Chapter 219
Episode 71: The Child of Prophecy
October 7, 1797. What Jin had in his hands was a newsletter from Huepester. The front page announced the knighting ceremony of the Shcheron royal family that had taken place four days earlier.
(This time, the central knighting ceremony of the Shcheron Kingdom was unusually presided over not by King Lumon Shcheron himself, but by the first prince, Tolian Shcheron.
What’s most notable is that the heirs of several great houses—including Joshua Runcandel of Runcandel, as well as the heads of the Macloran, Tuko, Niltro, and Ken families—attended Prince Tolian’s ceremony.
This strongly suggests that Prince Tolian has ended the succession dispute. It also brings renewed attention to the fact that Sir Shiron Runcandel once bestowed a guardian knight upon Prince Tolian…)
Jin clearly remembered watching Joshua unleash his volcanic technique just four days ago, his body disintegrating and dying before his eyes.
If Joshua had truly died, then this newsletter announcing his presence three days ago couldn’t possibly be true.
Jin stared at the newsletter for a long moment, unable to look away. Gilly approached him, concern evident on her face.
“My lord.”
“…So there really was something going on. He wasn’t the kind of man to die so easily.”
Gilly and the others had already heard about what happened in the Azure Bird Archipelago, so they too were struggling to reconcile the newsletter’s depiction of Joshua as alive.
“There’s no way the duke mistook Joshua’s face… It’s strange. Could it be that the one the duke killed was a double? Or perhaps someone transformed by Bubar Gaston?”
Kashimir’s suggestion was met with a shake of Jin’s head.
“The chances of a double or transformation are slim. The final technique he used was powerful enough to sever both arms of the Underworld King race’s Tu-Wang. That kind of power only someone from the Runcandel family could wield. Unless he used a completely different sword style, it’s unlikely.”
Many warriors possess secret techniques and ultimate moves, but Runcandel’s swordsmanship requires a ‘blessed body’—without it, even a tenth-rank knight couldn’t imitate it. The body simply wouldn’t hold up.
“True. If there was a double, it’s more likely the Joshua who appeared at the Shcheron knighting ceremony was the fake.”
“That’s something we need to verify. But somehow… I have a feeling that snake of a man pulled some trick.”
“Could it be a curse, like Shuri’s?” Enya whispered, glancing nervously at Shuri.
“If that were the case, we would have seen him regenerate when his body disintegrated.”
“My lord, then what about the possibility he used Numerus’ Tears?”
“Numerus’ Tears emit a brilliant light that covers everything when activated. Joshua’s death was surrounded by an aura, but it looked completely different.”
“I was asleep the whole time… This is frustrating. What kind of man is your eldest brother, anyway?”
“…A clone?”
The word slipped out, drawing the attention of everyone around.
“Master, a clone?”
“I’ve been thinking it might be a clone. Considering how he acted and what he said to me in the Azure Bird Archipelago, I can’t believe it was anyone but Joshua.”
Cloning a human is, of course, impossible.
But given the inexplicable circumstances, it was necessary to consider even those methods deemed impossible.
Not long ago, Shuri’s curse of immortality, Bubar’s compass, and the demon stone were all thought to be impossible.
“Please, continue.”
“My theory is this: he has multiple clones of himself, and one of them was sent to the Azure Bird Archipelago. Julian, the contractor of Feitel, was surely one of his key assets. When the island was engulfed in lightning, he must have assumed something had gone wrong with Julian.”
Jin glanced at Julian.
He was still unconscious, trapped in restraints, not yet recovered from the aftermath of the avatar’s power.
“He probably thought Julian had gone berserk. Julian didn’t seem to get along well with Kuzan and Beris.”
“So that’s why he came to the island—to suppress him?”
“Yes. The reason he came alone without any guards was because he didn’t want to lose any other capable subordinates to a rampaging Julian. Or perhaps to keep the secrets of the Azure Bird Archipelago safe.”
At the time, Joshua had come alone on a small boat, without even an execution knight. That had bothered Jin from the start.
“It’s possible he could handle Julian alone, so he didn’t bring any knights. But knowing Joshua’s usual personality, it’s hard to accept. Especially since he even attempted self-destruction when fighting Garmund.”
“That despicable bastard… No, the fact that a second-rank knight tried to self-destruct was something I couldn’t understand either, my lord. Even if he was losing to the Underworld King race, he’s not the type to give up his life so easily.”
“He never expected to meet me in the Azure Bird Archipelago. After realizing he could overpower me, he confessed he coveted my spiritual energy. Even with my provocations, he never said he would kill me. Up until then, he was only thinking about capturing me and stealing the contract with Solderet.”
—That power should have been mine.
Those were Joshua’s words the moment he saw the spiritual energy Jin unleashed.
At the time, it seemed strange—almost as if he knew from the start he was destined to be the master of that energy.
“But then Garmund appeared, and the situation reversed. He was quickly pushed onto the defensive… I think he made a decision. Even if he delayed capturing me, he had to weaken my strength.”
“Did he not consider that the volcanic technique could kill you too?”
“He’s a ninth-rank knight. He must have known Garmund’s power would protect me. So he planned to kill or cripple Garmund with the volcano, then steal the contract from me later. That’s my theory.”
In Jin’s mind, if Joshua had only one life, self-destruction would have been impossible. But if he had multiple clones, he could have used one to eliminate Garmund, his strongest asset.
For Joshua, Garmund was likely the most powerful force Jin possessed.
A heavy silence fell.
Though it was a risky assumption, Jin’s companions considered the possible consequences if his theory were true.
“…This is giving me a headache. If the Joshua in the Azure Bird Archipelago was a clone, as you say, I have no idea how we should respond.”
“Master, what about meeting with Sir Shiron to discuss this?”
Alisa’s suggestion was met with a shake of Jin’s head.
“This is essentially a succession war. Asking my father for help would only prove my incompetence, and I have no solid evidence. There’s no way to prove I actually witnessed his death.”
“That’s true.”
“Whether the Joshua at the Shcheron knighting ceremony was a double, the one I met was a clone, or the whole story is wrong—we can only form hypotheses for now. When Julian wakes up, we might get more information.”
“I’ll order Kuzan, Beris, and the Seven-Colored Bird operatives to search for those two as well.”
They hadn’t been able to find them for a long time after leaving the Azure Bird Archipelago. Their survival seemed unlikely, and there was a chance Joshua’s people might come looking for the island.
“There’s no need to rush. Sending people to the Azure Bird Archipelago now might expose us. If they’re alive, they’ll send a signal first. They must have realized by now that I’m not their true enemy.”
Shuddering…
The man sitting in the chair trembled all over. Cold sweat drenched him, his body burning with fever, wracked by unbearable pain and moments of mental fragmentation.
And an overwhelming sense of defeat that seemed bottomless.
All of this was what Joshua experienced when he lost one of his bodies.
A dark energy gathered before him.
Spiritual energy—the very power Joshua craved.
Within the energy, the shape of a woman took form. She looked down at Joshua with a smile.
“To think the one destined to be the master of Runcandel is trembling alone in a basement like this. It’s pitiful. Like an orphan left out in the rain. How does it feel, orphan?”
The darkness of the basement concealed her face, but her eyes shone a fierce amber.
“Have you come to mock me?”
“Yes, exactly. I came to mock you. Ha ha, you foolish man! Why did you self-destruct? Did you think it would be easy for me to create your body?”
Joshua glared at her silently for a moment.
“Don’t just glare—make an excuse. Was that really your best option? If so, I’m disappointed.”
“I had no choice but to kill the Underworld King summoned by the youngest.”
The woman burst into laughter abruptly. Then, she stopped, gritting her teeth.
“Now, a question for the foolish: do you think Garmund, the Underworld King, is dead? No, his true body never belonged to this world in the first place.”
“…You mean the Underworld King is still alive?”
“Though trapped in a dead world, his true body remains intact. So from that perspective, he’s alive. In other words, you simply abandoned one of the bodies I made for you.”
She smiled sweetly, but her eyes were filled with deep contempt.
“Honestly, I don’t understand why the prophecy pointed to someone like you. If it had been your eldest sister or your youngest sibling… No, even if it were just Dipus or Merry, it would have been easier to bear…”
A humiliation that felt like a knife twisting deep in his chest.
“Or perhaps it was your father the prophecy pointed to. If he hadn’t defied fate to reach the pinnacle of creation, if he had met me before all that… how different things might have been. There’d be no reason for me to help a half-baked fool like you.”
Joshua remained silent, waiting for the woman’s scorn to run its course.
He knew all too well that she could neither leave him nor defy him. She would sneer for a while longer, then, as always, bow her head in the end.
Sigh…
The woman ceased her venomous words and let out a weary breath.
“Well, fine. Just learning that your youngest sibling can summon the Lord of the Underworld is a gain in itself. If I’d realized it at a more critical time… the very thought is terrifying.”
She wrapped her arms gently around the nape of Joshua’s neck.
“And Shuri. I’ve found that child too. It’s painful that Jin has taken Shuri under his wing, but… in the end, everything will come back to you. Child of prophecy. I’ll create a new vessel for you.”
“How many will you need this time?”
At Joshua’s question, the woman smiled brightly.
“With what you gave me last time, I still have enough materials.”