**Chapter 406. I Will Never Run Away Again.**
—
Crack!
Hypnos’s *Eye* shattered.
Precisely at the moment the Golden Mask awakened the *Eye*.
“Ah…”
The God of Dreams, Hypnos, let out a small sigh.
He was once the *Eye of Ruin*.
There was no way he wouldn’t recognize what this phenomenon was.
“Ruin is… being born…!”
The fourth Ruin.
No—perhaps it should be called the fifth.
After all, there had been *Randolph*, completed as an apocalypse at the end.
But… Randolph was dying now.
Along with Park Hyunmyung, his existence had grown faint.
If yet another Ruin were to be born in Pangaenia at a time like this, no one would be able to stop it.
The only hope was Park Hyunmyung.
Hypnos knew that Park Hyunmyung was dreaming right now.
Should he intervene in Park Hyunmyung’s dream—even forcibly?
“…It’s already too late.”
It was far too late to intervene.
This had surpassed the range of what he could interfere with.
There was nothing he could do.
All he could do was… hope that the legendary druid Albino would stop it before Ruin was born.
…No, that wasn’t entirely true.
There was still something he could do.
*I am the God of Dreams.*
He could intervene in human dreams.
Though he could no longer wield the same power as before—
*So that the wishes of Phantom’s avatars may reach Him.*
He could merge their dreams… and make them reach Park Hyunmyung.
They and Park Hyunmyung were already tightly connected.
But there were still avatars who had not yet gathered in the labyrinth.
Hypnos exerted every ounce of his remaining power—
So that they might reach the labyrinth even a moment sooner.
…So that *He* could awaken.
*
*
Albino held his breath.
He was a being powerful enough to massacre the executives of the Cult of Death.
Among druids, he was called a legend—so overwhelmingly strong that even before the advent of Ruin, most gods would have had to concede before him.
Yet even he, before the appearance of that *Eye*—
“….”
Was tense.
His fur stood on end.
His pulse quickened.
Every single cell lay still, holding its breath.
A shudder he had never once felt even in the World Tree’s dungeon.
An overwhelming presence that could not even be compared to the Forgotten Gods.
However, the reason for his tension was not merely that.
“Kneel. Prostrate yourself and beg for your life. Legendary Druid Albino. Swear loyalty to me and His Majesty the Emperor, and I will spare your life.”
“…Child. You have awakened something that must never be awakened.”
Albino shook his head slowly.
If begging for his life would have ended it, he would have begged any number of times.
But that *Eye*—that thing—was on an entirely different level.
“What you awakened is not the ‘Emperor’s Eye.’ It’s not too late. Close the *Gate*, now.”
“So even the legendary druid feels fear. Understandable—this *Eye* is proof of His Majesty the Emperor. Of course you’d be afraid.”
“…Believe me. I am the Grand Elder of the *Fang*.”
“…What?”
The Golden Mask, having cast aside his mask, frowned deeply.
He had heard plenty of legends about the Grand Elder of Fang.
Stories circulated almost jokingly that even the lords of Fang—including Raiga—could not raise their heads before the Grand Elder.
Yet no one had ever directly confirmed the Grand Elder’s existence.
It was said that only the heads of Fang family had seen his face, and even they vehemently avoided speaking about him.
And yet… the legendary druid Albino was the Grand Elder of Fang?
Albino let out a small sigh.
“The Emperor is a fearful being. The reason he sleeps is simply because he was afraid. He does not wish to be awakened.”
“His Majesty the Emperor is the absolute sovereign over all things. There is nothing for Him to fear. And I have no reason to believe your claim of being Fang’s Grand Elder.”
“…There isn’t enough time to persuade you with words.”
Albino assumed a stance.
Fwoooosh!
The light of the Golden Scale vividly painted the surroundings.
It seemed he would have no choice but to suppress this with force.
For once that *Eye*—that *Gate*—fully opened, hell would unfold.
*It must not be awakened.*
Albino knew of the *Sleeping Emperor*.
As the Grand Elder of the Fang family, one of the pillars of the Empire.
Fang—the name that upheld the balance of the Arhon Empire.
That Fang, once the Emperor’s personal knight order, had been able to wield such overwhelming might all thanks to Albino.
Which was why he could be certain—
That *Eye* was not the Emperor’s Eye.
That was… the Eye of the being the Emperor had wanted to avoid.
The Emperor fled from it.
And thus chose eternal sleep.
Forever.
Never wishing for anyone to awaken him.
*To think… they would awaken it.*
The Emperor was strong.
So strong that calling him an absolute ruler over all things still felt insufficient.
Yet he was always anxious.
*A fugitive from the Heavens.*
The one who descended from the Heavens carrying eleven eggs.
That story was true.
But one crucial part had been omitted.
That he was a *fugitive*.
He was originally a heavenly god—a great being chosen as a *Celestial God*.
The problem was that he wasn’t just any Celestial God.
He had been designated as the *fourth weapon of the Heavens*.
And the Spirits of Souls within the eleven eggs were vessels that sealed his power.
*If that Gate fully opens, the Emperor will awaken as another Ruin.*
The Emperor did not wish to become Ruin.
Thus, he fled the Heavens.
But *Truth* never let him go.
It sought to forcibly open the Gate and turn him into Ruin…
And before that could happen, the Emperor chose sleep.
But even the Emperor could never have imagined that humans would create clones from his blood and hatch the eggs.
Once the first egg hatched, the rest would awaken on their own.
Even so, it should have been fine.
Even if all the eggs hatched, unifying their power was impossible.
Only the Emperor himself could do that.
Yet the fact that it *was* possible meant—
“…Was there an intervention of Truth?”
The Golden Mask.
That *vessel* may have been born by the will of Truth itself.
As the perfect medium to create Ruin.
Huuuu—
Albino drew in a deep breath.
Long ago, he had seen the Eye of Ruin.
Once that *Eye* fully opened, Ruin would appear.
Back then, Albino ran.
He could not even bring himself to face that dreadful existence.
He lost the will to fight and fled with his tail between his legs.
*If… I had not run, but fought.*
Would the world have avoided destruction?
If he had gathered the druids, united the races that possessed brilliant civilizations, and awakened the gods of the Divine War so they would not turn against one another…
If nothing else, if he had personally eliminated the *Four Calamities*…
…He might have been able to empower the *Demon of Greed*.
Albino looked straight ahead.
Directly into the *Eye*.
Then he spoke, clearly and firmly.
“…I will never run away again.”
I will not avoid it anymore.
Ruin—
I am no longer afraid of you.
*
*
Ruuuumble!
“…What is this mana?”
The Black King tilted his head.
In that moment, he sensed an unfathomable surge of mana nearby.
A battle unlike anything he had ever experienced was unfolding right beside him.
The labyrinth shook without pause, and mana so dense it stung the skin spread everywhere.
*Did the gods start a war or something?*
Even so, there were barely any gods left in Pangaenia.
And none capable of exuding pressure on this level.
What could it be?
He was curious—he wanted to see for himself.
But the Black King couldn’t move freely right now.
*The power of Despair doesn’t work…*
Lilith and the dolls.
Despair had no effect on them.
*Why?*
Wasn’t Despair’s contagion absolute?
Slash!
Kraaaah!
The dolls desperately blocked the Black Beasts.
Their attacks severed the Black Beasts’ flow.
As if… they were natural predators.
And soon, he found the cause.
The Black King looked at Lilith.
At the deep shadow behind her.
“…I see. Baal’s power, is it?”
One of the Four Calamities—Baal—was behind her.
Of course, if they were both Calamities, it was possible for their powers to cancel each other out.
Ah—now he understood why his mouth watered so much.
It wasn’t just because she was the origin of evolution.
*I’ll devour everything.*
The Black King returned to his true form.
He then cut down the dolls like falling wheat.
The Black King was invincible now.
He had devoured the White King and fully absorbed the power of Despair.
And if he devoured Lilith and Baal as well?
Then even the monsters fighting nearby would have to fear him.
He would become a god on par with Ruin itself.
“….”
After a prolonged battle, every doll was destroyed.
At last, the Black Beasts surrounded Lilith.
Compared to all the monsters she had faced until now, the Black King was stronger.
Even the Forgotten Gods could not compare to him in his current state.
“Give up. You cannot defeat me.”
The Black King smiled.
The resistance had been fierce.
Nearly half of the Black Beasts had been destroyed, and the Black King himself was far from unscathed.
But in the end, he was the victor.
The moment the last doll fell, Lilith was already combat-incapable.
Thud!
The Black King grabbed Lilith by the neck.
And then—
Crunch!
He sank his fangs into her throat.
*
*
It felt like being reborn.
As if he had shed his skin and become an entirely different being.
He now possessed the power of two of the Four Calamities.
At this point, it felt like anything was possible.
He even felt as though he could defeat Ruin itself, should it appear.
Conquering the labyrinth no longer interested him.
With a smile, the Black King advanced through the labyrinth—
Toward the source of that terrifying mana.
To be honest, he was curious.
The clash that had made even him shudder.
Even while fighting Lilith, it had nagged at his mind.
But—
Just now, the tremor of mana stopped.
The battle had ended.
*Interesting.*
Who had won?
He intended to take the victor under his command.
If they refused, he would kill them.
Boom!
He smashed through the labyrinth toward the source of the mana.
This labyrinth could no longer confuse the Black King.
If it resisted, he would simply crush it with greater power.
How much time passed like that?
“…Oh?”
The Black King’s smile deepened as he arrived *there*.
For a man stood before him.
In that man’s hand was the neck of another man.
The limp figure looked already dead.
There was no sign of life.
*A druid?*
The dead man was a druid.
There was no mistaking that peculiar aura.
And the state of the man who had killed him was just as dire.
Not only him—the entire space was devastated.
There was not a single place that had not been gouged, shattered, or collapsed, as if testifying to the ferocity of the battle.
Yet something felt familiar.
That man’s face—it felt like he had seen it somewhere before.
“You… could it be the *Golden Mask*?”
Hah.
The Golden Mask of the Reaper Cult.
So he was here?
Was it really this man who had unleashed that mana earlier?
But the Golden Mask’s condition was clearly abnormal.
His entire face was burned and mangled beyond recognition, half his head was gone.
One arm was missing.
His heart had been torn out.
Fragments of it lay scattered nearby.
Despite injuries like that, he was still alive.
More importantly—
*An eye?*
An eye stood beside the Golden Mask, watching over him.
Thump! Thump!
The moment he saw that *Eye*, his heart ached.
The Calamities he had devoured—Despair and Baal—were trembling.
As if resonating with it.
Only then did the Black King realize what that *Eye* was.
“…This really is my ideal world.”
Ah.
That Eye was the Eye of Ruin.
The Golden Mask was being reborn as Ruin itself.
In other words—
That thing was—
*My final prey.*
A final arrangement prepared just for him.
Black King is slowly becoming the final boss damn