It was no coincidence that Murakan escorted Cuicantelle and met Misha. Moreover, Jin not encountering her by roaming around her hiding places wasn't a coincidence either.
-If you're that worried, I'll order to further increase the number of people tracking Misha. Will that help alleviate your anxiety?"
-[… Ok, I get it. It would be much better if Murakan's sister was captured.]
-It was a pity that I missed her by a narrow margin a while ago. Anyway, I care more about my son than the 12th flagbearer or the Black Dragons.
Misha has been hiding from Zipfel's pursuit.
And she realized the unusual atmosphere within the Empire, so she was getting ready to meet Jin
For her part, she had no choice but to be wary of her participation even after the battle of the sword emperor castle began.
It was because if she was seriously injured in this war, it would cause irreversible setbacks in all the affairs of the Solderet, which she was handling on his behalf.
However, since Jin's death or capture did not end with setbacks, she immediately joined Murakan and stood here.
As Jin's other guardian dragon, her first duty was to protect him.
Misha transformed into a human and stood next to Jin. Murakan stood behind them like a great black mountain with his amber eyes burning like flames.
"It's been a while."
Misha's firm yet clear voice felt more reassuring than anything else.
'If that's the case, I might be able to take out the Plutonian reign sword from the calculation altogether.'
The Plutonian Reign Sword was literally the last resort. Even if he used the sword and defeated Octavia and the Spectre Corps, Jin, who executed the sword, would never directly witness the end of this war.
Even so, the only reason Jin wanted to use the Plutonian Reign Sword was because that was the only answer.
Misha was by far the most powerful dragon as far as Jin knows. The sight of her casually beating Murakan, who had regained his 40% strength, was still vivid in his mind.
Once again, Murakan had said something unnecessary to Misha on the way, and because of that, there were traces of shadow force flowing like blood on his mouth.
It wasn't a serious injury, but it seemed like a proper hit from a jab, as always.
"It's been a while, Ms. Misha."
"I wished to see you too. I have many stories to share with you. But before that..."
A black spear formed in Misha's hand.
The spear technique, which Temar directly named 'A Shadowless spear', had stopped Octavia and real spectres on the Veradin's two years ago.
"First of all, we need to get rid of those who interfere with our meetings. We've met before, right? Zipfel's child."
Octavia's eyebrows twitched.
"Black Dragon Misha... Just like two years ago, and even now. I thought you were only good at running away, but it seems you have experience in scratching inside of people. You must have been busy avoiding pursuit, yet you managed to find your way here."
At that, Misha smiled brightly.
"I felt it even two years ago, you. Don't you think you should improve your manners a bit? Even Riol Zipfel was extremely careful when talking to me, but your casual tone and informal demeanor make me uncomfortable... "
Everyone who heard that voice seemed to feel a cold bloodlust down their spine.
Especially Murakan, seeing Misha genuinely expressing anger after a long time, he recalled unpleasant memories, and the scales on his back trembled.
'I've never seen a mortal live comfortably after poking at the temperament of this sinister demon... That woman named Octavia, she will never be at peace whether today or anytime.'
Of course, Octavia wasn't intimidated at all.
"Really? I didn't know. I'll tell the clan scribes. If there is a record of the previous patriarch Riol using honorific words for you, erase it."
[Hey, hey. You better stop now.]
Murakan, who reflexively opened his mouth, interrupted Octavia after reading the atmosphere.
Naturally, Murakan wasn't offering advice because he was concerned about Octavia.
It was only that he was worried that the ferocious monster would somehow release the remaining irritation and anger on himself in the future.
'Ah, this monster has also aged, so hopefully, it won't engage in such behavior. Let me recover all my strength...'
Jin was not the only one who was reassured by the unexpected appearance of Misha. The Vamel alliance and the Sword saints felt the same way.
They were shocked that even though she stood beside them, showing her back, there was no gap or opening at all.
'That lady is the Black Dragon Misha, the second guardian dragon of our lord. The atmosphere is no joke.'
'Lord Murakan even expressed that she is a terrible being, and the rest of the enemy seemed to be very afraid... Indeed, it's amazing.'
'It's scary, it's really scary. I have to look good.'
Lata, Valkas, and Amela thought. Everyone else felt the same way.
"Until when are you going to do this?"
Shadow force spread from the black spear and formed black armor on Misha's body. After finishing her armament, Misha looked exactly like the grim reaper in the legend.
"You may think you can erase history as you wish. However, it would be wise to face reality squarely. The world you dream of is already crumbling."
Kwaaah-!
Coincidentally, the moment Misha finished speaking, the sky lit up and there was a deafening explosion.
Kozec ship's cannon imbued with Kelliark's mana collided with Ron's sword.
The entire space, no, the entire sky distorted and swirled with the impact.
It was a force that shattered even the protective shield of Jin and Octavia, the two groups had maintained together.
The mages reflexively chose to cast the shields again, and the martial artists made the decision to pounce on them.
There was no need for Jin to give orders or signals.
It was a close combat with incredible speed. That was the only thing a martial artist could do against top-notch mages.
Shiiing-!
The black spear stretched out first, and then the eyes flashed. Just like two years ago, Misha showed her strength this time too, bursting the middle of Octavia and the Spectres' shield with a single blow.
As if Octavia had expected that much, she immediately casted her light magic as her counterattack, and at the same time tried to bind Misha's feet with her mana.
Thirty spectres reacted almost as fast as Octavia and fired various types of magic without pause. All sorts of great magic spells were being unleashed incessantly.
The swords of the Vamel alliance and the sword saints also created sharp waves of aura.
Dozens of swords and staff were entangled, and each time they clashed, the ground screamed, causing earthquakes.
'This should be manageable.'
In fact, Octavia and the Spectres were a little tired.
As evidenced by Octavia's battleship, which was completely destroyed as soon as it touched the ground, their path through the battle of the giants was much longer than that of the sword emperor castle camp.
Still, it was enough to deal only with the Vamel Alliance and the Sword saints, but the addition of Misha changed the situation entirely.
It wasn't just that the odds of winning were slightly higher.
Misha was stronger than Jin thought, and above all. She had extensive experience facing the so-called 'Spectre Corps' for longer than anyone else in this world. A whopping thousand years.
Even the Spectres she remembered were incomparable to the present. Just like the difference between the Runcandel's ten great knights and the Black Knights.
"A while ago, you said that I ran away after fighting you on that island, is that so?"
Misha's black spear grazed Octavia's cheek. The blade of the spear entered again between the splashing drops of blood, and Octavia stamped the ground with her staff to create shock waves of light attribute to prevent the attack.
In that opening, a light-speed thrust followed. Without the Spectres' shield, even someone like Octavia would not have escaped without serious injury.
"On that island, I just fought the battle while killing as few of you as possible. You know why? Killing too many would be tiresome in the long run. The Zipfel clan cares too much about victory or defeat."
"You're good at bluffing."
Like Octavia's answer, there was a little bluff mixed, but not completely false.
However, all the magic of Octavia and Spectre Corps was not able to hit Misha.
It was thanks to the fact that Jin, Vamel alliance and the Sword saints held out, but the crucial point was that she fully understood the magic of the present-day Spectre Corps, thanks to the battle two years ago.
Also, Jin had no choice but to break out in a cold sweat when he first met Misha and saw her ability.
She had very strange abilities.
"You're good at bluffing."
Startle...!
Octavia couldn't help but turn her head at the sudden sound of 'her own voice,' despite the enemy's Black Spear looming in front of her.
It was an unavoidable force majeure. The next moment, what Octavia saw before her eyes was another figure, identical to herself, standing there.
Naturally, it was a fake created by Misha's shadow force. However, that fake Octavia was saying something to the real Octavia.
"What is this?"
What is this?
A look that doesn't understand why another 'me' is there. At that moment, Octavia instinctively realized that all of this was Misha's ability and tried to respond.
But it was already too late. It's always fatal to show an opening in a fight. Especially if she's dealing with someone like Misha.
Thunk-!
The black spear pierced Octavia's shoulder.
"Hoho, you are indeed the captain of the spectres. You managed to avoid it. I wanted to get rid of that uneducated mouth of yours."
The Spectre Corps stepped forward, and Octavia backed away as she distanced herself from Misha.
Unlike their drastic change in formation, Misha was smiling as if she had no intention of continuing an additional attack.
"I, too, once challenged fate like you did. How does it feel? Not so pleasant, is it? What you lot are doing is exactly that," Misha said.
Fake Octavia disappeared, and in that moment.
The dawn sky was distorted once again.
The confrontation between Ron and Kelliark was getting more intense as time went on. The advantage was shifting towards Ron. His swordsmanship was gradually pushing away Kelliark's magic.
"Your leader seems to be losing to the sword emperor. Somewhere, Runcandels might be patiently waiting for an opportunity. Even so, the fact that you show no sign of retreat must mean that there is something you believe in, right?"
Whatever it is.
You will die without seeing the result.
When Misha continued her words, Octavia had no choice but to grit her teeth.