CHAPTER 462

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It happened in the blink of an eye and Jin did not have any chance to catch them.

"Murakan, let's chase them!"

Murakan rapidly descended once again. Murakan narrowed his wings and descended like a hawk.

[Damn, why is it so fast?]

He said while looking at the cradle of "muddy aura" that surrounded the Proch siblings.

The cradle was much faster than Murakan descending at maximum speed... and it was escaping in such a chaotic and bizarre trajectory that it could be described as "weird."

The cradle split into two, each holding one of the siblings, and then it merged back into one, repeating its spinning motion.

The view outside the "muddy aura" became hazy, and the cradle appeared even more intriguing.

[Oh, my babies. You missed me so much that you came to see me, huh?]

Furthermore, the voice of a woman could be heard. It wasn't coming from the giant Bubare's mouth formed outside but from inside the "muddy aura."

Now, Jin and Murakan were convinced that the owner of that voice was Amela.

Moreover, they thought that she wouldn't immediately kill Lata and Faye.

-If it's not 'favor'?

-It's difficult to express in words. It seemed like she considered us as toys or playmates. She said that talking is boring and swung a sword at us.

-It's an embarrassing story, but there was a time when I had a cut on my forehead during one of her surprise attacks.

Like the conversation the group had when they entered the islands, the part where Amela was calling them 'my babies' was similar.

To Amela, the Proch siblings were adorable toys. There is no way she would break them easily.

[Sleep well-, my babies-]

She was even singing a lullaby.

Amela's lullaby echoing and resonating with the tumultuous cradle and muddy aura, and it felt as though they had entered someone's whimsical dream.

Hoooo-!

Murakan slowed down. Now, the cradle was no longer visible to Jin and Murakan.

[That Amela seems to be quite a headache. I feel like everyone I need these days has a loose screw in their heads like that damn bitch Zephyrin.]

Instead of the cradle, they saw a much thicker and darker mass of muddy aura. The cradle had disappeared into it.

[What are you going to do, kid?]

Would they continue chasing beyond that darkness, or would they consider other options? There was no need to contemplate.

"The effect of a muddy aura is a curse. Regardless, we're immune, and considering that the giant Bubare is also exhaling, it seems to have some physical destructive power, but it doesn't seem to be at an unbearable level. We'll follow. But."

[But?]

"Let's focus on defense and evading until we can communicate directly with Amela. No counter attacks even if she attacks us."

[What nonsense is this?]

"Do you remember what Amela said as soon as we arrived on the central island?"

-[You guys are annoying me too much.]

She said it through the mouth of the giant Bubare, but it was clearly Amela's voice.

[Why is that?]

"I don't know what happened with Amela when the four major factions arrived here before us. But she expressed that she found them so annoying that she wouldn't mind killing them."

It wasn't just something she expressed in words.

Runcandel seemed to have no casualties yet, but Zipfel, Kinzelo, and Vermont's sides had already suffered irreparable damage.

The reason the four major factions gathered here in the first place was to recruit Amela. 

However, the four major factions that visited the archipelago found themselves in a situation where it would not be strange to have to make a life-or-death battle with her, let alone recruit her.

If the expression "annoying" came from an ordinary person, you would have thought that there would be other intentions behind it, but the other person is presumed to be tainted by 'chaos.'

Amela seemed perfectly capable of completely ignoring the four major factions for such a trivial reason, even if it meant breaking away from them. If you compare it to Yona.

"Everyone outside is already screwed, so there's no need for us to be a nuisance by provoking Amela, right?"

Jin explained this and Murakan let out a sigh when he finished speaking.

[Ha! Are you saying this Lord Murakn just takes a beating? How miserable and regrettable.]

"And I haven't heard anything like this from Sir Valkas or Sir Lata before."

By such stories, he meant Amela's combat style.

She is one of the top three mercenaries and the world's best mercenary, recognized by even Valkas for her pure solo abilities.

Valkas and Lata had encountered her several times on the battlefield, and Valkas in particular had said that she was better at war than the entire Black King mercenary corps.

However, in the descriptions they gave, there was no mention of Amela using curses or this unheard-of muddy aura.

"I only heard about her combat skills, the use of various war equipment that cannot be imitated by others, and her brilliant strategic and tactical ability. I also heard she also plants so many traps and equipment all over the battlefield that it was hard to understand she was moving alone."

[Hmm, I see. So, does that mean Amela was hiding her abilities?]

"If she concealed her abilities to that extent and could single-handedly dominate the Black King mercenary corps in a war, it would imply that Amela is close to the level of a Genesis Knight. It doesn't seem likely. I think there might be some reason for a change in Amela."

[A change?]

"Perhaps a change happened due to her chaos encountering Bubare Gaston's chaos, and it's amplifying in some way. And that is giving Amela an advantage over Bubare."

Jin made that judgment based on intuition, but it wasn't entirely baseless.

The giant Bubare formed outside was almost certain to be controlled by Amela. There didn't seem to be any reason for Amela to create Bubare with the muddy aura without any particular reason.

Or, more accurately, Bubare's muddy aura.

Since it's a means of controlling Bubare's chaos, she has no choice but to use his form.

Jin soon came to such a conclusion.

[Hmm, it seems quite a leap, but it also makes sense.]

"The reason Amela is particularly interested in the Proch siblings might be due to the chaos."

[Aren't those snake-eyed guys different from your sister or Amela?]

"They are different, but their father is Smarion Proch. He's a person who became a monster because of chaos. Perhaps his chaos has some influence on the Proch siblings, and Amela might feel favorably towards it."

[Then what about Bubare? Why does she show favoritism to the Proch siblings, and treat Bubare that way?]

"I don't know that either. After all, everything I've said so far is just speculation. Hmm, but... Bubare seems to be the kind of guy who gives everyone a sense of disgust. I don't think there needs to be any other reason for hating him."

[Argh, my head hurts. Whatever it is, we'll have to meet her in person to find out if your hypothesis is correct. Let's go. I will try not to counterattack.]

Kwaaa, kow! Kugugung...!

The distant explosion noises from outside were getting more and more intense. The intensity of the battle between the major factions and Amela was increasing.

Jin could hear the shouts of commander-level people when he concentrated for a moment.

"Spread the defense check around the enforcement knights...! I'll open the way!"

"The commander was hit, fell back! The muddy aura is converging!"

"Follow the best warrior and tiger king. I will kill all the red tigers who show their backs!"

"Do not miss the fire of the magic tower's vice-master! If you get out of the fire, you'll be corroded by the muddy aura...!"

Jin clearly heard their voices despite the considerable distance. It was as if Amela momentarily decided to listen to their reactions.

[Okay, should I just kill everyone except my cuties? That would be nice, right, cuties?]

Amela spoke with unwavering confidence.

Despite facing all four major forces, she wasn't just expecting to win; she believed she would definitely win.

'Just listening to the voices of the people outside, it seems like Amela is overwhelming them.'

With that in mind, Jin was even more certain. He believed that for some reason, Amela possessed a much greater power than usual.

While not all the top flagbearers of each faction were sent, there were very few individuals in the world who could single-handedly overpower people of this caliber.

It was an impossible feat even considering that Gaifa Archipelago was Amela's base and based on the descriptions by Valkas and Lata.

Murakan's black wings silently cut through the muddy aura.

As they entered the muddy aura where the cradle had disappeared, Jin's vision went from being hazy to complete darkness. The darkness didn't dissipate even when Jin formed a flame in his palm.

They kept moving forward with his Mind's eyes opened to full level.

They could hear distant singing and humming from the inside, as well as the sound of someone whispering in a strangely pleasing manner.

[Lu, lu, lu, you're the big brother, you're the little sister. I'm the Demon King!]

It was as if a child engrossed in playing with dolls was talking to themselves. It sent chills down Jin's spine, but at the same time, it reminded him of Yona in a slightly unsettling way.

Amela's humming gradually drew closer. And as it approached, the darkness of the muddy aura gradually dissipated.

There was a shining space in the distance, and Jin and Murakan naturally realized that it was the core of the muddy aura, which covered the entire island.

Amela was seated in the center of it all.

She was wearing a camouflage outfit commonly used by mercenaries, but this outfit, made from grass and twigs, was woven so large that it was hard to compare it to ordinary clothing.

As a result, Amela didn't appear to be wearing clothes; it was more like she was completely hidden inside a round bush.

Her two hands stuck out from her camouflage, and she was fiddling with small wooden dolls that looked like figures.

There were a total of three wooden dolls, and Jin immediately understood what each of them represented.

They were the Proch siblings and Bubare.

Each of the figures corresponded to the real people, standing in front of Amela and moving along with her touch.

'But... Bubare is transparent as if it's a soul.'

While the Proch siblings looked just like themselves, Bubare took on a luminous, ethereal shape.

Bubare's doll was positioned far away from the Proch siblings' dolls, and it seemed to be delivering punches (which appeared to be the actions of the giant Bubare outside). 

Meanwhile, the Proch siblings' dolls were seen drinking tea and engaging in conversation.

Murakan transformed back into his human form. Amela turned her head with surprise as Murakan and Jin stepped onto solid ground.

She had no idea that Murakan and Jin had made it this far.

[...Huh? What's going on? How did you guys survive to get here?]

Amela said with red-tinted eyes. She looked utterly puzzled and tilted her head as if she did not understand at all.

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