At the same time that Fran and Veronica came face-to-face with the Cult Leader,
Killian was walking side by side with the Mad Fiend down the corridor.
“The complicated paths that were tangled like a maze have disappeared.”
The formation had been lifted on this side as well, revealing the proper path.
“Grrrrr.”
Killian glanced to the side at the growl that came as a response.
As far as he could tell, the Mad Fiend was an abnormal existence.
‘His body is already complete, but it seems his mind can’t keep up.’
The problem was more pronounced in battle than it was normally.
Even when fighting the Twin-Headed Ogre, he had fought with such mindless recklessness that it bordered on stupidity.
“Hmm.”
The Mad Fiend was strong.
That was an undeniable fact.
If they were to fight with their lives on the line, Killian honestly couldn’t think of a way to win.
However, if Killian hadn’t helped him in the earlier battle, he would have been seriously injured.
What kind of madman engaged in a battle of attrition against a monster with troll-level regenerative abilities?
“Fine. Stop for a moment. We need to discuss our respective roles.”
The Mad Fiend breezily ignored Killian’s words and walked past him.
“Phew. Stop.”
The moment Killian let out a faint sigh and placed a hand on the Mad Fiend’s shoulder—
Whoosh!
The ground rushed closer with the sensation of the entire world turning upside down.
“Hup!”
While falling, Killian planted his other hand on the ground and moved both legs.
Thud!
He had clearly kicked the Mad Fiend in the solar plexus, yet Killian was the one pushed backward.
He quickly righted his stance and glared at the Mad Fiend.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Grrrr.”
The Mad Fiend raised his chin slightly and growled.
His attitude seemed to say that he had nothing to discuss with a weakling like Killian.
Crack.
Killian cracked his knuckles, an unhappy expression on his face.
In the forest, there had been no need for lengthy discussions to persuade an opponent.
All he had to do was defeat them.
‘If allies fight each other now, we’ll only weaken our own forces.’
In the end, Killian shook his head.
“Do whatever you want. But you won’t live long fighting like that.”
“Grrrr.”
A sound resembling a snort came back.
Killian stopped engaging with him and was just about to move forward when—
Wham!
The Mad Fiend roughly grabbed him by the nape from behind and yanked him backward.
“Urgh!?”
Killian rolled across the floor and flew into a rage.
“Don’t you know when enough is enough?!”
“Grr.”
The Mad Fiend wasn’t even looking at him.
Rrrrrrumble.
A moment later, the ceiling collapsed outright, burying the corridor.
Killian swallowed hard.
Had he continued walking down the corridor... he didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened.
“Were you helping me?”
“Grr.”
The Mad Fiend snorted and ignored the question.
He then stepped onto the debris created by the collapsed ceiling and climbed upward.
“W-Wait!”
Killian hurriedly followed him, only for his expression to stiffen.
The path leading upward was connected to a vast cavern.
And someone was sitting in the center of it.
Scrape, scrape.
Every time the sound of a blade being sharpened rang out, sparks scattered through the darkness.
“Hmm. You managed to survive without dying.”
The man who muttered in a deep voice lightly stamped his foot.
At once, the torches hanging along the cavern walls all blazed to life.
Scrape.
A man sat upon a rock in the center.
His short hair and beard, which extended into his sideburns, made him look like a bandit.
‘What kind of forearms are those......?’
Killian glanced at his own thigh.
The man’s forearms seemed thicker than his legs.
The man spoke while concentrating on sharpening the blade of a massive double-headed axe.
“It would’ve been better in many ways if you’d been crushed to death beneath the rubble. For me and for you.”
“Grrrrr.”
“Hmm? Can’t you speak?”
“Grrr!”
The man stared blankly at the Mad Fiend before turning toward Killian.
His expression seemed to ask, ‘Can this one not speak either?’ and Killian responded.
“You’re the Lumberjack, correct?”
“Oh! What a relief. At least one of you can communicate.”
Scrape!
The man looked with satisfaction at the now-gleaming axe blade after finishing sharpening it, then slowly rose to his feet.
Resting the double-headed axe on his shoulder, he answered.
“An interesting situation was unfolding as soon as I arrived, so I hurriedly prepared my weapon first.”
“......As soon as you arrived?”
Killian’s brow furrowed.
It had already been confirmed that two of the Fingers were staying in this temple.
One of them had been identified as the Hound.
That was why, the moment he discovered someone who looked like the Lumberjack, he had assumed the remaining person was the Lumberjack.
But judging by what the other man was saying, something was strange.
“Ah, yes. We received an assembly order for the first time. I came to take a look at the mug of the First Finger, who’s always giving us orders.”
An assembly order?
Did that mean all five Fingers were gathering here?
‘That means.......’
Their assessment of the enemy’s strength had been completely wrong.
The Lumberjack smirked when he saw Killian’s distorted expression.
“Khuh, what’s wrong? Were you planning to rob an empty house, only for things not to go the way you wanted? Khahaha!”
Instead of answering, Killian looked him over.
A huge body, a double-headed axe, muscles swollen to the point of bursting, and a height two heads taller than his own.
‘A stereotypical warrior who overwhelms his opponents with raw strength.’
Killian whispered quietly to the Mad Fiend.
“I’ll circle behind him, so you take the front.”
Fundamentally, it was the same strategy they had used against the Twin-Headed Ogre.
But sometimes, the simpler a strategy was, the better.
Against the Lumberjack, who only had one head, it was even more likely to work.
“Grr.”
Leaving behind a response that gave no indication whether he had understood,
Killian created a suitable amount of distance and waited for the battle to begin.
“Grrrr!”
In the meantime, the thoroughly excited Mad Fiend charged toward the Lumberjack.
“Oho! So you know how to have some fun!”
BOOOOM!
A fist collided with the axe, yet the sound of an exploding bomb reverberated through the space.
Taking advantage of the opening, Killian circled around the Lumberjack’s side.
‘Done.’
Now that they had successfully formed a pincer, control of the battle had passed to them.
As long as the Lumberjack was alone, escaping a pincer once caught in one was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, his weapon was a double-headed axe.
No matter which direction he swung it, an opening would inevitably appear on the opposite side.
At that moment, the Lumberjack, who had been continuously exchanging attacks with the Mad Fiend, grinned.
“A pack of cats surrounding a tiger could never frighten it.”
Whooooosh!
Did he have eyes on the back of his head?
Without even looking at Killian, who had perfectly positioned himself behind him, the Lumberjack swung his axe.
“Urgh!”
Killian hurriedly threw himself aside and rolled across the ground, but before he could even rise—
BOOM! BANG!
The Lumberjack had already exchanged two blows with the Mad Fiend.
Whoooosh!
Using the recoil without wasting any of its momentum, he once again attacked behind himself.
‘What kind of speed is that......?!’
Wasn’t he the type who relied on overwhelming strength?
Faced with an attack possessing not only destructive power but also speed, Killian first ducked.
‘First, I’ll adapt to this speed.’
BOOOOM! BOOM!
The battle with the Mad Fiend continued, with attacks aimed at keeping Killian in check flying toward him intermittently.
‘Now.’
Judging that he had sufficiently adapted to the speed,
Killian raised his leg high and stomped directly on the incoming axe blade.
BOOM!
The impact transmitted through the sole of his foot surged through his body like an electric current.
‘This much impact, even though I only stepped on the flat side of the axe blade.......’
It made him wonder what the body of the Mad Fiend, who was facing it head-on, was made of.
After quickly dispersing the impact, Killian shouted.
“Now!”
At the same time, the tattoos engraved on both his ankles shone brightly.
『Weight of the Earth』
A spell that momentarily amplified his body weight.
Thanks to it, the double-headed axe sank deeper into the stone floor.
“Hmmm?”
Only then did the Lumberjack glance behind himself and furrow his brows.
“What an annoying thing to do.......”
“Do you have the leisure to look over here?”
Along with those words—
Crunch!
The Mad Fiend’s kick struck the Lumberjack’s thick nape directly.
The massive Lumberjack staggered for a moment.
“Khuh! That stings!”
Crack!
The Lumberjack barely regained his balance and—
Grab!
He gripped the double-headed axe, which he had been holding with one hand until now, in both hands.
‘It’s useless.’
Killian denied it inwardly.
With his weight amplified more than tenfold by Weight of the Earth, he currently weighed nearly a ton.
‘Of course, I can only maintain this state for a few more seconds.......’
But at least until that time ran out, his opponent wouldn’t be able to swing his weapon—
—or so he thought.
Whoosh!
Along with the sensation of his body being forcibly lifted—
SHWEEEEEK!
The Lumberjack’s swinging axe struck the Mad Fiend.
“Ghk!”
The Mad Fiend’s body trembled as he caught the blade between both palms.
Down on one knee, his arms were gradually being forced lower by the overwhelming strength.
Killian’s eyes trembled as he watched the scene while sprawled helplessly on the floor.
‘What is that absurd strength......?’
No, now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
Killian hurriedly rose and charged toward the Lumberjack.
Lunge!
He mounted the man’s shoulders and wrapped both his arms and legs around his neck, choking him.
“Khuh!”
The Lumberjack’s face turned red and blood vessels appeared in both his eyes as he released one hand from the axe.
Grab!
The Lumberjack seized Killian, who was above his head, by the collar and slammed him into the floor.
“Cough!”
His back crashed into the ground first, and all the air contained within his lungs escaped at once.
The pain made him feel like a fish dragged out of the water.
The Lumberjack’s foot descended toward the head of the blood-coughing Killian.
Whoosh!
The wind hastily summoned by the Mad Fiend barely managed to pull Killian away.
“Hah, haah.”
“Grrrr.”
Even an exchange lasting barely a minute was enough to understand the opponent’s capabilities.
‘He’s strong.’
The opponent before him began to look different.
He wasn’t like the other warriors who recklessly acted out while relying solely on their strength.
‘He has both strength and speed.’
His combat intelligence was also quite high.
At first glance, he appeared to leave his blind spots open easily, but he never allowed a truly fatal opening.
“......I take it back.”
Killian rose while wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“I’ll support you. Close your eyes and meditate for a while, and focus only on landing one blow.”
“Grrrr.”
Their gazes met in midair, and the Mad Fiend gave a single nod.
Tap.
After confirming it, Killian kicked a pebble at his feet.
“Hmm?”
The instant the Lumberjack reflexively knocked away the pebble flying toward his face—
Flash!
The spell formula infused into the pebble exploded, and a burst of light covered his vision.
“Urgh!”
The Lumberjack instantly made the best possible judgment.
He closed his left eye while keeping his right eye open until the very end.
Thanks to that, at the final moment, he saw Killian closing in from the left.
‘But.’
He switched which eye was open as though they were crossing.
The vision of his previously closed left eye opened, but conversely, his right-side vision turned pitch-black.
And that was where the more threatening of the two opponents, the Mad Fiend, was positioned.
‘Damn it.’
By now, the Mad Fiend was undoubtedly charging toward him like a bolt of lightning.
His speed was too great to block by relying solely on instinct.
“......I hadn’t planned to use this here.”
The Lumberjack tightened his grip around the axe handle.
Thump, thump.
The sound of his heartbeat reverberated throughout his entire body.
“World Liberation.”
Tree bark sprouted from his forehead and, in an instant, covered his entire face, including the area around his eyes.
His appearance resembled an ancient tree that had lived for hundreds of years.
“Felling of All Phenomena.”
Slice!
The double-headed axe carved through the Mad Fiend’s chest as he charged from a perfect blind spot.
Having regained his composure, the Lumberjack smiled as he was drenched in the blood the Mad Fiend sprayed like a fountain.
“A good lumberjack knows how to read the grain of the tree he must cut.”

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