Chapter 415
Episode 120: Why Hailan? (9)
Suddenly, a massive iron gate materialized in the sky, but most of the people on the ground couldn’t immediately grasp what it was.
All they could sense was that whatever emerged from that gate was definitely not an ally.
“What is that…?”
“A person?”
“It’s too blurry to see clearly.”
As the soldiers exchanged glances and murmurs, Ron, Linpa, and Berakt also paused their fight and looked up at the sky.
Then, the Commander stepped out from the iron gate.
His pale, almost ghostly body shimmered with a radiant glow.
Astonishingly, the Commander was floating in midair. Without wings or any visible device, he hovered silently before the lead ship Grnil, gazing down at the battlefield below as if he were a god.
The atmosphere was so surreal that one could almost believe a deity had descended upon the warzone. Giant monsters, mages, living golems, flying warships—and now this mysterious, shining figure.
For a moment, most of the soldiers felt a strange mix of fear and unease toward Kinzello’s Commander. A dark premonition stirred in their minds—that the tide of battle might soon turn again.
But Jin was deeply displeased that the soldiers felt such awe or fear when looking at the Commander.
A divine being? Some alien terror?
To Jin, such grandiose images didn’t suit Kinzello’s Commander at all.
“He’s nothing more than a vicious criminal.”
Nothing more, nothing less.
If anything, he deserved to be called stupid.
‘If you wanted to gain a big advantage over me, you shouldn’t have approached like this.’
Flare…!
A spark flared up in Jin’s palm.
It was a faint ember, but the tiny shadow of that spark, like a pinpoint on his hand, was about to swell into a vast spiritual energy that would blanket the sky.
The Final Form of the Annihilation Flame Jade of the Dark Sky Demon King.
The shadow of the spark shot upward.
The spiritual energy barrier that Murakan had been maintaining was already torn and riddled with holes. But as the Demon King’s legacy was invoked, the gaps quickly began to seal.
This was the result of Jin opening his spiritual energy and connecting with the sky.
Just like the atrocities Kinzello had unleashed at the Sword Emperor Star, the sudden pitch-black sky was an utterly unfamiliar sight to the soldiers.
Yet unlike the Commander’s appearance, the soldiers could clearly recognize whose power this was.
Spiritual energy.
The power of the Solderet’s contractor, one of the twelve Rune Knights of Runkandel.
Perhaps because of that, despite the grim situation, some soldiers secretly felt a flicker of hope, curious to see what new miracle Jin might unveil.
“Murakan.”
[Yes.]
“Fill in the missing spiritual energy.”
Though he had somewhat recovered, he was still not at full strength.
[Understood.]
With Murakan present, there was no shortage of power to unleash the legacy of Riol Ziphl.
Flap, whoosh—!
Murakan spread his wings wide, releasing spiritual energy that spread like waves of black particles. The particles swirled around Jin and Murakan, shooting skyward.
It was as if they were opening a door.
The particles of spiritual energy stretched all the way to the sky, drawing a line—a line that split the heavens in two.
Then, the line tore apart, revealing an absurdly huge void in the center of the sky. Glowing rune symbols of Riol Ziphl appeared vividly across Jin’s entire body.
The runes floated gently through the air like sparkling snowflakes.
“Ah! Damn it!”
“What’s wrong, Commander?”
“I left it behind. Damn it, the situation was so urgent I didn’t even think to bring it. Ah, what a blunder…!”
“What is it? No way…!”
“The Final Form of the Annihilation Flame Jade. The legacy of Riol Ziphl that was stored at the Dark Magic Council’s headquarters… I didn’t bring it. Jo, did you take it? Please tell me you did.”
“Uh, well… Commander, I was caught off guard too…”
“You useless idiot! You’re the head of the Dark Magic Council, and you forgot that? Does the Commander have to worry about every little thing?”
At that moment, Kinzello’s men couldn’t help but recall that conversation.
The supreme magic Jin was now unleashing was the very power obtained from annihilating the Dark Magic Council.
The legacy of Riol that the Commander and Jo had failed to secure was now about to become a disaster engulfing the ship Grnil and Kinzello’s forces.
The rune symbols floating in the air were markers. As they pointed toward Grnil and Kinzello’s men, a crimson sphere appeared in the rift in the sky.
For a moment, people thought it was the sun. If not, it was impossible to explain the enormous fiery orb radiating intense heat over the battlefield.
“Damn, d-damn it! That’s Riol Ziphl’s…!”
“Jo! Activate the shield!”
“Grnil’s still under repair… Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Screeeech—! Flare!
A shower of fire rained down from the fiery orb. Instead of striking the ground, the fire converged on the ship and the Commander.
Thousands, tens of thousands of fiery tendrils wrapped around the ship Grnil like binding chains. The ship was trapped like a beast caught in a snare, unable to move, and the Commander’s pale figure was completely obscured by flames.
Beneath the blackened, blood-red sky, the sounds of Grnil’s destruction echoed alongside the roaring fire.
Crack, crunch…! Each lash of the fiery whip shattered the hull, and the debris turned to ash before even reaching the ground.
“Damn it…!”
Berakt gritted his teeth and swung his greatsword fiercely.
The Commander had been engulfed in flames the moment he appeared, Jo was useless and clueless again, and the deputy commander was injured and just rescued. Berakt was the only one left who could try to snipe Jin.
‘I have to stop that damn magic. If I don’t, the Commander’s life could be in danger!’
Spitting blood and foam, Berakt swung his sword wildly, but his opponents were Ron and Linpa. The two easily blocked his attacks.
“Desperate, aren’t you? Seems your master’s in danger.”
Ron spoke, seeing right through Berakt’s thoughts. Berakt roared in response, but his roar no longer struck fear into the battlefield like before.
If Ron and Linpa hadn’t partially crippled the ship Grnil beforehand, they wouldn’t have been able to push the enemy into such a quick retreat right after Jin unleashed his supreme magic.
The once majestic ship was now a burning wreck, on the verge of collapse.
Meanwhile, the flames spreading from the Final Form of the Annihilation Flame Jade grew visibly fiercer.
The soldiers on the ground naturally concluded the tide had turned.
Yet Jin, Murakan, and a few exceptional soldiers felt a strange unease.
‘Grnil’s destruction is only a matter of time, but the Commander… he’s not finished yet.’
The Commander was truly an enigma. Neither Jin and his comrades nor other factions fully understood the extent of his power.
But leading the massive Kinzello faction and wielding a power worthy of being called divine, there was no way he was done yet.
Crackling, crunching… thud!
At last, the ship Grnil began to fall.
Split in two and so damaged that its shape was barely recognizable, no one could imagine it returning to its original form.
The massive hull crashed to the ground, and it seemed the Vishkel group aboard would meet their end as well.
Yet even as the ship fell, Jin felt a chill run down his spine. What was it? Like a cold chunk of metal passing by…
At that thought, Jin spun around sharply.
Metal. Steel.
The chill on his back wasn’t just a vague sense of foreboding.
It was a real sensation, originating from actual objects.
Black chunks of metal, their origin unknown, brushed past Jin and Murakan and shot skyward.
These metal chunks weren’t just near the two of them—they were sweeping across the entire battlefield. A whirlwind of iron was engulfing the warzone.
[That’s his power, kid.]
“…Yeah, seems so.”
Kinzello’s Commander wielded a divine power over iron, like a god of blacksmiths.
Jin had sensed this even when Pikon Mintche, the new god of blacksmiths, wielded iron powers. The Commander’s ability was superior.
The rune symbols marked the metal chunks floating in the air. Chains of fire surged along the marks, melting some, but not all.
An enormous amount of iron stained the sky, overwhelming Jin’s flames.
‘Fortunately, the metal itself doesn’t seem to carry any particularly dangerous energy. Maybe it’s not meant for killing…?’
Unlike Jin’s flames that struck down enemies, the metal chunks didn’t attack directly.
Instead, they wrapped around the falling ship Grnil. A gigantic hand made of iron formed, cradling the ship.
[As expected, the welcoming ceremony is extravagant. The legacy of Riol Ziphl… I remember the trouble it caused. Seems that great mage and I don’t get along.]
As the flames receded, the Commander’s form became clearer.
No longer just a pale, glowing figure, his body now had what could be called a ‘skeleton.’
‘He used his iron power to form bones…?’
“Alright, judging by how you recklessly interpreted Murakan’s memories earlier, this feels like a cheap psychology session. So this time, let me try reading your mind. You came here because you wanted to save those three, and you set a trap of some kind. But right now, you’re feeling a bit uneasy. That’s because it looks like we won’t be the ones caught in your trap.”
[“Heh heh heh…”]
“What’s so funny, you worthless pest? Am I wrong? Don’t try to pull a fast one on me. Answer me.”
[“You got me good. You’re right, Jin Runkandel. You’ve almost nailed everything. The thing is, I’m not in a state to properly deal with you right now. As you can see, I’m a body without bones.”]
This was the conversation from the day Jin first encountered the Commander.
Since then, the Commander—who had forged ‘steel bones’—now radiated an intensity far beyond what Jin had seen before.
Though the Commander’s face was blurred and hard to make out, Jin was certain of one thing: the Commander was smiling.
[“It’s been a while, Jin Runkandel. How have you been?”]
“We’re not exactly on friendly terms to be exchanging pleasantries…”
Jin stopped mid-sentence and shifted his gaze behind the Commander.
There, unmistakably, was the Grnil—a warship that had been utterly destroyed—emerging intact from the massive steel grasp.
It looked exactly as it had before. Not a single scratch, fully restored.
“…Is that really possible?”
As Jin trailed off, the Commander shook his head.
[“If you think that, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’ve missed you quite a bit, you know. And I still have to reclaim the stolen legacy of the Archmage.”]