Episode 1134
Chapter 259: The Truth of the World, Your Truth, My Truth (3)

It was fast.

Even with a fully intact body, it was beyond what one could easily withstand. Silin wielded her sword with a destructive precision that was hard to believe came from a Ziphl.

Sssshhh!

Jin barely parried the blade flying toward his forehead and glared at Silin. Her face was hidden beneath a hood and a white mask, but her eyes were chillingly cold.

“It’s Changseong. Damn it, why now of all times…!”

The Changseong Knight.

No, a magic swordsman. Jin was keenly aware of the blue flame clinging to Silin’s grip and moved with a footwork that adapted the secret techniques only pure-blooded Ziphl mastered. It had to be magic.

“I recently developed a spell,” Silin said. “One that can track blood traces even through dimensional portals… That’s why I tore you apart like this but didn’t kill you.”

Tracking blood traces scattered across dimensional pathways.

Only Silin among the Demon Army could do that. Valeria had no idea Silin had developed this ability and, wounded by her sword, had headed toward another entrance to the legacy within the portal.

At that moment, Valeria had exhausted all her remaining strength to briefly freeze time in the 677th dimension. She was practically a corpse by then, having found the legacy, so she didn’t notice Silin stepping through the entrance alongside her.

Valeria immediately pieced together what had happened.

There was no way to respond; it was meaningless. She was tormented by the fatal mistake she had already made.

“But to not even notice the enemy entering here with you, Valeria Hister. In the end, you were just human. You showed such incredible power all this time, but…”

Jin had never seen Valeria Hister so terrified in all his past and present lives.

She wasn’t afraid of death itself.

Like the feeling Jin had when he created stairs to climb Laprarosa, she feared that all the sacrifices and pain would vanish like bubbles, losing their meaning.

Silin had enough strength for that. Unlike the two of them, Silin was neither injured nor even tired.

“Valeria!”

“Go! Jin, you’re the only one who has to get through!”

Abandon Valeria and break through alone to the white gate.

It was a painful but necessary choice. Jin was already trying to leave her behind and head for the gate with a heavy heart.

But he couldn’t break through Silin’s sword. Every time Jin moved, she relentlessly unleashed sword energy.

His body felt unbearably heavy.

The only reason Jin could still parry and hold on was because of the Changseong realm he had achieved.

But holding on was the limit. It couldn’t last long, and the fight wasn’t even really a fight. Even at full strength, he couldn’t guarantee victory against her.

“Ugh!”

“Give up, Jin Runkandel.”

“Shut up…!”

A sharp blue flame extended from Silin’s grip, piercing Jin’s right shoulder. The flame cut through bone and flesh like a blade, burning him from the inside out.

Heat spread through his entire body in an instant. Normally, he could shake it off quickly, but now there was no way. Tess, who could have helped, had been destroyed by Keliak earlier.

“Argh!”

Jin screamed.

Not because of the pain. Not because the burning hurt.

Because he couldn’t think of any way to surpass her and take Solderet’s power. If he didn’t scream, he felt like he’d lose his mind.

He cursed wildly, spitting out words so vile he’d never uttered them before, as if possessed.

His knees buckled. His already depleted strength was devoured by the flames, and he caught sight of Valeria collapsed on the ground.

Her trembling, terrified eyes. Her bloodied lips. Her clenched little fists. That despair.

Silin roughly grabbed Valeria by the hair and lifted her face.

“So you can make that expression too. Yes, Valeria Hister. Don’t worry, I’ll spare your life.”

“Just let us go. No, not us—let Jin go. Silin, please…”

Begging. That was all Valeria could do. Beg for Jin’s life.

Jin wanted to block it out. He’d never heard a sound more cruel and horrifying in his life. He screamed louder to drown out Valeria’s voice.

“Silin… You’re human too, with your own will! Do you really want Keliak Ziphl to conquer all dimensions? Do you want a world where everything flows according to his desires? Even you would lose yourself in that world. You’d end up mistaking Keliak’s desires for your own. What on earth are you fighting for…?”

“Shut up. What’s that in your hand?”

Silin’s gaze landed on Valeria’s clenched fist.

A memory Jin had borrowed for her.

Valeria instinctively tried to hide the blue orb, but there was nowhere to conceal it.

“Th-this is—”

“I shouldn’t have asked.”

Silin easily pried open Valeria’s fist. Though she gripped the memory so tightly her fingers might break, it was no match for Silin’s strength.

The memory Valeria hadn’t even let Jin touch yet was now in Silin’s hands.

“Ah, this is… a memory?”

A flicker of surprise flashed in Silin’s eyes behind the mask.

As soon as she held the blue orb, a wave of memories flooded her mind. It felt like a dream, a hazy sensation, but she didn’t lose herself.

She had to analyze it coldly and thoroughly.

What Solderet and Valeria Hister had prepared for Jin Runkandel.

What this harsh moment existed for.

“Stop it! I said stop!”

“Jin Runkandel. Do what you can. What do you think screaming like that will accomplish? Is that your limit?”

“Shut your damn mouth. Even if you don’t say it, I will. I will kill you. Tear you apart and kill you. If not now, then even if I die, or in my next life. I will kill you and meet my people again.”

True to his words, Jin was crawling forward.

His body was at its absolute limit, burning with blue flame. At this point, he couldn’t even block Silin’s lightly thrown sword energy.

“Impressive…”

But Jin couldn’t give up. He couldn’t inflict that much pain on Valeria. There were people waiting outside, people who looked only to him. He couldn’t just stay still.

He had to move forward, even if crawling. Even if he could never win, as long as he didn’t drop his sword. As long as he didn’t let go of his blade.

“The future is unknown. The future… is unknown. It’s not over yet. Not over.”

His grip on the sword kept loosening. His consciousness flickered by the second.

But this was all familiar since his student days. Death? He had already seen great knights transcend death through struggle. He had done the same fighting Faelito.

That’s what he had to do.

Like Ron, even if he died, he would rise and fight again. Again and again. Even if his whole body turned to ash in the blue flame, he would stand and thrust his sword into Silin’s throat. Then he would cut down Keliak and reunite with those he loved.

He would protect them.

The land they had to live on—even if little of it remained unscathed—he would protect it. That was the one thing he would never let go.

With that single resolve, Jin crawled forward. Even as endless torment flooded him like an eternity in every moment, he overcame it.

“So that’s how it was. You turned back time.”

Silin analyzed the memories flooding her mind while glaring down at Jin, who stubbornly crawled closer.

Killing Jin now would be easy. She could intensify the blue flame inside him or swing her sword and sever his limbs in an instant.

But Silin waited quietly. She wanted more of Valeria’s memories to flow in, wanted Jin and his struggle to come closer to her.

“What are you doing, Silin Ziphl? Savoring your victory? Do you think you’ve won? Cut me down. If you do, I’ll be reborn. Doesn’t that sound like a lie? Haven’t you ever seen it? I’ll show you what it means. So Valeria, stop crying. Don’t cry. Don’t beg. We haven’t lost yet. You said it yourself—the future is unknown. The ending hasn’t come.”

Still clutching the orb, Silin stared at Jin. Now they were only two steps apart. Close enough to thrust her sword.

“Huff, huff, gasp, ugh…!”

A lump of blood clogged his throat, choking him.

His eyelids finally closed. No matter how hard he tried to keep them open, they wouldn’t budge. But even with his eyes shut, Jin moved forward.

To stab Silin. To reach the people.

He stood up.

He didn’t know if he was standing or crawling, but Valeria and Silin watched as he rose upright on his two legs.

“Ugh, cough, huff, argh!”

Thud…!

The blade pierced Silin’s chest.

Her heart.

Jin plunged his sword into Silin’s heart and collapsed against her as if seeking comfort.

Silin never closed her eyes once as she watched Jin’s slow, clumsy movement, and even after he fell into her arms, she didn’t take her gaze off the roughly ten steps he had crawled.

Hahaha…!

Then, as if overwhelmed with joy, she burst into laughter. Her heart felt like it was pierced by a barisada, yet she kept laughing uncontrollably. Looking at Jin, she said,

“So… this is the real Runcandel.”

Jin summoned the last of his strength and twisted the blade.

Perhaps because she had been stabbed, Silin’s eyes fluttered open. The blood clogging her throat spilled out of her mouth.

“What’s… so funny? Silin Ziphl… Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to kill you.”

“Well… now that Ziphl is finally coming to an end, I can’t help but laugh. At last.”

“What did you say…?”

Slowly, Silin removed her mask. The face beneath was one Jin knew better than anyone.

It was Rosa Runcandel.