Chapter 741
Episode 184: Beyond Fate (13)
Just moments ago, a single black panther engulfed in Eternal Flame on the upper floor had already spread the fire to dozens more.
“The Eternal Flame isn’t responding as it should…!”
-[You’ve reached the territory Sarah wanted, yet you can’t control your own flames? That can’t be. Cut it—gently, just enough to scratch!]
Those were the words Veil spoke after discovering the Eternal Flame.
Naturally, the Eternal Flame was supposed to obey Jin’s will perfectly.
If Jin wished it to burn, it would blaze on relentlessly—even if he died. If he willed it to die down, it would immediately subside.
But now, from the very first black panther, the Eternal Flame was breaking those rules.
The fire had grown far larger than Jin intended.
It wasn’t that the Eternal Flame was outright ignoring Jin’s will.
Rather, it was no longer under perfect control.
More flames were spreading uncontrollably by jumping from one panther to another than were being extinguished by Jin’s will.
‘Did Deiphus prepare for this after what happened to him with the Eternal Flame…?’
That was exactly right.
The Fiend was exploiting the Eternal Flame’s “never-dying” nature in reverse.
Though the Fiend didn’t know exactly how far Jin could control the Eternal Flame, he was certain it wasn’t infinite.
So, by deliberately using chaos and Jin’s own deep-seated grudge as catalysts to amplify the flames, the Fiend could pressure Jin—and the plan was working perfectly.
Jin’s grudge against the Fiend was so deep and vast even he couldn’t fully grasp it.
That grudge was fueling the Eternal Flame’s ferocity.
And since that grudge only grew stronger, there was no stopping the spread of so many Eternal Flames.
On top of that, the recent horrific death of young Rosa had only stoked Jin’s fury further.
[Arrgh!]
[Kihiiing…!]
With every scream from the black panthers, chunks of the ground melted away.
Though the group had done nothing upon reaching the third underground floor, the ground around them was already melting, isolating them. They saw some panthers falling to the next lower floor ahead of them.
Those beasts were surely burning the Eternal Flame as they fell, melting the lower levels as well.
‘If this keeps up, is the Fiend waiting at the very bottom?’
There was no choice.
They couldn’t stop the fire from spreading, nor could they climb back up.
The group had no option but to keep plunging downward, holding onto each other as before.
Jin briefly explained to his comrades that the Eternal Flame was out of control and why he suspected that was.
“…I wasn’t the one using the Eternal Flame. For now, we have no choice but to keep holding onto each other as we descend. We’ve been caught off guard.”
“Don’t blame yourself. It was unavoidable. And honestly, even if you hadn’t used the Eternal Flame, those black panthers would have pressured us endlessly somehow. The Fiend probably prepared them to keep regenerating until you used the flame.”
Hedo said.
[Truly, I’ve seen a remarkable sword. If you had been around in my time, the Sacred Kingdom’s defense would have been much easier. But, Twelve, I find the Fiend’s scheme a bit odd.]
“What do you mean?”
[The Fiend’s spiritual energy isn’t infinite. I was trapped inside him, so I know this for sure. How much spiritual energy do you think it takes to create just one of those black panthers? I don’t know exactly, but it must be a lot. And he’s burning hundreds, maybe thousands of them.]
Jin’s control over the Eternal Flame was limited, and so was the Fiend’s spiritual energy.
[So I wonder if the Fiend is using the Eternal Flame not only to trap us but also to test himself—whether he can handle the flame when it grows this massive.]
“You think the Fiend would go that far? Ugh.”
Octavia’s voice trembled, but Hedo shook his head.
“Considering his obsession with Jin, I wouldn’t put it past him, Wraith Captain. Even if it’s not a test of himself, maybe he just wants to watch Jin’s sword.”
“I… think so too.”
“Everyone, hold on tight. The ground’s about to give way.”
At that moment, the entire third underground floor melted away.
The black panthers had all fallen to the lower floor and were no longer visible.
As Jin began to fall again, a deep, creeping fear started to fill his heart.
Not fear of fighting the Fiend.
But—
‘What if the Eternal Flame keeps spreading and harms our allies?’
The people with him now were no problem.
They were few, and each was a transcendent warrior.
But if the Eternal Flame spread and struck the allied forces somewhere in this labyrinth, that would be a completely different matter.
“Veil said even Orgal couldn’t fully control the Eternal Flame. If it starts hitting our allies at this rate, catastrophic losses are inevitable.”
That thought gnawed at Jin’s mind throughout the fall.
He felt as if a thorn was stuck in his throat—frustrated, helpless.
It was hard to shake the feeling that he was just a pawn in the Fiend’s game.
Indeed.
This battle was different from all the others.
Since his return, he had defeated countless enemies without ever feeling this shaken.
This descent wasn’t ending quickly like before.
The black panthers were melting the ground faster than the group was falling.
They were definitely still going down.
As the fall dragged on, the group felt their aura and magical energy clogging up, as if suffocating.
Most were badly injured, so the sensation was even more intense.
Eventually, Octavia lost consciousness first.
Hedo and Alpen were breathing heavily, and even Bianca, who had suffered the least, occasionally sighed deeply to steady herself.
Yet, despite it all, the superhumans never loosened their grip on each other’s hands.
Jin kept thinking.
How could he protect his comrades?
Among those who had fallen were many people he cherished above all else.
Perhaps the Fiend’s castle labyrinth had already moved the Eternal Flame to where his allies were.
Every time he imagined them burning alive in the flames, chills ran down his spine.
It was as if someone was forcing that image into his mind, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop seeing it.
‘Can I protect them all? Can they all return alive? We’re already trapped in this snare before even facing the Fiend directly.’
Dark thoughts only grew worse.
The harder the situation, the more fear there was.
[“Twelve… what are you doing?”]
Suddenly, Alpen spoke, his consciousness flickering in and out.
“Sir Alpen?”
[“Hold hands tighter. You can’t be weaker than me, even if I’m exhausted.”]
Alpen’s words gave Jin the answer he needed.
‘I’m not protecting them alone.’
We protect each other.
He had realized this once before during the skirmishes in the Outer World. He had just forgotten in the urgency of the moment.
“I’m glad someone like you is still here, ancestor.”
His mind cleared all at once.
Every time his inner turmoil settled like this, Jin felt as if he was stepping further away from the Fiend’s will.
‘Valeria is with the allied forces.’
She might detect the Eternal Flame’s threat early using her record magic.
Veradin, who recently learned a similar record magic, was the same.
Orgal and Veil could minimize allied casualties.
Dante could use his intangible sword wind to hold back the advancing flames.
Quicantel could use his divine power to buy time.
Siris’s eternal ice could seal the Eternal Flame.
Even if nothing could stop the Eternal Flame—
The allies would still try to escape it.
Not just to survive, but because they didn’t want to hurt Jin.
They would flee with the hope of not having to mourn the loss of comrades killed by their own hands.
They would run with that hope.
This was a fight they could only win by trusting each other.
Even if only for today, the allies had to be trusted.
That was the one thing Jin lacked most.
Until just before the final battle, he had been locked in a war of nerves with the allies over the post-Fiend war.
From tomorrow on, even if they became mortal enemies where only one side could survive, today he had to fight with them sincerely, trusting them.
Unknowingly twisted by inner pain, Jin’s expression gradually returned to its usual calm.
The fall finally ended.
Jin landed on the ground with a sword wind.
The first thing he saw was the ground shrouded in hazy flames.
Black panthers burned here and there.
Far fewer than he had seen on the third underground floor.
Where the rest had gone—whether reduced to ash by the Eternal Flame or lost in other parts of the labyrinth—he didn’t know.
The ground no longer melted.
That meant they had finally reached the very bottom floor of the Fiend’s castle after the long fall.
‘…This isn’t the center of the bottom floor, is it? The flames grow larger in that direction.’
Jin looked toward where the Eternal Flame was intensifying.
Hedo carried Octavia and the one-armed former head of the previous generation.
Bianca carried Alpen.
As Jin took a step forward, the Eternal Flame split to both sides, forming a path.
The flames seemed to speak to him, guiding the way.
Jin walked forward through his own fire.
No matter how far he went, the flames only grew fiercer.
From afar, faint auras of magic and golden divine power could be felt.
His comrades had fallen to the bottom floor slightly ahead of him.
But Jin didn’t panic. He didn’t believe his comrades had died inside the Eternal Flame.
Still, he quickened his pace. The flames flickered wildly like a barley field swaying in the wind, parting the way ahead. Soon, Jin came face to face with the allied fleet trapped within the Eternal Flame.
The massive, wave-like blaze was driving the allies back relentlessly.
Amid the fire, dark, ominous energy swirled—an evil aura that, as Jin approached, seemed to retreat toward the opposite side of the flames.
Instinctively, Jin knew a malevolent spirit was lurking there, clinging to that black barrier of fire.
Then, pushing aside the flames on his side, Jin revealed his comrades struggling desperately to hold back the Eternal Flame from within.
They had mistaken the dark energy seeping through the opening for an enemy attack and immediately went on the offensive. But when they recognized Jin, relief washed over them.
Many of them collapsed, utterly exhausted, as if they’d barely managed to stay standing until now.
“Jin Runkandel?” came Orgal’s voice.
He was battered and bruised, barely maintaining his shattered protective shield. He was too drained even to look toward Jin.
If Jin had been any later, if he’d taken longer to regain his composure—
The swirling vortex of the Eternal Flame imprisoning their comrades would have crushed them all, like a fist squeezing out every last insect.
“Yes. Jin Runkandel of the 12th Cavalry. I’m rejoining you now.”