The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game

Chapter 217: Episode 5 (6)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The Heroes let out a battle cry.

The Arsilanese clenched their fists, summoning the will to defend Arsilan.

The Demon Race embraced the destructive instincts raging within their hearts. As they did, the mana that had lain dormant in their bodies surged wildly, dyeing their horns in a multitude of colors.

Death.

Fighting against an enemy of that magnitude over the fate of annihilation, it was impossible for everyone to survive and claim victory. Peace demanded a price, and it had always been paid for in someone's blood.

'I see.'

Jinwoo nodded and steeled his resolve.

If it was the life of a god, that would be more than enough to pay the price of peace.

If someone had to experience death, he alone would suffice.

He could gladly die well over hundreds of millions of times.

Jinwoo made no effort to hide his fury as he stared at the Erosion Insects pouring down. There were enough to blanket the vast lands of Arsilan. They looked like black sludge gushing out of a massive hole.

Above them, the Lord of Despair was forming a body and spewing rage.

Did that shape resemble an octopus?

A spider?

It also looked like a beast with countless arms. Its form evoked horror, despair, and revulsion.

The Lord of Despair was descending in person to destroy Arsilan's last remaining barrier. The intent to crush the Hero's Flowers and devour Arsilan's core was palpable.

Though it had expended much of its Authority and been split in half, the Lord of Despair was still a Higher Being of Erosion. It was still too much for Arsilan to handle alone.

Jinwoo looked at Ella and Helby.

Both of them nodded.

"It's been a while since I got to stretch my legs."

"Insects of that caliber aren't even a warm-up."

If Ella and Helby both fought alongside everyone, they would surely be able to hold off those Erosion Insects imbued with formidable Authority.

Jinwoo lowered the Holy Sword and moved into a stance.

A Holy Magic Circle appeared beneath his feet, generating a tremendous gale.

Heina raised her sword high.

"Defend Arsilan until His Majesty returns!"

"UOOOOOOH!"

"Fuck! Come at us, you bastards!"

"Let's gooo!"

The First Barrier erupted in cheers.

They had already withstood a planetary-scale attack. Killing mere Erosion Insects was nothing.

Morale soared endlessly, on the verge of exploding.

"Leon!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Kill that son of a bitch!"

"If that thing drops a rare material, please use it for an event!"

Jinwoo let a smile cross his lips, then shot straight upward. The Holy Sword's light trailed behind him in a long tail, painting a beautiful arc across the sky.

Jinwoo swung the Holy Sword toward the downpouring Erosion Insects. Light burst out in a straight line, spawning Holy Magic Circles large and small.

KRAKOOM!

Holy magic became an unstoppable calamity, sweeping through the Erosion Insects.

The aftermath slowed Jinwoo's ascent toward the Lord of Despair, but there was no need to worry. When Jinwoo reached his hand upward, Ella appeared in a burst of radiance.

Ella grasped his hand.

Her Authority and immense Sacred Power seeped into his very soul.

"Come back safe."

She spun her body and launched Jinwoo skyward.

FWOOOSH!

Propelled by Ella's power, Jinwoo rocketed upward at tremendous speed. Ella watched him shrink into the distance, then extended her hand to the side. A Mega Erosion Insect plummeting toward Arsilan was caught in her grip.

"And where do you think you're going?"

The Erosion Insect thrashed to escape her grasp, but she didn't budge an inch. Ella grinned and hurled the Mega Erosion Insect upward. It sailed up and slammed into the stream of falling Erosion Insects, piling them together.

Ella watched them with cold eyes, then clenched her fist.

Golden Sacred Power gathered in full, and

"Goddess Punch!"

She threw her fist.

Light erupted like the explosion of a sun, incinerating the Mega Erosion Insect and every Erosion Insect around it.

"Ohhh!"

"Hell yeah! That's the stuff!"

"Goddess Punch! Goddess Punch!"

Ella basked in the Heroes' cheers.

She waved her hand as if demanding more, and the Arsilanese roared in response.

At that insane spectacle, the Demon Race froze in place and gulped.

'That's... a goddess?'

'Terrifying.'

'Is Arsilan really gonna be okay?'

The image of a goddess who should have been peace-loving, merciful, and wise shattered into a million pieces.

Strength, above all, was the mark of a god.

To be the Goddess of Arsilan, worshipped by Heroes, one had to be at least that powerful.

Jinwoo continued to ascend.

Erosion Insects tried to latch onto him and block his path, but they disintegrated before they could even get close. The faster he went, the more fiercely the Holy Sword's light blazed.

Once he punched through the swarm of Erosion Insects that had been obscuring his vision like a nebula, the Lord of Despair came into view. The Lord of Despair, seemingly flustered by Jinwoo's rapid approach, spewed Erosion energy and erected thousands of layers of barriers.

Each one was as hard as grand-scale magic, but Jinwoo did not stop.

FWOOOSH!

Helby appeared at Jinwoo's side, tearing through space. Unfurling great wings from her back, she soared alongside him. She embraced him from behind.

"I'm thoroughly sick of insects."

"But they taste good, don't they?"

"It only saddens me that I cannot deny it. Hmm, the next content should be something cute. You're a god now, so put in more effort."

Jinwoo chuckled at Helby's words.

Helby pressed her forehead against his back. Half of the Dragon Heart was directly shared with Jinwoo's soul. She gazed at his back for a moment, then pushed him forward with both hands.

KRAKOOOOM!

A light carrying the brilliance of stars erupted from Jinwoo's back, accelerating him to staggering speed. Helby watched him for a brief moment, then turned around.

Spreading her wings, she descended toward Arsilan and opened her mouth. A breath forged of starlight poured forth, dissolving the Erosion Insects. The Dragons appeared around her as if they had been waiting.

"You've gotten quite good at flying."

[Outer space is no big deal, honestly.]

[Having tons of mana really is the best!]

[Long live the Creator God!]

Helby frowned.

"Maintain your dignity as Dragons."

[Yes ma'am!]

[R-Right! We are Arsilan's Coordinators, after all....]

But just for today, it would be fine to let loose.

Countless Erosion Insects rained down upon the First Barrier.

"For Arsilan!"

"Kill them all!"

"It's hunting time!"

Everyone in Arsilan plunged into fierce battle with the Erosion Insects. Helby and the Dragons flew in formation, sweeping the Erosion Insects away.

* * *

Jinwoo flew toward the Lord of Despair at tremendous speed. As he raised the Holy Sword, its tip blazed with brilliant light, cleaving through the dense Erosion energy.

He did not worry about Arsilan.

Unlike the Lord of Despair, who devoured everything in the world and multiplied only itself, Arsilan was filled with a rich spectrum of light.

The tip of the Holy Sword met the barriers the Lord of Despair had desperately erected. They were as hard as if the surface of Levannas had been compressed together, yet the instant the Holy Sword's tip touched them, they were sliced apart as easily as thin paper.

It could not slow Jinwoo's speed in the slightest.

He pierced through one barrier, then the barrier behind it.

Now Arsilan and the Lord of Despair had switched places. The Lord of Despair was the one who had to desperately fend off Jinwoo as he surged upward.

This was no mere wedge.

The Holy Sword Jinwoo wielded was a blade that cleaved evil, the concentrated might of all Arsilan, and a spear that pierced through Erosion.

He broke through dozens of barriers.

He cut through thousands. And he annihilated the tens of thousands that kept forming.

Judging that it could not stop Jinwoo, the Lord of Despair thrashed in desperation and began gathering all its power. It drew its countless arms together and forged yet another massive wedge.

Pouring in the overwhelming force it had gained by descending from a transcendent plane into the material world, it hurled the wedge at Jinwoo.

A Holy Magic Circle formed beneath Jinwoo's feet, and light and mana exploded. He accelerated as if he himself had become light, flying straight at the wedge.

The tip of the great wedge and the Holy Sword collided.

An explosion erupted, sending shockwaves rippling through space. The impact alone created a spectacle like a supernova detonating.

The wedge was harder than the compressed core of Levannas. It was enough to push the Holy Sword back, if only for a moment. But cracks of light spiraled across the wedge's entire surface.

The Holy Sword split the wedge and bored inside.

KRAKOOOOM!

Jinwoo did not stop. He continued to surge upward, cleaving the wedge clean in two. As the halves of the wedge spread apart and Jinwoo emerged, the Lord of Despair writhed and tried to retreat.

It tried to hide its body in space, pathetically.

The rage the Lord of Despair had been radiating was gone, replaced by fear and terror that engulfed it. Perhaps those were emotions it was feeling for the very first time.

Jinwoo, together with the Holy Sword, pierced straight through the Lord of Despair.

A gaping hole was torn through the center of its body. It tried to generate arms to plug the hole, but it only grew larger instead.

"What a lovely sight."

Jinwoo gazed at the scene and quietly lowered the Holy Sword.

It had been by the thinnest of margins.

Leon's body, which had seemed indestructible, now looked like a cracked vase barely holding together. Jinwoo's soul, too, had developed fractures.

Had he been even slightly lacking, it would have been Jinwoo who shattered.

[GH, GHRAAAAAGH!]

The Lord of Despair screamed and thrashed. The Authority that had once been powerful enough to create an entire concept melted away, and the things that had composed its world began to vanish.

As it started to shrink, the Lord of Despair looked down at Arsilan.

It gazed at the Erosion Insects there, then split its consciousness into dozens of pieces and fired them toward the insects. Its aim was to embed itself within the Erosion Insects and bide its time for the future.

"So you've fallen."

It had descended to obliterate Arsilan, only to come crashing down in ruin.

Utterly disgraceful.

Jinwoo smirked and dismissed the Holy Sword.

There was no need for him to exert himself any further. He simply watched the falling Lord of Despair and smiled.

Now the Lord of Despair was nothing more than content to close out Episode 5.

* * *

A Higher Being of Erosion.

A transcendent existence that had tried to create concepts that didn't exist in Arsilan and dye the entire world in itself.

Such was the Lord of Despair, and it felt fear for the first time.

Eons upon eons, perhaps for all eternity, it might suffer under that light. It was so desperate that the shame and humiliation it had felt from being sealed didn't even cross its mind.

For now, it had to flee and plan for the future.

If it could just escape the sight of the one with that Holy Sword and hide deep within Arsilan, victory would be its. It would devour Arsilan and recover its strength.

Its consciousness had been split into multiple pieces, each embedded in a different Erosion Insect. The Erosion Insects that had been fighting fiercely above the First Barrier began moving to protect the ones harboring the Lord of Despair.

Its rank had now degraded to the point where it could communicate with mortals. In other words, it had fallen to a level where it could comprehend them.

"Try some, Demon Race folks. They're tasty."

"Ehh, I'm still not sure...."

"Put some cheese on it and it's amazing."

A Hero incinerated an Erosion Insect with magic, then melted cheese over it and sprinkled it on top. They fed it to the demons, and the demons, who had initially refused, nodded in admiration.

"Oh...."

"That's insane."

"How did we not know about this?"

The demons regretted all the years they'd missed out.

The Hero grinned and pointed at a large Erosion Insect.

"By the way, the bigger ones taste even better. They drop rare materials too."

The demons' eyes locked onto the large Erosion Insect.

The Lord of Despair was embedded in that very insect. It trembled and backed away.

'These lunatics!'

The Lord of Despair couldn't help but think it.

Erosion Insects, no matter how numerous, were still just Erosion Insects. The Mega Erosion Insects had put up a fight and claimed thousands of lives, but

FWOOOSH!

they immediately revived at the massive Hero's Flowers.

This was cheating!

The fight was absurdly unfair.

The Lord of Despair had the gall to think that.

'I need to get into Arsilan.'

Staying above the barrier would only get it hunted.

Since all of Arsilan's power was concentrated here, Arsilan itself should be empty.

Fortunately, Arsilan's divine beings seemed to have let their guard down. They clearly had no idea it was here. The Lord of Despair wrung out what remained of its Authority and began boring a hole through the First Barrier. The multiple Erosion Insects harboring its consciousness gathered in one spot and gnawed through the barrier like worms eating through wood.

CRACK!

When a large hole opened in the barrier, the Lord of Despair trembled.

It could escape through that hole!

"The barrier...!"

"Erosion Insects are getting through to the other side!"

The Erosion Insects surrounded the Lord of Despair as if shielding it.

Heina, who had been commanding everyone, saw this and took no action.

In fact, she stopped the Heroes who had noticed the hole in the barrier and were about to head toward it.

"Don't worry about that. Focus on the fight!"

"But...."

"Heina?"

When everyone looked confused, she cut down several approaching Erosion Insects in a single stroke and spoke.

"Those Erosion Insects will cross into Arsilan's border territory."

"Then isn't that a disaster? If they start breeding inside Arsilan, the damage will be catastrophic."

At the knight's words, she smirked.

"Have you forgotten what's at Arsilan's border?"

"At the border, there's..., ah! W-WHAT?!"

The knight's face went pale.

Every Hero who had been worrying about the hole in the barrier recoiled in horror.

"AUGH!"

"Holy shit! That was close."

"Phew! Thank you, Heina!"

"Everyone back away from the hole! Do NOT go through it!"

The Heroes' faces turned ashen. They looked as though they were staring down an overwhelming terror that should never be witnessed.

'Those Heroes....'

'They're afraid?'

The Heroes had been laughing and having a blast even when the Wedge of Despair, that overwhelming weapon of mass destruction, had been right in their faces. Not even the horrific Lord of Despair itself could instill fear in them. And yet, the Heroes were trembling with dread.

GULP!

What on earth was at Arsilan's border?

A brave member of the Demon Race cautiously spoke up.

"U-Um..., Hero, uh..., what kind of being could possibly be at Arsilan's border that...."

"KYAAAAAAH!"

The Hero collapsed to the ground with a shriek. The demon jumped in shock and fell backward.

Heina reached out and helped the demon to their feet. Her expression was rigid.

"At Arsilan's border... is the Margrave of the Sillion Empire."

"Th-The Margrave?"

"Yes. The moment any enemy crosses the border, they're all funneled there."

Heina explained carefully.

How terrifying must this Margrave be that everyone was this paralyzed with fear? The demon could see Heina's hand trembling faintly.

The curiosity was unbearable.

"Wh-What kind of... monster are we talking about...."

"A bard."

"A b-bard? The kind that plays instruments and sings?"

"Yes. When he descended upon Arsilan and took up his instrument, the world was gripped with terror."

Heina spoke as if an evil surpassing Erosion itself had been born.

"We had no choice but to confine him to the border of Arsilan. He is...."

Heina swallowed hard, about to utter a name that should never be spoken aloud. The Heroes covered their ears, not wanting to hear it.

"The worst calamity Arsilan has ever spawned, the Hero who sings of agony and despair, the unstoppable horror, RomanticBard."

RomanticBard!

For such grandiose titles, it was a surprisingly decent name.

"RomanticBard...."

"GYAAAAH!"

"Don't say that name!"

"I was finally starting to forget..., AUGH!"

The moment the demon uttered the name, the surrounding Heroes went into convulsions.

The one who shatters souls with his song of anguish.

An undead who commands a ghastly orchestra and crafts instruments from corpses to play.

The Hero of despair who can sing forever, anywhere.

The demons managed to piece together information about RomanticBard. Those stories spread like wildfire among the Demon Race, and RomanticBard became an object of dread that surpassed even the Lord of Despair.

* * *

Yes!

It had arrived in Arsilan!

The Lord of Despair, having crossed Arsilan's border, was overjoyed.

Arsilan was so beautiful it wanted to devour it right then and there. It suppressed that desire and looked around.

Countless Erosion Insects had followed it across the border.

'This place is....'

It realized that massive walls surrounded the area.

Any intrusion from outside Arsilan was designed to be routed here.

The Lord of Despair extended its senses wide to detect who was nearby. No one was atop the walls. The only presence it could feel was a single figure walking toward it from straight ahead.

'First, I'll devour it and....'

The plan was to disguise itself as an Arsilanian, then slowly consume the people of Arsilan one by one, recovering its strength and growing its numbers.

It would devour every last inch of this land and repay the humiliation.

With that thought, it led the Erosion Insects toward the approaching presence.

A lone skeleton ambled over at a leisurely pace.

In his hand was a single guitar. Even at the sight of countless Erosion Insects, he didn't flinch. If anything, his jawbone rattled wide, and laughter spilled out. It was laughter that sounded utterly delighted.

"Actual audience members, coming to me...!"

He seemed truly moved.

Just as the Lord of Despair tilted its head in confusion,

"Now then, allow me to play you the greatest performance of your lives!"

The instant the Lord of Despair gave the command for the Erosion Insects to devour the skeleton, the performance began.

[GH, GHRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!]

A hell brimming with agony and despair unfolded.