Chapter 550
Episode 145: Omen (19)
For Octavia, the problem was that she had been focusing entirely on just two opponents.
To be precise, she simply had no room to spare.
Murakan hadn’t been worrying about Misha for no reason all this time. In the whole world, there were fewer than ten people who could afford to be casual when facing her.
And now, with Jin joining the fray, even Octavia found it difficult to fight while managing the entire Phantom Corps.
But on the flip side, Jin and Misha hadn’t been able to land a direct hit on Octavia despite their relentless assault. Her magic formed a flawless fusion of offense and defense.
“The Phantom Corps that died just now? They fell because they dodged your magic and exposed a weakness.”
That was exactly right. The fallen Phantom Corps had been victims of the spell Octavia had just cast to deal with the spirit puppets.
“You don’t have to explain it so kindly, Misha. I could figure that out.”
“Yeah? I just wanted to get under your skin a little.”
“Well then, consider it a success. If you want a messier fight, I’m more than happy to oblige.”
Octavia leveled her staff toward the Balmur Alliance and the Sword Saints.
“We have overcome even the law of death itself. But you? You haven’t.”
“Murakan!”
Before Misha’s voice could finish, hundreds of beams shot out from her staff, faster than any words. The rays tore through Murakan’s spirit barrier without effort, targeting the warriors inside.
Through the ripped barrier, the warriors could be seen fending off the beams.
Especially prominent was Luyan, leader of the Sword Saints. As soon as the barrier was breached, he stepped forward alone, blocking nearly half of the invading beams with sheer strength.
Behind him, the rest of the Sword Saints and the Balmur Alliance absorbed the Phantom Corps’ bombardment.
“Ughk!”
That was Rata’s scream. While supporting Amela, who was weaker in close combat, he was struck in the chest by a beam.
“C-cutie!”
“Are you crazy? Calling me that in this situation!?”
“You’re my cutie! Are you okay!?”
“If you have the energy, try making a shield or something with your spirit energy!”
“It’s all broken!”
Fortunately, Rata’s injury wasn’t severe, but in a battle like this, even that was immediately noticeable.
Valkas and the Prochi siblings, Amela, Kashmir, Alisa, Julian, Kuzan, Murakan, and the five Sword Saints who had unleashed their Overlord Blades—all were holding the defensive line.
Yet Octavia’s magic pressed them down with terrifying ease.
“Still have the breath to scream, huh?”
Just as she prepared to unleash another wave of beams, Jin and Misha stepped in front of Octavia again. The black spear and the spirit-infused Bradamante fell upon her back and face.
Where sword and spear struck, only afterimages remained. Octavia moved across the battlefield with a speed no one would expect from a mage.
Every time she shifted position, a flash of light stabbed at the eyes, and the two divided battlefields on the ground merged back into one.
If it were only Jin, protecting allies while fighting would have been impossible. Several might already have been fatally wounded—or even dead.
Focus. If we give her an opening, Octavia won’t attack me or Misha next—she’ll go after our comrades in the rear.
Spirit Sword Technique One: Soul Slash. Technique Two: Scissors. Technique Seven: Shadow Assault.
He scattered these deadly moves relentlessly, always creating variables at critical moments.
Sometimes his attacks grazed Octavia, but at best they left faint cuts or scratches.
The storm of erosion was nearing its end. Once the lightning ceased, Octavia would be free to attack their formation more aggressively.
They had to keep up the pressure while preparing their strongest magic sword. Misha thought the same as Jin.
They also had to think about what came next.
Even if the battle with Octavia ended, the war would continue. Keliak was currently on the back foot, but once the Demon God Stone’s activation finished, the tide could turn unpredictably.
That was why Jin chose the Flame of Ascendance over the Sovereign’s Reign Sword.
She’ll unleash the magic sword Hedo spoke of.
Octavia had accurately predicted Jin’s sword technique. Having heard from Hedo about the power of the Flame of Ascendance, she had already decided how to counter it.
Crack!
Amidst the scattered lights, suddenly a crimson flame burst forth. The fire spread from Octavia’s eyes.
The Crimson Flame Eye—Octavia Ziphl’s signature move, a decisive technique evolved from the Azure Flame Eye, designed to maintain power even within the “true blue flames.”
The real problem isn’t Jin Runkandel’s magic sword, but Misha’s black spear.
That was something Octavia hadn’t foreseen.
After their battle on Veradin Island two years ago, Octavia had scoured all records of Ziphl to find information on Misha.
There weren’t many records left. The previous Phantom Corps who fought her had all died or gone mad, leaving no proper accounts.
But the way Misha killed the previous Phantom Corps was mostly not through direct confrontation, but through prolonged, brutal assassinations.
That was why the previous Phantom Corps left no proper records. She had, like a ghost, been killing them physically and mentally over decades.
There must be something. Even with just the transcendent power she’s shown so far.
Whatever it was, Octavia was confident she could meet it head-on. Being the second-ranked mage of Ziphl was no empty title.
She preferred pure power clashing with power, not tricks like spirit puppets.
Her crimson gaze melted the earth beneath. The warriors’ feet sank deep into the scorched ground, the smell of burning flesh thick in the air.
One by one, casualties began to mount in their ranks. Rata gasped for breath, retreating, while magic aimed at him was barely deflected by Kashmir, Amela, and Fei—though all three had blood staining their lips.
Julian’s Thunder Palace “Harmila” fired lightning stronger than before, but it was a last desperate effort. Kuzan, who protected him, kept drinking deadly poison to fuel his recovery, but even that was running out.
Valkas, fully armed Alisa, Murakan, and the Sword Saints held the line, but at this rate, deaths were only a matter of time.
Octavia’s attacks intensified, and even the Overlord Blade formation began to falter.
Yet despite the worsening situation, the Sword Saints and their comrades did not think they were about to die.
Not because they believed themselves superior to the Phantom Corps, nor because they thought Jin and Misha stronger than Octavia.
It was the power of existence.
An indescribable, strange force the ancient Runkandels had felt from Temar, and Talaris had confirmed from Jin, was pushing away their fear.
Octavia also clearly saw the power radiating from Jin. To erase that unsettling intuition, she focused her mind even more.
This, like Misha’s spirit puppets, is still closer to an illusion. Before it becomes real…
I will shatter it.
At that moment, Jin’s magic sword technique was unleashed.
Just as Octavia had predicted.
“Do you think I can be overcome by the remnants of the old Runkandels?”
Crackle!
Suddenly, like a mountain erupting, crimson flames roared up.
And within them, the power of wind was mixed. Jin had just realized that Octavia was the new contract holder of Melzayer, the Wind God.
The wind was rougher and fiercer than the magic of Andrei Ziphl, once called the Wind King, whipping the crimson flames into a storm.
That crimson storm swallowed the nascent flames of the Flame of Ascendance.
The blue flames, which should have connected from points to lines, and lines to planes along the rune characters left by Sara Runkandel, were being consumed by the crimson fire.
The runes scattered in the wind, unable to find their place, and Jin’s body, now one with the fire, trembled precariously as if it might be extinguished at any moment.
The scattered lights around Octavia transformed into the power of fire, further strengthening her magic.
She judged that this was enough to overwhelm Jin’s Flame of Ascendance. Every ounce of her magical essence filled the battlefield.
Is Misha’s ultimate technique the only thing left?
No matter what came flying next, it wouldn’t matter. The power of wind and crimson flames had already turned this place into her domain.
But the next moment—
Octavia couldn’t help but wonder why Jin’s eyes, shimmering blue, were so calm and resolute.
They were not the eyes of someone whose decisive strike had been blocked.
[Wow… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen this. I’d forgotten.]
Contrary to Octavia’s expectations, Misha hadn’t prepared a separate ultimate technique.
What she had prepared was a reenactment of the battle from a thousand years ago, fought alongside Sara Runkandel.
Just before Jin unleashed the Flame of Ascendance, he received these words from Misha amid the flames:
“Even if Octavia’s magic extinguishes your flame, do not fear. I will be your strength.”
Misha, now transformed into her true form, spread her wings from Jin’s back—just as she had protected Sara’s back in that brutal battle a millennium ago.
The reason countless mages in the world always choose Solderet as their supreme deity is none other than this:
The superiority of the power called “spirit energy.” Through this divine authority, mages have always yearned to open new horizons for their magic.
And though most mages remain unaware, spirit energy was originally a power better suited to swords than to magic—and even more so to magic swords than to ordinary blades. Misha was a black dragon specialized not in individual combat prowess, but in the very authority of spirit energy itself.
Misha had always supported Runcandel in this very way.
[You call it a remnant of the old Runcandel?]
Misha’s wings blazed with a vivid blue flame.
At the same time, the fire coiling around Jin regained its breath, and the rune marks on Sarah—once lost in the storm of crimson flames—deepened into spirit energy, finding their rightful place.
The crimson fire and Melzayer’s wind were being pushed back. The more that happened, the stronger Octavia’s magic grew, and without a doubt, her power still surpassed the others.
But there is a limit to how much ‘rank’ power can bear.
[That’s a mistaken way to put it. This child’s magic sword is the current Runcandel itself. Insolent mortal of Ziphl.]
Runcandel Magic Sword Secret Technique
Flame of Vengeance—True Runcandel, Shadowless Spear of Black Shadows (무영창 흑영)
As Jin thrust forward with Bradamante, black and blue flames surged like a tidal wave, crashing down upon Octavia.