Episode 285
Chapter 89: Temar’s First Tomb (6)
“Who the hell is Silderay?”
Even during the Storm Star era and the cadet days when Jin had studied his family’s history, he had never heard that name. That was because Ziphl had erased every record related to Silderay.
Still, Silderay’s form hadn’t appeared yet. Beyond the dim space, only an immense, unfathomable aura could be felt.
It was like witnessing a deep-sea monster rising from the ocean’s abyss. Even before facing it, Jin already knew how formidable this enemy was.
A shiver ran down his spine, prickling every hair, mixed with a faint thrill. The pale blade of Sigmund, freshly drawn from its sheath, gleamed faintly in the darkness.
“One of Temar’s Ten Great Knights. You could say he’s the predecessor of the Runcandel Black Knight. His original surname was Zizek, but later he changed it to Runcandel after following Temar.”
“The predecessor of the Black Knight, huh? That’s an interesting story.”
Murakan grimaced at Jin’s casual remark.
“Interesting? In this situation? You’re losing your mind. I’m out of commission right now. If that guardian truly recreates Silderay at his prime, ugh, there’s no way we can handle it. Our chances are bottomless.”
“That’s something we won’t know until we face him. And there’s no guarantee we have to fight, right? We asked if we came to comfort Temar, so maybe he’ll be more… receptive than we expect.”
“No way. That’s not the real Silderay—it’s a guardian made in his image. And guardians exist solely to annihilate intruders.”
The guardian’s aura was steadily drawing closer.
Murakan was right. That aura unmistakably radiated battle intent.
A fierce, overwhelming fighting spirit that felt like his skin was burning with electric fire.
“How strong?”
“What?”
“How strong was Silderay in your memory?”
“Ten-star. Among them, exceptional. Luckily, he wasn’t a pure-blood Runcandel magic swordsman.”
“Let’s hope this isn’t a perfect recreation of his prime. There’s no way to escape this pocket dimension, right?”
“Either by infusing the key with an equal amount of spiritual energy or by having the guardian guide us out. It has to be one of those.”
“Alright, then it’s a fight we can’t avoid. Let’s settle this first, then think.”
Jin took his stance.
Watching him, Murakan thought, This crazy kid… seems to be enjoying this.
To some extent, that was true.
Jin felt a sense of satisfaction at the chance to face Silderay—the very origin of the Black Knight.
It wasn’t just pride as a warrior or youthful recklessness.
Soldrett’s arrangements, the trials he left me, were all challenges I was meant to overcome. Besides, opportunities to spar with a ten-star knight don’t come around often.
The assassination mission against Barton Vichena, a ten-star Black Knight spy, was only days away.
Facing a ten-star knight was the perfect way to sharpen his combat instincts—no opponent more fitting than this guardian.
Above all, Jin didn’t share Murakan’s bleak outlook on their chances.
Even in the worst case, I can summon the brothers of Laprarosa. Not ideal, but it’s an option.
Finally, from the dim space beyond, the guardian’s figure emerged.
He wore armor similar to the Runcandel guardian knights. Massive frame, explosive muscles that strained even beneath the armor, and eyes sharp and heavy enough to pierce steel.
Most striking was the greatsword, seemingly larger than his own body.
Heavier than Luna’s axe-sword, that greatsword made it laughable that Silderay’s name had left no mark in history.
Anyone who could wield such a blade at will would surely have their name etched in legend.
The guardian stopped about twenty paces from Jin and Murakan.
He was a guardian formed in the exact same way as Jin’s “Black Light Summoning.”
When certain conditions were met, the dead could temporarily manifest in the living world—Soldrett had forged Silderay’s soul and will into spiritual energy.
Jin and Murakan recognized this immediately upon seeing the guardian.
[I am the guardian of this tomb, Silderay Runcandel.]
“Hey, Silderay! Don’t you recognize me?”
Murakan stepped forward, shouting.
The guardian completely ignored his voice, fixing his gaze on Jin instead.
“Why no answer, Silderay? It’s me, Murakan—the Black Dragon Murakan.”
[I do not know such a lowlife.]
“What? Lowlife…!?”
[Get lost, you.]
“Hah! Listen to that tone. Even if I’ve lost my old power, even if my spiritual energy is drained, you think you can talk to me like that? Silderay, I was your lord Temar’s guardian dragon.”
[…Mention Temar’s name again, and I will cut your head off without warning.]
The guardian seemed to harbor some resentment toward Murakan.
As a perfect replica forged from spiritual energy, he retained all of Silderay’s old memories.
Murakan narrowed his eyes, glaring at the guardian.
He wanted to rush in and thrash him, but even in his prime, that wouldn’t have been easy.
And now, with his spiritual energy depleted, he had no choice but to hold back.
[State your name, last contract of Soldrett.]
“Jin Runcandel.”
Silderay’s gaze deepened.
[…Soldrett kept his promise. Now it is my turn to keep mine.]
Whoosh…!
Silderay swung his greatsword smoothly. The heavy gust scattered Jin and Murakan’s hair.
[As one of the Ten Great Knights, Silderay Runcandel, by the long-standing pact with Soldrett, God of Sword and Shadow, I shall pass on my will to the final contract.]
The passing of will.
Its meaning was simple.
[Contractor Jin Runcandel, prepare yourself to fight me.]
“Guardian Silderay Runcandel, I ask one thing of you.”
Though polite in tone, Jin looked the guardian straight in the eyes, as if issuing an order rather than a request.
[Speak.]
“Murakan is currently unable to fight. Could you please spare him from death?”
[That’s a matter for the lowlife to handle.]
“Thank you.”
That was enough. Murakan’s pride might be bruised, but it was unavoidable.
[Accept humbly whatever outcome follows.]
No sooner had the words ended than the guardian’s greatsword flashed with light.
It was literally just a brief gleam.
But that was the effect of the greatsword moving—no one would believe such a massive blade could move so swiftly without seeing it firsthand.
Screech, KRAAANG!
The clash between the greatsword and Sigmund sent a deafening roar through their heads.
The floor, seemingly made of solid stone, cracked and shattered, the broken stones turning into spiritual energy and vanishing.
Shockwaves tore through the surroundings.
Jin gritted his teeth.
If he hadn’t grown accustomed to the swords of the Laprarosa warriors over the past year, or sparred with Vanessa before, he would have been stunned the moment they clashed.
Incredible…!
The guardian’s strike carried the weight of a mountain pressing down and the sharpness of shattered obsidian simultaneously.
Murakan had already been sent flying far away, his body lifted by the shockwave, tumbling across the ground.
Fortunately, he avoided fatal injury. After barely landing, he cursed bitterly and began retreating from the battlefield.
The guardian made no effort to pursue him.
Strike after strike followed.
Each clash brought bone-crushing, flesh-tearing agony. Yet despite the pain, Jin’s body absorbed the impact with elastic resilience.
My training hasn’t been in vain.
Ten-star—the step just before the rank of War Saint.
Whether this guardian perfectly recreated Silderay’s prime or not was unclear, but even his simple attacks carried the power of a ten-star.
Comparable to Vanessa or the War Saints of the Dark King’s clan.
Jin was facing these attacks with pure swordsmanship alone.
But I can’t find an opening to counterattack.
That was the problem.
He was so focused on defense that no chance to strike back appeared. The guardian’s greatsword flashed in half a dozen directions every second, relentlessly pressuring Jin.
In other words, the guardian was clearly and overwhelmingly stronger.
Facing a stronger opponent was nothing new.
When meeting a formidable foe, Jin always turned the tide through unexpected moves. He relied on the fact that his opponent didn’t know all his weapons, responding calmly based on that.
Flash cannons, Multa’s runes, the Dark King’s lightning, spiritual energy—his trump cards had always yielded excellent results.
But would those work against a ten-star knight?
Jin had already concluded “no” during his trial with Vanessa. She had dismissed flash cannons and the Dark King’s sword as mere curiosities, easily breaking through them.
For warriors who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, variables hardly existed. Unless a technique was as profound as theirs, it was just a matter of time before it was countered.
I have to unleash my full battle spirit from the start. Nothing else will work.
Of course, his ordinary strikes like the Lightning Slash or Suppression were by no means weak.
But Jin still couldn’t unleash those powers at a ten-star level. Clumsily trying to finesse or set traps with them would only backfire.
“First, I need to summon Tess to buy some time, then use the War God’s Corrosion to secure my territory… Damn it, the dimensional gate won’t open! Is this another dead world…?”
Even after performing the summoning ritual to open the Flame Realm, the dimensional gate refused to materialize.
Jin had already experienced several times that dimensional gates simply wouldn’t open in a “dead world.”
This pocket dimension, painstakingly crafted by Solderet, was one such dead world.
Reluctantly, Jin hastily tried summoning with the black call technique—but the result was the same. No form of summoning could be realized in a dead world.
[It seems you tried something, but it all ended in failure. Still, I must commend you for keeping your composure.]
The guardian swung his greatsword with even greater ferocity.
It was then that Jin finally took a step back. The gap between them was becoming painfully clear.
Strength, precision, experience—naturally, the guardian outmatched Jin in every way.
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Jin’s mouth.
It was just a cut inside his mouth from the impact; no internal organs were damaged.
“Damn it. I never expected this place to be a dead world too. From now on, whenever I arrive in an unfamiliar space, I’ll have to check if summoning is even possible first.”
Jin steadied his breathing.
Though his worst-case options had been completely shut down, it wasn’t over yet.
“Thinking about the mission in a few days, I really don’t want to use this…”
Fzzt, fzzzt, kazik—!
A sudden surge of brainwaves began to ripple violently inside his psychic core.
If this failed too, the only options left would be to run—and pray.