Episode 1127
Chapter 258: The Predator of All Dimensions (17)

Tuben was dead, and Murakan had lost his mind, unable to fight properly. On top of that, the Red Sea continued to drive their allies to madness. The tide of battle on the central front was completely slipping into the hands of the Demon King.

Explosions and screams filled the air.

The blood-red sea, flames, and the rain of blood and ash above it all.

There was no choice but to turn a blind eye to the comrades dying behind them. Jin clung to the faint hope Orgal had mentioned, the fragile word “hope,” and wandered through Keliak’s overwhelming desire.

Every step was agony.

Each time his foot touched the red seawater, it felt as if thousands of hooks pierced his entire body. It seemed to scream at him to just collapse, to sink into the sea and stop moving. Jin’s eyes flickered blankly, then hardened repeatedly.

“Luna noona.”

“Jin.”

“We have to protect Laprarosa.”

If they abandoned the central battlefield, Laprarosa would inevitably fall into danger.

Jin chose Luna as his support. Orgal was barely standing, and Siron and Ban needed to protect themselves from Keliak until the very end. There was no guarantee Helluram could hold out for even an hour.

“Alright, I’ll go,” Luna replied hoarsely, nodding.

“Don’t die.”

“I’d rather die than fail to protect you. Isn’t that right? It’s better than being powerless. At nineteen… I decided to become the sword that guards my family. I’ll survive to the end and save as many as I can, no matter what.”

The Red Sea churned violently.

As soon as Luna started running toward the rear of the battlefield, darkness began to descend over the scene.

Helluram had begun to use her last remaining power.

“Jin, where will you go?”

“I… don’t know, Father.”

Where should they go?

Where was the entrance to Solderet’s arrangement hidden within this red sea and darkness? Where was the future they sought? With Valeria unconscious, they couldn’t even track the smallest clue.

“So, I must just keep moving forward. Father, warrior brothers, please open the way. In any direction…”

“Do so.”

Compared to the red energy spreading from the sea and the abyss covering the sky, the two Changsung’s swords flickered faintly like small black candles.

“Stay close, even if it’s hard.”

“Yes, Father.”

Jin tore his coat and tied Valeria more tightly to his body. Fortunately, Enya was conscious enough to hold Jin’s hand and run.

[Hey, Jin… can’t you do something for me? Hold me, I can’t walk.]

“Hold my hand, Orgal.”

[Damn it, I wanted to have a peaceful end.]

Valeria tied to Jin, Enya holding her hand, and Orgal holding Enya’s.

Jin suddenly chuckled at their ridiculous appearance. And he was grateful that he still had the strength to laugh.

Looking back, those called gods—from Kinzello onward—had rarely been truly helpful to people. Jin had never fervently believed in or followed Solderet, so he didn’t feel grateful toward any divine being.

For some reason, he just felt thankful to the world. Even in such despair, even when overwhelmed by unbearable sorrow, somehow, he felt he had to be.

“Ka-haaa!”

Siron’s roar, which would normally shake the entire battlefield, became a hollow cry, swallowed by desire and darkness.

As if responding to that voice, the sea of desire raged fiercely. Like a ship caught in a storm, the Changsung had to endure Keliak’s desire flooding their mouths, ears, and noses from the start.

But Jin, Valeria, Enya, and Orgal were spared from the red seawater. Siron and Ban desperately shielded them.

“Haa…!”

How Keliak and Helluram fought was beyond the Changsung’s attention. If they dared to look back even briefly, they would be swept away by the crashing waves.

The thick, blood-like seawater sloshed around, leaving them dazed. Swinging their swords, they would momentarily plunge into darkness before the sea turned red again.

They had no idea how many steps they’d taken or which direction they were heading. The rising waves threatened to obscure even the shockwaves spreading from the central battlefield.

[Luck… Looking back, you’ve always been lucky, Jin.]

“That’s right. Prince Jin always seemed to have great fortune.”

Siron and Ban obviously had no time to speak, and Jin was too focused on protecting those with him. He gritted his teeth, fending off the water breaking through Siron and Ban’s sword barriers.

Only Enya and Orgal could speak. Even they trembled under the weight of Keliak’s desire swirling in their minds.

They should have been pouring all their mental strength into resisting that desire, but somehow, they felt compelled to speak. If not now, they might never talk to these people again. If not them, no one else would cheer them on.

[It was tough when we were enemies. What the hell is that guy, always so damn lucky… We were always used like suckers. But now I think I get it.]

“Luck has a reason?”

[Yeah. From what I see, this world loves that bastard. And Keliak hates it with a passion. By the way, is Helluram holding out well, Kuhak?]

Enya didn’t stop Orgal, who suddenly coughed up a lump of blood. Instead, she brushed the heavy blood off his chest and wiped his mouth with her sleeve, as if he could still live an hour or even a day more.

[Ugh, your hands smell awful.]

“I haven’t slept for five days straight, fighting. Of course I smell bad. You don’t mind, do you?”

[No. It’s a stench I won’t forget even if I become part of the Abyss Legion again. That’s why I like it. Besides my hatred for Keliak, I’ll be a soldier who remembers one more thing.]

The longer they walked, the more frequently Orgal coughed up blood, sometimes even small bone-like fragments. Each time, Enya silently wiped his mouth.

[…Anyway, what I wanted to say is, you can find it. Jin, you can find it. But what exactly are we looking for again?]

“Solderet’s arrangement.”

[Right, that. It’s probably waiting for you in one piece. So, uh, you can find it.]

Orgal’s life was reaching its limit. He could barely walk straight and was being dragged along by Enya.

The tighter Orgal rambled, the firmer Enya held his hand.

Siron and Ban swung their swords like demons, trying to part the Red Sea and carve a path. Jin lowered his head every two seconds, momentarily stopping his movement.

In that chaos, speaking alone for their sake was more terrifying than death or being swallowed by Keliak’s desire.

“Prince Jin, Helluram still seems to be holding out well. The sea is in chaos, but Keliak hasn’t directly attacked us yet. Orgal, you think so too, right?”

[Uh… huh? What did you say?]

“Just say you think so.”

As Orgal was about to answer, Jin spoke for the first time.

“…Valeria.”

“Prince Jin?”

“Valeria isn’t breathing.”

Enya pressed close to Jin and checked Valeria’s pulse. Then she covered her mouth, swallowing back tears. There was no pulse, and her body was cold as a shadow.

Jin didn’t stop walking. He didn’t feel sorrow. He just couldn’t stop moving, trying to shake off a vague sense of loss.

[Damn it…]

Orgal spoke a beat late.

He wasn’t talking about Valeria’s breath stopping. He spoke because he sensed the solar flag.

Fwaaah…!

Suddenly, the darkness lifted. The battlefield brightened as if dawn had come. A vast light spread somewhere, breaking over the Red Sea.

[It’s… reviving. Through Keliak, the Sun God.]

For the first time, Siron and Ban looked back.

There stood Keliak, backlit by the sun. While fighting Helluram, he had stolen the powers of Malugia and Araksion, and now the fruits of that were beginning to appear on the battlefield.

Helluram crouched before him, gasping for breath. Not an immortal, but a tired, wounded human struggling to rise.

“Ah, the being who created this world is surprisingly simple… Just by gathering the pieces, it can be put together so easily.”

Keliak looked down at Helluram.

Though Helluram hadn’t completely vanished, she no longer seemed to have the strength to stop Keliak. Exposure to his radiant light was slowly breaking down her body.

Still, Helluram hadn’t left him unscathed. Keliak rubbed his eye and shrugged.

“Since I can’t bring you down, I’ll just blind you for a moment. That’s probably the best you could do.”

Kinzello’s power hadn’t fully submitted to Keliak yet. Just as the Demon Stone needed time to be purified, so did this.

Because of that, Keliak couldn’t immediately shake off the darkness that Heluram’s blindfold cast over him. But even without sight, attacking his enemies was no difficult task. He simply unleashed the Solar Blades across the battlefield, drove the Red Sea’s waves with greater force, and summoned disasters to wreak havoc.

“It’s truly a shame I can’t witness your final moments in person, Jin Runkandel. But I have no intention of toying with you.”

Keliak raised his hand. Suddenly, beams of light began pouring down from the sky—rays that pierced through the swords of the Starborn and even the protective shield of Laprarosa as if they were mere illusions.

There was only one place to hide: the Red Sea. Jin had to throw himself into its depths to block the light.

He lifted his head and stared at the single beam descending toward his face.

There was no way to stop it.

The light fell faster than a blink. Death—if that beam pierced his head, it would be the end.

But then—

The falling light froze in place. Jin fixed his gaze on the sharp beam suspended before him, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

‘Time… has stopped?’

Time had indeed stopped.

And then Jin saw a single blue spear block the light, filling his vision.

It was Valeria’s record spear.