Chapter 1121
Episode 258: The Predator of All Dimensions (11)
Kelliaq’s pupils dilated.
“My darkest child.”
There was only one being worthy of such a description from the Sun God’s own consciousness.
“Helluram…!?”
Throughout his conquest of hundreds of dimensions, Kelliaq had never once faced Helluram’s true form in direct combat. He had only fought against her clones a few times.
It wasn’t that confronting Helluram was a burden for Kelliaq. It was simply that she always fled—vanishing into the abyss so deep even the Demon God’s forces struggled to track her.
That was why, whenever Kelliaq conquered or destroyed a dimension, he would erase both Helluram and the abyss itself from that world’s Demon God Stone. There was no need to endure the effort of chasing her into the abyss; he could just wipe her from history altogether.
Because of this, Kelliaq never held Helluram in particularly high regard. He acknowledged her as a transcendent being beyond the Sun God’s consciousness, but one who could never dare oppose him—a mere special immortal among many.
A chilling wind suddenly swept through, and the annihilation flame orb—the size of a solar eclipse—was shrouded in darkness.
“This power… it’s not a clone.”
The terrible heat that had spread across the battlefield quickly cooled. The annihilation flame orb, which no one had dared to stop, began to chill the moment Helluram appeared.
It was the first time Kelliaq faced the power of her true form.
Yet, even as the orb was swallowed by darkness and he witnessed her immense authority, Kelliaq was not particularly surprised.
“Compared to the clones I’ve faced before, this is on another level… but according to the Demon God Stone’s calculations, it’s entirely possible. It’s within the expected range. So, what will you do, Helluram? Can you show me something beyond the Demon God Stone’s predictions?”
The darkness completely enveloped the annihilation flame orb.
From within, Helluram emerged.
“That figure… the witch Helluram.”
Jin, the Changsung, and everyone on the battlefield looked up at the sun, now blackened.
Helluram’s form appeared no different from a human’s. Her face was veiled, but even from afar, her skin was unmistakably pale. Her tight black dress flowed long enough to nearly touch the ground.
Aside from her clothing, she looked unremarkable—but anyone seeing her for the first time would instantly know she was the witch Helluram.
Just as those who have seen darkness instinctively understand what darkness is, and those who face fire immediately know it’s hot.
Under normal circumstances.
Those who hadn’t reached the Changsung would fall into the abyss just by looking at Helluram—if she refused to let them meet her gaze.
Focal’s words that he had “come to welcome her” and the resolve he showed at that moment meant he intended to protect the people from her.
That was why Focal suffered the most pain the moment Helluram appeared. His solar energy was unstable, trembling under the abyss’s power, yet Helluram didn’t even glance his way.
“Foolish orphan, if you only sought salvation, there were far easier and better paths.”
Kelliaq let out a bitter laugh at that cold voice.
“Salvation? Do you really think I’m someone who needs that?”
“Everyone will see you that way. Those trapped in the swamp of desire and longing all share the same hollow gaze—whether they stand tall or crawl on the ground.”
“You’ve run away so many times you’ve been erased from history, yet you still try to judge me? I don’t care what you think. But if you want to prove yourself, then show me the power and authority to make me despair.”
Though the annihilation flame orb was hidden, the rivers of magic he summoned still surged fiercely, intertwining.
He roared as if nothing had changed despite Helluram’s arrival. In response, the darkness and chaos she spread deepened, and their energies began to clash in earnest.
Their power wasn’t confined to the battlefield alone—it extended into countless pocket dimensions, gaps at the entrances to other worlds, and places beyond normal perception.
In all those spaces, abyss and magic collided. Even though the battlefield was where the least power met, it shook as if someone outside was grasping it with both hands and shaking it violently.
It wasn’t just an earthquake.
The entire space rippled like a storm-tossed sea. The ground tilted diagonally, and soldiers instinctively clung to the earth, staring down into the dizzying depths.
Though they had endured a battle that felt unreal, the battlefield now churned like a nightmare in the dead of night.
The earth surged upward, tilting at right angles, and fleets crashed against the ground, falling. Sometimes the ground shattered instead, blocked by protective shields.
Then it settled, rippled, spun. Physically impossible events unfolded every second. The empty spaces—underground or sky—were replaced each time by a white, foamy substance.
No one knew what lay within that foam. But everyone on the battlefield sensed it instinctively: once you fell into that white foam, you would never return.
“W-what is this—”
“Ahhh! Please, Lord Rondo, save us!”
Until now, even when the Demon God forces were used as cannon fodder, or the alliance’s attacks were fierce, or Kelliaq killed on a whim, no one had begged for their life.
Like the demon tribes brainwashed by Jito, they had charged blindly.
But now, members of the Demon God forces were acting like living people for the first time.
They realized this wasn’t right, raised their voices to survive, questioned the value of this war, and showed on their faces that they didn’t want to die meaningless deaths.
That was proof of doubt.
Perhaps the suspicion that Kelliaq might be defeated was cracking the loyalty forged from fear and blind obedience. If Kelliaq fell, the Demon God Stone would no longer be able to revive the dead. The Demon God forces would lose control over time itself.
Of course, the Demon God mages hadn’t suddenly changed just because of doubt. Helluram’s spreading darkness was seeping into their hearts. To overcome that darkness, certain elements were essential.
A cause. And bonds.
The desire to conquer matter and time could never be a true cause, and those united by mere desire could never forge genuine bonds.
That was why the Demon God forces couldn’t dispel the witch’s abyss. Those who had watched millions crushed like insects without trembling now felt terror as if abandoned alone in a cave.
“The enemy is faltering! Riders, protect our allies!”
Meanwhile, the Balmel Alliance remained unchanged.
No one among the allies stood on this battlefield to die. The determination to fight for the world even if they died, and the mindset of not caring if they died, were fundamentally different. Pride and conviction—the difference between those who had it and those who didn’t—was finally becoming clear.
“We’ll create a barrier to walk on instead of the ground, using the Immortal and myself. No matter how space twists, find the barrier we make and throw yourself onto it!”
Both the alliance and the Demon God forces responded the same way: using spiritual energy, magic, or solar power to create a stable area to stand on amid the warped space.
The difference was attitude. No matter how strong their survival instincts screamed, the allies reached out desperately to those fighting alongside them.
“Don’t fall!”
“Even the Demon God’s leader will waver like the rest. If we hold on, we can return. Laprarosa still stands strong!”
As Runtia said, despite the battlefield’s shaking and distortion, Laprarosa stood tall like a mountain.
They had to lift the curse and ensure Jin inherited Solderet’s legacy.
Even now, with the witch’s appearance, the alliance’s top priority hadn’t changed. If anything, it had become more important.
The transcendent beings aiding the alliance here all had different goals. Malugia sought ultimate destruction, Helluram desired a world without light.
Even if Kelliaq was defeated and forced to retreat, failure to eliminate them all would mean defeat. Only the alliance was fighting to save this world—fighting to protect memories, history, land, and people.
“L-Lord Kelliaq! W-we should retreat! The damage is too great—agh!”
“The very ones who mocked Helluram when we first encountered her through the Demon God Stone’s writings are now scared and want to run. If we annihilate the enemy, we’ll have plenty of time to laugh and reminisce about today.”
Kelliaq laughed uproariously, clearly enjoying the sight of the Demon God forces collapsing. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen, and he coughed up blood between ragged breaths.
Even before Helluram appeared, he had seemed cornered. Now, he looked exhausted—on the verge of collapse, never to rise again.
“Khrr…! Do you think only you have the right to fall when the time comes? To die when you should? No, I am the true immortal.”
Thud…!
Krantel slammed his blade down on Kelliaq’s head. The blade cleaved halfway through his skull before stopping, and for a moment, Kelliaq’s eyes lost focus as if dead.
It was literally just a fleeting moment. Keliak yanked the axe-sword lodged in his head out with his left hand and hurled Luna away.
‘She lost consciousness, even if only briefly! Her regeneration has slowed down.’
If they kept landing critical hits like this, it might be possible to take him down before the Demon Stone arrived.
With that thought, Luna gripped Krantel once more. Meanwhile, Hellram looked down at Keliak and said,
“Keliak Ziphl… Is the thing you’re waiting for really intact? Do you think I sought you out now without reason?”