C215 - Bad Relationship (1)
It almost felt like the energy flooding the island with shades of blue was nothing but a lie.
It wasn't just the lightning.
All the small fires he caused, the strong winds, the raindrops.
Everything that made up the island was falling into darkness.
Murakan's eyes filled with joy as he suddenly spread his arms and burst into a maniacal laughter.
Surprisingly, the thunderous sound of his laughter shook the island and made the surrounding sea dance.
Jin was astonished.
They had always said he was very powerful in his prime.
But is this only half of it?
It took ten minutes to gather energy, and Jin also had to contribute his own Shadow Energy, but at least for that moment, Murakan was no longer the foolish Dragon he lived with.
He was so imposing that he inspired reverence in Jin.
The constant use of Murakan's suffix, "the Great," certainly seemed appropriate now.
Murakan's body spun and disintegrated into black particles.
The Shadow Energy then gathered where Murakan had been standing and shaped the true form of the dark dragon.
"This is nothing compared to the old times, but it exceeds what I expected. I am very pleased."
Murakan looked at Yulian with his wings spread wide.
His Dragon face made his expression less apparent, but he did seem to be mocking.
"I will be your next playmate, Manifestation of Peitel."
"You are nothing but a creation of Solderet. Your wagging tongue knows no manners, does it? Has your God not taught you anything?" Yulian rekindled his lightning after reprimanding Murakan.
Or at least he tried.
For some reason, the lightning only left a tiny blue spark within the darkness of the Shadow Energy and extinguished.
"What?"
He suppressed his own surprise and tried again, with the same effect.
Yulian's power didn't work at all.
Murakan stood still and waited for him.
In this way, Yulian could try to retrieve his lightning as many times as he needed.
His face turned red with embarrassment.
He tried to increase his divine power dozens of times, but the island remained in complete darkness.
Not only did Yulian lose his divine powers.
Sigmund no longer expressed his feelings either.
Gramm's lingering sentiment was also affected by the release of the Shadow Energy.
"This can't be true, it can't be."
Yulian felt the fear of the past upon mentioning Vahn, the Battle Goddess, and the invocation of Tess.
Although he had momentarily shuddered at the memories, the object of his fears was not real.
But the release of Murakan's Shadow Energy was different.
Yulian hadn't heard of any creation that could completely block a God's divine powers.
"Try not to lose your dignity. You are supposed to be a God. If you start panicking just because your powers were blocked, it will make your opponent feel pity, won't it?"
Murakan lowered his head and spoke.
Yulian took a step back as Murakan's face approached him, stumbling backward and even turning around to crawl away from him in haste.
Even though it was just a manifestation, this was not characteristic of a God at all.
Murakan silently raised his claw in front of the ugly sight.
"You said you wouldn't die even if your body was torn apart? Then how do you think all those dead Gods died? Answer me, manifestation."
"Get lost! Stay away from me!"
"I see you still haven't learned your lesson. I doubt you can afford to insult me."
A claw as huge as a tree trunk moved at the speed of light and traced a line across Yulian's body.
It was so silent and swift that it was hard to believe a Dragon's front paw could move like that.
Yulian screamed in pain as his upper and lower body split apart.
Murakan didn't seem impressed.
He swung his claw several more times to tear his body into smaller pieces.
A few seconds later, the screams ceased.
After a few more seconds, Yulian's fragments disintegrated into particles and reconstituted his body.
Yulian checked his body as he looked at Murakan.
"Don't do this. Even though I'm only manifesting through a medium, I'm still a God. I swear by the name of the storm that if you let me out..."
Murakan shook his head and interrupted him.
"If it were thunder, maybe. The name of the storm holds no value. And to think I advised you before to retain some dignity. It seems it's too late for that now."
"Has no value? What do you mean? I've even competed with your God!"
"To think a God would desperately try to convince someone that they are truly a god. It's a first. You should be ashamed of yourself. Bear the burden you deserve."
"No! Nooooo!"
Murakan's claw sliced through Yulian's body once again.
From that moment on, it was a repetition of carnage and rebirth.
Murakan continuously hacked at Yulian, and he couldn't even defend himself.
"No, stop. Please!"
Jin shivered.
He couldn't imagine how desolate one would feel being cut and hacked in the darkness of the Shadow Energy, completely unable to resist or fight back.
"This is tiring."
Murakan spoke with little interest in his voice.
Yulian no longer screamed.
He just stood still after each revival, like a piece of processed meat.
"Murakan, are you almost done?"
"Almost."
"Is he dead?"
"He won't die. But once he gets lost in the endless repetition of suffering, the manifestation will end. Peitel's will will be gone, and that boy named Yulian will become an ordinary Contractor once again."
"What happens next?"
"That's for you to decide. You could kill or capture Yulian when he's unconscious after being forced to release the manifestation. Since we're not returning him to your brother, you'll have to choose between the two options."
"Obviously, we're going to capture him alive and take him with us. Not only Yulian, but also Kuzan and Beris."
He didn't expect all three of them to have critical information about his Mistress.
But if they could reveal at least one significant piece of information, it would be enough.
"I doubt those Kuzan and Beris are still alive. It seems they had a hard time avoiding Yulian's lightning bolts."
Crack!
Murakan slashed Yulian once again.
He revived through the same body reconstruction once more, but now, the blue energy shining in his eyes was starting to dim.
It was a sign that he had been freed from the manifestation.
"It's time to seal the deal."
Murakan's eyes, on the other hand, began to glow black.
His black pearl-like eyes absorbed all the Shadow Energy spread across the island.
There were faint traces of Peitel's powers within the Shadow Energy.
The island began to regain its light.
The skies cleared first, revealing the moonlight, the dark hues of dawn, and rain clouds.
They were followed by the forests, trees, and rocks regaining their colors.
The tomb of Gramm, the Thunder God, emerged once again.
But none of the objects on the ground had any shadows left, except for Gramm's Tomb.
They were all completely absorbed by Murakan's release of the Shadow Energy.
The desolate terrain only regained its shadow when Murakan returned to his human form.
"Phew, it's been a while since I expended so much power."
The rocks and trees creaked.
Soon, they turned to dust and were carried away by the wind.
And beneath them, Yulian's body lay on the ground, appearing almost lifeless.
His manifestation had completely ended.
"He won't be conscious for a week. Sometimes, it can last even half a year."
Jin passed by Gramm's tomb as he approached to check on Yulian, but Sigmund no longer responded.
"You're right. He's still alive. We should also check if Kuzan and Veris are still..."
Thud!
Murakan suddenly fell into a seated position and gasped for breath.
"Murakan!"
Murakan waved his hand at Jin as he hurriedly approached.
"I'm fine. Dammit. My body can't handle it."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Of course. I'm glad this happened after releasing the manifestation. Otherwise, it would've been a problem. Things are so unfair when you fight against Gods. It's as inefficient as it can be. Though they can't fully employ all their powers that way either."
"Thanks for going through all this trouble."
"Same to you. Anyway, the Compass helped us achieve it."
Jin reached out to help Murakan up.
Murakan tried to stand by pulling Jin's hand, but he seemed completely exhausted and weak.
"Come on! I can't get up. I think I need to rest a bit. Why don't you summon Shuri? I'll use her as a pillow and take a nap."
"Keep sleeping. Once I find Kuzan and Beris, I'll wrap things up here and bring everyone back in Shuri."
Jin summoned Shuri from the ruby.
"Nyaa!"
Unfortunately, Shuri started rolling Murakan with her front paws to play with him.
She soon realized that Murakan was terribly weak and started licking him.
Murakan then fell completely unconscious.
Jin watched them for a while and set off to find Kuzan and Beris.
"Joshua. That bastard convinced Kuzan and Beris that I was behind Tymiun's death. They were always going to be trapped in that lie. It's obvious. He was just going to use them in a way that they would never cross paths with me."
Jin was right.
Joshua had planned to turn Kuzan and Beris into his loyal hounds and use them for tasks that would never directly involve Jin because coming into contact with him would likely sow doubts about the truth in their minds.
But his plans were thwarted when Jin arrived at the Blue Bird Islands.
But his plans were thwarted when Jin arrived at the Blue Bird Islands.
In fact, one of his secret assets, Yulian, not only was exposed but also in danger of being captured.
Jin's visit to the Blue Bird Islands had caused him a lot of damage.
"Kuzan! Beris!"
Jin shouted their names.
All objects on the island capable of hiding people, like rocks and trees, had been swept away by the Shadow Energy, but Jin still couldn't find them.
Maybe he should try searching by the cliffs.
But suddenly he heard a familiar and distant cry coming from where Murakan was.
It was Shuri's cry.
"Shuri?"
This was not good.
Shuri had been happily licking Murakan moments ago.
A sudden pang of anxiety squeezed his heart.
Jin stepped back and ran as fast as he could towards where he had left his companions.
And when he arrived...
"You!"
He came face-to-face with someone he didn't expect to encounter at all.
Jet-black hair, sharp eyes, and a robe with the emblem of a dark sword.
Shuri looked at him with her fur raised.
She nodded, intrigued, and turned her gaze to Jin.
"What are you doing here, brother?"
He was the eldest son of the Runcandel family and Jin's second Abandareado, publicly acknowledged as the next in line to succeed as the Head of the Family.
The same person responsible for Jin's curse.
Joshua Runcandel.