Chapter 561: Gliek, King of the Black Sea (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 561: Gliek, King of the Black Sea (5)
Forcing Ron back into the fight with the power of the Demon God Stone…
The situation was so desperate, so perilous, that Stam hadn't even conceived of such a possibility.
To resort to using the power of his greatest enemy in such a manner was a call that would have been difficult to make even in a moment of calm reflection.
Stam saw the violent tremor in Jin’s grip on his sword. It wasn't born of fear or a backlash from his power. It was the trembling of a man forced to confront a devastating reality, one where this was his only remaining choice.
The Demon God Stone… what was it, truly?
Until Gliek’s awakening, the Hairan Clan and the Barmul Alliance had risked their lives to protect the Sword Emperor’s Castle from it. Ron and Jin had been at the very heart of that struggle.
And now, Jin intended to use that same cursed object to resurrect Ron, only to force him back onto the battlefield.
Stam couldn't begin to fathom the state of Jin's heart as he made the one decision he must have loathed above all others.
I have gravely misjudged the 12th Flagbearer.
A wave of shame washed over Stam. At the same time, he finally understood why Cyron had taken such a keen interest in his youngest son.
Clang—!
Stam and the Black Knights parried the swords and spears raining down on Jin.
"I will certainly take responsibility for my earlier discourtesy at a later time, 12th Flagbearer!"
With Ron slung over his back, Jin ran like a madman through the hundreds of falling blades.
You can’t let it end like this, Sir Ron!
Ron’s mutterings, drifting from just behind his ear, felt louder and heavier than any roar on the battlefield.
My grandson is in there.
The words hammered against Jin’s heart like a faint beacon.
Dante’s consciousness had to remain. There was no other way to explain why the monster’s sword had hesitated just before finishing off him and Ron.
But if only a fragment of Dante’s consciousness was left… what would happen after Gliek was slain? If the monster died, would that last piece of Dante vanish with it?
Could Dante ever truly return?
There was no time for such questions. Tess’s flames had vanished, Ron was incapacitated, and the corruption of the Black Sea was spreading.
Gliek’s attacks pressed down on them with ever-increasing ferocity.
The only saving grace was that Gliek’s attention remained focused on Jin and the rear. Since Talaris and the Barmul Alliance were currently powerless to act, they were largely spared from Gliek’s direct assaults.
Slowly, a wave of heat began to permeate the air. Kelliark’s flames were piercing through the chaos, drawing closer.
He was desperately pushing through to reach Jin. From the outside, the situation within was completely obscured, and with Tess’s blue flames gone, Kelliark was likely frantic with worry.
Gliek’s distorted limbs snapped back into place.
As they did, the monster’s swords and spears grew sharper, and the defense of Stam and the Black Knights reached its limit.
Fwoosh—!
An explosion of chaotic energy erupted behind Jin. Though he hurriedly executed his footwork, it was impossible to completely shield the unconscious Ron from the blast.
Rashid, which Ron had been clutching until that moment, clattered and rolled across the ground.
Diving back to retrieve the sword would be suicide.
Just as Jin was about to bolt toward the source of Kelliark’s heat out of sheer necessity—
"Have you become so pathetic you’d even drop your sword, you stubborn old fool?"
A sudden chill snapped Jin to his senses, enveloping both him and Ron.
Talaris Endorma, Palace Master of the Secret Palace. She had finally recovered and rejoined the battle. Her eyes glistened with moisture as she looked upon the battered and broken form of Ron.
[So there was a human… chosen by Ten Thousand Ice.]
Gliek looked down at Talaris.
Having drawn upon a portion of the power used to seal Elona Zipple, she was now radiating an aura on a completely different level.
However, she couldn't maintain this power for long. She had already suffered internal injuries while performing the Profound Technique: White, and they could not afford for Elona Zipple to awaken now.
The attacks ceased for a moment. Gliek had clearly recognized Talaris as a threat.
Stam and the Black Knights caught their breath as Talaris picked up Rashid and approached Jin and Ron.
Her thoughts mirrored Jin's.
"The grandson you cherish so much is still in there, fighting that thing all alone. Ron, it’s not your time to stop yet…"
Talaris, too, had judged that Dante had not yet completely vanished.
If the seal suppressing Gliek had shattered entirely, neither she nor anyone else near the inner castle would have survived.
[You are persistent.]
Gliek’s words weren't directed only at Ron. They were also meant for Dante, who was still resisting his full emergence from within.
Chiiiiing…
Ten Thousand Ice emitted a resonant hum, spreading frost in all directions. The ground froze under its influence, noticeably slowing the spread of the Black Sea.
But Gliek could sense the truth.
He realized Jin was not Solderet himself, but merely a contractor under the protection of shadows.
This didn't mean his murderous intent faded. If anything, Gliek would now fight with more deliberation and composure.
If his opponent was a contractor and not Solderet, there was no need for fear or haste.
In his incomplete state of mind, Gliek had feared Jin, even while believing Solderet had lost his power.
Gliek’s mouth split into a sharp, jagged grin. Then, as if playing a game, he thrust his swords and spears toward Jin’s comrades.
A massive ice wall formed by Talaris blocked the attack before it could reach the Barmul Alliance. Gliek burst into laughter, repeatedly striking the wall as if he found the whole thing amusing.
[Grahahaha…!]
Every time Gliek laughed, the chaotic energy filling the battlefield surged violently.
Talaris knew exactly where his confidence came from.
The power to defy fate.
Records within the Secret Palace stated that a King of the Black Sea could never be slain by anyone who had not reached the Realm of Creation.
No matter how deep or vast one's power, only the swords and magic of the Creation realm could deal a fundamental blow to the Kings of the Black Sea.
The reason the Patriarchs of Hairan had failed to cut the White Stone for all this time was simple: not once in Hairan’s history had a Creation Knight appeared.
If information about the White Stone hadn't vanished at some point in history like a receding tide, Hairan might have handed the stone over to a Runcandel or Zipple who had reached the Realm of Creation.
But hypotheses are meaningless in the face of history, and Gliek’s awakening on this land today was a predetermined event.
It was fate.
"Jin."
"Yes, Lady Talaris."
"What we must do is hold that thing back until your father arrives."
Or pray that the records I know are wrong, Talaris thought, swallowing the words. She placed Rashid into Ron’s limp right hand.
Even though he had lost all sensation, Ron’s fingers did not release the hilt once it touched his palm.
She didn't place much stock in the fact that Dante’s consciousness remained within Gliek. Since the boy couldn't possibly possess the power to defy fate, his extinction was inevitable.
They had to buy time until Cyron arrived.
The strongest humans on the continent, excluding Cyron himself, were gathered in one place, along with the elites of Runcandel and Zipple—and yet, this was all they could do. The realization was devastating.
The power of Ten Thousand Ice was hindering the Black Sea’s spread, but it hadn't stopped it. As the ground turned blacker, the monster’s body grew larger.
An indescribably ominous purple glow swirled in his hollow eye sockets. Just meeting that gaze sent an ear-splitting ring through their heads, followed by an intense headache.
Kiaaaaaak!
As Gliek became more complete, the Demon God Stone shrieked with even greater terror.
Finally, Kelliark Zipple pierced the wall of chaos and entered the fray. As a path opened behind them, the first thing they saw was the prow of the Kozec, descending rapidly as if in a free fall.
Boom, screeeeech…!
The Kozec landed, skidding across the blackened earth. Kelliark stood at the prow, a magic circle deployed before him, and scanned the surroundings with bloodshot eyes.
He was looking for Jin. The moment he saw Jin was alive, the breath he had been unconsciously holding escaped him.
He’s alive!
A fireball like a miniature sun rose behind Kelliark.
[Are you the master of that hideous imitation?]
"Kelliark!" Talaris shouted.
Kelliark’s thoughts mirrored Talaris’s. He, too, had intended to use the power of the Demon God Stone to regenerate Ron and force him back into the fight, whether he was dead or merely incapacitated.
But there was a problem.
The black energy characteristic of the Demon God Stone was barely visible in Kelliark’s fireball. The Demon God Stone was refusing to grant Kelliark its full power. Its energy was huddled and hidden within his staff, Hrotti, refusing to be released.
Jin, Talaris, and the Black Knights couldn't help but sense that something was wrong.
But the most flustered person was Kelliark himself. He knew the Demon God Stone had recoiled in fear, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe.
At this rate… it’s impossible!
The Demon God Stone was incomplete. The power of the gods trapped within it was not yet perfectly under his control.
A disaster.
Kelliark and Talaris thought of the same word at the same time.
If Ron can’t fight, I don’t know how long we can hold out against that thing, even if the Runcandels arrive.
Does this mean that even the will of over thirty gods cannot defy a King of the Black Sea?!
But at that moment, something impossible happened.
Ron slid off Jin’s back and began to stride toward Kelliark. His muttering had stopped.
He was dead.
Ron was walking, even though his life had ended. As if time had frozen, everyone stood paralyzed, watching the corpse approach Kelliark. Rashid was still gripped firmly in its hand.
For some reason, as Ron’s body drew closer to Kelliark, the Demon God Stone’s terror-stricken screams began to fade.
The Demon God Stone… it’s reacting to the dead Ron, not me…! Kelliark realized.
Ron’s corpse plunged its sword into the ground and knelt before the black energy emanating from Hrotti, as if in prayer.
Then, the Demon God Stone fell into a deep silence.
Kelliark could feel it.
The terrified gods were finally offering him their power.