Episode 234. To Hell (6)
[Oh, let's see how well you can imitate the Sun Splitter in such a short time. We'll be back, kid.]
"Alright."
The three of them left.
Jin immediately walked towards the portal leading to dwelling. As he got closer, the magic emanating from the portal intensified.
However, that dense magic couldn't penetrate the golden aura surrounding Jin.
Just getting near the aura caused it to evaporate like steam.
"Indeed, carrying three swords at the waist is uncomfortable."
Jin released the Bascara from its sheath.
The sword, which was as good as obtaining a power in itself, but Jin had no desire to take the Bascara.
He wasn't interested in using three swords flamboyantly, and the magic imbued in the sword was a problem for anyone in the Alliance to use.
He had even inquired Picon about a way to remove the magic.
It was possible, but without the magic, Bascara became worse than an ordinary famous sword.
Therefore, to Jin, Bascara only had value as a key.
'A sword used as a key....'
-...Barisada, the sword of the master. The fake Murakan is after it.
-Eh? Barisada? What does the fake guy intend to use it for?
-In the past, Soldelet told the master that Barisada was not just a sword, but also a key to somewhere.
Suddenly, he remembered what Frey had said in Keitam's painting.
'The world in the painting was polluted at the time. So the information that Barisada is a key could be erroneous, but strangely it bothers me. It would be great if I could see my father once. There are so many things I want to ask, hear, and show him.'
It was a problem he couldn't solve right now.
Jin threw Bascara towards the gigantic floating portal.
Crack-!
A sharp tearing sound spread, and the space around the portal began to distort haphazardly.
Even that shockwave was as tremendous as an earthquake, but the ground where Jin stood was still and quiet.
Groooaaar-!
Soon the portal opened sideways, and a sphere popped out from within. The sphere shot up high, enveloping the portal like a shield.
[Huuuuuu...]
The magic flowing from the shield formed a fog, and the vague shapes of the demons gradually appeared from within the fog.
There were five in total.
Two of them covered the sky with their gigantic physical forms like castles, and the other three looked similar to other high-ranking demons.
[Ah, this refreshing air... it's been a while since I've seen the outside world.]
[It seems it wasn't Paelrito who found us, given that we're awake.]
Jin paused to look them over, turning his attention to two demons emitting a familiar energy.
"The one with the blue horns, and the one that's melting... uh, I can't think of any other description. The one who looks like he's melting."
Jin had already experienced the power of these two demons when fighting Paelrito. Therefore, he could identify them instantly. Visaro was the aged one, Tzak was the plague demon.
[Could it be you're the one who summoned Visaro and me?]
"Yeah, it's good to see you guys. I have some not-so-fond memories of you."
The demons felt strange about Jin's demeanor, as if he was out for a neighborhood stroll.
Long years confined in Baskalra had eroded their sanity and insight to a level lower than that of ordinary humans. Still, they could sense it.
How tremendously powerful the human standing before them was.
[...Unpleasant memories? Ah, did our powers attack you when they were brought out of Baskalra a while ago?]
"That's right."
Swiiish...
Jin slowly drew his sword, Siegmund.
Then, the golden aura floating around him gathered towards Jin and transformed into a sharp electric charge.
Jin called this transformed golden energy "Gold Lightning."
It was Hedo who named it, just as he did during the eternalization.
Hedo was quite proud when he named Jin's new king's sword "Gold Lightning Blade" when Jin ascended to Changseong.
[...The power of the King's swords? It looks a bit different from what we remember, but it's shocking in many ways, human.]
"I was considering sparing you if I thought you could be of help in the future demon realm, but looking at your condition, it doesn't seem possible."
[Heh heh... Yes, you can see it. Our madness.]
"It's not surprising you've gone mad, being sealed for such a long time. But at my level, I'm a worthy final opponent for you. After all, all of you were called the rulers of the demon realm before you were defeated by Zito and Paelrito."
[It's not just that, it's an honor! We were destined to rot inside Baskalra, ending up less than beasts. But now we can fall to the sword of a great human.]
Tzak bowed, placing his right hand on his chest.
The other gods also followed Tzak's lead in showing respect. Since Tzak was the strongest demon before Zito, he was their leader.
[Unfortunately, because we've become weak inside Baskalra, we won't be any challenge for you, but please understand. We've been tied up for too long.]
As they were the first to show respect, Jin also bowed his head slightly.
"Your hospitality is unexpected. I'll let you make the first move."
[I won't refuse. Then for a moment...]
Whooosh-!
Suddenly, Tzak punched into the chest of another devil beside him.
His fist pierced through the chest and instantaneously corroded the body with plague.
The body, melted by the plague, continued to be absorbed into Tzak.
Next, Tzak leaped high and swallowed two huge devils blocking the sky in the same manner.
The devils swallowed by Tzak did not resist at all.
[They're already under my control. It'd be disrespectful to bother you by having them all attack at once.]
However, he didn't absorb Vizaro in the same way. Instead, as soon as Tzak landed on the ground, he pushed Vizaro to the side.
Jin nodded, understanding Tzak's intention.
"It seems you want to keep one devil who's in a relatively good condition, you certainly care about the demon world more than Zito."
[Hehehe.]
Tzak formed a sword in both hands, glowing fiercely.
Like Tzak's body, the formed sword was constantly melting.
Tzak's sword didn't need to be sharp. Just touching it would make even the strongest adversary a slave to the plague.
Tzak charged forward.
As the swords collided, the flowing plague splashed out, but the golden lightning energy instantly evaporated them.
Even in his heyday, Tzak could never beat Jin. His sword couldn't even graze Jin's clothing.
The fact that Tzak, in his weakened state, could even cross swords with Jin once was purely because Jin granted him this dignity.
"It wasn't such a bad meeting, Tzak."
The Sword of the Demon King, Geumrae
Golden Moon
Following the trajectory of Siegmund, the golden lightning that stretched out in a straight line pierced through Tzak's chest.
A small whirlpool was formed in Tzak's chest by the Golden Moon, continuing to consume Tzak.
The remaining plague energy in Tzak was evaporating non-stop due to the golden lightning. Tzak couldn't escape the gravitational pull of the Golden Moon, and his regeneration was meaningless.
His ash-colored body shattered and was dyed in gold. As Tzak started to shatter into shiny golden particles, he looked like the last moments of a holy being, not a plague god.
[Ah... so this is what it feels like to have the plague vanish from my body. As a plague god, I too have suffered from this power for a long time.]
The victory was decided in a single blow, but Tzak was not feeling humiliation but liberation.
The long idle time spent in Basukara, the madness that corroded his inner self due to that, and the pain of the plague were all now over.
[You must have opened this gate and awakened us to kill Zito. Tell me your name, noble knight.]
"Jin Run Kandel."
[Thank you....]
Tsuzak vanished just like that. The aura of the plague he had spread had completely disappeared.
Jin turned his gaze from Tsuzak's remnants scattering into golden particles to Bisaro.
Bisaro, lacking horns, almost looked human.
"Bisaro, the demon god who manipulates the power of aging. According to Paelito, you were a being who aged the demons that desired death. And you were sealed in Basakara for opposing Zito."
Bisaro nodded.
He had a much lighter sense of madness compared to the other demon gods, including Tsuzak. He had been sealed relatively recently, and it was thanks to Tsuzak respecting him within Basakara.
Bisaro had been respected by all of Jinmagye before he was sealed, as he helped provide a peaceful death for weary demons.
"[...That's true.]"
"You still seem to have the will to resist Zito."
"[I have the will, but I no longer have the power. My combat ability is far below that of ordinary high-ranking demons. If you spare me, all I can do is... continue to assist the demons who desire a dignified death. I only have a faint ability of aging left.]"
"In that case, go. After today, Zito will be gone."
"[Understood... But, there is another reason why Tsuzak wanted to keep me alive.]"
"What is it?"
"[You only have the key to the door, you don't know the correct usage. If you enter as is, the path to Zito's dwelling will be complicated.]"
"I see."
"[I'll sort out the dimensional door. It will take about a day.]"
"A day, perfect. My colleagues are due to return in a day. Let me know when you're done."
Jin immediately sat down and entered meditation, leaving Bisaro behind.
Bisaro did not consider any way to escape or trick Jin.
He simply focused solely on arranging the dimensional door.
And he was ready to dedicate the rest of his life for Jinmagye after Zito's death at the hands of Jin.
'Sun Splitter... I'm sure the aura, mana, and spirit wrapped around Barisada in a spiral. And that was almost similar to the golden energy I'm using now. Other than that, there was no particular element in the sword stroke.'
Jin did not dwell on the sword stroke of the Sun Splitter for long.
After all, the essence of such a profound sword was not the technical area, but realizing the will to master the sword.
'Perhaps, the Sun Splitter is a sword made to cut a god. And when Temar mastered this sword...'
Jin was soon able to grasp the essence of the Sun Splitter.
'He must have mastered it with the intention of bending Solderet. Then, the opponent I should fight in my meditation from now on would be not Zito but Solderet.'