## Chapter 1188 – The Dwarf Kingdom of Magnagrad

It wasn’t too difficult to persuade the stubborn Vacuumseus brat.

I just showed him the delicious taste of the River Styx water in a bucket, with a side of physical therapy as dessert, and he wailed and accepted my demands.

After that, it was a whirlwind of emotion.

He shed tears of gratitude as I asked, singing and dancing.

ㅡShakeshake!

But honestly, watching a stocky, hairy, muscular dwarf dance wasn’t a pretty sight. It seemed like he hadn’t tasted enough of the River Styx water in his dance.

“Shake it more!!! Dance more beautifully!!!”
“Th-That’s…”
“That’s not dancing!!!”
“Aaaagh!”

I couldn’t help but scold him. Completely terrified, Vacuumseus shook his body even more passionately, making graceful movements.

“Where’s the spirit you had when you came to declare war on me!!!”

You’re not satisfying me!

“You can’t be an idol like that!!! You can’t capture anyone’s heart!!”
“Sniff… Sob!!”
“Do it again if you don’t want to die!!!”

With that scolding, he regained his posture and started dancing again, squeezing out his voice while crying.

“Ma-Magical! Magical! Dwarf Power! LoveLove Power!”
“The rhythm and pitch are all wrong!!!”

Slap! Slap!

“Kyaaaaaaaagh!!”

I can’t stand this!!!

He can’t become an idol if he doesn’t do as I tell him!!! I have no choice but to hit him if he’s so uncooperative!!

“Thumpthump! Beat him up!!!”
“Kyaaaaaaaagh!!”

ㅡPowpowpowpow!

I beat him up indiscriminately, giving him a good scolding. It was literally an explosive beating. Vacuumseus couldn’t even resist and collapsed, completely beaten.

“You can’t even memorize the song I taught you properly!!!”
“Kuh…!”
“Sing the song again! Start!”
“Ma-Magicaaaal…!”
“Do it properly!!!”
“Magical! Magical! Dwarf Power!”
“Good! Keep doing it like that!”

A carrot after the stick.

ㅡClapclapclap!

I clapped for him.

“Yeah. Do it like that. You can sing well, so why are you being stubborn?”
“Why… Why are you doing this…! Why are you doing this to me!!!”

Surprisingly, as soon as I gave him a carrot, he started lamenting his fate. That’s why you shouldn’t be nice to people.

But to the question of why I did this.

“From beginning to end.”

I can answer like this.

“It was just to humiliate you.”
“What…!”

This is just humiliation.

“I usually don’t spare the guys who declare war on me. It’s obvious they’ll be a nuisance later. But I happen to have business in your city. I’ve arranged this meeting to resolve things properly.”
“Ah…”
“Was it humiliating? Were you sad to dance to a song you didn’t want to sing, a shitty song?”
“…Yes. It was humiliating.”

It was humiliating?

“That’s exactly!!!!!!!!!!”
“Ugh!”

I immediately grabbed his shoulder tightly, brought my face close to his, and shouted.

“How I feel when I’m declared war on all the time!!! Do you understand!!!!”

I need to force empathy like this so he understands how I feel!

Compared to the terrible mental anguish I’ve experienced, dancing to a song you don’t want to sing is just like going on a fun picnic with friends and having a minor argument!!!

“Kuh…!”

Tears streamed down Vacuumseus’s face.

“Answer me! Answer when someone asks you!!!”
“Aaaagh! I understand! I understand!!!”

A satisfactory answer.

“Hehehe, good.”

I’m feeling better now.

“Then let’s go together and empty the city?”
“Wh-What are you going to do…”
“It’s nothing. Just do as I say.”

We should leave tomorrow.

“Sleep here tonight.”
“…”

I immediately wrapped him up in chains and turned around to climb the stairs. This bastard has to sleep in this prison tonight.

“Th-The Paladin? What on earth were you doing down there…?”

When I came upstairs, the prison guard asked with a pale face.

In fact, everyone is bound to have this kind of face when a hairy, muscular dwarf shouts some shitty magical stuff and dances like crazy.

“I humiliated him and crushed his pride.”
“Ah…”
“It was a cruel thing to do, but it was a necessary procedure. Watch him carefully so he doesn’t escape.”

I slipped a few copper coins into his hand.

“Ah! Yes!”

Then let’s leave tomorrow.

* * *

The next day.

We finally left the city.

Our destination was Barkshire, and Vacuumseus would guide us there. Bound by chains, he diligently ran alongside Ilryong, leading the way.

“S-Surely… you’re not going to massacre the dwarves of Barkshire, are you?”
“Do you think I would do that?”
“…”

He gave me a suspicious look at my words.

“Of course, I might.”
“Heok!”
“But that’s. Only if they attack me.”
“…”

I’m not a mass murderer, and I wouldn’t kill just anyone on the street. If they piss me off, there are only two possible outcomes: they’ll be half-dead, or they’ll be really dead.

If they don’t piss me off, they just live as they always have.

“So you have to get all the guys in that city out. Otherwise, you don’t know what might happen. You said you were the owner there?”
“Yes…”
“Can you get them all out?”
“I can… I can.”
“Then that’s fine.”

That’s how I went to Barkshire with him.

The road was a bit long, but not too bad. We marched diligently and finally arrived at our destination.

“That’s it right there.”

A large fortress city began to appear in the distance.

“You were the owner of a place like that?”
“…Yes.”

It’s quite a big city.

“Go and tell them all to move out. It won’t take long.”

At my words, Vacuumseus nodded. Then he asked for my understanding and walked towards the city walls.

“Listen!!! I have returned!!!”

A loud voice.

When he shouted, dwarves appeared on the city walls.

“It’s Vacuumseus-nim!”
“He’s returned!”
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say! All the dwarves of Barkshire must come out of the city immediately! Pack your bags and leave through the west gate!!! Tell them this! Tell them I’ve returned and given the order!!!”

Vacuumseus shouted that and returned to me.

“Will they listen to the order?”
“They will. I am the owner of Barkshire.”
“We’ll see.”

We used the remaining time to eat. It was then. The city gates opened, and a few dwarves approached. They seemed to be Vacuumseus’s confidants.

“There’s a lot of dissatisfaction, Captain.”
“That’s right. Everyone is doing as they’re told, but… they may not obey without a clear explanation.”

A request for explanation?

“As you can see, I lost the battle.”
“…”
“So I had to listen to this person’s demands. The demand is simple. To empty the city for a few days.”

All eyes are on me.

“If you do that, he guaranteed that he would not antagonize the dwarves of our Barkshire.”
“That’s right.”

I nodded.

If they cooperate well, there’s no reason to fight.

“Captain Vacuumseus? So that’s what this Dwarf Slayer is asking for?”
“Yes. Can you handle this Dwarf Slayer?”
“No… not really. Anyway, I’ll go and tell them.”

With those words, they returned.

In that kind of feeling, the city was completely emptied.
Now all that’s left is to go in.

“It’s going very smoothly?”
“…”
“You go and be with your friends. I’m going to search the city.”
“What… what’s your purpose?”
“I have my reasons. Don’t worry about it.”
“…”
“Then let’s go in.”

And so, we entered the walls of the completely empty Barkshire.

“It’s quiet.”

The city was very quiet.

“Still, this time it went relatively smoothly. This is a truly remarkable development.”
“Hehehe, almost. Then Aria!!!”
“Yes.”
“Take it out!”

At my words, Aria rummaged through her bag and took out a small box.

And when she opened the box.

ㅡTsupat.

Green light poured out from inside.

“Ooooooooh!!!”

The World Tree Crystal is emitting light! That means this is the right place! Hallelujah, Holy Ground! I screamed and spun around!

“That means there’s a fragment of God here! Hooray!”
“Haa. We finally found it. Really. It was a chaotic journey. I’m tired.”

Hilde cheered, and Liztina sighed.

“Hey, Liz-unnie?”
“Yes?”
“Was what we did something that can be summed up as chaotic?”
“Hmm, now that I think about it, chaotic doesn’t really fit. Then a frantic feeling? What should I say?”
“I don’t know either.”

What’s certain is that we can’t use cute words like chaotic.

“Then Kat? Shall we look for the sanctuary?”
“Yeah!”

We immediately explored the city. Well, should I call it exploring? We just climbed to the roof of a really tall building in an instant and took in the panorama of the city. We immediately found a building that looked like a large sanctuary and moved towards it.

“Hya… this feels like a blacksmith. Is this a sanctuary?”

Karin said in admiration.

“It does.”

As she said, this dwarf sanctuary was very large, and at the same time, it felt like a blacksmith. Anyway, we went inside.

ㅡTsupat.

At the same time, the crystal began to emit an even stronger light.

“Kat. I think we’ve hit the jackpot. The light is getting stronger.”
“I think we can find it here now. Let’s go.”

The sanctuary was large. We explored the first floor and gathered information. Should I just call it an ordinary temple? That’s how it felt. We made the most of our spatial sense and searched every inch of the top floor.

And confirmed that there was nothing.

“Then the answer must be underground!”

That’s all that’s left.

After searching, we found a door leading underground, and I gently caressed it to unlock it. And so, we went underground.

* * *

The underground felt different from the start.

ㅡOooong… Oooong…

The crystal began to vibrate completely.

“I’m sure of it. It must be here.”
“How much stronger will that blackie get if he collects that?”
“Hehehe, who knows? Maybe he’ll get really strong?”

I couldn’t imagine anything but a bright future. Thinking about it just makes me laugh. I want to get my hands on the power soon.

“…Really.”
“Hmm? Aria?”
“By completely absorbing the power of God.”

Aria’s face was somehow frozen.

“Wouldn’t Father… ascend or something?”

And the moment she said that.

ㅡHalt.

Suddenly everyone stopped walking and froze.

“Ascend…? Wait. What are you talking about? Ascend?”
“Yes. Ascend. Perhaps by acquiring divine power… Father will ascend?”

What is this.

“Ka, Kat-nim ascending by becoming a real god! That can’t happen!”
“Kat…! You’re ascending? No way!”

In an instant, Hilde and Claudia clung to me.

“What are you talking about? Ascend?”

What is this.

“I-It’s a good thing, but… Kat. Not that!”
“Yes! Kat-nim has to live with us forever!”

They both had terrified expressions. Ah. Is this that? Did they think I was going to disappear by doing something like ascending?

“No, what are you talking about? Ascending is such nonsense. It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

ㅡWhirrrl.

I immediately deployed divine power and created a pure white flame in my grip.

“This is just power. And I can control it perfectly. So calm down. Where would I go, leaving my women behind?”
“Kat-nim, I’m scared!”
“Hehehe, you don’t have to be scared.”

As I stroked Hilde’s head, Claudia looked at my face anxiously, making rare fidgeting gestures.

“I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry.”
“If that’s the case…”

I immediately stroked Claudia’s head as well.

“Haa… Ascending. You scared me for a moment, really.”
“That was a bit of nonsense.”

At Liztina’s words, Karin shook her head.

“It’s okay. Even if I become a real god, I won’t do that kind of thing.”

I reassured them once more, and we immediately moved.

“…Blackie, if you become a real god, you’re not going to do anything bad to me, are you?”
“What kind of bad things?”
“There are things like that.”
“I’ll never do it, so don’t worry.”

I won’t do anything that would make my woman cry.

“Winia is that. My precious thing.”
“That?”
“Boobs.”
“You’re really crazy!”
“Hehehe, I’m kidding. Kidding.”

I’ll never leave.

“God… still, this is worth researching.”

Anyway, we continued down to the basement, caressing all the security gates that appeared. The steel gates all opened wide with my hand skills.

And so, we reached a room that seemed to be the end of the basement.

“…This is.”

In the center of the room.

We could find some kind of ritual altar.

ㅡPatzitzitzitzit!!!

Already, an enormous amount of light was pouring out from the World Tree Crystal. It had almost become a beam, pointing to the altar.

“That’s it.”

The fragment of God is sleeping inside that.

If there’s nothing strange hidden, we can complete the mission without any problems. Surely there’s nothing like that.