Chapter 490: Species (6)
Editor Group: Liber Reverie
"You came to see me?"
Kiriel looked dumbfounded when Hansoo nodded at her words.
"... However, Hansoo originally... came to see your friends, didn't you?"
Whether it was returning to the past, and fighting today.
In the end, all of these were because he was fighting for his friends of the past.
From those words, Hansoo shook his head.
"It was originally like that."
This was why he had decided to challenge God at the end to cut off this large mess once and for all.
However, before that, he wanted to see Eres and the faces of everyone else before that long fight.
This was why he had appeared above all of them when they were fighting in the Black Desert.
But, the moment when he saw the others looking at him when he had come to say goodbye, the moment when he saw their surprised but strange eyes, he realized then that he was nothing but a stranger to them.
"... So that's why you were disappointed."
Hansoo shook his head at Kiriel's cautious question.
Disappointment.
"No, it was just that I was mistaken."
Yes.
He was merely mistaken.
To himself, they were targets of longing.
However, to them, he was nothing but a stranger.
It was ridiculous in itself to try and tie them together in the first place with his past ties.
The world that he had returned to the past, and the world that he would run to, was a world completely different from the past, and the battles that soon followed.
Over the past thousand years, he had fought.
He had also become stronger, but his opponents, who he had constantly fought in what they called the Sealed Realm, had also become stronger by fighting one another.
In the first place, there were already powers powerful enough to covet the shard of God.
It was certain that the situation in the realm would allow the creatures and species to increase their power much more than the Abyss.
This was why the time of battle that he fought in had been much longer than he expected.
But, thanks to that, he was able to think a lot. He was able to organize his thoughts and emotions. He cut away the self that fixated on past relationships and allowed himself to focus.
"That was why in that difficult predicament... I kept thinking about you."
In the midst of constant fighting, if there was anyone else who came to mind in that chaotic environment, it would be right for him to come and see that person.
"Uh... Mm..."
As soon as Kiriel was trying to say something after being dumbfounded...
Boooooooooooooooooooom!
Deep in the ark, she could hear another loud, clear explosion.
————————-
Ruuuuuuuumble!
There was a large hole in Ark1 that was controlling everything.
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!
Kwooooooooooooo!
Various creatures were rushing recklessly between the destroyed defense systems that were struck down in just one blow.
The long-standing, unmanned defense facilities, which have been studied to reduce the damages and casualties against mankind as much as possible, were directed to the beasts and dragons, but it was to no avail.
Due to the black clouds and energy, all of the defensive arms were unable to properly wield their power as they were torn and destroyed in the hands of the surging dragons and monsters.
Between them...
Step.
Deep in the ark, one presence walked out from that penetrated hole and smiled coldly at everyone.
"It's been a long while, Tales."
"..."
Seeing Barmamunt, Tales quietly armed himself with the Seven White Commandments. This was a special type of armor that only those that could enter the 7th floor of the Abyss were qualified to equip.
Everyone in the vicinity exclaimed.
That weapon was simply a symbol of power.
It was the greatest masterpiece of Keldian, given only to those who have proved that the individual could exert an unprecedented strength, and to help such a person exert a stronger power.
Seeing the people exclaim like that, Barmamunt had an amused expression.
"You... What is that? It's actually lower in standard than what you had worn previously? What happened to the black armors you wore then?"
"... You damned bastard. It broke in your hands. All of them."
Tales clenched his teeth and spoke.
There were 500 copies of Black Armors that were made and produced by Keldian and Sofia in preparation for the War of the Humans and Demons.
It was not a normal armor.
Each one consumed resources greater than the white ark, Noah, that was in the sky.
They ground countless planets and stars into a dimensional space before creating them in the model of an armor.
It was provided with energy so unimaginably greater than the Red Jades as there were 18 Black Jades planted in each one.
Yet, all of their armed men and armors were destroyed in the war against the one before their eyes.
There was only one set left.
'Kiriel.. Damn it! Where are you and what are you doing?!'
——————————-
Rumble!
Hearing the explosion far away, Hansoo rose from his seat.
It was time for him to go.
"... I need to go for a moment."
At that moment...
Kiriel grabbed onto Hansoo's arm since something didn't feel right.
"... Where are you going?"
Hansoo smiled gently from those words.
"I told you before. There's still one left."
He wanted to spend a bit more time here if he thought about it.
Like he said before... He himself had spent too much time.
The patience of God above was very low, so it was time for him to go.
At that remark, Kiriel gave a look of disbelief.
"Did you come back here only to make me suffer under empty hopes once more?"
For him to appear and say one sentence before leaving once more after appearing after a 1000 years...
Hansoo smiled gently once more.
"I need a new motivation as well."
"...?"
Hansoo, who finished talking, breathed in.
'Good.'
It was time for him to leave.
"Be well. I'll be back for sure."
"What..."
At the same time...
Rumble!
Hansoo slowly began to melt toward somewhere.
——————-
Rumble!
"Kuhuk!"
Tales groaned at the strength of the hand gripping his neck.
It was a single strike.
From that single strike, all of his white armor was destroyed, and he was grabbed by the neck.
Barmamunt laughed at Tales.
"Stupid bastard. Does peace in the Abyss make sense? Look at what you've made."
Then, Barmamunt looked around.
There were numbers reaching in the tens of billions.
Each of them possessed great strength.
If each of them ran at them with their lives on the line, it would be certain that it would be quite problematic even for him.
If Tales and the other leaders of the humans constantly pushed humanity to war and trained the elites constantly, even he would have suffered considerable damage.
However, in the end, they made the wrong choice.
The elites decided to shoulder all the burden of humanity and preserve most of them at the back in a tranquil place.
This was the result.
They were a flock of sheep that had lost their will and way to fight, whose sharp fangs had been pulled out.
They had mistaken their enemies as teachers, and mistaken the alien species that existed in front of them as pets without even knowing how much their ancestors had risked their lives to overcome them.
Grip!
"Ahhhhhhhhhk..."
"Now I'll... make sure that you properly feel it.
Barmamunt, who grabbed Tales's neck, laughed violently.
He was definitely going to make them feel how the Abyss should work, and they would know what the devil who ruled the seventh floor was like.
"Hahahahahaha!"
The moment Barmamunt laughed out loud...
Rumble!
The sky blackened and thunder struck down.
Black lightning struck the now empty residence of mankind without hesitation.
"Huhuh... Huh?"
Realizing that the situation was unusual, the people stumbled back.
It was only then that they started to feel that the reason why they had easily overpowered the seventh floor... was never because they were developing and evolving in strength.
The moment the people faltered back...
Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!
An extraordinary event began to occur.
The blackened sky quickly began to return to its original state.
The black lightning, which was falling from the sky to the ground without hesitation, was quickly sucked back up as if it were going back in time.
As if to dye the whole world black at any moment, all the seven black clouds that were dispersed without hesitation were being sucked into Barmamunt's body.
The citizens looked dumbfounded as they watched the world being restored to its original state, but Tales, who was watching it, gritted his teeth.
"You bastard... If you're going to joke around, just die!"
How dare he try and do such a thing here!
However, after seeing Barmamunt's expression, Tales realized that something was different than what he had originally thought.
It was a look of bewilderment.
'That guy knows how to make such an expression?'
Even when they had gone after him with the best of mankind, and even when Eres had sealed him with a self-sacrificing spell, he never had that look on his face.
When Tales had a look of curiosity seeing that arrogant expression, which had looked down on humanity countless times, had turned in a state of shock as he was hurriedly looking around..
Riiiiiiiiiiiip!
Suddenly, the air on one side made a rough sound before splitting, and a man from within walked out.
'... Isn't that the man standing beside Kiriel?'
When Tales had a puzzled look on his face, the man that split the air walked over and smiled at Barmamunt.
"You said something amusing earlier. Go on."
—————————————
"... You're not dead?"
Barmamunt blinked his eyes, unable to believe that what he was looking at was a dream or lie.
The one in front of him now was the one that should have died already.
Twelve of them among the 13 Demons had rushed inside to catch this one person.
All of the dragons that had settled opposite them had all invaded to capture this man without a single one of them staying behind.
That was a matter that had occurred hundreds of years ago.
To begin with, if all of them were currently present on the 7th floor, there would never have been sealed to begin with.
"You... What happened to everyone else inside?"
No matter how strong he was, he believed that he would not be able to beat the others.
That was why he had chosen not to go inside to avoid being swept away.
However, he couldn't believe that someone had come out from there.
Seeing Barmamunt like this, Hansoo laughed.
"You want to see them?"
At the same time...
Roooooooooooooooooooar!
A great roar exploded out from Hansoo.
There were huge lightning storms incomparable to what Barmamunt had created scattering around.
The floor was splitting as there was an endless pit opening up.
Inside the abyss-like crevice, deep inside.
Deeper.
Below...
Roooooooooooooooooooooooooar!
Kwoooooooooooooooooooo!
There were cries and roars that rang out that could cause an ordinary person to be driven mad.
It was incomparable to the Abyss.
It was a real hell.
"You're coming with me now, right?"
Hansoo laughed as he watched his army swarming down below.