Chapter 571
Episode 148: The Sword Emperor (3)

Deep within the darkest, most unfathomable abyss on earth, a cry echoed—one that pierced the human heart with its clarity. Ron’s tears flowed transparently, shimmering with light.

“Because of me… because I was deceived.”

Dante repeated the same words with vacant eyes.

Though his grandfather and Jin—two people more precious to him than his own life—had come all this way to save him, he was overwhelmed not by joy, but by guilt.

He simply couldn’t stop blaming himself.

While trapped inside Gliek’s subconscious, Dante had sensed everything happening outside.

Though bound in the abyss and unable to observe every detail clearly, he was painfully aware that Gliek had killed Ron, shattered Hailan, defiled this land, and was devouring his friends—that all these horrors were unfolding.

Dante saw it as the price for his failure to overcome Gliek.

If only he had held on just a little longer, if only he hadn’t lost at the end, if only he hadn’t been so foolish and weak in that one moment…!

He hated himself. It was all his fault, yet he lacked the strength even to stand on his own, let alone undo the damage. The frustration was maddening.

“Don’t say that, Dante. No one could have done better than you. It’s thanks to you that your grandfather and your friend made it this far…” Ron gently wiped away Dante’s tears.

“So now, it’s okay to lean on your old grandpa and your friend. Without you, none of us could have held on.”

Dante lost consciousness and couldn’t respond.

His breath came in shallow gasps, his pulse was faint, and his body was marked with the black scars left by chaos.

But he was alive. Like Jin, some traces of chaos would remain, but there were no fatal wounds or internal injuries.

With treatment and rest outside, he could fully recover.

But one thing still had to be done.

They had to finish off Gliek—the fifth king of chaos.

Ron lifted Dante onto Jin’s back. He could feel it now: the final battle of this war was about to begin.

Ron and Jin’s arrival in Gliek’s abyss had accelerated the creature’s awakening.

Normally, control over the subconscious would have naturally shifted with the Black Sea transformation, but their intrusion into the abyss had hastened Gliek’s rise beyond expectations.

“The attack will start soon. You must get Dante out of here, no matter what.”

The edge of the abyss began to tremble uneasily.

A force far greater and fiercer than the chaos they had endured on the way here now shook the space beneath their feet.

Though Ron had ascended to the rank of Changsung and rescued Dante, the war could only end by dealing with Gliek.

Jin felt a deep sorrow for Ron and Hailan, who, despite all the hardships and deaths, still had to keep fighting.

Krrrrrkkk—!

Chaos surged like a plague throughout the abyss. The blackened chaos took the form of blades and spears, stabbing relentlessly downward, but Ron’s protective barrier blocked every strike.

Raising his sword, Ron fixed his gaze on the center of the abyss.

The white stone, now without its protective seal, trembled.

Ron couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“From now on, I will face you not as Dante’s grandfather, but as Hailan’s Sword Emperor…”

With that, Ron slowly swung Rashid.

Though the blade’s slow descent seemed incapable of cutting anything, it bore the weight and legacy of Changsung’s achievements—much like the sword Jin had once received from Siron before becoming a rider.

Jin felt as if he could see Gliek’s expression on the white stone—twisted with rage and fear.

In contrast, Ron showed no trace of madness.

He carried the absolute gaze unique to those who had ascended to Changsung—the look of one who believes there is no being who can defeat him, nor whom he cannot defeat.

Crack!

Where Ron’s sword touched, the white stone cracked. Like cheap glass shattering, it began to break apart.

The blade continued its slow, deliberate cut through the stone.

A distant, agonized scream echoed from Gliek.

The creature howled in torment as the blade slowly pierced the white stone.

As Ron focused on Rashid, the chaos spears pressing against his shield intensified, shrinking the barrier—but not a single spear broke through.

Gliek seemed to be pouring all its remaining strength into the abyss.

Jin felt sickened knowing the creature still had so much power left.

Gliek felt the same about Ron.

“Sir Ron!”

Jin shouted suddenly, having seen Ron cough up blood.

The energy Ron had shared with Jin after ascending to Changsung, combined with the strain of breaking through the abyss, was taking a toll on his body.

Ron nodded as if to say he was fine.

Physical limits were no obstacle for a Changsung knight. Just as chaos was merely one form of the Black Sea king, the body of a Changsung knight was simply a vessel for his enlightenment.

Even after coughing blood, Ron’s swordsmanship remained flawless. The blood evaporated instantly, leaving no trace.

By then, only a single step’s gap remained between the barrier and the chaos spears.

Either the white stone would split in two first, or the barrier would break.

Jin didn’t worry at all about the latter.

True to his confidence, Rashid’s blade finally cleaved the white stone in half.

Where the stone had floated, only a glowing trail remained, marking Ron’s slow, deliberate strike.

For over a thousand years,

Hailan had guarded this place alone and silently…

The moment the white stone was finally cut through.

And Ron and Jin felt the world’s light brushing against their eyes—not the darkness of chaos.

They had finally stepped out of the abyss.

But the sunlight that pierced their eyes was not as bright or radiant as they had hoped.

The sky that should have bathed them in light was still veiled by the shroud of chaos.

The light was faint, like sparse blades of grass struggling to grow in a wasteland.

The chaotic barrier Gliek had formed when first awakened was now even stronger.

Jin sensed heat and acrid energy filling the air.

‘So the battle outside has been raging all along.’

A full day had passed outside since Jin and Ron entered Gliek’s pocket dimension.

Those fighting outside had no idea what had become of the two. They couldn’t confirm whether they had been captured or simply vanished.

“Pant… The 12th Rider… confirmed alive!”

A Black Knight gasped out the news.

Runkandel had not given up on Jin.

But most knights believed, like with Dante, that Jin’s survival was unlikely.

If he was alive, he would still be inside Gliek, and no one outside with Changsung’s power could break through.

No matter how many times they struck, they couldn’t even chip away at the chaotic barrier protecting the creature.

Then, suddenly, the barrier collapsed on its own, and Jin appeared.

Even Rosa’s eyes widened in shock, her heart pounding.

“Little one…!”

Murakan rushed toward Jin, shouting.

But the chaos spikes erupting from the ground blocked his path, driving him nearly mad.

Murakan’s only thought now was to escape with Jin, no matter what happened next.

Kelliak shared the same resolve.

Even if they had to negotiate with Kinzello later to deal with Gliek, they had to secure Jin and leave the battlefield first—even if it meant risking the world’s destruction.

“12th Rider…!”

Rosa unleashed her sword energy and charged, with Kelliak following close behind.

They trampled over the bodies of knights and mages alike.

Yet Talaris, who worried for Jin as much as they did, struggled to approach.

Her entire body was stained with blood, barely able to stand.

Elona Ziphl—the price for delaying her seal—was taking its toll.

Talaris had fought without using most of her true power.

She had held back on unsealing Elona Ziphl for one reason:

Ron Hailan.

Because he had disappeared with Jin.

If Ron could just come to his senses, that foolish old man might still work a miracle.

Talaris believed that even the faintest hope was reason enough to postpone breaking Elona Ziphl’s seal.

“Youngest!”

Rosa shouted sharply as she neared Jin.

Only about a hundred steps away, she suddenly saw a tidal wave of chaos engulfing him.

It was an overwhelming force Jin could never withstand.

If it struck, his entire body would be torn apart, leaving no trace.

As those rushing to save Jin were gripped by terror and despair,

Sssshhh—!

They witnessed a brilliant streak of sword energy slicing the chaos engulfing Jin clean in two.

As the chaotic storm finally subsided, the onlookers caught sight of him carrying Dante on his back, with Ron Hyland standing tall beside them.

At that moment, everyone froze, their eyes wide in disbelief.

The giants—Rosa, Kelliac, Talaris—were especially stunned, their shock so profound it made them momentarily forget their desperate focus on Jin.

“Ron Hyland… has ascended to Changseong!”

“Could it be… Changseong… and with Dante Hyland, no less?!”

Their hearts pounded wildly, as if about to burst.

In all of human history, fewer than ten individuals have ever wielded the power of Changseong. That count includes both the ancient Ziphl and the current Ziphl, even those whose names history has erased.

Especially in this era, the giants believed that with Siron as the definitive benchmark, no new Changseong could ever emerge.

They were certain that no matter how much of their lives they sacrificed, they could never bridge the gap between themselves and him. They even expected that Siron was more likely to become a monster than for Ron to reach Changseong.

Though chaos repeatedly surged to overwhelm Jin after being blocked, each assault was cut down by Ron’s sword, dissipating into nothing.

Watching the fragments of chaos fall like scattered flesh, Ron spoke with quiet resolve.

“Gliek… there’s nothing left here for you to take. Not even your own life.”