Chapter 471: Annihilation, and the Strange... (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 471: Annihilation, and the Strange... (5)
What Midore Elner pulled out was a cube slightly smaller than a fist.
His face was filled with intense anticipation as he gazed at the object. The cube emitted a blue glow that seemed to pulse with an eerie, ghostly energy.
‘Finally, I can avenge Brother Myuron…!’
Myuron Zipple.
A surge of emotion welled in Midore’s chest at the thought of his brother, who had met such a tragic end.
For the longest time, Midore simply could not understand it. He couldn't fathom why the Zipple clan had not exacted proper revenge while the Runcandel who killed Myuron lived on, thriving and successful.
Flash, click!
As Midore injected mana into the cube, the blue light intensified, shining so brightly that it stood out even beneath the storm of pitch-black spirit energy needles.
‘What is that blue light?’ Jin wondered, observing the glow from a distance.
‘It doesn't look like magic. An artifact?’
He couldn't see it clearly because of the black needles, but even at a glance, it was an artifact of a type he had never seen before.
He also had a very bad feeling. The sinister expression on Midore’s face—as if he were about to burst into a cackle at any moment—was deeply unsettling. It was the look of someone with a hidden trump card, just seconds before revealing it.
Murakan also narrowed his eyes at Midore’s behavior.
[In every era, there are always fools who seek to hasten their own deaths.]
“Puhuhu, khahahaha!”
Midore suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter. The cube floated from his hand into the air, its faces unfolding and opening.
“Jin Runcandel, 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel! And the Black Dragon Murakan! I have waited for this day. The day I will soothe Brother Myuron’s soul with your filthy blood!”
[I can’t listen to this anymore. Allow me to make you disappear.]
Kwaaaaa—!
Murakan abruptly fired a Breath toward Midore and the Zipple mages.
It was a Breath fueled by raw emotion and rage, making it even more powerful than the one that had obliterated one of the White Wolf Tribe’s greatest warriors, leaving nothing but his ankles. Furthermore, it swept up the spirit energy needles in its path, swelling to the size of a miniature mountain range.
The only ones present who could block such a Breath single-handedly were Murakan and Jin.
In the split second that the Breath descended upon the Zipple camp, Midore and the surviving mages could only stare with wide, panicked eyes.
“Wait, the release isn’t—!”
“We have to block—!”
The Elders’ urgent shouts were cut short as the Breath swept over them, turning them to black particles before they could even finish their sentences. The other mages squeezed out every ounce of their strength to deploy shields, but it was futile. Murakan’s Breath ruthlessly ravaged the Zipple’s line of defense.
It plowed through them like a runaway war wagon smashing through a village, only coming to a halt after grinding over thirty Elders to dust and shattering the shield formed directly in front of Midore.
The ecstatic laughter vanished from his face.
Midore simply stood there, blinking, a chill of dread prickling his skin. The confidence he’d felt just moments ago while activating the cube had completely evaporated.
‘…Was that truly a Breath fired without any warning or preparation?’
A gut feeling, sharp as a blade, pierced Midore’s chest: he had miscalculated.
In truth, he had felt a flicker of doubt when the black needles first began to fall. He had wondered if today was truly the right moment to carry out his revenge.
But it was too late for regrets. To make matters worse, Murakan was even more enraged to see Midore survive the Breath. His pride had been wounded.
[You blocked it? Oh, you blocked it? You’ve lost your damn mind, haven't you? Wow. This little punk. He’s really getting on my nerves.]
Murakan slipped into his usual, less-than-regal way of speaking, which his enemies found even more terrifying. A powerhouse whose whims were as unpredictable as a broken machine was always a frightening foe.
Huuuuup!
This time, Murakan took a deep breath, properly drawing up his power to exhale a Breath.
The spirit energy needles that had been pouring down silently ceased all at once as he redirected the energy used for the storm into his attack.
The ground where the needles had fallen was as desolate as a magical bombardment testing site. Not a single patch of flat land remained, and corpses—or what was left of them—rolled across the ground like dust.
The Viment soldiers fought to hold on to their sanity as they tried to reorganize their ranks. The Kinzelo beastmen, however, had completely broken, weeping and soiling themselves where they stood.
On the Zipple side, only Midore and a few trembling Elders remained.
And before Jin, Sandra Zipple was regenerating, her body slowly regaining its human form.
Kirik, kirit. The sound of turning gears felt significantly slower than before.
‘Looking at this alone, it’s almost impressive enough to rival the Authority of Time.’
While the Authority of Time was indeed great, as far as Jin knew, it was impossible to recover to this extent after suffering damage equivalent to certain death. Even Quicantel could not restore a body that had been decomposed down to the flesh.
‘The power of the Demon God Stone and the bio-golem. It seems certain that both are being used together. If Zipple can continue to create beings like Sandra…’
Suddenly, a memory from his past life surfaced.
The Mirror, the Well of Mana.
In his past life, after Zipple obtained that sacred object of Colon, they had churned out 7-star mages relentlessly. Those so-called mass-produced mages were later used to further solidify Zipple’s dominance.
The regenerative power Sandra was displaying was incomparable to those mass-produced mages of the past.
Is this a change caused by my regression?
Did my regression and subsequent provocation of Zipple significantly influence the direction or results of their research? Is Runcandel actually in a more disadvantageous position now than back then?
The thought occurred to him suddenly, but Jin soon shook his head.
‘No, thinking about it now, Zipple couldn't have achieved such dominance with just mass-produced mages. No matter how many 7-star mages they had, they would be no match for a true 9- or 10-star.’
The mass-produced mages of that time were likely just prototypes or materials for creating ‘weapons’ like the current Sandra Zipple.
‘Back then, the mass-produced mages were a tool to publicly advertise Zipple’s dominance, while in reality, beings like Sandra Zipple were likely being created in large numbers to fight battles away from the public eye.’
Since they hadn't obtained the Mirror in this life, it was highly probable that their bio-golem research was much further behind than in his previous life. Even so, Zipple’s bio-golems had already reached this level, capable of returning to normal even after the entire body had been decomposed dozens of times.
‘And it seems the Zipple secret I’m going to see today isn't just this…’
The glowing blue cube.
He felt an intense curiosity about what that thing was, seeing as Midore remained so confident—even if that confidence had been crushed by a single Breath.
“Stop… this… energy… you… bastard… concubine… son…”
These were the first words out of Sandra’s mouth as her face partially reformed.
Midore heard those words clearly. In the silence that followed the cessation of the spirit energy needles, those nearby could even hear each other’s breathing.
However, Midore feigned ignorance of Sandra’s command and mastered his fear.
He thought to himself:
‘Yes, I can win. I must not be afraid. Today is surely the day I drink my enemies' blood from a golden goblet.’
With his brother by his side, how could he fail?
Midore knelt and raised both hands in a respectful posture, as if he were a believer summoning a god. It was a personal ritual, entirely separate from the cube's activation—a rite to welcome and show respect to the brother he hadn't seen in so long.
Hwaoooooo…!
Light spread like water from the six fully opened faces, surging through the air like waves. The gloomy blue streaks of light began to paint a picture on the canvas of empty space.
Excluding the Zipples, everyone present—even Murakan, who had lived for three thousand years—was witnessing a sight unlike anything they had ever seen.
‘The lights are forming something… Ha, this is insane.’
Watching the light take shape, Jin had to suppress a curse born of sheer disbelief.
The first thing the light formed was a human being.
It was Myuron Zipple.
“Brother, welcome…!”
Midore raised his head and looked up at Myuron with sparkling eyes.
Before they knew it, Myuron had taken on a form with texture and weight—a being of matter, not just light. However, unlike when they met in Colon, he did not look like a fully living person.
His skin was a livid blue-black, like that of an old corpse, with patches peeled away to reveal bone, teeth, and viscera. His eyes were dark and vacant, giving him the appearance of a walking corpse.
Furthermore, Myuron wasn't the only thing the cube’s light formed.
A ship.
Zipple’s ultimate weapon, the vessel that symbolized the calamity of the skies.
Behind Myuron, a flying ship similar in shape to the Kozec was also taking form. That livid ship was even larger than the Kozec, its appearance alone exuding a more magnificent presence. Inside the ship stood countless mages, all formed from light.
In other words, a Zipple ship and its army had materialized in the middle of the island.
At the shocking sight, everyone who still possessed their reason was left speechless.
Even Jin could only blink, at a loss for words.
[The air is good, Midore.]
When Myuron finally spoke in a voice that was both benevolent and dignified, Midore looked as if he were about to cry from overwhelming emotion.
Now, with my brother, I can finally take my revenge and earn Father's recognition…!
His entire body trembled violently with the thrill of that conviction. For a moment, he felt foolish for ever having doubted the power of his brother, his ship, and his army.
[And it’s been a long time, Jin Runcand—]
[Ugh, I watched for a bit to see what the hell you were up to, and then this piece of crap pops out. Huh? How disgusting!]
It was then.
Murakan released the Breath he had been gathering.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
Spirit energy of a density incomparable to the black needles from moments ago surged toward Myuron and his army.
Neither Midore nor Myuron imagined for a second that the Breath could destroy the ship. Their plan was to defend against the first attack, then continue their grandstanding and launch a counterattack that would make Jin's group tremble in fear.
But in the next moment, the giant ship that had just materialized from light was destroyed with laughable ease.
Like wet paper before a torch, its center was pierced by Murakan’s Breath, and the vessel was utterly demolished.
Kudududuk, kaduduk, kigigigigik!
Bang, crash! Grugrugru! Ting! Tang!
Midore and Myuron could only doubt their own ears at the sound of the ship breaking apart. To the two brothers, the sound was so bizarre it lacked any sense of reality.
[A bunch of nobodies putting on such a serious act. Seriously. You’re just begging to die.]
Murakan merely snorted.