章節 286: Chapter 445
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The hood of the Black Knight's robe was drenched in blood as it spilled outward. The venom in her fingernails was so intense that the wound on his side was already turning black.
The Black Knight was no ordinary martial artist despite his carelessness. Among the countless Runcandel Guardian Knights, only ten were allowed to wear the black helmet, and he retaliated immediately even in his injured state.
However, his claws, jutting out from his robe sleeves, failed to reach Zephyrin. He swung for her throat, but the claws left only an empty trail in the air.
Ssaaak! Once again, the Black Knight's claws clashed with Zephyrin's nails as she lunged.
Black knight's body, weakened by extreme poison, did not respond as it normally would. The Black Knight staggered back after a single strike, and then spitting blood once more while retreating further.
If the Black Knight had been alone, the battle would have been decided at that very moment. He was already grievously wounded, so he had no chance of withstanding Zephyrin's next assault.
Jin, Murakan, and Valkas stepped forward at the same time.
'What's happening...?'
Their reactions were unbelievably swift, but all three were confused.
Most shocking of all to Jin was the fact that the 'Black Knight' had been defeated in a single blow.
'This is impossible even if he had been careless. Unless she has the abilities comparable to elder sister Yona or the Nameless King or battle prowess that surpasses the Black knight.'
Ability and strength. Zephyrin might have only one of the two, or she might possess both.
One thing was certain: she was a formidable adversary for them to handle.
"Oh my, the Black Knight of Runcandel is quite remarkable. I had no idea you could avoid this."
The lips of the Black knight were now turning pale blue, and he could only lick them and offer no response.
He had no time to answer, as he struggled to suppress the extreme poison coursing through his entire body.
"Zephyrin, you scoundrel! Don't tell me you did the same with the 2nd captain…!"
Originally, the 2nd captain decided to bring the Black Knight.
Valkas was primarily concerned about himself and his subordinates.
The worry stemmed from the judgment that with the force that Zephyrin had just shown, it was quite possible to assassinate them before arriving here.
Valkas glared at her with a piercing gaze, and Zephyrin responded with a wide smile.
"I told you that there's no need for you to know, leader. I intended to kill you peacefully, considering the bond we've built, but I have to kill you if you keep asking pointless questions."
Murakan snorted upon hearing this.
"Cuicantelle was right. Hey, hey. You're a demon dragon, right? I was going to ask you anyway, so thanks for revealing your true identity first."
Hwooong...!
Murakan transformed into his true form, and a dense shadow force spread in the entire reception room.
[The reason you're acting so cocky right now is probably because of that demon from the Rontelgius family... And yes, it's because you're confident enough to charge in despite knowing that Murakan is here, right?]
In the past, before the demon society vanished from the human world, Murakan had fought numerous demon dragons who had betrayed their kind.
He had never once been defeated. Even against demon dragons known for their strength, he consistently achieved overwhelming victories, to the point that the best demon dragons of the Four Duke families no longer dared to cross paths with Murakan.
Murakan's reputation extended far beyond just the human world. His name was equally revered in the demon society.
However, Murakan did not recall any powerful demon dragon who used the name 'Zephyrin.'
'Is it because of my memory issue, or is she someone I've never encountered before? Hm, even the most renowned demon dragons of that time took a beating from me at least once. Where did she come from?'
He couldn't make a quick judgment.
Zephyrin calmly turned her head to look at Jin and Murakan.
"Haha, you're still quite arrogant, Mr. Murakan."
[You speak as if you know me. I have no memory of someone like you.]
"Memories... Well, that's possible. Is there a dragon in the world who doesn't know you? You were the one and only dragon capable of ruling the azure and beautiful sky of the human world."
[That's why my attitude isn't arrogant. Reveal your true name.]
"I won't have to kill you unlike the leader. Instead, you'll fall into a deep slumber with a shattered heart once again. When you wake up again, you'll see a world different from what you knew. Just like this time."
Zzzap!
Suddenly, a purple energy emanated from Zephyrin's grasp.
'Mana? No, it's different. It feels somewhat similar to when the deceased demon of Rontelgius family casted some inexplicable magic, but this is much deeper and darker.'
Jin thought while reacting to the spreading purple energy.
What Zephyrin had released was not mana, but demonic energy. And it was on a massive scale, enough to make even Murakan flinch.
Demonic energy swiftly engulfed the entire reception room, and Jin could instinctively sense that it was forming some kind of 'subspace.'
The demonic energy expanded, and Jin and Valkas lunged at Zephyrin.
Within the purple darkness, Sigmund's pale blade and lightning bolts flashed, and Valkas's massive aura surrounding his fists shook.
Valkas was known not only as one of the Three Great Mercenaries but also classified as one of the world's greatest 'martial artists.'
Whoosh!
Zephyrin struck Valkas's thrown punch with the axe-sword she had on her back. A shockwave erupted the moment the fist and axe-sword collided.
If it weren't for demonic energy covering the space, this single strike would have devastated most of the reception room.
The subspace made of demonic energy appeared as an entirely different and empty place, not the reception room.
Jin seized this opportunity, and thrust his blade toward Zephyrin's side, but she easily deflected it by snapping her axe-sword to counter his move.
Both Jin and Valkas felt an immense shock transmitting through their forearms.
Zephyrin's seemingly effortless swing of the axe-sword gave pain and shock to both the blessed body of Runcandel, and the 10-star martial artist's strong body.
Whoa!
Jin and Valkas instinctively stepped back after the attack, and Murakan exhaled a shadow force breath. His breath had the potential to obliterate something as significant as a small fortress in one strike, yet Zephyrin easily withstood it.
She wore a face filled with laughter.
"It's as warm as I've heard, Mr. Murakan."
Murakan didn't respond but instead formed black awls using his shadow force on both wings and hurled them at Zephyrin.
Jin and Valkas go back and forth, darting through these awls, each time launching an attack against Zephyrin.
As Jin was watching the gracefully moving axe-sword, he felt like seeing Luna.
Zephyrin remained composed and showed no signs of distress, despite enduring attacks from Jin, Valkas, and Murakan,.
She was the mightiest of the mighty opponents.
Ahaha, she laughed with amusement while wielding her axe-sword as if she thoroughly enjoyed the situation.
Swoosh! Clang! Thump!
The two swords, fists, and shadow force intertwined, disorienting the dark subspace.
To outsiders, it might have seemed like they were fighting on equals.
'We are at a disadvantage even if it appears to be neck to neck.'
The Black Knight was on the brink of death behind them.
Of course, he was one of Joshua's men and had been sent to the Black King Mountain Hideout to hinder Jin. But the Black Knight was undoubtedly one of Runcandel's top forces.
Losing the Black Knight in such a manner would directly affect the clan's power. From a very strict perspective, he wasn't solely Joshua's man; he was a person of the 'next patriarch' of the clan.
'He needs immediate treatment from the Holy queen and her healers, or a skilled venom master like Kuzan.'
The black knight would be dead the moment he was stabbed by Zephyrin's fingernails if it weren't for his 10-star robust body,
Even Jin, who had the thousand-poison antidote, could sense that he couldn't be completely immune to that dreadful poison.
How long will the black knight last? Judging from his trembling and foaming at the mouth indicated that he wouldn't last for long.
Jin picked up the pace. The leader of Black king mercenaries was also on high alert because the Black Knight's death on his turf could pose a significant problem.
[From whom did you hear that? Every single demon dragon that confronted me at the time is dead.]
"That's true. However, maybe I was friends with some of the ordinary dragons at some point, right? Anyway, you may have been arrogant once, but now, you are weakened and just an old man who can't forget his prime. You better fight properly unlike how you fought in the sword emperor castle."
In response, Murakan chuckled again.
[Properly? I couldn't fight as I pleased back then because I had to protect those humans. I will send you wherever you wish, to hell.]
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it!"
Zephyrin's sword aura, infused with the demonic energy radiating from her axe-sword, and tore through the surroundings erratically as she swung it around.
Murakan's shadow force curtain was ripped apart, and Jin and Valkas hurriedly stepped to the side and fired their sword energy.
To any observer, it was undoubtedly a powerful and great swordsmanship.
However, Jin and others had noticed that Zephyrin's swordsmanship was strangely sloppy.
'It's undeniably fierce, but for some reason, her swordsmanship feels unnaturally awkward.'
'It's like she's wearing clothes that don't fit properly.'
She excelled at blocking, parrying, and striking, yet there was something unnatural about the way her sword moved.
Of course, this was apparent to Jin and Valkas, who had reached a high level of mastery. It was almost impossible for anyone below the 8-star level to notice this.
Suddenly, an unpleasant and unsettling thought crept into their minds.
'Could it be... the axe-sword isn't her main weapon?'
Initially, they were too caught up in the heat of battle and her physical abilities were outstanding to realize that Zephyrin was using a rather sloppy "axe-swordsmanship."
The intuition turned into certainty, and a shiver ran down their spine.
All three of them suppressed their disconcerting thoughts, but Zephyrin seemed to see right through them.
Then, as if saying, "Did you finally figure it out?"
She shrugged her shoulders and spoke, "Well, it seemed interesting and I was curious, so I tried using it. Still, it is quite lame, isn't it? Haha."
She acted as if she were pretending to be a human.
Zephyrin had never properly trained with the axe-sword in her entire life. She was just curious about what kind of weapon was used to cut down one of the demons whom she had to protect.
Boom, boom!
Zephyrin playfully swung the axe-sword into the air as if she lost interest.
She seemed to think it would be difficult to kill them all with it. So, nonchalantly, she tossed the axe-sword onto the ground, creating a heavy thud.
"No matter how you look at it, using something like this to destroy your heart would be disrespectful, Mr. Murakan. Still, I'll make sure to send you into a deep slumber with a bit of respect."
章節 287: Chapter 446
[Support me here:- https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
The dark and elongated nails sprouted from her fingers as Zephyrin threw the axe-sword. Those nails, which stabbed the Black Knight, were Zephyrin's primary means of attack.
The shimmering purple demonic energy on the nails was menacing. Zephyrin leaped forward with a sharp whistling sound. She swung her nails at Jin and others.
Jin blocked Zephyrin's attack with his sword, while Valkas parried with his fist. The clashing of sword, fist, and nails sent sparks and shards of energy in all directions.
Using a familiar weapon has a profound impact on anyone. After discarding the axe-sword, her posture and balance improved, and her movements became more agile.
And the opponent who felt the strongest among all the opponents Jin had faced became even more stronger. However, the real problem was this wasn't the end.
She was a dragon.
She hadn't revealed her true form yet, and her abilities as a "Demon Dragon" remained unknown.
'She's at least 10-star level by human standards just from the power she's shown.'
Jin even thought that she might rival his father, Chiron Runcandel, the demigod.
It is fortunate that Jin did not feel the aura of an absolute powerhouse, which he felt from his father and battle god Vahn. Though it was unclear whether it truly didn't exist or he simply couldn't sense it.
Shack!
Zephyrin fended off Jin and Valkas, and charged towards Murakan. The purple nails carve through one of Murakan's wings.
The nails passed through an illusionary wing, and the wing rippled like smoke. However, Murakan didn't miss the moment when she approached.
In an instant, Murakan's entire body turned into black smoke and enveloped Zephyrin. As the smoke reformed into Murakan's form, Zephyrin found herself trapped within one of Murakan's wings.
It was not visible on the outside, but a chaotic vortex of shadow force raged within the folded wing. It pierced the flesh and bone of Zephyrin with an eerie sound and created a chilling spectacle.
Just as Murakan had transformed into a shadow force to evade the attack moments ago, Zephyrin also used demonic energy to avoid the assault.
Contrary to human battles, dragon combat had its unique characteristics.
[Well, you seem to be the best Demon Dragon I've encountered so far. Did you live holding your breath in fear a thousand years ago? I wonder where you've come from.]
The purple smoke dispersed, and Zephyrin reappeared at a distance from Murakan.
"Haha, how audacious of you. How can you dare to assess me like that? It seems like you haven't figured me out yet, Mr. Murakan."
Swooosh!
This time, sharp demonic energy extended from Zephyrin's nails and cut Murakan in half as it passed through his midsection. Although the shadow force form had lessened the impact, this kind of expenditure of shadow force would eventually wear Murakan down.
"I wouldn't have been that afraid of you even if I'm facing you in your prime. The reason you don't know me well is because I could not fight you back then."
[Couldn't fight me?]
"There were some circumstances. You should know about them. No, how could you?"
Pshhh!
The Plutonian swordsmanship's Mystic Technique, Waterfall, was falling onto Zephyrin's head, and Valkas threw his full-powered punch at the same time.
The subspace was distorted because of the lightning energy and aura. The waterfall crashed onto the ground, and the punch ruptured the empty space.
Zephyrin leaped to avoid the attack, but Murakan swooped in like a hawk and let out a dragon breath. The black breath enveloped Zephyrin entirely, but even after it had all dissipated, it seemed like she had not taken a significant hit.
However, just before the crash, Jin's Thunder Blade and Valkas's Secret Technique were ready.
Dozens of lightning blades and Valkas's fists entangled with Zephyrin as she fell to the ground.
This time, Zephyrin couldn't transform her body into demonic energy in time. Thunder Blade sliced through her body, and Valkas's fists struck her right in the middle of her back.
"Ugh!"
With the sound of ear-piercing blows, Zephyrin spewed blood and was thrown to the other side of the group.
For a human, this would have been a fatal injury, with bones and organs shattered. However, Jin and others had an intuitive sense that she hadn't taken such a critical hit, even her screams seemed to be somewhat playful.
Murakan transformed into a human and stood beside Jin.
"Murakan."
"Yes?"
"Do you really not know who that Demon Dragon is?"
"Well, I thought she might be one of the Guardian Dragons of the Rontelgius family's demon you killed, but it doesn't seem like that."
"Any guesses?"
"A direct subordinate dragon of a Demon God-level being. That much is certain."
Can we win this?
Jin didn't voice this question. It was because he saw Murakan wearing such a serious expression for the first time in a long time.
To put it simply, Zephyrin was an unexpected calamity.
Jin found it puzzling how there could be any connection between the seemingly feeble demons he had easily defeated at Joshua's villa and Zephyrin.
'Is it possible that she holds a grudge against me because of the magic tome I acquired back then?'
When Jin and his companions first suspected Zephyrin of being a Demon Dragon back at the Sword Emperor Castle's banquet, they naturally assumed she was approaching them due to the magic tome.
If not, it seemed unlikely for them to have any dealings with beings like the Demons or Demon Dragons.
However, Zephyrin was currently acting as if the magic tome didn't matter at all.
'Or perhaps, she is planning to find everything from me about the magic tome after she could subdue Murakan and kill the Black king leader... Wait a moment.'
Just as this thought was about to cross his mind, Jin remembered a crucial fact: Zephyrin explicitly stated that she would "kill" only the Black King leader.
'She mentioned subduing Murakan, and the situation suggests she is not here to kill him.'
Why would she go to such lengths?
Jin was able to recall a conversation within seconds.
-I will praise this ambush. However, you and your god will be the most important materials for the Demon God's Orb, Jin Runcandel….!
These were the words Andrei Zipfel had said when using the Demon God's Orb.
'At that time, Andrei claimed that Soldelet's power was the core of the Demon God's Orb.'
Looking back, those seeking the power of the Demon God's Orb or something equivalent tended to be strangely fixated on the "contractor of Soldelet."
Both Andrei from Zipfel and Joshua from Runcandel showed this fact.
Moreover, considering that the creator of the "Demon God's Orb" was Bubare Gaston, Soldelet's power likely held a special value for them regarding their great cause.
'That's why those Kinzelo bastards kept trying to persuade me.'
Clink, clunk!
Zephyrin was grotesquely contorted and torn apart, but she was regenerating and getting up in an instant. Her bones returned to their place, and the torn wounds disappeared.
It seemed that no matter how much one shredded and twisted her body, Zephyrin would regenerate as if nothing had happened, similar to what Kinzelo's leader had shown during the Sword Emperor Castle's terrorist attack.
Kinzelo.
Jin quickly had a hunch that Zephyrin was likely affiliated with that insane group.
'If she is from Zipfel, then she probably moved with the Spectre corps. However, labeling her as part of Kinzelo doesn't quite make sense. Zephyrin's actions have been completely different from what Kinzelo showed me.'
Jin hated Kinzelo, but Kinzelo had always shown a compassionate side to Jin.
Ambushing Jin unexpectedly like now is clearly against their attitude.
"I think she is the dragon of Kinzelo's leader."
"The damned bastard? That could be possible. The authority he showed during the Sword Emperor Castle's terrorist attack was divine."
"...Mr. Murakan, and the 12th flagbearer. It seems there might be no end to this fight if it drags on."
Jin nodded as Valkas said this.
The Black Knight was dying behind them, and Zephyrin's body regenerated instantly even when twisted and torn apart. She showed no signs of fatigue.
"No end? It's much worse than that. We can never win against that."
Jin and Valkas's eyes widened in shock at Murakan's words.
Jin, in particular, was even more surprised. He had never imagined that someone as prideful as Murakan would so easily accept defeat.
In any case, if Murakan was speaking with such conviction, there was only one answer.
"We should run."
When Jin said this, Murakan nodded, and Valkas's eyes wavered for a moment.
This place is Black King Mountain Hideout, and Valkas cherished nothing more than his subordinates' lives. Abandoning his subordinates and fleeing was an impossible act.
Valkas believed that if their group ran, Zephyrin would not simply leave Black King Mountain Hideout alone. She had the power to annihilate Black King Mountain Hideout single handedly in a matter of moments. The countless defense mechanisms and traps within Black King Mountain Hideout were meaningless against such a fearsome dragon.
"I can't run, Mr. Murakan."
"I know, man. Who abandons their children and runs away?"
"Then...?"
"I will restrain her somehow, so you and the kid lead the others to escape. I'll shake her off and join you later."
"Murakan."
"What?"
"You think you can handle her alone?"
Of course, neither Jin, Valkas, nor Murakan had yet used their full power. But they could not easily defeat Zephyrin even when the three of them fought together. It was only natural to be concerned about whether Murakan could handle her alone.
Kahaha!
Suddenly, Murakan burst into laughter.
"Even if I'm like this, I've regained about 40% of my full strength. I can manage it even if it were a fiend like Demon King Orgal instead of a dragon."
"I'm not so sure..."
"Don't worry, kid. There's no way I will be left behind. And, after all, this is the best plan, you know."
Murakan pointed to one side of the subspace as he finished his sentence.
"First, let's break this subspace. You have done this a lot, so do you know the method?"
Shadow force 1st Technique Soul Slash and Tess's power. When it came to cutting through unwanted otherworldly subspaces, they had never disappointed Jin.
Huuuuuuuung...!
A tremendous amount of shadow force began to gather around Murakan. As the shadow force was released, the entire purple-hued subspace rapidly turned black.
As the expression implied, the current Murakan was releasing his full power.
[Hey, Zephyrin. Let's have a good time with us dragons. I will evaluate you whether it is true what you said about being confident enough to stand up against me in my prime.]
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