Chapter 737
Second Floor, Underground.
As soon as Jin and the other four people finished descending, they felt the air become stifling.
The energy that interfered with the generation of aura and mana was much stronger on the Second Underground Floor.
"It's even... worse than... what Alpen said."
Bianca remarked while forming and dissipating aura on her greatsword.
The sword's aura was only at 70% of its usual level.
The rest of the group was in a similar situation.
Even Alpen, who hadn’t been affected until the chains were broken, was now experiencing the same effects.
"I feel like my senses have been dulled.""It's not just a feeling; they've actually dulled, Captain Spectre. Although it's subtle."
Octavia sighed inwardly at Hedo's response.
They weren’t just separated from their allies, but also faced problems with their own abilities.
It was inevitable that they felt burdened.
[The interference has definitely intensified more than I anticipated.]
"Perhaps the reason for the increased interference is that Sir Alpen was freed from the control of the evil god."
[Now that the evil god no longer expends energy to control me, it has more influence and thus strengthened the interference?]
"That's possible."
[It's a plausible theory.]
Although the group had no way to confirm it themselves, Jin's speculation was correct.
However, if there was one aspect being overlooked, it was the presence of Tasha.
Not only Alpen but also Tasha had been freed from their shackles on the allied forces’ side, so it was natural that the interference was so severe.
No matter what, they had no choice but to move forward.
Jin reminded the group once again.
Once more, they found themselves in an infinitely vast and dark space.
The group walked in silence, as if traversing a desert.
They started to see something.
In the distance, they saw the silhouettes of a few people.
From afar...
'This time, there are five...'
As the distance closed, the exact number of figures became clear.
The fact that their numbers matched precisely, as if intentionally arranged, made the group feel uneasy for a moment.
[Please, come closer.]
The knight in the center spoke.
Jin immediately recognized him by the twin swords hanging from his waist.
It was the Sixteenth Patriarch, Lyon Runcandel.
The one with the greatsword was the 29th Patriarch, Tucker Runcandel, and the one with the chain sword was the 35th Patriarch, Neph Runcandel.
However, the other two, who carried ordinary longswords, were unrecognizable.
If their faces were visible, Jin would have been able to recognize them by comparing them to portraits and past memories, but the chains covered their faces. ɽÅ₦Ꝋ𝐁ЁꞨ
In other words, there were only two people Jin needed to show respect to.
"I, the unworthy descendant, greet the two ancestors. Please bear with me a little longer. I will soon free you from your shackles."
[Just like the Twentieth Patriarch standing there, do you think you can save these two as well?]
"Indeed, Lyon."
Swish!
Suddenly, Lyon's sword slashed the left arm of the former patriarch beside him.
With a dull thud, the amputated arm of the former patriarch fell without reaction.
Jin narrowed his eyes and stared at Lyon.
[The Patriarch is absolute. That has been the law of the family since its creation. Those who violate that law, like you, are unnecessary in the family. No matter how exceptional you are, you only muddy the waters. You are undermining the authority of the current matriarch, Rosa Runcandel. Enough!]
A ray of light flew toward Lyon's chest.
It was a sword energy shot by Alpen.
Lyon blocked the sword energy with his hand and stared at Alpen.
[In my youth, my heart used to race at the stories of our family's ancestors. But today, I've realized it was all a lie... Authority? What authority does the monster who brought our family to this state have!]
[Twentieth Patriarch, you were hailed as the Knight of Light and led a great war to victory, breaking all precedents. It would have been admirable if you had upheld the matriarch's will.]
[Silence! Today, you must pay the price for tarnishing my memories. Those without chains will be annihilated.]
Jin confirmed that Lyon did not continue attacking the chained former patriarch.
He left the right arm holding the sword intact.
'Cutting off the left arm was just a provocation towards us; he had no intention of seriously weakening the former patriarch by killing him.'
That meant Jin could save the two chained former patriarchs.
One on one.
It was natural for each person to fight against one opponent at a time.
From the moment Lyon severed the left arm of the former patriarch beside him, Jin had already chosen his opponent.
'I will face the former patriarch whose arm wasn’t cut off and rescue him in the best possible condition. Sir Alpen will take on Lyon.'
While Jin was thinking, Bianca kept her eyes fixed on Tucker's greatsword.
"Jin... I want to face the Greatsword... over there..."
"In that case, Sir Hedo, please face the 35th Patriarch wielding the Chain Sword. Octavia, take on the ancestor who lost his left arm."
Among the five, Jin believed Octavia was currently the weakest.
If she were accompanied by the Spectre Squad members or enhanced by the Demon God's Orb, it might be different, but at this moment, she had to face the opponent that posed the least threat.
"However, under no circumstances should you kill the ancestor. Once the chains are released, he will become an ally."
"I'll do my best."
"Don't just try; you must succeed."
If not, I'll kill you.
Jin didn’t say those words out loud, but Octavia felt a chill run down her spine and gritted her teeth.
The roles were set.
There was no need for long discussions.
As long as no one tangled with another, the fight would end when one side fell.
The beginning of the battle was announced by Jin's third deadly decisive move of the Runcandel, "Meteor Shower." White sword energies rained down, tearing through the dark space.
The former patriarchs of the Runcandel dispersed to the left and right to avoid the meteor shower.
With each strike of the sword energies against the ground, earthquakes occurred, and powerful shockwaves spread.
Before the meteor shower had even reached halfway, the surroundings were filled with the clan's decisive killer moves.
It was natural, considering that six generations of the Runcandel clan were present here.
If this were an ordinary castle, most of the buildings would have been destroyed without a trace within a minute.
From a distance, their fight didn’t look different from a natural disaster.
The magnitude of power seemed to favor the former patriarchs.
Jin and the group were limited in generating aura and mana, so it couldn’t be helped.
The former patriarchs freely used both aura and magic.
A black storm relentlessly attacked them.
Only Jin's group was affected by the chaos.
They couldn’t avoid the chaos to dominate their respective opponents and protect themselves.
The group unleashed all their power without prior inspection.
They had to defeat their assigned opponents as quickly as possible and then move on to support the others.
It seemed that the Twelfth Flagbearer made a mistake in engaging in close combat with this former patriarch, expecting his power to diminish due to the loss of his left arm.
'What a miscalculation,' Octavia thought as she parried the former patriarch's attacks with her own.
Although he was right-handed, not being able to use both hands was undoubtedly a critical limitation.
However, her opponent wielded a fierce and flawless sword, surpassing even the other former patriarch in skill.
For Octavia, a magician, the significant difference between their abilities was clear.
In a matter of moments, Octavia understood the reason.
'...This isn't about fighting with his own skills. The puppeteer, the martial arts of the evil god have reached such a level. Even without an arm, it doesn’t matter. Whether this is possible or not...'
A chillingly sharp blow sliced through her body.
Perhaps due to a deeper level of her inner world, Rosa was controlling the former patriarch with even greater delicacy than Alpen.
Jin was aware of it.
He also perceived it while clashing swords with his opponent.
'I should have put Sir Hedo there instead of Octavia. If this continues, it's only a matter of time before Octavia is defeated. I have no choice but to defeat the ancestor as soon as possible and help her.'
Just as Jin thought that, Hedo's voice reached him.
"Jin! Don’t worry about Captain Spectre; I will provide her with support!"
"I'll... do my best to help!"
Fortunately, there was still a gap between Hedo and the 35th Patriarch, as well as between Bianca and the 29th Patriarch.
Alpen and Lyon were evenly matched, and Jin couldn’t guess which side would win.
Soon, Jin focused his gaze on his opponent.
Under the chains of the evil god, Jin could see the glowing eyes of the undefeated Runcandel.
"Evil god, what is the reason for constantly dishonoring the ancestors like this? Even if you bind them with chains and control them by force, in the end, just like Sir Alpen, they will all turn their swords against you. You may take their bodies, but you cannot corrupt their souls."
Ssak!
Blood simultaneously spurted from Jin’s hands and his opponent’s.
Their swords had grazed each other.
Both rotated their bodies to the right, shooting sword energy.
"Even if you don't have a soul, then the flesh will do. Do you want the true Runcandel to have it so badly?"
Fwoosh...!
A faint mana enveloped Bradamante, igniting blue flames.
Eternal Flame, a fire that cannot be extinguished by anything.
"Your Runcandel is not legitimate. That’s why you can’t move real Runcandels without binding them in chains. In my opinion, the chains that control the ancestors are a manifestation of such deficiency and self-contempt. You pretend to be a god, but in reality, you are nothing more than a weak, contemptible human."
Seizing power through dirty means, oppressing people with fear, building a gigantic castle, and flaunting the power to destroy the world at any moment.
No matter how much you try to hide your true form...
Your essence cannot be concealed.
With each continuation of Jin’s words, his opponent's swordsmanship revealed its flaws.
The once flawless fencing began to crumble bit by bit.
On the contrary, Jin's sword harbored deeper and clearer flames.
Inch by inch, the Eternal Flame approached the chains.
With a flawed sword, it was impossible to prevent the flame from advancing. All Jin’s opponent could do was endure and delay the moment when the sword would touch the chains.
The exchange of attacks between Jin and his opponent continued until the clamorous noise in the battlefield ceased.
Jin was so absorbed in his fight that he didn’t know how much time had passed.
However, one thing was clear:
Bradamante, now wrapped in the Eternal Flame, had reached the entwined chains of his opponent.
Clang...!
With the sound of the chains breaking, Jin looked into the eyes of his opponent.
It wasn’t the face of the old Runcandel that was revealed as the chains broke.
"Ro... sa?"
The Evil God, Rosa.
What the chains had concealed was her, in human form.
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