Chapter 78: Chapter 77 – A Replica That Shouldn’t Exist (2)
"Oh, I see there were more guests."
Andrei cracked a big grin.
Goosebumps covered Quikantel as she saw the hysterical smile, backing off after hearing Murakan's warning.
They felt an ineffably ominous energy flowing throughout Andrei's mysterious orb.
And Quikantel's instincts were not wrong.
Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!
Not long after, a long entity emerged from the orb, making a screeching sound that ripped their eardrums.
'A face…?!'
From what Murakan called the 'Orb of Origin' came a huge, black entity that resembled a face. However, its eye sockets were empty. And with part of the face being disfigured, the exact facial features were indistinguishable.
As soon as the face formed, the black entity's long neck extended, and the figure moved to bite Quikantel's throat.
In a split second, it munched on thin air. Had she ignored Murakan's call, she would not have evaded death.
"I wanted to use you as a test subject… but that's too bad. Since you saw this face, don't expect to get any time to rest."
Then, Andrei turned to Murakan.
"A black dragon, I see. I only know of two black dragons alive in this world. And since you aren't a female, you must be the Runcandel Clan's Murakan. It seems you have awoken from your slumber? Then, the boy next to you…"
Jin was covering his face with Myulta's Rune, but Andrei knew who he was.
"…must be Solderet's contractor. Certainly… Jin Runcandel. You're the only Runcandel provisional flag-bearer in this area. Am I wrong?"
Andrei's eyes overflowed with avarice.
He originally only wanted to 'consume' Olta's contractor. However, the possibility of making two great catches filled him with greed.
Instead of answering the grand magician, Jin just glared at Andrei. Quikantel remained cautious despite the battle being in temporary armistice.
During that time, Murakan could not stop looking at the orb in Andrei's hand and the 'face' that stemmed from it.
'It's similar to the Orb of Origin, but it's a little different. The gods already disposed of it, so there's no way for a human to possess such an object.'
It could only mean that the orb in the grand magician's hand was a replica.
'But how?'
Questioning the situation, Murakan thought deeply.
The 'Orb of Origin' is a sacred object that contained the power of all gods, and it was a kind of safety mechanism.
It prevents the gods' creations from attacking the gods, and the gods themselves from attacking other gods. Essentially, it was an object that prevented the end of the world.
However, the gods found out that the Orb of Origin possessed powers exceeding the threat of possible war. They evaluated it to be enough to obliterate the entire world. So, as humankind began to prosper, the orb was destroyed.
'Last time, it was the cemetery giants. Now, it's a replica of the Orb of Origin? What the hell is happening?'
Although it was merely a replica, the orb in Andrei's hand possessed disgusting amounts of power.
The 'face' approached Vyuretta's corpse and whispered a chant. Soon after, black smoke emerged from the wind dragon's wound, and it began to heal. However, it wasn't a normal regeneration.
Instead of green skin and emerald scales, the missing flesh was filled up with the same dark energy as that from the orb.
"I shouldn't have held back. I apologize for your loss, my old friend, Vyuretta."
It didn't even take ten seconds for the exposed white bones to be covered by the newly grown flesh, skin, and scales.
Vyuretta slowly raised his body. The ground below him still had lakes of blood and remnants of his flesh and scales, but the wind dragon seemed unaffected—besides the massive black blotch on one side of his neck.
The sight startled Jin.
Even Quikantel—who "regenerated" a severed wing—slowly stepped backwards, and Murakan gritted his teeth.
The wind dragon's corpse was resurrected.
Occurrences such as this would still be impossible even with the help of the God of Healing, but it happened right in front of their eyes.
[We gotta get serious, kiddo.]
[Murakan! I will call the dragons of the Vermont Imperial Family. Until then, buy me some ti—]
"Uh-uh. I can't let you do that."
Fwit!
Instantaneously, Andrei disappeared and reappeared behind Quikantel. The face from the Orb of Origin replica opened its jaws.
Chomp!
Quikantel's left foot grazed the black teeth—albeit only slightly.
However, Quikantel—who didn't show a single sign of pain while fighting Vyuretta—floundered, screaming in her suffering.
Smoke emerged from the grazed wound. Quikantel backed off, limping away from the enemy.
"What a great scream to hear, Silver Dragon. It's a shame I cannot hear more of it."
And as Murakan tried to run to her…
[You think you can make a difference, Murakan?]
[Move away, Vyuretta.]
[Move away? The great Murakan is asking me?! Hahaha! I'm sure many dragons would be dying to meet you if they found out about your reawakening. I agree with what Andrei said earlier. It's a shame I can't tell the others about you.]
Spiritual energy began to spread from Murakan's wings.
[At some point, all dragons feared your presence. But do you think they still do? You have gotten weak. And your contractor is still a baby!]
Wooooosh!
As he finished his monologue, Vyuretta released a breath.
Compressed wind projectiles.
The breaths quickly displaced the spiritual energy as they traveled. Vyuretta's breaths were definitely stronger as compared to before his 'resurrection'. All because of the Orb of Origin.
Vyuretta was elated as he watched the view before him; for overpowering an old bully felt amazing and refreshed him.
[I, Vyuretta, will go down in history as your killer!]
[Yeah, right, crazy bastard.]
Although he was incomparably weaker than his past self, it was still a fact that Murakan was at the apex among all of the entities in the sky at one point.
He wasn't going to lose only after one breath.
Fwooooosh…!
After resisting the breath, Murakan's body sublimed and scattered into the black smoke. Then, he approached Vyuretta and reconstructed his body, revealing himself next to his enemy.
[Indeed, it's too easy, isn't it?]
And a close-combat fight ensued. Each time the two massive dragons clashed, the island rumbled and quaked.
As space was morphed with the merging of spiritual energy and wind, Jin intently watched the fight between Andrei and Quikantel.
He had to read the flow of the battle.
'In my current state, joining Murakan and Vyuretta's fight is suicide. Just getting near them is already impossible. On the other hand, for Andrei…'
There was no chance for ambush.
After Andrei revealed his Orb of Origin, Quikantel was just running away. Because of this, there was no opportunity for Jin to attack.
Additionally, the main enemy of this fight wasn't Vyuretta, but Andrei Zipfel. Killing him first would make Vyuretta's demise more meaningful.
'Andrei can't cast a spell while holding that orb. Probably because the artifact drains insane amounts of mana.'
If he was casting 9-star spells instead, then Andrei would have been unapproachable. However, he was focusing on the orb. Occasionally, he would cast a short teleportation spell to catch up to Quikantel, yet that was all.
'I don't know if it's the orb, but his overall physical abilities increased. At the level of a 7-star knight, at the very least. This will be difficult.'
Ambush and execute instantly.
Or at least cut off the hand holding the orb.
After concluding his plans, Jin began to move. Thankfully, Vyuretta didn't seem to notice Jin's movements as he fought against Murakan.
It was only possible because Murakan was putting up a good fight.
'When I go back, I should ask Kashimir about this. Well, I don't know if this will work for Andrei…!'
Once he got past Vyuretta, he increased his speed and sprinted towards Quikantel. She and Jin were looking at each other, with Andrei's back towards the young Runcandel.
He only needed three steps before getting in range to strike.
However, Andrei spun around with a grin, expecting the ambush.
"So you have come, Jin Run—Erk!"
But Jin never actually thought of slashing Andrei from behind. Not even once.
Flash!
Instead of swinging his sword, Jin opened his hand in front of Andrei's face. A spell was ready in his left hand.
A spell that everyone thought was gone. An ancient light magic that only one person in the world mastered not so long ago.
Photon Cannon—Tzenmi's vision-impairing spell that Jin mastered in the ship, right before his arrival at Tikan.
'It worked!'
Instinctively, Andrei used one hand to cover his eyes and bent over. As the magician staggered backwards, Jin unsheathed his sword and swung.
Slash!
He felt the blade cutting through the flesh at Andrei's chest. Jin recoiled to stab him, but the orb's face charged towards Jin.
However, the black figure seemed to be influenced by Andrei's vision, as it just floundered while snapping its jaws at empty air.
Jin lowered his torso and swung his sword in an unnatural stance, aiming to slash Andrei's legs.
"Kraaaaaaaagh!"
Slice…!
Andrei—with his ankles cut through—stumbled and fell backwards.
A normal enemy would have been doomed and met their end at that point, but Jin didn't have the opportunity to finish him off.
Quikantel was also at her limit. Even with Jin buying her time, she couldn't lengthen the distance between her and Andrei. She was hunching over the ground, catching her breath.
"I applaud your ambush. However, you and your god will become ingredients for the Demon God's Orb, Jin Runcandel."
Even after being blinded by Photon Cannon and having his feet severed, Andrei spoke normally.
Using the face of the Demon God's Orb, he protected his body. And just like Vyuretta's resurrection, his ankles were being regenerated.
As this all occurred, Vyuretta pushed Murakan away and rapidly stomped towards Jin. He didn't defeat Murakan, but he flew through the Windless Domain, unaffected by the skill's effect.
[Kid! Above you!]
Crash!
Vyuretta fell to the ground, right where Jin was standing. Jin was able to throw his body aside to dodge the attack, but evading the subsequent breaths while also avoiding the orb's face was impossible.
He felt that he was right at the doorstep of death.
At that moment, Jin put his hand towards his neck and thought of a name.
One belonging to the world's greatest knight, praised by everyone. The transcendent White Whale.
His eldest sister—Luna Runcandel.
He clenched his fist, and Orgal's Pendant shattered. For the past six years, he had never taken it off.
Crrrack!
Simultaneously, a flash of mana burst out, and a dimensional gate opened.
"It seems you're in a tough spot, youngest Runcandel."
And from it, the White Whale emerged.
—————
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