C567
What is this?
Jin, no matter where he looked, the surroundings were filled with oppressive darkness.
The sharp roar that occurred when the Grand Icefield broke...
The voices of those shouting in response to the sudden change and the sound of debris, swords, and magic clashing...
None of that could be heard.
Jin couldn't hear anything.
The feeling of being separated from the world with no time to recognize or resist made him uneasy...
But the only thing he felt was the singular empty energy of this black space.
Jin even felt the illusion of having died, but he kept his composure.It seems I've been dragged into Gliek's subspace.
Jin raised his hand and looked at his sword.
The only thing that didn't lose its original color in the absolute darkness was Jin's body and his belongings.
Jin had entered a nearly similar space before.
It's almost identical to Solderet's subspace.
Certainly, there is a strong connection between Shadow Energy and the Chaos energy that I am unfamiliar with. It's uncomfortably similar.
The darkness formed by Gliek resembled a subspace of shadows.
One could say everything was the same except for one thing.
Does the space have favor or hostility towards him?
In Solderet's subspace, there was a strangely unfamiliar and comfortable feeling, but this darkness was full of indescribably huge hostility.
Moreover, this hostility was not content with just staring at Jin.
Jin began to feel that an invisible, eerie, and cold energy was penetrating his entire body.
"Agh!"
The icy blade seemed to cut through his flesh and pierce his bones.
Jin's fist clenched reflexively, and a groan escaped from his clenched teeth.
Chaos.
What tormented Jin was the Chaos imbued in Gliek's will.
This power surpassed the various types of physical and mental pain that Jin had endured until now.
If it weren't for his robust mental fortitude, honed through countless challenges and trials, Jin wouldn't have lasted more than five minutes and would have collapsed.
"Chkkakk...."
Jin couldn't help but feel terrified.
There were no allies who could help him in this dark space, and he didn't believe he could escape this place alone.
Emotions he had never experienced even when facing the imperial army, as well as Zipple's large army, tried to overpower Jin.
"Damn, my hand...!"
Suddenly, Jin took a step back, feeling a chill down his spine.
It was because he saw that his hand held the sword, and the tips of his fingers were tainted black by Chaos.
Immediately, he could recognize things he had never experienced.
The fact that this terrible discoloration was the result of being eroded by Chaos.
A chill ran down his spine, and he felt his blood freeze.
Upon closer inspection, he could see that the Chaos-tinged energy on his index finger was growing more and more like a creeping caterpillar.
Furthermore, the erosion didn't just start at the fingertips.
The places where the pain was especially intense, like the fingers, were all points where erosion was occurring.
What would happen when the invasion was complete?
Jin intuitively reached the conclusion that he would become part of Gliek.
Just like Dante.
He had to overcome it.
It's only different in size and depth, but it's not fundamentally different from the despair I've always overcome.
'I'll somehow avoid the invasion and find a way to get out of here.'
Jin lifted his head and struggled to stand.
But he fell as soon as he took a step, and it happened five times in a row.
Jin concluded that walking in those conditions was impossible.
Just as no one could walk with amputated legs, Jin, in his current state, couldn't move forward.
He couldn't endure with willpower alone.
So Jin sat down.
Not just sat down, but sat down to concentrate.
Release of Shadow Energy.
First of all, it seemed that he had to push away the Chaos spreading through his body with it.
The shadows trapped in Chaos emerged along with the release of Jin's Shadow Energy.
Fortunately, it worked.
The released Shadow Energy washed away the Chaos like clear water.
There was hope. For those without the power of the genesis knight, only the Shadow Contractor could catch a glimpse of the possibility of escaping this way in Gliek's subspace.
But there were two problems.
The first was that he couldn't release his Shadow Energy as stably as usual due to the pain.
It was necessary to pour it like a waterfall to completely eliminate the erosion, but the power of the shadows only reacted weakly.
The second was another phenomenon that occurred as soon as the release of Shadow Energy began.
The Chaos that had not been expelled was trying to "blend" with the Shadow Energy.
It was like a stream of water returning to its source.
'There's nothing easy in this damn war and struggle from the beginning.'
The Shadow Energy mixed with Chaos was escaping Jin's control.
Moreover, it was getting stronger. Except for Solderet's manifested will during the first battle, Jin had never seen Shadow Energy fluctuate as intensely as now.
It was like when Shadow Energy mixed with aura and mana to strengthen them.
It was hard to control, like an enraged beast.
The release of Shadow Energy was weak, and the shadows mixed with Chaos were explosive.
Although it was dangerous, there was no reason not to use it.
Maybe it's another trap by Gliek, but there's no other option.
'I can only halt the invasion with pure Shadow Energy release.'
Jin's choice was nothing more than plunging into the turbulent stream without knowing where it flowed.
But, for some reason, he felt confident.
An attribute of Chaos that enhances Shadow Energy.
It occurred to him that it might also be the disposition of the existence that created the beginning.
Perhaps it was the will of God, Solderet.
I have to make this power mine.
Shadow Energy began to move according to Jin's will.
Instead of vaguely resisting Chaos to survive, the flow accelerated when the milestone of the "struggle" was created.
Jin suppressed the Shadow Energy, which had become too rough, and grasped the bulges that had become stronger.
Blood flowed incessantly due to the recoil of Chaos, and sometimes his consciousness blurred, but Jin trusted himself.
His body, trampled by pain, was improving.
No, it wasn't just that.
It was unstable, but a power beyond his limits seemed to burst forth at any moment.
At that moment, Jin noticed that another power from within him, not Shadow Energy, reacted to Chaos.
The blood.
The Blood of the Battle Goddess, the only Runcandel who had gone beyond recognition and turned a part of her human physical essence into something akin to her siblings, was expelling Chaos ferociously.
'It seems you're not the only one allowed to devour, Gliek!'
Lightning mixed between the force of shadows and Chaos.
As if Vahn's blood did not fear the invasion, but rather dragged all the trapped Chaos towards the illuminating heart.
Soon, Jin stood up and straightened his body.
His shoulders felt heavy, as if he were still trapped in the water, but the pain subsided as he walked slowly.
Each step forward caused the Shadow Energy, mixed with Chaos, to fluctuate and return to its place.
When he took seven steps like this, Jin could feel that he had overcome the first trace of this subspace.
The invasion stopped, and Jin no longer felt pain.
The Chaos that had run so wildly, mixed with Shadow Energy, crisped weakly like a telegraph wire.
And his body, exhausted from the long battle, was now filled with a greater strength than before the war began.
To the point where Jin felt there was nothing in the world he couldn't cut through.
'Did I achieve temporary growth by surpassing Chaos? Or... Is it some kind of side effect?'
Jin couldn't figure it out immediately.
Seeing traces of discoloration all over his body, it was clear that there would be consequences regardless of the path he had taken.
Jin also realized that his fighting spirit burned too intensely.
It was the opposite of his intention to remain as calm as possible.
It's a dangerous power if it can't be completely mine.
'As the invasion of my body has ceased, it seems that this time it's trying to destroy my mind.'
Jin judged that Chaos was trying to erode his body first, but now it was targeting his mind.
Just like what happened to his younger sister, Yona.
However, he couldn't guarantee that he could overcome it.
Neither the release of Shadow Energy nor the blood of the battle god could directly protect his mind.
Jin had to find an exit while maintaining the utmost rationality.
The external situation was one of two.
Either everyone tried to save Jin, or they fought against Gliek.
Jin was worried, but he tried not to let it bother him.
He couldn't afford to suppress the fighting spirit and the killing intent that grew like foam.
It was still dark, and the only thing he heard was the sound of his own breathing and the faint noise caused by the lightning spreading from the battle god's blood.
He turned around the Bradamante stained with Shadow Energy.
Despite his firm conviction that nothing would resist him, the subspace showed no reaction.
No matter how many times he tried, there was only one option for Jin. He only had to walk until something else appeared.
And Jin faced something different from the darkness faster than expected in the vast subspace.
A person...!?
It seemed hazy and dark, but he could see the shape of a person crouching on the other side of the darkness, in the distance.
Jin ran towards the figure, and soon he could identify who it was.
"Ron-nim!"
Jin didn't believe that someone else had been trapped in this subspace.
In particular, Ron, who was the farthest from him.
"Then other people...!"
The moment Jin thought that,
Ron raised his head and looked at him.
As soon as their gazes met, Jin couldn't help but abruptly stop walking.
Mad hostility.
The intense and deep hatred emanating from Ron was as palpable as the resentment Jin felt towards Gliek for the first time, and it was directed straight at him.
"Ron-nim! I'm Jin Runcandel. You may not recognize me..."
"Why?"
Ron interrupted Jin.
At that moment, Jin noticed that Ron's eyes were as black as oil.
Because Ron had been invaded by the Chaos that had previously been crushing Jin.
Ron stood up and said.
"This monster is looking for you, but... why, why did my grandson become its prey in your place? Tell me, why was he sacrificed instead of you...?"
When Ron finished speaking, Rashid's blackened sword was already at Jin's throat.
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