Chapter 818
Episode 204: Declaration of War (5)

Satrin headed down to the tower’s underground chamber. Beneath the Tower of Stories lay the Demon God Stone.

Meanwhile, aboard the flagship of the Red Fleet, Bilka Hon was assessing Jiple’s fleet.

“As expected, aside from that ship called Kojeck, the rest are mediocre at best. They’re even inferior to the ships the Cheongmyeong tribe used to operate.”

Bilka Hon spoke with a tone of condescension. Since the fleet attacking the Tower of Stories lacked a Grand Fighting King, he, a first-class Fighting King, was in command.

“I agree, Bilka comrade. Their firepower, mobility, and defense all fall short compared to our fleet.”

“It’s a shame. If I had been chosen as the Grand Fighting King, I could have led more ships and dealt them a much more devastating blow before retreating. But as it stands, the numerical difference is just too great.”

Though the technology of the Jeokmyeong tribe was overwhelming, seventy could not defeat five hundred. Since this was merely a reconnaissance mission, Bilka was already preparing to withdraw.

“I’m opening the dimensional gate. Other comrades have said there are many monstrous humans in Jiple. They might move suddenly, so stay alert until the very end.”

Because Bilka’s fleet lacked a Grand Fighting King, it took much longer to open the dimensional gate.

“Jeokmyeong!”

Jiple’s ships struggled to break through the Red Fleet’s shields. Their poor mobility prevented them from surrounding the Red Fleet.

This gave Bilka and his crew a sense of superiority—but also an unsettling feeling.

‘Strange. Why haven’t any of the so-called superhumans joined the front lines yet? Are all the superhumans spread out across other first-class magic towers, leaving the Tower of Stories to be defended by just the fleet? If so, it’s even more regrettable that the Grand Fighting Kings are absent.’

Bilka was unaware that inside the tower were Veradin, Satrin, and numerous phantom and ghost soldiers. Their absence from the battle explained the oddity.

The uneasy feeling among the Jeokmyeong tribe soon turned into a terrifying sense of crisis—about ten minutes later.

“The dimensional gate is about to open!”

“All fleets, prepare to retreat.”

“Dimensional gate fully open! Wait, Bilka comrade! Something’s wrong!”

“What do you mean?”

“The dimensional gate—it’s distorting…!”

Bilka couldn’t believe his ears. The next moment, he stared in disbelief at the gate.

Crack… Ssshhh—!

An unknown force was crushing the dimensional gate behind the fleet. The gate maintained its perfect circular shape only briefly.

“What’s going on?”

“We don’t know. The settings and power supply are all normal. What the hell is this…!”

None of the Jeokmyeong tribe who had attacked the Tower of Stories had ever experienced this phenomenon.

‘I’ve heard comrades saw the Cheongmyeong tribe’s Fighting King block a dimensional gate before, but it was never like this. Not just distortion—this is tearing apart.’

The gate was already ripped into several pieces, swirling chaotically in the sky. The torn shape seemed to mock them.

[Jeokmyeong tribe, are you prepared to pay the price for daring to strike Jiple?]

A voice echoed from the torn dimensional gate.

It was Veradin’s voice. A chill ran down Bilka’s spine as he reflexively checked the Tower of Stories.

‘When did it change like that?’

The tower was now split vertically into two halves. At the center was a huge, round object that looked like an eye.

The Demon God Stone.

Hiiiii…

The Demon God Stone transformed into a black face, emitting a grotesque breath. Unlike during the Black Emperor War or the Fiend War, the Demon God Stone now had only one empty eye socket.

Those Jeokmyeong who met the gaze of that single eye froze—like prey facing a natural predator.

Bilka clawed at his own throat, barely managing to speak. Flesh fell from his neck, but fear numbed any pain.

“Spe-speed up! Fly out of the battlefield immediately!”

If the Red Fleet retreated at full speed, Jiple’s fleet could never catch them. Bilka judged they had to get out of sight of the Demon God Stone first.

But even as he gave the order, he wasn’t confident. The terrible entity wouldn’t just leave them alone. Though they hadn’t experienced its powers yet, they knew how dangerous it was. This was no mere object their fleet could handle.

The Jeokmyeong urgently fed brain energy into their power sources. They knew that if they didn’t get away from the Demon God Stone now, death was certain.

Or worse—they feared they might pay a price beyond death. Not becoming immortal soldiers, but becoming test subjects for unspeakable horrors.

[You probably thought you could always escape through the dimensional gate. But this is the Tower of Stories. Without my permission, no one can realize their will here.]

Just as the Red Fleet tried to accelerate, a figure stepped out from the torn dimensional gate at the front of the flagship. Veradin Jiple, head of Jiple.

His Hroti flames blazed fiercely, instantly spreading into a massive wall of fire that the Red Fleet couldn’t break through.

The hull would surely melt entirely. Veradin floated in midair, expressionless. Then, swinging his Hroti once, the concentrated flames incinerated the flagship.

About twenty crew members turned to ash, and nearly half the hull was destroyed—but the flagship remained suspended, held by Veradin’s magic.

Veradin withdrew the flames only after the entire front of the bridge was obliterated. The crew sitting before Bilka were either reduced to ash or half-melted corpses.

This was no mere human.

Or rather, no mortal. Only a being granted immortal power from the sun could wield such authority.

Bilka thought this as he forced himself to look at Veradin’s face. The man strode toward the bridge.

[What is your name?]

“Bilka… Hon. First-class Fighting King of the Jeokmyeong tribe.”

[What is your purpose here?]

“Ugh… reconnaissance…”

[What must you do next?]

“Return… and… report the situation…”

Bilka trembled painfully, drooling. Each time Veradin asked, his terrified eyes grew more vacant.

[I ask again. What must you do next?]

“Return… no, to Jiple… information about us… Wh-what are you doing to me? Kraaah!”

Crack!

Suddenly, Bilka’s right arm twisted grotesquely. This was not what Veradin intended.

[Ah, my apologies. Did I go too far?]

Veradin was manipulating Bilka’s memories, will, and the history of “Bilka Hon” using the Demon God Stone.

But the manipulation wasn’t precise enough, causing an overload. Veradin furrowed his brow and sighed.

‘His body twisted in resistance to the manipulation. If I hadn’t lost Father and Shinu, this would have succeeded smoothly.’

When Veradin lifted the manipulation, Bilka collapsed forward, gasping harshly. He had no memory of what he’d just said or why his arm was twisted.

His accumulated memories and inner self were severely damaged.

‘Why am I here? Was I in battle? Who is this man? Did I really get defeated by a human? Why do I feel such fear?’

Veradin immediately noticed Bilka’s panic and sighed.

[What is your name?]

“Bilka… Hon…”

[You are indeed a first-class Fighting King of the Jeokmyeong tribe?]

Bilka slowly nodded.

‘He remembers his name, affiliation, and rank. Fortunately, the damage isn’t too severe. I almost ruined a valuable resource beyond use. Though not a Grand Fighting King, he was the commander, so I can extract the most information from him.’

As if to test him, Veradin applied manipulation to a crouching ordinary soldier beside Bilka. Before the soldier could even say his name, his neck snapped and he died. A second-class Fighting King on the opposite side held out a little longer.

‘Only those of Fighting King rank can somewhat withstand the pressure of manipulation. It seems all Jeokmyeong have a certain level of resistance…’

So, the Fighting Kings require careful, time-consuming manipulation to extract information, while the rest can be tortured.

Veradin concluded this and turned away.

[Lock them all in the tower’s underground. Separate the Fighting Kings. The ships likely have devices to prevent technology leaks. Self-destruction is the most probable, so keep them waiting on the Theia Plain until our top engineers arrive.]

“Understood.”

Fleet commanders responded from inside their ships. Veradin heard all their voices.

[And the 2nd and 3rd fleets, withdraw immediately and support the Phantom Captain as quickly as possible.]

As soon as he finished the orders, Veradin staggered slightly and spat out a mouthful of blood.

‘Maybe I pushed myself too hard. What a pitiful sight.’

He turned and gazed toward the rocky area far beyond the Tower of Stories. Since opening the Demon God Stone, Veradin was certain a group was watching him there.

Among them was definitely Jin.

“…Lord Owl, Veradin just looked this way.”

“With these conditions and this distance, even Sir Siron wouldn’t be able to detect my hiding place. Still, there’s a chill to it—could that be the power of the Demon Stone?”

Unlike Owl, Jin wasn’t particularly shocked that Veradin had recognized them. The Demon Stone’s true abilities and limits were still a mystery. The fact that the Jeokmyeong tribe was subdued the moment the tower opened was no different.

What stung was the bitter truth that his friend was drifting further and further away from humanity.

“Hah. Honestly, I want to go and beat some sense into him until he comes to his senses, but it’s best we pull back for now.”

“Understood. I’ll get ready.”

As Owl prepared their gear, Jin and Veradin kept their eyes locked on each other, neither willing to look away.