Episode 1084
Chapter 255: The Death of Keliak Ziphl, and Then… (Part 1)
“Graaah!”
Keliak screamed in agony.
His entire body had been shielded by a powerful protective barrier all along, but now it had become a liability. His severed shoulder wasn’t cleanly sliced by a sword—it looked as if it had been torn off by hand, the wound jagged and gruesome.
His arm was gone, and with it, his weapon. Although mages generally rely less on weapons than warriors do, the fight had already been slipping from his grasp—and now, there was no chance of turning the tide.
Boom!
Still, Keliak seized the moment when Jin struck to unleash a spatial explosion right before Jin’s face. He had wanted to shatter Jin’s head outright, but Jin never allowed a direct hit from a spatial blast. Throughout the battle, Jin had anticipated Keliak’s moves and dodged accordingly.
This time, it’s deep!
Keliak thought.
He was certain the attack had landed hard enough to cause serious damage—perhaps even tearing away part of Jin’s face.
If not, there’s no reason for the follow-up to be delayed like this. First, I need to retrieve my staff…
Just as he bent down to pick up his staff, Keliak suddenly felt the ground beneath him give way.
Crack… riiiip!
The floor was splitting apart. The spot where Jin’s sword had just passed wasn’t just cracking in the center—it was dividing the entire tower in two.
He’s severed the whole tower in half!?
A chill ran down Keliak’s spine. His left hand, reaching for the staff, grasped only empty air, the gap between the two halves too wide.
The tower began to tilt diagonally in the direction of the split, and Keliak’s body followed suit. His staff had already fallen into the darkness between the cracks, vanishing from sight. The Tower of Stories was plunging like a sinking ship.
For thousands of years, it had been the symbol of the Ziphl family—their very heart—now cleaved in two and falling toward the earth.
“Hoo…”
Unlike Keliak, who was overwhelmed by shock, Jin calmly caught his breath. The delay in his follow-up attack was simply because he had expended too much energy slicing through the tower.
The tower’s final defense mechanisms were activating. All the defensive artifacts that once belonged solely to the Ziphl family began to emit alarm sounds and release magical energy.
But most were already severely damaged. The reinforced flames and the Golden Fleet’s bombardment had left the outer armor almost completely destroyed.
Sharp beams of magical energy shot in from all directions. Jin didn’t even need to dodge. Hundreds of rays scattered uselessly, unable to penetrate his protective barrier or even the heat of the flames.
“How pathetic, Keliak Ziphl. The head of the world’s greatest family, reduced to nothing more than a coward hiding behind meaningless defensive artifacts. Did you really think these trinkets would protect you when the time came?”
Keliak said nothing, staring ahead.
The blinding light from the flames, the solar device, and the Golden Fleet’s bombardment obscured Jin’s figure.
It felt as if someone was hammering on his heart.
Keliak had only ever felt this way once before—when, in his youth, he had faced Siron Runkandel and barely escaped with his life.
Defeat. Fear.
The terror of knowing it was truly over.
He’s stronger than Siron was back then…
Though Jin was invisible through the dazzling light, Keliak could hear the steady footsteps approaching him.
He couldn’t even feel the burning pain of his wound, consumed by the flames. Every nerve in his body was focused solely on Jin.
This time, there was nowhere to run.
There was truly no way out. The family’s mages were being slaughtered by the enemy’s blades, and the retreat path had been closed from the start.
The Tower of Stories was falling, and the Demon Stone—Malugia—had abandoned him. There was no chance of winning against Jin by continuing to fight.
The only possible variable was support from the Demon Army.
“Your eyes are glazed over, Keliak Ziphl. But there’s still a flicker of false hope inside you. You’re counting on the Demon Army’s support, aren’t you?”
Jin appeared through the swirling light.
He looked almost unscathed, save for a few minor scratches—hard to believe he had just fought one of the giants of Inse for so long.
“But you know better than anyone that if they truly intended to help you, they would have arrived before things got this bad. You’ve arrogantly believed the world was beneath your feet… but look—this is your true face.”
The Tower of Stories was nearing the ground. Several large chunks had already fallen into the golden sea and sunk.
After a long pursuit, Jin finally faced the culprit. The one who had manipulated history, toyed with the world, and condemned countless innocent lives to death—the pitiful old monster.
His face was lined with the filthy wrinkles of age and evil, his once fierce, hungry eyes now filled with terror. His one remaining arm hung limply, trembling.
His shadow stretched long and dark across the floor, a testament to his dark and filthy life.
“Jin Runkandel… will you kill me?”
Jin, stepping on Keliak’s shadow, flinched at the words and widened his eyes.
“What? Are you begging for your life now…?”
Jin had long predicted Keliak’s miserable end.
He had vowed for a long time to ensure it would be a pitiful death. Since ancient times, Keliak had been the worst war criminal and mass murderer.
A monster who had repeatedly defiled the world and history through manipulation, a cruel father who used his own children as test subjects.
Evil incarnate.
Until he collapsed before Jin’s blade, he had been the embodiment of power, controlling the world with one hand.
And now, Keliak Ziphl was begging for his worthless life.
Jin stared at him in disbelief for a moment.
“There are more Demon Stones… ones still being made. Don’t you want to bring back those I’ve killed? Once those stones are complete, it will be possible.”
“My ears feel like they’re rotting.”
“If you kill me, those stones will never be finished. You’ve seen more than anyone else how many have returned from the dead while fighting us Ziphl. You saw it with your own eyes.”
Swish!
Jin sliced off Keliak’s remaining arm. The severed limb fell to the ground like a stick, but Keliak struggled to rise and looked up at Jin again.
“Besides, I have the power I took from Zito. Remember the moment I acquired Zito’s final power. Combined with the Demon Stones, I can resurrect the demons who died in the Great Demon War. So, setting all that aside—do you really think you can kill me?”
“Hahaha…!”
Suddenly, Keliak burst into a mad laugh.
At that moment, the Tower of Stories finally ended its long fall and landed on the golden sea.
Though it had cracked and torn during the fall, the tower was still massive enough to overturn the golden sea in an instant.
The impact was tremendous, but Jin maintained his balance thanks to the flames and his protective barrier. Keliak bounced like a ball, his body breaking and twisting, but he did not die.
A tidal wave rose along the tower’s four sides.
Jin looked toward the wave spreading behind Keliak and saw the golden waters turning green.
It was a color Jin had seen before.
…The Sanctuary?
The Ziphl family’s sanctuary, which Jin had seen when he went to save Valeria. The birthplace of Elona Ziphl, 2,500 years ago, from the “Tree.”
From the moment Keliak returned, the Ziphl family had begun moving the sanctuary into the Tower of Stories. Now, with the tower destroyed, the hidden sanctuary was revealed. The entire surrounding sea had turned green.
“Ugh…!”
Just as Valeria had recovered from fatal wounds in the sanctuary as a perfect mana being, Keliak’s groaning body slowly began to regenerate.
But since he was only mimicking a perfect mana being through Shinu and the incomplete Demon Stones, his recovery was not fast. Keliak still had no way to survive.
“Ugh, heh heh… Will you really kill me and take away their chance to be reborn? Can you really do that?”
Kiiiiii—!
From the green-tinted sea, the Demon Stones’ howls echoed—layer upon layer of cries.
Incomplete Demon Stones were appearing on the water’s surface. Though Malugia’s power could not be added, they were definitely Demon Stones.
Jin instinctively knew that if those stones were completed, as Keliak said, it would truly be possible to resurrect the dead.
“Hah, Keliak Ziphl… Are you serious? Do you really believe I would spare you because of those stones?”
Jin kicked Keliak’s knee. The shattered kneecap pierced through the flesh, and Keliak collapsed, unable to even sit up, clinging to the ground like a worm.
“Or do you think I’d waver even a little? On the contrary, these Demon Stones are all the more reason to erase you from this world.”
“Is that so… Then it’s a pity. But even if you kill me, you haven’t won. After all, what awaits you is nothing but ruin and oblivion! Kill me. No, I don’t want to die… Spare me! I’ll do anything if you just let me live. Hahaha…”
Jin gripped Keliak’s head tightly. Beneath his bloodstained face, a scar was visible on his neck.
That scar was a mark left by Malugia. Jin recognized the glowing sun emblem embedded in the scar as Malugia’s symbol.
“Keliak Ziphl. You will suffer torment until your last breath in the underground prison of Runkandel, confessing something before you die. As of today… your time as Ziphl ends.”
“I’m used to surviving through pain. You know that, right? As long as I’m alive, I can do anything. As long as I don’t miss my chance! I’ve already clawed my way up from hell itself. Puhaha, huh, ugh, ku… kuk…!”
Keliak, who had been laughing, suddenly choked and groaned as if his throat was closing up. Jin flinched and stared at the scar on his neck.
Bang!
The scar flashed brightly for a moment before exploding, shattering Keliak’s head.
Jin instinctively stepped back, staring at Keliak’s body, now little more than a stick-like frame. As the corpse split open, a dimensional portal began to form from within.
“The air of the 677th dimension… it’s thick and unbearably foul.”
A figure emerged from the portal, shaking his head.
He was Keliak Ziphl, leader of the Demon God Corps, from the 33rd dimension.