C214 - The Secret of Island 32 in the Blue Bird Islands (4)
Jin had never felt this way before.
It was similar to the time when Talaris unleashed giant blade waves against the Kozec in Kollon.
Each strike from Sigmund sent piercingly bright attacks.
The lightning-infused blade waves tore through the air.
The power broke through the compressed air ahead and produced loud explosion sounds, even sending layers of shockwaves afterward.
'The heavens have aided me.'
If Sigmund hadn't awakened the feelings of Gramm, he would certainly have gotten into trouble.
Of course, it would have lasted for ten minutes even without relying on Sigmund's power.
But in that scenario, there was nothing else he could do if Murakan's release of Shadow Energy couldn't interrupt Yulian's manifestation.
Moreover, more enemies could always appear even after subduing Yulian, as this was Joshua's territory.
Yulian looked back at Jin after shouting for some time.
He frowned, as if feeling the greatest shame for his earlier display of fear.
-Enough of this!
Peitel swung Harmilla like a sword, eliminating all of Jin's sword waves surrounding him.
"Stop floating in the air and come down here."
Jin didn't miss the opportunity to rush toward Yulian.
One had to close the distance by any means when fighting an archer.
Yulian hastily held Harmilla with both hands to block Jin's strike.
But the impact of the attack caused Yulian to fall directly to the ground while Jin was lifted into the air by the recoil.
Bzzt!
Jin replenished his spent lightning while floating in the air.
The shattered lightning gathered around Sigmund and drew a ray of light.
The ray immediately turned into a bolt of lightning and struck Yulian, who sank into the ground.
Sigmund trembled with the voice of its remaining feelings.
It seemed thrilled by the fact that it was dominating against its younger brother, Peitel.
Jin couldn't hear the lunatic voice of the sword's remaining feelings because he was busy preparing for the next strike after the lightning.
Jin swung Sigmund the moment he landed on the ground.
Yulian was getting back up when he had to block another attack in a rather compromised stance.
He almost stumbled after being thrown to the side.
Rocks and mud from the ground splattered around him.
The mud briefly obscured Jin's view.
When the mud passed through Jin's eyes, Harmilla's lightning was already at the tip of Jin's nose.
The lightning grazed Jin's cheeks, then flew alongside him to create an explosive sound after hitting something.
In return, Jin delivered an upward strike to Yulian's body with Sigmund.
Thanks to the power of the remaining feeling, Jin had the advantage in sheer strength.
Yulian bounced like a ball each time he blocked Jin's strikes.
Yulian managed to shield himself from the attacks, but if it weren't for the manifestation, every bone in his body would have already been broken from the impact.
From afar, it seemed like Jin was dominating the fight.
But Yulian had more power between them as a manifestation of a God.
However, Peitel was a God who wasn't accustomed to fighting someone more powerful than himself.
He was only accustomed to sending lightning to punish creatures below and was not used to testing himself.
As such, the skill displayed by Vahn's successor, the Battle Goddess, was truly a shock to him.
In other words, Jin was playing his game.
That's why Kuzan could only misinterpret the situation as he ran with Beris on his back.
"He really is a monster. Is he really the same guy we met in Delki?"
He didn't realize that Sigmund had enhanced Jin's powers.
Therefore, he could only think that Jin was a transcendent master who far surpassed the norm of a Runcandel Bannerbearer.
"If what Jin Runcandel says is true, what should Beris and I do?"
The lightning continued to rain down on the entire islet like the very embodiment of hell.
But Kuzan had to survive to seek the truth about Taimyun's death.
-How dare you show me disdain!
Yulian glared at him and pulled the bowstring, determined not to be pushed further.
Jin wanted to keep him busy, so he couldn't pull the bowstring at all.
But the lightning bolts bursting from the ground prevented Jin from charging at Yulian, who had covered the entire ground surface with a current to bind Jin.
Lightning rained from the storm above.
It painted the area around Yulian in blue.
Each one of them was an arrow for Harmilla.
-I will make you pay!
A barrage of arrows began.
They rained down on Jin, each one possessing enough power to destroy the entire island.
In response, Jin unleashed a move: The Fourth Move of the Battle God: Erosion.
Sigmund's blade plunged into the ground before the first arrow could reach him.
It was completely different from the time he had performed the move against Vanessa.
The raining lightning crushed Harmilla's lightning, driving them into the ground instead of reaching Jin.
At the same time, multiple circles formed over the ground eroded by the lightning.
The circles attracted thunderbolts, which fell from the sky and made Yulian's massive electrical storm seem almost diminutive.
The thunderous noise was deafening.
Blinding lights burst forth, followed by a tremor that shook their knees.
The thirty-second island was completely dominated by all of this.
Each thunder strike on the ground created tremors, and some of them landed directly on Yulian's head.
His screams were drowned out by the explosions, and his descent was covered by blinding flashes.
Yulian was trapped within the thunder, trembling in fear.
Perhaps it was the perfect opportunity to seal his victory.
After taking a deep breath, Jin decided to unleash his next strike.
"Will my body hold up?"
Although Sigmund had greatly enhanced his skill, he wasn't sure if he could achieve a perfect retaliation as well.
But as the minutes he had promised Murakan drew near, he decided to implement a decisive move.
Sigmund released his lightning once again.
But compared to its previous ferocity, it seemed slightly overwhelmed.
As Yulian had his limits on Peitel's power he could wield, Jin also couldn't use Gramm's powers too much.
He chose to finish off his enemy with the Third Move of the Battle God: Judgment.
Jin charged at Yulian once he had enough lightning on his sword.
Yulian had no way to see Jin behind the thunder and couldn't hear him approaching either.
But his instinct told him that the crisis was near.
He aimed Harmilla through the thunder strikes.
Surprisingly, he aimed exactly where Jin was charging, and the storm forked and flowed towards Harmilla.
The bowstring was pushed back by the massive lightning, which could no longer be called an arrow.
When the Lance of Judgment emerged through the thunder that struck right in front of him, Yulian had only one thought.
"You became too proud because I took a few hits, insect."
He released the bowstring, and the two lightning clashed.
The lightning that left Harmilla crushed the Lance of Judgment as if it were nothing.
The lightning that formed the Lance shattered, and Harmilla's thunder fell towards Jin's head at the speed of light.
-I've killed the insect!
He felt bad for not making Jin suffer enough for his humiliation, but he could always manage by killing his Dragon Guardian.
Yulian's lips were about to spread into a satisfied smile. But Yulian was forced to scream again out of fear for something he couldn't avoid.
"Tess!"
"Woosh!"
A flame. For some reason, a blue flame ignited in the place where Jin's head should have been.
Tess's flames, the only Blue Phoenix, began to engulf Yulian.
"This God fears so many things."
Jin considered summoning Tess for the first time when he saw Yulian tremble at the name of Vahn, the Battle Goddess.
If he feared Vahn, then it was likely that he also feared Tess since it was said that Tess could negate the existence of the Gods of this world with a slight breath in the Fire World.
Of course, it wouldn't be a problem even if Peitel didn't know about Tess.
After initiating the retaliation, Jin decided to bring down Sigmund's lightning while the thunder concealed him from Yulian's view.
Although it may have seemed like he was dominating the fight, he knew long before that there was a power imbalance.
There was no reason to fight him head-on when he was fully aware of this fact.
-Clever little one...
What a great compliment it was for Jin.
Although Peitel couldn't display even a tenth of his true powers, a God was different from Humans.
It was only logical that Jin needed to be as cunning as he could be.
Shing~
Amidst all the sounds of explosions, Yulian heard the chilling sound of a sword scraping against its sheath.
It was the sound of Bradamante coming out of its sheath.
The dark Shadow Energy covered the gleam of its blade.
With grace and swiftness, Jin took a step forward and pushed Bradamante against Yulian's side.
The sensation of the blade piercing flesh and bone was smooth.
As Peitel needed a vessel to manifest, the body that held him was still human.
Yulian coughed up blood.
His eyes trembled nervously.
Tess's blue flames engulfed Yulian's body next, beating him down under the weight of the pressure.
But for some strange reason, Jin felt chills at that moment.
He had just defeated his enemy, but anxiety flooded over him, as if he had broken a dam.
He could see the source of his anxiety in the blink of an eye.
Harmilla, the lightning bow, had transformed into a serpent and coiled around Yulian.
Blood no longer flowed from his wounds, and Yulian was even smiling.
-I acknowledge that you're quite an impressive insect. However, I am a God, which means I don't die, even if my body breaks into pieces. You wouldn't know that, of course, mortal.
The incorporeal voice sent chills down his spine.
If he couldn't be killed even if he was cut or pierced, Jin had no way to win this fight.
-Why, are you disappointed? Go on and keep challenging—
"Oh come on! Bastard, you just never stop talking, do you?"
Murakhan spoke as he approached Jin and Yulian after completing his release of Shadow Energy.
He then pushed Jin back and spat on the ground.
-What did you say?
"It seems like you've never been served by Shadow Energy. From here on out, I'll give you a very interesting experience."
-I heard that Solderet favors his Dragons, but you've gone too far. I'll take that as a plea to take your life first.
"What cheap talk. I heard that your older brother at least used to have some class, even to the point of his death. Heh, hehehehe."
-Why are you laughing?
"Imagine how you would feel if you could use more than half of your true powers after manifesting in a body. Wouldn't you be laughing with joy?"
Because that's what I felt right now.
All the shadows on the islet, except for Jin's, began to converge on Murakhan.
At the same time, Yulian's lightning that once covered the entire island started succumbing to darkness like a dying candle.