Chapter 427
Chapter 427
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 427
Chapter Title: Interracial War (66)
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Park Chan-woo was at a loss for words in that instant.
A shock that hammered into his mind.
It was the sensation of everything he knew about the Abyss's history twisting completely from its very foundation.
'He... killed his own king?'
The Lord of the Void. The primordial chaos known as the first demon.
He was known as the loser of the Great War, the tragic sovereign who was annihilated by Sepiro.
But it was all a lie.
The demons had assassinated their own creator, a being akin to their god.
"Why."
A short question slipped from Park Chan-woo's lips once more.
He couldn't comprehend it.
Killing their sovereign was tantamount to self-destruction, shattering the foundation of their race.
Zero twisted the corner of his mouth upward, as if savoring the confusion.
"Greed."
Zero stared out at the blood-soaked landscape beyond the window with eyes filled with contempt, as if gazing upon insects.
"Demons' greed knows no bounds. They couldn't tolerate the very existence of their 'sovereign.' They wanted to take that throne for themselves."
Park Chan-woo realized it then.
'...Usurping the sovereign!'
Yes.
The simplest, and most demonic reason of all.
They refused to remain beneath anyone any longer.
They wanted to become the masters of the Abyss themselves.
"So they brought in Sepiro."
Zero tossed out the final puzzle piece.
"Sepiro was the only one who could face the Lord of the Void head-on. The demons struck a secret deal with him, and in exchange, Sepiro became the complete Dragon God."
"He wasn't a 'complete Dragon God' before that?"
"Ahh."
Zero shrugged nonchalantly.
His tone was indifferent, as if recounting someone else's tale.
"He was always overshadowed by the previous Dragon God, Bahamut. Bahamut acknowledged Sepiro as his successor but never handed over everything. Not the true authority of the dragonkin, nor the heart of the Dragon God Throne, nor the primordial powers wielded only by the Dragon God. Sepiro was forever the second-in-command."
A faint sneer laced Zero's voice.
Contempt not for himself, but directed at 'Sepiro.'
"But the deal with the demons changed everything. For slaying the Lord of the Void, he gained the support of the entire dragonkin and finally ascended as the complete Dragon God, free from Bahamut's shadow."
Park Chan-woo fell silent.
Beneath the grand tapestry of history lay such an ugly collusion.
"You must have sworn silence. Is it okay to tell me this?"
Zero let out a scoff once more.
"I'm completely severed from Sepiro now. We share memories, but Sepiro and I are entirely 'separate beings.' His oath can't bind me."
Zero's gaze turned to the war-torn ruins unfolding beyond the train.
"The war ended when the Lord of the Void died for the same reason. The Nine Demons only wanted a new 'sovereign'—a 'usurper'—at the war's close. They had no interest in the war itself. Their battles continue even now, in the shadows, waiting for the chance to stab each other in the back."
Park Chan-woo finally saw the full picture.
The peace in the Abyss was a facade.
Beneath the surface, a more insidious and grotesque war raged on for the new throne.
"Why did Sepiro agree to the deal? It couldn't have been just to become the Dragon God."
"Of course not."
For the first time, intrigue flickered in Zero's eyes.
"He was curious. About the Lord of the Void. He believed that primordial chaos's immense power would elevate his own limits. But his calculations were wrong."
"Wrong?"
"The Lord of the Void's power was far removed from ordinary magic. It wasn't mere strength—it was a 'truth' unto itself. And now... it's faded away."
Zero's gaze drifted outside the train, toward the now-empty Void.
"A faded truth. A forgotten tale. Sepiro gained nothing. Only the oath that now binds him. That's why he obsesses over you even more."
"Over me?"
"Yes. You are a new truth he cannot comprehend."
Zero smiled, as if that much, at least, he understood.
"You're an interesting one. The weakest, yet you crave the strongest. You deceive Sepiro's eyes with the frailest magic and achieve the most valuable feats with the most ephemeral values. Some might call you a 'glitch,' but perhaps you're the most 'normal' thing here."
What was a glitch, and what was normal?
Even those distinctions had grown hazy.
The Abyss, as seen through Park Chan-woo's eyes, could hardly be called normal.
Yet the beings of the Abyss labeled him a 'glitch.'
Who was right, and who was wrong?
Was there even an answer?
And so.
"The Lord of the Void."
Park Chan-woo grew curious.
About what Sepiro had seen in the Lord of the Void.
Whether he might be the 'Heavenly Emperor.'
Why the condition impossible to achieve at the Weakest Crown Station was hidden there.
"Did he not want war?"
"......"
"Did he not want the Great War to happen?"
For the first time, Zero hesitated in his response.
His flawless logical circuits seemed to stall momentarily.
At last, he spoke with difficulty.
"I don't know that far. But."
It was the first time he'd heard such an answer.
"The true power of the Lord of the Void... was far from destruction. Naturally, it wasn't Sepiro's domain. Even I couldn't fully grasp that being's essence."
Zero's eyes delved into distant memories.
"It was close to nothingness. A power that erases all and reverts it. Sepiro coveted it but could never make it his own. Like... water and oil, fundamentally incompatible laws."
Zero looked back at Park Chan-woo.
"Come to think of it, it's similar to you."
"......What do you mean, similar?"
"Erasing, reverting, and ultimately making it your own."
Park Chan-woo froze at Zero's words.
The memory of purifying the curse at the Station of the Forgotten God, annihilating the station itself, and absorbing it as his power.
It unmistakably resembled the power Zero described.
But Zero's intent went beyond that.
Park Chan-woo was a peculiar human.
He forged paths, twisted outcomes, and claimed everything for himself at the end.
No one in the Abyss's history had paved their way like this.
Then, Park Chan-woo spoke again.
"Destroyer Signus called me the 'Lord of the Void' when he saw me assimilating souls. Is the Lord of the Void connected to me somehow?"
When he had assimilated souls.
When their mana wavelengths synchronized.
Signus had clearly referred to him as the Lord of the Void.
Back then, he'd dismissed it as a divine beast's delusion or metaphor.
But now, everything seemed to converge on a single point.
Instead of answering, Zero offered a meaningful smile.
"I wouldn't know. But Sepiro was once subjected to 'soul erosion' by the Lord of the Void."
"Soul erosion?"
"Similar to your 'soul assimilation.' From Sepiro's perspective, it was erosion. Afterward, his illogical circuits grew even stronger."
"You mean the circuits for magic?"
"Yes. It fully defined the path of magic. Far more extreme than what he rambled about with Transcender Lil regarding magic."
Zero's eyes gleamed coldly.
"Lil sought magic's origin through 'harmony' and 'understanding.' But after encountering the Lord of the Void, Sepiro became convinced that only 'domination' and 'possession' were the ultimate truths. Absolute rule—placing everything under his laws and bending it to his will."
Only then did Park Chan-woo understand Sepiro's obsession.
Sepiro had glimpsed another extreme of magic through the Lord of the Void.
And he was captivated by that extreme power, vowing to walk that path himself.
Yet Sepiro's 'extreme' felt different from the Lord of the Void's.
Sepiro only had 'erasure.'
He lacked the power to revert and claim as his own.
No—given his nature, he couldn't master it.
Thus.
'He became even more fixated on me.'
It could be.
The reason Sepiro fixated on him so intensely, risking reckless gambles.
"That's all I can tell you. The rest is truth you'll have to uncover yourself. At the end of this station. I'm curious too, what truth the 'Lord of the Void' wants to convey through it."
His gaze turned to the war ruins outside the train.
Why had the Lord of the Void hidden his corpse here, even in death?
In the heart of the Interracial War.
Perhaps there was another tale intertwined with the war itself.
Or maybe he sought to reveal the demons' ugly truth and find an heir to his will.
The Weakest Crown.
Reaching the end in the most peaceful way, as the weakest.
Harmonizing all races bent on mutual destruction to create a miracle.
It only appeared for the one who achieved such a miracle.
"...Perhaps you could become the new lord, inheriting the forgotten king's legacy."
Those words held no mockery or analysis.
Just pure curiosity toward the incomprehensible being—and a sliver of expectation.
Screeeeech-!
Hiss-
As the train doors slid open, the acrid stench of iron and blood assaulted his nostrils.
The sky was blood-red, and the ground was carpeted with corpses and shattered weapons.
Without hesitation, Park Chan-woo stepped onto the platform.