Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Black Flame's Master
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Jin blinked.
You had to know what something was before you could be shocked by it together.
What the hell is that thing?
Black flames? Black Inferno? Black Inferno Dragon?
Jin was the type who treated even ancient magic like a game of colors.
He didn't judge good from evil by hue.
He didn't assign value based on shade.
That's why he couldn't understand why Eanna had frozen up.
More importantly, there was the low hum—
—followed by the sound of the door sealing shut behind him.
And then, from the speaker mounted in the corner of the ceiling, a sinister voice slithered out.
"Heh heh. To think you'd make it this far—"
Bang!!
Before the sentence could even finish, Jin blasted the speaker to pieces. He snapped his fingers right in front of Eanna's face.
"Hey, snap out of it."
That was when it happened.
A burst of static crackled over the airwaves, and the voice returned.
"Finally, you've taken the bait—"
Bang!!
Gravis roared, shattering the radio-like device into scrap. It tumbled pitifully from the shelf and splattered across the floor.
There were a few more attempts after that.
Through monitors, bulky wireless gadgets, and the like.
Of course, Jin wasn't listening.
"As expected of the White Flame's—" Bang!!
"In the end, swayed by emotion—" Bang!!
"Wait, just let me—" Bang!!
One of the most infuriating moments in life was when someone interrupted you mid-sentence.
Once was just disappointing.
Twice, and righteous anger started bubbling up—that was normal.
Five times?
This called for hearing the villain out.
And sure enough.
The mysterious voice finally lost its patience.
Rapid footsteps—thud thud thud!!—echoed from somewhere. Then, from behind the shattered glass tube, amid a jungle of machinery, a man in a white coat charged out, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
"Just listen for a second, you damn s—!"
Bang—!!
Jin answered with Gravis.
That made six.
The coat-wearing man flew backward at full speed, sprawling spread-eagled. Blood gushed from the hole in his forehead.
"Quit yapping already."
As Jin holstered his gun with a mutter, Eric clapped beside him. Like an audience fresh from an epic flick, the buzzer lit up its surface with LED fireworks, nodding vigorously.
Thankfully, there was no seventh try.
With the surroundings finally quiet, Jin turned back to Eanna.
"That's Walter, right? Looks like the photo Kalifa showed us, doesn't it?"
"...Yeah."
He nodded at her faint affirmation.
"Then hurry up and smash that thing or shut it down—get the guy out. Why are you just standing there?"
Her gaze still locked forward, Eanna slowly spoke.
"...That's not Walter."
"Huh?"
Jin's brow arched.
What did that even mean?
It was Walter, but not Walter?
Schrödinger's Walter? Unbox with a reunion kiss to find out?
That was when it happened.
"...Sharp eyes, huh? Guess the real deal is different after all."
The response came from an unexpected source—
The corpse with the hole in its forehead pushed off the floor with its hands, propping itself upright.
Nice way to put it—"hole." It was fist-wide if you squinted. Blood poured out in sheets, staining its face crimson against bared, ghostly white teeth.
"What do you think of my masterpiece?"
This time, even Jin held his fire.
At this point, maybe he owed it one line. Besides, Eanna's eyes were fixed on it.
"...What did you do to that man?"
The living corpse's lip curled at her icy tone. Its eyes were vacant, unfocused voids—disgustingly mismatched, like two faces crudely stapled at the cheeks.
"What did I do? We gave him our all. Poured investments into granting the power he'd craved his whole life. He just couldn't handle it. Pathetic wretch who never awakened the White Flame! Trash! Useless fool!"
What the hell is this guy on about?
Jin's brow furrowed deeply.
His trigger finger itched.
He wanted to squeeze it right then, but with Eanna holding back, jumping in first felt off.
Why's she just taking that?
As he glanced her way, realization dawned.
Eanna wasn't holding back.
She'd exploded long ago.
"I can't feel his flames anymore."
She lifted her head slowly.
Her eyes blazed pure white.
"...Walter's dead, isn't he?"
"I gave him a better life. Death isn't an end—it's the beginning of everything."
The half-corpse flashed a bloody grin, spouting some familiar-sounding drivel.
In that moment, Jin dimly understood.
Why the status window had only told him to find Walter.
He'd never been savable to begin with?
That was when it happened.
Hiss—! The pale green liquid filling the glass tube drained in a gurgle, level dropping fast. Within, Walter's eyes snapped open, dyed blood-red.
Boom!!!
Glass shards flew everywhere as a rage-filled roar erupted beyond them.
"A’rrrrrrrrr!!"
Jin grabbed Eanna's shoulder, yanking her back as the mercenary thrashed skyward, arms wide.
"Move."
Classic cliché, right?
The tragic character lost in their loved one's corruption.
The foe doesn't even recognize them, just rampages wildly.
No! Snap out of it! It's me! Please!
They take a pathetic beating until realization hits, then cradle the foe's cheek with a gentle slap.
If that cheesy ending led to Eanna's death, Jin wasn't about to watch it out of pity.
He clenched his fist, ready to charge—
But Eanna's next move shattered his expectations.
Whoosh!
A sphere of pristine white flame bloomed in her palm. She hurled it straight at Walter.
Kaboom!! A scorching gust blasted their faces.
Eanna turned to Jin, who gawked blankly.
"I'll handle that empty shell. Don't interfere."
Jin was impressed by the unexpected grit.
You're tougher than you look. The former family head must be proud.
But that thought faded as doubt crept in.
Wait—so what danger is she even in?
Jin whipped his head around.
His eyes caught a twitching meat lump on the floor—the coat guy from the exploded tube. Somehow still alive in that mangled state, it was mumbling through moving lips.
"The White Flame... came of her own volition. The contract... is fulfilled... Honor it, Styx..."
What?
Jin's eyes widened.
Not just the word "Styx." An overwhelming presence pressed from above—like the sky splitting. His head tilted back instinctively.
The next instant.
A black meteor crashed through the ceiling, slamming into the floor. The ground flipped like a massive bomb had detonated, unleashing a colossal shockwave.
──!
No time to react—Jin was smashed into the wall.
The impact vaporized the air in his lungs; his vision spun.
But his eyes snapped back into focus—
Blood trickled down his sightline.
Through the hazy smoke strode a giant.
Taller than Jin's 5'10" by at least a head.
Limbs like logs—untouched by knife or blade.
But most overwhelming: the black flames coiling his massive frame.
Far fiercer, sharper than Walter's. From the epicenter of his fireball's blast, the Black Inferno's master spoke.
"Good. Deal's on."
In that instant, a afterimage closed in from behind. Afterimage—because it was that fast. By the time his brain registered the glint, Eric was there.
His dagger sliced diagonally toward the giant's throat.
Perfectly exposed carotid at the trajectory's end.
Impeccable timing. Impeccable speed.
And utterly ignored.
Thud!
The giant snatched the blade barehanded without looking.
Eric abandoned the weapon instantly.
Released the hilt and leaped back.
That cool-headed call saved him.
The giant's balled fist swept through the space Eric had occupied. Crack!!! An ear-shattering boom.
Simultaneously, Jin pulled Gravis's trigger.
One shot, two, three.
As the giant's gaze swung their way amid the gunfire—
Jin fired the fourth round point-blank into the giant's back.
No time to check—Blink again.
This time from the right flank, spinning Gravis to smash into the giant's side.
Opposite fist swung wide—Blink.
Frontal reappearance: gut punch landed.
And Blink agai—
Jin staggered. Sudden vertigo.
His 3D cubic worldview crumpled. Coordinates he'd nailed warped nauseatingly. He couldn't even tell where he stood. Front? Back? Left? Right?
Amid the rising bile, instinct glued his right arm to his ear, left thrusting forward.
Even if "forward" was a guess.
Thwack!!!
Like colliding with a steel beam—Jin gouged a trench sliding back.
Someone caught him with their body.
Dazed, he turned: Eric.
No time for thanks.
Jin wrenched his broken right arm back into place with a grind, glaring at the giant through bloodshot eyes.
Black flames wreathed the giant, spawning inky haze. No Blink in that radius—trying alone felt like a skull-splitter.
"Pulling parlor tricks, whelp."
As the giant spoke, he opened his palm floorward.
Mangled magnum rounds pattered out.
He caught all those?
Jin ground his teeth.
"Who the hell are you?"
Eanna faced him squarely. The giant smirked.
"Killgit."
"...Why's a Styx wraith here?"
"Made a deal."
"What kind?"
"Lend Black Flame, get White Flame."
"For what?"
"Perfect flame."
Dry Q&A. Short, but loaded.
Eanna turned.
"You two, get out. I'll handle this."
With that, she strode forward. Pristine radiance erupted from her like wildfire.
"White Flame isn't for the likes of you."
"Intriguing."
Next instant: clashing infernos.
Destructive heat swept the basement from ground zero.
Eric shook Jin's shoulder.
The buzzer's screen—expecting "escape"—read unexpectedly:
Before Jin could reply, Eric bolted.
Toward the howling ruins—Walter.
Jin wryly grinned.
Expectations foiled again.
These guys hate clichés or what?
Simultaneously, a status window popped up.
Fuck off!
He swatted the rectangular nuisance away unread.
Disgusting—trying to script his moves even now.
Fine. Fuck it. Should I just bail alone?
Hole in the ceiling now, too.
Sorry, guys. Styx or not, can't do it. I'm out. Wave bye?
Screw that.
All live or all die.
One or the other.
With that, he maxed his Mana Circuit—
Crackle-crackle-boom!!!
Lightning Surge thrashed in response to its master's fury.
Simultaneously, a bolt struck Jin's mind.
Thunder of evolutionary approval—for the next stage.