okay. Just throw it away.”

“Why waste this!”

Ruon closed his eyes quietly, leaving his noisy companions behind. He had evenly distributed the bonus stats he gained from leveling up when he killed Hella to strength and holy power. He opened his eyes, satisfied with his increased power.

All his companions were staring at him.

“I thought you fell asleep standing up again.”

Ruon ignored Kyle’s muttering and looked around. He shrugged his shoulders at the sight of the devastated village.

“It seems like we can forget about getting supplies.”

Then Tarwen pointed at a corpse with a smashed head and said.

“But we got something we didn’t expect.”

“What is it?”

“Hella’s soul.”

She gave a faint smile as the rest of the group blinked their eyes and looked at her.

“I’m a pretty good witch, you know.”“`