The Barbarian of the Count’s Family Is Too Strong

Chapter 15: That Thing in the Cave (2)

Agron and Baekun pushed against the stone wall and stepped inside.

As soon as they set foot beyond the stone wall, engulfed in darkness, a humming sound resonated from somewhere.

"What is that sound?"

"To me, it sounds like some kind of chanting."

Baekun furrowed his brow, closed his eyes, and sharpened his hearing.

A thick mixture of melodic incantations and lyrics infused with magic seemed to slither into his ears.

"How is it?"

"I can’t tell what kind of spell it is, but looking at the inscriptions on the stone wall and the fact that they’re chanting inside such a desolate cave, they’re no ordinary bunch."

"You didn’t need to tell me that—I figured as much."

"...Ahem."

Baekun cleared his throat in embarrassment.

In reality, identifying a martial arts school just by looking at sword techniques or determining a spell from a magic circle was something that only happened in novels.

Most of the time, one wouldn't have the luxury of analyzing such things in life-or-death situations. If one truly wished to figure them out, they would need to gather several books and conduct a careful study, comparing details one by one.

"Think about it! How could I possibly recognize a spell just from this distant humming? Can you tell a bird species just by its chirping?"

"Yes, I can."

"...S-Spell chanting is different from bird calls, you fool! Not even 'Taeul Jinin' could do that!"

"Who’s arguing? I just asked how it sounded."

"......"

Baekun, face flushed red with embarrassment, covered his face and hurriedly walked ahead.

He was an infuriating man to have a conversation with.

"Let’s go together, old man. It’s dark."

"Even without your help, I won't trip over in this darkness, so don't worry about me!"

"No, I meant for you to lead the way. It’s dark for me."

"......"

"The echoes are mixing, so it's hard for me to navigate. Hurry up and go."

I want to kill him.

Suppressing his murderous intent, Baekun quickened his pace toward the source of the chanting.

***

Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom!

Inside the cave lay a moderately sized cavern, and at its center, a group of individuals sat in a circle, chanting incomprehensible spells around a lone pillar.

Their number was close to twenty, and all of them gazed at the pillar with glistening eyes.

"The time for our master to awaken is near! Everyone, increase the pace!"

A man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward and untied a sack placed before the pillar.

"P-Please… Please, save me…"

What emerged from the sack was a young girl, appearing to be around Agron's age.

"Hehehe, you are not dying. You will live forever within ‘Him.’"

"Please… Save… me… Sob…"

"It is too late. Become the sacrificial offering for Him!"

The man pulled a dagger from his robe and raised it high.

Thunk!

At that moment, the man's head vanished without a trace.

"…What?"

"What’s going on?"

The chanters and those maintaining the magic circle with their mana all turned to stare blankly at the headless man.

Was this part of the ritual?

The instruments and murmured incantations ceased, leaving only a deep silence in the cavern.

"Tch, throwing things is too inefficient."

From the depths of the darkness, someone strode forth toward them.

A young man with burly arms, chiseled abs, and lion-like eyes filled with majesty.

"W-What the hell?! A barbarian has invaded!"

"What were the guards at the entrance doing?!"

"Damn it! What about the ritual?!"

"Intruder! Kill him first!"

Realizing the situation too late, the cultists sprang to their feet and charged at Agron.

"I don’t have a weapon… Oh well."

Agron sent a fist crashing into the face of the first attacker, shattering his skull instantly.

It was as effortless as breaking a cracker.

Then, gripping the fallen man’s leg tightly, he smirked.

"If I don’t have one, I’ll make one."

Agron swung the body like a weapon.

BANG!

A grotesque, wet impact rang through the cavern.

Three people died instantly.

Agron moved with the ease and grace of a bear snatching salmon from a stream, though to his enemies, it was anything but graceful.

"Hiiik! W-What is this?!"

"S-Shit! It’s just one guy! Kill him!"

"We must complete the summoning no matter what!"

The cultists flailed desperately, trying to stop Agron.

Once their master resurrected, this intruder would be nothing. They couldn’t afford to lose everything now.

"Swinging people around is quite fun."

But Agron was like an unstoppable storm.

Every move he made crushed and obliterated everything in his path, like a violent tempest ripping through a forest.

"Damn it! Attack without fear of death!"

Those chanting the spells grabbed sharp daggers and rushed at him.

By then, the body Agron had been wielding was nothing but a shredded mass of meat, with only bones remaining.

"Terrible durability."

Tossing the corpse aside, Agron lunged forward and struck like lightning.

CRACK!

The one he hit was sent flying several meters before slamming into another cultist, killing them both.

"M-Monster…!"

The remaining cultists were too terrified to think.

A lone barbarian had stormed in and was massacring them, stopping their sacred ritual.

How were they supposed to comprehend this nightmare?

"S-Someone kill that barbarian—"

CRUNCH!

"You talk too much. Hiding in a cave, kidnapping and killing young girls like cowards."

Agron sneered, his lip curling in disgust.

"S-Shut up! We have a grand purp—"

SPLAT!

"I have a goal too. Killing every single bastard that dares to cause trouble in my domain."

Agron's ice-blue eyes blazed fiercely.

It didn’t take long for him to slaughter every last one of them.

He snapped the chanters' jaws with his bare hands, crushed the arms of those infusing magic into the ritual, and rammed their own bones into their hearts.

Some tried to flee, but Baekun’s talismans caught them, burning them alive where they stood.

"T-This is impossible…"

A man who had been chanting to the very end stared blankly as his comrades turned into cold corpses.

He was an officer of this organization.

"I can’t let it end like this…! Do you know how far I’ve come?!"

He had abandoned even his precious family to get here.

He couldn’t crumble now.

He hurled himself toward the pillar.

The incantation was complete.

He had already poured all of his mana into it.

All that remained… was the sacrifice for 'Him.'

But the girls they had kidnapped had already fled amidst the chaos.

There was no one left to take their place.

"D-Damn it! Damn it all!"

The officer in front of the pillar cried out, his voice filled with resentment and frustration, as if clinging to the years he had invested.

The goal was within reach—just one last step, and it would all be over.

He stared down at his own legs.

The final step.

"There’s no turning back now."

With those words, he pulled out a dagger from his robe and slit his own throat.

Slash!

Bright red blood drenched the pillar, streaming down its surface.

His body trembled, and with a shaky hand, he smeared the blood across the pillar, muttering a cursed incantation.

Agron, who had been finishing off the remaining cultists, frowned as he caught sight of the scene.

"What in the hell is going on?"

He turned to Baekun with a bewildered expression.

"I’m as clueless as you are. Do you think I know more than you? This is my first time seeing these lunatics."

"What do you think his suicide meant?"

"Hmm… Looked like he was making a final wish to his so-called master. This ritual was probably meant to summon that being."

Baekun stroked his beard as he examined the intricate carvings around the pillar.

Every ritual had its own unique method, but from an eastern sorcery perspective, this formation looked more like a summoning for the dead.

Agron approached the corpse of the self-sacrificed man.

Rummaging through his robes for any clues, Agron found a small tattoo on the man’s neck.

A circular symbol where a snake devoured its own tail.

"Ouroboros."

Agron recalled the knowledge he had read in books.

A being that symbolized eternal cycles of creation and destruction.

"Death and life… It represents immortality and infinity."

Was this a personal tattoo, or a symbol of their organization?

He wasn’t sure yet.

But he made sure to commit the symbol to memory.

His instincts told him he would encounter it again.

"……"

Just then, Agron felt an eerie sensation—like something was watching him.

Not the primal gaze of a beast, but a deep, calculating stare filled with human malice.

There was no one alive in this chamber.

Then—

Agron swung his fist at the pillar.

BOOM!

The pillar shattered, sending a deafening explosion and a cloud of dust through the cavern.

An almost instinctive strike.

"Hoh… You’re a perceptive one."

A languid, wet voice echoed through the dust.

Agron felt every hair on his body stand on end, a chill running down his spine.

If he had been even half a second slower, the being would have struck first.

"Who… are you?"

A gaunt, naked figure exuded a fearsome presence as he answered.

"I am your god."

"A god?"

"Did you not summon me? Why do you know nothing of me?"

The emaciated man cocked his head with an eerie smirk.

He looked human, yet unmistakably not.

"Quite the humble abode for a god."

"That’s because you humans sealed me away."

Clicking his tongue, the man pointed a finger at Agron.

"From now on, you are my slave."

"……?"

"Come closer. Remove your clothes and offer them to me."

The man’s voice carried a weight that was difficult to resist.

His overwhelming presence was almost suffocating. Agron’s feet started moving.

"No! Agron, snap out of it!"

"That old man… An eastern sorcerer? It’s too late. No one can defy my command. You too shall become my slave."

The self-proclaimed god smirked arrogantly at Baekun.

Agron approached him and slowly reached for his hand.

"Hmm? Is this one an idiot? I told you to give me your— GRAAAH!"

Agron’s grip crushed the man’s hand and arm as if they were made of paper.

"A god, huh?"

"AAGH! Y-You madman! Do you know who you’re—"

"Then I’ll be the warrior who kills a god."

Agron’s icy blue eyes gleamed fiercely as he drove his knee into the man’s face.

SPLAT!

"Guh! W-Wait! You—you are no longer a slave! You’re my right-hand man—"

"Oh? You want to be hit with my right hand? Got it."

Agron raised his right fist and began beating the so-called god into oblivion.