Chapter 784
Episode 193: The Shrine Maiden (Part 2)
Countless Keliak Zipl creatures filled the Teia Plains.
But they were only Keliak Zipl in appearance—mere hollow monsters forged from raw spiritual energy.
Jin had come to that conclusion. If all of these were genuine Keliak, the Zipl would have already conquered the world long ago.
“What on earth is going on here?”
“Heh, it’s full of things we can just kill without a second thought.”
It was just like the day Jin and his group first emerged from Laprarosa into the Mitra Desert. They easily cut down the swarming monsters while assessing the situation.
“Valeria, how’s the record magic?”
“The spiritual energy is too dense; it’s causing interference. Plus, we’re too far from the tower where the incident began. We’ll need to push further inside.”
“So we have to clear them all as we advance. Owl, you don’t need to worry about stealth. Somehow, I get the feeling Veradin expected me to come and just left this place as it is.”
It wasn’t just a gut feeling.
Right now, the major powers were struggling to cleanse the remaining zones tainted by chaos. In the midst of that, the Tower of Stories—the heart of their domain—had fallen into this state. The Zipl couldn’t just stand idly by.
“I’ll show you what you want to see, but you’ll have to solve the problem. So Veradin deliberately left this area unattended?”
“That’s right. Although the spiritual energy is thick, it’s not beyond the Zipl’s ability to handle. Even the monsters shaped like Keliak have low combat power.”
Not all of them were as weak as the dead monsters they’d first encountered.
Some occasionally wielded fairly advanced magic—albeit weakened versions of spells once used by the real Keliak Zipl.
Still, even considering that, there was no reason for the Zipl to abandon the area around the Tower of Stories. Owl and the others nodded in agreement with Jin.
“In other words, the Zipl might not even know the exact cause of this disaster.”
“Yes, Sir Siris. If we check the records, we should find some clues about that.”
[Whoooosh…]
Swish!
Every time the group swung their swords, the monsters scattered into particles.
But watching closely, those particles didn’t just vanish—they converged into spiritual energy flames scattered across the plains.
From those black flames, the Keliak forms reemerged, targeting the group again. They weren’t a direct threat, but it meant that without a fundamental purification, this land could never be reclaimed.
Without hesitation, the group pressed on toward the tower.
Their justification for invading the enemy’s territory had become even clearer. The current state of the Teia Plains suggested that the Zipl had failed in their attempt to birth another calamity god.
Jin carefully observed the battlefield as they moved.
“Thirty ri… No, with this level of spiritual energy, the problem likely extends at least fifty ri beyond the Tower of Stories.”
It was clear how fierce the battle here had been. The plains bore claw marks from dragons and traces of massive spells everywhere.
Most striking were the still-pristine pools of water and towering pillar-like rocks.
This meant that beings wielding supreme powers over water and earth had taken part.
The first names that came to mind were Itelmion and Rikta’s dragons, Tuyan and Pinia. Conveniently, Valeria’s record window first mentioned their involvement.
“Tuyan and Pinia’s participation means Veradin himself must have stepped in. But Kadun, who recently disappeared from the Federation’s unification meeting, showed up looking perfectly fine.”
The various experiments and demon stones the Zipl had conducted had greatly enhanced Veradin’s power, but in Jin’s eyes, he was still no match for him.
Yet the increasing signs of battle as they neared the tower suggested a scale that could injure even Jin.
Some of the magic used in the fight still lingered in the air.
When they were about halfway to the tower, the group suddenly came upon a massive orb of blazing flame burning in the middle of the plains.
Though somewhat misshapen, it was unmistakably a magical artifact left behind by the Demon Lord Riol Zipl.
“The Annihilation Flame Orb, Demon Lord Type 2…”
Around the orb were traces of magic that had once clashed with it—signs of Zipl’s secret magic, including the Azure Flame’s demonic eye.
The fact that the magic still held form meant its caster was still alive.
The record magic identified the orb’s owner as Keliak Zipl.
<Ten days ago, Keliak Zipl unleashed this spell against his son, Veradin Zipl. The Annihilation Flame Orb, Demon Lord Type 2, has persisted beyond the battle, sustained by his lingering resentment and will.>
Their eyes caught the record window.
Reading the explanation again, they saw monsters shaped like Keliak reaching out to feed magical energy into the orb, like adding fuel to keep the fire burning.
“A spell cast to oppose Veradin… The pieces are coming together. The battle’s center was Keliak, the fire dragon Kadun, and Veradin.”
“It’s strange that it says the orb contains Keliak’s lingering will. Does that mean Veradin betrayed Keliak first?”
Jin and Valeria exchanged thoughts.
“If Keliak had gone berserk, he might have been consumed by spiritual grudges, hatred, or madness from the start.”
The important question was what had become of the still-living Keliak.
“It seems clear why Veradin left this orb untouched—to confirm whether Keliak was alive. So it’s likely Keliak fled during the battle. It’s certain he went berserk…”
Jin paused, considering the conditions for berserk rage. He knew of two.
First, chaos energy driven into frenzy by stimulation from a greater chaos—like the berserk states of Yona and Amela in the past.
Second, a berserk state induced by someone manipulating the chaos power through coercion or schemes.
Rosa’s transformation into a calamity god through the prophet’s acceptance of chaos fell into the latter. If that was the case, Keliak must have been aided by a prophet-like figure.
Either way, it was a problem that could bring great danger to the world.
The group passed the flame orb and continued toward the Tower of Stories. Keliak’s lingering wills attacked relentlessly—no matter how many they cut down, more came.
Finally, the tower came into view.
Among the Zipl’s magic towers, it was the tallest and most imposing. Though its upper section was completely shattered, it still radiated overwhelming presence.
Now, they were barely a ri away.
At this distance, the tower’s stationed forces should have been bombarding them with magic—even with Owl’s stealth at maximum.
Yet the tower was eerily silent, seemingly abandoned. Nearby, Keliak’s lingering wills swarmed.
But these wills no longer attacked.
Even when the group approached, they didn’t so much as glance their way, instead bowing low toward the tower. More precisely, they knelt before a single figure at the tower’s entrance.
“A person?”
Though monsters shaped like Keliak had appeared before, this was an even stranger sight. The monsters seemed to be worshipping a god.
It was a woman.
She knelt at the tower’s entrance, seemingly unaware the group had arrived.
“That woman… looks like she’s praying.”
“Heh, what should we do? Kill her?”
“No, sister. She’s someone we need to identify first.”
The group carefully observed the aura radiating from her. Like the power of a veil, a soft golden light gently enveloped her. It was unmistakably the energy of the sun god.
Passing through the kneeling Keliak wills, they approached the woman. She showed no reaction until Yona reached out to touch her back, at which point she spoke.
“Guests, please wait a moment. Until my prayer is complete.”
Her words startled the group.
She had somehow sensed Yona sneaking up to poke her back with a finger.
Yona was barely able to perceive such subtle things at her current level—at least ten stars—but the woman gave off no warrior’s aura at all.
Jin decided to heed her request. Since she was an unknown figure, they needed to proceed carefully.
Meanwhile, Valeria opened the record window. The woman didn’t ask them to stop, so it seemed the record magic wouldn’t interfere.
<…Veradin Zipl and the fire dragon Kadun clashed in battle.>
<In the fight, Kadun died once…>
<…Berserk Keliak Zipl attempted to destroy the Tower of Stories.>
Now that they were closer to the magic tower, the records were easier to read.
<…Keliak Zipl coveted the power of the calamity god…>
The group’s eyes widened. So far, the evidence strongly suggested Keliak had tried to transform into a calamity god.
The record suddenly cut off.
Valeria wiped sweat from her brow as she struggled to summon the next sentence.
<…Veradin Zipl framed the fire dragon Kadun… Kadun was no match for Veradin…>
Fragmented, intriguing records appeared.
The woman stopped praying.
At the same moment, Valeria gasped, glancing back and forth between the record window and the woman.
“The moment she finished her prayer, the records suddenly started appearing this easily?”
No one else seemed to notice, but Valeria was keenly aware of it. The woman’s prayer had influenced the records.
Turning around and rising to her feet, the woman introduced herself.
“Apologies for my rude behavior while I was finishing my prayer. I am Sanna, the Sun Priestess.”