* * *
Before the 2nd battle started, the black knights that Rosa sent to inform Chiron about the situation could not able to meet him.
No matter how fast they went, it was impossible to reach the depths of the Black Sea in two days, and above all.
Chiron’s expedition had already entered the territory of the 5 kings of the Black Sea. It means complete severance from the outside world.
The territory of the 5 kings of the Black Sea was not a land belonging to the human world, but a huge subspace prepared for them.
The sun does not set there, and no shadows or footprints are left on the black ground. You couldn't tell if it was day or night, and it’s just endless darkness.
The only thing to eat was monsters that occasionally popped out of the darkness and attacked the party, or more precisely, the monsters that could be called a ‘remnant of chaos’.
Chiron, Luna, former and current black knights, and a legendary monster that talk a lot were walking on that deep and black land.
[Ha, these jingling and tasteless bastards. Knights! The meal is ready, I tried to cook it well, but the ingredients aren’t good, so the taste is not so good today...… Hick, I'm sorry. Don't hit me!]
Ozdock turned the bowl of monster food (made by Ozdock's ability) and crouched down with an exaggerated gesture.
Of course, it is true that Ozdock has been somewhat assaulted by Tuben and knights since he was capture alive.
However, since then he behaved well and and thanks to Chiron’s recognition of his usefulness, he was rarely beaten, and he was proudly recognized as a member of the expedition.
Although not perfect, Ozdok's memories of the Black Sea were certainly helping the expedition. Without him, it would have taken them much longer to find the territory of the 5 kings of Black Sea.
So Ozdock was just joking. Unfortunately, no one responded to his pitiful jokes to lighten the mood.
[Haha. Enjoy your meal!]
Ozdock stood up and scratched the back of his head shyly. Luna and the knights sat down and silently chewed and swallowed their portions. It sounded like the wild beasts chewing the bones.
'Ugh... I'm suffocating. How long has this atmosphere been going on? Damn it.'
Ozdock sighed inwardly as he watched them eat.
He didn't eat his own food. To him, a meal didn't mean much unless it’s gold in the first place.
However, Ozdock had another important reason for not eating monsters.
The remnants of chaos.
It was because after entering the territory of the 5 kings of the Black Sea, there was something about the energy called 'chaos'. Ozdock was recovering his old memories bit by bit.
‘Chaos, it never leaves once clinging to life in any form. Until the target becomes a completely insane monster…….’
Temar Runcandel.
Ozdock also remembered hearing rumors that even he, the patriarch of Runcandel a thousand years ago, had been consumed by chaos and had become a monster.
Chaos is a force that should be avoided not only by humans, but by all living beings.
‘Everyone must have already accumulated quite a bit of chaos. They are not going crazy and killing me, are they? Considering that there is no problem with eating and fighting, I think it's okay so far...…!’
All Ozdock could do was keep an eye out, praying that something like that wouldn't happen. As he thought, Luna and the knights were busy pushing the chaos that was accumulating in them.
In this land, even without a battle, it was only possible to survive by fighting chaos every moment.
[Hmmm! Anyway, I'm a little worried. Since the other day, no monsters have been attacking us, so food could be an issue. Really, I can't go looking for it.]
“Ozdock.”
[Heuk!]
The reason Ozdock was so surprised was because it was Chiron who called him.
After entering the territory of the 5 kings, all the member of expedition squad became less talkative as they fought off the energy of chaos, but Chiron was especially severe.
It was rare for even a simple command or order to come out of his mouth. Chiron almost did not feel like a living person.
[Huh, such a frivolous appearance. I'm sorry, old man.]
“You are doing very well.”
Ozdock had no choice but to open his eyes wide at Chiron’s unexpected reply.
He didn't know how the hell to answer, so he lowered his head as if in a bow. In his life of about two thousand years, he wondered if anything greater than this had happened.
‘Chi, I got a compliment!? Uh, from old man,this Ozdock!’
Chiron really thought Ozdock was doing well.
In this terrifying realm, he constantly joke, cook with monster corpses, and occasionally hum to himself.
In other words, it was impossible for 'humans' to maintain the universal emotions of an intelligent body. Ozdock's actions were helping the knights to push back the chaos.
It's making them not to forget. Feelings as a human being.
'When I go back, I'll have to give the youngest a more generous reward.'
Chiron’s gaze reached the darkness beyond.
The fact that Ozdock was worried about food, saying he couldn't see a monster, and how his daughter and knights had been concentrating for the past few days without uttering even the slightest word.
There was a reason why he was looking at everything.
5 kings of the black sea.
The time has finally come to greet one of them.
"Luna."
“Yes, Father.”
“Soon the fight will begin. If you can't hold on, hide behind my back.”
Luna is well aware that Chiron, her father is most affected by this terrible chaos. Not just her, but all of knights know.
Unlike the others, Chiron had already been fighting chaos before entering the sub space, and it was a realm that Luna and knights could not even imagine.
For the first time.
Luna felt sorry for her father. No, maybe she felt sorry for him for a long time.
It wasn't until she came to this land that she began to understand little by little about her father and herself looking at her father.
“I will try to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
At Luna's answer, Chiron smiled faintly.
The knights put down the bowl. Then, as they moved next to Chiron, they patted Ozdock on the head or shoulder.
Then, as if it had been waiting.
The darkness in the field of view of the expedition grew even thicker, and Ozdock had no choice but to sit down because his legs lost their strength.
‘Oh, the king of the Black Sea….!’
Five Kings of the Black Sea.
One of them was revealing great chaos towards the expedition. Ozdock was overwhelmed by the energy and couldn't even breathe, but all the knights stood upright and faced head-on.
Seureung.…..
Barisada slowly came out of the sheath. Chaos, which had been flocking like a tidal wave, stopped due to the light that began to spread from Barisada.
In the expedition, Chiron is the only one who directly fought with the kings of the Black Sea.
Chiron knew who the countless eyes from beyond the darkness, looking down at him and the expedition, symbolized.
“Kial, it’s you.”
Kial.
The name of the Black Sea King, whom the expedition first encountered. Soon, thousands or tens of thousands of eyes were all focused on one person.
[Chiron Runcandel. You even managed to came all the way here. Leading that heavy fate....]
A dark, creepy voice echoed through the subspace.
The monsters in the depths of the Black Sea that they had dealt with so far and the remnants of chaos they had killed in sub-space were nothing more than dust when compared to Kail. The monsters that sometimes even Luna and the former Black Knights struggled with.
Chiron didn't answer and slowly moved towards Kial. Every time he took a step, the energy of chaos that had been pressuring the expedition was pushed toward Kial.
[Judging by the atmosphere, you didn't come to respond to the proposal we made last time.]
Proposal. Kial and other kings of the Black Sea, wanted Chiron to be like them.
[Do you want to have the same result as your ancestor?]
“Back then and now. My job is to cut you guys. I don’t like being a fragment of a broken object.”
Orb of origin.
The 5 Kings of the Black Sea are all fragments of the broken Orb of Origin. And the kings of the Black Sea could not be come close to each other except under special circumstances.
It was because of the remained will of the gods who broke the Orb of Origin.
So, the kings of the Black Sea want only one thing: a medium that will bring them back together without restrictions. A person who can cut off the will of the gods that remains like a stigma.
A person like Chiron.
[You know better than anyone else that your wish cannot come true, foolish....]
Suddenly, Kial narrowed his eyes and stopped talking. He seemed very upset about something.
Not only him, but Chiron also looked startled. He felt the same sensation as Kial.
What they recognized at the same time was that another King of Black Sea has awakened.
Not in this subspace, but in human world.
Soon, Chiron’s face distorted, and Kial narrowed his eyes and let out a grim smile.
[Finally… I found it. You are out there, my brother, Glyek!]
Glyek, Kial, Nirgand, Seu, and Morganiel.
Among the five kings of the Black Sea, Chiron had never met Glyek in person, and the other kings also did not know his whereabouts.
He is the white stone of Hairan. It was the fifth piece of the Orb of Origin.
Chiron swung his sword at Kial, who showed joy, and he let out a cry of joy even as his body was cut.
***
Pzzz-! Chi Chi Ching...…!
As soon as Jin and his party entered the castle, the first sight they saw was the indescribably gigantic and solid ice sheet covering Dante's seal and the entire interior.
It was a scene that was terribly broken by some dark force.
Talaris has kept inner castle safe since not long after second battle began, but even she could not prevent the chaos seal from being broken.
“Madame Talaris!”
“The master of the hidden palace!”
Blood flowed from the corners of Talaris' mouth as she fell towards the party. The black power that was released from the seal spread in all directions with no sign of stopping even after crushing the power of myriad ice.
The inner castle that Ron and knights of Hairan had so hard to protect disappeared without a trace in an instant.
At that moment, Jin reflexively couldn't help but recall what Talaris had said to him.
-In some ways…… Maybe it's a relief that Zipfel’s main force is on its way, and Runcandel is nearby. If the Chaos of the White Stone awakens, they have no choice but to fight it, whether they like it or not. If it's not them and us, no one can stop it anyway.
* * *
Before the 2nd battle started, the black knights that Rosa sent to inform Chiron about the situation could not able to meet him.
No matter how fast they went, it was impossible to reach the depths of the Black Sea in two days, and above all.
Chiron’s expedition had already entered the territory of the 5 kings of the Black Sea. It means complete severance from the outside world.
The territory of the 5 kings of the Black Sea was not a land belonging to the human world, but a huge subspace prepared for them.
The sun does not set there, and no shadows or footprints are left on the black ground. You couldn't tell if it was day or night, and it’s just endless darkness.
The only thing to eat was monsters that occasionally popped out of the darkness and attacked the party, or more precisely, the monsters that could be called a ‘remnant of chaos’.
Chiron, Luna, former and current black knights, and a legendary monster that talk a lot were walking on that deep and black land.
[Ha, these jingling and tasteless bastards. Knights! The meal is ready, I tried to cook it well, but the ingredients aren’t good, so the taste is not so good today...… Hick, I'm sorry. Don't hit me!]
Ozdock turned the bowl of monster food (made by Ozdock's ability) and crouched down with an exaggerated gesture.
Of course, it is true that Ozdock has been somewhat assaulted by Tuben and knights since he was capture alive.
However, since then he behaved well and and thanks to Chiron’s recognition of his usefulness, he was rarely beaten, and he was proudly recognized as a member of the expedition.
Although not perfect, Ozdok's memories of the Black Sea were certainly helping the expedition. Without him, it would have taken them much longer to find the territory of the 5 kings of Black Sea.
So Ozdock was just joking. Unfortunately, no one responded to his pitiful jokes to lighten the mood.
[Haha. Enjoy your meal!]
Ozdock stood up and scratched the back of his head shyly. Luna and the knights sat down and silently chewed and swallowed their portions. It sounded like the wild beasts chewing the bones.
'Ugh... I'm suffocating. How long has this atmosphere been going on? Damn it.'
Ozdock sighed inwardly as he watched them eat.
He didn't eat his own food. To him, a meal didn't mean much unless it’s gold in the first place.
However, Ozdock had another important reason for not eating monsters.
The remnants of chaos.
It was because after entering the territory of the 5 kings of the Black Sea, there was something about the energy called 'chaos'. Ozdock was recovering his old memories bit by bit.
‘Chaos, it never leaves once clinging to life in any form. Until the target becomes a completely insane monster…….’
Temar Runcandel.
Ozdock also remembered hearing rumors that even he, the patriarch of Runcandel a thousand years ago, had been consumed by chaos and had become a monster.
Chaos is a force that should be avoided not only by humans, but by all living beings.
‘Everyone must have already accumulated quite a bit of chaos. They are not going crazy and killing me, are they? Considering that there is no problem with eating and fighting, I think it's okay so far...…!’
All Ozdock could do was keep an eye out, praying that something like that wouldn't happen. As he thought, Luna and the knights were busy pushing the chaos that was accumulating in them.
In this land, even without a battle, it was only possible to survive by fighting chaos every moment.
[Hmmm! Anyway, I'm a little worried. Since the other day, no monsters have been attacking us, so food could be an issue. Really, I can't go looking for it.]
“Ozdock.”
[Heuk!]
The reason Ozdock was so surprised was because it was Chiron who called him.
After entering the territory of the 5 kings, all the member of expedition squad became less talkative as they fought off the energy of chaos, but Chiron was especially severe.
It was rare for even a simple command or order to come out of his mouth. Chiron almost did not feel like a living person.
[Huh, such a frivolous appearance. I'm sorry, old man.]
“You are doing very well.”
Ozdock had no choice but to open his eyes wide at Chiron’s unexpected reply.
He didn't know how the hell to answer, so he lowered his head as if in a bow. In his life of about two thousand years, he wondered if anything greater than this had happened.
‘Chi, I got a compliment!? Uh, from old man,this Ozdock!’
Chiron really thought Ozdock was doing well.
In this terrifying realm, he constantly joke, cook with monster corpses, and occasionally hum to himself.
In other words, it was impossible for 'humans' to maintain the universal emotions of an intelligent body. Ozdock's actions were helping the knights to push back the chaos.
It's making them not to forget. Feelings as a human being.
'When I go back, I'll have to give the youngest a more generous reward.'
Chiron’s gaze reached the darkness beyond.
The fact that Ozdock was worried about food, saying he couldn't see a monster, and how his daughter and knights had been concentrating for the past few days without uttering even the slightest word.
There was a reason why he was looking at everything.
5 kings of the black sea.
The time has finally come to greet one of them.
"Luna."
“Yes, Father.”
“Soon the fight will begin. If you can't hold on, hide behind my back.”
Luna is well aware that Chiron, her father is most affected by this terrible chaos. Not just her, but all of knights know.
Unlike the others, Chiron had already been fighting chaos before entering the sub space, and it was a realm that Luna and knights could not even imagine.
For the first time.
Luna felt sorry for her father. No, maybe she felt sorry for him for a long time.
It wasn't until she came to this land that she began to understand little by little about her father and herself looking at her father.
“I will try to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
At Luna's answer, Chiron smiled faintly.
The knights put down the bowl. Then, as they moved next to Chiron, they patted Ozdock on the head or shoulder.
Then, as if it had been waiting.
The darkness in the field of view of the expedition grew even thicker, and Ozdock had no choice but to sit down because his legs lost their strength.
‘Oh, the king of the Black Sea….!’
Five Kings of the Black Sea.
One of them was revealing great chaos towards the expedition. Ozdock was overwhelmed by the energy and couldn't even breathe, but all the knights stood upright and faced head-on.
Seureung.…..
Barisada slowly came out of the sheath. Chaos, which had been flocking like a tidal wave, stopped due to the light that began to spread from Barisada.
In the expedition, Chiron is the only one who directly fought with the kings of the Black Sea.
Chiron knew who the countless eyes from beyond the darkness, looking down at him and the expedition, symbolized.
“Kial, it’s you.”
Kial.
The name of the Black Sea King, whom the expedition first encountered. Soon, thousands or tens of thousands of eyes were all focused on one person.
[Chiron Runcandel. You even managed to came all the way here. Leading that heavy fate....]
A dark, creepy voice echoed through the subspace.
The monsters in the depths of the Black Sea that they had dealt with so far and the remnants of chaos they had killed in sub-space were nothing more than dust when compared to Kail. The monsters that sometimes even Luna and the former Black Knights struggled with.
Chiron didn't answer and slowly moved towards Kial. Every time he took a step, the energy of chaos that had been pressuring the expedition was pushed toward Kial.
[Judging by the atmosphere, you didn't come to respond to the proposal we made last time.]
Proposal. Kial and other kings of the Black Sea, wanted Chiron to be like them.
[Do you want to have the same result as your ancestor?]
“Back then and now. My job is to cut you guys. I don’t like being a fragment of a broken object.”
Orb of origin.
The 5 Kings of the Black Sea are all fragments of the broken Orb of Origin. And the kings of the Black Sea could not be come close to each other except under special circumstances.
It was because of the remained will of the gods who broke the Orb of Origin.
So, the kings of the Black Sea want only one thing: a medium that will bring them back together without restrictions. A person who can cut off the will of the gods that remains like a stigma.
A person like Chiron.
[You know better than anyone else that your wish cannot come true, foolish....]
Suddenly, Kial narrowed his eyes and stopped talking. He seemed very upset about something.
Not only him, but Chiron also looked startled. He felt the same sensation as Kial.
What they recognized at the same time was that another King of Black Sea has awakened.
Not in this subspace, but in human world.
Soon, Chiron’s face distorted, and Kial narrowed his eyes and let out a grim smile.
[Finally… I found it. You are out there, my brother, Glyek!]
Glyek, Kial, Nirgand, Seu, and Morganiel.
Among the five kings of the Black Sea, Chiron had never met Glyek in person, and the other kings also did not know his whereabouts.
He is the white stone of Hairan. It was the fifth piece of the Orb of Origin.
Chiron swung his sword at Kial, who showed joy, and he let out a cry of joy even as his body was cut.
***
Pzzz-! Chi Chi Ching...…!
As soon as Jin and his party entered the castle, the first sight they saw was the indescribably gigantic and solid ice sheet covering Dante's seal and the entire interior.
It was a scene that was terribly broken by some dark force.
Talaris has kept inner castle safe since not long after second battle began, but even she could not prevent the chaos seal from being broken.
“Madame Talaris!”
“The master of the hidden palace!”
Blood flowed from the corners of Talaris' mouth as she fell towards the party. The black power that was released from the seal spread in all directions with no sign of stopping even after crushing the power of myriad ice.
The inner castle that Ron and knights of Hairan had so hard to protect disappeared without a trace in an instant.
At that moment, Jin reflexively couldn't help but recall what Talaris had said to him.
-In some ways…… Maybe it's a relief that Zipfel’s main force is on its way, and Runcandel is nearby. If the Chaos of the White Stone awakens, they have no choice but to fight it, whether they like it or not. If it's not them and us, no one can stop it anyway.
