**Chapter 408. You’re Doing It Wrong.**
—
The battle was over.
No—calling it a battle would be generous.
“That kind of power is wasted on a fake.”
The Black King spoke with unbridled arrogance.
The Golden Mask was already, quite literally, *crushed* by Extinction King Mork.
This outcome had been decided from the start.
A mere fake could never withstand the power of a completed Extinction King Mork.
“This… is the ultimate.”
The Black King gazed at Extinction King Mork with a satisfied look.
Upon Mork’s back, which had triumphed over every Black Beast, enormous black wings beat heavily.
That wasn’t all.
Even after stuffing it with Despair’s cells and every injectable Hidden Trait, Extinction King Mork absorbed all that power like a limitless vessel.
It was even stronger than the Extinction King Mork used during the White Tiger Clan’s invasion in the past.
This truly was the pinnacle of evolution.
There could be no existence stronger than this.
“By the way.”
The Black King slowly approached the *Eye*.
It was unmistakably the Eye of Ruin.
Though only about halfway open, the reactions of Despair and Baal’s power left no room for doubt.
“…The Empire fools have always been idiots, past and present alike.”
The Old Empire had perished while trying to control the Four Calamities.
And the Arhon Empire had gone even further, attempting to create Ruin itself and rule it.
A fatal mistake.
Ruin was not a power that some fake vessel could contain.
The Golden Mask.
A being created from birth to imitate someone else.
No matter that it was born from the cells of the Doppelgänger Lord—could it truly imitate even *Ruin*?
Greed knew no bounds.
The power of Ruin belonged to one who had proven themselves—someone like him.
And yet…
*It was too easy.*
It had been destroyed with a single blow.
No matter how ultimate Extinction King Mork was, this was disappointingly hollow for something that had drawn upon Ruin’s power.
Was Ruin’s power really only this much?
If so, it was a letdown.
The Black King turned his gaze.
*That face… I’ve seen it somewhere before.*
A corpse lay collapsed there.
When he had first arrived, the Golden Mask had been gripping that druid’s neck.
They must have fought, weakening one another.
But druids were a race already extinct.
Ruin had not permitted their survival.
And yet… which druid could have been strong enough to contend with Ruin, even partially?
“…The Legendary Druid Albino?”
If anyone, it would be him.
The Legendary Druid Albino!
A being of the old age, whose name the Black Lion Clan still remembered.
Even to them, druids had been the most outstanding of races.
Those who transported the World Tree’s seeds and accelerated evolution—druids were the Black Lion Clan’s foremost subject of study.
Naturally, the Black King could not possibly be ignorant of Albino, the strongest among them.
The resemblance to the depictions in the records was striking.
*So that’s it.*
Now he understood why the Golden Mask had been so weakened.
Facing Albino, it must have gone all out.
It could never have anticipated that *he* would appear afterward.
Of course, even in perfect condition, it still wouldn’t have been able to handle him.
*Luck is on my side.*
Isn’t this fate as well?
As the saying goes, when one reaches the ultimate, all paths converge into one.
Everything seemed arranged solely for the Black King—his completion.
Shrugging his shoulders, he slowly approached the Eye.
The half-open Eye of Ruin stared back at him.
“I will become your true master, Ruin.”
The Black King slowly extended his hand toward the Eye of Ruin.
At that moment—
「%$@#$^$#%!@#$#@#%!」
“…Ghk!”
A voice burrowed into his ears.
The vibration was so intense that his brain ached, forcing the Black King to step back.
*That voice just now…?*
He frowned.
Though he hadn’t understood it immediately, the voice was unmistakably familiar.
“…You’re still alive?”
The voice grew louder.
And when he finally understood the words, the Black King felt his fur stand on end.
「I curse and resent you. Those who created me, the world, all of you. I will reduce everything to utter annihilation—your souls, your bodies, everything that dares exist!」
It was undeniably the Golden Mask’s voice.
A cry of anguish, declaring the destruction of the entire world.
Born as a fake, condemned to live forever as someone else—
The Golden Mask had resolved to erase everything except itself.
“A mere fake…!”
The Black King ground his teeth.
The Eye of Ruin was still choosing the Golden Mask.
Even with him standing right before it.
How foolish could it be?
*Crunch!*
The Black King sank his fangs into the Eye of Ruin.
He fixed it in place with his claws and, as he had always done, attempted to absorb the power of Ruin into his own body.
*Everything is struggle. And I have never lost a struggle!*
He forcibly absorbed Ruin’s cells.
Something he had done countless times before.
And then, the *door* opened.
All the Hidden Traits sleeping in the Black King’s blood—all the keys—finally reacted and began to open the gate.
Every key.
Every ounce of mana.
The power of the Four Calamities.
He used everything to suppress the Eye of Ruin.
“You are… mine!”
The Eye of Ruin, once closed, began to open further.
Control was shifting—to the Black King.
It was recognizing him, not the fake Golden Mask, but the Black King who had proven himself time and again over three hundred years, as Ruin’s rightful master.
That was when—
*Thud!*
“Ghk—?!”
Pain exploded from his neck.
With a death rattle, the Black King’s eyes flew wide as he looked at the one who had stabbed him.
“You… you…!”
Ah.
An assassin.
But hadn’t this one been acting for *his* completion?
No matter how careless he’d been, he hadn’t sensed a thing.
Even Extinction King Mork had failed to detect the movement.
*What… is this?*
Had he been waiting for this very moment?
Had he known this would happen?
The assassin’s eyes were cold.
Under normal circumstances, this ambush would have been impossible.
The assassin wouldn’t even have been able to approach.
Even if he had, piercing the Black King’s mana defenses would have been unthinkable.
But now—
As the Black King poured all his focus and mana into devouring the Eye of Ruin, this single instant was an exception.
“From… the very beginning…”
If he hadn’t devoured Lilith and Baal, he would never have come this far.
Coming here and coveting the Eye of Ruin—it had all been because of this man.
And yet… such a design made no sense.
There could be no assassin who strengthened their target just to kill them.
Unless it was all for this one moment alone.
*Cough!*
Mana ran rampant.
It was just a single wound, but that *gap* caused imbalance.
“Baek… Wang…!”
Even the White King’s presence—still not fully absorbed—interfered.
The body that had once been split evenly between black and white now turned white, with only the head darkening.
He was dying.
At this rate… he would die.
“N-no…!”
*Crack! Crack!*
The assassin moved the arm holding the blade.
And then—
*Thud!*
The Black King’s head fell.
His headless body collapsed alongside it.
“……”
The man—Salgwi—quietly picked up the fallen head and swiftly left the scene.
GROOOOOOO—!
Extinction King Mork, having lost its master, began to rampage.
And then—
*Craaaack!*
The Eye of Ruin, once closed, opened fully.
The keys the Black King possessed had finally forced the door open.
*
*
*Thud—!*
“…W-what is this?”
When Salgwi tossed the Black King’s head onto the floor, Hudson was left speechless as he stared at him.
Salgwi replied as if it were nothing.
“Didn’t I say I’d bring back the head?”
“You said you’d take the intruder’s head, but… the Black King…?”
Who could ever have imagined he’d bring back *the Black King’s* head?
RUMBLE!
The labyrinth shook.
More violently than ever before.
It was being destroyed.
“So it revived after all.”
Salgwi spoke bitterly, and Hudson asked,
“…Revived?”
“The one wearing the golden mask. A druid killed him, but he came back. Looks like he’s fighting that muscular monster this head was controlling.”
“The Reaper Cult is still—”
“I can’t kill those two monsters yet.”
The only way to kill the Black King.
Now able to see what was once invisible, Salgwi had endured, endured, waiting for the Black King to completely lower his guard.
But he had only managed to kill the Black King.
Extinction King Mork and the resurrected Golden Mask were beyond his reach.
They were too strong.
Creatures that could not be killed—even if slain.
The current Salgwi could not face them.
But in the end, only one would remain.
With the Black King dead, Extinction King Mork had begun to rampage.
If those two monsters joined forces, it would be truly catastrophic.
RUMBLE—!
*Though it’s already bad enough as it is.*
Half the labyrinth was already destroyed.
At this rate, this place would soon be overrun as well.
The mana was so overwhelming that even gods would hesitate to approach.
If left unchecked, the world would be destroyed.
Could Phantom really stop monsters like that?
Was Phantom truly that extraordinary?
Salgwi looked at Hudson, doubt in his eyes.
“Has Phantom awakened yet?”
“…No.”
“Tsk. Then I’ll have to help. This settles my debt.”
Clicking his tongue, Salgwi walked toward the *First Flame*.
Then he closed his eyes.
At this point, even Phantom’s survival seemed possible.
To be honest, if Phantom could do it, then so could he.
It might even be easier than expected.
*
*
RUMBLE!
The wall collapsed.
The wall of *Heaven*.
“Wow, it actually worked.”
After completing every lingering *survival quest*, I sprawled out on the ground.
Thanks to that, I finally understood what Wilhelm’s regret had been.
—Stay here, Your Highness. I’ll lure the soldiers away.
—D-don’t go. How am I supposed to stay alone in a place this dark?
—Endure for a few days. I’ll return. I promise!
Wilhelm wanted to save the old knight who died protecting him.
But for Wilhelm’s survival, that old knight had to die.
Honestly, even I couldn’t bring myself to try saving him.
Even after retrying, I couldn’t save the old knight.
I turned my head.
“Wilhelm. I’m sorry I couldn’t save him. There was just no way.”
“……”
I had finally noticed Wilhelm’s presence, silently watching me.
He had been by my side from the very beginning.
“But at least we know where he fell now, so let’s go build his grave together.”
I couldn’t save him.
But after countless struggles, I had at least discovered where the old knight died.
I could build his grave and pray for his rest.
I looked around.
Wilhelm wasn’t the only one here.
Everyone was together.
The twin goddesses, Randolph—
Even the Primal Heavenly Demon.
Whoosh!
As if bursting into flame, more beings began to appear.
…My avatars.
The people I had *kept alive*.
Seeing them, I smiled.
“Before that… we should probably finish building the house, right?”
Using the heavenly bricks piled on the ground, I completed the rest of the house.
But…
It still wasn’t enough.
Something was still missing.
Realizing what it was wasn’t difficult.
“…My regret.”
I had resolved everyone else’s regrets, but my own remained.
The Grand Expedition.
I could see everyone here challenging it to resolve my regret.
Scenes floating above their heads.
Yet they fell before even reaching the Demon King, unable to defeat even the Lords.
I quietly watched their expedition, hovering above them.
And without thinking, I muttered,
“You’re doing it wrong.”
Let him cook