Chapter 405: Pharel

“Ha... Hahahaha...!!”

Yula’s figure burst into laughter as she looked at Karyl—far louder and more animated than he had been moments earlier. Clutching her stomach, she shook her head as if unable to contain herself.

“What’s so funny?” Karyl asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Haha... Oh, you’re most amusing, truly.”

Yula wiped her eyes, even though no tears flowed from them—as if to mimic human behavior.

“I have governed this world since the dawn of time, yet you speak as though you could defy the Oracle and shape the future to your will.”

“The Oracle doesn’t dictate destiny. It’s not some grand, noble decree. It’s just you asking humans to bring about the future you desire.”

Karyl’s words drew a faint smirk to Yula’s lips.

“You govern this world, but you didn’t create it. Just like us, you’re nothing more than a victor, one who happened to survive the gods’ competition.”

“So?”

“It means your throne can be left vacant at any time.”

At that moment, a shift occurred.

“Do you truly believe you can bear the consequences of what you’ve done?”

Yula’s form suddenly swelled, towering over Karyl like a giant. Her voice, now grotesque, boomed throughout the Celestial Fortress. Her massive arm, thick as a pillar, surged forth and gripped Karyl with terrifying force.

“How dare you...! A human, reaching for a god’s throne?!”

As her thunderous voice shook the skies, the gate to the Celestial Realm vanished above them. The massive airborne stronghold, the Celestial Fortress, lurched violently.

“Whoa...! Steady!”

Even the wyverns—creatures unfazed even by Dragon Fear—scattered in panic despite their riders’ desperate efforts to rein them in.

“We’ve lost control!”

“Calm them down!”

The area surrounding the fortress descended into chaos as the wyverns thrashed wildly, clearly terrified.

“Aaagh...!!”

“What the hell is going on?!”

The mighty creatures failed to stay airborne, succumbing to Yula’s influence.

“What will you do? If they fall from this height, your riders won’t survive.”

Despite being held by Yula herself, Karyl showed no signs of panicking. In fact, he scoffed at the god.

“If they die from something like that, they were never meant to make it this far.”

“Weren’t you the one claiming that this land belongs to humanity and that you’d protect everyone?”

“Sure. If someone needs protecting, I will protect them.”

“...”

“But they’re not the kind of people who die that easily.”

With that, Karyl wrenched himself free from Yula’s grasp.

“And you... You threaten me, and yet you do nothing. I killed the Nephilim meant to deliver your message and took the Celestial Fortress for myself, and you’ve done nothing.”

He stared up at Yula’s giant form hovering in the sky. “I think I know why that is.”

The god’s silence drew a cold smirk on Karyl’s face.

“You can’t kill me, can you? Just as you said, the Tarak are about to swarm this world, and only humans can stop it. Isn’t that right? Just like with the Nephilim, Tarak has the power to destroy even gods.”

“You arrogant human.”

“Me, arrogant? What about you, then?” Karyl shouted, raising his sword. “You, who would drive humanity into the flames under the pretext of the Oracle and honor!”

Then, Yula’s voice echoed once more, her tone cold and commanding.

“I shall proclaim the Oracle.”

She paused, looking intently at Karyl before rising further into the sky. “This war has been going on since the dawn of time. As the god who governs this world, I sought to help you humans. But now, prepare to face calamity.”

Karyl sensed that Pharel would soon appear as he had anticipated. This massive tower, visible from across the entire continent, was the First Calamity and the origin of Blood, the first Tarak to emerge.

At last, the real war begins

.

This wasn’t just about fending off monsters and defending territory. It was humanity’s ultimate battle for survival—their chance to live by their own will, not as the gods’ playthings, just as the first Blader had done.

“Soon, calamity will sweep across the heavens, and Tarak will engulf the land. So fight if you must, but do so without my blessing!”

Yula’s warning echoed ominously.

“You shall suffer in the darkness of Tarak, forever bereft of sunlight. You have defied the divine command, and now you pay the price.”

“Is that really the Oracle? Sounds like a curse to me,” Karyl scoffed, his indifference further emphasizing his defiance.

“A god who can’t even keep her emotions in check. You really are just like a human.” Allen Javius let out a dry laugh.

“Are you surprised? We already saw the true form in the north,” Karyl replied.

As soon as he spoke, the massive tower broke through the storm clouds, and Karyl’s eyes widened slightly at the familiar sight.

Rumble...!

He stared up at the root of his torment, the fire that had spewed its flames all across the continent, even claiming the life of his dear friend. This oppressive thing had driven him to journey through the oceans of time to reach this very moment.

“Pharel...” Karyl murmured, tightening his grip on Polsetia’s sword. “It’s finally here.”

“It’s time I revealed the truth I found sealed within the other Thousand-Year Ice Cave.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Allen released a wave of dark energy that surged outward, wrapping around Karyl.

“Right. You’ve managed to open my eyes as well. Thanks to you, I see the world for what it really is.”

Allen gazed at the looming, menacing tower not with fear, but with anticipation.

“Yula already admitted it. The whole talk of creation and destruction is all rubbish. In the end, it’s a power struggle between the gods. A war for dimensions.”

“What she calls the Oracle is just a shitty excuse to drag their divine war into our land, our home.”

“So it must be shown. If there are other gods out there, one of them has to match Yula. And there must also be other dimensions out there, untouched by Yula’s rule.”

“In other words...” Karyl’s eyes lit up. “There isn’t just one Tower of Pharel.”

He stared at Yula’s fading silhouette, biting off each word with deliberate force.

“I have conquered this tower before.”

CRACK...!!

Monstrous heads emerged from the gaps in the towering structure, twisting and writhing as if ready to leap out at any moment.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

SKANG

—!!

Karyl hurled his sword at them. With a sharp rip through the air, Polsetia’s blade embedded itself in the wall of Pharel, shattering bricks on impact.

The monsters hurriedly retreated from the windows, baring their fangs as they scrambled back into the shadows.

“There’s no reason I can’t do it again.”

This time, things were different. Back then, he had spent eons in the tower alone, driven solely by the obsessive need to return, wielding his sword against the loneliness and the endless passage of time.

Now, he had people to protect and a future to secure. Conquering the tower had become more crucial than ever.

“This time, it’ll be different.”

Karyl steeled himself, gritting his teeth as he gazed up at the tower that rose endlessly.

“Wait for me,” he shouted to the skies, knowing Yula was still listening. “When I reach the top again, that’ll be the last time I ever face you.”

WUUUUUUUM...

A faint emerald glow flared briefly from the palm of his hand, then disappeared.

***

“Tarak are monsters that devour humans. But now I think I finally get why Yula used the Oracle to command us to hunt them down,” Karyl muttered.

“She was afraid too,” Miliana replied.

“Yeah. Seeing that thing now... I think I understand. It’s truly horrifying.”

Karyl had regrouped with his comrades, now gazing together at the tower in the distance. Pharel ceaselessly spewed out those accursed creatures, as if to punish them for defying the Oracle.

The troops hadn’t even recovered from the battle against the Nephilim, and already a far more formidable threat awaited them.

VOOSH...!! RUMBLE...!

Flames burst forth in every direction, surging toward the ground. The monsters tore through the trees as they landed, carving out new paths.

“The Tarak, born from the Rift residue, are like poison to a god. That’s why Yula tried to use humans to wipe them out,” Miliana said.

“What exactly is the Rift?” someone asked.

“The Rift is like a crack that formed during the creation and expansion of the dimensions,” Rasis intervened.

“It’s a space of chaos—both nothing and everything. It holds light and darkness, creation and destruction, all at once. Not just the Tarak, but even we spirits and the gods themselves were born from the Rift,” Duaat concluded.

Given their nature, Spirit Kings of Light and Darkness were most closely aligned with the dimension formed in the primordial era, and so they understood the will of the gods better than anyone else.

“But since it’s unstable, the Rift can give birth to unexpected things,”Duaat added.

“Right, and that’s how anomalies like Thunder Lord Kungen, who possesses both light and darkness, came into being.”

“You could say the Rift is weak because of its instability, but that very instability makes it unpredictable—and potentially deadly. That’s what we need to exploit.”

“But before that, we have to deal with those monsters. There’s no point winning the war if there’s no home left to return to.”

Everyone nodded at Miliana’s words.

“We’re getting reports from the forward bases!”

“Patch them through.”

At Karyl’s command, Israphil’s magical projections showed scenes from across the continent.

[Reporting in. We have successfully evacuated everyone from Fort Fonein.]

[The Ranion Alliance is halfway through its evacuation. We may need reinforcements in the central zone to prepare for a possible attack.]

[The Silverwing Fleet is advancing along the southern coastline and moving to support the Alliance. With your approval, we’ll begin docking at their harbor.]

“Approved.”

“Urgent report from the north. Scouts from the Wolf-Fox tribe!”

Karyl gave a nod, and the sorcerer continued.

[The stronghold of the Jannabi Tribe has been destroyed. Judging by the damage, the number of monsters is estimated to be over one hundred. Several are believed to be as large as golems.]

“Is that an ambush?”

[No, it seems more like the destruction was caused by large-scale movement.]

Karyl nodded at the report coming through the communication orb.

Blood hasn’t appeared yet. Until then, the others won’t attack. Not directly.

He recalled his memories, fishing for the crucial information.

“It’s fine. The allied tribes have already evacuated. What matters is that we now know the Tarak’s route.”

Though Karyl spoke confidently, Hwarin clicked her tongue bitterly at the report from the scouts.

“They seem to be moving erratically, but based on their path so far... they’re all heading to the same place.”

“Where?”

“The Blood Cave.”

Karyl nodded at Anthem Howard’s report. In his previous life, the invasion had begun there with the arrival of the first Tarak.

“Keep defenses up, but don’t worry too much about the Tarak yet. They won’t attack immediately. They’re waiting for their leader.”

Karyl stared down at the map, specifically at the mark indicating the Blood Cave.

“But there’s no reason to wait for them. Anthem, launch the Celestial Fortress,” he said sharply.

“Yes, my lord,” Anthem replied promptly, his eyes alight.

“We strike first.”