Chapter 926
Episode 230: Invasion and Assault (7)

Paelito stood still for a moment, regaining his sight and hearing.

But Jin and his group couldn’t seize the opportunity to launch an attack.

They needed to regroup as well.

Dante coughed up blood from the strain of forcibly wielding the Imperial Sword moments ago, and Hedo struggled to steady his senses, distorted by the Azure Sword and the Flash Cannon.

“So you really have teeth… Yeah, you didn’t get to that position just by luck and the powers you’ve gained.”

Clack!

Paelito resumed his assault first.

His vision, damaged by the Flash Cannon, had already fully recovered.

Every time Paelito unleashed his sword energy, afterimages scattered in all directions.

“Jin, don’t worry about me. Focus only on your domain!”

Hedo was barely able to fend off the sword energy scratching at his entire body.

Still, Paelito’s warning was clear: without the power of the Radiant Heart, Jin wasn’t as resilient as before.

There was no time to respond. Jin parried the sword energy flying straight at him.

The crescent-shaped blade shattered to his left, but the shockwave reverberated through Bradamante’s sword, battering Jin relentlessly.

“But that doesn’t mean you can beat me. With a body weakened like that, you can’t even run from me, Jin Runcandel.”

A sensation of bones and flesh bursting from within.

Though nothing actually tore.

Even though the Radiant Heart had lost its function, Runcandel’s blessed body—the one he had trained every day—had always belonged to Jin.

And so had the will that moved that body.

“Don’t underestimate me, Paelito. Even if we don’t live ten thousand years like you, there are people here whose resolve will never fade.”

“Sounds like a fine speech. But words have no power. If you want to overcome me, you must possess strength greater than mine.”

Paelito crouched low, letting Bascarla hang down.

Jin and his comrades naturally assumed he was gathering power to unleash a more intense sword energy in all directions.

They quickly raised their shields and widened their eyes.

But the sword Paelito drew now wasn’t aimed at them.

Demonic Sword Style Secret Technique:
Heaven’s Annihilation Slash, Form One.

Kaaaaah!

With a fierce shout, Paelito slashed at the sky.

Above, the protective barrier of Ayula still covered most of the Holy Kingdom’s airspace, locked in a standoff with Talaris’s domain.

The moment Heaven’s Annihilation Slash unfolded, Jin and his comrades couldn’t help but look up.

They saw something never before witnessed, unrecorded in any history—a colossal cross-shaped sword energy dividing the sky into four.

The Heaven’s Annihilation Slash cast a sharp shadow not over the Veliam Plains, but all the way to the edge of the kingdom’s territorial waters.

“Graaah!”

Murakan screamed in shock.

Though his pre-formed spiritual barrier absorbed some of the impact, his scales felt like they were about to fall off.

The Heaven’s Annihilation Slash hadn’t even touched him directly.

What made Murakan scream was the shockwave radiating from the slash.

Jin and his group felt their vision whiten momentarily and instinctively plunged their swords into the ground.

They braced themselves against the tremendous gravitational force of the storm conjured by the Heaven’s Annihilation Slash.

But the ground beneath them was collapsing under the force Paelito exerted while unleashing the slash.

It churned and overturned like a raging sea, mixing and flowing like soft dough.

Their senses dulled as if thrown into a vacuum.

They called out to each other, but all they saw was a space turned either blinding white or pitch black.

Jin, Murakan, Hedo, Dante.

If not for warriors of their caliber, they would have already been erased without a trace, scattered somewhere in the warped void.

“Ugh…!”

How much time had passed?

Jin finally heard his own voice.

As he exhaled, it felt like blood was sparking inside him like lightning. His hair stood on end, and his body stiffened.

For a moment, Jin had been completely defenseless.

Had Paelito charged then, there was no way to stop him—he would have surely died.

The same went for his comrades. They had all briefly lost consciousness.

The only relief was that Paelito hadn’t found them during that time.

Having split the sky with just two sword strikes, he had no energy left for anything else, even momentarily.

“Phew.”

Paelito caught his breath and looked up at the sky where the Heaven’s Annihilation Slash had passed.

Through his eyes darkened by madness, he saw Ayula’s protective barrier beginning to crumble.

The shield was split into a cross, shedding golden fragments.

Until just moments ago, that power had protected the kingdom as Ayula’s will.

Now, the debris raining down like a blizzard across the kingdom was a disaster in itself.

Thud! Thud!

The falling fragments struck the kingdom’s surface like unburned meteors, gouging deep craters.

Buildings raised by the citizens crumbled helplessly under the impact, and those inside vanished without a trace, consumed by heat and shock.

Most didn’t even realize they were dying.

In some ways, it was better that way—no time for pain or sorrow.

Those lucky enough to avoid the debris or sheltered by the priests’ protective barriers would soon witness people dying indiscriminately from the golden shards everywhere.

And as Ayula’s shield collapsed, demons slipped through the cracks and began a massive descent onto the surface.

“Return the flesh to Lord Jito! Kill every human you see!”

“Pain will lead you to order! Today, we claim this land!”

Countless demons surged down, riding the shield’s wreckage.

They slaughtered ordinary humans more easily than crushing insects.

They grabbed fleeing victims by the neck, tearing their heads off; they crushed the waists of those who collapsed.

Hell had opened in the Holy Kingdom.

Ah…

Jin was on the Veliam Plains and couldn’t witness this with his own eyes.

But he didn’t need to see it to know.

The innocent crying out Ayula’s name as they were mercilessly slaughtered, the despair and agony settling over the kingdom, the terror of those being ravaged—

It surged in, tearing at Jin’s soul.

Sharper and fiercer than any sword Paelito had ever wielded against him.

No torture could be more horrific.

His trembling eyes felt like they might melt away. Tears welled up uncontrollably.

But no matter how many tears fell, no matter how much he suffered, this despair would never be washed away or hidden.

And Paelito saw right through Jin.

He knew the Balmel Alliance had always prioritized protecting ordinary people, and the Jinma Realm was well aware of that.

“Jin Runcandel. I can clearly feel your trembling fear. But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand why you’re so pained over insignificant insects—creatures unrelated to you—dying.”

How dare you claim you suffer as much as I do over losing Sachiel…!

Paelito’s face was stained with tears of blood as he shouted.

Then he covered his mouth, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Poisonous rage and grief welled up inside him.

Sachiel’s death was a toxin he couldn’t purge no matter how much he spat it out.

Kelliak had pierced Paelito’s inner self more accurately than anyone.

Paelito looked at the blood in his palm, let out a hollow laugh, and brushed it off.

“That sorrow is unacceptable. You must not suffer over such trivial matters. The price for killing Sachiel must be far more terrible.”

Jin heard Paelito’s voice from the cracks in the shattered earth.

Unlike Paelito, Jin did not cry.

Crying was for after the battle, when no one could see him.

Jin first checked the communicator in his pocket.

Though encased in ancient millennia-forged steel, it was dented and damaged in places.

It wouldn’t work until they escaped Paelito’s blocking zone.

“Murakan!”

Jin stepped up from the fissure and shouted.

Immediately, Paelito’s sword energy flew toward him, and Jin ducked, checking his comrades’ positions.

Dante and Hedo were over a thousand steps away.

They had just started moving but couldn’t approach the center of the battlefield easily due to Paelito’s magic and sword energy.

Murakan slipped through the torn spiritual barrier, descended to Jin, and transformed into human form.

“You’re to support the Holy King’s Castle.”

“What?”

“If the castle falls now, they’ll get Jito’s Eye. Talaris won’t be in good shape either, so you have to go.”

“Even if my combat effectiveness is low because I can’t engage in close combat due to the spiritual blockade, I should be here when we retreat…!”

“People are dying. We can’t fight while worrying about what comes next. Whether the castle falls and they take Jito’s Eye, or we die here by Paelito’s hand, it’s the same.”

“Damn it.”

“If Ridolos and Bideluce are summoned together from that great rift, or if only Ridolos appears, you can come back here. But if only Bideluce is summoned, you must do whatever it takes to defend the castle.”

Ridolos Trinak and Bideluce Ann—the strongest demon lords of the Jinma Realm after Paelito.

Among them, Ridolos was a member of Biseps.

“…Kid, it looks like the summoning just finished.”

Jin and Murakan looked up at the sky.

Unfortunately, only one demon had escaped the Great Rift—Bideluce.

The moment the summoning completed, Bideluce smiled slyly as she gazed down over the vast Bellium Plains.

“Oh my, Paelito. You’re playing with some interesting kids, aren’t you? Ah, so you’re the bastard who killed Sachiel?”

Though her tone was playful, her voice carried a power that echoed across the entire battlefield.

“Go retrieve Lord Gito’s body, Bideluce.”

“Mmm, I’d love to have a taste too, but I can’t touch your prey. Take your time enjoying it—I’ll be keeping a close eye on Lord Gito’s eyes for you.”

With a powerful sweep of her wings, Bideluce tore through the dark sky.

“After her, quickly!”

Gritting his teeth, Murakan transformed back into his true form and gave chase.

At this speed, Bideluce would reach the Castle King’s fortress in no time and kill Talaris and Lani.

[Don’t die, kid!]

Jin didn’t answer. He gripped his sword tighter.

Paelito was closing in.