Chapter 473
Episode 132: Annihilation, and Something Strange… (7)
With a thud, Midor collapsed forward. Now, the only ones left on the Ziphl side were Myuron, Sandra, and seven elders.
“Master of the Magic Tower…!”
“Sir Midor!”
The elders shouted, but there was nothing they could do.
No secret weapons remained hidden, no reliable means to turn the tide.
There was no way out. Whether they fought or surrendered, death was the only future awaiting them.
Logically, it would be right to fight bravely and die honorably, but the elders couldn’t bring themselves to move.
Just looking at Jin’s eyes shining behind that black helmet crushed them with fear.
It wasn’t just a feeling. They were struggling to withstand the aura Jin was radiating.
‘Myuron Ziphl.’
Jin shifted his gaze to Myuron.
Only then did Myuron seem to regain his senses. He stopped muttering meaningless words out of fear, and his eyes refocused.
‘I never thought I’d have to see your disgusting face again.’
Jin controlled his anger as he thought this. Remembering the atrocities Myuron had committed in Colon made his teeth grind, but that was a side he could never show.
The daily life of the Hongin, whose vocal cords Myuron had cut, remained filled with silence. Their dead families still hadn’t returned.
Myuron pressed his palm to his forehead and shook his head.
[Well, well, what a shameful sight you showed. Crying like a beaten dog, frozen in fear.]
The terrified, weeping figure from moments ago was gone. Myuron’s eyes now gleamed with madness.
[I never expected you to become such a formidable warrior, Jin Runkandel. Back then, even if all of you had attacked me together, you wouldn’t have stood a chance.]
Jin didn’t respond but took a step closer to Myuron, recalling something the man had said long ago.
—You’ll think I’m crazy, right? But Jin Runkandel, even if you can’t see it behind that helmet… I bet you’re wearing quite a decent expression. You’re the same kind as me. You love to fight.
Myuron had said that during a fierce battle in Colon.
‘Back then, you said that because you looked down on me and thought you were in a position to acknowledge me.’
From that moment, Jin had already seen through the man called Myuron Ziphl.
A pure-blood Ziphl who drowned himself daily in alcohol, once called the “Madman of the Magic Tower” before being demoted, and who expressed himself through atrocious acts.
All of it stemmed from ‘inferiority complex.’
The disappointment of never becoming the head of the Ziphl family, the contempt and jealousy felt toward his superior brothers, the bitter certainty that he could never shine as a true master.
If he couldn’t gain fame, he wanted to be notorious.
That was Myuron’s greatest desire. The only way he could hide his inferiority from others was to express it through himself.
A monster craving recognition.
There was no better way to describe Myuron Ziphl in a single phrase. That was why he always wanted his name to be spoken, and whenever he had the chance, he tried to ‘acknowledge’ others.
Because when you acknowledge others, it becomes your own virtue.
The more impressive and admirable the other person, the stronger this tendency became. Recognizing a shining person made him feel the most magnificent and thrilling.
He had earned Midor’s blind trust since childhood by acknowledging the man everyone else ignored. And telling Jin, “You’re the same kind as me,” was all part of the same pattern.
[So, are you going to kill me now? Or torture me? Cooking me alive and feeding me to those Hongin vermin you saved wouldn’t be a bad punishment either. Do whatever you want—this time, you’re the winner again…]
None of that could be a punishment for Myuron.
No matter how brutally he was killed, no matter how painfully tortured, Myuron would ultimately claim a victory all his own.
He would believe he had conquered Jin’s heart. That he had controlled Jin to hate him.
Knowing this all too well, Jin didn’t say a single word to the now-conscious Myuron.
[Ah, Tika, wasn’t it? That rat of a woman who ruined our show—is she still alive? If not for her, things might have been a bit more interesting…]
Myuron stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes, only just refocused, began to tremble violently.
The reason was simple.
Jin had just passed him by.
[…Where are you going, Jin Runkandel?]
By now, the Ziphl had lost all value in death.
With resurrection as an option, death no longer frightened the Ziphl in most situations.
Especially not someone like Myuron.
So Jin chose the most effective punishment for him.
Pride.
Stripping away the layers of lies that adorned his pitiful self.
[Where are you going? Answer meee!]
After passing Myuron by about ten steps, Jin couldn’t hold back a snicker.
Naturally, Myuron didn’t hear it and screamed like a madman.
[Stop! Stop! I said stop!]
Ssshhh!
Blue flames flickered in Myuron’s eyes.
The Ziphl’s secret magic, the Azure Flame’s Magic Eye.
Even as a prospective magic knight, it was a spell Myuron had used against Jin before. It had quickly faded under Tess’s true blue flames.
Back then, watching Jin summon Tess, Myuron had thought: Could that runt really become the greatest mage of the era, chosen by Tess? Even I, Myuron, couldn’t dare dream of such a thing!
The memory exploded in his mind like a bomb. The shame and inferiority stabbed at the back of his head, making him want to die on the spot.
Ssshhh!
Following Myuron’s gaze, the Azure Flame’s Magic Eye ignited blue flames on Jin’s back.
But the flames left no scorch marks on Jin’s spirit armor, flickering weakly before dying out again and again.
The spirit armor was part of the enhanced Bradamante, and Bradamante contained a fragment of Tess.
Therefore, Myuron’s Magic Eye couldn’t harm Jin at all, despite being his strongest seasonal magic aside from dark magic.
[Bu-burn! Burn to death! Or kill me…! Stop it!]
This was the ugly face of inferiority.
Most of those watching Myuron in this moment were so embarrassed they couldn’t bear to look.
Even amidst the chaos, they were pained by Myuron’s disgrace.
Some even felt pity and sympathy beyond shame, clicking their tongues at his miserable state.
Fsssh, shhh!
In the end, Myuron’s Azure Flame’s Magic Eye left no trace on Jin’s spirit armor. He poured out his magic until it ran dry, until the backlash began.
Breathing heavily, hair disheveled, Myuron’s eyes bloodshot and streaming tears of blood.
What he saw through his reddened vision was none other than:
A majestic black dragon.
The royal guards and the few remaining Ziphl elders, the beastmen of Kinzello, and the knights of Runkandel, all revering and admiring Murakan.
And standing in the center, the man who had just passed him by—the steel-like silhouette.
To Myuron, it was a symbol. As if all four great powers were looking up to Jin.
‘You’ve already… seized the era…!’
Kahak!
Suddenly, Myuron coughed up blood and bent over. The magic backlash had begun.
Gagging, choking, the blood kept rising in his throat.
[Cough, I… I said… look back… don’t ignore me, superior… pretentious… noble… like that…! Gah!]
Thud!
Myuron felt something cold and sharp pierce through his back.
A dagger.
Sandra Ziphl, who had just recovered, had thrown it.
“Ugh, seriously! How can you be so clingy, Myuron oppa? Especially to my boyfriend!”
Sandra pulled out the dagger and said.
Myuron wasn’t shocked by being stabbed. Even knowing his breath would soon stop, he kept his eyes fixed on Jin’s back.
Please, look at me.
Jin Runkandel, acknowledge me. That’s not hard for you…
He could no longer shout it aloud.
In this way, Myuron met his second death—drowned in truth and humiliation.
Only after confirming Myuron’s breath had completely ceased did Jin turn back.
Sandra flicked the blood of her brother off the dagger, frowning.
“Sorry, Jin Runkandel. My brother’s a bit much, isn’t he? By the way, I wanted to kill that bastard bastard who interrupted our memorable first date with my own hands. Don’t steal my thunder, okay?”
“…You really are crazy. Unlike your brother who just died.”
“No matter how much we love each other, some things have to be kept in check. This won’t happen again.”
Sandra shrugged, looking at her severed right arm.
“My right arm, huh…”
She nodded as if calculating something silently.
“Just the right amount, I think.”
“What do you mean by ‘just the right amount’?”
“It’s still a bit too soon to take everything from me. Taking my right arm is neither too much nor too little. After all, today’s just the first day of our relationship.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Make good use of it. In a good place.”
“Please do. By the way, when will we meet next?”
“Well, ideally, only if there’s no other choice.”
“Couples should see each other often.”
There was no need to continue this pointless conversation.
Ignoring her last words, Jin turned his gaze to Rata and Fei, then stepped toward Vuigo.
The Prochi siblings immediately moved closer to Jin, ready to follow orders, while Vuigo flinched nervously, glancing around.
He was worried Jin might scold him for still standing there, as if he’d forgotten Murakan’s sharp command to leave immediately.
“Lord Rata, Fei. Please handle the cleanup. Leave about five witnesses each at Bimant and Kinzelo, and eliminate the rest.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And Vuigo, brother.”
“Y-Yes, little one?”
“Just in case, could you lend a hand as well?”
Vuigo breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Jin’s request had been made without undermining his dignity.
“…Very well.”
“Thank you. When you return, let’s meet once in the Garden of Swords.”
Jin said as he climbed onto Murakan’s back.