Chapter 784
Countless Kelliark Zipple filled the Theia Plain.
But they were nothing more than empty monsters created from chaos, only resembling Kelliark Zipple in appearance.
Jin came to the conclusion. If they were all real Kelliarks, Zipple should have already conquered the world.
"What's going on?"
"Wow, there are so many we can just kill them all."
Jin felt like the day he escaped Laprarosa and entered the Mitra Desert. The group easily fought off the swarming monsters and assessed the situation.
"Valeria, how's your Record Magic?"
"The chaos is too dense, making things difficult. The tower where the incident began is also too far away. We need to penetrate deeper."
"We'll have to fight our way through while dealing with everything. You don't have to worry about stealth, Owal-nim. For some reason, Beradin... I have a feeling he knew we were coming, so he just left this place alone."
It wasn't just a hunch.
The major factions are struggling to deal with the remaining areas of chaos contamination in the world.
Amidst that, the heart of Zipple, the Tower of Stories, has come to this point, and they couldn't just stand by.
"Seems like I'll show you something interesting, and the problem is for you to solve, Beradin intentionally left this area abandoned, right?"
"Yes, Siris. The chaos may be dense, but not to the point where it can't be resolved with Zipple's abilities. Even the Kelliark-shaped monsters have low combat power."
Not all of them were as weak as the initially slain monsters.
Among them, there were individuals who occasionally used considerable levels of magic spells.
They were all weakened forms of magic used by Kelliark Zipple.
Of course, even taking that into account, there was no reason for Zipple to leave the vicinity of the Tower of Stories alone.
Owal and the others nodded in agreement with Jin's words.
"In other words, even Zipple may not know the exact cause of how this place has come to this state."
"Yes, that's right, Siris. If we go and examine the records, we'll find some clues about that."
[¡Sshsirk...!]
Swoosh!
Every time the group swung their swords, the monsters scattered into particles.
However, upon closer inspection, the particles didn't simply evaporate but converged into a chaos that burned like flames across the plain.
Then, it was reborn as Kelliark Zipple from within the black flames and aimed at the group.
They weren't a direct threat, but it meant that without "fundamental purification," this land couldn't be purified.
The group continued advancing towards the tower without hesitation.
Their justification for invading enemy territory without permission became even more certain.
Currently, the Theia Plain was in a state where anyone can think that Zipple "failed to create another evil god."
As they moved, Jin carefully examined the battlefield.
‘15 km. No, with this level of chaos, problems have likely arisen even up to 30 km outside the Tower of Stories.’
It was a scene that revealed how intense the battle had been in this place.
The plains were filled with traces of dragon claws and various powerful spells.
Among them, the most notable were the pools of clean water and the towering pillar-shaped rocks.
It meant that beings with the ultimate authority over water and earth had participated in the battle.
The first that came to mind were the dragons of Itelmion and Rikta, Tuyan and Pinia.
Coincidentally, the first sentence described in Valeria's record was the fact that they had participated in the battle.
"If Tuyan and Pinia participated, it means Beradin intervened personally, but he appeared at the recent Federation integration conference without a scratch."
The various experiments and the Demon God Orb that Zipple had carried out had significantly increased Beradin's power, but in Jin's opinion, Beradin was still no match to face him.
However, the traces of the battle that became more evident as they approached the tower were of such magnitude that even Jin himself would inevitably be injured.
The magic used during the battle still lingered in certain areas.
At a point where they were halfway to the tower, the group suddenly came face to face with a gigantic flame orb burning in the middle of the plain.
Although somewhat distorted, the flame orb was undoubtedly the magic left behind by Riol Zipple.
"Flame Orb, 2nd Version...."
Near the flame orb, several spells were unfolding that collided with it at that moment.
They were traces of various secret magic spells of Zipple, including the blue eyes.
The fact that the magic still maintained its form meant that the spellcaster was still alive.
Record Magic indicated that the owner of the flame orb was Kelliark Zipple.
<Ten days ago, a magic deployed by Kelliark Zipple to confront his son, Beradin Zipple. The Flame Orb, 2nd Version continues to exist even after the battle, sustained by his resentment and spirit.>
The group's gaze fell upon the record.
After reading the description and looking at it again, they noticed that the Kelliark-like creatures were extending their hands, infusing mana into the flame orb, as if adding firewood to keep the flames alive.
"Since it was a magic deployed to confront Beradin, the pieces of the puzzle are almost fitting. The center of the battle was Kelliark, the Fire Dragon Kadun, and Beradin."
"It's strange that those are the remnants of Kelliark's resentment. Does it mean that Beradin abandoned Kelliark first?"
Jin and Valeria spoke.
"If Kelliark went berserk, it could have been because he was in a state of resentment, hatred, or madness due to chaos."
The important thing was what had happened to Kelliark, who was clearly still alive.
"It seems clear why Beradin left this flame orb alone without getting rid of it. He wanted to confirm Kelliark's life and death through this. Therefore, there is a high possibility that Kelliark fled during the battle. It's clear that Kelliark caused the rampage..."
Jin paused for a moment, thinking about the "conditions" for the rampage. Jin knew of two conditions for a rampage.
First, chaos goes berserk when it's stimulated by a larger chaos.
The rampages of individuals like Yona and Amela in the past were examples of this.
Second, a rampage caused by the manipulation and strategy of someone who can handle the power of chaos.
Rosa becoming the evil god by accepting chaos through the prophet fell into this category.
If it were the latter, it would mean that Kelliark was also receiving help from a being similar to the prophet.
Whatever the case, it was a problem that could bring great danger to the world.
The group continued past the flame orb and advanced towards the Tower of Stories.
The remnants of Kelliark's spirits relentlessly attacked, wave after wave.
Finally, the Tower of Stories came into view.
Among the magic towers of Zipple, it was the most overwhelmingly tall and gigantic tower.
Despite its top being completely shattered, it didn't lose any of its imposing presence.
Now, the distance between the group and the tower was about 500 meters.
At such a distance, the forces stationed in the tower should have been unleashing magic.
Even with Owal using his stealth abilities to the fullest, it was still an extraordinary feat.
However, the tower seemed completely empty, with no response.
It appeared abandoned, and nearby, the Kelliark spirits writhed.
And the spirits that gathered near the tower no longer attacked the group.
Instead, as the group approached, they didn't even give them a glance but prostrated themselves towards the tower.
More precisely, they were all bowing towards a person kneeling in front of the tower.
"A person?"
It had been like this ever since the Kelliark-like creatures emerged, but it was particularly eerie.
The monsters seemed as if they were worshipping a god.
It was a woman.
She was kneeling at the entrance to the tower, seemingly unaware of the group's approach.
"That woman seems to be praying...?"
"Je, how strange. Should I kill her?"
"No, Elder Sister. She's someone we need to investigate."
The group carefully observed the energy emanating from the woman.
A golden aura faintly enveloped her, very similar to Bale's power.
Clearly, it was the energy of the Sun God.
Passing through the prostrated Kelliark spirits, the group approached the woman.
She remained unresponsive until the group was right behind her, but when Yona tried to touch her, she spoke.
"Please wait a moment, honorable guests, until I finish my prayer."
The group couldn't help but be surprised by her words.
It was because she knew exactly how Yona was sneaking up on her and trying to poke her with her finger.
It took at least a 10-Star level of power to vaguely perceive the movements of the current Yona.
However, there was no sense of a Warrior's presence coming from the woman.
Jin decided to comply with the woman's words.
She was an unknown figure until now, so it was necessary to examine her carefully.
Instead, Valeria opened the record window.
The woman didn't seem to mind the deployment of Record Magic right next to her, as she didn't ask them to stop.
<...Beradin Zipple and the Fire Dragon Kadun clashed in battle.>
<During the battle, the Fire Dragon Kadun died once..., ..., and the berserk Kelliark Zipple... attempted to destroy the Tower of Stories.>
As they approached the magic tower, the records in the window were being described more fluently than before, detailing the events of that day.
<...Kelliark Zipple... sought the power of the evil god...>
The group's pupils widened as they looked at the record window.
Until now, the strong indication was that Kelliark was attempting to transform into the evil god.
The record paused for a moment.
Sweat dripped down Valeria's forehead as she refocused. There was a sentence missing that should have appeared in the record window, which caused her frustration.
<...Beradin Zipple defeated the Fire Dragon Kadun... Kadun couldn't become Beradin's opponent...>
Amidst the fragmented and intriguing records that appeared in fragments, the woman stopped her prayer.
And simultaneously, Valeria, surprised, alternated her gaze between the record window and the woman.
'Why did the records suddenly start appearing so easily right after she finished her prayer?'
Others might not have noticed, but Valeria was very aware. The woman's prayer had influenced the records.
Turning around, the woman stood up and introduced herself.
"I apologize for my impolite appearance while I finished my prayer. I am Sanna, the priestess of the Sun's sanctuary."
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SYS (Novel)