Episode 1082
Chapter 254: The Selves of the Sun God (6)
Thud!
Dante collapsed to the ground, and his comrades quickly gathered around him. The solar energy flowing from Pokal’s hands gently cradled Dante like an arm, lifting him up with care.
Even in that moment, Dante did not let go of Rashid—the sword he had inherited from Ron.
“A miracle,” Pokal murmured as she examined Dante. “This child has endured all this time.”
“When I first created this place, I understood what a miracle truly is,” she continued. “The creatures beneath the sea came into being by chance when I formed the ocean. The beings in the sky, on the land—they all came about similarly. I created this world, but I did not alone set all its laws and order.”
Though Dante’s wounds were deep enough to reveal bone and entrails, his breathing began to stabilize rapidly under Pokal’s touch.
“Unexplainable causes and coincidences accumulate… until they finally reach inevitability. Whether the outcome is beautiful or not, this child was never meant to die here today.”
Pokal lifted her gaze.
She looked toward the foolish brothers and mortals before her. The towering story tower, far beyond the scale of her own body, loomed heavily in the sky. Kragos, who had been confident until now, seemed tense and unsettled.
“One—do you think such a miracle will be granted to you as well? Ziphl, you… are destroying the world. You want a world where even a single stone or snowflake is decided solely by your will. That is no miracle. Nor can it be called a perfected world. It is merely endless darkness. Darkness where all possibilities are closed off…”
Splash, splash, whoosh!
As Pokal’s eyes shone, the golden sea that had formed around them rippled.
Each drop of that water was made up of humans, life, and all that they had built—beings filled with the miracles Pokal cherished, now crushed and twisted by corrupted power.
This truth filled Pokal with rage. Every living thing and object on the battlefield seemed to warp in response to her fury.
Only Jin and his comrades could breathe easily. More than that, they felt as if a breeze wrapped around them, their bodies growing lighter. Pokal’s power was flowing into them.
The pain and guilt of losing a friend vanished. The hand gripping the sword grew unbreakably firm, and their eyes burned with terrifying intensity.
“You chose your grave well, Kelliak Ziphl. Today, you will die here without fail. And Kragos… don’t expect a gentle end for you either.”
Whoosh…!
Bradamante’s blade ignited with azure flames. As the summoned phoenix, the magic sword’s secret technique—Immortal Fire Tessa—pierced through the summoning circle and appeared, Ziphl’s forces couldn’t help but recall the nightmare of their last battle.
Jin was certain of the enemies’—especially Kelliak’s—death.
There was no way for him to escape. Since Pokal’s arrival, the story tower had been attempting spatial jumps and reality manipulation, but the Demon Stone couldn’t handle the solar energy spreading everywhere.
Nothing was going according to plan. They couldn’t even generate reinforcements. The solar energies of Pokal, Kragos, and Malugia were severely weakening the Demon Stone’s functions.
“Huff…”
Creak!
At the center of the story tower, Kelliak clenched his teeth in fury. Between his gritted teeth and lips, a sigh of despair mixed with rage escaped.
—“That’s the price for speaking too freely. Now, I will seek out my other self, Kragos. After awakening him, I will return to slumber.”
—“After awakening Kragos, what should I do?”
—“Do whatever you wish. I have chosen you.”
—“That’s a rather satisfying answer…”
—“Just remember one thing. In the end, what awaits you all is only the apocalypse. Eventually, everyone will die and vanish without a trace. Not even a speck of dust blown by the wind will remain.”
The recent conversation with Malugia flashed through his mind.
“So this is what ‘do as you please’ really meant…”
He felt deceived.
He realized Malugia had toyed with him. She had spoken as if she would help Kelliak dance his final blade dance, but it was all empty words.
“Kelliak, my friend, is the situation really that bad? Won’t Malugia show up to help?”
“She must have foreseen all this. That’s why she’s deliberately holding back her power within the Demon Stone.”
“Huh? For what purpose? She spoke as if she wanted to use us like pawns for her own ends!”
Kelliak touched the scar on his neck and fell into thought for a few seconds.
He quickly reached a conclusion.
—“First, she needs to close the countless worlds that branched off from you. The countless remnants created when you manipulated history a thousand years ago.”
‘No matter what she’s plotting using me and Ziphl, no matter the method… Malugia’s only desire is this: to use me as a disposable tool to close other dimensions.’
The scar felt like it was choking his throat.
From the moment it was made, Kelliak’s life had belonged entirely to Malugia. Now, she was simply exercising her right as the owner to use that life.
“Damn it. Still, that Kragos guy should help us, right? Since he seems hostile to the other side… ugh, but it’s tough. Really tough.”
There was no way out.
Even the dull-witted Ragal sensed this. If the Demon Stone wasn’t functioning properly, the power gap between the Bamel Alliance and Ziphl was beyond comparison.
The story tower, proud as the strongest in the skies, was just a massive flying structure without the Demon Stone. The mages aboard couldn’t change the outcome now. The Phantom Corps, Ghost Corps, and Spirit Corps had all been defeated by the Bamel Alliance multiple times in the past.
Even comparing top-tier fighters, Ziphl had only Kelliak. It was impossible for him alone to hold off the enraged alliance warriors.
Moreover, they couldn’t threaten mass slaughter like before. The countless hostages they could have taken had already turned into golden water flowing through the empire’s lands.
“…It’s time to fight desperately, Ragal.”
Like a wave crashing in, Jin’s Immortal Fire drew closer beyond the central bridge. With every blink, it came nearer like a nightmare.
Soon, that fire would engulf the story tower and wrap around Kelliak, burning both body and soul without a trace.
“Ugh, is that all there is?”
“Even if it ends, I won’t let it end so hollowly. We have no choice but to do whatever we can. Ragal, first, destroy Elona and Ziphl’s bodies.”
Since capturing Elona, Ragal had been injecting poison into her body daily under Kelliak’s orders.
Back then, they didn’t know about the Selves of the Sun God or the truth of the multiverse, so it was a precaution in case Elona went berserk later.
Now, the plan was to prevent Malugia from using that body. Ragal’s poison probably wouldn’t work against the overwhelming power of the Sun God, but there was no time to worry about that.
It was the end, after all. Unless a miracle followed Jin as always, not a single member of Ziphl would return alive from here.
“Understood.”
“Listen, followers of Ziphl. Due to an unexpected intrusion, we must now begin our final battle. Tear the enemies apart. Even if we die, make sure the enemy cannot advance any further.”
Screech—crack!
As Kelliak finished speaking, the front of the bridge collapsed, and blue flames poured into the story tower’s core.
To Kelliak, the moment seemed to slow down.
He couldn’t tell when, how, or by what it had grown so massive… The youngest of Runkandel, with those deep, fierce eyes, was about to swallow him whole.
“Kelliak, you finally wear the face befitting the leader of a great power meeting its end. Yes, you must feel it. Today is finally over.”
Kelliak said nothing, raising his staff to block the sword. As the blade clashed with the staff, part of the tower’s center separated along with the Demon Stone.
Jin watched the Demon Stone fall and drift away from the tower without anxiety. There was nowhere for them to run, and their comrades waited outside.
“What does it matter if it ends? The apocalypse is coming anyway. You haven’t yet faced Malugia’s true form… so you can still revel in this small victory.”
Jin already knew the Demon Stone wasn’t functioning properly. As close combat began, he pushed Kelliak back without ever retreating.
Kelliak’s famed spatial explosions and Ziphl’s grand magic couldn’t threaten Jin—not because he wasn’t the same as Changseong, but because Jin knew all their tricks too well.
“Don’t try to hide your miserable heart, Kelliak. Just as I know your power well, you know me too. I am the one who never disappears. No matter what you do, no matter what stronger forces you plot with, I am always the one who fights in the same place.”
Feeling the blade graze his neck, Kelliak mulled over Jin’s words. They were undeniable.
As their weapons clashed with a roar, a powerful explosion echoed outside.
[Commander Soga, the Golden Fleet has just arrived.]
The Golden Fleet waiting in Tikan had finally arrived. With Dante’s safety secured, the alliance no longer had a single reason to be dragged around.
The enraged Golden Fleet had already surrounded the battlefield. There was no escape for the Tower of Stories.
“Flagship, activate the Sara Sword. All ships, annihilate the enemy. Today, on this land, Ziphl and the Tower of Stories will be wiped from existence.”