Chapter 612
The world had been completely transformed.
The familiar, bleak scenery was nowhere to be seen; instead, a place filled with lotus flowers and wooden pagodas spread out in its stead.
“…It was supposed to be a peaceful afternoon tea. I was tired of seeing rivers of blood every day and wanted a rare moment to wash away the stench.”
Berial’s voice trembled thinly.
But then—
Why!
“You smashed one of the few pleasures I’m allowed!”
A scream that spilled out, choked by emotion.
‘Saying it like that does make me feel a little bit sorry.’
Still, he was a Demon King—was that too much?
“No, that’s not it—”
“What’s ‘not it’ about it!”
“No… I really had zero intention of interfering, but they said the Apostles of the Celestial Order are a million times better than the Apostles of the Demon Realm.”
“What did you just say?”
Berial’s eyebrows bucked into a frown.
The anger that had been directed at Kang Jinhyuk immediately redirected.
Kukukukukuku!
Red mana poured into the fork in his hand and the strawberry tart melted away whole.
Good. Caught.
“I can endure being insulted, but I cannot tolerate the great Demon King who always supports and cheers me being humiliated. Especially since I’ve fought many divine beings, I know exactly how powerful the Demon Realm is.”
“Ahem! That’s… precisely right. You’d be forgiven for being angry. I concede that.”
Sway him a little, flatter him in the right measure, and plant a sense of affinity—cooking a Demon King like this was child’s play.
“So I decided to fight. And besides, we never had a proper rematch against them, did we?”
In the past, they had clashed with the Gandhara guild including Nirasha in the Empire. Although they won, it was limited to a single battle. The final victory in a war of myths had not been settled.
The [Bookmark of the Unfinished] would become the chance to continue the fight left unresolved back then.
“Fine. Those eyesores are annoying—this time I’ll wipe them out. They ruined my tea time; they’ll pay for it.”
Berial cracked the knuckles of his hand.
“Are you serious? You’ll declare war over something so trivial?”
Naturally, from the Celestial Order’ side it was absurd. Would the fate of a realm be decided over such a thing?
But—
“Disturbing someone while they eat in the Demon Realm is a crime punishable by annihilating three generations.”
That was a statement only someone unfamiliar with Demon Kings would make. In the Demon Realm it was common to slay kin just for boredom.
[Berial summons Black Spear Kishan.]
The blackened spear slowly manifested.
And so—war began between the Demon Realm and the Celestial Order.
—
“Grrr…”
“Grrk! Guh-ong! Grrk!”
Bipedal black wolves bared their fangs.
They were already thrilled at the thought of hunting their blood enemies.
“Our cubs seem to long for your blood as well.”
Raktak licked the blade with his tongue.
Ancient runes carved into the weapon glimmered a faint indigo. The Werewolf tribe, lauded as the strongest bloodline—the ‘Black Wolves’—once dominated the late 30s floor range from primordial times. At some point their glory could no longer continue.
Something that transcended common sense had occurred—the birth of an immortal progenitor.
‘Alice von Ataraxia’.
The silver-haired vampire who newly led the Ataraxia family shattered the old balance and drove the Black Wolves back.
In as little as a hundred years, the family’s strongest warriors died countless times and vast territories were cut in half. The price paid for a single new progenitor’s intervention was exorbitant.
But the one-sided victory was fleeting. The foolish vampires, upon seizing the advantage, promptly betrayed their benefactor—imprisoning Alice in the Corridor of the Corrupted to curb her overwhelming power.
Step.
Raktak stepped forward.
“Perhaps we should thank them. Thanks to them we have this sweet moment of revenge.”
“You’re long-winded. I recommend savoring victory after you actually win.”
“Khaha! True enough. No matter how great the power gap, until you win, you haven’t won.”
Raktak’s eyes, which had been laughing, reddened.
“Bite.”
A cold, concise order—enough to express the wrath of the ages.
Kraaang! Thud!
“Roooar!”
“Gyao!”
The Black Wolves surged like lightning.
Light and fast.
Their supple movements, incongruous with their bulk, were the essence of savage beasts.
[Alice activates ‘Blood Rain’.]
Alice reflexively drew Blood Spears, but hitting the zigzagging wolves was no easy feat.
Pupupupung!
“Wheee!”
“Wheaaah!”
After several sacrifices the gap closed. Now their teeth could bite into necks.
At that moment—
Kang!
Clang-clang-clang!
A multitude of metallic sounds rang out.
Ophelia of the Dekasus family and Belus of Ataraxia among them—numerous vampires leapt from the shadows.
All wore capes symbolizing Ataraxia and drew dazzling rapiers.
“Wolf meat stinks a lot…”
“How dare you shove unclean teeth in my face?”
Pointed fangs; silver hair fluttered in the wind.
“You’ve called your kin, so I’ll call mine too, won’t I?”
Alice smiled.
“Of course. How could I dislike the chance to sweep that filthy bloodline away at once?”
What they wanted was the annihilation of the opposing species. Not a single seed must remain for either to have a future.
[Unique Holy Spear….]
[Unique Holy Spear….]
The two clan heads leading the Black Wolves and the vampires unleashed the pinnacle abilities each could manifest.
[‘Reaper of the Black Night’ activates!]
[‘Apocalypse of Revelation’ activates!]
A blood-red shadow fell over the Hall of Arts.
⁕⁕⁕
Sararak… sarak.
Sand in the hourglass fell quickly.
Only about ten hours remained until the Covenant activated. After that, the risk of the entire Tower collapsing would arrive.
‘So far so good. Gandhara’s side should be okay?’
‘Last check confirmed: we succeeded in pulling them into the mental world.’
‘Then… there should be no variables.’
They did not know what was happening inside. No matter how strong Kang Jinhyuk was, he could not hope to defeat all the Celestial Order’ divine beings. Especially now, without aid from the Veteran Corporation.
‘Even if he has crowns or other abilities, mana will eventually run out.’
Current estimates put his mana at roughly 1,000 plus. Impressive, but still a finite number.
jj and 1Person2Chickens looked upward.
Kukukuku!
Crrack! Snap!
Countless tentacles writhed, trying to pierce back into reality. Various wards strained to suppress the tentacles, but it was soon.
Then—step.
A familiar presence appeared before the two operators.
“You…?”
“How did you find this place?”
jj and 1Person2Chickens’ pupils rapidly dilated.
This place was made by layering multiple wards and dimensions—a third illusory space that allowed entry only to the permitted. Even high-rank admins wouldn’t notice it existed.
And yet someone had broken through alone.
Not many could accomplish such a thing.
“You’ve caused quite the fun chaos. The operators are trying to bring about the apocalypse themselves.”
The Eurasian eagle-owl slowly entered the illusory space.
Pzzzt…!
Sparks of different kinds collided.
An indescribably terrifying storm of mana arose.
“Do you intend to obstruct us to the end?”
Blue crystals formed around the old man.
A cold chill blew like an ice age.
“If you choose the wrong side to the end… as an old comrade, I will try to stop you.”
“That’s the wrong view. He has already foretold the end of this story. No matter how we struggle, the future won’t change.”
“You designed a Tower granting infinite possibilities to pursue endless freedom, yet this is ridiculous. jj— the Tower of Trials always has a set beginning but an undetermined end.”
“The difference of opinion between then and now remains unresolved. Kang Jinhyuk will not reach the top again; and even if he somehow cleared every gate, would Alice necessarily make a different choice?”
“……I don’t know.”
The owl swallowed the answer in his heart. Honestly, he did not know the reply to jj’s words.
What mattered now was only this—at minimum, create the chance for Jinhyuk to meet that moment.
Flare!
Green flames rose in the Eurasian eagle-owl’s hands.
“I will stop the Covenant from occurring.”
Even if it costs some lives here, he vowed to stop it.
⁕⁕⁕
While everyone fought simultaneous battles, Kang Jinhyuk and Berial faced the Celestial Order’ divine beings.
Kwakwakwa—kwaang!
The black spear sliced across the pond.
The cursed spear’s nature tainted whatever it touched, turning the lotus flowers black.
However—
The spear that had been thrust onward was suddenly stopped.
Kwaaang!
A wall of flame shot up as if to touch the sky.
It was Agni, the main god of the Lokapala located directly under one of India’s three supreme deities.
“You expected ten thousand soldiers, but only two showed up… I can’t even warm up properly.”
Agni caressed the flames softly.
Beside him stood Varuna, the god representing the west of the Lokapala.
Kwal-kwal-kwal!
The pond’s water level rose instantly and huge water droplets rose.
“What’s the complaint? If we take out Kang Jinhyuk and the strongest Demon King of the Demon Realm together… afterwards we only have to deal with those stupid lizard fools, right?”
“Indeed, a lot of troublesome enemies have disappeared thanks to the Veteran Corporation.”
If this went well, they could transfer all forces to confront the Ancient Dragons.
“Use more power, Berial. You’re supposed to be a Demon King—are you only this strong?”
“Damn it. What do you expect me to do alone? They keep dragging allies in. Didn’t you plan anything more? Surely we didn’t intend to face all myths alone?”
“Hold on a little longer.”
No need to prod further—the next plan was already in place. They wouldn’t wage war on the 45th floor with just two.
Berial was merely the vanguard to buy time.
[Bookmark of the Unfinished – Supplementary Appendix: The Reenactment of the Ragnarok]
[Remaining Time 0H : 1M : 15S]
About one minute remained until additional thralls could be summoned.