Chapter 693
The group continued advancing, following the traces of chaos.
"If it weren’t for you… we would have been deceived, unable to distinguish the real Yona from the fake. Ah, now I’m not sure if what we first encountered in this forest was the real Yona."
The two types of chaotic energy.
Jin couldn’t be sure which one belonged to the real Yona.
No matter how many people he encountered, as long as it wasn’t a joint attack, Jin was confident he could subdue them all.
Even if it were a joint attack, from the moment he could perfectly distinguish between the real and the fake, it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
‘If there are numerous fakes in the forest, it's likely intended to capture or eliminate Elder Sister Yona.’
In that case, Jin’s task was not just to secure Yona but also to protect her.
Owal blamed himself for that same reason.
Throughout his mission, Nameless (No Name) had never considered the existence of a fake Yona.
"It’s natural that it would be difficult to foresee the presence of fakes in the forest. Elder Sister Yona’s location in Akin was unique, which makes it even more so."
Jin acknowledged his thoughts and said.
"I made this mistake even after clearly hearing that fakes were being made using the chaotic traces Yona left behind after meeting you in the second castle of Hairan. I have no right to face that girl."
"Owal-nim, don’t overcomplicate things. In any case, there are two types of chaos, and their owners have yet to leave the forest. We can resolve it from now."
At least three, possibly five or more.
That’s approximately the number of Yona’s chaotic traces that Nameless had overlooked so far.
Jin assumed the worst-case scenario of there being more than ten fakes in the forest.
Even so, with their current power, it seemed they could handle it adequately.
"We need to pick up the pace. I have a feeling the fakes are targeting Elder Sister Yona. Let’s start with a simple approach. It’d be better if you both cover your ears."
Jin took a deep breath.
Elder Sister Yona!
As soon as Jin let out a powerful shout, the trees in front of them snapped and were uprooted by the force of the sound.
The echoes resonated throughout the forest as if an earthquake had struck.
If instead of Hedo and Owal, it had been ordinary civilians, their eardrums would have burst, and they would have fainted.
"Your voice is extraordinary. If your sister is in the forest, she must have heard it."
"Thank you, Hedo-nim. Lord Owal, if she’s currently somewhere in the forest ahead and hears my voice, how would she come? If she needs to confirm my location, either to attempt an assassination or monitor my movements."
Owal understood immediately.
"You want to see Yona’s movement route. Follow me."
The group, instead of cautiously and slowly tracking the chaotic traces, sprinted at full speed behind Owal.
Owal truly lived up to his title of Nameless King, moving between the trees at a speed comparable to Jin and Hedo running in a straight line.
Above all, Owal made almost no sound as he moved. It was as if a breeze, not a person, was passing through.
"He truly is the Nameless King. Is your sister, the death god, more exceptional than him?"
"Perhaps. I’ve heard that Elder Sister Yona surpassed Lord Owal in assassination abilities a long time ago. I’ve never heard the sound of her footsteps."
While they were running energetically, Owal suddenly stopped.
This time, he was the first to sense a certain energy that others couldn’t perceive.
"Bloodlust."
At his words, Jin and Hedo also faintly felt the presence of bloodlust.
Whether real or fake, one of them had approached significantly through recent movements.
Jin reread the chaotic traces left nearby.
"The level of chaos is much stronger than before. There are still two types, meaning both the real Elder Sister Yona and the fakes reacted to my voice."
Boom!
As if to conclude his words, a red flare shot up from the other side of the forest. Yona had appeared on one side of the perimeter.
Jin also fired a flare. It was yellow, indicating a special circumstance.
At the same time, a golden aura burst into the sky.
It was Bale’s flight.
In an instant, he flew to the spot where the red flare had erupted and returned shortly after, his face full of frustration.
"Bale, did you see Elder Sister Yona where the red flare was fired?"
[No, I didn’t see her. She only launched a surprise attack and then disappeared. I was about to search the area, why did you call?]
"A surprise attack? Were there any injuries?"
[A guy named Kell was injured, but not seriously, just a small cut.]
"That’s a relief. There are fake Yonas mixed in the forest."
[What? Not just one?]
"Inform the rest of the team about this, and if you encounter either the real or fake Yona, subdue them and bring them to me. Remember, under no circumstances should you kill or severely injure them. Capture them in good condition. If you determine you can’t handle it alone, track them while firing flares to ensure the surrounding team remains unscathed."
[Then I’ll start pursuing the one who attacked Kell… Ah, what is that!]
Boom, Boom!
Unfortunately, Bale didn’t have time for that.
From that moment, flares began firing in all directions.
"Go and investigate everything, then report the situation to Jin, Bale."
[Uh… Understood!]
He expertly maintained the real-time communication network using his transcendent flying abilities.
[Your sister was spotted over there. Ranke chased her off.]
[Two people emerged from there at the same time. Bianca engaged them, but they immediately fled...]
[Just now, I encountered one of them and injured them during the chase. Ah, it wasn’t a fatal injury! Just a slight twist in the arm, enough to distinguish them from the other Yonas.]
In this way, Bale played the role of a real-time communicator across the entire area.
Without him, the entire search team would have been plunged into great confusion.
Ranke and Bianca also played significant roles, as expected.
If Jin hadn’t gathered them all, there would have been casualties, possibly even deaths, by now.
Owal marked the locations of all the Yonas on the map and pondered their predicted movements with the help of Bale’s exceptional flying abilities.
Meanwhile, Jin remained focused on distinguishing between the two types of chaos.
With Hedo’s presence, at times they could both fully immerse themselves in their tasks.
Before long, Owal deduced the most likely routes of the Yonas, while Jin successfully distinguished the chaos patterns.
"I’m sure, Lord Owal. The real Elder Sister Yona has a distinct single energy, while the energies of the fakes overlap with identical patterns. There are three overlapping patterns among the fakes in this vicinity."
The reason Jin had focused on differentiating the chaos was to determine which of the two types of energies was unique and infer the number of fake Yonas based on the overlapping patterns.
"Moreover, Elder Sister Yona’s energy is growing stronger, indicating that all the Yonas discovered by other perimeter teams are likely fake."
In other words, the real Yona was currently in the closest proximity to their group, along with three fake Yonas.
"That means the possible routes are narrowing down to one or two, 12th Flagbearer."
The routes speculated by Owal for the Yonas were nothing more than that.
Whether the fakes were closing in on the real Yona to kill her or vice versa, Owal now trusted that the Yonas would soon cross paths.
This was because, each time Bale reported, the Yonas on the perimeter side gradually moved deeper into the forest.
It was as if they were tightening their ambush net around their prey.
"The fakes must be trying to gather in the center of the forest after harassing us. However, there’s something odd."
"What is it?"
"The real Yona undoubtedly possesses superior abilities compared to the fakes. She alone could have already taken down at least one, but there’s no trace of such a struggle."
"You mean Elder Sister Yona is only evading."
"Or Yona is unable to display her usual abilities in this situation, or there are other interfering factors."
"For now, it’s better to head towards the center of the forest, Nameless King."
Even when they reached the center of the forest, there were no signs of battle.
Instead, the group began to be ambushed.
Suddenly, a chilling sensation approached from behind, and when they turned around, a sword came flying towards them, disappearing before their eyes as they tried to block it.
After defending against the first, second, and third ambushes, Jin reached a conclusion.
"...The real Elder Sister Yona is the one ambushing us. Her energy doesn’t overlap with the other chaos."
It took three attempts to evade the ambush to confirm it.
"Moreover, the other fakes are nearby. Their chaos continues to intertwine as they move… It’s one of the differences between them and the real Elder Sister Yona."
"They’re nearby?"
"Yes, and those who showed us their killing intent earlier were also the fakes. Judging by the attacks we’ve experienced, the real Elder Sister Yona… doesn’t even leave such weak traces of bloodlust. Even the remaining chaos, which is unavoidable, is something that no one but me can recognize."
Jin looked around with a perplexed expression.
In other words, Jin and Owal’s expectations were wrong.
The fakes weren’t moving to eliminate Yona, and the real Yona wasn’t fleeing from them.
What they had in their sights, both the real and fake Yona, from the beginning, was Jin’s group.
Moreover, they had been moving together ever since Nameless confirmed Yona’s whereabouts in Akin.
Since then, the real and fake Yonas deliberately alternated their movements so that Nameless would perceive them as "one person."
It was natural that Owal couldn’t anticipate the fakes.
"It’s not that Yona couldn’t defeat the fakes; they were cooperating from the start..."
As soon as Owal said that, the forest scenery the group was observing rapidly distorted.
The traps set by the Yonas had been triggered.
Thick curtains shot out from all directions, and Jin immediately recognized them as a subspace of chaos.
The three drew their swords back-to-back.
Then, from within the darkness, a completely unexpected voice resonated.
[Jin… it’s been a while.]
Joshua Runcandel.
It was his voice.
Tags:
SYS (Novel)