Chapter 79

Chapter 26. The Phenomenon of Runkandel (2)

'That...!'

Jin's eyes widened in shock as he looked up at the sky.

In his past life, he had heard his brothers discuss the family's decisive battles a few times.

He could guess that the 'Third Decisive Battle Meteor Shower' was when the sky opened and auras poured down, but this was the first time he was seeing it with his own eyes.

And the first time he witnessed the family's secret technique.

'Surprisingly beautiful... and...'

It's powerful.

Countless sword auras falling like meteors.

Each strike sent shivers down his spine.

It felt like he was witnessing the limits of what humans could achieve with swords.

Jin clenched his trembling fists and focused his mind. He didn't want to miss a single moment. He wanted to remember everything and one day recreate this scene himself.

This overwhelming power.

While Qikantel was mesmerized by the auras in the sky, Murakan alone remained unperturbed.

[The Decisive Battle Meteor Shower, I haven't seen it in a thousand years. Compared to the original in Temar, it's a bit lacking, but your sister is a monster, indeed.]

Rumble!

Crack!

With each meteor strike, the entire island screamed.

The earth split grotesquely, rocks shattered, and soil disintegrated into even finer particles.

The meteor shower seemed to reduce everything it touched to nothing.

Amidst this, a dragon and a human desperately sought a place to hide, appearing infinitely small and pitiful.

They instinctively realized that this was not something they could endure with their meager strength.

They were seized by an indescribable sense of despair.

'It's a lie...! This can't be happening!'

Andrei, clutching the Demonstone, repeated it like a prayer.

Buretta, having transformed back to her original form, was desperately throwing herself in front of him.

'If I can save Andrei, we have a chance. If I can save Andrei!'

Even if her body was torn into a million pieces, as long as a small bone or a piece of flesh remained, she could be resurrected with the power of the Demonstone.

Thus, Buretta was not afraid of death.

But Luna's power...

was still terrifying.

Even if she were to come back to life, she was certain she would be killed again. Perhaps, even if the Demonstone were fully activated, she couldn't defeat this human.

In contrast,

Luna, still in the stance of delivering a sword strike, exuded a deep and profound aura.

She paid no attention to the meteor shower or Buretta being torn apart within it.

She was simply unsatisfied.

Even as she was erasing the island and annihilating the members of Ziph, she was not satisfied.

'I still have a long way to go to reach Father's sword.'

The meteor shower she had seen from her father once was different.

It's hard to describe, but it was more transcendent... something that couldn't be called a human's sword. Only when something like that dominated the entire space could she claim to have reached her father's sword.

'But this should be a good lesson for the youngest. It will be a stimulus for her.'

If I can't reach my father's sword in the end,

You,

Youngest, you must.

Suddenly, such thoughts crossed her mind, and she turned around.

She wanted to send a message to her younger sister, who was watching this imperfect but great sword.

To grow, to become even stronger, and to become the head of the Runkandel family.

Jin clearly felt what his sister was saying to him. Without words, without hearing her voice, even from a distance, he understood.

'She always teaches me.'

It felt like a fire had ignited in his chest.

His passion for the sword was more intense than ever. The desire to surpass his sister and father and ascend to the throne of the sword left him breathless.

Jin would never forget this day.

When the meteor shower ended,

A massive hole was left in the center of the island.

From it, a tidal wave erupted like a volcanic eruption, and the figures of Buretta and Andrei were nowhere to be found.

They had been incinerated.

In the waves, parts of Buretta's body were occasionally visible. The sky above was completely clear, devoid of even a single cloud.

Because the meteors had passed through. The contrast between the crystal-clear sky and the tidal wave was stark, and Luna shook her head lightly.

"This is a bit of a blow to my pride. Showing off in front of my sister... it's annoying."

Luna aimed Kranthel at the tidal wave.

At the same time, something hidden by the tidal wave slowly revealed itself. It was black, massive, and bizarre.

A face.

It looked exactly like the Demonstone, but it was followed by two arms, two legs, and a torso emerging from the tidal wave.

It was Andrei, who had merged with the Demonstone.

"What the... What is that? Is this the result of his artifact being activated?"

Even to Jin, who didn't know much about Originstones or Demonstones, it was clearly not normal. The power it exuded was too ominous and bizarre to be the result of an 'artifact.'

'I've never heard of anything like this in my past life. It looks like a deity has descended.'

The word 'deity' seemed to fit this monstrous thing perfectly.

Qikantel's tail curled up. It couldn't bear the instinctive fear.

Even if it was a counterfeit,

The 'power of the gods' possessed by the Demonstone was enough to evoke the innate fear of dragons.

[Phew, it's confirmed. Kid, Ziph used a contractor to recreate the Originstone. Fortunately, it's still crude... I'll explain the details later. We need to leave now.]

"Should we run?"

The 'Windless Zone' Andrei had created was gone. Murakan had already started to ascend, and Jin instinctively shouted.

"Sister, we need to take Luna with us! We can't leave her to face that alone!"

[No, we need to kill that thing immediately. If we let it live, it will cause a terrible disaster. The Originstone is that kind of thing. And the only one who can end this here is your sister.]

"But—"

[Even if I've lost my power, my eyes are still good. Your sister can handle it. If it were a real Originstone, even Temar couldn't subdue it.]

As if she had heard everything, Luna was already waving at Jin and shouting.

"Don't worry, just run!"

Despite his growing anxiety, Jin had no other choice.

He also instinctively felt that, as Murakan said, 'that thing' needed to be dealt with now.

But he was so frustrated. He had to just watch.

'After today, I will never be this powerless again...!'

Jin gritted his teeth.

But Murakan was secretly smiling, proud of Jin.

'Kid, I always knew you were fearless. But to radiate such fighting spirit even after seeing that... I'm so proud I could bite you to death.'

The intense fighting spirit that made Jin's back tingle was undoubtedly his.

A fighting spirit that didn't match a fifteen-year-old who had just reached the Fifth Rank.

'You will be the best, Jin Runkandel. The contractor of a thousand years.'

That's why Murakan felt elated and refreshed, even as they were fleeing. He was looking forward to the days ahead with this kid.

[Now, don't be too disheartened. Learn well from your sister. The phenomenon of Runkandel. Today, Luna Runkandel is saving the world!]

The moment he judged that the group was far enough from the island,

Luna began to wrap Kranthel in aura. At the same time, Andrei, who had fully emerged from the tidal wave, looked down at Luna.

"Andrei Ziph. Hmm... Your face is too bizarre to recognize, but I imagine you're wearing a confident expression. Now that you've become a monster with your artifact, you think you can kill me."

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

A raspy laugh. As Luna said, Andrei was no longer afraid of her.

[The twelve gods are now within me! Luna Runkandel, what do you have? Even if your father were here, he couldn't stand against me.]

"A dozen gods, huh. Unfortunately, I still only have one sword."

Luna replied calmly.

[Show me everything you have. I will gladly accept it!]

A smile spread across Luna's lips. A smile that found the situation infinitely ridiculous.

"Indeed, you are still delusional. If you had faced me with the magic you've honed all your life, you might have been worthy to see half of my swordsmanship."

As Andrei was about to respond, Kranthel began to glow red.

'Red aura?'

Andrei tilted his head in confusion. He had faced countless knights but had never heard of red aura.

"In that sense, you lack the necessary qualifications."

Like a spreading flame, Kranthel glowed intensely.

"Out of pity for your foolishness... I will show you what a sword is. And you will naturally realize—"

You can't even face, let alone confine, a being called a 'god' in that measly stone.

Because the one man I've seen in my life, despite being a demigod,

Overwhelmed the world alone.

"Or is the god you speak of even more formidable than that?"

Heart Sword

Crimson Moon

As Luna whispered, a red glow began to spread along Kranthel.

A light that dyed the entire island and a piece of the sky. Andrei, still intoxicated by the power of the Demonstone, failed to sense the impending danger.

[Come! See your powerlessness.]

A red sword aura that split the massive crack in the island in half again was a momentary flash.

A red flash that seemed to briefly sweep through the center of the island.

And Luna, as if there was nothing left to confirm, had already sheathed Kranthel and turned around.

[I...]

I will show you.

The rest of the sentence couldn't be completed. It became Andrei's last words.

Crack!

The sound of the Demonstone hidden in Andrei's chest breaking.

Simultaneously, the space where he stood momentarily turned into shattered glass, and the black aura of the Demonstone was sucked into it.

Even the massive boulders that could no longer be called an island were being pulled into the distorted space.

And just as Luna, seemingly exhausted, was about to be consumed by it,

Whoosh!

Murakan descended at full speed, and Jin reached out to Luna. Just in time, he grabbed her hand, and Luna, smiling broadly, said,

"Today, the youngest saved me too, didn't she?"