Episode 742
Chapter 184: Beyond Fate (14)
As Jin stepped into the fiery veil, the Eternal Flames that had been closing in on their forces suddenly halted.
The massive storm that had surrounded the entire fleet froze in place, as if time itself had stopped.
The allied soldiers stared wide-eyed, shifting their gaze between the solid wall of fire and Jin.
In this era, blue flames symbolized Jin Runkandel.
Because of that, the allies had assumed something had gone wrong with Jin—after all, the Eternal Flames had been attacking them relentlessly.
They could only conclude that Jin had already been struck down somewhere beneath the castle, absorbed by the Fiend, or turned into a puppet of the Fiend, now attacking them from within.
It was only natural to think so, since the Eternal Flames’ storm wasn’t targeting the Fiend but was instead tightening around their own forces.
But thoughts and feelings diverged.
The temporary alliance chose to believe, setting aside the circumstances.
Even if something had happened to Jin, they trusted that he would be the one to resolve this crisis in the end.
That faith was now becoming reality.
“Twelve Knights…!”
“The Twelve Knights have arrived!”
Even those who had collapsed from exhaustion summoned their remaining strength to shout.
Hedo and Bianca had been moving the wounded who had fought on Jin’s side.
Among them, Octavia was already regenerating, absorbing the energy of the demon stones before the healers could even tend to her.
[…Father!?]
Tasha, who had been pushing back the Eternal Flames on the surface, suddenly cried out and rushed toward Alpen.
[Tasha… you haven’t succumbed to the Fiend either. Rest a little, then I’ll return to the fight. Hold your ground.]
[Yes, Father!]
The one-armed squad leader was entrusted to the kingdom’s medical staff.
Jin switched swords and stepped forward. The pale blade of the Thunderclap Sword, Sigmund, gleamed faintly blue in the darkness.
Though the Eternal Flames had come to a complete halt, the mingled spiritual energy within them swarmed like a swarm of insects toward a single point.
Opposite Jin, where the Fiend lurked.
Through the veil of Eternal Flames and spiritual energy, the dark, massive form of the Fiend seemed to emerge.
“Jin.”
Valeria approached his side, pulling from her bosom a crimson orb resembling a red jade and offering it to him.
“I’ve finished confirming the separation between you and the Fiend. The Fiend’s castle is a kind of pocket dimension, which was concerning, but fortunately, it functions normally here as well.”
Jin accepted the orb with a nod.
“However, I haven’t fully verified its stability. I can only hope the spatial properties here don’t cause adverse effects. If any problems arise during use, come to me immediately.”
Jin nodded again.
“Thank you, Valeria. I’m sure your role was crucial in preventing the Eternal Flames from overwhelming our forces.”
Indeed, the reason the allies separated from Jin hadn’t suffered heavy damage from the Eternal Flames was largely thanks to Valeria.
Like Jin’s group, they had endured sudden falls and spatial shifts multiple times, and without Valeria’s record magic, the damage would have been catastrophic.
Valeria’s face was drawn and pale. She had risked the destruction of her magical core to cast her record magic and save the temporary alliance. Thankfully, she avoided permanent damage.
If it had been the old Valeria—before meeting Jin—she would never have risked her own safety to save the alliance, especially if Ziphl was among them.
But now, she had comrades.
People she wanted to protect even at the cost of her life. People who were gradually transforming her life, once defined only by duty and vengeance as a Hister, into something richer.
“Thank you.”
Jin spoke, reading her inner thoughts. Valeria didn’t dislike that he understood her heart.
“Don’t get hurt.”
“You too.”
The allies were regrouping. The fleet had been reduced to about 60% of its original strength, but the remaining flagships, including Kozek and Grnil, were all intact.
“I’ll clear the way. Prepare for battle!”
Jin’s booming voice echoed, and the previously still Eternal Flames began to surge again.
But this time, they weren’t closing in on the allies—they surged toward the Fiend, hidden behind the veil of spiritual energy.
No one present had ever seen such a massive blaze move according to the will of a single person.
Not even those who had witnessed Keliak’s full power.
“Could he really control all that fire?”
“Maybe even the Fiend can’t withstand all this. Given the nature of the Eternal Flames wielded by the Twelve Knights, it’s impossible for him to handle it all…!”
Those watching were stunned.
Normally, Jin couldn’t fully control Eternal Flames of this scale. It was impossible to form a storm that could envelop an entire fleet.
The flames had grown abnormally large due to Jin’s hatred toward the Fiend and the Fiend’s spiritual energy.
But just as the Fiend had forcibly amplified the Eternal Flames using Jin’s hatred,
now it was Jin’s will—the desire to protect his comrades, to survive and fight alongside them until the end—that was moving the flames.
From within the black veil, spiritual energy erupted like a volcanic blast, but the Eternal Flames burned even fiercer.
The spiritual energy and Eternal Flames collided, causing relentless explosions.
Eventually, the spiritual energy began to falter.
A breach had formed.
As the Eternal Flames fiercely tore into the gap, the veil was rapidly shredded.
Raaaaaah…!
A deafening roar, unmistakably the Fiend’s scream, echoed with a shockwave.
The shockwave was so powerful it pushed back even the Eternal Flames surrounding the veil.
Jin flinched and stopped in his tracks.
Behind him, the allies’ protective shields shattered, scattering fragments.
Over 80% of the fleet’s protective barrier was broken by a single scream of agony from the Fiend.
The allies felt a chill run down their necks and quickly redeployed their shields.
Raaah! Aaah!
Each time the Fiend screamed, the shields cracked.
Almost instantly, most of the ships’ power cores overheated as if about to explode, and the mages attached to them fainted one after another.
There was no time to tend to the fallen; replacements were made continuously. The moment mana drained from the power cores, fatal damage would spread throughout the ships.
The dragons and knights on the ground faced a similar situation.
This meant the Fiend’s screams alone held the power to kill them all.
But conversely, it also meant the Eternal Flames were definitely dealing damage to the Fiend.
So the allies desperately hoped the Eternal Flames would finish the Fiend off, that this brutal battle would end here, and that beyond the torn veil, they would see the Fiend burned to nothingness.
But the Fiend was far from finished.
Jin braced against the shockwave and advanced.
He was certain that to end this fight, he had to drive his blade into the Fiend’s throat.
Faaaaaah…!
After several seconds, the veil of spiritual energy was completely torn apart.
Like a door swinging open, the veil split left and right, and the Eternal Flames surged in like a tidal wave.
At last, Jin faced the hidden Fiend.
‘Is this… the Fiend?’
The Fiend looked nothing like Jin remembered.
Neither the human form nor the demonic shape stained by chaos, but a massive ghostly figure.
It floated in midair. Its form resembled a person, but instead of legs, black smoke made of spiritual energy billowed beneath its waist.
Hundreds of arms gripped every kind of sword known to this world, and its eye sockets were hollow voids.
“Th-That’s… Gliek!?”
“Isn’t that the King of the Black Sea…?”
The allies recoiled in horror.
As they said, the Fiend resembled Gliek, the King of the Black Sea, who had awakened during the Sword Emperor War.
Faces drained of color as they recalled that nightmare.
It was as if the monster that nearly destroyed the world had returned under the name Fiend.
The Fiend endured the Eternal Flames engulfing its massive body.
Though its entire form was ablaze, it no longer screamed.
[Curious, aren’t you?]
The Fiend’s hollow eye sockets fixed on Jin.
[Is the fire you wield truly unquenchable? Is it truly unstoppable?]
Jin’s eyes widened.
The Eternal Flames surrounding the Fiend were slowly fading.
[Unfortunately, it seems not. A truly magnificent sword or this mother won’t be enough to kill me.]
Jin glared at the Fiend.
[But I’ll give you credit. You killed the phantoms of my lineage, watched my last shred of humanity vanish, and burned even the name I bore as a knight… and yet, you’ve finally reached me.]
“It wasn’t only phantoms. Three of our ancestors remain undefeated by you. And there are more yet to come. Don’t you understand yet? Fiend, your power is not absolute.”
Fzzzzzt…!
Lightning gathered around Jin’s radiant heart.
Rosa twitched her lips, forming a smile no one could recognize due to its strange shape.
[Youngest, now you will die here… The myth of this sword land, which I will rule from now on, begins.]
“You’re the one who will die. And you will be remembered as the nightmare of this world.”
I’ll send you to where young Rosa Runkandel awaits.
Jin said this as he crushed the crimson orb clenched in his fist.
Suddenly, the lightning gathered around his radiant heart began to surge violently, as if about to explode.
From the moment the orb shattered, Jin sensed the presence of one who had reached the ultimate point of nothingness.
He could become that being.
The Pluto Clan’s warrior, Ban. As the warrior fusion unfolded, Jin and her inner self became connected.
(…Jin, brother? What’s going on? Suddenly, my brother’s thoughts are reaching me. The warrior fusion is happening. Is this the same coincidence as last time?)
“It’s no coincidence, warrior brother. I apologize for borrowing your strength without warning. I thought I’d connect with Lingling first, but luckily, I reached you before her.”
Ban quickly read through Jin’s inner thoughts, grasping the situation, and replied.
(Heh, I’ve been waiting for a day like this, Jin brother. Let’s fight together.)