Chapter 304: Temar’s Second Tomb (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 304: Temar’s Second Tomb (2)
Her tone was unnervingly friendly.
Unlike Silderay, who had treated them like intruders in his role as a grave guardian, the guardian before them looked delighted, as if she were meeting an old friend.
‘Sarah… I heard that name from the recording device in the first tomb. The Runcandel who led five magic swordsmen to the Tower of Stories, where three hundred dragons had gathered.’
Indeed, Sarah was smiling as she looked at Murakan. It was a smile that felt jarringly out of place on a face matted with Spirit Energy, which clung to her skin like dried blood.
“What do you mean, I’m late?”
[I killed all those bastards before you even got here. Ah, to be precise, Padler and I swept them all away. You’re late again, you punk. Where were you slacking off this time?]
“Sarah.”
[Padler got hurt a bit. I’m fine as always, but that weakling definitely needs some training from you or the Patriarch.]
Sarah, wake up!
Just as Murakan was about to shout, Jin gripped his shoulder.
His eyes told the story: Murakan, that person isn’t the real Sarah you know. She’s a guardian created in her image.
The Spirit Energy flowing through her instead of blood was the proof.
Just as Jin had felt the agony of cutting down a mirage in the Mitra Great Desert, Murakan was being swept up in a similar emotion. It was because she was exactly like the real Sarah Runcandel—her way of speaking, her gestures, even her attitude toward him.
A being forged from Spirit Energy is indistinguishable from the real thing, especially if their soul is intertwined with the creation.
[Murakan, why aren’t you answering? Don’t tell me you’re going to say you were too lazy to come, even though you’re late.]
“...It seems you’ve been fighting for far too long, Sarah Runcandel.”
Quicantel stepped in front of Murakan and spoke. She, too, remembered Sarah.
The guardian faltered and turned her gaze toward Quicantel.
[Oh, look who it is. Quicantel? What brings a bystander like you to the battlefield? Though the fight is already over.]
Murakan and Quicantel felt a crushing weight in their hearts.
A thousand years.
That was how long the guardian had protected the second tomb alone in this dark subspace.
The wounds covering her entire body and the thousands of skeletons scattered in every direction bore witness to that terrible struggle. Even the guardian’s sword was broken, with only half the blade remaining.
The guardian could no longer distinguish the past from the present, and at times, she couldn’t even remember what her mission was.
Just like now.
To put it simply, she was not sane.
This was the price of enduring those long years alone ever since she had slaughtered the Zipple mages who raided the tomb a thousand years ago.
[And who are these friends you’ve brought along? I don’t recognize these faces.]
As the guardian approached, Murakan made his decision.
He transformed into his true form and spread his wings. Quicantel followed suit, revealing the majesty of the Silver Dragon.
[My old comrade, Sarah Runcandel. I’m sorry I’m late. I will help you lay down this ancient burden.]
At Murakan’s words, the guardian came to a sudden halt.
Seen from a closer distance, her injuries were even more severe than the group had imagined. If she were shedding blood instead of Spirit Energy, it would have seemed like a miracle that she was even standing.
[What are you talking about all of a sudden…?]
[Draw your sword.]
[What? You want to go a round with me?]
One by one, vortices of Spirit Energy began to spread behind Murakan’s back.
Spirit Energy Release.
The guardian couldn’t possibly be unaware that this was the power Murakan unleashed only when he intended to kill an enemy.
[Are you joking?]
[Jin, and everyone else, listen well. Even in this severely wounded state, Sarah was always mentioned when discussing the strongest among the ten great knights of the old Runcandel. Do not even think about facing her half-heartedly.]
They wondered if it was even possible to fight with a body like that. Her sword was broken and its edge was completely jagged.
However, she was a person who had faced thousands of mages single-handedly.
Screech, clack!
The group drew their weapons in unison.
For a moment, silence fell between the group and the guardian.
Soon, a massive fighting spirit, like a tidal wave, began to radiate from the guardian’s body.
[Somehow… I understand now. Murakan, you weren’t late. You waited on purpose. You waited until the fight was over and I was exhausted.]
Vroom—! Flash!
Suddenly, Sarah’s sword erupted with brilliance. If Murakan hadn’t spread a veil of Spirit Energy, most of the group would have instinctively closed their eyes to block out the light.
And if the guardian had been in her peak condition, every single person who closed their eyes would have had their throat slit. The martial prowess Sarah Runcandel possessed in her prime was a realm truly close to Creation.
[Have you been swayed by the bystander’s schemes? Or have you, the great Murakan, also become afraid of Zipple? Everyone believed in you, you filthy traitor.]
Every single word was like a blade piercing Murakan’s heart.
Murakan’s back, partially obscured by Spirit Energy, looked incredibly small and faint. Every time he faced the unforgettable past, his heart felt as if it were being carved up by a sorrow as sharp as a knife.
The guardian raised her sword, which was now seething with Aura.
[You’d better be prepared. Even if I’ve been betrayed by a comrade and my body is crumbling, I am still Sarah Runcandel.]
Whoosh—!
The Aura-dyed sword was once again enveloped in flames.
Simultaneously, just like Murakan’s swirling Spirit Energy, blazing fireballs erupted around Sarah.
‘Magic?!’
She was a pure-blood from the time before Runcandel had entered into that humiliating covenant with Zipple.
She was a magic swordsman.
[Gilly, Alisa, Casimir! Protect Enya and Jet. Jin, cover us!]
Quicantel shouted as she gathered her breath. Murakan had already created thousands of Spirit Energy spikes and was aiming them at the guardian.
The spikes fell toward the ground without warning or sound. The dark projectiles, looking as if they could consume anything, targeted the guardian’s wound-covered body.
But it took only a single strike.
With one swing, the guardian erased the countless spikes raining down on her.
The fact that her sword was broken didn’t matter to her at all.
The flames pouring from her swung blade showed no sign of waning, even after erasing the spikes.
Suddenly, a sea of fire unfolded.
The guardian’s fire possessed both the heat to turn targets into ash and a sharpness that could cleave them in two. It possessed an attribute that could only be described by the strange expression: sharp fire.
Spirit Energy and fire tangled in the air, a spectacle of two powers trying to devour each other. Quicantel unleashed her Authority of Time as she spat out her breath, momentarily freezing the guardian’s flames.
But there was too much fire.
It exceeded the limit of what Quicantel’s authority could bind. Even if the fire in one spot stopped, the flames elsewhere were suffocating the battlefield.
It was hard to believe even while seeing it. Despite her grievous injuries, the guardian displayed a monstrous strength that didn’t falter even while facing two dragons.
Flame Emperor Sarah Runcandel.
That was the name people called her a thousand years ago.
Though she could not exert her full original power due to the long struggle and solitude, and though her name had been completely erased from history by Zipple…
The fire she wielded still shone brightly within this lonely subspace.
[Murakan, what are you doing? There’s no way the power you possess is only this much. Are you feeling guilty because of our old friendship?]
The flames grew more violent with every passing second. Murakan and Quicantel’s powers were being pushed back by the fire that was steadily expanding its domain.
[Or are you pitying me!]
[It’s not like that, Sarah.]
[Then what is it? If you’ve decided to turn your back on Runcandel, then do it properly, Murakan!]
Sarah screamed as she leaped into the air.
Swish—! Murakan hurriedly deployed a shield against her downward strike, and Quicantel spun her body, trying to bite her.
Using her own flames as a foothold, Sarah moved freely through the air and thrust her sword.
It looked as if sparks were flying. A thunderous roar erupted as the dragons’ claws and teeth clashed with the sword, and the ground was already being torn apart by the shockwaves reaching the surface.
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning caused a rift within the flames and Spirit Energy.
Pluto Sword Basic Form: Lightning.
At the sudden lightning, Sarah faltered for a moment and scanned the ground.
[The power of the Pluto Tribe. Why is there someone using this power among the Zipple?]
[He is not Zipple; he is a Runcandel. Jin. He is a descendant of the Runcandel you all protected.]
[Jin? There is no one in Runcandel with such a name.]
[Sarah, a thousand years have already passed outside. This is Temar’s tomb, and we are here according to Solderet’s arrangements…]
[You must think that just because I’m exhausted, my mind has collapsed as well. It was only two days ago that Padler and I came here under the Patriarch’s orders. You see those countless corpses, don’t you? In the end, Zipple will fall. By our hands!]
Even though she was the guardian of the tomb, she did not realize that Temar was dead.
The guardian’s world was still stuck a thousand years in the past. It was frozen in those heart-pounding days when she led the Runcandel magic swordsmen alongside Temar, exalting the Runcandel name.
It was a cruel thing.
The only thing Jin and his companions could do for the guardian was to provide her with rest as quickly as possible.
The guardian landed on the ground and locked eyes with Jin.
[Tell me your real name, Zipple boy.]
“I am the 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel, Jin Runcandel.”
[You persist in your lies until the very end. Yes, you Zipples are always like this. You try to dye the whole world with lies. Now it seems you even covet the Runcandel name.]
“No matter what you think, Lady Sarah, my name does not change. I am the one who came here to inherit the will of the old Runcandel, and I am Solderet’s new contractor.”
A new layer of Spirit Energy covered the blade of Sigmund, which was already imbued with lightning.
At that sight, Sarah’s eyes twitched for a moment.
[Spirit Sword…]
She could not accept that Jin was using Spirit Energy. If Temar were alive, Solderet would still be granting his protection only to him.
Instead, a single possibility came to mind—the only way one could use Spirit Energy without being Solderet’s contractor.
[The Witch… this is her doing.]
Heluram, that chillingly eerie monster. As far as Sarah knew, the Witch Heluram was the only being who could manipulate Spirit Energy without a contract with Solderet.
Whoosh…!
Suddenly, the fire spread all around gathered toward Sarah.
Seeing this, Jin finished his preparations to unleash the Spirit Sword.
[This body shall meet its end here today. But you, at least, I must destroy.]
As the guardian’s entire body erupted in flames, Murakan released his Spirit Energy to its maximum, enveloping his companions. Quicantel also let out a roar, her eyes glowing.
Runcandel Magic Sword Secret Technique:
Karma Fire – Sarah Runcandel
The Magic Sword Secret Technique of the old Runcandel was beginning to unfold from Sarah.