Chapter 469
Episode 132: Annihilation, and Something Strange… (3)

“Ugh!”

Sandra doubled over, coughing up blood. Bradamante’s blade had pierced clean through her collarbone, protruding from the other side.

For any normal human, that would have been the end. Such a fatal wound was irreversible without the healing power of a Sacred King like Rani or the legacy of Numerus.

But Jin felt an intangible force pushing back against the blade that had stabbed through Sandra’s collarbone.

It wasn’t aura.

Nor was it magic.

‘This feels like…’

Divine power.

And not just any divine power—it was remarkably similar to the kind Jin was familiar with.

The power that Quicantel, the Silver Dragon of Olta, had often displayed. The power of time.

‘So I wasn’t mistaken at first. But why is Sandra using the power of time?’

Sandra couldn’t be Olta’s contractor. Enya had already been contracted long ago. Ziphl hadn’t managed to kill Enya and steal the contract, just like in Jin’s previous life.

Divine powers can sometimes be wielded even by those who aren’t the official contractors—through blessings, granted rights to serve a deity, or other means.

However, in such cases, only ‘low-level divine powers’ can be used.

Shing!

Jin swung his blade again, aiming to sever Sandra’s neck.

But Bradamante couldn’t reach her throat. The space around Sandra distorted strangely. When the sword sliced through it, ripples spread like cutting through water, but no damage was dealt.

‘Just like the first time I met Quicantel. Back then, Quicantel also nullified my attacks like this.’

A divine power that could instantly rewind time to heal fatal wounds and secure safety during regeneration.

That was no low-level power.

Kirit, kiriririt, tick—!

The sound of interlocking gears grew louder. The only difference between Quicantel and Sandra was that such a noise accompanied the use of her power.

Murakan also recognized Sandra’s power, blinking in shock.

The knights of Vigo and Runcandel struggled to suppress their disbelief.

‘There are variables here that weren’t in the mission briefing. It seems Sandra Ziphl’s ability is part of some kind of biological golem experiment. So a pureblood Ziphl was used as a test subject? And she’s Keliak’s daughter!’

As the sixth rider of Runcandel, Vigo was somewhat informed about Ziphl’s biological experiments.

To his knowledge, Ziphl had never used purebloods for experiments before. They had only experimented on fanatical followers, commoners, or mages from lower-ranking families.

‘Does this mean they’ve achieved stable results using purebloods? Or is there another reason?’

Either way, this was a discovery. Though they hadn’t secured Amela, Vigo could at least add a note about this anomaly in his report to Rosa.

Thanks to Sandra’s extraordinary power, Vigo cautiously watched Jin and Murakan’s reactions. Staying longer in the mountain range might yield even more valuable intel.

“Hah, I seem to be getting hurt quite a bit today. I don’t like pain, you know. I admit, I’m a bit outmatched in this fight.”

Sandra adjusted her clothes and shrugged.

“Quite an unpleasant ability you have, Sandra Ziphl.”

“You know, you’re way better looking than the poster for the Golden Fungus Guild made you out to be. I’m starting to think you’d be better off dating than fighting.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to activate the Tower Master’s staff now?”

“Shall we go grab a meal? Or maybe some tea?”

Was it confidence so strong they weren’t even worried about Jin and Murakan? Or was it just that she was someone who had trouble communicating?

‘Even when we briefly met in my past life, she only said what she wanted to say.’

Jin found Sandra Ziphl hard to read.

“Hahaha! Right now, I feel like a prince who’s overcome the obstacle of the Black Dragon Murakan to meet the princess.”

Sandra babbled on without pause.

There was no point in continuing a conversation with someone so uncooperative.

‘If possible, capture her alive.’

Jin made up his mind. He needed to learn more about Sandra’s power.

But the phrase ‘if possible’ was important.

Capturing Sandra alive would mean exposing Ziphl’s biological experiments to the world once again—and other powerful factions might seize and exploit the results.

Ziphl wouldn’t be so careless.

‘So far, they’ve exploited my weaknesses since I was a candidate rider, but they won’t just let Sandra be captured.’

It was likely that powerful reinforcements were already nearby, or other means existed to prevent information leaks—like how Biment’s magic cores completely oxidize and vanish when pushed to their limits.

‘No matter how fearless she is, she must have some backup to be this brazen.’

Jin planned to use the freezing seal technique he learned from Valeria.

He intended to leave ‘evidence’ of Sandra Ziphl. Defying the power of time would be difficult, but it was worth trying.

Wooooong!

Bradamante resonated, enveloped in spiritual energy and aura.

Sandra hastily unleashed her magic, erecting a shield. The fiery barrier flickered threateningly, but that was all.

She was sliced in two with a single stroke, and the attack magic forming in her retreating hands failed to harm Jin.

Meanwhile, Jin had inflicted three or more serious wounds on Sandra in less than ten seconds. Including the initial collarbone piercing, Sandra had effectively been ‘killed’ by Jin four times.

Sandra wasn’t weak.

Jin had simply grown overwhelmingly strong. Vigo and the guardian knights, who had witnessed the ‘Declaration of the Overlord’ firsthand, already knew this.

Except for the panicked beastmen, members of Biment and Ziphl could only sigh inwardly as they watched the two fight.

Murakan alone was already beyond their ability to handle, and now seeing the might of the 12 riders confirmed, the future looked utterly bleak.

And that wasn’t all.

“My lord!”

Two figures emerged from the shattered core of the magic device.

The Prochi siblings, just awakened from their curse.

“Just give the order. Pei and I will slaughter them all.”

The black dragon flapped its wings majestically, with the ghostly Prochi siblings standing beneath. Their power was on a completely different level from the other factions.

Kiriririk, kiriririririk!

For some reason, Sandra’s regeneration accelerated each time she was wounded. But she couldn’t counterattack, focusing solely on healing.

Once her recovery reached maximum speed, Jin couldn’t land a single blow. No matter where he cut, the wound healed before the blade even left the flesh.

It was a strange fight.

To an outsider, it might look like Jin was mercilessly bullying a weaker opponent.

Jin continued to slash Sandra with an expressionless gaze.

Infinite power doesn’t exist in this world.

Jin believed that, and had often shattered the faith of those who claimed to possess it. Amela, amplified by the magic device, was a prime example.

“Ha, at this rate, I might actually fall for you.”

“What?”

For the first time, Jin hesitated and stopped his blade.

Even someone like Jin couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

‘So a human can go this mad without succumbing to chaos.’

Jin smiled and replied,

“That’s a terrible thing to say.”

“Shall we get married? I heard there’s talk of a match with the Lady of the Secret Bow. How about me?”

“If you tell me the secret of your super-regeneration, I might consider it.”

“Really? That’s not a hard condition. Have you heard of the Demon God Stone? We’ve managed to mimic some divine powers with it…”

Bang!

Suddenly, an explosion erupted in the space between Jin and Sandra.

Jin dodged instinctively, but Sandra couldn’t react in time—half her head vanished in an instant.

A spatial explosion.

A power wielded by Midor Elner, the Keliak Ziphl.

Jin turned his head, his eyes burning with murderous intent.

“Sandra! What on earth are you saying?”

“You bastard! Don’t you see you’re communicating with Jin Runcandel? You acted so well-trained earlier…!”

Midor was speechless with disbelief. She never expected Sandra to mention the ‘Demon God Stone.’

Jin was equally surprised.

‘Judging by Midor’s reaction, the Demon God Stone is still a top-secret Ziphl secret. Naturally, it must be handled with extreme caution.’

Sandra hadn’t just named it.

She’d revealed that they had managed to mimic some divine powers with it. For Jin, it was an unexpected gain; for Midor and Ziphl, it was maddening.

“Try interfering one more time, and I’ll kill you for real! Got it? I’ll tear you limb from limb, chew you up, discard you, and trample you! Answer me right now, you bastard!”

Her voice had turned viciously cruel, a stark contrast to the gentle nonsense she’d been spouting moments before. Even Murakan let out a hollow laugh at the ferocity.

‘This madwoman…! If I leave her be, who knows how far Sandra will spiral out of control.’

What should be done now?

While Midor was still making her decision, Bradamante struck with a sharp, precise move.

“You bastard! How dare you treat me like this? Not even answering—ugh!”

Scratch!

The one Bradamante had slashed was Sandra’s right hand.

A moment of carelessness, or a lapse in focus.

Sandra had been so consumed with pouring out her anger and hatred at Midor that she briefly lost the heightened speed granted by her super-regeneration.

Jin didn’t miss that moment for the world. Unlike before, Sandra’s wound didn’t heal instantly this time. For the first time since the fight began, she suffered a severed injury.

In other words, her right arm was falling to the ground.

Clatter!

Before the arm even touched the floor, Jin immediately formed a freezing seal.

He quickly confirmed that Sandra’s wound was healing. But unlike before, the severed surface wasn’t rewinding in time—it was recovering like a normal super-regeneration would.

Now that he had the proof, there was no need to hesitate.

“Murakan!”

[“Yes!”]

“Take them all down!”

At Jin’s command, Murakan grinned widely.