The second of the five Seeds of Doom.
Kalakh, the high priest of the Orc Tribe, is known as the ‘Preacher of Chaos.’
Typically, the Seeds of Doom have a concept called the degree of corruption; once it reaches completion, they transform into irredeemable villains with purely malevolent tendencies. In easier terms, think of them as the five candidates for Demon King of this continent.
Rudine and Elfried fell into corruption due to certain triggers, which allowed them to be saved before their corruption became complete.
However, in Kalakh’s case, surprisingly, by the time the story begins, his corruption is already fully developed.
In other words, he represents a pure antagonist with no room for redemption. The problem lies in the fact that the abilities he uses—sorcery—are rather challenging to counteract in various ways.
Sorcery, unlike regular magic, requires a price.
Thus, compared to the more standardized form of magic, it’s primitive, but correspondingly far more potent.
Furthermore, its potential limit exceeds that of ordinary magic. Depending on the type of offering made, it can manifest abilities beyond conventional knowledge.
Additionally, since it can be activated purely by the practitioner’s will, its invocation speed is incredibly fast, almost unbelievable.
Plod, plod.
I took a step toward Kalakh who had been halted by the ability ‘Reverse.’
At that moment, his pupils desperately darted around.
“!!!”
Crack.
Kalakh’s index finger began to twist unnaturally.
Although his body was immobilized, sorcery’s characteristic of being invocable by mere willpower meant his ability had been triggered.
At that instant, a sorcery diagram formed behind his back.
A violent burst of violet mana swirled in the air, sketching something.
The eerie, slowly floating eye-shaped image behind him momentarily paused, then began rapidly blinking.
Creeeak, creak-ck.
After some time, the eye slowly rolled and faced me, and simultaneously, black flames emerged from its corners.
The dark flames that trickled down like tears fell to the ground, setting the surroundings ablaze instantly.
Sssshhh—!
The black flames rapidly covered the land.
Unlike ordinary flames, these writhed and spread as if alive.
Kwaahhhang!
Hundreds of streaks of pitch-black fire swept in all directions.
The ground rotted and crumbled, while the rocks blackened and crumbled away in oxidation.
Simultaneously, the raging flames, moving in bizarre patterns, rushed toward me.
This power was inconceivable considering it was the result of merely bending one finger.
However, the moment the fierce flames pierced through me, they were swept away and vanished in a strong heat blast.
Kalakh’s eyes opened and closed in disbelief at this astonishing sight.
I stood there, silently gazing at him.
‘Shall I just kill him?’
A Seed of Doom who has fully matured into corruption is itself a calamity for the world.
Kalakh is completely consumed by the power of chaos and his power is at least equivalent to that of a Lord-tier; in fact, his strength can be compared to the Third Lord, without a doubt.
The only issue is that while the Third Lord is a pure martial fighter who climbed the ranks solely through his fists, it would prove difficult for him to combat Kalakh, who masters sorcery to the extreme, using the Third Lord’s typical fighting style.
Frankly, notions of honorable dueling mean nothing.
However, if the Third Lord dies, it’s clear that the now vacant Third Lord’s Domain would inevitably be handed over to me.
To take responsibility for the Third Lord’s Domain after the Second Lord’s Domain?
That is something I absolutely cannot tolerate.
Besides, there were things I needed to ask of Kalakh, the second seed.
I released the power of ‘Reverse’, causing Kalakh, rebounding backwards, to crash into the dirt with a cough.
Through the swirling crimson flames that covered the entire area, I slowly approached him.
Kwaang!! Kwaang!!
With every step, the flames surrounding the land lashed out at my head like whips.
It was an attack so swift that no human’s dynamic vision could respond in time.
Regardless of how on edge my senses stood, dodging the continuous attacks striking at my blind spots was nearly impossible.
But I didn’t need to dodge, so I carried on walking.
As expected, each of his attacks vanished the moment they touched my body, and Kalakh, watching this, burst out in a bitter laugh, his face filled with despair.
“…What exactly are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Can’t you see I’m causing chaos?”
“So, what’s your reason for all this?”
“Does chaos need a reason? I’m just doing it. You didn’t declare the war between races for some lofty reason either, did you? Consider me the same.”
“……”
With his quick intellect, Kalakh must have realized the disparity of power through just a few engagements.
As I leisurely considered the idea of dismembering his limbs, something caught my attention—a pendant hanging from his neck, faintly glowing.
‘…What is that?’
The pearl embedded at the center of the pendant was unusual.
It was of a mixed hue resembling a rainbow, and the engraved runes in its center faintly glimmered.
While I wasn’t certain, I did have a suspicion.
‘Rune of Elements?’
…Why would he possess such a thing?
True, I didn’t have enough information to confirm that it was the Rune of Elements.
But, given that my tattoos under my eyes resonated as they glowed, my speculation seemed about 90% accurate.
‘It seems he hasn’t absorbed it yet.’
There’s a set method to absorb a Rune.
One must make a solemn vow with the correct incantation, accompanied by a proper offering.
Without knowing the incantation, absorption is impossible.
Even Silvia, in the storyline, only comes to learn about Runes during the mid-late phase, when crossing the Outer Sea. So, it’s safe to say that at this point, only I know how to absorb Runes.
Without hesitation, I extended my right hand.
It was an instantaneous moment.
A streak of golden vapor shot from my fingertips, cutting through the air, and surrounded the pendant hanging around Kalakh’s neck.
“!!!”
Kalakh’s eyes widened significantly.
In a desperate attempt to protect the pendant, his hand reached out, but it was too late.
“Transfer.”
The space surrounding the pendant distorted and folded.
And then,
Thud.
The pendant landed in my palm.
*
Elsewhere.
‘… Where is she heading at this hour?’
Silvia was moving under the cover of darkness.
She was following someone. None other than Luke Richter, the Sixth Lord.
Since he was moving furtively in the dead of night, his actions seemed anything but casual.
To ensure smooth progress in cultivating goodwill with the Sixth Lord, she wore the Black Hope, a pitch-black cloak crafted from the corpse of Ouroboros.
As the world’s foremost stealth artifact, it temporarily erased the wearer’s presence, ensuring the Sixth Lord did not realize he was being followed.
Still, she kept a reasonable distance as a precaution and followed him. Eventually, they arrived at the Orc Tribe’s domain, a volcanic region.
‘…Why is she here?’
Swallowing her apprehension, Silvia continued her pursuit.
When they arrived, it was at an uninhabited altar.
There, she witnessed something.
[ SYSTEM: ‘The Second Seed of Doom, Kalakh’ has been encountered. ]
[ ※Warning: Extreme caution is required when approaching this target. ]
[ Attribute: Chaos ]
[ Corruption Progress: 100% (Complete) ]
[ Danger Level: SSS ]
‘…Kalakh?’
The Second Seed of Doom, Kalakh, the Preacher of Chaos.
The instigator of the declaration of war against the Third Lord was slumped on the ground.
The nearby ground was completely decayed by the pitch-black flames. The signs of battle were evident.
Before her, Kalakh was confronted by none other than the Sixth Lord.
‘… What is this?’
Kalakh was slumped, and the Sixth Lord whispered something while holding something in his hand.
Though too distant to see clearly, as the Sixth Lord muttered, light poured from the cracks of his fingers and was absorbed into his body.
And at that moment.
“Shit! You son of a bitch…!!”
Kalakh’s face contorted demonically as he stood up.
Then he stretched his left leg forward, rolling on the ground.
Gooong!!
The ground was deeply gouged by Kalakh’s unnatural stance.
Behind him, a sorcery symbol reformed on a scale far greater than before.
Crack! Bang!
His limbs twisted grotesquely.
His torso bent and deformed, blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
His teeth fell out, and his hair shed. These were the backlashes of casting a large-scale sorcery.
Gooonguuu—!
The ground trembled beneath them.
As the sorcery symbol behind Kalakh completed its formation, the entire volcano began to shake.
And then…
KWAHAAAANG!!
Churning magma erupted from the ground, shooting up into the sky like a fiery fountain.
The intense heat wave engulfed the sky, and the air felt scorching hot.
Almost immediately, molten rocks began to rain down like fire.
Taken aback by the sudden turn of events, Silvia unintentionally held her breath. At that moment, the Sixth Lord raised his hand.
As he softly muttered something, it acted as a signal—
“!!!”
The erupting magma froze mid-air.
As if time were flowing backward, thousands of magma droplets hung motionless before slowly reversing their course, rising back into the sky.
The lava, as if possessing its own will, congregated toward the Sixth Lord’s fingertips.
Uuuuung!!
The crimson lava that had dyed the sky coalesced into a singular point and shrank in size dramatically.
The compressed heat intensified exponentially, until finally, a single crimson, sun-like sphere remained above the Sixth Lord’s fingers.
Silvia watched as the Sixth Lord’s fingers moved slowly. After pressing his thumb and middle finger together, he gathered power to flick—
Snap.
It was as light as flicking a stone, and the Sixth Lord released his fingers with ease.
A moment of stillness.
And then…
KEEEEING!!!
An impossibly compressed stream of light pierced through Kalakh’s chest. In an instant, everything in the trajectory of the light beam was swept away and vaporized.
The boiling magma, the sharp rocks, the dense clouds of volcanic ash—all vanished without a trace before the light.
The earth itself split apart. Or rather, at the point the light passed through, it cleanly split as if slashed by a blade.
A deep canyon, stretching kilometers in a straight line, formed where the light had traveled, as if carved by a massive blade.
Silvia’s gaze settled on Kalakh.
A giant hole pierced his abdomen, his insides seemingly evaporated.
“…”
Silvia was at a loss for words.
