Chapter 699

―Kwoooooar!

Krasias’s painful roar echoed across the desert.

The metal rod, made by alloying tungsten with byproducts of monsters, exploded directly above Krasias’s head.

From the impact, one of his enormous horns had snapped cleanly in half.

The horn, weakened by Damho’s attack, had been unable to withstand the explosion and broken.

More than the impact from the Rods from God, the fact that his horn had broken enraged Krasias even further.

A violet radiance burst from Krasias’s eyes.

He looked up at the sky.

He could see a metal object floating at an unimaginably high altitude, somewhere no human eye could ever see.

It was Divine Judgement, floating in geostationary orbit.

Seeing Divine Judgement, Krasias became even angrier.

Once again, the Rods from God was about to be launched from Divine Judgement.

Its target was Krasias.

―As if I’d let you.

Kuwaaaa!

At that moment, a gigantic breath erupted from Krasias’s mouth.

The breath pierced through the magical field, rose into the sky, broke through the atmosphere, and struck Divine Judgement.

Kwaang!

With a thunderous explosion, Divine Judgement was knocked out of orbit.

Fortunately, it did not explode, but Divine Judgement had suffered such a tremendous impact that all of its functions shut down.

It had an automatic repair function, so it would eventually recover its functions, but for now, it was impossible.

Just as Krasias was about to fire another breath—

Kwaang!

Kwaang!

Large impacts struck Krasias one after another.

Damho and Arisedon, who had regained consciousness, had attacked.

Tesserina had joined them as well, unleashing a barrage of magical attacks.

In the end, Krasias stopped attacking Divine Judgement and had to deal with Damho, Arisedon, and Tesserina.

Riding Arisedon, Damho diverted Krasias’s attention and muttered.

‘Get up quickly, Zeon! We need you.’

* * *

Zeon was buried in the sand, gasping for breath.

His body, struck by the Authority of Destruction, was dying as it was destroyed starting from the cells.

The only reason he had not yet stopped breathing was his Hyper-Regeneration ability. But the Authority of Destruction was so powerful that even Hyper-Regeneration could not stop his death.

‘Is this the end?’

A despair unlike anything Zeon had ever felt before swept over him.

He was not afraid of death.

He had been the same before awakening, and even after awakening, he had always lived with death by his side.

Having killed countless monsters and Awakeneds, he had thought that he, too, might someday die that way.

What he truly feared was dying like this, unable to do anything.

―Kwoooooar!

Krasias’s roar could be heard in the distance.

If left alone like this, that calamity-like existence that had brought about Kurayan’s destruction would surely do the same thing to Earth.

The World Tree had shown him.

It had shown him how Krasias had brought about the destruction of Kurayan.

Krasias was a kind of parasite.

A parasite that settled in one world, drained all its nutrients, and then moved on to another world to carry out the same destruction.

The only difference was that its scale was so unbelievably vast that it felt like a god.

If Krasias were left alone like this, he would eventually drain all of Earth’s nutrients and bring about its destruction.

Even the dazzling civilization that had barely been preserved and allowed to bloom would ultimately be unable to escape destruction, disappearing like dust.

Arisedon and Damho were fighting desperately, but compared to the God of Destruction known as Krasias, they were nothing more than specks of dust.

If Zeon did not step forward, they would surely die as well.

But he was dying now, utterly helpless.

―Ppiii!

Then it happened.

A gigantic face suddenly emerged through the sand.

It was Gaia.

‘Gaia!’

―Ppii!

Gaia let out a soft cry and rubbed her face against Zeon’s body.

It was as if she were telling him not to act spoiled and to get up already.

‘Don’t! It really hurts.’

Zeon thought with a faint chuckle.

Then—

―Zeon!

―We’re here.

Suddenly, chattering voices could be heard from all around.

Looking sideways, Zeon saw numerous spirits, including Liri and Yuri, gathering around him.

All the spirits born in the World Tree Village and the Primordial Forest had come.

The spirits surrounded Zeon together with Gaia and chattered.

―Be with us.

―We’ll help you too.

―Get up, Zeon!

―Let’s do it together.

The spirits’ wishes flowed into Zeon’s mind.

Within them, Zeon could sense yet another enormous will.

―Let’s do this together, Zeon!

The owner of that unbelievably immense and powerful will was the World Tree.

Zeon instinctively felt the World Tree sending him its power through the spirits.

Perhaps because he had possessed it for so long, the World Tree’s voice, which he was hearing for the first time, did not feel unfamiliar.

Thump! Thump!

Zeon’s dying heart began to beat violently.

His senses came back to life and expanded infinitely.

Like the roots of the World Tree, Zeon’s Dominion spread in every direction.

The spirits melted into Zeon’s body.

With the spirits joining him as well, Zeon’s Dominion expanded toward infinity.

His Dominion spread throughout the entire Earth, dense like a spiderweb.

His Dominion reached all the way to the opposite side of Earth.

Zeon was an Out-of-Rank Awakened.

It meant that he could not be measured by the existing ranks.

But that did not mean he was omnipotent.

He was neither a god nor a dragon.

There were clear limits to the mana and Dominion he possessed.

Even so, the reason he could spread such an expansive Dominion was because Gaia, the spirits, and the will of the World Tree had come together.

The World Tree had sprouted and grown on the desertified Earth.

Its roots pierced through the surface and reached deep into the Earth, while its trunk grew hundreds of meters high, seeming as though it might touch the clouds.

In this way, the World Tree became one with Earth.

The united Earth and World Tree gave birth to spirits and sought to return the devastated Earth to how it had once been.

That will of the World Tree was transmitted to Zeon in its entirety.

“Hoo!”

Zeon let out a deep breath.

His broken body had already recovered completely, and the terrible pain had vanished as if it had been a lie.

He could vividly feel grains of sand thousands and tens of thousands of kilometers away.

It felt as though his nerves extended all the way to the opposite side of Earth.

“Nice!”

―Ppii!

When Zeon rose with a smile, Gaia welcomed him.

Zeon stroked Gaia’s head and said,

“Sorry! You were really worried, weren’t you?”

―Ppiii! Ppi!

“Yeah! I’m fine now.”

―Ppi! Ppiii!

Gaia’s nagging continued like a storm.

Zeon smiled and placed his forehead against Gaia’s head. Then Gaia’s nagging stopped as if it had been a lie.

“Gaia!”

―Ppii!

“Will you fight alongside me?”

―Ppi!

Gaia’s cry contained a firm will.

When Zeon climbed onto her head, Gaia immediately took flight into the sky.

Kwaang! Kwaaaang!

Thunderous explosions continued to erupt from the heavens.

The battle between Damho riding Arisedon and Krasias was underway.

The whole world was dark, as if the end of the world had arrived.

The atmosphere shook madly, and the earth overturned as thick clouds of dust rose.

Lightning poured down like rain, and flames of hell shot up from the earth, split wide open.

Damho and Arisedon were putting up a good fight, but they were not enough on their own.

That gigantic dragon was still going strong.

He was no different from a gigantic fortress floating in the sky.

To bring down such a fortress, there had to be an extremely powerful weapon.

Zeon had such a weapon.

It was the weapon known as Earth.

All the sand covering the entire Earth was Zeon’s weapon.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The sand on the opposite side of Earth rippled wildly like waves.

It was responding to Zeon’s will.

The World Tree, Gaia, and the spirits lent their strength to Zeon.

Shuaaaak!

The rippling sand on the opposite side of Earth rose like a tsunami.

The sand tsunami, rising dozens of meters high, surged toward where Zeon was in an instant.

All the sand along its path clung to the sand tsunami like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

Shahahaha!

The sand tsunami quickly grew to hundreds of meters high.

Even then, the sand was not satisfied.

All the sand on Earth was being swept along with the sand tsunami.

All the sand covering the surface was swept up by the tsunami and rushed toward where Zeon was.

The land that had been buried beneath the sand for more than a hundred years revealed its true form.

“What is that?”

“My God!”

The people on the opposite side of Earth were shocked by the land revealed after the sand tsunami swept past.

But they did not know yet.

That the truly astonishing sight was only beginning.

Shuaaah!

The enormous sand tsunami had already passed through a vast basin.

As all the sand in the low basin was absorbed into the sand tsunami, a deep blue sea that had been hidden for a hundred years was revealed.

It was the ocean once called the Pacific Ocean before the Great Cataclysm.

The vast ocean that had held its breath beneath the desert appeared as the thick layers of sand covering it were swept away.

Waves began to ripple across the motionless sea beneath the sand, and circulation began once again.

Zeon thus gathered all the sand that had accumulated thickly across the Earth.

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

Now swollen to thousands of meters high, the sand tsunami chased after Zeon as he headed toward Krasias.

―What?

Krasias, who had been distracted by Damho and Arisedon, finally noticed the sand tsunami.

Krasias was floating thousands of meters above the ground. The height of the sand tsunami was now equal to that of Krasias.

It was possible because all the sand on Earth had been gathered.

Kwaang!

The sand tsunami slammed directly into Krasias.

Under the enormous mass of the sand tsunami, Krasias’s gigantic body shook as though an earthquake had struck.

―Krrr!

Krasias groaned at the tremendous impact he had never experienced before.

Covered in sand, Krasias became furious.

―How dare you!

Kukukuku!

Even then, the thousands-of-meters-high sand tsunami continued surging toward Krasias.

It was a sand tsunami that had gathered all the sand on Earth.

It would not end after just one or two strikes.

Krasias deployed a barrier to protect his entire body.

At that moment, the second sand tsunami struck Krasias.

Kwaaaang!

With a thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth, Krasias staggered again.

Even though he was protected by his barrier, the tremendous impact shook Krasias’s insides.

Enraged, Krasias glared ahead.

He saw Zeon and Gaia floating before the sand tsunami that was approaching once again.

The enormous sand tsunami passed through Zeon and Gaia without causing them any harm.

Krasias opened his enormous mouth and fired his breath.

Kwaaaa!

The immensely thick breath struck the sand tsunami head-on.

A huge hole was blown through the thousands-of-meters-high sand tsunami. But that was all.

Because of the nature of sand, even after a hole was punched through it, it was quickly filled.

The restored sand tsunami slammed into Krasias again.

Kwaaaang!

Unable to recover from the unimaginably massive attack by sheer weight, Krasias could not regain his senses.

“Amazing!”

Damho, who was riding on Arisedon’s head, shook his head.

It was an attack method he could never have imagined.

At this moment, Zeon was no different from a god.

The God of Sand.

All the sand on Earth was his weapon.

Zeon brought every weapon he had to bear, striking Krasias again and again.

His attacks dealt a tremendous blow to Krasias’s wings.

All ten wings had become tattered like rags under the repeated sand tsunamis.

The decisive blows were dealt by Arisedon and Damho.

Arisedon burned Krasias’s wings with lightning, while Damho used Explosive Demon Realm to shatter the weakened wings.

―Kwoooooar!

In the end, Krasias, having lost his wings, fell toward the ground.

Krasias, who had been buried in the sand, shook his head and glared at Zeon.

Zeon was looking down at him from atop Gaia’s head.

―Insolent!

Krasias could not forgive Zeon for daring to look down on him.

Flash!

A beam containing the Authority of Destruction shot toward Zeon once again.

At that moment, countless spirits stood in front of Gaia.

The wall created by the spirits reflected Krasias’s beam like a mirror.

―Grrr!

Krasias’s eyes trembled at the unexpected sight.

Just as it had a hundred years ago, Earth was once again rejecting him by putting Zeon and the spirits at the forefront.

―If you reject me, then I will reject you as well. If I cannot have you, then I will erase your very existence.

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

Krasias released all of his Authorities.

Abnormal weather occurred across the entire Earth.

Torrential rain poured down in regions where it had never rained even once until now, while the polar regions froze over.

Rain of lightning swept across the land, and furious winds raged violently as though they would destroy everything.

Kwaang! Kwaaaang!

The ground split open, and lava erupted like fountains from various places.

“Ahh!”

“Damn it!”

“We have to get away!”

Tesserina took the frozen Brielle and Levin and fled the area.

As Tesserina fled with the children, her eyes happened to meet Zeon’s.

She read the firm determination in Zeon’s eyes.

The will to kill Krasias by any means necessary was conveyed vividly to her.

‘Zeon!’

‘Please take good care of the children.’

‘You?’

At that moment, Zeon riding Gaia passed by her and the children.

Kwaaaaa!

An exceptionally high sand tsunami rose behind Zeon.

The enormous sand tsunami crashed down on Krasias with overwhelming mass.

Kwaaaang!

With a thunderous roar, Krasias was buried in the sand.

At that moment, Zeon unleashed all of his Dominion.

The sand gathered from across the Earth began rotating around him.

Gaaang!

Diamond crystals bloomed like flowers throughout the sand.

It was the skill that had dealt a tremendous blow to Krasias.

Only, its scale was incomparably greater.

The sand, the size and number of the diamonds—everything was overwhelming.

Kakakakakang!

The Sand Mixer containing diamonds whirled violently around Krasias’s body.

Sparks flew, and scales were ground away or torn off.

The diamond-laden sand dug into the exposed flesh where the scales had disappeared.

The wings that had already become tattered like rags were completely pulverized.

―Kwooooooar!

Krasias roared.

The atmosphere rippled from his fear.

Even so, Zeon did not blink an eye as he squeezed out all his mana and Dominion.

Gaaaaang!

The sand spun even more violently, attacking Krasias.

The entire Earth helped Zeon.

Pakakang!

At last, all the scales covering Krasias were pulverized or torn away.

His barrier had disappeared long ago.

Krasias was stained red with his own blood.

The merciless sand attack was still violently shaving away at his body even at that very moment.

At this rate, before long, his three-kilometer-long body would be reduced to a handful of bloody sand.

―The end? I will never die alone. This planet will share my end.

Realizing that he could not avoid death, Krasias immediately caused his Dragon Heart to go berserk.

Crack!

Cracks spread across the Dragon Heart, and the energy of destruction began to run wild.

The mana and Authorities contained within his Dragon Heart were powerful enough to erase an entire world.

If the Dragon Heart exploded, Earth would be destroyed as well.

Zeon immediately understood Krasias’s intention.

“Gaia!”

―Ppi!

“From here on, I’ll go alone.”

―Ppiii!

Gaia shook her head.

Zeon smiled and stroked Gaia’s head before throwing himself forward.

Gaia hurriedly tried to follow him, but at that moment, a gigantic wall of sand formed, separating Gaia and Zeon.

―Ppiii!

Gaia cried sorrowfully and strained herself, but the sturdy wall of sand did not let her through.

Zeon stepped on the sand as he approached Krasias.

Huge walls of sand rose one after another.

All the sand in the world became walls, trapping Krasias and Zeon inside.

Then someone fell beside Zeon.

It was Damho, who had launched himself from Arisedon.

Standing beside Zeon, he said,

“I’ll go with you.”

“You could die. If the Dragon Heart explodes, the entire Earth could be blown away.”

“That’s what I wanted.”

Damho smiled.

Zeon smiled as well.

He looked at his right hand.

He could see the gauntlet forged from Nigel’s bones and Authority.

Only now did he understand why Nigel had handed this gauntlet over to him.

This black gauntlet contained the Authority of Godslayer.

Nigel had wanted to kill a god.

A god named Krasias.

His will had been passed on to Zeon.

“Let’s go!”

Zeon and Damho walked toward Krasias.

Kukukukung!

Huge walls of sand rose one after another.

The thousands-of-meters-high walls of sand formed mountains.

Zeon trapped himself, Damho, and Krasias inside the mountain.

Krasias glared at Zeon and shouted.

―Do you think I’ll die alone? I will drag Earth and every living creature into hell with me.

“You’re pathetic!”

―What?

“Dragon of Destruction? A Transcendent God in the form of a dragon? Don’t make me laugh! Your true form is so pitiful, shabby, and ugly.”

―Y-Youuu!

“You are neither the god of Earth nor some great calamity that will bring about destruction. After today, your name will be thoroughly erased from Earth.”

―Zeon!

Enraged beyond measure, Krasias fired his breath at Zeon.

At that moment, Damho stepped in front of Zeon.

Kwaaaa!

Blocking the breath with his entire body, Damho shouted,

“Go!”

“Yes!”

Zeon soared high into the sky.

In an instant, he reached above Krasias’s head and plunged straight down toward his heart.

He poured all of his Authorities into the gauntlet.

The Authorities of Sand, Flame, and Godslayer became one and struck directly into Krasias’s heart.

And then a massive explosion occurred.

Kwaaaaaang!

The Big Bang that had triggered the birth of the universe was born within the enormous mountain of sand.

A pure white light spread across the entire Earth.

And then the silence of the primordial world descended upon the entire planet.