Chapter 937
Episode 232: Awakening (5)
Flames tainted with chaos surged endlessly into the sky.
A massive, black vortex spiraled around Paelito, swiftly swallowing everything on the battlefield.
The earth cracked once more under its power, spewing lava more violently than before. Yet even the lava, upon touching the chaotic vortex, instantly cooled, solidified, and turned to ash.
Jin quickly erected a protective barrier of spiritual energy around Valeria and the Red Owl. The purge that was about to begin would unleash shocks too overwhelming for her to endure alone.
“Valeria, you should head out to the outskirts and help the others.”
“Understood.”
Valeria climbed onto the Red Owl.
Though she lacked Changsung’s senses, she could tell that Paelito had become a fiendish god. She had witnessed the horrors of the Fiend God War firsthand.
That’s why, even knowing Jin had taken to Changsung, she worried. No matter how much stronger Jin became, she would always worry.
“Should I call for backup as soon as you get out of the battlefield?”
Jin turned with a smile.
“No. If the main base has any reserves left, send them all to the outer territories of the kingdom. This place is stable now.”
Just as Valeria mounted the Red Owl, Paelito’s vortex unleashed a tsunami of chaotic energy in all directions.
Jin swung his sword lightly, slicing through the chaotic energy aimed at himself and Valeria.
The sword, wrapped in spiritual energy and a golden aura, moved silently, cleaving the massive chaotic energy horizontally.
The torn chaos didn’t heal easily; it bubbled and boiled before cascading down like a waterfall.
Once Jin confirmed Valeria had safely withdrawn from the battlefield, he turned his gaze back to Paelito.
“Poor bastard…”
In Jin’s eyes, Paelito had only ever known defeat once, and despair once. The great Sword Demon, once the hope of the Demon Realm, had succumbed to that single moment of despair, meeting this grotesque fate.
Chaotic energy crackled relentlessly in every direction.
The ruined earth, the forests and rivers killed by the battle’s aftermath, even the wind itself—all were being consumed by the chaos radiating from Paelito.
Yet, directly in front of Paelito, where Jin stood, not a trace of chaotic energy could penetrate. Like water blocked by a rock, the chaos couldn’t pass Jin and instead spread out to either side.
Behind Jin stood the Sacred King Star.
Without it, the chaos would have engulfed the entire Sacred King Star region within minutes. And after merging with Jito’s Eye, Paelito would have fully awakened as a fiendish god.
Jin focused, reading the energy of his comrades battling Jito’s Eye near the Sacred King Star.
‘They should be fine now.’
He could cut through anything.
There was nothing in this world he couldn’t sever.
Feeling this truth deep in his bones, Jin enveloped himself in energy, summoning Bradamante. The sword’s spirit vibrated, emitting a heavy, resonant tone.
Rune Candle Third Battle Technique: Meteor Shower
Releasing the power gathered on the blade, the battlefield was instantly bathed in dazzling light. Paelito reflexively shielded his eyes from the light piercing through his chaotic energy barrier.
“Gah! Aaargh!”
Paelito screamed, instinctively curling into a ball, waiting for the light to fade. Until it did, he couldn’t pinpoint Jin’s location.
But he was unaware that Jin’s sword had already sliced him once. When he lifted his head, wracked by the agony of his shattered waist, the chaotic energy barrier that should have shielded him was gone.
Instead, his vision was filled with endless golden flashes.
There was no way to avoid the blinding light. The chaotic energy barrier that once protected him had been torn apart, leaving only fragments.
He had to endure the relentless flashes with his entire body. Even as chaos shattered his reason, he was certain that surviving this would leave him anything but intact.
“Kah! Ah…!”
Crack, crunch!
His body was being torn apart. Each flash struck, tearing flesh and crushing bone. He tried desperately to spread his chaotic energy to block the meteor shower and heal his wounds, but the sky only grew more golden.
It brightened as if the sun itself had risen.
Though Paelito, now a fiendish god, could no longer feel physical pain, his screams continued.
Because he was terrified.
The fear that clung to him even after becoming a fiendish god—the overwhelming power wielded by Jin Runkandel—shook him to his core.
He was powerless to resist.
The meteor shower shattered Paelito far faster than his chaotic energy could regenerate. Now, only a hollowed-out torso with a single leg remained.
Even that would vanish soon.
The meteor shower didn’t fall randomly; each strike moved with Jin’s will—relentlessly precise and complete. It seemed as if the meteor shower was erasing the fiendish god Paelito entirely.
The golden flashes ceased.
Without catching his breath, Jin stared at the scorched earth where the meteor shower had fallen. Amid the molten ground, there was no sign of Paelito.
But Jin knew he wasn’t dead yet.
The will of chaos was scattering particles in the air, carrying Paelito somewhere else. Black winds swept past Jin as if fleeing.
Toward the Sacred King Star.
There, Paelito would merge with Jito’s body, whose seal had been broken.
But Jin didn’t rush after the wind.
There was no need.
Neither Paelito nor the chaotic will trying to save him could ever slip from Jin’s grasp.
Jin followed the black wind, walking slowly. Occasionally, chaotic energy particles broke free from the wind, transforming into sharp spikes that jabbed at Jin—but they disintegrated before touching him. They couldn’t pierce the energy radiating from Jin.
Not even a scratch.
The more this happened, the more terrified and frantic Paelito became, running wildly as if stumbling like a human. Each time he sensed Jin behind him, he flinched and crumpled.
By now, Paelito was slowly regaining consciousness as a fiendish god.
At first, he had no reason left, but after facing near annihilation, his self-awareness began to form.
‘Jito… I have to get Jito’s Eye and escape.’
Though he was still overwhelmed and unable to fight back, if given enough time, he could threaten Jin.
Perhaps even kill him.
And by absorbing that power, become a calamity unlike any the world had ever seen.
Paelito—or rather, the being no longer worthy of that name, the fiendish god—held onto that hope. Even if he couldn’t fight now, he could at least run and buy time.
He panted like a human.
In fact, his form was becoming more human-like. The particles forming the wind gradually shaped him into a figure resembling Paelito.
When he finally reached the vicinity of the Sacred King Star, he took on a form close to Paelito’s and looked up at the sky.
He should have seen a landscape vibrating with violet demonic energy. Jito’s Eye should have been there, devouring all life on the Sacred King Star and roaring.
But what the fiendish god saw was a sky and earth dyed pitch black, the boundaries erased.
Spiritual energy.
Something he shouldn’t approach.
The fiendish god paused, glaring into the darkness.
‘What the hell…?’
He could sense Jito’s demonic energy from within.
But it was faint—barely perceptible unless he focused intensely. Whether it was obscured by the spiritual energy or if Jito’s Eye was already on the brink of destruction inside, he couldn’t tell.
There was little time to ponder.
Jin was closing in.
If he stayed still, Jin’s shadow would soon swallow him whole.
“Gahhh!”
The fiendish god grabbed the darkness with both hands, tearing it apart to forge a path. But as soon as he grasped the darkness, black pus oozed from his hands like rotting plants. If he held on any longer, he would dissolve completely.
“Ugh… huff… haah…”
The damage wasn’t limited to his arms. The spiritual energy enveloping the Sacred King Star invaded his body and mind, tearing him apart.
It was like emerging from a poisonous swamp.
The fiendish god barely steadied his trembling legs and stepped inside.
And immediately realized—
This was just another death trap.
“So, you’ve come… Paelito. No, I suppose I should call you the second fiendish god to appear in this world.”
The Black Dragon Murakan.
He spread his two pairs of wings and spoke in a low voice. Beneath his forepaws lay a torn, unrecognizable mass of violet energy.
Jito’s Eye.
“Looking for Jito’s Eye, huh? You’re dying anyway, but want me to hand this over?”
The mass writhed as if trying to escape Murakan, but each time it did, his claws and sharp scales shredded it further.
Trying to merge with Jito’s Eye like that would be pointless. It would only drain the remaining power trying to restore the Eye.
Beside Murakan stood Talaris, catching her breath next to the corpse of Bideluce, supported by Runtia.
From the very beginning, it was pointless for the Fiend to try and escape Jin. That was why Jin was able to pursue him so effortlessly.
Moreover, as Jin chased the Fiend, he was already preparing for the enemy’s final move.
Self-destruction—there was no other option left for the Fiend. Jin had spent the entire time erecting protective barriers all across the battlefield, ensuring that the Fiend’s explosion wouldn’t destroy any other parts of the kingdom, nor claim a single more life.
A chilling presence prickled the Fiend’s senses, and he turned around. Through the veil of spiritual energy he had summoned, Jin was stepping forward.
The Fiend collapsed to the ground, forced to watch as Jin approached. Jin’s shadow stretched over the Fiend’s head.
“It’s time for you to disappear.”