Vitalianus, the Sword Star, had traded his life for an attack powerful enough to fill the deep abyss.
It had been the final blow for Kreutzvalt, who was already pushed to his limit.
From between the black forms that had merged with the abyss and covered the entire sky, a golden light burst forth.
Booom!
Like the roar of a lion, it shook the abyss.
It shook so violently that it exploded.
The abyss shattered into pieces.
The presence that had constricted the space vanished in an instant.
Shattered into fragments, it disappeared without a trace.
The overwhelming presence of the Master of the Abyss, who had dominated the abyss, was no longer felt.
What that meant was all too clear.
Complete annihilation.
The Master of the Abyss, Kreutzvalt, had finally been completely destroyed.
Thud-
Of course, the colossal presence that had opposed him also fell and vanished alongside him.
***
In front of the passage where the Allied Forces were stationed.
Misfortune struck the Allied Forces, who were locked in a desperate battle against the Strange Entities under the night sky.
“W-Why is the Holy Kingdom’s power weakening?”
The sacred power that was supposed to firmly support their rear had weakened in an instant.
The reason became clear immediately.
“The Holy Maiden and the priests…!”
A purple light suddenly flared up, and Irina, along with dozens of High Priests, disappeared.
That wasn’t all.
A large number of skill users who played key roles in regional defense also vanished. While they were a very small number compared to the entire force, the problem was the roles they held.
And the abilities they possessed.
The absence of the priests who handled sacred power, as well as the skill users, was immense.
It was impossible not to notice, as the sacred power and skills were the most visible aspects.
“Hold the line! Just hold them back!”
The Allied Forces panicked at the sudden disappearances and the power vacuum.
“Nothing has changed! Don’t panic!”
“It’s the final night! Just hold on a little longer!”
But some trusted commanders, aware of the Final Operation, spurred the Allied Forces on.
It meant the Final Operation had begun.
One way or another, the final conclusion would come soon.
They just had to hold on until then.
Those who knew of the operation thought this way, and Antipus was no different.
The request he had received from Jijoncheonma was about the Allied Forces after the Final Operation had started.
That was the nature of the request.
He couldn’t bring himself to ask to join the Expeditionary Force, only to say he entrusts the Allied Forces to him.
He had said things like, “Thanks to you, we can carry out this operation,” but Antipus himself knew it well.
He knew that his skills were insufficient to join them.
It wasn’t just Antipus; all the Bingija were lacking, but what did that matter?
What mattered was that Antipus himself knew it all too well.
His insufficient strength and abilities.
That’s why he couldn’t say a single word in front of Jijoncheonma, who was making the request.
That he, too, would join the Expeditionary Force.
That he, too, could land a blow on that bastard Kreutzvalt.
He couldn’t bring himself to say what, in the old days, he would have said so naturally.
‘Why was that?’
‘Lowered self-esteem?’
‘The gradually diminishing power?’
He didn’t know, but now he even thought it was a good thing.
Because he was such a weakling that he couldn’t even catch a single Colossal Abnormality that appeared here.
If he had gone, he wouldn’t have been any help and would have just died a dog’s death.
“Just hold on a little longer!”
Even as he thought this, his hands and feet moved busily.
He spread his skills over a wide area to fill the gaps left by the skill users and substitute for their power.
However, there was nothing he could do about the weakened sacred power from the absence of Irina and the priests, and the subsequent reduction of the battlefield.
Because most of them would be consumed by the abyss if not protected by the sacred power.
How many minutes had they held out like that?
Rumble-
The sky roared as if thunder were striking.
A golden light flashed like lightning, and the black sky split open.
Booom!
The noise wasn’t particularly loud, but strangely, it was clearly heard all the way to the front of the passage where the Allied Forces were.
The ground beneath the Allied Forces began to tremble violently, forcing everyone—Allied soldiers and Strange Entities alike—to struggle to keep their balance.
That wasn’t the only change.
The abyssal energy that filled the surroundings thinned.
It had been such an unpleasant, deep black that it was impossible not to notice.
-Kieeek!
-Kueooooh…
Black smoke streamed from the bodies of the Strange Entities.
The Strange Entities began to wither away.
Like water evaporating from a human body, the abyss drained from the Strange Entities.
“The Strange Entities are…!”
“The Strange Entities are falling!”
The bodies of the Strange Entities, withered to the point of crumbling into ash, scattered.
What that meant was all too clear.
The master who ruled the abyss had been annihilated, and the abyss was losing its power.
It meant the victory the Allied Forces had so long waited for.
“Waaaaah!”
“Victory! The Expeditionary Force won!”
Not all Strange Entities disappeared, but the vast majority turned to ash and vanished. The remaining few were so depleted of power that they were inferior to the Continent’s monsters.
“Their energy is weakened! Go out and sweep them away!”
The Allied Forces immediately left the area protected by the sacred power and charged towards the surviving Strange Entities.
As if venting their pent-up frustration, they hacked away at the weakened Strange Entities indiscriminately.
They had only been on the receiving end for eight nights. They couldn’t even step outside the sacred territory and had to flee from the invincible Strange Entities.
The casualties incurred in the process were indescribable, and there was no guarantee of how long they had to hold out.
And in the midst of all that, the abyss was receding. The Strange Entities were crumbling to dust, and the suffocating abyssal energy had thinned to a manageable level.
“Finally… we can go home!”
“Hahahaha! Kill them all!”
The Allied Forces forgot their usual dignity and rejoiced with all their might.
Discarding their affiliations and nationalities, they embraced each other and cheered purely.
The Bingija were no different.
‘The abyss is collapsing.’
‘Doesn’t that mean we’ve prevented destruction?’
‘It means we’ve been freed from the Abyss Monsters, the Strange Entities, and the abyssal energy that were eating away at the world.’
“It’s over…”
“It’s finally over.”
“That means we don’t have to see these bastards anymore.”
They slumped down on the spot, looking at the Strange Entities collapsing powerlessly.
Even for the Bingija, it was an emotional moment. They had been helpless against this from the game’s start, with no countermeasures, and now the very source had been completely eliminated.
They no longer had to worry about destruction, and they would never again see their homeland ravaged by Strange Entities.
How could they not be joyful?
“It’s really all over, right? We can go home now, right?”
“That Jijoncheonma went. The Sword Star was there too. And at the end, it looked like they took the Holy Maiden and the High Priests, so they must have finished it for sure.”
“Ha… so I never have to come back to this damn world again.”
Joy and relief mixed together.
With the world becoming brighter, the Allied Forces, shouting in triumph, drove back the Strange Entities.
Most of the Strange Entities had turned to ash, and the few survivors were so weakened that nothing could stop the Allied Forces.
“Advance to the Ash Zone like this!”
“Clear a path!”
“We must open the road for the Expeditionary Force to return!”
“Waaaaah!”
Morale was at an all-time high, and it felt like it would all be over once they finished this.
Antipus thought so too.
The flow of events and the atmosphere dictated it.
Thus, the Allied Forces spread out in all directions amid shouts of joy and triumph.
Just as Antipus was about to follow them.
-Kuuuh…
A voice suddenly echoed in his head.
The chillingly low voice resonated from within Antipus’s body, with a strangely familiar feeling.
-Hio Pavlenko…! You wretched maggot, how dare you…
Antipus’s body flinched and froze.
It was him.
That voice.
-Being done in by a punk like this… of all things.
That voice from back then, which had taken over his mind from the 56th floor.
The one who demanded he hand over Hio Pavlenko.
-Even that bastard didn’t know this, did he.
That bastard was now inside his own body.
Perhaps because of it, his frozen body wouldn’t move easily.
He barely parted his lips to force out a question.
“Are you… the Master of the Abyss?”
He had thought this ever since he heard the name of the Master of the Abyss, Kreutzvalt, from Jijoncheonma.
‘Wasn’t the voice he heard in his head back then Kreutzvalt’s?’
And now, he was finally getting the answer.
-Heh heh. You managed to figure it out.
“How did you… get inside me?”
-Didn’t I tell you? You were destined to become the Master of Dominion.
It had been strange for a while now.
The Memory Gate of the 71st Floor, where everyone saw experiences or memories related to themselves.
‘What Antipus saw there wasn’t the Previous Master of the Abyss?’
‘Why did he have to see the memories of the Master of the Abyss?’
-Rejoice. You are about to become one with the Abyss.
“…I am?”
-Heh heh heh. Isn’t this what you wanted? The power to dominate everything. Once you obtain it, you can easily overwhelm that inferior Hio Pavlenko. You will become the true ruler. “…I…”
Antipus tried to say something.
But no.
Kreutzvalt wouldn’t allow it.
-Regrettably, time is not on our side, so I’ll hear your story later.
‘Why couldn’t he control his own body?’
‘Why couldn’t he even speak?’
-All you have to do is lend me your body for a while. I’ll handle the rest.
Squirm-
Something writhed deep within Antipus, then rapidly expanded.
What seized his body and invaded his mind was the thickest, deepest abyss.
Since when had such an ominous thing taken root inside him?
-While those fools are busy celebrating, we’ll cross over to the Continent together. And we’ll close the passage.
The joyful Allied Forces came into Antipus’s view.
He could see their backs, cheering and pushing through the weakened Strange Entities to advance towards the Ash Zone.
They’re going to close this place.
Then what will happen to them?
The answer was obvious.
They’ll all die.
This is the only passage, and Jijoncheonma’s skills can’t transport everyone.
-I didn’t know I’d leave this place this way, but this works out well enough.
‘What… do you want from me?’
-Want? I’m just trying to give you what you want.
‘…What I want.’
The dark, spine-chilling laughter echoed in his head.
‘Yes. The power to overwhelm Hio Pavlenko. Everyone on the Continent will kneel before your power and pay you homage. Heh heh heh…’
His body remained frozen.
While immobile, he imagined it for a moment.
Imagining the entire Continent kneeling, and even Jijoncheonma, who had always been an insurmountable wall, despairing before him.
A decision was made instinctively.
-So? Can you feel it?
‘…What do I need to do?’
-Simple. Just escape through that passage. I’ll take care of the rest.
‘Will you stay with me like this forever?’
-Of course not. This is only temporary. I’ll separate from you as soon as we reach the Continent.
‘Is that so. Good.’
‘It was incredibly simple, wasn’t it?’
All he had to do was walk through the open passageway.
Even with a monster dwelling inside him, simply walking forward would give him the power of the Abyss, the strongest force on the Continent.
-Heh heh heh. Yes. Your Master of Dominion trait will also be completed.
Kreutzvalt also knew about his Dominion trait.
-It’s a trait impossible to complete within a human body. As long as you are human, you will inevitably feel fear.
‘That’s right.’
-But don’t worry. As long as you’re with me, you will finally become complete.
These were such sweet words to Antipus.
For him, whose only goal was to always be the best, this was a chance to recover everything he had lost and been humiliated for.
‘…Alright.’
So he calmly acquiesced.
-Heh heh heh. Good.
With Kreutzvalt’s deep laughter, his body, which had been frozen, began to move according to his own will once more.
-Head straight for the passage now.
He moved his arm, folded and extended his leg, then walked towards the passage as Kreutzvalt instructed.
“Waaaaah!”
“The war is over!”
“It is our victory!”
“Hail Verdan!”
He took his steps, leaving behind the cheers that filled the Abyss.