Chapter 79: The Phenomenon Known as Runcandel (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79: The Phenomenon Known as Runcandel (2)
‘That is…!’
Jin’s eyes, fixed on the sky, widened in shock.
In his past life, he had heard his siblings discuss the family’s Decisive Techniques a few times.
Judging by the way the heavens parted and aura poured forth, he could guess this was the ‘3rd Decisive Technique: Meteor Shower,’ but this was his first time witnessing it in person.
And the sight of the family’s secret technique, witnessed for the first time, was—
‘Breathtakingly beautiful… and terrifyingly powerful.’
Countless streaks of sword energy fell like meteors.
Every time a single streak struck the earth, a thrill raced through his entire body.
It felt as if he were witnessing the very pinnacle of what humanity could achieve with the sword.
Jin clenched his trembling fists and focused his mind. He didn't want to miss a single moment. He wanted to sear it all into his memory so that one day, he could recreate this very scene himself.
This overwhelming power.
While Quicantel also stood dazed, her gaze fixed on the stars of aura embroidering the sky, Murakan was the only one who remained indifferent.
[The Decisive Technique: Meteor Shower. It’s been a thousand years since I last saw it. It’s a bit lacking compared to Temar’s original, but your sister is a monster among monsters.]
Rumble!
CRACK!
The entire island shrieked every time the meteor shower battered the ground.
The earth split hideously, rocks were crushed into powder, and the soil was pulverized into even finer particles.
The meteor shower rained down with a momentum that seemed intent on reducing everything it touched to nothingness.
Within that storm, the lone dragon and the humans desperately scrambling for cover looked infinitely small and pathetic.
How dare they.
The members of the Zipple family instinctively realized that this was not something they could withstand with their meager power.
They couldn't help but be seized by an indescribable sense of despair.
‘This is a lie…! This can’t be happening!’
Andrei clutched the Demon God Stone, chanting the words like a prayer.
Buretta, who had desperately transformed back into his true form, was shielding him with his body.
‘If I can just save Andrei, we have a chance. If I just save Andrei!’
Even if his entire body was torn into ten thousand pieces, as long as a small bone or a chunk of flesh remained, he could be resurrected as many times as needed through the power of the Demon God Stone.
Therefore, Buretta did not fear death.
However, Luna’s power…
It was still terrifying.
No matter how many times he came back to life, he felt a certainty that he would simply be killed again. He suspected that even if the Demon God Stone were fully unleashed, they might not be able to defeat this human.
On the other hand.
Luna, still frozen in the posture of having swung her sword, exuded a profound dignity.
She did not spare a glance for the pouring meteor shower, nor for Buretta, who was being torn to shreds within it.
She simply felt a sense of dissatisfaction.
Even though she was literally erasing the island and crushing the Zipples, she wasn't satisfied at all.
‘I’m still far from reaching Father’s sword.’
Her father’s Meteor Shower, which she had faced only once in the past, was not like this.
It was difficult to explain, but it was something more transcendental… something that could hardly be called a human’s sword. Only when her own technique felt like it was seizing control of the entire space would she be able to take pride in having reached her father’s level.
‘Still, this should be a good lesson for the youngest. It’ll serve as motivation.’
If I never manage to reach Father’s sword in the end…
Then you.
Youngest, you must.
The thought suddenly crossed her mind, and she looked back.
She wanted to send a message to her brother, who was watching this great but incomplete sword.
To grow, to become even stronger, and to become the Patriarch of Runcandel.
And Jin felt it clearly. He knew exactly what his sister was saying to him. Even without words, even without hearing her voice, even if she was too far to see clearly, he knew.
‘She is always teaching me.’
It felt as if a fire had been lit in his chest.
His desire for the sword felt more intense than ever before. He felt suffocated by the urge to surpass his sister, to surpass his father, and to ascend to the Constellation of the Sword.
Jin would never forget this day for as long as he lived.
When the Meteor Shower finally came to an end, a massive hole had been gouged into the center of the island.
A tidal wave surged from the crater as if a volcano had erupted, and there was no sign of Buretta or Andrei anywhere.
They had been incinerated.
In the waves of the swelling tide, parts of Buretta’s corpse could occasionally be seen floating. In the sky above, not a single cloud remained.
The meteors had swept them all away. While the roiling tide contrasted with the perfectly clear sky, Luna lightly shook her head.
“My pride’s a bit bruised, isn't it? It’s annoying when they’re this stubborn… especially right in front of my brother.”
Luna pointed Krantel toward the tidal wave.
At the same time, something that had been hidden by the tide slowly revealed itself. It was black, massive, and grotesque.
A face.
It looked exactly like the one on the Demon God Stone. Soon, two arms, legs, and a torso emerged from the waves.
It was Andrei, now assimilated with the Demon God Stone.
“Crazy… what on earth is that? Is that the result of his artifact being unleashed?”
Even to Jin, who didn't know much about what an Origin Stone or a Demon God Stone was, it looked far from normal. Furthermore, it was a power too ominous and bizarre to be considered a mere phenomenon caused by an ‘artifact.’
‘I’ve never heard of anything like this, even in my past life. It looks exactly like a God of Calamity descending.’
There seemed to be no better expression for that grotesque thing than ‘God of Calamity.’
Quicantel’s tail curled inward, a response to an instinctive fear she couldn't suppress.
Even as an imitation, the ‘power of the gods’ contained within the Demon God Stone was enough to draw out the inherent fear within dragons.
[Phew, it’s certain now. Kid, the Zipples used a contractor to recreate the Origin Stone. Fortunately, it seems to be at a crude level for now… I’ll explain the details later. For now, we have to leave.]
“We have to retreat?”
The ‘Windless Zone’ Andrei had set up had disappeared. Murakan had already spread his wings and begun to gain altitude. Jin instinctively shouted.
“Sister! We have to get Luna! We can’t leave her to face that thing alone!”
[No, that thing must be killed immediately. If it’s left alive, it will become a terrible disaster. That’s what an Origin Stone is. And right now, your sister is the only one here who can finish it.]
“But—”
[Even if I’ve lost my power, my eyes are still sharp. Your sister is in a state where she can handle it. If it were a real Origin Stone, not even Temar could have suppressed it.]
As if she could hear everything, Luna was already waving her hand toward Jin and shouting.
“Don’t worry and get out of here!”
Despite this, Jin was filled with anxiety, but there was nothing else he could do.
He also felt it instinctively. Just as Murakan said, it felt like ‘that thing’ had to be dealt with right now.
However, he felt like he was going to go mad with frustration—the fact that he had to just stand by and watch.
‘After today, there will never be another day where I am this powerless…!’
Jin gritted his teeth.
Meanwhile, Murakan was secretly smiling, finding Jin admirable.
‘I’ve known for a while that the kid has no fear. To think he’s radiating such fighting spirit even after seeing that… He’s so damn commendable I could just about bite him.’
The fighting spirit, intense enough to make the scales on his back prickle, was definitely Jin’s.
It was a fighting spirit that could never be believed to belong to a fifteen-year-old boy who had just reached 5-star.
‘You will become the best, Jin Runcandel. The Contractor of a Thousand Years.’
That was why, even though he was fleeing, Murakan felt his heart racing with excitement. He was looking forward to the days ahead with this boy even more.
[Now, don't be too disappointed. Learn well from your sister. Learn the phenomenon known as Runcandel. Today, Luna Runcandel is saving the world!]
The moment she judged her brother’s party was far enough from the island, Luna began to wrap Krantel in aura. At the same time, Andrei, who had completely emerged from the tide, looked down at her.
“Andrei Zipple. Hmm… your face is too grotesque to recognize, but you’re probably feeling confident right now. Thinking that now that you’ve become a monster through an artifact, you’ll be able to kill me.”
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!
A laugh that seemed to scrape the throat echoed out. Just as she said, Andrei was no longer afraid of Luna.
[Twelve gods now reside within me! Luna Runcandel, what do you have? Even if your father were here, he would not be able to oppose me.]
“Ah, twelve gods. Regrettably, I still have only a single sword,” Luna replied, her face calm.
[Show me everything you have. I shall gladly accept it!]
A smile spread across Luna’s lips. A smile of utter contempt.
“As expected, you’re still mistaken. If you had faced me with the magic you’ve honed your entire life, you might have earned the right to witness half of the martial prowess I’ve built up.”
The moment Andrei tried to respond, Krantel began to turn red.
‘Red aura?’
Andrei tilted his head momentarily. He had faced countless knights, but he had never heard of red aura.
“In that sense, you haven't earned the right, but…”
As if a red flame had spread, Krantel glowed.
“Out of pity for the foolish… I will show you what a sword is. And naturally, you will come to realize.”
That you have never even dared to face a being that could be called a ‘god,’ let alone trap one in that measly little stone. Because the one man I have watched my entire life is overwhelming the world all by himself, despite being a ‘demigod.’
“Or was the god you speak of not such a grand being?”
Heart Sword.
Red Moon.
As Luna whispered, a red radiance began to spread from Krantel.
It was a light that dyed the entire island, as well as a swatch of the sky. Even then, Andrei failed to feel a sense of crisis, intoxicated by the power of the Demon God Stone.
[Come! Show me your helplessness.]
In a mere instant, the red sword energy spread out, splitting the massive crack in the island in half once more.
It felt as if a red flash had briefly passed through the center of the island.
And Luna was already turning back, sheathing Krantel as if her work was done.
[I will te—]
I will tell you.
The rest of the sentence could not be finished. Those became Andrei’s final words.
Crack!
Shatter!
It was the sound of the Demon God Stone hidden in Andrei’s chest breaking.
At the same time, the space where he stood briefly fractured like shattered glass, and the black energy of the Demon God Stone was sucked into it.
Even the massive chunks of rock that could no longer be called an island were being drawn into that distorted space.
And just as Luna, who had dropped to one knee in exhaustion, was about to be consumed by it—
Whoosh!
Murakan descended at full speed, and Jin reached out his hand to Luna. Luna, who narrowly caught his hand, spoke with a bright smile.
“I guess the youngest saved me today too?”