CHAPTER 278

"Wow!" Fin startled. He looked around.

But no matter how hard he looked, the origin of the mysteriously booming voice had to be inside his head.

"What are you doing, Fin Blanche? Take it off immediately!"

The demanding voice came from the god of blacksmiths.

In Jin's previous life, Fin communicated with the god of blacksmiths for the first time after about five years. Jin's visit was changing the history around him.

Indeed, Fin Blanche was not the only one who could hear his voice.

"Grab the Bradamante? Wait a moment. Why am I also hearing the voice of the god of blacksmiths?"

In most cases, it was extremely rare to hear a god's voice unless one was their contractor. The exceptions involved prayers powerful enough to move the gods or the incarnation of a god through mediums.

Jin had already experienced a similar anomaly on the thirty-second island of Bluebird.

Perhaps it was because Bradamante was related to the god of blacksmiths, just as Sigmund was to Gramm.

Jin pondered. Meanwhile, Fin had no idea what was happening.

He looked around several times to check the origin of the voice. He concluded that it was just a hallucination and decided to ignore the voice and thank Jin.

"So... thank you! Sir, I have been saved thanks to you. It seems you came here only to save me. If you could tell me your name. What?"

Fin was about to bow his head when he suddenly made a strange sound and took a step back.

"W-What's happening?"

"Strike him down! Fin Blanche! Use this sword! The energy it emits is extremely unsettling."

Fin's shock was caused by a sword forming in his hand.

Black pieces of metal appeared out of nowhere and swirled around Fin. Jin's eyes also gleamed with intrigue.

Is the metal turning into a sword?

Jin had already experienced something similar with the leader of the Kinzelo.

He had also shown the ability to control metals to create a sword and a gate in the ancient Oterium, just like Fin was doing now.

"I will lend you my divine powers. Subdue that man and claim the Bradamante. Fin Blanche, I know you are surprised, but you are actually my contractor. You always have been, since your birth. I am the god of blacksmiths and your ancestor. If you listen to what I tell you now, I promise to train you from now on."

The god of blacksmiths was completely unaware that Jin could hear his voice.

Meanwhile, Fin was greatly concerned that Jin could also hear that voice, and it was driving him crazy. Jin didn't visibly react, so he couldn't tell what he understood, if anything.

"My Sir! Please allow me to explain before you misunderstand anything. I have no idea what this voice is, and I am only grateful that you saved me. But why is a sword suddenly forming in my hand, and...? Aargh!"

Shik!

Fin brandished the sword.

It wasn't just a threat. It carried the clear intention of cutting Jin's body in half, starting from the top of his head. In fact, the blade even had an aura around it.

Jin slightly moved aside to dodge the attack.

"Fin, what are you doing? I am giving you powers, and I even demonstrated it. Go and attack him. I will continue to assist you. Judging by his movements, he is probably quite a swordsman."

Obviously, the attack didn't stem from Fin's will. The god of blacksmiths was forcibly moving his body.

"My Sir! Do you also hear this voice? This is not my doing! Something is controlling my body against my will." Fin shouted, his face completely pale with fright.

"That man cannot hear my voice. Listen to me, will you? Fin, I must reclaim my masterpiece."

"Get out of my body, evil spirit!"

Jin felt as if he were watching a little absurd monologue. CH𝒆Ck for 𝒏ew st𝒐ries on no/v/el/bin(.)c0m

Ridiculousness aside, there were many intriguing details in what the god of blacksmiths had just said.

The god of blacksmiths said that Bradamante was his masterpiece and claimed to be Fin's ancestor, as if he were none other than Picon Minche.

Furthermore, he could also conjure metals like the leader of Kinzelo.

Jin felt the need to have a conversation with the actual god of blacksmiths.

"Fin Blanche."

"My Sir! I apologize, Sir. I don't know why a crazy spirit has entered me at this moment."

"I understand that you haven't attacked me of your own will. It must be the work of the evil spirit claiming to be the god of blacksmiths. It seems desperate to take hold of Bradamante."

Tears welled up in Fin's eyes as he eagerly nodded at Jin's words. "You're right, Sir!"

Meanwhile, the god of blacksmiths was taken aback. He spoke in response.

"What did you say, brat? Do you mean to say you can hear me?"

This god insulted people and even wielded swords against a stranger who had just saved his own contractor.

At this point, Jin didn't really feel the need to show him respect, whether he was a god or not.

"I can hear you loud and clear, evil spirit."

"Oh, how interesting. So, you can hear me. But despicable human, how dare you call me an evil spirit? I am the great god of blacksmiths, Picon Minche!"

But it was known that the god of blacksmiths was Growler, not Picon Minche.

"The god of blacksmiths is not Picon Minche. It is Growler."

"Ha! Growler, of course. There was a time when someone like that used to be the god of blacksmiths. But I, Picon Minche, was a superior blacksmith, not to mention that Growler is dead. Of course, mere wretches like you would be ignorant of the grand stories of the gods."

"What nonsense."

"Where did you get Bradamante from? First, give it to me. If you do, I will overlook your rudeness and kill you without suffering."

At this point, Fin's body was completely under Picon's control, and Fin's consciousness was pushed aside. There was a faint light emitting from the whites of his blank eyes, and there was a murderous intent in the hand wielding the sword.

But it wasn't a complete personification like the one Peitel used in Yulian's body on the Bluebird Islands.

Picon hadn't accumulated enough divine energy to fully reveal himself. All he could do for now was forcefully possess his contractor's body.

But neither Jin nor the rookie god Picon knew this fact.

"Hey, Picon Minche. You keep saying something about killing me and such. Are you sure you can live up to those words?"

"Hmph! Did you think I was complimenting you when I said you were quite the swordsman?"

Jin chuckled.

'And to think I've already gotten into two fights over Bradamante as soon as I returned to the clan.'

Instead of revealing the fact that he was a Runcandel, Jin let Bradamante fall to the ground.

"Take it. If you can."

"You insolent brat!"

Steel gathered around Picon, who immediately stood up in one leap.

First the sword, then armor, and even a shield. Steel instantly formed into battle gear, and Jin observed the skill with intense concentration.

He hadn't heard anything about the god of blacksmiths having such powers. This was too similar to the ability of the leader of Kinzelo.

But he realized that there was a clear distinction between the two.

The leader of Kinzelo was clearly more skilled. The weapons formed by Picon's steel were rather crude, but the sword and gate formed by the leader of Kinzelo had a mysterious perfection.

Did the leader of Kinzelo absorb the powers of Growler, who used to be the god of blacksmiths? Or perhaps he absorbed Growler himself, as the Demon God Stone could do.

By doing so, he left a vacancy for the god of blacksmiths, which was filled by Picon Minche, who became a god.

The idea suddenly occurred to him.

In any case, Picon Minche is definitely not a threat in combat.

Picon's battle skills were quite mediocre, and it was a mystery what made him so bold and courageous.

Bam!

Jin dodged the sword and struck Picon. Plak! The shield shattered with a single blow. Picon finally realized that he had made a terrible mistake.

It wasn't because Jin's light punch broke his shield. Nor was it because Jin's fist penetrated the armor and still seemed like it would go in again.

Was it the Shadow Energy?

It was the dark energy surrounding Jin's fist.

In Picon's mind, possessing Shadow Energy meant that whoever wielded it had the right to possess Bradamante.

"Wait! There has been a mistake! You are Solderet's contractor..."

Jin briefly paused upon hearing the name Solderet, but he decided to pretend he hadn't heard it for now. He knew he wouldn't be satisfied until he landed another punch.

Picon took a direct hit to the jaw and rolled four times on the ground.

"What did you say?" Picon immediately got up and yelled at Jin's question.

"Damn it! Why didn't you tell me from the beginning that you were Solderet's contractor?"

"Did you give me a chance to speak? And what does that even matter?"

"If I didn't give you a chance to speak, you should have declared it yourself!"

Despite how loudly Picon shouted, there was a tone of welcome in his voice.

Jin sensed that the tables had completely turned in his favor after his little show of strength in the shadow.

"Stop talking nonsense and apologize. If you do, I'll forget your rudeness."

Picon frowned. But he had nothing to say.

"I'm sorry. At first, I only sensed a strange energy in you, so it didn't cross my mind that you could be Solderet's contractor."

"What a surprise. I thought you'd foam at the mouth and curse me again. By the way, what kind of strange energy are you talking about?"

Picon pointed to Sigmund, hanging from Jin's waist.

It seems he was confused by that little toxic sword there. I don't know much about it, but it seems to have stabbed numerous gods and even sealed divine energy within it. Maybe that's why I felt extremely unsettled as soon as I saw it.

What Picon felt when he saw Jin were his instincts as a god.

Since Picon had become a god relatively few years ago, he was unaware of the Legends' Battle against the gods that took place five thousand years ago.

He was incredibly disturbed by the energy of Sigmund, which was both a god killer and the sealed strength of a god. And since Jin had Bradamante along with Sigmund, Picon desperately desired to reclaim the former, no matter what.

A brief silence followed.

"What's your name? I'm sure you must be a Runcandel and a descendant of Temar."

"I'm Jin Runcandel."

"Alright, Jin Runcandel. A thousand years ago, Solderet sealed me to become a god and told me..."

Whether the position of the god of blacksmiths was a vacant one as Jin assumed or not, and Picon Minche's skills as a blacksmith god aside...

It was impossible for a mere human like Picon to be granted god status. Therefore, Solderet used his power and position to make him a god.

"...that I must inform the Shadow Contractors to come to me with Bradamante or the Balisade from the place where Temar was buried. And he added that I must reinforce the blades of their swords."