"I didn't expect to meet my end at the hands of the flagbearers, rather than Sir Chiron. That would be my only regret."
Barton examined Diphus's sword as he spoke.
The aura crystals embedded in the greatsword, Volgar. The crystals looked as solid as actual ore, not like an aura.
Crash! Khdududuk-!
The battle resumed when Barton launched the first attack.
He had already expended too much power and couldn't fully use his original strength.
But despite his aura and stamina approaching its limit, the relentless attacks of the 10-star knight were shaking the ground.
His every step cracked the ground, and rocks were sent flying.
Although his shield was only at the 8-star level, the aura it carried was causing shockwaves.
Jin poured all of his energy into his last counterattack, the sunset glow.
There was still madness in Barton's eyes.
It arose from self-pity and futility of having lost all honor of the Black Helmet when his espionage was discovered, and the shame of dying by the swords of flagbearers rather than Chiron Runcandel.
And things he held in his heart before meeting Kelliark Zipfel and betraying Runcandel, such as the sense of pride as a Black Knight, which clash within him.
Barton undoubtedly had a firm belief in Zipfel.
He believed that he could overcome the limitations of being just "human," and truly achieve transcendence on Zipfel's side.
However, Barton Vicenna was still undeniably a human.
He was still human despite obtaining power that was close to his limits by discarding pride and fear of betrayal long ago, and hiding his emotions behind the black helmet.
"Are you ashamed, Barton Vicenna? It seems you're jumping around quite a bit. Do you think you still have enough honor left to die at the hands of my father?"
Jin saw through Barton's confusion.
Instead of answering, his blade flew toward Jin's throat. The blade appeared blurry, which meant that it had already passed by once.
Jin instinctively stepped back and narrowly avoided the attack. Jin almost reached out his hand to his neck in the confusion.
Talent or achievement.
If Jin had lacked either of them, he would have raised his hand and touched his neck. To check whether his neck was slit or he narrowly avoided it, and in that gap, he would have allowed his opponent to deliver a fatal blow.
But Jin chose to counterattack instead.
Barton's attack barely grazed Jin's chest, just as Sigmund barely grazed Barton's cheek.
Another sharper light flashed between them before the two swords could cross each other.
It was the greatsword Volgar, which was falling at incredible speed.
The three swords formed a whirlwind. They clashed and created dozens of sonic booms in a second.
The Guardian Knights, who were keeping their distance while brandishing their swords, swallowed nervously.
Each of them were at least 8-star knights, but they couldn't casually intervene in the battle. It wasn't because their swordsmanship was lacking.
Their bodies couldn't withstand it. Either Runcandel's blessed body, or a hardened body trained to its extreme limits.Without such elements, they couldn't dare to intervene in the battle.
The shockwaves made it feel like thousands of spears were raining down.
Psss, swish. Every undetectable small noise left a scar on the bodies of three.
Kaaaah!
Diphus shouted and stepped forward.
At that moment, the aura crystals embedded in the greatsword Volgar shone brighter, and Barton continued to maintain a distance as if he had been conscious of it from the beginning.
It was time for the aura he saved against Kozec to shine.
Diphus had executed Runcandel's 6th decisive killing move: Lightning flash.
The aura crystals embedded in Volgar shattered.
The crystals shattered like glass shards, and aura flowed between hundreds of such pieces.
Kijik!
A powerful sound like a lightning was echoed, and the blinding light rapidly flashes and dissipates.
The trajectory of the greatsword changed with each flash of light.
Due to the irregular shape of the aura, the length of the sword's blade sometimes changed, and the broken crystals danced with the greatsword.
"Ugh!"
Barton rotated his body and deflected the greatsword. It seemed as if he had deflected it completely, but his armor tore, and fresh blood spurted out.
He was struck by the aura forming a cluster attached to the greatsword.
He only suffered this level of damage because he had been aware of it since the moment the crystals were embedded in the greatsword.
Even someone like Barton would have had a hard time avoiding severe injury without knowing the Lightning flash.
The cluster of aura attached to the greatsword Volgar almost looks like lightning energy.
Of course, it wasn't real lightning energy. Anyone familiar with Plutonian swordsmanship could tell this at first glance.
That was because the Runcandel's 6th decisive killing move, Lightning flash, was a technique modeled after Plutonian swordsmanship.
It was coincidental because Lightning flash was a move derived from the very technique that Jin was about to execute: "Plutonian Swordsmanship, Mystic Technique: Thunder Blade"
Fzzzt!
Sigmund took in the lightning energy of illuminating heart.
The same type of crystals that had been embedded in the greatsword Volgar now filled the surface of the pale blade.
'Is that the lightning energy that the youngest is said to wield? Why does it have a shape similar to lightning flash?'
'I heard that all the elder council members, except for Zed, refused to hand down the decisive killing moves to him. How on earth did he learn Lightning flash?'
Both Diphus and Barton had similar thoughts. They were both taken aback when Jin used the unexpected move.
However, despite the superficial resemblance, they were entirely different.
Lightning flash simply increased the range of the greatsword's attacks, altered its trajectory, and expanded its targeting area, while Thunder Blade created dozens of "blades" out of flowing lightning energy.
Sssh, ziiiik!
The blue blades filled the air and aimed at Barton.
The blades flashed and made it challenging to anticipate their movements.
"Kaaaah!"
Barton swung his long sword desperately.
His cape was already tattered, and his damaged armor no longer served its purpose.
He had to fend off both Thunder Blade and Lightning flash simultaneously.
He looked like a white orb as his long sword moved at a blinding speed to parry attacks from all directions.
Jin and Diphus were relentlessly launching their attacks.
At first glance, Barton seemed purely on the defensive, but a counterattack would swiftly follow if he found an opening.
Blood continued to pour into the air.
It was difficult to ascertain whose blood it was, and the scattered blood vanished within seconds.
A single finger poked out amid the distorted space caused by the shockwaves.
It was Barton's index finger.
However, Barton's momentum showed no signs of weakening. Instead, his attacks became even more fierce and swift. Jin and Diphus were forced to take a step back.
What a waste, Diphus thought to himself. The fact that a formidable knight like Barton had betrayed Runcandel left him shaken.
He was also curious about what Zipfel had promised to make Barton betray Runcandel?
At first, he only wanted to kill him, but as they exchanged blows, strange thoughts kept creeping into his mind.
On the other hand, Jin neither thought it was a waste nor felt curious.
He could understand weak people but could not tolerate hideous character.
It does not matter whether he was a 20-star knight or even stronger than that, individuals like Barton were not needed in Runcandel.
Swish!
Diphus's greatsword cleaved through Barton's chest. The deep garsh broke the ribs and pierced his organs, and despite vomiting blood, Barton did not show any sign of pain.
His movements remained unchanged. There was no way an ordinary human could continue fighting with such severe injuries, but Jin and Diphus had reached a conclusion.It was time to end his life.
'It's time to finish this,' Diphus thought.
As Jin stepped back, Diphus also created some distance.
For a moment, the battle paused.
The fierce resistance they had just faced felt like a lie. Barton stood there like a statue, unmoving.
In fact, Barton had lost his vision for some time ago. The bleeding had completely blocked his vision, but he continued to fend off their attacks.
Sigmund released its lightning energy once again.
This time, the Thunder Blades suspended in the air converged toward Jin. Dozens of these thunder blades floated behind Jin and aimed toward Barton.
Diphus's Lightning flash followed the same process. Around a hundred blades and clusters of energy aimed at Barton from both sides.
Barton's ragged breathing became audible amidst the crackling noises.
"Barton Vicenna."
Barton couldn't respond. Blood flowed back into his throat and he made only faint gasping sounds.
Even though he was blind and his feet had stiffened, Barton still had a radius of about 20 meters as his attack range. In other words, if you stayed beyond 20 meters, you would never be attacked by him.
"Zipfel probably promised you something like immortality, ultimate power, or something similar. And you must have seen undeniable evidence of it, enough to stake everything on it."
The energies of Thunder Blade and Lightning flash were growing brighter by the moment and no longer flickering but blazing steadily.
"Maybe it's a Demon God's Orb. I've seen it myself, the strange power allows it to resurrect the dead and gain incredible strength. It was a mysterious power that could tempt anyone."
Diphus's brow twitched at those words. He had never heard of the term Demon God's Orb before. It was something he hadn't seen even in confidential documents restricted to the 4th flagbearer or higher.
"But Barton, do you know what? I've also seen the Demon God's Orb being shattered by Runcandel's sword."
Barton lifted his head.
It was impossible. Mere humans cannot shatter it.
He wanted to say that, but all that came out was the black blood.
What Barton had experienced and what Jin had seen were different Demon God's Orb, so he might believe that it was impossible to destroy it.
"Even my father knew about the existence of that object. So don't dream of anything. The death you face today is final. Resurrection, immortality, such vain things won't happen."
Just before thrusting Sigmund, Jin paused as if he had remembered something.
"Oh, and by the way, Hell is a real place. The brief glimpse I had of it made it seem like a very fitting place for you, so I hope you will have a great time there."
Shwiik!
As Sigmund cleaved through the air, the Thunder Blades surged forward.
Diphus's Lightning flash also charged toward Barton while leaving afterimages behind.
A short but intense final resistance had begun.
In just one second, more than a hundred blades and clusters rained down. Barton managed to fend off nearly half of them with incredible strength, but he couldn't prevent the rest.
There was no scream. The dry sounds of flesh, organs, and bones being shredded echoed among the flagbearers and guardian knights.
Eventually, Barton's body was completely disintegrated, and Jin slowly walked back to the spot where Barton had been standing.
His body and armor had been destroyed. However, strangely the symbol of the Black Knight, the black helmet, was left intact on the ground.
Jin picked up the helmet and looked back at the knights.
"Mission accomplished. Everyone, return to the clan."
"Yes, sir!"
The knights saluted. Diphus wasn't pleased that the guardian knights were saluting the 12th flagbearer rather than him, but he didn't reprimand them.
He acknowledged that this mission couldn't have succeeded without Jin.