Chapter 949
Episode 234: To Hell (9)
Murakan and his group had originally been moving separately from Jin, searching for Biseps.
Before Biseps moved toward the Solar Path, he had sent a scouting party to Dokma Fortress to monitor Keliak and Leila’s movements.
Naturally, Murakan had tracked Biseps’s trail using Valeria’s record magic. Along the way, he happened upon signs of Biseps’s scouts and followed them straight to Dokma Fortress.
[What the hell? Are these guys mute? I’m asking what you were doing here, damn it—Murakan speaking.]
[This is a weird situation. Hmm, what should we do? Just kill them all?]
[Oh, our Immortal Murakan is getting serious. Truly an Immortal and a natural born killer, huh?]
[Keep your voice down, you idiot… I don’t want to become a laughingstock even to the enemy. Hmm! Anyway, Valeria, what do you think? You’re the smartest here, so make the call.]
Just as Valeria was about to answer, a voice came from below.
Help me!
It was Veradin.
The usually cold and dignified head of the Ziphl clan was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he waved his hands wildly like a boy playing with Jin long ago, shamelessly shouting for help.
Valeria’s eyes widened.
She wasn’t surprised by Veradin’s words or behavior. She was startled by herself—by the immediate, instinctive thought that she had to help him.
Since the Gray Owl Mercenary Corps had been wiped out, the name Ziphl had been nothing but an irredeemable enemy to Valeria.
Yet now, her desire for revenge was overshadowed by Jin’s feelings.
Her wish to protect someone dear to Jin outweighed her thirst for vengeance.
“Looking back, I guess I even got along with that noisy Sandra Ziphl in some way… I’ve definitely grown numb.”
But she didn’t dislike that fact.
She still had no plans to give up on avenging Ziphl. However, if there were a few among them Jin wanted to spare, she could accept that. Especially if it was someone Jin cared about so deeply.
To Valeria now, Jin was that precious.
“Did you hear that, Murakan?”
[Heard you, Immortal.]
[Heard… ha, seriously.]
[Our Immortal’s orders are simple. While I take care of Keliak and his lackeys, you protect the historian and Veradin. Looks like Veradin can’t really fight right now. And if Veradin tries to stab us in the back, just cut him down.]
“No, don’t kill him—just subdue him. No matter what, if Veradin dies, Jin will suffer.”
[Got it, natural enemy.]
[Damn it, I heard you!]
Whoooosh!
Murakan spread his two pairs of wings and gathered his breath. As he exhaled, massive chains of flame tore through the sky, turning it red and instantly clearing a path.
‘Keliak’s friend’s flames… cut this easily!?’
Not only the fiery chains but also the poisonous miasma nearby dissipated helplessly, swept away by Murakan’s breath.
Since Jin’s ascension to the Creation Star, Murakan could literally wield the same power as in his prime. Though his damaged heart still caused some side effects, Valeria was here on the battlefield, so things wouldn’t get out of hand.
[Hey, Keliak Ziphl. Come to think of it, this is our first meeting since the Sword Emperor War. Back then, you dared threaten Solderet’s contractor.]
“Murakan…”
Keliak’s brow twitched. Ragall had never seen Keliak show this much emotion.
[Now, the kid you failed to finish back then has entered a giant’s domain beyond your reach, and I’ve regained all my old power. In short, you’re done for.]
“My son is lucky, it seems. You just happened to arrive here by chance… is that right?”
[What does that matter?]
“Hmph… no, it can’t be mere chance. It must be the influence of one who transcended fate.”
Keliak shrugged.
He believed Murakan’s arrival to save the desperate Veradin was no accident.
Even if it seemed coincidental, he was certain it was the result of the ‘power of existence’ that Jin possessed.
‘He probably doesn’t even realize it himself—that sometimes the entire world moves to reflect his will…’
That thought unsettled Keliak.
Facing Jin in the future, who knew when such unpredictable events might happen again.
“Ragall, Leila. You two chase after Veradin and the bio-golem. Even if things go wrong, we have to try to fix it.”
“Got it, friend.”
Just as Ragall moved, a black chain suddenly formed behind them. The spiritual energy that had silently spread now wove a barrier all around.
[Ah, wait, wait. I never gave permission for you to leave. Well, demons probably don’t know me well enough to care.]
Ssssh!
Leila tore through the spiritual barrier and stabbed Murakan with her twin swords. She wasn’t attacking on Keliak’s orders—she wanted to settle things with Murakan here and now.
[You sure hold a grudge against me, don’t you? You must be Leila Belgassium, right? Is it because of your brother?]
Zhaang! Murakan struck Leila away with his wings as she charged his head. She bounced back near Keliak and regained her stance.
“…This time, I cannot follow your orders. I must fight that black dragon. He was directly involved in killing my brother.”
[You’re mistaken. I was barely involved in the fight with Paelito from the start. I was nearby only when Jin struck him down at the end. And for Paelito, death was more like salvation.]
“Shut up… if you hadn’t killed my brother, he could have come back.”
[You’re a hopeless little sister. Well, it’s none of my business. If you want to follow Paelito, I won’t stop you. After all, all you do under Keliak’s command is cause harm. And you don’t even know who’s really responsible for what happened to your brother.]
“Ugh!”
As they spoke, Murakan’s black chains relentlessly battered Leila. She blocked most of them perfectly but didn’t seem able to get close to him again.
Keliak was calculating.
Could their current forces at Dokma Fortress handle Murakan? Could they kill him?
‘Killing Murakan now is difficult. My fusion isn’t complete yet, and it’s a waste to fully unleash the weakened Leila and Ragall. I’ll have to sever Leila’s consciousness at the right moment.’
The best move for Keliak’s own safety was to use all forces at Dokma Fortress as a shield to buy time, then retreat.
But thinking ahead, he had to injure Murakan somehow—even if it meant pushing too hard.
Keliak’s eyes saw it clearly.
The crack in Murakan’s heart was vivid, as if scales, flesh, and bone weren’t covering it. If he could ignite that heart even once, Murakan would no longer be a threat.
Screeeech…!
Two black chains aimed at Keliak dissolved in flames. Then Keliak cast a fiery shield over Leila and activated his demonic eye.
As the Azure Flame Eye opened, blue flames rained down like a storm wherever Keliak looked.
[Oh? Melting the black chains?]
“You’ll have to leave wounded, Murakan. Even one variable like Jin Runkandel is enough to be a nuisance.”
Murakan immediately sensed Keliak’s gaze and insight.
[Heh heh heh, you can see the wound on my heart, huh? Does that mean you can stab it? You must have inherited Shinu’s style, which explains your confidence.]
Suddenly, Murakan threw open his chest.
Scales scattered in spiritual energy, revealing a black, glowing heart inside. It pulsed like a dark gemstone.
[To avenge the humiliation at the Sword Emperor War, I’ll fight showing my weakness. Use every means to pierce this heart. One strike and I won’t be able to rise again.]
It was a lie.
Unless Murakan suffered damage like he did from Temar a thousand years ago, he could always recover. Showing his heart wasn’t to humiliate Keliak either.
Murakan was imitating Jin.
He was recreating Jin’s bluff to gain the upper hand in battle. By drawing Keliak’s focus to his heart, he planned to find an opening instead.
This also meant that even Murakan, with his regained old power, couldn’t easily read Keliak Ziphl’s strength.
‘Gaining divinity is incredible. Though I’ve never reached Creation Star as a human, he radiates almost the same aura. Without the historian to control my side effects, I’d have had to just take care of Veradin and retreat. Maybe I couldn’t even protect Veradin.’
A sly smile spread across Murakan’s face.
“Come forth, Keliak’s spear.”
Keliak’s staff blazed again, and the fiery orbs filling the sky transformed into thousands of spear-like flames, all aimed directly at Murakan.
At the same moment, Murakan unleashed the Dark Eclipse. The battlefield was instantly swallowed by shadows and fire, the oppressive weight forcing Layla and Ragal to grit their teeth just to hold their ground.
Sharp spiritual energies and fiery spears erupted from the Dark Eclipse, clashing and surging against each other.
As expected, Keliak focused his fiery spears on Murakan’s heart, but Murakan narrowly deflected each strike, deliberately provoking Keliak.
Just as a blazing spear was about to pierce Murakan’s heart, he scattered into spiritual energy to evade the attack, then reformed his body behind Keliak in an instant, exhaling a breath of power.
“Not a bad opponent for my first battle since regaining my strength, Keliak. Let’s have some fun.”
While the fierce battle between Murakan and Keliak raged on, Elona was preparing to descend into hell itself. Betty’s activation of Hrotti’s signal had reached her.
“I must go save the lord. If anything happens to him, I will stake my life to kill whoever is responsible.”
Elona’s cold voice left the leaders of the Spear faction unable to stop her.