Chapter 400: Awakening the Primordial Incantation

“......”

Karimar fell silent.

It had been a long, long time since he’d been rendered so utterly speechless, so unsure of how to react.

He couldn’t comprehend it. How could this insignificant creature—someone he could kill with a mere flick of his finger—dare to raise a weapon against him?

When those A-Rank Powerhouses had defied him, their insolence had angered him because they could hurt him. Weak as they were, they were still not creatures he could dismiss entirely.

But this one in front of him......

He couldn’t even summon the slightest spark of anger.

To him, the man was nothing more than an ant. When an ant chirps at you, do you bother shouting back?

So Karimar said nothing. He simply raised his right hand silently and brought it crashing down—exactly like one would swat an annoying ant off their wrist.

BOOM——!

Russell, along with the rooftop beneath his feet, was sent flying through the air, a streak of motion against the backdrop of the burning city.

“Russell!”

Faintly, Karimar thought he heard the cries of the ant’s fellow insects.

But it didn’t matter.

Ants’ companions were just ants too—weak little things destined to die in the aftermath of his attacks. The fact that he’d deigned to kill that one ant with his own hand had already been an act of mercy.

Meanwhile.

Russell went soaring halfway across Bongisto before finally crashing into a haystack inside a livestock shed.

SWISH!

He scrambled out of the hay, patting himself down frantically, checking every inch of his body.

“Huh? Wait a second... Huh?! Why am I still alive?!”

As he’d been flying through the air moments ago, he’d already imagined what his wife would look like in his next life, resigned to his impending doom. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he’d survive that blow.

Bewildered, Russell suddenly noticed a faint white glow shimmering across his skin, wrapping around him like a thin veil.

“What the heck is this stuff?”

No one else knew the truth. But just before Karimar’s hand had struck Russell, a figure had crawled out of the massive crater Karimar had created outside the city.

Hulim Heyerar had lifted one trembling hand and cast a powerful protective spell on Russell, saving his life at the last possible moment.

“Russell has bought us time......”

Hulim propped herself up with Helkem and Seven Luminaries, staggering to her feet.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been injured this badly. Perhaps this was the worst beating she’d ever taken in her entire life.

“But how do we stop him now?”

Hulim stared at the black-cloaked figure in the distance. After being interrupted by Russell, Karimar had raised his right palm once more, preparing to unleash his attack on Firuvin at the city’s center.

No one else could stand in his way. Not everyone possessed Russell’s courage. For all his flaws—his boasting, his recklessness, his penchant for trouble—he alone had overcome his fear.

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No......

Hulim’s eyes flickered, a new thought dawning in her mind.

Before Russell had stepped forward, perhaps only that rapscallion had mustered the guts to stand against the darkness. But now... everything was different.

“Dammit! If that idiot Russell can brave death to stand up to him, then I’m a coward for even thinking about running away!”

“Hey! You damned monster! The great me is right here! Come on! Kill me if you’ve got the guts!”

“You piece of trash! We’re not afraid of you!”

“Yeah! Come on! Wipe us all out in one hit if you can......”

One by one, adventurers emerged from every corner of the city—some stragglers from the southern battlefield, some city guards, even some backline medics and supply handlers.

It didn’t matter how strong or weak they were. In that moment, they all cast aside their fear and stepped forward, ready to fight.

It was as if Frots’s words had come to life: in the face of shame, even fear would fade away.

Russell—the most notorious troublemaker in Bongisto, the man who’d never won a single fight—had stood at the forefront of them all, alone, shouting defiantly at an enemy far stronger than himself.

It was a humiliation. To think they were all outdone by that no-good Russell—it was an insult they couldn’t bear.

And so, to wash away that shame, they stood their ground, facing off against the most powerful foe they had ever encountered.

CLACK. CLACK.

Footsteps sounded behind Hulim.

She turned around.

It was the A-Rank Powerhouses—her comrades-in-arms, the ones who had fought alongside her.

They stumbled forward, supporting each other, their bodies wracked with pain and covered in wounds. But their eyes burned with unshakable resolve as they stared at Karimar’s back.

“We look pretty pathetic, don’t we~?” Monroe said with a bitter smile.

He glanced at the others around him, his gaze lingering on each of their faces.

“Everyone... I’ll go on ahead. If we ever get another chance, buy me a drink—on the house.”

With that, he gritted his teeth, forcing every last drop of remaining strength from his broken body, and charged toward Karimar.

Compared to his usual swift, graceful movements, his steps now were slow and unsteady, his legs staggering with every stride. A trail of bright red blood dripped from his wounds, painting a crimson path behind him.

But he pressed on, without hesitation, without looking back.

The others exchanged a single glance, then followed suit, their steps equally unsteady as they charged forward to join him.

“CHARGE!”

“......”

Karimar watched as adventurers swarmed toward him from every direction, their cries ringing out across the city.

He lowered his right hand.

Now, he was starting to get angry.

And it was a rage unlike any he had ever felt before. He was a being who deserved to be worshipped, to be feared. Yet not a single one of these insects knelt before him, not a single one showed him the terror he craved. A suffocating fury welled up inside him, a fire begging to be unleashed.

“ALL OF YOU—DIE——!!!”

Karimar raised both hands above his head, his palms glowing with a sinister, dark light.

A massive black orb began to take shape between his hands, growing larger and larger with every passing second, its aura of destruction growing more and more terrifying.

“Not if I can help it!”

Monroe swung his sword with all his might, unleashing a blinding slash of light.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

Karimar snarled coldly, a shockwave erupting from his body, blasting Monroe and all the other adventurers who’d dared to draw near flying backward, their bodies crashing into buildings and walls.

“Pathetic weaklings! I’ll bury every last one of you with this single strike!”

The terrifying aura continued to swell, the black orb pulsating with enough power to annihilate everything in its path.

As they stared at that orb of pure destruction, despair filled the hearts of every single person present.

“Dammit... Is this really the end?”

There was no mistaking it. Once that attack landed, they would all be dead......

What should I do?

What can I do?

Hulim stood rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on the towering, pitch-black figure, on the apocalyptic destruction gathering above his head. The question echoed endlessly in her mind.

You know the answer, don’t you?

Do I?

Yes......

I’ve always known.

“I’ve always known exactly what to do......”

The key to ending all of this had been hidden within her all along.

Hulim slowly raised her right hand.

Her consciousness sank into the deepest recesses of her mind, where a long-buried memory stirred awake.

It was a power hidden within her soul—a power capable of rewriting the very fabric of fate.

【██...█......██...██████...██████......】

The ancient incantation, steeped in mystery, holding the secrets of the universe's origin, resurfaced once more.

Hulim couldn’t chant this incantation. It was not meant for mortal lips to speak. But she knew how to wield it. Her soul was the key.

Drip. Drop......

Blood began to seep from her eyes, her nose, her mouth—from every pore in her body. Her flesh started to crack, as if her very being was tearing itself apart under the strain.

She knew she wasn’t strong enough to use this power—not yet. But she also knew she could unleash it now. The price, however......

HUM! HUM!

Helkem and Seven Luminaries blazed with frantic light, their power flaring wildly. They fought desperately to stop their master, to prevent her from going any further.

But it was useless. They could not defy the will of the one who wielded them.

“......”

Hulim whispered the true name of the incantation, her voice barely audible.

And in that instant, an indescribable aura descended upon her—a presence older than time, more profound than the stars themselves.