Chapter 460. **Declaration**
—
Long, long ago.
An immeasurable age before the present.
The Three Kings and Satan were destined—by the **Heavens**—to become **Destruction**.
This endlessly evolving world had been the Heavens’ laboratory, and their goal here was to create **Destruction**.
But they failed.
From the outset—**Destruction** is an existence born by attaining a transcendent soul and rank, one that has pierced through **Truth**.
Yet the kings of this world, even if their raw power reached the level of Destruction, could never become Destruction in the truest sense.
The power they possessed was nothing more than forced evolution through runes.
It was not a rank they had built with their own hands.
No different from an incomplete, defective product.
Thus, the Heavens created **Satan**.
They designed him to evolve by consuming only the bare minimum of runes.
Even so, it failed.
In the end, the Heavens concluded that **Destruction** could not be created in this world.
Seizing that opportunity, they succeeded in closing the Gate of the Heavens.
*I hate the Heavens.*
King Rundmal’s body trembled.
He despised the Heavens beyond measure.
But more than that—
*…I hate Destruction.*
He felt revulsion toward the very concept of Destruction.
Because the Heavens had initiated countless experiments to turn them into Destruction.
They dissected their bodies and runes, reassembled them endlessly, and injected all manner of foreign substances, subjecting them to pain that lasted for eternity.
Even now—after an incalculable span of time—Rundmal still felt that pain as vividly as ever.
And he was not alone.
Lemegheton, Apsellon, even Satan—
All of them lived while carrying suffering that was impossible to endure.
To end that pain, they believed they had to escape this world.
They thought that only by conquering Pangaenia, ruling it, and becoming gods could they break free.
And then—
Another solution arrived of its own accord.
“If I eat you, I won’t feel this pain anymore.”
To devour Destruction.
And thereby attain a rank **beyond** Destruction!
The ultimate way to heal the wounds the Heavens had torn open.
Though this was an enemy unlike any he had ever faced, King Rundmal did not worry.
So much time had passed.
He now possessed power incomparable to what he had when the Gate of the Heavens was closed.
And on top of that, he had consumed half of Apsellon’s rune…
Even if this were a *true* Destruction, there was no reason to retreat.
King Rundmal slowly raised his gaze to the sky.
**Destruction** had already drawn near.
He clasped his hands together.
The *two mouths* embedded in his palms began greedily devouring one another.
Before long, Rundmal’s body began to vanish.
“World, burn.”
When his arms, torso, legs—finally even his head—were consumed, Rundmal activated his final authority.
At the same time—
“…You insane bastard! You really went through with it!”
Satan cried out in shock.
Instinctively, he understood that even raising countless red suns in the sky could not compare to the Destruction that had now appeared.
Thus, through the mouths in his hands—those that *devour mana and return it as multiplied force*—Rundmal fed upon himself and turned the world itself into a **red sun**.
*Goooooo—!*
The world burned.
It drained the **mana** of every being that existed upon it.
“Stop this right now, Rundmal! Do you even know what you’re doing?!”
Rundmal was devouring the world.
He was consuming every **rune** that existed upon it.
Because he had turned the world itself into his **domain**.
“When did you start this? From when?! With the authority you had, creating a domain of this scale should’ve been impossible!”
Satan could not comprehend Rundmal’s actions.
No matter how much hatred one bore, how could one even think of destroying their own world?
To create an **area** of this magnitude, one would have had to prepare for an incredibly long time—resolving from the start to annihilate the world itself.
—From the very beginning, Satan.
A voice echoed across the entire world.
It was King Rundmal’s voice.
“What?”
—Ever since we closed the Gate, I have waited for this day. For the day the Heavens would open it themselves and send **Destruction**.
“Why? Why would you do that?”
—Do you not understand? Destruction is created as an *agent* of the **Primordial God**. It is a key—a standard by which worlds are measured. By devouring Destruction, one can be completed as a more perfect god.
“…That’s the first I’ve heard of it. That Destruction is created as an agent of the Primordial God. Who told you that?”
—I saw it within **Truth**. And then I thought—if I devoured Destruction, I could become this world’s **Primordial God**.
“A Primordial God who burns the world? That’s not a god—that’s a god of destruction.”
—I will reign at the pinnacle of Pangaenia. From the start, I held no attachment to this world.
“Damn you.”
—I lacked the mana to unfold the domain. By devouring Apsellon’s rune, I was finally able to complete it. This **absolute domain**—the unification of the world!
“……”
—Satan. That Destruction is something the Heavens sent to stop *me*.
Satan’s face twisted.
They were completely misaligned.
Their paths had diverged beyond reconciliation.
Which meant Rundmal had been waiting for Destruction to appear from the very beginning.
He had been certain that one day, Destruction would manifest in this world.
Once this domain was completed and the power of the world absorbed, even the Heavens would be unable to disregard him.
“Ah… so this is the power that encompasses a world.”
King Rundmal’s body regenerated.
But the density of mana radiating from him was incomparable to before.
He slowly lifted his gaze skyward.
Destruction now loomed directly above him.
“Destruction! Can you oppose me—who has gathered the world’s power into one?”
Mana poured in endlessly from across the world.
An unshakable confidence.
The thought of defeat did not even occur to him.
“…Alright. I’ll stop trying to persuade you.”
Satan let out a sigh.
Up until now, Satan had done everything he could to convince Rundmal.
Winter had done the same.
But now that he understood Rundmal’s true intentions—now that he knew persuasion would never work—
Only one option remained: resolution through force.
Satan shouted toward Destruction.
“You win, Phantom! Do whatever you want!”
*Shooo—!*
In an instant, Satan reverted to his form as the **Demonic Sword**.
Winter did the same.
Returning to the shape of a sword, she flew toward **Phantom**.
Phantom grasped both of them in his hands.
The extreme heat that destroyed everything and the absolute cold that froze all things fused together, enveloping Phantom’s entire body.
“Oh?”
Watching this, King Rundmal smiled.
So that was it—returning to the form of a demonic sword and siding with Destruction?
Even as a demonic sword, Satan had never been his match.
Even if wielded by Destruction, what difference would that make?
And that **Winter**—she hadn’t even been able to confine him.
“I’ll give you the first move, Destruction.”
He spoke leisurely.
After all, he was now supplied with infinite mana from the world itself—
Runes numbering in the tens, even hundreds of billions.
Then—
*Flash!*
Phantom’s divine form vanished.
*Slash!*
By the time Rundmal realized it, his head had already been severed.
*Thud—!*
The severed head rolled across the ground.
It did not regenerate.
However—
“Is that all?”
Right beside it, another body of Rundmal regenerated.
Rundmal sneered.
“You can only kill me by destroying the world, Destruction.”
“…That seems to be the case.”
Phantom replied flatly.
A physical body no longer meant anything to Rundmal.
He had merged with the world itself.
Receiving infinite mana from across it, he could never die.
“Now it’s my turn, Destruction.”
Rundmal clapped his hands once toward Phantom, who stood nearby.
*Whiiiiiing—!*
*BOOOOOM—!*
The ground shook as a colossal explosion erupted centered on Phantom.
A vast amount of mana had been compressed and detonated all at once.
In an instant, a mushroom cloud rose and a massive vortex tore through the air.
The destructive power was enough to erase an entire kingdom.
“You’re not giving up from something like that, are you?”
Rundmal felt disappointed.
Even if he had become omnipotent, wasn’t this still Destruction?
He had hoped for at least a little entertainment—but even that was denied him.
Then—
“…Hm?”
Rundmal tilted his head.
The black storm clouds and typhoon suddenly subsided.
*Step. Step.*
And from within, something walked out.
It looked like Phantom—yet felt far more alien.
Rundmal frowned and unleashed divine lightning.
Bolts poured from his hand, striking Phantom again and again, filling the sky with dark clouds.
And yet—
*It doesn’t reach?*
The mana—was not connecting.
None of the attacks were landing.
“Explode. Disappear!”
It didn’t matter.
Rundmal’s mana was infinite.
No matter how much the enemy defended against his attacks, they would eventually reach their limit.
There was no such thing as blocking attacks forever.
*Boom! Boom! BOOOOOM!*
The world shook.
Countless underground layers were exposed as the world was torn apart.
It seemed there could be no being free from this onslaught.
And yet—
“You’re enduring infinite mana?”
How was that possible?
Was sheer quantity not enough to overwhelm him?
But Rundmal had cultivated the *quality* of his mana for countless ages.
It wasn’t merely vast—it was refined.
“…Sword.”
Rundmal’s expression grew solemn.
He realized that simply pouring mana onto the enemy would not kill him.
He summoned his greatest authority—the **Red Sun Sword**.
The blade that cleaved all existence.
Leaping forward with it in hand, he aimed for Phantom’s head.
*KRAAAAAANG—!*
Mana roared from the blade’s edge.
Phantom raised Satan and Winter.
*There’s no way to block that—!*
…There shouldn’t be.
When sword met sword, mana evaporated.
There was no explosion—no impact at all.
Why?
Why was infinite mana ineffective?
Only then did Rundmal notice something surrounding Phantom.
Instinctively, he widened the distance between them.
Because he realized what he was seeing.
“What… what is that around you?”
That thing was cutting off Rundmal’s mana at its source.
It was the worst possible existence—one that devoured *everything*.
If Rundmal devoured the world to use its power—
Then *that* would—
“Thank you for relieving me of my final doubt, Rundmal.”
Destruction spoke.
No—only then did Destruction finally reveal its true nature.
*Whooom—!*
A colossal shadow fell across his entire body.
The shadow spread rapidly, blanketing the world.
The aura of Destruction.
And not just any Destruction—
“I hereby declare the **End** upon this world.”
*RUMBLE!*
《**‘The End’ has been declared.**》
《**‘The Tower of the End’ rises.**》
《**No being can escape the ‘End’.**》
