Chapter 174
Episode 58: The Mirage of the Mitra Desert (Part 2)
“Ka-gang! Chang!”
Heitona’s chained sword lashed out like a whip. Unlike an ordinary longsword, the chained sword boasted an impressively long reach.
The strikes were heavy—so much so that the shock traveling down the blade made Jin’s palm tingle. The swordsmanship seemed roughly on par with what Jin expected from the current Tona brothers.
“If this is real, I’d believe it. Even Murakan probably didn’t expect the mirage to work like this.”
Jin had never heard of such a magic or power existing in the world before.
Even if it was a mirage forged by some divine power…
If you couldn’t dodge or block it, you’d be cut down. The moment he parried the attack, a shiver ran down his spine.
“Not bad at blocking,” Heitona said with a smile. Then, Deitona charged forward.
His weapon was a greatsword, slightly smaller than the axe-sword Krantel. It must have been incredibly heavy, yet Deitona’s movements were surprisingly light as he ran with the greatsword hanging loosely.
Sssssk, bang!
The greatsword scraped the sand before snapping upward like lightning. Jin stepped back, parrying horizontally, and immediately felt that his strength wasn’t what it usually was.
Deitona hesitated for only a moment after his attack was blocked, then pressed on with the next strike.
“Normally, one blow would break his stance. Too bad.”
Jin had been eating only about 20% of his usual intake while trekking through the harsh desert for a week. His body simply couldn’t be at full strength.
Right now, Jin’s skill level was enough to subdue the real Tona brothers within five minutes. But his depleted stamina had narrowed the gap considerably.
“Surprised? We’ve been waiting for you to get tired!” Heitona shouted, extending his chained sword again.
As the Tona brothers launched a coordinated attack, Jin’s movements grew even busier. Their teamwork was relentless: the chained sword probed for openings at mid-range, while the heavy greatsword struck with crushing blows.
“Meeting like this after so long, and you guys just attack out of nowhere, huh?”
Jin’s eyes darted rapidly in all directions, searching for the gap between the chained sword and the greatsword.
“Shut up!”
“Die!”
Clang! Clash! Three different blades collided, sparks flying.
Despite his low stamina, Jin’s aura was overwhelmingly dominant. The blazing sword flames forced the chained sword and greatsword to recoil mercilessly.
“Their coordination is perfect. When you try to push one away, the other attacks like a demon.”
But that was all there was to it.
The eighteen-year-old Tona brothers hadn’t exceeded Jin’s expectations at all. Their synchronized movements were impressive, but they lacked a powerful finishing blow.
Like Jin, they were still apprentice warriors. They hadn’t yet mastered the decisive Rune Kandel technique that could turn the tide.
“If I were at my peak, I could take them down in three minutes, not five. If the real Tona brothers are only this strong, I must have overestimated them.”
Even if they weren’t at full strength…
The skill gap was still enormous.
Recalling how harshly the Tona brothers had treated him in his past life, Jin felt a surge of frustration.
He thought he’d had his revenge since the Storm Star days in this life, but apparently not. Jin glared at the brothers with eyes full of deadly intent.
“Get serious. I’m about to lose my temper.”
“You’re spouting nonsense again.”
“Still not over it? Don’t get cocky just because you beat us before.”
Whoosh, vroom!
The chained sword and greatsword crossed in an X, aiming for the top of Jin’s head. This strike was more condensed with aura than before, but Jin didn’t dodge.
He had already analyzed it. Their aura barely reached mid-five-star level.
Even with less stamina, that wasn’t threatening.
Bang!
Jin swung Bradamante upward with all his might. The clash of the crossed swords and Bradamante echoed like thunder, forcing the brothers to step back reflexively.
Jin then kicked up the sand. Swish! The pale sand spread like a net, momentarily obscuring his body.
The brothers quickly regained their stance, covering each other’s weaknesses and waiting for Jin’s counterattack. But as the sand settled, there was nothing where Jin had stood—only the deep blue sky above.
Seizing the brief cover, Jin grabbed the side of one of the Tona brothers.
“Ugh!”
Deitona reacted first, raising his greatsword horizontally to block Bradamante. But in his rush to stop the blade aimed at his face, he made the mistake of blocking his own vision with the sword again—an opening Jin was quick to exploit.
Screech!
Jin sliced into Deitona’s thigh, blood splattering across the sand. Jin wondered if this was really a mirage.
He decided not to hesitate. Even if they were the real Tona brothers, the fact remained—they had tried to kill him.
“Deitona!”
Heitona spun around, grabbing Deitona’s neck and pulling him back. At the same time, he lashed out with the chained sword, but Jin responded with a precise thrust, just like when he parried the nameless hook.
Clang! A shard of the chained sword’s blade caught on Jin’s tip. The sword stiffened instantly, like a snake pierced by a needle, and slipped from Heitona’s control.
Jin thrust again, aiming for the neck, but Heitona turned his head just in time to avoid being pierced.
Still, the blade grazed Heitona’s eye.
“Ahhh!”
Blood poured from Heitona’s eye as he staggered back. Seeing this, Jin clenched his teeth without realizing it.
He had taken one of the brothers’ eyes. Though he had resolved not to hesitate, a strange, painful feeling clawed at his chest—very different from when he had cut Deitona’s thigh.
An eye, unlike a thigh, could never fully heal once damaged.
“Heitona, your eye…!”
“I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!”
Could this really be a mirage?
The enraged, venomous faces shouting curses were unmistakably the Tona brothers themselves.
Was it really okay to cut them down now?
“Why am I even thinking like this? Real or fake, they’re trying to kill me.”
The tide had already turned decisively in Jin’s favor. If he wanted, he could end it quickly.
So why did his chest feel like it was filled with molten iron, and his mind so clouded?
“Do I actually not want to fight the Tona brothers? Did I hope, because we spent time together during the Storm Star and academy days, that they might be on my side?”
Had he hoped for a different relationship than in his past life? Like with Luna or Yona?
Looking back, he hadn’t shared many good memories with the Tona brothers in this life either.
At Storm Star, they had looked for any chance to bully him before beating him up. The same was true in the lower and middle academy classes.
Still, why did his heart ache?
“Hey, youngest! Are you okay…!?”
“Did Father say he’d save you? Why did you get involved in this mess?”
“Even the brothers have their cute sides sometimes. I’m fine. But hey, brothers, I need a favor.”
That was the conversation they had when, breaking the rules for apprentice warriors, Jin and Luna went to find Siron.
Except for Luna, none of the brothers had ever shown any real concern for Jin. Jin didn’t know it, but Mary had hoped her youngest sibling wouldn’t die.
But that was as far as it went. If he died, so be it. If he survived, they looked forward to the day they could fight him properly.
Only the Tona brothers had approached Jin. They had hidden quietly beneath Siron’s study, then timidly come forward to ask if he was okay, why he had caused such trouble.
They had been so anxious they’d bitten their nails to the quick. After seeing those nails, Jin sometimes smiled when he thought about it.
“I’ll tear you limb from limb! Damn you, you bastard…!”
“Ahhh!”
Those were the Tona brothers who now screamed curses at Jin, swinging their swords to kill him for no reason.
And yet, their eyes were filled with fear. Like frightened dogs barking loudly but no longer daring to attack recklessly.
They had realized they were no match for Jin. So, out of fear and anger, they only spat insults.
Jin’s gaze darkened as he studied the Tona brothers quietly.
“I have to cut them down.”
Mirage or not, he had to cut them down.
Otherwise, he couldn’t move forward.
Because he was Rune Kandel.
Bradamante’s blade shimmered with spiritual energy.
“Sorry.”
“Shut up!”
“I wasn’t strong enough. I hurt you brothers. From now on, there will be no more pain.”
Jin stepped forward slowly, and the brothers retreated. They looked around anxiously, knowing they were cornered.
This was the desert.
No place to hide, no place to breathe, no place to retreat.
“Don’t come any closer…!”
“Damn it, get lost!”
The Tona brothers’ voices had turned shrill and desperate, trembling with fear.
Jin didn’t avoid their gaze. With every step closer, something inside him seemed to crumble.
They were within striking distance.
Just as Jin hesitated to swing Bradamante, Heitona let out a scream and lunged forward with the chained sword.
Tense and unsteady, Jin swung out a clumsy strike. Instinctively, he parried the chain sword, twisting its trajectory, and slipped into Heitona’s guard.
Screech…!
Before Heitona’s head could even hit the ground, Deitona’s greatsword came flying in. Jin dodged to the side, slashed the wrist, then stabbed through the neck.
Thud.
Without even a scream, the blood of the Tona brothers spilled, staining the desert red. Jin stared blankly at the scene for a long moment.
The bodies didn’t disappear, even after a long time.
“Why… won’t you vanish, mirage?”
An hour passed, and still nothing changed.
So, in the heart of the desert, Jin dug a grave and laid the brothers side by side.
He planted the chain sword and greatsword they had wielded in place of tombstones, then resumed his journey, his fists trembling uncontrollably.
Not long after, as if by some cruel trick, an oasis appeared.
Jin buried his face in the water for a long time. Soon, his red eyes reflected on the surface as he unstrapped all his canteens to refill them.
Unbeknownst to Jin, hidden within the barrier of the great desert,
a woman quietly watched him.
“Yes, killing your own kin should be a painful thing.”
With hair as black as Murakan’s night, the woman was Murakan’s sister—
Misha, the Black Dragon.
“Well chosen, Soldieret,” she murmured to herself.
With a flick of her hand, the two swords planted at the Tona brothers’ grave crumbled to dust.
Then, as the wind swept away all traces of the mirage, only pale sand remained where Jin and the Tona brothers had fought.