Chapter 927

## Chapter 927

Sizzle…!

Sarah’s runes engraved on Jin’s body glowed as red flames surged forth.

Although the authority of flame pressure couldn’t be increased any further, the burning fire quickly burned away the demonic energy pouring onto Jin.

Even if the authority was blocked, Jin was still Jin, and fire was still fire.

The flame of the Empress of Flame that Jin had inherited shone brighter than ever.

Jin lunged at Paellito with the hellfire while concealing a flash cannon in his left hand.

He had to strike first, even if it meant being pushed back. He needed to take the initiative, create variables, and extend his survival time.

He had to resume the battle by relying on the memorized reactions of his body.

The flame-wrapped sword cut through the curtain of purple demonic energy.

Paellito deflected Bradamante, and before the sword could touch the ground, Jin rotated his body and continued his attack.

Jin performed an upward vertical cut, and Paellito blocked with a horizontal cut. A deafening roar erupted as the two swords clashed.

At that moment, Jin didn’t overlook the scent of blood coming from Paellito.

‘The scent of blood… He must have also suffered injuries when he used that massive sword technique that shattered Lady Ayula’s barrier. It was probably a minor backlash.’

It wasn’t the smell of human blood, but the heavy and distinctive odor of demonic blood, and that blood had undoubtedly spilled recently.

Paellito was the only one among the demons fighting on the Great Belliam Plain, so it was definitely his blood.

Although his injuries hadn’t significantly diminished the strength of Paellito’s sword, Jin found hope in this fact.

‘There could be several reasons for the backlash. It could be due to forcing immense power while being brainwashed with reduced abilities, being filled with hatred for Sakiel’s death, and… demonization.’

Demonization.

The fate that those who ascend to Genesis Knights must face.

Currently, Paellito’s backlash and injuries strongly pointed to the possibility of demonization.

What accelerates demonization is “emotions.”

Hatred, fear, attachment, obsession… all these emotions could turn anyone who ascends to the realm of the Genesis Knight into a monster at any moment.

‘Paellito is being consumed by his inner demon…!’

[T/L: 심마” (心魔) – Inner Demon (something that disturbs the body and mind and becomes an obstacle to achieving enlightenment).]

As soon as Jin had this conviction, he thought:

The only way Paellito could die now was if he succumbed to his inner demon and self-destructed.

He decided to resist alongside his comrades until Paellito self-destructed.

“Jin!”

Finally, Dante and Hedo reached the center of the battlefield, once again piercing through Paellito’s demonic energy.

The four swords continuously clashed, creating flashes of light.

But all the drops of blood splattering in the air were red.

While the three couldn’t even graze Paellito, Vascala effortlessly slipped between them.

Those who had killed Sakiel continued to swing their swords persistently.

This fact disturbed Paellito’s insides.

“How many times have they saved you from danger?”

“I can’t count.”

“I hope they do the same this time.”

Boom!

Jin activated the flash cannon and stabbed Paellito in the waist.

‘Kuk!’

He was sure he had activated the flash cannon, but the moment Jin extended his arm, Paellito had already grabbed his left fist.

Crac!

His left hand, which was holding the flash cannon, was completely crushed.

At that moment, the arm would have been severed if Jin had panicked, even slightly, and tried to pull his arm back.

Instead of retreating, Jin moved closer to Paellito and pushed Bradamante towards his neck.

Paellito abandoned the defense of his left arm and took a step back. Bradamante grazed Paellito’s cheek.

Simultaneously, Dante and Hedo left wounds on his thigh and side, respectively, but those wounds were too minor compared to Jin’s crushed left hand that he had sacrificed.

The mana that had formed the flash cannon escaped from his twisted fingers.

Without even bothering to visually confirm the damage, Jin conjured a new spell in his left hand. He needed to hold the sword with both hands, so he forcibly fixed his hand to the hilt with ice barrier magic. And if he used magic in that way, he wouldn’t have to worry about his grip strength.

Of course, he still felt some pain, but fortunately, the best option for Paellito at that moment was to aim for his left hand.

If he had moved an inch closer, it would have been the heart.

“But not today. You will die at my hands. I will slowly destroy every part of your body, just like now… and in the end, I will crush your heart.”

**Demon Sword Style, Ultimate Technique**

**Heavenly Destruction Slash, 2nd Form**

Jin and his companions’ eyes widened.

Just like before, Paellito seemed to make a downward cut and appear defenseless for a moment. However, blade-sharp demonic energy extended in all directions, forcing them to retreat.

But this time, the direction the Heavenly Destruction Slash was heading wasn’t towards the sky.

Hedo and Dante had anticipated that Paellito would launch the attack directly in the direction where Jin was. Even his posture suggested it.

When the massive force of the Heavenly Destruction Slash was released at once, even a Genesis Knight couldn’t easily change its predetermined trajectory.

Even less so where Paellito’s demonization rate was increasing.

“Ji-i-in!”

Dante and Hedo urgently fired their sword energy.

They intended, somehow, to deflect the trajectory of the Heavenly Destruction Slash, even slightly.

But in the next instant, Jin realized:

“He’s not aiming at me… No!”

Paellito simply used a little trick. Although his posture seemed to be directed at Jin, he had never actually intended to aim at him from the beginning.

The Heavenly Destruction Slash was heading towards Hedo.

Sssaaaah! Bzzz…!

Paellito’s energy exploded, and Jin along with his companions were lifted into the air as if they were floating in a void.

A deafening roar of tinnitus assaulted their ears, and they were instantly separated in layers of shockwaves.

Sir Hedo! Sir Hedo…!

Jin couldn’t hear anything, not even if he screamed.

His throat felt choked, and everything before his eyes turned completely black.

It felt as if his body was flowing like a swamp.

And so, Jin and his companions lost consciousness once again.

When they regained consciousness, the first thing Jin and Dante saw was the endless trajectory of the Heavenly Destruction Slash, which stretched out like the horizon.

If the 1st Form of the Heavenly Destruction Slash had torn the sky apart with two blows, the 2nd Form had bisected the entire Great Belliam Plain with a single stroke.

Not only the plain, but everything in a straight line behind it, all objects, terrain, and life forms had been split in two.

The plain that was once beautiful could no longer be called that; it had transformed into an endless open valley.

In between, the demonic energy of the Heavenly Destruction Slash and lava mixed and expelled.

It rose to the sky and scattered in all directions. The weakened earth couldn’t bear its weight and crumbled without resistance.

And in this terrifying scene, there was no sign of Hedo.

There was no trace of him.

There was no sound, and his overwhelming and unique energy couldn’t be felt anywhere.

One could only think that the Heavenly Destruction Slash had swallowed him.

“It seems none of you paid due attention to my words. I said I would crush your heart in the end. For you, it’s too easy to scatter like dust.”

I need to recover.

Jin and Dante pointed their swords at Paellito while trying to erase the anxiety that was growing in their hearts.

“Oh, you think he’s not dead because you didn’t see his corpse directly? Then keep denying it. It’s not bad for me either.”

Paellito spoke with a smile.

Unlike immediately after first using the Heavenly Destruction Slash, this time he showed no signs of backlash.

Jin and Dante couldn’t determine if he had forcefully concealed it or if he really didn’t have it.

“Now that I’ve decided how to kill you, Jin Runcandel, I feel much better.”

Jin was in the process of reigniting the hellfire.

He had judged that without empowering his body with the hellfire, he wouldn’t be able to continue the battle properly.

However, the accumulated shocks were a problem.

Jin is not immortal.

He is not invincible, nor is he stronger than Paellito. The gap between them was only widening further, as his dark energy and lightning energy had been blocked.

It was clear that continuously exerting his strength to the limit against a stronger opponent would bring side effects. Moreover, he began to suffer mana backlash.

Blood was rising from his mouth and nose.

The power of the hellfire remained the same as before, but at this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if mana suddenly released.

Dante stood beside Jin. Now, interrupting the attack on Paellito’s rear and side no longer made sense.

They had to stay together and endure the battle by any means necessary.

“Jin, I can’t tell you to retreat by saying that I’ll somehow buy you time. As you can see, it’s impossible now. We’re both quite injured.”

“I didn’t want that either. If I wasn’t so prepared for death, I wouldn’t have sent Murakan in the first place.”

Fighting spirit and tenacity.

The only things Jin wouldn’t lose to Paellito were precisely those qualities.

And Dante suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if some transcendental energy was emanating from Jin’s sweating face.

Just like that day when his father became a Genesis Knight.

In reality, Jin didn’t possess such energy at that moment.

But, in the past, giants of the era like Cyron, Ron, Talaris-nim, and Kelliark had recognized in Luna and Jin Runcandel a common potential, which was starting to make a serious name for itself.

Luna Runcandel, Jin Runcandel: they were individuals with the potential to defeat anyone in the world, no matter how strong the opponent was.

While Dante couldn’t pinpoint exactly the same thing as them, he felt it now.

“Dante, I think Sir Hedo is on the left and he’s not dead.”

Jin thought that Dante had been briefly distracted due to Hedo’s situation.

Dante nodded and intercepted Paellito’s sword energy flying to the right.

“I think so too. But he’s on the right.”

“I checked if you had regained consciousness. You suddenly went offline, which is unusual for you.”

No matter where they looked, all they saw was demonic energy and lava. The two supported each other as they tried to determine the direction in which Paellito would charge.

They couldn’t push away all the demonic energy that was running like poison.

If they swung their swords to repel the demonic energy, Paellito would take the opportunity to attack them directly. So they had to block it with their shields.

‘…The flow of demonic energy suddenly began to change, as if forming a magic circle.’

Jin immediately noticed this fact.

“Get out of the shields, Dante!”

As soon as Jin shouted, a magic circle covered their shields in an instant.

Upon closer inspection, the shape of that circle appeared to be of dark magic.

Among them, runes that meant “curse” emitted a deep purple glow.

Both managed to escape their shields just before the curse spells were completed, but at the last moment, Jin’s left shoulder and Dante’s right ankle were hit by the cursed wave.

The name of this curse was “Bisaro’s Scorn.” Its effect was forced aging of the target.

For the first time since his regression, Jin felt the sensation of the curse penetrating his body.