Episode 1059
Chapter 251: The Rivals (9)
While Siris handed her glass to the manager, Jin felt a vibration from the device tucked inside his clothes. It was a message from Thalaris.
{Son-in-law, you’re with our daughter right?}
“Yes, Lady Thalaris.”
{Then don’t go straight to Tikan. Come to the Secret Palace instead. I have something to discuss, and someone I want you to meet.}
“Someone to meet?”
{Heh, yes. Quite a mysterious person. Come see for yourself. See you soon.}
Just then, Siris stepped outside.
“Was that your mother?”
“Yes, Lady Siris. She said we should stop by the Secret Palace.”
“Hmph, of all times. Let’s act natural, just like we promised.”
“Of course, Lady Siris.”
Jin and Siris exchanged knowing smiles. Beyond any romantic feelings, they had been the closest comrades for a long time.
“Let’s go, Mote.”
[Whoooom!]
The white gate of the Otherworldly Snowfield opened. As Mote began running through the realm, Siris suddenly spoke, as if recalling something.
“Jin, could it be that this Otherworldly Snowfield is connected to other dimensions, like Silkia’s power? Like the Flame Realm of Tess? Both are areas that haven’t been properly studied.”
[Whoooom.]
Mote nodded first. Not a confirmation, but a sign that the possibility couldn’t be ruled out.
“Now that you mention it, we shouldn’t dismiss it. I’ll pass it on to Silkia for research.”
In no time, Mote arrived at the Secret Palace.
As soon as they entered, Jin felt an unfamiliar energy filling the place.
‘…Dragons? Were there dragons living in the Secret Palace?’
Suddenly, a past conversation with Siris came to mind.
-Last time I communicated with Lady Thalaris, I heard she’s been making some interesting friends lately.
-Those interesting friends are dragons. Young dragons, about a thousand years old.
-Young dragons…?
-It’s strange. Dragons without an affiliation are rare.
Siris was thinking the same.
“It’s common for your mother’s lovers to stay in the Secret Palace, but today there seem to be a lot of dragons. I guess it’s related to the person she wants to show you.”
“That seems to be the case.”
On their way to the inner quarters, Jin and Siris encountered many dragons. Most had taken human form, but something about them seemed awkward.
Their transformations were incomplete—tails or wings still visible—and most hadn’t mastered concealing their energy properly.
They didn’t look like dragons a thousand years old should. More than half seemed unfamiliar with Jin, tilting their heads in confusion when they saw him.
“They look like dragons from another world.”
“Exactly.”
At the inner quarters, the Golden Shell Guild was the first to greet them.
“Oh, partner! Long time no see. You’ve gotten so popular it’s hard to catch you!”
The Watertail clan’s Darkflame, along with Kingko and Kingnun, smiled broadly.
“Jin, long time. Siris, you changed your hairstyle. Looks good.”
“Thanks, Darkflame. How’s Mother?”
“She’s in that room. Getting a massage from the Golden Scale clan.”
Inside the room, alongside Thalaris, was someone Jin had never seen before, also receiving a massage.
“Oh, daughter, son-in-law. You’re here?”
“Mother, who is this person beside you…?”
“Ahaha, right, I should introduce you. This is Lucy Runcandel… your ancestor-in-law.”
Jin and Siris’s eyes widened.
Lucy Runcandel.
The last of the Ten Knights Jin had never met, and presumed lover of Temar. Such a figure was casually receiving a massage with Thalaris in the Secret Palace.
Thalaris shrugged playfully, noticing Jin’s shock.
“Surprised? Here’s a quick explanation. Lucy was being chased by Ganesto in a sealed subspace. To safely get her out to Inse, she tried various methods. As a result, a small dimensional rift formed near the Secret Palace, and some of Lucy’s dragons started coming through. A few even dated me… and today, Lucy herself finally came out.”
There were many complicated details, but Lucy nodded, thinking Thalaris’s summary was quite accurate.
“You two may leave now.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As the Golden Scale clan departed, Thalaris and Lucy rose. Jin bowed deeply, formally greeting her.
“Lucy Runcandel, 59th head of the Runcandel clan, Jin Runcandel. It’s an honor to meet my ancestor.”
“No need for such formality, Lord Jin. The real Lucy Runcandel died a thousand years ago… I’m just a remnant, a ghost of that past.”
Lucy extended her hand as if to shake. It was partially translucent, like Orgal from the past—on the verge of fading away. Then she began her story.
“Dragon Swordswoman Lucy Runcandel. That’s what people called me a thousand years ago. Until then, I believed I was fully human. I took up the sword alongside Temar and our comrades to protect our clan.”
Jin focused on her words.
Though she looked more like a demon or dragon than a human—antler-like horns on her head, golden eyes glowing.
That golden light symbolized the Sun Emblem. She was connected to the Sun God as well.
“But when the war ended in our defeat, I realized the truth… I wasn’t an ordinary human. To understand what I truly was, and to avoid bringing ruin to the clan, I left Runcandel.”
It didn’t take long for Lucy to discover her true nature.
Despite countless historical manipulations by Ziphl, Lucy’s unique power resisted and gradually awakened her.
“I was one of the nine heads of Ameris, the ancient great serpent. That’s why dragons strangely loved me even while I was active. That was the first truth I realized.”
“Heh, first truth… That’s an odd way to put it. So there’s a second truth?”
“Exactly, Thalaris. Even if I was one of Ameris’s nine heads, that power alone wouldn’t have been enough to resist the Demon Stone’s destruction. Thanks to ongoing manipulations, I learned my second truth: I was one of the Sun God Kinzelro’s personas.”
Jin looked again into her sunlit eyes. Within their brilliance was an unfathomable emptiness and sorrow.
“When I realized everything, I felt betrayed by myself. The human Lucy Runcandel was just an illusion from the start, and my true self was nothing but a grotesque being. A head of the great serpent and a persona of the Sun God… and one blindly wishing for the world’s destruction.”
Lucy’s will as the Sun God was no benevolent force.
Like Elona, or ‘Malugia,’ she was a persona born solely to bring about the world’s end.
“Though I fought desperately to protect my clan and the world, my true nature was a monster opposing Temar and my comrades’ will.”
Before Jin could carefully respond, Thalaris spoke again.
“We were just getting massages together, and now this… it’s hard to find words of comfort. But tell me this: if you were a persona of destruction, you haven’t done much, have you? You even appeared before us to help the Balmel Alliance.”
At those words, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, recalling her most painful memories.
“…That’s the problem. I wish I had remained a monster. The destructive power and will I had passed on to my daughter.”
Jin’s eyes widened again.
“…Your daughter?”
“My daughter with Temar. Hailin and Makos. Twins. The firstborn inherited the Sun God’s power and will from me.”
Lucy didn’t leave the clan after the Sword Demon War’s defeat just to find herself.
She also left to protect her daughters, Hailin and Makos. Makos would later return to Runcandel and continue Temar’s bloodline.
And Hailin inherited the Sun God’s power from Lucy.
Hearing this, Jin immediately thought of Rokia. During the Laprarosa Liberation War, Rokia bore a completely different face from a thousand years ago.
A face resembling Temar’s.
That was Hailin Runcandel’s appearance.
“I don’t know exactly how or why my power passed to Hailin. When I gave birth to the twins… I didn’t even know my true nature then, but the power had already transferred to Hailin.”
Unlike the lively Makos, Hailin had never shown any normal behavior since birth.
She never cried as a baby and barely spoke growing up. Hailin seemed more like a lifeless rock than a person. Makos, with a personality similar to Murakan, naturally seemed strange to those unaware of the truth.
“While in hiding, Ziphl kept trying to manipulate my history using the broken Demon Stone. But Hailin was unaffected every time. Probably because my power had already fully transferred.”
Lucy then formed a glowing orb of Sun Emblem energy in her palm.
Jin, Siris, and Thalaris all flinched, staring at the orb. Without them around, its explosion could easily have obliterated the entire Secret Palace.
“Over ninety percent of my power passed to my daughter. Even the tiny remnants left in me are enough to form this much energy.”
Then Lucy clenched her fist, dispersing the power.
“Jin Kyung, I want to… I want to free my daughter from that darkness. I know it’s a lot to ask, but please, help me. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”