CHAPTER 212

Had he not gone to Samil City and Lafrarosa, Jin would've never been able to react to the attack in time.

"Looks like there's a detection barrier here. Damn it. If it weren't for the God's Grave, we would've been toast."

Murakan deflected the lightning strike. 

With the entire land being the grave of the ancient God of Lightning—Graham, who died at the hands of the Illustrious Legends—a barrier extended around the shores. Thanks to Sigmund weakening the lightning, Murakan could safely make contact with it.

Sigmund was originally created by sealing Graham's power. 

"You don't even know how much we wanted to see you…!"

Kuzan's eyes sparked with rage.

He and Beris hadn't seen him since the Delki Kingdom, but they knew that the intruder was Solderet's Contractor after they saw the spiritual energy. 

"You bitches!"

Beris couldn't contain her vengeful rage. 

'As expected, they're Joshua's dogs now.'

Taimyun Marius worked under Joshua, so Jin assumed that the two would transfer to his brother after their mother died.

But never did he and Murakan, nor Kuzan and Beris, expect to run into each other now. The same went with Joshua and Julien. 

Had Joshua known that Jin intercepted the Compass, he would've never sent his hunting dogs.

"I will rip you apart for Mother…"

CLANG!

Jin and Kuzan clashed swords, with their auras exploding from the collision point. Akin to the sound of a bomb going off, Jin immediately knew that Kuzan got stronger as well. 

Physical modifications.

Although he remained at 8-star, with Taimyun's physical modifications, he surpassed his physical limits.

Similarly with Beris, her mana felt a little strange. She was also an 8-star, but her lively yet aggressive mana usage made her seem like a 9-star.

"Julien! Go for the human, and then the guardian dragon after!"

A resounding roar rather than a shout. Beris barely kept her sanity in check.

"It seems like you were expecting me, so what is it? Why're you here?"

Jin glared at Kuzan.

"That's not important. You're dead. Here. Today. No matter what."

"Spitting your anger towards me as soon as we meet. Shouldn't I be angry at you instead? I almost died back at the Delki Kingdom, you know? And by 'Mother', do you mean Taimyun Marius?"

"Do not speak her name with that wretched mouth of yours."

With Kuzan's blade reeking of toxins and Beris continuing to supply long-ranged attacks, there was no chance to respond.

Both of them used physical modifications to get stronger, but not as much as Jin. Back then, Jin had to risk his life every single moment he moved. However, this time, he could continue the fight without invoking Sigmund's lightning.

In fact, with the Thousand-Poison Antidote, he didn't have to worry about Kuzan's concoctions. And with Murakan, Jin was unstoppable. 

'These two aren't a problem at all. As long as I play my cards well, their fate is in my hands.'

Beris and Kuzan didn't know at all what Jin had in his back pocket; Illustrious Bladeworks and Shadow Blade, Heavenly Defiance, and the all-powerful Antidote. He had obtained all of these after their last encounter.

In fact, it was too easy for him to take the advantageous position due to these variables. 

'So he's Julien. That guy's a little annoying. Peitel's Contractor, and a bow user…'

Peitel was known for lending weapons to their Contractors; a sword, bow, and spear blessed with the power of storms.

Among them, the bow known as Halmilla was only given to the Contractor that satisfied Peitel the most, and its current owner was Julien.

Pzzt, pzzzzt!

Electricity filled the air. Halmilla's lightning gathered and scattered at Julien's will.

He decided to disobey Beris's command, choosing to fight Murakan instead.

Murakan knew that he was a bigger deal than Kuzan.

"Hah. Just because I'm not in my prime, these little runts think they can just walk up to me like this. Kid! Deal with them quickly. I'll keep this one entertained."

Jin faced Beris and Kuzan, while Murakan faced Julien.

The battle already split into two. From Jin's side, aura and mana flew everywhere. On Murakan's side, spiritual energy and lightning mixed together. 

With a rainstorm and strong winds, the entire island turned into a war zone. 

"I don't get why you're so angry anyway. You make it sound as if I killed Taimyun Marius."

"Shut up!"

"Kuzan, I genuinely don't understand you either. You were very calm and composed back then."

Which was an understatement.

At the Delki Kingdom, Kuzan was the coldest and most stable opponent that Jin had ever faced. He didn't even flinch from the Photon Cannon and immediately changed his fighting style to adapt to his opponent who was a magic swordsman. When Tess overpowered Beris, and when Jin blocked an attack with Myulta's Rune, there was not a single hint of hesitation on his face. Even as he approached death's doorstep, he continued to fight Jin.

The only moment of surprise occurred when Jin used his spiritual energy.

Yet even then, he managed to push Jin to near-death. If it weren't for the third prince of Delki, Jin would've been done for.

On the other hand, Beris lost herself to anger. Her wild mana usage made her 8-star mana look pitiful.

And now, Kuzan was no different from the Beris of that time. Although he had grown stronger physically, he was now only a weak human overtaken by anger.

"Ah, are you acting, by chance? Did you want to make it look like I killed her?"

"What kind of bullshit…!"

"The one who killed Taimyun was an assassin dressed as a Runcandel Knight. And on their dagger was your poison."

Kuzan's eyes shook.

'As soon as I speak of her death, a guy that cold becomes this easy to manipulate?'

Jin suddenly became a bit curious.

"I thought Joshua used your tools to kill her, but if you're giving me this kind of reaction, then I don't know what to say."

"Sh-Shut up!"

"Don't listen to that bastard, Kuzan! He's probably lying because he doesn't wanna die!"

PZZZT!

Blue lightning spewed out of Sigmund.

Illustrious Bladeworks, Standard Bolt.

Jin tried to look for an opportunity to use his lighting as soon as the battle began, aiming to immediately take Beris down.

Due to Julien, lightning had spread throughout the battlefield as they fought, making it difficult for Kuzan and Beris to recognize whether Jin was attacking despite his sword flickering with blue lightning.

"Kyaaaaa!"

His lightning bolts thundered upon Beris. 

The first cracked her barrier, and the second ripped it apart. As the third fell, her body burned.

Jin didn't even give her a second to cast another barrier; the three lightning bolts struck almost simultaneously.

She had only prepared a barrier to protect her from the blade so that the rest of her magic could be channeled into the attack, ultimately making her vulnerable to lightning.

An inevitable mistake.

"Beris!"

"She's not dead. I just put her to sleep for a bit. I could've killed her if I wanted to, but I held back. I have some debts to collect too, you know? I let her live because we have some talking to do."

Kuzan didn't answer, yet his eyes met Jin's.

"Kuzan. Do you really think I killed Taimyun?"

"Who else if not you?"

"Joshua Runcandel, her boss. He has more reason to kill her than I do."

"What kind of…?"

"Unfortunately, Joshua is my eldest brother. He ordered Taimyun to get Kidard Hall to curse me, which failed. While I retraced those steps, I met you guys."

Kuzan's eyes widened.

"Wait, you're saying that you're… Jin Runcandel…?"

"As soon as I confirmed Taimyun's ties to my curse, I sought her out with my eldest sister. I saw her final moments with my own two eyes. A hunting dog left to rot by her owner."

A moment of silence passed.

"If you really think I'm her murderer, then that's because you fell for Joshua's lies. Am I wrong?"

"…Do you have evidence?"

He sounded calm and collected, but Jin could feel the indescribable anger within him. That tone gave Jin goosebumps.

"The fact that you didn't know my name, in itself, is evidence enough. Joshua knows that I'm a magic swordsman and that I'm Solderet's Contractor. He would've already told you if he wanted you to know."

"Not enough."

"You don't trust me? Then I've had enough. It seems you want to blame me no matter what. All because you failed to protect her."

Kuzan's sword shook.

"Or… is it that you can't fight Taimyun's true killer, Joshua? Did you think that you would have served her well if you died fighting me? Is this your twisted way of making peace with her death?"

Krrrr…

Lighting fell from the sky.

An attack comparable to Divine Onslaught came from Murakan's side of the battle.

Jin glanced across.

Julien had bolts of lighting whirling around him as he slowly ascended into the air.

"…Kid, we've got a problem here."

"What?"

"I think we kind of provoked Graham."

"What do you mean?"

"Peitel descended into his body."

Krrrr! Pzzzt!

As Julien opened his eyes, an 'eye' opened from the dark clouds above. 

Lightning filled the night sky.