Episode 242
Chapter 76: Broken Pot and Lone Burden (7)
The door opened into the territory of the beastmen.
This was the residence of Belakt Sidriker, the current great warrior of the White Wolf tribe, and the headquarters of Kinzelro.
“Commander!”
“Commander!”
As the commander and Jo stepped through the door, both humans and beastmen bowed their heads in unison. Several beastmen quickly rushed forward to support the commander.
Sighs of relief echoed from all around.
Everyone was grateful that the commander and Jo had returned safely.
“Jo, you must never forget the commander’s mercy, even in death. Was it even reasonable for the commander to risk his already fragile body for the likes of you?”
Belakt glared at Jo as if ready to kill him. Jo dared not meet his eyes and lowered his head.
For Kinzelro, the commander’s visit to the old Oterium had been nothing short of an accident.
There had been no signs of trouble from the greatest threats—the Ziphl and Runkandel factions—but no one had expected Jin and Murakan to suddenly launch an assault on the Dark Magic Council’s stronghold.
If only Chukon and Susan had been there, it might have been different. But to make matters worse, Jo—the key figure in completing the Master’s work—was waiting at the stronghold.
If Jo died, the development of the Master’s work would be delayed, which meant the grand plan would be postponed.
That’s why the commander risked everything and went himself to rescue him. In such a critical moment, Jo was the only one with the ability to teleport.
[Don’t be so hard on him, Belakt. He returned safely, after all.]
“Next time, even if it means the grand plan is delayed, take better care of yourself, Commander. For the sake of the many comrades who rely on you.”
[That’s what I intend to do. But I did come back with some interesting information.]
“What information?”
[Barmer—he was the youngest of Runkandel. I wonder if Ziphl and Biment even know that.]
“What? What did you say?!”
Before the commander could finish, a man shouted in shock.
[Deputy Commander, why the reaction?]
Vishkel Ibliano, Kinzelro’s deputy commander.
Known for his usual cold composure, his intense reaction naturally drew everyone’s attention.
“N-no, it’s just… astonishing, Commander. To think Jin Runkandel was Barmer.”
[Through Jo’s eyes, I saw that he not only wields magic and the power of the Master race but is also a contractor of Solderet. He broke his pact with Ziphl. It seems Runkandel has decided to confront Ziphl head-on. We need to prepare.]
Aside from Jin, the commander was the person who understood the power of the Master race better than anyone.
Vishkel struggled to calm his pounding heart.
‘Was it all intentional? The way Jin got involved with Bubar at the crossroads party, and then came to the sculpture workshop a few months ago… Did he know who Bubar and I really are? If so, since when? And how…?’
A cold sweat ran down his spine.
There was no way Jin had discovered their identities alone. Surely, Runkandel had provided Jin with information and orders at the family level.
‘They know we have spies embedded in every faction, so they sent Jin, a prospective Master, to monitor us. They assumed we wouldn’t pay attention to a mere prospective Master!’
Vishkel clenched his teeth as his mind raced through these possibilities.
He blamed himself for this entire mess. From the moment he suspected a strange connection between Jin and Bubar, he should have assigned someone to watch Jin. That was the duty of a deputy commander.
Especially their last encounter.
The day Jin came to the sculpture workshop, claiming he wanted to spar with Vishkel using Bubar as an excuse—his behavior was clearly unusual.
“Since becoming a prospective Master, I’ve fought many, but none have awakened the desperate sensation I felt when dueling with Sir Vishkel. The feeling of wielding the true sword.”
“I admit my arrogance and rudeness, Sir Vishkel. I’m still just a novice unworthy to cross swords with you. But if this friend insults Runkandel… One step and I’ll cut you down, Bubar.”
Jin had been trying desperately to grab Vishkel’s attention with harsh words and actions.
At the time, Vishkel had dismissed it as youthful recklessness, but now he understood why Jin acted that way.
‘Yes, that day, after Jin left and I was discussing the compass retrieval with Bubar, I sensed a faint presence. Jin was trying so hard to distract me to plant a spy in the sculpture workshop…!’
He recalled the entire conversation about the compass retrieval—the location, the date, even the top-secret news that the alliance with Ziphl had been completely broken.
And on the first day of June, at the Bellado Principality, known only to the leaders of Ziphl and Kinzelro, Barmer—now revealed as Jin Runkandel—had appeared.
After the failed compass retrieval, how many emergency meetings had Kinzelro held? How many investigations and reprimands had been launched to find the leak and its source?
Vishkel felt the blood drain from his face.
He had to take responsibility.
“Commander, I have something to report…”
As Vishkel’s voice faltered, the commander suddenly pressed his forehead and groaned.
“Why, Commander?”
[I left it behind. Damn it, the situation was so urgent I didn’t even think to bring it. Damn this mistake…!]
“What did you leave behind? No way…!”
Belakt asked, and the commander lowered his head with a sigh.
[The final form of the Annihilation Flame Jade. The legacy of Riol Ziphl, kept at the Dark Magic Council’s stronghold… I didn’t bring it. Jo, did you take it? I hope you did.]
“Uh, well… Commander, I was too overwhelmed to think about it…”
“You useless idiot! Jo, the head of the Dark Magic Council, and you forgot that? Should the commander have to worry about every little thing?”
Belakt grabbed Jo by the collar, eyes blazing.
“Belakt, great warrior! Please discuss this calmly! I tried to take it, but it was too chaotic!”
“Now you tell me? I’m about to lose my mind! Get this worm out of my sight and keep him away for a while. If I see him again, I swear I’ll kill him!”
With a swift motion, Belakt threw Jo to the ground and raised his foot, ready to stomp on his head in a fit of rage.
“Wait, great warrior!”
“Great warrior, the commander saved him with great difficulty! Hold back!”
Fortunately, other beastmen intervened, preventing Jo’s head from being crushed.
Even after the commotion died down, Belakt was still breathing heavily, unable to calm his anger.
[…We’re in deep trouble. We lost the most important card to use against Ziphl. I’m going crazy. I was supposed to negotiate with Kelliak soon about the final form of the Annihilation Flame Jade.]
“Damn it! Humans can’t do anything right! Hmph.”
Belakt’s gaze hardened as it landed on Vishkel.
“Hmph, of course, I’m not including the deputy commander. If only the human vermin resembled even half of you, I wouldn’t be this furious. Why are humans so different, even though they’re the same species?”
The commander nodded in agreement as he watched Jo being led away by the beastmen.
Vishkel felt as if his chest was being crushed.
[This was my fault, so there’s nothing I can do now. It’s in the past; I have to think about making up for it. Belakt, send the fastest beastmen to Oterium. Jin might not have taken the spellbook. He probably didn’t even know it was there, so let’s hold onto that hope.]
“Understood, Commander. I’ll send them immediately.”
[Vishkel, you will personally oversee Kal Ziphl from now on. If we can’t retrieve the spellbook this time, you must bring him along and negotiate.]
Vishkel nodded.
[And you said you had something to tell me, didn’t you?]
In the brief moment their eyes met, countless thoughts raced through Vishkel’s mind.
Was it really wise to confess his mistake in such a tense atmosphere?
The answer lay in the commander’s words from ten seconds ago.
‘It’s in the past; we must focus on making up for it. Revealing my own mistakes won’t help now. First, we have to put out the fire burning at Kinzelro’s doorstep.’
Bearing the heavy weight of his conscience, Vishkel spoke.
“…It concerns the Holy Kingdom. Jin might expose the truth about Oterium to the kingdom, revealing the biological golem experiments. This could be the perfect opportunity for Runkandel to intervene politically.”
“Oh, as expected of the deputy commander. You’re right. They’ll definitely try to exploit this politically. Isn’t that the humans’ specialty?”
[Hmm, true. Since that one isn’t an ordinary prospective Master, they might collaborate with the Garden of Swords to escalate the incident. What do you suggest we do?]
“In my opinion, the reason he suddenly attacked Oterium was that he was commissioned by loyalists of the Holy Kingdom. Along the way, he must have also discovered that the kingdom is divided between us and Jiple.”
[Keep going.]
“From Runkandel’s perspective, the kingdom would want to drive out Jiple before dealing with us. Trying to get rid of both at once isn’t feasible—our group is too obscure to be taken seriously. So even if rumors spread that we conducted biological golem experiments, no one would believe it.”
[So what you’re saying is, the deputy chief suspects Jin might be framing Jiple for the biological golem experiments?]
“Yes.”
[Makes sense. After all, Jiple has a history of conducting biological experiments in Colon.]
“For now, we need to watch and play along with his moves. If things go as I expect, it’s frustrating… but we’ll have to support his actions. If we want to hold even half of the Holy Kingdom’s power.”
Berakt’s sympathy for Vishkel and his slight unease stemmed from exactly this point.
Straightforward honesty and brilliant insight—Berakt felt the anger that had been building up because of Jo slowly start to subside.
[The deputy chief is right. It’s absurd that we might have to dance to that guy’s tune again… but what choice do we have? This seems like the best option. Let’s wait and see how Jin responds.]
Meanwhile, Jin and Murakan were still staring blankly at the blue flames engulfing the area.
What the hell was that steel door? Did they really run away? Teleport?
Just as they were about to ask each other the same question, a pure white light began to spread in the middle of the blue flames, catching their attention.
Since they didn’t fully understand the commander’s abilities, they naturally assumed the light was some kind of attack spell or trap he’d left behind.
But it wasn’t an attack. The light took the form of a simple protective barrier.
“That’s…?”
Jin’s eyes widened as he hurriedly dashed toward the glowing light.
The final form of the Annihilation Flame Jade.
The spellbook Misha had insisted he find was shining right there in the blue fire.
The light surrounding the spellbook was a protective magic—engraved by a former Jiple head two generations ago, fearing the loss of her precious spellbook.
“I’m gonna burn! Murakan! Put out the blue flames, quick!”
Murakan swiftly threw himself onto the flames near the magic circle, rolling around.
“Ah, hot!”
Though it was unfortunate that some of his hair got singed, thanks to his efforts, Jin was able to secure the spellbook before the protective barrier broke.