Chapter 215
Episode 70: A Fateful Bond (Part 1)

Just moments ago, the island had been bathed in a dazzling blue aura, but now it all felt like a cruel illusion.

The lightning, the fires it sparked, the howling winds, the raindrops—everything that made up the island was sinking into darkness.

“Khahaha!”

Suddenly, Murakan threw his arms wide and laughed maniacally, his eyes shining with pure ecstasy. His booming laughter shook the entire island, triggering tremors and churning the nearby seas into a violent frenzy.

‘I’ve heard countless tales about how formidable he was at his peak… but this is only half of that level?’

Jin swallowed his awe silently.

Granted, his own spiritual energy had been added, and Murakan had been gathering power for a full ten minutes. But the dragon standing before him now was no longer the foolish companion he’d known.

The overwhelming presence was almost reverential. The title Murakan often claimed for himself—“The Great”—suddenly felt entirely justified.

Murakan’s form dissolved into black particles, scattering into the air.

Then, the spiritual energy swirling around converged where Murakan had stood, shaping into the true form of a black dragon.

[It’s not quite what it was in the old days, but it far exceeds my expectations. Very satisfying!]

With a flap of his wings, Murakan looked down at Julian.

Though his dragon face revealed little expression, it seemed to sneer.

[From now on, I’ll be the one playing with you, incarnation of Feitel.]

[The creature born of Soldret’s blood has quite the sharp tongue, doesn’t it? What did you learn from your god?]

Julian retorted, summoning a bolt of lightning.

Or rather, he tried to. But for some reason, the lightning barely flickered—a tiny blue spark in the darkness of the spiritual energy—before fading away entirely.

“What…!?”

Suppressing his shock, Julian tried again, but the result was the same. His divine power refused to manifest.

Murakan waited silently for a while.

He let Julian make enough attempts to summon lightning, to feel the despair. Despite dozens of tries, his face flushed red with effort, the island remained shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

Julian wasn’t the only one losing his power.

Sigmund had fallen silent as well. Even Gram’s lingering spirit was affected by the spiritual energy’s release.

“This can’t be… this can’t be happening…”

When Jin had called upon Tess and spoken the name of the half-spirit, Julian had felt a “fear from the past.” A momentary recoil from an old trauma, not genuine terror.

But Murakan, having completed the spiritual energy release, was different.

Julian had never heard of a creature capable of fundamentally blocking a god’s divine power.

[Don’t lose your dignity. If a god trembles just because their power is blocked, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for your opponent?]

Murakan lowered his head and spoke to Julian. Facing him head-on, Julian stumbled backward, falling hard on his backside. Then, scrambling to his feet, he turned and crawled away in desperation.

An unthinkable disgrace for a god, even in an incarnation form.

Watching this, Murakan quietly sharpened his claws.

[You said you can’t die even if your body is torn to pieces… Then what were all those gods who’ve been slain until now? Answer me, incarnation.]

“G-get lost! Just go away!”

“You still don’t get it. Now’s not the time for such whining…”

With a swift slash, Murakan’s massive claw—moving with the speed of light—cut a clean line across Julian’s body. The strike was so silent and precise, it was hard to believe it came from a dragon’s claw.

“Kyaaah! Agh!”

Julian screamed as his upper and lower halves were severed. Murakan, showing no emotion, slashed repeatedly, chopping his body into pieces.

After a few seconds, the screams stopped.

Then, moments later, Julian’s remains scattered into particles and reformed his body.

“Ugh… ugh!”

Julian clutched his battered form and looked up at Murakan.

“P-please… don’t do this. No matter how much I’ve descended into this incarnation, I am still a god. I swear by the name of the storm—if you let me go…”

Murakan shook his head, cutting him off.

“Thunder, maybe. But the name of the storm holds no value. And I already told you—keep your dignity. Though, I suppose it’s a bit late for that.”

“What do you mean it has no value? I’ve even dined with your god!”

“A god screaming that he is a god himself? That’s a first for me. Have some shame and endure it.”

“Nooo!”

Murakan’s claws tore into Julian’s body again.

From then on, it was a relentless cycle of slaughter and resurrection. Murakan kept slicing without pause, and Julian couldn’t even mount a counterattack.

“St-stop… enough.”

Even Jin, watching, felt chills run down his spine. He couldn’t imagine the despair of being endlessly torn apart and cut down, powerless in the darkness of spiritual energy.

“How tiresome.”

Murakan finally spoke dryly, long after.

Julian no longer screamed. Like a piece of meat that had been thoroughly processed, he remained still each time he was resurrected.

“Murakan, isn’t it about time to finish this?”

“Almost.”

“Is he going to die?”

“No. Instead, the pain will repeat endlessly until the incarnation breaks. Feitel’s spirit will leave, and that man named Julian will become an ordinary contractor again.”

“And after that?”

“That’s for you to decide. You can kill the unconscious Julian after the forced incarnation release, or capture him. There’s no way he’ll be sent back to your brother, so you have to choose.”

“Of course, I’ll capture him. Along with Kuzan and Berys.”

Jin didn’t expect those three to hold all the key information about their master. But even one meaningful piece would be enough.

“I’m not sure if Kuzan and Berys are still alive. Julian looked barely able to dodge that lightning earlier.”

Slash!

Murakan slashed Julian again.

Though his body reformed each time, the blue glow in Julian’s eyes was fading.

A sign the incarnation was about to break.

“I need to seal the deal.”

Meanwhile, Murakan’s eyes began to glow black.

In an instant, the spiritual energy spread across the island was absorbed into his eyes, like black pearls. Faint traces of Feitel’s divine power lingered within.

The island was regaining its light.

First, the sky cleared, revealing moonlight, the dawn’s faint glow, and the retreating storm clouds. Then the forest, trees, and rocks regained their natural colors, and the grave of the thunder god Gram reappeared.

Except for Gram’s grave, no shadows remained on the land. Everything had been completely absorbed during the spiritual energy release.

When Murakan transformed back into human form, shadows returned to the ravaged earth.

“Phew, it’s been a while since I really pushed myself.”

Crack, crack… creak…

Cracks appeared in the trees and stones. Soon, they crumbled into sand, carried away by the wind. Beneath it all lay Julian’s body, collapsed as if dead.

The incarnation was completely undone.

“He won’t wake up for at least a week. Maybe even half a year if it’s bad.”

Passing by Gram’s grave to check on Julian’s condition, Sigmund still showed no sign of response.

“Just like you said, he’s alive. I should check on Kuzan and Berys too…”

Thud!

Suddenly, Murakan collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Murakan!”

Jin rushed over, but Murakan waved him off.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Damn, my body just can’t keep up.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yeah. It’s a good thing I released the incarnation when I did, or it would’ve been a real headache. Fighting gods feels so unfair. Even if it’s inefficient, it can’t get any worse. Though, they can’t use their full power either.”

“You did well.”

“You too. Anyway, thanks to the compass, we got the job done right.”

Jin reached out to help him up.

Murakan tried several times to grasp his hand and stand, but he was utterly exhausted.

“Ugh! I can’t get up. I need to rest a bit. Bring out Shuri—I’m going to lie down and sleep for an hour.”

“Just keep sleeping. When I find Kuzan and Berys, I’ll handle it and bring them back on Shuri.”

Vroom…

Jin summoned Shuri from the red jade.

[Meow!]

Unfortunately, Shuri immediately started pawing at Murakan, playing with him. But when she saw how worn out he was, she licked him gently.

Murakan promptly passed out.

Jin watched for a moment before setting off to find Kuzan and Berys.

‘By the way, Joshua… That bastard made Kuzan and Berys believe I was the one who killed Taimun. It’s a lie that’ll be exposed eventually. He just wanted to use Kuzan and Berys without linking them to me.’

It was exactly as expected. Joshua had turned Kuzan and Beris into his loyal dogs, intending to use them only for tasks that didn’t require direct confrontation with Jin. The moment they faced Jin, there was a high chance he’d catch on to the truth and start asking questions.

But Jin’s unexpected arrival at Cheongsae Archipelago shattered that plan.

On top of that, one of Joshua’s secret assets, Yulian, had been exposed and was now on the verge of being captured. Jin’s visit to Cheongsae Archipelago was, in many ways, a disaster for Joshua.

“Kuzan! Beris!”

Jin called out their names loudly. Despite the island’s rocks, trees, and all cover being swept away by the spiritual energy, there was no sign of them.

‘Should I check the nearby cliffs?’

As Jin was deciding where to search next, a sudden, familiar, distant scream echoed from the direction where Murakan was.

It was Shuri’s cry.

“Shuri?”

Something felt wrong.

Just moments ago, Shuri had been innocently licking Murakan. Now, a sharp wave of unease tightened Jin’s chest, and he sprinted back the way he came toward his companions.

When he arrived, he was met with an unexpected figure.

Jet-black hair, sharp eyes, and a robe embroidered with the mark of the ‘Black Sword.’ Shuri’s fur was bristling as she glared at him, and he nodded with a hint of amusement before shifting his gaze to the newly arrived Jin.

“What brings you here, brother?”

The eldest son of the Runcandel family, a second-generation elite, and openly spoken of as the next head of the family.

The very man who had cursed Jin.

Joshua Runcandel.