C695
When the curtain of chaos closed again, the summoned monsters let out a roar.
The curtain distorted from their energy, obstructing visibility, and the Yonas began to move again.
‘So, Joshua, you thought of maximizing the powers of the impostors by using the monsters… There’s not a single corner of your plan, from one to ten, without deceit.’
Joshua underestimated the three individuals, believing that such a shallow scheme would work against them.
These kinds of tricks can’t disrupt the senses of superhumans.
Of course, considering the nature of Yona and the impostors, even the smallest variable could pose a threat. However, it was out of the question when facing this group.
"Well, you must have had a lot of trouble dealing with the Second Flagbearer like this, Jin."
"It was unfortunate in many ways."
First, Hedo stepped forward and displayed his mastery of the sword.
Waves of sword energy spread out, covering the monsters and creating a dazzling light.
Amidst the indiscriminately flying bones and flesh, three of the Yonas simultaneously attacked Hedo.
Since he couldn’t distinguish between the real and the fake like Jin could, he simply defended himself from their attacks.
"Please keep defending against my sister and the fakes. I’ll handle them one by one."
"Understood."
As the remnants of the monsters swept away by Hedo’s sword began to gather again to form another monster, their regeneration seemed faster.
Hedo found this fact irritating (moreover, he disliked the temporary sword he had acquired) and frowned, exerting even more strength.
However, it was risky to swing his sword recklessly.
If he increased his power beyond the current level, there was a chance Yona could be swept away.
Should he resolve this with hand-to-hand combat?
But that would widen the range Jin would have to handle, making it problematic.
While Hedo was contemplating, something unexpectedly emerged from Owal’s sleeve.
Thousands of threads, finer than a hair, appeared.
Each thread was imbued with Owal’s energy and grabbed the monsters carelessly.
Owal controlled the threads with delicate precision, adjusting their strength to prevent them from disintegrating when they could no longer hold on.
"Oh, now this will be much easier, Nameless King. I’ve been impressed by your skills from the start."
"I originally saved this to contain the fakes, but since Jin can distinguish them, there’s no need for that."
While the superhumans exchanged banter, Jin took down another fake.
"Now, only Elder Sister and five fakes remain."
From that point on, Yonas did not recklessly target Jin.
It wasn’t a calculated move but more instinctual.
After fighting Jin, all the Yonas lacked rationality at that moment.
They simply blindly obeyed Joshua’s orders.
If the impostors still possessed the judgment they had before going mad, Jin would have had a slightly harder time.
Whoosh…!
Jeremiah’s blurry magic sword illuminated the surroundings like a torch.
The Yonas strained to avoid looking at the sword.
They felt a burning pain somewhere in their bodies whenever their gaze lingered on the sword’s flame.
Jin was very aware that his nameless sword held such power.
So now, Jin started searching for the real Yonas.
Every time Bradamante slashed through the fabric of space, the forms of the Yonas would briefly appear and then vanish like smoke.
This took quite some time.
In reality, Jin spent a good while exploring the subspace without being able to kill any of the fakes.
However, Jin had brought the strongest members from each faction precisely to avoid such a situation.
Bam!
Jin swung his sword diagonally, completely tearing apart a section of the subspace.
"Ah!"
"S-Surpri… sing…"
At the same time, Ranke and Bianca opened their eyes in surprise.
They had just arrived nearby and were about to break through the subspace.
"You’ve come."
"We… came… how…?"
"How did you know? Ah, it’s frustrating. Can’t you talk a bit faster? Seriously?"
"How did you know? Ah, how did you know? I read the energy."
"You read the energy?"
"You… read the energy…?"
Ranke and Bianca looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
They couldn’t sense the energy flowing inside due to the barrier of chaos.
"Anyway, get in quickly and pressure my sister and the fakes. It means defending while pushing forward."
"Defend and push forward? How can we push forward just by defending?"
"I can do it while under pressure. And I’ll say it once more, if my real Elder Sister gets even a little hurt, it won’t be fun. Now, let’s combine our forces."
Ranke muttered a curse, and Bianca nodded, entering the barrier.
With the addition of the two individuals, the Yonas focused solely on hiding, and Jin gradually became convinced that they would attempt to escape.
‘The entrance where Kinzelos came in isn’t being restored. It’s probably because Bale is fighting Joshua.’
When the barrier was opened, it was immediately restored.
That was possible before because Joshua was deliberately sending chaos here, but not anymore.
He was entirely focused on facing the enraged Bale, paying no attention to this side.
Jin pretended not to watch the precarious entrance he had created.
He deliberately distanced himself from the entrance, waiting patiently for the Yonas to appear.
When they were left with only instincts, the Yonas fell into the trap too easily.
As soon as Jin turned his back on the fake, it revealed its hiding place and rushed toward the entrance.
Of course, the fake couldn’t escape to the outside.
Fzz!
The mana that Jin had planted beforehand at the entrance formed an ice barrier.
At that moment, the fake extended its sword to break the barrier, but it was the perfect opportunity for Jin to catch it off guard.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
Bradamante pierced through the fake’s back. The impostor convulsed and disintegrated into a black mass.
"Another fake trying to escape?"
Jin smiled and spoke. Now, four fakes remained, and with each decrease in their number, the Yonas’ options dwindled.
Near the center of the subspace, Hedo and Owal continued suppressing the monsters, and Ranke and Bianca charged forward each time Jin’s flames revealed a Yonas, striking the walls.
"We can’t… leave… until… the real one… comes out."
"Ugh, this idiot is helping them as if it’s our job till the end."
Jin carefully observed his surroundings. At this rate, he thought he could take care of the remaining fakes and bring Yona back in thirty minutes.
But the good feeling didn’t last long.
Suddenly, the chaotic subspace began vibrating unstably.
"Eh? Hey! The subspace looks like it’s going to explode!"
Ranke shouted. Everyone else also noticed that the subspace was showing signs of imminent explosion.
The reason for the problem in the subspace was obvious. Joshua using the volcano as a last resort.
‘Joshua, that bastard is going to keep this up until the end. It seems he chose self-destruction after being defeated by Bale.’
In that case, they had to quickly change their strategy and respond.
"Everyone, scatter and do everything you can to avoid the explosion!"
The scale of the subspace explosion couldn’t be predicted precisely.
The entire forest could disappear, and perhaps even nearby villages might be affected.
As Jin shouted, Hedo and Owal, Bianca, and Ranke scattered in all directions, taking their positions.
The Yonas also seemed confused by the sudden collapse of the subspace.
They ran frantically, screaming like beasts trapped in a forest fire, randomly leaping across the subspace.
And Jin sharpened all his senses.
‘No matter how powerful the explosion is, as long as those four can block it with all their might, it won’t reach the villages.’
So he had to find and protect his sister. She didn’t have the power to protect herself from an explosion of this magnitude.
Even if she did, it would be the power of chaos, not Yonas’ power.
The power of Chaos would naturally envelop her and restore her when her physical body collapsed.
In other words, it meant the bodily transformation that Jin most dreaded would occur.
Kurk…!
The chaos forming the subspace converged into one.
In about 5 seconds, all the power would fuse and explode.
Jin had to find the real one among the fakes and even protect her.
But the remaining powerhouses, especially Owal, who cherished Yona as much as Jin, had a reason to voluntarily withstand the explosion instead of searching for her.
It was because they were confident.
If it were Jin, he could undoubtedly do it.
Jin dashed forward and lunged at Yona, hugging her tightly.
It was as if he was grabbing a child about to fall into the water.
"Elder Sister!"
Yona still held the sword in her hand, but Jin ignored it and embraced her with all his might.
He barely managed to avoid Yona’s sword stabbing into his abdomen.
Then, as the subspace exploded, Yona tightly closed her eyes, and Jin held her while extending a protective shield.
Quahhh…! Kduduk!
The bodies of the fakes that lunged at the siblings disintegrated.
[Kyaaahhh…!]
[Argh!]
The fire of the subspace even burned the black masses left by the fakes.
The explosion, which started with a deafening noise as if heads were bursting, continued for over five minutes.
The powerhouses mercilessly wielded their weapons and extended their protective shields, and Jin was finally able to protect his younger sister.
"Is everyone unscathed?"
Hedo was the first to look around and ask.
"We’re unscathed. It seems, Sir, that you withstood the most powerful explosion, yet you don’t have a scratch."
"I must have something outstanding compared to you. Look, it seems that the Kinzelo executives are also unscathed. Hmm, what about that friend?"
"Huh… What a fight. I thought I was done for."
"Ranke… You’re weak… but you managed to hold on."
"Ugh! Ugh!"
With a loud noise, Ranke coughed up blood and collapsed, and Bianca quickly rushed to support him.
Jin was still holding Yona in his arms behind them.
He had wounds covering his neck and back.
Yona was still in a frenzied state and continued scratching Jin, but he was simply glad.
"Elder Sister, let’s go home now."
Yona responded with a cry, and the rest of the group, except for Jin, simultaneously looked up at the sky.
In the sky, the Zipple fleet that had just arrived at this location was floating.
Tags:
SYS (Novel)