Chapter 931

## Chapter 931

The land where the Holy Queen’s Palace once stood was rapidly transforming into what looked like a pile of crushed bones. A sharp, purple demonic energy, resembling a band, was emerging through the horrific, wide cracks.

There were hundreds of bands, and they moved like fingers, violently tearing the now broken ground. 

Kikigigi, gigigigi! They emitted chilling sounds, as if forcibly realigning misaligned bone joints.

It seemed that a purple sea had spread beneath the surface. It looked like a sea of pain and felt as if your own soul could be torn apart just by looking at it.

‘Religious fanatic…!’

It was evident that even the place where the Eternal Storage had been found was completely consumed by that demonic energy. This meant that Lani’s chances of survival were extremely slim.

The Holy Kingdom was on the verge of destruction.

More than 70% of its territory was under indiscriminate attack, and the Holy Queen’s Palace had disappeared without a trace.

So, even if this war ended in favor of the Vamel Alliance, the irreparable damage had already been done.

“Black Dragon Murakan, you also live up to your name, don’t you? I never thought you would block my destructive fist like this. But in the end, the Holy Queen’s Palace has turned to dust, and even Lord Zito’s eye, which you humans dared to capture, has awakened.”

Now was not the time to lament Lani’s death.

Murakan’s pupils turned colder and fiercer than ever. There were still many people alive in the Holy Kingdom.

He needs to protect at least one more person. Murakan’s mission remained unchanged. The only reason he had flown to the Holy Queen’s Palace was just for that purpose.

Talaris watched as Murakan deployed his curtain in the sky with his determination. She took a deep breath and held her sword gently.

She decided not to use any technique that would strain her exhausted body too much. She also decided not to directly block the enemy’s attacks, trusting that Murakan would protect her.

Murakan didn’t attack Videluce with dragon breath or use the Manifestation of Shadows or the Black Chain. He was solely focused on protecting his comrades and the people.

“Wow, the Hidden Palace Master’s demonor has changed a bit. Well, is it some kind of hidden card?”

“If it’s hand-to-hand combat instead of a fight determined by the magnitude of power or authorities, there’s only one person in this world who can defeat me.”

“What?”

“So, Videluce, you should have given me a fatal blow before Murakan arrived.”

Fiu, fiu-!

All the purple lightning bolts aimed at Talaris were blocked by the Shadow Energy curtain. Talaris began to advance without even considering Videluce’s long-range attacks.

“What, Murakan can protect the Hidden Palace Master so perfectly?”

This was a completely unexpected turn for Videluce. She had firmly believed that, at best, Murakan would provide decent cover.

As Talaris closed the gap in over a hundred steps, Videluce’s lightning bolts and fist energy didn’t even pose a threat to her.

Videluce wasn’t the Genesis Knight.

So, to pierce through the Shadow Energy curtain that Murakan had released with complete determination, she also needed to risk something. An arrogant attitude and gaze alone would never undermine Murakan’s determination.

Swosh-!

In an instant, Talaris’ sword closed in on Videluce and pierced through his chest.

Videluce immediately counterattacked by throwing a punch and unleashing his demonic energy in all directions.

She was trying to push Talaris away. However, Talaris didn’t even need to evade the explosive demonic energy surrounding her. The Shadow Energy curtain was protecting her.

“Ha!”

Videluce exhaled sharply. He should have kept his distance from Talaris, but instead, Talaris had closed in and swung her sword.

The Full Ice contained a chilling aura, so weak that it was almost unbelievable. Therefore, it couldn’t cause much damage, but the sword itself made Videluce feel deeply uneasy.

‘Her sword keeps digging deeper than I expected. It seems to reach me even when I think I’ve avoided it, it’s like an illusion.’

Videluce keenly felt that Talaris’ sword was incredibly sharp. Despite being far from having the power to tear through his flesh, the force contained within the sword was such that Videluce couldn’t fight while accepting blows directly.

Therefore, it was now Videluce who needed to create distance. He felt that he would receive deep wounds if he stayed too close, and Murakan was blocking all his long-range attacks, making the battle frustrating.

‘But her tired body will only deteriorate further over time. Besides, Murakan won’t be able to focus on protecting her indefinitely.’

However, time was undoubtedly on the side of the True Demon World.

Zito’s newly awakened eye was still not attacking them, as it was still taking shape. But the moment the eye was complete, it would surely tear through Murakan’s curtain.

‘Besides, Paellito will soon kill them and join me, so there’s no need to be too cautious.’

In Videluce’s opinion, Murakan and Talaris could maintain a slight advantage for barely five minutes. There was absolutely no chance that she would suffer a fatal blow or die within that time.

“You have good instincts. I thought you were just an arrogant fool.”

“Yes, are you angry? It feels like something could happen if I face you head-on, but I’m not going to let that happen. By the way, your Black Dragon is quite patient.”

Talaris looked around.

Zito’s energy, released after the destruction of the Holy Queen’s Palace, was becoming denser. It seemed that purple bands were scattering throughout the vast expanse of Murakan’s Shadow Energy curtain.

Murakan hadn’t yet made a sound of pain, but Videluce was keenly aware of how terrible the agony must be.

“Lord Zito’s true energy is penetrating throughout his body and causing unimaginable pain. No doubt, Lord Zito will enjoy his pain for quite a while.”

Murakan remained silent and continued to focus.

If he wanted to avoid Zito’s true energy, he had to. However, every time he lost focus, the purple bands would head towards the people he had to protect.

He had no choice but to fight while protecting, facing those who sought destruction, conquest, and trampling on the weak.

Unless he was overwhelmingly stronger than the enemy, he would be continuously at a disadvantage.

Murakan’s scales trembled and fell off one by one. The fallen scales all turned purple and flowed towards the source of the bands.

Zito’s eye was absorbing Murakan’s power. If this continued, he would suffer permanent damage in ten minutes.

He didn’t fear that. Even if he lost his power again like before, he could gradually recover. Besides, Jin wasn’t so weak that he couldn’t defend himself now, even without his protection.

What made Murakan nervous was that Zito’s eye was taking shape. Despite not knowing the exact strength and abilities of Zito’s eye, his instincts told him that it was dangerous.

‘I only have one chance. I have to release all my Shadow Energy and unleash the True Manifestation of Shadows. Even if it succeeds, I will probably need five hundred years to recover.’

Murakan made his decision.

Perhaps he would fall into a long slumber lasting over a thousand years. However, he thought it was better than losing everything Jin had been protecting.

‘It might be hard to say goodbye to Strawberry Pie…’

Just when Murakan had thought this far,

suddenly, the purple bands that shot towards the sky were cut and fell to the ground. What cut the bands was Charles, a rapier.

“Sorry for being late, Lord Murakan.”

Luntia had just pierced through Paellito’s demonic energy and reached the Holy Kingdom. She cut the bands surrounding the Shadow Energy curtain as soon as she appeared over the Holy Kingdom.

“Are you alright? What about the younger one?”

Luntia didn’t ask anything else. 

She could see that Jin and Murakan were separated, but there was only one reason why Murakan didn’t shout to save Jin first.

“It seems the young patriarch has ordered you to protect the Holy Kingdom. I’ll help you.”

Luna’s request, “Please protect Jin,” wasn’t above the young patriarch’s absolute order.

[It was already hard to handle everything. Did you come alone?]

“Yes, but many transcendents, including the First Flagbearer, will join as soon as they attend to their assigned areas. What should be cut is probably that.”

Luntia pointed Charles towards the ground where Zito’s energy was surging.

“Eh, friend? Do you even know what you’re trying to cut? Ugh!”

Full Ice grazed Videluce’s neck.

“It seems you’ve forgotten who you’re dealing with. Let me remind you, and it will be your last memory.”

Luntia didn’t even look at Videluce and Talaris. 

It wasn’t because she was ignoring them, but because she trusted Talaris. In a hand-to-hand combat situation like this, she believed there was no way Talaris would lose to Videluce.

She also didn’t have the luxury of observing them. From the moment she faced Zito’s eye head-on, Luntia also began to be enveloped by a pain similar to Murakan’s.

[I’ll regain my stamina for a moment and focus on the Hidden Palace Master, so don’t exert yourself until then.]

“Understood, Lord Murakan.”

***

“Earlier, you said you felt the sensation of having grown stronger after a long time?”

Paellito approached Jin, who was lying down.

Jin hastily got up, but Paellito had no intention of killing him immediately. There had been several opportunities to finish off Jin and Dante, but Paellito had kept them alive to give them a more painful death.

“You won’t feel this way forever. This is the inherent gap of fate, Jin Runcandel.”

Paellito turned his head momentarily towards the far left. Dante had been dragged to a distant forest by the third Heavenly Destruction Slash and passed out.

“Your friend seems to be slowly running out of strength. You don’t have much time left either.”

Paellito shot his energy towards the forest where Dante had fallen. Jin had no chance to stop it. The energy swept through the entire forest like a typhoon and disappeared like dots.

“Dante… Sir Hedo, they won’t die so easily.”

“Think what you want. But despite what you say, you have a rather pleasant expression. I can feel sadness; you know they’re dead.”

In fact, Dante’s faint aura, which had been perceived after the sword energy that attacked the forest, disappeared. All the subjects hidden in the forest had lost their lives. Jin could vividly feel how everything was unfolding before his eyes.

Jin was shedding tears unconsciously.

“I haven’t received a single answer from you yet. Why are you so deeply sad? Even though you know Dante Hairan or the fragment of the old order, the other humans I’ve killed today aren’t so precious to you. You’ve been trembling at their deaths for a while now.”

“It’s because I have a responsibility.”

“Responsibility? Ah, I’ve heard that answer before, that there’s no reason for insignificant bugs to sacrifice themselves in the struggles of powerful individuals. That’s not enough. There must be something more, a deeper reason.”

Paellito clearly saw through Jin’s emotions.

The intense emotion tormenting Jin was the guilt of being a “regressor.”

“So, tell me the truth now. If you do, I won’t kill any more defenseless bugs today.”

—