Episode 117
Chapter 37: The Power to Erase the World, the Power to Sustain the World (Part 1)
Pazzuuk!
Just before the cannon fired, Talaris swung her Manbing sword a half-beat ahead—thankfully.
From the tip of her translucent blade shot out a massive wave of sword energy, so immense it could have cleaved the Kojek in two without seeming out of place.
The chilling sword energy surged toward the cannon, freezing the air along its path and leaving behind a sparkling trail of light.
But there was no time to admire that beautiful, awe-inspiring energy.
Snap!
Jin hoisted Laosa onto his shoulder and dashed behind Talaris, with Siris close on their heels. All of this happened within barely a second.
The problem was that within that same second, the cannon had already fired, seemingly intent on wiping out Colon entirely.
Kwaaaaah!
The dim dawn sky instantly flooded with golden light. The magic condensed and condensed again, turning a brilliant gold as it poured from the Kojek’s barrel.
Had Talaris’s sword energy not intercepted it, the blast would have completely erased Colon’s core.
Shreeeek! Kiiik!
The clash of sword energy and cannon fire tore through the air with a piercing roar. The raw power of a single human met the overwhelming might of the greatest war machine in history—the Kojek.
The cannonball couldn’t strike the ground in its full form, and Talaris’s sword energy couldn’t reach the hull suspended high above.
Instead, a shockwave so powerful it could topple even centuries-old trees began to sweep across Colon.
The ice barrier Talaris had erected around the natives cracked with a sharp crack, and tens of thousands of ice crystals swirling nearby shattered relentlessly.
Then, with a blinding flash, shards of aura and magic rained down.
Talaris had shouted for them to dodge precisely because of this. Each fragment, like hail, carried enough destructive force to kill even a seasoned warrior.
Dodging them all was impossible. They ran madly toward the spot with the least debris, but nowhere in the ruins was truly safe.
“Priestess! Drop down and don’t move a single step!”
At the same time, Jin and Siris drew their swords, slashing at the falling shards. Fortunately, thanks to the elixir Siris had given him, Jin’s body had recovered enough to wield his blade with skill.
Perhaps from their previous sparring at the Runkandel banquet, their swords moved in perfect harmony amid the relentless storm of fragments.
Still, their stamina drained rapidly.
Each shard packed the force of a strike from a six-star knight. After fending off so many, they felt as if they’d fought dozens of warriors.
“You’ve improved since then, Jin Runkandel.”
“Siris, you too. Hah, but the situation’s grim as soon as we arrive. Getting Laosa away from the natives won’t be easy.”
If this brutal hailstorm ended here, it wouldn’t be so bad.
But the Kojek was already readying its next shot. Talaris, too, was gathering energy to unleash her Manbing sword’s full power at any moment.
“Wow, I really didn’t expect you to fire. I’m Talaris Endorma. Get a grip, kids.”
Talaris wiped her forehead with an exaggerated gesture.
The expressions of the White Night mages watching her darkened. They had expected her to block the shot, but none had imagined she’d cleave the Kojek’s cannon in a single strike.
“Final warning! Lady Archer, if you don’t comply with our demands, we will kill all your clients—even if it means erasing Colon entirely.”
“Hmph. You’re too embarrassed to say you’ll kill me, huh? That’s impossible, even if all your forces were here.”
“That’s true. But Lady Archer, even you can’t protect them all under this cannon barrage. We only have to endure a little humiliation, but you will bear the disgrace of a failed contract.”
Talaris smiled.
It was a forced smile, born of having no retort.
“Well then, since it’s come to this, let’s see who ends up with the disgrace—Archer or Ziphl. Girls! Get your heads straight. Get that woman over there, no matter what!”
The natives were performing a ritual some seven hundred steps away from where Jin and Siris stood. It was a distance they could cover quickly, but the ground was seething with residual aura and magic, hotter than molten lava.
Without protecting their bodies with aura, even walking was impossible.
Moreover, the Kojek’s barrel, glowing with an even deeper golden light than before, was charging again. Talaris would have to unleash an even stronger sword energy to counter it.
More fragments than before… are about to fall.
It was like running through rivers of lava, fending off falling debris, all while ensuring Laosa’s safety and reaching the ritual site.
Murakan is holding the line, protecting the natives where the barrier cracked. That means Siris and I have to do this alone.
One of them would have to carry Laosa.
Even as a priestess, Laosa’s physical abilities were no different from an ordinary person’s. Walking across this scorching ground was impossible for her.
This is the toughest challenge yet.
Had there ever been a day when seven hundred steps felt this long?
But if we fail… all the fighting so far will have been meaningless, unnoticed by the world. The centuries of abuse and oppression Colon’s people have endured…
Siris let out a low sigh, and Jin met her gaze.
“Siris, you take care of the priestess behind me. I’ll clear the way alone.”
“What? What are you saying? It’s already tough for the two of us, and your body’s still not fully healed.”
“Exactly why I’ll handle the fragments alone. If one of us dies first, it’s more likely to be me reaching the natives. You’re in better shape.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t understand. Why go this far?”
“Talaris and Siris are pushing themselves too, beyond what’s reasonable.”
“That’s different. My mother and I are determined to survive at all costs. The Colon people’s plight is tragic, but if death becomes a real threat, we’ll retreat immediately.”
Jin smiled meaningfully.
“Talaris is a powerhouse beyond compare. If she hadn’t arrived in time, I’d already be dead or paying a heavy price.”
“What are you trying to say, Jin Runkandel?”
Siris’s voice was tinged with frustration. To her, Jin looked like a moth flying into a flame, and she couldn’t quite explain why it angered her.
“I meant that we’re relying on a stronger ally to handle what should be our burden. If I don’t feel desperate enough to risk my life, I can’t forgive myself.”
Jin’s calm words widened Siris’s eyes.
At the same time, Laosa, who was just stirring, felt a flush of shame ripple through her body.
As Colon’s priestess… how desperate have I truly been to save Colon?
“Run away, Priestess!”
“If the priestess dies, Colon dies, and so does the mission Clamke entrusted to us! Please, go somewhere they can’t find you.”
“Priestess, leave before you lose more of your divine power. We’ll be fine.”
Three years ago, when escaping Colon with Pan, she’d heard these urgent voices.
Her people told her to run, and yet, Laosa realized then that choosing to flee had been her own decision.
And in that escape, she had simply waited for a savior—someone strong, godlike—to appear.
She lifted her head.
Looking up at Jin.
“…So, Priestess Laosa, prepare yourself. I’ve risked my life with Talaris’s help. The priestess who accepts my aid must show the same desperation.”
“Jin Gongja, I—”
Beyond the seven hundred steps, others showed that same desperation.
Ordinary Colon people, neither chosen priestesses nor mighty warriors, who would have kept the ritual going even if their bodies were broken and shattered by the fragments.
“We’ll get there, even if we die. Understand?”
Laosa bit her lower lip and nodded.
“Good. Let’s move!”
Siris hoisted Laosa, and Jin took the lead.
“Now! Fire!”
Kwaaaaah!
The Kojek unleashed its golden magic once more.
The White Night mages had been waiting for Jin, Siris, and Laosa to move. Their goal was no longer to threaten Talaris, but to kill her clients.
As Manbing’s sword energy clashed with the Kojek’s cannon again—
Ugh!
Just as expected, even more fragments began to pummel Colon. The shockwaves scraped at their eardrums, sharper than before, causing blood to trickle from Midor’s magically injured ear.
Each time Jin struck a fragment, his legs trembled, but he pressed on resolutely.
“Six hundred seventy, six hundred sixty-nine… six hundred… five hundred ten…”
The grip on the sword was already weakening.
There was only one thing Jin believed in: the willpower to swing the sword exactly the same way at least three thousand times.
The desperate determination to take seven hundred steps.
Watching her from behind, Syris, as a fellow warrior, felt his heart pounding faster with every passing moment.
Respect—something very close to that was what filled Syris’s heart now.
“Only about fifty steps left! Jin, just a little more…!”
Stagger!
“Damn it, Jin!”
The last shard that struck Bradamante was heavier than Jin had expected. Losing her balance, Jin barely managed to fend off the next fragment, and just as Syris was about to step forward—
“From here on, I’ll walk myself.”
“What? This place is like a lava field! How do you expect a shrine maiden to walk through this? You can’t even protect yourself with aura!”
“Even if my feet burn away, I’ll crawl if I have to. So please, protect Prince Jin from now on. I beg you. If this keeps up, Jin will die.”
Laosa released the hand that had been holding Syris.
The moment she stepped down from Syris’s back and planted her feet on the ground, there was a sizzling sound as her shoes and skin began to burn rapidly.
Step by agonizing step.
Laosa started moving forward. Gasping through the searing pain as her flesh burned, she kept inching ahead.