Ch-288. **It’s coming.** **“That thing” is coming.**
—
Gracia does not know what love is.
From a young age, he had compulsively walked the path of an elite. Not once had he ever experienced something called love.
He thought of it only as a waste of time, a waste of emotion.
He was different from others.
He had to be.
With a father who led a renowned corporation and was called an iron man, and a mother who had always enjoyed only the very best, Gracia had no choice but to be a capable son at all times.
The only pastime he had—one no one else knew about—was a game called *Pangaenia*.
An absurdly brutal difficulty.
He had been tempted by the line that promised any wish would be granted if the game were cleared.
*There is nothing in this world that I cannot conquer.*
Whether it was a game or anything else.
Once Gracia set his hands to something, he always saw it through to the end, always setting the very best record.
He believed Pangaenia would be no different.
…Until he met *Phantom*.
*In the end… have I merely been walking along a path someone else laid out, following behind someone else all this time?*
In reality, he followed his father and mother.
In Pangaenia, he chased after Phantom.
That was why he could not surpass them.
You could never overtake someone if you were only ever following from behind.
And so, Gracia decided to change himself.
*I will live as I truly am.*
No more acting.
No more following behind anyone!
If he kept wanting to see someone, if he kept longing for them—then that must be love.
Gracia was in love now.
“White Knight, Serengeti.”
“……?”
“Thank you. Your words awakened me.”
“W-What… did I say…?”
Serengeti barely managed to speak.
It was the first she’d heard of it.
She had no memory of ever speaking to Gracia.
In fact, they had never even met at such close range before.
Yet despite her baffled reaction, Gracia paid it no mind.
“You may not remember. But I remember. In the Abyss, when you scolded me, telling me to pull myself together—when you placed that warm hand on my face. That smile.”
“…Are you insane, by any chance?”
“Thanks to you, I came to my senses. Now, I will protect you.”
“It really doesn’t seem like you’ve come to your senses yet……”
She had never said such things.
She had never placed her hand on his face, nor smiled at him.
Hadn’t she?
After all, Gracia belonged to the Hero Association that had slandered Wilhelm’s Grand Expedition.
No matter how much he claimed to have parted ways with Lucifer, Darkstar, and the rest, she would have scowled and cursed at him before ever doing something like that.
Had he perhaps dreamed it all?
“Imperial First Sword, strongest knight—Raiga.”
Gracia turned his head to face Raiga.
Raiga merely shrugged.
“Hm. Done with the love talk?”
“Thank you for waiting.”
“Ah. I’m a patient man. Don’t worry about it.”
*Shing.*
Gracia gripped his sword.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the ‘sinner’ you speak of—and the Sword Saint, Gracia.”
He did not hide it.
Especially not when his opponent was Raiga, the strongest knight of the Empire.
Raiga tilted his head.
“Sword Saint? First I’ve heard of it.”
“……Don’t pretend you don’t know. Didn’t you tag me with ‘Reaper’?”
“Reaper? Ah, so the Reaper Cult’s marked you.”
*Tsk, tsk.*
Raiga clicked his tongue, then looked at Gracia with pity—as though he felt sorry for someone targeted by such vicious people.
The Reaper Cult believed sinners deserved death, but Raiga felt nothing in particular toward sinners.
He was simply curious.
If someone carried the title of Sword Saint, he had to be worth something.
“Let’s have a little fun.”
“…Very well.”
*Ziiing!*
*Ziiiiiiik!*
A thousand swords rose into the air behind Gracia.
Finer swords. Stronger swords.
Some were weapons Gracia had obtained himself, but most had been taken from Union’s inventory.
Every single weapon in Union’s inventory was powerful enough to put most myth-grade items to shame.
Gracia and Union had excellent compatibility.
And that wasn’t all.
*As I am now… I am strong.*
Gracia had reached a state of enlightenment.
He discarded the desire to follow others, the yearning, even the inferiority complex—accepting himself as he truly was.
The moment he resolved to live his own life, a change came over him.
—*Heavenly Punishment (天伐)*
*Chijik!*
*Chijijijik!*
Blue sword aura flared from the thousand blades, and lightning-like radiance surged from Gracia’s eyes.
Gracia’s strongest skill—*Heavenly Punishment*.
An overwhelming attack that annihilated the enemy by driving down a thousand bolts of lightning!
*Chwarrk!*
*Chwarrrrrrk!*
A finishing move that consumed all mana and stamina in a single strike.
With its long preparation time and the fact that using it left him unable to move for nearly a week, it was a final secret art he almost never used.
—*Full Bloom (滿開)*
But Gracia went one step further.
At last, he stepped into the realm beyond Heavenly Punishment.
The swords replicated themselves.
Each blade reflected and multiplied, painting the sky with two thousand swords.
Then, the two thousand split once more—becoming four thousand.
After devouring the Star of Illusions, transcending yet another stage, and enduring relentless effort, he had seized upon another form of Heavenly Punishment.
Against the strongest, he unleashed everything he had.
An attack that could never be evaded.
Death itself!
*Fwish!*
*Kwakakakakakakakakakaboom!*
*
*
The sight was unmistakably overwhelming.
Four thousand swords raining down like a torrential storm from the sky.
But no matter how much he poured out—
“…You really are a monster.”
If it didn’t hit, it meant nothing.
Watching the battle, Union was left aghast.
Though he had lived for ages as the Empire’s first court mage, even he had never seen a monster like Raiga.
Stronger than all the previous Fang predecessors combined.
He shouldn’t have been this strong before—had he grown even more powerful in the meantime?
“That was quite an entertaining game. Sinner… hmm, what was your name again?”
“…….”
After *Heavenly Punishment: Full Bloom* ended,
Gracia’s eyes shook violently as he looked at Raiga—completely unharmed.
He had thought he’d become stronger.
But he still hadn’t reached true supremacy.
Raiga.
That inhuman monster.
Having poured out everything, Gracia no longer had the strength to fight.
*Chwak!*
In an instant, both of Gracia’s arms were severed.
*Thud!*
“Guh…!”
Then Raiga drove his sword deep into Serengeti’s abdomen.
*Shraaaak!*
As he twisted the blade, blood poured down in streams.
“Answer me, Isabella. Isabella von Dersian. What happened that day?”
That day.
The day they entered the Abyssal Domain.
Raiga lost the Fang knights, lost his memories, and faced death itself—an event powerful enough to erase the memories of an existence on his own level.
Something tremendous must have occurred there.
“If you don’t answer, you will all die. Isabella—because of you.”
He shifted the blame, forcing her to answer.
But Isabella remained silent.
What had happened there.
The battle with monsters on the Island of God.
The Hybrid of God’s Skin, the appearance of the Eternal Lord, the Gate of Truth—and another Randolph.
How could she possibly speak of all that?
Still, there was one thing she could say.
“…You were defeated.”
“…What? I was… defeated?”
“You opened the Five Gates and went into battle—yet you lost.”
“……Even after opening the Five Gates, I lost?”
Raiga frowned.
Opening the Five Gates meant invincibility, predicated on death itself.
In that state, he could never lose.
And yet, she said he had.
“To whom?”
“That is……”
…To her master, Randolph.
Defeated by another Randolph.
At that moment—
*Clang!*
Raiga twisted his body and deflected the attacker rushing in with the flat of his blade.
Gunggi.
*Kuuuuung!*
At the same time, the ground shook.
The Great Earth Dragon.
That massive dragon was gathering mana—to attack Raiga.
Why were the main pillars helping humans?
Or had they judged him weakened and moved to restrain him?
“…This is starting to get annoying.”
Fools.
Raiga frowned.
There were more nuisances than he’d expected.
At this rate, he wouldn’t get a proper answer.
He couldn’t believe that he—who had opened the Five Gates—had been defeated.
So, this worked out just fine.
“If I kill everyone, it’ll be less troublesome.”
*
*
They fell.
Gunggi and the Great Earth Dragon.
Even Isaac and Saintess Seia.
No one could stop Raiga.
He was an absolute being.
Blood sprayed, entrails spilled across the floor, and they slowly died—
The end of those who stood before the absolute.
Who in the world could have defeated such a monster?
“Are you trying to stop me too?”
“…No.”
Raktusha answered.
The Dark Elf Lord shook his head as well.
Even the former Champion, Sansha, seemed uninterested in fighting Raiga.
His attention was solely on the current Champion.
Raiga shook the blood from his blade once.
“Now, then……”
“Uu… uuuuh……”
“…?”
“Waaaaah! I’m scared! I’m scared! I’m scared!”
Just as he was about to turn back toward Isabella,
the cries of a child filled the twenty-fifth floor.
The Dragon God, Lucaria.
The small girl began to cry, tears streaming down her face in terror.
“N-No……”
Seeing Lucaria cry, Issera panicked.
He even stood up and took a step back.
It was clearly different from how he had been cradling and comforting her fear all this time.
The Issera who had seemed fearless of everything was now flustered—truly afraid.
*Shishishish…*
As if something were laughing,
black smoke began to pour from Lucaria’s entire body.
Soon, pitch-black darkness spread over her face, as though a mosaic were being laid atop it.
Seeing this change, Issera shouted urgently.
“R-Run! ‘That thing’ is coming……!”
*
*
*Kurrrrrumble!*
The tower shook.
The epicenter was the upper floors.
Atop the dangerously swaying tower, black smoke erupted like madness.
The smoke formed into the shape of hands, wrapping around the entire tower.
*Kraaaak!*
*Kraaaak!*
Huge crows shrieked as they fled the tower in desperation.
Something was clearly happening inside.
Something on an entirely different level from everything that had happened before.
“W-What is that?”
“What is that black smoke?”
“What’s happening in the Tower of the War God?”
Everyone watching the tower trembled as they spoke.
A dreadful curse that sent shivers down the spine just by looking at it.
No one had ever seen anything like it before.
It was as though the curse itself had taken form.
A gigantic doll of curses.
No—perhaps it should be called a god of curses.
Yet what followed was even more baffling.
《‘Serengeti’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
《The ‘Curse of Dominion’ has activated. Control established.》
《‘Isabella’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
《The ‘Curse of Dominion’ has activated. Control established.》
《‘Raktusha’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
《The ‘Curse of Dominion’ has activated. Control established.》
《‘Union’……》
……
……
……
《‘Raiga’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
《The ‘Curse of Dominion’ has activated. Control established.》
