Chapter 125. Ruler of the Abyss
“Ooooh!”
“It’s awakening!”
“The god is awakening!”
Emaciated figures.
Countless gaunt bodies muttered excitedly about the birth of the “black egg.”
From the beginning, opinions over the “black egg” had been divided.
Was it Baal’s evolved form? Or the god that had slain Baal?
No one knew what would burst out once it hatched.
But there was one thing every single one of them had in common: they all knelt before the “black egg” and “prayed.”
“Please! Please!”
“Save us!”
“We beg you, we beg you…!”
Whatever it was—please, please take them out of here.
Those trapped in the abyss for over a month were desperate.
Dragged here without warning, spending every moment fearing death.
If Gracia hadn’t been controlling them with overwhelming force, this place would have already become a living hell.
They would’ve torn each other apart, killed, devoured one another.
Already, the “black egg” had become an object of Revere for hundreds of thousands.
They believed—utterly—that only that egg could save them.
Tens of thousands of starving, broken fanatics sat around the egg, hands clasped.
Hunger and despair had twisted them into this.
Even Gracia couldn’t stop this wave of madness.
“Sir Gracia. Will a being from the ‘deeper abyss’ come out?”
At a player’s question, Gracia shook his head.
“Whatever it is… we have only one duty. Protect the people.”
Sixty thousand lives rested on their hands—no exaggeration.
Gracia took a deep breath.
And then—
‘Heavenly Sword.’
A thousand swords floated in the air, forming a ring around the black egg.
If the awakening being turned out to be Baal, he would attack instantly.
Chijik. Chijijik!
Blue sword energy surged from the thousand blades.
At the same time, lightning-like radiance flickered in Gracia’s eyes.
It was his strongest skill, Heavenly Punishment.
A devastating technique that struck the target with a thousand bolts of lightning, erasing them utterly.
Chwarreuk!
Chwarereureuk!
A single use consumed all Mana and Stamina.
The preparation time was long, and after using it, he wouldn’t be able to move for nearly a week.
That was why he almost never used this final secret art.
“…Is that the ‘Heavenly Punishment Mode’?”
“I’ve only heard rumors… I can’t believe I’m seeing it.”
“No one’s ever survived that attack…”
The so-called “Heavenly Punishment Mode.”
Players stared in awe, unable to take their eyes off him.
Even when he fought Baal, he hadn’t shown this form.
But unlike their amazement, Gracia was more nervous than ever.
His sweat evaporated the moment it formed, but he was sweating like mad from pure tension.
“Everyone! It’s dangerous to get close! Move back as far as possible!”
Even now, someone was tending to the civilians.
A beautiful woman.
The Pure White Knight, Serengeti.
She alone remained perfectly composed, unwavering.
Even though the goat-masked companion she fought with had surely died inside that cocoon.
‘Beautiful.’
Whenever Gracia felt like he was collapsing, he looked at her.
Her steadfast resolve helped him regain his mind.
He couldn’t understand this feeling.
Could this be love?
But she was a being of Pangaenia.
A love that could never be realized.
So just watching her from afar was enough.
Jjeojeojjeok!
“Ah…!”
“It’s cracking…!!”
The cracks spreading across the egg deepened.
Everyone stopped speaking at once.
In total silence, they watched the black egg hatch.
And then—
Sssssssssss—
Smoke poured out of the egg.
The smoke soon formed a shape—like a black ghost.
A ghost. No… that was—
“A reaper…”
There was no mistake.
A reaper.
The same reaper that had chased Gracia to the ends of the earth, robbing him of even his youth.
But something was wrong.
It didn’t look quite like the reapers he had seen until now.
“W-What is that?”
“A ghost? A floating spirit?”
“Isn’t that a grim reaper?”
“It’s holding a scythe, can’t you see?”
People whispered.
…That was the first strange thing.
Normally, reapers were visible only to the “chosen ones.”
Others could not see the reapers that had chased Gracia.
And its face—
“…Its face looks a bit like Baal, doesn’t it?”
“And those wings…”
…Indeed.
It had the shape of a reaper, but its face resembled Baal’s.
And among the three wings spreading from its back, one was identical to Baal’s.
Then was that the being from the “deeper abyss”?
Gracia slowly raised his hand.
Then the being opened its mouth.
—Kya.
…Kya?
What?
—Kyakyakyakya!
The reaper laughed cheerfully and swung its scythe.
Thinking it was an attack, Gracia tried to counter—but—
The reaper swung not at him, but at empty air.
‘A swing at nothing? Why?’
Soon, Gracia—and everyone—understood.
Shiiik!
Jjeojeok!
A loud impact.
Then the sound of a hard outer wall breaking.
Kurururung!
…Far away, the “wall” of the abyss was collapsing.
Impossible.
That wall had never budged no matter how desperately they attacked it.
The invisible barrier at the abyss’s edge.
Now it was crumbling, revealing a space beyond.
And beyond that space—another abyss.
“W-What… what is that.”
“No… no way…”
“A-Ahhh…”
People froze in terror.
Of course they would.
Even Gracia and the players were struck speechless.
Beyond the space—above the void—
The “eyes” of countless abyssal monsters stared at them.
‘…Those eyes are all abyss rulers.’
Only then did Gracia realize.
The rulers of the abyss—had been watching them from the very beginning.
For reasons unknown.
And each abyss ruler was a monstrous being of immense power.
Even Baal was just one ruler among them.
But their number—
…the number of “eyes” was overwhelming.
If all of those were abyss rulers—
What in the world existed inside the abyss?
Why were they watching?
And how had that reaper sliced the abyssal barrier?
Ziiing.
Ziiiiing.
Ziiiiiiiing.
It happened then.
Before anyone could process their confusion.
At everyone’s feet, countless “warps” began to appear.
One per person.
Over six hundred thousand warps.
“W-What is this?”
“It’s the same as when we were summoned!”
“A warp! It’s a warp!”
“We’re going back? Can we go back?!”
“The reaper of the ‘black egg’ is sending us home!”
“Thank you, thank you!”
“Long live the black egg’s reaper!!!”
The people erupted in hysteria.
It was the same type of warp that had kidnapped them and dragged them here.
And now it appeared again—forcing them back through.
People began to vanish rapidly.
They slid into the warp as if being pulled in.
Jjeojeok!
…the egg was clearly still hatching.
‘I must confirm it.’
What it was.
What existed inside.
The “reaper” that broke the barrier was just an accessory.
The True body had not even emerged yet.
Gracia soared upward, avoiding the warps.
‘I must confirm it no matter what.’
Instinct told him—
Only by confirming what emerges from that egg can he know humanity’s future.
Whether it is enemy or ally—or what it even looks like.
Ziiiiing!
But the warps relentlessly chased him.
Ziiing! Ziiiing!
More and more warps generated, trying to forcibly transport him.
Gracia bit his lip, dodging with everything he had, trying to witness the black egg’s hatching to the end.
There were no people left.
All six hundred thousand had already been transported away.
Only Gracia remained.
And then—
Jjeojeojeok!
At last, the egg fully shattered.
‘I’ve seen that form before…!’
Gracia’s eyes widened at the being that emerged.
But that was the end.
At the same moment, Gracia stepped onto a warp—and fell.
***
“……”
He straightened from the curled position.
Standing upright, pushing strength into his lower body, he rose.
He spread his fingers, rotated his shoulders and neck, checking for abnormalities.
“It seems my body is fine.”
—Kyakyakyak!
Hel laughed.
Its massive form as a reaper had vanished, replaced by its smaller appearance as it circled around me.
At least my body was normal.
…I clearly died, yet I lived again.
‘Eternal Randolph.’
When Eternal Randolph activated, the “Thirteen Hidden Traits” awakened from the “Ashes of Death.”
Then, after devouring Baal and subduing the Fragment of Ruin, my body reassembled.
On the outside, I still looked like Randolph.
No major external changes.
‘I am me. I have not become someone else.’
My soul, my mind—intact.
But undeniably, I had changed.
I had grown.
……Perhaps even evolved.
‘Status window.’
The window that showed my transformation most directly.
I opened it.
<Status Window>
Name: Randolph
Class: Successor of Stars
Class: Supreme Sword of Stars
<Stats>
Level: 8
Strength: 117 (102 + 15)
Stamina : 115 (100+15)
Agility : 116 (101+15)
Intelligence : 115 (100+15)
star power : 128 (113+15)
<Additional Stats>
Natural Regeneration : 315%
Total Penetration : 12.8%
Curse Penetration : 15%
Curse Reflection : 30%
Curse Duration Increase : 30%
<Special Notes>
1 : Possesses ‘Successor of Stars - 3 Stars (all stats +15)’
2 : The ‘Transcended Baal Set’ has fused with the body, granting related additional stats. You may now equip new gear on the corresponding slots again.
3 : Pure stats have been adjusted by the effect of ‘eternal Randolph’.
4 : Possesses ‘Baal’s Core (Fragment of Ruin)’ in the heart.
5 : With the ‘King of Dead’ skill, Strength (+2) and Agility (+1), star power (+3) are currently increased.
······
‘······ incredible.’
Sweeping through the endless stream of spears without missing a single one, I simply admired it.
I never imagined I’d fuse Baset and extract only the sweet, honey-like options.
And now, all pure stats have surpassed 100.
The hidden trait ‘eternal Randolph’ had applied its correction to the stats.
Among them, the reason star power is about 10 higher than the others is because the Baal Set’s ‘Mana +10’ option was converted into a pure stat.
‘No one would believe these are the stats of level 8.’
Even I couldn’t believe it.
Just by stats alone, it was nearly at the level of a 2-Star transcendence.
Equipment that raises stats is rare, and even then, its numbers are usually negligible.
They don’t stack either, so trying to drastically increase stats through so-called ‘gear power’ is not easy.
And yet, I still hadn’t equipped anything.
‘······ the Baal Set fused, and now I can equip new gear again.’
This is the truly insane part.
After all this growth, I still have room to grow.
Just equipping gear would make me even stronger.
–Kyaaaaa!
It was then.
······ Hel began threatening like a cat.
Staring off into the distance.
I also turned my head.
Countless ‘eyes’ protruding above the black space.
Among those eyes, some looked strangely familiar.
Like the enormous ones that seemed to belong to the God-Skinned Hybrid.
I knew exactly why they were watching this place.
‘Baal’s Core. More precisely, the Fragment of Ruin.’
They were staring intently at the Fragment of Ruin inside my heart.
They had been doing so from the beginning.
Also—
‘The Fragment of Ruin is a star.’
A newly discovered truth: the Fragment of Ruin was, in fact, a ‘star’.
Originally, the stars I possessed as a Successor of Stars were two.
But suddenly, they became three.
The Successor of Stars class recognized the Fragment of Ruin as a ‘star’.
‘Stars are shattered fragments of a god’s flesh.
Then the Fragment of Ruin is… the flesh of the God of Ruin?’
I stroked my chin lightly.
Then I let out a small laugh.
“You lot want to see it too?”
The reason the rulers of the abyss were staring at the ‘Fragment of Ruin’.
Maybe they were curious as well.
So, I decided to show them.
Because I was also curious.
《Glutton activates!》
《‘Baal’s Core (Fragment of Ruin)’ manifests!》
Shraaaak!
My body began to transform.
《The ‘Glutton’ trait has evolved into ‘One Who Kindles Darkness’.》
A completely different, far more complete form than the corpse crow.
At the same time—
Cheoeok. Cheoeoek.
The rulers of the abyss widened their pupils, welcoming the ‘One Who Kindles Darkness’.
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