"Retreat!"
Talaris quickly regained her stance.
In place of the inner castle, a huge barrier of ice spread out in all directions, and it was close to Talaris' full strength, except for the power used to bound Elona Zipfel's seal.
However, the energy of chaos easily tore through it. The progress of the chaos that hit it and Jin's group could be delayed a little, but that was all.
"Kahak!"
Talaris once again spat out blood and opened her eyes wide. Her eyes twitched, and her grip on the sword trembled.
It wasn't trembling out of fear, but it wasn't without apprehension.
The tidal wave of chaos pouring from white stone was so vast that even she could not fathom it.
-It may be hard to believe, but if you can smelt and use that white stone, it has the power to support all the magic equipment of the empire and make the empire many times stronger in an instant.
The testimony of the traitor Tion Hairan.
-Now, it has already been proven that large-scale reinforcements are coming. The white stone is an indispensable thing for them. But we still don't know what it is.
Rosa's evaluation.
- The previous master of the hidden palace left a record saying that Hairan had one thing that could be a threat to the world. Our hidden palace presumes that the item Hairan has is the witch Helluram.
-... It is a seal that can withstand even the absolute power of myriad ice. Do you understand what this means? It means that there is a chaos that even I cannot handle.
Talaris' speculation.
All those stories were either wrong or incomplete. What was sleeping in the white stone was an existence far beyond their expectations.
King of the Black Sea, Glyek.
The Fifth Ruler of Chaos.
The only one who knew its true identity was Kinzelo. Even Kelliark did not expect that what was sealed in the white stone was Glyek.
Myriad ice gave off a dazzling radiance. Its energy, which would normally light up the entire area, was as feeble as a candle in the face of Glyek's chaos.
The Myriad Ice Sword unfolded. If she hesitated even for a moment, at that instant, neither she nor Jin's group would be safe.
3rd maneuver Avalanche, 4th maneuver Frost Crush, 10th maneuver Glacier Slash. A ghostly white sword, imbued with the essence of Talaris, stretched out into the gathering chaos.
Chaos was taking all the myriad ice's attacks as if it were funny.
'The White Stone was the king of the Black Sea… !'
Chi-i-!
The myriad ice assimilated even more into Talaris, releasing a harsh resonant sound like a roar.
The rushing chaos showed signs of slowing down for the first time at that time.
Myriad Ice Sword Ultimate technique
White
As Talaris slammed myriad ice into the ground, mountain-like ice flowers bloomed everywhere.
The absurdly sharp and hard glacial ice engulfed the space with a speed close to light.
Talaris shivered and dark blood flowed ceaselessly from her mouth and nose. Along with Elona's seal, she had been protecting the rampage of white stone alone, so even Talaris could not help but feel overwhelmed.
Huh, huh, and Talaris breathed heavily, amplifying the energy of ultimate technique, White.
It seemed to be a struggle with chaos. She was desperately blocking the chaos that was trying to come out by crushing the sword of White.
"Damn it... Why is it here and not in the Black Sea?"
Saying that, Talaris' face turned white. Her hair had already turned disheveled, and sweat poured all over her body, and the sword that formed by the power of White swayed unsteadily as if it would be pulled from the floor at any moment.
Talaris Endorma, the master of the Hidden Palace and the world-class strongman recognized even by Chiron, faced a crisis as soon as the chaos awoke.
"Madame Talaris!"
"Jin, listen carefully. Even if everyone on the battlefield combines their strength... damn it, are those outsiders still not here!"
The space where Talaris was blocking the chaos was extremely limited.
Chaos was already spreading throughout the battlefield beyond the ice formations, although it had not yet broken the ultimate move, White.
Talaris was just buying time.
Time for Ron, Kelliark, Runcandel and Zipfel outside to push the chaos a bit. If the ultimate move was broken inside, it was the end.
"And he, heuk, wants you...!"
The resentment of the King of the Black Sea directed towards the shadow.
Talaris keenly felt that hatred while resisting the chaos. She had such a hard time fending off the chaos, and the hatred was directed at Jin, not herself.
Jin felt the same way.
He intuitively sensed that the chaos was targeting him as soon as it awoke. A hatred so thick that it seemed to have almost a shape, weighed down Jin's whole body.
A feeling of oppression that seemed to petrify his body, as if his father was showing fighting spirit by focusing on himself.
If it wasn't for Talaris, Jin wouldn't have survived this time.
He alone was not able to do anything about it, his companions were tired, and the dragons who had to protect him were not the same as before or their strength was exhausted.
Moreover, the enemy was so huge and strong that it was incomparable to anything Jin and his companions had ever faced, and the time Talaris could hold out was not long.
After the ultimate move, White ended, she needed a break to recover her strength properly and reclaim some of the power used for Elona Zipfel's seal.
If the emperor hadn't made a deal with Zipfel, if Zipfel hadn't revealed such excessive greed, if the world hadn't cornered Hairan and sword emperor castle....
That horrible being would never have woken up in the human world.
Thud, thud.
Blood flowing from Talaris's face left red spots on the frozen ground.
And another problem was emerging within the territory of white that Talaris formed.
[Kaaaaak-! Aaaaaa!]
Suddenly, Amela rolled her eyes and was having seizures.
It was because the chaos within her was reacting to Glyek's energy and running out of control.
If Yona hadn't once trampled her chaos, Amela would have gone mad and attacked her allies within seconds.
[What, what should I do, ahhh!]
Even Lata and Faye were also sitting down and groaning. Even the weak scent of chaos inherited from Smarion was responding to Glyek's power.
"My lord, if I ever attack my companions, do not hesitate to cut me down. Even right now...…my sanity...… is slipping!"
Thunk!
Lata used his willpower by stabbing himself in the thigh and Faye's shoulder, barely catching his consciousness, but he couldn't continue the fight any longer.
"Ghost leader!"
"Lata, Faye!"
The territory of the White was crumbling.
Jin had to judge what he could do.
'At this rate, Madame Talaris and all of my companions are in danger. I have to come up with a way somehow... !'
The shadow sword special move, Black Light Call, was still unavailable.
'Instead, there are Sir Stam and the Black Knights behind me.'
Stam and the Black Knights, just outside the broken castle, were now dealing with chaos, not the Spectres. There was no time to aim swords and staff at each other.
'Sir Stam received orders to save me from the clan. Besides, due to the location, Sir Stam is also assisted by Madame Talaris.'
As expected, Stam was now struggling to enter the territory of white. It was because he judged that none of his companions would be able to defend Jin at the moment the ultimate move white was pierced.
"Madame Talaris, is it possible to reap some of the forces spread to the rear?"
Talaris immediately understood. Before Glyek woke up, she too had sensed the presence of Stam and the Black Knights. She just couldn't think because she was frantically trying to keep the chaos at bay.
"Stam and the Black Knights. But Jin, it's somewhat of a gamble. Chaos will enter as soon as the White in the rear disappears."
Before answering, Jin was eagerly chanting a summoning spell.
To summon his phoenix, which was dedicated to recovery after infusing some of its body's power into Bradamante last year.
It wasn't just a random act of luck.
'As soon as the chaos awakens, the blue flames dwelling in Bradamante reacts intensely. Just like how Tess was forcibly manifested using my power in the old Oterium.'
Jin's earnest wish was answered within seconds.
In the first place, Tess had been preparing for the manifestation right after Glyek was released from the white stone.
Tess hadn't fully recovered its strength yet, but now wasn't the time to argue about that.
Gaaaaagh-!
Tess came out of the summoning circle, revealing the dignity of the owner of the Flame World.
Besides, unlike in the old Oterium, Tess didn't use Jin's power as collateral to bring forth its own abilities. Tess used the authority of the owner of the Flame World to purify some of the chaos that scattered all over the place and use it as a medium.
Tess cannot use chaos as a medium indefinitely. Even for Tess, being exposed to chaos in this way was obviously dangerous, but judged that it was better than risking the life of the contractor.
"Tess!"
"Tess!?"
"Oh, how glad I am to see you!"
Jin, Misha, and Murakan shouted at the same time, and when Tess appeared, the chaos that once again weighed down ice formation showed signs of retreating.
At the same time, Talaris broke some of the ice formation in the rear, and Stam and the Black Knights entered.
Octavia and the Spectres were nowhere to be seen. They were retreating towards the main unit to escape the chaos.
"12th flagbearer!"
"Fortunately, you're unharmed!"
Crack-!
Then, the ice formation in the front exploded and shattered, and the chaos that had faltered poured inside.
Stam and Black knights stepped forward without hesitation and swung their swords on Talaris' behalf, though they did not act to save her or other allies. The situation simply didn't allow for rescuing only Jin.
In any case, thanks to them, Talaris could catch her breath for a moment, and Jin and his companions could hear the voices of the two people shouting and giving orders from outside.
"All Knights of Runcandel, protect the 12th flagbearer, by all means!"
"Secure Jin Runcandel, he must not be consumed by chaos!"
Rosa Runcandel and Kelliark Zipfel.
Following the orders of their respective leader, all members of Runcandel and Zipfel were throwing themselves to save Jin.