Volume 4 Chapter 78 – An Anomaly Called the Runcandels (1)

[Translator – jhei]

[Proofreader – yukitokata]

The axe-sword, Crantel. The sword with a tip forged into the shape of an axe blade. A weapon born to satisfy Luna’s tastes.

At first glance, one would say that it was a heavy and inefficient weapon—it easily weighed heavier than three or four men.

But Luna swung the axe-sword as if it were as light as a feather.

Sheeeek! Krrrrt!

The first strike deflected Vyuretta’s breath, splitting it into two and sending them to the ground. The second struck the face from the Demon God’s Orb, redirecting it towards Andrei like a ball.

Andrei—who had been confident and relaxed—looked anxious and tense. On the other hand, Vyuretta didn’t dare to attack again after landing on the ground.

As soon as Luna appeared, the battle scene rapidly changed.

She stepped in front of Jin and looked around, then lightly grinned.

“The Zipfels’ second-in-command and a wind dragon. Yes, it’s worth calling me for this kind of fight. Jin, are you hurt anywhere?”

The sun shone behind Luna as she turned to face Jin.

Looking into her ocean-deep eyes, Jin was certain.

The fight was already won.

After all, she was the definition of ‘strongest’.

“No, not a scratch.”

“Good. If you got hurt, I’d kill those two then go flip the Zipfel Clan inside out.”

Hearing these words, Jin got goosebumps. Mainly because he felt the love and care coming from his sister.

Also because ‘flipping the Zipfel clan inside out’ wasn’t impossible for Luna.

“Anyways, I missed you. It was so boring without you back at home. I’m sure you felt the same?”

“I think so.”

“How cute.”

Arriving next to Jin, Murakan covered him with his wings.

[Damned kid. You have such a great sister. I thought I was gonna die.]

“Lord Murakan, it is our first time meeting, yes? As the eldest daughter of the Runcandel Clan, I believe that officially introducing myself would be proper. However, I think that I will be a little busy. Please take care of my youngest brother.”

[Understood. I entrust you with the rest of the job, Luna Runcandel.]

“Sister, please be careful. The Demon God’s Orb artifact resurrected the wind dragon earlier.”

“Don’t worry, and get out of here. The adult will deal with this, child.”

With Jin on his back and lightly holding Quikantel in his mouth, Murakan began their retreat. Although it looked laughable, if he didn’t get as far as possible…

He would be struck by Luna’s sword. They would be safe if they’re at least 500 meters away.

[Alright, alright. Now, let’s just spectate. Quikantel, don’t be too embarrassed. It may just be a replica, but it’s normal for a dragon to be afraid of the Orb of Origin.]

It didn’t take long for them to get far away from the battlefield. During that time, Andrei and Vyuretta only stared at Luna, at a loss for words.

Luna, on the other hand, looked at the Demon God’s Orb that the grand magician was holding.

‘What in the world is that? That ominous energy… It feels very similar to that of the demons I killed in the past… Well, whatever it is, there’s nothing I can’t cut through.’

Thinking this, Luna slowly pointed her axe-sword at Andrei.

“Are you just going to look at me like that, Andrei Zipfel? To think that a legendary figure like you would have business with my brother. I would like an explanation.”

Andrei’s eyes narrowed.

“…Heh, this is an unexpected variable. O White Whale, the Runcandel Clan has broken its oath. Your brother used magic.”

“Indeed, he broke the oath. But that news won’t get to your clan. Oh, if you want, I can go tell Kelliark Zipfel myself. I think it’d be great if I also tell him about your visit to the banquet and fleeing from my father.

Andrei gritted his teeth.

‘Luna Runcandel… How dare you, you worthless bitch.’

But he couldn’t reveal his anger.

‘That bitch is just food for the Demon God’s Orb. After all, she’s just a mere human. As long as she’s not a demigod like her father, she can’t handle its power.’

Andrei firmly believed in the power of the orb and that the Runcandel bitch had no intel or feel for it.

‘If I cast normal spells like before, it would be a difficult battle. But with the orb, there’s no way I would lose. Nothing changed.’

Thinking this, Andrei’s eyes found calm.

“Well, alright. I knew that I would have to fight against you like this one day. Today, we will find out if you truly are worthy of the grand name ‘White Whale’.”

“Among all of the Zipfels, you have the talent of making a boring speech even more boring. Just as boring as you!”

Shaaang!

With a single step off the ground, Luna arrived right in front of Andrei like a bullet.

The grand magician was instantly within the axe-sword’s massive strike zone.

“And weirdly enough, amongst the Zipfels…”

Crackle!

Andrei barely blocked Luna’s attack with the orb’s face. Vyuretta charged at her, but in an instant, she was standing next to him instead.

“…no one knows about me that well.”

Slash!

The edge of Vyuretta’s wing was cut off. Although it was a small injury, the wind dragon was startled by his inability to react to her attack.

‘What kind of speed is this…?!’

To Vyuretta and Andrei, Luna moved at the speed of light. Following her movements with the naked eye was impossible, and it was the ultimate speed. They could only react to her actions by predicting her next move.

“Will the dragon not fight me in his original form? There’s nothing good about having a big body right now.”

Surprisingly, after hearing the human’s mocking advice, Vyuretta transformed into a human. As Luna said, one wrong move, and he would be cut into dozens of pieces.

The Zipfel Clan didn’t necessarily have zero information on Luna.

Being the strongest after Cyron, the Zipfels endlessly scraped information about her. However, the intelligence agents who got too close often got killed. And every single Zipfel who fought against her died, not even leaving out a single one.

Additionally, to the Zipfel Clan, Luna was a mystery. They only heard about the rumours of her strength, yet no one told the tale about the whole truth—only settling with a vague conclusion.

That she transcended human limits.

‘Are you saying that a non-contractor could possess this much power? A human other than Cyron?’

For a moment, Andrei was delusional. He had mistaken that Luna was a ‘consumable contractor’ for the Demon God’s Orb.

However, the orb didn’t react to her. Therefore, Luna was a normal human.

‘As soon as I return to the clan, I must completely revise the plans against the Runcandels. If we let them grow in power, the Zipfels will be the first to fall.’

Andrei could only be worried about the future of his clan.

‘Meeting Luna today is an opportunity given by god. If I don’t kill her now, the next chance is when the orb is complete…!’

As Andrei thought about his plans, his thoughts on ‘Luna Runcandel’ rapidly changed.

Orb in hand, faced with a person that he could never think of fighting against without it, and in a no-man’s island with no witnesses.

What were the chances of facing Luna Runcandel in the first place?

There would never be a second chance.

“Vyuretta!”

Vyuretta nodded as he heard Andrei’s urgent cry. Because they have coordinated their attacks for a long time, the two could communicate their next move even without speech.

Whoooooooosh!

Wind began to compress on Vyuretta’s palm, its form loosely resembling a spear.

And even in his human form, the black blotch on Vyuretta’s neck was flickering. The power that he received from the orb during his resurrection was still being used.

“I show my utmost respect. I would have never thought I’d use this power against a human.”

“You must’ve lived a long time. It seems you have fought against many humans.”

Luna was pretty relaxed.

However, as soon as Vyuretta began to conjure power from the power he inherited from the orb, Luna knew that the dragon’s movements changed.

‘This isn’t magic. It’s closer to some god-given power. I can see why the aura I felt was similar to the demons’. And this dragon started to use all its power to…’

It was to buy time for Andrei, who could extract more power from the orb.

With all of it thought out, Luna scoffed.

‘A 9-star old grand magician and a wind dragon. Do they really believe some measly artifact could save their life?’

Baffled, no words came out of her mouth.

She realized why the Zipfels couldn’t overtake the Runcandel Clan after so long. They had such a pathetic human as their second-in-command.

This thought baffled Luna, silencing her. Then, a thought sparked in her mind.

‘There’s no way this guy is the Zipfels’ second-in-command. The real one must be a figure who isn’t well known.’

Watching from far away, Jin thought the same thing.

‘It’s so weird. Elder Sister Luna is very strong, but is that really the strength of a 9-star magician?’

It definitely looked as if the man lacked the mana to cast other regular spells while operating the orb. The initial Mana Expansion would’ve consumed a lot of mana already.

Even considering that, Jin really didn’t expect Luna to dominate the battle.

‘Either he’s a fake Andrei, information about Andrei has been exaggerated, or the real second-in-command is a different member of the Zipfel Clan and Andrei is just the figurehead. It’s one of these three.’

While the Runcandel siblings determined these facts and possibilities, Vyruetta’s wind spear grew massive.

Wind, aura, mana, and the Demon God’s Orb’s energy. All four powers seeped into the spear.

“Do you really think that you will win with one strike using that big and slow weapon of yours, Wind Dragon Vyuretta?”

Just as Luna said, the spear continuously grew and reached a point where it no longer resembled a spear.

Without hesitation, Vyuretta began to swing and thrust the weapon, and Luna felt a little sorry.

‘How could a dragon become so corrupt?’

After dodging two attacks, Luna stopped in place.

“I’ll show you, then. I will take it head-on. I didn’t want to stall anyways.”

Fwooooosh!

Crantel let out a brilliant glow; the blade’s endless light shone in all directions. Resembling the light emitted by the sun, its aura looked more sacred than dangerous.

The Runcandels’ third decisive killing move, ‘Meteor Shower’.

The blade was slammed to the ground. And, true to the technique’s name, the clouds split open as meteors began to fall.

Right where Luna’s arrogant opponents stood.