305
'The work of the witch? What does she mean by that? Is she implying that even someone who isn't a contractor of Solderet can use shadow force with the power of the witch.’
The name of Shuri's former owner, Helluram, flashed through Jin’s mind.
However, it wasn't the right time to inquire about it.
Fire began to erupt from the broken sword. The blazing flames rapidly spread into line, and the lines spread into the entire surface, quickly engulfing the dark subspace.
The injuries Sarah had received over the last thousand years were no longer visible on her body.
Instead of shadow force, flames flowed from her open wounds, and shortly after, her entire body was covered in flames. Her hair, pupils, even her fingernails, everything turned into a blazing fire.
Lastly, the sword lost its form as a steel object and took on the shape of flames.
Every person who had seen her in this frightened form called her flame empress was indeed right.
[Seriously? Are you insane! The Magic Sword Secret Technique? Flame of hell? With that body!?] Murakan shouted.
Until just a moment ago, he felt dizzy seeing the wounded guardian and he felt his heart torn apart whenever she called him traitor.
But now, it was not just a matter of feelings or emotions. Things just got real.
Murakan had thought that the guardian couldn't use the Magic Sword Secret Technique because of her severe injuries.
[Are you really planning to kill us?]
[You're overreacting, Murakan! Not only did you betray us, but you even dared to mock me? I know that I can't do anything to you with these lukewarm flames,] the guardian responded.
[No, it's not that.]
[Then what are you trying to say? Dirty traitor.]
I didn't betray you, and my body has weakened.
Murakan's reply was drowned out by the explosion of flames, and even if she had heard it properly, it wouldn't have made a difference.
It wasn't just her physical body that had been affected by the agonizing thousand years and the battles that followed.
Her sanity had completely deteriorated. She was in a state where she couldn't make rational judgments, and even in the midst of the battle with Jin’s companions, she continued to see illusions and hear hallucinations.
In her near-lunatic state, she blindly followed the mission imprinted upon her; Kill anything that threatened Runcandel.
She was given one more mission to fulfill for Jin’s sake, but the guardian had forgotten that fact due to the countless battles she had fought.
Rumble! Bang! Crash!
The flame seemed like it might just swallow the world whole.
If this was Sarah in her prime and uninjured, this would indeed be a correct expression.
The flame of hell she displayed now had only about 20% of the might compared to the time when she used to incinerate the mages of Zipfel a thousand years ago.
She couldn't fully utilize her mana and aura due to her injuries, and on top of that, she no longer had her old phoenix, "Maniere," so she had no choice.
Nevertheless, the flame of hell was effortlessly erasing the released shadow force of Murakan and securing the battlefield for itself.
The flames and shadow force intertwined and created a strange enormous pattern in the sky of the subspace.
The subspace seemed on the verge of collapsing, and the surroundings became turbulent with the heat and shadow force. It became impossible for the dragons to even fly as they wished.
[Cuicantelle!]
[I got it, I'll try to stop it as much as I can, so grab hold of the flames!]
Cuicantelle descended, and his silver eyes gleamed brightly.
Veeeee! A sharp tune resonated as waves emanated from Cuicantelle's forehead.
It was a wave containing the power of time.
An authority she used when confronting Andrei Zipfel and wind dragon Vyuretta in the past.
Anything that came in contact with its net-like wave, which was rapidly spreading, would inevitably lose its element of time.
Vyuretta's body was completely immobilized just touching the edges of the wave.
However, the guardian's flames were only slowed down even though they were affected by the waves of time. They were still engulfing the subspace with terrifying heat.
Cuicantelle's authority couldn't completely stop the guardian. It would likely be the same even if the god of time, Olta, manifested itself.
Moreover, the guardian went beyond that.
She swung her blazing sword to "slash" the approaching waves. The severed waves lost their strength and disappeared.
Although the guardian couldn't nullify all the waves holding the flames, this alone was enough to be astonishing.
The guardian moved forward.
She approached Jin after slashing the waves. However, her gaze was fixed on Murakan, not Jin.
The guardian was mindful of Murakan's strength. She believed that there was no one else who posed a threat to her apart from him.
In reality, that might have been the case. If both she and Murakan were in their prime.
[Bystander, no. I guess I can’t call that anymore. Anyway, Cuicantelle, how about retreating now? You're just tarnishing the name of your god who is so cornered about its reputation and dignity.]
Grrr! Cuicantelle snarled at her words.
It wasn't because the guardian's words wounded her pride. Cuicantelle was using all the authority she could muster. And yet, the guardian was effortlessly neutralizing Cuicantelle’s power.
The guardian, Sarah Runcandel, was not someone Cuicantelle would dare to question about pride.
Although she described her flame of hell as lukewarm. But that was only by her own standards. Although the flame of hell was raging from a considerable distance, the amount of heat transmitted through the shields was making the group tremble.
If Cuicantelle’s authority were to stop, the only one left to fight in the flames would be Murakan, Cuicantelle, and Jin, with the Plutonian Reign Sword.
However, Jin's body was not yet fully recovered to use the Plutonian Reign Sword. If he pushes it too hard, it could result in permanent damage to his illuminating heart.
Therefore, Jin had to make a winning move before Cuicantelle's power was exhausted.
"Ms. Cuicantelle, how long can you hold on?"
[5 minutes,] Cuicantelle replied, trembling all over.
It was shorter than expected. Fortunately, he thought of a way
‘...The shield is melting. Even though both Murakan and Ms. Cuicantelle are blocking it once, the destructive power of flame is still overwhelming. We won't be able to get away with just moderate injuries here if Cuicantelle’s power runs out."
Jin, Gilly, Kashmir, Alisa, Enya, and even Jet were all casting the shields together.
Although they were protecting each other, the shields casted by martial artists weren’t really effective for protecting others.
"Enya."
"Yes, Lord Jin!"
"I need to rejoin the fight. If I leave, you will have to take on the most significant role in maintaining the shields."
Currently, that role was handled by Jin. Unlike the other martial artists, Jin was combining aura and mana to cast the protective shield. Given that he was the strongest in the group, it was only natural.
But Enya had to take over Jin's role as a mage in the group. She was still at the early stages of 6-star mana, but her protective shield efficiency couldn't compare to martial artists when it came to protecting others.
"Can you do it?"
"I'll give it a try."
"Give me a more certain answer. If you can't, I will have to consider other options."
Jin wasn't trying to reprimand or pressure her. He simply didn't want to risk the lives of his companions on vague answers.
If all the martial artists were mages of a similar level, Jin wouldn't need to worry about such things.
Soon, Enya's eyes filled with resolve and she nodded.
"I can do it, Lord Jin. Just please hold on for about 2 minutes until I can start my new spellcasting."
Enya recalled an old memory.
-I may struggle at first, but I want to do my part too. I don't want to be someone who relies on you like today. So, please don't tell me I don't have to worry about such things.
-Austin.
-I am Enya, the contractor of Olta. Someday, I will become an archmage whom you trust the most.
[T/L: 대마법사 - Archmage/ great mage.]
A conversation they had when Jin and Enya went to eliminate remnants of the Dark Mage Society together.
Jin also smiled as he recalled the same memory.
While she couldn't be called a full-fledged archmage yet, she had also undergone frighteningly rapid growth during Jin's time in Laprarosa.
Her talent was exceptional, to the point where Olta, the god who was so picky about bloodline, offered a contract to a commoner like Enya.
"Understood."
Enya sat in a mediating position and deactivated her shield. Naturally, the burden on the remaining companion increased, and Jin had no choice but to increase his mana output to his maximum level, such that he was constantly at risk of a mana backflow.
Enya's eyes twitched as she began to cast the spell.
Two minutes felt incredibly long. However, Enya managed to calm her desperate feelings and completed the spell without falling into mana backflow.
The magic spell she had prepared was given by Jin at the end of his reserve flagbearer days.
Extreme defense magic spells.
Chukon Tolderer's legacies, especially the epitome of the extreme defense magic that Chukon named 'Dragon Fire Shield’.
The rune character of extreme defense began to shine on Enya’s shoulder.
"You can go now, Lord Jin!"
Enya held up her thumbs, despite bleeding from her mouth. And a blue protective shield formed around her.
The DragonFire Shield was just as its name suggested—a spell Chukon created to fight against dragons. The shield was designed to block the dragon's breath.
Although she hadn't mastered it completely, Enya was compensating for her lack of mana with Olta's authority.
"Then, please take care of the rear."
Three minutes remained.
Jin stepped outside the shield. In his hand was another spell he had prepared.
Simultaneous casting.
One of the reasons Jin was considered a genius mage among geniuses. While Enya took care of her share in maintaining the shield, Jin had prepared another spell, in addition to the Shadow sword he had originally prepared.
It was the spell that meant doom for anyone who used magic.
reverse sky, the legacy of Kidard Hall.
‘Dame Sarah's mana is only about 8-star at the moment.’
The flame of hell was tearing apart Murakan's shadow force and causing great distress to Cuicantelle's authority; in reality, her mana was only at the level of 8-star.
The 8-star mana combined with 9-star aura and the unique strength of a Runcandel magic swordsman, allowed her to produce such prowess.
It was more than enough mana to potentially be caught in a backflow.
Of course, there was no certainty if it would work.
‘As she is such an extraordinary person, she might be able to take on the power of the reverse sky while maintaining that level of magic.’
That's why Jin had prepared the Shadow Sword.
The various techniques of the Shadow sword he learned from the battle kings in Laprarosa this time.
Jin had chosen the Second technique and the Seventh technique.
Scissors and Shadow Assault.
‘There's only a brief moment of opening even if she falls into mana backflow. Regardless of how injured Dame Sarah may be, engaging in close combat without the Plutonian Reign sword would be suicidal.’
Mana left Jin’s palm and formed a sphere of Reverse sky.
Once the Reverse sky fully expanded, the shadow at Jin’s feet rose up and intertwined with its owner.
305
'The work of the witch? What does she mean by that? Is she implying that even someone who isn't a contractor of Solderet can use shadow force with the power of the witch.’
The name of Shuri's former owner, Helluram, flashed through Jin’s mind.
However, it wasn't the right time to inquire about it.
Fire began to erupt from the broken sword. The blazing flames rapidly spread into line, and the lines spread into the entire surface, quickly engulfing the dark subspace.
The injuries Sarah had received over the last thousand years were no longer visible on her body.
Instead of shadow force, flames flowed from her open wounds, and shortly after, her entire body was covered in flames. Her hair, pupils, even her fingernails, everything turned into a blazing fire.
Lastly, the sword lost its form as a steel object and took on the shape of flames.
Every person who had seen her in this frightened form called her flame empress was indeed right.
[Seriously? Are you insane! The Magic Sword Secret Technique? Flame of hell? With that body!?] Murakan shouted.
Until just a moment ago, he felt dizzy seeing the wounded guardian and he felt his heart torn apart whenever she called him traitor.
But now, it was not just a matter of feelings or emotions. Things just got real.
Murakan had thought that the guardian couldn't use the Magic Sword Secret Technique because of her severe injuries.
[Are you really planning to kill us?]
[You're overreacting, Murakan! Not only did you betray us, but you even dared to mock me? I know that I can't do anything to you with these lukewarm flames,] the guardian responded.
[No, it's not that.]
[Then what are you trying to say? Dirty traitor.]
I didn't betray you, and my body has weakened.
Murakan's reply was drowned out by the explosion of flames, and even if she had heard it properly, it wouldn't have made a difference.
It wasn't just her physical body that had been affected by the agonizing thousand years and the battles that followed.
Her sanity had completely deteriorated. She was in a state where she couldn't make rational judgments, and even in the midst of the battle with Jin’s companions, she continued to see illusions and hear hallucinations.
In her near-lunatic state, she blindly followed the mission imprinted upon her; Kill anything that threatened Runcandel.
She was given one more mission to fulfill for Jin’s sake, but the guardian had forgotten that fact due to the countless battles she had fought.
Rumble! Bang! Crash!
The flame seemed like it might just swallow the world whole.
If this was Sarah in her prime and uninjured, this would indeed be a correct expression.
The flame of hell she displayed now had only about 20% of the might compared to the time when she used to incinerate the mages of Zipfel a thousand years ago.
She couldn't fully utilize her mana and aura due to her injuries, and on top of that, she no longer had her old phoenix, "Maniere," so she had no choice.
Nevertheless, the flame of hell was effortlessly erasing the released shadow force of Murakan and securing the battlefield for itself.
The flames and shadow force intertwined and created a strange enormous pattern in the sky of the subspace.
The subspace seemed on the verge of collapsing, and the surroundings became turbulent with the heat and shadow force. It became impossible for the dragons to even fly as they wished.
[Cuicantelle!]
[I got it, I'll try to stop it as much as I can, so grab hold of the flames!]
Cuicantelle descended, and his silver eyes gleamed brightly.
Veeeee! A sharp tune resonated as waves emanated from Cuicantelle's forehead.
It was a wave containing the power of time.
An authority she used when confronting Andrei Zipfel and wind dragon Vyuretta in the past.
Anything that came in contact with its net-like wave, which was rapidly spreading, would inevitably lose its element of time.
Vyuretta's body was completely immobilized just touching the edges of the wave.
However, the guardian's flames were only slowed down even though they were affected by the waves of time. They were still engulfing the subspace with terrifying heat.
Cuicantelle's authority couldn't completely stop the guardian. It would likely be the same even if the god of time, Olta, manifested itself.
Moreover, the guardian went beyond that.
She swung her blazing sword to "slash" the approaching waves. The severed waves lost their strength and disappeared.
Although the guardian couldn't nullify all the waves holding the flames, this alone was enough to be astonishing.
The guardian moved forward.
She approached Jin after slashing the waves. However, her gaze was fixed on Murakan, not Jin.
The guardian was mindful of Murakan's strength. She believed that there was no one else who posed a threat to her apart from him.
In reality, that might have been the case. If both she and Murakan were in their prime.
[Bystander, no. I guess I can’t call that anymore. Anyway, Cuicantelle, how about retreating now? You're just tarnishing the name of your god who is so cornered about its reputation and dignity.]
Grrr! Cuicantelle snarled at her words.
It wasn't because the guardian's words wounded her pride. Cuicantelle was using all the authority she could muster. And yet, the guardian was effortlessly neutralizing Cuicantelle’s power.
The guardian, Sarah Runcandel, was not someone Cuicantelle would dare to question about pride.
Although she described her flame of hell as lukewarm. But that was only by her own standards. Although the flame of hell was raging from a considerable distance, the amount of heat transmitted through the shields was making the group tremble.
If Cuicantelle’s authority were to stop, the only one left to fight in the flames would be Murakan, Cuicantelle, and Jin, with the Plutonian Reign Sword.
However, Jin's body was not yet fully recovered to use the Plutonian Reign Sword. If he pushes it too hard, it could result in permanent damage to his illuminating heart.
Therefore, Jin had to make a winning move before Cuicantelle's power was exhausted.
"Ms. Cuicantelle, how long can you hold on?"
[5 minutes,] Cuicantelle replied, trembling all over.
It was shorter than expected. Fortunately, he thought of a way
‘...The shield is melting. Even though both Murakan and Ms. Cuicantelle are blocking it once, the destructive power of flame is still overwhelming. We won't be able to get away with just moderate injuries here if Cuicantelle’s power runs out."
Jin, Gilly, Kashmir, Alisa, Enya, and even Jet were all casting the shields together.
Although they were protecting each other, the shields casted by martial artists weren’t really effective for protecting others.
"Enya."
"Yes, Lord Jin!"
"I need to rejoin the fight. If I leave, you will have to take on the most significant role in maintaining the shields."
Currently, that role was handled by Jin. Unlike the other martial artists, Jin was combining aura and mana to cast the protective shield. Given that he was the strongest in the group, it was only natural.
But Enya had to take over Jin's role as a mage in the group. She was still at the early stages of 6-star mana, but her protective shield efficiency couldn't compare to martial artists when it came to protecting others.
"Can you do it?"
"I'll give it a try."
"Give me a more certain answer. If you can't, I will have to consider other options."
Jin wasn't trying to reprimand or pressure her. He simply didn't want to risk the lives of his companions on vague answers.
If all the martial artists were mages of a similar level, Jin wouldn't need to worry about such things.
Soon, Enya's eyes filled with resolve and she nodded.
"I can do it, Lord Jin. Just please hold on for about 2 minutes until I can start my new spellcasting."
Enya recalled an old memory.
-I may struggle at first, but I want to do my part too. I don't want to be someone who relies on you like today. So, please don't tell me I don't have to worry about such things.
-Austin.
-I am Enya, the contractor of Olta. Someday, I will become an archmage whom you trust the most.
[T/L: 대마법사 - Archmage/ great mage.]
A conversation they had when Jin and Enya went to eliminate remnants of the Dark Mage Society together.
Jin also smiled as he recalled the same memory.
While she couldn't be called a full-fledged archmage yet, she had also undergone frighteningly rapid growth during Jin's time in Laprarosa.
Her talent was exceptional, to the point where Olta, the god who was so picky about bloodline, offered a contract to a commoner like Enya.
"Understood."
Enya sat in a mediating position and deactivated her shield. Naturally, the burden on the remaining companion increased, and Jin had no choice but to increase his mana output to his maximum level, such that he was constantly at risk of a mana backflow.
Enya's eyes twitched as she began to cast the spell.
Two minutes felt incredibly long. However, Enya managed to calm her desperate feelings and completed the spell without falling into mana backflow.
The magic spell she had prepared was given by Jin at the end of his reserve flagbearer days.
Extreme defense magic spells.
Chukon Tolderer's legacies, especially the epitome of the extreme defense magic that Chukon named 'Dragon Fire Shield’.
The rune character of extreme defense began to shine on Enya’s shoulder.
"You can go now, Lord Jin!"
Enya held up her thumbs, despite bleeding from her mouth. And a blue protective shield formed around her.
The DragonFire Shield was just as its name suggested—a spell Chukon created to fight against dragons. The shield was designed to block the dragon's breath.
Although she hadn't mastered it completely, Enya was compensating for her lack of mana with Olta's authority.
"Then, please take care of the rear."
Three minutes remained.
Jin stepped outside the shield. In his hand was another spell he had prepared.
Simultaneous casting.
One of the reasons Jin was considered a genius mage among geniuses. While Enya took care of her share in maintaining the shield, Jin had prepared another spell, in addition to the Shadow sword he had originally prepared.
It was the spell that meant doom for anyone who used magic.
reverse sky, the legacy of Kidard Hall.
‘Dame Sarah's mana is only about 8-star at the moment.’
The flame of hell was tearing apart Murakan's shadow force and causing great distress to Cuicantelle's authority; in reality, her mana was only at the level of 8-star.
The 8-star mana combined with 9-star aura and the unique strength of a Runcandel magic swordsman, allowed her to produce such prowess.
It was more than enough mana to potentially be caught in a backflow.
Of course, there was no certainty if it would work.
‘As she is such an extraordinary person, she might be able to take on the power of the reverse sky while maintaining that level of magic.’
That's why Jin had prepared the Shadow Sword.
The various techniques of the Shadow sword he learned from the battle kings in Laprarosa this time.
Jin had chosen the Second technique and the Seventh technique.
Scissors and Shadow Assault.
‘There's only a brief moment of opening even if she falls into mana backflow. Regardless of how injured Dame Sarah may be, engaging in close combat without the Plutonian Reign sword would be suicidal.’
Mana left Jin’s palm and formed a sphere of Reverse sky.
Once the Reverse sky fully expanded, the shadow at Jin’s feet rose up and intertwined with its owner.
