Chapter 464: People with Good Intuition, People with Bad Intuition (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 464: People with Good Intuition, People with Bad Intuition (8)
Black sword energy, dense with Spirit Energy, tore through the barrage of fire and shot toward Amela.
Every single strike was aimed at a vital point. Through the gaps in the shredded explosions, Jin’s eyes gleamed with cold, heavy killing intent.
He was serious. Jin had decided to kill Amela.
The killing intent was so palpable it felt as if it might coalesce into a physical, poisonous mass. Amela flinched, a chill running down her spine.
Clang—!
In the blink of an eye, Jin and Amela were locked in a clash of strength, their weapons pressed together. Bradamante ground against the barrel of a cannon formed from chaos, letting out a grating shriek.
‘She isn’t losing her mind at the sight of Spirit Energy like Sister Yona did. Is it because her chaos is a different type or scale? Or is it something else?’
He couldn't be certain, but the reason wasn't important right now. In fact, it would have been easier if she had lost her mind, as she wouldn't be able to use her full power.
Jin tried to pull his blade away to swing again, but felt something solid seize Bradamante.
Thorns. Thorns had suddenly sprouted from the cannon’s barrel like a porcupine’s quills, entangling his blade and holding it fast.
Forcing the blade free created a brief opening. Naturally, Amela didn't miss it. She detonated a bomb right at Jin’s head—a bomb she had instantly fashioned from chaos.
The roar was loud enough to burst eardrums, but thanks to the protection of the Rune of Mul-ta and his armor, Jin suffered no real damage.
Meanwhile, Murakan tried to retrieve Rata and Fey, but as he ran, he sensed a strange danger beneath his feet and quickly leaped back.
Had he been a moment later, he would have been seriously injured. An explosion erupted from the very spot where he had just been standing.
“Hah, what in the world? Now she’s planting bombs in the ground?”
Murakan clicked his tongue as he stared at the cratered earth. This method of attack matched Valkas’s description.
These were Amela's signature methods: bombs exploding from underfoot, arrows with delayed triggers, and all manner of traps and strange devices.
Normally, such things would require considerable time and preparation, but her infinite chaos filled that gap.
Following her will, weapons and traps formed incessantly in every direction: cannons, bombs, a massive guillotine, thorn nets, rapid-fire crossbows, and more.
If it had been anyone other than Jin and Murakan—any warrior or mage below the 10-star level—they would have been utterly helpless. Even a renowned knight order or a squad of mages would have been wiped out.
Unfortunately for her, it was a terrible matchup.
Her curses were completely ineffective, leaving her unable to create an opening. Her arsenal was perfect for slaughtering armies, but less effective at breaking the defenses of a transcendent warrior or mage.
Of course, with the infinite power of chaos, the matchup shouldn't have mattered. If the fight continued until one side fell, Amela would inevitably win. Her opponent was bound to tire eventually.
Slash!
Bradamante drew a sharp diagonal line. Even amidst the pouring fire and hidden traps, Jin used his evasion and Spirit Energy Armor to steadily close the distance to Amela.
‘Her reactions… she’s not on the level of the top-tier knights I’ve fought.’
Without her infinite power, Amela could never defeat Jin in a straight fight with no preparation.
‘As long as I can deal with that infinite power and super-regeneration, she’s not an impossible opponent.’
Jin was banking on the Flame of Tess.
Whether cutting through Myuron’s Hell Gate or Zephyrin’s subspace, his Azure Fire had already proven its worth. If this space—what felt like the very core of chaos—was the source of her infinite power, he could destroy it the same way.
If the Authority of Pressure wasn't enough, he was prepared to shatter the entire island—or wipe the archipelago off the map—to settle things with Amela.
However, one thing was strange.
‘But why is she fighting so stupidly?’
The reason Jin used the word "stupidly" was simple.
Amela kept dodging or blocking his attacks, fighting as if she didn't have super-regeneration.
Giving up flesh to take bone—if Amela truly possessed the level of super-regeneration she had shown moments ago, she should have been applying that maxim at every turn.
She could intentionally take a hit to create an opening, catch her opponent off guard, or even attempt a self-destructive attack at any moment.
If Jin had such an ability, that was exactly how he would fight. He wouldn't be gritting his teeth and desperately dodging a black blade, the way Amela was now.
Was it simply because she hated pain, regardless of regeneration? But that didn't explain why she had sliced off her own wrist earlier just to prove her power.
‘Wait.’
Behind the Rune of Mul-ta, Jin’s eyes narrowed.
He glanced toward Murakan. Murakan wasn't charging in recklessly for fear of harming the Prochi siblings, but streaks of his dark Spirit Energy were becoming more prominent amidst the chaos.
And every time that Spirit Energy flared, Jin noticed Amela's breathing hitch. It was as if she were desperately suppressing a wave of terror.
It was impossible to hide. A mediocre warrior might have missed it, but to someone like Jin, fear was a weakness that could neither be faked nor concealed.
“It seems wounds from Spirit Energy don’t heal, Amela.”
Amela’s eyes widened beneath her leafy hood.
‘H-How did he know?!’
She nearly blurted out a response but gasped as Bradamante lunged, grazing her shoulder.
Rip! A chunk of her camouflage suit tore away, its leaves and twigs shattering. A spray of vivid red blood splattered from the wound.
Amela had failed to react properly to the thrust. Chaos energy repaired her camouflage suit in an instant, but Jin didn't miss the moment just before the leaves and twigs reformed.
‘The shoulder didn't regenerate.’
The suit regenerating before the wound was a clearly unnatural sequence.
And so, Jin was certain. Spirit Energy could nullify chaos—or at least some of the abilities Amela possessed.
“You’ve gone quiet for someone who had so much to say. I must be right.”
Whoosh!
Cold, blue flames swirled over the Spirit Energy coating his blade.
“I will grant you an end without too much pain.”
The Spirit Energy and Azure Fire grew increasingly dense. Staring at the sword tip pointed at her without a hint of hesitation, Amela was struck by a chilling intuition.
‘At this rate, I will die!’
She was a woman who had roamed countless battlefields. The Great Mercenary, the Incarnation of the Battlefield, the Nightmare of the Gaifa Archipelago—the titles that followed her spoke to the life she had led.
There had been wars so fierce they were suffocating, and battlefields as comfortable as a playground. She enjoyed war, but she had never felt a threat of death as intense as this.
As is often the case with such titles, the names Amela had earned didn't reflect her reality at all.
For instance, the reason she remained so fiercely indifferent to world affairs despite experiencing so many wars, and the reason she didn't even know the name of Jin Runcandel, a man who had set the world ablaze for years.
Chaos.
All her life, Amela had only listened to the voice of chaos spreading within her.
Chaos kept her from blending into a normal life, from taking an interest in others or the outside world. The Prochi siblings were only an exception because they were steeped in the scent of chaos.
No one had ever taught her about loneliness on battlefields of life and death, and it was nearly impossible to meet anyone strong enough to guide her there. Even if she had, no bond could form in a place where everyone was screaming for each other's blood.
The power of chaos had muddied and obscured the emotions she should have felt.
In a way, Amela was like a child left alone in a world of her own. Though she had become a great mercenary by the grace of her power, in truth, she was not much different from a wild animal.
‘I’m scared…! I don’t want to die!’
Some might find it laughable that Amela, who had killed countless people and rarely spared those who annoyed her, wanted to live.
But was that her will, or the will of chaos? Was she anything more than a pitiful infant thrown into a well at birth?
One thing was certain: until now, no one had ever guided Amela.
The Spirit Energy and Azure Fire were no longer just peeking through the barrage; they were now expanding, forcefully pushing the explosions aside.
“Kid! I’ve got the snake-eyes! Now you can go all out and crush her!”
While fear paralyzed Amela, Murakan had seized the opportunity to retrieve the Prochi siblings.
There was no longer any need to hold back.
“This blade will grant you an end worthy of the reputation you've built.”
The scattered blue flames and Spirit Energy instantly gathered around Jin.
In moments, Jin became the dark-blue Azure Fire itself.
Sarah Runcandel’s Magic Sword Secret Technique: Karma Fire. Jin looked down at Amela with the burning eyes of a judge.
The Azure Fire illuminated the face hidden beneath her leafy hood.
Amela had a face so young it was hard to believe she was of the same generation as Valkas.
For some reason, he felt uneasy.
Even though he had long since grown accustomed to a world where one must kill or be killed.
‘It would have been nice if we had met under better circumstances.’
He soon cleared his mind of stray thoughts. Just as he was about to swing his sword and unleash the Karma Fire—
“I-I surrender!”
Suddenly, Amela thrust her hands out haphazardly, waving them as she screamed.
“I surrender! I was wrong! Please, stop!”
Amela even collapsed to the ground, shaking her head frantically.
‘What…!’
A thousand thoughts pierced Jin's mind at her sudden outburst.
‘Is this a trap, or is she being sincere? And even if she is, can I spare her? She’s already decided to join Kinzelo.’
Forcibly retracting the Karma Fire now that it was half-unleashed would cause him severe internal injuries.
But Jin made a decision.
He would spare her for now and hear what she had to say. However, he couldn't stop the Karma Fire entirely.
“Murakan!”
As the dark-blue Bradamante fell toward Amela, Jin gritted his teeth and shouted the name of his guardian dragon.