Episode 710
Chapter 179: The Inescapable Trap (9)
Volgar and Bradamante clashed, their swords carving black crescent shapes through the air. The shockwave radiating from their collision cracked the ground beneath them, and from the fissures, dark chaotic energy surged upward like molten lava.
Jin gritted his teeth and looked up at Dipus.
Sharp, menacing horns; black eyes that no human could possess; and a twisted smile that seemed to revel in the horror of the moment.
There was no trace of the second brother he once knew.
Even when they met at the empire, it had been this way—but now, that fact weighed on him even more heavily.
Because today, he had to end this.
“Fourth Rank… your sword feels lighter than I expected.”
Jin’s gaze flicked to Dipus’s left wing and chest.
Though covered by clothing, the residual flames of power still burned beneath.
[That was the result of underestimating you back at the empire. That’s why I’ve prepared so much this time…]
Behind Dipus, countless pods imprisoning captives were falling relentlessly.
Each pod held about fifty people. Every time one crashed to the ground, dozens of lives were lost or gravely injured.
[Let’s take our time and enjoy this, little brother.]
Perhaps the real Dipus was still trapped somewhere inside that monstrous form.
But Jin pushed that thought aside. As Mary had warned, facing him half-heartedly would only make things worse.
‘Even with the wounds from the Eternal Flame, the Fourth Rank is still a transcendent powerhouse. I have to fight coldly—for my brother’s sake.’
A deadly resolve settled in Jin’s eyes.
“I’ll see if you can still afford such arrogance when this fight’s over, Fourth Rank. Or should I say… monster who swallowed my brother.”
[You’ve barely hidden your pain all this time, yet you can say such terrifying things.]
Screeeech!
The two swords, locked in place, began moving again.
Jin pushed Dipus back and launched a lightning-fast thrust, while Dipus took to the air, swinging Volgar wildly.
In an instant, the ground was battered by massive waves of black sword energy, obscuring vision.
Jin parried Dipus’s attacks and surged forward, determined not to let him widen the distance.
There was no time to free their comrades trapped in the pocket dimension.
Still, even if not with the Spirit Sword, someone like Hedo could cut through the pocket dimension, so eventually, they would escape.
‘When my comrades emerge, I have to keep Dipus completely restrained so we can focus on rescuing the captives.’
To do that, Jin first needed to neutralize Dipus’s mobility.
He had to sever those wings to deal a fatal blow with the Eternal Flame.
Since the Eternal Flame couldn’t be unleashed as sword energy, Jin had to force the fight into close quarters.
“You keep fighting like you’re running away. Even after receiving the power of the Wretched God, you don’t have the guts to face me head-on?”
[Like I said, let’s enjoy this slowly. One side will definitely fall today, so don’t worry.]
As Jin chased Dipus, he kept seeing the pods with captives.
Some were already filled with nothing but corpses; others held survivors screaming desperately for help.
If Dipus used them as hostages to threaten him, Jin would have no way to stop it.
‘The Fourth Rank wouldn’t recklessly take hostages. He knows that if he starts killing them, there’ll be no limits for me and the alliance. If he planned to sacrifice them from the start, he would have acted differently.’
Then why was Dipus leaving the captives like this?
He wasn’t hiding them or keeping them in a state easy to use as hostages.
Instead, the pods were scattered recklessly near Ricalton Castle, as if inviting someone to pick them up.
That realization struck Jin: Dipus wasn’t neglecting the captives—he was positioning them.
‘For what purpose?’
Swish!
Dipus’s sword energy grazed Jin’s cheek. Like Rosa’s blade, it carried a power that spread chaos, but Jin’s heart steadied, pushing the influence away.
At the same time, Dipus shattered one of the nearby pods, locking eyes with Jin.
The people trapped inside were torn apart with the shards, scattering into the air.
[Don’t get distracted by other things when I’m right in front of you. If you want all the captives to die like that, then by all means, keep it up…]
Dipus didn’t finish his sentence.
Jin suddenly surged forward, slicing off Dipus’s left wing.
Dipus couldn’t dodge the sudden speed of Jin’s blade, which was faster than he had anticipated during the chase.
[Ugh!]
If they had been fighting on the ground in close quarters, Dipus wouldn’t have fallen for such an ambush. His sword would have reacted before his mind.
But flying, no matter how fast, limited his movements—and Dipus had only recently gained flight.
Jin had deliberately adjusted his speed to provoke such a small mistake, making it seem like he was barely keeping up.
Of course, he hadn’t closed the gap completely—he’d just used one of his reserved moves.
“Stop wasting your time. Threatening me with hostages? Go ahead, let’s see who dies first. Do you think we came to Ricalton without that kind of resolve?”
The alliance’s final agreement was clear: even if all the hostages died in the worst case, Dipus had to be eliminated.
[Hah, you’re good at lying and trickery. But to reveal your trump card just because of a handful of hostages…]
Dipus’s left wing began to regenerate.
It wasn’t untouched—just before the blade struck, Bradamante had briefly infused it with the Eternal Flame.
But unlike when it was severed at the empire, the flame hadn’t penetrated deeply. The strike was rushed and shallower this time.
[Your choice just revealed that you need time to fully wield that flame. I’ll respond more carefully. So get your head straight, little brother. If you want to win. You can’t bring down me and Mother with such human feelings.]
“That remains to be seen. But everyone who’s spoken to me like that is long gone, Fourth Rank. Do you think you and the Wretched God will have a different fate?”
Dipus was putting distance between them again.
His flight was noticeably slower, hampered by the lingering Eternal Flame on his left wing.
But that also meant more opportunities to keep him in check, so the chase remained difficult.
For some reason, the farther the pursuit went, the more they drifted away from Ricalton Castle.
When they finally reached the black forest shrouded in chaotic energy, Jin noticed fewer pods imprisoning captives nearby.
‘Now’s the time to rescue them. My comrades should be escaping the pocket dimension soon. But where’s the alliance fleet?’
At that moment, a massive energy surged from Ricalton Castle.
It was Hedo. He and the others had finally broken through the pocket dimension and emerged near the castle.
As soon as Jin sensed his presence, he fired an orange signal flare.
It meant: I’m safe. Focus on rescuing the captives.
Dipus immediately understood the signal.
Despite the orange light briefly coloring the sky, no one else was approaching.
[Looks like you ignored my advice to get your head straight. Wouldn’t it be better to give up the captives and attack me with your comrades?]
“That’s not for you to decide.”
The main reason Dipus had been luring Jin away from Ricalton Castle was because of Hedo and the others.
He knew he couldn’t handle a combined attack from all of them alone.
Jin vaguely sensed Dipus’s plan, but moving away from Ricalton wasn’t entirely bad for him either. It avoided the hostage threat.
More than anything, Jin was confident he wouldn’t lose even if he ended up fighting Dipus one-on-one. No matter how much power Dipus was hiding.
[I thought you’d say that. You came this far knowing it was a trap. Anyway, this should be enough.]
Suddenly, Dipus stopped flying. Towering black trees rose up, obscuring both of them.
[One last question, little brother. You and the comrades you brought, and the captives—who do you want to see return alive and safe to Tikan?]
-[This is getting frustrating. No wonder you and Joshua always lose to the little brother. This is the biggest crisis yet. Mother can’t move, and the flame on me probably won’t go out until you arrive. If a battle breaks out, I might lose to you.]
-[You… might lose?]
-[Yes. So I have to set the stage. Even if I lose, Runcandel won’t.]
This was the conversation between Ilina and Dipus before the operation began.
The plan Dipus had devised then was now coming to fruition.
Whoosh!
The black trees scattered into particles, and the area was instantly engulfed in thick black mist. Even fierce winds couldn’t disperse it.
‘It doesn’t seem like a pocket dimension. What is this?’
Jin couldn’t see Dipus’s form, but he tracked his energy and pointed his sword in that direction.
After a moment, the mist suddenly cleared.
Looking around, Jin realized he was no longer standing in the heart of Ricalton.
He glanced back, but neither Ricalton Castle nor the trees imprisoning the captives were in sight.
‘…Teleportation? Could that mist have been a dimensional portal?’
He was right.
Just now, Dipus had forcibly used the power of the Wraith God to open a dimensional gate and teleport.
He was standing firmly on solid ground, not floating in midair. His left wing—the one Jin had slashed earlier and he had just regenerated—was now drooping toward the ground.
[Seems like you’re having trouble answering. But no matter who you want to save more, you can’t go to them now. This place is quite far from Ricalton Castle…]
Dipus said that as he raised his greatsword, Volgar.