Chapter 164
Episode 55: The Remnants of the Dark Magic Council (5)

Crack!

With every strike of Goltep’s hammer, the cavern floor shattered, sending shards of stone flying. Enya swallowed hard as she stared at the cratered ground, while Jin moved with calm, measured steps.

Only Jin appeared relaxed; to Enya, the situation looked dangerously close to slipping out of control. She lacked the experience to fully grasp the movements of a seven-star knight, after all.

“Brother!”

“Stay back, Austin.”

Enya called out urgently, but Jin felt an indescribable thrill shoot down his spine, sending shivers through his entire body.

Bang! Crack! Crunch! The massive hammer relentlessly smashed the ground. Each time it struck and lifted, a fierce gust of wind howled through the cave.

The hammer danced with dazzling precision. The White Wolf warriors had been trained to wield weapons like hammers, maces, and spears since infancy, and Goltep was a veteran with over three hundred battles under his belt.

From left to right, right to left, then left to right again—his hammer traced perfect diagonal and straight lines along his retreat path. The trajectory, weaving through air and stone like a dance, was the culmination of years of experience.

And there was a flow to it—a rhythm optimized to crush his opponent. Only a warrior who had reached a certain level could perceive that flow.

Jin had reached that level. How could he not tremble with excitement?

‘Dodging an opponent’s attacks with such precision—this is exhilarating.’

After about thirty seconds of unrelenting hammer strikes, only the floor lay in ruins. Not a single shard had grazed Jin’s collar.

“How long will you keep dodging like a rat?”

Goltep wasn’t the type to spout clichéd lines. A glint of admiration flickered in his piercing blue eyes.

“…Impressive.”

Pausing briefly, he looked down at Jin. Despite swinging the massive hammer dozens of times, his breathing remained steady.

“What exactly are you? I’ve never heard of a human so young reaching this level. Are you disguising your age?”

“Think whatever you want.”

“You’re not just prey to be hunted. You’re worthy of being offered on Javier’s altar.”

Javier, the greatest warrior in White Wolf history, was revered as a god among his people and respected by other beast tribes.

The White Wolves only spoke of offering an opponent to Javier’s altar in two cases: when the enemy was strong enough to fight with all their honor, or if they were a Runcandel.

Goltep judged Jin to be the former.

“I, Goltep Hapalleb, hereby stake all the honor of myself and the Hapalleb clan to face Jin Gray. You shall be reborn as nourishment for Javier’s soul, untainted by falsehood.”

“So Kinzello guarantees freedom of religion, huh?”

“Indeed. It’s a better place than you might think. A shame we can’t fight together.”

Ziiing!

Goltep’s hammer began to glow, radiating a light far brighter than before, illuminating his serious face.

‘So this is where the real fight begins. If all his earlier hammer strikes were just practice, then this will be tough.’

A layer of aura also enveloped Bradamante. Jin’s gaze, fixed on the sword’s tip, darkened with focus.

After a breath, Bradamante was the first to break the silence with a sharp slicing sound. The blade, previously held horizontally at waist height, shot forward like an arrow.

Fast.

Both Jin and Goltep could feel it. Flash! Jin’s eyes flickered as the sword carved a clean slash through the center of the cave.

Goltep raised his hammer to strike down with all his might.

Kwang!

The sound was not of a blade meeting a blunt weapon, but blunt weapon against blunt weapon. Squinting, Goltep braced for the next blow, struggling to suppress his shock.

What on earth—

‘What kind of power is this?!’

Though wielding seven-star aura, Jin’s body was still that of an adolescent, not yet fully matured. Yet the sword strike felt like it was tearing Goltep’s hand apart.

Overcoming the weight difference and closing the distance, each sword strike forced Goltep to revise his perception of Jin.

This was no ordinary seven-star knight’s strength. Such mysterious power, as far as Goltep knew, could only come from one source.

“Runcandel…!”

Knowing the blessed bloodline changed nothing. Jin said nothing, focusing all his consciousness on his sword.

A human, small and light, deflecting a massive hammer with a single blade, sparking flames, forcing a White Wolf warrior to retreat…

The very embodiment of Runcandel, just as Jin had dreamed since his previous life.

Though he had fought many battles since his reincarnation, never had he felt prouder than today. Yes, this is how a Runcandel fights.

Overwhelming. Every swing of the sword made the opponent hesitate, then succumb to fear and fall to their knees.

‘Eventually, just holding the sword will make enemies tremble in fear.’

That was the ultimate ideal of the Runcandel sword. Jin felt as if such a phrase was woven into the shimmering blade light Bradamante cast.

“Kaaak!”

Whoosh—! Squeak!

Pushed back, Goltep swung his hammer in a wide arc. Desperately, he tried to force Jin to take a step back.

The closer the distance, the fewer options Goltep had. His long, massive weapon was devastating at range but ill-suited for close combat.

‘Should I dodge?’

Or counterattack.

Countering would strain his body. Even with his blessed Runcandel physique and seven-star aura, Goltep’s all-out strike would take a toll.

‘I’ll counter.’

There was only one reason to reject the more efficient choice.

He wanted to savor the name Runcandel a little longer. To declare that he was a proud member of that mad family of monsters, the brightest monster of Runcandel, no longer an outcast.

But he would never forget those miserable days.

That desire pounded in his chest like a drum.

Kwoooong…!

At the moment of impact, Goltep felt his whole body lift as if thrown into the air. Yet the shock traveling through the blade swirled inside him before dissipating, allowing him to step back two paces.

Ugh! A metallic taste flooded his mouth. Blood rose up his throat and trickled from between his lips. When he regained his stance, he saw Goltep struggling to steady his hammer. He too was bleeding, with two fingers broken and dangling uselessly.

When Runcandel offers flesh, the opponent must give up bone. When Runcandel falls into a small pit, the enemy must tumble down a thousand-foot cliff.

Watching Jin charge again, Goltep could only sense defeat. No matter how much he tried to push, strike, or claw his way out, the boy wouldn’t yield an inch.

For the first time, Goltep resented the massive hammer he had wielded all his life.

“Damn it!”

Still, Goltep swung again. He was a warrior—proud, honorable, and sometimes accepting of defeat.

Now that Javier’s name had been invoked, he could not end the duel even in death.

Ignoring his broken fingers, the hammer still moved fiercely.

But it wouldn’t last. The moment Bradamante deflected the hammer, a small whirlpool of reversed aura stirred violently within Goltep’s body.

Hoo, hoo…!

Their ragged breaths mingled between weapons. Each time they bit down and swung, droplets of blood sprayed, evaporating in the heat of their aura.

Kang! Kakang! Kwang!

Despite Goltep’s desperate expression, the metal rang out with crisp, clear bursts. His aura was fading, and Jin adjusted his own accordingly. There was no need to push further.

The outcome was already decided.

“If I spare you, would you be willing to reveal information about Kinzello?”

He didn’t know when he’d next meet a Kinzello executive. There was Bubar Gaston, but Kinzello’s scale exceeded expectations, making direct contact a complicated matter.

“Ha ha, you don’t know the White Wolf laws. Even if it’s not Kinzello, traitors face only death. And since this is an honorable duel, it cannot be stopped. Jin Runcandel.”

“I know the laws. Sometimes life is more important than laws—that’s why I asked.”

“There isn’t a single coward among the White Wolves!”

“Then I won’t make the mistake of asking if you plan to be a traitor in the future. To your own kind.”

“For a Runcandel, you’re not bad.”

Zzzeong!

Goltep summoned his last reserves of aura. For a moment, he could unleash more power than he truly had.

This technique, known among warriors as ‘Jingi,’ draws all life force to form a blazing aura. Seeing the hammer blaze with aura, Jin took a step back for the first time.

“Well, this was getting fun. You’re not seriously going to fight efficiently at the end, are you?”

If Jin didn’t stand his ground, even burning life force to create aura would be useless. If Jin dodged, Goltep wouldn’t have the strength to grab him and force the fight.

Jin shook his head.

“No, as a fellow warrior, I salute you. I will grant you a fitting end.”

In that moment, Jin recalled his previous battle with Myuron Ziphl.

As Myuron’s hellgate was being severed and he was losing consciousness, there had been a single moment when a certain veil—an obscuring barrier—had flickered.

‘Benda.’

Though no one had ever explained it to him.

Like the ancient Rune Candell swordmasters who gave their all in battle, Jin silently chanted the spell. Benda… Benda, dispel this…

Hiiiii—

Darkness spread along the blade spirit. The blazing spiritual energy enveloped Bradamante, forming a black blade made of shadows.

“Ohhh…!”

Goltep faced that power with awe, as if witnessing something glorious. That energy—the very force that had put Javier, the first head of Rune Candell a thousand years ago, into eternal rest.

Some of the White Wolf tribe considered that power cursed and ominous.

But Goltep believed that meeting the same fate as Javier was the highest honor.

“Come, Jin Rune Candell!”

Benda.

As Jin whispered the incantation and stepped forward—

Like a massive torch toppling, Goltep’s hammer came crashing down. For a brief moment, the cavern was illuminated by the aura’s light, revealing both their faces.

Screeeak!

Bradamante’s black blade swallowed the light and sliced through the hammer.

With a clean cut, the shattered hammer pieces fell to the sides, revealing Jin’s face between them. Meeting his gaze, Goltep smiled wryly.

Shreeeek…!

Half a beat later, Goltep’s body was cleaved in two. Jin sheathed his sword and exhaled heavily.

Looking down at Goltep’s fallen form, Jin bowed briefly in respect, then turned and walked toward Enya.

“That was a fine match, Goltep Hapalleb. Remember that name well.”

With that, he left behind a simple word of condolence.