Episode 109
Chapter 35: The Tragedy of Colon (8)
The woman was limping.
She had been hiding near the building that had just been blasted away by the magical cannon, suffering serious injuries from the shockwave.
And the reason she had taken refuge there was no coincidence.
While Jin and his group fought Mu-ron, she had hoped—just maybe—to rescue at least one of her kin trapped in the basement.
Not because, as Mu-ron claimed, her people were still alive. No, it was simply to give them a proper burial.
“All of our kin down there are already dead. Amplifying magic with the sacred relic is a curse!”
“Tika…!”
Dino cried out in anguish.
Her name was Latika Tika Mamootika—the acting priestess after Laosa’s departure.
But unlike Laosa, she was not chosen, nor did she possess any special divine power. She was just an ordinary person.
A sharp sound cracked.
Mu-ron’s face twisted in displeasure.
He wanted to see Jin’s group struggle, clinging to the pointless hope that the pile of corpses was still alive.
“A rat of a woman… How dare she ruin the show?”
A blue flame flickered in Mu-ron’s eyes.
It was the Vision Magic of Ziphl, the Azure Flame’s Mystic Eye. Jin had never seen it firsthand, but his former magic teacher had once told him about it.
—Ziphl’s secret arts are all dangerous, but the Azure Flame’s Mystic Eye is especially annoying. Just looking at it ignites blue flames that never go out.
Mu-ron’s gaze fixed on Tika.
“Burn to ashes…!”
Blue flames began to spread from Tika’s ankle.
Despite her severe injuries from the collapsing building, Tika had the courage to shout at Jin’s group with all her might.
But the pain of the Azure Flame touching her body was beyond what any ordinary person could endure.
“Ahhh!”
“T-Tika! We have to save her! She’s the last anchor for the remaining natives!”
Tika collapsed, convulsing violently. Her eyes rolled back, and she gasped for breath, barely able to utter a sound.
“Watching those fools guard corpses without knowing anything was the highlight of this beautiful night!”
Mu-ron spat on the ground, clearly unsatisfied even seeing Tika suffer.
‘At this rate, she’ll die before the Azure Flame even finishes spreading.’
Jin dashed toward Tika, recalling a conversation with his former master before his regression.
—What do you do if you’re hit by that magic?
—Don’t try to neutralize it with weak freezing or healing spells. You have to cut it out with an even stronger flame, no matter the cost.
A stronger flame…
One name immediately came to Jin’s mind. Magic gathered in his hands, opening a dimensional portal.
Master of Fire Magic—
The Phoenix, Tess.
“Summon.”
Through the rift that tore open beside Jin, a pair of blazing blue wings emerged. With every flap, a fierce gust of hot wind swept through the air.
Mu-ron blinked in disbelief.
“Te… Tess? You summoned Tess?”
A legend all mages dreamed of, a near-mythical being. Even the greatest archmages of Ziphl lamented never having obtained Tess.
To become Tess’s master was to become the greatest mage of the age.
‘That runt Runkandel… He’s going to be the greatest mage this era has ever seen? Even I, Mu-ron, never dared dream of that.’
The smile vanished from Mu-ron’s face.
Meanwhile, Jin wore a faint smile. The moment Tess was summoned, a ‘bond’ formed, filling him with certainty.
Before the true blue flames, the Azure Flame was nothing more than lukewarm water.
“You’ll be fine soon, Tika.”
Tess lowered her long neck toward Tika’s ankle. After a deep breath, she exhaled.
Like scattering seeds on the wind, the Azure Flame clinging to Tika’s ankle quickly faded away. Not a single burn mark remained.
Such was the mysterious power of the fire’s master. Wounds inflicted by a poor imitation of blue flames could be erased as if they never existed.
“Th-thank you.”
“The thanks are mine. Without you, we would have been nothing but entertainment for that trash.”
“Since things are urgent, I’ll get straight to the point. The kin in the basement are already dead, and Mu-ron is using the sacred relic. But he hasn’t found it yet.”
“Then what now?”
“Mu-ron only learned a few activation words for the relic by torturing our kin. The relic itself is still hidden. In a place no one but us could ever find.”
Though the situation was dire, Dino felt a twinge of disappointment at that.
‘He didn’t even tell me that.’
For centuries under Ziphl’s oppression, the natives of Colon had never once spoken of the relic’s location.
“If you’re someone sent by Laosa, I can trust you. I’ll tell you—after we eliminate him.”
Jin nodded.
Mu-ron’s face contorted with an indescribable mix of humiliation and inferiority.
Jin turned back to look at Mu-ron.
“So, the Azure Flame, huh? You’ve shown me all your tricks? Fine. As you wished, I’ll send you to the place that suits you best. Hell.”
Jin read Mu-ron’s expression perfectly.
‘He must be feeling unbearable shame that I summoned Tess and suppressed his Azure Flame.’
Mu-ron was trembling with humiliation. Jin deliberately chose words to provoke him further.
An enemy blinded by rage is—
“The joke’s over, Jin Runkandel. I’ll tear every piece of your flesh to shreds…”
That’s always when they become easier to handle.
“Lord Kashimir, keep protecting the natives! Murakan, full power, now! Don’t give him any time!”
“Are we allowed to transform?”
“Are you crazy? Of course not!”
“Tsk! Fine, fine! Just stop cursing already!”
Of course, this foolish banter was all a ploy to provoke Mu-ron. They hadn’t planned it in advance, but such coordination between a contractor and their guardian dragon was natural.
As Murakan charged from behind, and Jin and Tess attacked from the front—
A thick vein bulged on Mu-ron’s forehead.
“You will pay dearly for mocking me, Mu-ron.”
Screech…!
The blue flames in Mu-ron’s eyes vanished. With Tess here, even his vision magic was meaningless.
“You said earlier that hell is where I belong? Well said, Jin Runkandel!”
Instead, Mu-ron began chanting a spell restored by Ziphl and designated as a secret art.
Or rather, a sealing spell.
“I was once the lover of the witch Helluram, sharing drinks with kings in the Tigris Mountains west of the Black Sea…”
Jin, about to strike, froze.
‘Is this… dark magic?’
Like light magic, dark magic had vanished completely from the world since ancient times. Almost no records remained—only rumors passed down by word of mouth.
Jin could only guess it was dark magic, but he didn’t know the exact spell.
Murakan was visibly shaken, and Tess roared in fury.
Kaaaaaah!
Tess unleashed a torrent of flame filled with oppressive power toward Mu-ron.
It was a breath of fire on a whole different level from what she had shown during Alisa’s time. Even Jin, the summoner, could feel the weight of that oppression.
‘Tess is angry? What kind of spell is that?’
At that moment, Murakan drew the shadow of Tess’s flames toward himself, converting it into spiritual energy.
“Kid! He’s trying to possess the Beast King, Orgal! We have to finish him before he finishes the spell! Open your sword to the max! Now!”
Fwoosh!
Murakan fired the converted spiritual energy like a breath attack.
As the blue flames and spiritual energy engulfed Mu-ron, Jin realized that none of it was harming him yet.
A strange violet aura was protecting Mu-ron.
‘A shield? No, that’s a dimensional portal!’
It was the same shape as the portal Jin had opened to summon Tess—except it glowed with an ominous violet light.
And that portal led to the dark world commonly called—
Hell.
Tess had unleashed her breath at maximum power to prevent the gates of hell from opening. Murakan was embedding spiritual energy into the portal, creating a path Jin’s sword could reach.
It was like a marker. Without the spiritual energy’s mark, swinging the sword would only cut through the cold wind escaping from hell’s gate.
“Slash the spot where my spiritual energy touched, Bradamante!”
“Got it!”
Swoooosh…!
With Tess summoned, Jin’s magic was rapidly draining, and controlling spiritual energy on top of that was overwhelming.
“Ugh!”
As he drew the spiritual energy, signs of magical backlash began. Blood trickled from his mouth, nose, and ears, and the surging magic inside him made him feel faint.
The more unstable Jin’s magic became, the weaker Tess’s power grew. The oppressive blue flames visibly dimmed, and Mu-ron seized the opportunity to resume chanting his spell.
“…And finally, struck down by Helluram’s dagger, he ended his glorious life in lonely silence. Yet, receiving the homage of death, he descended into the underworld. My name is…”
Kraaaah!
Jin, having dispelled Multa’s rune, spat out a handful of blood and stepped forward.
The backlash of magic was caused by the spell, but what truly moved Jin was, paradoxically, his will as a warrior.
No matter the situation, ten thousand strikes, ten thousand times the same.
The stage where will manifests through the sword. True Soul Sword mastery was still beyond Jin’s reach, but on the brink of consciousness—
In that fleeting moment… the wall-like veil lifted.
“Benda.”
He murmured the word as if casting a spell. Benda. With each step closer to Myuron, Jin was silently chanting the incantation.
A spell to cut him down.
Just as the ancient Runekandel sword mages did when giving their all.
Sssiiik…!
The blazing spiritual energy on Bradamante’s blade gradually began to calm.
The particles that had scattered like smoke fully absorbed into the blade, forging a freshly honed black edge.
Unlike any spiritual energy before, this black blade reflected the moonlight—like a real, tangible sword.
Screech—!
At the moment Jin struck the hellgate down,
Myuron, nearing the end of his possession, shivered briefly, instinctively realizing his final plan had been thwarted.
“Damn… heh heh heh.”
With his last remaining arm, he summoned the last of his strength and swung his staff.