The second shockwave hit.
The walls of the ruined structure trembled, dust cascading like rain. Even Gobta, usually oblivious in the worst ways, stiffened as fear rippled through the air.
"What is going on? I have a bad feeling about this…"
I did not answer immediately. My senses were already racing ahead.
Through the fractures in the ceiling, through the chaotic swirl of mana outside…
I saw it.
A monstrous dragon bore down from the distant sky—its body half-rotted, its wings dripping with corrupted energy.
A creature that should not exist.
"A foul presence… born from hatred and agony." My voice echoed coldly. "This is no ordinary beast."
I extended my magicules outward, letting Magic Perception spread through the ruins and beyond. The world sharpened under my gaze.
What I witnessed was grotesque.
It resembled a True Dragon, yet its form was twisted—its skin decayed, its magic spilling like a plague into the wind.
Its aura alone crushed the air.
Its power exceeded that of an awakened demon lord…
possibly even rivaling the former dragon kings.
"Is… is that bad?" Gobta stammered.
"It is catastrophic," I replied. "A dragon beyond Dragon Lords—this reeks of forbidden resurrection. A desecration."
Shion swallowed. "Could it be Veldora-sama's kin?"
I shook my head. "No. Its presence lacks sovereignty. Only torment. Whoever revived it… reshaped it into this abomination."
Milim suddenly went rigid.
"That's—!" Her eyes widened. "Atem, I have something I must do immediately. That dragon—!"
Without waiting, she vanished through Spatial Movement, panic cutting her composure.
Milim never panicked.
Something was terribly wrong.
I already understood.
"Her sealed companion," I murmured. "Someone broke the ancient seal and seeks to control it."
"What! Is that true, Atem-sama?" Benimaru asked.
"Yes. And that shockwave we felt…" I exhaled.
Charybdis, born from Veldora's cast-off vestiges, seemed like a child compared to this atrocity. The aura rolling off the Chaos Dragon was pure rage, sharpened into a weapon by someone else's hand.
I felt the threads.
I recognized the puppeteer.
"Mariabell," I growled. "She is manipulating its hatred. She intends to destroy the world through a dragon that should never have awakened."
"—Chaos Dragon," Kagali whispered. "The tyrant of ages long past… I never believed I'd see it again."
Milim would handle the beast. She alone held history with the creature.
It was the threat descending toward me that mattered now.
"Gobta. Shion. We have company."
"Understood!" Gobta shouted.
"Just leave these pathetic constructs to me," Shion boasted, drawing her blade.
The platoons of golems marched toward us, their lances gleaming.
Shion lunged—
—and her sword caught the low ceiling with a harsh clang.
"Shion," I snapped sharply. "Read the battlefield before committing."
"S-sorry, Atem-sama! Slight miscalculation!"
The golems struck her—their lances piercing through armor—but she endured it with grit and stubborn strength.
"Fighting in tight quarters is troublesome," Benimaru muttered. "If only the lower level is wider—"
"Enough," I cut in. "I will handle the seal myself."
I stepped forward.
«—Acknowledged. Transitioning to full battle mode.»
Solarys, Sovereign of Wisdom, whispered through my mind—ancient, calm, divine.
"Ranga," I commanded without turning. "Assist them. Buy us time."
"Yes, Atem-sama!"
Shion, Gobta, and Ranga fought to stall the metal horde while I approached the sealed door.
The ruins shook. Traps ignited. Alarms screamed.
But none of that mattered.
I raised my hand—
—and the ancient door responded instantly, opening before my authority without resistance.
"Move! Inside, quickly!"
The team descended the stairs behind me, their steps steady despite the chaos. Kagali was last; I shielded her flank as we descended deeper into the tomb.
We reached the bottom.
A meadow.
A vast, serene grassland bathed in gentle light despite being buried beneath the earth. A place meant for peaceful slumber.
But peace was short-lived.
Gobta tumbled down the final steps as golems poured in after him.
Shion, no longer constrained by the low ceilings, unleashed her fury—cutting through the metal army like paper. Golems fell in heaps beneath her strength.
There would be no mercy now.
They sought to isolate me. To provoke Milim. To force my hand.
I had underestimated Mariabell's desperation.
Never again.
I stepped forward, my aura rising like a storm.
The air trembled.
The ruins quaked.
I prepared myself fully—my power rising, my presence swallowing the chamber like a shadow crowned with flame.
And then—
We waited.
For the mastermind who dared challenge Atem, King of Eterna.
For the one foolish enough to step into the domain of the Pharaoh.
The golems advanced in endless waves, but the tide favored us.
Shion fought like a raging tempest, tearing through metal ranks with unrestrained ferocity. Ranga darted across the battlefield—his shadows warped into claws and fangs that disrupted enemy formations. Gobta, surprisingly calm under pressure, fired shot after shot, dismantling golems with admirable precision and even reloading between bursts.
Despite the overwhelming numbers, we held the advantage.
Kagali's team relaxed somewhat, though unease still flickered in their eyes.
"I truly can't believe someone dared to attack us," Kagali muttered anxiously. "And they even unsealed the Chaos Dragon… Who would be bold enough to provoke the King of Eterna?"
Her panic wasn't entirely an act—Solarys whispered that much to me—but her true emotions remained obscured.
"Do not burden yourselves with guilt," I told them. "I dragged you into this conflict."
"There's no need to apologize!" one of the men protested. "With Atem-sama here, we still have hope!"
"That's right!" another added. "We must report this to the capital immediately and devise countermeasures."
"But… if Demon Lord Milim falls to the Chaos Dragon…" someone murmured fearfully.
"Do not dwell on fear," I cut in firmly. "Focus on surviving what stands in front of you. Whoever set off these traps acted with wicked intent."
Some tried to keep an optimistic view. They were quick to adapt—commendable for mortals.
"I told you," I said, voice steady and resolute, "I will protect you all. But for that promise to stand, I must win first."
My words steadied them—the authority of a king carried weight beyond magic.
Gobta, Ranga, and Shion fought relentlessly, and though our circumstances were far from ideal, they were not hopeless. Milim would not fall. And the Chaos Dragon, even in its corrupted state, would bow before her fury.
We would defeat our enemies here. Then, we would deal with the consequences.
Kagali seemed reassured, falling silent.
I turned my gaze toward the battlefield, waiting for the true enemy to reveal themselves.
"—Atem-sama certainly has many enemies," Kagali remarked suddenly. "Is it because you became the King of Eterna?"
Now that the enemy had yet to arrive, I humored the question.
"Perhaps," I answered. "But I never sought conflict."
"Why then?"
"The Kingdom of Falmor attacked Eterna out of greed. Clayman used deception to force my hand. The Holy Knight Order acted under a misunderstanding. Every enemy came for me first. I answered only to protect those who follow me."
"So Atem-sama has never schemed first?"
"Not entirely true," I replied calmly. "In this case, our ideals clashed. It became a question of who would act first. That is how the situation escalated to this point."
"Couldn't this have been solved without violence?" Kagali asked softly.
"Perhaps," I said. "But when the only way to prevail is to consume your enemy—and your enemy refuses to be consumed—the outcome becomes inevitable."
Eterna's alliance with Dwargon and Sarion was airtight. Economically, politically, militarily—we had every advantage.
Solarys, Sovereign of Wisdom, surpassed any organic or artificial intelligence, guiding Eterna toward inevitable supremacy.
If our enemies stood idle, I would eventually dominate the Western Nations through sheer influence. They knew it.
"—Eh? So you understood that your enemies were only defending what they believed was right?" Kagali pressed.
"That depends on perspective," I said. "Two opposing ideologies cannot coexist forever. But if both sides retreated, perhaps peace could exist."
But peace was fantasy.
Our enemies wanted control.
I wanted freedom for my people.
There could be no middle ground.
To surrender would doom everyone who depended on me.
"But you could still negotiate," Kagali insisted. "Find mutual respect."
A difficult question indeed.
Before I could speak, another voice—light, mocking—answered for me.
"No. Humans never endure. Give them a single concession, and they demand three more. That is human nature."
A small figure stood behind the dissipating smoke.
The battlefield fell silent.
I turned.
She walked forward—calm, poised, chillingly confident.
A child.
A girl no older than ten, with golden hair and porcelain skin.
Her lips soft pink, her expression elegant and cruel.
An innocent face masking a tyrant's heart.
Mariabell.
"All men equal? Mutual understanding?" she scoffed. "Such foolish dreams belong to children. Reality is ruled by desire."
We understood each other immediately.
"We do," I agreed. "I am Atem, King of Eterna. And you?"
"Your enemy," she smiled. "Mariabell."
Almost instantly, the final golem shattered behind me.
Four figures stood with her.
Gai—bloodied and struggling to stay upright.
A knight in full armor.
A featureless woman radiating dread.
And—
Yuuki Kagurazaka.
The moment Kagali's group noticed him, chaos erupted.
"P-President?! What are you doing here?!"
"You… you were behind this?!"
"This must be a mistake—why would he order us to investigate the ruins if—"
They babbled, frightened, confused.
Yuuki didn't respond. His eyes were empty.
"Completely dominated," Solarys confirmed.
Kagali's voice trembled with anger.
"Yuuki-sama… have you betrayed us?!"
Whether her grief was genuine no longer mattered.
This charade needed to end.
Milim needed my support.
The Chaos Dragon raged above us.
But first—this little tyrant.
I stepped forward, locking eyes with Mariabell.
"Before we fight," I said, voice ringing with authority, "I wish to confirm one thing."
The confusion of my allies didn't matter; their trust in me held firm.
Mariabell's presence, though disguised behind a child's form, exuded a chilling malice.
"What do you wish to confirm?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Become my subject," I said. "And needless suffering can still be avoided."
Her laughter was sharp and cold.
"How amusing. But that line belongs to me. Atem—King of Eterna—you will fall here. Kneel, and I may consider sparing your life."
"Your ideology brings suffering to the masses so a handful may remain wealthy," I said. "You preach dominance. But I reject your vision."
"Yes," she said sweetly. "The weak exist to be drained. That is the law of the world. Even monsters follow that rule, do they not?"
"I acknowledge power," I replied. "I do not worship cruelty."
"Such naivety," she sneered. "Do you truly believe all men deserve equal opportunity?"
"No," I said firmly. "But they deserve a chance."
Solarys resonated with my conviction.
"Talent blooms in unexpected soil. Some awaken late. Some possess strengths unseen. Under your tyranny, they would never be allowed to rise—and that is a tragedy."
Mariabell's eyes dimmed.
"Boring. So boring. To think a king would be such an idealist. Pathetic."
"My words cannot reach you," I said. "So we settle this by another method."
"Yes," she grinned. "I will show you reality."
Two forms of justice.
Two incompatible worlds.
Only battle could decide whose truth would prevail.
At that moment—
Atem, Pharaoh of Eterna
and
Mariabell, Child Tyrant of Greed,
crossed gazes like blades.
The verdict of the Pharaoh was about to be delivered.