The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 359

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Chapter 359

After the creature fled, I sank into yet another dream.

For a moment I wondered if it was still clinging to me, but this one felt distinctly different from before.

Even there, I was merely an observer.

What I was seeing was the figure of a Destroyer—dressed in black, exuding a dense black aura.

Above, the eye of the red moon glistened as it stared down at the ground.

The sky was filled with crimson clouds, making the world look like it had reached its end.

Splurch!!!

With a sickening crack, one person’s life was snuffed out.

And the one who ended that girl’s life was—me.

“……”

I tried to stop it, but the me inside this dream was a perfect bystander.

And this wasn’t reality.

Even so, everything was far too realistic.

Within the dream, I headed toward the place the red moon was gazing at, and there, I silently annihilated everything that existed.

Countless people resisted, but all eventually fell apart.

However—

Among them, some groups organized themselves to fend off my movements and fight back.

Most of their faces were unfamiliar, but two were unmistakably clear.

“Meryl Dyne. Rebecca.”

The Moon Watchers.

I see.

So this is a prophecy?

The prophecy the watchers said they witnessed.

It might very well be this.

In the dream, I guided everything into death impartially—like some god who brought extinction.

All life was included in that process, not just humans.

Even beings who appeared to be archangels couldn’t stop me and were erased.

And each time that happened, the world grew even redder.

Eventually, when there was nothing left to destroy…

A single figure, standing motionless, stared directly at me.

A cold expression without a trace of emotion.

His chilly sky-blue eyes locked onto mine, and his lips moved.

However, I could not make out what he was saying.

Yet his expression made it clear—he was speaking to the current me.

* * *

In the depths of the deep sea—the realm of R’lyeh—the ruler Dagon writhed in agony, twisting his massive body.

His lower half was like that of a giant serpent.

His upper half resembled a colossal fish-man.

Just the sheer scale of him made it hard to believe such a creature could exist.

–KUAOOOOOO!!!

Strange vapor burst out from all over his massive body as he thrashed.

The thing had been nothing but a trivial little being.

Invading such a puny creature’s mind to collapse it was easy.

He might have escaped the illusion for now, but he hadn’t even realized that the tiny creature was still clinging to the remnants of it.

He resisted in his own way—but in all the time he’d lived, no creature had ever endured his mental intrusion and remained intact.

He had intended to drag the creature’s soul into an ocean of screams— 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

But the moment he stepped deeper into the creature’s locked inner layer—

He realized something was dreadfully wrong.

The instinct of a powerful, long-lived being.

He had opened something he never should have opened.

Realizing this, he tried to resist—but some formless force slowly tightened around him.

It felt like being trapped in a small space that was shrinking smaller and smaller.

Accompanied by an overpowering, unavoidable helplessness.

Overwhelmed by terror and pain, he struggled desperately to escape the tiny creature’s mind.

But the monster lurking inside the creature toyed with him like a plaything, refusing to let him leave.

In the end, Dagon was forced to tear away more than half his own power just to escape.

Now that things had come to this, the only choice was to devour the city of lowly creatures and finish digesting the humans he had trapped inside R’lyeh.

R’lyeh had existed long before he came into being.

As its ruler, Dagon used its power to store those he had swallowed, draining their strength.

He hadn’t digested them quickly because the despair, pain, and sorrow they felt gave him far greater power.

‘I won’t retreat like this.’

Enraged at the tiny creature, he invaded human minds to devour the city and its inhabitants.

Then he began showing them horrifying illusions that felt painfully real.

One gray-haired girl, targeted by his influence, continued her task without realizing she had fallen into an illusion.

Boom!!!

A massive crash rang out, and the girl flinched, rising from her seat and moving toward the sound.

“Kyaak?!”

And there she saw it—

The tiny creature who had inflicted him so much pain—impaled all over by blades, hanging limply from a hook around his neck.

Her eyes widened as she collapsed, trembling violently, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

Yes.

Despair.

Feel fear and collapse.

See the future where your beloved has died, and writhe in agony.

Shaking uncontrollably, she crawled toward Leon’s body, reaching up with trembling hands to lift him off the hook.

As his flesh slid off the metal with a grotesque squelch, her hands shook violently.

Then she muttered.

“B-brother… You’re lying, right? Stop saying nonsense and just wake up… How could this even…”

Despair flowed from her as she whispered, unable to accept the reality.

Delicious!

More!

Sink deeper into despair!

The despair she emitted was deeper and richer than ordinary humans.

She must have experienced something similar before.

As he tried to push more of his power to give her greater despair—

Melissa’s hand suddenly stopped.

“Die? My brother? Leon Cascadia died?”

Something was off.

It sounded like denial—but her despair was shrinking.

“How could that insane three-legged octopus die? How is that even possible?”

…What?

Muttering to herself, she suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“Ah. This is an illusion. Leon!!! How many times did I tell you not to use Utopia randomly, you bastard?! If you’re gonna show me something, show me something better than this!”

As she screamed, the illusion shattered instantly.

He no longer had the power to maintain it.

‘Damn it.’

The injury he received from the creature’s inner mind was too severe.

He couldn’t even trap this weak, fragile being properly in an illusion.

Which meant he couldn’t consume her despair for recovery.

Barely able to move, Dagon turned his hunger toward others.

But—

“The Young Lord? Dead? How is that possible?”

“Hm… This must be an illusion.”

Everyone in the mansion spoke nonsensical things and easily broke free from the hallucinations.

If that tiny creature had simply been shown as someone else, it would’ve worked.

[Translator - Night]

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By the time he realized this, his strength was already nearly gone.

Worse, because of that, R’lyeh, which had been under his control, began slipping free of his influence, and he grew desperate.

Unlike Nyarlathotep or Cthuga, his main body was inside R’lyeh—not some outer dimension.

‘Just wait… you insignificant speck. I’ll drag you into despair and savor you slowly.’

Planning for later, Dagon hurriedly gathered what power he had left and retreated to his true body.

* * *

When I awoke from the dream after he fled, a whole day had passed.

“Did you sleep well~?”

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Luna’s face.

She smiled sweetly and nestled into my arms.

I hugged her silently, and she spoke proudly.

“The baby’s life force grew a little more. It’s so precious.”

Most mothers couldn’t feel such subtle changes—but she felt all of it clearly.

I quietly pressed my ear to her stomach.

I heard nothing but the faintest heartbeat, yet the warmth radiating from her belly eased my mind.

“Luna.”

“What?”

“Do you know anything about a place called R’lyeh?”

“R’lyeh… R’lyeh… Don’t tell me. Uriel got trapped there?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

“No wonder. It was strange how all traces of him suddenly disappeared. R’lyeh is one of the absolute realms that belongs to no dimension.”

“So how do you get there?”

“I have no idea.”

Her calm answer made me decide I had to go to the place where I last sensed the creature.

“You’re going?”

“I have to. I need to meet Uriel. And there are some people caught up in this that I’d prefer didn’t die.”

I told her briefly what had happened inside the dream with the creature.

Though she seemed bewildered, she simply nodded, judging only the facts.

“I can’t say I understand, but Dagon’s condition might be far worse than expected. It is the perfect opportunity to kill him.”

She clearly wanted to follow but forced herself to stay silent.

“I’m sorry.”

“You stay here. You're not alone now.”

She nodded quietly, pulled me down, gave me a short kiss, and smiled.

With Luna’s farewell behind me, I headed toward the room where the princess of Baltosma was sleeping.

And at the door, I ran into someone unexpected.

“You should at least notify me when you’re coming.”

“Because of you, Nyarlathotep is in a frenzy killing cultists everywhere.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“There are a few cultists who are actually useful to humanity. They’re not all monsters. Saving even one may save hundreds or thousands of people later.”

A masked, black-robed figure.

The leader of the Watchers.

“Judging by your presence here, you know the situation. I met Rebecca in the capital of Baltosma. Did you send that little girl to her death?”

“We know. And let me make one thing clear: she’s still alive.”

Her firm answer made me frown.

“That’s what matters to you? As long as she doesn’t die, you think it’s fine to throw her into hell?”

“We are that kind of people. If sacrificing ourselves with a smile means saving even one more life, then so be it.”

Her answer made my blood boil.

People do unimaginable things the moment their own life is at stake.

In a flash, I grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.

“Say something like that one more time. I dare you.”

“You’re planning to go to R’lyeh. We will move as we see fit.”

“I’m not in the mood to match your pace. Do whatever you want.”

“To enter R’lyeh, you need at least two keys.”

A key?

“We possess one. We’ll hand it over when you arrive.”

“And the other?”

She pointed toward the room.

“The princess of Baltosma. Without her, entering R’lyeh is impossible.”

At that moment, the door creaked open.

She must have calmed down somewhat.

Her eyes were swollen from crying, yet she still looked at me with a dignified gaze befitting royalty.

“As the last royal of Baltosma, I beg you. Please take me there.”

“I don’t exactly have the luxury to protect a princess while fighting.”

“Didn’t she say I was a key? My life doesn’t matter. But if even a fragment of my body or soul can help destroy the monster that ruined my kingdom, I will gladly give it.”

Her regained clarity was filled with intense vengeance.

The watcher leader was already gone without a trace.

The princess looked startled at her sudden disappearance.

“Promise me two things. If you act on your own without listening to me, I won’t help you anymore.”

“I… I understand.”

“And once we open the entrance to that creature’s realm, you stay there and wait. He’s not someone I can fight while protecting you.”

I didn't know what state Dagon was in.

From what happened before, it looked like he had taken heavy damage—but it could have been a bluff.

After hashing out the details, I took her with me to the body of water between the central and western continents, where the creature was last seen.

We boarded a small boat that we found quickly.

The captain of the boat was, surprisingly, a watcher—apparently a former fisherman whose sailing skills were impressive.

“This is the key to entering R’lyeh.”

He handed me a small key, then asked, trying to hide his confusion.

“But how do you intend to reach R’lyeh? It’s deep in the abyssal ocean. A boat like this cannot reach it.”

“We’ll have to carve a path.”

“A path…? What do you mean?”

I activated a small artifact I’d prepared and tossed it into the sea.

Soon after, a massive shadow moved beneath the water, and with an enormous roar, a tremendous being surfaced.

“It’s been a while, Nessi.”

–Grrrrrrrr…

The king of forbidden seas, ruler of the oceanic demon realm.

He had grown stronger—clearly nourished well.

Upon seeing me, he placed a large, plump, multicolored fish onto the deck.

Another gift.

“You didn’t have to… Luna can use it as a tonic. Thanks, I’ll take it.”

I extended my hand, and he offered a huge finger, as if shaking hands.

The princess of Baltosma was so terrified she forgot to scream, collapsing onto the deck.

Nessi glanced at me quietly.

“Don’t scare her. She’s important.”

The intelligent creature lowered one of his giant tentacles into the water and lifted a jewel that must have sunk long ago.

He dropped it.

Then extended the jewel toward her with the tip of his tentacle, as if offering it.

She stared at me blankly.

“He looks like that, but he’s my friend. He’s also protecting my younger sibling.”

“Ah… ahh… Th-thank you…”

Ignoring her trembling voice, I explained why I had summoned him.

“I’m heading for the trench beneath this sea. Can you open a path?”

The trench below was unfathomably deep.

But Nessi simply drew a circle with a tentacle.

Then—

He submerged again, and a miraculous phenomenon occurred.

The ocean split in a vast, circular shape, opening a deep path straight into the abyss below.

The range wasn’t wide, but the sight was overwhelmingly powerful.

Though to my eyes, he was clearly struggling.

He must’ve hidden himself so he wouldn’t show weakness.

I’d pretend not to notice.

“That’s impossible… Does he truly possess power like this?”

Even the watcher-fisherman was stunned.

I wrapped an arm around the princess’s waist.

“My apologies.”

“Kyaa!”

Then I used flight magic, descending rapidly along the path Nessi had created.

Sunlight shone all the way down to the ocean floor, revealing something previously hidden.

A structure no natural formation could create—the entrance to Dagon’s realm, R’lyeh.

But were the swallowed people simply trapped inside like hostages?

I doubted a being like an archangel could be confined by a mere physical prison.

While I pondered this, Nessi, who had descended behind me to the abyss, growled.

‘Hurry the hell up. This is exhausting.’

We couldn’t communicate, but I understood exactly what he meant.

[Translator - Night]

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