Chapter 693: Yona, Yona, Yona... (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 693: Yona, Yona, Yona... (2)
The group continued forward, following the traces of chaos energy.
“If it weren’t for you… we would have wasted our time chasing fakes without even realizing it. Phew, at this point, I’m not even sure if the one we first found in this forest was the real Yona.”
There were two types of chaos energy.
Jin couldn't be certain which one belonged to the real Yona, either. For now, he was simply confident that he could handle them all, no matter how many he encountered, as long as they didn’t launch a coordinated assault.
Even if they did, it wouldn't be a problem once he could perfectly distinguish the real one from the fakes.
‘If multiple fakes have entered the forest, it’s likely to either capture Elder Sister Yona… or to eliminate her.’
If that were the case, Jin’s task would involve not just securing Yona, but protecting her as well.
Oul was blaming himself for that very reason.
Throughout the entire mission, the Nameless had operated without ever considering the possibility of a fake Yona.
“It’s understandable. It would be difficult for anyone to expect fakes to be mixed in, especially since Akin was the only place Elder Sister Yona was spotted,” Jin said, sensing Oul’s thoughts.
“But I met you at Hairan 2nd Castle. I heard with my own ears that fakes are created from the traces of chaos Yona leaves behind, yet I still made this mistake. I have no right to face her.”
“Lord Oul, don’t dwell on it. Regardless, there are two types of chaos energy, and none of their owners have left the forest yet. We just have to resolve it from here on out.”
There were at least three, possibly five or more.
That was roughly how many of Yona’s chaos traces the Nameless had lost track of.
Jin assumed the worst-case scenario: that there were more than ten fakes in the forest.
Even so, he felt their current strength was more than enough to handle the situation.
“We do need to pick up the pace, though. I have a gut feeling the fakes are targeting her. Hmm… Let’s try a simple approach first. You two might want to cover your ears.”
Huuuh…!
Jin took a deep breath.
“Elder Sister Yona—!”
As Jin bellowed with all his might, the resulting shockwave snapped and uprooted several trees in front of him.
A thunderous echo reverberated through the entire forest as if an earthquake had struck.
If ordinary warriors had been standing beside him instead of Hedo and Oul, their eardrums would have burst, and they would have been knocked unconscious.
“What a set of lungs. If your sister is in this forest, she definitely heard that.”
“Thank you, Sir Hedo. Lord Oul, if you were somewhere in the forest ahead and heard my voice, how would you approach? Assuming you needed to confirm my location—whether to assassinate me or just to observe.”
Oul understood the intent immediately.
“You want to observe their movement patterns. Follow me.”
Instead of cautiously tracking the chaos energy as they had been, the group sprinted at full speed behind Oul.
Oul moved in a manner truly befitting the Nameless King. He wove through the trees so quickly that he was nearly keeping pace with Jin and Hedo, who were running in a straight line.
Above all, Oul made almost no sound as he moved. It was like watching the wind itself run, not a man.
“The Nameless King indeed. Is your sister, the God of Murder, even more impressive than him?”
“Likely so. I’ve heard that in terms of assassination alone, she surpassed Lord Oul a long time ago. I’ve never even heard her footsteps.”
As they ran, Oul suddenly came to a dead stop.
This time, he was the first to recognize a presence that the others had not yet detected.
“Bloodlust.”
At his word, Jin and Hedo also sensed a faint killing intent.
Whether it was the real one or a fake, someone had clearly drawn closer in response to their movement.
Jin re-examined the chaos energy remaining nearby.
“The chaos energy here is much thicker than before. Since I can still sense two types, it means both my real sister and at least one fake responded to my shout.”
Pop!
No sooner had he finished speaking than a red signal flare shot up from the other side of the forest. Yona had appeared at one section of the perimeter.
Jin also fired a signal flare. It was yellow—the signal for a special update.
Simultaneously, a golden aura soared into the sky; it was Vail taking flight. He reached the location of the red flare in an instant and flew back toward Jin a moment later, his face twisted with irritation.
“Vail, did you see Elder Sister Yona where the red flare went off?”
[I didn’t. They said she vanished after a single surprise attack. I was going to search the area, but why did you call me back all of a sudden?]
“A surprise attack? Any casualties?”
[A guy named Kel got hurt, but it’s just a minor cut.]
“That’s a relief. There are fake Yonas mixed in the forest.”
[What? There’s more than one?]
“Inform the rest of the team. Whether it’s the real one or a fake, suppress them on sight and bring them to me. Keep this in mind: you must not kill or maim them. Capture them alive and intact. If you judge it impossible to do alone, track them while firing flares and ensure the perimeter personnel don't take any damage.”
[Then I’ll start by chasing the one that attacked Kel… Argh, what is it now!]
Pop, bang, pop!
Unfortunately, Vail didn't have time for that.
From that moment on, signal flares began erupting in every direction.
“Go check them all and report the situation to Jin, Vail.”
[Ugh… fine, I get it!] Vail replied as he soared back into the sky.
With his incredible speed, he served as a brilliant real-time communication network.
[Your sister was spotted over there too; Lanke drove her off.]
[They say two appeared at once over there, but they ran away as soon as Bianca fought back…]
[I just ran into one myself and wounded her after a chase. Ah, I didn't give her a fatal wound! It’s just a slight cut on the arm so we can tell her apart from the other Yonas.]
In this manner, Vail functioned perfectly as a messenger. Without him, the entire search party would have descended into chaos.
Lanke and Bianca were also playing significant roles, just as expected. If Jin hadn't brought them all along, there would have been fatalities several times over by now.
Every time Vail reported in, Oul marked the positions of all the Yonas on a map and contemplated their projected paths, while Jin maintained his focus to distinguish the two types of chaos energy more clearly.
Because Hedo was with them, the two were able to fully immerse themselves in their respective tasks.
Before long, Oul had narrowed down the most likely movement paths to a few possibilities, and Jin had perfectly distinguished the chaos energies.
“I’m certain, Lord Oul. While my real sister’s energy is unique, the fakes’ energies are all identical signatures overlapping each other. The ones that repeat are the fakes. There are a total of three fakes in this vicinity.”
This was why Jin had remained so focused on distinguishing the chaos energy since entering the inner forest. He needed to determine which of the two types of energy was unique and then deduce the number of fakes by identifying the overlapping signatures.
“Furthermore, since my sister’s energy is growing stronger nearby, it’s highly likely that all the Yonas spotted at the perimeter were fakes, based on the timing.”
In other words, the real Yona was currently closest to their group—along with three fake Yonas.
“Then the movement paths narrow down to one or two, 12th Flagbearer.”
The movement path Oul envisioned for the Yonas was simple.
Either the fakes were cornering the real Yona to kill her, or vice versa. Whichever it was, Oul was certain the Yonas would encounter each other soon.
This was because with every report from Vail, the Yonas near the perimeter were moving deeper into the forest. It was as if they were tightening a net around their prey.
“The fakes were likely trying to distract us before converging in the center of the forest. However, there is one strange thing.”
“What’s strange?”
“The real Yona clearly possesses superior abilities compared to the fakes. She should have been able to cut down at least one of them by now, but there are no such traces.”
“You mean Elder Sister Yona is only fleeing.”
“Either Yona is in a state where she cannot exert her normal power, or there is some other interfering factor.”
“We should head to the center of the forest first, Nameless King.”
No signs of battle were found even as they reached the center of the forest. Instead, from that point on, the group began to be ambushed.
Suddenly, a chill would run down their spines. They would turn to find a blade flying toward them, only for Yona’s figure to vanish the moment they tried to parry.
After defending against the first, second, and third ambushes, Jin reached a conclusion.
“…The one attacking us right now is the real Elder Sister Yona. Her energy doesn’t overlap with the other chaos energies.”
It took three attempts because he could only verify it during the fleeting moments of the attacks.
“Furthermore, the other fakes are also nearby. Their chaos energies are moving while constantly intertwining… that’s one of the differences from my real sister.”
“They’re nearby?”
“Yes. And the bloodlust we sensed earlier also belonged to the fakes. Having experienced these attacks just now, I can tell the real Elder Sister Yona… leaves absolutely no trace of faint bloodlust. Even the chaos energy she inevitably leaves behind is so faint that no one but me could possibly recognize it.”
Jin scanned his surroundings with a grim expression.
In a sense, Jin and Oul’s predictions had been wrong.
The fakes hadn't moved to eliminate Yona, and the real Yona wasn't running away from them.
The targets of the real Yona and her fakes…
Had been Jin's group from the very beginning. They had been moving together ever since the Nameless first confirmed Yona's location in Akin.
Since then, the real Yona and the fakes had taken turns moving in a way that intentionally made the Nameless perceive them as a single person. It was only natural that Oul hadn't considered the possibility of fakes.
“It wasn't that Yona couldn't kill the fakes, but that they were cooperating from the start…”
The moment Oul said that, the forest scenery before them began to distort at a rapid pace.
The trap laid by the Yonas had been triggered.
Pitch-black barriers rose from all sides, and Jin immediately recognized it as a subspace of chaos.
The three stood back-to-back and drew their swords.
Then, from within the darkness, a completely unexpected voice drifted out.
[Jin… it has been a long time.]
Joshua Runcandel.
It was his voice.