C239 - Individual Study, Group Study (4)
The sky was blue, as if bruised by lightning.
It produced a noise that numbed the ears, and its brightness hurt the eyes. Under the sky, there were monstrous creatures that could no longer be called human.
They were the eight hundred and thirteen victims of the biological golem experiments.
Their transformation had been completed, and their bodies were enveloped in lightning energy, just like a Legend using the powers of their Light Heart.
The lightning extended across the sky whenever the light surrounding the biological golems grew brighter.
Murakan was covered in lightning and was no longer visible.
The lightning from the biological golems seemed like a formidable force.
But aside from the visual impact of covering the sky, the actual strength was not as transcendent as Mirtual thought.
The way they employed the energy was quite similar, but it didn't come close to the thunder and lightning of true Legends. At least Murakan would never suffer any harm from those biological golems.
Jin had run away at the possibility that the golems possessed power similar to that of the Legends. Mirtual also mentioned that "the Dark Dragon won't withstand" them.
She wasn't entirely wrong.
If there were eight hundred lightning-powered biological golems, three Nine-Star Mages, hundreds of Dark Magic Guild Mages, white werewolves and crimson tigers, most Dragons, and even renowned martial artists, they would do well to retreat without hesitation.
But Mirtual didn't know the powers of Murakan, the Dark Dragon, nor those of the true Legends or Jin.
"You captured innocents and turned them into monsters, mocking my brothers. How dare you, you damned bastards!"
Jin unsheathed Sigmund.
The Dark Magic Guild would be wiped off the face of the earth once and for all this very day.
"Murakan!"
Jin put strength into his voice and spoke his Dragon's name.
A dark whirlwind formed in the midst of the blue-lit sky, revealing Murakan's form.
All members of the Dark Magic Guild, except the biological golems, turned their gaze toward Jin.
"That bastard! What's that bastard doing here?"
It was the Grand Magus of Anz, Chukon Tolderer, who shouted in panic. He recognized Jin as soon as he saw the magical helmet, the Myulta Rune.
The other Nine-Star Mages were bewildered seeing Chukon trembling.
"Lord Chukon, do you know that man?"
The man was thin to the bone with sunken eyes. It was Cold Joe.
"He's the bastard who stole the Compass in the Bellard Feudal States! Be careful. The force of lightning he wields is incomparable to these biological golems."
Joe and Suzanne were about to respond when Murakan spoke up.
"Did you get what you needed?"
He was asking about the location of the captives and the evidence to bring to the Holy Kingdom.
Jin nodded.
"Then there should be no need to prolong this any further. What should I do here?"
"Kill all the biological golems and the rest. Disable the Nine-Star Mages and capture them alive."
"That's a tough order. Can I just kill them all?"
"If so, capture only one of them, Cold Joe."
A smile formed on Murakan's lips.
"No problem. Sounds quite simple."
"Those bastards are clearly insane. Do they consider themselves Cyron Runcandel or Keliac Zipple?"
Bam!
Cold Joe shouted as he struck the ground with his staff.
The fact that the sudden assault had brought down the castle and forced the closure of the laboratory was already vexing enough. With this teenager provoking him, Cold Joe felt like his blood could start boiling at any moment.
Suzanne Lilista had a similar reaction.
Although the sudden assault had caught them off guard, she didn't believe that the Dark Magic Guild's base would fall against just one Dragon and a martial artist.
Only Chukon Tolderer, who had personal experience with Jin, maintained a tense expression on his face.
Of course, he also thought it was impossible for the two of them to win against their entire force, regardless of Jin's skill.
The Dark Dragon in the sky was certainly impressive, but there was no way he could wreak havoc across the entire area while Joe and he were fighting.
He should have been sure of that... 'But why do I still have this ominous feeling?'
Chukon was about to take a deep breath to rid himself of the unsettling feeling gripping his heart.
Whoosh!
Shadow Energy surged from Murakan's wings like a tsunami.
In an instant, the Shadow Energy stretching across the sky turned into a tornado and swallowed the lightning, spreading darkness over the land.
The biological golems continuously spewed lightning energy. The lightning tried to rise toward the sky but completely dissipated at the boundary of the area invaded by the force of shadows.
"Well, well. You wouldn't be the Shadow Dragon if you were any weaker. Let's see how long that confidence of yours lasts! Mediocre men, get him!" Joe shouted, causing the semiorcs in the area to raise their weapons in unison.
They began to advance toward Jin with murder in their eyes.
Bzzt! Pzt!
The force of lightning coiling around Sigmund's pale blade started violently branching at Jin's will.
The smarter semiorcs trembled and began to retreat. And the slower ones thought that Jin's lightning was no different from that of the biological golems and raised their auras.
The lightning shot out from Sigmund and spread across the area like pillars.
Murakan sneered at Joe's ignorance and unleashed all the Shadow Energy shrouding the sky—the alpha and omega for anyone wielding Shadow Energy. Murakan's amber eyes flashed.
The entire area immediately plunged into absolute darkness. It wasn't a matter of expression. Everyone on the ground, except Jin, felt that the world around them instantly darkened.
It was only a brief moment. Yet, anyone would be terrified to see their vision darken against their will.
When they regained their sight, the Dark Magic Guild Mages and semiorcs reacted by touching their faces around the eyes and checking each other's faces with a look that asked, "Did you just lose your sight too?"
They all thought that nothing had actually happened.
That is, until the shadows under their own feet began to move on their own.
"Huh? Ugh, what the hell is this!"
"My shadow, it's..."
Their shadows were being torn apart. The usual shadows that moved according to the light source were nowhere to be found. They were tearing and elongating randomly.
Some even merged with the shadows of others.
None of them had experienced or imagined such things in their lives. The grotesque scene unfolding before them made them feel nauseous and shivers ran down their spines.
Not all shadows behaved that way.
Out of the remaining six hundred Mages and Half-Men, around half experienced that phenomenon. But even those whose shadows didn't change were equally shocked.
"First of all, I see the need to reduce the number. Watching those things writhing and squirming is not a pleasant sight, don't you think?" Murakan said.
Screams and muffled sounds of things breaking and bursting spread across the ground. It started with those on the outskirts of the Shadow Energy release. Around three hundred of them experienced bodies twisted, torn, and shattered like hammered sculptures. They were deformed according to their own shadows.
Those whose shadows had their necks cut lost their heads. Those with burst shadows exploded.
The corpses fell to the ground without resistance. But the shadows leaving their bodies entered the sky and were absorbed by Murakan.
Joe and Suzanne changed their minds. At that moment, they instinctively knew that something was terribly wrong. They had mastered Magic for decades to become great Mages, but they had never heard of anything like this.
Chukon had his shield barriers raised for some time. Joe and Suzanne immediately began casting their spells.
But they had already lost precious seconds contemplating the hell unleashed by the release of Shadow Energy, something they would regret for the rest of their lives.
Because in that brief moment, Jin had finished preparing his move.
Sigmund pierced the ground, once again painting the shadow-filled earth blue.
It was the Battle God's Fourth Combat Technique: Erosion.
The lightning pillars floating in the area followed Sigmund's descent and impaled the ground simultaneously.
Dense lightning flowed throughout the area, just as the hundreds of biological golems had covered the sky in blue, at least until Murakan began unleashing his power.
But it wasn't the same lightning. Even the Nine-Star Mages who had never seen the power of Legends instinctively understood that this was the real deal.
The Erosion Lightning even forced Vanessa Olsen's ten-star Knight instincts to step back. There was no way ordinary Half-Men Warriors could withstand the real lightning.
The light pillars embedded in the ground began to unleash thunder. Jin's lightning streaked across the dark sky.
"Get away from him!"
Joe shouted at the semiorcs charging at Jin and extended his staff. But it was too late. The fierce lightning storm killed more than half of the semiorcs surrounding Jin. The rest managed to stay alive thanks to the shield barriers cast by Joe and Chukon.
But the surviving rank-and-file soldiers seemed dazed. They could only stare at the ground. They were paralyzed by Jin's fierce Legendary Energy, which was stronger than ever.
Jin had two swords. With Sigmund maintaining the Erosion, it was Bradamante's turn to leave her sheath. The black-coated blade rushed toward the throats of the semiorcs huddled under the shield barrier. Each sword strike dropped heads to the ground.
Joe's eyes met Jin's, who was killing the Half-Men as if he were the harbinger of death.
There were still around five hundred biological golems left.
"Bring him down," Joe shouted, sending all the biological golems charging at Jin. But incomplete biological golems, capable of gathering the powers of only four or five stars, wouldn't harm Jin at all.
That wasn't why Joe shouted for them to attack. He was only trying to buy time until Jin could reach him.
Joe also realized that the number of biological golems wouldn't prove anything against Jin and Murakan. Their prowess, especially Murakan's, was clearly beyond his comprehension.
"I shouldn't have wasted time gathering these golems. I should have fled. I was a fool."
Regretting was useless.
Jin summoned Tess. Then he pushed back the biological golems—no, the poor golemized civilians—and lunged toward Joe.
"It's time to pay the price for mocking my brothers."
Suzanne and Chukon were too busy blocking Murakan's attacks. Joe watched as the defenseless biological golems fell to the blue flames. Then he reminded himself of how Jin had mentioned capturing him alive.
"I must surrender and survive. As long as I'm alive, the leader will save me, no matter what happens."