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Glyek.
It was clear that the king of the Black Sea, who existed in the form of a white stone, had awakened using Dante as a vessel.
As Glyek said, it's very likely that Dante's body had already disappeared, but there was a chance that his consciousness might still linger, even if only partially.
Of course, Jin could have been mistaken.
The desperate hope for his friend's survival might be clouding his rationality.
However, Jin could not comprehend the fact that Glyek hesitated for a moment when the huge sword of chaos attacked him.
'Is it because he just woke up and his condition isn't perfect?'
Jin was aware that Glyek was not in perfect condition. Although this was the first time seeing him, the distorted body was filled with defects.
Above all, Glyek mistook Jin for 'Solderet'.
'He speaks as if he knows Solderet well and hates him extremely, yet is confused enough to mistake me as Solderet, there must be a problem with his senses.'
That fact sent chill down Jin's spine. Despite not waking up in full condition, Glyek overwhelmed everyone on the battlefield.
Koong... !
Rashid, dyed in gray, lifted towards Glyek's upper body. Ron delivered a blow with all his might, and was able to break several of his swords and spears for the first time since Glyeck had awakened.
The broken weapon fell like an avalanche and hit the ground. Ron leaped once more through the shattered weapons, riding the gust of the sword wind, and slammed Rashid into Glyek's face.
Hundreds of arms blocked his way again, and this time a repulsive force occurred instead of attraction and pushed him away.
Nevertheless, Ron was able to leave a long and deep scar on Glyek's face.
It wasn't without cost. Ron was also pierced all over by thorns protruding from Glyek's face out of nowhere.
Jin and the Black Knights jumped at the same time to protect Ron, who was in a defenseless state for a while.
A total of fourteen thorns stabbed his body, and dark red blood poured out of his body, but fortunately, there were no very deep wounds.
However, the fact that Glyek's reflexive attack injured Ron was a problem in itself.
The speed of the thorn that was felt by Jin and the Black Knights was certainly not at a level that a knight like Ron could not avoid or parry.
Ron was physically reaching his limit.
He wasn't normal from the start of the second battle, so it wasn't strange if Ron collapsed at any time.
"Sir Ron, are you all right!"
At first glance, Jin saw Ron's pupils becoming cloudy. He smelled the peculiar smell of ash that is characteristic of those nearing death.
"I'm…fine."
Jin and the Black Knights guarded his sides and back.
Talaris was still seated, and support from Runcandel and Zipfel was still coming from afar.
Although Glyek's senses were not intact, he poured almost all of his attacks on Jin's side.
But Glyek was not completely neglecting the rear. He continued to explode chaos towards the outside to prevent Runcandel and Zipfel from approaching.
More than 90% of the chaos energy was spent on blocking reinforcements.
Therefore, what Jin and the others were enduring were mostly pure physical attacks from Glyek.
Ron stood up by planting his sword on the ground. In the process, he suddenly realized that the ground was turning strangely black. Jin and the black Knights also saw the same phenomenon.
"The land, this...."
It was not darkened by the heat of battle or by the cannon fire.
'It's similar to…. the Black Sea.'
The land is named Black Sea.
Stam, who participated in Chiron's expedition for a long time after becoming the Black Knight, had personally experienced this phenomenon firsthand in the past—the phenomenon of the land turning into 'Black Sea.'
Jin also encountered the same thing when he heard about Ozdock from Picon Minche.
-[As the Black Sea rapidly expanded, Ozdock was covered in the toxic land of the Black Sea. It must be assumed that he was buried alive while trying to hibernate.]
The land where Sword Emperor Castle once stood was turning into Black Sea due to Glyek's energy. A land where people cannot live....
Crunch!
Ron clenched his fist and grabbed a handful of land. Instead of black soil, his grasp was filled with solid crystals of chaos.
"To what extent are you going to trample on my land..."
Crystals of chaos disintegrated into particles in Ron's grasp and scattered. Jin couldn't say anything to him.
Maybe all the tragedies that happened in the Sword Emperor Castle were caused by his own regression, so a terrible guilt clung to his heart like rotten oil.
Even before he regressed, Zipfel created the Demon God's orb, and the imperial family always looked for an opportunity to push Hairan out, and the white stone was always there.
The Sword Emperor Castle War was bound to happen regardless of Jin's regression. Rather, it may be that Jin was now moving towards a better result.
However, no one could tell Jin that this wasn't his fault. Jin himself couldn't think otherwise, and the sadness experienced by the giant in front of him was bitter beyond measure.
He just had to fight with all his might. As always, that was the best Jin could do.
The heavy pressure that was pressing on Glyek was fading.
Tess' energy was exhausted. Glyek paused for a moment by the shock of the slash on his face, but then returned to swinging hundreds of swords and spears.
And Ron stumbled.
Ron stepped on unstable terrain with his faltering two legs, so Jin and the black knights were almost in a position to protect Ron.
After the Black Sea began to form, the energy of Glyek quickly blackened the ground.
Jin was also growing tired. Stam and the Black Knights were better than him as their battle wasn't that long, but they had to deal with the chaos throughout and rapidly lost their stamina to fill Ron's vacancy.
What was even more painful was the fact that Glyek's distorted appearance became more and more stable as the Black Sea transformation progressed.
Glyek's attacks became more ferocious as time passed, and his energy expanded. Runcandel and Zipfel's breakthrough was delayed further.
Crack, clang!
In the end, Ron was struck down by a single scythe-like blade that Jin and the black knights had missed. He managed to strike back, but he fell to the ground lifelessly.
He had already surpassed his limits several times. From the moment he woke up after a long period of unconsciousness until now, Ron had been creating miracles all along.
But now he has reached the end...
"Sir Ron!"
"12th flagbearer!"
Jin and Stam shouted at the same time. Jin reflexively threw himself to save Ron, which Stam thought was a wrong decision.
Stam was right. If he loses his focus while defending Ron, he's only giving Glyek a chance.
Jin thought that Glyek would naturally target him if he recklessly approached. If that happens, with Stam and the Black Knights, they could still save Ron even if he was injured.
But Glyek was regaining his sanity as land became the Black Sea. He decided that he'd better kill Ron first when he had the chance.
Besides, Glyek's spear was faster than Jin. A huge black spear was falling towards Ron like lightning.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it!'
Jin raised his energy and fired a light-speed thrust. Blood flowed from his mouth, nose and ears.
Jin failed to hit the spear by a narrow margin and missed. In that fleeting moment, Jin frantically resented himself for not being able to intercept the huge spear.
Ron no longer had the strength to ward off the spear. The moment the spear's blade was about to strike Ron, it was imprinted like a slow screen in Jin's field of vision.
And the next moment, Jin saw it again.
He saw Glyek getting hesitate. The spear stopped right before it hit Ron.
[This….]
It was only a brief moment, about one second, but it was enough time for Jin to throw himself again and push Ron away.
"Kaaak!"
Instead of Ron, Jin let out a scream as he took the spear. Due to the recoil, it felt like his bones and organs were about to burst, but Jin felt a sense of relief that was almost grateful for the pain.
Stam and the Black Knights parried off the ensuing attack. And now, they too were feeling that something was off about Glyek. However, they had not thought about Dante.
Ron, on the other hand, was clearly aware, even as his consciousness faded and his eyes darkened.
Dante..… Dante, my grandson...….
How are you there, how?
His eyes were clouded.
Earlier, when Jin asked if he was okay. Ron answered vaguely, not just because he was exhausted.
At the moment when fourteen thorns protruding from Glyek's face stabbed his body, he also thought that Dante's consciousness might remain somewhere in that monster, just as Jin thought.
Ron was convinced now.
"I sense it, Jin. Dante, my grandson, is inside him."
[You're persistent.]
Ron's vision went out. He lost his eyesight.
"Yes grandson, it's your grandfather."
The fire of the flesh faded, and all that remained for Ron was the unwavering will of his blind love towards his grandson.
It kept him speaking in a hoarse voice with little sensation in his whole body.
"Sir Ron, Dante is in there. So you must hold on to your consciousness!"
"Dante. I'll save you...…."
Crack, thud!
While Ron was muttering, Glyek was swinging his sword again. Jin and the Black Knights responded, but if they missed one more attack, Ron would be torn apart without a trace.
Unlike Jin, the Black Knights saw no point in protecting Ron anymore. It was because it seemed impossible to revive him unless the tears of Numerus were used.
But Jin stubbornly protected Ron.
"12th flagbearer, you have to give up. More than this is impossible."
"No, we must save him. Sir Stam."
"Are you saying you really don't know that it's a situation where acting emotionally won't help!"
That statement was incorrect.
Rather, Jin was now making judgments with almost no emotion involved.
The reason he wanted to save Ron was no different.
Kelliark Zipfel.
It was because Jin was aware that the culprit who pushed Hairan into such a desperate fate was about to arrive.
'He... he will definitely save Sir Ron.'
With the power of the Demon God's orb.
Jin doesn't know if he should describe it as 'saving', but one thing was certain. By using the power of the Demon God's orb, Ron could fight again. Although it's far out of bounds.
Stam read Jin's thoughts and recognized his true intentions belatedly, and felt a chill in his back.
If it were about facing sorrow, Jin might have given up on Ron.
It would be better for him to rest now rather than relying on that damn object called the Demon God's orb to force him to fight again.
However, what Ron desired was not rest.
What he wanted was to fight until he found any trace of Dante left in this desolate battlefield.
Even if it meant using extreme and brutal means, there was no need to conceal it.
Ron knew that his grandson's presence lingered somewhere within that monster.
"Kelliark Zipfel will take action to save Sir Ron, and Sir Ron will fight. Above all else, Sir Ron is absolutely necessary for this fight. Because the patriarch is not here. Leader of the Black Knights, do you think I'm really ruining things because of emotions!"
Jin lashed out, barely suppressing his miserable feelings.