Chapter 537: Omen (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 537: Omen (6)
It was as if the sun itself had pierced the heavens and descended to the earth.
A deep, brilliant crimson washed over the eyes of all who watched the orb of flame Jin had formed.
To his allies, it was a fire of hope and victory. To his enemies, it was a fire of terror and annihilation.
The runes left behind by Riol Zipple blazed to life, flowing across Jin’s body. The survivors of the attack on the Sword Emperor Castle had seen these runes once before, scattering like snowflakes.
Back then, Jin had used their power to destroy Kinzelo's flagship, the Gruneil.
However, the current Destruction Flame Orb of the Dark Heaven—Demon Emperor Final Form was on a scale utterly incomparable to the magic witnessed that day.
The onlookers had yet to recover from the shock of Heaven Reversal, but the legacy of Riol Zipple far surpassed even that.
To say it transcended the boundaries of humanity was no longer enough to describe Jin's magic.
It was divine magic.
Even without knowing their names, the people could feel the wills of two gods supporting him, their presence emanating from Jin. They felt Solderet. They felt Klam.
Some instinctively clasped their hands to their chests, some fell to their knees, and others simply closed their eyes.
Almost everyone on the battlefield, friend and foe alike, found themselves instinctively making gestures of reverence toward Jin. Even as the war raged on, the act felt like an irresistible force of nature.
Gods are the highest of all existences.
And from behind Jin, two beings who sat upon the highest constellations in that divine realm now revealed their majesty.
Though it was not a perfect manifestation, their divine presence was enough to command respect from nature itself. Insects trembled beneath the earth, distant birds cried out, and the very wind ceased its movement.
The darkness of the night retreated, fleeing from Solderet’s shadow.
And so, the humans caught in the midst of war could do nothing but bow.
Murakan, in particular, as a dragon born of Solderet, was more moved by this faint manifestation of his god than anyone else.
‘Solderet…!’
He had never let it show, but Murakan had yearned for his god ever since he awoke from his thousand-year slumber—no, even before that. His longing began the moment Solderet’s voice started to fade. For a being whose very existence was born from a god, losing that god was a pain far beyond a human losing a parent.
[Heh, Murakan. Are you crying?]
[What nonsense is that? Are my eyes wet? Tell me!]
[Your overreaction proves it.]
[Hmph! Do you think I’m like you? The Overlord of the Skies does not shed tears.]
A new power began to suffuse Murakan's barrier as well.
It was a temporary reinforcement, made possible by Solderet's will residing in the mirror. Yet for Murakan, it felt more fulfilling than any moment of regaining his old strength since his awakening.
The darkness deepened. All light within the influence of the Dark Heaven rapidly lost its power.
Torches were extinguished, and the signal flares being fired from all directions vanished into the gloom. The shimmering shields that dotted the battlefield lost their color, and even the Authority of Time unleashed by Quicantel grew faint.
They hadn't actually vanished, but it seemed as though they had.
In the darkened landscape, there was only one source of light: Jin’s magic.
Jin's body began to float, rising into the air.
In terms of sheer volume, the seventeen remaining ships were superior, yet they looked like mere insects before the sun.
No matter how mass-produced they were, this was still a Zipple fleet. Not just a ship, but a fleet.
Until recently, the Kozec had been the only flying ship in the world. Though mass-produced ships had begun to pour out following the appearance of the Gruneil, the majesty of a flying vessel had not diminished. In war, a flying fleet still represented the epitome of slaughter and terror.
Yet, such a fleet was being held at bay by a single man, unable to do a thing.
[The legacy of our clan’s greatest mage… how dare a Runcandel…!]
[You insult us!]
The opportunity to fire, bought at the cost of half the fleet, had vanished, leaving them with nothing to show for it.
Now, all that remained for the Wraith Squad was their final, desperate chain magic.
[You are the ones who are insulting. That you cannot even recognize the wills of the God of Shadows and the God of Magic manifesting before your very eyes…]
Jin finished the thought, his voice chilling.
[Can you even call yourselves mages? You are nothing but lumps of meat with powerful mana, ghosts who recklessly defied providence. If your leaders were here, they would have at least shown the respect befitting a mortal.]
Jin’s finger pointed toward the crimson fleet.
At his gesture, the runes swirling around him surged toward the ships. From the ground, it looked as if a galaxy were flowing through the sky.
Riol’s runes marked the crimson fleet and the members of the Wraith Squad.
Simultaneously, mana flared from the staves of the wraiths.
No matter how vast the mana of the Wraith Squad was, it lacked the necessary dignity. Consequently, their final chain magic and exclusive self-destruction technique, Exploding Star, flickered out before it could even reveal its sharp radiance.
Their power simply lacked any element that could defy the majesty of the gods.
Exploding Star failed to produce even a light as small as a candle flame.
Graaaaaah…!
With only monstrous screams, the summoned wraiths began to disintegrate. They vanished without destroying a single thing within the Sword Emperor Castle.
However, their self-destruction caused the seventeen flying ships to explode along with them.
The hideous machines, built solely to kill humans, detonated and rained down black fragments.
[Murakan, we have to block them!]
[Damn it, there are too many fragments! The area is too wide, I can’t block them all with the barrier…!]
Murakan stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening.
Upon every single fragment falling toward the allied camp—upon every one of those countless shards of death—Riol Zipple’s runes were engraving themselves. They moved according to Jin’s will, ensuring that not a single ally would be killed or injured.
[…It seems we both worried for nothing. Solderet’s will has manifested, after all.]
Whoosh, sizzle…!
Rendering the preparations of Murakan and Quicantel—who had been strengthening their respective authorities and shields—moot, the runes perfectly disintegrated the fragments falling toward their allies in mid-air.
Then, the flame orb hanging in the sky began to move forward.
Thousands of fiery tendrils poured out from the orb, binding the destroyed ships. The ships that were falling ceased their descent, but those not caught by the tendrils continued to plummet toward the ground.
All of them were falling toward the Imperial and Zipple forces.
“R-Run…!”
“Get out of the way! Move!”
It felt as if a mountain were collapsing upon them.
The thought of blocking it didn't even cross their minds. Ordinary shields wouldn't stand a chance; only superhumans who had reached the highest realms could possibly withstand that weight.
So, the enemy soldiers screamed for everyone to run and dodge, but those were merely desperate words blurted out because there was nothing else they could do.
Where could they possibly run?
Every direction was blocked by the darkness of the Dark Heaven. In a gloom where even the person standing right next to them was a mere blur, the enemy soldiers could do nothing but wait for death.
A more terrifying problem was that the debris of the crimson fleet was only one of the things they couldn't stop.
From the moment Heaven Reversal was unleashed, the formations of the ground forces, not just the Wraith Squad, had already collapsed. Leadership had lost its value, and orders were not being transmitted.
It wasn't that the Imperial Army lacked capable individuals. Though they followed the Emperor’s orders, the commanders had wanted to end this war with minimal casualties from the start.
Unless one was a madman, who would enjoy war? Especially a war that was effectively tearing down the pillars of the Empire.
Zipple aside, the Imperial Army was now certain of their defeat. Because of this, the Imperial commanders wanted to save as many of their subordinates as possible, even if they themselves were to die.
It wasn't so much a desire to repent for this unjust war, but rather the conviction that a commander should act as such.
But if that sun were to fall to the ground…
‘At this rate, it’s total annihilation. No one will survive…’
Not just the rank-and-file knights and mages, but perhaps even the Emperor at the very rear. If the fire spread to the flanks and rear, even those remaining there would perish.
Tens of thousands would die.
That staggering number of deaths was now a preordained reality.
The fact that such a vast number of humans could vanish from the earth in just a few minutes was something no one in the Imperial Army had ever considered.
“Just… what must we do… to avoid this?”
“Jin Runcandel! We have lost! Stop this, please! I beg of you!”
Finally, declarations of surrender erupted from various parts of the Imperial Army. Commanders were shouting their surrender even without the Emperor’s orders.
Despite the world-shaking thunder of explosions and roars, Jin heard every one of those desperate, small voices.
And he gave his answer immediately.
[Regardless of the background or circumstances, the fact that you trampled upon and sought to kill my friend remains unchanged.]
With the hearts of condemned prisoners on the execution dock, the Imperial soldiers knelt and slammed their heads against the ground, screaming in agony.
They begged for their lives, pleading for mercy.
“Please…”
[Therefore, I feel that even burning every last one of you would not be enough. However, it seems my god harbors a different heart than my own.]
As Jin slowly clenched his fist, the sun of the Dark Heaven began to gradually subside.
At that moment, a silent scream of hope erupted in the hearts of the prostrate Imperial soldiers: We might live! Not a few of them wailed like beasts, shouting their gratitude.
However, the mercy of Jin and the gods was not purely benevolent.
[I shall withdraw the magic.]
The sun of the Dark Heaven, which had dyed the entire sky, vanished in an instant as if it had all been a lie.
By then, not a single fragment had fallen upon the allied forces, and their formation remained perfectly organized.
On the other hand, even though the sun of the Dark Heaven had vanished, the debris of the fleet continued to rain down upon the heads of the enemy, causing incessant explosions everywhere.
Jin and the wills of the two gods could have easily blocked all of them, but they did not.
That was the price the Imperial Army had to pay.
[So, those who can survive, survive and flee. My promise not to hunt down those who retreat still stands.]
Jin finished speaking.
And the remaining Imperial soldiers scattered and fled in every direction, like insects exposed when a rock is overturned.