Chapter 77
Episode 25: An Unthinkable Fake (Part 2)

“Oh? Looks like we have more guests.”

Andrei smiled slyly.

Quikantel felt a chill run down his spine at that smile. Following Murakan’s shout, he instinctively dodged backward.

He sensed an indescribably ominous power flowing from the mysterious stone Andrei held.

And Quikantel’s intuition was right.

Kiiiiieeeek!

A shriek like nails scraping across eardrums.

In the next instant, something long and dark burst out from the stone, emitting that terrifying sound.

“A face…!?”

The black mass that emerged from the stone—what Murakan called the “Origin Stone”—resembled a gigantic face.

But where its eyes should have been was hollow, and its features were so mangled that its exact appearance was impossible to discern.

As soon as the face revealed itself, it stretched out a long neck, lunging to bite Quikantel.

But by a hair’s breadth, it missed, snapping at empty air.

Had Quikantel ignored Murakan’s warning, he would have surely died.

“You wanted to use me as a test subject… what a pity. Now that you’ve seen this face, don’t expect any peace.”

Andrei’s gaze shifted toward Murakan.

“A black dragon, huh? Only two remain in this world. And since you’re not female, you must be Murakan of Runkandel. Looks like you’ve awakened. Then the boy beside you…”

Though Jin hid his face behind Multa’s rune, Andrei was certain.

“You must be the contractor of Solderet… no doubt about it, Jin Runkandel. At this time, you’re the only Runkandel candidate who could be here. Am I wrong?”

Andrei’s eyes instantly darkened with greed.

He had come intending to ‘devour’ Olta’s contractor, but now he sensed an even bigger prize.

Jin said nothing, simply glaring at Andrei. Quikantel remained on guard, and the battle momentarily paused.

Meanwhile, Murakan couldn’t take his eyes off the stone in Andrei’s hand and the grotesque ‘face’ that had emerged from it.

“It’s similar to the Origin Stone, but different. The gods themselves destroyed the original, so there’s no way that man should have it.”

A counterfeit. But how?

That question gnawed relentlessly at Murakan’s mind.

The Origin Stone was a kind of failsafe created by the gods, containing all their power.

It was meant to prevent disaster if the gods were ever attacked by their creations—or if they turned on each other, threatening to destroy the world.

But the Origin Stone became far more dangerous than the gods anticipated, and when humanity’s history truly began to advance, it was discarded.

The gods judged that the stone’s power could obliterate the entire world.

“Last time it was the Graveyard Giant, and now a fake Origin Stone… what on earth is happening to this world?”

Though a mere counterfeit, the stone in Andrei’s hand radiated a terrible power.

As proof, the ‘face’ approached the corpse of Buretta and whispered something.

Black smoke rose from Buretta’s wound, and the injury began to heal rapidly—not in any normal way.

Instead of green flesh and scales, dark and grotesque skin, identical to the Origin Stone’s, sprouted.

“You shouldn’t have held back this power. Sorry for hurting you, my old friend, Buretta.”

It took less than ten seconds for the white bones to be covered by new flesh and scales.

Buretta slowly rose to his feet. The ground beneath him was still stained with blood, green flesh, and scales, but the revived Buretta appeared unharmed—except for one side of his neck, which had turned pitch black.

Jin and his group were horrified.

Even Quikantel, who had just fought with the embodiment of valor, flinched and stepped back. Murakan gritted his teeth.

A dragon that had just died was now alive again.

Even the god of healing couldn’t have done this.

[Looks like I’ll have to be a bit more careful this time, kid.]

[Murakan! I’ll summon the dragons of Bimant. Buy me time until then.]

“Oh no, I can’t let that happen.”

With a sudden snap!, Andrei vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already behind Quikantel, the face from the Origin Stone opening its maw wide.

Chomp!

Quikantel’s left foot brushed against those teeth.

Just a graze.

But Quikantel screamed in agony, writhing in pain.

She had shown no sign of distress even during her fierce fight with Buretta.

Smoke curled from the grazed wound as if it had caught fire, and Quikantel limped backward.

“Such a pleasant scream, Silver Dragon. It’s a shame I won’t get to enjoy it for long.”

Just as Murakan was about to rush forward—

[Do you think your intervention will change anything, Murakan?]

[Step aside, Buretta.]

[Step aside? The great Murakan is begging! Ha! Many of our kin would tremble if they knew you’d awakened… I share Andrei’s sentiment. It’s a shame we can’t warn our brethren.]

Dark energy began to radiate from Murakan’s two wings.

[Once, all dragons feared that power. Do you still think you can? You’ve grown weak. And your contractor is still just a babe!]

Fwoosh!

Buretta unleashed a breath of wind, compressed to an extreme degree.

Murakan’s energy dissipated almost instantly before it.

Buretta’s breath was even stronger than before his revival, thanks to the counterfeit Origin Stone’s power.

Watching this, Buretta’s face lit up with ecstasy—he was intoxicated by the feeling of overwhelming a being he once dared not even look at.

[This Buretta will be recorded as the one who killed you!]

[You’re playing games, you madman.]

Though Murakan was far weaker than in his prime, he was still a dragon who once ruled the skies. He wouldn’t surrender so easily to a single breath.

Crackle!

Murakan’s body, enduring the breath, dissolved into black smoke.

In that form, he approached Buretta and reformed.

[Too easy, isn’t it?]

The two dragons clashed in brutal melee, their battle shaking the entire island with shallow tremors.

Every time their energies and winds collided, space itself warped.

Jin focused on the fight between Andrei and Quikantel behind them, reading the flow of battle coldly.

‘Jumping into the fight between Murakan and Buretta now would be suicide. The shockwaves alone make it hard to get close. But Andrei’s side…’

There was an opening.

Since Andrei had drawn out the Origin Stone, Quikantel had been on the defensive, only running away.

That gave Jin a chance to intervene.

Besides, the key to this battle wasn’t Buretta—it was Andrei. Taking him down first would make killing Buretta meaningful.

‘Andrei hasn’t cast any proper spells since pulling out the stone. Probably because the artifact consumes enormous magical power.’

If he were spamming nine-star magic, approaching would be impossible.

But Andrei was focused on the stone, only using brief teleportation spells to keep up with Quikantel.

‘On the other hand, his physical abilities have increased dramatically—at least equivalent to a seven-star knight. Opportunities will be rare.’

Jin decided to close in and end it quickly.

Or at least sever the right hand holding the stone.

Best case, force Andrei to drop the stone and take him hostage.

With that plan, Jin began moving forward slowly.

Fortunately, Buretta was so focused on Murakan that he didn’t notice Jin’s approach.

Murakan’s desperate defense made this possible.

‘I should report back to Kashimir. I don’t know if this will work on Andrei…!’

Passing Buretta, Jin quickened his pace, sprinting toward Quikantel.

By then, Jin and Quikantel faced each other, with Andrei’s back turned to Jin.

When Jin was three steps away, Andrei suddenly spun around, smiling at him.

A face that clearly said, “I expected this.”

But Jin hadn’t expected to be able to strike Andrei from behind in the first place.

“You’ve come, Jin Run… ugh!”

Flash!

Instead of swinging his sword, Jin spread his left hand wide.

He had already finished the incantation for a spell stored in that hand.

Everyone thought it lost forever, but only one person had recently inherited this ancient light magic.

Flash Cannon. A secret technique of Archmage Chenmi, learned just before arriving at Tikan, aboard the ship.

“Now!”

Andrei reflexively covered his eyes and ducked.

As he staggered back, Jin drew his sword, Bradamante, slashing diagonally.

Shing!

A sharp sensation of cutting through something.

His chest.

Just as Jin prepared to strike again, the face on the stone lunged at him.

But Andrei’s gaze seemed to affect the creature’s face, as it wildly snapped its beak while twisting its long neck in all directions.

Jin crouched low, almost crawling, and swung his sword in a strange stance—aiming to sever Andrei’s legs.

“Graaah!”

Shing!

Andrei’s ankles were sliced clean off, and he collapsed backward.

If this had been an ordinary enemy, it would have been over. But Jin had no chance to climb on and stab his sword into Andrei’s chest or throat.

Quikantel seemed to have reached its limit. Even though Jin had bought himself some time, he couldn’t put more distance between himself and Andrei. The creature simply slumped down, panting heavily.

“I’ll give you credit for that ambush. But you and your god will make the most important ingredients for the Demon Stone, Jin Runkandel…!”

Despite being blinded by the flash bomb and having both legs severed, Andrei calmly defended his entire body using the face of the Demon Stone. Just like Buretta had, his severed ankles began to regenerate.

And now, Buretta was approaching Jin without Murakan. She hadn’t broken Murakan yet—her “Windless Zone” was still active—so she came flying alone.

“Kid! Above you!”

Crash!

Buretta landed heavily, trying to crush Jin beneath her. Jin barely managed to throw himself aside, but there was no way to dodge the following breath attack and the face of the Demon Stone.

Death was closing in.

And in that moment, with a hand on the back of his neck, Jin thought of one name.

The strongest knight everyone acknowledged since Sir Shiron—the noble White Whale.

Luna Runkandel.

His own sister’s name.

Clink!

Clenching his fist tightly, the pendant of Orgal, which he hadn’t once taken off in six years, shattered.

At the same time, a surge of magical power erupted like a volcano from that spot, opening a dimensional portal.

“Looks like you’re in a tough spot, little one.”

Baekgyeong appeared.