Episode 387
Chapter 117: Who Is the True Runcandel? (7)
Like a scene straight out of hell, waves of fire roared fiercely, swirling around the two of them.
The flames clung stubbornly to the Runcandels, growing only more intense instead of fading away.
The sword energy that poured from Jin’s blade resembled a blazing inferno—once unleashed, it didn’t easily dissipate, even when blocked.
It bounced and ricocheted like a gust of wind riding the flames, darting unpredictably in every direction.
The wild torrents of sword energy pressed down heavily on the knights who were trying to protect them.
Yet, none of that energy reached Runtia, who stood right in front of Jin.
Her body radiated an aura, a mountain-like force that pushed the sword energy away.
Runtia Runcandel.
Jin knew very little about her. In their past lives, they rarely crossed paths, and even now, their encounters were few and far between.
“Luna’s only sibling she finds difficult to deal with.”
Despite her strangely indifferent attitude toward everything, many still pinned their hopes on Runtia, saying she was more suited to be the next head of the family than Joshua.
“Come to think of it, even in my past life memories, neither father nor mother ever treated Runtia lightly.”
Runtia, Ran, Vigo.
Yes, Mother.
Mew and Ann are responsible for this mess, but as your fellow sword bearers, you three share some of the blame. Especially you, Runtia. I’m deeply disappointed. You will take some time to reflect, and Ran and Vigo must each surrender one sword.
Those were the words Rosa spoke to the sword bearers during their cadet days, right in front of Jin.
At the time, Jin thought the reason only Runtia was punished with “reflection” was simply because she held the rank of third sword bearer.
But that wasn’t the case.
Runtia clearly possessed something special, something different from her siblings.
“Haa.”
Runtia furrowed her brows and let out a sigh.
It wasn’t a sigh born of mockery toward Jin’s words. Once Jin had unleashed his blazing flames, no one present could afford to underestimate him.
Rather, Runtia was simply overwhelmed with frustration at the entire situation.
Jin’s very existence was a serious threat to her long-held goal and attitude of wanting to live peacefully, without unnecessary troubles.
It had been that way since the day she first left the Storm Fortress to seek the Garden of Swords.
A mere ten-year-old brat who immediately got under her siblings’ skin. When Jin was on a mission to Mamit during their cadet days, Runtia even got scolded by Rosa and told to reflect.
During her preliminary sword bearer training, she suddenly broke the rules and caused an uproar in the family. Even during the Empire incident, Jin’s involvement meant she was dispatched.
Looking back, Jin had always been a troublesome whirlwind.
Runtia could say with certainty that in nearly ten years, no one had worn her out more than Jin. Those who knew her temperament never dared provoke her recklessly.
For the first time in a long while, Runtia felt a deep, burning anger rising from within. Nothing in the world irritated her more than someone causing unwanted, excessive ripples in her quiet world.
“This just won’t do, you.”
Flare!
As soon as she finished speaking, the blade, shimmering with azure flames, slashed again into Runtia’s grasp. The massive Bradamante, engulfed in fire, contrasted sharply with Runtia’s slender sword, “Charles.”
At first glance, it looked thin and fragile, as if it might snap at any moment. But the next instant, Runtia’s thrust seemed to paint a phenomenon that didn’t belong to this world.
It was as if a solid beam of light was charging forward.
Swoosh!
The tip of Charles pierced precisely through Bradamante’s blade.
It would be impressive enough to pierce a single thread drifting slowly through the air.
But Runtia’s thrust was far beyond that—it struck a blade falling at supersonic speed. Bradamante was deflected at a right angle, and Jin felt as if his wrist was shattering.
“So this is the third sword bearer of the family…!”
That single strike was enough to explain Runtia.
A speed impossible to track with the naked eye.
A swift sword that could only be countered by predicting the trajectory without missing a single shoulder movement. Amid the scorching heat that could melt the entire training ground, Jin’s spine chilled.
Before he could even blink, another thrust came flying.
Charles brushed across Jin’s cheek, leaving not blood, but flames.
It was as if a sudden gale had erupted right before his eyes. Just as the wind is invisible, so too was Runtia’s slender sword.
A dangerous sensation of something flying relentlessly at an unperceivable speed.
A certainty that if he failed to dodge or parry even once, death was inevitable.
“Familiar.”
It was the feeling he always had when facing a formidable opponent.
Nothing new, nothing to fear. All he had to do was fight back and make his opponent feel the same.
The flames in Jin’s eyes deepened.
“Indeed, you’re fierce.”
Flick, flick!
Charles continued to graze Jin’s body, leaving scratches.
“But it’s not enough to stop me. For someone who said ‘this won’t do,’ I must say I’m disappointed.”
The sword energies riding the flames began to gather, converging at Jin’s will. Like dozens of snipers aiming simultaneously, their movements were perfectly synchronized.
As the sword energies poured toward Runtia, her relentless thrusts slowed.
Though the sword energy had withdrawn, the Runcandels engulfed in the blazing flames had no more breathing room.
The inferno, now reaching its peak, grew even fiercer.
The space once called the “training ground” had almost vanished.
Sunlight streamed through the melted and shattered ceiling, stained by the fire’s glow, and even the bright blue sky above had turned blood red.
Beneath it all, Jin and Runtia’s blades clashed once more.
“Blood flowing as fire from a wound… how strange.”
“It’s no easy feat for my sister to wield such a swift sword.”
“What on earth are you trying to do?”
“I told you—I intend to restore the Runcandel family to its former glory as a family of demon swordsmen.”
Clang, crunch!
It wasn’t the sound of swords clashing, but more like a massive beast gnawing on bones. The shockwaves from their duel distorted the sound and twisted the space around them.
Though their fight seemed evenly matched on the surface, Runtia’s swordsmanship was clearly superior.
That’s why, every time Jin showed a weakness, Runtia kept thinking:
This is it.
This time, it’s really over.
Or is it?
Surely, as their blades skimmed each other, it felt like the end had come several times. When she thought she had pierced his throat, the blade just brushed past his ear. When she thought she had stabbed his heart, flames erupted from his shoulder.
“Why? I clearly saw a weakness in the youngest sibling, so why does Charles only bring futile results?”
It was strange. Even though she perfectly understood the youngest’s movements, the fight wasn’t over.
It was a strange phenomenon—her sword simply wouldn’t touch him.
And a sense of déjà vu washed over her.
“I’ve felt this before when facing Luna.”
Something similar had happened when she crossed swords with Luna.
And back then, Runtia soon found the answer: the reason her sword kept missing wasn’t because of her opponent, but because of herself.
“I… was too bothered by the thought of getting hurt.”
When fighting tough opponents like Luna, Runtia unconsciously chose movements that avoided injury as much as possible.
Getting hurt was more exhausting than anything else in the world, and in such situations, Runtia cared more about getting through the annoying time quickly than about winning.
That’s why her sword strikes became shorter and her steps narrower. Losing moderately was easier than suffering injuries.
“I never thought I’d do this even against the youngest. It’s a rare thing in my life…”
She hadn’t underestimated Jin’s skill, but she didn’t think it was a fight worth risking her life over.
That was a judgment she now had to revise.
“I’ll stake my life too.”
Of course, the odds were still heavily in favor of survival when the fight ended.
Still, there was a huge difference between a warrior who risked their life and one who didn’t. Like how the attitude of a predator facing a big prey on the plains could change the outcome.
Her unconscious avoidance of injury when facing tough foes was proof of something.
Runtia Runcandel was a warrior who had rarely been truly hurt in her entire life.
For her, every fight except those few was as risky as simply breathing, eating, and sleeping.
But this fight with Jin was different.
Runtia understood that one side would lose everything and vanish.
Every moment was a battle where the desire to survive and win outweighed her usual indifference.
“Looks like you’ve finally decided to get serious, sister.”
Jin immediately noticed the change in Runtia.
The suffocating pressure she had been radiating suddenly vanished. Her aura settled calmly, like still water.
“You’ve grown strong. Well done.”
Runtia steadied her stance and added,
“But you shouldn’t have provoked me today.”
With the aura no longer acting as a barrier, Jin’s flames pierced through the gap. In an instant, Runtia was engulfed in fire, leaving behind only a dark silhouette.
She was taking the blaze of the inferno bare-skinned.
At that moment, just as Runtia had thought of Luna when she saw Jin, Jin couldn’t help but recall his eldest sister as he looked at Runtia—the blessed body of Runkandel, known far and wide as the strongest among them all…
Even more resilient than Luna’s transcendent form.
Despite being drenched in the raging flames, Runtia strode steadily toward Jin. Not a single blister marred her skin, barely visible through the flickering fire.
“Well, well.”
Jin gathered the flames spreading in all directions.
The inferno, which had been radiating a dreadful heat like a plague beyond the training grounds, was now being absorbed into Bradamante.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine any of my siblings could be tougher than Luna…”
It wasn’t just Jin—every one of the siblings thought the same.
Except for Luna, none had ever believed such a sibling existed.
Because until now, none of them had ever posed a real threat to Runtia.
“I never expected we’d fight each other at full strength, so there’s no need for either of us to be disheartened.”