Chapter 625: Return (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 625: Return (2)
The last day of January 1803.
As he stepped out of Laprarosa, Jin expected the endless, ivory expanse of the Great Desert of Mitra to greet him as it always had.
He even let out a small chuckle, recalling his chance encounter with the Dark Flame after his first trip to Laprarosa and the cat-folk he had met upon entering this time.
What… is this?
However, the moment he used the Spirit Sword to open the gate and stepped back into the human world, the landscape before him was not the Great Desert of Mitra he knew.
A wind as viscous as rotten oil was blowing.
The air was thick with a lethal poison, and the land and sky visible beyond it were a foreboding, pitch-black.
Furthermore, eerie, deep shrieks echoed from every direction.
This is the Great Desert of Mitra…?
He could have believed it was the Black Sea.
Looking down at the ground, Jin soon realized that this desolate landscape was indeed the Great Desert of Mitra—now contaminated by Chaos.
Patches of sand remained here and there on the blackened earth. Even those grains of sand, which seemed to cling desperately to the last vestiges of nature’s vitality, had turned muddy and dull.
“Sigh.”
The Great Desert of Mitra was originally the land of the Pluto Tribe.
The desert, which had frustrated countless adventurers seeking myths and legends, was the land that had cradled the golden city of Laprarosa until the very moment the Pluto Tribe met its end.
Thus, Jin had dreamed of a day when the city of his brothers and sisters would once again shine brilliantly in this desert.
Right up until the moment he stepped through that gate.
Jin tightened the straps of the massive rucksack on his back.
Inside were the Hearts of Light of the deceased Pluto Tribe members, Chaos Purifiers, Ban’s blood, and the blueprints for the Golden Fleet.
Even in death, you continue to cause trouble, Gliek…
His teeth ground together at the thought of the horrific King of the Black Sea.
He was also deeply concerned.
If the Great Desert of Mitra is in this state, what about everywhere else?
Contaminated areas.
Two years and six months ago, there were approximately fifty known contaminated areas in the world.
While new ones were discovered daily, the Great Desert of Mitra had been perfectly fine until the moment Jin left for Laprarosa.
Just as the Chaos infection broke out after Gliek’s death, the contamination of the land has been spreading uncontrollably.
Even at a glance, the contamination of the Great Desert was severe. It wasn't just tainted by Chaos; it looked as if a fragment of Gliek himself had fallen directly onto this land.
The problem itself wasn’t entirely unexpected. There was no rule stating that Chaos infection was limited only to living beings.
However, the fact that the great powers, including Runcandel and Zipple, had ‘failed to stop it’ was a different story.
Or perhaps the Great Desert of Mitra was excluded from the purification zones. That would be plausible if a massive amount of manpower is still being poured into purifying other contaminated areas around the world.
He would find out the state of other regions once he left the desert.
Regardless, his first impression of the human world after three years was one of extreme unpleasantness.
“Keeeeek!”
Suddenly, something lunged at Jin’s back with a ferocious cry.
Without even looking, Jin released a burst of lightning, blowing the creature apart instantly.
Monsters were swarming from all directions, drawn by the first one, so there was no need for careful observation.
One hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred… over a thousand.
Jin quickly estimated the approximate number of monsters surrounding him.
But he soon stopped. Once the count exceeded a thousand, the exact number no longer mattered.
He just had to sweep them all away.
Sigmund slid from its sheath.
Pluto Sword Fighting God Technique 9th Sword
Extermination
In an instant, the pitch-black sky was dyed blue.
Wings of lightning formed behind Jin’s back, radiating a blinding brilliance. The soaring energy looked ready to tear the dark sky asunder at any moment.
As soon as the lightning unfurled, a pack of monsters charging from the front dropped dead.
They vanished like dust consumed by flames. Instead of screams, the bones and flesh of the monsters turned to ash by the lightning scattered into the air.
Monsters nearby instinctively turned to watch the ashes disperse, only to meet their own deaths.
The pale blade sprayed sword energy in all directions, scattering like light from a shattered mirror.
Though it looked like a wild barrage, the countless streaks of sword energy were slaughtering the remnants of Chaos with surgical precision.
The monsters seemed to lack emotion. Even as they died by the dozens to Jin’s casual swings, they continued to rush him.
Jin didn't want them to feel fear and run away, either.
If time and circumstances permitted, he wanted to eradicate every single monster defiling the ancient land of his brothers.
Every second, dozens—sometimes hundreds—of monsters were bursting or being sliced apart.
Normally, a victim of Chaos infection would retain some semblance of their human form. However, the monsters Jin was currently massacring were not infectees but pure remnants of Chaos.
There certainly are a lot of them.
Had it been before he became a Fighting King, Jin might not have resolved to wipe out every monster in the Great Desert. His usual method would have been to break through, escape, assess the scale, and seek a more efficient solution. He would have had to account for the possibility of becoming exhausted and endangered while fighting an endless swarm.
Now, there was no such need.
Even as he poured out lightning and aura like a madman, his body felt as comfortable as if he were sitting in quiet meditation.
A million monsters of this level could no longer threaten him.
Just as no number of ants could ever overcome a dragon.
At this point, it feels like the world is using the Great Desert of Mitra as a trash dump… or has Kinzelo fallen? That seems unlikely.
The Great Desert of Mitra belonged to the beastmen, and their lands were currently Kinzelo’s territory. No matter how worthless the desert might be, there was no reason to leave it this abandoned.
Unless Kinzelo has truly fallen, someone will be here soon anyway.
As that thought crossed his mind, Jin paused his sword. Among the monsters swarming like a plague of roaches, he spotted human figures.
They were not the agents of some faction he expected to come investigating the battle.
Bio-golems?!
Or perhaps demons.
They were twisted like the victims rescued during the subjugation of the Dark Magic Association, or lacked faces and hair like the Imperial demons he had encountered in the Wantaramo Forest.
Intuitively, Jin realized they were discarded experimental subjects.
Furthermore, there was one difference from the bio-golems and demons he had seen before: their bodies were entirely saturated with Chaos.
The Chaos Purifiers were only effective on infectees before total encroachment and physical mutation occurred. Moreover, since these subjects had already been experimented upon before being consumed by Chaos, even Boras’s purifiers could do nothing for them.
They lunged at Jin just like the other monsters.
As he dodged and observed them closely, Jin soon realized a shocking fact.
I can feel… a certain pattern in the Chaos.
Like a magic circle or a ritual formula, the Chaos clinging to their bodies displayed a complex yet consistent style.
Those traces seemed to be part of the experiments.
The factions of the outside world were not just cleaning up infectees and contaminated areas; they were utilizing them.
The experimental subjects were divided into two main types: failed versions of the Master Artisan's creations made by Kinzelo, and failed versions of demons that appeared to be a joint project between Zipple and the Imperial Family. The former used lightning, while the latter used aura and mana.
It was no longer surprising that these experiments were striving to replicate the Pluto Tribe and magic swordsmen.
The only thing Jin could do for them was to grant them peace.
Some might have been taken by force, while others might have been betrayed and turned into subjects after offering their loyalty to their respective factions.
Whichever the case, Jin swung his sword to ensure they felt as little pain as possible—though it seemed they no longer possessed even such basic senses.
How much time had passed?
The number of monsters Jin had slaughtered already far exceeded tens of thousands, and the discarded bio-golems and demons were no longer in sight.
The density of the charging monsters remained the same, but Jin showed no signs of fatigue.
The more he swung his sword, the more his rage mounted.
Jin hoped that a human he could interrogate about this horrific situation would appear soon.
And then, from beyond the dark horizon of the contaminated desert, he began to sense a new energy that was not Chaos.
Finally, they're here.
The distance was still great—roughly over a thousand paces.
Nevertheless, the Chaos-laden wind shook unsteadily under the pressure of the newcomer's aura.
A demon. Just one. Zephyrin? Bianca? Is it one of them?
The aura pushing back the Chaos carried the dark energy characteristic of demons. It was the demonic energy he used to feel from powerhouses of the Demon World like Zephyrin and Bianca Caligo.
Jin detonated his released lightning all at once and waited calmly. The exploded lightning converged back into his Heart of Light, and the monsters nearby were incinerated into ash, unable to withstand even the aftershock.
“Oh…!”
Soon, the demon revealed himself.
It was neither Zephyrin nor Bianca. It was a male demon he had never seen before, and upon seeing Jin, he let out an exclamation of admiration as if he had just seen something fascinating.
“I was wondering what kind of crazy bastard had the balls to make such a mess in my playground… You're Jin Runcandel, aren't you?”
He wore a lavish coat embroidered with gold thread, draped himself in jewels and gold ornaments, and used exaggerated gestures he likely considered elegant. In short, his entire being screamed that he was a noble of the great Demon World.
However, despite his frivolous appearance adorned with vanity and luxury, the monsters in the area hesitated just from him standing there.
When the monsters eventually lunged again, a single flick of his hand turned them into chunks of meat, creating a hail of blood.
He was incredibly powerful.
By the standards of Jin’s previous strength, he certainly was.
“Black hair, a handsome face, and those disrespectful eyes. It's true, you are Jin Runcandel! To think we'd meet like this. Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Lanke Halovice. I am the First Prince of the Halovice family, one of the four great ducal houses of the Demon World. I am the ruler and protector of the northern Demon World and its inhabitants, the master of Mt. Tna and Mt. Karion, and—”
“You're with Kinzelo, aren't you? It was a very wise decision to give me your name first.”
Jin cut him off, locking eyes with Lanke.
“…As I've heard, you have no man—”
—ners?
Crack! Lanke couldn't finish his sentence.
Jin, having closed the distance in an instant, buried his fist into the demon's jaw.
“Ack!”
“Otherwise, you would have had to finish your introduction with a broken jaw.”