Episode 1141
Chapter 259: The Truth of the World, Your Truth, My Truth (10)
Jin clenched his fists, glaring at Octavia. Though she looked younger, like Keliak, the person who had stepped through the dimensional gate was undeniably Octavia Ziphl.
His body was utterly drained of strength; he couldn’t even make a fist. At this moment, Octavia could have ended his life with a mere snap of her fingers.
She could have crushed the entire Bamel Alliance beneath her feet. There wasn’t a single person left in the alliance who could stand against her.
Step, step, step…
She walked slowly toward Jin, then bent down to pick up a staff lying on the ground.
It was the staff Keliak had dropped—the Demon Stone.
She stopped and stared blankly at the staff for a moment. It vibrated in her hand, quietly radiating magical power.
It was as if it was screaming for her to kill their enemies, to avenge Keliak.
“To change what never changes…”
Octavia gripped the staff tighter, her expression complicated.
Now you can believe everything I’ve told you. The multiverse, the endless wars across dimensions.
…Yes.
Then survive in this world.
Huh?
I’ve seen countless dimensions fall, conquered one after another. But sometimes, there are things that never change. Strangely enough, one of those things is you, Octavia. In every world I’ve known, you’ve never once survived.
Jin recalled what Keliak had said after saving her.
“You succeeded, my lord. Even though the world and the Ziphl were destroyed, I survived.”
“Octavia Ziphl… ugh.”
Jin barely managed to lift himself up before collapsing forward again. He hadn’t escaped the black grip—it was more like he was barely holding on.
Just as he thought his last hope was Elona’s Sun Device, he noticed Octavia approaching him, bending over.
It looked like she was about to strike him with the staff.
Veradin, who had just opened her eyes, screamed at the sight.
“Aunt! Stop…!”
“Lower your voice. I’m not here to kill you.”
“Huh?”
“By the way, you recognized me right away, even though I look much younger now, Veradin.”
Octavia’s staff, the Demon Stone, hovered just above Jin’s body, then she shared a part of her vital energy with him through the staff.
Jin rose again and faced Octavia.
“What… are you thinking, Octavia?”
Right now, Octavia could have massacred the Bamel Alliance or even resurrected the Demon Corps, since she held the completed Demon Stone.
“I was never part of the Demon Corps. I was a Ziphl. We were defeated by you before the Demon Corps even arrived.”
As she spoke, she reflected on her past life.
The Gray Zone.
Days spent standing in that gray area, pretending not to feel the discomfort and pain, all in the name of serving the Ziphl.
She couldn’t bring herself to crush them by force now.
She couldn’t destroy what these shining people had fought so hard to protect.
“I’ve come to surrender, Jin Runcandel.”
“What…?”
“I’m tired. Of fighting, of my family, of myself. I have more power than ever, and the best opportunity before me… but I’m tired. This isn’t the world I knew. It’s not the world I wanted.”
The multiverse, the Demon Corps, the ruined 677th dimension—like everyone living in this world, these were all strange and terrible things to Octavia.
“…So, ancestor, please stop your vigilance and come out.”
As Octavia spoke, the Sun Device split open from the center, revealing a figure.
It was Elona Ziphl.
“Lady Elona…!”
“Lady Elona!”
Jin and Veradin called out. Elona was not in her Malugia awakened form but appeared human.
“Hand over the Demon Stone.”
Elona quickly closed the distance to Octavia. Octavia willingly passed the Demon Stone into Elona’s outstretched hand.
Only after seeing the Demon Stone in Elona’s possession did Jin feel relief. The will of Malugia would no longer consume her.
“Octavia Ziphl, even after all this, you… no, we cannot be forgiven.”
Suddenly, small explosions erupted at Octavia’s wrists and ankles. Blood poured from her mouth, bright red and thick.
It wasn’t Elona’s doing. Octavia had caused a backlash within herself, severing her limbs to prevent herself from using magic any further.
“Hoo, I know.”
“But as a Ziphl, I thank you for not doing something foolish now. You’re the second-best Ziphl I’ve known who lived as a slave to the family.”
“The first would be Veradin, I suppose. Haha, but she’s not to be compared with me.”
“It’s a relief that this last moment, where I can exist and think as a person, isn’t filled with battle and murder…”
Elona turned to look at Veradin.
The only Ziphl who never treated her as a slave, who never feared or hated her, was sighing in relief.
In a life filled only with destruction and slaughter, Veradin was the single ray of light. The only light she had ever touched.
“Lord Jin, I have a favor to ask.”
“Lady Elona?”
“The Ziphl have committed unforgivable acts for a long time. Octavia’s admission of defeat now, and what I’m about to do… won’t excuse us.”
Elona didn’t take her eyes off Veradin. Jin looked at Veradin’s narrow, trembling shoulders and felt he understood what Elona was about to say.
“Still, shamelessly, I want to ask for one thing. Veradin Ziphl, please help my Veradin live from now on, Lord Jin.”
Elona reached out, and Veradin’s body floated into the air. She was soon wrapped in Elona’s arms. Veradin gently caressed Elona’s tear-streaked face.
“Lady Elona, it seems you’re about to leave soon. Even if you didn’t ask, Jin would do this. What we did can never be forgiven, but we must live to atone, even if just a little. I’ll pay my dues as far as I can, until I die. So let’s think of happier things for the end.”
Elona held Veradin and turned back to face Jin.
“This is a bit embarrassing, seeing my friend like this, clinging to someone. Jin, please understand. This is the last time I can be like this with Lady Elona.”
“Of course.”
“Lord Jin, from now on, I will restore the world.”
“Restore the world…?”
Elona nodded.
Then, lightly striking the Demon Stone on the ground, golden arcs spread from the Sun Device behind her, radiating in all directions. The light seeped into all the fallen.
“Gah, huff!”
“Keliak…!”
“My strength… is returning?”
“Have we… won!?”
The Sun Device Elona unleashed rapidly restored the energy of the survivors. Few had witnessed the battle with Keliak to the end, so those who regained consciousness frantically looked around, trying to understand the situation.
The fight was over!
Jin’s booming voice echoed across the battlefield.
The fight is over! The fight is over! The fight is over! He shouted again and again until his throat was raw.
There was no cheering like on a typical battlefield.
Instead, people widened their eyes and moved toward the source of Jin’s voice, running without thinking.
One by one, they saw Jin standing there. Only after seeing him with their own eyes and confirming his words did they collapse, sobbing.
Even though the whole world was destroyed and countless lives lost, they had protected it. The fight was truly over.
And now Elona declared she would restore the world.
“The power of the Demon Stone, the authority of the Sun God Kinzelo, the light left by Lord Jin… and the sacrifice of a few, including myself, can turn back the world.”
“Is that really possible…?”
“Yes. Not only will the broken lands be restored, but the dead will return as well. It’s fundamentally similar to what Keliak Ziphl intended. But my desire is different. I want a beautiful world. One without monsters like me, without such cruel battles… no gods who manipulate life at will, no Demon Stones, and no errors like the multiverse.”
Elona possessed the full power of the Sun God and the Demon Stone.
Like Keliak, she could achieve anything she wished. Just like Octavia before handing over the Demon Stone, if she wanted, she could do anything.
That’s why she chose to restore the world.
As the “Sun God,” she would rebuild the shattered world and help maintain it.
She chose to love the world as a person.
“Lord Jin, I’ve killed many people unwillingly. Because of manipulation, and because of my nature as Malugia… But now, as a whole person, I want to save people. And selfishly, I want to live and atone alongside Veradin forever, but I won’t do such things. I’m a monster, but still a better monster than Keliak Ziphl.”
“Is that really such a bad thing?”
“It’s a terrible thing, Veradin. That’s not restoration—it’s manipulation.”
“Right, that’s a terrible thing to do… I can’t ask Lady Elona to do something like that again.”
“Lady Elona, if a sacrifice is necessary… then, if it’s possible, I’m willing to do it too.”
At those words, Elona shook her head.
“Jin, you can’t. Even if it were possible, your people wouldn’t allow it. Sacrifices are meant for those like me—beings called gods… and the bearers of light.”
With that, Elona lifted her gaze toward the sky, which had suddenly begun to darken. It was Helluram.