Barbarian in a Failed Game

‘… Beast God!’

Even without any omen, he could tell.

His grip tightened instinctively, and rigid breaths seeped through his clenched teeth. Along with that, every sense of his body, including his combat intuition, was sending out danger signals at full capacity.

Slowly, like ripples spreading across a lake, an unfamiliar noise began to permeate the entire Great Forest.

Chrrrk. Chrrk.

It was the sound of chains dragging on the ground. It was not uncommon for the forest’s beastmen to capture and imprison human prisoners, so hearing the sound of chains was not unusual.

However, the fact that the sound came from all directions at the same volume was clearly an abnormal phenomenon.

“My lord… this sound.”

“Yes. It’s the Beast God.”

Could there be any other candidate?

The insane God who had even announced his visit had finally descended. While his instincts accepted this, his mind found it difficult to comprehend. It was madness to descend to Midland instead of Heaven or Hell.

‘Even if the laws say they are watching me, it shouldn’t allow exceptions for others.’

Chrrrk. Chrrk….

As if announcing that the Beast God was moving, the sound of chains echoed again, exactly the same as before. It was impossible to predict when, where, or how he would arrive.

The three who had subdued the Beast King held their breath. Even the Great Warrior clenched his fist with a serious demeanor.

‘Where is he?’

The descent of a transcendent being inevitably accompanied an immense presence. If even a part of his consciousness could reveal such a presence, it should be possible to sense the Beast God anywhere in the Great Forest, considering it was assumed he descended in his true form.

But… there was no sensation.

‘No.’

Khan knew that he was the target of the Beast God, but this situation meant they had to give up the initiative and start the battle against a descended God. Given that they didn’t know how strong it is— they were almost certainly at a disadvantage—it was a situation that had to be avoided at all costs.

Chrrrk….

At that moment, an eerie pressure that would have made anyone sweat profusely with an ordinary body weighed down on them. There was only one man who could locate the Beast God.

“Ron…!”

***

Ron and his group were pushing back the mutated beastmen along with the barbarian.

They had been performing well against the much stronger beastmen than before, but against numerous enemies willing to sacrifice themselves in suicide attacks, it seemed they were ultimately outmatched.

Injuries began to appear among the barbarian.

Eventually, while trying to protect Jan, who was the least armored and a mage, thus the focus of attacks…

“Veil…!”

“I’m fine! It’s just a slight fracture… Damn it!”

“Hey, barbarian! If we keep this up, we’ll be picked off one by one! We need to stick together!”

“Hmm! Everyone! Gather around those friends─!”

“Follow Pashantu’s orders!!”

Brute force and individual might were no longer effective. Realizing this and forming a proper formation, they began to gain the upper hand against the mutated beastmen again.

Chrrrk.

At that moment, in the midst of the fierce battle, the same sound of chains that Khan heard reached everyone’s ears.

Simultaneously, “This, this insane…”

The beastly beastmen, having lost their sanity, began to tear their own chests with their claws, ripping out their hearts.

Jan, who had a weak stomach, began to vomit at the bizarre and horrific sight, while the others, who were in slightly better shape, listened closely to the sound of the chains.

“This sound…?”

“It’s not a hallucination. This seems to be related to that mad God of the Great Forest…!”

“A God? Are you saying this is a result of the Beast God’s machinations?”

Ron, looking bewildered, glanced at the beastmen dying while spewing an immense amount of blood. A God who sacrifices his followers without a second thought…. He had thought the God was insane from the start, but this was more fitting to call a demon.

Chrrrk. Chrrk.

And once more.

As soon as the sound of the chains was heard again, Ron suddenly closed his eyes where he stood. He sought to locate the source of the chain sound, which came from all directions, giving no clues about its origin.

Chrrrk. Chrrk.

Using his senses to locate was meaningless. Ron’s skills in detection and tracking were top-notch by mercenary standards. However, it was his innate intuition that allowed him to instinctively find the desired path, making him an effective guide in any situation.

Chrrrk…

He concentrated all his nerves on this sense, which could be called a sixth sense. Beyond his closed eyelids, the landscape of the Great Forest outlined itself in his mind. From Ron’s fingertips, imaginary threads extended in all directions.

First of all.

Even in this chaos, the lines that touched the demon contractors performing the summoning ritual rotted away. His intuition warned him of danger, and Ron ignored it.

Next, he found the safest path. The distance to this safe path was narrowing, and Ron was certain that Khan, who had vanished with the Beast King, was at the end of it. It seemed Khan was trying to join them upon hearing this sound.

‘Next…’

Countless other threads extended smoothly throughout the Great Forest.

It felt as if most of the beastmen had died at the hands of the Beast God, with no danger sensed. Soon, his head began to throb painfully. Despite the improved range and accuracy of his intuition since being with Khan, there was still a limit to the amount of information Ron could process.

Drip.

Blood began to flow from the holes of his face—ears, eyes, and nose. Yet, Ron did not stop using his intuition. He judged that if Khan was on his way, he would definitely need to know the Beast God’s location.

And finally—

“Guh-uhk—!!”

“Ron?!”

Leo supported Ron, who collapsed, bleeding profusely from every orifice. Blood trickled from his closed eyelids, and Leo hurriedly tried to use healing magic.

Tap.

“That… way…”

Ron, stopping Leo, pointed a trembling finger somewhere. What was he indicating? Leo’s gaze followed Ron’s finger, and almost simultaneously, with a tremendous roar, two figures swept past them into the depths of the Great Forest.

***

‘Visible…!’

For some reason, Ron, who had collapsed while bleeding, pointed in a specific direction, and Khan, running straight towards it, spread a grayish power throughout his entire body. That wasn’t all.

Dark energy naturally followed him, protecting his body, and the blood art of the Spirit of Resentment, which had already consumed more than half of the giant’s blood, erupted in flames.

“Beast God!”

Boom—!!

Khan’s hand, moving at a speed that distorted his vision, collided with something and tore apart. Draupnir’s blade screamed from the impact, and the subsequent surge of resilience struck something again, producing a resonant sound.

“Karyan—!”

The Great Warrior, who leaped over Khan’s head, thrust his foot towards whatever Khan had collided with.

Boom!

The ground, unable to withstand the impact, caved in. Despite the sudden disappearance of the ground beneath his feet, Khan remained undaunted, relentlessly launching attacks.

The Heavy Sword technique, perfected to an expert level, grew stronger with each successive strike. The weight of the sword increased tenfold, and finally, at its peak…

Chrrrk.

With the sound of chains, a bronze hand reached out and grabbed Unyielding.

Crack…!

‘What strength!’

Khan’s left arm turned even paler as he struggled against the sudden force. It was an overwhelming grip that was difficult to shake off even with his full power. In a contest of almost equal strength, it was the opponent who first yielded.

As the opponent released the tightly held axe, Khan momentarily lost his balance and leaned forward, his gaze finally meeting his opponent’s for the first time.

“…!”

The eyes, tinged with a deep dark green, were like those of a beast, swirling with immeasurable madness. Only then did Khan recognize the true form of his opponent.

Unkempt hair, long enough to touch the ground, resembled a lion’s mane. The sharp, chiseled features were as beautiful as those of an imperial noble, and the emaciated body, beneath the bronze skin, retained the curves of a woman.

And nowhere did she exhibit any features characteristic of a beastman.

It was as if she were human…!

Chrrrk!!!

At the unexpected appearance, Khan’s eyes widened. The thin arm, so slender it could be described as skeletal, thrust into Khan’s chest.

Rip—!

His chest, touched by the emaciated arm, caved in. Broken ribs seemed to pierce something inside, causing intense pain to follow.

“Stop—!”

The owner of the bronze arm couldn’t ignore the Great Warrior’s fist rushing from behind, so instead of finishing off Khan, who had sustained a clear fatal injury, she turned to respond.

Thanks to this brief respite, Khan, breathing heavily, spat out a mouthful of blood. His body, which was now only half human, quickly began to restore itself to its original state in that short moment.

However, this wasn’t good news. If things continued as they were, he would repeatedly get struck by those emaciated arms, depleting his blood to heal his body.

The problem was—there was no time to even think of a countermeasure.

“Very strong…!”

Even the Great Warrior had already taken several hits. No matter how absurdly tough his body was, it was impossible to keep enduring such ferocious attacks.

Boom! Boom, boom, boom!!

In the midst of a fierce battle that even Karyan’s eyes could barely follow.

Chrrrk!

He saw chains binding the Beast God’s emaciated limbs. The chains, having no physical form, could only be seen by Karyan’s eyes. And the moment Khan stared straight at them, he instinctively understood that these were ‘punishments’ imposed by the laws of the world.

Punishments for breaking the set rules and straying from the predetermined fate.

“… You’ve forsaken your divinity.”

“Yes.”

“By defying the laws and sacrificing all your followers who could send you their faith… thus, existing on the border between divinity and mortality…”

The Beast God, who had been fighting so fiercely that it left afterimages, suddenly stopped attacking as if in a lie. Regardless, the Great Warrior, puzzled, glanced at Khan after slamming his fist into the Beast God’s face.

“Hehe. Heh.”

The Beast God, laughing like an ordinary person with no trace of transcendence, grinned, her mouth tearing to both sides.

“You gave me the answer, chaos.”

Khan’s eyes narrowed sharply at the bizarre title, ‘Chaos’.

“Thanks to you, my mind is clear… The nagging voices constantly telling me to destroy humanity are gone… Ah, my children. My poor children… The hearts you sacrificed for me complete everything… My wish is to eradicate humanity from this world, but I don’t want to lose the freedom I’ve just gained. So, what should I—”

Crunch!

Suddenly, the Beast God shoved her fingers into her temple, tearing into her brain, causing Khan to fall silent.

“Ah… My mind is clear again… Heheh. Sorry… Maybe because I’m still halfway mixed, I keep hearing the nagging voices…”

The sight of a beautiful woman, who could be mistaken for a noble’s daughter if not for her disheveled appearance, tearing at her brain with a bright smile, was grotesque. It became clear why the Spirit of Resentment labeled the Beast God as the most insane God.

However, this was an opportunity. It might be the only moment when it was possible to converse with the deranged Beast God.

“… What is this nagging voice you’re talking about?”

“Ah… That voice constantly forces me to erase humanity… making my children wage wars… Hehehe. It’s been like this since I was born… When was I born again… I can’t remember. I clearly have memories, but none of them are real…! Yes! I remember why I became like this…!”

The Beast God, speaking incoherently, suddenly pulled out her hand and shouted.

“That voice…! I tried to understand what it was… I peered beyond the void…! I found out that all my memories were fake…! I, I…! I was a ‘manufactured God’ who moved according to the voice’s orders from the beginning…! Kyaaah! It still whispers to me even now! Can’t you hear this voice?!”

Why—!

“Can’t you hear this voice like I do—?! While you’re mixed like me…! Tell me. Tell me! Tell me how to stop hearing this voice!!”

Thwack—!!

As the Beast God screamed in agony, her head exploded with a pop. Blood and fragments scattered everywhere, and standing where her head had been was the owner of the enormous fist—the Great Warrior, who declared boldly.

“For a headache, a beating is the cure!”

Khan’s mouth gaped open in shock at the unexpected action, while the fingers of the headless Beast God trembled with rage.