Chapter 447: Zephyrin (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 447: Zephyrin (3)
Murakan soared into the air and let out a thunderous roar. At the surge of his aura, the demonic energy staining the space vibrated unstably, and spirit energy began to seep through the cracks.
He looked like a single, massive, flickering black flame. His sharply glowing amber eyes held the majesty of a dragon that had once ruled the skies.
As if she had been waiting for this very sight, Zephyrin flashed a broad smile.
“Now this feels like real power!”
Kwaaaaah…!
Murakan opened his dark maw and unleashed a Breath. It was infused with a spirit energy so vast it was incomparable to the one he had fired before releasing his full strength.
That wasn't all. Black tendrils, identical in nature to his Breath, streamed from his wings as veils of spirit energy unfurled in all directions.
Dozens of matte black lines battered the ground where Zephyrin stood.
The tendrils were like a swamp. No matter how many times she slashed them with her claws, they would simply entwine around her again. They looked like the frantic struggle of dozens of snakes trying to enter a single burrow at once.
‘So this is how dragons fight.’
Valkas had seen other dragons fight a few times in his life, but he now felt as if those had all been pale imitations.
The battle unfolding before his eyes was on a level that could not be compared to anything he had seen before. Just as there were gaps between human warriors and mages, an insurmountable wall existed between the highest-tier dragons and ordinary ones.
However, even to his eyes, though he knew little of draconic combat…
Zephyrin still held the upper hand in terms of raw power. She was still holding her ground, taking Murakan’s attacks without even revealing her true form.
“I don’t know how long Murakan can hold out, so we must prepare to escape as quickly as possible,” Jin spoke, sheathing Sigmund.
In his heart, he wanted to fight alongside Murakan.
Just as Murakan had finally begun to reveal his full power, Jin and Valkas also had plenty of strength they had yet to draw upon.
Jin, in particular, still had ultimate trump cards that had never failed him: the legacy of Riol Zipple, Sarah’s Magic Sword Secret Techniques, and Van’s Pluto’s Sovereign Sword.
Murakan was certain they ‘absolutely could not win,’ but if Jin used every means at his disposal, he believed he might just be able to defeat the insane Demon Dragon.
However, the probability of that was infinitesimally low, and Jin had no intention of gambling his life here.
The right choice was to conserve as much strength as possible, break through the subspace, and escape with the entire Black King Corps.
Even if they managed to defeat Zephyrin or inflict severe damage by exhausting all their strength, they would most likely die in the process.
They had to escape, identify Zephyrin’s exact affiliation and purpose, and devise a way to counter her.
‘And find out how many more enemies of this caliber are out there.’
A new era had dawned.
Rata Prochi had thought as much after meeting Jin and often brought it up when they were together.
Jin suddenly found himself agreeing. Since the terror at Sword Emperor Castle, it felt as though beings from an entirely different dimension than his previous enemies were lurking everywhere.
Kinzelo, Zipple, and Viment.
Among the three powers, Viment was clearly weaker than Runcandel.
However, Zipple was already considered superior to Runcandel, and Kinzelo had only just begun to reveal their true strength with the attack on Sword Emperor Castle.
‘Zephyrin likely belongs to Kinzelo as well. They probably don’t have many dragons or humans with this level of combat power, but Zephyrin won’t be the only one.’
A candle in the wind.
Perhaps that was the current state of Runcandel.
As far as Jin knew, Runcandel did not have ‘hidden forces’ like the other factions. Of course, there were Cyron and the former Black Knights, but they were all tied down in the Black Sea.
‘The only reason Runcandel remains standing is because of my father, Cyron Runcandel.’
He was certain of it. The moment Cyron disappeared, Runcandel would inevitably fall to ruin.
‘The reason Mother supports Joshua so strongly must be her belief that he has the means to deal with these terrifyingly powerful enemies in the future.’
Krrrrt! Shaaak!
Murakan’s spirit energy and Zephyrin’s claws continued to tangle in a chaotic mess. The pitch-black tendrils grew more violent, while the trajectories of the purple claws grew fainter. It seemed she was finding it increasingly difficult to hold out in her human form.
“I will break through the subspace. Sir Valkas, please look after the Black Knights.”
“Understood, 12th Flagbearer.”
Sring…
The pure white blade of Bradamante slid from its scabbard.
The glowing blade was instantly dyed black by his spirit energy.
‘I didn’t think I’d have to use this again so soon. If I succeed, I won’t be able to use it for a while.’
Before breaking through the subspace, Jin intended to open the gate to Laprarosa first.
For now, Murakan was managing to hold her back alone, but the situation would surely change once Zephyrin revealed her true form.
As long as this subspace wasn't a ‘dead space’ like Solderet’s, there would be no problem performing the Black Light Call.
Whish!
The black-stained blade cut through the air.
‘Thank goodness…!’
The moment he swung the sword, he felt it: the sensation of the gate to Laprarosa opening.
If there was one slight disappointment, it was that the person who came running out of the newly formed pitch-black gate was an ordinary warrior, not a Fighting King.
“Ooh, it’s my turn this time!”
The Pluto Tribe member who appeared with a booming shout was Shaku.
Among the Pluto Tribe, Shaku was the one Jin had sparred with the most until he earned the recognition of all twelve Fighting Kings and became a true brother. At the time, he was the one who had fought Jin over fifty times and won every single match.
“I’m sorry for calling you out, Brother Shaku.”
“No, it is an honor to fight for my brother. What do you need!”
Shaku said as he slung a longsword imbued with lightning over his back. Shaku of the Lightning—that was his epithet before the Pluto Tribe was destroyed.
“Help him.”
“Understood. I think I get the situation. We need to break out of here and get back to the human world, right?”
“Exactly.”
Shaku’s gaze landed on Zephyrin, who was trapped within the black tendrils.
“A demon? No, a Demon Dragon? It’s been a long time since I’ve felt such hideous demonic energy. A Fighting King should have been summoned instead of me. Escape quickly; I’ll do my best to hold her back with the Black Dragon.”
As Shaku joined the fray, lightning began to crackle between the spirit energy and demonic energy. Shaku did not lose his nerve even amidst the swirling chaos.
Though he was an ordinary warrior, a member of the Pluto Tribe was still a member of the Pluto Tribe. His uniquely sturdy body was a great asset in such a chaotic brawl.
Watching this, Valkas couldn't help but be surprised once again. Although he had witnessed Jin summoning ancient combat beastmen at Sword Emperor Castle, seeing it again was still strange and wondrous.
He also found himself thinking along the same lines as Rata Prochi.
‘Regardless of which faction Zephyrin belongs to or what her reasons are, the fact that she is rampaging in the Black King Mountain Fortress like this… might mean there is no longer any room for neutrality in this world.’
Based on the circumstances, it was clear Zephyrin had reacted to seeing Jin and Murakan.
However, he couldn't hold Jin responsible later.
Since a Runcandel Flagbearer and a Black Knight had visited the Black King Mountain Fortress and gotten caught up in an unexpected danger, it was actually Runcandel who was in a position to demand accountability.
‘First, I must escape somehow with the 12th Flagbearer and my subordinates. Even if it means abandoning the Black King Mountain Fortress!’ Valkas thought, gritting his teeth.
And strangely, Valkas felt an inexplicable sense of trust. He felt that with the 12th Flagbearer, Jin Runcandel, they would achieve their goal this time, just as he always had.
‘This is the first time since reaching 10-star that I’ve felt this kind of trust in someone with less martial prowess than myself.’
Fwoosh!
Blue flames budded on the blackened blade of Bradamante.
Tess still couldn't respond to a direct summons while recovering his true body, but the power of pressure he had engraved into Bradamante grew stronger along with Jin.
The deep blue flames spreading from the sword began to weigh down the space stained with demonic energy.
The very space trembled under the pressure, seeming to cower in fear. The blade, held without the slightest tremor, slowly prepared to slice through space itself.
It was then that Zephyrin, who had been doing nothing but take Murakan and Shaku’s attacks in one spot, reacted.
“Azure Fire! Bringing such transcendent power into a fight between underlings is cheating, 12th Flagbearer.”
Just as Murakan and Quicantel had when they first encountered Tess.
Zephyrin also feared Tess’s power. She, too, knew of the majesty Tess commanded in the Fire Realm.
Therefore, even though the Azure Fire Jin wielded was incomparably smaller than Tess’s true power, Zephyrin felt an instinctive terror. It felt as if the very air was being choked from her lungs.
It was a fear only those who had personally witnessed the ‘Master of the Fire Realm’ could feel.
Rumble, crackle!
Perhaps because her attention was momentarily diverted by the Azure Fire, or perhaps because she had reached the limit of her power in human form.
Zephyrin’s defensive barrier, which had held for so long, was finally breached. Murakan’s spirit energy and Shaku’s lightning covered her, seemingly tearing her entire body apart.
Even as her flesh was mangled and disintegrated, Zephyrin did not let out a single scream.
Instead of blood, particles of purple demonic energy scattered in all directions. Like an echo, a long, gloomy laugh rang out.
Ahahaha… haha, ha…!
When that ominous laughter finally ceased, a massive purple mist, as large as a cloud, suddenly erupted from where Zephyrin had been torn apart.
The scale of the mist easily surpassed Murakan’s form by several times.
And what that mist concealed was Zephyrin’s true form. It was so colossal it looked as if an entire mountain were moving, making Murakan appear small in comparison.
Zephyrin, glimpsed through the mist, was closer in shape to a ‘serpent’ than the dragons known to the public.
[Ah, really… Seeing that blue flame just makes me feel uneasy for no reason. Put it out before I get angry, and wait quietly.]
Zephyrin said, revealing her head from outside the mist.
Jin ignored her and continued to focus his mind. Just as when he cut open Myuron’s Hell Gate, he would have to unleash Spirit Sword 1st Form and Tess’s power simultaneously to slice open the space in a single strike.
Crunch!
The moment Zephyrin tried to say something more, Murakan shot forward like an arrow and stabbed at her eye with his claws.
The eye, however, took no damage. Instead, Murakan was sent reeling from the impact.
[Damn it! Why is she so tough?] Murakan shouted as he regained his posture in mid-air.
Ignoring Murakan, Zephyrin prepared to unleash a Breath at Jin.