Chapter 177: Mirage of the Mitra Great Desert (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 177: Mirage of the Mitra Great Desert (5)
Jin had intentionally refrained from using Bradamante for this very moment.
If I had used my sword from the start, Master would never have managed her mana this way. She would have employed more meticulous, defensive magic.
Had she done so, defeating Valeria would have been an even steeper climb. If she had resolved to fight defensively, it would have been overwhelming to break through in his current physical state.
Initially, he had discarded the sword out of respect for Valeria. However, once he committed to the fight, he judged that keeping the sword sheathed was actually the more efficient strategy.
Jin was merely applying the lesson she had taught him: the art of deceiving an opponent to make them lower their guard. Jin believed that this was the truest form of respect he could offer his master.
Now, it was time for his decision to bear fruit.
“Ugh!”
Valeria hurriedly reinforced her shield.
She hadn't thought Jin was truly out of hidden cards. She simply expected his trump card to be magic, not a hidden dagger like this.
That was how much Jin had championed a head-on confrontation. He had expressed with his entire being that since she was the source of all his magic, he would settle the score with magic alone—that he respected her that much.
That respect.
Because she held a deep belief that his respect for her was genuine, Valeria could only gasp the moment Jin threw the dagger.
If Jin were to pull out the cards of spirit energy and the sword...
When his ankles were caught by the flame chains, when Tess was hit by the Lightning Spear, when Reverse Flow failed and he stood bare before the Lightning Spear again...
It should have been then. He should have pulled them out several times by now, yet he chose now.
A pitch-black blade glinted in Valeria’s wide eyes. Before she could even blink, the dagger was already touching her shield.
Crack!
Like a thin sheet of ice shattering, the shield broke. It disintegrated the moment the tip touched it, failing to even nudge the dagger’s trajectory.
The Silver Pine Staff she swung reflexively fared no better. She was a mage, not a warrior; she couldn't possibly possess the physical ability to deflect a dagger flying like a bolt of lightning.
Instead, a Lightning Spear was rushing toward the back of Jin’s neck.
The Lightning Spear and the dagger.
Regardless of which reached its target first, Jin was already certain of victory. While the dagger was aimed precisely near Valeria’s neck, the Lightning Spear was not.
If it missed once, there would be no next time. Valeria, who had to guide the spear, would already be gasping for breath.
The Lightning Spear grazed past Jin’s lower back.
Thwack!
The dagger embedded itself in her collarbone.
The impact lifted Valeria momentarily into the air, driving her backward. Crimson blood erupted from her collarbone in an arc, and a moment later...
Jin and Valeria collapsed onto the sandy floor side by side. They were close enough that they could see each other’s faces just by turning their heads.
The mana gathered in the Silver Pine Staff dissipated instantly. The Lightning Spear flew through the pale desert sky for a long time before vanishing into nothingness.
The two fallen figures coughed up blood. Neither could stand. Jin’s legs had been pierced by the Lightning Spear, and Valeria looked as though she was struggling even to spit out the clots of blood rising in her throat.
“...Your defeat was caused by trusting me too much. I told you, didn't I? That I would fight in your way.”
“The reason you didn't use... the sword from the start...”
“Because I know you well. If I hadn't been prepared to take several fatal wounds, I never could have deceived you.”
“Whew, whew...”
Gurgle!
Valeria turned her head to look at Jin.
“Jin.”
Jin did not turn his head.
Even if it was a mirage, his chest felt tight with the realization that he had truly cut down his master, just as he had with the Tona brothers.
However, he could no longer speak of weakness. He could not look at Valeria and ask why it had to be this way, or why it had to be her.
Jin had simply fought an enemy and emerged victorious.
That was Valeria’s way.
Soon, Valeria offered a quiet smile.
“You’ve grown strong. Very much so.”
Shhh...
Valeria’s body decomposed into glowing particles and was swept away in the sandstorm.
Then, the wounds piercing Jin’s thighs gradually healed. New skin grew over his torn earlobe, and his blackened, charred ankles regained their natural color. It was as if nothing had happened.
Jin’s expression remained stoic.
It felt as though molten metal was boiling in his chest, but if he wasn't stoic, he wouldn't be able to move forward.
“Sigh.”
Standing up, Jin found Bradamante and sheathed it. The final mirage would be waiting for him now.
* * *
The third mirage arrived that night.
It was the White Night, where a sharp, blue sun still hung over the horizon. Under the incredibly bright night sky, far in the distance—at a range that would take a long time to reach even at a run...
A man stood tall.
He stood still, a single sword hanging low, his gaze fixed on Jin.
Father?
At first, he thought it was Cyron Runcandel.
Because a pressure unlike any other was trampling over the entire desert.
It felt as though the empty sandfield had become a forest of swords. He felt certain that if he took a careless step, invisible blades would ravage his entire body.
The moment he paused, that energy spread on the wind and enveloped Jin.
Even if the blue sun floating above the man were to fall, it felt as though it could do nothing to him.
No, it’s not Father...
The distance was too great to see his face.
However, it didn't take long for Jin to be certain of who the man was. A thousand years had passed since his death, and Jin had never once seen his face, but...
Temar Runcandel.
The progenitor of the Runcandels, the legendary First Patriarch.
It was undoubtedly him.
The final test.
He was absurdly strong.
The man was merely standing still, yet Jin felt his entire body becoming drenched in cold sweat.
If there was a human who could cut down this desert with a single strike, it would be Temar, not Cyron.
His entire body vibrated with tremors at that intuition.
Is he truly a human, and not a god?
Unlike the Tona brothers or Valeria, Temar was not a figure existing within Jin’s psyche. He was a deceased man who had manifested momentarily through the authority of Solderet hidden within the Great Desert.
However, the energy overwhelming the Great Desert was true beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Jin now had to break through that and move forward. He had to walk through tens of millions of invisible blades with his bare body.
My feet...
They wouldn't move.
It wasn't because of a weak heart, like the certainty that he would die if he approached or the fear of being cut.
It was because he was being suppressed by Temar’s energy. His body refused to listen, as if crushed by a massive citadel.
What exactly am I supposed to do? I can’t even move under this pressure.
Naturally, Temar did not answer. He simply looked down at Jin, standing like a great mountain. At this rate, he couldn't even take the final test of the Great Desert.
He stood still for a long time, as if nailed to the spot. It was maddening; his body, bound by the energy, wouldn't move, so he could neither retreat nor advance.
He couldn't even find his voice. He felt like a rock sunk deep into the ocean.
Wait, a test?
Jin, who had been agonizing, blinked as if something had occurred to him.
A test.
Everything I’ve experienced so far has been a test of the Great Desert... Jin mused internally, beginning to carefully review the mirages he had faced.
The first mirage was the Tona brothers, the second was Valeria.
They had something in common.
I couldn't move forward without cutting them down. I couldn't even fight them without the single-minded intent to slay.
When "cutting" something with a sword, there was something more important than the achievement of swordsmanship.
The heart to cut, the belief that one can cut, and the steel-like will to cut through and move on.
Without those, the act of cutting something with a sword could never be established.
Luna failed to cut Taimun despite possessing 10-star swordsmanship, and Jin had failed to cut Dante in the finals of the Arena.
It wasn't because they were weak, but because they wavered. For whatever reason, their will to slay the opponent had not been sufficient.
If he had hesitated when cutting the Tona brothers, Jin would not have passed the first mirage.
If he had hesitated when cutting Valeria, he would not have passed the second.
Temar Runcandel, I walk toward you.
With such lukewarm resolve, he couldn't even face the third test.
I will slay you.
I can slay you. Even if you are a giant who can split the sun in two, I must slay you.
The moment he chanted those words like a spell— I will slay Temar —the pressure lifted as if it were a lie. His stone-still legs moved, and his blocked airway opened.
An outstanding warrior had to be able to summon their will whenever they desired. Of course, since Jin was an outstanding warrior, he could resolve to slay him.
However, that alone was not enough to pass the test.
“Ugh...!”
His knees buckled as soon as he took two steps. A horrifying pain followed, as if a cold blade had plunged into him. Not a single drop of blood was shed, yet terror was gnawing at him.
If summoning one's will freely was the condition of an outstanding warrior...
Then the realm of a perfected warrior—the realm of the "strong"—was where that will did not break under any circumstances.
There are those who are the embodiment of indomitability even if they have never known the sword, and there are those who are base cowards even if they have held a sword their entire lives.
To pass the final test, he needed that level of will. A perfected will that would yield to nothing.
If I didn't have that kind of will, I would have been just as miserable even after being reborn. Temar!
Crack!
A molar shattered within his clenched jaw. As Jin stood up and spat out the broken tooth fragment to take another step, a quiet smile appeared on Temar’s lips.
By then, Jin felt that even with his eyes open, everything was pitch black. Under the blue-lit White Night of the Great Desert, Jin was walking through the darkness entirely alone.
Whirrr...!
Black smoke billowed beside Temar. The Black Dragon, Misha, who had been hidden within the barrier until now, transformed into a human and stood beside him.
“Temar. Did you... just smile? Temar, has even your consciousness manifested?”
Her voice was urgent, as if she couldn't believe it. When Temar didn't answer, Misha reached out to grab his shoulder.
“Ah...!”
However, her hand passed right through Temar’s body as if grasping at an illusion.
Thud. Misha, having lost her balance and fallen, stared blankly at the sandy floor for a while. A hollow, short laugh followed.
Did I see wrong? No, he definitely smiled.
For her, it was the first time in a thousand years seeing the smile of the person she loved.
Misha soon raised her head and shifted her gaze to Jin.
The boy who had moved Temar to smile was already dozens of steps closer to him. It felt as though he would reach this place at any moment, and she had to quickly brush away the moisture gathering in her eyes.