Chapter 274: Siblings (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 274: Siblings (5)
It felt as if lava were boiling in his head and chest. His blood surged, and he clenched his teeth so hard his jaw felt numb.
It wasn't because of the pain from his body being mangled by the explosion and its metal shards.
It was because of the sudden, soaring rage he felt toward Mary.
Ptui!
He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and tore away the charred scraps of clothing clinging to his skin. The red, scalded flesh stung beyond description, but that was nothing compared to the shrapnel embedded deep between his muscles.
He felt as if a few of his bones were rattling, but thanks to his blessed physique and the blood of the Pluto Tribe, he had avoided any fatal damage to his internal organs.
Truly.
Jin wanted to kill his third sister.
Whether she sensed his intent or not, Mary swept back her disheveled hair with an innocent look on her face.
"You want to kill me?"
He nodded.
"My, where did you learn to say such sweet things! Come on, then! Come at me!"
Mary was simply delighted by the fierce murderous intent radiating from Jin.
For some reason, it felt like a line Yona might say, but Mary had never secretly left him a braided Green Rose. Aside from the Phoenix Heart she had gifted him, Jin didn't owe her much.
And by now, he had more than repaid that debt.
"I'll ask one thing first."
"What is it?"
"Judging by your reaction, you seem satisfied enough. I'll give you one chance. How about you return Bradamante now and we call it even?"
Mary’s joyful expression vanished instantly, replaced by a stern glare.
"That won't do. Satisfied? Not even close! We've still got a long way to go."
"Understood. In that case, I'll consider my debt fully paid. And I'm starting to get curious myself—are you truly insane, or just acting the part? If it's the latter, don't even think about begging for mercy later."
Crackle!
Sigmund erupted in blue flames as it gathered lightning.
Mary, who had been pulling metal shards out of her own body, almost screamed with joy when she saw the new power Jin had just unleashed.
The family had only learned he was Solderet's contractor yesterday, but his use of mysterious lightning had already been revealed during the Holy Kingdom Incident.
Because of this, Mary was actually more curious about the lightning than his spirit energy. She wondered just how powerful it was—the same power that both the Zipple and Viment had coveted before Barmul's identity was revealed.
"Hurry up and show me—"
"Take this!"
Before she could finish her sentence, a bolt of lightning crashed down toward the crown of her head.
Pluto Sword Basic Form: Lightning.
Like the Spirit Sword, it was a technique he had polished every single day in Laprarosa. This bolt, however, contained a much denser energy than ever before.
Boom!
A crater formed where the lightning struck. Mary had instinctively used her footwork to dodge the bolt and even attempted a counterattack by extending her chain sword.
Jin had no intention of going easy on her anymore.
This wasn't a life-or-death duel, but Mary was the one who had resorted to vicious tricks in a mere spar between flagbearers.
And such tactics were originally Jin's specialty.
Zap, rumble!
Dodging and parrying the relentless lightning, Mary prepared to close the distance once again.
Is the youngest planning to settle this from a distance? Well, if I could wield lightning like that while injured, I'd do the same. He'll keep striking until he sees an opening, then unleash his sword energy.
There was one fact Mary was momentarily forgetting.
Jin wasn't just a 'warrior who wields lightning'; he was a magic swordsman.
What? Why is he suddenly closing in? Is he that confident in close quarters? Or is controlling the lightning too taxing?
Ever since Jin left Tessing as a reserve flagbearer, this was the spell his enemies usually experienced right before they realized his true nature.
The secret ultimate technique of a great mage whose name had been erased from history by the Zipple—a lost ancient light magic.
Flash Cannon.
Flash!
"Ugh!"
As light exploded from Jin's palm, an involuntary groan escaped Mary's lips.
My eyes… it feels like they're burning! Right, this kid. He was a magic swordsman!
She only managed that much because she had instinctively shielded her eyes the moment the Flash Cannon went off.
He hadn't just learned the Spirit Sword and Pluto Sword in Laprarosa. He had also undergone brutal training for his mana, pushing himself to the point of backflow several times. As a result, Jin's current magical prowess was at the late 8-star level.
Thanks to that, the power of his Flash Cannon had reached a level nearly identical to that of Chenmi in her prime. Unless one predicted it and defended perfectly, anyone caught in its light would be in trouble.
A genius among geniuses had returned to the past, overcome countless trials, and encountered all sorts of fortuitous opportunities, never once settling for his current achievements.
It wouldn't make sense for someone like Jin to be weaker than Mary.
Slash!
Naturally, Jin did not miss the moment Mary flinched. He immediately transitioned his Basic Form: Lightning into Oppression and thrust it toward her neck.
Spurt!
Whoa, he's really trying to kill me…!
As the blade grazed her throat, Mary realized his words weren't empty threats. Of course, to her, this realization was as thrilling as finding a lottery ticket bought long ago had turned into a massive jackpot.
Crack!
This time, Jin's low kick struck Mary's thigh. As her posture broke, Jin switched Oppression back to Lightning and brought his sword crashing down.
"Gah!"
A scream escaped her as the lightning grazed her side, but Mary was a flagbearer of Runcandel.
She punched Sigmund's blade aside and slammed her forehead into Jin's.
Bare head collided with the Rune of Mul-ta.
The Rune of Mul-ta was an artifact that could easily deflect a strike from a 7-star knight, but to his surprise, Jin felt his brain rattle from an impact that seemed to penetrate the helmet.
Crazy woman, what kind of headbutt is that!
If it had been bare head against bare head, Jin would have certainly taken more damage.
But that wasn't all. Punching Sigmund away and delivering a headbutt were merely preparations for her real attack.
Slide, slash!
The deflected chain sword cut across Jin's chest. Simultaneously, Mary's wrist was sliced by Sigmund, nearly causing her to drop her weapon.
If one were to explain that this bloody battle was a duel between siblings who hadn't met in four years and shared neither grudge nor affection, no one would believe it.
However, if one added the footnote, ‘Those two are Runcandel flagbearers,’ they might just nod in understanding.
This was close to the true form of the succession war that the ancestors after Temar had envisioned.
"Die!" Mary shouted, her eyes glaring. Even after sustaining numerous wounds, her sword only grew sharper.
Not to be outdone, Jin thrust Sigmund forward. When Mary swung her sword, sharp fragments of aura flew; when Jin swung his, lightning arced through the air.
The offense and defense were generally equal. Sigmund and Viper traced dozens of trajectories within a single second, but it was rare for one side to land a clean hit without receiving one in return.
If one was cut, the other was cut as well. The first to lose concentration would suffer a fatal wound and fall.
"Hahaha! Your blade is quite cold, my brother!"
Of course, each had a hidden weapon.
Mary had not yet used her decisive technique, and Jin had not used his Fighting God techniques.
If I use a Fighting God technique… Sister will really die.
Then again, he might fall to his sister's decisive technique first. With the terrifying power of a Runcandel's ultimate move, it was a plausible outcome.
However, the important thing was that those weren't the only cards Jin had left.
He had the new Spirit Sword techniques he'd learned from the Fighting Kings, the 'Pluto Sword Ultimate Technique' he'd received directly from Ban, and magic he hadn't even begun to unleash.
Did he really have to kill Mary using all of that?
Absolutely not.
It was true that her methods were so extreme that he had felt a surge of rage powerful enough to want to kill her. But in truth, Mary had simply acknowledged him.
From the very first moment Jin returned to the Garden of Swords yesterday, Mary had recognized him as a powerhouse worthy of her fighting with everything she had.
So, in order to fight Jin—and preferably win easily the first time to use as an excuse for a rematch—she had agonized all night (using her simple, not-so-brilliant mind) and come up with the clever idea of using bombs.
In other words, Mary had never once looked down on or hated Jin.
She simply wanted to enjoy a fight as equal flagbearers, equal warriors, and equal competitors. Of course, there was no deep, warm affection like Luna's or Yona's in that.
Since the same applied to Jin, it wasn't something to be concerned about.
It's foolish to kill my sister just because I'm in a bad mood. I need to make her my person to prepare for the war against Mother.
While Jin was making that judgment, Mary was thinking:
I'm at the point where I want to pull out my decisive technique and settle this, but it would be insane to end this kind of pleasure in one go. It's too precious.
For a moment, the two of them stopped their swords.
"Hey, my brother!"
Jin wasn't there yet, but Mary was already developing an affection for her brother. That was why she was naturally using the expression 'my brother' more often than 'youngest.'
"What is it?"
"I'll give Bradamante back. Instead, make one promise with me."
"What other promise is needed? You already said you'd give it back if I satisfied you."
"Yeah, and like you said, I'm already satisfied. But I want this feeling of fulfillment to last for a long time. So let's change the conditions a bit. It's not a bad deal for you, so just hear me out."
"Then speak."
"After clashing blades, it seems like you and I would have to kill each other to truly settle this, right? But there's no reason for us to go that far."
"There may be no reason, but there is justification. It's part of the succession war."
"Sure, there's justification. But there's no grudge. So, take Bradamante and fight me like this every day. Until one of us can completely overwhelm the other. Then it'll count as a victory, right?"
"Was there ever a time in our family when such a lukewarm contest was called a victory? If we're going to fight, one of us should die. Besides, who was the one shouting 'die' and throwing bombs just a minute ago?"
"That's true. I only did that because I like you, but I can see why you'd misunderstand. Shouting 'die' was just because I got excited. Hmm… how can I explain this so you'll accept?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Because I'm getting anxious! Seriously, I don't want to end this with just one fight. Brother, do you hate fighting with your sister?"
He didn't hate it. To make someone his ally, he either had to make them submit or give them what they wanted.
However, fighting like this every day was problematic.
"Fine, let's do this."
"Tell me, quickly."
"First, we can't fight like this every day. You can only fight me when I want to."
"Hmm… and?"
"Every time we fight, the outcome will be determined by a knockout. The one who falls first is the loser, and the loser must carry out one command from the winner. We'll write a contract so there's no backing out."
"I like it. Though a contract is a bit tedious."
"And you stole Bradamante instead of taking it through proper means. After I get the sword back, you will take measures to ensure I bear no responsibility for this incident."
"I was going to do that anyway. In exchange, you fight me at least once a week."
"Once a year."
"You have no conscience. No way. Once a month."
"Every five months."
"Two months."
"Three months. Let's settle there."
"Fine."
Surprisingly, Mary coolly accepted the proposal.
In truth, she also knew that her body wouldn't hold up if they fought like this every day. She believed at least a month of rest was needed to fight while maintaining peak condition. Furthermore, since she had to carry out flagbearer missions, she couldn't focus solely on her condition, so once every three months was just right.
"Then, let's finish what we were doing and write the contract, brother!"
"Understood."
Afterward, the two continued their bloody battle for another thirty minutes.
They were carried to the infirmary side-by-side and had to receive intensive treatment all day.
And when the treatment was over, Mary had an ecstatic look on her face, like someone who had just woken from a wonderful dream.