Chapter 567
Episode 147: King of the Black Sea, Gliek (11)
“What the…?!”
No matter where Jin looked, all he saw was an oppressive darkness pressing in from every direction.
Gone were the sharp crashes from the shattered Great Ice Garden, the shouts of those scrambling to respond to the sudden turn of events, the clashing of shards, blades, and magic.
There was nothing. No sound at all.
The sensation of being severed from the world without warning or chance to resist sent every nerve on edge, yet all that remained was the hollow, void-like energy unique to this black space.
For a moment, Jin even thought he might be dead—but he forced himself to stay calm.
“It seems I’ve been pulled into Gliek’s pocket dimension.”
He raised his hand and looked at his sword. Amid the pitch-blackness, only his own body and belongings retained their true colors.
He had entered a space almost identical to this before.
“This is just like Solderet’s pocket dimension. There’s definitely a deep connection between spiritual energy and the power of chaos—more than I realized. It’s disturbingly similar.”
The darkness Gliek had created resembled the shadowy pocket dimension almost perfectly—except for one thing.
Whether the space was friendly or hostile.
Solderet’s pocket dimension had an oddly unfamiliar yet comforting atmosphere. But this darkness was filled with an overwhelming, indescribable hostility.
And that hostility wasn’t just watching Jin passively.
He began to feel an invisible, chilling force seeping into his entire body.
“Ugh!”
The frozen blade felt like it was slicing through flesh and piercing bone.
His fist clenched reflexively, and a groan escaped his tightly clenched teeth.
Chaos.
What was tormenting Jin so painfully was the chaos infused with Gliek’s will.
This power far exceeded any physical or mental pain Jin had endured before.
Without the strong spirit he had honed by repeatedly facing death, he wouldn’t have lasted five minutes before collapsing.
“Haah… hahk…”
Even Jin couldn’t help but feel fear. There was no ally here to help him, and the thought of escaping this place alone seemed impossible.
He was gripped by an emotion he had never felt before—not even when facing the Emperor’s army or the massive forces of Ziphl.
“Damn it… my hand…!”
Suddenly, Jin recoiled in shock.
He saw the tip of his sword hand darkening, stained black by the chaos.
Though he had never experienced this before, he recognized immediately what it meant: this terrible discoloration was the result of being consumed by chaos.
A chill ran down his spine, as if his blood had turned cold.
Watching closely, he saw the chaotic energy staining his index finger growing, crawling like a caterpillar.
And the corruption wasn’t limited to just his fingertips.
Every spot on his hand that throbbed with pain was where the chaos was spreading.
What would happen once the corruption was complete?
His instinctive conclusion was that he would become part of Gliek—just like Dante had.
He had to resist.
“Though the scale and depth differ, this despair is no different from what I’ve overcome before. I have to stop the corruption and find a way out of here.”
He lifted his head and struggled to rise.
But the moment he took a step forward, he collapsed—five times in a row.
Jin realized that walking in this state was impossible.
Just as no one can walk with a severed leg, his body refused to move forward. No amount of willpower could overcome it.
So he sat down—not slumping, but cross-legged, focusing his mind.
Spiritual Energy Release.
He needed to push back the chaos spreading through his body with this technique. Shadows immersed in chaos began to rise in response to his spiritual energy release.
Fortunately, it worked. The released spiritual energy washed away the chaos like clear water.
Hope flickered. For those without the power of creation, only a shadow’s contractor could glimpse a chance of escape from Gliek’s pocket dimension this way.
But there were two problems.
First, the pain prevented him from maintaining the usual steady flow of spiritual energy release.
It needed to pour out like a waterfall to completely purge the corruption, but the shadow’s power responded only weakly.
Second, another phenomenon occurred as soon as the spiritual energy release began.
The chaos that wasn’t pushed away started to “mix” with the spiritual energy—like a stream returning to its source.
“Damn this war and fighting—nothing about it is easy.”
The spiritual energy mixed with chaos slipped beyond Jin’s control.
And it grew stronger. Aside from the will of Solderet that had manifested during the first battle, Jin had never seen spiritual energy surge so violently.
It was like when spiritual energy blended with aura and magic to amplify them—wild and beastlike, impossible to tame.
The spiritual energy release was weak, but the chaos-mixed shadows were explosive.
Despite the danger, there was no reason not to use it.
“This might be another one of Gliek’s traps, but I have no other choice. Pure spiritual energy release only slows the corruption.”
Jin’s choice was essentially to throw himself into the raging torrent of uncertainty.
Yet somehow, confidence welled up inside him.
The chaos that strengthened spiritual energy—
Perhaps this was part of the design of the one who created this principle. Most likely, it was the will of the god, Solderet.
I will make this power my own.
The spiritual energy began to move according to Jin’s will.
No longer just resisting chaos to survive, but fighting back, the flow quickened.
The wild spiritual energy crushed and seized the chaotic masses.
His throat filled with blood from the strain, and his consciousness sometimes blurred, but Jin was certain—
His body, once crushed by pain, was healing.
No, it was more than that. Though unstable, a power beyond his limits was surging, ready to burst forth.
Around that time, Jin noticed another force within him responding to the chaos—not spiritual energy, but something else.
Blood.
The warrior’s blood, which not only defined him but linked him physically to his brothers, was fiercely driving back the chaos.
“So, the devouring isn’t just for you, Gliek!”
Sizzling crackles of lightning sparked between spiritual energy and chaos. Jin’s blood seemed unafraid of the corruption, instead drawing the captured chaos into his radiant heart.
He released his cross-legged posture and stood upright.
Though his shoulders still felt heavy, as if trapped underwater, the pain eased as he took slow steps forward.
With each step, the spiritual energy that had wildly mixed with chaos settled back into place.
After seven steps, Jin felt he had overcome the first trial of this pocket dimension.
The corruption had stopped, and the pain was gone.
The chaos that had raged so violently alongside the spiritual energy now twitched faintly, like a dying pulse.
And his war-weary body was filled with a power stronger than before the battle had even begun—so strong he felt nothing in the world could cut through him.
“Did I achieve temporary growth by overcoming chaos? Or… is this some kind of side effect?”
He couldn’t tell yet.
Seeing the discoloration marks on his body, he knew there would be a price either way.
He also realized his fighting spirit was burning too fiercely—exactly the opposite of the calm he was trying to maintain.
“If I can’t fully control this power, it’s dangerous. The physical corruption has stopped, but now it seems chaos is trying to destroy my mind.”
He judged that the target of the chaos’s corruption had shifted from body to mind—just like what had happened to his youngest sister, Yona.
He couldn’t guarantee he could overcome this either. Neither spiritual energy release nor warrior’s blood could directly protect his mind.
He had to find an escape while he still retained as much reason as possible.
Outside, one of two things was happening: either someone was trying to save him, or they were fighting Gliek.
He worried but tried not to dwell on it.
Suppressing the rising fighting spirit and murderous intent was already more than enough to occupy him.
The darkness ahead remained impenetrable, and the only sounds were his own breathing and the faint crackle of lightning from his warrior’s blood.
He swung the enhanced spiritual energy around, but the pocket dimension remained unaffected—no matter how many times he tried.
So Jin had only one choice: keep walking until something else appeared.
And in the vast, bleak pocket dimension, he soon encountered something unexpected.
“A person…?!”
Though blurry and dark, he saw a figure crouched in the distance, shrouded in shadow.
Jin sprinted toward it, and soon recognized who it was.
“Sir Ron!”
He hadn’t expected anyone else to be trapped here—especially Ron, who hadn’t been far from him.
“Then maybe others…!”
Just as Jin thought this, Ron lifted his head and met his gaze.
And the moment their eyes locked, Jin had no choice but to stop dead in his tracks.
Madness-filled hostility.
Ron’s hatred was as dark and deep as the original grudge he had felt from Gliek—it was directed squarely at him.
“Sir Ron! It’s Jin Runkandel. Don’t you recognize me…?”
“Why?”
Ron cut him off sharply.
In that instant, Jin noticed something—Ron’s eyes were as black as oil. He realized it was the chaos that had been tormenting him earlier, now fully consuming him.
Rising to his feet, Ron continued, his voice heavy with anguish.
“This monster’s target was you… so why, why did my grandson become its prey instead of you? Tell me—why was it the child who was sacrificed, and not you…?”
As Ron finished speaking, his darkened Rashid was already pressed against the back of Jin’s neck.