Episode 335
Chapter 104. Debt, Debt, and More Debt (2)
Neru closed his eyes, looking troubled.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to save the small beastfolk. On the contrary, he wanted to save them even more than Jin. That was why Neru and the Myoin tribe had prepared themselves to face death.
After a moment, as if making up his mind, Neru met Jin’s gaze.
“…Alright. But you have to keep your word. If you feel like you’re going to die, you must run away—no matter what.”
Jin nodded and pulled out the red jewel.
“Meow!”
The summoned Shuri let out a cheerful meow and rubbed his face against Jin’s cheek. Neru’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my god, that’s the witch Helluram’s cat, isn’t it!?”
“You recognize him?”
“I’d heard rumors in the human world’s news that you ride around on a red jewel cat, but I never imagined it was Shuri…!”
“Meow, meow meow meow, meow meow? Meow!”
Though Jin couldn’t understand the meaning, Shuri seemed to recognize Neru as well. In fact, the two were so familiar they even touched noses.
Meow meow, meow, meow, purr…
For a moment, they communicated in their own language, unintelligible to Jin. The sight was so endearing that it almost made the dire situation feel less grim.
Neru’s expression shifted constantly as he talked with Shuri.
When he heard that Shuri had been abandoned by Helluram and cursed with immortality, his face darkened. When he learned that Shuri had been left alone in the Black Sea Forest for a thousand years, tears welled up in his eyes.
But when he heard that Jin had met Shuri and helped him leave that forest, a smile spread across his face.
It wasn’t just Neru—Shuri’s large eyes glistened with moisture, and he purred happily.
When their conversation ended, Neru looked back at Jin with a noticeably lighter expression.
“Shuri has endured a terrible thousand years… Jin Runkandel, I can’t help but think that maybe meeting this little guy was part of Solderet’s plan. For moments like this.”
“Meow!”
The reason Neru’s mood had lifted was simple.
With Shuri by Jin’s side, he could escape from the Phantom Corps anytime.
“You didn’t have to worry about helping the small beastfolk after all. I’d like to talk more with Shuri, but for now, you should go to them.”
Jin climbed onto Shuri’s back.
“Will Neru stay here?”
“I have to maintain the barrier, so I can’t leave. Run to the beach I mentioned earlier, find Lulu, and ask her to send you to the cave—not a safe place, but the cave.”
“Understood.”
Just as Jin was about to set off with Shuri, Neru gently grabbed Shuri’s heel. Jin and Shuri both turned to look at him.
“Thank you, Jin Runkandel.”
He was expressing his gratitude.
“No need to mention it.”
Thanks to riding Shuri, Jin quickly reached Lulu.
Lulu looked just like Neru—so alike that even on close inspection, it was hard to tell them apart. The three twins—Neru, Lulu, and Miru—were the core of the Myoin tribe’s barrier.
“Shuri!? It’s been so long… No, more importantly, how are you still alive…?”
Lulu was as delighted to see Shuri as Neru had been.
But when Jin explained the situation and said he was heading to the cave, Lulu realized there wasn’t time for a long conversation. After a brief greeting to Shuri, she sent Jin back to the Myoin tribe’s cave.
“Once you arrive at the cave, we’ll only have about ten minutes left to maintain the barrier. There’s travel time involved. Once the barrier breaks, they’ll storm the cave immediately, so be careful.”
After two days of relentless attacks by the Phantom Corps, not a single part of the cave remained unscathed.
Every time the connected barrier took a hit, tremors shook the cave, and the interior was thrown into chaos.
The gold-plated rocks were all shattered, and the Watertail tribe’s tools were completely destroyed.
The small beastfolk huddled together beneath hastily strung nets on the ceiling, trembling.
So, when Jin returned, the small beastfolk couldn’t help but look at him like a savior.
“Jin Runkandel!”
“Jin’s here!”
“Wow, Jin’s here!”
Paeng, Suni, and Darkflame shouted in unison. All the small beastfolk’s eyes were fixed on Jin.
Fortunately, none of the small beastfolk were seriously injured yet. Thanks to the nets set up by the Watertail tribe, they had avoided damage from falling rocks.
“Is everyone okay?”
“What happened? Right after you left with the Myoin tribe, chaos broke out… The cave’s entrance is blocked!”
The cave wasn’t blocked because of the attack—it was the barrier.
“Jipl is attacking the Myoin tribe’s barrier. In about ten minutes, it’ll break. Everyone has to run. Grab only what you absolutely need and get out as fast as you can!”
Jin gave a brief explanation.
Why Jipl’s mages were attacking, how the Myoin tribe was holding them off.
He also admitted that the attack was ultimately because of him, but the small beastfolk didn’t blame him at all.
“It’s okay, Jin. We’ll fight, then run…”
“Ugh! Enough with the talk! You Watertails just get ready to run and don’t say a word until you’re safe! See? I told you some of them would realize our cosmetics business is about to blow up! I knew Jipl, Bimant, or Kinzello would come after us sooner or later!”
Paeng clenched his fist and said.
“Okay, okay.”
“We made that ridiculous contract with you for times like this. Seeing you come back with us instead of running alone makes me think it was the right call.”
Paeng spoke as if it were no big deal.
He wanted to keep the other small beastfolk from getting more anxious. But Paeng himself sensed how serious the situation was.
“If the barrier falls, Jipl’s mages will storm the cave or come close. I’ll buy you time—just run.”
There were about 150 small beastfolk inside the cave.
Jin wanted to save them all.
But wondering how to do that was pointless. The reason and purpose behind the Phantom Corps’ attack were still unknown.
You had to know what the enemy wanted to respond properly.
“It’s more likely they want to ruin my business than to sniff out Temar’s tomb. Besides, until last year, I was a 100 million bounty target in the Lutero Magic Federation. Jipl must be furious that I’m openly advertising cosmetics on their land.”
It wasn’t just anger. Since the ads started, most of Jipl’s elders had been so enraged they couldn’t sleep at night.
That was why Jipl had dispatched the Phantom Corps, their elite secret mage unit.
Recently, Jipl’s elders had grown especially hostile toward Runkandel.
Not only had he been a wanted man in the Lutero Magic Federation, but now he was advertising cosmetics on Jipl’s territory. Their fury was understandable.
So the cave raid was justified in their eyes.
“If things go well, I might be able to use this situation to my advantage. If I can rescue the beastfolk safely… maybe I can use the clan as a shield for my business.”
Crack! Crack!
As the small beastfolk hurriedly packed, a sudden sound of splitting and bursting echoed.
It was the sound of the Myoin tribe’s invisible barrier breaking.
After the explosion, a sudden crack appeared in the air. From that fissure, a powerful flow of magic could be felt.
It was the Phantom Corps’ magic.
“Hey, Jin. Our partner! After you save us, you have to get out too!”
Swish!
Jin drew Sigmund.
“Who’s worried about me? Once the barrier breaks, I’ll run straight for the entrance. Judging by the flow of magic, after breaking the barrier, they’ll fall right into the cave. Come on, hurry. Run to the entrance. Once outside, request Runkandel’s protection through the Jan Kingdom. Tell them it’s an order from the 12 Riders.”
Once the barrier falls, the sealed cave entrance will open.
“Got it. You promise to come back alive, right? And don’t think we’ll suffer because of you. That’s not entirely wrong, but we agreed to take this risk together from the start.”
“Jin, don’t get hurt, okay? Thanks!”
“Not ‘thanks’ but ‘thank you’! Enough with the greetings—let’s go, Watertails. We’re just going to get in the way if we stay here.”
“Sorry.”
“Not ‘sorry,’ it’s ‘my bad’… Never mind, let’s go!”
The Gold Snow tribe pushed the Watertail tribe forward.
Jin chuckled softly.
Despite having every reason to resent him, the small beastfolk didn’t blame him. Seeing that, he thought:
I’m glad I came to save them.
As the small beastfolk fled, they looked back several times.
Even those completely unfamiliar with magic could sense it.
How immense the magic entering the cave was as the barrier broke.
“The magic beyond the barrier is this strong… I expected as much, but there’s no chance in a head-on fight.”
Three Phantom Corps.
They were no less formidable than the three Black Knights of Runkandel. Even Luna would struggle against three Black Knights at once.
For Jin, it was obviously impossible.
Still, he judged there might be one chance.
Not just to buy time, but maybe to deal significant damage to the Phantom Corps’ mages—or even kill some of them.
“They don’t know I’m here.”
No matter how formidable the Phantom Legion was, they couldn’t have anticipated that Jin was inside the cave.
Of course, if it were the Phantom Legion, they could have flawlessly adapted to any unexpected variables.
As long as the opponent was strong in a ‘conventional’ way.
Whoooosh…!
A surge of spiritual energy radiated from Jin’s body. In an instant, the energy spread throughout the cave, enveloping Jin like a veil.
This was spiritual energy deployed to erase his presence. Covered by the energy, Jin looked like just another shadow blending into the cave walls.
It brought back memories of the time during intermediate training when they sabotaged the Moonlight Well in Mamit.
The attack Jin was about to launch now was exactly the same method. Completely masking his presence and energy with spiritual power, then striking when the enemy least expected it.
Back then, he had to sit in a tavern room for hours gathering energy, but now, this amount of time was more than enough.
Especially in such a confined, sealed space.
Crackling, sizzling…!
The barrier began to collapse completely.
Flare!
Within the veil of spiritual energy, a tiny spark ignited.
That spark was the very reason Jin had erased his presence.
Even the Phantom Legion couldn’t detect the magical power of that small flame beyond the barrier and the veil of spiritual energy.
Nor could they realize it was the ignition point of the Runkandel Demon Sword Technique’s Flame of Vengeance.
‘As soon as they arrive, I’ll finish this in one swift move. If the Flame of Vengeance hits them by surprise, even the Phantom Legion won’t come out unscathed.’