Translator: Alpha0210
The moment the Red Knight revealed herself, the Lightning God had already discovered, without much difficulty, a way to kill the Death Worm. It was an anticlimactic solution, really. The swarm possessed an absurd number of spare lives, but aside from that single fact, there was nothing remarkable about it.
To an ordinary being, the creature might have been the stuff of nightmares, but not to the Lightning God. Simply discharging thunder in every direction would have been enough to annihilate the entire swarm.
That ending was too dull, enough to instantly cool a body that had heated up for the first time in ages, so it was never adopted. And that was the only reason the Death Worm was still alive.
The same went for the rabble surrounding them on all sides.
Void Lord's Representatives, was it? They seemed a step above Absolute-class representatives, but on the whole, they were of a caliber easily found even across the Three Thousand Worlds. Meaning they could not delay the Lightning God's stride for even an instant.
Below standard, below expectations, and yet... the Lightning God was actually enjoying this fight quite a bit.
Entirely thanks to the Everlasting Plum Sword.
"You've grown stronger."
The Lightning God burst into a hearty laugh and scattered bolts of lightning. He had not put his full strength into it, nor had he released them after careful deliberation. Yet they are threatening all the same. In the first place, there were almost no beings across the Three Thousand Worlds who could withstand this carelessly fired thunder.
Yang In-hyun dodged the attack. He also struck back, and by deftly maneuvering his blade, even managed to wrap lightning around his sword. That last feat was a trick even the Lightning God had never seen before. Of course, it did not last long before Yang In-hyun's face went pale. He had succeeded in coiling the lightning around his blade, but in that state, there was simply no way to swing the sword.
He had no choice but to shake off the lightning gathered on his blade and resume the exchange.
"Heh heh heh."
The Lightning God's laughter deepened.
When the world of the Void had become known, and information about it was being gathered...
The Lightning God had used Lee Jong-hak's body as his 'eye' to observe that unidentified world. What he discovered there was Mount Hua, and Yang In-hyun, the master and sect leader of that land.
The Void Lords had been compelling enough to draw the Lightning God's interest.
Beings one tier above the strongest Absolutes that Residue knew. Weaker than Rulers, but fully capable of making him feel threatened.
How long he had searched for beings like that.
"Gah ha ha......"
The battle continued. It did not stop even as the Red Knight entered the arena and stood surveying her surroundings.
The Demon King, by contrast, was the Lightning God's complete opposite. He sat in silence with an attitude that bordered on detachment, when suddenly those sunken eyes turned in a certain direction.
"Get up and come over here."
Beniang realized that voice was directed at her.
"Me? Why?"
"Because there's no one else to take the seat. We still need to match the numbers, don't we?"
"What are you talking about? What seat, what numbers?"
The Demon King quirked the corner of his mouth at an angle. Right. He had always been fond of conversation that deftly skirted the heart of the matter.
"Among your subordinates here, is there even one who could sit on equal footing with us?"
"......"
Beniang looked around.
The space was far larger than she had expected, and filled with many. Among them were the group of Absolutes who had served the Seven-Toothed Dragon. Arkuonside, Nemfatalnero, Doarhinlos... they had been particularly powerful even among the Dragon's subordinates, but.
'Eiteijuzu is nowhere to be seen.'
...If that was the case, then the only Absolute in this place who could stand between the Lightning God and the Demon King was Beniang. Even if it was nothing more than an empty formality.
She did not know what the Demon King was scheming, but she sensed no malice. That, too, was an uncertain guess, yet Beniang rose from her seat. The moment the Demon King smirked at the sight, the floor jutted upward and formed itself into chairs and a table. They materialized directly across from the Four Knights.
The Demon King, who had been sitting in midair, moved to take his seat there. Beniang claimed the chair beside him.
Leaning back against the hard chair, the Demon King spoke in an easy voice.
"Lightning God. The Red Knight has arrived."
"I know."
CRASH!
The Lightning God swung his fist and smashed it against Yang In-hyun's blade. In that split second, Yang In-hyun deliberated whether to receive the blow with the edge of his sword or block it with the flat, and ultimately chose the latter. His judgment was that a blade raised purely for defense could not withstand that fist. It might even shatter under the impact.
He blocked the attack, but could not fully absorb the shock. Yang In-hyun was sent flying, caught in a spiraling maelstrom of lightning, and slammed into the far wall of the arena.
"We'll do round two in a bit, so sit there and review."
"......"
It was abrupt, but Yang In-hyun did exactly as told.
Even as blood trickled from a split in his forehead, he sat right where he was and began retracing the brief clash he had just experienced. Several onlookers stared at him with looks of sheer disbelief.
The Lightning God, who had just sent Yang In-hyun flying, had already lost interest in him. He turned his gaze to the newly appeared Red Knight and murmured something laden with meaning.
"Can't tell just by looking."
The Red Knight removed her helm. Slightly damp, ash-gray hair and dark skin were revealed. But what drew the most attention were her mismatched eyes. Beniang found herself thinking, unbidden, that each of those eyes held a different being within it.
Pale greeted the Red Knight as though they were acquainted.
"Honestly, I thought you'd be the first to arrive. What took you so long?"
"I went to see His Majesty."
"...The Half-King?"
"Yes. And he spoke to me about the role I should carry at today's gathering."
Red Knight El moved again, positioning herself at the precise midpoint between the Rulers and the Four Knights.
Then, arms folded, she spoke.
"From this point forward, the Four Knights and the Rulers will exchange their opinions freely. There is no strict time limit, but I will not permit conflict. I'll overlook heated argument. I will listen to your positions from a neutral standpoint, compile them, distill them into objective information, and relay them accordingly."
"......"
At El's sudden declaration, a hush fell over the assembly as though cold water had been thrown over them.
Agolet glanced around.
Setting the others aside for the moment, what demanded his attention now were those closest at hand: the Four Knights and the Rulers.
First, the Black Knight did not seem especially interested in this declaration. Head slightly bowed, lips pressed firmly shut, and at this point, even Agolet could not read what was going through that mind.
Pale was still smiling her perpetual smile, but that was not because she had known about El's bombshell in advance. It was because whatever had just been said simply did not matter to her either way.
And the Rulers... the Lightning God and the Demon King appeared to know something about all of this, yet showed no inclination to speak first.
The instant Agolet reached that conclusion, the Demon King spoke as if striking at an opening.
"By what authority?"
Was he truly asking because he didn't know? Agolet would have bet against it. That was closer to transparent acting, a deliberate performance.
El's gaze turned toward the Demon King, and her lips parted slowly.
"Because I am the Red Knight of War of the world of the Void, and,"
In El's right eye, something like a heat haze flickered.
"the successor to Sun God the Ruler."
***
Quite a few attendees at this unprecedented summit appeared to be there out of mere obligation. Most of them had wedged themselves into out-of-the-way corners, heads lowered, paying no attention to whether the Four Knights appeared or the Rulers revealed themselves, but...
The bombshell the Red Knight had just dropped finally succeeded in raising even their heavy heads.
It was likely the first moment since the summit began that every pair of eyes in the assembly converged on a single point. Even Black Knight Lucid was watching El with those red eyes.
El held her silence for quite a long time. The longer she did, the more the pressure from those around her should have mounted, yet not a flicker of change crossed her expression. She simply stood there.
And the longer she stood in silence, the quieter the attention and focus grew, rising like a tide.
Since the one at the center refused to speak, voices began leaking out from elsewhere.
"...The successor to Sun God the Ruler?"
"A being from the world of the Void, and a Knight at that, is the successor to a Ruler?"
"How is that even possible?"
The confusion they felt in that moment...
knew no Worldly Realm. Beings from both worlds shared the same bewilderment.
Then someone drew a deep breath and walked several steps toward where El stood. There were a few scattered whispers, but beyond those the space was near-silent, and the footsteps echoed surprisingly loud.
Naturally, a portion of the attention fixed on the Red Knight shifted to him.
The man was Gamzard, one of the six representatives of Top Universe.
"Allow me to ask one thing. Do you have proof that you are the successor to Sun God?"
Instead of answering, the Red Knight drew her sword.
The abrupt motion made Gamzard flinch and step back, but the Red Knight's action carried no killing intent or hostility. She did not swing the blade or pull the pistol sword's trigger; she simply studied the edge she had drawn, watching it intently.
Flicker.
Before long, flames began to coil around the Red Knight's blade.
Someone stared at the sight in stunned silence and murmured.
"Prominence... Sun God's external force."
"How does a Knight wield that power?"
The Red Knight seemed bothered by the commotion around her, furrowing slightly near her eyes, and spoke in a flat voice.
"I am of the Giant Race."
"......"
Those present blinked and studied El.
There had been no background noise, her pronunciation had not been unclear, and there was nothing wrong with their ears.
And yet what the Red Knight had just said simply refused to register. Those who knew what the Giant Race was found it even harder to accept, and even those who didn't could not miss the Red Knight's build. She was slightly shorter than an average adult woman, hardly the physique befitting such a grandiose racial name.
Then was what she had just said merely a figure of speech, or was her current appearance some kind of false form?
"A mutant. I was born innately small. Smaller than a giant, let alone the Giant Race. So small and so feeble that no one even noticed my birth. And so I was naturally forgotten."
The Red Knight's origins were being laid bare without warning.
This was a revelation that not only most of the assembly, but even the other Knights were hearing for the first time.
"...Or so the story goes, but I didn't know any of it myself. I had no idea what I truly was, or where I came from."
"Then how did you come to learn of it?"
"Sun God explained it to me. He saw through my identity at a glance."
It was the moment one of the reasons behind the joint front Sun God and the Red Knight had formed at the Snowfield was finally revealed.
El continued in her characteristically flat voice.
"And he tried to treat me as his child."
"What?"
"Oh?"
The Lightning God said with a mocking lilt.
"Don't tell me you were the Giant's hidden offspring or some such thing?"
"The odds were slim, but it wasn't impossible. The reason I didn't flatly deny it at the time was that the probability wasn't zero. I have no memories from before I came to the world of the Void, and the way the Giant Race produces bloodline kin is quite unique."
"......"
"But Sun God was never able to prove during his lifetime that I was of his race. By that point, the Giant had all but resolved to die. In the end, he gave me half of his heart and took his own life."
The longer her voice carried on, the more a sense of unease settled over nearly everyone present. There was something peculiar about El's account.
She was clearly recounting events that had happened to her, organizing and explaining them, yet there was no change whatsoever in her expression or tone, as if she were observing and reciting some third party's life. It almost resembled a rigidly impersonal report.
"Is this enough to convince you that I can represent both sides, the Rulers and the Four Knights?"
"......"
"I'll take your silence as agreement."
No one answered, but El was unbothered. She nodded to herself and folded her arms as if to signal that she had said everything she intended to say.
Watching her, someone let out a laugh.
"The Four Knights. Truly a gathering worthy of those who've lost their minds in spectacular fashion. Even the Red Knight, who seemed halfway sane, turns out to be this far gone."
The Lightning God looked at the Demon King, wearing a face on the verge of roaring laughter.
"What will you do?"
"Following her terms doesn't seem like a bad idea."
"You're serious?"
"Who knows."
"Hmph. Scheming bastard."
The Lightning God turned his gaze back to the Red Knight.
"One last question."
"What is it."
"You spouted off about how you'll overlook argument but won't tolerate conflict. That is a statement only someone with the position, authority, or influence to bring a situation to heel can make. And from this body's perspective, no one here has the right to utter such words."
This was a remarkably humble statement by the Lightning God's standards. He had included himself within the fence of "no one here." Of course, it was also the correct assessment. No matter how sky-high the Lightning God's confidence soared, controlling every being in this place was beyond even him.
"So what this body wishes to ask is: what happens if you don't tolerate it? Say, for instance, I decide right here and now to take your head. What would you do?"
"......"
The tension that El's explanation had briefly submerged resurfaced in full force. Those in the assembly held their breath and watched the scene unfold. This is nothing like when the Rulers clashed with the Twelve Void Lords. The opponent is one of the Four Knights. If a fight broke out the way one just had, its repercussions would be beyond all comparison.
"Come to think of it, I neglected to declare this."
And yet, remarkably, El herself did not look particularly moved by the Lightning God's direct threat.
"Declare what."
"From this moment, all acts of combat within the King's Castle are forbidden."
"What non..."
The Lightning God was about to scoff when it happened.
Dozens of enormous swords plummeted from the sky all at once. Each one was as tall and thick as a great tree. The swords had no distinct physical form, so they did not physically destroy or damage the King's Castle as they pierced through it.
But every being at the summit felt something like unbreakable chains coiling around their bodies.
Neither the Rulers nor the remaining Knights were exceptions.
The Lightning God raised both arms and asked.
"What did you just do?"
The answer came not from El, but from another direction.
"The King's Proclamation."
Agolet found this turn of events so thoroughly unexpected that he looked at El and spoke again.
"You don't have the qualifications yourself, so the Half-King must have found one of the former Void King's relics. And granted you the authority gained from it."
"What does that mean?"
"The King's Castle is the King's domain, and it was once the sole Inviolable Territory in this world. It's been reduced to this state now, but in the past, for a very long time, no one could trespass upon it, and no one could damage it. All enforcement disappeared after the death of the former King, but one of those powers has just been temporarily invoked."
Agolet relaxed his half-tensed shoulders and spoke.
"Within the King's Castle, no one can engage in combat any longer."
*****
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