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Sizzle…!
Sarah's runes engraved on Jin's body glowed as red flames surged.
Though the authority of flame pressure couldn't increase further, the blazing fire swiftly burned the demonic energy pouring onto Jin.
Even if the authority was blocked, Jin remained Jin, and fire remained fire.
The fire of the Flame empress that Jin inherited was shining brighter than ever.
Jin charged toward Paellito with the flame of hell while concealing a flash cannon in his left hand.
He had to rush in first, even if it meant being pushed back. He needed to seize the initiative, create variables, and extend his survival time.
He had to resume the battle while relying on the memorized reactions of his body.
The blade wrapped in flames slashed through the curtain of purple demonic energy.
Paellito parried Bradamante down, and before the sword could touch the ground, Jin rotated his body and continued his attack.
Jin made a vertical upward slash and Paellito blocked with a horizontal slash. A thunderous sound erupted as two swords clashed.
In that instant, Jin didn't miss the scent of blood coming from Paellito.
'The scent of blood... he must have suffered injuries too when he used that enormous sword technique that shattered Lady Ayula's barrier. It was probably a minor backflow.'
It was not the scent of a human blood but the distinct heavy smell of demonic blood, and this blood was unmistakably spilled recently.
Paellito was the only one among the demons who was fighting on Belliam Grand Plain, so it was definitely his blood.
Although his injuries didn't significantly dull Paellito's sword, but Jin found hope in this fact.
'The could be several reasons for the backflow. It could be because of forcing immense power while brainwashed with reduced abilities, being filled with hatred due to Sakiel's death, and... demonization.'
Demonization.
The fate that those who ascend to Genesis Knights must face.
Currently, Paellito's backflow and injury strongly hinted at the possibility of demonization.
What accelerates demonization is "emotions."
Hatred, fear, attachment, obsession... all these emotions could turn anyone who ascended to the Genesis Knight realm into a monster at any moment.
'Paellito is falling into the inner demon...!'
[T/L: 심마" (心魔) - Inner Demon (Something that disturbs the body and mind and becomes an obstacle to achieving enlightenment.)]
As soon as Jin had this conviction, he thought.
The only way Paellito could die now was if he succumbed to inner demon and self-destructed.
He decided to hold out with his comrades until Paellito self-destructed.
"Jin!"
Finally, Dante and Hedo reached the center of the battlefield, piercing through Paellito's demonic energy once more.
The four swords continuously clashed and created flashes of light.
But all the blood droplets that splattered into the air were red.
While the three of them couldn't even graze Paellito, Vascala effortlessly swirled its way past them.
Those who had killed Sakiel were persistently swinging their swords.
This fact was disturbing Paellito's inside.
"How many times have people saved you from danger?"
"I can't count."
"I hope they'll do the same this time."
Boom!
Jin bursted the flash cannon and stabbed Paellito in the waist.
'Kuk!'
He was sure he had bursted the flash cannon, but the moment Jin stretched out his arm, Paellito was already clutching his left fist.
Crack!
His left hand holding the flash cannon was completely crushed.
In that moment, the arm would have been torn off if Jin had panicked even slightly and tried to pull back his arm.
Instead of retreating, Jin pressed closer to Paellito and thrusted Bradamante toward his neck.
Paellito gave up on Jin's left arm and stepped back. Bradamante grazed Paellito's cheek.
Simultaneously, Dante and Hedo left wounds on his thigh and side respectively, but those wounds were too light compared to Jin's left hand that had crushed in exchange.
The mana that had formed the flash cannon flowed out between his twisted fingers.
Without even bothering to visually confirm the damage, Jin conjured new magic in his left hand. He needed to hold the sword with both hands, so he forcibly fixed the hand on the hilt with the ice barrier magic. And if he used magic like this, he didn't have to worry about his grip strength.
Of course, there was still some pain, but it was fortunate that the best option for Paellito at that moment was to target his left hand.
If he were one inch closer, it would have been the heart.
"But not today. You will die at my hands. I will slowly destroy every part of your body just like now... and in the end I will crush your heart."
Sword Demon Style, Ultimate Technique
Heavenly Destruction Slash, 2nd Form
The eyes of Jin and his party widened.
Just like before, Paellito seemed to make a downward slash and appear defenseless for a moment. However, razor-sharp demonic energy extended in all directions like blades and forced them to retreat.
But this time, the direction in which Heavenly Destruction Slash was heading was not the sky.
Hedo and Dante had anticipated that Paellito would unleash the attack directly in the direction where Jin stood. Even his stance suggested that.
When the massive force of the Heavenly Destruction Slash was released at once, even a Genesis Knight cannot easily change its predetermined path.
It was even more so where Paellito's rate of demonization was increasing.
"Ji-i-in!"
Dante and Hedo urgently fired their sword energy.
They intended to somehow deviate the trajectory of Heavenly Destruction Slash, even if only slightly.
But the next moment, Jin realized.
"He's not targeting me... No!"
Paellito just used a little trick. Although his stance seemed to be directed at Jin, he had never intended to target him from the beginning.
Heavenly Destruction Slash was heading towards Hedo.
Sssaaaah! Bzzz...!
Paellito's energy exploded, and Jin and his party was lifted into the air as if floating in emptiness.
Head-splitting tinnitus assaulted their ears, and they instantly separated within layers of shockwaves.
Sir Hedo! Sir Hedo…..!
Jin couldn't hear anything at all even if he screamed.
His throat felt choked, and everything before his eyes turned pitch black.
It felt as if his body was flowing like a swamp.
And like that, Jin and his companions lost consciousness once again.
When they regained their senses, the first thing Jin and Dante saw was the endless trajectory of the Heavenly Destruction Slash that stretched out like the horizon.
If 1st Form of the Heavenly Destruction Slash had torn the sky apart with two strikes, 2nd Form had bisected the entire Belliam Great Plains with a single blow.
Not only the Great Plains but everything in a straight line behind it, all objects, terrain, and life forms, had been cleaved in half.
The once-beautiful plain could no longer be called a plain; it had turned into a valley that was split open endlessly.
In between, the demonic energy of the Heavenly Destruction Slash and lava were mixing and spewing out.
It soared up to the sky and was scattered in all directions. The weakened land could not withstand its weight and crumbled without resistance.
And in this horrifying scene, there was no sign of Hedo.
Not a trace of him could be found.
There was no sound, and his unique overwhelming energy was nowhere to be felt.
One could only think that the Heavenly Destruction Slash had swallowed him up.
"It seems like none of you paid proper attention to my words. I did say that I would crush your heart in the last. It is too easy for you to scatter like dust."
I need to regain my composure.
Both Jin and Dante pointed their swords at Paellito while erasing the anxiety welling up in their hearts.
"Oh, you think he's not dead because you didn't see his corpse directly? Then continue denying it. It's not a bad thing for me either."
Paellito spoke with a smile.
Unlike immediately after using the Heavenly Destruction Slash for the first time, he didn't exhibit any sign of backflow this time.
Jin and Dante couldn't tell whether he had hidden it forcibly or if he genuinely didn't have.
"Now that I've decided how to kill you, Jin Runcandel, I feel much better."
Jin was in the process of recasting the flame of hell.
He had judged that without enhancing his body with the flame of hell, he couldn't properly continue the battle.
However, the accumulated shocks were the problem.
Jin is not immortal.
He isn't invincible, nor is he stronger than Paellito. The gap between them was only widening further since his shadow force and lightning energy had been blocked.
It was clear that continuously exerting his strength to the limit against a stronger opponent would come with side effects. He also began to suffer mana backflow.
Blood was rising in his mouth and nose.
The flame of hell's power remained the same as before, but at this rate, it won't be surprising if a sudden mana release breaks out.
Dante stood by Jin's side. Now, disrupting Paellito's rear and side wouldn't make sense anymore.
They had to stay together and endure the battle by any means necessary.
"Jin, I can't tell you to leave by saying I will buy time somehow. As you can see it's impossible now. Both of us are quite injured already."
"I also didn't want that. If I am not prepared for death that much, I wouldn't have sent Murakan in the first place."
Fighting spirit and tenacity.
The only things in which Jin won't lose compared to Paellito were these qualities.
And Dante suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if some transcendent energy was pouring out from Jin's sweaty face.
Just like that day when his father had become the Genesis knight.
In reality, Jin didn't possess such energy at the moment.
But, in the past, giants of the era like the Chiron, Ron, Talaris, and Kelliark, had all recognized one common potential in Luna and Jin, who began to make a name for himself in earnest.
Luna Runcandel, Jin Runcandel—they were individuals with the potential to win against anyone in the world, no matter how strong the opponent.
Although Dante couldn't pinpoint it exactly like they did, he felt that now.
"Dante, Sir Hedo is on the left and he is not dead."
Jin thought that Dante had briefly lost focus due to Hedo's situation.
Dante nodded and intercepted Paellito's sword energy that was flying to the right.
"I believe that too. But he is on the right."
"I checked to see if you had regained your senses. You suddenly spaced out, which is unusual for you."
No matter where they looked, all they could see was demonic energy and lava. The two of them leaned against each other as they tried to gauge the direction in which Paellito would charge.
They couldn't push away all the demonic energy rushing in like a poison.
If they swung their swords to repel the demonic energy, Paellito would seize the opportunity to attack them directly. So, they had to block it with their shields.
'…The flow of demonic energy suddenly started changing, as if forming a magic circle.'
Jin quickly realized this fact.
"Get out of the shield, Dante!"
As soon as Jin shouted, a magic circle covered their shields in an instant.
Upon a closer look, the form of that magic circle appeared to be dark magic.
Among them, runes that meant 'curse' emitted a deep purple glow.
Both of them managed to escape their shields just before the curse spells were fully casted, but at the last moment, Jin's left shoulder and Dante's right ankle was caught by the curse wave.
The name of this curse was the 'Jeer of Bisaro.' Its effect was the forced aging of the target.
For the first time since his regression, Jin was feeling the sensation of the curse penetrating his body.
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