‘What’s he doing?’ Shin asked inwardly, observing the motions of Junius. After taking dozens of spear thrusts, Junius had collapsed onto the floor while legions of spiritual energies sprouted out from his interior. The spiritual pressure that followed was far beyond anything that a Rank 60 Spirit King could possibly muster up, but oddly enough… Shin didn’t feel any malice from Junius’ mana. In fact, there was a slight tinge of warmth amidst the cold temperature that resonated out from the injured man’s body.

Shin hesitated, unsure if he should sit back and wait, or charge in for the final thrust to the heart. He didn’t know if it was safe to approach Junius when he was in this foreign state, but also… There was a tinge of sentiment remaining in Shin’s compassionate heart. He’d thought maybe… Just maybe… He could capture Junius instead of killing him straight off. Maybe in due time, the Blade of Death could repent and turn into a force that would aid the Alliance.

However…

‘Shizen...’ The face of Shin’s best friend flashed on by. Whatever beef Shin and Junius had, it was between the two of them. Yet, the innocent nature boy had become collateral damage for no apparent reason. Shin owed it to Shizen… He owed it to the best friend of his life, to end Junius once and for all.

There was no more hesitation in the young man’s eyes. The Spear of Visam spun around three times, sending waves of hot, turbulent air roaming through the battlefield. Shin’s draconic scales sparkled as thousands of water orbs levitated all around him. Locking onto the left side of Junius’ chest, Shin charged forward like a barbarian in heat. There was no need to think anymore. Thinking would only soften his resolve. All that Shin needed to do… Was act…

‘Let me avenge you!!!’

The blisters on Shin’s palms all burst out with precious, crimson blood, while the veins on his arms all popped. Everything… Everything that he’d planned for the past seven years… Was all for this moment. He wanted to bring Junius to justice, and this was the time. Shin’s sensitivity had shot through the roof with each passing microsecond. The tensing of his lower calves that held his running body, the smell of the ethereal mist, the sound of the grass rustling as he passed on by… Nothing was left to the imagination. In this current state, no one on the planet could hope to match Shin.

Step… Step… Step…

Shin could hear his footsteps resonating within his mind. Time passed as if it were an eternity, but in reality, less than a second had passed. Shin’s entire body was aching, possibly in a mixture of fear and anticipation. Once he’d crossed this threshold… Junius… Would finally meet his end.

Five metres… Four metres… Three…

Shin’s mind attempted to bring forth some visions of the past, but he’d forcibly repressed those memories. Shin knew that a moment’s pause would be sufficient to change his decision, so he didn’t pause at all. His mind was completely empty, wholly focused on the task at hand. The Spear of Visam slowly got into a position parallel to the ground. All Shin needed to do, was to continue his relentless charge, and Junius’ heart would be so viciously pierced.

Two metres…

At this point, Shin’s mind went blank. All that he could see was the face of the coughing and weakened man he’d once called his brother. The momentum that the Spear of Visam had was currently too powerful to be drawn back anymore. Even without any additional force, the spear would meet its mark, ending the life of Shin’s recurring nightmare, once and for all…

One…

SCCCCCCHHHHHHLLLIIIICCKKKK!!!

It was done.

Junius knelt on the softened ground as a mossy spear protruded out from his chest. The specially concocted poison that Shin had created was now spreading like wildfire throughout the man’s muscular body. Most of Junius’ blood had been tainted with a tinge of mossy green, and each drop was capable of eroding grass and burning soil.

It was the end… Not only was Junius’ heart pierced, but his entire body was corroding from the inside. Shin had made sure that the poison he’d created would seep into the organs within seconds and forcefully purging it out would be rendered impossible. Even if Junius were to somehow attempt to purge, with his nervous system temporarily paralysed, he would be vulnerable to whichever gruesome act that Shin could think off. However, the kind-hearted Prince didn’t want that of his former brother. At the very least, he could give Junius a quick and painless death.

Shin let go of the green spear as he leaned in on the man’s ear. The viridian-haired man’s entire body trembled as his chest rapidly contracted. Junius was on his dying breath, there was no question about it. In less than a minute, the man would fall into the abyss and joined the countless others he had slain, Shizen included. With his enemy vanquished, compassion lit back up within Shin’s mind.

Shin had never wanted it to end this way. It was his dream to bring Junius to justice, be it in the form of jail time or otherwise. Shin had even dreamed that Junius would be able to repent and reincorporate his life in the light. Alas...

“Junius… I’m sorry… Your sins are far too horrible for anyone to forgive…” Both of Shin’s gorgeous azure eyes shook. “I hope… I truly hope… That you’ll enter Yggdrasil together with Ariel, Sister Lily and Shizen… If I reach the Immortal realm, maybe… Just maybe… We could...”

Rumble...

Before Shin could complete his sentence, Junius body began to shake violently like an epileptic patient. The two blades in his hands did the same, this time with the same gentle aura that Shin had felt just moments prior. It wasn’t like a violent supervolcano waiting to erupt; instead, it was more like a sweet jack-in-the-box, ready to pop out and brighten everyone’s day. Shin gulped as he took two steps back. So what if the mana was gentle and familiar? One had to be cautious at all times, and that includes facing a fallen opponent.

“Shin!” Lady Seph hurriedly rushed to the youth’s side and grabbed hold onto his blistered palms. A radiant golden light moved from the core of her Venerate Soul and began to probe Shin’s entire physique. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No,” Shin replied. Other than some broken skin, the youth was in the pink of health. “I’m completely fine.” However, his voice was a little shaken. Looking straight at the man who should be dying, Shin felt that something was terribly wrong. Junius wasn’t supposed to behave this way at all. Once the poison kicked in, a Spirit King with the body of Junius would simply fade away into unconsciousness. Convulsing this wildly wasn’t part of the equation, not to mention that wild spiritual energy that was dominating the atmosphere.

“That’s good...” Lady Seph breathed a sigh of relief. She knew what her disciple was capable of and also, what he was incapable of. Against that potent mana that even sent shivers down her Venerate Soul, Shin would be vaporised within seconds. “What happened to that brat? Why is he behaving like this?”

“That’s what I want to know,” Shin furrowed his brows as he asked the same question. “He’s not supposed to act this way… Junius, he...”

Bzzzzzzzzzzttttt!!!

Shin was cut off by the buzzing resonance that Junius’ blades created. All of Shin’s guards watched with gaping mouths as dense mana, one that they could never hope to match in a million years, emerged from the Spectre Soul of this Rank 60 Spirit Lord. Dark smoke broke free from Junius’ pores and slowly seeped their way into the two-metre-long Odachi in Junius’ right hand. However, it didn’t stop there. The Brahmin’s mask, the one with a golden tree embroidered at its centre, tore itself up into thousands of small pieces and sent the same dark smoke flying into the Hofuku.

On Junius’ left, the Obsidian Water Blade was experiencing a change as well. The darkness that had corrupted the Spirit in its entirety was now being reflected back. Just like the Brahmin’s mask, dark smoke moved from the Obsidian Water Blade into the Hofuku. Shin’s eyes nearly bulged out from his sockets after witnessing the change. What laid inside of Junius’ left hand, was the familiar Azure Water Blade that the kid Junius was renowned for.

Simple logic would suggest that Junius’ body had purged out the Allfather’s mana into the Hofuku, be it of Junius’ own will or not. Shin didn’t know if it was the former or the latter… However, he was just about to find out…

Junius’ neck pushed the man’s head up, showing every nook and cranny of his facial features. All of his veins were showing, laced with a mossy hue. Though the Allfather’s mana had been expelled, it didn’t mean that Shin’s poison wasn’t doing its work. In fact, without the protection of the Allfather’s mana, the poison was spreading twice as quickly as before. With all his vital organs failing by the second, Junius shouldn’t even be conscious. However…

‘He’s… smiling?’

Shin watched as the viridian-haired man beamed with pure euphoria. Junius’ face was pale and aghast, not the face of a victor or someone who could possibly feel happiness. Yet, even with the poison rushing through his body, Junius still managed to break into a smile. Shin had seen that expression before, multiple times, in fact. Back on Frie Mountain, Junius would always smile, just to brighten up the days of the normally oppressed orphans. If someone were bullied by the main bloodline, Junius would console them with that exact same smile. It was so uncanny that Shin felt his blood run cold just by witnessing it once more.

Dark smoke continued to be transferred from all corners of Junius’ body, Spectre Soul and Spirit, into the Hofuku that remained pierced into the ground. It shook violently as if trying to escape, but it could do nothing within the Tree of Illusions domain. All it could do was stand by and watch helplessly as Junius purified the dark will that lay within his body.

INNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!

A resplendent ray of gorgeous light emerged from the depths of the Azure Water Blade, blinding Shin and any who attempted to stare right at Junius. It was, by far, one of the greatest spiritual energies that Shin had ever felt in his entire life. Shin was confident that the spiritual energy that Junius was spewing had to either be the Allfather’s mana or the natural energy of the Tree of Illusions. Or perhaps it was a mixture of both?

Blinding light continued to spew out from the Azure Water Blade, suppressing the darkness-imbued Hofuku that protruded from the ground. Everything was a blur for the youth but somehow… Shin’s eyes were plastered on the smiling face of the decrepit man.

“Junius… What are you…” Shin was about to call out to the man but suddenly…

The Azure Water Blade expanded at the speed of light. All Shin and his guards saw was a sudden white flash, before the infamous Spirit found its way into Shin’s upper chest. No one had the reflexes or the defences to react to such blinding speeds. Lady Seph widened her eyes in horror as she grabbed onto the wrists of her beloved disciple.

“Shin!!!” The Spirit Venerate hollered. On his dying breath, Junius had cast ‘Pierce,’ his signature ability to land his very first hit against Shin. Typically, it would be a deadly attack that would reap the lives of any who endured it. However, oddly enough, no blood fell from Shin’s pierced chest.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with the youth’s body. If anything, there was foreign mana rushing into Shin’s body, reforging and clearing Shin’s physical form of any impurities. Naturally, this stunned Lady Seph. She looked right at the dying Junius, curious to figure out the true identity of this foreign mana.

On the other hand…

“Junius, you...” Shin warm and fuzzy, entirely unlike the cold winter afternoon that he was in, and eventually…

Shin’s consciousness waned as he fell deep into his evolving Spectre Soul.