Chapter 290: Gate (5)

East of the Winter Continent.

The Kanburk Kingdom, the realm closest to Maha worldwide, had suffered for generations from the demons that crawled forth from the demonic realm.

But several years ago, the situation changed with the completion of the Great Wall of Calun, known as the Shield of Winter.

This colossal fortress wall, towering dozens of meters high, completely sealed off the demonic incursions from Maha.

Yet the demons hadn’t vanished entirely.

Kreeek.

Skree!

“Kill it!”

“Keep shooting! Hey, New Recruit! Are you just standing there?! Can you even see your fingers on your roster number? If this bastard escapes, you’ll be in trouble!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Several times a year, demon packs would occasionally charge the castle wall in coordinated assaults.

Whenever this happened, the Great Wall of Calun would suffer as it struggled to deal with the demons.

To be precise, it was the soldiers on duty guarding the wall who suffered.

On that very day, Centurion Jimmy, who happened to be on duty, frowned as he watched the demons writhing below the wall.

“Strange…” he muttered.

The veteran soldier beside him tilted his head. “What’s strange?”

“The demons are acting oddly today.”

“Really? I don’t notice anything unusual. Isn’t that how they usually behave?”

The centurion shook his head slightly. “No, it’s different. Normally, they charge at us like starving beasts…”

Just then, a demon caught his eye. It was clawing at the castle wall before an arrow pierced its skull and it collapsed.

”…Don’t they just seem like they’re trembling with fear, begging for their lives as they charge forward?”

The soldier snorted at the centurion’s low voice.

“Good grief, what nonsense you spout! Do those things even know what fear is? They’re just filthy creatures that drool and charge at any human they see!”

As he spoke, the veteran soldier nocked another arrow and fired again.

Centurion Jimmy nodded in agreement. “Indeed, that must be it.”

Thinking he had been too perceptive, Jimmy aimed his bow at the demons below the castle wall.

Swish… Thud!

The moment the centurion’s arrow pierced the demon’s skull and it collapsed—

No one knew.

What was happening within the Maha.

Kaiders narrowed his eyes.

An anomaly had occurred out of nowhere.

Fizzle.

One of the two figures, who had been clearly visible just moments ago, had disintegrated into dust and scattered in the wind.

Kaiders’s pupils constricted at the sight.

That’s…?

How could he not recognize that phenomenon?

It was the manifestation of a dragon returning everything it had taken from the world back to the world.

But Kaiders had no time to dwell on it.

He sensed something extraordinary about Louis’s aura.

His gaze remained fixed on Louis.

Then, in that instant—

Poof!

The Louis he had been watching intently had vanished.

And suddenly, Louis materialized right in front of Kaiders.

“Let’s have a proper fight in the second round, you madman!”

Kaiders’s eyes widened at Louis’s sudden appearance.

How?!

This space was his domain.

But just moments ago, Louis had used space movement.

For Kaiders, this was unthinkable.

However, he didn’t dwell on it for long.

Whoosh.

With a vibrating sound, the Pantheon that had enveloped Louis’s entire body was violently expelled.

The Transcendent suddenly shot skyward, returning to its original form.

And then…

He’s vanished?!

While the Transcendent briefly blocked his view, Louis had completely disappeared. Not only that, but Kaiders couldn’t sense his presence at all, as if Louis had ceased to exist entirely.

Where are you?!

Kaiders was greatly disoriented.

But what threw him into even greater confusion was the voice that suddenly came from behind him.

“Where are you looking?”

Behind Kaiders, Louis had returned to human form.

The moment Kaiders sensed danger and turned his head, Louis was already in motion.

“Let’s just… clash!”

Louis, in human form, swung his fist toward the back of Kaiders’ head. Kaiders’ head was several times larger than Louis’, making Louis’ punch seem like an egg striking a rock. But Louis’ egg was a little different.

Crack!

A dull impact sound rang out. Kaiders’ head flew back like a bullet, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

”…?!”

A pain like his head was about to crack made Kaiders wonder if his eyes had popped out. Of course, they hadn’t. Louis kindly pushed them back in for him.

Crack!

Louis reappeared to the left of Kaiders’ bent head and threw another punch.

Crack!

This time, to the right.

Crack!

Kaiders’ head, which had been swaying back and forth, was violently thrust backward by Louis’ upward kick. The broken teeth scattered to the sides.

You bastard!

This was unbelievable. He hadn’t sensed Louis’ presence, not even when he was right beside him, let alone tens of kilometers away. Even if Louis had been using space movement…

No way…!

Kaiders finally realized.

He’s using the Time Attribute!

The thought flashed through his mind. It reminded him of a scene from long, long ago, buried deep in his memories. This had happened before, when a brash youngster had ignored his Domain Domination and charged recklessly at him.

Lotberia!

That brat had also freely manipulated the Time Attribute, ignoring Kaiders’ Domain Domination. Now, the images of Lotberia and Louis overlapped in his mind.

“You… you bastard…!”

Kaiders glared fiercely, about to speak, when…

Crack!

“Ugh!”

Another kick struck him, sending blood spraying from his mouth. His tongue had been injured.

Simultaneously, Kaiders’s body vanished, and a chaotic energy, a mixture of light and darkness, poured down upon Louis’s head—the same attack that had instantly reduced Silvio to ashes.

Meanwhile, Louis’s eyes gleamed as he faced this identical assault.

I can see it.

The world Louis perceived differed from the ordinary one. It moved 10,000 times slower than what most people saw. Even the energy cascading down from the sky was so sluggish it made him yawn.

Then, a dark shadow emerged in the distance. Kaiders was reappearing, traversing space and space.

Under normal circumstances, Louis would have been trapped in this slowed world, unable to move.

But thanks to the Zero-Class Attribute he gained through Sandra’s sacrifice…

Crunch.

Louis had twisted the laws that should have bound him.

Creak.

He moved slowly, accompanied by an eerie sound. Though sluggish, his speed was remarkably swift compared to the world that seemed frozen in time.

Simultaneously, his physical form vanished.

He reappeared where Kaiders was materializing through space. Having seized the opportunity first, Louis immediately released the time-slowing phenomenon.

Boom!

As Kaiders was sent flying from the impact to his abdomen, Louis pursued relentlessly.

In that brief moment, a barrage of attacks erupted from Kaiders like buckshot, hurtling toward Louis.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Yet Louis evaded every strike by a hair’s breadth.

Their movements were simply too fast to follow with the naked eye.

In the empty air, black and white trajectories clashed repeatedly, separating only to meet again. Each collision was accompanied by an explosion, but by the time the sound reached the ears, the black and white figures had already moved far away. Even the sound couldn’t keep up with their movements.

Boom!

Louis pressed his attack against Kaiders, his eyes gleaming.

Elder Sandra was right.

She had predicted that Kaiders might only be able to use two Zero-Class Attributes. Therefore, she had suggested taking a gamble. And Sandra’s gamble had paid off spectacularly. If Kaiders were truly capable of wielding all three attributes of the legendary Three-Attribute Zero’s Domain, he wouldn’t be so easily pushed back by Louis now.

Perhaps… this is our chance.

Before Kaiders fully recovered, this might be the only chance to push him to the brink. Today’s encounter could be the best opportunity to end him once and for all.

His mistake… was not finishing me off in one blow.

Boom! Boom!

As the battle with Kaiders dragged on, Louis’s movements became increasingly swift and fluid.

Aah…

Now he was beginning to understand. Kaiders had mentioned earlier that reaching Zero Rank with two Attributes would allow one to manipulate the laws of the world.

So that’s what he meant.

Only when one Attribute reaches Zero Rank can one truly interfere with the world’s laws. It was akin to sitting in the passenger seat and constantly nagging the driver about this and that.

Things like pointing out directions or alerting about traffic lights.

But manipulation…

It was the act of deeply involving oneself in the world, bending its laws and manipulating its course. It was like a passenger taking the wheel of a car even though a driver was already steering it—a constant interference with the car’s movement.

…This is a dangerous power.

Even with a driver present, taking the wheel was extremely risky, as a single misstep could lead to a catastrophic accident.

Everything in the world, every law, follows a predetermined path.

Through interference, one could temporarily divert the direction a law was heading, but it wouldn’t stray far from its intended destination. Even if it veered off course for a moment, the driver could simply steer it back on track.

However, using Manipulation Power could lead to catastrophic consequences, completely disrupting the natural order.

A double-edged sword…

When used properly, it possessed overwhelming power capable of disregarding even Interference Power. But a single misstep could drastically warp the laws of nature, shattering the very fabric of the world.

Realizing this, Louis smirked.

“You dare claim this treasure as your own?” he roared, summoning a massive Black Sword from thin air.

Kaiders scowled and bellowed, “Louisuuu!”

Undeterred, Louis retorted, “Why are you yelliiing?!”

The two charged at each other with reckless abandon. The paths of white and black collided in mid-air.

Boom!

An invisible barrier materialized at the point of impact—Louis’s Manipulation Power at work.

Kaiders’ Manipulation Power clashed with Louis’ in mid-air, sparking invisible lightning.

Zzzt!

The lightning radiated outward from the point of impact, distorting space as it went. Light and darkness alternated in rapid succession, creating a chaotic cycle of day and night. The collision of their powers was causing the laws of the world to unravel.

Zzzt! Zzzt!

The two had been locked in a tense stalemate for some time. But then, the delicate balance of their equal powers began to shift, tilting in Louis’ favor.

Zzzt!

Louis’ Black Sword pierced through the invisible wall conjured by their clashing Manipulation Powers.

Krrrk!

And then it pierced Kaiders’ chest.

The invisible wall vanished, and Louis, wielding the Black Sword, pushed Kaiders forward.

Clang!

Impaled by the Black Sword, Kaiders was trapped within the barrier reinforced by Louis and Balotus.

Then…

Thud.

Louis casually stood atop the Giant Sword he had created and glared down at Kaiders.

Cough…

Blood continuously spurted from his mouth.

Not only was his body twisted around the black pillar, but a sword had also pierced his chest, preserving him in place.

Kaiders glared at Louis with burning eyes.

“Grrk… Dual-Attribute… Zerora…”

He had known about the creature’s rapid growth rate.

That’s why he had worked so hard to contain it, but in the end, it had finally blossomed into its true form.

A low chuckle escaped from Kaiders, who was spitting blood and foam.

“Crk… crk, crk. Hey… child… should I… tell you… a funny fact?”

“No.”

Louis’s voice was firm and cold.

“I’m not the type to wait around for my enemy to show up like some idiot.”

“You’ll… regret… this…”

The moment he finished speaking, Louis casually swept his hand from left to right.

And then…

Swish.

Kaiders’s head rolled away from his neck.

Watching this, Louis muttered bitterly.

“Yeah, I won’t.”

Why would I regret the words of a damned fool?