Episode 677
Chapter 173. Chasing the Sword (2)
A deserted island in the Tikan territorial waters.
Jin had chosen this place as the site to open the sixth tomb—the sword’s pocket dimension.
To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, Jin was accompanied by the strongest warriors of Tikan, as well as Hedo and Sandra, the sword’s rightful owners, all gathered in the center of the island.
“Are you going to open the pocket dimension by spreading spiritual energy like last time?” Sandra asked.
“Most likely. More precisely, the energy is infused into the sword itself,” Jin replied.
“Hmm.” Hedo adjusted his glasses, clearly skeptical.
“Didn’t you say that for Temar’s tomb to open in the Kaldran snowfields, certain location conditions had to be met, Twelve Knight? This island doesn’t seem to fit those criteria.”
“Not all tombs require that. Back then, we only made an educated guess due to the sudden situation.”
Hedo shrugged and handed the sword to Jin.
Jin took the sword and gave Hedo a sly smile.
“Don’t you find it somewhat fated, Keeper?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I just can’t help but wonder if it’s mere coincidence that you, who obtained this sword after a thousand years, are the one holding it. The combination of an ancient Knight and Ziphl’s butler—doesn’t that seem like destiny?”
“That’s just pointless fatalism.”
“I’m just trying to coax you with some pointless fatalism. Who knows? Maybe you’re a descendant of Veil, one of the ancient Knights. That’s why the sword found you—not by chance.”
“Romantic nonsense, darling.”
“Miss, it’s not romantic at all.”
“Why does our foolish butler think that way?”
“When the head of the family first accepted me, they thoroughly verified my identity. You know that, right?”
“Oh, those lowly scoundrels who abandoned Hedo. I remember. Though they’re dead, I never saw their faces.”
“Did you hear that, Twelve Knight? My parents were insignificant commoners and criminals. They abandoned me because it was too much to handle, occasionally visiting the orphanage out of guilt but never taking me back. Once their guilt faded, they disappeared again. That’s the kind of criminals they were.”
Despite saying this, Hedo showed no emotional change.
In truth, he never felt anything toward the parents who abandoned him at birth—no longing, no resentment.
“Moreover, the family traced their roots and found they descended from a merchant family of the long-fallen Urot Kingdom. Whoever’s inside the sword cannot be my ancestor.”
“A disappointing story.”
“Now I see that not only you, Miss, but you too need to learn the art of give and take. If you rush at me wanting me so badly, I’ll only grow more distant.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jin smirked playfully, feigning regret.
Hedo found the expression irritating and thought he should have beaten Jin more in the Sota Desert.
Jin then composed himself and looked around at the others.
“I will now begin infusing spiritual energy into the sword. Hopefully, the tomb will open smoothly, but be alert—there could be unexpected variables.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Understood, my lord.”
As Jin released spiritual energy, darkness quickly spread across the area.
Though it was midday, it felt as if night had suddenly fallen, the dazzling sunlight obscured by a black veil.
‘As expected, this will require a massive amount of spiritual energy.’
The memory of barely surviving the last tomb battle against Runtia with nearly depleted energy made Jin tense.
He might face another formidable opponent with almost no energy left.
Most importantly, there was a high chance that a living figure from ancient Runkandel resided within this sword.
Like the guardians of previous tombs, this entity could attack Jin without warning—and if it was one of the ancient Knights, it wouldn’t be weaker than Runtia.
‘A living member of ancient Runkandel…’
Perhaps possible because the pocket dimension is a “dead world,” or maybe a being with a lifespan of thousands of years like dragons or demons. They had never confirmed that all ancient Knights were human.
‘Or maybe it’s sealed, like Elona or Ziphl.’
The spiritual energy spread endlessly, occasionally pouring into the sword to be absorbed. Those watching couldn’t even begin to gauge the scale of energy Jin was controlling.
‘It reminds me of Murakan’s prime spiritual energy release. That fool never quite found his strength and couldn’t help Jin in place of Misha… It’d be reassuring if he were here now.’
In the Kaldran snowfields, the tomb rejected everyone except Jin.
Since the group had once entered the tomb together and fought the guardian Sarah, Quikantel hoped the same would happen this time.
Time passed.
‘The energy is being poured in like crazy, but I don’t sense any change from the sword…’
If this continued, the energy would soon run out, yet Hedo’s sword remained unmoving.
Unlike in the Kaldran snowfields, it neither emitted a radiant glow nor formed a portal.
“Jin, this feels different from last time. Could that redhead have brought us wrong information?” Sandra glared at Valeria.
Valeria said nothing, quietly watching Jin and the sword.
“If this fails, do we have to study the method of opening the sword’s gate again through record magic? Like the location conditions?”
“In my opinion, that redhead is a complete fraud, Hedo. It’s strange to think a living ancient Runkandel is inside the sword.”
“I find that odd as well.”
“But what if the redhead’s words are true and the gate suddenly opens? What if that Runkandel attacks Jin, like in the Kaldran snowfields?”
“Miss, the real concern should be if that ancient Runkandel becomes an ally of the Twelve Knights.”
“Wishful thinking, Hedo. That would be good for Jin, so why would I worry about it?”
“I lost my roots and family and have been hunted for a long time.”
Valeria spoke in a low voice, not even looking at Sandra.
“What did you say, redhead?”
“I mean, since I feel like tearing someone apart, just shut up and focus on the task. We’re all here because we have no choice but to work.”
Valeria still avoided Sandra’s gaze, but the cold menace in her voice made Sandra blink.
Just as Sandra was about to shout—
Suddenly, Hedo’s sword trembled and began to change for the first time.
“Is the pocket dimension opening?”
“Luckily, it seems no major problems will occur…”
Quikantel’s words cut off abruptly.
He had seen Jin’s expression.
“Jin, are you alright?”
“Darling!?”
Jin, who had been expressionless all along, now looked deeply troubled.
The reason was clear.
‘The Keeper’s sword looks like it’s about to shoot off somewhere…!’
Since Jin was directly infusing energy, he was the first to notice the sword’s sudden change.
From what he felt, instead of opening a gate like last time, Hedo’s sword seemed to choose ‘movement.’
Within three seconds, Jin was certain—the sword was about to shoot off somewhere.
He tried to block the spiritual energy flowing into the sword, but it had already gained enough momentum to move.
Piiing, shshshhh—!
Like a magical cannon firing,
The sword that had been lying before Jin suddenly tore through the black veil covering the sky and shot upward.
It looked like Runkandel’s secret technique, the Light-Speed Thrust, unleashed into the sky.
The space distorted from the sword’s speed, and everyone on the island looked up.
“Whoa, Hedo’s sword just shot up like fireworks…!”
Hedo leapt up in surprise.
He landed on the ground, unable to catch his sword.
Watching the sword fly farther away, Hedo could only wear a dumbfounded expression.
“Chase it!”
Quikantel shouted.
But the sword, which had soared straight up, already changed direction and was flying somewhere else.
The spiritual energy the sword absorbed left a long trail in the sky, like a comet’s tail.
In the blink of an eye, the sword was over a mile away from the group.
Instinctively, Jin guessed the sword was flying off to find a place to open its pocket dimension.
If so, the tomb opening was a success—but it wasn’t a good situation.
There was no way to immediately pursue the sword.
The Red Owl was stationed on the Nameless side, Mote was injured, and even if they were available, chasing a sword moving at such speed would be difficult. The sword wasn’t teleporting but flying at pure supersonic speed.
None of those watching had ever seen a flying object moving faster than that.
“Quikantel!”
Jin called out. They had to chase the sword.
“Understood!”
Quikantel quickly activated his power over time and transformed into his true form.
But the sword narrowly avoided his time manipulation and sped off into the distant sky.
The gathered group swiftly climbed onto Quikantel’s back.
He immediately took off at full speed, but catching the sword was impossible.
[I’ll at least follow the trail of spiritual energy the sword left behind!]
Fortunately, Hedo’s sword left a long trail of spiritual energy like a contrail.
Though the sword was already out of sight, following the trail would lead them to its destination.
The problem was, they had no idea where that destination was—or how long the sword’s flight would last.
“This is completely unexpected. I thought if there was going to be trouble with opening the tomb, it would naturally mean a fight with the tomb’s guardian—but for the sword to fly off like that?”
And to leave so many traces along the way.
A sword leaving marks all across the sky during such a long flight means this whole situation could easily be exposed to forces other than Tikan.
If, by the time the sword reaches its destination, groups like the Sword Garden, Ziphl, Kinzello, or the Imperial Court all gather there—
“The temporary alliances might hesitate to act recklessly, but the Sword Garden won’t…!”
At worst, it could mean a massive gathering of powerful factions at Temar’s sixth tomb.
Hedo’s sharp gaze landed on Jin’s back.
“Looks like this problem caught you off guard too. But if I lose my sword because of this mess, it won’t be any fun at all. The Twelve Riders…”