Episode 212. The Black Panther’s Seal, Black Lacquer’s Aura (2)
“Blane, you’re awake? Are you holding up?”
“… It’s okay now.”
“Just hold on a little longer.”
There were two Roinecrows, Tina and Ojos. Blane was flying on Ojos’s back. They were flying towards the eastern watchtower of the Wall.
Blane was recovering quickly thanks to the secret elixir and the dark smoke of the assassination swordsman. However, the wound left by Elkio was not light. He had to sleep for two hours without moving while riding on Ojos.
Blane woke up and sighed, berating himself.
“I missed the Brion Auror manifestor.”
I tried to capture Rayubia and bring her to Rubin, but it was a mistake to underestimate the wolf Elkio.
The terrible battle with Elquio came back to me. It was a battle so difficult that I couldn’t help but frown. I felt the pain that had been quiet rising again.
“No, because I think I found out another secret thanks to it.”
Another secret?
“Tina, do you know anything about that wolf?”
“Um… I have an idea, but I can’t tell you yet. I need to tell Rubin first.”
Blane immediately agreed that it was a secret that had to go through Rubin. In fact, the important issue at hand was not Elkiona Layubia.
‘The fight between Rubin and Imacarum may not be over yet.’
Tina, who had seen the human form of Imakarum, was certain that the fight between the two would not end until morning. Of course, that did not mean that Rubin would be defeated.
“That, no way… … .”
As they headed east, a flash of light entered their eyes. A huge light continued to strike like lightning.
“As expected, you’re still fighting.”
As I got closer, I could also feel the waves of air. The force of the push was so great that I had to apply force to my wings every time we collided.
‘I thought the fight between Blane and Elchio was amazing too… … .’
Looking down from the sky, the difference was clear. If we assume that the grassland is a single living organism, then the fight between Blane and Elkio was nothing more than a minor incident.
But now, the scars left on the plains by the clash between the two aurors were horrific. The marks of that day were so intense that they seemed as if they would never be erased even after a long time had passed.
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
“earthly…….”
Two figures appeared briefly after the flash. It was not easy to keep up with their movements in Blane’s darkness.
‘Was there anyone else besides El Chio?’
The black beast that confronted Rubin clearly resembled Elkio. However, Blanet quickly realized that he was mistaken.
“That black panther is that criminal?”
“That’s right, it’s Imakarum.”
“That’s amazing. You’re not pushed back at all while fighting the young master.”
Literally a horn-to-horn situation.
Blane’s admiration was directed more at Imakarum than Rubin. After all, Rubin was a complete drone to Blane.
On the other hand, Tina’s perspective was different. She had seen Rubin at the peak of his power. The fight with Rosenthaler. How long had it been since then?
It hadn’t even been six months. At that time, it was a fight that Rubin had started by finding Rosenthaler’s weakness, but he had won with difficulty.
If the Rosenthaler of that time were to face the Rubin of today? The fight would definitely end blandly. The loser would naturally be Rosenthaler.
‘You never escaped the ‘tidal wave of the fight’ even once in the meadow. You’ve grown so much again.’
The current Imakarum could be considered a 6-star rather than a 5-star due to the influence of the water man. It temporarily raised its level, making it no different from a combat weapon.
Even though Imacarum was by no means weak, the balance of the fight seemed to have already been tilted.
‘If I had arrived just a little later, it would have already been over.’
Tina was reconsidering the idea that it might not end until morning. The fight had already reached its end.
* * *
Krrrrrrkaa!
Imakarum roars and continues his attack.
The claws of a black panther that cut through the air. As soon as it entered the battle, they grew to the length of a dagger. Even the claws were condensed with a vivid glow of aura.
To Suin, the body itself was a weapon. So other weapons like swords or spears were unnecessary.
Their senses were superior to those of humans in every way. They had no systematic martial arts, but their instincts as beasts led them to the peak of their martial arts.
Meanwhile, Rubin was effectively maximizing his senses by flexibly switching between darkness and smoke.
It increases your agility and quickness, and sometimes even pushes your strength to the limit.
Ddddddddd.
Imacalum crosses his two claws like fingers interlocked and aims for Rubin’s neck. However, the black panther’s claws are helplessly blocked by the black lacquer aura.
Rubin, who concentrated his energy on his sword while maximizing the strength of his arm holding the sword in the dark, was not afraid of a fight with his strength.
Crunch.
Their legs, which had been treading on the ground, began to dig into the ground.
“… … !”
It was natural that surprise would arise in Imakarum’s inverted eyes. He had never once been pushed back in strength when he was a black panther.
Crackle.
The shock grew. His claws were pushed back further, and Rubin’s sword was already close to his neck.
Eventually, Imacalum decided to stop the power struggle. It wrapped its long black tail around Rubin’s feet to gain strength. It was to throw Rubin off balance. At the same time, it attacked Rubin’s lower abdomen with both feet.
But Rubin’s counterattack continued. He spread out his free hand and brought it close to Imacalum’s abdomen. However, he did not press it against her body, but left a small gap.
pop!
The ‘breakthrough’ has occurred.
As Imacarum’s body bounced slightly, Rubin blasted the target once again.
pop!
Imakarum flies backwards. Its tail still holds onto Rubin’s feet, so the two are flung away together.
Meanwhile, the two continued to fight while floating in the air. The ground shook every time their auras clashed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
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The two of them came back down to the ground and took a moment to catch their breath, away from each other.
“Haa, haa… … .”
Imakarum looked toward the cave. The two horses tied up in front of the cave. They had already been caught up in the battle and died.
Rubin followed his gaze. Although the tormentor was dead, Kundalit, unconscious in the cave, had yet to be affected by the battle.
‘Well, if you’re unlucky enough to die, there’s nothing you can do about it.’
At that moment, Rubin’s other senses found two Roinecro appearing in the sky.
Ojos and Tina, carrying Blane, were watching the battle in a large circle.
‘I guess I should end it now.’
Rubin measured the final clash. It was time to use all the strength he had. The aura of the black lacquer had become darker, and the blood-red frost blizzard pouring out of the sword was fierce.
Rubin, whose eyes seemed to darken for a moment, leaped towards Imakarum.
Perhaps sensing that this clash would be the last, Imakarum let out a louder roar than ever before.
Krrrrrrkaa!
The two jumped to heights impossible for humans and began to clash and attack. Swords and claws rained down on each other, and there was a flash of light at every moment.
And then the two fell back to the ground. After the fierce sword fight, the Black Panther’s movements became noticeably slower.
“Ugh.”
Rubin’s bloody frost eventually pierced the lower abdomen of the black panther. Rubin pushed the sword he was holding in reverse up to his collarbone.
“Kwaaah!”
The red sword’s trajectory, like a blazing flame, drew a straight line from bottom to top. The last of the sword trajectory was the fifth sword technique of the assassin swordsman, ‘Shadow Flame’.
‘It’s over.’
Soon, five swords cut a path across Black Panther’s chest, and his groans of pain stopped there. He wouldn’t die, but it would take quite some time to recover.
When the two fell to the ground with a thud, Black Panther lay there unable to get up.
“Sigh… Shit.”
Imakarum collapsed and looked up at the empty sky. Five streams of blood poured out from his body.
The night sky contained in his inverted eyes.
“Why is it that today… ‘Tattoo of the Sky’… … .”
Sssss.
His body begins to turn back into a human again, as he no longer has the strength to maintain his personification.
When he returned to being human, hot tears were streaming down his rough face. Just like the sword wound on his upper body, it was gurgling.
He continued speaking with difficulty, looking at the constellations in the night sky.
“… This is fu*king ridiculous. The ‘Tattoo of the Sky’ is so beautiful… like a horse’s butt.”
“… … .”
After a while, Rubin came into his sight. Looking at those black eyes devoid of emotion, Imacallum sensed the end.
“… Hunter, it would be better to kill him quickly. If we want to chase after the ‘Flame of the Fighting Traces’ that went ahead.”
But Rubin didn’t take his life. Instead, he just plopped down next to Imacallum.
“Why should I kill you? You’ll go back to prison.”
“…what?”
“It may hurt like hell right now, but it wasn’t a path that would take your life. And-”
Swish.
Rubin put the Black Vine’s aura to sleep. At his will, the Blood Frost also took in the cold air and the snowstorm.
“The ‘Flame of the Trace’ is fine. I just stunned him for a moment.”
“… What the hell are you doing?”
Rubin smirked. It would be fun to see him realize that I was the one who freed him.
“Your chieftain has decided to appoint Kundalit as his successor.”
“… … !”
Of course, that would only be possible if the Kundalit was healthy. Rubin finished his speech at that point and stood up.
I left the Imakarum alone and stepped aside. Now it was time to talk to Tina and Blaine.
He motioned for them both to come down. Following the order, the two Roinecros found their bearings and began to descend.
But at that time.
“… … !”
Thump!
Rubin’s heart pounded loudly. It wasn’t just a simple beat. What followed was a dark haze of pain he had never felt before.
“Ugh.”
My breath was suffocating. It felt like a sword had pierced my heart. Rubin, who had never wavered during the battle, could only kneel helplessly.
‘what?’
I can feel the wings of the two approaching Roynecrows flapping in urgency. I turn my head towards them.
Bullfight.
This time, a dull, massive rumble started from his chest.
A semi-transparent hemispherical dome spreads out around Rubin. A semi-transparent membrane that silently expands its area. Imakarum is also swallowed by it, but it has no effect on him. He does not have a dark smoke.
“… … !”
The moment the curtain passed, Blane and Tina felt their bodies and the darkness floating momentarily. It was only for a second, but it was clear.
“master!”
“Rubin!”
To them it was a second, but to Rubin it was much longer. Long enough to meet someone somewhere in his inner world and have a long conversation.
* * *
It’s dark.
A darkness different from the darkness that night creates.
All Rubin remembers is the excruciating pain in his heart and the strange ringing that spread out the moment he turned to Tina and Blaine.
At that moment, a large curtain spread out, and a dark space spread out in front of Rubin.
Into the darkness that erased everything. It felt like I had fallen into the deep sea where I couldn’t even tell the direction or height.
‘Haneke?’
But there was no answer. Feeling strange, I looked inside myself, but I could not feel Haneke’s presence anywhere.
‘Did I faint? Or… the collapse of my inner world?’
The moment Rubin thinks that way, a shape appears before Rubin’s eyes without him even realizing it.
Another darkness that refracts darkness. A rippling dark substance. It was a doll like Rubin. A doll without a face or expression, like a shadow.
-You didn’t faint.
“… … !”
-And Haneke isn’t here.
A dark doll that reads Rubin’s thoughts accurately. It has no expression, but for some reason it looks like it’s looking this way and smiling faintly.
-You know me. You already have a hunch. Now, tell me your hunch.
Tell me your premonition? What do you mean? The dark doll said in a relaxed tone.
-You are now in a transcendent space and time. In an eternity that to others is but a second.
“Are you-”
-That’s right.
But as soon as I opened my mouth, the dark doll nodded. As if it had read my thoughts.
-As you predicted, I am ‘Amyeon’. And you just reached 6 stars.
Rubin’s premonition came true. After fighting Imacalum, he managed to overcome the 6-star wall.
A question suddenly occurred to me at that moment. But before I could ask, Amyeon shook her head.
-No. You’re the first.
“… Me first?”
-Not everyone who has reached the 6th star can meet me. Yes, that’s right. Not Benic, not Killian, not even your mother, Siren. They couldn’t meet me.
Why? Why me of all people?
Amyeon answered.
-Because this is something that only happens to you. Because this is your fate.
