Chapter 726

Ian cast a cold, steady gaze down at the ragged corpse of Deputy Rajoo. The dead man’s eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the void, as if they might suddenly flicker back to life.

A shadow’s subordinate—an existence that had persisted through all eras.

But Ian knew better now. That was no longer possible. The monsters linked to Deputy Rajoo were also torn to shreds, wandering aimlessly nearby.

Ian watched him quietly for a moment, then without hesitation, turned away.

“Hah… hah…”

“Jenzaaang! This never ends!”

“Almost done, Beric. If you’re hungry, why don’t you just pick something up over there?”

“Eat it yourself!”

“Enough with the bickering! It’s draining our energy!”

Swish! Swish!

How many hours had passed? Or was it days?

Hundreds, thousands of monsters that had surged from the depths of the Abyssal Sea were now torn apart, scattered across the battlefield. Every inch of the ground was littered with pieces of monster corpses.

“Ah…”

“Snap out of it!”

“Y-yes! Sorry!”

What was endangering them wasn’t anything else—it was extreme exhaustion. Everyone except Ian was so fatigued they could barely keep their eyes open. The mages’ movements slowed noticeably, and their power waned naturally.

The only one holding up relatively well was Beric.

“Hey! Stay awake! If you fall asleep, we’re all dead!”

At the front, Beric swung his massive red magic greatsword like a man possessed, keeping himself and the others from losing focus.

Swish.

Only about five monsters remained. No more were coming. They had thought the onslaught endless, but there was an end after all.

Ian stepped forward and gave orders.

“That’s enough. Everyone, fall back.”

“What? But we’re not—”

“It’s fine. There are several unconscious—those who can still move, help them. I’ll handle the rest. Then we’ll leave together.”

Hearing the promise to leave together was such a relief… The exhausted mages unwound their tension without realizing it, and some even slumped backward, fainting.

Hail scooped up the fallen mages, tucking them under his arm, and asked Ian,

“Ian, I’ll send the incapacitated ones up first. I’ll be back down soon, so don’t overexert yourself.”

“Good. Let’s wrap this up.”

Ziiing, ziiing!

“Iaaan! I’m still good to go!”

“Really? Your eyes look pretty dark underneath.”

“Hey! I’m fine! Here I gooo!”

Just five monsters left—nothing compared to what they’d already cut down. Beric’s spear shot forward like an arrow.

Even while moving their comrades, the mages couldn’t take their eyes off Ian and Beric’s backs. They’d accomplished something truly remarkable.

‘These aren’t ordinary monsters.’

Judging by their size, the timing of their appearance, and their threat level, these were similar to the monsters connected to Deputy Rajoo. The thousands of scattered monsters were the same.

That meant they had severed the root of thousands of black seeds planted across Gaia’s land. Those monsters would no longer live through eons, nor would they exist in future generations of Bariel.

Ian thought the same. Killing monsters like these wasn’t difficult—it was a pleasure. A faint smile flickered across his face.

Beric shook his head slightly at Ian’s expression. “He’s crazy,” he thought.

When there’s a purpose, momentum never stops. Unlike the others, Ian’s attacks still brimmed with power.

How could he be like that? Beric clenched his teeth and swung his greatsword fiercely, determined not to lose.

Shreek!

It was the same as before. No different. The monsters were helplessly cut down by Ian and Beric’s attacks.

But then—

“…?”

Ian, in the middle of casting a spell, suddenly paused and stared intently at a certain spot.

Deep within the Abyssal Sea, far from the temple’s entrance where the monsters had gathered.

Beric wiped the blood off his weapon and followed Ian’s gaze.

“…Huh?”

Something stood there in the distance.

A massive figure, like a magic tower. Completely black from head to toe, shaped like a human’s limbs and body.

The remaining mages noticed it too and murmured.

“W-what is that?”

“Is that even human?”

“It’s way too black for that. Ian, do you know what it is?”

Without hesitation, Ian pulled the Idgal sword from the gills of a monster and answered.

“…A shadow.”

“Huh?”

The master of these creatures—the shadow of the god crouched in the Abyssal Sea. The ultimate target they had to deal with.

Its appearance was quite different from the last time Ian had seen it. Calmly, Ian fixed his gaze on it, while the mages watched the scene, pale with fear.

“Ian! You can’t go!”

One mage shouted urgently.

Beric and the others looked at him, confused, but soon nodded in agreement. They were all exhausted, after all. Ian might not show it, but who knew what internal injuries he had.

And if he went deeper, they might face another time gap…

“That thing is smiling.”

“…!”

At someone’s warning, Beric frowned sharply.

It was faint and hard to see clearly. But one thing was certain: it stood there, staring Ian down directly, as if daring him to attack.

“Yeah. I see it. Disgusting.”

Ian muttered, brushing the monster’s blood off the Idgal sword.

From head to toe, a blackened figure like a charred corpse. But the torn smile, right down to the ears, was unmistakable.

A certain being came to mind.

‘The Under-God.’

But something was off. It looked distinctly different from the Under-God Ian had first seen.

Ian was certain.

‘It’s a trap.’

He didn’t know what it really was, but one thing was clear: it wanted Ian to come closer.

“No.”

Sensing the danger, Beric stepped firmly in front of Ian, blocking his path. Not only to stop him from going, but to protect him from that thing.

“You can’t go.”

His face was serious, unlike usual.

Of course, Ian had no intention of going either.

“…The Under-God is different from Deputy Rajoo. There’s no need to fall into an obvious trap. The Under-God is an entity that doesn’t disappear.”

“Doesn’t disappear?”

“Everything has a shadow.”

The shadow of a god. As long as the god exists, the shadow will always be there.

“Our job is to create a strong light so that shadow doesn’t grow darker or longer. These creatures are part of that process.”

Ian pointed to the shredded monster corpses with the Idgal sword. The ones moving outside Gaia, acting on behalf of the Under-God, dying meant the god’s limbs were disappearing.

Ian frowned at the shadow grinning at him.

‘Something’s… off.’

“Stop splitting things up, you damn bastard!”

“Yeah, keep it up, Beric! Press harder!”

“Get lost! Before I beat you up!”

“Hey! You know Beric’s got a temper, right? Scram!”

Before he could even register the odd, unsettling feeling, Beric and the mages were shouting curses at the shadow in unison.

But still, the shadow stood its ground without flinching.

“Yep, it’s a trap. Tch. No creativity at all.”

“Ian, the unconscious mages have been sent up. Looks like the timeline’s stable. Let’s head up.”

“We should clean up the monster remains near the temple entrance and seal the hole for now. Even if we block the Masantar Temple itself, we can’t have spaces like this for them to come and go.”

Ian nodded in agreement.

At that signal, the mages pushed the massive monster carcasses back toward the Abyssal Sea, tidying up quickly. Beric looked around.

“But what about that guy? The one who brought you all here?”

“Who?”

“Vanusa.”

“Oh! Yeah. Where did she go?”

They hadn’t even noticed Vanusa had disappeared amid the battle.

While everyone looked around, Akorella waved her hand dismissively, focused on extracting samples from the monster corpses. Her pockets quickly filled.

“She said to pull out anything that might connect to Torlun halfway through. So she probably did that. Even if she ran off, it doesn’t really matter. Hey, put this in your pocket.”

“My pocket?”

“I’m full. Can’t you see?”

“Captain, why do you even collect this stuff?”

“Why? Have you ever seen monsters from the Abyssal Sea before?”

“No, not until now.”

“Exactly. These are top-tier research material. Everyone, open your pockets! Stuff them full!”

Then, with a pop, she opened her ever-present glass bottle and carefully filled it with water from the Abyssal Sea. Mixed with monster blood and temple groundwater, but still—this was unprecedented. No mage in any era had ever studied the traces of the Abyss.

“Heh heh… heheh…”

“Crazy. The captain’s laughing like that again.”

“Don’t make eye contact. The next test subject might actually die.”

“I’m heading out first!”

“Your pockets are empty! Carry it, you idiot!”

With the mages cleaning up, the final task fell to Ian. He placed his palm on the temple floor and summoned the Idgal. The amber-colored, translucent Idgal rose up, sealing the hole.

Sssshhh!

The monstrous corpse they couldn’t bring themselves to remove, the shattered fragments of the temple—all of it had been sealed and solidified within the Idgal.

Ian hoped with all his heart that nothing would ever cause this place to collapse again. So he kept layering the Idgal over and over, covering it completely. In the distance, the black shadow that watched him with a smile twisted and distorted behind the thickening Idgal.

“Stronger. Even stronger.”

Not just the hole, but the entire temple needed to be swallowed whole by the Idgal.

The mages stepped back a pace, wary of interfering, and watched as Ian bound the entire Masantar Temple firmly with the Idgal.

“Ian, I think that’s enough.”

“With multiple layers of the Idgal wall, those monsters won’t be able to come near. Do you think the stagnant water here will eventually disappear?”

“Probably. So, Captain Akorella, you can stop gathering it now. If we need more, we can always come back.”

“Tsk, tsk. You’re so foolish. Do you really think the water connected to the Abyss and this stagnant water have the same composition? I’m the one doing the research with these things. You! When you get back, move your desk next to my lab as punishment.”

“I-I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

Akorella raised a fist and grumbled before turning back to Ian.

“Shall we go now, Ian?”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

“Man, I think I’ve been here too long. My skin feels like it’s about to burst.”

They swam upward, Akorella leading the way. The entire area was eerily still. They had only sealed the hole connected to the Abyss, yet a sense of peace had already settled.

Splash!

“Pah!”

“What’s this? Why can’t I breathe?”

“Ugh, I swallowed water through my nose.”

The mages surfaced, gasping for air. The water had returned to normal—that meant the Abyss’s influence was gone.

Coughing and spluttering, they climbed out of the temple. Waiting for them were other mages, along with Cedric and Eirin, who helped support them.

“Are you all okay? Thank goodness you’re safe!”

“Thank you so much.”

“How long were we down there?”

“Two full days. The sun rose three times.”

“Wow, hearing that makes me suddenly sleepy.”

The mages collapsed onto the ground, soaked and exhausted, closing their eyes. Cedric reached out his hand to Beric in greeting.

“You did well, senior.”

“Well, well. A greeting, huh?”

“Just out of courtesy.”

Finally, Ian emerged last. The figure of Ian Verosion faded away, leaving only Hiel with the emerald eyes. The mages smiled faintly, a little wistful but relieved.

Suddenly, Beric reached out toward Ian.

“I still like you better like this.”

“Really?”

Ian smiled and climbed out of the water.

They lay scattered around, catching their breath, gazing up at the night sky. Ah, the peace that follows a fierce battle.

“Ahhh! A g-ghost!”

“Huh? Nonsense.”

But then, a scream shattered the calm. One of the mages, pale as death, pointed toward the water.

Banusa had quietly revealed his face, watching them silently—as if to say, “Is it all over now?”