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Bascala blocked even the curse immunity granted by Solderet's authority. Jin shivered as he felt a sudden loss of strength in his left arm.
It was already weakened because his fist crushed. With aging added to the equation, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to use his left arm at all.
Forced aging was a curse that could only be canceled when the God of Time, Olta, directly intervened.
This meant that Paellito had at least an authority on par with Olta's, and that too related to time.
'Even if Paellito is a Genesis Knight, he can't be on par with Olta in terms of authority of time. Perhaps this curse is related to the abilities of the sword he wields..."
-[...The sword he uses, Bascala, has the ability to block authorities.]
Orgal explained this to Jin right after he was defeated by Paellito, but in fact, Bascala wasn't just a sword with the ability to block authorities.
It also possessed the ability to use any authority that had been completely blocked with Bascala even once.
"There was a demon god named Bisaro. He helped the demons who wanted to die by growing old, and he too dared to defy Lord Zito and was sealed in this sword."
Paellito made eye contact with Jin.
"Today, you and your God's power will also be sealed in Bascala, so it would be wise for you to get used to the sensation of aging. The grudge of Bisaro sealed within the sword might not be kind to you."
In other words, Paellito, who had reached the level of a Genesis Knight, had the ability to freely use the authorities of many gods and transcendent beings sealed within Bascala during his journey.
The first sword of True Demon Word.
That was why no one questioned his majesty.
"Kahak!"
Dante blocked Paellito's attack and staggered backward.
Originally, he could have narrowly avoided the attack that came at a speed, but due to his aging right leg, he had no choice but to block it.
His reactions had noticeably slowed down. Thanks to the true energy he had received from Ron, Dante had a strong body, but aging was inevitable.
It was difficult to move as if he was shackled, and his ankle bones rattled with each step.
'If it were an ordinary curse, it could be reversed…'
Typically, curses could be undone by killing the caster or canceling the casting. There was also a method to dispel a curse by striking the object that had manifested it.
'But since it has progressed this far, I might have to give up my arm…'
Jin and Dante were determined to fight even if they lost an arm or a leg. It doesn't matter as long as they can fight without falling until their entire body is shattered and disappears.
Paellito deliberately continued his assault at a speed where Dante could not dodge but only block. Jin felt the helplessness of not being able to protect his friend who was dying next to him, and was drowning in self-loathing as his outstretched sword struck empty air.
But Dante didn't hope for Jin to save him. He had never thought that way throughout today's battle, not even for a moment.
It had always been like that, since the day Jin had saved him in the Sword Emperor Castle. No, since the day they first met and became friends in the Cosmos arena.
Dante always determined that one day he might fight and die alongside Jin. That was because Jin was also walking a path where he had to overcome dangerous battles.
"What a pathetic spectacle, Paellito! Did you think Jin would go crazy trying to save me? Did you expect him to charge forward, shouting my name? Never! We've both made our peace with death. Either we both die here today, or we both survive."
Tsuah!
Dante's Dragon Sword Armor emitted an even stronger light. Paellito widened the distance while firing sword energy.
"I'm not afraid to die together. So, if you really want to see Jin suffer, you should kill me, the Sword Emperor of the Empire, first. No matter how strong you are, if you keep mocking us like this, you won't escape our wrath. You know that better than anyone."
Dante didn't shout just to raise his fighting spirit and courage.
Jin was calmly aiming for Paellito's blind spots while Dante was being pressured. Paellito was preoccupied with "power control" and couldn't perfectly deflect Jin's counterattacks, and occasionally, Bradamante dug into his body somewhere.
Of course, this level of damage couldn't affect the overall situation.
However, in battles between individuals who had reached this level, each and every injury of the size of a fingernail could become a fatal wound.
No martial artist in the world could fight two of them like a comfortable sparring match.
Even the swords of those who had reached the extreme had become sharper, which meant that Paellito also could lose his life.
Even if Jin and Dante hadn't reached the realm of Genesis knight, they still possessed undeniable power.
"Or is it because your mind has become so clouded with anger that you can't even think straight? Is it due to brainwashing? You're certainly different from the Genesis I have encountered so far. If it were them, they would never show a moment of carelessness or wavering against us!"
Tsu, tsu, tsu!
Once again, demonic energy was gathered to cast a curse spell. Along with the Jeer of Bisaro that aged both of them, it was another curse from a demon god named Tsuzak.
Jin and Dante had successfully avoided Jeer of Bisaro, but the same body parts were exposed to Tsuzak's curse.
Tsuzak was known as the most powerful demon god before Zito, and the demons of the True Demon World called him a plague god.
Bubbling...!
In an instant, both Jin and Dante's bodies began to boil as if their flesh were melting in lava. Fist-sized blisters swelled up and burst, and every time that happened, they had to grit their teeth in pain.
Unlike aging, the plague didn't just affect the areas it touched directly; it seemed to want to engulf their entire bodies like water seeping in.
Of course, their strong bodies didn't easily permit the plague's progression. The aura ran rampant inside their bodies and blocked the plague's invasion.
However, that meant their stamina would deplete even faster, and their entire body was on the verge of being engulfed by the plague.
"Save those words for after you've threatened me at least once, human sword emperor. Yes, I admit that you two are strong enough. But that's it. Do you know how many times I've defeated beings stronger than you during my long years? Even they feared me and didn't dare to touch Sakiel."
The malice contained in Paellito's two eyes seemed like it would materialize and engulf both of them at any moment.
In fact, Jin and Dante were seeing the illusion—the giant and dark shadow of malice looking down on them.
"You took so much from me..."
Paellito spoke and closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Jin took a moment to assess what he could do right away.
First, he reduced the mana consumed by the fire. He didn't completely release the flame of hell but left just the minimum necessary to sustain it.
Then, he placed the ice barrier seal he had learned from Valeria to Dante's aging right ankle.
When the transparent cold energy enveloped Dante's ankle, the progress of the plague became noticeably slower. It almost seemed to have stopped completely.
"This should allow you to move somewhat naturally again. If luck is on our side, maybe you can get treatment after we kill him."
Swish!
Shortly after, Jin used Bradamante to sever his own left arm. His left arm, which had turned black as charcoal, fell to the ground and crumbled.
"Jin!?"
"I can't maintain two seals at once. And it's better for me to lose an arm than for you to lose a leg. If you are unable to move, it's really game over."
The plague that had clung to Jin's severed left arm could no longer penetrate his body. After freezing the severed limb, Jin gripped his sword with one hand.
His resolute pupils shone brightly. Dante swallowed the words rising in his throat and raised his energy, as he couldn't afford to fight while being swayed by his emotions.
"You look better than before, Jin Runcandel."
"Is that so?"
"Well, in a way, I suppose you could call it the best solution. Eventually, you'll lose all your limbs that way."
"If losing an arm weakens me, then I'm not worthy of being called the Battle King. And if I can't overcome a life-threatening situation, I'm not qualified to become the patriarch of Runcandel. Also, if you're afraid of losing a leg in a fight, that means you are not worthy of being called the Sword Emperor."
Jin smiled at Paellito.
"So, this is indeed a better solution, Paellito Belgasyum. You saw it accurately."
The reduced flame of hell flared up a bit.
Paellito felt that Jin and Dante had become even more stronger.
'...It seems that this crisis is bringing out something buried deep within them.'
That wasn't surprising. Monsters cornered in a crisis often shed their shells once more. It was something Paellito had frequently encountered when facing strong opponents in the past.
And Paellito had never once lost a battle in such circumstances. He has never let go of an advantage he has gained, nor has he ever let his guard down.
'I will do the same this time, Sakiel.'
Paellito pushe Bascala forward. At the same time he used the Netherworld sword and the senses of two, who rushed toward him, got blurred.
Bradamante and Rashid's sword energies spread diagonally. Both the swords targeted Paellito's heart, but Paellito screamed and grabbed the sword enemies with his bare hand.
Then, he scattered the sword energies in his grasp in all directions and distorted the movement of both Dante and Jin. Then he thrust his sword toward Dante's throat.
Dante would surely die.
That's what Paellito anticipated. He had aimed precisely at Dante, and he couldn't possibly avoid it. Indeed, Dante couldn't evade Paellito's thrust.
However, Dante not only struck down Bascala, the moment Rashid and Bascala collided, he dropped his sword and grabbed Bascala with his palms as if clapping his hands.
Paellito was not panicked and tried to split Dante in half, but Jin's sword was too close.
In the end, Paellito failed to cut Dante down. Dante released Bascala when Paellito gave up on him and used his dragon sword armor.
A sharp shard of aura fragmenting from the dragon sword armor grazed Paellito's face. He quickly turned around and made a downward slash to block Jin's horizontal upward slash.
Jin, crouching so low that it seemed like his face would hit the ground, smiled wickedly.
"I'm grateful for one thing, Paellito. Thanks to you, I'm feeling what it's like to get stronger after a long time..."
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