Episode 744
Chapter 184: Beyond Fate (16)
The Sovereign King’s Sword: The Tenth Blade
Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword – Open
The moment the secret technique was unleashed, the darkness lifted.
People shielded their eyes and turned away, as the monstrous black form of the Fiend was engulfed in a radiant blue light, its outline barely visible.
That massive body was swallowed by the light, losing all shape. Even the lower part of Ram, which blocked the sky, appeared stark white.
The brilliance was so intense that no one dared to open their eyes fully, and the heat, melting away even chaos itself, pressed down so heavily that no one could move freely.
With every passing second, these effects intensified. The black smoke rising from the Fiend’s burning body was swallowed by the light, vanishing without a trace.
If there truly was a “God of Light,” it felt as if it had descended right here, right now.
Had Jin not simultaneously unleashed the Death Battle King Linpa’s Absolute Technique, the Brother Guardian…
More than half of their allies would have been dead or on the brink of death from the very moment the Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword began. The allies realized this and were horrified.
[The sword from the day the clan head declared war…!]
Jin’s youngest son had vowed to save everyone—and now, it felt like that promise was about to be fulfilled.
The Fiend’s heart, long lost in its human days, now throbbed wildly with madness.
[Fiend, did you say that blows to the physical body are meaningless?]
Jin relayed Ban’s words, which echoed deep within.
[Even the true gods who transcended the flesh and existed as formless beings were torn apart by my sword. This body has already slain gods…]
“Do not dare defile the world of my brother, the world we must return to.”
The moment Ban finished his warning, the Fiend’s body exploded, stirring a storm of spiritual energy within the Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword’s domain. The spiritual energy blazed fiercely, shrouding Jin’s body.
Not only the Fiend’s enormous body but even the entire fortress was dissolving into spiritual energy, spreading and consuming everything around.
Even those protected by the Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword and the Brother Guardian were engulfed in this spiritual energy.
Yet, the spiritual energy could not penetrate further. It lacked the strength. Despite having gathered so much despair to become a god, the Fiend could not pierce Ban’s sword.
Perhaps the total power was even greater than Ban’s.
What was lacking was depth and will.
And a reason to fight—and to win.
Kraaaaah…!
Right after the Fiend’s self-destruction, the center of the light that filled the sky split apart.
Through the rift, as if the sky itself was collapsing, a black energy began to fall. Ram’s main cannon was spewing spiritual energy.
During the first massive assault, that cannon was a divine weapon no one could dodge or block. It could obliterate an entire city in seconds, moving as fast as light.
But now, Ram’s cannon had lost that speed.
The Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword’s spiritual energy forcibly slowed the cannon’s velocity. It descended slowly, like an object sinking quietly into water.
(That ship… it must belong to the Witch.)
“Yes, Twin Blades.”
Sucking in a breath, Jin clenched Sigmund tighter.
Or rather, Ban did. Because their synchronization was increasing, Jin and Ban were no longer just performing the ultimate technique called “Twin Blade Unification”—they were truly becoming one.
That was why their resonance kept rising.
[The Witch herself probably isn’t operating it directly, but it’s unsettling.]
Until now, Jin had only relayed Ban’s words to the Fiend. But now, that was no longer the case. The deeper their fusion grew, the more Jin thought and spoke like Ban.
Ban realized this and grew wary. He feared that Jin’s sense of self might collapse, that he might unintentionally seize and consume Jin’s body. That thought briefly clouded his mind.
(Twin Blades.)
But just as that thought crossed his mind, Jin’s voice came from within.
Control of the body had completely shifted to Ban. Jin’s consciousness now resided deeper inside.
“Brother Jin, are you not troubled? I didn’t know the subject of Twin Blade Unification could change.”
“Yes. Don’t worry about me. Fight. I can hear Lingling’s voice—it’s very comforting. My sense of self will not collapse.”
Naturally, Jin fully understood Ban’s thoughts. Even without Twin Blade Unification, he could have done so.
Ban smiled.
“Understood.”
Unpleasant.
That was Ban’s feeling as he watched Ram’s cannon move slowly.
Ram was unfinished, the Fiend did not possess the Witch’s level of power, and Ban himself had manifested in the mortal world.
No incomplete relic left by the Witch could dare threaten him with its muzzle aimed so arrogantly.
[How presumptuous…]
The Sovereign King’s Sword: The Tenth Blade
Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword – Battle
As the roar of “Open” faded, the second phase of the Twin Blades’ secret technique began.
The true war march of the Twin Blades sounded. A solemn will to utterly annihilate the enemy made Sigmund shine with unwavering brilliance.
Then, Ram’s cannon, which had been slowly descending, halted completely. The darkness that had been settling froze and shrank tightly.
“Ram’s cannon… has completely stopped? Lin Milcano lost her authority!”
The Fiend had known of Lin’s betrayal since the fortress was being built. All her authority over Ram had been revoked before the fortress was completed.
When the temporary allied forces first arrived, the cannon had malfunctioned intentionally—to force the youngest and the allies into hardship within the fortress.
But not now.
Even the Fiend was stunned by the sight of Ram’s cannon stopped.
He was certain that no destructive force in this world could surpass Ram’s cannon.
Even Murakanzo, briefly summoned during the first assault, had hesitated to defend directly against Ram’s cannon.
Even Siron would likely find it impossible to perfectly cut through Ram’s cannon. Each blast had wiped out an allied fleet.
Kurr… Grrrroooow…!
The Fiend’s gaze briefly lifted to the sky.
Allied forces within the Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword and Brother Guardian’s spiritual domain also looked up. What they saw was Ram’s bombardment frozen like a curtain.
Yet, in their ears came a sound.
A massive ship floating in the sky.
And from even higher above, a deep, thunderous roar—the ominous prelude to a storm of lightning striking the earth.
“Crush it.”
Ban lightly swung Sigmund.
A scream burst forth from the Fiend again. Its physical body had already exploded and scattered into a storm of spiritual energy, so the soul’s scream echoed like a death wail in all directions.
Each scattered particle of spiritual energy was a part of the Fiend’s body. Most of the spiritual energy forming Ram was also derived from her. In other words, Ram was part of the Fiend’s body.
That was why the Fiend screamed.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
Hundreds of thousands of thunderbolts rained down on the ship Ram. The entire hull, nearly ten li in length, that had plunged humanity into despair, was battered relentlessly by the thunder summoned by the Twin Blades.
Not a single insect could move on the ship. The thunder completely enveloped the vast surface and even tore apart the nearby air.
“Gyaaah…!”
Like a human writhing in agony, the storm of spiritual energy twisted violently. With every thunderclap, Ram shook front to back, side to side, breaking apart.
At last, the Fiend was gripped by a sense of crisis.
An emotion it had never felt since becoming a god.
The premonition of defeat, the anxiety that everything would end soon, the fear of annihilation.
“Me… feeling fear…!?”
Impossible.
Yet it was happening.
“And the sword isn’t even fully unleashed yet!”
The Sovereign King’s Dominion Sword had three phases in total.
Rosa didn’t know this, but instinctively sensed it. Divine insight revealed the absurd possibility that this spiritual domain could expand even further.
[Fiend, nothing exists that can float above me.]
Ban raised his left hand.
Then, clenching his fist, Ram’s cannon, which had been frozen, was crushed like paint.
Through the scattered blasts, Ram’s lower hull was revealed, crushed as if something fierce had gripped it tightly. In fact, Ban’s energy was clutching Ram’s lower part.
Slowly, Ban began lowering his outstretched hand.
He was pulling.
Ram was being dragged like a mere heavy object. Like a king disgracefully pulled from his throne, it was being dragged in a pitiful manner.
Even the allies were shocked at this. In fact, from the moment Ban appeared, a strange unease had settled within them.
“If the Twelve Riders can wield such power at will every time…”
“If he ever turns against us, this world is finished. Power that overwhelms even the Fiend!”
Those who had just moments ago feared the Fiend’s monstrous strength now feared the Twin Blades’ power. They imagined the day when that power might become another Fiend.
But it wasn’t just the allies—his comrades were moved to the core, trembling with awe. They envisioned Jin, wielding that transcendent power, becoming the very guardian of this world.
By now, the ship Ram had drawn more than twice as close to the ground as before. The force pulling Ram was growing ever more immense with each passing moment, and the thunderous strikes battering its upper deck showed no sign of letting up.
Hyungshin was barely holding back the tide of fear.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before both he and Ram were obliterated. There was no way he could let this long-awaited battle end in such a meaningless defeat.
“I have to find it. I have to!”
He had to find something—anything—that could turn this crisis around!
Steeling his resolve, Hyungshin glared at the force pulling them in. He couldn’t see a way out, but he had to find one, no matter what.
In moments like this, just as the youngest always had—
The youngest had always pulled through. Now, it was his turn.