Chapter 284: Temar’s First Grave (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 284: Temar’s First Grave (5)
The first light of dawn was beginning to illuminate Baolai.
After receiving the key, Murakan couldn't shake his bitter feelings for a long time. It wasn't just bitterness; it was a mix of remorse, sorrow, longing, self-mockery, and even a sense of helplessness. All sorts of heavy, dark emotions clawed at his chest.
A friend.
Someone more precious than anything.
That was what Temar had been to Murakan. He would have joined Temar in any battle and would have gladly given his life to save him from mortal danger.
But he hadn't been able to.
If the great Black Dragon, who had lived for over three thousand years, had to pick the single most painful moment of his life, it would undoubtedly be that one.
[Myaaa…]
Shuri licked Murakan’s shoulder. When he failed to respond after a long while, she let out a mournful cry and retreated into the Red Jade.
Murakan…
Seeing him so uncharacteristically sorrowful, Jin couldn't find the words to comfort him.
In his previous life, Jin had also lost someone more precious to him than anyone else. On the day he was exiled from the Garden of Swords, Gilly’s aura had been sealed, forcing her to endure a punishment worse than death. The vivid memory of Gilly’s final moments before his regression suddenly surfaced, clouding Jin’s mind.
Murakan’s hands, clutching the key, were trembling violently.
Soon, he pulled the key to his chest, cradling it with both hands. His grand frame somehow looked as fragile as a withered branch, and his back began to shake.
Was he sobbing? Were his shoulders heaving with grief for the friend he had hurt and left behind so long ago?
Jin slowly approached, feeling he had to offer some comfort.
But in the next moment…
“…Ah, damn it. Why isn’t this working? Ugh.”
Murakan let out a gruff, foul-mouthed grumble.
“Uh, wait? Murakan?”
“This key… I’m shoving a ton of spirit energy into it, but it’s not showing any sign of activating. Everything is finding a way to piss me off… Hah, let’s see who wins, you piece-of-crap toy.”
The reason Murakan’s back had been shaking wasn't because he was sobbing. He was simply trembling from the sheer effort of forcing spirit energy into the key. He had pulled it to his chest for the same reason; after trying to inject energy with one hand failed, he had resorted to pouring in a massive amount with both.
“Ah, just activate already! I’ve already fed you enough for a 5-star!”
Jin felt a bit… bewildered.
But soon, a small smirk escaped his lips.
“Stop being so cranky. When we get back, I’ll send Gilly on vacation immediately so you two can go somewhere together.”
Snap!
Murakan whipped his head around at lightning speed.
“Really!?”
“Yeah, it’s not a difficult request. Gilly doesn't need to be so cautious about her behavior because of me anymore.”
“You’re finally saying something that makes raising you worthwhile, kid. Khaha, yeah! Make it a long one if you can. I’ll go have some fun with Strawberry Pie and—”
“But… Strawberry Pie—I mean, Gilly—might just reject you. Have you considered that?”
“What?”
“You seem to think that as long as she has a vacation, she’ll naturally accept your date proposal. I’m worried about whether you can handle it if you get rejected again. The wound would be deep.”
Murakan, who had been about to snap back, snorted instead.
“Hmph! Khahat, you really don’t know anything. Well, I suppose you were stuck in Laprarosa since late ‘97… Anyway, don’t you dare change your mind. That won’t happen.”
For some reason, the confident answer irritated Jin.
I didn’t think anything special was going on with Gilly, so where is this confidence coming from? No, wait, why am I even worried about their… romance? Is it even romance? Anyway, why do I care? Why do I feel so annoyed?
I just said whatever to shut the kid up, but what if she actually rejects me?
Of course, neither Jin nor Murakan could read the other’s thoughts.
“Yes, yes. Just focus on activating the key, Great Black Dragon.”
“Yeah, just you wait. Hmmm…!”
Murakan began pouring spirit energy into the key again. However, even as the veins on his neck bulged from the effort, there was still no reaction.
“Solderet, you bastard! Why did you make a device like this?!”
Murakan threw the key to the ground and panted heavily.
“Are you using it wrong? Or did Lord Picon tell you something incorrect?”
“Neither. I told you before, Solderet made a lot of things like this. There’s no way Picon got it wrong. This is definitely where Temar was buried. I can feel it.”
“Then why isn’t it working?”
Vroooom!
When Murakan suddenly transformed into his true dragon form, Jin reflexively scanned their surroundings. They were in an open plain; there was nothing to hide Murakan’s massive body.
“We came all the way back from the Hola Mountains! If anyone sees this, it’s all for nothing. Why the sudden transformation?”
[It seems this key isn't a device that activates with a normal amount of spirit energy. I’ve already poured in all the energy I can use in human form.]
Jin looked up at Murakan, startled.
“Wait, just how much spirit energy does this thing need?”
[I’m about to find out. Go look around the area. If any remnants of the Dark Magic Association pass by, kill them all.]
“There aren’t any.”
Shockingly, it was a full eight hours later that the key finally showed a reaction. Fortunately, no one had seen the great Black Dragon sitting in the middle of Baolai, struggling with a tiny object.
Huff, puff, huff…!
The moment Murakan squeezed out the last of his remaining spirit energy, the key stuck to the tip of his claw began to float slowly into the sky.
[It… it worked! Ugh, my aching bones.]
“Is it finally over?”
Murakan transformed back into a human and stood beside Jin. He looked considerably exhausted. No, it was more than that; his face was so pale he looked as if he might collapse at any moment.
The key, which had been soaring into the sky, stopped. A moment later, their surroundings plunged into darkness, as if a Spirit Energy Release had been cast. In reality, the blackness was spirit energy pouring from the key itself. The energy was enveloping the entirety of the vast Baolai plains in a hemispherical dome.
What is this? More importantly, if the scale is this large, anyone could spot it.
Murakan also seemed to be seeing this for the first time. Just as Jin began to worry that their effort to return from the Hola Mountains had been in vain, he felt the hemisphere of spirit energy begin to shrink. It was as if a giant was gripping the dome from the outside.
The boundary of the shrinking hemisphere soon reached them. When it finally converged into a single point and vanished, Baolai remained exactly as it was before—a landscape of hills covered in lush green grass.
However, Jin and Murakan, who had been standing there, were nowhere to be found. The two had been pulled into a subspace made of spirit energy.
“Ha, I knew it was eating too much spirit energy for a reason. A subspace, huh…” Murakan let out a hollow laugh.
Jin scanned their surroundings, his nerves on edge from the sudden spatial shift. It was a dark, empty space, so vast that its end could not be seen.
This desolate landscape was the first grave of Temar Runcandel.
“Solderet hid it this well, and yet those Zipple bastards still found this place and ransacked it.” Murakan shook his head, suppressing his anger. “Kid, make a single flower out of spirit energy.”
Jin had never done it before, but since it was just a matter of shaping spirit energy, it wasn't difficult. He fashioned a condolence flower and placed it on the ground.
“His body isn’t here, but we should at least leave a flower.”
After setting down the flower, they observed a moment of silence. Murakan paid his respects as a friend, and Jin as a descendant.
“Kid.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
When the moment of silence ended, a wind blew from somewhere, gently erasing the spirit energy flower as it flowed on indifferently.
“The new God of Blacksmiths, Picon Minche, said we could meet those who were Temar’s will here, right?”
“That’s right. He said something here is needed to strengthen Bradamante.”
“I’ve been thinking about it on the way here—what form Temar’s first grave would take and what could possibly be left after it was already raided. I couldn’t really guess.”
“And?”
“Seeing this subspace, one thing immediately comes to mind.”
Murakan paused, overcome by an ominous feeling. Meanwhile, Jin recalled the conversation he had with Picon Minche.
—[There is a region called Baolai in the Anz Great Plain. It is the center of the plain. Inject spirit energy into this key there. Then, his first grave will be revealed.]
—Are there any precautions?
—[He told me to tell you not to panic, no matter what happens. Those were the words Solderet wanted me to pass on to you.]
—Anything else?
—[Nothing. I wish you martial fortune, Jin Runcandel.]
I wish you martial fortune.
Jin had been bothered by that part, too. He hadn't understood why he would need ‘martial fortune’ just to face a ‘will.’
“Kid, I think it’s a guardian. There’s still a guardian in this grave.”
“A guardian?”
“Yeah. To protect the grave. The fact that Solderet made a key that only works after pouring in so much spirit energy must mean he wanted you to come here only when you had at least enough power to use the key.”
Picon hadn't mentioned such a thing, likely because Solderet hadn't told him those details. In any case, the key would never have worked without a sufficient amount of spirit energy.
There was just one problem.
The one who had activated the key wasn't Jin, but Murakan. Furthermore, Murakan had used up every drop of his spirit energy to do so.
“…Murakan. Do you think the spirit energy I have would have been enough to activate the key?”
“Not a chance. I, the great Murakan, poured in every last drop for eight hours just to barely get it working. It’s impossible with your 7-star spirit energy.”
“Then that means I didn’t have the qualifications to come here? And even if that guardian or whatever shows up, you’re in no condition to fight because your spirit energy is depleted?”
“That’s right… Well, surely nothing will happen. Maybe there isn’t even a guardian. We’ll have an answer soon enough.”
As soon as Murakan finished speaking, a grand, resonant voice echoed from the distance.
[Has the Contractor of Solderet come to comfort Temar…?]
Murakan immediately recognized the voice and pressed a hand to his forehead. It was a voice he had heard every single day a thousand years ago.
“This… this is Silderay’s voice…!”
Silderay Zizek.
He was one of the individuals who had contributed the most when Temar founded the Runcandel clan. However, he was a tragic knight whose history and legends had all been erased by the Zipple.
The one guarding this grave was the ‘will’ of Silderay Zizek.