A pair of giant wings sprouted from his shoulder blades.
**[Target “Hio Pavlenko” and “Kreutzvalt Aten” have completed dimension transfer.]**
Perhaps it was a residual effect of the transcendental skill Dimension Transfer, but even after the teleportation ended, the wings remained and moved as if they were Hio’s own body.
Though unintentional, the black wings fluttered on their own. Each wing was several meters long, and despite gaining such an ability from just the skill’s leftover effect, Hio had no time to be surprised. He was momentarily lost in a much more serious misunderstanding.
‘…Did I fail?’
He thought the skill activation had failed. Or perhaps he thought that relying on the system to set a vague destination had caused an error.
It was a natural assumption, given that all he could feel in every direction was the Abyss. Even as he fluttered his wings high in the sky, all he could see was darkness. It was as if he hadn’t left the World’s End at all; the energy of the Abyss was everywhere.
*Kreeeeeek!*
He could even sense presences similar to the Strange Entities.
However, he was wrong. It was merely a momentary illusion. The abyssal energy spread around him was significantly thinner compared to the World’s End. What he had perceived as Strange Entities were weaklings that couldn’t even compare to the Gegegi he had first encountered.
He could clearly feel the presence of countless living beings beneath his feet. Far in the distance, he sensed Liphyue’s holiness.
The dimension transfer was a success, and he had safely arrived at the capital of Hibernia. It was just that the capital — and everywhere beyond it — was engulfed in war and the energy of the Abyss.
— Do not retreat! Block them!
— Aaaagh!
Shouts of desperation and screams filled the air. There was the sound of weapons piercing flesh, tearing, and exploding. For some reason, the Abyss was only now beginning to surge into the city. Swirling Deathly Energy and an overflow of dead souls followed.
Through his five senses, which had been expanded by his enlightenment, he felt ten thousand emotions tangled together. Even at a glance, the situation was the worst it could be.
The royal castle and the temple, the core of Hibernia, shook violently as if they would collapse at any moment. The knights and soldiers standing before them were screaming as they held back the swarming Strange Entities, but it didn’t look like they could hold out for much longer.
He could now see why the system had brought him here. He understood why this was the most important and dangerous location, and why the system had designated this place without a moment’s delay. Even now, the situation was precarious; if the Abyss covered that area, there would be nothing left to save.
His heart wanted to help them immediately, but he couldn’t. He shouldn’t move carelessly.
“It is the Continent.”
Hio wasn’t the only one who had crossed over through the dimension transfer.
“It really is the Continent.”
Since Kreutzvalt and Hio were close to each other right before the skill was cast, they had been moved together. Could he have set the number of people to be moved? Should he have given the command to move alone? He couldn’t know the details right now.
“Interesting. Very interesting.”
The important fact was that a terrible catastrophe had been dragged along with him. The master who ruled the Abyss had descended directly upon the Continent.
However, it wasn’t as if there were no way out. It wouldn’t be easy, but there was a way to try something.
“Disciple, I will give you one last chance.”
Kreutzvalt’s distorted face smoothed out, returning to the expression of a benevolent master once again. Standing tall in the air with his hands behind his back, he lightly flicked a finger.
At the same time…
— I told you not to re—
— Protect the temple with your lives— huh?
— Wh-what is…?!
— …Lady Liphyue… what in the world is this…?
The noise coming from the ground drastically diminished. In its place, the sounds of the confused human camp spread. There were questions, caution, curiosity, and fear uttered at the incomprehensible situation. There was also relief and a sliver of hope.
— Th-the monsters stopped!
The movements of all the Strange Entities, which had been moving violently, stopped simultaneously. Whether they were stabbed by a sword or slashed by a spear, it didn’t matter. Every single monster froze as if their actions had been cut off.
Savoring that reaction, Kreutzvalt spoke.
“As you can see, I can control everything related to the Abyss.”
Kreutzvalt had frozen the battlefield in an instant. When he flicked his other hand, even the Abyss that had surged right up to the human camp froze in midair, ceasing its movement. He had stopped both the Strange Entities and the Abyss simultaneously.
With just two flicks of his fingers.
“I am saying I can stop the catastrophe that has arrived on the Continent with a single gesture.”
Keeping his hands behind his back, he leaned forward to look down. It was as if a creator were looking down upon lowly creatures.
“Do you not see those pitiful people? I am telling you that they no longer have to die or suffer.”
“…Only if I hand over my body?”
“That is correct.”
“…”
“Why don’t you take off that disgusting mask of yours before you speak?”
Hio spoke boldly, but he couldn’t help the trembling of his fingertips. Was it because he saw that those who were dying — those who were venting endless screams and despair — had been saved from the death that was right in front of them? Was it because he had witnessed such a massive catastrophe being stopped so easily?
“You are wavering.”
The smile on Kreutzvalt’s lips became even more benevolent.
“I promise you. The Continent will be at peace forever. It will not experience war, pain, or despair. Everyone will live a happy life and end it happily.”
Straightening his back, he looked at Hio with pitch-black eyes. His pupils were a deep, dark black that resembled the Abyss.
“It is possible once I attain godhood. The Abyss will remain as the Abyss forever, and the light will shine brightly as light forever.”
As if to prove his words, the frozen Abyss began to recede. Although abyssal energy was still spewing from the collapsed Gates, it was being clearly controlled. In accordance with Kreutzvalt’s command — the august command of the master of the Abyss — it moved in an orderly fashion.
They gathered and lined up behind Kreutzvalt.
“Of course, you will also leave your name forever as a hero. Humans will praise and revere you no less than they do me, and you will be respected for many years.”
All the Abyss present on the ground retreated behind Kreutzvalt, blotting out the sky. It was as if they were the sky itself. They covered the heavens as if they had become beings looking down upon the Continent, positioning themselves to pressure Hio.
Every Strange Entity on the ground also moved into formation. The new forms of monsters emerging from the Gates and the ones that had been fighting humans all retreated and stopped beneath Kreutzvalt’s feet. Without making a single sound, they simply waited for their master’s command.
“What do you think?”
He reached out a wrinkled hand.
“All of this can be realized if only you sacrifice yourself.”
His friendly, outstretched hand seemed to say that the problem could be easily solved if Hio just took it. It suggested that a single life could save millions, even billions of lives across other dimensions.
Hio looked at that hand.
He looked at the Abyss covering the sky.
He looked at the Strange Entities lined up below.
And finally, after looking at the humans on the opposite side, his gaze returned to Kreutzvalt.
The Abyss was for Kreutzvalt alone. The monsters were waiting only for his command. Everything revolved around him and moved according to his will. Could such a man — one who had lost his human heart — truly act for the sake of humanity even if he attained godhood?
Would he really revive his stolen home, his kingdom, and the family he claimed were more precious than his life?
…He didn’t know. Perhaps he truly would do as he said, and the Continent would be saved.
“Pavlenko, this is your last chance. The last chance to save the world.”
The hand was extended one last time. Kreutzvalt’s pressure tightened around him. He felt the presence of countless people from the ground. Their emotions, their gazes.
It felt as if they were asking him. Do you know the answer to this problem? What choice will you make?
And in response, instead of an answer…
**[Skill – Thunder Emperor is activated.]**
Lightning filled his eyes. He unleashed a magnificent display of thunder against the darkness.
“Is that so?”
Kreutzvalt withdrew his hand, his lips twisting upward.
“So the world will perish in the end because of you alone.”
The mask shattered. The face that had been acting the part of a benevolent master cracked, collapsed, and distorted. A wicked grin began to cover nearly half of his face.
“How lamentable.”
The Abyss pulsed. As if the sky were falling, the Abyss dropped down, making the atmosphere vibrate.
*Kraaaaaa!*
The Strange Entities lined up on the ground also began to twist their bodies while letting out horrific screams. With their eyes fixed only on Hio in the sky, their bodies contorted with a bone-chilling *creak* to face him.
Having been injected with the Abyss, the monsters began to mutate. The sky moved, and the earth shook. The Abyss was everywhere. All of it was surging forward to kill Hio alone.
**[Authority – ??? is growing.]**
Surrounded by all of that, Hio looked incredibly precarious. He couldn’t use techniques that utilized the Abyss against Kreutzvalt. He would have to refrain from using Inversion, let alone mixing the Abyss into his magic. If he were careless, he might lose control of his magic because of it.
But it was also impossible to face him with pure magic alone. His opponent was a monster who had surpassed Hio’s level as a Magician long ago. In a battle between low-Circle Magicians, it might be different, but as one reached the higher Circles, a lower-level Magician could never defeat a higher-level one.
In that case, the only remaining method was skills. The power of skills allowed for quick and easy activation with almost no mental burden, and they could be adjusted intentionally.
**[Skill – Blue Flame is activated.]**
He summoned a sea of blue flames.
*Boom!*
The dark, abyssal sky and the dazzling blue flames collided. Space shook, and the aftershocks spread heavily to the ground. He had blocked the collapsing Abyss with the Azure Flame. The Azure Flame, imbued with his ideation of patience, maintained the front line even against the Abyss directly controlled by Kreutzvalt.
Of course, this was just solving one of many headaches; the real threat was the magic Kreutzvalt was unfolding.
Magic Power swirled around Kreutzvalt. Within seconds, all sorts of dark magic and offensive spells would pour down on Hio, so he had to move immediately. However, in that brief moment, Hio chose attack over evasion. Rather, it was an attack for the sake of evasion.
**[Skill – Dark Dome is activated.]**
Giant black hands suddenly appeared from both sides of Kreutzvalt, wrapping around him without leaving a gap. Dark Dome, a 6th Circle spell and the most destructive magic Hio could cast, had been turned into a skill.
The black hands themselves were the manifestation of the Dark Dome’s domain, but unfortunately, the hands holding Kreutzvalt couldn’t hold out for even one second before being smashed to pieces.
It was as expected. He had intended to use the advantage of the skill’s instant activation to buy that tiny fraction of a second. It was to blur Kreutzvalt’s eyes and senses for that fleeting moment.
**[Skill – Blink is activated.]**
*Kwa-ba-boom!*
A massive explosion occurred in the space where Hio had been just a moment ago. The space itself melted. To make matters worse, hundreds of black hands seized the air. If he hadn’t used Dark Dome to blur his opponent’s senses and used Blink as a skill, he would have taken that insane attack head-on. Kreutzvalt would have shifted his aim to Hio’s path the moment he detected a Blink.
*Kraaaaaa!*
On the ground, thousands of mutated Strange Entities bared their teeth and unfurled bat-like wings. Even if they were weaker than the ones at the World’s End, if they all flew up at once, it would naturally restrict his movement and actions.
Therefore, he lowered his staff and pointed it at the ground.
**[Skill – Gravity is activated.]**
A massive darkness emerged from the tip of the staff. The darkness expanded rapidly. It was a single universe that overwhelmed everything below. The skill Gravity took control of the space above the heads of the thousands of flying monsters.
And then…
*Boom!*
It was a magnificent sight as all the monsters that had surged upward were slammed back into the ground simultaneously. The sound and vibration were thunderous.
But Kreutzvalt was not one to just stand by and watch. With a light wave of his staff, the universe pressing down on the monsters shattered instantly.
*Crank!*
The universe, the Gravity skill, scattered into pieces. It was expected, of course. What he had needed was that brief moment of time. Time to gather the power of lightning to its limit.
**[Skill – Thunder Emperor is activated.]**
In an instant, the entire world was covered in lightning. Pure white brilliance struck down over a vast area simultaneously.
*Krak-boom!*
A giant pillar of lightning connected the heavens and the earth. It was the power of the Thunder Emperor, exerted to its limit. It was a divine punishment. It was like the power of an enraged god.
*Flash!*
After a few residual bolts of lightning struck, the scene revealed was nothing short of horrific. It was utterly terrifying.
Yet, there were still monsters left. Although more than half of the Strange Entities had been annihilated by that single strike, those that survived still vented their fury toward Hio. They emitted a massive amount of Killing Intent and prepared to fly up once again.
But that wouldn’t do. He couldn’t afford to pay attention to mere monsters while facing Kreutzvalt.
**[Skill – Sarcophagus of Death is activated.]**
Thus, he summoned the Sarcophagus of Death. He called forth his most reliable guardians to protect him.
Two hundred and fifty-five giant sarcophagi appeared, surrounding Hio.
*Thud—*
As the doors opened, a thick mist spread out. There was the heavy scent of death and the glint of red eyes. The doors of every summoned sarcophagus opened, and a massive presence spread far and wide.
Each one was a soul that had once commanded a kingdom or made a name for itself on the Continent. They reappeared on this land, holding burning black swords or wielding the lightning of the dead.
Two hundred and fifty-five undead appeared alongside the heavy aura of death. And at their very front, a single knight took shape.
“Theodore.”
The Death Knight and the Immortal Legion began to descend toward the surging Strange Entities.