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A dense demonic energy was coming out from the crack that had formed in the crystal ball.
Sakiel strained with all her might to contain the escaping demonic energy. When Jin swung his sword once again, Sakiel staggered backward.
In that brief moment, Dante thrust Rashid in the opening. The sharp blade pierced Sakiel's back, and crimson blood sprayed out.
[Kaak!]
Just as Jin possessed the eternal flame, a power equivalent to the absoluteness of the Genesis Knight characteristic, Dante also has the powers left by Ron.
[T/L: Genesis knight characteristic means the peculiar power the person gets when they became genesis knight as Ron got the characteristic of protection (as you may remember from Sword Emperor Castle War). Chiron has the characteristics of dominance.]
Therefore, even if Sakiel had tremendous high-speed regeneration, Dante's strike remained deadly every moment. Sakiel's posture crumbled as she bent forward.
She immediately amplified her demonic energy to create a protective shield, but it would likely crumble under the next attack.
'Jin Runcandel must have been exposed to Lord Zito's demonic energy when he attacked my crystal ball.'
Zito's true energy was clearly visible on Bradamante's blade, as if it were absorbing shadow force, aura, and mana from the sword.
There was also an unseen phenomenon at play.
'Furthermore, Lord Zito's energy may have permeated even Jin Runcandel's mind. Yet, why does it appear as if there's no significant impact...!"
Jin showed no sign of hesitation, no indication of slowed movements, not even the narrowing of eyebrows or squinting of the eyes.
Instead, his relentless onslaught seemed to grow more ferocious with each passing moment. Instead of focusing on avoiding the direct contact with the demonic energy, he relentlessly attacked Sakiel's arms with his sword.
Most knights, even those who had transcended, would have suffered some form of agony when they felt like their heads were about to explode.
However, Jin had already endured a more potent mental attack during the Evil God War. This attack, carried out by a mere demon who borrowed Lord Zito's power, had no chance of affecting him profoundly.
"Where did that overconfident spirit of yours go? Is this all you've got? Sakiel Grosch."
Thud!
Sakiel was thrown into the pillar of the castle. Just as the collapsing debris threatened to bury her, Dante's sword energy, in a crescent shape, struck Sakiel's neck.
[Urgh!]
Sakiel instinctively grabbed her throat. If it hadn't been for Zito's true energy, her head would have rolled to the ground.
It was a miscalculation from the moment defense lines began to crumble faster than she had anticipated, Sakiel had been acknowledging her error. So she had resorted to her final option of self-destruction.
But now, Sakiel was feeling an overwhelming sense of anxiety as if that calculation had been wrong as well.
What if even the plan using Field of Loss through self-destruction was a miscalculation?
So, if she ended up with no results at all and faced death here at the hands of Jin and Dante, what then?
Such anxiety was rapidly unsettling Sakiel's mind. Even as she focused on the battle, she was getting more and more distracting thoughts.
In this world, no one could afford distracting while facing Jin and Dante and expect to achieve victory.
Sssk!
As soon as the openings increased, Bradamante severed Sakiel's right arm. Though her high-speed regeneration was beginning to overcome the eternal flame, until her arm fully regenerated, her control over mana flow was diminishing.
'This won't do. I need to regain my focus. I've never crumbled to this extent, not even when facing numerous demon gods and Demon Kings in the past.'
Sakiel froze in one place out of fear, the fear of the overwhelming enemy named Jin.
'Death is something I've already accepted. As the Chief Strategist of the Great Demon World, as the one guarding the entrance to the True Demon World, I cannot afford to show such pitiful weakness to my enemies!'
Sakiel opened her eyes and confronted the two approaching swords.
At first, her own reflection appeared in the swords. Her pupils were no longer trembling but filled with unwavering determination.
During that fleeting moment when Bradamante's blade reached her throat, Sakiel heard two voices.
'Yes, you have to rise again, even after treading through despair once.'
'Sakiel, you must live! You must survive, so we can meet again.'
The voices of Zito and Paellito.
Zito's voice was from the present, while Paellito's voice was from a long-forgotten past. Sakiel accepted Zito's voice.
Splosh...!
Bradamante grazed below Sakiel's eyes.
'Her demeanor has changed. Is she finally prepared to face death for real, or... has she been further consumed by Zito's energy?'
The demonic energy transmitted through the tip of the blade intensified.
It was still not Sakiel's power but Zito's. Jin pushed the sword deeper without retreating.
'Regardless of how powerful Sakiel becomes, she can never be a match for me and Dante. Unless she suddenly becomes the Genesis Knight.'
So, what Jin still needed to be concerned about wasn't Sakiel's demeanor or her battle prowess; it was the other plans she had prepared.
Kwaaaaah...!
The contracting wall of death caused vibrations throughout Grosch Castle. The wall of death had now reached near the castle.
Shouts of those escaping from within the narrowing wall, the deafening noise of the fleet's propulsion systems running at full power, and ultimately the screams of those who could not escape and were drawn into the wall at the last moment—Jin and Dante were feeling it all from within the castle.
Fortunately, none of the members of the alliance had fallen victim to the wall of death. The wall had started when the alliance was on the fifth defense line, and the remaining forces had begun evacuating from the third line onward.
"Jin, if this continues, all our forces will soon enter the castle."
Jin nodded.
"Sakiel is deliberately gathering all the forces that attacked the defense lines..."
Sakiel was firing magic spells, covered in blood. Her newly regenerated right arm continuously casted curse spells at Dante, while her left arm, holding the crystal ball, alternatively casted attack spells toward Jin and created protective shields. Dozens of dark magic circles unfolded behind her.
Furthermore, Sakiel exhibited signs as if she was wielding power far greater than her limit.
Her physical body couldn't withstand that power. Not only her freshly regenerated right arm but her whole body convulsed as she oozed purple fluid.
Jin soon understood her intent.
'I thought she was planning to lure us in the Grosch Castle and exterminate the human forces with magic spells, but she is planning to self-destruct.'
Unless it was self-destruction, there was no reason for her to willingly destroy her own body. She needed to display a desire to survive and escape, showing that she was thinking about what would come next.
As if Jin realized it only now, Sakiel smiled with a twisted face.
[Arrogance. You've been overly arrogant while facing me. We've been staking our lives since the defense lines started crumbling. And you? How about you, Jin Runcandel? Did you come here prepared to face me and die?]
The vibrations and noises from outside the castle were getting closer at a faster pace. Beyond the crumbling castle walls, the Zipfel fleet was rushing towards the castle while avoiding the wall. On the opposite side, the alliance forces, and from the left and right sides, the forces of Kinzelo, the alliance, and Zipfel, were all entering the castle.
[Maybe you thought there was no way you would lose your life dealing with someone like me, who is not even Lord Zito. And perhaps, that might be true. Jin Runcandel, Dante Hairan. Now that I've fought you, it's clear that you possess far greater power than I do.]
But what about your subordinates out there?
As Sakiel continued speaking, she locked eyes with Jin.
[No, they won't. Even if they avoid the wall of death, they'll be killed by the magic spell laid out here... and you will never be able to save them all.]
In the meantime, Jin unfolded the flame of hell and swept away Sakiel's magic circles. Whatever hidden magic spell that Sakiel had prepared, he needed to destroy before it could be completed.
However, Jin had a feeling that it might not have as significant an impact as he initially thought.
Sakiel was already in a state that was as good as dead. Her physical body couldn't withstand the power of Zito, so it would crumble even if left alone.
Therefore, Sakiel had already completed all her preparations, including the Field of Loss.
Jin didn't know about the Field of Loss yet, and even if he did, the magic circle for it had already been completed, so there was nothing he could do.
Sakiel thought so as she tightened her grip on the crystal ball.
"You've become quite chatty, it seems you're anxious."
Boom-!
All the remaining buildings around them collapsed completely, and the forces of the human world entered the castle.
It was only then that the wall of death ceased to close in.
[Commander-in-chief! Are you alright?]
"Jin! From now on, my knights and I will try to open a path. So, go ahead and finish off her without any worry!"
Jin heard the voices of Peitel and Luna. The Golden Ship aimed at the wall of death while loading its main cannon, and Luna fired her crimson sword aura.
Flagships of different factions and superhumans were also preparing to break through the wall and escape. Within the chaos, Sakiel raised her crystal ball with confidence, believing that her plan had succeeded.
[Either die from being swept away by the demonic energy, or become an empty shell, forgetting everything. You can't escape from the two possible outcomes!]
Waaaah...!
Suddenly, the inside of the castle lit up. Unbelievably, the dark magic of the demon world, almost like a light magic, began to emit a dazzling light like the sun.
The Field of Loss.
The ultimate taboo magic of the Demon World unfolded in Sakiel's hands.
'This is... unquestionably dangerous.'
'I can't identify it, but my body is on high alert. If we're exposed to this light for a few more seconds, something terrible will happen...!'
Jin and Dante, who were closest to it, immediately closed their eyes when they saw the light.
Sakiel felt a surge of excitement at the sight. The two of them, who didn't even bat an eye at Zito's demonic energy, were reacting for the first time.
In the midst of it all, Dante rushed towards Sakiel and stabbed Rashid into her chest. Due to the fact that her organs had already melted, she couldn't feel the impact.
Meanwhile, Jin raised his hand and began to cast a spell.
"Sakiel, I admit that it was my fault for not being able to kill you in time."
Reversed sky, the ultimate spell of backflow-based magic.
A massive mana sphere, which had suddenly formed above the castle, began to absorb the demonic energy that had encroached on the entire castle.
"However, there's another way to disrupt magic spells, and it doesn't necessarily involve killing the caster."
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