章節 561: CHAPTER 719
[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
In the remnants left by Heaven Shatter, the body of Diphus undulated. Blood-like chaos surged from the torn left arm and wings.
From now on, the entangled figures of the two could not be called a fight.
Diphus, cornered, barely swung his sword, Volgar, and Jin relentlessly stabbed his vulnerable spots with his blade.
Each time, large holes appeared in Diphus' physical form. If Diphus were human, he would have died more than ten times by now.
Jin wielded a merciless sword, as if he intended to eliminate every trace of Diphus' physical body.
[Kluk, memories of Diphus! Do you truly perceive me as a different being?]
Kwang! Volgar, the great sword, blocked Jin's finishing strike and was driven into the ground.
[You call me a chaos bastard who devoured your brother, huh? You've been saying strange things since earlier. I understand your excitement to seize victory, but look properly. I am Diphus Runcandel, your elder brother.]
"In the garden of swords, no one can bear the name Runcandel anymore."
[Keuk-kuk, from your perspective, that may be true. However, it's difficult to keep treating me like someone else. It's not just a matter of fact, but also a matter of courtesy towards an opponent who doesn't become humble even when cornered, little brother.]
Suddenly, the atmosphere around Diphus changed.
The faltering swordsmanship, overwhelmed by the tide, quickly regained stability, and Volgar brimmed with destructive power as it did in the beginning.
'Is this his last struggle?'
Jin had always considered that Diphus had some hidden moves up his sleeve.
'So it wasn't self-destruction, but rather enhancement.'
It didn't matter what it was. Even if it was an eruption akin to a volcano, he could block it. Even if Diphus grew stronger, it would be the same.
However, Jin soon realized that Diphus' transformation was not limited to that.
Instead of chaos, Volgar began to emanate a bright white radiance.
'Aura...!?'
The fierce aura unique to Runcandel enveloped Volgar with light.
In an instant, Jin distanced himself from Diphus and locked eyes with him. He was smiling like a madman, breaking the horn on his forehead.
"Do I still seem like someone other than your elder brother?"
The voice, which had amplified with a grim tone, returned to Diphus' original tone, and the wings on his back fell to the ground like withered flowers.
Instead of chaos in the wounds that covered his body, hot and crimson blood flowed.
'He reverted his physical transformation?'
Diphus, standing before Jin once again, was completely unchanged, just like his old self.
Naturally, this was an unexpected event that Jin had not included in his predictions.
"Answer me, youngest."
"What on earth...?"
"It was inevitable for you and me to become enemies and fight. But at least, don't try to relieve your guilt by recognizing me as a different entity."
If Diphus had shown his old self and begged for his life, Jin would have considered it a desperate act to survive.
However, in the eyes of the returning Diphus, there was still the resolve of someone prepared for death.
Meanwhile, Jin's heart couldn't help but waver for a moment.
"When you left for the close door training... I had to endure a tough fight as the 4th flagbearer of the clan. Along with Mary."
Diphus said that and swung his sword at Jin.
Jin evaded the attack and didn't take his eyes off Diphus.
No matter how many times he looked, it was still Diphus.
"When Mother accepted chaos, the transformation of the clan happened in an instant. Many of us, including me, tried to resist, but it was futile. Those who resisted Mother were only chased and killed every day."
But would I have resented you back then?
Jin couldn't answer the following words.
"No one blamed anyone. Father, Luna, who had no sign of returning even though the clan was inevitably changing, and you, who left alone. Even Mother, who oppressed us at the time. Why did that happen? Because I believed that all of those things were the result of my own weakness."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"But throughout the fight, you resented and hated me. Seeing me not as Diphus Runcandel, but as a monster of chaos. Am I no longer myself since I accepted chaos? Can you really determine that? Joshua became tainted by chaos, but he is still Joshua. Am I no longer Diphus now?"
"Don't you dare compare that bastard and elder brother Diphus."
"You still turn away. Jin, my youngest brother. Let me tell you one thing. Receiving Mother's power is impossible without one's consent. Even if Mother tried to bestow it forcibly, I couldn't accept it. It means I became a fragment of evil god by my own will!"
Jin's pupils widened and trembled.
But after a few seconds, Jin regained his composure.
Even if everything Diphus said was true, nothing would change.
"...I understand what you mean. Whatever the reason for choosing chaos, it's regrettable that it turned out like this. I won't resent you either."
"Good, that's how it should be."
The brothers' swords entwined again.
As soon as the battle began, Diphus' body was covered in lingering wounds.
The wounds no longer healed. Unlike before, even a single fatal blow would be the end for Diphus.
Jin's sword still lacked mercy.
'Is this the realm that elder brother Diphus touched before he was tainted by chaos...?'
He's strong.
Even someone as strong as him couldn't resist chaos in the end.
That's what Jin thought.
However, strength is only an objective standard.
In reality, for Jin, who had reached to the ranks of strongest, Diphus' sword could not pose a threat.
"Kraaak!"
Bradamante struck Diphus's waist, and a gush of blood poured out from the gaping wound.
Immediately after, Diphus's movements noticeably slowed down.
While the chaos monsters paid no mind to such injuries, humans tended to slow down when hurt.
His appearance twisted Jin's heart with pain.
Jin swung his sword silently. With each strike, as the blade cut through Diphus's body, tearing and piercing, a vivid sensation traveled up his arm, sending shivers down his spine. The sensation of killing a person, a brother.
"Our mother is incomparable to someone like me. Do you really think you can succeed in betrayal…."
Aaargh!
A lump of flesh fell from Diphus's abdomen. He held it in one hand and swung his sword like a ghost.
"You couldn't save even your own clan, yet you think you can save the world? Did you come to Rikalton to save people? Stop this nonsense, you are a hypocrite and a traitor. Even if our mother accepted chaos, she never joined hands with her nemesis!"
Slash...!
A crack appeared in Volgar's blade. The constant onslaught from Jin's attacks was depleting the lifespan of the sword.
Once, twice, thrice.
With each strike Jin landed on Volgar, sharp shards flew from Volgar.
Some of them grazed Jin's face, and droplets of blood trickled down his cheek.
Eventually, on the seventh attack, Volgar shattered into pieces.
Diphus, with his sword and body in tatters, still breathed heavily.
An indomitable, ominous gaze.
Jin paused his steps for a moment, looking at Diphus.
"Come on. Are you hesitating? Haha, did you stop your sword out of fear of killing me?"
A beam of light shot out from the shattered Volgar.
Jin didn't even dodge it. Due to the aura being too faint, the beam of light dissipated somewhere in his energy before reaching him.
But still, Diphus shot beams of light several times. With each attempt, the beams became increasingly faint, and Volgar shook off the remaining fragments while blood spurted from Diphus's body.
He had the will to leave even a scratch on Jin's body, even if he died like this. He was determined to become a vengeful spirit and appear in Jin's dreams if necessary.
"Or do you want to mock me?"
That's not it.
The reason Jin stopped was because he couldn't understand.
How could someone so strong, someone who never yielded to death and pain, someone who could struggle so fiercely... Why did they accept the power of the evil god?
Did he submit to chaos?
It was simply incomprehensible.
"Why... Why did you do that? What made you like this, elder brother?"
"I am the only one who made myself like this. Don't look elsewhere for the reason. Anyway, as you said, nothing will change. Why, do you still need someone to resent? You're wrong. If you don't like this situation either, blame yourself."
The moment Diphus finished speaking.
Suddenly, chaos began to rampage around him.
Jin desperately tried to sever the chaos that enveloped Diphus, but at the same time, a white dimensional gate opened in front of him.
[Boong!]
"Jin!"
Mort, Syris, and Valeria reached out their hands to Jin from the white dimensional gate.
Valeria had been analyzing the records of the battlefield all along and had just discovered the final move of the Prophet.
"Stop, you must not kill the Fourth Flagbearer now! We have to eliminate the Prophet first..."
"Valeria, what's going on?"
"The Prophet placed a spell on the Fourth Flagbearer. It's a curse magic that is designed to return the power he received to the evil god as soon as Diphus dies."
From the beginning, Diphus's goal was to restore the evil god's power through his own death.
That's why he had been taking Jin aside all this time, giving the Prophet time to complete the curse.
If Jin had attacked Diphus along with his companions from the beginning, the war would have ended before the Prophet could complete the curse.
Without any trace left behind, Diphus, who had been engulfed in chaos, disappeared.
"To prevent the curse from activating, we must eliminate the Prophet first. Hurry, the Fourth Flagbearer has been summoned to Rikalton Castle now. We must return immediately and kill the Prophet, and destroy the power that Fourth Flagbearer possesses!"
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]
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babayaga01
babayaga01 You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87
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章節 562: CHAPTER 720
[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
As Jin approached Mort, the white dimensional gate closed. The black energy of chaos spread like mold throughout the snow garden.
"If I kill him... will the power be restored to the evil god?"
"Yes, technically the curse is activated when he dies, but it specifically requires his death at the hands of his siblings."
"In that case, the Prophet has no reason to summon Diphus now. Could it be because she was unaware of the situation on this side of the battle?"
"It's hard to say, but something seems to have disrupted the Prophet's plan. Despite being bombarded by our allies, she suddenly became enraged and attempted to summon the Fourth Flagbearer. I came here to inform you of the information I gathered about the Fourth Flagbearer."
As the two conversed, Mort opened a new dimensional gate that led inside Rikalton Castle.
[Boong, booo!]
The moment they stepped out of the dimensional gate, they could hear Ilina's furious voice.
[Are you insane?! Suddenly cutting off the connection with the matriarch! Don't you realize the danger it puts matriarch in...!"
Ilina interrupted herself and covered her mouth. She had noticed the white dimensional gate that had opened on the other side.
'I hurriedly summoned Sir Diphus since he suddenly cut off the connection with the matriarch. What a disaster...!'
She had summoned Diphus, not expecting Valeria to be able to track him. Therefore, she was taken aback when Jin and his group suddenly appeared within the castle, well within hearing range.
'Because elder brother Diphus cut off the connection, the Evil god is in danger?'
Upon arriving at Rikalton Castle, Jin received unexpected information.
Not missing Ilina's bewildered expression, Jin immediately shot a sword towards her chest.
Even as her chest was pierced, Ilina deployed her protective barrier.
"So you insist on twisting things again. Couldn't you have thought that instead of summoning me, you should have prevented them from coming to the wasteland?"
If that were the case, Jin would have ended up killing Diphus, and the curse would have been triggered.
Ilina's protective barrier was mercilessly torn apart by Jin's sword.
Ilina tried to escape while lifting Diphus, but she couldn't be faster than Jin.
[Aaargh!]
Swoosh!
Bradamante stabbed Ilina in the back as she turned around. The shadow force attached to sword exploded, causing Ilina's body to burst in all directions.
However, the physical body was just a shell; her essence was chaos.
The scattered flesh soon turned into black smoke, spreading throughout the castle.
More precisely, not only Ilina's physical body but also Rikalton Castle itself was composed of the Prophet's chaos.
Given that the Prophet had been accumulating chaos here long before Runcandel became tainted.
Now the region known as Rikalton was practically synonymous with the Prophet herself.
[Damn it... I didn't expect this to happen. Yes, I admit my mistake. But it's better this way.]
"Aaargh!"
"Save me... please!"
As the castle disintegrated into smoke, the sight of prisoners trapped in various parts of the castle became visible.
Unlike the prisoners in the open field, they were not trapped in the fruit of the Giant Tree.
The fruits that had confined them had also been returned to the Prophet just now.
Similarly, the Giant trees in the open field were also dissipating into chaos and converging towards Jin and his group.
[These insects rely on their mother's power, pretending to be important... I'm sick of it.]
A black storm.
The immense chaos that spread in place of Rikalton Castle couldn't find a more fitting representation of the Prophet's true nature.
Diphus vanished somewhere within that chaos.
Upon surveying the situation, Jin quickly came to a conclusion.
"Valeria, you and Lady Syris must escape immediately and join our allies. I will confront the Prophet alone."
"Why did you bring allies and temporary alliances if you're going to fight alone?"
Syris said.
"I don't mean for both of you or the other allies to just leave. I will take care of the battle, and the rest is about rescuing the prisoners," Jin replied.
Syris narrowed her eyes, looking worried. The power of the revealed Prophet was immeasurable. They had never encountered such a form of enemy before. The Prophet appeared as a natural disaster, a calamity, rather than a living being.
But on the other hand, Jin also thought that there was no calamity that could physically kill him.
"Alright, we will focus on withdrawing and rescuing the prisoners and protecting our allies. Some of our comrades may have lost their way due to the unexpected chaos," Syris agreed.
Especially with Valeria and Syris possessing record magic and teleportation, they had to take on the role of broadcasting the situation in real-time.
As the two left, Jin looked up at the sky. It was filled with the chaos of the Prophet.
"Is the transformation over? Indeed, you turned out to be the one who had been manipulating Runcandel from behind. You have quite a convincing form. People who don't know better would think you're Witch Helluram."
Shiik!
Black smoke coiled around Jin, like a snake. Jin intentionally didn't dodge and assessed the strength, then suddenly unleashed his power, dispersing the chaos in an instant.
[If I were my mother, you wouldn't even be able to meet my eyes. 4th flagbearer and evil god is nothing.]
Once Jin became familiar with his senses, he felt that the Prophet was continuously unraveling threads of chaos in the vicinity to deal with the temporary alliance and the prisoners.
Of course, Jin had no intention of allowing that.
"Oh really? Anyway, let's make it clear. Our fight will be one-on-one, Prophet. Stop tormenting innocent people. It seems like summoning the evil god is out of question."
[What if I don't?]
"Then I'll have to personally intervene."
When Jin replied with a determined expression, the Prophet suddenly felt the sense that encompassed the entire Rikalton fading away.
That was a sign.
Ultimate Technique of the Shadow Sword: First Technique
The First Night
As Jin unleashed the first night, the entire land of Rikalton began to tremble. It was not due to the destructive power, but because of the uneasiness felt by the Prophet's distorted form.
Jin was recalling his last battle with Lingling in Laprarosa.
At that time, Jin had overwhelmed Lingling through this sword within the subspace.
The Prophet was no different despite being called a Prophet.
'There is no way that a parasite-like creature, gathering human despair and evil, has the willpower to withstand this.'
Jin slowly observed the Prophet's form.
Since it was in the form of a black storm, there was no way to determine its weakness. Just as one cannot find weaknesses in mist.
But in other words, that meant the entire black storm was a striking point.
It was burdensome to the point where he felt the need to find weaknesses.
Shh, shwack!
The sword infused with shadow force continued to disturb the Prophet's form. It was as if a fierce sword storm was raging through the Prophet.
"How about it? Are you starting to focus on me now?"
[You...!]
Though partially engulfed by the first night's shadow force, the Prophet still maneuvered its enormous form.
However, it couldn't make any more moves towards the allies and prisoners.
All its power had to be concentrated on Jin. Thanks to that, the allies were easily rescuing the prisoners.
Jin appeared calm as he spoke, but in reality, he was in a state where he could explode with extreme hatred.
How could he understand the fact that his clan had been corrupted by such a being, and that the corrupted clan was now destroying the world?
The monsterized Diphus, the countless people mercilessly slaughtered here today.
All of this evoked anger from Jin.
Jin let out a roar he didn't even realize he was making. His voice shook the entire battlefield, yet he couldn't hear it himself.
A seething fire began to spread on Bradamante.
Eternal Flame, an inextinguishable fire, began to blend with the black storm.
As the first night continued, the Prophet screamed ceaselessly.
[Kaah!]
"Shut up. If you compare what you've done to what you've suffered, this is hardly a punishment."
Thanks to Jin's ultimate technique, the allies had already rescued almost 70% of the prisoners.
The Prophet had planned to use those prisoners as sacrifices to confront Jin, but it was a problem that she was consumed so quickly by the first night.
The Prophet had no choice but to admit that fact now.
"I see, so you were the essence of Rikalton itself. Today, this land will completely disappear from the world."
Jin stabbed his sword into the trembling body of the wavering Prophet.
He grabbed the scattered fragments of chaos pieces and crushed them, trampling and tearing apart the large pieces that fell heavily.
If he saw any sign of regeneration, he ruthlessly set them ablaze, burning even more ferociously.
If a beast were to tear through mist, this is what it would look like.
Even the allies were shuddering at Jin's terrifying appearance.
Revenge.
Jin wasn't engaged in a battle; he was exacting one-sided revenge.
Occasionally, the Prophet attempted futile counterattacks, but it never once posed a threat to Jin.
There was only one reason the Prophet couldn't be annihilated.
Until the prisoner rescue was complete, Jin had no intention of finishing her off.
And there was only one thing the Prophet was still holding onto.
'If the evil god comes even now, the 12th flagbearer will have no choice but to retreat... Somehow, I have to... make this guy... kill Diphus."
However, Jin saw through it all and smirked.
"It seems like the curse is still in effect. There's not much of a face to speak of, but I can somehow see your expression. That's probably the only thing you have left to hope for."
While Jin relentlessly slaughtered the Prophet like a madman, he continued to keep track of Diphus's location.
Diphus's energy, dying away, was so faint that even Jin had a hard time finding him. He was barely clinging to life.
When Jin unleashed the first night, Diphus flew outward and crashed into the ground, stuck there.
That area had long since finished the prisoner rescue and suffered severe terrain collapse, so the allies did not include it in their search.
It was also the point where Mary, who was resisting Jin's attacks within the castle, was repelled by Zipfel's bombardment.
In other words, Mary was the closest to Diphus right now.
"Haa, haa."
She regained consciousness and staggered as she took a step.
Because she could hear a familiar moan coming from somewhere amidst the soil stained black.
Soon, the image of a person lying broken and mangled entered Mary's blurry vision.
Even if it wasn't Diphus lying there, it would still appear just as hazy to Mary due to her blurred vision.
Yet Mary could be certain. Even in that blurry state, it felt oddly familiar.
"Diphus oraboni...."
Diphus didn't answer and only gasped for breath.
Mary called his name several more times before slumping down in her place.
"Usually, I'm the one causing trouble. But this... this isn't right."
For a while, Mary laughed, sobbed, and hugged him tightly. She wiped away tears, patted his cheek, and brushed his hair.
Then, after a moment of stillness, she took out her sword..
Her beloved viper had already been shattered within the castle.
The tip of the sword aimed at Diphus's throat was trembling.
"Let's stop now... Diphus oraboni."
Mary hesitated several times, and then, with determination, brought the sword down.
The sensation of piercing through the flesh and bones reached her clearly.
However, Mary soon realized that the sword had pierced not Diphus's throat but his palm. He had raised his hand to stop her.
He felt the blood and tears of both himself and his younger sister falling onto his face as she spoke.
"Mary... If you kill me, the curse will be fulfilled..."
"What did you say?"
"In any case, I'm going to die... So just wait a little longer... for the youngest."
Thud! Boom!
Signal flares indicating the completion of prisoner rescue were being fired throughout the battlefield.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]
創作者的想法
babayaga01
babayaga01
You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
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