Chapter 239: Total Ruin and the Burden (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: Total Ruin and the Burden (4)
The entire sky was stained a deep, bruised purple.
Below, amid a deafening roar and a light so bright it stung the eyes, gathered a throng of monstrous figures—beings who could no longer be called human.
They were the 813 victims of the bio-golem experiments.
Every last one of them had completed their transformation, their bodies wreathed in crackling lightning. It was as if they were wielding the power of the Pluto Tribe’s Light Heart.
Rumble…!
Each time the light enveloping the bio-golems intensified, bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, obscuring Murakan’s form behind a veil of electricity.
At a glance, the bio-golems’ lightning seemed formidable.
However, its most significant attribute was the visual effect of blanketing the sky; its actual power was nowhere near the transcendent level Mutual had feared. While the method of use was similar, it couldn't even begin to compare to the lightning of the true Pluto Tribe.
‘At the very least, Murakan won’t be defeated by these things.’
Jin had rushed here fearing the bio-golems might possess combat power on par with the Pluto Tribe. Mutual had even suggested that not even a Black Dragon could handle them.
Her words hadn't been entirely wrong.
If there were eight hundred bio-golems capable of generating that much lightning, supported by three 9-star mages, hundreds of mages from the Dark Magic Association, and warriors from the White Wolf and Red Tiger Tribes… even a legendary dragon or a renowned warrior would find fleeing to be their only sensible option.
But Mutual knew nothing of the true might of the Black Dragon Murakan, nor did she know the power of Jin and the real Pluto Tribe.
‘You kidnapped innocent people to turn them into monsters, and you dared to insult my clan? You bastards deserve to die a thousand times over…’
Crackle…
Jin drew Sigmund.
The Dark Magic Association.
Today, they would be wiped from the face of the earth.
"Murakan!"
As Jin roared his name, a black vortex formed in the center of the lightning-filled sky, revealing Murakan’s silhouette.
In that instant, every member of the Dark Magic Association—excluding the bio-golems—turned their gaze toward Jin.
"Th-That guy! Why is he here?!"
The one who screamed in horror was the Archmage of Anz, Chukon Tolderer. He had instantly recognized the Rune of Mul-ta, the black magic helmet Jin wore.
As Chukon instinctively recoiled, the other 9-star mages tilted their heads in confusion.
"Lord Chukon, do you know that man?" the speaker, Cold Jo, asked, his frame gaunt and his eyes sunken.
"He’s the one who stole the compass in the Bellado Principality! Be careful! He wields lightning that can't even be compared to those bio-golems…!"
Just as Jo and Susan were about to respond, Murakan spoke.
[Did you confirm everything?]
Jin nodded.
[Then there’s no reason to drag this out. What do you want to do?]
"Kill all the bio-golems and the small fry. Cripple the 9-star mages and capture them alive."
[That’s a bit of a tricky request. Can’t I just kill them all?]
"Then just capture one—Cold Jo."
Grin.
A smile spread across Murakan’s lips.
[Understood. That much won't be difficult.]
"You’ve clearly gone mad! Do you think you're Cyron Runcandel or Kelliark Zipple?!"
Thump!
Cold Jo slammed his staff against the ground and roared. It was infuriating enough that their citadel had collapsed and the laboratories were sealed off in a sudden raid, but to have a mere brat hurl such absurd provocations made his blood boil.
Susan Lilista had a similar reaction. She believed they had simply been caught off guard by a surprise attack; there was no way the headquarters of the Dark Magic Association would fall to a single dragon and one warrior.
Only Chukon Tolderer, who had experienced Jin’s power firsthand, wore a grim expression. Of course, even he judged that while Jin’s prowess was impressive, facing all of them at once was like striking a rock with an egg. That Black Dragon floating in the sky was formidable, but as long as Jo and the others fought back, it shouldn't be able to lay waste to this place. It shouldn't be possible…
‘Then why do I have such a bad feeling about this…?!’
Just as Chukon took a deep breath to calm his tightening chest, a tremendous force erupted.
Whooooosh—!
Spirit energy poured from Murakan’s wings like a tidal wave. The energy instantly filled the sky, forming a vortex that began to consume the bio-golems’ lightning. Darkness fell swiftly over the ground.
The bio-golems were still generating lightning, but as it surged toward the sky, it vanished without a trace the moment it touched the encroaching spirit energy.
"Oho, so this is the Shadow Dragon. Let’s see how long that confidence lasts! Beastmen, seize him!"
At Jo’s command, the nearby beastmen raised their weapons in unison. With murderous glints in their eyes, they began to march toward Jin.
Crackle! Zap!
The lightning enveloping Sigmund’s pale blade flickered violently, responding to Jin’s will. The beastmen with keener instincts flinched and instinctively took a step back. Those who lacked such intuition, feeling that Jin’s lightning was no different from the bio-golems’, merely channeled their aura and pressed on.
The lightning erupting from Sigmund took the shape of pillars, spreading out in all directions.
[Hahaha!]
Simultaneously, Murakan laughed at Jo’s ignorance and released the full might of the spirit energy blanketing the sky.
Spirit Energy Release.
It was the beginning and the end for all who manipulated spirit energy. As Murakan’s amber eyes glowed, the entire area was plunged into absolute darkness.
It wasn't a figure of speech. Everyone on the ground, except for Jin, felt their vision go completely black for a moment. Though the duration was extremely short, to have one's sight stolen against their will was a source of profound terror.
My eyes, just now…!?
When their vision returned, the mages of the Dark Magic Association and the beastmen instinctively rubbed their eyes and glanced at each other. Their expressions all asked the same question: Did your vision just go dark, too?
They all thought nothing had happened.
Until they saw their own shadows beneath their feet moving of their own accord.
"Wh-What? Argh, what is this!"
"The shadows…!"
The shadows were tearing. Their original forms, which should have swayed naturally with the light, were gone. Instead, they were ripping apart and stretching into grotesque shapes. Some even began to merge with the shadows of the people standing next to them.
Faced with a nightmarish sight they had never experienced or even imagined in their lives, they were overcome with sudden nausea and a chilling shiver down their spines.
Not everyone’s shadow had changed. Of the nearly six hundred remaining mages and beastmen, only about half were experiencing the phenomenon. However, those who were still unaffected were just as shocked.
[I suppose I should thin the numbers a bit first. It’s not exactly pleasant to watch so many things squirming around.]
The moment Murakan finished speaking, screams and the sickening sounds of bursting flesh and breaking bones erupted across the battlefield.
"G-Gah!"
"Save me…!"
The transformation began for those whose shadows had been touched by the Spirit Energy Release.
The bodies of nearly three hundred people were being bent, torn, and shattered as if struck by a sledgehammer. They were all suffering the exact same fate as their distorted shadows.
Those whose shadows had been decapitated were actually decapitated. Those whose shadows had burst apart had their bodies explode.
As the mangled corpses slumped helplessly to the ground, the shadows escaping from the dead were sucked upward, absorbed into Murakan’s form in the sky.
Both Jo and Susan instinctively realized that something was going horribly wrong. Even as archmages who had spent decades mastering magic, they had never heard of anything like this.
Chukon had been maintaining a barrier for some time, while Jo and Susan were only just beginning to prepare their spells. The few seconds of attention they had lost to the carnage of the Spirit Energy Release would be a regret they would carry to their graves.
In that brief interval, Jin had already completed his preparations.
With Sigmund plunged into the ground, he dyed the earth—where shadows now drifted in chaos—a brilliant blue once more.
Fighting God Technique, 4th Sword
Erosion.
The pillars of lightning that had been floating around Sigmund all slammed into the ground at once. Thick lightning saturated the entire floor, just as the 813 bio-golems had turned the sky blue moments before.
But this was not the same kind of lightning. Even the 9-star mages, who had never seen the power of the Pluto Tribe in person, instinctively felt that this was the real thing.
Rumble!
This was the lightning of Erosion, an attack that even the 10-star knight Vanessa Olson had instinctively moved to dodge. There was no way an ordinary beastman warrior could withstand it.
The pillars of lightning embedded in the earth began to call down thunder from the heavens. Jin’s lightning flickered violently throughout the pitch-black sky.
"Evade!" Jo shouted to the beastmen charging at Jin as he extended his staff.
But it was already too late. More than half of the beastmen near Jin had already lost their lives to the thunder that began to pour down ferociously.
Crunch—!
The rest barely survived thanks to the barriers deployed by Jo and Chukon.
However, the beastmen who had avoided the thunder were all staring blankly at the ground. Their bodies were paralyzed by the aura of the Pluto Tribe radiating from Jin, which was more savage than ever before.
Shring!
Jin carried two swords.
While Sigmund continued Erosion, Bradamante slid from its sheath. The black-stained blade surged toward the necks of the beastmen cowering beneath the barrier. With every arc of the blade, severed heads fell to the ground.
Jin, slaughtering the beastmen like a reaper, locked eyes with Jo.
About five hundred bio-golems were still alive. "Attack him!" Jo shrieked, and the bio-golems began to rush Jin all at once.
However, Jo hadn't shouted because he believed these incomplete bio-golems, each possessing the power of a mere 4th or 5th-star warrior, could actually do anything to Jin.
He simply needed to buy a moment of time before Jin reached him.
He had realized that no matter how many bio-golems there were, they were useless against Jin and Murakan. Their prowess—especially Murakan’s—far exceeded his common sense.
‘I shouldn't have gathered them here; I should have run…! How foolish!’
Regret was useless now.
Whoosh—!
With Tess summoned, Jin pushed aside the bio-golems—no, the unfortunate commoners who had been turned into monsters—and approached Jo.
"It’s time to pay for the crime of desecrating my clan."
Susan and Chukon were preoccupied with fending off Murakan’s follow-up attacks. Jo watched the bio-golems being ruthlessly incinerated by blue flames, his mind clinging to the one word Jin had said: ‘capture.’
‘I must surrender and survive. As long as I stay alive, the Leader will find a way to save me…!’