Chapter 111

Chapter 111
## Chapter 111: Judgment of Atala (14)

Kadim clenched his jaw and, without a second thought, snapped his own little finger back.

**Crack!**

The joint immediately turned a sickly shade of purple and began to bloat. A sharp, burning sensation traveled up his arm, and beads of perspiration broke out across his brow. Despite the agony, this brutal act of self-harm succeeded in pushing back the encroaching insanity for a few more moments.

“Hah…”

The world around him felt thin and unstable, as if he were drifting into a waking dream. Forcing himself to stay grounded, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

*She’s fused the sacred ritual grounds with the physical world… I’m not sure of the mechanics, but that old hag has some talent.*

The wilderness shamans were bound to their ruins; their very life force was tied to those ancient stones. By folding the ruins over reality, she had found a loophole to exert her influence on the outside world without forfeiting her life.

The ethereal voice returned, vibrating through his skull.

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…Is this a gesture of remorse for ruining the Great Warrior’s hand? It is far too late for apologies, ‘Source of Calamity.’ However, if you take your own life this instant, I might show mercy and perform the rites to settle your restless spirit…]

Kadim let out a harsh, mocking laugh at the mention of that title. He spat his words out through gritted teeth.

“Still with the ‘Source of Calamity’ talk? Did you receive another divine message from Atala or that Forgotten God?”

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…What are you implying?]

“If you’re clueless, don’t worry about it. More importantly, why do you refuse to look at the truth?”

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…Pardon?]

“You are well aware that the man beside you is a fraud and that I am the true Great Warrior. If we’re talking about a ‘Source of Calamity,’ shouldn’t that label apply to you and your puppet? The pile of bodies he just created probably dwarfs my entire life’s work.”

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…]

A heavy, brittle silence settled over the ruined coliseum, where mounds of the dead lay like grotesque hills. Soon, the silence was broken by the voice, now dripping with venomous indignation.

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Silence! These deaths were a tragic necessity to prevent a global catastrophe! Goltaran will save this continent by weeding out the seed of ruin—you! He is the one who recently struck down a high-ranking demon, halting its path of destruction and preserving a thousand lives…]

“I was the one who slaughtered that demon, not him. This is the very blood I drew from its veins.”

He popped the cap of his iron canteen and gave it a sharp shake. The pungent, metallic scent of demon blood filled the air, causing the shimmering image of the ruins to waver. To drive the point home, he bared the mark left by the **Branding Needle**.

“Besaka and Ketura have already recognized me. The other shamans know the truth. The **Branding Needle** you hold was forged for my hand, not his. Furthermore, didn’t you lock yourself away because your powers were fading? Tell me—did your magic suddenly return the moment that pretender arrived?”

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…]

“One final piece of advice: do your job. Give me Cyril’s **Branding Needle**, get rid of the fake, and crawl back into your hole in the desert. If you refuse, I will shatter your brittle bones and shred your soul so thoroughly it will never see the afterlife.”

His murderous intent rolled through the distorted space like a low-frequency shockwave. The voice in his head went quiet. He could feel a wave of apprehension and pure terror leaking from the shaman’s heart.

However, the response that followed was entirely unexpected.

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…It… it has returned.]

“…?”

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[It has come back! The holy light… my lost connection to the divine is restored! The barriers blocking the wilderness have turned to dust! I can see the threads of destiny through the storm! Oh, I can feel the immense spirit of the wilderness shielding the Great Warrior…!]

The voice was frantic, bordering on a religious delirium. Outside, the winds began to howl with unnatural intensity as divine energy surged.

Kadim smiled bitterly to himself. It was a cruel irony. The Great Warrior served as the bridge between the God of War and the people. Cyril had predicted this: the return of the true ‘Great Warrior’ would reignite the shamans’ dormant powers.

He expected this undeniable proof to finally make her see reason.

He was wrong.

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Do you see? My faith was justified! Goltaran is the chosen **Great Warrior of Atala**! The heavens have finally looked upon his years of service and granted this blessing…!]

“…”

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Have no fear, Father of the Wilderness… even if my physical form fails, I shall safeguard your chosen champion…]

Divine power could grant many gifts, but it couldn’t cure a mind rotting with obsession. The woman was beyond saving. There was no point in further negotiation. He would simply have to decapitate both the fraud and the shaman.

And he had to do it quickly, before the ‘madness’ took full control of his senses.

**Kwa-bam!**

Kadim gripped his axe and lunged toward Goltaran.

A piercing shriek echoed in his mind.

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[You dare!]

―――― **Kwaaang!**

Kadim’s blade bit into the dirt. Goltaran’s image dissolved like smoke; the shaman had used a teleportation rite to move him.

It wasn’t hard to guess where. He needed the ‘elixir’ to recover, so she would have pulled him to her inner sanctum. The gateway to that location was obvious.

It was the shimmering rift of the ruins floating in the air.

**Kwa-bam!**

Kadim launched himself again, but a massive rampart of earth tore through the ground, cutting him off.

**Rumble rumble rumble!**

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[It is useless! The impenetrable shield of the desert stands against you…]

The shaman’s gloating was cut short. Kadim didn’t stop; he lowered his shoulder and smashed through the obstacle.

―――――― **Kwa-bam!**

Wall after wall erupted in his path, but the result never changed. Like a living battering ram, Kadim pulverized the stone-hard barriers as if they were made of dry sand. Realizing she was merely hemorrhaging divine energy, the shaman ceased the summons.

But she wasn’t finished.

As he neared the rift, the very foundation of the arena began to shift and groan.

**Kugugugu… Kwaaang!**

The earth fractured, and a monstrosity of stone and soil rose from the depths. It was gargantuan, casting a shadow that swallowed the entire battlefield. Its rocky hide was etched with glowing ritual patterns. More a moving mountain than a beast, the **Guardian of the Earth** loomed over the warrior like an ancient god of judgment.

* **Kugugugu…**

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Face your end, Source of Calamity! The **Guardian of the Earth** shall grind you into the dust of the dunes! If you wish for a quick death, end yourself now…]

Kadim suppressed a dark chuckle. This creature reminded him of the fluid giant he’d faced in the past. He’d joked about facing stone or ice variants eventually—now his own sarcasm had come back to haunt him.

This was a trial guardian, meant to test the strongest warriors. Its massive scale made it a nightmare to engage, and its reinforced hide was nearly immune to conventional weaponry.

But Kadim was no longer a conventional warrior.

He possessed the strength of his former life and a weapon forged of ruin. Even without summoning its full divine potential, the indestructible black metal of his axe made the **Judgment of Atala** a terrifying force.

He leaped, bringing the axe down in a sweeping arc. Sparks and stone fragments sprayed like shrapnel.

―――――― **Kwagagagagak!**

The colossus reeled. A deep, jagged trench was carved into its torso. But Kadim’s expression remained dark.

*Snap the finger. Break the bone. Stay awake.*

**Crack!**

He broke his ring finger to drown out the internal voices. It was a race against time; he had to destroy this thing before his mind shattered, but the guardian was proving remarkably resilient.

**Wooong! Rumble!**

The carvings on the giant’s skin flared with light. The shattered rocks flew back into place, sealing the wound instantly. The titan roared and brought a massive fist down toward Kadim.

―――― **Whooosh, Kwaaaaang!**

The impact was cataclysmic. A shockwave ripped through the arena, tossing debris into the air. The ground collapsed into the void from which the giant had emerged.

Kadim pivoted mid-air, dodging the strike and landing on the giant’s broad shoulder. He searched for a vital core, but seeing none, he unleashed a dual-strike at its head.

―――― **Kwagagak, kwagagak!**

The head was nearly cleaved in two, yet the ritual energy repaired the damage in seconds. Simultaneously, a blast of concussive force erupted from the giant’s skin. Kadim was thrown back, skipping across the ground like a stone.

The **Guardian of the Earth** pressed the attack, raining down boulders and heavy stomps. The very air vibrated with the force of its movements, leveling what remained of the surrounding structures.

As the fight continued, Kadim realized the truth.

This wasn’t just a standard trial guardian. The shaman, drunk on her restored power, had layered it with countless enhancement rituals. It was an overkill of divine engineering.

When he tried to bypass the giant and enter the rift, a powerful expulsion spell threw him back.

**Thud!**

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Pointless! Only those who survive the ordeal may step into the sanctuary!]

*Damn shamans and their endless rules…*

As he cursed, the giant’s fist whistled toward his back. With no time to turn, Kadim flipped his axe, using the heavy poll like a warhammer.

―――――――― **Whooosh, Kwa-bam!!!**

He braced himself and met the fist head-on. The force was like trying to stop a falling star. He felt his bones creak and his muscles scream under the pressure, but he held his ground.

The giant, however, fared worse.

**Crack, craaack, kwadududuk!**

The kinetic energy traveled back up the arm, causing the entire limb to disintegrate. The damage was so extensive that the repair ritual flickered and failed, leaving the giant lopsided.

Kadim narrowed his eyes.

The regeneration wasn’t infinite. If the structural damage exceeded a certain threshold, the ritual couldn’t keep up. His desperate defensive move had inadvertently revealed the way to win.

With eight functional fingers left, he gripped the handle with everything he had. He began to spin the axe with the momentum of a wrecking ball and charged.

“Hraaaaaah!!”

―――――――――― **Kwa-bam, kwa-bam, kwagagang!**

He became a blur of violence, striking the giant’s legs, its hips, its ribs, and its chest. Each blow sent spiderweb cracks through the stone, which eventually met and shattered the entire structure.

* **Kugugu, kugugugu…**

―――― **Whoooosh, craaack!**

The guardian tried to swat him away, but its movements were too sluggish to catch a berserker in full stride.

The destruction lasted for several minutes.

The rate of collapse finally overtook the rate of repair. With a final, echoing groan, the **Guardian of the Earth** disintegrated into a massive pile of rubble and dust.

“Hah…”

Kadim leaned on his axe, his chest heaving. Cold sweat drenched his body as he fought to keep the madness at bay. He had passed the test just in time.

Or so he thought.

**Kugugugugu, kugugugugu…**

The ground didn’t stop shaking. If anything, the tremors grew more violent.

The earth began to howl. The rhythm of the shifting soil sounded like a war drum. From the dust, multiple shadows began to rise—not just one, but several divine constructs, each as large as the last.

――――――――― **Kwagagagang!**

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Heh heh heh… You thought it ended there? The trial is eternal! It will continue until you are nothing but a memory!! There is no escape!!!]

The shaman’s voice was high and ragged as six new rock giants rose to surround him.

Kadim stood before the impossible odds, ready to throw himself back into the fray, when suddenly—half of the giants simply crumbled.

―――― **Kwarururur, kwarurururu…**

“…?”

He hadn’t even attacked. The remaining giants stood frozen, as if their puppeteer had been distracted. As Kadim watched in confusion, a new set of voices erupted in his mind.

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[Wh-what? Who are you! How did you bypass the defenses…]

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…Wait! Don’t move, Grandma! If you do, things are going to get very, very ugly…]

**⚙ INNER VOICE ⚙**
[…Get away from her! Step back or I’ll turn you into a pile of red mush!!]

**[Thud! Roarrrrr!]**

**[…No, nooo!! Stop it!!]**

The shaman’s screams turned to pure panic, drowned out by the sound of a chaotic struggle and the roar of a sudden blaze.

Kadim didn’t know the full story, but he recognized that second voice immediately. He narrowed his eyes and spoke the name into the wind.

“…Duncan?”