Barbarian's Adventure in a Fantasy World-Chapter 102: Nano (4)

Nano was certain of its victory. It believed without question that Ketal would be crushed beyond recognition. Yet, before long, Nano sensed something was off. The human who had met its punch head-on was not budging at all. In fact, it was the other way around.

Nano realized it was the one being pushed back. At first, it denied the possibility. No mere human could withstand such weight and velocity. But the truth became impossible to ignore: its fist was slowly, steadily yielding ground.

“No...,” Nano muttered.

It was unthinkable. Refusing to accept this, Nano compressed even more of itself into its fist, pushing its density to the limit. Yet, nothing changed. Its body, once perfectly balanced, was now being driven into the earth.

At that moment, Ketal exerted just a bit more strength. Nano’s body slammed into the ground.

Boom!

The force left a deep crater. Physical impact meant little to Nano, but this time it couldn’t immediately stand. After all, its fully compressed form had been overpowered—purely by raw strength.

“That was a pretty heavy punch,” Ketal remarked casually.

Nano lost its composure for a moment. With a roar, it sent debris flying as it sprang to its feet and lunged again. Its fist whipped through the air with vicious speed. Ketal reached out and caught it.

Boom!

The resulting shockwave shook the earth. A gust of air exploded outward, but Ketal remained rooted in place, not retreating a single step. He gripped Nano’s fist, pivoted, and slammed the entity into the ground.

Crash!

The impact shattered the soil. If the Tower Master hadn’t extended his barrier all the way to the ground, anyone nearby would have awakened in a panic, thinking an earthquake had struck.

Ketal balled his fist and struck. Nano’s humanoid shell shuddered from the blow, and iridescent particles scattered in every direction.

“Human!” Nano hissed. Its body momentarily dissolved into countless tiny particles before instantly reconstituting itself above Ketal’s head. It raised a giant foot, trying to crush him by bringing its full mass and momentum down on him.

Ketal raised his hands.

Rumble.

The ground beneath them cracked. Nano had gathered the power of an entire Demon Realm into one towering blow. Yet, Ketal’s expression remained unfazed.

It’s definitely heavy, Ketal thought, but that’s all.

He briefly recalled the Serpent from the White Snowfield. That creature was far heavier than this.

With that in mind, he grabbed Nano’s leg and drove it back into the earth.

“He’s about to destroy everything,” the Tower Master thought.

Outside, the Tower Master watched in disbelief. He mumbled a spell, preparing multiple layers of reinforcement over his barrier. One barrier alone no longer seemed sufficient to contain the shockwaves.

“Human!” Nano shouted. Deep in the crater, it hauled itself upright again and charged. “There is no way a single human can stand in our path!”

“Hm, we’ll see about that.” Ketal’s response was indifferent. Dodging Nano’s punches, he slipped inside its guard and landed a blow to its midsection.

The impact hurled Nano across the yard, slamming it into the barrier. A worrying crack echoed through the protective field.

Nano rose once more, attacking relentlessly.

Ketal frowned as he assessed its resilience. Perhaps because it had compressed itself to its absolute limit, it wasn’t shattering easily under his strikes. However, that was the only thing it had going for it.

Is this really a being from another Demon Realm? Ketal wondered.

He thought of the White Snowfield—the horrific place where he had once been trapped. He knew there were other locations just like it scattered across this world. The idea unsettled him, but it also piqued his curiosity.

What might other Demon Realms hold? he thought. Even so, the interest he had felt was quickly dying out now that he had actually faced Nano.

“You’re nothing compared to what lurks in the White Snowfield,” Ketal said coldly. “Neither remarkable nor threatening.”

All sorts of monsters in that icy wasteland relied solely on brute force. The Serpent alone was capable of devastation on a grand scale by simply thrashing its gigantic body. Compared to that, Nano’s mass and might were paltry. Even that Serpent, for all its size, wasn’t the most fearsome force in the White Snowfield.

Though your ability to replace everything is unusual, Ketal mused. But there are freaks back there that devoured and absorbed anything in their path, so it’s not that impressive.

To Ketal, Nano was neither particularly special nor especially strong. His gaze made his disdain obvious. Nano, sensing his contempt, seethed with rage but could do nothing to change the situation.

Ketal raised a foot, bringing it down on Nano as it charged. Nano’s form slammed into the earth once more. Ketal lifted his fist and struck again, scattering shimmering motes across the battlefield. Nano tried to dissolve into particles and escape, but Ketal pinned it underfoot and hammered its chest.

The blow left a deep dent. After several more clashes, Nano finally understood it could not win. It had likely known from the beginning but had refused to admit it.

“You’re a monster,” Nano said.

Ketal let out a dry laugh. “It’s strange to hear that from you.”

“No, you’re the real monster,” Nano insisted.

“I’m just human,” Ketal replied.

Nano clearly did not care about his answer.

“I may lose to you,” Nano hissed, its voice distorted. “But I won’t go quietly.”

The humanoid shape it had taken began to warp. It compressed itself even further, pushing beyond the limit of what its iridescent particles could withstand. Some of those particles scattered as it condensed, but Nano did not stop.

Finally, it became a small, marble-like sphere.

“A creature like you,” Nano snarled, “shouldn’t exist in this world.

The sphere quivered dangerously, as though it might explode at any moment.

Ketal murmured to himself, “So, you’re resorting to self-destruction.”

“You can’t roam free,” Nano said, rage and desperation pouring into its final words. “At least I can make sure of that.”

Then, without warning, it detonated. A thousand iridescent shards shot outward like shrapnel from a claymore mine. Condensed to the extreme, they possessed far more speed and destructive power than any of their previous attacks.

“An attack exchanged with its life...,” Ketal muttered softly.

It was a last stand formed from Nano’s determination. In return, Ketal decided to respond earnestly. He reached for the axe hanging at his waist, gripping it tightly. Planting his left foot behind him, he took a stance.

“Hmph!”

With a short shout, he swung his axe. The flurry of razor-sharp motes hurtling toward him was cleanly cut apart. The empty space they left behind sent a fierce wind rushing through the barrier.

Boom!

The residual shockwave collided with the Tower Master’s protective barrier. Cracks splintered across it almost instantly.

“What?!” the Tower Master gasped.

He watched in horror as the new layers of his barrier were on the verge of collapsing. Hastily, he flung out his hand, reinforcing the shield with multiple additional layers. Over ten barriers stacked in a flash.

Crash!

They jolted violently beneath the impact. Though they managed to hold, they couldn’t fully muffle the echoing roar. Startled awake by the noise, people throughout the capital began scrambling in panic.

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, the Tower Master swept a hand outward. Mana radiated across the entire city. “Sleep.”

A mass sleeping spell rippled through the streets. One by one, the stirred citizens collapsed, falling into magical slumber. Only when order was momentarily restored did the Tower Master turn his gaze back to where the royal palace once stood.

“Such power...,” he muttered, shaken. His barrier had nearly been torn apart by nothing more than the aftermath of Ketal’s axe swing— no direct hit involved.

Gradually, the shockwaves subsided. Amid the devastation, Ketal dusted off his hands. “Well, that was entertaining.”

“So, it was all for your enjoyment?” The remnants of Nano’s consciousness whispered. A small piece had survived the self-destruction, but not for long. It would soon fail. “You shouldn’t exist in this world...”

“That’s not for you to decide,” Ketal answered calmly, slamming his fist down on the last fragment. It shattered with a flash, disappearing completely.

***

[Quest #786 has been completed.]

[Rewards will be granted.]

A completion screen appeared in front of Ketaal. It signified that Nano no longer existed in this world.

“You did well,” came the Tower Master’s voice from behind him.

He approached Ketal, suppressing an incredulous laugh. Ketal showed no signs of injury. His clothes bore traces of dust and dirt, but otherwise, he looked as if he hadn’t just fought a monstrous entity capable of devastating a kingdom.

He was perhaps a bit tired—then again, the Tower Master couldn’t be entirely sure it wasn’t his own imagination.

How is this even possible? the Tower Master thought. Still reeling, he managed to speak. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ketal replied. “But how about you? It looked like your barrier was about to break at the end.”

“Yes, well...” The Tower Master boasted earlier that nothing could breach his barrier, but one swing of Ketal’s axe had nearly shattered it. If he hadn’t hastily cast more layers, it might have been destroyed entirely. The Tower Master felt an unpleasant dryness in his mouth—a sensation he hadn’t experienced since becoming a lich.

“The shockwave spread a bit, it’s handled for now,” the Tower Master replied.

“How did you handle it?” Ketal asked him.

“I put the entire capital to sleep.”

“You can do that?” Ketal asked him, genuinely taken aback.

The capital was enormous; casting such a wide-ranging spell in such a short time was almost unimaginable. Come to think of it, the Tower Master had managed to cut the rest of the city off from the royal palace—albeit, it lacked a bit of strength at the end. The Tower Master's skills were impressive.

He’s impressed by that? the Tower Master wondered. He couldn’t help feeling exasperated. To him, Ketal—who had destroyed a monstrous adversary on pure physical might—was the real marvel here.

“At any rate, it’s over. But...” The Tower Master glanced at the wreckage of what used to be the royal palace. The land lay in ruins, hardly recognizable as a once-glorious fortress. “Cleaning all this up will be a headache.”

The Tower Master shook his head and continued, “For now, let’s just head back.”

Ketal nodded. Space folded around them, and the pair vanished from the scene.

***

They reappeared inside the royal palace of the Denian Kingdom, where a visibly anxious Barbosa and Elene had been pacing.

Barbosa hurled over the moment he saw them, directing his question at the Tower Master. “How did it go?”

While the two had been away, Barbosa had reached out to every available ally, prepared to act at the Tower Master’s command. He wore a tense expression, waiting for news.

The Tower Master’s answer was succinct. “It’s finished.”

“What?” Barbosa said.

“Everything is settled. We only need to clean up what’s left.”

“I’m sorry, what...?” Barbosa couldn’t believe it. He blinked in confusion and repeated the question.