The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 358

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Chapter 358

No matter how many times Rebecca or the others died, they would reappear unharmed, their memories intact.

Depending on my actions, some details changed—but the appearance of the iron-ball-headed monster and the giant ogre from the beginning remained constant, as did the Chancellor’s presence in the Baltosma royal castle.

The hallucination always began at the same point, when I followed Rebecca to the survivors’ hideout and met the princess there.

So there had to be a condition that triggered it—just as the spirit-sword Utopia generates a fog zone before creating an illusionary field.

But when I first met her, there had been no reason for me to fall into any illusion.

It was a bizarre, unnatural kind of illusion—but once I realized it was an illusion, I knew how to deal with it.

“Utopia.”

From the air, I summoned the hammer-form of Utopia, and through my spiritual energy the power to manipulate illusion began to manifest.

‘Fight illusion with illusion.’

The spiritual sword Utopia began releasing its power.

“Distort.”

At that command, its energy flared out violently.

When Utopia releases beyond a certain threshold, it exerts tremendous influence on illusionary realms.

Whether it could devour this space and expand its own domain, I wasn’t sure—but I had more than enough spiritual energy to try.

Still, every spirit-sword is born from gathered spiritual force; mine were all still young, like children.

That made it difficult to unleash their final level of power, even if all other conditions were met.

Crackle—crash!

Perhaps because of that, the hallucination created by Dagon resisted Utopia’s influence to some extent.

Of course, in a direct clash of power, it would lose—but I was no longer fighting the way I had back in Labyrinthos, relying only on spirit-swords.

Whirr!

Holding Utopia in one hand, I took out a stringed instrument with the other and released it.

It floated on its own, and I plucked its strings lightly with my now-free hand.

Twirang…

A soft tone spread; energy entwined and sank into me.

A massive surge of power exploded within, layering buffs upon buffs, and a long-forgotten sense of exhilarating omnipotence flooded my body.

“Whew… no wonder people go mad from this.”

The sudden rush of empowerment was almost intoxicating.

I had to consciously suppress it.

It was a mistake—these buffs didn’t just raise stats; they over-stimulated willpower.

This was the first time I’d lost control like this.

I’d underestimated what doubling my energy would do.

‘First things first—break the illusion.’

I poured the rampant power straight into Utopia and spoke again.

“Let’s twist it once more.”

Crash!

The surrounding space warped, twisted into a vortex, and then shattered with a visible crack.

The fracture closed instantly, but I had already achieved my goal—

Utopia’s power slipped through the rift into what lay beyond, revealing what was inside.

And what I saw there—

was a sea of screams.

A pitch-black ocean of no discernible end or depth.

Even the sight of it was horrifying.

On its surface, human shapes writhed and screamed as they were swept along like waves.

A shock stabbed into my mind.

Anyone else who saw it would have gone insane on the spot.

“The Abyss and the King of the Dead”—the meaning of those words became clear.

That sea was his domain—the thing he was trying to summon here, and the core of this hallucination.

Sensing Utopia’s intrusion, six ghastly lights flared from deep within the sea.

And then—something darker than even that black ocean began to move.

Its size was immense—kilometers wide at least.

Its presence was terrifying, but rather than fear, I felt… excitement.

“Found you, you bastard.”

Crack!

As if waiting for that, Utopia’s power lashed out, wrapping around the creature.

Zzzzzzt!

Noise filled the air; the black sea and even the world around me flickered with distortion.

Dagon gathered all his power to drive Utopia’s force out of his domain, and he succeeded—

but not before suffering severe damage.

The results were immediate.

The scenery that had been indistinguishable between illusion and reality shifted and stabilized.

The fight of power ended in my favor.

He had underestimated Utopia and misjudged how far I could go.

Now I knew roughly where he was, and I’d twisted this space enough to disrupt its balance.

That it hadn’t completely collapsed was impressive, really.

Everyone I had been speaking to vanished—no, half of them did.

Rebecca stood frozen like a broken puppet.

And then—

“AAAAAAH!!!”

The princess of Baltosma, who had remained composed until now, screamed and collapsed.

“Haah… haah… Kyaaa!!!”

She trembled, drenched in cold sweat, her eyes unfocused.

“Please! Save me! Save me!”

Seeing her panic, I knew I had to act quickly.

“Librarian.”

[Confirmed.]

“Isn’t there a Hall of Recovery?”

[Given your current physical state, transferring would be too dangerous. I recommend rendering her unconscious instead—]

Thud.

I struck the back of her neck lightly; she slumped, unconscious.

Looking around, I saw no survivors.

No Rebecca.

Nothing.

Only the faintly breathing princess remained in the silent hideout.

“….”

I couldn’t leave her here.

I slung her onto my back.

Utopia stayed inert—proof that the illusion space was partially broken, but Dagon’s domain wasn’t gone yet.

Uriel, the archangel, was still missing, and Rebecca might still be alive somewhere.

It was possible the princess had seen something I hadn’t.

* * *

The last surviving royal of Baltosma awoke about twenty minutes later.

Holding her head, she blinked and looked around in confusion, then at her trembling hands.

Her hollow eyes found me.

“Are you all right? You didn’t look well, so I had to knock you out.”

“……”

The small girl stared emptily, then whispered,

“A stranger… What’s going to repeat this time…?”

“What you experienced was likely an illusion.”

“That’s impossible… No illusion could feel so real… or hurt that much…”

Her voice was dead, devoid of will.

I grasped her shoulders firmly.

“I’m Leon Cascadia of the Bata Kingdom. I came to Baltosma’s capital for business, but the city… it’s in ruins. Is that related to this Chancellor?”

“Chancellor…! The ritual of sin!”

So it was real.

“What did you see in the illusion?”

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“A monster… A monster swallowed the entire city whole…”

Tears streamed down as she trembled.

“Water rose everywhere… everyone was sucked into the creature’s mouth… The knights tried to protect me and were eaten… there were strange undead, a monster with an iron-ball head chasing us…”

She was spiraling again—no chance to get coherent answers like this.

So I cast a teleportation spell.

I had marked the capital’s coordinates; I could return later.

With the princess in my arms, I returned to Cascadia.

“Leon? That girl on your back—wait! That’s the Princess of Baltosma! Did you kidnap her!?”

Melissa nearly screamed.

“If only. The capital’s gone—completely.”

When I’d left the hideout, there was nothing but devastation.

The castle, the city—all gone, as though something gigantic had opened its mouth underground and swallowed it whole.

Only some ruined houses on the outskirts remained.

The princess had barely survived among them.

I had located Dagon’s domain, but he had already finished feeding and left.

No souls, no survivors—only this girl.

Rebecca’s involvement bothered me, but I was fairly sure she hadn’t died.

Melissa stared in disbelief.

“Why… why would this happen…”

Instead of answering, I decided to call someone who could help.

“Is Lispa Elde here?”

“She dropped by earlier—should I fetch her?”

“Yes. She’s the only one who can stabilize the princess’s mind.”

Melissa ordered servants to carry the girl to a guestroom.

“What exactly happened out there? Weren’t you supposed to find an archangel by the Saintess’s command?”

“Yeah. And I met one hell of a bastard instead.”

“Who?”

“I don’t even know.”

She frowned but didn’t press further.

“Get some rest.”

“Yeah… I’m oddly tired.”

The exhaustion hit me all at once—a price for reckless confrontation against an unknown power.

“Leon? You look awful.”

“Sorry. I’m going to sleep.”

I collapsed onto the bed.

Luna frowned, worried.

“Traces of an outer dimension? Leon, what did you—”

Her voice faded as sleep overtook me.

I hadn’t fallen asleep like this, without Luna beside me, in a long time.

My consciousness faded—

—and in my dream, I faced a colossal eye.

Had I not realized what it was, I might have mistaken it for the wall of the world itself.

‘So you’re the one who interferes with my vengeance.’

“Dagon.”

I spoke his name instinctively.

“You should’ve stayed buried in your outer dimension. What the hell are you doing here?”

He laughed darkly.

‘Do I look like a servant of the Fallen Devourer to you?’

What, you’re not?

If you’re one of the Red Moon’s subordinates, that’s basically the same thing, isn’t it?

Or maybe revenge—like Sullivan.

Was he another of that kind?

‘Hardly. Even if I once yielded to that creature, I still resent the one who destroyed my realm, R’lyeh. I need power to avenge it. Grant me what I seek, and I’ll never touch your world again.’

[According to records, Dagon is a servant of the Red Moon.]

The Librarian’s note didn’t match his claim.

“So, Dagon, was it?”

I glared straight into the immense eye and unleashed all my inner power.

Boom!

The dream-realm trembled as my will dominated it.

The vast pressure crushed him down.

“Revenge? Lies. Don’t spew nonsense—you think I didn’t see that black sea?”

‘Ah… so you noticed.’

He laughed bitterly, his eye warping.

‘Then come, little creature. Come if you dare. The oceans themselves will rise against you.’

“Perfect. I happen to have a friend who’s the king of the seas. I’ll tell him to conquer every ocean while we’re at it.”

He strained against my suppression, exuding intangible malice.

‘Arrogant fool! Even an archangel couldn’t withstand my mind’s grasp and is now trapped within R’lyeh! You think a mere insect like you can resist me!?’

Uriel—so he was caught by Dagon.

The Archangel of Knowledge, undone this easily?

Either Dagon wasn’t bluffing… or Uriel had another plan.

Regardless, his counterattack began.

[Warning, Prepare for mental shock.]

Boom!

An invisible wave swept through me.

His power felt alien, deadly—different from Cthugha or Nyarlathotep.

There was no avoiding damage; I could only strike back.

[Initiating resistance.]

[Resistance failed. Unknown divine authority detected in target’s power.]

[“Authority of Death” in motion. Resistance failed.]

[“White Force” in motion. Resistance failed. What are your orders?]

Fine.

He wants to peer into my depths?

Let him look.

Whatever he finds in the remnants of Labyrinthos buried in my soul—he won’t walk away intact.

At my consent, his mental probe streamed straight through my defenses like an open highway.

[Dagon’s power penetrates into your deepest origin.]

‘Show me! What are you made of? What hides in your core?!’

And then—something happened neither of us expected.

A message from the Librarian appeared before me.

[Seal on restricted sanctuary detected. Releasing lock.]

Huh?

[Special Achievement Hall “Sanctuary of the Martial God” temporarily activated.]

The incomprehensible notice flashed—and Dagon’s energy abruptly halted, as though hitting an invisible wall.

‘Wh—what is this!?’

His voice shook with confusion.

Then I realized—I was looking at my own body from outside, as if my soul had stepped out.

Step…

My soulless body began to move on its own.

Tap.

As its foot touched the ground, a shadow formed behind it—

A colossal figure resembling the Grim Reaper, darker and thicker than Thanatos’s own authority, followed it like a living thing.

Even without understanding its origin, I knew one thing instinctively,

It was poison.

Not ordinary poison—

but a supreme venom so deadly that even outer gods would scream in terror.

Step.

My body halted.

‘Gyaaaaa!!!’

Cracks like fractures in reality split across Dagon’s entire being as he shrieked in agony.

‘Stay back!! Stay away, you monster!! What in the abyss are you harboring inside yourself!?’

Though I couldn’t see him directly, I could feel him tearing at his own flesh in fear.

His terrified voice was utterly different now.

For beings like the Red Moon, mere exposure of their essence destroys mortal minds—

and though Dagon was lesser than the Red Moon, he too possessed that overwhelming destructive force.

Yet when he peered into my essence, into the depths even I didn’t know—

he went mad instead.

Like a lizard severing its tail, he abandoned most of his power and fled in blind panic.

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