Chapter 1126
Episode 258: The Predator of All Dimensions (16)
Grrrrr… Kuuuuurgh…!
Keliak’s desire was surging wildly. The battlefield no longer bore any sign that it was once the Black Sea. Instead, a sticky, crimson tide of lust rolled endlessly like a vast ocean. Though there were still some highlands left to stand on, it wouldn’t be long before even those were swallowed whole.
Everyone was witnessing a sight none had ever seen before. Not even Keliak himself had imagined his desire would manifest so tangibly.
Only Helluram had foreseen this. If Keliak succeeded in shedding his old self once more, this was exactly the kind of phenomenon that would unfold.
His desire would flood the entire world, trapping all life and matter within it, suffocating them.
Helluram had wanted this ending too—but not as a repulsive flood of lust like now. He had envisioned it as a rising tide of darkness and abyss.
Ssshhhrrrk…!
In the middle of the sea of desire, a gaping maw opened wide. Inside was a dimensional gate unlike any seen on the battlefield before, and from it, a long, jagged stone began to rise.
The Demon God Stone.
A grotesque abomination first completed by Keliak in the 33rd dimension—one that would never again exist in the world.
“So it has indeed deteriorated…” Keliak clicked his tongue, clutching the Demon God Stone with both hands. Its surface, which should have been solid, was soft and mushy like a rotten mushroom. The powers of manipulation and distortion that should have radiated from it were barely perceptible.
“But you should have destroyed it completely, Helluram. So thoroughly that I wouldn’t even dare to try fixing it.”
With a splash, Keliak tossed the stone back into the flowing crimson sea, as if releasing a caught fish.
After all, this desire was part of Keliak Ziphl’s very being—or perhaps it was the whole of him. To him, it was as if he had never truly let it go.
“I’ll need some time, so until then, everyone, enjoy the remaining fight. As you can see… thanks to you all, I’ve crossed a line I didn’t even know existed. Something that never was before, and never will be again.”
“Yeah… earlier you still wore human skin, but now I don’t even know what to call you.”
Jin’s words earned a nod from Keliak.
“I’m still wearing the skin, in a way. What should you call me? The embodiment of desire? The Absolute? Those sound so cliché. But even if they are, I can’t think of a more fitting title.”
The One God.
Keliak grinned.
“Among all immortals who have ever existed, no—beyond that, even among those who created worlds—none have wielded power greater than mine. Unlike Kinzello, I don’t suffer torment that leads to self-destruction. Debating whether to maintain, destroy, or rebuild the world? That’s not a task suited for me.”
If something is lacking, he fills it. If something is useless, he discards it. If something displeases him, he reshapes it.
Keliak whistled as he spoke, the exhaustion from being on the defensive completely vanished.
Though he stood defenseless, no one dared attack.
They had to prevent Keliak’s desire from flooding inward—everyone in the alliance, including the Changsung and even Helluram.
The Demon God Army, who had been losing faith, now bowed before Keliak.
“I doubted you, Your Grace.”
“It’s true I once relied on you, Midor. You and the Balmel Alliance were the last to make me wary.”
“What must I do?”
“I still need you—for now. So keep fighting. Until the Demon God Stone regains its form. After that, you won’t be necessary, but that doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”
“Of course.”
As soon as Midor answered, he felt a weight lift from his body. Keliak had momentarily released them from the waves of desire.
“This is the Demon God Army’s final battle. Let’s end it in victory.”
Their magic hadn’t grown stronger, nor had their combat prowess suddenly increased. Rondo’s group was still exhausted.
But the alliance had to keep suppressing the impulses Keliak stirred up as they fought. Their minds dulled, their bodies sluggish.
“Gah!”
The first to be pierced by Rondo’s magic was Tuben. He stood with a hole in his chest larger than his head, dying before his comrades could even call his name. His body turned to ash and scattered.
The Golden Fleet could no longer press the enemy as heavily as before, and Murakan—the only Changsung on the central battlefield—was suffering the most intense impulses among all the alliance.
“This isn’t real, damn it… No, it can’t be!”
Murakan muttered to himself, half out of his mind.
He was seeing an illusion born of impulse instead of the reality of war with the Demon God Army, the red sea, his dying comrades, and Keliak Ziphl.
The impulse Murakan felt was Keliak’s desire.
What Keliak sought to do as the One God was akin to the creation the Sun God Kinzello performed at the dawn of time—shaping the world, giving life.
In other words, Keliak’s desired creation was a world “made to his liking.”
That’s why Murakan was seeing not reality, but the world he had dreamed of.
A world where Temar Ziphl never died, where Solderet never vanished.
A world where he wouldn’t have to kill the revenants Frey, Iolo, and Dranax with his own hands.
A world where, after awakening from a thousand-year slumber, he wouldn’t lose his comrades again.
The red sea was drawing everyone on the battlefield into such impulses, forcing them to see illusions. Murakan was just the first to break, but it seemed everyone would follow.
“You desire, and I adjust your desires. When the Demon God Stone is restored, Murakan will see something else. An illusion where he tramples on what he loves for Ziphl’s sake. He’ll truly want that. And that illusion will become reality.”
No one could know their true desire. Everything was tuned and altered by Keliak’s will.
“This is how I, the One God, have chosen to rule the world, Jin Runkandel.”
“Murakan!”
Magic beams and spatial explosions from Rondo’s group struck Murakan. Lost in illusion, he couldn’t dodge. If his comrades and the Golden Fleet hadn’t shielded him, one of the beams would have pierced his heart.
“Ugh… ugh.”
“Murakan, snap out of it!”
Jin shouted, barely holding back the invading impulses himself.
Of course, this wasn’t the world Murakan wanted to create through his return. He hadn’t wished to change so many fates or bring his loved ones into such a horrific battle.
Stay calm. Murakan has lost his mind, but the others can still fight. The curse lift should be fine… assuming no problems. Then we just have to hold on for one more hour. One hour… to endure his mental manipulation.
Valeria was needed.
She was the answer. She had to find the records. We had to find the records of Keliak’s mental manipulation and keep showing them to our comrades.
“Valeria.”
No answer came.
Jin turned sharply, a chill running down his spine, and looked at her.
“Vale…ria.”
Valeria stared blankly into the crimson sea that reached up to her waist. The record window floating before her hadn’t updated past the last line: “Keliak Ziphl’s desire spreads.”
She, too, was trapped in illusion like Murakan.
Back when she lived with the Gray Owl Mercenary Corps, walking the shores of Honka Island with Jin, spending their last night together.
Those memories were among the few happy moments in Valeria’s life.
But also a curse. She wandered endlessly through illusions, searching for a world where happiness could remain just happiness. She was already utterly exhausted.
“Unfortunately, it seems Valeria Hister has decided to rest now, too, Jin Runkandel. What will you do? What other tricks will you pull to surprise me…?”
[Jin Runkandel.]
Helluram interrupted Keliak’s words, calling Jin’s name.
[One hour. I will hold Keliak Ziphl back. You must find Solderet’s final legacy.]
The witch Helluram.
Though she had helped the alliance to stop Keliak, she had always intended to prevent Jin from inheriting the legacy. After all, Helluram, Malugia, and the alliance ultimately pursued different goals.
But now, Helluram had no other choice. For her, it was a matter of choosing the lesser evil.
“Witch Helluram, it seems the old immortal still has some strength left.”
[You sound like a child, orphan. The Demon God Stone is not yet restored. The title of One God is not yours yet. Whether one minute or ten remain until restoration, it is not yours until then.]
As if mocking those words, Keliak stretched out his hand, and Malugia and Araksion slipped from Helluram’s grasp. They stood motionless like frozen machines.
“To think you’d so easily lose the last piece needed to absorb the Sun God’s power, yet you’re so confident. Care to say again, like before? That you have it all planned.”
At the center of the battlefield, comrades still struggled desperately to protect the mentally lost Murakan.
[Murakan, get up! Without you, we’re all dead.]
[I…]
The Changsung of the battlefield gathered around Jin. For now, all they could do was hope Helluram would keep her word.
Jin held Valeria in his arms and stared out at the endless crimson sea.
The radiant power of regeneration that once shone so brilliantly was now buried beneath layers of desire, completely obscured. Jin had no choice but to scour this entire sea, desperate to find the entrance to Anbae once more. Every second counted—he had to wait for the curse on Temar’s left arm to be lifted as soon as possible.
[Relax your face, you bastard… huff Anyone watching would think it’s all over.]
It was Orgal.
[It’s hopeless, sure, but you’re the first to make it this far. That alone is hope. No matter what, let’s hold on to that damn bastard and drag him down to the end.]
There was no path to be seen anywhere in the crimson sea. It was bleak, but it was a familiar kind of despair.