Chapter 259
Episode 81: The Pursuers (Part 1)
“M-manipulating memories? What do you mean by that?”
Dante’s eyes widened in shock.
For a moment, Jin felt a chill run down his spine.
“It’s exactly what I said. My family has been tampering with my memories at will for a long time. Memory manipulation isn’t impossible, at least in theory, according to magical principles…”
As Veradin explained, it was theoretically possible.
There were rumors that the Bimont Special Task Force secretly manipulated memories, but the only group actually capable of such a thing was the Ziphl family.
Realizing Veradin wasn’t joking, Dante’s face fell into stunned disbelief.
“I can’t believe it. Why would they do that? What could they possibly gain by altering your memories?”
“I don’t really know. Since my uncle died, it’s probably the elders or someone like that.”
Veradin furrowed his brow and paused for a moment.
“My memories were likely altered under my father’s orders. But I have no idea what their intention was. Especially this time—I can’t make sense of it at all. It’s not like I saw something I shouldn’t have. Everyone knows our family tried to cover up the Holy Empire incident with money.”
“Maybe the memory manipulation wasn’t perfect.”
Jin spoke calmly, and Veradin’s eyes widened.
“That actually makes sense. Maybe they were trying to erase other memories but accidentally touched on that day’s events. Even for our family, pulling off such a flawless job would be difficult.”
“Is that something to be so carefree about?”
“But it feels like we’ve found a clue. Thinking that way, it’s a bit easier to accept. Still, what memories were they trying to erase in the first place? There was nothing unusual in my recent diary entries.”
“That’s just speculation.”
“I say that because it feels right.”
“Even so, you probably know better than I do what your family wanted to erase from your mind.”
“Ugh, trying to think about it just gives me a headache.”
Jin recalled the day Latrig returned to Tikan.
—“Lord Jin, I have something to report. About three hours ago, my daughter’s guardian dragon came back.”
—“Latrig has returned?”
—“Yes, but there’s something strange. She seems to have no memory of the time she was missing. She’s staying close to my daughter now, but even she doesn’t understand what happened. Could it have not been a kidnapping?”
—“No, it wasn’t. Lord Quikantel personally got a confession from Buretta.”
Even then, Jin found Latrig’s missing memories suspicious.
“I expected Ziphl to have erased Latrig’s memories, but I never imagined they’d manipulate Veradin’s as well.”
Maybe Veradin was lying. Or perhaps he was mistaken.
But Jin decided to dismiss those possibilities.
“Latrig’s memories were definitely erased because of the Demon Stone. They wiped out all memories of the kidnapping period. Instead of killing her, they used the complicated method of memory manipulation to avoid causing problems for Az Mil’s contractor.”
If that was the case, Veradin’s memory manipulation might also be connected to the Demon Stone.
“Maybe the reason he risked his life to set fire to the gold bars wasn’t just anger over the Holy Empire incident.”
Before burning the gold bars, Veradin must have witnessed the Demon Stone or other evils within Ziphl.
Confused and disturbed, and then learning the full truth of the Holy Empire incident, he impulsively rebelled against his family…
Jin sighed inwardly at the thought.
“His current headaches and unstable state during the Holy Empire incident might be side effects of the memory manipulation.”
But asking if he knew about the Demon Stone wasn’t a good idea.
Now that Jin knew Veradin’s memories weren’t intact, he had to be careful.
If Veradin’s anger stemmed from the Demon Stone, mentioning it might cause another incident.
Until Jin was sure Veradin could act rationally, it was better if Veradin remained unaware.
“Veradin.”
“Yeah?”
“I think there’s only one reason Ziphl is manipulating your memories: to raise you as their ideal successor. And at the center of it all isn’t some elders, but definitely Kelliak Ziphl—your father.”
Jin was now certain.
The Veradin of his past life had been nothing more than a thoroughly groomed heir.
Though Veradin had contracted with two gods, unlike what the world believed, whatever power he had was used solely for Ziphl’s benefit.
Back then, without the singularity of a returnee like Jin, Veradin had no reason to resist his family. He reached thirty years old without knowing what his family was doing or what was happening to him.
“So that’s how it is, huh? Damn it. I thought I was a model heir, but apparently, my father wasn’t satisfied. I contracted with two gods, and my magic is almost at nine stars.”
Tuyan and Phinia said nothing. They had finished cleaning and were sitting by the window, quietly drinking tea.
No one in history had ever contracted with two gods. Veradin was the first. But Dante was too stunned by the revelation of memory manipulation to even care.
Jin’s gaze briefly landed on the dragons, and Veradin grinned.
“By the way, you’re not going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“How I contracted with two gods.”
“Your potential must be that exceptional. And is this really the time to ask?”
“True… Honestly, it’s more surprising that you’re a magic swordsman than that I contracted with two gods. But now that I think about it, I’m a bit hurt. Look at this—remember when you denied killing Kidard Hall? You actually killed him and even took away his Reverse Heaven.”
Just as Jin was about to respond, Veradin continued.
“Also, you were the one who impersonated me in the Akin Kingdom! Hey, Dante, what do you think? More shocking than my memory being manipulated is that this guy has been deceiving us all this time. A total con artist. I should report him.”
He just says whatever he wants.
Jin shrugged, and Dante awkwardly nodded.
“Lord Veradin, you don’t have to push yourself.”
“Push myself?”
“You’re pretending to be cheerful on purpose.”
At Dante’s words, Jin felt a shiver run down his arm.
Veradin seemed to feel it too, blinking and shaking his head.
“No, I’m fine right now.”
“How can anyone be okay after having their memories manipulated? Especially by their own family! Honestly, you can be honest with us—we’re your friends!”
“Uh, really, I’m fine…”
An awkward silence fell. Dante cleared his throat, his ears red.
“But it seems they didn’t touch your diary while manipulating your memories.”
“That’s because those guys manage it.”
Veradin gestured toward the dragons.
“Do your guardian dragons know about the memory manipulation?”
“They do. In fact, almost no one knows I’m the contractor or that I have two guardian dragons.”
“Then why don’t they do anything?”
“Because Itelmion and Rikta don’t say much. The two gods probably judged that the memory manipulation wouldn’t harm me. They might even prefer me to be tamed smoothly and become the family head as soon as possible.”
Becoming the head of Ziphl meant becoming the world’s number one.
For the two gods who chose Veradin, that was obviously ideal. Their status would rise, and they could command other contractors within the family.
Jin couldn’t read the two gods’ intentions right now, but he felt disgusted. The guardian dragons’ unusually polite attitude also bothered him.
Puppets.
That word suddenly came to mind.
Veradin wasn’t living his own life—he was living someone else’s will, one filled with conspiracies and corruption.
“You thought I was like a puppet, didn’t you?”
“Crazy.”
“How did you know!?”
Jin and Dante stared at each other in shock. Dante was thinking the same thing.
“So, what are you going to do?”
Jin asked, changing his expression.
“What?”
“Escape from Ziphl.”
“Ah, that… It’s probably difficult. The most realistic way would be for you to become the Rider and capture me as a prisoner. But that could easily lead to all-out war. And who knows how badly your siblings would treat me.”
“Runeandel and Ziphl will fight regardless of you.”
“That’s true, but Jin, I have my own responsibilities. If the family is going down the wrong path, I have to fix it. I’ll restore everything to normal. I’ll bring Ziphl back to the proud family I once knew.”
“That’s a pipe dream.”
“If you guys help me, I don’t think it’s impossible.”
“Regardless of our friendship, some things just aren’t possible. Runeandel helping Ziphl is unthinkable.”
“You’re so blunt. I’m starting to feel hurt again.”
“Of course, I could help you personally. But after that? Helping you would create a rift within Ziphl. If it succeeds, it would be a massive fracture unlike anything before. Do you think Runeandel and other forces would just watch quietly?”
Of course not.
The moment a rift formed within Ziphl because of Veradin, countless forces would rush to tear the family down.
Above all, Veradin’s family was flawed from the start.
“And do you think the person you were back then could be the same as who you are now? Your memories will keep getting manipulated—how can you expect to stay sane through that? From where I stand, that’s not something willpower or conviction can fix. You have to leave Ziphl, Veradin.”
“So you’re saying if I don’t leave the family, I’ll end up corrupted?”
“Exactly.”
“That might be true. I can’t deny it. But Jin, even if you were me, you’d make the same choice. I won’t leave the family.”
“No, if I were you, I would have left Runcandel. If I came to realize that my will was slowly slipping away without me even noticing, I’d make that call.”
“Jin.”
Veradin smiled softly and added quietly, “I’m not someone as remarkable as you.”
There was no response from Jin. Those calm words left him speechless.
Veradin wasn’t a fool either. He knew better than anyone how terrifying it was to have your memories tampered with, your sense of self twisted.
The gap between diary entries and reality—the terrifying confusion that came with it—had been a problem he’d felt deeply for years.
“Jin, I understand Lord Veradin. I want to respect your opinion.”
The reason Jin had insisted so many times that Veradin leave Ziphl was simple: he didn’t want a future where he or any of Runcandel’s other brothers would have to kill him.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but as long as you don’t abandon me, I believe we can change our family. Even if it means losing some of its power…”
Just as Veradin spoke those words, a sudden bright light flared at the teleportation gate outside the villa.
Someone had come.
And the only people who would come here now were members of Ziphl.
At the same moment, the two guardian dragons who had been sipping tea suddenly lunged forward like lightning, blocking Veradin’s path.
They seemed intent on protecting him.
“Tuyan, Phinia?”
Unlike their earlier polite demeanor, the two dragons now raised their energy with a cold, businesslike air, not even responding.
A group of mages stepped through the teleportation gate. They wore plain gray robes—no insignia, no marks of elite status or rank—robes that didn’t announce themselves as Ziphl.
Jin didn’t know exactly what that meant, but the speed with which they began weaving barriers and chain spells the moment they emerged told him one thing.
‘They’re definitely like the Black Knights of Runcandel…!’
It was clear they had come to capture him.
“Jin, I didn’t call them!”
Veradin shouted urgently, and Jin nodded.
“Veradin.”
“It’s not me, really it’s not…!”
“I know. Don’t panic or misunderstand. Order your guardian dragons to protect Dante as well. Those guys look like they’re planning to wipe this entire place out.”
Outside the window, the sky was already stained red by the chain spells the gray-robed mages had unleashed.