Episode 510
Chapter 141: The Fall (3)
March 5, 1800. A day had passed since those who took part in the special mission in the Sota Desert returned to the Garden of Swords.
The mission was a success, but the losses were severe.
“We managed to save him. But his arm… the necrosis and tissue damage were too extensive. There was nothing we could do,” the head medic said gravely, referring to Mon.
After the battle with Bianca, they had retrieved Mon’s severed arm, but even after crossing the central border of Lutero, the team faced several fierce clashes with the Federation’s navy during the Sota Desert mission.
Even at the end of the fight with Bianca, without treatment at the level of the Holy King, the arm was beyond saving.
“Will he be able to continue carrying out missions?” Jin asked, struggling to suppress the anger boiling inside him.
This wasn’t about wasting Mon’s talents, the family’s finest. Jin asked because he hoped Mon could still hold onto his sense of purpose and pride.
“Except for the left arm, the rest will recover fully soon. As a Black Knight, it will be difficult, but I believe he can handle missions below that rank.”
“…Thank you for your hard work, Head Medic.”
“Go see him. He’s awake.”
Entering the operating room, Jin saw Mon wrapped in bandages and medical equipment from head to toe.
“Sir Mon.”
After returning, Jin had learned from Jed that Mon and Jane had been lovers.
“12th Rank.”
Mon remained silent for a while, staring out the window. The sky over the Sota Desert had been hazy or ablaze with battle flames throughout the mission, but now, unusually bright sunlight filled the room.
“Being demoted to Guardian Knight or Execution Knight is inevitable. With this arm, I’d only be a burden to the other Black Knights.”
“If it weren’t for you all, the mission wouldn’t have succeeded.”
“The weather is nice.”
Mon neither confirmed nor denied Jin’s words. Instead, he was thinking about what Jin had told him on the way back.
“Don’t weigh your heart down too much. Being a Black Knight is just… a symbol of loyalty to the family. Even without it, my essence doesn’t change. But…”
Mon turned his head toward Jin and continued.
“If what you say is true… if it really is, then I think I will feel that something has changed.”
The “change” he spoke of wasn’t about himself, but about this place—the Garden of Swords.
—The 7th Battle Unit, Volcano, the 2nd Rank must have surely met death…
—No, he’s alive. The one who unleashed the volcano wasn’t the real Joshua, but a clone.
—A clone?
—Youngest, what are you talking about?
While escaping the Lutero Magic Federation, Jin had told the group that Joshua was likely a clone. Though unproven, both Dipus and Mon couldn’t shake the grim feeling.
“12th Rank.”
“Yes?”
“Jane actually wanted to serve you. And the moment your words are proven true…”
At that moment, someone entered the treatment room. It was Jin’s butler, Petro.
“Master!”
Jin immediately sensed the urgency behind Petro’s arrival. Mon did too.
“The 2nd Rank has returned…!”
As soon as Petro finished, an immense energy burst from Mon.
The entire building trembled under the overwhelming power—hard to believe it came from someone who had been on the brink of death just yesterday.
Bloodshot tears streamed from Mon’s eyes. Then he withdrew his power, rose from the bed, and looked at Jin.
“Go quickly, 12th Rank.”
He stepped forward to guard.
Outside the steel gates stood Joshua, unharmed and in perfect condition, leading all his direct subordinates except the Black Knight.
The black sword, the flag bearing the symbol of Runcandel.
The knights outside the gate with Joshua, and those gathered inside the garden, all carried the same banner.
The sight was disgustingly repulsive.
“Your words were true,” Dipus said, standing beside Jin. Jin could feel Dipus barely restraining his trembling rage.
“Jin.”
“Yes, brother.”
“We will bring that bastard down and kill him. And if Mother dares to shield that disgusting man again, I will never let it slide.”
Treason.
Or reform.
Dipus had made up his mind.
Jin had too. But unlike Dipus, Jin was almost certain that his confident eldest brother would find it difficult to avoid responsibility this time.
Seeing the knights behind Joshua only strengthened that certainty.
‘He must have brought all his knights out of fear. But what he still doesn’t understand is that the family’s knights don’t pledge loyalty to him…’
Bringing knights to the Garden of Swords was a grave mistake.
Joshua should have come alone. Jin thought so, and so did their mother, Rosa, who had just left the main residence.
Clack!
The knights formed a path. Rosa walked through with an expression devoid of emotion.
“Family 2nd Rank, Joshua Runcandel. Mission completed and returned!”
His voice, barely masking his confidence, lacked dignity. There was no pride in having succeeded in a difficult mission.
Only the fear of whether he would be punished or rewarded by his mother.
Until arriving at the Garden of Swords, he had believed, as always, that he would be rewarded.
No, he wanted to believe it. But the moment he faced Rosa’s cold face, his hope faded. Children are never good at enduring a parent’s unfamiliar expression.
Joshua even tried to rationalize bringing the knights.
He told himself it wasn’t out of fear of his mother’s decision, but merely a way to shine as the next family head who had fiercely completed the mission.
“I was told you died during the mission. What happened?”
No matter how much he tried to justify it, Joshua knew from the first words that his mother did not welcome his return.
It was a painful reality to face.
“Mother, that is—”
“Use proper titles. I am not standing here as your mother.”
Joshua’s eyes widened.
Others watching were shocked too. It was the first time Rosa had publicly crushed Joshua’s authority like this, not even Siron.
“I apologize… Acting Head of the Family. I made a mistake.”
“Explain clearly how Family 2nd Rank Joshua Runcandel stands here alive and not dead.”
Why did he survive? He should have died there.
Rosa’s voice was more than reproach—it carried malice. Joshua could only tremble.
“Answer me! The 4th and 12th Ranks would not have dared lie to me!”
As Rosa shouted again, a heavy pressure filled the air.
“I—I am alive because the mission sent a clone through the Prophet, not my true self. As a result, the mission succeeded.”
“One Black Knight died, and another was crippled. Can you call that a success?”
The surface reason Joshua was being reprimanded was this. Mon survived, but Runcandel lost two Black Knights in this mission.
As the supreme commander, Joshua had to take responsibility.
But Rosa’s true reason for this fury was something else.
The essence of Runcandel: struggle. Joshua had forgotten it. Or perhaps, it never existed in him to begin with.
The method didn’t matter.
Even if he used a fake body, even if one Black Knight died and another was crippled, even if greater losses occurred—
Joshua should have fought. As the next family head, he should have elevated the family’s honor.
Instead of trembling like a scared puppy, stammering in fear, he should have proven he was never wrong.
He should have stood against Rosa, against the family.
He should have roared, “Was there a better way than using the Prophet’s power and clones? Why did you stand still? Who really caused the Black Knights to die?”
Just like Jin had done when declaring his headship.
‘If you had shown that you hadn’t forgotten Runcandel’s essence, Mother would have defended you again.’
Jin felt sick to his stomach.
He was the one who understood Rosa Runcandel more deeply than any Runcandel present, more than any of her children—and that thought made his blood boil.
“I was wrong…”
Rosa’s eyes grew even colder.
Why?
Why won’t she acknowledge it?
I clearly succeeded for the family, and Mother has tolerated my use of the Prophet’s power and clones until now…
Am I not your most beloved child?
Joshua’s mind was filled with such thoughts. The essence of Joshua Runcandel was nothing more than a child desperately seeking his parents’ approval.
That could not be called struggle.
“4th Rank.”
“Yes, Acting Head of the Family.”
“Tell me. Did you know that the 2nd Rank sent a clone?”
“No, I did not.”
“12th Rank, you?”
“I had my suspicions.”
“But why was it necessary to sacrifice not only his clone but also the Black Knight for this mission?”
“As I reported yesterday, among the three major factions, our family invested the least in this operation. However…”
Jin looked down at Joshua and continued.
“If from the start he had shared all the information with me and the other four knights, if he had willingly taken on the clone’s sacrifice beforehand, then Sir Jane, the Black Knight, would never have fallen in battle, nor would Sir Mon have lost his arm.”
“Mother, no! That’s just speculation! I’ll explain everything. My plan was flawless. It’s just that there were too many variables this time…!”
A smile, colder and more contemptuous than any scorn, spread across Rosa’s lips.
“Black Sword Society, subdue Joshua Runcandel.”
“Understood!”
The response came not from inside the garden, but from outside—the knights Joshua had brought with him.
All of Joshua’s direct, highest-ranking knights, except for the Black Knight, were members of the Black Sword Society’s execution squad. Joshua was only now realizing this fact.
“Lain, Vex, Rihanna… even Sinatra. You were all… part of the Black Sword Society…!”
The executioners of the Black Sword Society removed their Infi masks, revealing faces so ravaged by time that their original features were barely recognizable. The entire hall fell silent.
“As of this moment, Joshua Runcandel’s status as a second-rank knight of the family is suspended. Furthermore, a secret warrant is issued for both his original self and any clones that may be operating outside.”
“Imprison him in the underground dungeon.”
“Mother, Mother…!”
Watching Joshua Runcandel cry out for his mother as he fell, everyone present couldn’t help but think of that one word.