Chapter 387: Who is the Real Runcandel? (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 387: Who is the Real Runcandel? (7)
Like a scene from hell, waves of fire surged fiercely, centered on the two figures.
The flames clinging to the Runcandels showed no signs of weakening; instead, they blazed with ever-growing ferocity. The sword energy pouring from Jin’s blade was like the Karma Fire itself—once unleashed, it refused to dissipate, even when blocked.
Carried on the inferno’s heat, the energy ricocheted wildly as if riding the wind. These chaotic bursts of sword energy weighed heavily on the spirits of the knights being protected.
And yet, those same bursts of energy failed to reach Luntia, who stood directly before Jin. The aura radiating from her body—a presence as immovable as a great mountain—simply pushed the sword energy aside.
Luntia Runcandel.
Jin knew almost nothing about her. In his previous life, he had rarely crossed paths with her, and the same held true in this one.
So, she’s the only sibling Sister Luna finds difficult to deal with.
Furthermore, despite her strange, chronic apathy toward all matters, many still placed their hopes in Luntia. They whispered that she, not Joshua, was the one truly fit to be the next Patriarch.
Come to think of it, even searching my memories from my past life… I don’t think Father or Mother ever treated Sister Luntia lightly.
—Luntia, Ran, Vigo.
—Yes, Mother.
—The fact that Myu and Anne caused this mess means you, as fellow Flagbearers, are not without responsibility. Especially you, Luntia—I am deeply disappointed. You will take some time for self-reflection. Ran and Vigo will each surrender one of their swords.
Those were Rosa’s words when she had reprimanded the Flagbearers in Jin’s presence during his time as a cadet.
Back then, he had assumed she had only given Luntia the light punishment of "self-reflection" out of respect for her position as the 3rd Flagbearer.
He was wrong.
Luntia possessed a special quality that clearly set her apart from their other siblings.
"Sigh."
Luntia furrowed her brow and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
It wasn’t a sigh born of contempt for Jin’s declaration. From the moment he had unleashed the Karma Fire, no one present could afford to look down on him.
Rather, Luntia found this entire situation maddeningly irritating.
Jin’s very existence was a profound threat to her long-standing goal: to live a life that flowed like water, free from anything exhausting.
It had been that way since the day he first left Storm Castle to visit the Garden of Swords.
A mere ten-year-old brat had suddenly started getting under his siblings' skin. When Jin went on a mission to Mamit as a cadet, Luntia had been forced by Rosa to reflect on herself for no good reason. During his time as a reserve flagbearer, he had broken the rules and returned, throwing the family into an uproar. Even during the Holy Kingdom incident, she had been deployed because of him. Looking back, Jin had always been the center of some troublesome storm.
Luntia could say this with certainty: in the last ten years, no one had made her life more exhausting than Jin. Those who knew her personality never dared to provoke her.
For the first time in a very long while, she felt a surge of anger boiling up from deep within. Nothing in the world angered her more than someone creating unwanted, excessive ripples in her quiet, private world.
"You… I really can't let this slide."
Whoosh!
The moment she finished speaking, a blade imbued with Azure Fire lunged toward her chest once more. The contrast between Bradamante, swollen with flames, and Luntia’s rapier, ‘Charles,’ was stark.
At a glance, Charles was a long, thin sword that looked as if it might snap at any moment. Yet, the thrust Luntia unleashed in the next instant seemed to depict a phenomenon that shouldn't exist in this world.
It was as if a bolt of solid light was charging forward.
Clang—!
The tip of Charles struck the very edge of Bradamante with pinpoint accuracy.
To accurately pierce a single thread drifting slowly through the air would be a divine feat. Luntia’s thrust was far beyond that. She had perfectly struck the edge of a sword moving at incredible speed. Bradamante was deflected at a right angle, and Jin felt a shock that threatened to crush his wrist.
So this is the family’s 3rd Flagbearer…!
That single strike was enough to define Luntia.
It was a speed the eyes could not follow. It was a "fast sword" that was impossible to react to unless one tracked the movement of her shoulders and predicted the trajectory. Amidst the heat so intense the entire sparring hall was melting, Jin felt a chill run down his spine.
The moment he blinked, the next thrust came. Charles grazed Jin’s cheek, leaving behind a trail of fire instead of blood.
It felt as if a gale had erupted right in front of his face. Just as the wind is invisible, Luntia’s rapier was nowhere to be seen.
A dangerous premonition told him that something was flying at him relentlessly, at an imperceptible speed. He was certain that if he failed to dodge or parry even once, he would die.
This feeling is familiar.
It was the same emotion he always felt when facing an overwhelming foe.
There was nothing new about it, and nothing to fear. He simply had to fight back and make his opponent feel the exact same thing.
The flames dwelling in Jin’s eyes deepened.
"I see. You are indeed fierce."
Slice, prick!
Charles continued to graze Jin’s body, leaving small wounds.
"But it’s not enough to stop me. For someone who said they couldn't let this slide, this is almost disappointing."
The bursts of sword energy that had been riding the flames began to gather in one place at Jin’s command. They moved in perfect unison, as if dozens of snipers were aiming at once.
As those bursts of energy poured toward Luntia simultaneously, her frantic barrage of thrusts began to subside.
Though the sword energy had been pulled away, the Runcandels trapped in the Karma Fire found no relief. The flames, now reaching their peak, grew even more violent.
The space once called the ‘sparring hall’ had almost entirely vanished. Even the sunlight streaming through the melted and shattered ceiling was stained by the heat, and the clear blue sky looked as red as blood.
Beneath it, Jin and Luntia’s swords clashed once more.
"How strange. Fire flows from your wounds instead of blood."
"The way you wield such a fast sword with a rapier is equally impressive, Sister."
"Just what do you hope to achieve by doing this?"
"I told you. I will return Runcandel to a family of magic swordsmen."
Crunch, screeech!
The sound was not of blades clashing, but of a massive beast gnawing on bone. The shockwaves from their exchange distorted sound and warped space.
On the surface, it looked like an even exchange, but Luntia’s swordsmanship was clearly superior.
That was why, every time Jin showed a vulnerability, Luntia kept thinking the same thing.
It’s over.
This time, it’s really over.
Wait… is it?
She was certain she had finished him several times as their blades swept past each other. Yet, when she perceived she had pierced his throat, it only grazed his ear; when she thought she had stabbed his heart, fire merely poured from his shoulder.
Why? I clearly saw an opening in the youngest’s defense, so why does Charles keep coming back empty?
It was strange. She had a perfect grasp of his movements, yet the match refused to end.
It was a bizarre phenomenon—her rapier failing to reach him. And then, a sense of déjà vu struck her.
This happened when I faced Sister Luna, too.
A similar thing had occurred when she sparred with Luna.
Back then, Luntia had eventually discovered the answer. The reason her sword kept missing was not because of her opponent, but because of herself.
I… was too preoccupied with not getting hurt.
When fighting a burdensome opponent like Luna, Luntia would unconsciously choose movements that minimized her risk of injury.
Getting hurt was more tiresome than anything else in the world. In such situations, her desire for the annoying ordeal to end was greater than her desire to win.
That was why her blade fell short and her stride narrowed. It was a more comfortable path to lose gracefully than to suffer through an injury.
I never imagined I’d be like this against the youngest. This has only happened a few times in my life…
She hadn't taken Jin’s martial prowess lightly, but she hadn't judged this to be a fight worth risking her life for, either.
That judgment needed to be corrected.
I’ll have to stake my life, too.
Of course, when the fight ended, the probability of her 'life' being the outcome was much higher than 'death.'
Nevertheless, there was a massive difference between a warrior who staked their life and one who did not. It was like the difference in a predator’s hunt, depending on its attitude toward its prey.
The fact that she unconsciously avoided injury when meeting a difficult foe was, in its own way, proof.
Proof that Luntia Runcandel was a powerhouse who had rarely, if ever, encountered a situation where she could be injured in her entire life.
To Luntia, every fight, barring those few exceptions, was an act with about as much risk as breathing, eating, or lounging around.
But the fight with Jin was different.
Luntia recognized this was a battle where one side would lose everything and vanish. Thus, it was a fight where, at every moment, the desire for survival and victory had to surpass her apathy.
"It seems you’ve finally decided to do this properly, Sister."
Jin immediately recognized the change in Luntia.
It was only natural, as the suffocating pressure she had been emitting suddenly vanished. Her aura settled, becoming as calm and still as water.
"You are strong. You’ve grown well."
Luntia adjusted her stance and continued.
"But you shouldn't have provoked me today."
Since her aura was no longer acting as a barrier, Jin’s fire surged into the void. Luntia was instantly engulfed in flames, leaving only a dark silhouette.
She was taking the brunt of the Karma Fire with her bare body.
In that moment, just as Luntia had been reminded of Luna by Jin, Jin couldn't help but be reminded of his eldest sister by Luntia. The blessed body of a Runcandel—and among them, the one known to be the absolute best…
She was even more resilient than Luna’s transcendent physique.
Luntia strode toward Jin, still cloaked in the Karma Fire. Even through the flickering flames, not a single blister could be seen on her skin.
"Well, now."
Jin began to gather the fire that had spread in all directions.
The flames that had been spreading an oppressive, terrible heat far beyond the sparring hall were now being absorbed into Bradamante.
"I never imagined there was a sibling even sturdier than Sister Luna…"
It wasn't just Jin; all the other siblings felt the same. Except for Luna herself, no one had ever imagined such a sibling existed.
Because until now, no other sibling had ever managed to instill a sense of crisis in Luntia.
"I didn't expect to fight you with everything I have either," Luntia said. "So there's no need for us to be disappointed in each other."