Chapter 287
Episode 89: Temar’s First Tomb (8)
It was absurdly colossal.
No other words came to mind.
No matter how Jin lifted his gaze, it was nearly impossible to discern where the enormous greatsword—transformed by Aura—actually ended.
The blade was tens of times larger than the wielder himself, yet the Guardian casually supported it with both hands.
‘What on earth… can this even be called a sword?’
Jin prided himself on rarely being fazed by anything.
But this time, even he couldn’t hide his shock.
The Guardian’s greatsword wasn’t just terrifying in length; its width was so vast it felt almost brutal.
This grotesque expansion was entirely made of Aura.
Though the three spikes had already pierced through the shield, they couldn’t stab the Guardian because they couldn’t overcome the repulsive force radiating from the greatsword.
Then the Guardian smiled triumphantly.
He was pleased to see the expression of his successor, who faced the culmination of a lifetime’s work.
[This is the secret technique known as the King of Greatswords. No matter how formidable they are, everyone who sees it for the first time wears a dazed look just like you.]
Jin couldn’t respond, his eyes flicking between the Guardian and the massive blade.
The battle seemed to have momentarily paused.
But that was only on the surface; beneath, their energies clashed fiercely, each pushing against the other.
It was a kind of balance.
Between two forces so evenly matched, the first to lose focus would face a grim fate.
Hoo… hoo…
Jin carefully regulated his breathing. As he controlled the unstable light core in his chest—strained from wielding his own technique—blood trickled from every orifice on his face.
[King of Greatswords?]
The name made perfect sense. Anyone would nod in agreement. Surely, no greater greatsword existed in the world.
As far as Jin knew, among the ten decisive techniques, seven secret arts, and three ultimate moves in Runcandel, none took this form.
Since Ziphl had erased all history of Silderay Runcandel, the legendary ‘King of Greatswords’ had also faded into obscurity.
[It took me days to come up with that name for Temar. Isn’t it magnificent?]
[I’m not sure.]
[Then that’s a shame.]
Gwooooh…!
Aura surged again around the Guardian.
The rising energy twisted into dozens of rope-like strands, wrapping tightly around the greatsword.
This colossal blade—more like a mass of Aura—was being supported and prepared to be swung.
Kraaak!
The Guardian roared.
Just as Jin’s own blade was enveloped in lightning energy, the Guardian’s entire body was dyed pure white with Aura.
But unlike Jin, he seemed to have become one with the greatsword.
Countless warriors had said that becoming one with one’s weapon was the ultimate state for a swordsman.
Of course, that was a metaphor. What the Guardian displayed now was something utterly different.
Still, Jin swallowed dryly, a chill running down his spine.
His sense of danger wasn’t from insight as a warrior or intuition honed through countless trials.
It was purely visual.
The overwhelming scale—so immense it seemed impossible for a human to wield—pressed down on him.
‘This is shocking.’
He was certain.
Even if historians left no record, the ‘King of Greatswords’ was a blade remembered through oral tradition for over a thousand years.
At the same time, Jin shuddered at Ziphl’s ability to erase such a staggering weapon from history so thoroughly.
[Endure it!]
Gwooooh…!
The King of Greatswords began its descent to the ground.
Its speed was slow, like the sinking of the midday sun.
Even slower than the single strike Siron had shown Jin when he returned from his preliminary training to the Sword Garden.
Though massive, it seemed like an ordinary person could outrun it with enough effort.
Yet, despite its slow pace, the King of Greatswords was unavoidable.
Not because it defied natural laws like Siron’s strike, but because of the repulsive force binding the three spikes of judgment.
As it descended, that force pressed down on Jin like the weight of a mountain, as if thousands of invisible hands gripped his entire body.
‘Even with the Lightning Sovereign Blade activated, this pressure is overwhelming…!’
Jin could breathe and move only because he had activated the Lightning Sovereign Blade.
His pure Aura alone couldn’t withstand the crushing force radiating from the King of Greatswords.
It was like needing to be recognized by the Sovereign clan to survive within the blade’s lightning energy.
Each step felt unbearably heavy.
Even if he tried to flee, escaping the vast area before the greatsword touched the ground was nearly impossible. No—impossible.
He had to face it head-on.
‘It’s falling so slowly, but there’s no choice but to block it. How long until it hits? Thirty seconds? Twenty?’
He steadied his breath again.
The closer the King of Greatswords came, the more his bones rattled.
At the same time, the cost of wielding the incomplete Lightning Sovereign Blade accelerated.
‘My body’s reaching its limit.’
The lightning energy coloring Jin’s eyes and hair visibly faded.
As the blade’s power threatened to collapse, the Guardian’s Aura glowed ever brighter.
When Silderay Runcandel was alive, warriors praised him as:
“Monstrous Strength. Silderay of Monstrous Strength.” A knight with power so extraordinary it was almost unnatural.
He wasn’t even a pureblood Runcandel, so as Jin suspected, he didn’t possess a blessed body.
Yet through sheer accomplishment alone, he had achieved this impossible feat.
Jin’s eyes snapped open as he steadied his stance.
‘These are people who reached the extreme in a single lifetime. Yes, even with the La Prarosa blessing, I can’t yet hope to surpass them. I almost let pride get the better of me.’
Starting with his father, Siron Runcandel.
His eldest sister Luna, Thalaris, Vanessa, Temar… these transcendent warriors had always been enigmas to Jin.
They were towering mountains. Or signposts guiding the path of his life.
And now, he had another signpost: Silderay Runcandel. A regression, a blessing. Ultimately, someone he must surpass.
“Gladly.”
Swoosh—!
The lightning energy of the Lightning Sovereign Blade faded.
The light core, now drained, looked hollow inside.
As Jin lost his awakened power, he coughed up a bright red globule of blood.
Aura backlash, multiple fractures, internal organ contusions.
This was the inevitable outcome of facing the Guardian without the blessing.
A twelve-year-old Runcandel warrior couldn’t stand against the ten greatest knights of the first Runcandel, the strongest in history.
But Jin hadn’t grown strong through regression and blessings alone.
Those were just aids.
What he valued most, the brightest and most precious thing he possessed, was always this:
Will.
An intangible force that kept him from ever dropping his sword, no matter the circumstances.
If the Guardian’s secret art was the legacy of Runcandel’s ancestors illuminating the entire pocket dimension, then Jin’s will was the light carrying on Runcandel’s true lineage.
Then, the moment the King of Greatswords struck the ground.
The Guardian couldn’t help but praise the light of Jin’s will.
Blade met blade.
Two wills, symbolizing the beginning and the end of Runcandel, clashed across time and space.
Something mysterious happened.
[Transmission… complete.]
The Guardian spoke softly after finishing his movement.
A tidal wave of Aura spread before him.
The King of Greatswords rampaged wildly, tearing through the pocket dimension, with Jin standing at its center.
Jin remained frozen in his sword stance like a statue.
He had failed.
His will was unwavering, but his strength was still too weak to break through the King of Greatswords.
But this wasn’t a life-or-death duel.
Nor a cruel spectacle to determine superiority.
It was merely a ritual to pass on the will.
Fssss…
The Aura sweeping through the pocket dimension turned into black particles.
The power that could have torn Jin apart a thousand times scattered like dandelion seeds in the wind.
Reaching out, Jin felt the black particles—spiritual energy—slip softly through his fingers.
Even the Guardian, standing far away, faded into a faint shadow and disappeared.
“…Sir Silderay?”
Jin called out, panic rising in his chest.
He had so many questions: what was Runcandel like in the past? Why had he been erased from history? He wanted to ask after the battle.
But now, he vanished so suddenly.
The particles of spiritual energy drifting like pollen offered no answer.
Instead, as if guided by some intent, they gathered and swirled around Jin in a vortex.
—…
From somewhere far away, a faint murmur could be heard.
It came from the swirling spiritual energy, a sound Jin had never heard before despite all his use of spiritual power.
—…, …da.
—…, gi…, …, eop…
Focusing his mind, Jin realized it was a human voice.
‘Is that Sir Silderay’s voice?’
That faint, fragile voice was saying this:
“Jin, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to leave behind many records.”
Jin’s eyes widened.
“Solderet…?”
It was the voice of Jin’s god, Solderet—the one who hadn’t spoken a single word since just before the regression.
The moment Jin heard that voice, he cried out Solderet’s name like a madman.
But no matter how loudly he shouted, darting through the black particles for a long time, no answer came.
“Jin, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to leave behind many records.”
The same words repeated over and over.
Soon, Jin realized that voice was from a very distant past.
Because within the spiritual energy, another voice could be heard.
“Who are you talking to? Solderet. Jin? Jin… you mean the contractor from a thousand years later you mentioned before?”
“Ah, Temar.”
“Murakan and Misha have been appearing a lot lately, and they’re complaining they’re about to die from the stress. The war with Ziphl is drawing near. You should consider my position too—if those two get hurt, it’ll be a real problem.”
“Don’t mention Jin’s name to those kids.”
“Come on, you said you understood last time. Where’s the trust in that?”
That conversation clearly took place between Solderet and Temar a thousand years ago.
But if they already had a contractor set for a thousand years in the future…
“So, from your perspective, it looks like we’re definitely going to win the war against Ziphl, huh? You’re already worrying about the contractor a thousand years from now.”
“If we lose, do you think Runkandel—the one who’s supposed to contract with you a thousand years from now—would even still exist in this world?”