Chapter 1116
Episode 258: The Predator of All Dimensions (6)
“Huff… huff…”
Luna exhaled heavily, wrapping the Crimson Aura around Krantel once more. Though exhausted, the aura radiated with the same intense glow as when it was first summoned.
With the aging effect of Jin nullified, the Changsung could finally breathe a little easier.
Of course, the situation hadn’t fundamentally improved. They had only pushed back the relentless decline for a moment.
With the Flame Realm destroyed, the 677th dimension had lost one of the world’s most vital orders. The cycle of reincarnation was broken—souls of the dead had nowhere to go.
At the rear of the battlefield, the Changsung of the Demon God Corps, the gods, the phoenixes, fleets, and mages continued to press the alliance forces relentlessly.
More were meeting their end before reaching the protective shield of Laprarosa than those who made it inside.
Keliak had appeared on the battlefield just an hour ago.
There were still 17 hours left before the seal could be lifted. At this rate, Keliak would annihilate the entire alliance before then. No matter how many miracles occurred, no matter how fiercely they resisted, no matter how much they threw themselves into battle for their beliefs and pride, that grim truth seemed unchangeable.
“Father, what should we do?”
“Have you grown weak just from aging a little? You’re asking such questions now?”
Shiron spoke as he intercepted a beam from Keliak, flying to Luna’s side.
“I just can’t see any answer. I’m not afraid to fight, to lose, or to die. But when I think about my family, my comrades, everyone disappearing… it drives me mad.”
“Do you feel madness creeping in?”
“No, not that.”
“It will come. And that’s fine. It means you’re growing stronger. Besides, we’re not the only enemies he has left.”
Malugia.
Naturally, the alliance hoped she would appear on the battlefield. Even if her ultimate desire was destruction, her arrival could tip the scales in their favor.
“I, too, would welcome Malugia’s arrival here, Shiron Runkandel.”
Shing!
Spears of light rained down above Shiron’s head. His vision was still limited, making it difficult to fend off such a barrage.
In an instant, fresh wounds appeared. Aging began to spread from the injuries, and Shiron, feeling his body grow heavy and sluggish, dodged out of the spear’s path.
“It’s best to finish everything cleanly right here.”
This wasn’t bravado. Keliak wasn’t the type to bluff. He still had a few tricks left—just as the alliance held the trump cards of Solderet’s legacy and Malugia’s intervention.
And he was the kind of man who didn’t need to hide those cards.
“Curious about the power of a completed Demon God Stone?”
Keliak, who had been hovering in the sky moments ago, suddenly reached out his hand right in front of Shiron. Luna, Ban, and Orgal lunged simultaneously to strike his hand away.
The battle mirrored their last encounter in the empire. Though three swords were embedded in his bare body, his arm twisted like a mosaic, nullifying every attack.
“This level of manipulation and distortion is possible even without a Demon God Stone. It’s already quite frustrating. But soon, the finest Demon God Stone will arrive here at my summons.”
That was why Keliak awaited Malugia.
Once the completed Demon God Stone arrived, all variables would be blocked at their source.
“With that power, I will absorb Malugia. Then, I will seize the power of the Sun God and become a being who can perfectly control even time itself.”
“You’re obsessed with controlling time, aren’t you, Keliak?”
“It can’t be helped, Shiron. It’s the only power I haven’t yet grasped. I’ve killed or absorbed hundreds of Olta, but to truly master time, I need the complete power of the Sun God. Malugia is the final piece.”
The power of Keliak Ziphl, wielding both the completed Demon God Stone and the full Sun God’s might, was beyond imagination—even Keliak himself couldn’t fully grasp it.
“To change the unchangeable, to make the impossible possible, to walk a path that can’t be retraced… there’s no greater joy than that…”
For the first time, Keliak showed signs of excitement. Laughing like a madman, he absorbed the swords passing through him—attacks so meaningless they left no mark.
“Seventeen hours! That’s the time you need to enter the subspace where Solderet’s legacy lies. You won’t reach it. That’s why I came myself.”
“Are you sure?”
This time, it was Jin, not Shiron, who spoke. Keliak turned his gaze toward Jin.
“Jin Runkandel, you’ve endured aging and gained some confidence, haven’t you?”
“You must be able to read everything on this battlefield as if it were your own body. Or perhaps not just the battlefield, but everything happening throughout the Black Sea.”
Indeed, Keliak sensed even the smallest monsters retreating into burrows at the Black Sea’s edge. He didn’t need to sharpen his senses—it came naturally.
“In other words, you perceive everything happening on this land. But you just said you haven’t conquered time yet. So how can you be so certain about the future? The logic that you’re stronger than us and therefore the outcome is inevitable can always be proven wrong. Don’t you realize that?”
After a tense silence of about ten seconds, Keliak nodded.
“You’re right…”
Flash!
Suddenly, the Changsung attacking Keliak were flung in all directions, repelled by an explosion of bright and dark magic.
White and black energies began to stain the earth. Stepping on the land soaked in bright magic caused rapid aging; stepping on the dark magic’s ground made the body vanish.
Though overwhelming to see, the attack wasn’t particularly effective. The Changsung could fight just as well without touching the ground.
But Keliak hadn’t unleashed his magic to pressure the Changsung.
“Until I swallow Malugia, this is an irrefutable truth.”
No sooner had Keliak finished speaking than something fell from the sky.
Like a falling star, a massive golden figure plummeted to the ground.
It was Malugia.
Her hair flowed long and river-like, just as it had in the empire, roots digging into the earth and radiating solar energy.
But this time was different. Malugia’s solar aura couldn’t push back Keliak’s magic that blanketed the land as swiftly as before.
She was suffering more than Keliak from the aftermath of their last battle. The violent fall was proof of that.
“So, you were hiding near the Flame Realm… Malugia. Well, you had nowhere else to hide. You couldn’t have crawled through dimensional gates foolishly.”
From the moment he destroyed the Flame Realm, Keliak had planned to strike at Malugia wherever she was.
His judgment was sound. Malugia had been focusing on recovery, suspending her presence, and thus couldn’t defend against Keliak’s magic spreading from the Flame Realm and beyond. That forced her to appear on the battlefield now.
Originally, she was supposed to enter the battlefield fully recovered exactly 15 minutes from now. According to her calculations, the Demon God Stone would arrive an hour later.
Forty-five minutes—that was enough time for Malugia to neutralize Keliak’s use of the stone, even if it arrived. If she could pressure Keliak alongside the Balmel alliance, it was possible.
But because she appeared early, Malugia’s plan suffered a fatal flaw.
“We must protect Malugia!”
Jin shouted instinctively.
Malugia was clearly weaker now than when they saw her in the empire. If Keliak subdued her now, the variable would vanish.
The moment the Demon God Stone arrived, Keliak would absorb the subdued Malugia and gain the Sun God’s power.
As Jin shouted, Keliak was already weaving his magic like a net over the land, trying to bind Malugia.
The Changsung instinctively dodged the magic, but upon hearing Jin’s voice, they quickly changed course.
“Ugh…!”
“Gah!”
Bright and dark magic tore through the Changsung’s bodies.
They aged, they faded. Valeria and Enya’s healing had limits. Beyond those, there was no turning back.
[“I’ll handle all the bright magic and aging! You focus on repelling the dark magic!”]
It was Orgal.
Thanks to his demonic nature and Heluram’s blessing, he was least affected by aging. He had died once and been granted new life by a witch.
But no one knew how long he could endure. Not even Orgal himself.
That meant no one knew the limits of Valeria and Enya’s healing for him.
If he took on all the bright magic alone, he could age a thousand years in an instant—maybe even ten thousand.
[“Aaaaargh…!”]
The Changsung obeyed Orgal. They had no choice—if they didn’t, they’d be wiped out trying to save Malugia.
As the Changsung pushed back Keliak’s magic and approached Malugia, the magic covering the land vanished.
They breathed a silent sigh of relief as they confirmed Malugia was steadying herself, waiting for the right moment to counterattack Keliak.
And Orgal’s fingers were skeletal now.