Chapter 288

Chapter 288
Chapter 288

—

The arrival is imminent. ‘It’ draws near.

Gracia had no concept of what it meant to love.

Since his youth, he had pursued the life of an elite with a singular focus, never once encountering an emotion like romance. To him, it had always seemed like a pointless drain on one’s time and spirit.

He believed he was cut from a different cloth. He felt he had to be.

As the child of a titan of industry known as the “Iron Man” and a mother who settled for nothing but the absolute peak of luxury, Gracia was burdened with the constant need to be the perfect, capable heir.

His solitary escape, a secret kept from everyone, was the virtual world of ‘Pangaea.’

Its difficulty was notorious. He had been lured in by the rumor that conquering the game would grant the victor any single wish.

‘There is no challenge on this earth I cannot overcome.’

Whether it was a digital simulation or reality, it didn’t matter. Gracia was the type of man to see every endeavor through to its conclusion, perpetually shattering the highest benchmarks.

He assumed Pangaea would yield to him just as everything else had.

……That was, until he crossed paths with ‘Phantom.’

‘……Was I merely treading a path paved by another this entire time, forever stuck in someone’s shadow?’

In the physical world, he lived in the shadow of his parents. In the realm of Pangaea, he was forever pursuing Phantom. Because of this, he could never truly rise above them. A person can never take the lead if they are content to simply follow the tracks of the person in front.

Thus, Gracia resolved to transform himself.

‘I will live as my true self.’

He decided to stop playing a part. He would no longer be a follower!

If he felt this persistent urge to see her, this deep sense of longing whenever she was absent, then it had to be love. Gracia was certain he was now in love.

“Serengeti, the Pure White Knight.”

“……?”

“I am grateful. A single word from you was enough to wake me.”

“What…… are you talking about?”

Serengeti struggled to even form the words. This was entirely news to her. She possessed no recollection of ever having a conversation with Gracia. In fact, they had never even been in such close proximity before.

Yet, Gracia paid no attention to her bewildered response.

“You may have forgotten, but I remember it clearly. That gentle touch upon my face within the Abyss, your voice reprimanding me to find my resolve. That smile you gave me.”

“…Have you lost your mind?”

“Because of you, I found my clarity. From this moment on, I will be your shield.”

“It sounds like you’re further from your senses than ever……?”

She had never performed such actions. She had never reached out to touch his face, nor had she ever offered Gracia a smile.

How could she have? Gracia was a member of the Hero Alliance, the very group that had dragged Wilhelm’s Great Expedition through the mud. Even if he had distanced himself from figures like Lucifer or Dark Star, she was far more likely to meet him with a scowl and a curse than a tender gesture.

Perhaps he had lived through a delusion.

“Lyca, the Empire’s First Sword and Most Powerful Knight.”

Gracia shifted his gaze to confront Lyca. In response, Lyca merely gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Mmm. Is the romantic confession finished?”

“I appreciate your patience.”

“Ah, I’m a man of great stoicism, so think nothing of it.”

*Sreung.*

Gracia’s hand tightened around the hilt of his weapon.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the man you label a ‘felon,’ the Sword Saint Gracia.”

He made no attempt to mask his identity, especially not before the strongest blade in the Empire.

Lyca tilted his head in confusion. “Sword Saint? That title is unfamiliar to me.”

“……Stop playing the fool. Did you not set a ‘Reaper’ on my trail?”

“A Reaper? Ah, you must be referring to being targeted by the Reaper Cult.”

*Tsk, tsk.*

Lyca made a clicking sound with his tongue, looking at Gracia with a hint of pity, as if he were a man burdened by the attention of such obsessive, toxic fanatics. The Reaper Cult viewed criminals as vermin to be eradicated, but Lyca himself didn’t hold much of a personal grudge against outlaws.

He was merely intrigued. If this man truly held the rank of Sword Saint, he had to possess a formidable level of skill.

“Let’s see what you can do.”

“……Very well.”

*Zing!*

*Ziiiiiiing!*

A thousand blades manifested behind Gracia’s form. These were weapons of exceptional craftsmanship and immense lethality. A few were prizes Gracia had claimed himself, but the vast majority had been seized from the vaults of Union. Since every piece of equipment in Union’s stores surpassed even Mythic-tier items, Gracia and Union proved to be a lethal combination.

Furthermore.

‘In this moment, I am powerful.’

Gracia had achieved a new level of spiritual clarity. By casting aside the need to mimic others, his pining, and his deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, he finally embraced his own identity. The moment he pledged to forge his own destiny, a transformation occurred.

—Heavenly Punishment

*Crackle!*

*C-c-crackle!*

Azure Sword Qi erupted from the thousand hovering blades. Simultaneously, a spark like a lightning strike flickered within Gracia’s eyes. This was his ultimate technique: Heavenly Punishment. It was a devastating assault that called down a thousand bolts of lightning to vaporize the foe.

*Chwa-reuk!*

*Chwa-reureureuk!*

It was a decisive strike that drained every drop of his energy and vitality in a single burst. Due to the immense wind-up time and the fact that his body would be rendered immobile for a week after its use, it was a secret art he almost never deployed.

—Full Bloom

However, Gracia pushed even further. He finally stepped into the realm that lay beyond the limits of Heavenly Punishment.

The blades began to multiply. Each projected sword mirrored itself, growing until two thousand weapons filled the horizon. Then, those two thousand split again, swelling into a sea of four thousand.

After absorbing the Star of Illusions and transcending his previous limits, he had refined a new manifestation of Heavenly Punishment through grueling effort. The peak of his strength was now being channeled into a single point. An assault that was impossible to dodge—a literal manifestation of death!

*Swoosh!*

*Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!*

The spectacle was undeniably breathtaking. The sight of four thousand blades cascading from the heavens like a torrential downpour was awe-inspiring.

Yet, no matter how much force he unleashed.

“……You truly are nothing short of a freak of nature.”

The effort was wasted if the blow never landed. Union, observing the clash from the sidelines, was filled with a sense of dread. Despite his long tenure as the premier court wizard of the Empire, he had never encountered a being as monstrous as Lyca.

He was significantly more powerful than the previous generations of the Eight Excellence Knights. He shouldn’t have possessed this much strength—had he somehow grown more powerful recently?

“That was a fairly entertaining diversion. Now, criminal…… what did you say your name was again?”

“……”

As the echoes of the Full Bloom of Heavenly Punishment faded, Gracia’s eyes shook with horror. Lyca stood before him, completely unscathed.

Gracia had been certain he had reached a new plateau of power, but he had failed to crest the true summit. Against Lyca, he was nothing. Against that inhuman titan, he was outmatched. Because he had exhausted every ounce of his strength, he was now defenseless.

*Chwa-ak!*

In a flash, both of Gracia’s arms were lopped off.

*Thud!*

“Khup……!”

Moments later, Lyca’s blade plunged deep into Serengeti’s torso.

*Squelch!*

With a brutal twist of the steel, blood began to gush forth.

“Give me the truth, Isabella. Isabella von Dercian. What truly transpired on that day?”

That specific day. The day they breached the territory of the Abyss.

Lyca had seen the members of the Eight Excellence Knights fall, had lost his own memories, and had hovered on the brink of death. It was a catastrophe significant enough to wipe the mind of an entity as powerful as himself. Without a doubt, something monumental had occurred.

“If you refuse to speak, everyone here will perish. And Isabella, their deaths will be on your hands.”

He was attempting to extort the truth by placing the weight of their lives on her conscience. Yet, Isabella maintained her resolute silence.

The events of that place. The clash with nightmares on the Island of the Gods. The arrival of the Hybrid of God’s Skin, the Eternal Monarch, the Gate of Truth, and the other version of Randolph. There was no possible way she could explain all of that to him.

However, there was one piece of truth she could offer.

“…You were beaten.”

“……? I was beaten?”

“You unsealed the 5th Gate and joined the fray, but in the end, you were nothing but a failure who tasted defeat.”

“…………Are you claiming I was bested even after I opened the 5th Gate?”

Lyca’s expression darkened into a scowl. Opening the 5th Gate granted a form of invincibility because it was predicated on the user’s own death. In that state, he should have been untouchable. Yet, she claimed he had lost.

“To whom? Who could have done such a thing?”

“That would be……”

……To her lord, Randolph. He had been defeated by the other Randolph.

Suddenly.

*Chwang!*

Lyca pivoted his body with incredible speed, using the flat of his sword to parry an incoming attacker. It was Qiongqi.

*Koo-oo-oo-oo-oong!*

At the same time, the earth beneath them began to shudder. The Great Earth Dragon was stirring. That massive beast was gathering its internal energy, preparing to strike at Lyca.

Why were the Patrons intervening on behalf of the humans? Or had they sensed his power was waning and were attempting to neutralize him?

“……This is becoming a nuisance.”

What fools.

Lyca’s brow furrowed in irritation. There were far more distractions than he had anticipated. At this rate, he wouldn’t get a straight answer out of anyone. He simply could not accept the idea that he had been defeated after using the 5th Gate.

In a way, this simplified things.

“It will be far less troublesome if I just slaughter the lot of you.”

They began to fall.

Qiongqi and the Great Earth Dragon were pushed back. Even Isaac and the Saintess Seya were no match. They could do nothing to halt Lyca’s advance. He was a force of nature, an absolute power.

Blood painted the ground, wounds were opened, and they were all drifting toward the end. This was the fate of those who dared to obstruct an absolute being.

Who in the world could have possibly brought such a monster to his knees?

“Do you also intend to stand in my way?”

“……No.”

Laktusha gave his answer. The Dark Elf Lord also shook his head in refusal. Even the former champion, Sansha, appeared to have no interest in engaging Lyca; his obsession remained solely with the current champion.

Lyca wiped the gore from his blade.

“Now then……”

“Uuu, uuuuuu……”

“……?”

“Uwaaaaaang! I’m terrified! I’m terrified! I’m terrified!”

As he turned back toward Isabella, the wailing of a child echoed across the 25th floor. It was the Dragon God, Lucaria. The small girl had broken down into sobs, tears streaming down her face in pure terror.

“Ah, no……”

Isera looked at the weeping Lucaria with visible distress. She actually stood up and retreated several paces. This was a sharp departure from her previous behavior, where she had been comforting and holding the trembling child.

Isera, a woman who seemed to fear nothing, was now visibly shaken and even panicked.

*Shi-shi-shi-shi.*

A sound like eerie laughter began to fill the air. Dark vapor began to radiate from Lucaria’s body. Soon, a void-like darkness swallowed Lucaria’s features, as if her face were being obscured by flickering shadows.

Witnessing Lucaria’s metamorphosis, Isera cried out in desperation.

“Flee! ‘It’ is coming……!”

*Koo-reureureung!*

The entire Tower began to tremble. The source of the quake was the uppermost levels. From the top of the swaying structure, black smoke began to pour out with violent intensity.

The smoke coalesced into the shape of spectral hands, which began to wrap around the exterior of the Tower.

*Kawk!*

*Kaaak!*

Great crows screamed in fright and fled the structure. Something was undeniably unfolding within the Tower—something of a magnitude far beyond anything they had experienced before.

“W-what is that?”

“What is that dark mist?”

“What on earth is happening inside the Tower of the War God?”

Observers outside the Tower spoke in hushed, trembling voices. A sickening curse radiated from the building, making anyone who looked at it shiver with dread. They had never witnessed such a phenomenon. It was as if the concept of a curse had been given physical form.

A colossal effigy of malice. No, it was more aptly described as the God of Curses.

Then, an even more inexplicable series of events occurred.

《‘Serengeti’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph.’》

《‘Curse of Domination’ is triggered; she is now under control.》

《‘Isabella’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph.’》

《‘Curse of Domination’ is triggered; she is now under control.》

《‘Laktusha’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph.’》

《‘Curse of Domination’ is triggered; he is now under control.》

《‘Union’……》

……

……

……

《‘Lyca’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph.’》

《‘Curse of Domination’ is triggered; he is now under control.》