Three years was enough time for even the deepest scars to heal.
For this newborn empire forged by Guts's own hands, three years was a golden age sufficient to reshape the world.
New cities rose above the scorched earth.
The air, once thick with the stench of rust and blood, was now filled with the rich aroma of baking wheat and the joyful laughter of children chasing each other.
Inside the highest administrative hall of the imperial capital, Casca set down her quill.
Piled before her were the final proposals for the empire's new round of agricultural reforms.
Sunlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, washing over her and outlining her soft profile in a faint golden hue.
Her mental state had long since recovered.
Although those hellish memories occasionally still tried to drag her back into the abyss.
But now, she possessed a heart strong enough to face them.
She had become the empire's wisest minister of internal affairs, governing this recovering nation with the resilience and meticulousness that once belonged to a warrior.
Only occasionally, during the brief respites between handling state affairs, would she subconsciously gaze toward the towering spire deepest within the imperial city.
That was where Guts remained in closed-door cultivation.
For three years, the doors to that tower had never opened.
Inside the high tower, Guts hovered in mid-air, sitting cross-legged.
His breathing was long and steady, as if he had merged with the entire world.
The power within his body was no longer the violently surging torrent that seemed intent on destroying everything in its path.
After countless cycles of compression, purification, and settling, his strength had become purer and far more restrained.
His Magnetic Field Rotation realm had grown steadily through day after day of refinement.
Ultimately, propelled by the Power of the Five Gods, it had reached its absolute peak.
Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Horsepower.
He was only a hair's breadth away from stepping into the legendary realm of One Million Horsepower.
But he knew the time was not yet right.
He still lacked a catalyst.
A catalyst that would allow him to completely harmonize and unify this power.
Three years of peace was enough for mortals to forget the cruelty of war.
Yet, it was not enough to extinguish the flames in the hearts of all ambitious schemers.
Dust billowed at the empire's borders.
Another massive army, boasting a million soldiers, had arrived. Among their ranks were powerful swordsmen and even spellcasters.
Driven by fanatical religious zeal, they marched right up to the gates of the imperial capital.
Leading them was a "Living Saint" draped in golden sacrificial robes.
He proclaimed that he could channel the power of the "Heavenly Divine Kingdom" to purify the "False Emperor" Guts and the "Demon Kingdom" he had established.
The dark clouds of war once again loomed over this land that had only just regained its vitality.
The atmosphere atop the imperial city's walls was heavy.
Clad in full armor, Casca personally oversaw the defenses.
Although the soldiers behind her gripped the empire's finest weapons, they could not hide the fear on their faces.
It was, after all, an army of a million men.
The sheer momentum gathered from the killing intent of a million people was enough to make even the sturdiest walls tremble.
Just as everyone believed a tragic, bloody siege was about to unfold...
*Creaaak—*
Deep within the imperial city, the doors of the high tower that had remained silent for three years slowly opened.
A figure slowly walked out from within.
Guts had emerged from his seclusion. Wearing a simple black martial outfit and keeping his eyes closed, he walked up to the city wall, step by step.
His pace was slow and steady. Every step he took seemed to land directly on the beating hearts of everyone present.
He did not look at the soldiers beside him who were paying him their fanatical respects.
Nor did he look at the "Living Saint" who was clamoring the loudest.
He simply walked quietly to the very front of the wall, faced the million-strong army, and slowly opened his eyes.
In that instant, the entire world fell silent.
A terrifying will—indescribable by any language, as vast as the universe and as profound as a sea of stars—crashed down upon them.
That horrifying aura, which had already reached Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Horsepower, swept across the battlefield like a silent tsunami.
Below the wall, the fanatical expression on the face of the arrogant "Living Saint" vanished instantly.
The so-called power of the "Divine Kingdom" radiating from his body—the power of an Apostle—was washed away in a split second by this overwhelming force.
*Thud.*
The scepter in his hand slipped and fell to the ground. Immediately after, his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees uncontrollably, his entire body trembling violently from absolute terror.
If he was in such a state, the million-strong army behind him fared even worse.
They felt as though they had been reduced to a lone, fragile boat adrift in raging, monstrous waves that could swallow them at any moment, surrounded by countless giant sharks waiting to strike.
Their souls were trembling.
Their wills were on the verge of collapse.
*Clang... Clatter...*
The sounds of weapons dropping to the ground began to ring out one after another.
The million-strong army, along with that "Living Saint," abandoned all resistance in the face of this peerless will.
They all prostrated themselves on the ground, shivering, having lost even the courage to look up.
Guts had truly achieved the ultimate victory—subduing the enemy without striking a single blow.
After this battle, there would be no more wars in the world.
Humanity seemed to have truly ushered in an era of peace.
Guts stood at the highest point of the imperial city, looking down at the prosperous era of peace he had created with his own hands.
He felt the massive, perfectly harmonized power within his body, on the verge of breaking through the final barrier.
He knew the time was ripe.
The Abyssal mark that had lain dormant for three years slowly surfaced on his palm, emitting a faint glow.
Looking at the mark in his hand, and then glancing at Casca not far away, a flash of absolute resolve crossed his face.
Without any further hesitation, he violently clenched his fingers into a fist.
Accompanied by a sound like shattering space.
The final battle had begun.
The moment he crushed the mark, Guts was pulled by an irresistible, mighty force into a tunnel formed of chaotic energy.
Images of countless worlds being born and destroyed flashed before his eyes.
The agonizing wails of countless cosmic beings echoed in his ears.
An unknown amount of time passed.
When all the chaos and noise finally faded into silence, he arrived at his destination—The Abyss.
There were no legendary hellfires or endless torments here.
There was only a realm of absolute, deathly silence and nothingness.
In the center of this nothingness floated a throne forged from despair.
Sitting upon the throne was an indescribable "entity" composed entirely of pure negative emotions.
It sat there quietly, exuding an aura that was calm, ancient, sorrowful, and utterly despairing.
"Welcome, Guts."
A voice echoed directly in the depths of Guts's soul.
"Abandon your pointless probing!"
"Here, there is only the clash of wills and concepts."
"Pure physical attacks are completely meaningless here."
The Abyssal King stated the rules.
"Come."
"Prove to me that you are worthy to sit upon this throne."
Guts did not answer; he gave his response through action. He would not blindly trust its words; he would find the truth through his own deeds.
Channeling One Million Horsepower of strength, he unleashed a vicious punch toward the shadow on the throne.
This punch could easily shatter stars.
However, when the force of the punch struck the Abyssal King, it vanished without a trace, failing to stir up even the slightest ripple.
Then, an even more bizarre scene unfolded.
After enduring the punch, the Abyssal King's originally illusory, shadowy body actually became even stronger.