Chapter 458. **Appearance**
—
*Thud!*
Dietrich stabbed the **rune** of the slain Guardian Knight Avalon with the Holy Guardian Sword.
*Bzzzz—!*
The Holy Guardian Sword began to tremble violently as it absorbed Avalon’s rune.
Satan had decapitated him in a single strike, but that was only because Satan’s combat power was utterly beyond imagination. True to his title, Avalon himself had been a warrior who stood at the very pinnacle of this world.
The moment that rune was absorbed in full, the Holy Guardian Sword began to change.
*It works.*
The grip felt far more secure in his hand.
Thread-thin tendrils extended from the hilt, wrapping around Dietrich’s palm.
In an instant, the sword felt as light as air, and the way to wield it unfolded naturally in his mind.
“…So that’s the ‘key’ I’ve only heard about.”
Guardian Knight Andro murmured in admiration as he watched.
The Holy Guardian Sword Dietrich held—
It was a blade of such caliber that it could serve as a key connecting worlds.
And it wasn’t limited to that function alone. The sword’s very rank was incomparable to the ordinary *Gigants* forged by the dwarves.
Even so, it too was a kind of *Gigant*.
A sword designed to devour runes and evolve.
“Arankal… that’s your name.”
Dietrich spoke softly.
At last, he had heard the Holy Sword’s name.
It meant the sword’s ego had fully awakened and acknowledged him.
Arankal had been starving for a long time.
Unable to consume runes, it had grown weak.
But by devouring the rune of a Guardian Knight, it had recovered a portion of its strength.
“There’s a limit to how much I can protect you. Wouldn’t it be better to flee, even now?”
At that moment, Guardian Knight Andro asked.
Rundmal, Apsellon, and Satan had stepped into a *special domain* and vanished.
With just the two of them, they couldn’t handle the endless stream of knights descending the tower.
“…I’ll rescue the imprisoned dwarves.”
“……You’ve lost your mind.”
Andro truly felt like he was going insane.
What he was doing now was no different from outright betraying King Rundmal.
In fact—
“Andro! You dare join hands with dwarves while bearing the title of Guardian Knight?!”
“You disgrace the honor of the Guardian Knights!”
Knights appeared, spewing such accusations.
Andro let out a sigh.
This wasn’t betrayal.
King Rundmal had changed—he no longer regarded runes as sacred.
Above all…
Andro wanted to protect this world.
He believed the world he belonged to was beautiful beyond measure.
“Do you truly think so as well? That this world is beyond saving?”
“A traitor babbling nonsense!”
“Die!”
In an instant, the knights surrounded the two of them.
Andro hesitated.
There was no camaraderie left.
But Andro *thought*.
After meeting Satan, after encountering *Phantom*, he had, for the first time in his life, begun to question things.
*Why am I following King Rundmal?*
Andro was a *rune worshipper*.
Because he had inherited the power of runes accumulated through generations—his father, his grandfather, his entire lineage—he believed runes themselves were sacred.
His family had served King Rundmal, so he had followed without question.
But King Rundmal intended to abandon this world.
Worse still, he regarded runes as nothing more than stepping stones for his own selfish desires.
*Why…?*
Andro had never asked himself such questions before.
But he had heard it.
—The ‘mana combustion’ phenomenon passed down in your family is a curse placed by Rundmal himself. He must have wondered what would happen if powerful knights kept inheriting runes generation after generation.
If that were true—
It was nothing short of mockery.
His parents. His entire lineage. Deceived for generations.
Yet there was one doubt.
Hadn’t King Rundmal personally cut his umbilical cord and removed the curse?
—He probably never imagined I could burn away a curse itself. That fool always had a screw loose.
Andro had thought Satan was lying.
But Satan had no reason to lie.
If he wished, Satan could erase someone like Andro without effort.
—You’re like me, Andro. You love this world. Because of Rundmal’s curse, your family could only live fifty years at a time. That’s why you understood better than anyone the value of life, of runes, and the beauty of this world.
It was true.
Andro’s father had always told him—
Treasure your time.
In this world, beings who devoured runes and evolved could live indefinitely.
They didn’t understand the value of time.
They had forgotten the beauty of life, of runes, of the world itself.
—Andro. Do you want to run away from this world too?
—A desolate land, a scorching sun, lives that have lost compassion, slaves to the craving for runes… nothing here is truly right. Truth be told, everyone wants to escape.
—But I like it here.
Satan had said that with a grin.
Reckless, flippant in speech—but his feelings were genuine.
That steadfastness was what had made him the *Guardian of the World*.
Andro acknowledged Satan.
And Andro finally faced reality.
“Haaah!”
With a rough battle cry, Dietrich swung his sword.
It was faster than ever before, and he didn’t even blink as the blade approached.
Andro bit his lip.
Were all humans from Pangaenia like this?
*Damn it.*
*Flap!*
Guardian Knight Andro spread his wings.
Then—
“If you don’t want to die, don’t stand in my way.”
He had made his decision.
…To defect.
*
*
The moment King Lemegheton crossed the gate and appeared in Pangaenia,
countless *Shadow Knights* began attacking in every direction.
Their range wasn’t limited to the land of Pangaenia alone.
They could go anywhere.
Wherever shadows existed—and wherever land was connected to Pangaenia—they appeared.
“What are these things?”
Even in the northern lands ruled by the White King.
“Stop them! Don’t let even one through!”
Along the borders neighboring the Empire.
“So foul… such repulsive things.”
In the Primordial Forest, where Auril had ascended as queen.
And—
“…A shadow legion that can freely traverse the Abyss. Fascinating. Highly valuable for research.”
Even within the Abyss.
The Abyssal monsters, in particular, showed intense curiosity toward the Shadow Knights’ appearance.
Many Abyssal Kings—and beings perfected as the Abyss itself—began to take interest not only in the Shadow Knights, but in *Lemegheton*, who had created them.
They realized that different *rules* were being applied than those of Pangaenia.
However, they couldn’t leave the Abyss freely.
Only those whose *Abyssal Zones* had risen into the sky truly could.
“Riley. If we absorb those shadows, we can leave this place.”
Among them… there were those as well.
The great heroes once known as the *Sixfold*.
And the one called Riley.
Riley, who bore the form of a colossal Supreme Dragon, gazed toward the Pangaenia continent floating far above in the sky.
Trapped in the Abyss, drifting through eons with a faded sense of self, his eyes had turned ashen gray.
Though his soul had been split in two.
“…Randolph.”
That name alone remained etched within him.
The half of his soul that had vanished had begun, at some point, to stir him again.
The half summoned from the Abyssal Labyrinth had fused the existence of the Supreme Dragon and Riley into one.
Yet… the original Riley, still trapped in the Abyss, remained faint.
Aside from the name *Randolph*, only an inexplicable rage lingered.
“That Shadow Lord has given us freedom.”
“All Abyssal beings whose zones rose into the sky will begin to move.”
“Are you planning to stay idle again, like last time?”
The cursed Sixfold heroes spoke.
The Shadow Lord—Lemegheton.
He had sent Shadow Knights to every Abyssal Zone.
By absorbing those Shadow Knights, one no longer needed to remain trapped within an Abyssal Zone.
Because shadows existed under entirely different rules of the world, what had once been impossible became possible.
Yet before, they had not moved.
Even when the Heavenly Demon and the Abyssal Kings moved to hunt the Spirit Kings.
Because the final decision always rested with Sword Saint Riley.
*Rumble.*
Riley took one step toward the continent and spoke.
“…Ran. Dol. Ph.”
*
*
Satan rubbed his eyes.
Or rather—he tried to.
There was nothing to touch.
“Ha! I finally got myself a body!”
His eyes had melted away.
Melted by the overwhelming mana of King Rundmal.
When Rundmal swung a blade forged from the red sun itself, merely colliding with it was enough to overwhelm a physical body.
But that didn’t mean Satan couldn’t see.
Even without eyes, he could see.
Even without skin, he could feel.
“Persistent as ever, Satan. What made someone as unambitious as you stake his life like this?”
“Your mom, bastard.”
“……”
“I actually met your mother once, you know. She even asked me to take good care of you…”
“Shut up.”
“So really—she’d be thrilled to see you like this, wouldn’t she?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“The one who’s lost it is you, you idiot. What the hell was lacking? We were all pretty close, weren’t we?”
“Nonsense. We were enemies.”
“They say even hatred turns into affection over time. We fought for over ten thousand years—shouldn’t something stick?”
“Looks like I’ll have to melt that mouth and tongue of yours too.”
“…Honestly, I’ve never had a friend like you, kid.”
Satan swallowed.
He joked, but Rundmal had grown strong beyond common sense.
Even having devoured half of Apsellon’s rune, this was on an entirely different scale.
“The Heavens didn’t just leave a door behind—they smeared honey all over you too. You’re the real traitor. Filthy bastard.”
*Spit!*
Satan spat and kicked off the ground.
Space compressed, and he closed the distance to Rundmal in an instant.
*Hot!*
Rundmal was like the sun itself.
Just approaching him was enough to melt flesh.
But Satan circulated mana through his entire body.
Layer upon layer of mana stacked, and he grabbed Rundmal by the throat.
*KWA—AANG!*
Rundmal’s neck exploded.
Satan could rupture anything he touched.
The ability was terrifying—
“Che.”
He clicked his tongue.
Rundmal’s shattered neck regenerated instantly.
*Slash!*
At the same time, Satan’s body was cut apart.
His body split in half and reattached in an instant, but he could feel his mana roiling.
Ignoring it, Satan struck Rundmal’s chest again.
*Boom! Boom! Kwarurung!*
Explode. Regenerate. Explode. Regenerate.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
Conversely, Satan’s body was continuously severed by the red sun sword.
A brutally simple fight.
No technique. No form.
Just a contest of whose mana and regeneration would run out first.
But Satan felt danger.
*My mana is being consumed faster.*
At this rate, he would die first.
Yet once started, he couldn’t stop.
*You insane bastard…!*
Satan clenched his teeth.
His regeneration was slowing, little by little.
Rundmal, meanwhile, showed no change at all.
Proof that his mana already far surpassed Satan’s.
Defeat was inevitable.
As regeneration slowed, his body was cut apart before it could recover.
He couldn’t even attack anymore.
Sliced into countless pieces, death was imminent.
*Whooooom!*
That was when—
“Hm?”
Rundmal, who had been fighting Satan with ease, stepped back.
His domain was shaking.
Someone had forcibly carved away a portion of it.
Moments later, seeing the new figure that appeared within his domain, Rundmal tilted his head.
“…Who are you?”
