Chapter 107: Tragedy of Colon (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Tragedy of Colon (6)
A reckless follow-up was out of the question.
Countless motes of mana, risen from the campfire, now swirled around Myuron. It was a form of magic none of the three had ever seen before.
Still, their keen instincts screamed at them. This was dangerous.
‘What is this? I can see it clearly, yet even now, I can’t feel a single trace of mana. And to think he already knows my face.’
There was no need to wonder how. Last year, four of the Zipple children had attended the Runcandel banquet. One of them must have sketched Jin’s face and distributed it throughout the clan.
‘I’ll have to be more careful when dealing with pure-blooded Zipples from now on.’
“Ehehehe, kuhuhu!”
Myuron continued to let out a madman’s cackle. It was a laugh that made it impossible to tell whether it was born of pure confidence or sheer insanity.
“That pitiful priestess. To think she’d commission Runcandel only for them to send a brat like you. Wait, aren’t you still a reserve flagbearer? This must be a personal request. Hehehe.”
While Myuron prattled on, Jin’s mind raced.
He tried to figure out how the man was concealing his mana.
‘Even with Spirit Energy, it’s difficult to erase one’s presence so completely. There’s no way an artifact capable of this exists. Could he be a contractor, like me?’
However, searching his memories from his past life yielded nothing. The public information on Myuron was entirely focused on his eccentric and cruel personality.
Glancing at his companions, Jin saw that Murakan also seemed ignorant of Myuron’s ability. Casimir, who knew little of magic, was even more clueless.
‘He has some special ability, but he’s still an 8-star. As long as the three of us don’t let our guard down, we won’t lose. Not unless he borrows the power of a Demon God Stone like Andrei did.’
Of course, Myuron was still a difficult opponent for Jin to handle alone. But with Murakan and Casimir present, they clearly held the advantage in raw power.
‘I just have to remember I can't read his mana flow and fight accordingly!’
Having reached a conclusion, Jin drew upon his aura once more.
“You talk too much. And your laugh is disgusting.”
“Hehe, let’s have some fun.”
Crackle!
Myuron’s mana spheres began to freeze over. In an instant, the orbs became massive chunks of ice, which he fired at the group with a flick of his fingers.
The nine spheres, launched like cannonballs, split into three groups and shot toward them.
Jin and Casimir dodged with ease, while Murakan displayed monstrous strength by shattering his with a bare fist to protect Dino.
“Oho, was there a martial artist among the Runcandel guardian knights?”
“Who are you calling a guardian knight, you moron— Ah, you bastard! That’s cheap!”
Murakan spat out a reply, then suddenly slung Dino over his shoulder.
He had seen the remaining ice chunks bypass Jin and Casimir, now hurtling toward the nearby natives. The villagers were paralyzed with fear, unable to even think of dodging.
In the first place, the attack was far too fast for ordinary people to avoid.
Thud! Crack!
Fortunately, Murakan lunged like an arrow and managed to crush the ice just before it struck them.
“Do you all want to just stand there and die, you idiots?!”
“Uuugh.”
“Mmmph.”
Their voices were muffled, as if gagged.
Murakan flinched and looked closer at the natives. Most of them—not all, but most—had long, fresh scars across their necks.
Wounds that hadn't been there last night.
‘Their vocal cords… He cut them all?!’
Jin, Casimir, and Dino saw it at the same time. Of the fifteen or so natives nearby, over seventy percent had lost their voices.
“Aaaagh! You… you piece of trash!”
Dino, who had been frozen in terror just a moment ago, screamed at Myuron. His eyes burned with tears and murderous rage.
“How could you do this! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you…!”
“Keeheehee. Dino, I was curious to see what kind of face you’d make, so I decided to cut them up a bit… It seems you like it.”
Myuron’s eyes crinkled into crescents. His long, silver hair, which stuck out in all directions, fluttered in the wind, making his face look chillingly grotesque.
And he was.
Rather than attacking Jin and Casimir, he began persistently targeting the natives. Murakan scrambled to block the attacks, but he couldn't keep it up forever.
It would be easy if he transformed, but this was the Lutero Magic Federation. The moment he revealed his true dragon form, every Zipple-allied dragon would descend upon Colon.
Casimir’s face twisted in rage as he glared at Myuron, unable to bear the sight any longer. Dino just kept screaming.
“Hehehehe.”
Myuron trembled with laughter, and for just a brief moment, Jin stopped moving.
Nothing could be read from his expressionless face.
But Murakan, his guardian dragon, could feel his contractor’s heart. The emotion radiating from it was unmistakable.
A deep, suffocating rage.
“Myuron Zipple. Your life ends today.”
“Hmm…?”
The aura surrounding Bradamante vanished. In its place, a dark energy began to stain the blade.
Thump!
For the first time, the smile vanished from Myuron’s face. It wasn't that he was terrified by the change in Jin’s demeanor, but he was stunned to feel his own heart hammering against his ribs.
A sense of crisis.
It was a feeling Myuron hadn't felt in a very long time.
‘What is… this? Solderet’s power? Then, could it be that Jin Runcandel is—!’
Particles of Spirit Energy began to coat the sword.
“Keep laughing. Just like you were a moment ago.”
Whirrrr…!
In an instant, the surrounding darkness deepened.
As Jin released his Spirit Energy, the world plunged into pitch-black darkness. A moment later, that darkness converged on Bradamante, coalescing into a single, light-devouring blade.
Sword Liberation.
It was the first time he had used it since reaching 5-star in Spirit Energy.
‘Young Master Jin… so this is the power of shadows.’
Casimir unconsciously swallowed hard. He had watched Jin’s swordsmanship for a long time, but the Jin holding the liberated Bradamante felt like a completely different person.
As the Rune of Mul-ta activated, even his expressionless face was hidden behind a black helmet.
“Ha, haha… Has Solderet sided with Runcandel again? Breaking the Covenant with us!”
The ice chunks raining down on the natives stopped.
Jin didn't answer. Instead, he called out to Murakan and Casimir, then pointed a finger toward the sky.
“You two need to block that.”
They both looked up.
“Hah.”
“What is that? When did that lunatic set that up?”
Floating high in the night sky were several times more ice chunks than Myuron had used so far. They were hidden in the shadows of the night, but they became visible with a bit of focus.
The reason Murakan and Casimir had only just noticed was simple: Myuron’s mana gave off no flow.
But Jin, who had the best understanding of mages among the three, had anticipated it. He knew Myuron would be preparing something troublesome.
“…Heh, you managed to notice? I was about to show you those primitive Red People popping like bugs. What a shame.”
Having regained some of his composure, Myuron smirked.
“Still, it’ll be hard to save them all.”
Jin had no desire to exchange more words. He felt as if he were dealing with a monster, not a man.
Swish!
Black particles flowed from Jin’s legs as he stepped forward. His footwork was weightless, yet he rushed toward Myuron with startling speed.
Myuron hurriedly cast a shield and hurled all the remaining ice chunks on the ground at Jin.
However, the ice was no hindrance at all. As the black-stained blade began its dance, the chunks were sliced into dozens of pieces, losing their power and clattering to the ground.
Slash, slice, shink!
In Myuron’s vision, the blade drew closer with every blink. For a fleeting moment, he hesitated.
No, he was doubting. He wondered if his shield could repel Jin’s sword this time.
‘It won’t.’
Reaching a conclusion, Myuron quickly raised his staff. He simultaneously chanted several high-level spells, and once again, no flow of mana could be felt.
A total of three spells were cast.
The 7-star fire magic, Curtain of Fire; the 7-star ice magic, Ice Barrier; and the 8-star wind magic, Hell Wind. There were not many mages in the world who could cast such spells in that short a time.
‘He’s fast, but it’s not simultaneous casting. In a way, that’s even more impressive.’
The two 7-star spells were defensive, while Hell Wind was offensive. Hell Wind was a notoriously cruel spell, unleashing hundreds of sharp winds that closed in to shred a target to pieces. It was also Myuron’s favorite.
His proficiency with it was absolute. Jin, who had been charging forward, faltered for a moment and wrapped his body in Spirit Energy. At that moment, Myuron let out a triumphant smile.
‘As I thought. Even with Solderet’s contract, his understanding of magic is lacking. To think he’d just try to block it. Hell Wind won’t stop until its core is destroyed or my mana is completely exhausted.’
The moment the blades of Hell Wind began to gnaw at the veil of Spirit Energy, Myuron felt a sudden chill and whipped his head around.
Two eyes gleamed from within the black helmet. It was Jin.
The Veil of Spirit Energy was just a feint.
Jin had read the exact moment when Hell Wind would spread out and briefly obscure Myuron’s vision, and he had already changed direction.
It was a move that could never be attempted by someone who didn't perfectly understand the spell ‘Hell Wind.’ Even among mages who used it, few could have read that timing so perfectly.
“What?!”
Startled, Myuron hastily withdrew Hell Wind, both to conserve his mana and to focus more on the barriers of fire and ice.
He could no longer gauge how heavy the blow Jin was about to strike would be.
The light in Jin’s eyes flashed as he swung Bradamante.
Creeeeeak…!
Myuron witnessed a sight he had never seen in his life. He had faced countless warriors, many of whom were skilled enough to ‘cut’ magic with a sword.
But the way the liberated Bradamante pierced through magic was something he had never even imagined.
‘It’s erasing the mana…!’
The Curtain of Fire and the Ice Barrier weren't being cut or broken. Instead, like paper touched by flame, they were simply dissolving, evaporating into nothing.
The Ice Barrier was pierced first, and the Curtain of Fire layered behind it flickered and died.
Next was the shield of pure mana. When the blade reached it, Myuron stumbled backward, his face pale with shock.
Yet, a look of intense excitement was also etched onto his expression.
Myuron stepped back from the shield and slammed his staff into the ground. At his command, the hundreds of ice chunks floating in the sky began to rain down.
“It seems you’ll be quite delicious to devour. It was worth cultivating this trashy land all this time…!”
Suddenly, magic circles flared to life on the ground all around Jin.
It was a magic trap.