Chapter 477
Episode 133: Moments of Choice (4)
‘Is that the true form of Chaos?’
Yona’s Chaos was still licking its lips, as if it hadn’t yet been sated.
Amid the confusion caused by the sudden appearance of these Chaos manifestations, Jin noticed something peculiar: Yona’s Chaos took on a shadow-like shape.
‘At first glance, it resembles a spirit energy.’
He had thought the same when he saw the dark energy Amela used in the Gaipa Archipelago.
But Yona’s Chaos felt even more similar to spirit energy than that.
‘And this materialization… doesn’t it look like a kind of incarnation?’
Some gods can manifest through their contractors.
In the Cheongsae Archipelago, Yulian became the incarnation of Feitel, and both Pikon Minche and Olmango had also incarnated before Jin.
Yona’s and Amela’s Chaos materializing seemed like a similar phenomenon to divine incarnation.
The difference was that while the contractors who became incarnations and Amela lost their consciousness and fainted, Yona appeared to be controlling her Chaos.
Cough, cough!
Amela’s Chaos vomited something that looked like black blood.
[You have to keep that promise. From now on, you should fear my only youngest sibling more than me.]
[Understood. I will…!]
Slowly, Amela’s Chaos faded and disappeared, retreating deep within her.
She couldn’t maintain the materialization due to severe, irreparable injuries.
Yona, who had been hovering in midair, landed on the floor and began gathering the chaotic energy, but the Chaos seemed reluctant to obey her will.
It shrank away from Yona’s gaze, curling its head, struggling to break free from her control.
But as Yona pressed down with increasingly strong energy, the Chaos seemed unable to resist any longer, its form dissolving back into Yona’s shadow.
Just before vanishing completely, Yona’s Chaos left these words:
[Run away…!]
[Kill him!]
At that moment, Jin felt as if he locked eyes with the last desperate flicker of the Chaos.
He instinctively knew the target of that command was none other than himself.
From now on, you must never unleash that power in front of me. Don’t ask me anything about it.
I lose my mind when I see spirit energy. You don’t have to apologize since I never explained it. Heh, I thought the youngest would keep that power hidden from me at least until they became a Rider…
Suddenly, Jin recalled what Yona had said after spying on Bubar’s sculpture workshop.
Back then, Jin had trusted Yona enough to reveal his spirit energy, but she had recoiled in shock and writhed in agony upon seeing it.
Yona’s Chaos feared spirit energy.
That’s why every day, whenever Yona met Jin, it whispered to kill him.
In a voice so sweet that even the strongest-willed person would find unbearable.
Or in a voice so terrifying.
Yona endured all those temptations and threats alone.
Even now.
She never expected anything in return.
Protecting her beloved younger sibling was simply something Yona took for granted.
“Yeah, why don’t you just die? Hehe.”
Soon, the Chaos completely faded, and Yona’s shadow returned to its original form.
The room brightened as if a storm had passed and the weather cleared; objects that had been swirling in the wind crashed to the floor.
“Ugh, ugh! Wh-what’s going on?”
Just as silence was about to settle, Amela, who had collapsed, suddenly sat up coughing.
Her thick bush camouflage suit trembled, and her eyes darted anxiously beneath her hood.
“Ugh!”
But when her gaze met Yona’s, she lost consciousness and collapsed again.
“Hey, is she dead? Bush! Bush! Wake up… H-hey, she’s just asleep!”
As Jin approached, he heard her breathing steadily.
Murakan shook his head in disbelief and gently tossed Amela onto a bed.
“She’s going to sleep soundly for a while, hehe. Goodbye, Murakan! This is the first time I’m greeting you.”
“Ah, nice to meet you. The little one talks about you a lot.”
“Really? For real?”
“Absolutely.”
“Really that much?”
“Yes, I’m telling you. But why are you speaking so casually? I’m a black dragon over three thousand years old and the guardian deity of your family.”
“Because Jin talks casually too?”
“I see.”
Murakan surprisingly didn’t complain about her lack of manners or bluntness and simply shook hands with Yona.
“Sis.”
Jin approached, and Yona’s eyes sparkled.
But Jin could only look at her with concern.
Yona’s face was so pale.
It was a look of struggle Jin had never seen before.
“I missed you, youngest!”
“Are you alright? Your face is so pale.”
“Not really. I think I’m going to die soon.”
“Don’t say things like that, even as a joke.”
Jin took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from Yona’s forehead.
Yona smiled, proud and touched by her brother’s care.
Then, suddenly, she pouted and flicked Jin’s forehead.
Smack!
If he were an ordinary person, his head might have been knocked off.
Of course, Jin only ended up with a red bump like a royal chestnut.
‘Wait… is this Yona’s strength? Not Luna’s?’
Rather than feeling hurt or wronged, Jin was simply stunned by the sheer force—‘immense’ even by his standards.
“Ugh, that guy always gets way too strong whenever he’s summoned. Sorry, youngest! I didn’t mean to hit you this hard. Hehe. But it’s okay to get hit a little, right? No, you have to. You called me for something this trivial!? You’re going to get yourself in trouble!”
Jin assumed the ‘trouble’ Yona mentioned was Siron’s orders.
Siron had long since decreed that no one in the family should use Yona.
“Sis, if it’s about Father—”
“No, it’s not that! I was just so happy to get your message for once, that’s all. Hehe. Of course, I thought you wanted to hang out with me. But I never expected you had another reason. Heh, hehehe, hehehehe.”
A chill ran down Jin’s spine.
He also felt sorry.
It was a matter that could easily cause hurt feelings, just as Yona said.
“I’m sorry, sis.”
At that moment, Kashimir, Balkas, and Jet, sensing the commotion, came to the room where the group was gathered.
“Master! What’s going on…?”
“My lord, are you alright…?”
Kashimir and Balkas stopped mid-sentence when they saw Yona.
‘Yona Runkandel-sama!’
‘Yona Runkandel?’
Jet didn’t recognize who she was.
When Yona playfully smiled and said,
“Hey, Jet. It’s been a while.”
“Ha! Since when do you know me well enough to say that… Wait, Yona. Yoona… Yooooona…? C-could you be… Yona Runkandel-sama?”
Jet’s hair stood on end at the mention of ‘a long time.’
Though Jet didn’t realize it, Yona had seen him often.
The same went for the others.
“I’ve committed a grave sin. If you spare me, I’ll do anything. I’ll show you something! Please, my lord, help me…!”
In truth, Balkas and Kashimir were on high alert, protecting Jet.
“A loyal servant of his lord. Should we spare her, Yona Runkandel?”
Balkas had encountered Yona before and knew that if she set her mind to it, there were few in the world she couldn’t kill.
He also knew she treated life as lightly as a feather.
“Heh.”
Yona shrugged.
“Youngest.”
“Yes, sis.”
“I think I’m starting to understand why ordinary people find me so uncomfortable or scary. Just a little bit.”
It was only recently that Yona had been able to control part of her Chaos through her desire to protect Jin.
By mastering her Chaos, she had grown stronger and more grounded.
Some of the emotions Chaos had distorted were recovering.
In other words, Yona no longer treated life as lightly as when she first met Jin.
Of course, she could only control a portion of it, so her emotions weren’t fully normal yet.
She had gone from treating life like air to at least treating it like an object.
Though she didn’t elaborate, Jin seemed to understand the meaning behind his youngest sister’s words.
“Those precious to you are precious to me too. Just joking, Black Dragon Commander. Relax. Jet, lift your head, hehe.”
“Thank you! Lady Yona!”
Yona turned and met Jin’s eyes again.
Color was returning to his face.
“Anyway, from now on, call me just to hang out. I really want to hear all about how the declaration of the family head went! I always hear about it from knights or others, never firsthand!”
Each word struck Jin’s heart.
“So from now on, let’s take walks and catch up on everything. Hehe!”
In truth, Jin had planned to get help from Yona, then solve one more problem before seeking Samil.
Just as Yona said, simply to spend time with her.
The reason Jin had been moving so urgently was none other than this.
Because the lead on the mercenary Amela was still missing.
So, as soon as Amela’s situation was settled, the plan was to head straight to the Garden of Swords to meet Vigo.
Since Vigo had come to the Gaipa Archipelago on Joshua’s behalf, he surely had more information than anyone else. The idea was to use the archipelago’s debts as leverage to find out what they needed.
But with Yona speaking so seriously, it wasn’t something they could rush. Not just because of guilt, but because to Jin, Yona was family—more precious than anyone else in the world.
Sometimes, family feelings have to come first.
And this was one of those moments.
“There’s so much I want to say to you, and so much I want to hear, sister. Thank you for forgiving me. Shall we go for a walk?”
“Hehe, sure, sounds good.”
Clang!
As Yona smashed the window and leapt outside, Jin followed without hesitation.
The moment they landed in the garden, Jin’s eyes caught sight of something.
‘What’s that ship?’
From the far side of the sea, a lone ship was steadily approaching Tikan.
It had no markings or flags to show its allegiance, which made it stand out even more.
“Huh.”
Meanwhile, Yona tilted her head, as if she recognized the ship.
“Huh? That’s Mary’s ship, isn’t it?”