Chapter 1088
Episode 255: The Death of Keliak Ziphl, and Then… (5)

Eradication.

A force capable of utterly annihilating anything within the mortal realm was converging. Four Changsung—each unleashing their full power—stood united.

Cut down the enemy. Shatter them. Kill.

Blades and claws, gleaming with a near-cursed single-mindedness and hatred, surged relentlessly toward Keliak.

The first to strike at Keliak’s back was Luna’s crimson blade. Her eyes burned with a deeper, darker murderous intent than any of the four.

Ssshh!

The air warped sharply as Krantel’s blade sliced through space, leaving a strange, razor-sharp trace. In that instant, Keliak teleported three steps away, narrowly evading the attack.

The residual energy from the crimson blade grazed Keliak’s shoulder. Two rapid follow-up strikes left only faint scratches.

“Yeah, seeing your face brings back memories. Things from another dimension… How could I have forgotten you?”
“Luna Runkandel, still playing the hero even here, huh?”

Luna momentarily lost speed as a sudden spatial explosion erupted before her eyes. Seizing the moment, Keliak put more distance between them and reinforced his shield.

The shield swelled rapidly, growing immense. Keliak slipped deep inside it, vanishing from Luna’s sight.

The watching allies could hardly believe their eyes.

“Just a shield… and yet it’s holding against the Changsung’s ultimate techniques…!”

Jin and Ban’s Meiwang Gunlim swords struck the shield, only to be blocked. Yet the Changsung themselves showed no sign of surprise, as if they had expected this.

While the Meiwang Gunlim swords seemed to halt, only Luna pressed forward relentlessly, chasing Keliak.

Inside the shield, Keliak’s fluctuating magic instantly ignited Luna’s entire body. Among the Changsung, only Luna could withstand such flames head-on.

“Still as stubborn and tenacious as ever. I’ll give you credit for daring to raise your blade against me, even after all those countless, crushing defeats.”

“Don’t get cocky, Keliak. You’re not just facing us alone, remember?”

Before the words finished, a golden beam pierced Keliak’s chest—Malugia’s Sun Spear.

Malugia had been clearly aiding the Barmel Alliance from the start. More precisely, since summoning Focal, she had been manipulating the other solar deities’ selves and the Barmel Alliance alike.

For a human, a piercing wound like that would be fatal—especially in the heart. Yet Keliak didn’t even cough up blood. The pierced wound briefly shimmered with a mosaic-like magic before quickly healing. Without any demon stones, Keliak was using his own power to manipulate reality at a remarkable level.

“Well, that must be fortunate for you.”

Kaaang!

Malugia’s spear, which had pierced Keliak, shot back at the speed of light. Simultaneously, an identical spear flew toward Luna.

The first spear shredded Malugia’s protective barrier like paper and pierced her throat.

Unlike Keliak, she flinched, showing signs of injury. She had poured nearly all her strength into the dimensional gate with Focal, leaving her unable to respond properly.

Luna flawlessly dodged both the first and second spears, closing the distance with Keliak once more.

But as she swung Krantel, a third spear suddenly shot up from behind, piercing her thigh.

Keliak expected her to falter, but Luna simply pulled the spear out and swung Krantel toward Keliak’s neck.

Deep.

The blade sliced nearly halfway through Keliak’s neck. Yet, thanks to his reality manipulation, it was as if it never happened.

“Now!”

Luna shouted to Malugia and their comrades.

From her observation, the only time Keliak showed even the slightest vulnerability was when he used his manipulation. When Malugia’s spear pierced his chest, she hadn’t been sure enough to signal, but now she was certain.

Jin, Ban, Murakan.

Their ultimate techniques hadn’t failed to penetrate the shield—they had deliberately let themselves be blocked. Keliak hadn’t noticed.

It was a gamble.

If Keliak had focused solely on the Changsung, this trick wouldn’t have worked. The Changsung simply maintained their ultimate techniques without fully clashing with the shield.

Because Malugia and Luna kept up the pressure, Keliak missed the subtle deception.

And there was one more reason.

Keliak Ziphl of the 33rd dimension had never truly faced the Meiwang Gunlim sword before. While he conquered every other dimension, Ban the Duelist had never fully manifested in the mortal realm like this.

[You’re a lucky one, Keliak Ziphl. You’ve never lived in the same era as me in any dimension.]

The lightning blade of the Meiwang Gunlim sword, which had hovered just before the shield, began to move. Before it even touched the shield, the barrier melted away like ice, opening a path.

[Ah, but perhaps it’s not all good. This is the era of the Jin brothers now… He is greater than I.]

Keliak’s eyes widened.

The shield that had spread across the battlefield vanished in an instant—something he hadn’t accounted for. Even the distant parts of the shield, far from the lightning blade, were collapsing.

At the same time, Malugia focused all her power—previously poured only beyond the dimensional gate—directly on Keliak, while Luna retreated toward the direction of the Changsung’s onslaught.

“Finish him off, youngest.”

Jin, Ban, and Murakan passed Luna like a tidal wave rising.

“Ugh…!”

Golden cubes crushed Keliak from all sides.

‘Malugia’s goal wasn’t to strike my base… She intended to target me from the start. To be caught off guard by the Barmel Alliance Changsung’s cheap tricks—this is truly dangerous.’

Since the battle began, Keliak had never let his guard down. He hadn’t recklessly attacked Jin to avoid even the smallest counterattack, focusing his full strength on Malugia, his top priority.

It just wasn’t enough.

Even as the head of the Demon Army, facing Malugia and all the Changsung at once was impossible.

‘Just as Malugia here differs from the other Malugias I’ve faced, so too do these Changsung differ.’

Crisis.

For the first time in a long while, Keliak Ziphl felt a wave of genuine danger.

Yet he never considered it a mistake. Being lured into this dimension by Malugia’s trap, facing Malugia and the Changsung all at once upon arrival—it was proof he had made the right call.

—And such resolve sometimes touches miracles. That’s why the powerful warriors of the 677th dimension have never been able to kill the mutant Jin Runkandel. The Barmel Alliance is a formidable enemy unlike any other dimension has faced.

—I was short-sighted.

—They believe that because they dominate every dimension except the 677th, and possess completed demon stones, they can surely eliminate them. They’re wrong. Their blades are already at our throats.

Keliak recalled the last meeting and smiled grimly.

[You still have that much composure.]

Ban’s blade fell toward Keliak’s forehead.

There was no way to dodge. Malugia’s golden cubes blocked every escape route, and the only gaps were filled by Murakan’s dark veil.

Reluctantly, Keliak grabbed Ban’s blade barehanded.

“Ugh…! How could I not laugh, Ban? If I’d made even a slight misjudgment, I’d have been defeated without ever setting foot on this land.”

Keliak spat a mouthful of blood.

Just as Keliak was experiencing the Meiwang Gunlim sword for the first time, Ban was also facing an opponent who could endure it like this for the first time.

An enemy who could catch the final condensed blade of the ultimate technique barehanded—without a weapon—was beyond imagination.

Terrible vibrations, explosions, and roaring thunder filled the air.

Amid it all, Keliak’s trembling hands slowly pushed Ban back. Despite spitting blood and his eyes turning white, his magic refined and intensified.

But the Meiwang Gunlim sword is not just one.

Behind Keliak, the sword that had summoned the head of the Demon Army, Jin Runkandel, was falling.

“Graaah…!”

Keliak barely ducked in time to avoid having his head split in two. Jin’s blade sliced across his back and struck the ground.

A sharp sensation of bone grinding against steel was unmistakable, and an unbelievable amount of blood gushed forth.

Drenched in blood, Jin roared as he swung again, slicing Keliak’s waist horizontally.

Even as his body was cut in half, Keliak did not release Ban’s sword. At that moment, even the Changsung felt chills down their spines.

Square-shaped magic covered Keliak’s wounds. Reality manipulation—no matter how deep the blade was pushed in, it was as if it struck empty air.

But once healed, Keliak showed signs of heavy breathing. His entire body was soaked in sweat, and the flow of his magic was no longer as stable as before.

The Golden Fleet’s engines roared back to life at that very moment. Following Jin’s prior orders, the fleet immediately began its retreat, and in an instant, dimensional gates opened across the sky, leading back to Tikan.

Jin and Bando retrieved their swords simultaneously. Continuing to fight Keliak to the bitter end now would only mean trading bone for flesh—an exchange neither could afford.

No sooner had the Changsung withdrawn than Malugia descended to the ground, ready to face Keliak directly.

Pierced through and through by dozens of golden spears, Keliak looked up at Jin as the Changsung disappeared into the distance and said, “This debt… I’ll make sure to repay it soon, Jin Runkandel.”