Chapter 732
Episode 184: Beyond Fate (4)
As if answering Jin’s resolve, a roar erupted.
The fleet unleashed fire once more, and the dragons exhaled their breath. The corpses of the Chaos Dragon and the wreckage of the Black Ship disintegrated under the shockwave.
Amid the dizzying barrage, Jin kept his eyes fixed on the inside of the castle gate.
He could feel a dark, oppressive aura rapidly intensifying from within.
“A knight, huh? Has some weight to him.”
The sharp fighting spirit radiating from inside the castle pricked at his skin.
He hadn’t expected to face Rosa immediately upon arrival. After all, he hadn’t come alone.
“Veil.”
[Why?]
“The guy coming out from inside is taking too long. Go check what he’s up to.”
“Good idea.”
Hedo nodded in agreement, but Veil’s expression soured.
[You want me to enter the castle gate alone?]
“Exactly. No one’s better suited than you to scout that dark place. Sending Nameless would take too long. Besides, if something happens inside that requires a special power like a barrier, you’ll have an easier time escaping.”
[Hah.]
Veil sighed and spread his two wings.
His irritation toward Jin and Hedo flared up like a blazing power from Shakan’s blade.
[Damn it, how did I end up like this?!]
With a thunderous rush, Veil kicked up dust and charged toward the castle gate.
The allies watched tensely as his figure disappeared inside.
Yet, inside the castle, nothing seemed to stir.
But after about thirty seconds, most of the allies gasped and sighed in disbelief.
A slender knight emerged from the castle, dragging Veil by the hair with his left hand.
In his right hand, he wielded a longsword at least twice Veil’s length—reminiscent of Shakan’s blade when Veil was its wielder.
[Since the lord cherishes you so much, I wanted to see just how brave you really are.]
With a thud, the knight threw Veil to the ground and spat.
Unlike other Chaos Knights, this one, like Lionel, radiated a faint indigo glow all over his body. Only knights who had escaped the spirit tomb bore such an aura.
[What a disappointment. I thought you’d come alone and sweep this side clean. Instead, you send a puppet like this first… Disappointing, utterly disappointing.]
As he spoke, Jin shook his head.
“We underestimated him.”
“We did.”
Jin and Hedo said in unison.
The entire alliance had witnessed Veil’s pitiful state, sending chills down their spines.
“Anyway, the problem is his rapid recovery, Lord Hedo.”
“Right. He’s so confident he can’t die that he ends up like this. That bastard is about to crush the morale you just raised.”
“I have no excuse. I trusted Veil too much.”
[Hey, if someone’s talking, you should listen.]
“That guy’s careless too. The Chaos side must have plenty of intel on Veil, so where does that arrogance come from?”
“Probably skill… hmm!”
Sssshing!
Suddenly, the knight’s longsword flashed sharply.
Between Jin and Hedo, the fifth secret technique of Runkandel—the Lightning Thrust—sliced through.
[No guts, no manners. I heard you were once Runkandel’s most promising knight, even if you’re a traitor now. If you’re going to fight, at least show me some respect. You do know what it means that I was buried in the spirit tomb, don’t you?]
Jin let out a dry laugh, incredulous.
“A man who devoted his life to Runkandel, in life and death. One who sacrificed body and soul for his family’s survival and prosperity. One who protected his house to the very end, no matter the disaster.”
[You know well. So?]
“Then why are you standing there?”
[What did you say?]
“You probably met almost every condition I just mentioned in life. That’s why you could be buried in the spirit tomb. But now, where is your soul headed? With the Chaos threatening your family’s ruin, what are you holding onto by standing there?”
The knight glared at Jin without answering.
[You’ve never been a lord, yet you lecture me so well…]
“Whether you were lord or knight doesn’t matter. Now that you’ve awakened from the spirit tomb, only your duty after death matters. I’ll give you one last chance to fulfill that duty. Join me now and prove that Runkandel’s fight won’t be broken by Chaos’ power.”
[The mountain only grows higher!]
“Will you accept?”
The man spat once more.
[Is that an answer? I am Senga Runkandel! The 11th lord of the sword house, returned from death once again for Runkandel.]
“Then, Senga, I strip you of your right to rest in the spirit tomb and revoke your claim to Runkandel’s castle.”
Just as Senga was about to respond, Jin took a deep breath and looked at Veil, still collapsed before the gate.
“Veil! Enough. Get up and finish this.”
[Tch…]
Veil sluggishly rose.
As Jin and Hedo had said, Veil’s disgraceful state—dragged out by the hair—was due to his carelessness.
The moment he entered the castle, Senga’s longsword pierced his chest, and his aura exploded inside, nearly tearing him apart.
It hadn’t dealt a fatal blow to Veil. To erase a “trace of life” like him, one would need Changsung or an equivalent power.
Still, Veil had chosen to lie there a while longer, swallowing his shame.
“Ugh, so embarrassing. I hope that meddler Padler didn’t see this…”
Luckily, he sensed no sign of Padler nearby.
Veil didn’t want to show such a pathetic side to anyone—especially not Padler.
A sneer curled Senga’s lips as he watched Veil.
[I was wondering when you’d get up and leave, puppet.]
[That guy was whining about ancestors to Jin earlier, but why does he try to match me? He stabbed me once while I was off guard and now thinks he’s something? Huh? You think I’m just fish food because I kept quiet?]
Perhaps due to his recent time with Sandra and the tense situation, Veil’s language was rougher than usual. Maybe Enya’s Murakan impersonations had rubbed off on him too.
[As Lord Padler said, you’re a low-class puppet. But since I’ve already taken your life once, you bore no interest. I’ll send some friends your way—make sure you get along while you wait. Until my duel with the traitor Jin Runkandel ends.]
As Senga raised his arm, the castle gates swung open.
From within poured knights and monsters tainted by Chaos.
An uncountable army.
They had been waiting at the gate’s boundary since Senga stepped out.
Before the army could even take position, Veil suffused the entire front line with golden power.
As the glowing halo above Veil’s head resonated with his vast power, the Chaos forces standing on that ground simultaneously exploded.
[You just said you’d duel Jin… You? How? Even if all your troops attacked him at once, they’d barely scratch him. The Chaos side never expected you to face Jin.]
Senga remained composed despite the futile deaths of his troops, but as the golden power enveloping Shakan deepened, a chill ran down his spine.
Veil had been a teenage knight during Runkandel’s prime, wielding overwhelming power.
Senga, on the other hand, had been lord during Runkandel’s darkest decline.
Jin’s description of him as “weighty” and Hedo’s acknowledgment of his skill only meant he was a worthy “gatekeeper of Chaos.”
Up to this point, the battles had been grueling.
Now, for Jin and his comrades, someone like Senga was no longer even a minor threat.
As Veil said, Senga lacked the qualifications to cross swords with Jin.
Senga was a man who had never lived through such desperate times before becoming lord.
Sssshak!
Shakan’s blade struck Senga’s head, and their duel began.
Even after the fight started, Veil continued incinerating the troops pouring out of the gate with ease.
Senga thought:
No matter how great Veil’s power, he can’t handle all the troops alone.
The fleet’s bombardment will continue, and when the chaos of battle erupts, he’ll have to catch his breath and fight again.
Veil, clearly, was several steps ahead of him.
As time passed, Senga had to focus less on the overall battle and more on Veil alone.
But Veil prioritized wiping out the Chaos forces single-handedly over the duel itself.
The battle between the two ended only after Senga’s greatsword shattered into countless pieces, and the two arms that had wielded it vanished into thin air.
Huff, huff…!
Kneeling on one knee, Senga looked around in a daze.
Throughout the fight, the fleet had never once bombarded the battlefield, and not a single surviving soldier of the Chaos forces remained in sight.
Amidst the piles of blackened corpses, Jin was walking toward him.
“Sir Senga, from this moment on, you are no longer Runcandel. And even when this war ends, no one in this world will ever claim your corpse.”
Heh heh… Do you truly believe you have the right to decide that? The lord himself still breathes within those walls. Your rebellion will never succeed.
Jin slowly turned Senga’s head.
He forced Senga’s gaze to fall beyond the darkness inside the castle where he had escaped earlier.
“Those who stepped into that darkness today and raised their swords against Rosa will forever bear shining names. But those who forget the struggle and ultimately fail to escape the clutches of the fiend will be buried in disgrace and forgotten.”
Senga’s face twisted in pain.
Jin looked down at his eyes, which trembled as he fought to hold back his fear.
He could feel death closing in.
Though the Knights of the Spirit Temple could normally be resurrected through the fiend’s power, Rosa had never intended to bring him back.
Jin thought that was only natural. Even when she was human, Rosa had never cared for people like Senga.
With a heavy thud, Senga collapsed to the ground.
Without a word, Jin passed him by and slowly stepped into the darkness of the castle.
Hedo and Veil, along with their comrades who had descended to wait for Jin, silently followed in his wake.