Chapter 274
Episode 87. Siblings (5)

It felt as if molten lava was boiling inside his head and chest. His blood raced, and he clenched his teeth so hard his jaw throbbed.

But it wasn’t the pain from being battered by explosions and flying shrapnel that caused it.

It was the sudden surge of anger directed at Mary.

“Pfft!”

He spat out blood-tinged saliva and tore off the charred scraps of clothing stuck to his burning skin. The searing heat was unbearable, but it was nothing compared to the shards of metal embedded deep between his flesh.

His bones rattled in a few places, but thanks to his blessed body and the warrior’s blood coursing through him, he avoided any fatal damage to his organs.

Truly.

Jin wanted to kill his third sister.

Whether she sensed it or not, Mary brushed her disheveled hair back with the palm of her hand, wearing an innocent expression.

“You want to kill me?”

He nodded.

“Where did you learn such pretty words…? Come on, then! Bring it on!”

Mary’s face lit up with joy at the fierce killing intent radiating from Jin.

Somehow, it felt like something Yona would say, but Mary had never secretly left him a twisted black rose or anything like that.

Except for the gift of the Phoenix Heart, Jin owed her little.

And by now, he had repaid almost all of that debt.

“Let me ask you one thing first.”

“What is it?”

“Judging by your reactions so far, it seems you’re quite satisfied. How about I get one chance too? Why don’t you return Bradamante now and we end this?”

Mary’s joyful expression vanished instantly, replaced by a serious look.

“That’s impossible. Satisfied? Far from it! We’re nowhere near done.”

“Understood. Then I’ll consider my debt fully paid. And I’m starting to wonder—are you truly insane, or just pretending to be? If it’s the latter, begging later won’t help.”

Crackle…!

Sigmund flared with blue lightning as it absorbed the electric energy.

Mary, pulling out the shards of metal embedded in her body, caught sight of the new power Jin had just unleashed and nearly screamed with joy.

Though it was only yesterday that the family learned Jin was the contractor of Solderette, his use of mysterious electric energy had already been revealed during the Holy Kingdom incident.

So Mary was more curious about his electric energy than his spirit energy. Before Bamel’s identity was revealed, both Ziphl and Bimont had coveted that electric power. Just how strong was it?

“Show me quickly…”

Shimmer!

Before she could finish speaking, a bolt of lightning struck down on the crown of Mary’s head.

The Lightning Slash of the Dark King’s Sword.

Like the Spirit Sword, it was a blade Jin had honed daily in Laprarosa. The lightning now carried an even denser electric energy than before.

Crash!

A crater formed where the lightning struck. Instinctively, Mary dodged with a footwork technique and countered with her chained sword.

Jin had no intention of holding back anymore.

Mary had been the first to use a ruthless move in this sparring match between riders—not a life-or-death battle, just a duel between siblings.

And that was Jin’s specialty.

Crackle, whirr—! Dodging and parrying the persistent electric strikes, Mary prepared to close the distance once again.

‘Is the youngest planning to finish this from a distance? Well, if I were him, after sustaining such injuries, I’d choose to wield lightning like that too. Keep striking until I find an opening, then fire a sword strike.’

Mary had forgotten one thing.

Jin wasn’t just a warrior who wielded electric energy—he was a magic swordsman.

‘Why is he suddenly closing the distance? Is he confident in close combat? Or is controlling lightning too much for him?’

Since Jin left for testing during his apprentice rider days, enemies only became aware of his magical abilities after experiencing this magic.

The lost ancient light magic of a great mage erased from history by Ziphl.

Flash Cannon.

Flash!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, light burst from Jin’s palm, and Mary instinctively groaned.

‘My eyes… they feel like they’re burning! Right, he’s a magic swordsman!’

Even so, she had reflexively shielded her eyes the moment the Flash Cannon fired.

In Laprarosa, Jin hadn’t only mastered the Spirit Sword and the Dark King’s Sword. He had endured brutal training that nearly caused magical backlash multiple times, and as a result, his current magic level was late 8-star.

Thanks to that, the power of Flash Cannon had nearly reached the level once displayed by the prime Chenmi. Without anticipating and properly defending against it, anyone would be in trouble.

A genius among geniuses had reincarnated, overcome countless trials, encountered all sorts of fateful encounters, and never once settled for his achievements.

Could Jin really be weaker than Mary?

Scratch!

Naturally, Jin didn’t miss the moment Mary flinched. He immediately switched the Lightning Slash into a piercing strike aimed at the back of her neck.

Shing!

‘Wow, he really means to kill me…!’

As the blade grazed her neck, Mary realized this was no mere threat. But even that felt like a lottery ticket she’d bought long ago turning into a huge jackpot.

Crack!

This time, Jin’s low kick struck Mary’s thigh. She staggered, losing her stance again, and Jin switched the Lightning Slash back to a thunder strike.

“Ugh!”

Mary cried out as the lightning missed, but she was also a rider of Runkandel.

She struck the side of Sigmund with her fist and headbutted Jin.

It was a clash of bare heads and Multa’s rune.

Multa’s rune was an artifact that could easily deflect a 7-star knight’s strike, but surprisingly, Jin felt his head ringing from the shock spreading inside his helmet.

‘Crazy, what kind of headbutt was that!’

If they had the same bare head, Jin would have taken more damage.

But that wasn’t all. Despite having a chained sword, Mary chose to block Sigmund with her fist and headbutt him—this was only preparation for a truly effective strike.

Swish, scratch!

The deflected chained sword slashed across Jin’s chest. At the same time, Mary’s wrist was cut by Sigmund, almost causing her to drop her sword.

If you explained that this bloody fight was a duel between siblings meeting for the first time in four years, with no grudge or affection, anyone would find it hard to believe.

But add the footnote, “They’re riders of Runkandel,” and they might just nod in understanding.

This was the true face of the hierarchy war the ancestors had hoped for since Temar.

“Die!”

Mary snarled, eyes blazing. Despite her many wounds, her sword strikes only grew fiercer.

Jin matched her blow for blow with Sigmund. When Mary swung, sharp shards of aura scattered; when Jin struck, electric energy crackled.

The offense and defense were evenly matched. In a single second, Sigmund and the serpent sword traced multiple arcs, but cleanly landing a hit without being countered was rare.

If one was cut, the other was too. The first to lose focus would suffer a fatal blow and fall.

“Hahaha! Your blade is chillingly cold, little brother!”

Of course, each hid a secret weapon.

Mary hadn’t used her ultimate technique, and Jin hadn’t unleashed his warrior’s spirit.

‘If I use my warrior’s spirit… my sister will really die.’

It was possible he might fall to her ultimate technique.

The devastating power of a Runkandel ultimate technique could easily lead to that outcome.

But the important thing was that Jin still had more cards to play.

The Spirit Sword newly passed down by the Twin Kings, the Dark King’s Sword technique personally taught by Ban, and magic he hadn’t yet revealed.

Even if he had to use them all—

Did he really have to kill Mary?

Absolutely not.

Though his expression was harsh and his anger so fierce he felt like killing her, the truth was—

Mary had simply acknowledged him.

From the moment Jin returned to the Garden of Swords yesterday, Mary had recognized him as a formidable opponent worthy of facing head-on.

So she had agonized all night, devising a clever plan involving a bomb to win easily the first time and use that as an excuse to fight again later.

In other words, Mary had never once looked down on or hated Jin.

She just wanted to enjoy the fight as an equal rider, an equal warrior, an equal competitor.

Of course, there was no deep, warm affection like Luna or Yona had.

Jin felt the same, so it wasn’t something to debate.

‘Killing my sister just because I’m upset is foolish. I need to make her one of us and prepare for the war with Mother.’

While Jin made that judgment, Mary thought this:

‘Even though I want to settle this with our ultimate techniques, ending this pleasure in one go would be madness. It’s too precious.’

For a moment, their swords paused.

“Hey, little brother!”

Jin wasn’t there yet, but Mary’s affection for her brother was already budding. That’s why she naturally used “my brother” more than “the youngest.”

“Why?”

“I’ll return Bradamante. But first, promise me one thing.”

“What promise do you need? You already said you’d give it back if I was satisfied.”

“Yeah, you’re right—I’m already satisfied. But I want this feeling of fulfillment to last. So let’s tweak the terms a bit. It’s not a bad deal for you either, so just hear me out.”

“Fine, go ahead and say it.”

“After sparring a bit, it’s clear that if we’re going to settle this properly, one of us has to die, right? But there’s no reason for us to kill each other just to prove a point.”

“Even if there’s no reason, there’s principle. This is part of the hierarchy war.”

“Sure, there’s principle. But no grudge. So, Bradamante, how about we fight like this every day until one of us completely dominates the other? Then we’ll have a real winner.”

“Has our family ever called such half-hearted fights ‘settling the score’? If we’re going to fight, one of us should die. Besides, who was the one shouting ‘You’re dead!’ earlier? Who dropped the bomb?”

“Fair enough. I like you, that’s all. But I can see why you’d misunderstand. I was just fired up when I shouted that. Hmm… how do I explain this so you’ll understand?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because I’m anxious! Honestly, I don’t want this to end in just one fight. Hey, little brother, don’t you hate fighting with your sister?”

I didn’t hate it—not when winning meant either breaking the other’s will or giving them what they wanted.

But fighting like this every day? That was a problem.

“Alright, then let’s do it like this.”

“Spit it out, quickly.”

“First, no more daily fights. You can only fight me when I want to.”

“Hmm… what else?”

“Every fight’s outcome is decided by who passes out first. The one who falls loses, and the loser must carry out one order from the winner. Of course, we’ll draw up a contract to make sure no one backs out.”

“I like that. Contracts are a bit of a hassle, but fine.”

“And you took Bradamante by force instead of the proper way, right? After you return the sword, make sure I’m not held responsible for anything.”

“You didn’t even have to say that—I was planning on it anyway. But you have to fight me at least once a week.”

“Once a year.”

“No conscience, huh? No, once a month.”

“Five months.”

“Two months.”

“Three months. Let’s settle on that.”

“Deal.”

Surprisingly, Mary accepted the proposal without hesitation.

She knew that if they fought every day like this, neither of them would last. To stay in peak condition, she figured they needed at least a month’s rest between bouts.

Plus, with her duties as a rider, she couldn’t focus solely on training, so once every three months was just right.

“Alright then, let’s finish up the contract we started, little brother!”

“Got it.”

After that, the two of them launched into a brutal, bloody battle that lasted thirty minutes.

They were carried side by side to the infirmary and had to undergo intensive treatment all day.

When it was over, Mary wore a blissful expression, like someone who’d just woken from a happy dream.