Chapter 736
Episode 184: Beyond Destiny (8)
Hiiiii…!
As the Demon Stone was unleashed, a sinister resonance echoed across the battlefield, and a massive blaze spread like wildfire.
The knights, who had swarmed like a swarm of bees, were engulfed by the flames, turning into a river of burning corpses.
Veradin cut through the enemies with a cold, detached expression, as if burning trash.
‘So, in the end, I have to witness my close friend wielding that ominous power firsthand… And that figure—doesn’t it resemble Kelliac Ziphl?’
Dante suppressed the bitter feeling rising in his chest and pushed through the enemy lines.
He simply couldn’t accept the changed Veradin.
The Demon Stone, chaos, and other horrific powers beyond reason and common sense were destroying his family, his homeland, and his friends. Driving them all toward death.
‘Jin… are you alright…?’
Dante swung his sword wildly, as if venting his frustration.
The chaotic knights shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions without pause.
Among the vanguard trio, Kadun and Veil had slowed somewhat, dodging allied artillery and magic as they flew, but Dante was cutting through the enemy ranks without any obstruction.
The white radiance clinging to Rashid almost looked like a ghostly aura.
But the first thing to make Dante hesitate was Lionel’s sword.
Zzang—! Crack!
When Dante blocked the straight downward strike, a huge semicircle was carved into the ground.
His lower body and waist ached, and he opened his eyes wide.
[You seem to be filled with rage, young Sword Sovereign.]
Lionel’s aura, honed to the pinnacle of swordsmanship, left afterimages that grazed Dante’s body, leaving shallow wounds.
“Are you not angry? That the family you once led has fallen so far.”
Lionel smiled slyly, his gaze fixed on Rashid.
[Corruption for strength is just another name for struggle. Which is right—the family head or the Twelve Riders—will be proven once this war ends.]
Phit!
This time, a streak of invisible sword energy brushed Lionel’s cheek.
[An invisible sword, huh… Interesting. Your grandfather was the first to reach this sword style, wasn’t he? I wonder what kind of era this is, with so many who could have been absolutes in my time. Truly a shining age!]
Lionel laughed like a madman, genuinely enjoying himself.
Their swords clashed, scattering that laughter into fragments as they tangled.
Yet Dante found it hard to fully focus on the fight.
The reasons behind Jin and the allied forces’ split, the broken Veradin, the chaos armies that had only grown despite thousands already dead, and above all, his own inability to control his emotions at this very moment.
All these swirling elements stirred an inexplicable discomfort within him.
‘Is it because I’m worried about Jin? Or because the enemy is overwhelming? I need to focus, but why now…?’
Just moments ago, he had charged madly through the enemy lines fueled by hatred, and now, with a formidable foe right before him, his mind was scattered.
Even before reaching this level of strength, Dante had never been this mentally unfocused—especially not before battle.
Lionel noticed this.
[You’re the first to face me and think of something else. Are you alright? Young Sword Sovereign, unlike me, you only have one life!]
Thwack! Crack!
Dante blocked Lionel’s horizontal slash but was pushed back several dozen steps, rolling on the ground.
He had reacted a beat too late, losing his stance.
And he wasn’t the only one who fell nearby.
Another squad leader, who had just started fighting Veil, crashed beside Dante.
He quickly got up and swung his twin swords at the charging Veil, while Dante adjusted his stance, dodging the follow-up sword energy from Lionel.
“Hey, Dante! Why are you getting pushed around by that guy? Fight properly! Why do your eyes look so blank?”
Veil’s words showed he didn’t have the luxury to help Dante right now.
Dante’s attention was drawn again to the squad leader fighting Veil.
‘What’s with those chains on his face?’
Like Alpen, that squad leader’s face was wrapped in chains.
It was proof he was resisting Rosa’s control, though their allies didn’t yet know this.
The reason Veil couldn’t easily push the opponent back was because Rosa was controlling him.
Veil’s fighting style relied more on raw destructive power than finesse, making him especially vulnerable in this matchup.
Still, Dante found himself shouting at Veil without realizing it.
“Sir Veil, before you kill him, cut those chains on his face!”
He didn’t know why.
But he had a strong intuition that if Veil broke those chains, the oppressive weight pressing down on him like a chronic illness would vanish.
“What? Chains? Why? And since when do you get to order me around?”
“Please, do it! It’s not an order, it’s a request.”
“Shut up. I’m just going to kill him.”
Dante then glanced at the squad leader Kadun was fighting. He had no chains.
Veil returned his focus to the chained squad leader and the left side of the battlefield, while Dante parried Lionel’s sword strikes and moved toward the center.
[Oh? So you couldn’t focus because you knew the effect of the chains? I’m curious how you figured that out.]
Dante scattered invisible sword energy instead of answering.
His senses dulled more than usual; he planned to lead the chaotic battle to buy time and regain his composure.
[Your intention is obvious. And this kind of thing doesn’t suit your straightforward sword style.]
Lionel exploded with sword energy, erasing the invisible sword energy filling the air.
Dante was forced to follow his flow.
And now that Lionel had mentioned the “effect of the chains,” Dante’s attention was even more drawn to that side.
Though on the defensive, he kept glancing toward Veil.
He felt that unless he saw those chains broken, his chest wouldn’t clear, and he couldn’t fight properly.
[Sword Sovereign, I wondered why you’ve been acting like this… You’re lost in thought.]
As Lionel said, Dante’s current state was no different from being lost in his mind.
In a situation where a single lapse could cost his life, he couldn’t keep his balance.
The shallow wounds covering Dante’s body were deepening.
Yet, he remained more focused on the chained squad leader fighting Veil than on Lionel’s sword.
Even Veradin, who was raining magic down over the entire battlefield from above, looked down at Dante with disbelief.
‘What on earth is Sword Sovereign Dante Hyland doing? With the enemy commander right in front of him?’
‘Please, just break… now…!’
Clack!
At the peak of Dante’s desperate hope, Veil cut through the chains binding the squad leader.
Like Alpen, a strong, clear face untouched by chaos was revealed.
The moment the chains snapped, the squad leader lowered his sword aimed at Veil.
“I, a weak descendant who sinned, greet you, Sir Veil, the Tenth Knight. I am Tasha Runcandel, the 21st head of the Runcandel family. Thanks to my ancestor breaking my bonds, I can finally hold my sword by my own will, not as a puppet of the fiend…”
Tasha Runcandel.
She was the daughter of Alpen, the 20th head of the Runcandel family, and now its 21st head. Like her father, she resisted the fiend’s power.
Veil looked at Tasha, stunned.
Her face bore a striking resemblance to Sarah’s.
“Uh… yeah. So the chains were some kind of restraint?”
“Yes, ancestor. Please forgive my rudeness under the fiend’s control until now. May I fight alongside the current Twelve Riders of Runcandel from now on?”
Tasha had understood the current situation through her inner self while bound by the fiend’s power.
“I don’t have the authority to decide that… but I’m sure that guy would welcome it with open arms.”
“It would be an honor.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a fierce killing intent and determination filled Tasha’s eyes.
Her gaze was fixed, of course, not on the temporary allies, but on the chaotic army.
Ah!
At that moment, Dante finally understood what had been clouding his mind all along.
‘He can come back…! Lord Veradin can come back!’
Just as Tasha Runcandel had broken free and was shining with the will of Runcandel once more.
His friend Veradin, who had become a monster unhesitant to use the Demon Stone’s power.
He could come back, too.
With that thought, the restless chaos in Dante’s mind suddenly calmed.
Jin’s safety, the endless chaos armies, the pressure of fulfilling his role as the Empire’s greatest swordsman in this war—
None of it mattered.
Dante’s unshakable belief that Jin would ultimately win and that the fiend’s army would vanish from this world forever had never wavered.
He had only feared that after the final battle, Veradin might never return to his true self and become another fiend.
That was the only thing that had unsettled him during his fight with Lionel.
Emerging from chaos and thrusting her sword toward it, Tasha’s figure struck Dante like a vivid prophecy he couldn’t ignore.
Lionel’s blade was coming straight for Dante’s head.
Without even turning his body, Dante summoned an invisible whirlwind of sword energy.
Unlike before, when his defense had faltered weakly, Lionel found himself unable to break through this time.
“You’re right, Lion King. Until just now, I was lost in a momentary trance.”
[So you’re finally coming to your senses.]
“But since the day you were resurrected, you’ve been sinking deeper into the abyss. That’s why, despite once being the supreme swordsman, you couldn’t cut me down when I stood before you so foolishly. And you never even realized that death was closing in at your side.”
[What are you saying…? Hah!]
Suddenly, Lionel gasped and glanced down at his side.
There, a sword symbolizing death and Yona had pierced through him.
“Heh heh.”
Yona dodged Lionel’s desperate grasp and vanished instantly into the chaos of the battlefield.
“I warned you, Lion King, that unlike you, I have only one life. Your faith in resurrection and the cursed god has dulled your blade. Since awakening in the spirit realm, how many times have you died now?”
Dante closed the distance in a single breath.
“Please, let this truly be the last time. Even in death, I pray you escape the cursed god’s swamp.”
Swish!
Rashid’s blade sliced past Lionel’s neck.
A faint, fleeting sound of a head falling echoed.
Turning his gaze to find the last remaining squad leader, Dante caught sight of Tasha and Veradin.
‘Though we were separated, Jin, if we keep pushing through the cursed god’s fortress, we’ll meet again soon. I believe their presence will give you strength.’