[T.L: punisher87]
[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
Jin's eyes widened.
"Elder Sister... Luntia?"
Jin couldn't even imagine encountering Luntia here instead of Valeria. The excitement that had arisen from finally finding Valeria's trace turned into unpleasant anxiety like rancid oil.
"Why are you here, elder sister?"
Luntia's beloved sword, Charles, was glistening with black chaos. Jin could only stare at his second sister like a person who had lost his mind for a few seconds.
Luntia also looked at Jin silently for a while. It wasn't easy to read what emotion was contained in her black-stained pupils.
On other hand, Luntia was clearly recognizing Jin's emotions.
[You don't seem to like it, the fact that I appeared in front of you right now.]
Jin repeated Luntia's words and involuntarily lowered his head. A very strange and terrible pain, which Jin had never experienced in his entire life, was scratching Jin's inside.
The grief of losing a family member.
That's exactly the kind of pain it was.
Jin already expected that Luntia would be stained by chaos. However, Jin had hoped that she wouldn't be completely encroached by chaos.
Looking up again, Jin stared at the black horn on his sister's forehead. She has already crossed a river of no return.
"I trusted you, elder sister."
[Was there ever that level of trust between you and me?]
Luntia had never been close to any of her siblings. She believed that only Luna gave meaning to her life. Winning against her sister in competition, or even losing and following her for the rest of her life, was all she wanted.
So, when Luna voluntarily gave up her position as the next patriarch at the age of nineteen, Luntia's world became a meaningless, colorless existence.
It was 1799 when Luntia started to hold fire in her heart again. It was the very day when Jin made the patriarchy declaration.
The event between Jin and Luntia at the time was far from an act of brotherly love. They fought with their lives on the line until one of them fell.
Moreover, the two of them did not have a long conversation after the incident.
-I, too, will become patriarch.
-I thought there were only idiots, but there is a real one. Let's do our best, elder sister.
That was all, but Jin felt a deep bond had formed between him and Luntia at that moment.
They had lived like strangers all their life, but with just one fight, Jin felt that they had become siblings with the same dream.
Luntia felt the same way. That's why, before going to Laprarosa for the third time, Jin believed that Luntia would keep the Prophet in check.
"Did Rosa and the Prophet find your weakness?"
There is no way that Luntia accepted chaos voluntarily. Jin was convinced that Rosa and the Prophet's wiles had defeated her.
In response to his words, Luntia smiled like a crescent moon and clenched her horns tightly.
[What difference would it make if I said yes?]
"There must be something I can help you with."
[Haha... are you really the 12th flagbearer I knew? You're talking nonsense. Wake up, Jin Runcandel. My youngest brother. I stand here as your enemy.]
Luntia slowly raised Charles and aimed it at Jin.
[It means your only task is to fight against me. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, the moment when I can fight you again.]
Luntia's black eyes, which were hard to read all the time, harbored a glint of bloodlust.
Demon heart's madness.
Although she seemed capable of conversation, Luntia was completely consumed by chaos. Her deep and intense hatred was already piercing Jin with the tip of her Charles.
Jin decided to control his emotions. He couldn't fight an opponent while overwhelmed by sadness, pain, or any sense of guilt.
It was an inevitable fight. Therefore, it was right to end it as quickly as possible, even for the sake of Luntia. To save Valeria, who might have suffered from Luntia's attack.
Gradually, Jin's eyes became firm. Luntia nodded her head as if satisfied with Jin's determination.
[Yes, that's more like it. But, youngest brother, you... You seem quite tired.]
Cheoong-!
Suddenly, Luntia thrust out her sword, and Jin stepped aside.
At the time of the patriarch declaration, it was thrust that put Jin in danger of death from the first blow. Luntia's sword achieved a much higher level of enlightenment than at that time.
[Nevertheless, you have become mysteriously strong again. Thanks to you, my boring fate will be a little more enjoyable. When I first fought you, I also had many limitations. I think it was the price of that time that you reached me while you were tired.]
Despite being stained with chaos, Luntia had not lost her transcendent and indomitable dignity, just like figures such as Stam or Padler or Rosa.
The starting aspect was that Luntia was pushing Jin. Her sword left cracks and sharp afterimages in the dark space, surrounding Jin with them.
'She's strong. Even more so than Lionel Runcandel.'
In some respects, she was even more difficult to deal with than when Lionel and Stam cooperated. It was because she 'ruled' this sub-space beyond the size and level of her power.
The trajectory of Charles' attack was not straight. Whenever Charles moved, the dark space twisted and turned in a random pattern, following Luntia's will and constantly changing its trajectory.
It seems that he was dealing with the entire subspace, not Luntia, and Jin quickly realized this fact.
'Is that why, I didn't feel as if the shadow force was guiding me when I first entered this place, unlike other tombs. Because Sister Luntia had already taken control of the entire tomb?'
Drops of blood flowed from the four or five open wounds. As a Jin, he only sustained that much injury while understanding Luntia's and the dark space's characteristics.
Fuzz!
A ray of blue lightning energy spread from Sigmund and tore through the chaos sword. And the two of them unleashed the clan's secret technique at the same time.
The 5th secret technique, Light Speed Thrust, enhanced with lightning energy, chaos and each individual ability. As they reached out with their swords, it seemed like they would pierce each other's chest.
However, the two of them had already predicted each other's swords and were stepping back to their respective sides accordingly.
The entire subspace was divided in half. The two swords, stretching out and passing each other, struck the emptiness at the edge of the subspace.
Luntia looked at that edge for a moment, while Jin did not.
[Do you remember? On the first day when I faced your lightning energy, I protected countless knights from you. I'm still fulfilling my role of protecting the clan from you.]
"... How did you get in here?"
[Isn't that obvious?]
"I know the Prophet played some trick, but this space was originally prepared for me. It's hard to understand why Solderet's subspace treats you as if you are its owner."
[It is as you say. However, I think there are other things that you are really curious about.]
"Hister, after defeating you, elder sister, I will look for it myself."
[You suspect that the red-haired woman is still alive.]
"You don't have perfect control over this space, elder sister Luntia. Did you not know that Hister's magic was still present in subspace?"
At those words, Luntia narrowed her eyes.
[Oh, that's quite interesting if it's true. If there is still magic present, it means the caster is still alive somewhere. I knew that the woman was hiding somewhere in this place. I was confident she was dead by now.]
"Is that because you inflicted significant damage to Hister, elder sister?"
Luntia nodded.
[That's right. If that woman was still alive, it would likely be the result of accepting chaos. She wouldn't have survived if she didn't have an exceptional healing ability.]
Jin didn't react sensitively to those words.
"That won't happen, elder sister. If that was the case, the magic I saw should have already been tainted with energy of chaos. Anyway, thanks to you, I'm even more convinced that Hister is still alive."
[Now all that's left is to defeat me and save that woman?]
Having said that, Luntia was showing her displeasure for the first time.
[You and elder sister Luna always think that way. You always believe that you can defeat your opponents and take what you want, no matter what the situation is.]
"That's always been the case. There won't be any difference this time."
The subspace began to vibrate in response to Luntia's anger. Jin couldn't tell if her sudden outburst was simply madness or if there was another reason behind it.
Jin decided to regain his composure. Luntia's words did not hurt him. Because none of these words are spoken by the 'real Luntia Runcandel'.
Even Ron Hairan had resented Jin in the abyss of Glyek.
"I will soon stop the madness that engulfed you."
Aura gathered in Jin's illuminating heart.
'Prolonging the battle is disadvantageous.'
In the first place, Jin started the battle exhausted, while Luntia was in perfect condition. Also, she is using the entire subspace as her own energy, and even if she is injured, she appears to recover straight away through energy of chaos.
Jin needed to finish it in one strike, if possible.
'I have to keep in mind the combat situation after exiting the sub-space... But it's better to trust Zipfel and Kinzelo on that matter.'
If Jin clumsily tries to conserve his strength, he won't be able to avoid serious injuries.
[Trying to unleash the sword of the day you made the declaration, are you...?]
"But unlike back then, you have nothing to protect this time, elder sister."
However, just like before, you wouldn't be able to receive this sword.
As Jin continued his words and began to unleash his sword, Luntia smirked.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]