#262
The King of Madness (1)
A shadow of ordinary stature and a white giant the size of a 15-story building.
Even the expression “David and Goliath” fell woefully short.
The difference in scale was so vast that anyone would likely predict the giant’s superiority, but…
Seeing the two of them in this place would naturally change that perspective.
Gooohhh…
And it made sense.
The black energy bursting forth from the small stature pushed back the giant’s pressure, enveloping the world.
It was impossible not to have such thoughts.
That was overwhelming violence that the living could not resist.
The very death of the world itself.
‘Ah, this feels incredible.’
The center of this sprawling black aura.
In the middle of it all, Hans proudly raised his head, feeling a satisfaction greater than ever from the abundant power.
In fact, since becoming the Undead King, he had rarely fought satisfactorily.
The clash with the Head of the Buncheon Society in Japan was the closest thing to a proper fight, but due to various constraints, he hadn’t been able to unleash his full power then.
Moreover, battles in Auterica were mostly parts of a scenario, and even when he was completely out of his mind, he had an inkling that he couldn’t kill Heinrich.
In reality, it was safe to say he had never fought with all his strength in Auterica.
‘But now it’s different.’
The boundary between the surface and the Abyss.
A realm of chaos where everything twisted and mixed.
The revolutionary scum had said that his power would be maximized in this space, but…
It was the same for Hans.
Krkkk—
The violent energy surged forth without reservation.
The surroundings twisted under its influence, and death mixed with the Abyss reached out with bared teeth.
It mercilessly devoured the place where the giant stood.
“Puhahaha! Ah— yes, this is what an Undead King should be! If you are an entity allocated to the end of the world, then you must have the corresponding arrogance!”
Yet even in the face of overwhelming power display, the giant did not shrink back at all.
Emitting a crimson aura and pushing back against death, he grinned twistedly.
Then he stepped back, curling up.
And instantly disappeared from the spot.
Kwuhaaa—!
In the following moment, a shockwave occurred right in front of Hans, twisting the space.
Two different powers aimed their sharp claws at each other.
[Hooh? Not bad.]
“Hooo, this is just beginning!”
Quadek—!
The giant’s claws immediately pierced through the barrier surrounding Hans.
The five tips converged with crimson madness, tearing apart the black death, and at the same time, the other hand swung again.
Kuwoooong!
With a strong shockwave, a loud explosion spread.
With that one attack, the surrounding flow tangled, flipping hundreds of meters all at once.
And.
Far away, watching that scene, Hans nodded.
As expected, size matters, he thought.
[Puhahaha— Yes, this will be fun.]
But he felt no particular sense of crisis.
He simply thought that if they were both from the same Abyss, then this level of power was only natural.
Rather, he would have been disappointed if the opponent had shown a lackluster performance.
‘Of course…’
He needed to show the difference he mentioned.
Hans slowly spread his arms wide, feeling the energy that engulfed him.
His heart, the source of his being, resonated with the Abyss at the bottom of this world, leading to a reaction greater than usual.
As a result.
Kiyaaaaaak—!
Grahh—!
Grkkk— grrrkk—
With bizarre echoes, the concept of ‘death’ in the area where his energy spread responded simultaneously and began to rise.
Frozen death, burned to death, drowned to death, blasted to death, starved to death, crushed to death, died from illness, etc.
All forms of death that existed in the world broke free from the space, taking shape and manifesting in reality.
Not undead, not ghosts, nor demons, but something abstract.
Amidst the flood of the very concept of death,
[Well then— let’s decide together.]
The king who reigns over them, the Undead King, declared.
[Your death.]
The execution of the foolish.
*
When the second gate to the Abyss opened and madness was lifted.
Most of it could not fully manifest due to the effects of an imperfect summoning, spreading across the entire world.
Among those, a single fragment, the core that became the essence of the revolutionary’s body, burrowed into him.
That was the Seed of Madness, which became the foundation of the revolutionary’s body.
Puhikikak! I expected to some extent, but indeed, what a reputation it has. This is impossible! Puhuhuh!
Thus, while madness was perfectly suited to create chaos in the world, its destructive capacity as a single entity inevitably fell short.
To make up for that, he had even utilized the giants of the Abyss, but it still seemed woefully inadequate against the Undead King.
‘Madness ranks somewhat below death, after all.’
Kwaaaang—
Once again, black energy clashed with red energy, shattering the surrounding space.
But there was no gain.
The revolutionary, chuckling, gazed leisurely at the retreating Undead King, spilling his dark energy.
He could discern the flow of energy emanating from his opponent in one glance, eavesdrop on the intent behind it, and manipulate the spatial flow with his words to create a favorable scenario for himself but…
Quadek— Haruruk!
At that moment, something deformed that had bitten into his left shoulder ignited in an instant, turning to ash.
Along with the part of his body it clamped onto.
Simultaneously, his right side was slashed open and bitten off, and his left toes seemed crushed by something.
Such processes had been endlessly repeating since earlier…
Even if he read the flow of attacks and evaded them, even if he overheard the intentions and responded.
The death that covered the surroundings and the phenomena derived from it approached and devoured his body unbidden.
As if it were a fate he could not escape.
Of course, he was not idle either.
He lifted his physical abilities with madness, increased his regeneration power to the fullest, and twisted the flow of the world to tear apart space.
‘The problem is that it all turns out to be of no use. Ah— Oh my god! Please forgive my incompetence!’
Moreover, even his physical restoration was limited after being bombarded with so many attacks like this.
Even now, thanks to the deity’s power, he was still able to maintain his sanity.
If it weren’t for that, he would have become a monster with only primal instincts due to the madness he had dragged out.
Simply put,
He had no remaining possibilities.
Uuuhhh—
To make matters worse, the Undead King’s assault did not end there.
Around him, the large magic circles had formed.
Kururur—!
All the strokes and shapes composed of dense Abyss began to activate, warping the wide area of space all at once so that he could not escape.
As had happened multiple times before,
Had this not been a boundary world, he would have already turned an entire kingdom to ruins with this cataclysmic battle.
[Indeed, solid to an excessive degree.]
Yet even amid that, the giant did not fall.
Though seriously damaged and ragged, if given some time, he could still recover.
And when it had reached that point, the revolutionary discerned one unexpected piece of information.
Puhuhuh, was that how it was? No wonder my sense of smell has been completely out of whack…
The white giant, lapping his tongue in the air, smirked strangely.
“You were harboring that guy.”
As he focused on his senses, he realized after multiple exchanges with his hands.
That there was a connection between the Undead King and him.
Not just any connection, but one that was quite profound.
‘If it weren’t for this space where powers were strong, it would’ve been difficult. Oh! My god!’
Nonetheless, it was fortunate that he gained information.
Now all that remained was to somehow step back onto the surface and reclaim his sense of smell while fully unleashing all seals.
If he could do that, he would have the power to confront even the Undead King…
Kwaaaang—!
However, his thoughts were quickly interrupted by the ensuing surge of energy.
[Your thoughts are audible here.]
It didn’t matter what he discovered; nothing had changed in the situation.
Unlike the giant’s body, which had become a complete wreck as his regeneration power waned, the Undead King continued to exude overwhelming pressure that dominated the space.
[No matter what tricks you play, it doesn’t matter.]
Immense energy moved, weaving the mysteries of destruction again.
Even in the midst of all that, the death that was spread across still gnawed away at the giant’s body.
[In any case, you will not escape from me and will die here.]
At that declaration, the giant’s lips twisted into a grin.
Escaping from this space to get to where he wanted was not something that could happen in a short time.
There was no way the Undead King would wait for that.
Ultimately, as long as that guy was in front of him, it meant he could not release the seals.
Thus the battle resumed, but…
Even while maintaining a facade of calm, Hans’s thoughts had grown complex.
The word “sense of smell” spoken by the revolutionary flickered through his mind.
‘Diana.’
The girl who had such a mysterious sense of smell that she could perceive the scent of souls.
He had been keeping her around to observe her closely, curious about the origin of her ability…
‘Was that ability related to the revolutionary? No, more precisely, it must be related to the sealed deity.’
Although she was now trapped in the Abyss, a deity was still a deity.
It needn’t be said how formidable that ability would be.
‘Then the ability he mentioned earlier must be that. Does he possess other senses apart from smell? If so…’
The battle gradually approached its conclusion.
Hans began to close in on the giant while coolly organizing the new information he had acquired in his mind.
Just when he optimistically thought the situation would soon conclude.
《XX has looked upon you.》
An unexpected aberration occurred that no one could have predicted.
Thump—
As the notification window appeared, a fierce heartbeat resonated through the space.
It was only once, but just that was destructive enough to twist the entire flow of the world.
Naturally, the deaths that had occupied the surroundings scattered, and the magic circles that had been prepared shattered entirely.
[Kuuh? What is this…!]
It was an abnormal phenomenon like a natural disaster.
Hans hurried to stabilize his energy to prevent the giant from making any unnecessary moves…
Thump—
But despite his efforts, the successive beats twisted all the coordinates and statuses around him.
A strong wave that felt like it would sweep him away even while firmly fixed in the Abyss.
Hans naturally realized the source of it.
Deep below in this world.
Among those depths lay someone who had been sleeping in the deepest part of the Abyss.
‘Crazy…! Could it really intervene to this degree?’
No matter how close this was to the Abyss rather than the surface, he never imagined a long-sealed existence could exert so much influence!
And it didn’t end there.
As Hans felt his body gradually being pulled down, he gritted his teeth.
While he desperately tried to hold on and find a way to remedy the situation…
“Ah— My Lord! I will act according to your will!”
The revolutionary, as if overwhelmed with emotion, clasped his hands together in prayer and turned to where he was heading.
[Where to!]
Ignoring the gravitational pull of the ground, Hans sharply shot death at the creature but…
‘Damn it! What kind of nonsense is this!’
In the constantly twisting space, his attack merely brushed past like a phantom.
Undoubtedly, due to his unreasonable actions, he was also pulled down a step.
“Puhuhuh— Undead King. You wanderer of dimensions who flowed in without a path. You, the heretic who has gone against His intentions despite receiving His blessings.”
Just as Hans hastily focused on fixing his body to escape that pull,
The already battered giant turned to look at him.
“The will of the Lord is with me. It seems you were not my death after all. Gkik—!”
With those parting words, the giant’s face twisted as if he were coughing up phlegm, and he disappeared into the crack that emerged in the flow of the world.
It was obvious where he headed.
[Khuh, this insolent fool dares…!]
In a hurry to take follow-up measures, Hans concentrated his mind, but still felt himself being pulled down.
‘Damn it, there’s just too much to do!’
Staying here would be a waste of mental energy.
At such a busy time, there was no need to waste time on a scuffle.
‘I’ll see you next time.’
Hans’s body, slowly sinking like being pulled into a swamp,
Suddenly vanished from that spot.
*
Near the Steel Fortress adjacent to the Northern Mountain Range at the northern border of Tulk Kingdom.
Zzziiii—
Something peculiar was occurring there.
“Hu? What’s that?”
“Wait… Could it be?”
“Emergency! Emergency! Quickly report to the higher-ups!”
Though quite a distance from the fortress, the soldiers atop the walls could easily identify the colossal rift that had emerged.
No, the abnormality was more than just a mere rift.
Shraaaaw—!
With a violent sound, as if tearing fabric, the rift was ripped apart.
Kuwoooom!
From within it emerged a massive giant with a snow-white body.
“Gkrrahh— Ah, I found it!”
The King of Madness had set foot on the surface for the first time.
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