Chapter 228 - Episode 30. Lone World (3)
Chapter 228: Episode 30. Lone World (3)
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Screams rose from all across the Seventh Site.
At some point, Runald stopped hearing them as screams. Screams could only sound like screams when other sounds existed alongside them. When every sound in the world was a scream, screams lost their nature as screams.
Calamity swept across the battlefield where the screams had vanished.
Supreme beings exchanged storm-like torrents of World Force.
Runald shook the ringing from his ears and surveyed the heart of the calamity.
Crash!
Nameless, the Seventh Site’s Divine Throne, was locked in battle with two Great Lords. Nearby, Fifth Division Commander Mirel clashed with Yu Seolha and ravaged the battlefield with a waterfall-like flood of World Force.
For now, the fight seemed evenly matched, but the scales were slowly tipping. The two sides had vastly different numbers of soldiers.
“Watch out, kid!”
Vicegerents were swept away by the Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood that Awakened Ones unleashed without restraint.
Sirwen, who had been moving alongside Runald, swiftly reached out and pulled him from the wave.
“Waaah!”
“Hey! You almost died!”
Perhaps because she had overused her magic, blood vessels stood out in Sirwen’s eyes.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The roar of steel giants’ exhaust engines blanketed the battlefield. The Seventh Site could resist at all only because of those steel giants.
Dozens of Gigantes swung house-sized swords as they faced the Awakened Ones.
They were creations of Sirwen, a Dream Demon nearing the realm of a Master.
She had procured parts from the Fifth Site’s Artisan Association, the same place that had built the Destruction, and mass-produced standard Gigantes. Their hastily assembled Parts were not particularly durable, but the fact that so many Vicegerents could pilot Gigantes was still a stroke of luck for the Seventh Site.
“Damn it. If that damn old man had not taken the airship with him.”
Sirwen remotely controlled the Gigantes and shoved back the approaching Awakened Ones.
The battle would have been easier with the airship, but Cheongheo had already taken it. There was no point complaining now.
“You’re really good at controlling them.”
“My body was trained by games made in World 294.”
“Can Dream Demons travel freely through the Peripheral Worlds too?”
“More or less. It’s a privilege reserved for Dream Demons. Now stop talking to me. I’m busy.”
Sirwen operated no fewer than seven controllers at once as she fought the Awakened Ones.
The army of Gigantes advanced in formation, pushing the Awakened Ones back. It was a magnificent sight.
“A game where you control things like that? World 294 sounds terrifying.”
“Terrifying or peaceful, I’m not sure. World 294 is a place called Earth. Jaehwan’s hometown is there too... I told you to stop talking to me.”
Runald thought of Jaehwan for a moment.
Jaehwan, who was fighting a great war for the fate of the 《Abyss》, must once have been an ordinary human too.
What kind of place had Jaehwan lived in? Did he not miss his first world?
When all this was over, where would Jaehwan go? What would he become?
A sudden sorrow welled up inside Runald, and he murmured without realizing it.
“Jaehwan will return safely, right?”
“What are you saying? How can you be a Follower and not believe in your god?”
“That’s true, but...”
Runald believed in his god.
If he did not believe in him, who else could he believe in?
Still, regardless of his faith, an ominous feeling kept washing over him.
Runald shook his head and pushed the thought away. This was not the time to be consumed by pointless worries.
Hold on. For now, he only needed to focus on holding on. If they could somehow endure until Jaehwan finished what he needed to do...
Crunch!
A deafening roar of steel being torn apart rang out. Something approached from Rupture’s side, cutting through the Gigantes formation.
Sirwen’s face changed.
Two Gigantes under her control had been ripped apart like paper and tossed aside.
As far as she knew, only a handful of beings remained in the 《Abyss》 with that much World Force.
The next instant, a sharp blade fragment flew in and lightly cut Sirwen’s left arm as she operated the controllers. With a small cry, one controller rolled across the ground.
“It seems you and I have some fate between us, Dream Demon girl.”
It was Great Lord Varkant, whom they had failed to kill before.
Nameless and Yu Seolha were both occupied. Only Sirwen and Runald could face Varkant. Runald bit his lip.
“Give me that controller!”
“What?”
“Give me one of those sticks! I’ll try somehow!”
“What? No! A kid like you can’t handle this!”
Three or four Gigantes exploded in succession.
Even Gigantes, which could amplify a Vicegerent’s World Force, could not stand against a Great Lord.
Then someone stepped forward and blocked Varkant as the Great Lord crossed the battlefield.
Crunch.
World Force surged from the blade that stopped Varkant’s claw, accompanied by a grating screech.
“Stand back. I will face Varkant.”
Runald recognized the gaunt back and stubborn face.
The Leader, Eoduksi.
“So you are the former owner of that toy Tower.”
Varkant seemed to recognize the Leader as well.
Metallic Ash covered the Leader’s entire body.
Varkant smiled at the killing intent flowing from him.
“I know about your Setting. They say you are invincible in one-on-one combat.”
Perhaps because of his battle with Jaehwan, the Leader’s Setting had become fairly well known throughout the 《Abyss》. Ash Pentagon, which trapped an opponent inside a ring, and Ash Sword, which turned anyone it touched into ash.
“Let us see it for ourselves.”
An immense aura rose from Varkant’s entire body.
This was the World Force of one who ruled a region in the twelve zones.
Simply facing Varkant made beads of sweat gather on the Leader’s forehead.
His instincts warned him.
He could no longer use Time Rewind.
If he opened a Pentagon meant for one-on-one combat, he would certainly die.
A one-armed man landed beside him.
“He’s not someone you can defeat alone.”
It was the God of the Deep Sea Russell.
“Two won’t be enough either.”
“I know.”
It was an unfavorable battlefield. Even if they had become enemies of Rupture, they did not need to come searching for a place to die.
Russell said, “Even so, we are gods. A proper god should be able to distinguish right from wrong. That is what omniscience means.”
An arrogant statement that only a god could make.
The 《Abyss》 needed gods like that now.
Varkant smiled.
“If you’re so omniscient, you must already know that you’ll die.”
With a roar, the World Force of Varkant, the Leader, and Russell collided.
Ten more collisions of World Force followed.
A cracking sound came from somewhere as Russell’s wrist flew off, and silver blood spilled from the Leader’s mouth.
Varkant, on the other hand, looked as calm as though playing a board game.
“Is this all the Eight Heavens and Seven Stars amount to?”
Even one of the Eight Heavens and one of the Seven Stars together were no match for Varkant.
It was said that the Combat Power of two Great Lords was roughly equal to one of the Eight Divine Thrones. Yet now that they had faced one directly, it was clear this was not a level that could be judged by such simple measures.
“You’re inferior to Generals.”
Varkant laughed with delight as Russell groaned and rolled across the ground.
Runald and Sirwen froze as they watched the battle.
The Eight Heavens and Seven Stars were the 《Abyss》’s strongest forces aside from the Eight Divine Thrones. Were they really this powerless?
So they hadn’t revealed their true power in the previous battle.
They had grown complacent after winning too easily last time with Jaehwan’s help.
This was the true strength of the Great Lords.
Boom!
Mighty spears and blades of World Force poured down from the sky. Varkant casually swung a claw and knocked them aside.
A massive crow emerged from the dark clouds.
“Uncle Ethan!”
At Runald’s cry, Ethan Cart, King of Crows, appeared from within the clouds.
“You look terrible, Leader.”
The Leader frowned, spat silver blood onto the ground, and said, “The Metaverse Six Gods have no place interfering here. Did you come to die?”
“If I came intending to die, I would have come alone.”
At Ethan’s reply, two more crows appeared at either side. Middle-aged and elderly men rode atop them.
Varkant emerged through the pale dust and narrowed their eyes.
“You are...”
The old man on the crow smiled.
“It has been a very long time since I last saw a Great Lord in person.”
The old man was Old Heaven, God of Aging Shiyu, one of the Eight Heavens.
The middle-aged man beside him was Death Heaven Thanatos, the God of Mortality and another member of the Eight Heavens who always traveled with Shiyu.
“It would not be bad to teach mortality to one who comes from a land that knows no death.”
As Ethan and the two members of the Eight Heavens descended onto the battlefield, Runald’s face brightened slightly.
“Uncles, are you going to help us?”
“Child, we did not come here to take anyone’s side.”
Thanatos continued after Shiyu.
“We’re only fighting to protect the 《Abyss》.”
In truth, Old Heaven Shiyu and Death Heaven Thanatos had rarely appeared on the 《Abyss》’s battlefields since the 〈Hachenold Catastrophe〉. Their appearance before a Great Lord meant they had made a decision of their own.
Ethan’s crows let out harsh cries as five gods stood together.
Runald watched their backs with new eyes.
They were all connections Jaehwan had made in the 〈Metaverse〉.
It felt as though the 〈Metaverse〉’s Sanctuaries were unfolding around them.
Even Varkant’s expression had hardened by then.
The Leader gave the signal.
“Begin the hunt for the Great Lord.”
Runald’s heart pounded as he watched the gods rush forward.
With this much strength, it might be possible. No matter how powerful their enemy was, they had three members of the Eight Heavens, one of the Seven Stars, and Ethan of the Metaverse Six Gods. There were scarcely any gods in the entire 《Abyss》 who could contend with this force.
The sky flashed as though blinking, and Ethan and Russell manifested their Sanctuaries at the same time. Waves from the Deep Sea covered the battlefield’s sky, while the swamp of the Graveyard of Crows bound Varkant’s feet.
Varkant released World Force and tore apart the incoming waves and the crows clutching at the Great Lord’s feet.
“Is this all you can do...”
Almost simultaneously, Shiyu and Thanatos closed in behind Varkant. Shiyu’s Setting, 「Youth」, fused with Thanatos’s Setting, 「Twilight」, in an instant.
Varkant realized too late and shouted as the Great Lord turned and struck out with a palm. Fine cracks spread across Varkant’s left arm as it collided head-on with the Sanctuaries of two members of the Eight Heavens.
Varkant frowned and stamped a foot. Both gods flew into the air at once.
Just as Varkant opened a mouth to mock their combined attack, an ash-gray blade flew from the shattered shadows of crows.
“Tch.”
The blade sliced through Varkant’s shoulder in an instant.
It was the Leader’s surprise attack.
Varkant swiftly cut away the corroding surface of the shoulder. It was not fatal, but neither was it a wound that could be ignored.
The Leader quickly pulled back and asked, “Does it still look like a toy Tower?”
They could do it.
Even against a Great Lord, this force was enough.
Jaehwan was not here, but they had to show that they could protect the 《Abyss》 without him.
Runald clenched both fists and watched them fight.
The boy knew.
This was the sight the gods of this world wished to show him.
As wounds multiplied across Varkant’s body under their meticulous coordinated attacks, the Dragon Lord gradually began to slow. Varkant shook off the silver, retreated, and cursed.
“You damned bastards.”
The ease had vanished from Varkant’s eyes. The Great Lord’s gaze rapidly swept the battlefield before stopping at one point.
Sirwen realized what Varkant was thinking.
“No! Stop him!”
Terrifying World Force exploded through the air, and the surrounding area was instantly covered in clouds of dust.
Varkant crossed the battlefield through the opening and reached a fallen Gigantes. The Great Lord opened the cockpit and climbed inside.
Sirwen’s face went pale.
Great Lord Varkant was already more than they could handle. If a being like that used a Gigantes as well, the result was obvious.
Thanatos, who understood the situation too late, murmured, “A Great Lord is using a Part of the 《Abyss》?”
Considering the relationship between the 《Abyss》 and the 《Great Realm》, nothing like this had ever happened before.
How could Great Lords, guardians of the System, use the gods’ weapons?
Yet Great Lord Varkant had thrown even pride aside and chosen victory.
Varkant’s humming voice came from the Gigantes.
[An interesting toy.]
The Gigantes’s default function was World Force Amplification.
The Gigantes Varkant had entered must have been an exceptional model, because the Great Lord’s World Force began rising rapidly.
Shiyu and Thanatos, alarmed, manifested their Sanctuaries and charged at Varkant together. But before they could close the distance, the air erupted.
WHOOOM!
With a terrifying burst of energy, the shape of a dragon rose from Varkant’s entire body.
Something strange followed.
The five gods charging toward Varkant froze in place at the same time.
More precisely, their soul forms refused to attack.
Their limbs had frozen like prey before a predator.
A transcendent-grade skill, 「Dragon’s Dignity」.
Varkant’s innate skill, 「Dragon’s Dignity」, drove those with lower World Force into a state of panic. The greater the difference in World Force, the stronger its effect became. Varkant’s World Force had just grown powerful enough to nearly rival that of the Eight Divine Thrones.
“If I had known the 《Abyss》 had toys like this, I would have come here long ago.”
The Gigantes’s massive right hand moved slowly and stopped above Thanatos’s forehead. Its curled index finger flicked out playfully.
Thanatos’s body folded with a thunderous crash.
“Death Heaven!”
Shiyu shouted in shock.
Thanatos flew dozens of meters and crashed into a ruined building. A single blow had broken all four limbs and left Thanatos unable to fight.
Even if Thanatos had been defenseless, it was overwhelming Combat Power, enough to bring down a powerhouse of the Eight Heavens in one strike.
The Allies all thought the same thing.
This was a monster they could never face.
Sirwen turned to Runald.
“Runald.”
They were still outside the range of Dragon’s Dignity. If they were going to flee, now was their chance. If she could not survive, she at least had to save this kid.
“Y-you... what are you doing?”
Runald had neatly taken off his clothes and was calmly stretching.
“I might be able to face him.”
“What bullshit are you saying? You can barely handle one Awakened One, how could you...”
Even those terrifying members of the Eight Heavens were being thrown aside. How could he say something so absurd?
Then Runald said, “Varkant just put on Clothes.”
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