Chapter 551: Omen (20)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 551: Omen (20)
The sky seemed on the verge of buckling under the thunderous roar of two giants clashing.
The sheer, absurd scale of the explosions and impacts was transforming the Hairan estate into a wasteland where no human could ever live again.
Beasts and lesser creatures wailed as they fled the aftermath of shattered sword energy and flames that stretched toward the horizon. Buildings melted, forests turned to ash, and underground water veins boiled until they evaporated.
Who could believe that this was a single man’s struggle against the world’s greatest power?
Yet, through it all, the Sword Emperor Castle remained.
It still held the form of a fortress. Its high, thick walls had not yet lost their function, and the enemies dared not charge inside, even as they stared at the breached gates.
The inner castle, in particular, remained in almost the exact same state as when Ron had first regained consciousness and ascended the walls.
That place, at least.
He would not allow the place where his grandson fought a lonely battle against the White Stone to be destroyed. He refused to let the first thing the boy saw upon overcoming the stone be a ruined Sword Emperor Castle.
Ron was defending the inner castle with that singular, iron will.
Dried blood crusted the corners of his mouth, and his hair was as disheveled as a beggar’s. His gaunt torso, covered in countless scars that bore witness to his life, was now marred by fresh wounds, and his breathing was ragged.
Nevertheless, the eyes glaring at the enemy flashed with an unwavering light. His beloved sword, Rasheed, continuously radiated a brilliance that sent tremors through the entire sky.
The guardian deity of Hairan.
That was the Sword Emperor.
“Kelliark Zipple. Your defeat seems certain…” Ron’s low voice carried across the battlefield, audible to everyone. “Seeing as you haven't tried to negotiate or flee, you must have something up your sleeve. Why don't you bring it out already?”
Though the walls of the Sword Emperor Castle were lower than the Zipple fleet, the mages and dragons felt as if that voice were descending from the highest heavens.
Ron took a step forward and swung his sword horizontally. A wind of invisible sword energy spread out, scattering Kelliark’s grand magic.
In that opening, he unleashed the Imperial Sword Secret Technique: Sky Piercing Slash. A deep blue arc of sword energy cleaved through the center of the fleet. Kelliark swung Hrotti, neutralizing most of the blow.
However, he looked strained. He spat out a glob of blood, and the hand gripping his staff trembled.
He was still wielding mana as vast as—no, even greater than—when the battle began. Yet, Ron showed no sign of crumbling under the combined assault of the Patriarch and the fleet. As time passed, ships and dragons fell from the Zipple ranks one by one.
This isn’t an unexpected result… but it feels wretched nonetheless.
Kelliark thought as he swallowed the bitter lump rising in his throat. Is the gap truly this wide?
Since Ron’s current realm was one Kelliark had never reached himself, the outcome could only be bitter.
Just as Ron fought while protecting the castle, Kelliark was also unable to exert his full strength; he had to ensure no shockwaves reached the Demon God Stone.
Even accounting for that, Kelliark had to admit this was a total defeat.
The Demon God Stone had not yet fully opened.
It was due to a lack of mana. Kelliark had no strength to spare while dealing with the empowered Ron, and since Octavia and the Wraith Squad had infiltrated the castle to secure the White Stone, only the mana of the remaining mages and dragons was being used to open the Demon God Stone.
From start to finish, everything was deviating from his calculations.
The only saving grace was that the opening of the stone was nearly complete.
And Ron sensed that fact instinctively.
The fleet’s attack isn't as fierce as I expected. They must be unable to focus on the battle because of that Demon God Stone—the object Jin mentioned.
Though he spoke with an air of leisure, Ron was actually concerned about the stone’s power.
Kelliark and the Zipple had not noticed, but Ron was also reaching his limit. His long illness and the internal struggle that followed had undoubtedly damaged his body. Only his transcendent martial prowess and the sheer difference in their levels hid that fact from his enemies.
Ron himself felt it acutely.
If only I had a month—no, just fifteen more days…
He would have been able to fight in perfect condition.
If Kelliark brought out his trump card now, would he be able to handle it? If not, how much longer could he hold out?
Ron could not find an answer to those stifling questions. Just as Kelliark had never touched Ron’s realm, the Demon God Stone was a domain entirely unknown to him.
However, Ron thought of his grandson.
Now that I am fighting in this body, I realize even more acutely how much pain you must have been in… My grandson, only now can your grandfather understand the path you have walked.
Just as his grandson had done, and was doing even now, he simply had to keep fighting silently.
Rumble…!
The main cannon of the Kozec was dyed in golden light. The beam was fired along the exact trajectory left by the Sky Piercing Slash.
Rasheed, falling vertically, cleaved the center of the blast. The fragments of cannon fire and sword energy did not hit the ground but disintegrated and vanished in mid-air.
It was impossible to tell how many times such massive forces had already collided.
Though the fleet was operating at less than half its usual firepower while opening the stone, the attacks from the other mages and dragons were barely visible within the clash.
While the sword and magic of Ron and Kelliark covered heaven and earth, a new power suddenly surged into the center of the battlefield.
Like a massive whirlpool opening in the middle of a great ocean, another force began to cut between the two giants.
Power rising from the ground?
Could this be…?
Kelliark and Ron were momentarily forced to turn their attention toward it.
Even while Octavia and the Wraith Squad were relentlessly casting grand magic, their power had never reached the sky.
Furthermore, the power the giants saw was not light or natural attribute magic; it was composed of a unique dark blue fire and shadow energy.
The Karma Fire of Jin and Misha.
It was this very spellblade that startled the giants.
“Heh.”
Ron let out a short, involuntary laugh. He hadn't expected a power great enough to surprise even him—someone on the verge of Creation—to rise from the ground.
Kelliark, on the other hand, could not smile.
He already had no room to breathe while dealing with Ron, yet the Karma Fire of Jin and Misha was now stretching its black talons toward the Zipple fleet.
Sarah’s runes, rewritten in Spirit Energy, began to leave black stains like tumors throughout the fleet’s formation.
“Evade!”
Kelliark ordered them to dodge rather than block. Those who felt an ominous premonition had already begun evasive maneuvers before the order was given, but those preoccupied with Ron’s attacks didn't even see the small runes properly.
Kelliark hastily deployed shields toward them, but the flames of the black and blue Karma Fire were already surging madly.
It was a form of fire no one had ever seen before.
No one knew that the name of this fire was ‘Judgment,’ meant to punish the Zipple’s karma. All they could tell was this:
This fire, which would not easily be extinguished or disappear, originated from the 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel on the ground.
It had been a long time since Spirit Energy and genuine Azure Fire had become Jin’s signature.
However, the mages of the fleet were the Zipple’s finest elites. Instead of panicking, they strained every nerve to push back the Karma Fire, so the flames did not advance with incredible speed.
Most of its power should have been directed at Octavia and the Wraith Squad, yet the aftermath alone is this potent?
Kelliark held Jin in high regard, but this was not a power Jin could unleash alone.
Murakan, or Misha. It must be the result of one of them supporting Jin with their full strength. Jin Runcandel must have also used most of his power.
The battle on the ground was essentially over.
If Octavia and the Wraith Squad had blocked it, it was Zipple’s victory; if not, the Sword Emperor’s camp had won.
Kelliark wasn't sure which it was. Even a mage like him couldn't accurately gauge the unique nature of Spirit Energy.
Furthermore, Kelliark had another problem to worry about.
[This… is Sarah… Runcandel’s…!]
The Wind Dragon, Salion.
He was the dragon who had unconsciously mentioned the 'Ten Great Knights' when the second phase of the battle began, proving that the power of the 'Story' was weakening.
Now, he was feeling the nightmare of that era vividly, beyond mere unconsciousness. He remembered clearly how many of his kin and mages this terrible Karma Fire had killed.
He saw the image of that monster, the Flame Emperor, Sarah Runcandel.
As Salion became agitated, the other dragons began to show signs of seizures.
The aftermath of the battle, the instinctive fear of the Demon God Stone suppressed by their necklaces, and Salion’s voice were awakening the forgotten stories within them.
[Run… must run. Graaaagh!]
Kelliark plunged Hrotti into Salion's back. It was better to knock him unconscious than to let him hasten the collapse of the Story’s power.
Their already insufficient forces would decrease further, but it was nothing compared to the consequences of the Story’s power being further compromised.
In any case, if I just hold out a little longer, the opening of the Demon God Stone will be complete.
Within the next thirty minutes.
Kelliark drew up his mana once more. The space before him was filled entirely with Ron’s swords.
*
Eeeeeeeee—!
Octavia heard a sharp ringing in her ears. It felt as if someone were tearing and rummaging through her brain.
What… happened…
She had no sensation in her limbs.
She hadn't been cut. Her body simply wouldn't obey her due to the extreme shock of the Karma Fire. For a moment, Octavia recalled the instant that black-blue flame had engulfed her.
Did I block it? What happened to them? Damn it, my memory…
She couldn't remember well.
When she finally managed to move her hand and reflexively touched her face, Octavia realized her left eye was gone.
It was a wound that could not be healed with light magic.
Did I… lose?
Before she could sink into despair, someone tumbled to the ground beside her. It was a man in a gray robe, one of the Wraith Squad, and he was already dead.
Only then did Octavia realize that the Wraith Squad was still fighting to protect her.
She realized that if not for them, she would have died on the spot, unable to open even her one remaining eye.