Episode 928
Chapter 231: Resolve (Part 1)

Bascara ignored even Solderet’s divine power of curse immunity. Jin shuddered as a sudden weakness spread through his left arm.

That arm was already weakened, his fist shattered. Now, with the forced aging curse layered on top, it felt like he wouldn’t be able to use it at all.

Forced aging was a curse so potent it seemed only the Time God, Olta, could manifest it directly.

Which meant Paelito possessed divine power on par with Olta himself—specifically, power over time.

‘Even if Paelito is a Changsung, there’s no way his time-related power matches Olta’s. This curse must be linked to the sword he wields…’

—“The sword Bascara that he uses contains the ability to nullify divine powers.”

Orgal had explained this to Jin right after losing to Paelito, but Bascara wasn’t just a sword that sealed powers.

It also had the ability to wield any power it had once perfectly sealed.

“There was a demon god named Visaro. He granted aging to demons who wished for death, but he too dared to oppose Lord Zito and was sealed within this sword.”

Paelito locked eyes with Jin.

“Your power and that of your god will be sealed in Bascara today as well. You’d better get used to the sensation of aging. Visaro’s lingering resentment within the sword will find you quite pitiable.”

In other words, Paelito was a warrior who had reached the Changsung level, and through Bascara, he could freely manipulate the powers of countless gods and transcendent beings he had cut down along the way.

He was the undisputed strongest in the Jin Demon Realm.

“Kaahk!”

Dante blocked Paelito’s strike and stumbled backward.

Normally, he might have narrowly dodged such a fast attack, but his right leg had aged and weakened, leaving him no choice but to block.

His reaction had clearly slowed. Thanks to the Jin energy he’d received from Ron, Dante’s body was as tough as steel, but aging was unavoidable.

His movements felt shackled, and every time his foot struck the ground, his ankle bones rattled.

‘If this were a normal curse, it could be reversed…’

Usually, curses could be dispelled by killing the caster or using a counter-ritual. Sometimes damaging the object that manifested the curse worked too.

‘But since the physical manifestation has progressed this far, I guess I have to give up on this arm…’

Even if they lost an arm or a leg, as long as they could keep fighting, it didn’t matter. They would fight until their bodies shattered and disappeared, refusing to fall before then. Jin and Dante steeled themselves with that resolve.

Paelito deliberately pressed the attack at a speed Dante could block but not dodge. Jin felt the pain keenly.

He wanted Dante to feel the helplessness of being unable to protect his friend dying beside him, to feel the frustration as his sword swung through empty air.

But Dante never wished for Jin to save him. Not once during this battle.

Always.

Since the day Jin saved him at the Sword Emperor Star. No, since they first met and became friends in the Cosmos Arena.

Dante had always been prepared for the day they might die fighting side by side. Both he and Jin walked a path fraught with danger.

“You’re playing dirty, Paelito! Did you think Jin would go crazy trying to save me? Shouting my name and recklessly charging at you? No way! We’ve accepted death. Even if we die here together, not a single one of us will survive alone.”

Sshhh-!

Dante’s armored sword blazed with even stronger light. Paelito stepped back, releasing a wave of sword energy.

“I’m not afraid to die with you. So if you want to see Jin truly suffer, you’ll have to kill me—the Sword Emperor of the Empire—first. No matter how strong you are, if you keep toying with us like this, you won’t escape unscathed. You know that better than anyone.”

Dante’s words weren’t just cries of fighting spirit.

While Dante was under pressure, Jin calmly targeted Paelito’s flank and rear. Paelito, trying to ‘control his strength,’ couldn’t perfectly counter their attacks, and Bradamante occasionally found openings to strike at his body.

Of course, the wounds were too shallow to change the tide.

But at this level, every single wound could be the difference between life and death.

No warrior in the world could casually enjoy a fight against these two.

And the swords of those pushed to their limits only grew sharper—meaning Paelito was risking his own life as well.

The realm Jin and Dante had reached was a level even a Changsung couldn’t dismiss.

“Or have you become so clouded by rage that you can’t even realize it? Maybe it’s the brainwashing, but you’re definitely different from the Changsung we’ve faced before. They would never have shown even a moment’s hesitation or weakness against us!”

Sshhh-!

Once again, dark energy formed a curse. Alongside Visaro’s mockery that aged them, there was another curse from a demon god named Tsujak.

Jin and Dante completely avoided Visaro’s mockery, but the same spot was exposed to Tsujak’s curse.

Tsujak was known as the most powerful demon god before Zito, and the demons of the Jin Realm called him the Plague God.

Bubbling…!

In an instant, the flesh touched by Tsujak’s curse began to boil. Their skin blistered and bubbled like molten lava. Fist-sized blisters swelled and burst, forcing them to grit their teeth.

The plague didn’t just affect the cursed area like aging—it seeped through their entire bodies like water.

Their toughened bodies resisted the plague’s spread, with their auras exploding wildly inside to block it.

But that only drained their stamina faster, and the plague threatened to consume them whole.

“Say that again after you’ve threatened me once, Sword Emperor of the Mortal World. Fine, I admit you’re strong. But that’s all. Do you know how many beings stronger than you I’ve defeated over the ages? Even they feared me and dared not lay a hand on Sakiel.”

Malice in Paelito’s eyes seemed ready to materialize and engulf them.

Jin and Dante saw the vision—a massive, dark shadow of evil looming over them.

“You took too much from me…”

Paelito closed his eyes and spoke.

Meanwhile, Jin quickly assessed what he could do.

First, he reduced the mana consumed by his Flame of Vengeance. He didn’t extinguish it entirely but kept only the bare minimum.

Then, he cast a freezing seal on Dante’s aging, rotting right ankle—a technique he’d learned from Valeria.

A transparent chill wrapped around Dante’s ankle, visibly slowing the plague’s progress. It almost seemed to stop.

“This should let you move more naturally than before. If luck’s on our side, maybe we can get treatment after killing that bastard.”

Swoosh!

Jin then slashed his own left arm with Bradamante. The charred, coal-blackened limb fell to the ground, crumbling.

“Jin!?”

“I can’t maintain two seals at once. Losing my arm is better than you losing your leg. If your foot’s bound, there’s really no hope.”

The plague clinging to his severed arm could no longer invade Jin’s body. After freezing the wound, he gripped his sword with one hand.

His determined eyes shone brightly. Dante swallowed the words rising in his throat and summoned his strength. He couldn’t afford to be shaken by emotion in battle.

“You look better than before, Jin Runcandel.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, it’s a decent second-best. Though eventually, you’ll lose all your limbs that way.”

“If I weaken from losing an arm, I can’t be called the Two Kings. If I can’t overcome a life-or-death crisis, I don’t deserve to be the head of the Runcandel family. And if I fear losing a leg in battle, I can’t be called the Sword Emperor.”

Jin smiled at Paelito.

“So this is a better look, isn’t it, Paelito Belgassium? You saw right through me.”

The flames of vengeance flickered quietly.

Paelito felt as if Jin and Dante had only grown stronger.

‘…A crisis is bringing something buried deep within their bodies and souls to the surface.’

It wasn’t surprising. Monsters cornered in a bind shed their skins once more. He’d seen it many times facing strong foes in the past.

And Paelito had never lost in such moments. He’d never let a victory slip away or made a careless mistake.

‘I will do the same this time, Sakiel.’

Paelito thrust Bascara forward. At the same time, the Sword of the Netherworld unfolded, and before their senses dulled, the two charged at him.

Bradamante and Rashid’s sword energies slashed diagonally, aiming for Paelito’s heart. He caught the sword energy barehanded and let out a fierce shout.

Then, scattering the energy in all directions, he twisted their trajectories and plunged his sword toward Dante’s neck.

Dante would block it.

Paelito had predicted this. Since Dante had struck precisely at his blind spot, there was no way he could dodge it. Sure enough, Dante failed to avoid Paelito’s thrust.

But Dante didn’t just fend off Vaskala. The moment Rashid and Vaskala collided, Dante dropped his sword and, with a clap of his palm, caught Vaskala.

Unfazed, Paelito tried to slice Dante in half, but Jin’s sword was already too close.

In the end, Paelito couldn’t land a blow on Dante. The instant Dante saw Paelito give up on him, he released Vaskala and detonated the Dragon Sword Armor.

A sharp shard of aura burst from the armor, grazing Paelito’s face. He spun around, swinging his sword down to block Jin’s strike.

Jin lowered his stance so close to the ground it seemed his face might scrape the earth—and he grinned.

“There’s one thing I’m grateful to you for, Paelito. Thanks to you, I’m finally getting that feeling again… the feeling of growing stronger after a long time.”