Chapter 445: Zephyrin (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 445: Zephyrin (1)
Blood gushed from beneath the Black Knight’s hood. The poison infused in the nails was so potent that the deep gash on his flank was already turning black.
He may have been caught off guard, but he was still a Black Knight—one of only ten guardian knights in all of Runcandel permitted to wear the black helmet. Despite his grievous injury, he launched an immediate counterattack.
However, the claws extending from his robe sleeves failed to reach Zephyrin. He swung for her throat, but the blades only slashed through empty air.
Swaak!
Zephyrin’s nails and the Black Knight’s claws clashed once more.
His body, ravaged by the lethal poison, was already failing him. The Black Knight was thrown back after a single exchange, coughing up blood as he scrambled to create distance.
Had the Black Knight been alone, the battle would have been decided in that instant. Mortally wounded and poisoned, he had no way to withstand the onslaught Zephyrin was about to unleash.
Jin, Murakan, and Valkas stepped forward simultaneously.
‘What in the world…!’
Though their reactions were incredibly swift, shock was plain on all three of their faces.
More than anything, Jin was stunned that a Black Knight had been incapacitated in a single strike.
‘Even if he was ambushed, this shouldn’t be possible. Not unless she has abilities on par with Eldest Sister Yona or the Nameless King—or martial prowess that exceeds a Black Knight.’
A special ability or sheer martial power. Zephyrin could possess one or both.
One thing was certain: she was a far more formidable opponent than they could handle easily.
“My, the Runcandel Black Knights are quite something after all. I didn't expect you to be able to dodge that.”
The Black Knight’s lips, already a sickly blue, trembled, but he couldn't muster the strength to reply. He was using every ounce of his focus just to suppress the poison spreading through his body.
“Zephyrin, you wretch! Did you do something to the 2nd Captain?!”
The 2nd Captain was the one who was supposed to have brought the Black Knight.
Valkas’s first concern was for him and the rest of his subordinates. Given the power Zephyrin had just displayed, it was entirely possible she had assassinated them before arriving.
As Valkas glared at her with murderous intent, Zephyrin broke into a wide smile.
“I told you that you didn't need to know, Commander. You’re going to die anyway. I was going to send you off peacefully out of respect for our time together, but if you keep asking useless questions, I might have to make your death a painful one.”
Murakan snorted at her words.
“Quicantel was right on the mark. Hey, you. You damn Demon Dragon. I was going to ask, but thanks for revealing your identity for me.”
Vroooom!
As Murakan transformed into his true form, dense Spirit Energy blanketed every corner of the vast drawing room.
[So you’re acting this cocky because of that Rontelgius demon, I take it? And you’re attacking even with me here because you think you have what it takes?]
In the past, before demon society vanished from the human world, Murakan had fought countless Demon Dragons who had betrayed their own kind.
He had never lost. He had always achieved overwhelming victories against the notoriously powerful Demon Dragons, to the point where even the strongest among the Four Great Ducal Houses learned to avoid him.
Murakan’s fame wasn’t limited to the human world. In demon society, his name was synonymous with an absolute ruler of the skies.
However, among all the powerful Demon Dragons Murakan knew, none went by the name ‘Zephyrin.’
‘Is it my memory, or have I really never met her? Hmm, I’m pretty sure I beat up every Demon Dragon with a decent reputation back then. Where did a brat like this pop up from?’
He couldn't be sure.
Zephyrin slowly turned her head to look at Jin and Murakan.
“Haha, you’re as arrogant as ever, Lord Murakan.”
[You speak as if you know me. I have no memory of ever seeing a thing like you.]
“Memory… I suppose that’s possible. But is there any dragon in the world who doesn't know you? You were the only one worthy of ruling the beautiful blue skies of the human world.”
[Which means my attitude isn't arrogance, but fact. State your true name.]
“Unlike the Commander, I won't kill you. Instead, you’ll fall into a deep sleep once more with a shattered heart. When you awaken, you’ll find the world has changed all over again. Just like last time.”
Zzzzzzt!
Suddenly, a purple energy spread from Zephyrin’s grasp.
‘Mana? No, it’s different. It feels like the mysterious magic the Rontelgius demon used, but this is much deeper and darker.’
Jin’s mind raced as he reacted to the spreading energy.
What Zephyrin had unleashed was not mana, but Demonic Energy—and on a scale massive enough to make even Murakan flinch.
The Demonic Energy instantly enveloped the drawing room. Jin instinctively knew it was forming some kind of ‘subspace.’
As the energy expanded, Jin and Valkas lunged at Zephyrin.
Sigmund’s pale blade flared with lightning within the purple darkness, while the heavy Aura surrounding Valkas’s fists surged.
In addition to being one of the world’s top three mercenaries, Valkas was also considered the world’s greatest ‘martial artist.’
Clang!
Zephyrin swung the axe-sword from her back to parry Valkas’s punch.
A shockwave erupted the moment fist and blade met. If the Demonic Energy hadn't been containing the space, the drawing room would have been obliterated by that single strike.
The subspace, now shrouded in Demonic Energy, no longer resembled a drawing room but a void-like expanse.
Seizing the opening, Jin thrust his blade toward Zephyrin’s flank, but she merely tilted her axe-sword and blocked it with ease.
A tremendous impact shot up both Jin’s and Valkas’s wrists.
The axe-sword, which Zephyrin seemed to swing so lightly, had sent a jarring shock through both the blessed body of a Runcandel and the Steel Body of a 10-star warrior.
Fwooooosh!
As the two men transitioned into their next moves, Murakan exhaled a breath of pitch-black Spirit Energy. It was a blast capable of leveling a small citadel, yet Zephyrin sliced through it effortlessly.
Her face was full of laughter.
“Your breath is as warm as they say, Lord Murakan.”
Murakan didn't respond. Instead, he formed spikes of Spirit Energy along both wings and fired them like missiles.
Jin and Valkas weaved between the projectiles with artistic precision, taking turns attacking Zephyrin.
Watching her handle the axe-sword with such flair, Jin felt as if he were watching Luna.
Even while fending off the simultaneous attacks of Jin, Valkas, and Murakan, Zephyrin never lost her composure.
She was in a league of her own.
Laughing as she swung the axe-sword, Zephyrin seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself.
Crunch! Skreeee! Clang!
The two swords, the fists, and the Spirit Energy intertwined, chaotically painting the dark space.
At a glance, the fight seemed to be a stalemate.
‘But even if it’s a stalemate, we’re at a disadvantage.’
Behind them lay the dying Black Knight.
He was Joshua’s man, of course, sent to the Black King Mountain Fortress to hinder Jin. But a Black Knight was still one of Runcandel’s greatest assets. Losing one so futilely would be a direct blow to the clan’s power. And from a technical standpoint, he wasn't just Joshua’s man; he belonged to the ‘Next Patriarch.’
‘He needs immediate treatment from the Holy King and his healers, or a poison expert on the level of Kuzan.’
If not for his 10-star Steel Body, he would have died the moment those nails pierced him. The poison was so horrific that even Jin, who possessed the Immunity to All Poisons from the Ten Thousand Poison Liquor, instinctively felt he might not be fully immune to it.
How much longer could the Black Knight hold on? Seeing him tremble and spit up bloody foam, it was clear he didn't have long.
Jin increased his speed. The Black King Commander was also focusing his senses to their absolute limit, knowing that a Black Knight dying on his land would cause massive problems.
[As they say? Every Demon Dragon who dared to defy me—the ones I actually had to use my breath on—is dead.]
“That’s true. But I could have been friends with other, ordinary dragons, couldn't I? Besides, that may have been true once, but now that you’ve weakened, you just seem like an old man clinging to his glory days. You’d better fight properly, like you did at the Sword Emperor Castle.”
Murakan snorted again.
[Properly? I couldn't fight as I pleased back then because I had to protect those humans. I’ll send you exactly where you want to go—to hell.]
“Oh, I’m looking forward to it!”
Sword energy infused with Demonic Energy erupted from the axe-sword, clawing and tearing at the surroundings indiscriminately.
The veil of Spirit Energy Murakan had spread was shredded, and Jin and Valkas unleashed their own sword energy while frantically repositioning themselves.
To any observer, it was a magnificent and terrifying display of power, but by then, Jin and his allies had realized something.
Zephyrin’s swordsmanship was strangely clumsy.
‘The power is lethal, but the swordsmanship itself is oddly unnatural.’
‘It’s like she’s moving in clothes that don’t fit.’
She was good at blocking and swinging, but the flow of her movements wasn't clean.
Of course, this was only apparent to warriors like Jin and Valkas, who had reached the pinnacle of their craft. An ordinary 8-star warrior wouldn't have noticed a thing.
Suddenly, an unpleasant, uneasy feeling struck the group.
‘Could it be… the axe-sword isn't her primary weapon?!’
At first, they had been too preoccupied with the frantic exchange and her overwhelming physical abilities to notice. But the fact remained: Zephyrin was employing a very crude form of ‘axe-swordsmanship.’
Their intuition solidified into certainty, and thick goosebumps broke out across their backs and arms.
All three tried to suppress their bewilderment, but Zephyrin saw right through them.
As if she had only just realized they’d noticed, she shrugged.
“Well, it looked fun, and I was a bit curious, so I tried using it… but as I thought, is it really that pathetic? Haha.”
Just as when she had pretended to be human, Zephyrin had never properly learned axe-swordsmanship in her life. She was merely curious about the weapon that had cut down one of the people she was supposed to protect.
Whoosh, swish!
Zephyrin playfully twirled the axe-sword in the air.
Then, as if her interest had evaporated—as if she realized she couldn't easily kill them all with this—she casually tossed the axe-sword to the floor.
The discarded weapon hit the ground with a heavy thud.
“Even so, I suppose it would be disrespectful to shatter Lord Murakan’s heart with something like this. I should at least show a bit of courtesy while I put you to sleep.”