Kaho'olawe, the forbidden island, was dead.
The moment I set foot on the shore, an ominous sensation washed over my entire body. The very 'Earth' that served as the foundation of my Authority was groaning here, afflicted by a profound sickness. The terrain, forged from black volcanic rock, was parched and withered. From the jagged fissures in the ground, scorching steam hissed out like the breath of hell itself. The air was so thick with the stench of sulfur that even breathing became an ordeal, and a constant, minute tectonic tremor vibrated through the soles of my feet.
"Your Majesty, be cautious. The entire island is contaminated by an anomalous magical energy."
Alessandro and his knights drew their blades, forming a defensive perimeter around me. However, my eyes saw a 'path' far clearer than their vigilant stances. It was a faint trail of tears shed by the earth, leading toward the summit of the volcano at the very center of the island—the highest point in this desolate land.
As we ascended, my Authority pulsed with a relentless warning. The earth here wasn't merely sick; it was being forcibly 'tuned' by a massive, singular will. This wasn't the natural lamentation of the ground, but a dissonance rising from an instrument deliberately broken by someone's hand. The pulses of alien magical energy I felt beneath me snared the entire island like a suffocating spiderweb.
"Your Majesty, this... this isn't normal magical contamination," Alessandro whispered, his voice thick with horror.
"It is as if... the entire island is being transformed into a massive altar for a grand magecraft ritual. Just what is the Black Prince planning to do here?!"
Walking beside me, the Kahuna placed his hand silently upon the ground. His face was contorted with profound sorrow.
"The earth is... in agony. It seems it was forced into a slumber... for a very long time."
Finally, we reached the edge of a massive crater. And there, a man stood.
He was perched precariously on the rim of the crater, staring down at the roiling sea of crimson magma as if he were bored to tears. The lava swelled and receded in a steady rhythm, like a living, beating heart. With every pulse, the entire island vibrated faintly in sync. The hem of his black coat fluttered violently in the ominous volcanic winds.
"...Alexander Gascoigne."
Alessandro spoke his name, his voice rigid with tension. Only then did the man slowly turn his head. Caught between the pale moonlight and the hellish red glow of the lava, his face was morbidly pale. His obsidian eyes were as hollow as an abyss, reflecting not a single trace of human emotion.
The Fifth King, the Black Prince—Alexander Gascoigne.
"So, you are the new Seventh. I watched from afar, and I must say, your struggle against the God of Storms was quite a spectacle. Your final act of desperation was particularly... impressive."
His voice wasn't so much asking a question as it was confirming a fact. He rose from his seat and walked slowly toward us. His gaze swept over me briefly before settling on the Kahuna standing at my side.
"Oh? So things like this still exist. An old shaman who listens to the whispers of the earth."
There was neither contempt nor respect in Alec's voice. It was the gaze of a pure observer who had stumbled upon a rare creature he thought had gone extinct. Despite that arrogant stare, the Kahuna stood his ground firmly.
"Black Prince... are you the one who has defiled the Heart of the Earth?!"
Fury vibrated in the Kahuna's voice.
"Defiled? That is a poor choice of words."
Alec reached into his pocket and pulled out the 'Heart of the Earth,' now contaminated into a dark, bruised red, and held it up for us to see.
"I merely sensed the 'distortion' this object was weaving. It was a festering wound that you shamans have kept covered for thousands of years. I simply... removed the bandage."
"Cut the sophistry."
I couldn't help but cut him off.
"Whatever high-and-mighty excuse you have, the fact remains that this whole disaster happened because you messed with things you shouldn't have. I didn't come here for a philosophy lecture. Put it back to the way it was, right now."
A faint, cold smirk played across Alec's lips at my words. In that exact heartbeat, his form blurred like flickering black static before snapping back into focus. Suddenly, he was standing right in front of me, at a distance where I could have reached out and touched him. Alessandro and the other knights couldn't even manage a reaction.
"As expected of a crude newcomer, Seventh. You look only at the result, never the essence of the phenomenon."
He whispered those words into my ear before returning to his original spot like a phantom. I swallowed hard, a chilling sensation crawling down my spine. That movement just now—it was an alien speed unlike anything I had seen from any god I'd fought.
He ignored me once more and continued addressing the Kahuna.
"You humans fear change. Thus, you cling to the status quo with clumsy measures like 'seals.' But it is the nature of all things to change and, eventually, to break. I have merely accelerated that moment slightly. Though I doubt you would understand."
"The real problem was your own clumsy display of power."
Alec said, looking back at me.
"The shockwave of you killing the God of Storms was the final blow that shattered this already cracked vessel. Thanks to that, the contents that were sleeping inside are about to wake up... Well, I suppose that will be quite a sight in its own right."
"Here."
He tossed the 'Heart of the Earth' to me as if it were a cheap toy. The moment I caught it, I felt a heat that threatened to scorch my palms and a malignant curse radiating from the stone.
"There are only two ways to handle that pebble now. Return it to the core of those flames to complete a grander destruction... or use your own power to erase the stone, and whatever is inside, from this world entirely. Either way, it should provide excellent entertainment."
"You broke it, so you deal with it. This wasn't a game I started, but it has fallen on your shoulders to finish it."
It happened at that exact moment.
Ruuuuuuumble—!
The entire island shrieked. Through my Authority, I felt the horrifying agony of the earth being torn asunder. My knees nearly buckled under the weight of the sensation.
"Merciful heavens...!"
The Kahuna's face turned ghostly pale. His eyes held a deep despair that went beyond mere shock—it was the look of one witnessing a mythological catastrophe.
"The prophecy... it did not show this far...! The Goddess... the Goddess is truly awakening!"
Alessandro and the knights stumbled, unable to keep their footing before the overwhelming divine pressure. Yet, Alec didn't even twitch as he watched the apocalyptic scene unfold. If anything, he narrowed his eyes as if he were trying to analyze the phenomenon.
"Indeed. Is this the primordial form of 'Creation'? This isn't simple destruction. It's an attempt to dismantle the existing order and engrave new laws... how fascinating."
He murmured softly. To him, this disaster wasn't an experience of pain, but merely an unknown magical phenomenon to be analyzed and explored.
"The stage is set, and the lead actor has made his entrance."
He spoke toward the burning crater, his back turned to me. He sounded like an audience member waiting for the curtain to rise from the best seat in the house.
"Now then, what will you show me, Seventh? Will you try to douse those flames with your tacky sense of justice, or will you show me the utterly mundane ending of kneeling before overwhelming power? I'm quite curious."
This wasn't an offer of help. It was a declaration of pure curiosity from another Devil King standing at the edge of the abyss—a cruel announcement of a stage meant to test the worthiness of a new King.
I gripped the ominously pulsing 'Heart of the Earth' tightly. I looked back and forth between the flames of the apocalypse erupting before my eyes and the inscrutable Devil King who was enjoying every second of it.
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