Ch-290. **Appearance**
—
At first, it felt strange.
The place where the Empire’s tournament was being held.
Why did it have to be the *Tower of the War God* of all places?
“Karas. Did you plan from the very beginning to designate this place as the venue of the tournament?”
I slowly opened my mouth.
Karas still did not know what the Throne of Light had manifested into.
He had no idea what I had offered, nor what I intended to summon.
He probably thought I was merely struggling in desperation.
That was the *gap* I intended to exploit.
Before anything else, I needed to grasp the cause of what was currently happening in the tower.
Karas replied expressionlessly.
“Do I have any obligation to answer you?”
“There’s nothing for you to do until the sun sets anyway. What kind of deal did you make with Raiga?”
“…You’re a funny one. Then let me ask first. What are you? What allowed you to enter the ‘Gap’?”
He was curious about my identity.
There was no way I could answer that I was Park Hyun-myung from Earth.
“I am the ‘Hyun’ of Adrium.”
“The Hyun of Adrium? One of the tournament participants?”
“Yes. The staircase suddenly collapsed, and I was sucked into this place.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Of course, I was the one who caused the staircase to collapse using a *natural disaster*, but still.
When I revealed that I was a participant of the tournament, Karas’s expression subtly changed.
“A human being sucked into the Gap and becoming one of the Ash race? As expected, it seems the whims of the main gods have begun.”
Karas cast a sideways glance at the God of Omen and the God of Ash.
But the attitudes of the two main gods were strange.
—……
—……
They were just… staying still.
They almost looked flustered.
It was the complete opposite of their earlier chatter-filled, noisy demeanor.
Sitting atop the Throne of Light, I shrugged and spoke.
“Well then, Karas. It’s your turn to answer now.”
Karas tilted his head.
It should have been our first meeting, yet my attitude toward the War God was unnervingly natural.
“…Hmph. I made a deal with Raiga. To draw challengers to the reopened Tower of the War God.”
“Was that really necessary?”
Even without that, countless warriors would have climbed the Tower of the War God on their own.
Higher floors.
Stronger champions and a more powerful master of the tower.
This tower was filled with nothing but elements that provoked the desire to challenge.
So why gather people so urgently?
“At first, it was simply because I wanted many to climb the Tower of the War God. This place that I alone cultivated and rebuilt—completely different from the past.”
When he had been possessed by the Demon of Jealousy—
It was born from a pure desire to have more people challenge and ascend this Tower of the War God, now entirely different from back then.
Erecting a statue of Randolph shining brilliantly in gold was part of the same sentiment.
He simply wanted to show the changes of the tower as soon as possible.
He simply wanted to return to the brilliant days of the past.
…At first, that truly was all he wanted.
“Then does that mean your intentions have changed from the beginning?”
In other words, that original purity had now been completely twisted.
Soon, War God Karas opened his mouth.
“The appearance of Randolph changed everything.”
“…Champion Randolph appearing was the problem?”
Karas nodded.
“Randolph was summoned to the top of the tower in a berserk state.”
“…?”
Summoned in a berserk state?
Was that because of me?
Because he had been summoned as an empty shell without a soul?
As I looked at him in confusion, Karas glared at the main gods and continued.
“Afterward, the Randolph summoned to the tower began to split.”
He split.
His narrative, his existence, his countless *stories*.
Everything happening in the tower right now stemmed from that.
“This is what the God of Omen did to make Randolph into a complete ‘Omen King.’ And it seems the God of Ash has chosen you—not me—as the new ‘Ash King.’”
“…What are you talking about?”
Wait.
In an instant, my thoughts became tangled.
So the true masterminds behind all of this were not Karas, but those two main gods.
They elevated Randolph and me as the Omen King and the Ash King, then planned to leave only one of us behind.
Did that mean they had been plotting this scheme from the moment Randolph was summoned to the tower?
Karas frowned deeply and erupted in anger—
Not toward me, but toward the main gods.
“On top of that, those capricious main gods decided to strip me of my qualification as king and expel me from the Tower of the War God. Now, of all times—just when I’ve reclaimed everything! Just like back then, when I was destroyed by ‘Annihilation(Ruin)’…!”
*Crunch!*
Karas clenched his fist so tightly it nearly shattered.
No matter how much time passed, those main gods never changed.
When Annihilation(Ruin) appeared, and the Twin Goddesses—the main gods of humanity—sacrificed themselves to save the world,
Those two gods did nothing.
They only fought each other.
Back then, and even now.
As if they didn’t care whether their entire races were wiped out.
Eventually, the God of Omen and the God of Ash spoke.
—Karas. You call our struggle foolish.
—But worry not. The time of resolution is finally approaching.
—At last, the perfect adversaries we have long desired have appeared!
—…This is all fate. To escape that obstinate ‘Heaven(Celestial)’ and ‘Annihilation(Ruin).’
They intended to summon Randolph—now a Omen King—to the top of the tower.
And in doing so, leave only one of us—Randolph or me.
But instead of Randolph, War God Karas was summoned.
—Karas. But did you devour the Omen King that Randolph carried?
—That was a foolish act. Having been stripped of your qualification, you cannot bear the Omen King—nor Randolph’s existence.
—The Tower of the War God is no longer yours.
—Only the clash between the new Omen King and the new Ash King—the two perfect adversaries—will decide our victory or defeat.
Just before Randolph completed his transformation into the Omen King through division, Karas devoured the Omen King’s factor that had manifested from him.
Baal, the divinity connected to the Blade Dragon God, the dreadful omen, Eternal Randolph—all of them were separated solely for the manifestation of the Omen King.
Having realized the main gods’ plan, Karas could do nothing but rage.
“I barely rebuilt everything. Barely returned. The Omen race and the Ash race—both finally grasped a chance to return to how things were. And now, at this point…!”
—It wouldn’t matter even if you did return.
—You’d only be destroyed by ‘Annihilation’ again.
—All towers would be lost once more.
—No matter how much you rebuild and restore, they will fall again.
—That day is not far off, Karas.
—The revival of ‘Annihilation(Ruin)’.
—The birth of ‘Annihilation’!
The God of Omen and the God of Ash were afraid.
Of the day Annihilation(Ruin )would reappear.
No matter how much they rebuilt and restored, as things stood, extinction was inevitable.
Before that, they had to be reborn as more complete beings.
Only then could they properly prosper their races and prevent annihilation.
But Karas shook his head.
“Do you truly believe that merging the two of you would make a more complete existence? Do you honestly think that, you cowardly main gods?”
They were cowards.
Back when they were annihilated by Annihilation(Ruin).
They said it couldn’t have been stopped anyway, and shifted the blame onto each other.
Otherwise, why would the two main gods even fight?
The winner devours the loser and becomes one?
And thus is reborn as a complete existence?
A stronger main god and race that even Annihilation could not touch?
…Without ever fighting.
Without even asking once!
When their races were being slaughtered, the two main gods decided all of that on their own.
“If our main god had been a goddess, even if stripped of her qualification, she would have accepted it with joy. But you are not. You are not my main gods…!”
The Twin Goddesses threw themselves into battle even when defeat was certain.
Though they perished, they prevented the complete destruction of the world.
Had they done nothing because defeat was assured, Pangaenia would have fallen then and there.
They were fundamentally different from those two cowards.
That is why I resist.
“The Omen King and I thought the same. Once we regained our power, we swore we would no longer be swayed by your whims!”
That was why—
Access to the Gap was sealed.
And when Randolph split, Karas devoured the Omen King’s factor for this very reason.
So as not to be dragged around by the two main gods.
He could not allow their plans to succeed.
…At the same time, Karas’s sharp gaze turned toward me.
“That is why you must die. Hyun of Adrium.”
As if reaffirming his resolve,
He shouted even louder.
“To reclaim my place once more. To overturn the decisions of those foolish main gods!”
*Flap!*
Karas’s wings shone even more brilliantly.
Normalization of the abnormal.
Returning everything to how it was meant to be.
The root cause of this entire situation was indeed the two main gods.
But the one who triggered this situation was me.
My existence had summoned the conclusion of the two gods.
Randolph and I.
The appearance of the two of us—perfect opposites—had moved the main gods.
“…Darkness is coming.”
I gazed toward the distant horizon.
Slowly, darkness was approaching.
The sun was setting.
《‘Trial of Ash (6)’ – The battle against ‘War God Karas’ begins.》
It was time to decide.
*Now I understand why the Throne of Light was summoned together.*
Wasn’t this the will of the Omen King—of Randolph?
A final arrangement sent to prevent War God Karas from self-destruction.
Because the end awaiting Karas, who defied the main gods, was all too obvious.
And because this was the only breakthrough to overcome all these trials.
*Everything began the moment I climbed this tower.*
From the moment Randolph was summoned to the top, and from the moment I began climbing the tower, all of this had been foreseen.
However—
*I won’t let it proceed according to their plan.*
I will not be toyed with by the scheme laid out by the God of Omen and the God of Ash.
They pretended ignorance shamelessly, but the two of them had already designed everything.
So that Randolph would become the Omen King.
So that I would become the Ash King.
Even if I hadn’t used *Natural Disaster*, I would have ended up falling into this *Gap* somehow.
And I would have continued the trials to become the Ash King.
Until the moment Randolph and I met—so that one of us would be erased.
I shifted my gaze toward the two main gods.
In the end, all this chaos was brought about by those two cowards.
“It’s about time to put an end to this.”
“Hyun of Adrium. Have you still not abandoned hope?”
“Why should I abandon it?”
“…Do you think you can defeat me?”
“Then do you think I’ll lose?”
When I boldly shot back, Karas’s eyes gleamed.
Even without comparing or clashing, the difference in power was obvious.
There was no way someone who couldn’t even properly handle the power of ash could defeat a War God like him.
So where was this boundless confidence coming from?
“How arrogant.”
“Hah, arrogant? Then let me ask you this. If one gives up simply because defeat seems certain, how is that any different from those cowards?”
“…!”
For a brief moment, Karas’s eyes wavered.
An unwinnable fight.
Giving up because you assume you cannot win—
That was no different from the two main gods.
Without realizing it, Karas had followed the same logic.
You can’t win anyway, so give up!
“You’re still foolish, War God Karas.”
I looked straight at him and spoke.
No matter what happens, I never abandon hope.
No matter what adversity comes, no matter what incomprehensible trial strikes, I have never given up.
At the same time, Karas’s eyes began to shake violently as he looked at me.
“You… who are you?”
Karas had no choice but to ask again.
He couldn’t help but ask.
Since when had it been?
That presence.
That momentum.
Everything about him—
“Do you still not understand?”
…He seemed like a completely different person.
Not the Hyun of Adrium.
That Appearance was as if—
An existence who overwhelmed all others by mere presence, making them follow.
A man who broke through every adversity head-on and stood at the very summit.
Endlessly arrogant—yet whose arrogance suited him more than anyone.
“I am your hope, you stupid crow.”
—Stupid crow. I will save you.
…Just like *that guy*.
*
*
“…Chaos.”
Raiga briefly evaluated the situation.
It was chaos incarnate.
He had never seen confusion this severe.
*I’m sick of it now.*
Randolph.
Everything connected to him was starting to disgust him.
What kind of man was he to cause this level of chaos?
Nothing was normal. Nothing was trivial.
Every single development was a headache.
If he were given another chance, it was a name he would never want to get involved with again.
But there was one silver lining to being involved.
*…I’m not being tempted. I’m not being dominated.*
The powerful brainwashing force of despair was not affecting him.
Probably because he was already under the control of *Eternal Randolph*.
If so, there was an answer.
“Hehehe!”
“Kihihihi!”
Those driven mad by despair.
Yet their power was real.
Sharing despair and mana, they were surpassing their limits.
“It doesn’t look like they intend to leave us alone.”
“And besides… that’s an enormous number.”
The main forces and the others quickly grasped the situation.
Either way, they had to fight.
It was simply a matter of which side survived.
*Gulp!*
A hair-trigger situation.
But the scale was unprecedented.
Never before had Pangaenia seen a war of this magnitude.
A battle of this scale, with so many forces entangled.
Just as the two massive armies were about to collide—
“…?!”
“W-What…?”
“T-This has to be a joke…”
Everyone froze.
They couldn’t help it.
With unbelieving eyes, with expressions filled with shock, they all stared at one spot.
At the very center.
Between the two forces about to clash.
*Flap!*
…Someone appeared.
Bathed in radiant light.
Clad in silver armor, a crimson cloak fluttering behind him.
《‘Wilhelm’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
…That was why.
Because **he** had appeared.
The man, the myth, the legend, the god himself have appeared