Chapter 1118
Episode 258: The Predator of All Dimensions (8)
A dimensional gate formed from solar energy opened, and from within emerged other selves of the Sun God.
There was Iloanus, the self of reconstruction, and Araksion, the self of destruction. Both had taken Runcandel—or what was once Runcandel—as their host.
“Iloanus!? And Araksion too…!” Brigette shouted. Since they had already formed a temporary alliance with Malugia and Kragos, it was highly likely they had come here to stand against Keliak as well.
The problem was, they weren’t the only ones who had arrived.
“Rokia…!” Lucy’s face twisted in distress. Rokia Ganesto and her entire family had also crossed the dimensional gates of the Sun God’s selves and appeared on the battlefield.
“Ah, don’t look at me so hatefully. We didn’t come here because we wanted to. Can you just let me in for a moment?” Rokia spoke, seemingly familiar with the inner workings of the Lafrarosa, as she precisely pulled up Lucy’s screen.
“Get lost!” Lucy snapped.
“If you’re uncomfortable letting me inside, it’s not bad if you come out instead. After all, we’re still inside the shield. It’d be nice to see my daughter’s face again after so long.”
At the mention of Haelin, Lucy’s eyes flickered. Her daughter, whom she had lost once a thousand years ago and given up on recently, stood there wrapped in intense solar energy, staring out at the battlefield of the Changsung.
She wanted to scream out her hatred.
But Lucy quickly calmed herself. No matter how terrible the situation, now was not the time to be swayed by personal feelings.
“…I’ll go out.”
Stepping out onto the bridge with her comrades, Lucy flinched the moment she saw Rokia.
Her face was lined and aged, showing no trace of youth—a side never seen on the bridge screens.
“You’re too kind, Lucy. You shouldn’t just be shocked by my appearance—you should be mocking me.”
“Just get to the point.”
“Hm… the point, huh?” Rokia fell silent for a few seconds, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Lucy looked at the daughter standing beside her.
She looked exactly like Makos at seventeen. Only now, her entire body radiated solar energy, and her eyes gleamed with nothing but the hollow instinct of destruction.
“Well, I’m not even sure anymore why I’m doing all this.”
Rokia had sacrificed almost everything to understand the situation in the Black Sea.
Using countless worlds she had created, she had recreated similar scenarios. The price for repeating this process was her aged body. When all the recreations were done, she came to one conclusion: she had to get to the battlefield no matter what.
Jin must not die now. If that happened, neither Ganesto nor anyone else would be able to claim Solderet’s final legacy.
“My plans have gone off the rails too many times. So it’s hard to sum up my purpose in one sentence. But one thing’s for sure—I’m here to help you.”
“What did you say?”
“I hate Ziphl too.”
“How can we trust you?”
“If you don’t trust me, what can you do? Sword of the Will, Lucy Runcandel.”
Lucy had no answer.
At any other time, even with Rokia bringing two Sun God selves, they could handle it. Without Keliak, the alliance could have even defeated the Demon Corps. But if Rokia started attacking the alliance now, the already dire situation would spiral into utter ruin.
“You think you’re lucky just because you made a beautiful choice by doing nothing. What can you do? Can you add any combat power that would help right now? Or help lift Airan’s curse any faster?”
Rokia intended to bring Araksion and Iloanus into the fight and speed up the lifting of Airan’s curse.
Lucy gritted her teeth and glared at Rokia. Unfazed, Rokia reached out to her most loyal knight waiting nearby.
Joshua Runcandel—he had gained Iloanus’s power through Rokia.
“Joshua, my most faithful knight. Go and strike down Keliak Ziphl. Even if your body is shattered to pieces, your soul torn to dust… do it for the family.”
“Of course, Mother.”
Joshua knelt on one knee and kissed the back of Rokia’s hand. She stared into his eyes for a long moment.
Though what awaited him was a humiliating and miserable battle, there was no hesitation in his gaze.
“…I think you’re beginning to understand me a little, Joshua.”
“With that, I can accept my entire life.”
Rokia brushed his hair aside and turned her gaze back to Lucy.
“Lucy, shouldn’t you say something to your daughter? Once we head to the battlefield, Haelin will never come back.”
Lucy shuddered. Unlike Joshua, Haelin seemed to have no trace of human consciousness.
Still, she had no choice but to follow Rokia’s words. As a mother who had always lost and given up on her daughter, there was something she had to say—even if Haelin couldn’t hear it.
“I’m sorry, Haelin. If there’s a next time, I hope you live happily under better parents. You should only bear as much pain and happiness as a person can carry.”
She couldn’t bring herself to cry. Lucy’s expression was calm as she reached out to touch Haelin’s shoulder—the face she had longed to see—but then withdrew her hand. Haelin showed no reaction.
“Mother, we’re coming too.”
Ran, Vigo, Mew, and Anne—the remaining knights of Ganesto—drew their swords. Rokia knew better than anyone that they wouldn’t be of much help in this war.
“Right. You all deserve a moment to shine, even if it’s a pathetic flame that moves no one. Go ahead and light it. I won’t deny you.”
The knights of Ganesto and Araksion charged into the battlefield.
Joshua, empowered by Iloanus, and Araksion pushed forward relentlessly, but the other knights struggled as soon as they left Lafrarosa’s shield.
“Graaah…!”
The magic of the Demon Corps’ Changsung tore their limbs apart. When they regenerated and stood again, alliance members stabbed them with their swords. The news hadn’t fully spread yet, so to the alliance, Ganesto’s knights were just another pestering enemy appearing like cockroaches at the worst possible moment. Even after the news spread, nothing would change.
“We came under Mother’s orders to support you!”
No one among the alliance answered their cries. They had neither the time nor the reason to respond. Whether friend or foe, these knights couldn’t turn the tide of battle.
“Isn’t it funny? In the end, those kids are fighting for Runcandel. Even if their intentions are for me, not Runcandel, and no one welcomes them—people curse them, spit on them, stab them with knives.”
“You’re a terrible person. No, you’re not even human. You say you’re here to help, but all you’re thinking about is how to take Temar’s left arm by any means.”
“That’s how it looks, I guess. But being bound like this… it makes a person miserable. Now then, I have my own work to do.”
Rokia raised both arms.
“I can help lift the curse as long as I have minimal magic. The great serpent Ameris should be working on it inside Lafrarosa. I doubt they’ll just let me in the bridge, so restrain me yourself.”
{[Lucy, don’t restrain her. Just bring her along.]}
Leet’s voice came through the screen inside the ship.
“Oh, Leet.”
[Butler, are you sure about this?]
{[We don’t have the capacity to restrain her anyway. I said that knowing it. She’ll probably try to stab us in the back at a critical moment, but that’s better than enduring seventeen hours against that monster. Not restraining her will also make the curse lifting a bit more efficient.]}
“You’re quick to grasp reality, Butler. Seventeen hours? Against the Demon Corps’ leader? And soon the Demon Stone will arrive on the battlefield. Even if Siron and Ban each had one more person, it would still be impossible. It was the same even with Temar back then.”
The lower hatch of Lafrarosa opened. Following Leet’s advice, Lucy and Rokia reentered the ship.
Leet personally guided Rokia to Ameris’s workshop. Ameris was so focused on lifting the curse that she didn’t even notice the door opening and people entering.
“Leet, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you this close. How many Runcandels are gathered on this battlefield? You, me, Lucy, Murakan, Veil, and Temar—who’s left with only his left arm—makes six. It’s enough to bring tears to my eyes, thinking of old times.”
[How much can we speed up the curse lifting?]
“Let me take a look first. Hmm… this should buy us at least ten hours. The ancient god is still an ancient god—surprisingly knowledgeable about Melka’s curse.”
[Not at least, but at most.]
“Then let’s say twelve hours. But that’s assuming Keliak Ziphl’s attacks don’t affect this workshop at all. Even with twelve hours, we still have to hold out for five. You should worry about that more than me. Even with Iloanus and Araksion joining, there’s no answer. You saw Kragos get torn apart in an instant, right? Those two might be stronger, but not by much.”
While talking with Rokia, Luet kept watching the battle through the recorded footage. He saw Kragos being pushed back, and Jin struggling to protect Valeria and Enya.
Rokia glanced at the screen and swallowed a bitter laugh. At this very moment—when someone had risked everything to lift the curse on Temar’s left arm—it was almost absurd that Jin was now on the verge of losing his own left arm.
“It’s strange,” she muttered. “No matter how hard you try, fate refuses to smile on you… yet for others, it fits together perfectly, like a puzzle already solved. Now, it’s time to focus. Let the leader of the Demon Army handle things on their own.”
Soon after, Luet and Lucy left the workshop.
“Lucy, go fetch Sir Thalris. No matter what happens inside, we must seal this place absolutely with the power of the Bow. And even if Keliak’s attack starts striking Laprarosa directly, only he can create a seal strong enough to absorb some of the shock here.”