Chapter 694: Yona, Yona, Yona... (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 694: Yona, Yona, Yona... (3)
‘Joshua? I didn’t expect that pathetic fool to show up here.’
Jin narrowed his eyes.
As the chaotic subspace unfolded and Joshua’s voice rang out, Jin felt a surge of sheer annoyance rather than a sense of crisis. It was the feeling of a cockroach suddenly scurrying out from underfoot—not a threat, but something so revolting it made his skin crawl.
“It’s been a while, though I can’t say it’s a pleasure. Why are you here? You’re supposed to be rotting in the underground prison.”
[You ask the obvious. It’s because Mother forgave me. I doubt you were unaware of my release.]
Jin let out a short, mocking laugh.
“Forgiveness… Rosa isn’t that generous. You still don’t know her at all. From that woman, one must earn recognition, not forgiveness. Tell me, Joshua. How was your time in that cell? If Rosa pulled you out, it must mean you’ve shown some growth.”
Shing!
Yona’s blade appeared out of thin air and vanished just as quickly, grazing Oul’s sleeve. She continued to prowl near the three of them like a ghost, lashing out with her sword.
[Yes, it was a meaningful time. I truly learned a lot, thanks to you.]
“Is that so? From where I’m standing, it just looks like a fool became an even bigger fool.”
[Your tongue is as sharp as ever, youngest.]
“I have no brother like you.”
[You cannot deny that we share the same blood. We were born from the same womb; we simply stand on different sides.]
The moment Joshua’s voice echoed out, Hedo and Oul sensed Jin’s composure waver.
However, rather than feeling uneasy, they felt relieved. A man of Jin’s caliber wouldn't let mere emotion ruin the situation; his reaction simply meant the newly arrived 2nd Flagbearer wasn't even worth his caution.
“Phew… Joshua, I never imagined you’d show up like this again.”
[Then what did you imagine?]
“If you’re asking whether I hoped you’d just rot and die in that dungeon, then yes, of course. I thought it was only right for you to end your miserable life there… but…”
[It seems your wish didn’t come true.]
“Don’t interrupt me, Joshua. This is the last moment I will ever treat you as a human being. So listen well, you piece of trash.”
Jin glared at a single point within the veil, his gaze sharp enough to tear it apart.
“On the other hand, I hoped you would gain true enlightenment in there and challenge me again. I hoped you would escape Rosa’s shadow, finally become your own man, and transform into a worthy enemy. I felt that way, and so did Brother Dipus. Why? Why do you think we felt that way?”
[If that was truly your wish, then it has already been fulfilled. For I am standing before you now.]
“You’re standing before me?”
Jin laughed as if he had heard something absurd and scanned his surroundings.
“Where exactly are you? Hiding like mold in the shadows, cowardly using Sister Yona as a shield while only letting your voice be heard. You call that standing before me? I don’t know what you claim to have learned in prison, but you’re exactly the same as you were then. You’re the same old Joshua!”
Clang!
Hedo parried Yona’s blade as it lunged toward Jin. Jin didn’t even turn his head.
“The reason I hoped you’d return stronger—even though Brother Dipus and I would have been justified in tearing you apart and throwing your corpse into the streets—was because your end was so hollow. To think that our sworn enemy, who plotted against us for so long, was finished so anticlimactically… and not by my hand, but by a single word from Rosa. What was the point of us fighting you so hard all that time?”
[Whether I am the same as before is something you will find out from now on. You’ve grown more impatient than I remember.]
“I’ll take back what I said about you being the same. You’ve actually become even more worthless. The fact that you’re acting triumphant, as if I’ve fallen into your trap, is proof enough. And you’re acting as if the power you received from Rosa and the Prophet is your own! Do you really think a trap like this can do anything to me?”
Blue flames swirled around Bradamante.
“You idiot… If you had come here alone, knowing you would lose, and asked for a final duel, I would have respected you. Even if your body had rotted in that dungeon, even if you couldn't lift a sword or muster the strength of a 1-star knight, I would have treated you with the dignity of a rival.”
But in the end, you learned nothing.
As Jin finished speaking in a calm voice, Joshua remained silent for a long time. Unconsciously, he recalled something Rosa had told him in the past.
—You are not dead yet. And I look forward not only to the prophecy's realization but also to the struggle to defy it. Your youngest brother, Jin… I do not think that boy’s struggle will fail to break the prophecy, no matter how absolute it may be.
—If the day comes when your prophecy leads you into a world of true struggle within this dungeon, and if you endure that world… I will bring you back to the surface. Though… as always, I expect your prophecy will disappoint me this time as well. Just as you always have.
Even then, Jin had never forgotten the struggle, while Joshua remained stagnant.
Joshua still failed to realize that fact.
Because of this, Jin found it difficult to fathom why Rosa had started using Joshua again. He couldn't understand why the Evil God, who didn't even need a warrior like Padler, would entrust a task to such a petty thing.
‘There must be a reason, but I can’t figure it out. It can’t be a simple whim.’
In the heavy silence, Yona’s sword occasionally passed harmlessly between the group.
“Since you couldn't stand on your own even after all this… know that in the end, you failed to earn recognition from Father, from Rosa, and from me, Joshua. My final bit of patience in treating you as a human has run out. This is the end.”
Jin pointed his sword at a spot within the veil of chaos. It was the new Magic Sword Secret Technique he had perfected alone while facing Vail.
As if ice melting under intense heat, the layer of the veil his blade pointed at peeled away, revealing the hidden fake Yonas.
There were seven fakes in total. Including the real one, eight Yonas were targeting the group within the subspace.
[…You’ve mastered a strange sword.]
“2nd Flagbearer, if I were you, I’d be too ashamed to open my mouth,” Hedo cut in. “No matter how broken you are, were you not once a warrior? Right now, Jin is showing you a realm you can never reach. You should be grateful.”
[Shut up, Tower Keeper.]
The Yonas vanished again as soon as they were revealed, but new dimensional gates were opening where they had stood.
Monsters empowered by chaos poured out of the gates. Hedo recognized them as inner core monsters that should have been in the Black Sea.
Around that time, Joshua began to feel a premonition that his plan was failing.
It was because the group didn't waver in the slightest, even after seeing the Yonas and the swarm of inner core monsters. The three of them looked as if they found the situation pathetic.
Jin, in particular, had faced not only past powerhouses like Padler and Lionel but also the god-like Vail and the power of the Evil God Rosa herself. A childish scheme like this couldn't even faze him.
“So, is this all you’ve prepared? My sister, some fakes, and a pack of monsters?”
Slash!
Jin decapitated one of the fakes with a single stroke. The fake hadn't even been able to swing its sword properly, suppressed by the aura radiating from Bradamante’s flames.
At that sight, Joshua flinched, his disembodied presence seeming to look back and forth between Jin and the dead Yona. According to his calculations, Jin should never have been able to kill the Yonas.
[Have you also chosen to walk a path beyond that of the Overlord? You kill Yona without a second thought.]
“You talk as if you’re walking the Demonic Path like Rosa. You’re not on the Demonic Path, and you’re certainly not on the Path of the Overlord. You’re just on a petty path. Me, strike Sister Yona? I killed it because it was a fake.”
The fact that Jin could instantly distinguish between the real and the fakes was not something Joshua had accounted for.
In truth, Joshua hadn't come here today with the primary goal of eliminating Jin. He had come to watch Jin fall into crisis, unable to bring himself to strike the Yonas, only to eventually kill them all to survive and writhe in hatred and despair.
He intended to harvest that despair to aid Rosa. The immense despair of a special existence like Jin was exactly what Rosa needed most right now.
Consequently, Joshua shuddered as a sudden, suffocating sensation gripped him. He was choked by the anxiety that he would fail and disappoint his mother once again.
Jin, of course, saw through his inner thoughts as clearly as if they were written on the palm of his hand. Yet, he felt no joy, much like one feels no sense of victory over crushing an insect.
“Come to think of it, you also tried to assassinate Dante with Ailan Viment. That failed because I saw through it beforehand, and it’s the same now. Looking back, you’ve never beaten me once.”
[And yet, both I and Ailan Viment are still alive.]
Jin was already reading the flow of chaotic energy opening the dimensional gates. He intended to trace that flow and find the space where Joshua was hiding.
“Are you proud of that? You’re hiding quite far away. It seems you’re outside the forest. If you want to end this sickening farce, stay right there. I’ll come find you after I clean this up.”
Of course, Jin didn’t expect Joshua to wait obediently.
Regardless, cleaning up the remaining six fakes, the real Yona, and the inner core monsters would take some time. It wasn't just a matter of slaughtering everyone except the real Yona; he had to neutralize them perfectly to ensure none escaped to cause casualties among the surrounding forces or civilians.
So, Jin planned to send someone else after Joshua.
Riiiiiip!
Suddenly, the top of the veil split in half as golden energy surged through. Vail had torn through the veil from the outside.
[Agh! Perfect, I was getting annoyed. Hey, Jin. Can I just wipe all of these out? Except for your sister.]
“You have another job, Vail.”
[Can’t I just kill them? I think it would relieve some stress.]
“No. Instead, I’ll tell you who you can kill. Go outside the forest and find Joshua.”
[Who’s that?]
“The one who created this veil. He should be near the twelve o’clock direction, outside the forest. He’ll likely have regeneration and resurrection abilities, so tear him apart and kill him as many times as you want. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
As Vail began to contemplate, Hedo spoke up.
“What is there to think about, Vail? Go now. Before he runs away.”
[Tch… Fine, fine.]
As Vail departed, Jin fired a signal flare to call for a rendezvous.