Chapter 1066
Episode 252: The War Begins (5)
“Lady Elona!”
Elona Ziphl.
Her eyes were not those of a monster consumed by the Sacred Water Orb, but human eyes.
Eyes filled with trembling guilt over actions she never wished to commit; a soul writhing in remorse, desperate to break free, yearning to live as a person.
The Demon Stone—or rather, the Sun God’s persona, Malugia.
Though the enemies labeled Elona as such, Jin and his comrades saw only a wounded human beneath it all.
Even now, Elona’s body moved against her will. The Demon Stone had forcibly separated her to protect Keliak.
“I’m sorry, Lord Jin. I have no choice but to attack you now. The connection to the Demon Stone hasn’t been fully severed.”
Because the separation was forced, Ziphl couldn’t completely control Elona’s consciousness.
“Is it possible to sever the connection?”
Jin tried to find the link between Elona and the Demon Stone, just as he had when rescuing Runtia from the Abyss of the Evil God. But even with his Creation Sense, he couldn’t detect anything.
“It’s impossible. There’s very little time left. So please, listen carefully to what I’m about to say… ugh…”
For a moment, Elona’s pupils shimmered like a galaxy before returning to normal. The Demon Stone was trying to consume her consciousness once again.
Whoooosh! Thwang!
Elona’s magical spear deflected Jin’s flames once more. Meanwhile, Keliak was attempting a series of short-range spatial jumps through the Demon Stone.
His signature magic, the spatial explosions, rained relentlessly near Jin and Valeria. And with the Demon Stone’s agonized wails shaking the battlefield, Jin couldn’t advance recklessly while protecting Valeria.
“Lord Jin, the power unleashed in this space is immense. The Demon Stone is calculating to use that power to summon them.”
“Them?”
“The Demon Corps—Ziphl from other dimensions…!”
The strongest mage unit formed by the ‘victorious Ziphl’ from other dimensions.
The Alliance had no clear knowledge of the Demon Corps’ combat strength. They only guessed it was unfathomably high, given that they had conquered anywhere from dozens to hundreds of dimensions.
“So you must retreat now. It may seem strange for me to say this while attacking you, and it might feel like a trick, but… ugh… you have to trust me!”
Elona’s attacks grew more violent by the second, a sign the Demon Stone was binding her tighter.
‘Retreat…’
If the fight continued like this, Jin was confident he could capture Keliak. The Demon Stone was too unstable to fully control Elona, and Keliak couldn’t easily retreat far, weakened by the Flame of Karma that impaired the Demon Stone’s manipulation and distortion abilities.
But if the Demon Corps suddenly joined the battle, everything would change.
It didn’t sound like a lie. Jin’s Creation Insight detected no falsehood in Elona’s words.
Still, he couldn’t fully trust her.
Too many lives hung in the balance to rely on intuition alone. That was why he had held back the superhumans before ambushing Keliak. His plan was to face Keliak himself first, assess the Demon Stone’s power, then send in the superhumans.
“Valeria.”
“Yes.”
She was already analyzing Elona’s words through her record magic.
Though not as definitive as Az Mil’s judgment, at least they could confirm the Demon Stone’s control over Elona.
“Please believe me, Lord Jin. The Demon Corps’ goal isn’t just victory in this world. They don’t care if this world is destroyed! As long as you and the Alliance don’t threaten the Unified Ziphl, that’s all that matters!”
Elona’s voice quickened. Her pupils shifted and returned in real time, her voice cracking.
“The control is definitely broken. Soon, it will bind me again…”
Valeria’s words made Jin nod. Since Elona was speaking of her own will, it was time to retreat.
The Unified Ziphl didn’t just want ‘victory.’
In hindsight, it made sense. They had already destroyed countless dimensions. If it was easier to annihilate a dimension than to let the Ziphl of that world win, there was no reason to choose the former. Victory or destruction—either way, the Unified Ziphl would face no more enemies. No dimension would have anyone left to resist them.
Even if they lost Keliak and the Demon Stone of this world, it wouldn’t be a significant loss for the Unified Ziphl. Orgal had once said that this Keliak was inferior compared to those he had faced in other dimensions.
A glowing halo appeared above Elona’s head. She was consumed by the Sacred Water Orb once again.
Rrrrrr…!
At the same time, the Demon Stone roared. The Flame of Karma, the Solar Energy, the powers of manipulation and distortion, and Elona’s magic—all surged together. Jin retreated, steadying himself against the onslaught.
The Flame of Karma still blazed fiercely, and the Reign of the Underworld Sword showed no sign of weakening. Bligiet struggled under the combined assault of Ban and Luna.
At first glance, the battle still seemed overwhelmingly in the Alliance’s favor.
But Jin and the others sensed something else. Just as Elona had said, a strange energy was seeping into the Flame of Karma and the Reign of the Underworld Sword. That energy amplified the martial arts techniques the Creators had unleashed, like kindling to a fire.
Before anyone could signal it,
Jin, Ban, and Luna simultaneously withdrew their techniques. The battlefield, once ablaze with flames, lightning, and crimson energy, suddenly cleared to reveal the ruined tower.
The fleet ceased fire. The mysterious energy that had been amplifying their techniques now drifted aimlessly in the air.
‘The Demon Corps’ interference across dimensions has limits. They’ll try to use this energy again somehow. Most likely, it will be an attack against our Alliance.’
While Jin measured the unknown energy, Bligiet detonated his Solar Energy to create an opening and retreat.
‘The Ziphl will only attack this far. But we can’t leave that behind.’
Jin’s gaze landed on Bligiet. Desperately, he tried to fly away, taking advantage of the absence of lightning and crimson energy.
But Ban and Luna wouldn’t let him go easily. Even without their techniques, they could pressure Bligiet.
“Keliak, you’ve got a long life, but you must feel your time is running out. You must realize you’re nothing more than a disposable card.”
The Ziphl from other dimensions had no regard for this Keliak.
Keliak hadn’t expected support from the Demon Corps, but Elona’s words shattered that assumption. He also realized the Demon Stone’s calculations weren’t solely for his benefit.
“You lack the weight to become the master of this world. Go back and endure this humiliation.”
Jin skillfully defended against Elona’s attacks as he began to retreat.
Elona didn’t pursue him aggressively. Protecting Keliak was her priority, and it was more efficient to focus on controlling the Demon Stone than to keep fighting Jin directly.
With the Flame of Karma gone, the Demon Stone could cause even stronger distortions.
As Jin put distance between himself and Elona, he saw the space between them warp—an effect of the spatial distortion protecting Keliak.
At the same time, he detected strange energy swirling around the Demon Stone, gathering.
‘It’s condensing. An explosion? Or maybe an attempt to teleport the entire Tower of Stories at once.’
Either way, the Ziphl wouldn’t bother rescuing Bligiet, whom they had already discarded.
Jin gave no thought to Keliak and charged toward Bligiet. Bligiet noticed immediately but was powerless.
The glowing Underworld Sword and Crimson Sword already bound Bligiet from all sides. Detonating Solar Energy alone couldn’t stop the two.
Facing the combined assault of three Creators was unprecedented. When Jin struck from behind with a black blade infused with spiritual energy, glowing blood burst from Bligiet’s back.
[Ugh…!]
“If you truly are the god who created this world, you shouldn’t have sided with those fools, Bligiet.”
Another flurry of strikes cut into Bligiet’s back. The wounds burned with spiritual energy and faint flames—eternal fire.
No matter how great Bligiet’s power, he couldn’t withstand three opponents. He was rapidly pushed onto the defensive, with nowhere to run.
The Tower of Stories was already prepared for retreat. The Demon Stone planned to teleport the tower outside the Alliance fleet’s encirclement and then detonate the condensed interdimensional energy.
“Endure your humiliation, Jin Runkandel…”
From afar, Keliak glared at the Creators and Bligiet.
The interdimensional energy gathered by the Demon Stone.
If unleashed now, it might not seriously injure the Creators, but it would definitely damage the Alliance fleet.
Still, Keliak judged that alone wouldn’t shock Jin enough.
“Then you must endure your guilt.”
Kreeeeek…!
The Demon Stone protruded from the top of the tower. It transformed into a massive main cannon, into which the interdimensional energy was being injected.
Just as Jin was pressing the Bligiet hard, he suddenly snapped his head around and looked in that direction. He immediately understood what Keliak was about to do.
“Keliak, you crazy bastard! Those people were under your rule—and your family’s—until just recently!”
Kraaah!
A massive beam shot out from the Demon God Stone. The beam split the sky in two, but it wasn’t aimed at the allied fleet or the Changsung forces.
It struck the area to the right of the Sota Desert, where the former Drakka autonomous districts were clustered.
In other words, it was a long-range bombardment targeting civilian residential zones.
This was only the beginning of the nightmare you’ll face countless times from now on, Jin Runkandel.
Leaving a blazing mark of fire in the sky as a message, Keliak withdrew from the battlefield.