Chapter 376

Chapter 376
## Chapter 376: The Sunken Emperor

—

The standoff between the Knights of Radiance and the Knights of the Round Table had reached a tipping point.

“Has the leader of the Round Table fled in cowardice?”

Kasim muttered, his brows drawing together in a sharp scowl. He had fully anticipated that the commander would show himself for a clash of this magnitude. His desire was to test himself against the man—the fresh sovereign of the Round Table and the conqueror of the Tower of Destruction.

Was the man truly so intimidated that he had retreated to avoid a direct engagement? If that were the case, Kasim couldn’t suppress his rising sense of letdown.

“Do not trouble yourself. Our strength alone is far more than sufficient,” Abeloph, the Vice-Commander of the Round Table, replied while dismissing the notion with a slow shake of his head.

He was implying that there was no necessity for their leader to personally handle Kasim or the Knights of Radiance. These weren’t merely boastful words; they were delivered with an air of absolute self-assurance.

Kasim’s features tightened further. He was well aware of the reputation preceding the Knights of the Round Table—rumors of their ruthless nature and blatant lack of etiquette. It was said they answered only to their master and maintained a cold wall of silence toward all others. Observing them now, he saw the rumors were grounded in reality.

However, another whisper suggested that the Round Table never mobilized without the ‘master of the Round Table’ leading the way. If that held true, how could they possibly proceed with this battle in his absence? The thought sparked a flicker of genuine curiosity in him.

“Heh. We shall see how long that arrogance of yours remains intact.”

Kasim understood that further dialogue was futile. At this stage, only the clash of steel would serve as their language. In truth, his motivation for challenging the Round Table was partly a quest for the prestige of being named ‘Knights of the Goddess.’

‘I recognize some of those faces.’

There was also the matter of familiarity. Among the ranks of the Round Table, he spotted individuals he remembered from his time in the World Tree’s dungeon—those who had validated their status at the ‘World Tree of Honor.’ If they were part of this group, did it imply their master was one of them? Or was he a different sort of human entirely? Or perhaps, was he even human at all?

He intended to uncover the truth. By placing enough pressure on the Round Table, their master would eventually be forced to emerge. Only then would Kasim determine if the man was truly worthy of the title ‘Knights of the Goddess.’

“Ijazel. Move to the front.”

“I hear and obey the decree of the Radiance,” Ijazel responded.

The ‘Angel Knights’ within the Knights of Radiance were essentially living ‘holy swords.’ Kasim held the unique power to transform living souls into these divine weapons, and the Angel Knights were the elite warriors who had offered themselves up to undergo this transformation. Following the downfall of the dark deity, Kasim had entombed them within the Holy City, only to awaken them once more. These were the peerless warriors who had stood by him during the slaying of the evil god.

Ijazel himself was a holy sword of the highest caliber.

Fwooooosh—!

The moment he stepped into the vanguard, a cascade of shimmering light erupted from his form. Kasim watched the Round Table and Vice-Commander Abeloph with a keen, expectant gaze. This was the opening move. Nothing carried more weight than the initial duel between vanguards. He wondered who they would choose to meet the challenge.

“…”

Abeloph paused to reflect. He was forced to make this decision on his own, without the commander’s guidance. It was a new experience. In the past, such an initiative would have been unthinkable; he would have done nothing but await Wilhelm’s orders.

But hadn’t they committed to forging a new path? Hadn’t they vowed to evolve? Even in the absence of their master, he had to prove he could uphold the position. He refused to let the prestige of the Round Table be tarnished.

After a short silence, Abeloph shifted his focus.

“Serengeti.”

He called her name, meeting her eyes directly. She was the logical choice for the opening gambit. Though she had once been the youngest member of their order, her growth had been meteoric. Now, her prowess was such that she could hold her own against anyone in the Round Table. Abeloph felt no doubt that Serengeti would secure their first triumph.

—

The Master of the Tomb.

That was the massive construct that had assisted me during the encounter with the ‘Masters of the Abyss’ on the Isle of Gods. That colossal golem was a titan that ruled over several Abyssal domains, yet unlike its peers, it harbored no thirst for territorial expansion. The Master of the Tomb sought only one thing: to find the creator who had fashioned it long ago.

‘But why has it appeared here?’

The situation felt wrong. The Master of the Tomb usually wandered aimlessly, following the trail of its creator. There was no logical reason for it to descend this deep into the Abyss, especially into this chaotic zone where the Spirit Spire had fallen and the terrain was choked with corruption. Logic suggested the child would never be in such a desolate place.

However, as I thought back on it…

‘The Master of the Tomb didn’t go to the Isle of Gods by its own choice either.’

It had been manipulated into going there. That ‘someone’ was a specific individual.

‘It mentioned an Operator. It claimed it traveled there because it was told the child could be found on the Isle of Gods.’

An Operator. If that was the case, was history repeating itself? Had it been lured here by someone claiming to be an Operator again? Furthermore…

‘I was the one who deceived it.’

On the Isle of Gods, I had manipulated the Master of the Tomb. I used honeyed words, promising I knew the child’s location and would reunite them, just to secure its assistance. But it was a complete fabrication. I had no way of finding them.

‘…Even if its memories have faded, if it retains even a spark of the resentment The Unborn Being felt for me, it will be murderous.’

I had exploited it with a lie, and it had been shattered by ‘the other Randolph.’ If I were in its position, rage would be the only natural response. The Masters of the Abyss that the other version of me had decimated were ‘The Unborn Being,’ ‘the Heavenly Demon,’ ‘the Master of the Tomb,’ and ‘the Star-Shatterer.’ Since the Master of the Storm had already been consumed by ‘The Unborn Being,’ he had essentially wiped out four of them in one go.

Only two remained who hadn’t fallen to his hand: The Whale of India and the Sunken Emperor. Those two hadn’t died by his blade, but had perished while locked in combat with each other. I couldn’t even guess the motive for their struggle, but one fact was undeniable.

‘It has grown.’

The Master of the Tomb was expanding, much like a child going through a growth spurt. It looked at least twice its original size. I had noticed this with ‘The Unborn Being’ as well; they were all significantly more powerful than before. Perhaps the trauma and experience from the Isle of Gods had been integrated into their very essence.

“…”

The group remained silent, barely daring to breathe. Fortunately, we hadn’t been spotted, but the mere thought of that mountain-sized golem turning its attention toward us was enough to paralyze the mind. And that wasn’t the end of it—there were at least a thousand other golems nearby, each looking formidable in its own right.

“Crimson Golems…”

“Hold on. Are you telling me every single one of those is the raid boss from the ‘Land of Golems’?”

“This is insane…”

As those nearby recognized the distinct shapes of the constructs, a wave of dread washed over them. The Crimson Golem was the apex monster of the southern ‘Land of Golems,’ a creature that required a team of at least four 1-star Transcendents just to survive an encounter. Yet here, there were nearly a thousand of them.

“The Abyss… what is this place?”

“…The Abyss we thought we knew wasn’t the real thing at all.”

Humanity’s understanding of the Abyss had been superficial at best, a mere scratch on the surface. Even that knowledge was largely credited to ‘Raiga,’ the First Sword of the Empire. Now, they were finally seeing the true depth and terrifying scale of this realm. If these things had emerged in Pangenia, or worse, if they were to set foot on Earth…

*Gulp!*

“What… what is that?”

Suddenly, every golem turned in unison toward a single point. Even the Master of the Tomb followed suit. Their eyes were locked on the heavens above.

*Gwooooooo—*
*Grrrk. Grrrk. Grrruk!*

The earth vibrated with a heavy, resonating sound. The golems shifted into a flurry of activity. Something had forced them all into motion at once. My eyes narrowed as I caught sight of the newcomer.

‘The one who broke Gross.’

The celestial steed that trod upon the clouds. Gross, the sovereign of three Abyssal territories. And here was the being who had subjugated Gross.

‘…The Sunken Emperor!’

He arrived wearing a mask, and the moment he appeared…

Fwoooooooosh—!

Colossal black wings spread out from the Sunken Emperor’s back. They didn’t resemble organic wings; instead, they were composed of a space so tightly packed with countless ‘black particles’ that they appeared solid. The Heavenly Demon had once referred to these as ‘insects’—parasitic entities that devoured everything they touched.

Ssssssssss!

Without warning, the black mist descended upon the golems like a localized storm.

—

The sudden eruption of violence left everyone stunned. Watching the two titans clash was like witnessing a war between gods.

‘What is the best move here?’

Arin weighed her options. This chaotic battle was a stroke of luck for them. It provided the perfect opening to slip into the ‘mountain of earth’ undetected. The smartest plan was to move stealthily. It didn’t matter who claimed victory in the end. Her primary concern was ‘how’ to enter the mountain without drawing notice.

The golems were still obstructing the path to the entrance.

‘Waiting is the most logical choice.’

The most viable strategy was to stay put until the golems were decimated, hopefully buried by the arrival of the new Master of the Abyss. Arin was particularly wary of the figure in the sky, the ‘Sunken Emperor.’

‘…He is a monster that demands caution, even by Abyssal standards.’

He was one of the few Masters that the Demon Realm kept under constant surveillance. The Sunken Emperor was an anomaly; he had managed to tame another Master, ‘Gross.’ Such a feat was unheard of. While these entities often killed one another, they were not known to serve. Yet, he had bent the unbreakable to his will, and despite that, he led no army. The Sunken Emperor was a solitary apex predator who shifted the balance of the Abyss through his own sheer power.

As if to illustrate this, he obliterated dozens of Crimson Golems in a heartbeat. The Master of the Tomb reared back and launched a massive punch.

Kwaaaaaaang—!

The blow was halted by a shimmering ‘black barrier’ and could go no further. Worse, the microscopic particles making up the shield began to crawl onto the Master of the Tomb’s arm upon contact, slowly eating away at its structure.

‘That isn’t mana. It’s self-replicating, and it even breaks down and deciphers magical energy…’

…It behaved more like a machine. When Arin reached that conclusion, she found herself stunned by the realization.

‘This is a completely alien form of power.’

It was something she had never encountered. She had known of his presence, but this was her first true look at the nature of his abilities. She wondered how a confrontation would go if she were in her form as Seven Lord Basara.

‘That power is incredibly problematic.’

She wouldn’t be defeated. The vulnerability of Seven Lord Basara was rooted in love, and there was no chance she would harbor such feelings for the Sunken Emperor. But a victory wouldn’t be simple. Those countless ‘bugs’ had the capacity to analyze everything. The longer a fight lasted, the more they would map out her weaknesses and exploit them. That was the essence of his strength. It was a power best left alone.

‘The golem is finished.’

The conclusion was obvious. She ran thousands of combat simulations in her mind, and every single one ended with the golems’ total destruction. The odds of the Master of the Tomb prevailing against the Sunken Emperor were non-existent.

Her only focus was to wait for the right gap and scale the mountain.

“You… what are you doing?!”

However, Arin’s composure broke into a scowl moments later. Someone had acted in total defiance of common sense.

…Park Hyunmyeong.

“—Taste the inferno!”

That man had summoned the Spirit King of Fire, Agnis, into action. And of all the targets he could have picked…

“W-what do you think you’re doing?”

“Stop him!”

“Why him, of all people?!”

The group erupted in a chorus of panicked shouts. The internal scream of ‘You absolute lunatic!’ was shared by everyone present. It was a natural reaction.

…The one Agnis had launched an attack against was the ‘Sunken Emperor.’