Chapter 955
Episode 235. Jito (4)
I really hate this—!
Jito shouted once more.
He trembled with rage, just like the day Ayula had mentally attacked him. It was infuriating beyond measure that his enemies, who were supposed to be hostile, suddenly grew so friendly and teamed up against him. It was just too much.
[This is disgusting, seriously. Who the hell are you guys? Why are you suddenly teaming up like protagonists in some boy’s novel? Do you think I was born just to witness this kind of nonsense in my suffering? When the three of us fight, isn’t it only natural for it to be a bloody three-way battle?]
“Enough noise.”
Zzzeong—! Crack!
Elona’s magic struck Jito again, shattering him. The sound of flesh, blood, and organs bursting echoed as Elona’s eyes blazed, drawing her power even higher.
In an instant, her magic formed a massive sphere, like a sun in the sky.
Not just one—there were at least ten such spheres blotting out the sky, all aimed at Jito. Each time Elona swung her staff downward, one sphere dropped to the ground.
[Ahhh!]
Every time a sphere fell, Jito lost one physical form.
Even when he quickly reformed a new body, the explosion’s gravitational and repulsive forces twisted and tore him apart.
No matter how far he moved to create a new body, the same happened. Wherever Jito’s form appeared, a new sphere would fall, and even if he formed multiple bodies at once, Elona’s magic was present in every spot.
Jin had never seen a mage wield such overwhelming power.
The destructive force of Faelito’s Celestial Annihilation from the Holy Kingdom had been shocking, but compared to this nameless grand magic Elona was unleashing, even that seemed insignificant.
[Holy crap, is this power even humanly wieldable? This is way more dangerous than me in Inse.]
“I told you to be quiet.”
The magic spheres transformed into cubes and began spinning.
A vortex opened in the middle of the pocket dimension, and Jito was relentlessly sucked inside. His formed body struggled to escape, but his limbs were torn off and swallowed whole. The pocket dimension itself warped, turning into a massive, dough-like mass.
Despite using such brutal magic for just a few minutes, Elona showed no sign of fatigue.
If anything, she seemed relaxed, as if this was only the beginning.
‘So this is what it meant when they said she handled over half of Ziphl’s entire force a thousand years ago.’
Elona was a mage who could shatter continents with just a few swings of her staff.
Back then, hardly anyone recognized her as human. To the people of that era, Elona was a living disaster, a witch like Helluram, the embodiment of ruin and destruction.
[Arrgh!]
Jito screamed. Forming a human-shaped body was pointless, so he moved the entire pocket dimension instead.
A colossal fist, like a fortress, fell from the sky. It slammed into Elona’s vortex, crumpling and scattering purple flesh in all directions.
The vortex dissipated, and the spinning magic cubes slowed as if their power source had been cut.
“Still, you are a god, aren’t you? To break this with such a simple method.”
[If it weren’t for our Jin, you’d be dead without a trace. Now that we can hold on a bit, you’re getting bored, huh?]
“I’m not just holding on—my mind is perfectly clear.”
[Have you ever thought it’s because our Jin is taking your pain for you? How selfish.]
Elona chuckled softly at that.
“Relying on someone stronger than me feels… like this.”
Fighting alongside someone stronger and depending on them.
It was a feeling Elona had never experienced, neither a thousand years ago nor now. She had always been the strongest, and people had always relied on her.
“You might call it selfish. But so what? The one protecting me says it’s fine—what right do you have to spout nonsense?”
Another fist was coming down on Jin and Elona.
Before it landed, Elona swung her staff upward like a sword strike. Magic surged sharply like a blade, slicing Jito’s fist in two.
It wasn’t the cutting power of wind or light magic. Elona simply compressed her magic infinitely, mimicking the sword strikes of knights.
Even as a mere imitation, the power rivaled Celestial Annihilation.
Seizing the brief opening, Jito formed a body behind Elona and swung a spiked axe down.
“Jito, you thought close combat would work, didn’t you?”
Jito was sure Elona couldn’t dodge.
He expected her to block with a shield, then focus the axe’s force to pierce through it in one strike.
But the moment he swung the spiked axe, Jito suddenly felt his body slow down—just like the day he faced Olta, the god of past time.
‘This crazy…!’
Of course, Elona didn’t possess Olta’s time powers.
Still, Jito’s movements slowed because of magic. The dense, compressed magic around Elona was like a barrier of water, blocking him.
The spiked axe, which should have fallen like thunder, dropped more slowly. Elona calmly parried it with her staff.
‘Runkandel’s swordsmanship…!?’
A crude style without form or ceremony, relying solely on a blessed body.
Elona’s close combat resembled Runkandel’s. The people she fought most a thousand years ago were all Runkandels, so naturally, she imitated their swordsmanship. Their swords were the best, after all.
This was impossible for ordinary mages. Even the most skilled knights couldn’t replicate Runkandel’s style just by experience.
But Elona was realizing Runkandel’s body through extreme magic.
‘She’s using magic to ease every movement and explosive moment that would strain the body. I never thought this was possible. Even with my psychic armor and brainwave abilities, it’s not easy.’
Jin had never seen a more complex and inefficient use of magic in his life. But for Elona, it was as natural as breathing.
Klang! The staff and spiked axe clashed. Elona moved like a top-tier Runkandel, even pressing Jito back.
Her staff moved like a sword—flexible yet destructive, fast yet precise.
In the past, she had crushed countless Runkandels like this. Those who barely closed the distance could only despair at her close combat skills.
Since Jin bore all the pain from contact, Elona moved far more freely than he could.
She didn’t need to conserve energy like Jin. Conserving was only for those lacking strength.
‘If this continues, I’ll get a clear chance to unleash the Sun Split.’
Though protecting her had drained more stamina than expected before the offer, it wasn’t a problem.
Jin focused on recovery while monitoring the battle.
Though Elona seemed to be overwhelming Jito, their fight was essentially a meaningless war of attrition.
Two beings with infinite power were only inflicting scratches on each other.
Time was still on Jito’s side. Elona could fight like this only because Jin endured all the pain.
If Jin fell, Elona was finished.
‘Just once… I only need to land one strike.’
Elona knew this well.
‘If I were at my prime a thousand years ago, I might have destroyed Jito alone without Jin. But now, it’s difficult. If Jin can’t finish it, I’m in danger too.’
Yet she wasn’t anxious.
Even as she felt Jin’s breath grow shallow, Elona was certain he would succeed.
She truly believed Jin was stronger than her—not just in power or combat ability, but fundamentally tougher.
‘If someone like this is the family head’s friend… the family head will surely find what he’s lost.’
[Argh! Can’t you just die already? You’re more annoying than I thought. Looks like you’re a remnant of the Sun God too, huh? So we’re supposed to be on the same team? If I’m the embodiment of the Sun God’s pain, you’re the embodiment of its destructive desire.]
“Maybe. But I don’t want to live a life bound by fate like you, Jito. Have you ever thought about how ugly and crude you really are?”
[Hah, hahahaha. You should say that after you stop smelling like human blood. How many humans have you killed? Probably over a billion. We’re alike, Elona Ziphl. Even if you survive today by some miracle, you’ll end up playing the biggest part in destroying the world.]
“Then someone else will stop me. Just like Jin is trying to cut you down now.”
At that moment, Jin switched swords.
Golden energy and spiritual power gathered around Bradamante. The preparation was complete. Jito was too focused on Elona to properly interfere with Jin.
‘This sword…!’
Elona’s eyes widened. The moment Jin’s radiant light filled the pocket dimension, memories she had long forgotten flooded back like a broken dam.
These weren’t dark memories stirred by Jito.
What surfaced in Elona’s mind was the shining will and faith of those who tried to protect the world back then.
The memory of the moment she decided to leave Ziphl, drawn by their light.
[Ah, damn. So it comes to this after all.]
Runkandel Demon Sword Secret Technique
Sunsplitter
As Jin took a step forward to swing his sword, a massive, murky shadow suddenly materialized in the middle of the battlefield.
It was Jito’s true form. The power of Sunsplitter had forcibly revealed the hidden reality that Jito had been concealing.
With all his strength, Jin swung Bradamante at Jito’s true form.
Beyond Jito’s pocket dimension, the entire hellscape was momentarily bathed in a golden light.