Episode 501
Chapter 138: Keeper of the White Night Tower (7)

‘Is that the ship Kinzello used to withstand the Sword Emperor’s blade? Was its name Grnil?’

As soon as he spotted the ship, a surge of irritation flared up inside Hedo. Thick veins bulged fiercely over his rugged muscles, twitching with anger.

Since transcending into the realm of the transcendent as a warrior, Hedo had never felt this kind of frustration. Exercising his power always simplified complicated matters.

But now, everything was the opposite. What should have been a simple task—just saving Jin and Murakan—had become hopelessly tangled like a knotted thread.

Nothing had gone according to plan.

The vault was suddenly raided; Jin, despite efforts to save him, kept resisting with an annoyingly sharp tongue; it turned out Yona was the one who broke into the vault and was gravely wounded by that sword; Sandra, more impatient than usual, was smashing the ceiling herself; and now, Kinzello’s ship was causing trouble.

It was almost laughable that Grnil appeared at this exact moment.

‘If this keeps up, it’ll look like I called for reinforcements not because of the Runkandels, but purely because of Kinzello.’

With a sigh, Hedo brushed his white hair back neatly and suddenly thought that maybe, in some ways, this was less of a hassle.

‘Come to think of it, explaining to the family head that I requested support just because I couldn’t handle a few intruders would have been even more of a headache. Maybe this is for the best.’

From Hedo’s vantage point, hundreds of black dots dotted the dark dawn sky behind the Runkandels.

They were Drakka dragons, carrying mages, flying toward them. Among them, the flagship Kojek shone especially bright—probably with Octavia commanding aboard. If Keliak were present, he would be the one instead of Octavia.

That was the meaning behind Hedo’s call for support. Something had happened that even he couldn’t handle alone, and the family needed to be on alert.

‘How amusing. Maybe it’s time to shed the shell of arrogance and pride once more.’

Hedo chuckled softly and shook his head.

He found it laughable that he had been complacent, thinking himself strong. The supreme being, Siron Runkandel, whom even he couldn’t approach, surely never let his guard down in a situation like this.

“Hey, what’s that? Grnil? It’s firing on our fleet…?”

Sandra spoke up.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Cannons fired from all around Grnil. The docked mass-produced ships began to be mercilessly destroyed.

The gods seemed to be putting on a fireworks display, the majestic flames cutting through the darkness, and the burning debris rained down like a meteor shower.

If the public witnessed this, they’d surely think the Gple was doomed. Considering the astronomical manpower and resources invested in building such a fleet, it was only natural.

But the Runkandels swallowed hard, gripped by an unpleasant premonition that even this wouldn’t deal a fatal blow to Gple.

Only after joining this mission did the Runkandels truly feel the overwhelming might of their mortal enemy, the world’s top family, Gple.

“Hedo! If you keep saving everyone, it just increases Jin’s chances of survival! The main force will definitely think you called for reinforcements because of Grnil, not the Runkandels. Right? Honestly, it’s ridiculous to ask for help over intruders like these.”

Sandra’s voice was bright and carefree, regardless. That only made the Runkandels’ chests tighten with frustration.

“So just save them all, clear the way! If you don’t move fast, I’ll tear your mouth into a cross, you useless muscle pig!”

As Sandra shouted again, Hedo met Jin’s gaze once more.

‘Truly, Jin Runkandel is blessed by fortune.’

Hedo reached his conclusion, and Jin, in turn, glimpsed into his inner thoughts.

He instinctively understood the look in Hedo’s eyes—the moment he resolved to cast off arrogance and ascend to a higher realm of martial prowess, thinking of Siron.

It was a look only someone with that level of determination could comprehend.

‘Next time we meet, you’ll be even stronger there…? Is that possible, Keeper?’

A chill ran down his spine.

He had to steel himself. Before that monster achieved another transcendence, he and the Runkandels had to achieve an even more dazzling growth.

Slash!

Suddenly, the greatsword Veil emitted a sharp metallic sound as it was bathed in pure white light. Hedo swung it in the blink of an eye, and the Runkandels barely managed to raise their defenses.

But the wave of sword energy didn’t even graze them. Instead, it surged past their backs, stretching toward the upper levels of the magic tower.

“No, no!”

“Hedo! O-oh… ah… ah…!”

The sword energy targeted the phantoms scattered throughout the White Night Tower, who were barely breathing.

If light moved like a wave, this was exactly what it would look like.

Under the aura of Hedo’s swordsmanship, the phantoms dissolved like coarse salt, scattering beyond the cracks in the magic tower.

Their final screams faded weakly, like distant echoes.

At that moment, the Runkandels were struck with shock once again.

Killing four phantoms was no longer surprising, but the sword technique just displayed was proof that Hedo had never revealed his full strength before.

Moreover, his swordsmanship resembled Siron’s level, capable of completely ‘erasing’ a target.

“Let me pass, Runkandels.”

A terrifying silence fell as Hedo finally spoke.

The greatsword Veil in his hand still radiated dazzling light.

[Hey, muscle beauty. If you’re going to clear the way, how about putting the sword down and talking? You’re not planning to keep this up, are you? The kids are getting scared.]

“I don’t doubt the courage of the Runkandels who opposed me so fiercely until now, Murakan. If I caused offense, I apologize.”

[Well, no need to be so formal.]

Murakan transformed into human form and stood beside Jin.

“Keep that sword safe. It seems to have some history with me, Murakan. Let’s go, kid.”

Jin withdrew the blade from Sandra’s neck and took a step forward. The others exchanged glances and followed.

Passing by Hedo with their backs turned was practically suicide, but Jin didn’t meet his gaze as he moved ahead.

There was no fear that Hedo might swing his sword from behind.

It was clear he wasn’t a man to be taken lightly.

“If the heavens favor you…”

As Jin passed his shoulder, Hedo spoke in a low, deep voice.

“That’s because your father has become the heavens themselves.”

For Hedo, it was a story about the fortunate coincidences and luck that had gone so favorably for Jin, beyond his understanding.

“I will tell my father that I learned a thing or two from you.”

“Sandra.”

“Why again!”

Sandra snapped irritably, turning her head sharply. Hedo smiled gently and, with a giant hand like a titan’s, carefully adjusted her clothing.

“Have fun.”

Hedo was still certain that Jin couldn’t escape with Sandra. It wasn’t an easy task, even for him.

Just as Jin had recognized Hedo wasn’t a lightweight and passed by the greatsword Veil without incident,

Hedo also judged that Jin was no weakling who could be easily stopped from abducting Sandra into the Garden of Blades.

Sandra had only been a tremendous help to the Runkandels, and Hedo was merely indulging her brief rebellion.

Even as an enemy, forcing himself to use Sandra further here would betray the kind of trust shared between warriors.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Don’t leave a limb behind this time to commemorate our meeting like last time. While you’re at it, maybe think about recovering the things they stole.”

Sandra scoffed.

“Why take back what you gave? It’s not like it’s a big deal. I mean, in a marriage, what’s mine is yours, right? I was a bit upset when Jin cut off that bastard’s head for me last time, though.”

“Is that so.”

“We’re leaving, so you handle things over there properly. To me, that’s a bigger problem than the vault being robbed.”

Sandra pointed toward the sky. Grnil was going berserk, sinking mass-produced ships left and right.

“Yes, understood. See you later then.”

With a single leap, Hedo’s massive form shrank to a mere speck. He surged upward toward the skies over the Sota Desert at a speed that made him look like a cannonball.

The Drakka dragons drew ever closer to Grnil and the fleet.

The fierce battle just fought seemed like a lie as a cool dawn breeze swept through the shattered White Night Tower.

With Hedo gone, the Runkandels caught their breath as if waking from a nightmare. Without a doubt, he was the worst and strongest enemy the riders had ever faced.

Their hearts burned with a feverish resolve. Though they couldn’t call it brotherhood, the riders could read each other’s emotions perfectly without words.

It was a firm, resolute determination to grow stronger.

But there was one person—Rune Kandel, not a knight.

Yona’s mind was elsewhere. Ever since she had dealt a serious wound to Hedo, she had been sweating coldly, struggling to endure the reflux and internal injuries.

“Sister, are you alright? The reflux…!”

Jin supported her, his voice filled with concern.

“…It’s there.”

“Huh?”

With trembling fingers, Yona pointed at Sandra.

“…Our youngest has a lover… this… noisy… wild one. Married? Jin… I’ll… kill…”

From earlier, nothing else mattered to her. Only Sandra’s affection for Jin grated on her nerves so much she wanted to kill her.

Sandra met Yona’s cold, intense glare with sparkling eyes.

“Oh my, little sister! Can I call you that? Look at me, you’re really close with our Jin, aren’t you? I know, I know. Sandra knows everything. Just wait a moment—I’ll help you quickly and painlessly!”

“Get lost… I’ll… kill you…”

“It wouldn’t be good if you kept hurting until we get out of the Sota Desert, little sister. We still have a long way to go, right? Now, where did I put the anesthetic…”

Everyone who saw this was left speechless, caught between disbelief and confusion.

And so, Jin and Rune Kandel left the Tower of the White Night behind.