Chapter 110: The Hand of the God of Calamities

Rin had barely finished shouting before the wind threw him forward.

The world blurred around him. For one terrifying second, he had no idea where he was going.

Then he saw him. Kaelith.

The God of Calamities stood in the middle of the destruction, surrounded by an ocean of black flames.

His expression was still twisted with anger. His magic was completely out of control. The flames were spreading toward the city, swallowing everything in their path.

And Rin was flying directly toward him.

"KAELITH!"

Kaelith’s head snapped upward. His eyes widened.

"Rin?"

He immediately raised his hand. The black flames surrounding him stopped moving.

For a fraction of a second, the entire battlefield became silent.

Rin was still flying. Too fast. Far too fast.

"SOL!"

From somewhere behind him came Sol’s laughter.

"Good luck!"

"YOU CALL THIS GOOD LUCK?!"

Rin desperately tried to control his body. He couldn’t.

He was still being carried by the wind. Kaelith’s expression changed. He reached out with his magic.

The air around Rin suddenly became softer, slowing his movement. Rin still crashed into him.

But instead of hitting the ground, Kaelith caught him. The two stumbled backward.

Rin grabbed Kaelith’s clothes to keep himself from falling. Kaelith held him tightly.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke. The black flames remained frozen around them.

Rin could hear Kaelith’s breathing. Fast. Uneven. Nothing like the calm man Rin had become accustomed to.

Kaelith stared at him.

"You..."

His voice was barely audible.

"You came to me?"

Rin swallowed.

"I had to."

"You shouldn’t have."

"I know."

Kaelith’s arms tightened slightly.

"Then why?"

Rin looked directly into his eyes.

"Because you’re destroying the city."

Kaelith’s expression darkened.

"That isn’t an answer."

"It is."

"No."

Kaelith shook his head.

"You came because of me?"

Rin hesitated.

Then he remembered the voice.

Kiss Kaelith.

The System’s warning. One minute. The city was still burning.

Rin looked over Kaelith’s shoulder. The black flames were dangerously close to the first buildings.

He turned back.

"We don’t have time."

Kaelith’s gaze remained fixed on him.

"For what?"

"To stop this."

Kaelith’s expression became bitter.

"Why?"

Rin frowned.

"Because people are going to die."

"I know."

"Then stop."

"I can’t."

Rin froze.

"What?"

Kaelith’s eyes lowered.

"I can’t stop it anymore."

The words were quiet. For the first time, Rin saw something beneath Kaelith’s anger.

Fear. Not rage. Not hatred. Fear. His magic wasn’t simply attacking the city.

It was consuming him too. Dark cracks of energy were moving across his arms.

Rin stared.

"Kaelith..."

"Don’t."

"You’re losing control."

"I know."

"Then let me help you."

Kaelith laughed bitterly.

"You already tried."

Rin frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You always try."

His voice shook.

"You always run toward me when I’m like this."

Rin didn’t understand.

"When have I ever—"

"Don’t."

Kaelith closed his eyes.

"Please."

The word made Rin stop. Kaelith had never sounded like that.

Rin looked at him carefully.

The God of Calamities, feared by kingdoms and gods, was standing before him with an expression that made Rin’s heart ache.

Kaelith opened his eyes again.

"You should have stayed away."

Rin shook his head.

"I couldn’t."

"Why?"

Rin didn’t know. He looked at Kaelith.

Because of the System. Because of the voice. Because of the city. Because he couldn’t simply watch Kaelith destroy everything.

But none of those answers felt complete.

"I don’t know."

Kaelith smiled sadly.

"That’s what I thought."

Rin’s chest tightened. Then a loud explosion came from behind them. The black flames suddenly surged forward.

Rin turned. The city was disappearing beneath them.

"We’re out of time!"

Kaelith’s magic became even more unstable.

"Then leave."

"No."

"Rin."

"I said no."

Kaelith stared at him.

Rin stepped closer. The flames around them moved violently.

"I don’t know what happened between you and Lucien."

Kaelith’s expression changed.

"I don’t know what happened in the past."

Rin continued.

"I don’t know why you think I betrayed you."

Kaelith looked away.

"And I don’t know why you remember things that I don’t."

Rin took a breath.

"But I know one thing."

Kaelith looked at him again.

"You’re not going to destroy this city."

Kaelith’s eyes widened slightly.

"How can you be so certain?"

"Because..."

Rin hesitated.

"Because you’re still listening to me."

Silence. Kaelith stared at him. Rin continued.

"If you truly wanted to destroy everything, you wouldn’t have stopped when you saw me."

Kaelith’s expression trembled.

Rin was right. The moment he had seen Rin flying toward him, his magic had stopped.

For the first time since the flames had appeared, the destruction had paused.

Kaelith whispered,

"You really don’t remember."

Rin lowered his gaze.

"No."

Kaelith’s face filled with pain.

"You really don’t."

"I wish I did."

The words escaped before Rin could stop them.

Kaelith went completely still. Rin looked at him.

"I wish I understood."

For a moment, the black flames became quieter.

Kaelith looked down at Rin’s hand.

Then he gently took it. His fingers were cold.

Rin didn’t pull away.

"Then remember me," Kaelith whispered.

Rin’s heart tightened.

"I’ve been trying."

"No."

Kaelith looked directly into his eyes.

"Not the memories."

His voice became softer.

"Remember me."

Rin didn’t understand.

Then—

[Host.]

The System appeared.

[Thirty seconds remaining.]

Rin’s eyes widened.

I have to do it.

He remembered the mysterious voice.

Kiss Kaelith.

Rin looked at him.

Kaelith was still holding his hand.

Rin hesitated.

He had never imagined himself doing something like this in the middle of a battlefield.

Especially not with the entire city burning around them. But there was no time.

He stepped closer. Kaelith’s eyes widened.

"Rin?"

Rin placed his hands against Kaelith’s shoulders.

"Don’t move."

Kaelith froze. Rin leaned closer. And for one brief moment, the world seemed to stop.

Rin kissed him. It wasn’t long. It wasn’t dramatic. It was simply enough.

Enough for something inside Kaelith to break. The black flames suddenly disappeared.

Not completely. They collapsed inward.

Every single flame returned toward Kaelith, spiraling around his body before being absorbed into his magic.

The sky became clear. The wind stopped. The city fell silent.

Rin stepped back. He stared at Kaelith. Kaelith didn’t move. His eyes were wide.

His entire body was trembling.

Then—

the remaining magic vanished.

Kaelith dropped to his knees.

Rin immediately caught him.

"Kaelith!"

Kaelith breathed heavily. For several seconds, he couldn’t speak.

Then he looked at Rin.

"You..."

His voice was barely a whisper.

"You actually did it."

Rin looked confused.

"I was told it would work."

"Who told you?"

Rin froze. He couldn’t answer.

Kaelith noticed.

"Rin."

"I don’t know."

"Who told you?"

"I said I don’t know."

Kaelith stared at him. His expression changed.

He could tell Rin was hiding something.

But before he could ask—

"RIN!"

Sol’s voice echoed across the ruins.

Rin turned. Sol and the others were running toward them.

Kaan was at the front. Lucien followed closely behind.

The twelve former Divine Knights were all alive. The city was damaged, but the flames had stopped.

Kaan immediately looked around.

"It’s over?"

Rin nodded.

"The fire stopped."

Sol stared at Kaelith.

Then at Rin. Then back at Kaelith.

His expression became strange.

"Oh."

Rin narrowed his eyes.

"Don’t."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

"I was thinking."

"Stop thinking."

Sol laughed. Lucien approached Kaelith.

For a moment, the two stared at each other.

Neither spoke. Then Lucien sighed.

"You really haven’t changed."

Kaelith looked at him coldly.

"I could say the same about you."

Lucien smiled faintly.

"And yet you still saved the city."

Kaelith looked away.

"I didn’t do it for you."

Lucien nodded.

"I know."

His gaze moved toward Rin.

"You did it for him."

Kaelith didn’t deny it.

Kaan looked toward the city.

"The flames are gone."

Rin stood.

"Then we need to check the damage."

Kaan looked at the others.

"They’re all alive."

Rin sighed with relief.

"Good."

But something was wrong. Rin looked toward the twelve former Divine Knights. Their bodies were still those of children.

The destruction had stopped. Kaelith had regained control.

But the curse remained. Rin’s expression became serious.

"So the Fallen God was right about one thing."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?"

Rin looked toward the place where the castle had disappeared.

"He knew something about their curse."

Lucien nodded.

"We still don’t know what."

Rin looked at the ruins.

"And we still don’t know why he needed them."

Kaan lowered his gaze.

"We should find out."

"Yes."

Rin looked toward Kaelith.

Kaelith was already watching him. There was something different in his eyes now.

Not anger. Not fear. Something quieter. But Rin couldn’t ignore the fact that Kaelith had stopped his entire rampage the moment Rin reached him.

That mattered.

Whatever had happened between them in the past, whatever Kaelith remembered and Rin didn’t—

there was still something connecting them. Something powerful enough to stop a calamity.

Rin turned toward the ruins of the castle.

"We’re not finished."

Sol nodded.

"No."

Lucien looked toward the distant horizon.

"The Fallen God is still alive."

Kaan’s expression hardened.

"And now he knows we can stop him."

Rin nodded.

"Then we need to find him before he attacks again."

The group began moving through the ruined landscape.

But Rin stopped after a few steps.

He looked back.

The place where the castle had stood was nothing but ash.

Yet beneath the ground, he could feel something.

A faint pulse. Almost like a heartbeat.

Rin stared at it. He didn’t know why.

He simply felt that something was still there.

Something the Fallen God had left behind. Something connected to the Divine Knights.

And perhaps...

something connected to the reason he had been brought into this world.

Rin turned away.

He didn’t tell anyone. Not yet. Behind him, Kaelith watched him silently.

He had noticed.

Of course he had. Kaelith always noticed Rin.

And deep beneath the ash, something moved. A small fragment of black crystal rose from the ground.

It pulsed once. Then twice.

And somewhere far away, the Fallen God’s voice echoed through the darkness.

"You stopped the Calamity."

A quiet laugh followed.

"But you still don’t know what you’re trying to save."

The crystal cracked. And the mystery of the Fallen God was far from over.