30 Years after Reincarnation, it turns out to be a Romance Fantasy Novel

…That was a relief.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!!
That this cave was truly sturdy and completely cut off from the outside world.
If it weren’t, the ground would have collapsed long ago.

Well, considering it had remained intact through thousands of monster raids, a mere two tremors shouldn’t be enough to—
Kugugugung-!
…Or maybe not?

The cave shook.
Even if it was an isolated space, the sheer mass that had crashed into the ceiling seemed to destabilize the entire structure, as though fractures were beginning to form somewhere.
Perhaps it was an effect of the Heavenly Bull’s power of destruction.

But regardless of the reason—
“What… what did I just see?”
“…Thanks to that knight, I don’t think I’ll ever be surprised by a natural disaster again.”
“Well, that knight is a natural disaster.”
“That… that’s a human?”
“????”
It wasn’t just overwhelming; it was beyond human.

The soldiers of Mordred, who had just witnessed such superhuman strength, were too dumbfounded to react. But more than anything, their morale surged sky-high.
At their first meeting, he had moved them with nothing more than a letter delivery. Then, in battle, he had demonstrated one absurd ability after another, making them feel reassured. And now, he had gone even further, displaying such awe-inspiring might.
They had never encountered an Aura User or a true superhuman before.

But to them, Ihan was an Aura User.
Or perhaps something even greater.
“I had a feeling he wasn’t ordinary when I heard he defeated Sir Felix in overwhelming fashion…”
“He can go from looking like a handsome noble to turning into that kind of monster…! Maybe he’s not even human, but a different species.”
“Are there even shape-shifting species?”
“A new species, perhaps? There are still many undiscovered mystical races.”
“…Does that even make sense?”

The commotion among the soldiers was reaching absurd levels.
Yet none of their commanding officers stepped in to stop them.
On the contrary—
Clench!

They were gripping their fists tightly, struggling to suppress their own excitement.
The warriors of Mordred all gazed at Ihan with admiration.
At his imposing, indomitable back!

“????”
…Of course, while everyone else viewed him as magnificent, the man responsible for this superhuman feat merely tilted his head with a foolish expression.
He had used every last ounce of his strength to prevent the Heavenly Bull’s power from causing harm to the kid outside…

‘Was I always this strong?’
Even Ihan himself was dumbfounded by the sheer force he had just unleashed.
All he had aimed for was to bring the creature down.

And yet, somehow, he had sent that massive lump of flesh—easily bigger than a multi-story building—flying all the way to the ceiling.
‘How… did I even do that?’
Wuuuuung!

“…Ha.”
And the most absurd part?
‘I feel like… I could still do it a few more times.’

Even after unleashing such monstrous power, he wasn’t even remotely exhausted.
…It was ridiculous.
***

Thinking back—
‘It’s been a long time since I actually used my strength like this.’
Ever since he had reached the level of Will and attained the state of Diamond Body, Ihan had rarely needed to fight seriously.

The only real battle he had been in was against some weaklings while dealing with vampires, so he never had a chance to gauge just how much his power had grown.
Even in his sparring match with the Sword Saint, he had been utterly dominated before he could even fight back, leaving him unaware of his own progress.
And more recently—actually, up until ten minutes ago—he had spent weeks suppressing his body's natural power while maintaining his Santa Ihan Form, constantly having to be careful with his strength.

In that sense, today was the first time he had truly cut loose.
And thanks to that, he had realized quite a few things.
Most notably…

—His Will could now last much longer, and the flow of Jin had become as natural as breathing.
“This is like catching a rat while taking a random step back…”
Unintentionally, while living as Santa—an entirely playful persona—his fundamental mastery of Will and Jin had skyrocketed.

It wasn’t unexplainable.
For weeks, he had been living with a ticking time bomb inside him, never knowing when it might explode.
So naturally, his body had constantly been circulating Jin and Will at all times.

Which meant his fundamental capabilities had undergone a massive increase.
His foundation had already been solid before.
But if his previous state had been like wine aged for a single year…

Then now, he had suddenly reached the level of a wine aged for a full decade.
It might seem like an absurdly exponential leap, but—
Thud, thud!

There was no other way to explain the power he was now feeling.
‘I’ve changed. No—more precisely, I’ve refined my skills.’
Ihan was no longer just using raw physical strength.

He was now naturally incorporating his surroundings into his Jin, allowing him to wield his power with far greater finesse.
Perhaps it was because of his mastery of Will.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

Or maybe his proficiency in Jin had advanced to an unprecedented level.
Either way—
Clench!

“…This feels good.”
It was the moment he confirmed his steady growth.
And even more than that—

[H-Heavenly Bull…!]
Fighting such wretched creatures only made the victory all the more satisfying.
Ihan narrowed his eyes at the Great Demon, deliberately letting a smirk creep onto his lips.

As if the sight of the giant mass of bone stuck in the ceiling was simply amusing.
Perhaps that provocation had gotten through.
Because the Great Demon—

[Huaaaaang! M-My Heavenly Bull is ruined! Huaaang!!]
…Started crying.
“??”

Ihan had expected it to be furious or enraged.
Instead, it had gone a step further and burst into tears.
And he wasn’t taken aback because of its female-like form.

Fwooooong!
…It was the ominous sensation that suddenly filled the air.
Ihan immediately clenched his fist and steadied his stance.

Straight punch stance.
A posture for launching Hundred Step Divine Fist.
And just as he threw a punch—

-[Do not weep, my Lord. If you cry, then I shall be sorrowful as well.]
Kwaaaaaang!!
…This time, it was Ihan who was sent flying into the ceiling.

-[I shall eliminate the one who has caused you grief.]
As if the Great Demon had returned the humiliation it had suffered, blow for blow.
***

According to Mordred’s research, the Great Demon was once worshiped as a god in an ancient kingdom of the Western Continent.
Having acknowledged Ihan, the Margrave spared no details in sharing all the information Mordred had gathered on the Great Demon over the past three hundred years.
It wasn’t information Ihan particularly needed to know, but the Margrave insisted that knowing was always better than ignorance. And since Ihan himself recognized the advantage of knowledge over uncertainty, he focused intently on what the Margrave had to say.
The Great Demon Inanna. That wretched parasite was once an incarnate deity that ruled as a god in an ancient kingdom. From what I’ve heard, it presided over both prosperity and war.
…Prosperity and war?
Meaning it was both a god of agriculture and a god of war.
Hm. Sounds like it would’ve been quite popular.
It was. But the problem lay in the price.
The Margrave’s voice turned dry as he continued.

After bestowing prosperity, the land would be completely drained of its fertility within a few centuries, leaving the region a dead wasteland. And though it granted victory in war, it demanded hundreds of young men and women as sacrifices every year.
……
Well, it wasn’t an unusual custom. If you look at ancient myths, human sacrifice was quite common.
…That’s just insane.
By today’s standards, yes.
That alone was enough to explain why it had been cast down from its divine throne.
It promised prosperity, only to condemn its worshipers’ descendants to centuries of famine.
It granted victories in war, but at the cost of forcing its followers to sacrifice so many young lives that surrender might have seemed preferable.

By all definitions, it was nothing more than a calamity god.
Indeed, a calamity god. In truth, humanity has always wanted to rid itself of such beings. And yet, despite that, it remained worshiped as a god for a full thousand years.
…That’s insane.
Insane indeed. But the ancient people had no choice. That parasite was an object of terror.
Terror?
More precisely, it wasn’t the parasite itself that was terrifying, but the things that followed it.
?
The Great Demon Inanna possessed two unique mysteries.
The first was a power obtained by murdering what was supposedly its sibling or divine counterpart.
The Heavenly Bull. Also known as Gugalanna. According to records, it had the power to bring famine and wipe all life from the land.
…And the other?
The soul of a warrior who had once followed that parasite with absolute devotion.
A warrior?
The greatest warrior of that ancient kingdom, said to be the most beautiful of all. The records state that this warrior was invincible—the one who elevated the parasite to the status of a god of war.
So, in reality, the parasite wasn’t a war god at all. The warrior’s soul was.
At Ihan’s remark, the Margrave nodded in agreement.

You sound just like my father.
I do?
Yes. My father said the same [N O V E L I G H T] thing. But unlike you, he actually fought the parasite and faced that warrior’s soul in battle. So his words carry more weight.
Hm.
He told me… if I ever had to fight it, or that warrior’s soul, I must run.
Why?
Because they’re strong.
……
Too strong. So strong that winning is out of the question.
…It was a blunt, straightforward explanation.
And Ihan could only blink in response.
The old knight he had met, Garnok, was an unquestionably powerful warrior.

Yet even he had said that the only option was to flee.
And now…
──That wasn’t a lie, huh?

“…Shit.”
Falling from the ceiling, Ihan let out a dry chuckle.
There hadn’t been a single ounce of falsehood in that old man’s words.

Kuuuuung!
Ihan twisted his body midair, kicking off the empty space.
If he just let himself drop like this, the impact would cause even greater damage. So he quickly adjusted his posture with air steps, stabilizing himself.

Even as he did, his eyes and ears remained locked onto the enemy who had just sent him flying.
-[Are you all right, my Lord? Forgive me, I should have arrived sooner.]
[You’re too late! What took you so long, you slug?!]

-[I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry.]
If the Great Demon’s voice was grating and unpleasant, then this new voice sounded bizarre—like something played at eight times the normal speed.
But despite the voice echoing in the space, its owner was nowhere to be seen.

Only their voice could be heard…
“…So you were harboring something inside you.”
Ihan quickly realized that the voice was coming from within the Great Demon.

And sure enough—
[Apologize later! More importantly, kill that blasphemous human! Hurry…!]
-[Understood, my Lord. I shall obey your command.]

Fwoooosh.
In an instant, the aura surrounding the Great Demon shifted.
Its eyes changed color—

And then—
"By the command of my god… I shall erase you."
Kwaang!

It closed the distance in a flash.
This was the being that had made the Great Demon a god of war—
Perhaps the true god of war.

"-Ninsubur."
"I never gave a lowly human like you permission to speak my name."
Hwoooosh!

Ninsubur, the ancient warlord, struck at Ihan’s face with the force of a bullet.
Ihan’s body was sent crashing downward.
Kwaaang!!

The impact shook the earth.
A strike powerful enough to rattle the very ground itself.
Standing over the crater, the ancient warrior looked down indifferently.

This insolent fool had not only wounded but made their god cry…
Fwip!
“…?”

…What?
Ninsubur’s eyes widened in shock.
"My arm…?"

It was—
Broken.
"-For a so-called god of war, your body’s pretty damn fragile."

Tch.
Ihan spat out the dirt in his mouth and nonchalantly got to his feet.
Crackle.

He had been buried underground for a moment, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as when that spellcasting bastard had flipped the entire battlefield to bury him alive.
And more importantly—
“…It’s not just my strength. My body’s gotten ridiculously durable, too.”

At this point…
He was pretty sure no normal attack could even leave a scratch on him anymore.