Meanwhile...
Hundreds of miles away...
At the edge of the continent, just before the Tashubel Sea...
Five beings moved onward. It was none other than the Kaiju brothers and Fadex. Having lost to Kime and Lucky, Fadex had decided to retreat.
He had no real stakes in the war and had only been there for revenge against Carpathia. With his absence—and his most recent loss—a few things had become clear to him.
The first was that, as he currently was, there was no way he could win a fight against any of the Four Legends.
His earlier opportunity to defeat Kime had only appeared because Kime underestimated him while managing high-level time runes—Eleīovēin—at the same time.
That meant he would have to obey that man's instructions. He hated the man's damned seniority mindset, but even then, he had to admit it—he was ridiculously strong.
If it were him, he probably would have been able to defeat Kime.
But that was not important right now. He had more pressing matters to attend to.
Most importantly, he needed to open the gates to Heaven.
However, before that—
Fadex turned around to the Kaiju brothers, who were following him silently from behind. He had met them shortly after leaving Kime.
Apparently, after Dementor led him to the city where the tournament was being held, he had stayed behind to ensure Fadex upheld his part of the bargain.
When Dementor heard that Fadex had lost to Kime, believing he was doomed to die, he had nearly abandoned their plan to destroy Brandish.
Then, just as he was about to leave, he saw Fadex retreating—and followed him, intending to have him erase Brandish from the map.
But Fadex disagreed.
He made a different proposal to Dementor. Instead of wiping out hundreds upon hundreds of innocents for something as fragile as revenge, he offered to cleanse them of their impurities.
Project Anarchia had seen some success, yes—but the majority of its results were failures. The Zengas were created from these failed prototypes, modified to be mindless. However, the Kaiju brothers possessed all the properties of the Zengas.
That included overwhelming strength and durability, incredible SE output and reserves, heightened senses, and exponential growth potential.
But—all of that came at the cost of condemning a spirit.
That meant that, unlike most of humanity, after death their souls would not be allowed any form of eternal rest—not Heaven, not Hell, not Purgatory, not Nivellea, not Shuntū.
None.
They were condemned to roam the vast void between realms. Even beyond death, they would find no peace—forced to wander endlessly as lost souls.
What Fadex was offering them was worth far more than the physical.
He was offering them an eternal future—one that extended even beyond the grave.
He was not promising them Heaven, Nivellea, or even Shuntū. Their final destination would be decided by the Goddess of Justice when they met her.
"Can you do that?"
"I can't—but I can get somebody else to sort out your… issue."
The procession fell silent as they continued onward.
After a while, Sankaiju crept toward Fadex.
Of the four brothers, he was the one who liked Fadex the most. He appreciated that Fadex had not ignored their pain—he was even actively trying to help them.
And that pleased him.
"Fadex-sama, please—where are we headed? We have been walking for quite a while now."
Fadex glanced at Dementor, who stood on his other side.
"I had been wondering the same thing as well," Dementor spoke up. He had been allowed to travel beside Fadex because, of the four, Fadex regarded him as the most senior.
Sankaiju was allowed to move forward for a similar reason—Fadex saw him as the most curious. He reminded him of himself before Carpathia, back when he was still innocent—when the only thought in his head was growing stronger.
Fadex glanced back at the other brothers trudging along behind.
They all reminded him of himself.
Maybe that was why he had taken a liking to them.
"We are headed to where the remnants of the Apostles of Death are currently based."
"They stay this close to the borders of Frussia?" Dementor asked.
"W-wait, hold up! The Apostles of Death are still alive? I thought they were all destroyed during the incident at Tamoru Nation!?"
"While the majority of the knights were destroyed, some escaped. Those who survived fled to the minor nation of Brunix," Dementor said.
"That's true. Led by Damien the Gold-Blooded, the knights escaped to Brunix," Fadex said solemnly. It was not a memory he particularly liked. It reminded him of everything he had lost—after all, he had built his life in Tamoru.
The destruction of Tamoru might have faded from most people's minds, but he remembered it vividly.
Brunix is one of the minor nations near Frussia. They sustain themselves as a tourism hotspot. With their close proximity to the Tashubel Sea, they are constantly visited by travelers, most of whom do not stay long, as the country is primarily a holiday resort.
That made it the ideal location for the Apostles to gather—there were rarely any familiar faces.
Nikaiju stepped forward, wanting to join the conversation.
"Fadex-sama, may I ask—why are we heading to the Apostles of Death?"
"The Apostles of Death received a message… from someone who resides where I come from."
The Kaiju brothers were surprised. The idea that anyone could make Fadex—the ultimate symbol of power in their eyes—act as a messenger alone made them wonder where he truly came from.
The rest of the journey passed in silence.
By evening, they arrived at Brunix Nation.
Before entering the first city—Carlifunna—Fadex instructed Dementor to hide his true level of strength, making it appear as though he were a Denkei-level being, just like his brothers.
Fadex did the same, concealing his true strength and allowing only a base Henkei-level presence to show.
Once that was done, they continued onward.
What greeted them were beaches coated in golden sand, towering coconut trees, and half-naked humans either packing up for the day or sipping wine from small glasses.
For the most part, everything they were seeing was new to them.
And while that might sound strange, it really wasn't when one realized that the oldest among them had only lived for about 18 years—and most of that time had been spent inside a glass tube.
At the speed they were moving, most of the humans didn't notice them—but they knew someone had.
Dementor suspected it was one of the Apostles. It made the most sense—and besides, that was why they had chosen to pass through the center of the city.
It was only a matter of waiting for them to make contact.
And they did.
As they neared the edge of the city, they suddenly felt multiple figures closing in on them from all sides.
Fadex motioned for them to stop.
In less than a second, they were surrounded by the Apostles of Death.
Leading them was none other than Rex the Kingslayer—the Third Apostle and someone who had known Fadex quite well.
They had both grown up in Tamoru as low-ranking knights. That was before Rex met Ascalon and was converted. It was also Rex who had led the Apostles of Death to Tamoru.
In a way, the destruction of Tamoru was his fault.
As Fadex thought about it, he felt the urge to wipe out the remaining Apostles—but he knew better than to act on it.
They were important to the plans of someone far more powerful than him.
So, for that reason, he spared them.
"Faded."
"Red."
"What are you doing here—"
"Quiet. Listen. I will only say this once. I have a message from the new God of Flames and Rebirth, Jakari. It would do you well to listen carefully."
Fadex's eyes shone with a white light, and as he spoke, they all fell silent—enthralled by the authority embedded in his words.
They were not the words of a mere mortal.
"And it reads as such..."
.
.
.
Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)
Natural Energy (NE)
Holy Energy (HE)