Chapter 862
Episode 215: Reunion with the Divine (3)
“What? You’re begging to be saved?”
“Yes, Lord Murakan. That’s definitely what he’s saying… ugh.”
Julian staggered, clutching his head. The sudden psychic link with Feitel was taking a toll on his body.
“Kaltor, do you hear anything… huh? The kid’s lost it.”
“Ugh… gah.”
Kaltor was in the same state, even more affected by the connection with Feitel than Julian.
This unexpected situation left the group momentarily speechless.
“What the hell is going on? They came rushing in, immediately trying to connect and begging to be saved. Is Feitel getting beaten up by someone nearby? But I don’t sense any hostile energy around here.”
Even if it wasn’t near Island 32, if a battle fierce enough to corner Feitel was happening anywhere in the Azure Bird Archipelago, the group would have sensed it.
“Ughhh.”
“Gah! Urgh!”
Julian and Kaltor’s seizures continued.
“Hey, you two! Snap out of it, okay?”
“Fei-Feitel… is… in… battle… ugh.”
“What? Battle? Where exactly is he fighting?”
“Murakan, fly up and scout the entire archipelago.”
Murakan transformed back into his true form and soared into the sky. But no matter how wide he scanned, there was no sign of any fight.
[Still nothing, kid.]
“There’s no record of any battle either, Jin.”
Jin quickly came to a conclusion.
“Hmm, then there are two possibilities. One, Feitel is just trying to connect through the lingering energy of Gram here, while the actual fight is happening elsewhere. Or two, it’s in a pocket dimension.”
Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, Murakan landed and smacked Julian and Kaltor hard on their backs.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
“Murakan, what the hell?”
“Whenever you two zone out like this, hitting you like this seems to bring you back.”
“Julian and Kaltor aren’t as tough as you. Especially Kaltor—he just recovered and is still weak. That kind of rough treatment won’t work, you know…?”
“Ugh… huff.”
Though pale as ghosts, Julian and Kaltor regained their senses and looked at their comrades.
“It’s a pocket dimension, Lord Jin. The tomb of Thunder God Gram… Feitel is fighting there right now!”
Julian shouted. Through their psychic link with Feitel, he and Kaltor had received a clear picture of the situation. Feitel had been hiding inside Gram’s tomb—the pocket dimension. Why he was hiding there was the next mystery to solve.
“How do we get in?”
“Feitel is struggling to open the entrance, but it’s difficult. Just before Murakan hit us and the connection almost broke, Feitel suddenly sought you out, Lord Jin.”
“Me?”
“Yes. He said you possess the weapon that serves as the key to the tomb…”
“Sounds like a pretty dire situation, but he must have guessed you’d be part of our alliance.”
“That seems to be the case.”
The Sigmund sword still glowed with Gram’s emblem.
“How exactly am I supposed to use my sword?”
“Feitel will try to communicate with you soon and explain.”
True to the words, Jin soon heard Feitel’s voice.
[Hey! Jin Runkandel…! Can you hear me?!]
The others heard it too. Feitel’s voice wasn’t echoing inside Jin’s mind—it was emanating from the blade of Sigmund itself. Alongside Gram’s emblem, Feitel’s symbol had appeared on the sword’s surface.
[Hey! Can you hear me? Answer me quickly!]
Feitel’s urgent voice continued. Jin smiled wryly.
This was a very familiar situation.
Someone desperate trying to extract help from you. Even if that someone was a god, it made no difference.
“I hear you. But who said you could just possess Sigmund without my permission? You’re just mimicking Gram’s energy because you’re his brother? Either way, it’s annoying.”
Jin deliberately lowered his voice. Luna and Runtia shook their heads inwardly at their youngest’s sly attitude after so long.
[Please help me!]
“Why should I? I don’t have many good memories with you.”
[Julian is your subordinate, isn’t he!?]
“That’s too cold. Let’s just say he’s a comrade, not a subordinate. So?”
[Then help me! If I disappear here, Julian will be reduced to a powerless human!]
“What if I refuse?”
[Please! I could really vanish right now!]
“No, no. That’s not how you ask. If you truly want my help, swear here and now as a god—put everything on the line. Promise that once you survive with my help, you’ll devote yourself fully to the Balmel Alliance.”
That had been the whole reason Jin’s group came looking for Feitel. They wanted to use this troublesome god’s power to find a breakthrough in liberating the Golden Fleet and Laprarosa.
Knowing Feitel’s personality well, they had gathered their team with violence and threats as a premise. Now was the perfect moment to extract a promise.
[I swear, I promise!]
“Empty promises mean nothing. Show me an absolute token of trust, like Shinu’s Seal of Fire. Then we’ll help you with all our strength. For reference, right now there are three knights nearly at their peak strength, including me, Murakan who’s mostly recovered, and a wizard from the Hister family.”
[Argh! I can’t use such top-tier powers like Shinu!]
“Then there’s no choice. We’ll leave now. Try to survive on your own.”
Just as Jin was about to sheath his sword and leave, glowing letters appeared on Sigmund’s blade.
<I, Feitel, swear to keep my promise to Jin Runkandel.>
It was the Seal of the Storm. Like the Seal of Fire, this emblem carried absolute trust. Though not as powerful as Shinu’s seal.
“Wow, this guy. Even in such a desperate situation, he tried to trick us. But the kid’s no ordinary bastard. If he’d just been upfront from the start, it would’ve been better for everyone—no loss of face.”
“Message received, Storm God. How can we assist you?”
[Now! I’ll open the door through the sword. Hurry and enter the tomb!]
“Yes, we’re ready. Please open it.”
No sooner had Jin answered than blue lightning poured from Sigmund. It shimmered with a hue different from the Underworld’s energy—this was the lightning of Feitel and Gram.
The lightning soon opened a circular dimensional gate. Beyond it stretched a landscape filled with storms, thunder, and lightning.
As they stepped inside, they saw Feitel—human-like in form—and several unknown but powerful figures pressing him.
‘Five of them, right? All unfamiliar faces, but somehow they feel familiar.’
Jin took position in front of Feitel and studied the enemies.
Feitel looked clearly cornered, covered in wounds and breathing heavily, while the enemies appeared unharmed.
[…What’s going on here?]
[Feitel, you managed to call for backup.]
[So you’re Jin Runkandel? And your guardian dragon Murakan… and Baekkyung, Runtia, I think. I hadn’t heard Feitel had ties to Runkandel.]
The enemies immediately recognized Jin and his group. Jin kept wondering why they felt so oddly familiar. Luna and Runtia felt the same.
‘Ah, no way…’
—Looks like you’ve been through a fight. You smell just like Pai, the young dragon. The scent of blood, ashes, and war. I worry if your domain, the Land of Fire, has been attacked.
—Ha ha, remarkable.
—No matter how much you try to hide it with divine dignity, it’s useless. To me, you look like a severely wounded patient.
—Yes, you’re right. I just dealt with those who invaded my domain.
This was a conversation between Shinu and Tikan when Shinu manifested.
At that time, Shinu called the invaders “priests of the Solar God cult.”
—Most of the Solar God cult priests are the undead—heroes whose names were once renowned.
—Resurrected old warriors. It’s tiresome.
—They all died harboring grudges or obsessions. They were lured into becoming priests by the promise that the Solar God’s resurrection would grant their desires.
Jin realized why these unfamiliar enemies felt so familiar.
They were all legendary figures from history books.
“Chancellor Kaiman Yuron, Mad Dog Trax Kungen, Kurano’s Wall Luzin Tiphen, Lord Commander Chin Meyer, and the Warrior Tustad Attila… It’s an unexpected honor to meet such predecessors. I am Jin Runkandel, the head of the Runkandel family.”
Yuron, Kungen, Tiphen, Meyer, Attila—the five families all had indirect ties to most of Jin’s group.
They were all clans wiped out by Runkandel in the past. The Storm Castle still held their secret tomes.
[We have no reason to be glad. Your ancestors killed us.]
“Regrettable, but isn’t that how the world of warriors works? But at least, Kungen’s ancestor shouldn’t be looking me straight in the eye. Your clan was destroyed 200 years ago after attacking Storm Castle and killing Runkandel’s children.”
Traks Kungen, then the head of the Kungen clan, had been the very mastermind behind the assassination at Storm Castle two centuries ago. Unfazed by Jin’s words, Traks’s eyes blazed with a fierce, murderous intent.
“I won’t waste time with pleasantries. We’re taking Feitel with us. As for you seniors, I suggest you disappear immediately. Whether it’s Sanna’s orders or Veradin’s, if you go back and say you met me, my sisters, and Murakan, you’ll probably be told you made a wise retreat.”
At that, Tistud Attila leveled his sword at Jin. Among the priests of the Sun God here, he was the de facto leader.
“You talk too much. The Runkandels I’ve met weren’t like this. Come on.”
Jin shrugged and met Tistud’s gaze.
“I’ve been uneasy about your nickname, ‘Fighting God.’ There’s only one Fighting God I know. Looks like today’s the day I show you what that really means.”