Chapter 459. **A Monster Unlike Any Encountered Before**
—
It wasn’t like Satan, who had forced his way in.
There was an existence that appeared by *cutting apart* the absolute domain unfolded by Rundmal.
Rundmal had grown even stronger after devouring half of Apsellon’s rune.
It should have been impossible for anyone to sever a domain wielded by him.
And yet—
—Kyakakakaka!
*What… is that?*
Rundmal frowned.
Accompanied by a bizarre laugh, a tiny reaper floated through the air.
The moment it appeared, it began slicing apart Rundmal’s domain indiscriminately.
Before long, the entire domain was torn away, and even the two *red moons* vanished.
Yet Rundmal felt as though he had seen a similar being somewhere before.
“An spirit of souls… Why is something that should reside in the *Heavens* appearing here?”
That reaper was unmistakably an **spirit of Souls**.
A vessel meant to contain the power of the gods dwelling in the Heavens.
Why, then, was it here, shredding his domain to pieces?
Moreover, the very presence of an spirit of Souls meant—
“If the gods of the Heavens had entered this world, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed…”
“…My partner—she’s come to save me!”
At that moment, Satan, who had already finished regenerating, let out a cry filled with pure joy.
It was the first time anyone had seen Satan express such deep, earnest emotion.
And where Satan’s gaze landed—
*‘Satan’s partner?’*
There stood a woman.
Dressed similarly to Satan, yet unmistakably different.
A being that radiated an intensely cold aura.
Her hair, eyebrows, eyes, skin—everything about her was pure white.
Yet her presence was anything but faint.
“Winter! My other half!”
“Shut up.”
She was **Winter**.
She had obtained a new body.
But the process had not been smooth.
Unlike Satan, Winter had originally been a sword that did not evolve.
She possessed an ego, but it had never been as strong as Satan’s.
Normally, such a drastic evolution should have been impossible—but perhaps because she had undergone *resonance* with Satan, she had been newly completed.
Of course, Winter adamantly refused to acknowledge that fact.
“King Rundmal. This is as far as it goes. We don’t wish to destroy your world.”
Winter warned him.
Stop here.
Even now, turn back.
“And why should I?”
Rundmal shrugged.
The severing of his absolute domain and the appearance of beings similar to Satan were unexpected—but that didn’t mean he had any intention of stopping the war.
Yes. This *was* a war.
A large-scale war waged with entire worlds at stake.
Once a war had begun, it could not be stopped until a conclusion was reached.
And besides—
“You’re truly arrogant. Do you really believe that Satan, or you, can stop me?”
That attitude irritated him greatly.
It sounded as though they were implying that if he didn’t stop, Rundmal himself would die and his world would be destroyed.
But Rundmal had yet to reveal all of his power.
The strength he possessed was far greater than anything he had shown so far.
Winter spoke again.
“King Rundmal. I’m saying there’s still a way for this to end peacefully.”
“…Peacefully?”
“Victory or defeat doesn’t matter. I agree that your power is extraordinary. The issue is the *result* of a collision. Are you prepared to bear the consequences of that result?”
“And why should *you* be the ones worrying about that?”
“…Do you not love this world?”
Rundmal fell silent.
The world in which he had slept, grown, and lived.
When asked whether he loved it.
After a brief pause, he replied.
“There’s no reason to love it.”
He truly meant it.
He genuinely had no interest in the destruction of this world.
His obsession lay solely with advancing into another world.
**Pangaenia.**
That place was paradise on earth.
Unlike this world, it was land where life surged and overflowed.
Green, beautiful, and never stagnant.
The very energy of the world was different.
As he sifted through the memories of the Dwarven God, how deeply had he yearned for it?
In contrast, this world…
…had been wrong from the very beginning.
Born by chance, it became a playground for the Heavens.
“Do you not hate the Heavens?”
“I do.”
“Then there’s no need for us to fight—”
“More than that, I *desire* your world.”
“……”
Winter finally nodded.
She realized there was no reasoning with him.
No matter what she said from here on, Rundmal’s resolve would not waver.
A clash was inevitable.
Winter fixed her cold gaze on King Rundmal and declared,
“Then remain frozen—forever.”
That instant—
*Crack!*
Rundmal’s entire body froze solid.
That was only the beginning.
Soon, the unimaginably massive tower itself became encased in a colossal block of ice.
*
*
It was a magnificent sight.
King Rundmal’s tower, sealed within ice.
It was visible even from afar.
“King Rundmal’s kingdom is…!”
Baek’s eyes widened in shock.
All the dwarves were aghast.
Because something impossible had just occurred.
That massive tower—entirely frozen solid!
“Shouldn’t we attack now?!”
“Th-this is our chance! We have to rescue the captured dwarves!”
“Our god must be there as well…!”
The dwarves were in an uproar.
If the tower was frozen, then even King Rundmal couldn’t be unscathed.
Which meant that if they joined forces now, it might actually be possible to reclaim their *god*.
“We must contact every tunnel!”
“Elder! If it’s you, surely you can—!”
The dwarves looked to the old elder.
But the elder merely shook his head.
“We no longer have a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“No choice…?”
The elder let out a deep sigh.
“This war has already left our hands.”
The cause of all this—
Everything had begun when humans from Pangaenia appeared.
For countless years they had waged war, yet never once had they even reached the enemy’s heart.
Instead, they had been driven into hiding, defeated.
Then the elder’s gaze shifted to one side.
“Why… are you not moving?”
Respectfully.
But with a hint of fear.
He asked Phantom.
Phantom was quietly observing the scene.
He had performed the miracle of granting bodies to Satan and Winter, yet he himself remained still, as if waiting for something.
At last, Phantom spoke.
“I once fought against *Destruction*.”
“……?!”
“W-what do you mean by that…?!”
Shock filled the eyes of the elder and every dwarf present.
To fight Destruction—
They all knew what Destruction was.
After all, they had fled to this world to escape it.
“I won. But the damage was catastrophic.”
“……”
They were too stunned to speak.
He *won*?
The Destruction they knew was the one that had invaded Pangaenia in its early days.
But the Destruction Phantom referred to meant *Annihilation*.
*Then… the reason Pangaenia still exists…*
*Good heavens. Did he drive that Destruction away?*
*Something even the gods of the Divine Hall couldn’t do?*
Baek trembled violently.
Memories surfaced—of how he had provoked Phantom when he first arrived in the tunnels.
Even later, when he had gone underground intending to gift a Gigant, hadn’t he spoken aggressively to him then as well?
*W-what have I done…?!*
They had nearly all been wiped out.
Only now did Baek realize the magnitude of his mistake.
His face turned deathly pale.
Phantom continued.
“It’s the same here. If King Rundmal and I collide, this world won’t remain intact either.”
At that moment—
*Crack!*
The ice encasing the tower began to split.
Then—
*Goooooo—!*
Three red suns rose around the tower, melting the ice.
Watching that sight, Phantom spoke bitterly.
“…It seems he’s thrown away even his last chance.”
*
*
I had once clashed with Annihilation.
Though I won, I lost many things.
The legendary druid Albino died, and although it was restored, the Labyrinth was never the same again.
Several regions of Pangaenia vanished, and everyone narrowly escaped death.
Had I been even a little late, the damage would have been irreversible.
*King Rundmal is a monster even worse than Annihilation.*
I acknowledged it.
The mana Rundmal possessed was not inferior to Annihilation’s.
It was destructive and overwhelming.
Perhaps it was even greater.
If we collided, upheaval in this world would be inevitable.
It might even be destroyed outright.
But the knights of this world fundamentally opposed the *Heavens*.
If we shared the same enemy, I thought giving them a chance wouldn’t hurt.
*Was I wrong?*
I knew it, really.
That King Rundmal would never accept my proposal.
Still, I didn’t want to ruin the world Satan loved.
If Rundmal had felt the same, I believed compromise was possible—but it seemed I was mistaken.
Even though my intent had been conveyed through Winter.
To them, I was an outsider.
I had no intention of denying the way they lived—but if even a peaceful solution was rejected—
…then I had no choice but to accept it.
Moreover—
*There isn’t much time.*
A being similar to Rundmal had already headed for Pangaenia.
I had sensed the dimensional distortion that occurred when someone crossed through a gate.
“Phantom. What should we do?”
The elder asked.
He seemed to have grasped, at least in part, what was about to happen.
I glanced around and answered briefly.
“Hide as deep as possible, somewhere safe. Spread the word to the dwarves in the other tunnels as well.”
“…Understood.”
“Do not come outside under any circumstances.”
“We will remember.”
The warning was complete.
I turned my gaze back to the tower.
All the ice had already melted.
And in the sky, four red suns now hung.
*O end.*
I had summoned the end.
If they desired war—
I was more than willing to answer.
*
*
“……”
Satan looked up at the sky.
Winter—and every living being in the world—
instinctively sensed the *appearance of something that should not exist*.
“Damn it…”
Satan muttered bitterly.
There was no turning back now.
That thing was like a phenomenon—once it revealed itself, it had to reach a conclusion.
Even King Rundmal, having shattered the ice, looked up at the sky.
Above him, only his own suns still floated.
There was no obvious change.
But—
Something was approaching.
An extremely ominous presence was drawing near.
His muscles, his cells, his *runes*—all of them were screaming warnings.
A kind of monster he had never encountered before was appearing.
Only then did Rundmal begin to understand what Satan and Winter had been trying to tell him.
And yet—
*Grin.*
“So that’s the one you believed in.”
Rundmal smiled.
Because the thought of devouring the *rune* of such a monster filled him with anticipation.
Soon after—
“Destruction! You are Destruction!”
Having identified his opponent, King Rundmal shouted with absolute certainty.
