The Death Knight's Final Rest
BOOM!
Akaruk's swordsmanship was truly formidable.
Every time he swung his blade, an immense surge of energy lashed out at Dayton.
Dayton felt his blood boiling.
He had fought countless monsters and Awakeners before, but Akaruk was the first opponent to make him feel this level of tension.
Even though he was now an undead, just one strike revealed how extraordinary a knight he must have been in life.
He cleaved through both space and the earth at once.
Dayton didn't dodge. Instead, he swung Clayon to meet it head-on.
KABOOM!
Their swords clashed, exploding like a bomb and sending shockwaves whipping in all directions.
"Urk!"
The storm battered Zeon.
He had barely managed to raise a sand barrier for protection. If his reaction had been even a fraction slower, he would've been sent tumbling in an unsightly heap.
Even with Zeon's sharp eyes, Dayton and Akaruk moved too fast to track.
BAM! KABOOM! CRASH!
Zeon watched them dart across the open plaza of the fortress without so much as blinking.
Instinct told him this was a chance that wouldn't come again.
Dayton, the strongest human Zeon knew.
The Death Knight, reborn as undead after shedding his mortal body.
Just witnessing their battle felt like his vision expanding, horizons broadening.
Sometimes, observing was the best way to learn and gain insight.
This was one of those moments.
Zeon shuddered as he watched.
Compared to Dayton and Akaruk, he still had a long way to go.
The cockiness from acquiring Exion and Sand Soldiers sank like a stone in his chest.
"Good!"
Madness beamed from Dayton's eyes as he faced Akaruk.
His lips curled skyward, revealing stark white teeth.
It was Dayton's smile—the one that surfaced only when he was truly thrilled.
The crazy monster seemed unable to contain his joy at battling Akaruk.
"Sheesh. He's totally lost it."
Zeon shook his head, unable to tear his eyes away.
One of Dayton's strikes grazed past Akaruk and slammed into a massive spire.
RUMBLE!
The impact crumpled the spire into rubble.
At this rate, the debris would bury both Dayton and Zeon.
Zeon swept his hand, unleashing a barrage of Sand Missiles at the falling chunks.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The explosions shattered the rubble mid-air. But something even more astonishing happened next.
The pulverized remains reversed course, as if time itself had rewound, reforming into their original shape. They even returned to their exact positions.
The spire stood perfect once more.
Zeon's jaw dropped.
"No way!"
It defied physics.
No—even magic couldn't achieve this.
It was like time had literally run backward.
Zeon felt like he'd been clubbed in the back of the head with a hammer.
"Time reversal? Or... time stopped?"
That would explain how the undead recovered from fatal wounds in seconds.
The entire ochre domain, including the fortress, was frozen in time.
"Who the hell...?"
Neo Seoul teemed with Awakeners, but none dared meddle with time.
Not even mighty Dayton could manipulate it.
It was a realm forbidden to humans.
Then... a god?
Zeon knew how absurd that sounded. But right now, "god" was the only explanation.
He hadn't believed in gods before. But he'd seen Dayton kill one with his own eyes, so denial wasn't an option.
"Hoo..."
Zeon exhaled heavily.
The more he thought about it, the grander the scale grew.
For a mere D-rank Awakener, it was too much to wrap his head around.
He shook off the thoughts and refocused on Dayton and Akaruk's duel.
BOOM!
Akaruk's shoulder exploded off in a blast.
Dayton's slash had severed it clean. Yet Akaruk didn't falter or retreat.
He was already dead.
Losing an arm brought no pain. Instead, the severed limb flew back on its own, reattaching in an instant.
Dayton wasn't surprised.
"Heh heh!"
He'd already seen the undead knights revive.
Akaruk, their pinnacle, would naturally regenerate even better.
SPLAT!
Akaruk's side blew open. But his armor and flesh reformed just the same.
The fury in Akaruk's eyes deepened.
"You who cannot kill me... lack the caliber to advance."
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, gray flames erupted from Akaruk's sword.
His gray aura manifested as fire.
BOOM! KABOOM!
Clayon clashed with the gray aura, unleashing deafening blasts.
The fortress shook as if on the verge of collapse each time—but it always snapped back to pristine condition.
SLASH!
A long gash opened on Dayton's side.
Akaruk's blade had carved it.
Even a mortal wound didn't faze Dayton. If anything, the rare pain thrilled him.
"Heh heh!"
For ages, he hadn't felt true pain.
Not because he was numb to it, but because no one remained who could hurt him.
A-rank monsters? S-rank? None measured up.
Having transcended human limits and slain a god, nothing could wound him.
Akaruk was the first in decades to draw his blood.
Pure swordsmanship? Akaruk matched Dayton blow for blow. Plus, he regenerated from any injury.
He wielded both weapons masterfully.
Dayton was genuinely awed by the Death Knight.
Regeneration? Irrelevant.
It was Akaruk's swordsmanship that impressed him.
Each technique revealed the sublime heights he'd reached in life.
No wasted motion, overflowing with dignity.
Overwhelming, yet not cruel.
That alone hinted at the man Akaruk had been.
Akaruk unleashed the sword arts honed in life against Dayton.
BOOM! KABOOM!
Explosions rang out endlessly.
The air around them heated to a boil from their clash.
They poured everything they knew into strikes aimed at each other.
It was like master swordsmen conversing through blades.
Zeon watched without taking a deep breath.
Then it happened.
Suddenly, pitch-black energy gathered around Clayon.
It radiated a foreboding menace that rivaled Akaruk's gray aura.
"Guh!"
The moment it erupted, Zeon clutched his chest in agony.
He wasn't even the target, yet just seeing it made his heart scream.
"Holy shit!"
Zeon backpedaled hastily out of range. But the encircling undead stood blankly, exposed to the black energy.
POOF!
Flesh on the front-line undead crumbled to dust.
Even as rotting meat and blackened bones powdered away, they remained motionless.
Whooo...
A bizarre sound echoed from the undead ranks.
Like wailing or ecstasy—uncanny.
Zeon's instincts pegged it as closer to joy.
Dayton's unleashed power reduced undead to nothingness.
Yet they rejoiced.
—Finally!
—At last... peace...
Zeon swore he heard their voices.
Dayton's voice boomed across the fortress.
"I'll grant you rest, Death Knight!"
SWOOSH!
Clayon spewed tendrils of black energy, smashing into Akaruk.
SLASH!
Akaruk's body split in two.
Upper and lower halves tumbled across the ground.
Until moments ago, his mighty regeneration had shone. But not this time.
The severed edges powdered away bit by bit.
The fierce glow leaking from his helm faded.
THUD!
Dayton slammed Clayon into the earth and stared down at Akaruk.
Then Akaruk spoke.
"Death! Your authority is death itself."
Unlike before, his voice was clear.
The curse binding him as undead had been nullified by Dayton's power. He'd pay with death, but no regret tinged Akaruk's tone.
Relief shone through.
Akaruk removed his helm. A face in his early fifties emerged.
Half the flesh had rotted away, but sharp features lingered.
In life, he must have been called handsome.
Akaruk said,
"Authority of death. In Kurayan, it was granted solely to Cracias. And now it passes to you."
"Cracias... you mean that one?"
"The Destruction Dragon that remade this world so. We called him Cracias."
"Cracias! So that's the bastard's name."
Dayton gnashed his teeth.
A full century after the world fell apart, he finally learned its name.
A hundred years ago, Dayton had been in New York.
The world's capital, pinnacle of civilization.
He'd been traveling with his wife, daughter, and sole friend, reveling in its glamour after Montana's backwoods life.
But their happiness didn't last.
Something colossal tore through New York's sky.
Three kilometers from head to tail, with ten wings—it resembled a dragon from legend or film.
But everyone who saw it knew it wasn't.
A god in the shape of a dragon.
A beast-form divinity.
All who witnessed it thought so. Most who saw it up close couldn't withstand its subtle divinity and dropped dead.
One flap of its wings razed half of New York, killing over five million.
Apocalypse incarnate.
That's when Dayton lost his wife and daughter.
Right beside him.
Unable to lift a hand, he vowed revenge.
A century ago. Yet Dayton never forgot a single moment.
Dayton asked Akaruk,
"Where is Cracias?"
"Don't you know? He returned to nothingness."
"He's dead? After wrecking the world like this?"
"Terraforming another world exacts a heavy toll. Even the Destruction Dragon, devourer of all miracles and powers since primordial times, couldn't bear it."
"Fuck!"
Bloodshot rage filled Dayton's eyes.
Akaruk gazed at him with pity.
"I understand your heart."
"Shut your trap! What does a goddamn undead know, yapping like that?"
"Cracias turned me into this undead too. Because I alone opposed his decree..."