Location: Sacred Temple - Main Hall
By the afternoon, the Sacred Temple's main hall was far more crowded than usual.
Massive marble pillars rose upward as if they were trying to pierce the heavens themselves. Sacred symbols carved into their surfaces caught the sunlight, shimmering faintly with divine brilliance. Light filtered down from crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, striking the white stone floor and bathing the entire hall in warm golden serenity.
Guards filled every corner.
Warriors of various ranks had gathered to receive their mission rewards. Some laughed loudly, boasting about their victories. Others proudly displayed newly earned wounds like medals of honor, while a few exaggerated near-death moments from recent battles, turning survival into legend.
The scraping of armor against armor…
The metallic sound of swords sliding back into their sheaths…
Distant bursts of laughter…
Subtle vibrations surrounding energy users whose power leaked unconsciously into the air…
The hall was alive.
Yet, in the very center of that lively chaos existed a strange pocket of silence.
Arthur.
And Jack.
They sat side by side on simple chairs.
Jack remained unconscious.
His breathing was steady, but the exhaustion of battle was clearly written across his face. His fingers twitched occasionally, as if even in an unconscious state he continued fighting invisible enemies.
Arthur, on the other hand, sat completely still.
He stared at the ring resting in his hand.
Despite its small size, the ring felt as though it contained an entire world within it. Whenever light touched its surface, faint reflections trembled across it like fragments of memories struggling to remain alive.
Arthur's gaze was not harsh.
It was gentle.
Filled with longing.
Arthur: I wish you were here… You could see how peaceful everything has become.
Arthur (thoughts): If I had managed to fulfill your final wish… what kind of expression would you be wearing right now?
Even surrounded by noise and people, Arthur's mind wandered toward someone he deeply missed.
Then-
He felt it.
An aura.
It did not originate from inside the Sacred Temple.
It came from outside.
The moment Arthur recognized who it belonged to, he quietly wiped away the small tear forming at the corner of his eye and called out.
Arthur: Attendant!
The guard immediately hurried toward him. It was the same attendant who had tested Jack's ranking earlier.
Attendant: Yes, Sir Arthur.
Arthur pointed toward Jack with his index finger.
Arthur: Take the boy to my private floor.
Move as fast as possible.
Attendant: Understood!
The attendant rushed to carry Jack away.
Arthur, however, did not move toward the incoming aura directly. Instead, he walked toward the rear exit on the right side of the hall. After several steps, he passed through the door and stepped outside.
He scanned his surroundings.
Then suddenly-
He turned his gaze westward.
Arthur: That must be it.
The moment he said those words-
He vanished.
Not teleportation.
Speed.
Pure speed.
Arthur moved so fast that he crossed exactly one thousand kilometers in a single second.
And the place he arrived at was-
Arthur: Ah… Deadland City. Memories I never wished to revisit…
He turned around and spoke calmly.
Arthur: I see you're quite impatient to execute my student.
Two figures descended from the sky ahead of him.
Their auras were terrifyingly powerful
Yet still inferior to Arthur's.
- - - : The carrier of Liberty is a threat to humanity, Arthur.
Arthur smirked, though irritation lingered beneath it.
Arthur: Anyone who moves against my student… moves against me, Merlin.
Merlin: If someone as reckless as you exists, I might as well cut off my own arm and offer it first.
Another figure slowly walked forward behind Merlin and stood beside him.
- - - : Merlin, calm down. We should learn the reason first.
Merlin: Roland… are you seriously defending this filth?
Roland raised both hands casually.
Roland: No. Information simply comes before judgment for me.
Arthur pointed at the two of them and smiled mockingly.
Arthur: You look like a dog that listens to its master.
Though honestly… a dog would be stronger while still obeying.
Merlin's expression twisted with rage.
A colossal aura erupted from him.
Its pressure expanded outward like a thirty-story building rising into existence.
Merlin: I'll show you the dog!?
Roland dropped to one knee under Merlin's overwhelming aura.
Roland: Merlin, don't!
Dark energy gathered within Merlin's hand.
At first enormous - as large as a boulder.
Then it compressed.
Condensing.
Sharpening.
Taking the form of a blade forged from pure darkness.
The power radiating from it was horrifying.
Even Liberty's current weakened state possessed only a fraction Merlin carried fifteen to twenty times more energy.
Merlin: Sword of the Moon God - Dark Void!
He swung downward.
A colossal slash tore through space itself and surged toward Arthur.
Its scale was monstrous.
The attack alone could have sliced through ninety percent of the Sacred Temple, a structure one hundred stories tall.
The massive cut approached-
Arthur did not move.
Flames ignited around his fist.
Not ordinary fire.
It was as if the sun itself had fused with his hand.
Arthur: Do you think you even have a ten percent chance against me?
No… you don't even have one.
A titanic energy eruption burst from him.
His aura rose like a towering building of flame.
Plants, soil, and everything nearby began melting instantly under the unbearable heat. Any ordinary human would have died long ago simply from standing nearby.
As the slash neared-
Arthur swung his fist.
Arthur: Sacred Solar Flames!
The moment his punch connected-
It sounded as if a phoenix screamed across the heavens.
The slash shattered instantly, breaking apart like fragile glass struck by a bare hand.
The resulting flame sphere surged forward.
Its destructive force alone could erase twenty-five percent of the massive city.
Merlin had no time to escape.
For a brief moment-
He saw death.
But Roland moved.
Roland: Ultimate Technique - Zero Gap: Absolute Defense!
Roland's technique relied on atomic control the pinnacle a Guardian could achieve.
Zero Gap: Absolute Defense was an advanced defensive system created through perfect atomic manipulation.
Normally, microscopic gaps exist between atoms in matter, allowing energy, heat, and physical force to propagate.
When activated, Roland reduced those atomic gaps to near-zero levels, drastically increasing density while suppressing energy transfer.
The barrier did not merely block attacks.
It erased the physical pathway through which impact could exist.
As threat levels increased, the atoms reorganized adaptively, automatically generating defensive responses.
However-
It was not absolute.
The barrier's durability depended entirely on the user's total controllable energy. An opponent vastly stronger could overwhelm it completely.
Roland protected Merlin, forcing them through the inferno.
They survived-
But they could not stop the attack itself.
Inside the flames, the fire looked strangely beautiful.
Like watching dawn break across a perfect horizon.
After emerging from the flames, Roland immediately spoke.
Roland: Are you alright?
Merlin, tense but alive, nodded.
Merlin: I'm fine.
Roland: Let's descend slowly… Wait… there's no ground?!
His shock was justified.
Beneath them was nothing but emptiness.
Arthur's attack had carved a 134-kilometer-deep fissure, stretching 213 kilometers across the land as if a colossal blade had stabbed the world itself.
They remained standing only because Roland manipulated oxygen molecules, compressing the air into transparent platforms beneath their feet, turning gas temporarily into solid footing.
Merlin: We were lucky… If he had used his full power, we'd be gone.
Roland wiped sweat from his forehead.
Roland: Yes… If he wanted, he could destroy this entire city and another five hundred kilometers beyond with a single attack.
Merlin: I still don't understand… How can the gods who rule this world look at that monster and say, Yes, this is acceptable?
Status Update
Deadland City — 28% destroyed by Arthur.
After the confrontation, Arthur returned to the Temple.
Evening had fallen.
He stepped through the main entrance and immediately noticed someone waiting.
Arthur: What are you doing here… Rick?
Rick: May I have a moment of your time, Sir Arthur?