Ch-286. **The Empire’s Greatest Sword**
—
“Are you saying there’s no next trial? What kind of nonsense is that, *kraa*?”
I cried out in protest toward the God of Omen and the God of Ash.
After painstakingly stepping through the Paradox of Fate and even annihilating the *Dreadful Omen*, the claim that there was no subsequent trial felt far too strange to accept.
At that, the God of Ash spoke in an awkward tone.
—Mm, the annihilation of the *Dreadful Omen* was… unexpected, *kraa*.
Ah.
So they had never anticipated that I would pierce the wall they created using the *Spear of Longinus* and reach the Dreadful Omen itself.
Which meant the preparations for the next trial were delayed—or worse, hadn’t been made at all.
To be fair, I wouldn’t have expected it either.
They told me to speedrun, and I ended up killing the competing opponent altogether.
If I were them, I’d be thinking, *What kind of savage lunatic is this?*
“Then just send me out, *kraa*.”
—Not yet. A complete ‘comparison’ has not been made, *kraa*.
“You’re being stubborn, *kraa*.”
Apparently, merely devouring the Dreadful Omen wasn’t enough to satisfy them.
To me, it looked like nothing but obstinacy.
At this point, it would’ve been reasonable to declare it a decision win for the God of Ash.
That was when a suspicion began to linger at the corner of my mouth.
“Could it be that you don’t actually want this to end, *kraa*?”
The thought crossed my mind that perhaps the two of them didn’t want the fight to conclude at all.
After battling across countless eons, maybe they’d grown attached to each other.
But if their fight didn’t end, then I would be trapped in this *Interstice* forever.
So I pressed again.
“Are you two actually on good terms, *kraa*?”
Simultaneously—
—KRAAAK! Don’t spout nonsense!
—KRAAAK! This little crow really does run his mouth!
They exploded in fury.
Their roars shook the world itself, loud enough to rupture eardrums.
Pure, unfiltered hatred poured out.
*At least their hatred is genuine.*
There was no doubt—they truly despised each other.
And yet, they also didn’t want this battle to end.
It was a kind of burden—perhaps even a love-hate bond.
“…I get it. I understand how much you hate each other. Calm down, *kraa*.”
There was no way they’d ever admit to having grown attached.
After I smoothed things over, their rage gradually subsided.
—Say that nonsense again and I’ll eat you, *kraa*.
—Child of Ash, don’t lump me together with that abomination, *kraa*.
—Abomination? Your face itself is a calamity, *kraa*.
—Oh? Is that a compliment for once, *kraa*?
—Let’s stop talking, *kraa*.
—I don’t want to hear that hideous voice either, *kraa*.
It was a childish squabble, through and through.
I listened quietly, then added one more question.
“But what happens to the loser if one side wins, *kraa*?”
I was curious about the end of this fight.
A battle to decide who was stronger.
If there was a victor and a defeated, there had to be something gained—and something lost.
—The loser is erased.
—Gone forever.
……What?
For a moment, I was speechless.
I’d assumed it would end with nothing more than bragging rights over who was stronger.
*So that’s why they don’t want it to end.*
Now I finally understood why this battle had persisted eternally.
They had made a pact.
That the loser would be erased.
The words and promises of gods are absolute.
I could understand their circumstances.
But if no conclusion was reached, then I, too, would be trapped here forever.
Given the constant string of unforeseen events—
Watching me overcome trial after impossible trial—those two were clearly flustered.
If they kept giving me trials like this, a true *decisive outcome* might actually occur.
So if they were reluctant to give me another trial, and couldn’t even think of an appropriate one…
“Summon the Omen King, *kraa*.”
I’d make the choice for them.
—
—
“Is this pointless chatter finally over?”
Tap.
Breaking the silence, a man stepped forward.
Everyone’s gaze naturally turned toward him.
No—truth be told, everyone had been watching *him* from the very beginning.
Raiga.
The Empire’s Greatest Sword, another knight-king whose name resounded across all of Pangaenia!
*He’s not here.*
Though the situation was growing interesting, Raiga didn’t care.
Whatever Randolph’s true identity might be was irrelevant to him.
What mattered most was the *Hyun of Adrium*, somewhere in this place.
A genius who had restored it the moment he laid eyes on the Record of Life and Death.
That genius was in this tower.
Raiga had to find the Hyun of Adrium.
Of course, Randolph’s story wasn’t uninteresting.
Sneaking into the monster city of Cramdel, hiding his identity, and rising all the way to the position of Fifth-Pillar—that was amusing enough.
But that was all.
What was there to gain from Cramdel anyway?
That barren northern land drew no interest.
The Empire felt the same.
“If the talking’s done, then come at me already. I’m bored to death.”
Yaaawn!
Raiga yawned, genuinely bored.
The beings gathered here possessed enough power to wipe out several kingdoms.
Yet Raiga didn’t hesitate to provoke them all.
Though his life was racing toward its end, the martial might he’d accumulated over a lifetime wouldn’t crumble so easily.
And for one who possessed such rank, you weren’t truly dead until the moment you died.
Therefore—
“If you won’t come, then I will.”
Raiga loosened his body.
Turning his head, he surveyed the crowd in search of his first target.
His eyes soon settled on a woman.
*Serengeti. The Pure-White Knight, and Wilhelm’s closest aide.*
She’d recently defeated King Friedrich of the Iron Kingdom, hadn’t she?
And King Friedrich was the Demon of Pride.
*She pushed Pride back. That means she has real substance.*
Pride.
A demon who loved games and hated losing—hardly the type to retreat just because his opponent was strong.
So why had he stepped back?
*Those kids… they’re Dragon Gods.*
Indeed.
In an instant, Raiga assessed their strength.
The two children were monsters bearing the rank of Dragon Gods.
Like other Dragon Gods, they would be invincible unless their weakness was found.
Just like the Blade Dragon God.
They were the absolute counter to the Demon of Pride.
An extreme one, at that.
Facing a natural enemy, even Pride wouldn’t act greedily.
Raiga smiled faintly.
It really was an interesting lineup.
More than the other monsters, that ambiguous cluster intrigued him.
So—
Swoosh!
Raiga moved.
The Pure-White Knight, Serengeti.
Let’s see if she could satisfy him, worthy of her reputation.
In an instant, Raiga stood directly before Serengeti and casually extended his sword.
*Clang—!*
Blocked.
She blocked it.
*Sheeeek!*
As the recoil pushed Raiga’s body back, Serengeti seized the opening.
Aura surged along her blade.
*Sword Force, huh.*
Interesting indeed.
Had Sword Force really become this common?
As Wilhelm’s closest aide, it seemed she’d been taught properly.
*However—*
BOOM!
Sword Force can only be countered by Sword Force.
And the straighter, stronger force devours the weaker one.
“Hngh…!”
Serengeti exhaled sharply, her brows knitting together.
Had she not twisted her body sideways to disperse the impact, her entire body would have been crushed.
The Sword Force she’d formed in a single exchange had shattered.
“You’ve only just entered the realm of Sword Force, it seems. Still, that was commendable.”
It was commendable.
But also slightly disappointing.
Was this really the extent of Wilhelm’s closest aide?
With just one exchange, Raiga had grasped Serengeti’s limits.
Strong—for a human.
But only up to that point.
Not enough to charge head-on against a Demon King.
*Or perhaps I’ve simply grown too strong.*
After standing at death’s threshold,
Raiga had advanced one step further.
He had shattered the wall that once blocked him.
Even so, death itself remained unconquerable.
*Whoosh!*
*CRACK!*
Once again, Serengeti’s entire body trembled.
She blocked another strike that arrived without sound or presence—beyond human perception.
*Clang—!*
*Clang-clang-clang!*
But that was only the beginning.
Invisible.
No afterimages.
Yet it kept getting faster.
*So strong…!*
Serengeti gritted her teeth.
Raiga was simply testing how much she could withstand.
As expected of the Empire’s Greatest Sword.
He truly deserved the title of the continent’s strongest.
Even the positional-shift ability of the stars didn’t work.
It wouldn’t activate at all.
*He’s blocking the power of the stars?*
She didn’t know how, but Raiga seemed capable of suppressing stellar abilities.
Even repositioning with other monsters was impossible.
Still, Serengeti was a knight hardened by countless battlefields.
She wouldn’t easily offer her neck to Raiga’s blade.
*Danger—!*
In an instant, Serengeti sensed it and hastily retreated.
“Oho.”
Raiga smiled as he saw that.
Had Serengeti not stepped back just then, she would’ve died.
“Your danger sense is exceptional. Did Wilhelm teach you that too?”
“……”
Serengeti couldn’t answer.
She *couldn’t* answer.
That feeling of instant death she’d sensed just now—
She still didn’t know what it truly was.
One thing was clear: as things stood, she couldn’t handle Raiga.
*Slash!*
That was when—
A pure-white whip lashed out, momentarily binding Raiga’s entire body.
*‘Serpent’s Bind.’*
A stellar authority that forcibly restrains the target.
Not just any star, but a Named one—Jörmungandr.
Yet instead of panicking, Raiga’s smile deepened.
“So this is your true form?”
From the very beginning—
From the moment they entered the 25th floor, Raiga had already noticed Isabella.
Why she was with them.
Why she was here after vanishing into the Abyss with the goat.
He’d been curious, but hadn’t bothered to ask.
“There are many things I wish to hear from you, Isabella von Dersian.”
After all, she would talk eventually.
—
—
Aria.
The moment she entered her battle against Eternal Randolph, she found herself unable to move.
Not because she’d confirmed Randolph’s identity.
But because of the *thing* directly before her.
Tap.
Tap-tap.
It was an ant.
Yet it was far from an ordinary ant.
It was enormous, and something like mud was oozing from its entire body.
Aria knew instantly what that mud-like substance was.
*It’s… molting?*
The ant was shedding its skin.
Undergoing metamorphosis to become something stronger.
But molting requires nutrients.
Slowly—
The ant’s eyes turned toward Aria.
“…!”
In that instant, Aria’s heart sank.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t even tremble.
She was tense—over something as trivial as an ant.
But the ant before her was not something that could be measured by species alone.
That was…
A monster.
A monster that devoured endlessly and evolved.
The true form of Ant King Pheromone!
She didn’t know why it had become like this, but—
Thud!
Aria collapsed, unable to support her trembling legs.
*I have to warn the others…*
I must.
Tell them not to challenge it!
That thing was far too despair-inducing.
A beast that devoured challengers and evolved endlessly.
But her mind went blank.
Even the thought of escaping vanished.
As if she were entranced.
*Creeeak.*
The ant opened its mouth.
Aria’s consciousness blurred.
At that moment—
*Thud!*
Something struck the ant’s flank.
The ant froze.
Smacking its lips regretfully, it returned to its place.
The one who had stopped the ant.
Before completely losing consciousness, Aria looked at him in shock and barely managed to utter a single word.
“Y-you are…!”
