Chapter 820
Episode 205: The Call of the Story (2)
A secret chamber within a secret chamber.
Misha could feel it—her mission was reaching its limit.
“Damn it… why now, all of a sudden?”
Crack! Pachiing!
The absolute seal that had held for a thousand years was breaking. The ice pillar imprisoning Elona shattered, sending tremors throughout the entire chamber.
Misha cursed repeatedly, glaring at Elona.
It was like paint spilled across a blank canvas.
Suddenly, memories of Elona surged into Misha’s mind—memories that had been almost entirely forgotten for a millennium, now flooding back in a chaotic jumble.
This was why Elona’s seal had been undone. The power of Elona’s very existence was pushing back against the historical manipulation that had been imposed on Misha.
The scene from that day, when Temar was driven to the brink of death, came vividly to mind.
“Yeah, it was because of you that Temar fell so completely. Elona Ziphl, are you trying to finish what you started back then? Have you come back to end this world once again?”
A black spear formed in Misha’s right hand. Her body trembled, not just from exhaustion after maintaining the seal, but from fear.
Not fear of facing Elona herself, but fear of the threat Elona’s release posed to the world.
“There’s still hope. The seal is trying to restore itself. All the safety mechanisms embedded in it must be activating.”
As the seal broke, new ice pillars formed like steps. Massive, razor-sharp columns stabbed into Elona’s body every second.
But they barely harmed her. Most shattered under the magical energy Elona emitted before they could even touch her, and those that did made her disappear like dust.
“The Blades of the Secret Chamber, and the Chamber Master in the Holy Kingdom—they must have noticed this. The Blades will buy time, and when the Chamber Master arrives to perform the Great Sealing Ritual, they might be able to bind Elona again…!”
Misha’s task was to infuse spiritual energy into the still-intact parts of the seal.
So, as she transformed into her true form and unleashed her energy, she suddenly found herself staring into Elona’s eyes—wide open, calm, and shining with a youthful innocence.
Those eyes, so pure and gentle, belonged to the very person who had once toppled mountain ranges with a single gesture and slaughtered tens of thousands with simple magic.
A chill ran down Misha’s spine. She barely managed to hold her gaze and draw in more energy. Though a black veil had already spread around them, Elona showed no sign of threat—only serene composure. It was Misha who felt shrinking.
“You are… the Black Dragon of Runkandel…”
Elona’s voice was innocent, and though still bound by the chill of the secret chamber, unable to move her body, that was no obstacle. She could unleash magic without even moving a finger.
“Murakan…? Are you trying to stop me?”
[You must remain here, Elona Ziphl. I will guard the seal.]
“Your voice is different. Of course, if it were Murakan, your energy wouldn’t be so weak. Your name… Misha. Misha, Murakan’s sister.”
With every word Elona spoke, the magical energy surrounding the space intensified. Misha was crushed under the pressure, coughing up blood.
“Something woke me. Called me. It was a very familiar… energy. So I have to go there. It feels like a call from my family.”
[I won’t let you.]
“And how exactly do you plan to stop me?”
There was no sneer in Elona’s voice—only genuine curiosity as she looked at Misha.
That same expression and attitude had crushed countless powerful foes into despair a thousand years ago. With that face, Elona had crushed the mightiest superhumans.
“I’ve been asleep too long. I’m not myself right now. My mind feels clouded, like a white cloth covering everything… my body heavy and uncomfortable, like it’s covered in moss. How much time has passed? A hundred years? Two hundred?”
Misha said nothing, struggling to withstand the pressure. The seal, reforming and stabbing Elona, still caused no harm.
“Looking at the ancient magic left in these ice pillars… it’s been much longer than that.”
[Kaaargh…!]
Crack!
An explosion erupted in Misha’s chest, spiritual energy splattering like blood. The oppressive force Elona radiated made it impossible for Misha to control her energy properly.
“I can’t control my power right now. So please, don’t struggle and just step aside.”
Elona’s magic was nothing short of divine.
She never chanted a spell or formed a magic circle. Yet every time she willed her magic, the energy spread around shattered the space itself.
The ice pillars, rebuilt dozens of times, now restored at a much slower pace. The white pockets of space trembled, unstable and on the verge of tearing apart.
[Even if I must give my life, I will seal you here again… Kraaak!]
“I told you, I can’t control my power, Misha. Have you forgotten who I am after a thousand years?”
Misha writhed in pain, scanning her surroundings. After a few seconds, she lost consciousness.
The first thing she saw upon waking was the seal, now swollen and distorted. Though it looked like it had grown stronger, the opposite was true.
The enlarged ice pillars meant the bond was weakening. If they grew any larger, they would explode and vanish completely.
She also saw the warped pockets of space. Through the cracks, members of the secret chamber were pouring in.
“Misha!”
“The seal…!”
Led by Ryu and Hiten, the seven Blades of the secret chamber entered the sealed area. Upon confirming the situation, they immediately unleashed their sacred techniques.
“Release the Seven Divine Artifacts! Begin the Great Sealing!”
The Seven Divine Artifacts were seven objects imbued with the power of the sacred relic Manbing, created precisely for moments like this.
The seven swordsmen surrounded Elona’s ice pillars, drawing their artifacts. Crystal-like stones floated in the air, quickly forming a sealing array.
“Ah… I remember now. The second Chamber Master… this was the method the Snow Witch used to seal me.”
But now, neither the Snow Witch nor Manbing were here. Even if they were, they wouldn’t have been able to stop me like before.
Elona muttered as she raised her magic again. The energy formed massive whirlpools throughout the pockets of space, generating a terrifying gravitational pull.
One swordsman, standing right next to one of the whirlpools, had his arm torn off and fell to his knees. Thanks to the protective shield from his artifact, he survived.
“Ruil!”
“Don’t try to save me—maintain the seal!”
While Misha and the seven Blades struggled, Elona recalled the Great Sealing ritual.
She realized she had to prevent the Snow Toad’s spatial leap. Though the Snow Witch was dead, an unknown Chamber Master would soon arrive.
Like Mot’s dimensional gate, white discs suddenly appeared all around. Though Misha and the secret chamber members couldn’t understand, each disc was blocking dimensional travel across the otherworldly snowy plains.
Not just there, but within a hundred ri of the secret chamber, all forms of dimensional movement were disabled.
So while Elona focused on controlling dimensional travel, the Great Sealing by the seven Blades seemed to effectively pressure her.
But Elona was only thinking.
“How can I leave without killing them?”
Though the secret chamber had been her enemy for a thousand years, and Misha had once aided Murakan in strengthening Runkandel…
For some reason, Elona didn’t want to kill them. Having just awakened, she wanted to conserve her strength until fully recovered.
Also, there was likely some “strong opponent” waiting for her. The voice that woke her probably hoped she would face them.
“Days of roaming the battlefield like before must be waiting for me. Or… maybe something else. A better life, perhaps.”
Elona felt her head growing dizzy—not from overexertion. Even in her weakened state, she could kill everyone here within seconds.
But the thought of killing again made her heart ache.
Crack!
The last ice pillar was breaking. The Seven Divine Artifacts were losing power one by one, unable to handle the overload. The central Manbing artifact hadn’t arrived.
As Elona cleared her tangled thoughts, the thousand-year-old seal finally came to an end.
“I am Elona, Elona Ziphl. One who fights for her family. This is the life given to me. The confusion was only because I was far from my family.”
Floating in midair, Elona lightly tapped her staff on the ground. A ripple of magic spread through the air like waves.
The story was just beginning.
At that simple gesture, Misha collapsed forward, losing consciousness once again, while the seven swordsmen of Bigung screamed and fell to the ground. The moment the staff struck the empty air, magical energy condensed throughout the entire space. Neither Misha nor the seven swordsmen could withstand the overwhelming pressure.
“I don’t see a good reason to kill you right now. But if we meet again on the battlefield, I won’t be so merciful,” Elona said, looking down at the fallen.
With all seven of the Chilshingido down, there was nothing left to restrain her.
More precisely, from the moment Elona opened her eyes, nothing could hold her back.
“…So when that time comes, run with everything you’ve got. If you can, run somewhere I can’t follow.”
Elona walked through the air and touched the wall of the pocket dimension. Where her staff met the surface, the wall tore open in a perfect circle, revealing Bigung’s territory beyond.
She stepped through slowly, leaving the pocket dimension behind. With every step she took on the empty air, the sea below churned and swelled, waves rising in her wake.