Chapter 446
Episode 128. Zephyrin (2)
From Zephyrin’s fingers, which had just thrown the axe-sword aside, grew long, dark, sharp nails. Those nails—piercing the Black Knight—were her primary weapon.
A fierce violet magic glowed vividly from her claws. As Zephyrin shifted her footing and leapt, a sharp tearing sound sliced through the air. Her crossed claws slashed wildly, raking both empty space and the party alike.
Jin blocked with his sword, Valkas with his fists. Sword, fist, and claws tangled in a chaotic dance, sparks, auras, and shards of magic flying everywhere.
Using a familiar weapon affects anyone. Having discarded the axe-sword, Zephyrin’s stance was more balanced, her center of gravity improved, and her movements lighter.
What had already felt like a formidable foe now seemed even stronger. The problem was the overwhelming certainty that this was far from over.
She was a dragon.
Her true form had yet to be revealed, and no one knew what powers she possessed as a “Demon Dragon.”
“Judging by the strength she’s shown so far, she’s at least a 10-star level by human standards.”
Perhaps she was even a match for Jin’s father, Siron Runcandel.
Among those Jin had met, only his father and the warrior god Ban had carried the aura of an absolute powerhouse—and thankfully, Zephyrin didn’t radiate that same overwhelming presence. Whether it was truly absent or just undetectable, no one could say.
Shak!
Zephyrin separated Jin and Valkas, lunging at Murakan. Her violet claws sliced clean through one of his wings.
But what she cut was a wing materialized from spiritual energy. The wing shimmered like smoke, and Murakan didn’t miss the moment she approached.
In an instant, Murakan’s entire body transformed into black smoke, enveloping Zephyrin. When the smoke reformed into his shape, Zephyrin found herself trapped inside his folded wing.
Though invisible from the outside, inside that wing-prison, countless spiritual energy spikes rained down like mad needles, piercing flesh and bone with a chilling screech.
Yet just as Murakan had transformed his body into spiritual energy to avoid attacks, Zephyrin used her magic to dodge as well.
Regardless of skill, dragon battles followed a different rhythm than human fights.
[Well, I suppose you’re the best demon dragon I’ve met so far. Was I really so afraid a thousand years ago that I had to hold my breath? I’m curious where you’ve been hiding all this time.]
From the violet smoke, Zephyrin reappeared some distance away from Murakan.
“Haha, how charming. How dare you judge me so lightly? It seems you still don’t quite understand, Murakan.”
Swish!
Sharp magic extended from Zephyrin’s claws, slicing Murakan’s torso in half.
Thanks to his spiritual form, the blow wasn’t fatal, but if he kept expending energy like this, Murakan would soon tire.
“I wouldn’t have been afraid even if I faced you at your peak. The reason you don’t know me well is simply because I couldn’t fight you back then.”
[You couldn’t fight?]
“There were circumstances. Ones you might know… or maybe not.”
Fzzzt!
The Judgment Sword’s waterfall of lightning crashed down on Zephyrin’s head, while Valkas threw a full-powered punch.
The distortion of space twisted under the combined force of their aura and spiritual energy. The waterfall struck the ground, and the punch shattered the air.
Zephyrin dodged by throwing herself aside, but Murakan swooped in like a hawk, exhaling a black breath that engulfed her.
Even after the breath was fully unleashed, she seemed barely fazed.
Before she could fall, the Judgment Sword’s thunder blades Jin had summoned and Valkas’s Black King technique took effect.
Dozens of lightning blades formed on the ground, and the massive aura from Valkas’s punch wrapped around the falling Zephyrin.
This time, Zephyrin couldn’t transform her body into magic. The thunder blades slashed her all over, and Valkas’s fist struck her squarely in the middle of her back.
“Argh!”
With a deafening crack, Zephyrin spat a mouthful of blood and was flung toward the others.
If she were human, her bones and organs would have shattered completely. Yet the party instinctively knew that, trapped against the spatial wall, she hadn’t suffered serious damage. Even her scream sounded almost playful.
Murakan shifted into human form and stood beside Jin.
“Murakan.”
“Yes?”
“Do you really not know who that demon dragon is?”
“No. I thought she might be one of the guardian dragons of the Rontelgius demons you killed, but she’s beyond that.”
“Any guesses?”
“She’s a direct subordinate dragon of a demon lord. That much is certain.”
Can we win?
Jin didn’t voice the question. It had been a long time since he’d seen Murakan so serious.
An unexpected disaster.
That was what Zephyrin was. It was baffling how she connected to the weakened demons they’d easily killed at Joshua’s villa.
“Is it really because of the grimoire we got back then that she holds a grudge against me?”
When Jin first suspected Zephyrin was a demon dragon at the Sword Emperor’s banquet, he and his companions naturally assumed she was approaching carefully and deliberately because of the grimoire.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason for her to be involved with demons or demon dragons.
But now, Zephyrin seemed utterly indifferent to the grimoire.
“Or maybe she plans to neutralize Murakan and kill the Black King commander, then when only I’m left, she’ll find out everything about the grimoire… Wait.”
At that moment, Jin recalled that Zephyrin had explicitly said she intended to kill only the Black King commander.
“She said she’d neutralize Murakan, and it seems she doesn’t plan to kill me.”
Why would she do that?
Within seconds, Jin thought of one possibility.
—I’ll give you credit for the ambush. But you and your god will become the most important ingredients for the Demon Stone, Jin Runcandel…!
Those were the words Andrei Ziphl had said when using the Demon Stone during his trainee days.
“At the time, Andrei said the power of Solderet was the core of the Demon Stone.”
Looking back, those who sought the Demon Stone or similar strange powers were strangely obsessed with the “Solderet contract.”
This was revealed by Andrei for Ziphl, and Joshua for Runcandel.
Moreover, since Bubar Gaston was the creator of the Demon Stone, Solderet’s power must hold special value for Kinzel as well.
“That might be why those Kinzel bastards kept trying to sway me.”
Crack, crack!
Zephyrin was standing again, her grotesquely twisted and slashed body rapidly healing. Bones snapped back into place, torn wounds closing.
No matter how much her body was torn or crushed, Zephyrin seemed destined to regenerate—just like Kinzel’s commander during the Sword Emperor’s terror.
Kinzel.
Jin had a strong feeling Zephyrin belonged to that insane faction.
“If Ziphl moved with the Phantom Corps, then if she’s Kinzel’s, it’s strange. Zephyrin’s actions are completely different from how Kinzel has treated me.”
Jin hated Kinzel, but Kinzel had always been lenient toward him.
Attacking Jin suddenly like this was clearly out of character.
“Kinzel’s commander. Could she be his dragon?”
“That annoying bastard? Could be. The divine power he showed during the Sword Emperor’s terror was godlike.”
“…Murakan, and the 12 knights. If this fight drags on, I don’t think we’ll have an answer.”
When Valkas spoke, Jin nodded.
The Black Knight was dying behind them, and Zephyrin’s monstrous strength allowed her to regenerate instantly, showing no signs of fatigue.
“If it drags on? It’s worse than that. We absolutely cannot win.”
Murakan’s words made Jin and Valkas’s eyes widen.
Especially Jin, who had never imagined the proud Murakan would accept defeat so easily.
In any case.
If Murakan said that, there was no need to hesitate. The answer was clear.
“We have to run.”
When Jin said this, Murakan nodded, but Valkas’s eyes flickered.
This was the Black King’s stronghold, and nothing was more precious to Valkas than his subordinates’ lives. Abandoning them to flee was unthinkable.
Valkas believed that if they ran, Zephyrin wouldn’t just leave the stronghold alone—she had enough power to destroy it single-handedly in no time.
All the defenses and traps in the Black King’s stronghold would be meaningless against such a terrifying demon dragon.
“I can’t run, Murakan.”
“I know, kid. Who said we should all just abandon the others and run?”
“Then…?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to hold it down. You take the kid and lead the others out. I’ll shake this thing off and catch up afterward.”
“Murakan.”
“What?”
“Are you sure you can handle it alone?”
Of course, Jin, Valkas, and Murakan hadn’t yet unleashed their full power. Even when the three fought together, the opponent was overwhelming. It was only natural to worry whether Murakan could lose Zephyrin on his own.
Kahaha!
Suddenly, Murakan burst out laughing.
“Even so, I’ve already regained about forty percent of my true power, kid. Even if someone like the Beast King Orgal shows up instead of a demon dragon, I can handle that easily.”
“I’m not so sure I believe you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to die before you do. And you know this is the best plan we’ve got.”
Murakan pointed toward a corner of the pocket dimension and continued.
“First, break this space apart. We’ve done this plenty of times before—you know how.”
Spirit Sword Style One: Soul Slash, combined with Tess’s power. Whenever they cut through unwanted otherworldly spaces, they never once let Jin down.
Whoooooosh…!
A massive surge of spiritual energy began converging on Murakan. As the energy released, the violet pocket dimension rapidly darkened, as if black ink was soaking into water.
This was, quite literally, Murakan unleashing all the power he currently had.
[Hey, Zephyrin. Let’s see if you really can go toe-to-toe with me, the way you claimed you could even against me at my peak. I’ll be the judge of that myself.]