Chapter 836
Episode 209: Temar’s Seventh Tomb – The Shadow of Kaitam (9)
“You… you carry the energy of the Star of Creation.”
The fake Murakan spoke as he covered the wound on his chest with spiritual energy.
Jin had once received that energy from Ron during the Sword Emperor War, but the strike that just pierced the fake’s heart was purely the power of the Spirit Sword.
“No, no. It’s not because of me—it’s because it was you who got cut. If this were me at my prime, that wouldn’t have even scratched me, you cheap counterfeit.”
The fake, now healed, appeared unharmed on the surface.
But even the smallest fragment torn from the heart meant permanent damage.
From this moment on, the fake was no longer invincible against Jin and his companions.
Still, the group didn’t forget to remain cautious. Even if he was a fake, this opponent was described as Murakan at his prime. Though, as Murakan himself had said, he was clearly inferior to the real one, he was still powerful enough to potentially destroy the entire world within the painting.
Bradamante’s spiritual energy darkened once more. Frey’s magic sword technique, Hamalen’s Wrath, gathered the vast cold energy and focused it on the fake.
Just as the fake moved to strike, Dranax and Violo simultaneously unleashed their magic sword techniques.
Runandel Magic Sword Techniques:
Hell’s Phantom Chain Sword – Dranax Runandel
Wind God Sword – Violo Runandel
Dranax’s sword burned with fire, while Violo’s was infused with wind. The two leapt to either side, their blades spreading massive flames and gusts, forming a combined technique.
Hell’s Phantom Chain Sword maximized the whip-like nature of the chain sword. The elongated blade instantly wrapped around the fake, creating a crimson barrier. The fake’s wings were torn, and the relentless strikes from the chain sword prevented him from moving freely.
The only way to break Hell’s Phantom was to land a stronger, faster blow directly on Dranax.
The fake could endure the damage thanks to his regeneration, but even that was blocked by Violo’s wind-infused blade.
The Wind God.
Violo was the first and last knight to earn the great title associated with the ‘wind’ attribute. Since the history of the Runandel magic swords ended, the ‘wind’ title had only been granted to mages—mostly Melzair’s contractors.
Yet Violo was the only one to claim the name of Wind God without divine aid. He was the one who freely manipulated the sword gusts ridden by the Ten Knights in aerial combat, and now, he was the one who ‘cut down’ the wind the fake tried to summon to move.
Though invisible to the eye, Jin immediately recognized that Violo’s blade was absorbing and controlling the wind.
The absorbed wind transformed into sword gusts at Violo’s will, tearing the fake’s entire body apart. The three elemental attributes wielded by the Ten Knights’ magic swords were binding the fake tightly.
They weren’t trying to land a fatal blow. Their swords were solely meant to restrain him.
Only Jin could deliver a fundamental strike to the fake. Like Temar in those days, Jin was supported by the Ten Knights.
“Graaah!”
Murakan joined the Ten Knights. From a distance, he breathed out a barrage of attacks from a safe position, avoiding harm to the knights. Up close, he tangled with the fake, biting and clawing wildly, swinging his forelegs, wings, and tail.
The magic sword techniques struck Murakan occasionally, but the knights carefully controlled their power to avoid serious damage to their ally.
Jin watched the fighters, ready to unleash his sword energy at any moment. While Murakan and the Ten Knights restrained the fake, Jin judged it better to snipe the heart with sword energy rather than engage directly.
This tactic was possible because of their mutual trust and ability to predict each other’s attack paths.
“Frey’s magic sword technique is central. But since its energy has weakened, it seems Murakan’s barrier will take the lead in keeping the fake in check.”
As expected, the moment Hamalen’s Wrath faded, the Ten Knights smoothly shifted their coordinated attack as planned.
Meanwhile, Frey rode Violo’s sword gusts, constantly targeting the fake’s rear alongside Murakan. Though the magic sword technique limited the amount of aura and magic she could release, each of her strikes carried the power of a top-tier superhuman.
“Kaaah!”
As Dranax shouted and began the decisive strike of Hell’s Phantom Chain Sword, a streak of black sword energy cut across the sky.
Jin’s Soul Severance sliced precisely through the fake’s chest. Unlike before, no fragments fell, but the Soul Severance had clearly damaged the fake’s heart.
“Slow as it may be, eventually it will be completely shattered.”
The fake still had some cards left.
But they were unpredictable. Jin didn’t know many of Murakan’s techniques. Murakan himself had said that in his prime, he mostly relied on overwhelming strength to tear enemies apart rather than special moves.
“It’s probably Spirit Energy Release, Black Chain, or an enhanced breath technique—but there could be something else. Murakan barely remembers his prime.”
Separation.
The second Soul Severance split the battlefield. Each time Jin fired a Soul Severance, Murakan and the Ten Knights briefly scattered and switched to ranged attacks.
This time, the Soul Severance didn’t miss the heart. The black sword energy pierced through somewhere in the heart, exiting through the back.
“Ghahk!”
The fake coughed up murky spiritual energy and crashed to the ground. The blazing Hell’s Phantom Chain Sword wrapped around his right leg, and Violo unleashed all the wind in his blade to drive the fake’s fall.
The impact shattered part of the Storm Fortress’s main building, creating a massive crater. The shockwave destroyed sections of the fortress walls.
Jin was the first to leap, firing Soul Severances into the crater before the fake could escape.
Though vision was obscured, the enormous black sword energy had grown to its limit—any strike would hit the heart. The sword energy bent and twisted as it struck something solid.
“Hoo…”
Jin landed, catching his breath. His sweat-soaked hair felt heavy, and the intense concentration left his mind momentarily dazed.
The fake was still alive.
They paused only to recover, eyes sharp as they watched the crater.
The fake burst out, breaking the ground as he emerged, his entire body shimmering like heat haze.
The spiritual energy around him flickered unstable, repeatedly fading and reforming. His translucent chest revealed a black heart, chipped and cracked in places.
He clearly had taken severe damage.
But a strange unease washed over the group. A gut feeling warned that rushing in now to finish him might backfire.
“Heh heh heh…”
The fake spat out spiritual energy and let out a chilling laugh.
“What’s this? Giving up already? Huh?”
“Murakan… I suddenly understand why I’m here. Because I thought of myself as you.”
The group’s eyes widened at those words. The Ten Knights struggled to suppress their emotions, fueled by their past resentment toward Murakan. Though they had renewed their loyalty fighting alongside the real Murakan, hearing it from this impostor was a different matter.
“So, you finally admit you’re a cheap fake. You’ve worked hard trying to imitate me. Now, just take your beating and die… Ah, you’re stubborn, huh? Gotta have one last desperate fight, is that it?”
The fake Murakan’s spiritual energy surged. His blurred form darkened and thickened, and a new pair of wings sprouted on his back.
Two horns atop his head grew larger, and his amber eyes blazed like fire. This was a form most of Jin and the Ten Knights had never seen—another state of Murakan himself, one even Murakan didn’t remember.
Murakan began to suffer a severe headache watching the fake’s transformation.
“Ugh… my head again, damn it.”
It was because of memories. Murakan was recalling forgotten events from a thousand years ago triggered by the fake’s new form.
Days he wished to forget, struggles he had tried to bury.
Jin kept his gaze fixed on Murakan and the fake, tense.
“Like the day I first met Orgal, Murakan’s condition is rapidly deteriorating. And this fake’s power… there’s no way it’s not the Star of Creation. Some kind of… awakening?”
They couldn’t risk attacking first.
The fake Murakan showed no openings, and everywhere their eyes and spiritual energy touched was effectively his domain.
Even if Jin severed the heart with Soul Severance, it was uncertain if it would deal damage like before. The real Murakan of that era was being recreated.
“Graaah…!”
“Murakan… it must hurt. You foolishly believed all this time that everything—the countless massacres and destruction I caused—was all a lie.”
“Shut up! I never did those things…!”
“No, you committed countless massacres. You killed innocent people like vermin, executed your family’s knights, stabbed the hearts of trusted comrades, and even tried to harm your own contractor.”
That is the truth, Murakan.
No sooner had the imposter finished speaking than Murakan lunged forward, unleashing his spiritual energy. But in his moment of lost reason, it seemed he was about to suffer a fatal blow from the imposter’s power. He had launched his attack without any thought to protecting himself.
With no other choice, Jin and the Ten Knights threw themselves in to shield Murakan. From the imposter’s endless spiritual energy barrier stretching across the sky, black chains rained down. Jin and the knights managed to fend off nearly all of them, buying time to protect Murakan.
Still, one black chain slipped through and pierced Frey’s back. She froze, suspended in midair.
She wasn’t dead, but a dark mass seeped out from her wound, absorbed back into the chain. It was her shadow.
“Frey!”
“Lady Frey!”
Murakan, still unable to regain his senses, tried to press his attack on the imposter, but the imposter easily blocked his approach with the spiritual energy barrier, as if mocking him.
[“Frey will die soon. Even if you cut the chain, once pierced, death is inevitable. Remember, a thousand years ago, Frey died by your hand. Do you still pretend not to remember? Will you keep denying the truth?”]
After slicing through the chain that pierced Frey, Jin deflected the other chains flying toward Murakan.
[“Murakan, of all the things I recreated from you a thousand years ago, there’s only one you never truly did yourself. This… destroying the Storm Castle without a trace.”]
The imposter was now unleashing Murakan’s ultimate technique—the Black Dragon’s Final Move:
Darkness Descends.
Murakan’s ultimate ability, long forgotten by the imposter, was now in full force.