Chapter 737
Episode 184: Beyond Fate (9)
Basement Level 2.
As soon as Jin and the other four finished descending, they felt the air grow stifling.
The energy on this floor severely disrupted the generation of aura and magical power.
“It’s even worse than Alpen said earlier,” Bianca muttered, repeatedly forming and dispelling aura around her greatsword. The energy clinging to the blade barely reached seventy percent of its usual strength.
The others were in the same predicament.
Even Alpen, who had been unaffected until the chains were broken, was now similarly hindered.
“My senses feel dulled, too,” Jin observed.
“Not just a feeling, Captain,” Hedo replied. “They really are dulled, even if only slightly.”
Octavia sighed inwardly.
Being separated from their allies was bad enough, but now their individual abilities were faltering as well. The pressure was mounting.
[This interference is definitely at least twice as severe as I initially sensed.]
“Maybe the reason the aura disruption intensified is because Sir Alpen was freed from the control of the malevolent spirit,” Jin speculated.
[So, the energy that was used to control me has been released, and in turn, the interference has been strengthened?]
“That’s right.”
[That makes sense.]
Though they had no way to verify it firsthand, Jin’s guess was accurate.
However, one thing they had overlooked was Tasha’s presence.
Not only Alpen but also Tasha had been freed from their bindings on the allied side, so it was only natural that the interference had become this severe.
No matter what, they had to keep moving forward. Jin reminded the group of this fact once again.
Once again, they found themselves in an endless, pitch-black expanse.
They walked silently for a while, as if crossing a desert.
It wasn’t until they stopped counting their steps that something began to appear.
In the distance, a human-shaped silhouette emerged.
‘Five this time…’
As they drew closer, the exact number became clear.
The fact that the numbers matched so precisely felt almost deliberate, and the group felt a brief sense of unease.
“Come forward,” a knight standing in the center called out.
Jin immediately recognized him by the twin swords hanging at his waist.
‘The 16th head of the family, Leon Runcandel. The greatsword must be the 29th head, Tucker Runcandel, and the chain sword the 35th head, Neph Runcandel.’
The other two, carrying ordinary longswords, were unrecognizable.
If their faces had been visible, Jin might have matched them to portraits or memories, but their faces were hidden behind chains.
In other words, Jin only had respect for two of them.
“Your humble descendant greets the two ancestors. Please hold on a little longer. I will soon break your bindings.”
[Do you really think you can save those two, just like the 20th head standing there?]
“I will, Leon.”
Suddenly, Leon’s sword sliced off the left arm of the head standing beside him.
Bound by chains, the head’s arm fell away, and he remained motionless like a doll.
Jin narrowed his eyes and glared at Leon.
[The head of the family is absolute. That’s been the law since the family’s founding. Anyone who breaks that law, like you or Izaya, is unnecessary to the family. No matter how talented, you only muddy the waters. You’re undermining the authority of the current head, Rosa Runcandel. You’d better stop now.]
Ssssh!
A streak of light shot toward Leon’s chest—it was a sword energy fired by Alpen.
Leon deflected it with his hand and looked at Alpen.
[In my childhood, I was thrilled listening to tales of my great-grandfather’s valor from the family’s long-standing retainers. But today, I see it was all lies… Authority? What authority does a monster who’s brought the family to this state have?]
[20th head, you were called the Knight of Light and led an unprecedented great war to victory. It would have been admirable if you had preserved that legacy and followed the head’s will.]
“Shut up! Today, I will make you pay for tarnishing my memories. Those without chains will all perish.”
Jin confirmed that Leon did not attack the head whose arm he had severed any further.
‘He left the sword-wielding right arm intact. Cutting off the left arm was just to provoke us. He has no intention of killing the head and causing serious losses.’
That meant both chained heads could be saved.
Five against five.
It made sense for each to take on one opponent.
Jin had already chosen his opponent the moment Leon cut off the arm of the head beside him.
‘I’ll face the head whose arm is still intact and try to rescue him as whole as possible. Sir Alpen will take on Leon.’
While Jin was thinking this, Bianca kept her eyes fixed on Tucker’s greatsword.
“Jin… I’ll… take on the greatsword over there.”
“Do that. Sir Hedo, please face the 35th head wielding the chain sword. Octavia, take on the ancestor who lost his left arm.”
Jin thought Octavia was the weakest among the five at the moment.
If she had her phantom troops or was enhanced by the demon stone, it might be different, but as things stood, she had to face the toughest opponent.
“But absolutely do not kill the ancestor. Once the chains are removed, he will be an ally.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“It’s not about trying—you must do it.”
Or else I’ll kill you myself.
Jin left the last words unspoken, but Octavia felt a chill run down her spine and clenched her teeth.
The battle lines were drawn.
No need for lengthy words. No one wanted anyone caught in the crossfire. They just had to fight until one side was decisively defeated.
The signal to start came from Jin’s Runcandel Third Battle Standard, Meteor Shower. White sword energies tore through the dim air like falling stars.
The former heads scattered left and right to avoid the meteor shower.
Each time the sword energies struck the ground, tremors shook the earth, sending heavy shockwaves outward.
Before the meteor shower even reached its midpoint, the battlefield was filled with the clash of family battle standards.
With six former heads of the family plus Jin present, it was to be expected.
If this were a normal castle, most buildings would have been reduced to rubble within a minute of the fight starting.
From afar, their battle looked like a natural disaster unfolding with every move.
The former heads seemed to have the upper hand in raw power.
Jin’s group was hampered by the restrictions on energy generation.
The former heads wielded not only aura but also spirit energy with ease.
A dark storm relentlessly battered the fighters.
Only Jin’s group was affected by the spirit energy. To keep their opponents fully engaged, they couldn’t avoid the spirit energy’s impact.
They fought without any probing or scouting.
They had to defeat their assigned opponents as quickly as possible and then support each other to turn the tide.
‘The 12th division probably paired me with Izaya because they thought losing an arm would weaken me, but that was a miscalculation.’
Octavia thought as she parried the former head’s sword.
Even for a right-hander, not being able to use both hands was a serious handicap.
But her opponent wielded a fiercer, more flawless sword than the others.
The difference was so clear that even Octavia, a mage, could see it.
Soon, she realized why.
‘Izaya isn’t fighting with his own skill right now. The controller—the malevolent spirit’s swordsmanship—has reached that level. Even missing an arm doesn’t matter. I don’t know if that’s even possible…’
Every strike pierced her body with a chilling sharpness.
Perhaps because the otherworld had deepened, Rosa was controlling the former heads with even more precision than when Alpen was present.
Jin noticed this too.
He felt it as he crossed swords with his opponent.
‘I should have assigned Sir Hedo to that side instead of Octavia. At this rate, Octavia’s defeat is only a matter of time. I have to defeat the ancestor as quickly as possible and come to her aid.’
Just as Jin reached that thought, Hedo’s voice came through.
“Jin! Don’t worry about the phantom captain. I’ll support you!”
“I’ll… do my best… to help too!”
Fortunately, there was a gap in strength between Hedo and the 35th head, and between Bianca and the 29th.
Alpen and Leon were so evenly matched that even Jin couldn’t gauge who had the upper hand.
Jin fixed his gaze on his opponent.
Under the malevolent spirit’s chains, he thought he saw the shining eyes of a Runcandel who refused to break.
“Malevolent spirit, why do you keep humiliating our ancestors like this? Even if you bind and force them to obey, in the end, they’ll all turn their swords against you like Sir Alpen did. You can take their bodies, but you can’t corrupt their souls.”
Swish!
Blood burst from the backs of both their hands as their blades grazed each other.
They both spun to their right, releasing sword energies.
“If not their souls, then their bodies. Is that how you want the true Runcandels?”
Flames flickered around Jin’s sword, Bradamante, igniting a faint blue fire.
Eternal flame—one that cannot be extinguished by anything.
“Your Runcandels are illegitimate. That’s why you can’t move the rightful heirs without binding them in chains. To me, the chains you use to control our ancestors are the embodiment of your own deficiencies and self-loathing. You pretend to be a god, but in truth, you’re still a weak and ugly human.”
You seized the family with filthy power, oppressed people with fear, built a massive fortress, and flaunted your might as if ready to destroy the world at any moment.
No matter how much you try to hide your true self…
Your essence cannot be concealed.
With every word Jin spoke, cracks began to appear in his opponent’s swordsmanship.
Even missing an arm, his opponent’s technique had once been flawless—but now, it was slowly unraveling.
Meanwhile, Jin’s blade burned brighter and clearer, glowing with a deep, translucent flame.
Step by step, he was closing in on the Eternal Flame’s chains.
A flawed sword couldn’t stop that fire from drawing near. At best, it could only hold out, delaying the moment the blade met the chains.
Their clash continued, the thunderous noise filling the battlefield until it finally began to subside.
So absorbed in the fight, Jin lost track of time.
But one thing was certain: at last, the Bradamante, soaked in the Eternal Flame, had touched the chains binding his opponent.
Clang…!
With the sound of chains snapping, Jin met his opponent’s gaze.
He thought to himself that he should pay his respects once more to his ancestor, who had finally reclaimed his body.
But the face revealed by the broken chains was not the former head of Runcandel.
“Ro…sa!?”
The fearsome Rosa.
What the chains had concealed was a woman, human in form.