Chapter 35

"Kuwaaaah!"

Akaruk's swordsmanship was truly monstrous.

Every time he swung his blade, a tremendous force surged forth, striking at Deioden.

Deioden felt his blood boil.

He had fought countless demonic beasts and Awakened, but this was the first opponent who made him feel such tension.

Though now an undead, it was clear from a single strike just how extraordinary a knight Akaruk had been in life.

His attack cleaved through both space and earth at once.

Deioden did not evade—he met it head-on, swinging Crayon.

Boom!

The clash of swords exploded like a bomb, sending shockwaves raging in all directions.

"Urgh!"

The storm struck Zeon.

Fortunately, he managed to raise a sand barrier in time. Had he reacted even a moment slower, he would have been sent tumbling helplessly.

Deioden and Akaruk moved so fast that even Zeon's eyes could barely follow them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As they clashed across the castle courtyard, Zeon watched without blinking.

Instinctively, he knew—this was an opportunity that would never come again.

Deioden, the strongest human he knew.

And a death knight, reborn as an undead after casting off his humanity.

Just watching their battle felt like his vision was expanding.

Sometimes, simply observing can teach and enlighten.

This was one of those moments.

As he watched, Zeon trembled.

Compared to Deioden and Akaruk, he realized just how far he still had to go.

The slight pride he had felt after obtaining Exion and the Sand Soldiers sank heavily within him.

"Good!"

Madness flared wildly in Deioden's eyes as he faced Akaruk.

The corners of his mouth curled upward, revealing gleaming white teeth.

It was the smile he wore when he was truly enjoying himself.

That insane monster seemed unable to contain his joy in fighting Akaruk.

"Seriously… he's completely insane."

Zeon shook his head, yet couldn't tear his gaze away.

One of Deioden's strikes missed Akaruk and slammed into a massive spire.

Crash!

The impact caused the spire to collapse entirely.

At this rate, the falling debris would crush both Deioden and Zeon.

With a flick of his hand, Zeon launched countless sand missiles toward the collapsing structure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The debris shattered upon impact—but what happened next was even more shocking.

The shattered fragments turned to dust… then, as if time had reversed, they returned to their original form.

Not only that—they returned to their original position.

The spire stood whole again, as if nothing had happened.

Zeon's jaw dropped.

"That's impossible!"

It was something that couldn't be achieved through physical force.

No—nor even through magic.

It was as if time itself had been reversed.

For a moment, it felt like he had been struck in the back of the head.

"Time… reversed? No—what if time is stopped?"

If that were the case, it would explain why the undead instantly recovered from fatal wounds.

The entire ochre domain—including the castle—must exist in a state where time was halted.

"But who could do that?"

There were many Awakened in Neo Seoul, but none could interfere with time itself.

Not even the overwhelmingly powerful Deioden.

It was a domain forbidden to humans.

'Then… the only possibility left is a god?'

Zeon knew how absurd that sounded.

But right now, nothing else made sense.

He had never believed in gods before.

But he had seen Deioden kill one with his own eyes—he had no choice but to believe.

"…Haa."

Zeon let out a sigh.

The scale of it all had grown far beyond him.

For someone who had only just become a D-rank Awakened, it was too much to grasp.

Shaking off his thoughts, Zeon focused once more on the battle.

Boom!

With a thunderous strike, Akaruk's shoulder was severed.

Deioden's slash had cut it clean off.

But Akaruk neither faltered nor retreated.

He was already dead.

Losing an arm caused him no pain.

Instead, the severed limb flew back and reattached itself instantly.

Deioden showed no surprise.

"Heh…"

He had already seen the undead knights revive.

Naturally, Akaruk—the pinnacle among them—would possess even greater regenerative power.

Boom!

Akaruk's side was blown apart.

Yet once again, both armor and flesh regenerated.

The crimson flames within his eyes burned even brighter.

"One who… cannot kill me… is unworthy… to go forward…"

Whoooosh!

Suddenly, gray flames erupted from Akaruk's sword.

The gray aura manifested as fire.

Boom! Boom!

Crayon and the gray aura collided, detonating explosive bursts.

Each clash made the castle tremble as if it would collapse—

Yet, as always, it instantly returned to normal.

Slash!

A long gash tore across Deioden's side.

It was Akaruk's blade that had carved the wound.

Despite the clearly fatal injury, Deioden didn't even frown. Instead, he relished the pain—something he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Heh…"

At some point, he had stopped feeling pain.

Not because he truly couldn't—but because there was no longer anyone capable of inflicting it on him.

Whether A-rank or even S-rank demonic beasts, none had been his equal.

Having transcended human limits and even slain a god, there was nothing left that could wound him.

Akaruk was the first in decades.

In terms of pure swordsmanship, Akaruk did not fall short of Deioden in the slightest. On top of that, he possessed a regenerative ability that restored any wound almost instantly.

And he knew how to use both to perfection.

Deioden felt genuine admiration for the death knight.

He didn't care about the regeneration.

What impressed him was Akaruk's swordsmanship.

Every movement of his blade revealed just how exalted a knight he had been in life.

Each strike was flawless, refined—overflowing with dignity.

It was domineering, yet not cruel.

From that alone, one could easily imagine what kind of man Akaruk had once been.

Akaruk unleashed the swordsmanship he had mastered in life and attacked Deioden.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out continuously.

The air around them burned with heat from their clash.

They poured everything they had into each other.

It was as if two masters at the highest level were conversing through their swords.

Zeon watched without even daring to take a deep breath.

Then—

Suddenly, a pitch-black energy began to gather around Crayon.

It radiated an ominous presence that did not fall short of Akaruk's gray aura.

"Ugh!"

The moment the black energy burst forth, Zeon felt pain stab into his heart.

He wasn't even the target—yet simply witnessing it caused his heart to ache.

"What the—!"

Zeon hurriedly retreated, escaping its range.

But the undead surrounding the area stood still, directly exposed to the black energy.

Crackle—

Their flesh suddenly crumbled into dust.

Rotten meat, blackened bones—disintegrating into powder.

And yet, the undead remained standing, unmoving.

Ooooo—

A strange sound echoed among them.

It sounded like weeping… and yet like joy.

Zeon instinctively realized—it was closer to joy.

The energy Deioden now released was returning the undead to nothingness.

And yet, they welcomed it.

—Finally…

—At last… rest…

It felt as if their voices were reaching his ears.

Deioden's voice thundered through the castle.

"I will grant you rest, death knight!"

Shwaaaak!

Crayon erupted with streams of pitch-black energy and struck Akaruk.

Slash!

Akaruk's body was cleaved clean in two.

Split into upper and lower halves, he rolled across the ground.

Just moments ago, he had possessed overwhelming regenerative power—

But this time, it did not work.

The severed surfaces began to crumble into dust.

The crimson glow that had flickered within his helmet slowly faded.

Thud.

Deioden planted Crayon into the ground and looked down at Akaruk.

Then Akaruk's voice emerged.

"Death… so your authority is death."

Unlike before, his voice was now clear.

The curse that had bound him as an undead had been nullified by Deioden's power.

In exchange, he was finally dying—but there was no regret in his voice.

If anything, he sounded relieved.

Akaruk removed the helmet he had worn all this time.

Beneath it was the face of a man in his early fifties.

Though half his flesh had rotted away, his features were still distinct.

In life, he must have been considered quite handsome.

Akaruk spoke.

"The authority of death… In Kurayan, that power was granted only to Krasias. And now, it has passed to you."

"Krasias… you mean that one?"

"The Ruination Dragon who brought this world to ruin. We called him Krasias."

"Krasias… so that was its name."

Deioden ground his teeth.

After a hundred years of devastation, he was finally hearing the name of that being.

A hundred years ago, Deioden had been in New York.

The capital of the world, the pinnacle of civilization.

He had been traveling there with his wife, his daughter, and his only friend.

Coming from a small rural town in Montana, they had been overwhelmed by the brilliance of the city, enjoying every moment.

But their happiness didn't last long.

The sky above New York tore open—

And something immense appeared.

Over three kilometers long from head to tail, with ten wings, it resembled a dragon straight out of legend.

But everyone who saw it knew—

It was not a dragon.

Something in the shape of a dragon.

A god in the form of a beast.

All who witnessed it felt the same.

Most who saw it directly could not withstand the divinity it unconsciously emitted—and died on the spot.

With a single flap of its wings, half of New York was destroyed.

More than five million people perished.

It was the arrival of catastrophe itself.

And in that moment—

Deioden's wife and daughter died.

Right beside him.

Unable to do anything, he lost them—and swore revenge.

That was a hundred years ago.

And not for a single moment had he forgotten.

Deioden asked,

"Where is Krasias?"

"You already know. He has returned to nothingness."

"He's dead? After destroying the world like this?"

"The cost of terraforming another world is immense. Even for the Ruination Dragon, who devoured all miracles and powers since the beginning—it was too much to bear."

"Grrr!"

Veins bulged in Deioden's eyes.

Akaruk looked at him with pity.

"I understand your heart."

"Shut up! What would an undead like you know to speak so freely?"

"It was Krasias who turned me into this undead as well. Because I alone opposed his will…"