Episode 708
Rumble!
The celestial gate opened by Metatron was already tainted by the twisted causality.
The heavenly legion that passed through the corrupted gate transformed into otherworldly beings, bypassing the constraints of karma to enter the material realm directly.
Crackle!
As the twisted causality disrupted the balance of the material realm, a plasma storm erupted near the hole in the sky.
The corrupted heavenly legion, now otherworldly, pierced through the plasma storm and descended toward the abandoned continent.
Metatron, having summoned hundreds of thousands of these otherworldly troops, spread his many pairs of tentacle-like wings and addressed Zeke in a chilling voice.
“Zeke Draker, not only you but all who follow you will be obliterated in the most excruciating way… You will bear the full weight of their suffering.”
With those words, Metatron extended his hand once more.
Suddenly, a dozen more holes appeared in the sky.
Through each of these holes, the landscapes of different cities became visible—Mycenae, Atlas, Pannotia, Himonas, the Giant Mountains, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Eastern Murk Empire—all places connected to Zeke.
Zeke realized what Metatron intended to do as he saw the holes linking to each continent.
“Are you planning to bring about Ragnarok here again?”
Metatron had already triggered Ragnarok in a world without Zeke before his return, bringing about its end.
He intended to destroy the cities and people Zeke cherished, once again initiating Ragnarok to annihilate this world.
As Zeke had predicted, Metatron planned to send the corrupted heavenly legion through the holes connected to each continent.
Boom!
The transformed heavenly soldiers began to spread through the holes, ready to march on each continent.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Boom!
Just as the heavenly soldiers were about to enter the holes, a powerful barrage of magic erupted from the other side.
It was none other than the hole connected to Aten, where Nirvana resided.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
From the hole linked to Aten, dozens of magical airships carrying mages and automated golems emerged.
The mages aboard Nirvana’s airships unleashed a barrage of magical artillery on the corrupted heavenly soldiers.
Boom!
The powerful magical artillery fired at the heavenly soldiers.
Then, hundreds of golems aboard the airships soared into the sky.
Rumble!
The golems, equipped with numerous magic circles, emitted plasma discharges, sweeping through the heavenly soldiers.
Crackle!
Caught off guard by Nirvana’s sudden assault, the heavenly soldiers began to retreat.
Even Metatron was taken aback, having never expected a counterattack from the material realm through the holes he had created.
“How is this possible…?”
On the deck of an airship, Master Jorge, a grand mage who had achieved the 9th circle, burst into laughter and shouted.
“It’s a success! We’ve done it!”
Using his perfected recovery theory and research on Hades’ automatons, he had completed fully combat-ready golems.
He had been preparing to open a gate to join the battle and assist Zeke with the airships and golems, and Metatron’s connection to the abandoned continent provided the perfect entry point.
As Nirvana’s airships pressured the heavenly soldiers from afar, the ark and the allied fleet behind it regrouped.
The allied fleet, alongside Nirvana, blocked the holes to prevent the corrupted heavenly soldiers from entering the continent.
The ark fired its main cannon at the approaching otherworldly angels, strengthening its defenses.
Then, the Black Sword Knights, the Joins, the Beastfolk, Vampires, the Three-Eyed Clan, and Barbarians—all clad in enhanced armor—disembarked from the ships to confront the swarming otherworldly angels.
Boom!
The Black Sword Knights, wearing the improved Dragon Slayer armor, and the Joins, in their celestial armor, led the charge, swinging swords and hurling spears at the otherworldly angels.
Boom!
These warriors were well-versed in battling otherworldly beasts.
The corrupted angels, stripped of reason and charging blindly forward, were no different from the beasts.
The Black Sword Knights flew freely through the air, wielding enhanced aura blades against the angels heading for the holes.
Slash!
The angels struck by the aura blades of the Black Sword Knights disintegrated into black ash.
Yet, despite their efforts, the sheer number of angels was overwhelming.
As they struggled to hold the line, a group of angels broke through and headed for the holes.
At that moment, a bizarre ship made of ice and bone emerged from the hole.
Crack!
Bone arrows imbued with cold energy were fired at the approaching angels.
On the ship of ice and bone stood two liches.
“Master! I’ve arrived!”
“I’m here too!”
Richmond and Bane, now at the level of Lich Kings, led hundreds of ships made of ice and bone through the hole.
Aboard their ships were hundreds of Death Knights and countless skeleton soldiers.
Having absorbed the soul of the Demon King and the allegiance of the Abyssal Overseer, who commanded all undead, Zeke had ordered all summoned undead to be placed under Richmond and Bane’s control for support.
Crack!
The Death Knights aboard the ships summoned ghostly steeds and took to the air, charging at the otherworldly angels.
The skeleton soldiers followed, firing bone arrows to prevent the angels from reaching the holes.
As the soldiers held their ground, Richmond raised his hand to the sky, chanting a spell to summon the dragon-shaped demon, Balrog Tyrant.
Roar!
The summoned tyrant spewed black flames, pushing back the angels approaching the ships.
With the continued assault from the Death Knights and undead, the angels changed course, heading for another hole.
As they attempted to enter the largest hole leading to the continent, a majestic presence emerged from within.
Whoosh!
It was a dragon from the Eastern Continent, exuding a mystical aura. The dragon soared with its long body, unleashing its breath upon the angels.
Boom!
The angels caught in the dragon’s breath disintegrated into ash.
Then, a grand and ornate ship emerged from the hole, flying the banner of the phoenix.
The ship was protected by various divine beasts, and only one person on the continent could command such a fleet.
Sultan Serazad Anatolia Shireit, the ruler and pinnacle of the Eastern Continent, had personally led her forces to this battle.
Thud!
Following Serazad’s flagship, thousands of ships from the Murk Empire appeared.
The warriors and successors aboard the Murk Empire’s ships fired enchanted arrows and hurled spears at the approaching angels.
Thud!
The angels, struck by the dragon’s breath and the enchanted weapons of the Eastern Continent, howled in pain and retreated.
Then, the sorcerers aboard the ships summoned spirits and mythical beasts to attack the angels.
Serazad, arms crossed, watched from her flagship and looked up.
There, Zeke faced off against Metatron.
Serazad, gazing at Zeke, spoke softly.
“Zeke, my dear. Do not worry about this place.”
Her voice, connected to Zeke through the system, reached him directly.
Leaving his allies to fend off the swarming angels, Zeke turned to face Metatron.
Gripping Excalibur, he glared at Metatron and declared.
“Ragnarok will not happen.”
Metatron shook his head at Zeke’s words.
“You’re wrong. The end will come, and it will be you, Zeke Draker, who brings it.”
Zeke furrowed his brow at Metatron’s words.
But there was no need to be swayed by Metatron’s claims any longer. Calmly, he focused his divine power into his sword.
All he needed to do was obliterate Metatron’s soul and stabilize the material realm.
As Zeke prepared to charge at Metatron with his empowered sword, he sensed something amiss.
‘What is this…?’
It felt as if the very dimension of the material realm, where everyone existed, was being forcibly torn apart by a powerful force.
And indeed, Zeke saw the dimension itself being ripped open before his eyes.
Rip!
And then, something began to crawl out from the jagged tear in the fabric of reality.
A grating, otherworldly sound echoed through the air.
These were the ancient beings he had once seen in the twisted temple of the constellations.
Yet, there was something different about them this time, something that set them apart from the ones Zeke had encountered before.
With the Akashic Code fully unlocked, Zeke could perceive the true nature of these ancient beings that breached the dimensions.
And now, he realized, they were unlike any he had seen before.
A torrent of information flooded Zeke’s mind.
It was then that he understood.
The true nature of the “Twisted Causality” used by those ancient beings and Metatron.
“The world that vanished after the regression… Was it the karma of that world that created this twisted causality?”
To escape the wheel of fate, Zeke, along with the last sage, Siemens Apollyon, and the Elder Dragon, had harnessed the power of regression.
Regression was not merely a reversal of time. It involved a complex process where the state of karma that formed the world was also reset.
In this process, even the karma that had been expended was returned to its origin, causing what once existed to become nonexistent, thus creating the “Twisted Causality.”
And the only being capable of perceiving this twisted causality was the God of Chaos.
The God of Chaos knew that this power was the only one capable of killing the primordial light, the creator, and sought to hide it. But Metatron discovered the truth.
Once Metatron learned of this, he sealed the God of Chaos and manipulated the twisted causality to kill the primordial god and become the new creator himself.
Zeke realized that by using regression to protect his comrades, he had inadvertently created more twisted causality.
As a result, Metatron, who had absorbed the God of Chaos and sacrificed his soul to that power, grew even stronger.
Metatron then used this twisted causality to manifest the ancient beings from the lost dimensions and summon them here.
The ancient beings from the vanished time wrapped around Metatron, who had become an outsider.
From Metatron, now akin to the corrupted ancient beings, emanated a force that threatened to tear the entire dimension apart.
Zeke looked at Metatron and spoke.
“Twisted causality is merely a power that defies existing laws. It alone cannot create the new world you speak of. Only destruction will remain.”
A rumbling filled the air.
Metatron, connected to the ancient beings through tendrils, looked down at Zeke.
【That no longer matters, Zeke Draker. After I eliminate you, the impurity, I will use the power within you to craft a new stage.】
Zeke sensed that all that remained in Metatron, who had thrown himself into the twisted causality, was madness and hatred.
Meanwhile, the ancient beings from the lost time and dimension infused Metatron with their corrupt power, and the dimension twisted under the influence of the twisted causality.
A crackling sound erupted.
Then, the constellations that had been trapped in the celestial realm began to descend into the material world in their corrupted forms.
Hundreds of celestial constellations lined up before Metatron, their presence overwhelming.
Seeing this, Zeke furrowed his brow, tightened his grip on Excalibur, and steadied his breath.
If he couldn’t stop Metatron and the celestial constellations, Ragnarok would occur again, leading to total annihilation.
‘Even if I perish, I will stop them and protect those dear to me.’
As he steeled himself and prepared to advance with his sword, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[The boundaries between dimensions blur due to the twisted causality.]
[A being from beyond the dimension casts its gaze across the blurred boundary.]
[The Hero King gazes upon the Transcendent God.]