Chapter 750
Episode 184: Beyond Destiny (22)
Fifty percent.
During the brief time Murakan stayed on the battlefield, roughly half of the enemy forces had vanished.
Merry, the Tona brothers, and Yona—the former leaders of the vanguard—had all fallen by their hands.
Even though the Black Chain had already disappeared, the enemy never managed to mount any meaningful resistance.
Their formation was collapsing. Our forces desperately exploited every gap, swinging swords and unleashing spells in a chaotic frenzy.
The fierce battle raged on.
But now, the temporary alliance had clearly gained the upper hand.
Casualties were mounting on both sides, but the enemy was falling far more rapidly.
“Victory is within reach! Stay sharp until the very end!”
“Any news from the 12th Cavalry yet?”
Whenever a momentary lull appeared, the allies glanced toward the veil of the chaotic energy imprisoning Jin and the Fiend.
Compared to when Murakan first broke through, the veil had shrunk significantly.
It looked so narrow now that two people couldn’t even stand inside.
‘Did Jin enter a new pocket dimension with the Fiend…?’
Valeria frowned as she checked the data window.
It reported that Jin and the Fiend had left the battlefield.
Her worry deepened.
They had used the phase-tracking synchronization device and even called Murakan—Jin had no secret trump cards left.
Enya, sensing Valeria’s unease, took her hand gently.
“Prince Jin will definitely return.”
Valeria widened her eyes briefly, then smiled at Enya.
“Wow, it’s rare to see Valeria smile. You’re already beautiful, but smiling makes you even more so… Should I start another fan club? Anyway, don’t worry about Prince Jin. Help me out here—I need to use this.”
Enya pulled a ‘mirror’ from her cloak.
“The chaotic energy surrounding Ram is tightening. If we reinforce the energy barrier with this mirror, we might be able to slow it down a bit.”
As the chaotic energy constricted, Ram was gradually descending.
It wasn’t being controlled to lower altitude—it was losing function due to Murakan’s breath and the ongoing destruction of battle.
People and monsters alike were falling from the massive ship.
Enya opened the mirror, silently praying that all the people aboard would survive.
Valeria read the infinite flow of magical power in her stead, providing support.
Slowly, the traces of the pocket dimension imprisoning Jin and the Fiend began to fade.
Even as Ram sank, the remnants of the pocket dimension hung motionless in the sky.
Their comrades, thinking of Jin fighting alone inside, continued to fulfill their duties with unwavering resolve.
Jin faced the Fiend.
At first, the Fiend had appeared as a massive creature resembling Gliek, but after merging with Ram, it had taken on a demonic form, stained with chaos, horns and wings sprouting.
Now, the Fiend had assumed the form Jin was most familiar with.
Calm, dark hair; cold, resolute eyes; a straight back that seemed unyielding.
The figure of a human who had led the Runkandel family as its matriarch for many years.
Unlike when Jin had met the young Rosa in the Fiend’s castle, he was no longer startled by the Fiend’s transformations.
“Fiend, somehow I felt that if I followed you in, you’d look like this…”
Jin’s sword, pointed at the Fiend, showed not the slightest tremor.
The passion that had surged moments ago had sharpened into a will to kill.
The Fiend stared silently at Jin for a long moment.
Jin sensed no aura forming.
No magic or spiritual energy either.
In this pocket dimension, no special powers could be used.
Yet he felt no fear.
Even if he had to fight barehanded, he was certain he would not die here.
“A lonely sight, isn’t it?”
The Fiend spoke, voice hollow and resigned, like a condemned prisoner accepting their fate.
Unlike any other pocket dimension they had encountered, this one was nothing but pure white—an endless, empty desert.
This was the Fiend’s inner world, the edge of their unconsciousness.
“I wonder what your space looks like. Surely it’s not as empty and cold as mine.”
“I didn’t live like you did.”
Jin’s voice held no bitterness.
“No. Our lives are still alike, youngest. Just not exactly the same.”
“Where do you think that small difference comes from?”
“Is it the fighting spirit you mean?”
“Yes.”
“How stubborn. Even if I were reborn, I don’t think I could live a life more intense than this one. I wouldn’t have the strength to choose not to become the Fiend. I gave everything for the family… I controlled every desire, never put myself before the clan, never once complained. Through all those lonely, cold years.”
“You were wrong.”
“What do you mean by the right way? And is that something an ordinary person like me could do? Someone who can’t rewind time with memories intact and live a new life like you?”
Jin wasn’t surprised when the Fiend mentioned his regression. He suspected that death had revealed a secret to the god who was about to vanish.
“There’s something I’ve wondered for a long time. Why did you exile me and starve me for two days in my past life?”
The Fiend chuckled bitterly.
“An obvious question. Did you think I wasn’t human? I feel sorrow, fall into depression, and writhe in pain. I want to be with my husband, to hold my children. But if I did that, the Runkandel family wouldn’t grow stronger. That’s the way of an ordinary family, not a sword clan like Runkandel.”
Jin squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
“I’m not a monster, youngest. I was just thrown into a position where I had to become one. Even before accepting chaos, I was already a monster. It wasn’t a choice. I never once had control over my life.”
“That’s the difference between you and me.”
Tears, clear as glass, streamed down the Fiend’s eyes.
“I fought life with all my might, but I lost. I couldn’t overcome the inevitable fate, the destiny. It’s a difference born from the talents we were given and the opportunities we had.”
The Fiend slowly drew the blade of madness from its sheath.
“I don’t resent it. Not everyone can realize their dreams, not everyone can fulfill their duties. No matter how fiercely you fight, some things are unavoidable. I have no desire to make excuses. I just want to tell someone—someone like you…”
“If you had failed as a human, if you had stayed human instead of becoming the Fiend, even if that had led the family to ruin, I might have felt some pity for your story.”
“Maybe.”
“I wouldn’t forgive you, but I would have tried to understand.”
“But even now, I don’t want that. I no longer know what a human heart is, or what choices a human should make. I don’t want to deny my brutal past, nor justify my sins.”
I just want to fight you until I break and fall…
Clang!
The blade of madness struck Jin’s chest.
It was heavy.
Jin couldn’t tell if it was the blade’s weight or something else pressing down on him.
All he knew was that he had to shake it off, cut, and stab.
“Youngest. This fight is more of a blessing to me. My last shred of humanity died cursing me in your arms. Now, I fervently hope that curse comes true. Do you know why? Because pain is better than loneliness.”
This time, Jin pushed the blade into the Fiend’s throat.
Blood stained the edge of the blade—hot, red droplets blurring his vision.
It felt like cutting a person, not a monster.
Only now did he feel he could settle things with a human being.
But Jin didn’t think this was a ‘contest.’
The Fiend had already lost to life long before Jin was born. They had been little more than a monster before Jin even grew up.
It was impossible to defeat someone who had lost so long ago.
That person was not here.
Among the two swords locked silently together, one belonged to a living human, the other was merely a trace of someone long gone.
As the relentless clash continued, wounds multiplied on both Jin and the Fiend.
They were drenched in each other’s blood.
Enough to make one want to stop fighting.
The Fiend struck desperately, unhesitant even as their body was battered.
Jin thought she was selfish to the end—like how, despite cruel abuse, one’s heart twists when their parents die.
An inevitable pain.
He had no idea how long they had fought.
Jin knelt on one knee, leaning on his sword, looking down at the fallen Fiend.
“Huff… ugh…”
The Fiend gasped for breath, mouth opening as if to speak, but only frothy blood came out.
Jin no longer had the strength to end her life.
He caught his breath and quietly watched her final moments.
Her consciousness was fading.
Jin never once looked away.
He clung to his waning mind to witness her death.
In the end, the Fiend left no final words.
The moment her breath ceased—
A sudden burst of pure white light flared, and Jin instinctively closed his eyes.
When he opened them, the sky of Huepester shone blue once again, wrapping around him like a long-lost embrace.
Jin was plummeting toward the ground, unable to move even a single finger.
He had emerged from the pocket dimension.
As he fell, voices began to reach his ears—one by one, the desperate calls of his comrades.
“Jin…!”
A warm wave of magic, like a gentle breeze, wrapped around him.
It was Valeria’s magic.
Drawn softly by the power of the wind, Jin was caught and cradled in Valeria’s arms.
And then he saw them.
Valeria, anxiously checking his face and shouting something urgently, and their companions gathered around.
Beyond them stretched the Garden of Swords.
Relieved to see that the place was still intact, Jin closed his eyes.