Episode 626
Chapter 161: Return (3)
The first feeling to flood Ranké Halobiche’s mind was sheer disbelief.
“My jaw… it’s broken!? From a single blow…!?”
He prided himself on having one of the strongest bodies among the four great dukedoms of the demon realm.
Since birth, he had reigned as a formidable force in the demon world, and never before had a single strike shattered a bone.
Next came anger, burning hot in Ranké’s chest. How dare this insolent fool cut him off mid-sentence—and then throw a punch out of nowhere!
But now was not the time to lose his composure. Just because his opponent was crude didn’t mean he, a noble, should stoop to the same level.
Gritting his teeth, Ranké forced his dislocated jaw back into place.
The bone snapped back quickly, healing at a remarkable pace.
“Attacking an unguarded opponent has always been the trademark of lowlifes. Hmph. I even greeted you first out of goodwill, and this is the thanks I get… Ugh!”
Crack!
Before he could finish, Jin’s elbow struck again, shattering Ranké’s jaw once more. Tears welled up in his eyes as he staggered back, putting distance between them.
“Ah, enough already!”
Once again, Ranké forced his jaw back into place.
“Were you careless again?”
“No, I was merely trying to maintain my dignity.”
“In that case, you’ve died twice over trying to cling to your pathetic pride. Had I struck properly, your head would’ve been gone.”
“But this Ranké Halobiche no longer has any reason to respect you!”
Ranké’s eyes glowed a deep, blood-red.
Suddenly, a thorned whip materialized in his hand.
“A thorn whip? How refined of you.”
With a sharp hiss, the whip lashed out.
Ranké casually swung his hand, releasing a burst of demonic energy that shattered dozens of chaotic remnants into pieces.
Of course, the true power of the whip, when wielded with full force, was on a completely different level.
‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve sparred with anyone since my last duel with the Baba brothers.’
Perhaps that was why.
Jin found Ranké’s whip to be almost harmless.
It was like watching a clumsy apprentice swordsman fumble through their moves.
There was no sense of real strength coming from Ranké.
‘Is he not planning to dodge?’
Thud! Snap!
When Jin grabbed the thorn whip barehanded, Ranké’s eyes nearly popped out in shock.
The tough, demonic thorns of the hellish hawthorn tree crumbled helplessly in Jin’s grip.
‘Two and a half years ago, I was told he was far weaker than Bianca… Did everyone lie to me? And I just caught this whip with my bare hands?’
All the information Ranké had on Jin came from the members of Kinzello’s faction.
He knew Jin’s power was already near ten stars two and a half years ago, and assumed he had grown significantly during his secluded training.
But the man holding the whip now was nothing like the stories he’d heard.
“The only reason I haven’t killed you outright, demon…”
“Ranké. Ranké Halobiche!”
“Is because I’m curious. Why the Mitra Desert has fallen into this state, and why you call this place your playground. Explain in detail, and I might show you some mercy.”
“Mercy? Ha! You’ve got some nerve.”
“That means I won’t kill you painfully.”
“You seem a bit stronger than I expected, but don’t get cocky. I, Ranké, am very strong.”
“Oh? Compared to Bianca Caligo, you’re a joke.”
“I am far superior to that pathetic Caligo brat… Don’t compare me to such a lowly fool!”
With a fierce roar, Ranké yanked the whip with all his might.
But Jin stood firm as a boulder, making Ranké’s stance look ridiculous. Jin even used only one hand, exuding effortless confidence.
“Haha, alright, I admit it. Your strength… is greater than mine!”
Ranké summoned a new thorn whip and launched another attack. Only then did Jin swing Sigmund and easily deflect the whip.
“Are you really that clueless? Or do you have some other ace up your sleeve? Waiting for your comrades to arrive?”
“I, Ranké, don’t need any backup.”
Ranké’s words were cut short as a sudden chill ran down his neck.
Jin, who should have been right in front of him amidst the whipping lashes, had vanished.
“You’re not used to fighting someone stronger than yourself. In times like this, forcing courage to push away fear is pointless…”
Jin’s voice came from beside him, barely ten steps away—a distance close enough to behead him in the blink of an eye.
“Your best bet is to accept defeat quickly and figure out how to survive. To do that, you need to prove your worth to your opponent. Give me a reason not to kill you immediately, and you might live to see another day. Besides, I already told you what I want.”
Roar!
A blast of demonic energy, like a dragon’s breath, surged toward Jin.
Of course, Jin easily dodged and regained his footing.
The energy stretched far into the distance, sweeping away everything in its path.
Thump, thump, thump… Ranké’s heart pounded wildly in his chest.
Fear—a feeling he hadn’t experienced in ages—overwhelmed him.
“Start by telling me why the desert is in this state.”
Jin’s voice was calm, devoid of any killing intent.
But Ranké felt cold sweat break out from every pore.
Pant, pant—his breathing grew ragged.
He thought of his father.
‘This pale human… could he really possess power comparable to my father?’
It was as if his father stood before him.
A terrifying sensation gripped Ranké, as if an unbreakable wall was closing in from all sides, trapping him in a pit of panic.
“The… desert…”
“Yes, you’re finally starting to get it.”
“The desert… the desert is, well…”
Ranké trembled violently, unable to finish his sentence.
‘Something’s wrong with him.’
Just as Jin moved in to strike, intending to intimidate, Ranké’s whip sliced past his eyes.
Jin reacted easily, but the attack was far sharper than before.
It was an unconscious strike from Ranké.
Now, even Jin’s gaze was laced with deadly intent.
“I don’t know if it’s fear or some bad memory that’s coming back, but if you keep getting hit, you’ll snap out of it.”
Meanwhile, in the beastmen lands, at the old Kinzello headquarters.
“What? Ranké suddenly went off alone, saying something’s wrong in the desert?”
“Huh? What kind of trouble could there be?”
Ainas Caligo and Bubar Gaston shared sweet potato croquettes as they listened to reports from the beastmen.
Among those left at the old headquarters, Ranké was the only one skilled enough to detect the battle in the desert.
“If it’s one of Ranké’s summoning experiments, that might explain it.”
“Oh, that weird experiment where he tried to call forth the souls of the old demon lords.”
“Hmm. What do you think, Bubar? Should we tell the duke or my sister?”
“If it’s just another simple experiment gone wrong, wouldn’t that embarrass Ranké? He’s not good at handling that kind of thing.”
“But what if it’s not Ranké’s experiment? What if some intruder got in? The desert is where Jin Runkandel was last active, after all…”
“Come on, the desert was contaminated over a year ago. Since then, it’s been used as a dumping ground. There’s no way that bastard stayed there to train. We even searched the area.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Bubar, you’re really smart! Even if there were intruders, it’d just be those Tikans scavenging for waste.”
“Ranké might be a bit of a fool, but he’s no pushover against those Tikans.”
“Well, he’s no match for my sister. But Ranké’s tough, especially when he goes berserk. Before the demon realm fell, he was well-known for his rampages. Anyway, when Ranké gets back, let’s make sure to prepare a good meal for him. Something delicious!”
“And test out the new cookies that’ll shake up the Litra Tea Shop!”
“Cough… hack…”
While Ainas and Bubar joked, Ranké suffered a crushing defeat at Jin’s hands.
Whenever Ranké’s trauma about his father flared, he usually went berserk and grew stronger, never losing to anyone in that state—though he never remembered how he won.
But today, the undefeated streak of ‘Berserk Ranké’ was broken.
This time, he remembered everything.
Though they were evenly matched briefly, once the tide turned, his berserk state faded and his mind cleared.
“Phew.”
Jin wiped his brow, catching his breath.
He too was bleeding from cuts and bruises all over his body.
No fatal wounds, but some injuries were serious.
Still, if he hadn’t been protecting the satchel containing Laprarosa’s belongings, he would have only suffered minor scratches.
“So, demon, what you’re saying is…”
“You keep calling me demon… but I’m Ra… Ranké… Halobiche. I… I granted your wish, so… you should… at least… show some respect…”
Lanke coughed up blood, his whole body broken and barely clinging to life.
“Alright, Lanke Halobiche. I have to admit, you’ve got some serious grit. According to your story, the Great Desert ended up like this because every faction used it as a contaminated testing ground. And you? You just liked it here and treated it like your playground?”
“Yeah…”
“The first part makes sense, but the second? Not so much. You were up to something.”
“I just… I just like it here,” he gasped.
Jin paused, trying to figure out what Lanke had been planning in this place.
He realized Lanke had been fixated on the satchel Jin had been guarding all along.
In the end, it seemed that exploiting any weakness around that satchel was Lanke’s only chance to survive.
But whatever Lanke’s intentions were, Jin decided it wasn’t something he needed to worry about right now.
“Alright, that’s enough. I’ll handle the rest. Oh, and just so you know—if you’re thinking of somehow using my satchel to escape this mess, forget it.”
Lanke lowered his head.
Even before he ended up like this, he had tried again and again but couldn’t even scratch the satchel.
Now, it was even more impossible, and Jin was fully aware of that.
“I’m beaten… kill me…”
“That’s the plan. Anything you want to say before you go?”
“Erect a monument here… to honor my glory and dignity…”
As Jin listened to Lanke’s final words, he suddenly swung his sword down toward the fallen man.
The iron gate of the Beast King Orgal had appeared over Lanke—always showing up unexpectedly whenever a key figure of Kinzelro was in danger.
‘Hah! That damn iron gate—it’s been a while.’
Ziiing!
The gate pulled Lanke in a fraction faster. Jin narrowed his eyes in irritation, glaring at the gate.
Even after saving Lanke, the gate didn’t vanish immediately. Instead, it spoke to Jin.
[You’ve returned, Jin Runkandel.]
It was the voice of Orgal, leader of Kinzelro.