Chapter 955

C955

“I really hate this—!”

Zito yelled once more.

He trembled as if he had been mentally attacked by Ayula. He couldn’t believe how suddenly the antagonistic enemies had become so friendly and had joined forces against him. It was too much to handle.

[You guys are really shameless. Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Suddenly teaming up like protagonists of a chūnibyō novel. Do you think I was born in pain just to witness this kind of crap? Isn’t it common sense for the three of us to engage in a bloody three-way battle?]

“You’re noisy.”

*Zzzap!* *Krijik!*

Elona’s magic exploded around Zito once more. The sound of flesh, blood, and organs bursting echoed as Elona opened her eyes wide and raised her mana once more.

Her mana instantly formed a massive sphere in the sky.

Easily more than ten spheres covered the sky, all pointed at Zito. One sphere fell to the ground as Elona lowered her staff once.

[Aaargh!]

Zito lost his body with each falling sphere.

Even if a new body immediately formed, it would only be twisted and torn apart by the remaining force left when the sphere exploded.

The same thing happened even if he relocated his body far away. A new sphere had already fallen in the place where Zito’s body appeared, and even if several bodies formed at the same time, Elona’s magic was present at his location.

Even Jin had never seen a Magician who could wield this much magical energy.

The destructive power of the Celestial Destruction Cut shown by Paellito in the Holy Kingdom was shocking, but it seemed pitiful compared to the great unknown magic Elona had just cast.

[Wow, seriously, can a human possess this kind of power? She’s probably even more dangerous than me to the human world], Zito said.

“I told you to shut up, didn’t I?”

The magic spheres transformed into cubes and started rotating.

Suddenly, a vortex opened in the middle of the subspace, and Zito was relentlessly sucked into it. His newly formed body struggled to escape, and his limbs were torn and devoured as the subspace twisted and warped like a giant mass.

Elona showed no signs of fatigue despite using so much mana in just a few minutes. Instead, she seemed relaxed, as if this was only the beginning.

‘So, that’s why they said she was more than half of Zipple’s total power a thousand years ago.’

Elona is a Magician who can destroy continents just by standing still and moving her staff a few times.

A thousand years ago, almost no one saw her as a human. At that time, people recognized Elona as the embodiment of disaster and destruction, as the witch Heluram.

[Aaaargh!]

Zito screamed. Since forming a human-shaped body was pointless, he controlled the entire subspace.

A gigantic fist fell from the middle of the sky like a castle. The fist struck Elona’s vortex. The vortex started devouring the fist and scattered purple flesh in all directions.

The vortex was also dispersing, and the rotating magic cubes also slowed down like an engine that had lost its power.

“However, a god is still a god, huh? I can’t destroy you with such a simple method.”

[If it weren’t for Jin, you wouldn’t even be able to talk right now, would you? Now that you can defend yourself a little, do you feel safe?]

“It’s not just about being able to defend myself, but my mind is perfectly clear.”

[Have you ever considered that Jin might be enduring your pain for you? You’re quite selfish.]

Elona chuckled at those words.

“So, this is what it feels like to rely on someone stronger than me.”

Fighting alongside someone and relying on someone stronger.

Of course, it was a feeling Elona had never felt before, whether a thousand years ago or now. Because she was always the strongest, and people always relied on her.

“It might seem selfish. But what’s wrong with that? The person protecting me says it’s okay, so who are you to say otherwise?”

Another fist approached Jin and Elona.

Before the fist could reach them, Elona swung her staff upwards, and mana shot out like sword energy, cutting Zito’s fist in half.

It wasn’t the typical cutting power of magic spells based on wind or light. Elona simply compressed her mana infinitely and imitated the cutting force of the sword energy of knights.

She generated power equivalent to the Celestial Destruction Cut even with just the imitation.

Zito took advantage of the brief opening, formed his body behind Elona, and brought down one of his thorn axes.

“Zito, how did you think a close-quarters fight would turn out?”

Zito had thought that Elona wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

He concentrated his strength on the thorn axe and tried to pierce her shield in a single attack.

However, the moment he swung the thorn axe, Zito suddenly felt his body slowing down, just like the day he had faced Olta, the god of time.

‘This is crazy…!’

Of course, Elona didn’t possess Olta’s authority over time.

However, the reason for Zito’s slow movements was the mana. The dense and compressed mana surrounding Elona acted as a barrier, obstructing Zito as if he were moving through water.

The thorn axe, which should have fallen like thunder, descended somewhat slowly. Elona calmly responded and deflected it with her staff.

‘The Runcandel sword…!?’

A sword that lacks conventional forms and techniques, relying solely on a blessed body.

Elona’s close-quarters combat clearly resembled that of the Runcandel. The Runcandel were the people Elona had fought the most a thousand years ago, and naturally, she imitated the Runcandel sword. Their swords were the best, after all.

It was an impossible feat for an ordinary Magician. Even a highly trained knight couldn’t simply imitate the Runcandel just from having fought them many times.

However, Elona was using her vast mana to embody the blessed body of the Runcandel.

‘She’s alleviating all the tension in her body and explosive impacts with mana. I didn’t think something like this was possible. This isn’t easy even with my Light Heart and Lightning Bolt energy.’

Jin had never seen a more complex and insufficient use of mana. But for Elona, it felt as natural as breathing.

*Kang!* Elona’s staff collided with Zito’s thorn axe. Elona moved like a top-tier Runcandel and pressed Zito in place.

Her staff, moving like a sword, was flexible yet destructive, fast yet precise.

In the past, she had taken down countless Runcandel this way. The Runcandel, who had barely been able to close the distance, could only despair at her close-quarters combat skills.

All the pain from contact with Zito was being endured by Jin, so she could move more freely than ever.

She didn’t need to conserve strength like Jin. After all, conserving strength was a concept that only applied to those lacking power.

‘I should have a good chance to execute the Sun Splitter Cut at this rate.’

Jin’s stamina had been depleted more than expected protecting Elona until she accepted his offer, but it wasn’t a significant problem.

Jin focused on recovery and closely monitored the situation.

It seemed that Elona was overwhelmingly superior to Zito at the moment, but their battle was essentially a futile struggle.

Two beings with infinite power were simply exhausting each other.

In a way, time was still on Zito’s side. Elona could only fight like this because Jin was enduring all the pain.

So, if Jin collapsed, Elona would be finished.

‘Just once… I need to land a blow.’

Elona was keenly aware of this fact.

‘If I were at my peak like a thousand years ago, I might have found a way to defeat Zito alone, even without Sir Jin… But it’s going to be difficult now. If Sir Jin can’t take him down, I’ll be in danger too.’

However, she wasn’t anxious.

Even as she felt Jin’s breathing becoming heavier and heavier, Elona was convinced that she would succeed.

When she told Zito that Jin was stronger than her, it wasn’t just about the magnitude of his power or combat skills. Jin was fundamentally an incredibly strong person, beyond comparison with herself.

‘If such a person is friends with the patriarch… the patriarch will undoubtedly find what he has lost,’ Elona thought confidently.

[Ah, can’t you just die already? You’re more annoying than I thought. It seems you’re also a fragment of the Sun God. If I am the embodiment of the Sun God’s pain, you’re like the embodiment of the Sun God’s desire for destruction.]

“Well, that might be true. But I don’t want to live a life bound by fate like you, Zito. Have you ever thought about how despicable and crude you are right now?”

[Heh, heh, heh. That’s quite a surprising statement coming from someone who still reeks of human blood. How many humans have you killed over the years? It seems to be over a billion. We’re the same, Elona Zipple. Even if you survive today, you’ll eventually play the most important role in the world’s destruction.]

“Someone will stand in my way at that time, just as Sir Jin is trying to take you down right now.”

At that moment, Jin changed his sword.

Golden energy and Shadow Energy converged around Bradamante’s blade. Jin’s preparation was complete. Zito couldn’t properly interfere with Jin because he was focused on Elona.

‘This sword…!’

Elona’s pupils dilated. The light emanating from Jin suddenly filled the subspace, and long-forgotten memories rushed into Elona’s mind like a bursting dam.

These weren’t the dark memories provoked by Zito, but memories of the bright will and beliefs of the people who had tried to protect the world back then.

It was a memory of the moment she had decided to leave Zipple, drawn by its light.

[Ah, crap. So this is how it would end.]

Ultimate Runcandel Magic Sword Technique

Sun Splitter Cut

Jin stepped forward to wield his sword, and a huge murky shadow suddenly formed in the middle of the battlefield.

It was Zito’s true form.

The power of the Sun Splitter Cut had forcibly revealed the true body Zito had been hiding.

Jin swung his sword, Bradamante, with all his might towards Zito’s true form.

All of hell was bathed in golden energy beyond Zito’s subspace.