Episode 511
Chapter 141: The Fall (Part 4)
Luna’s abdication, Jin’s declaration as head of the family, and Joshua’s downfall—among the major events of this generation, none shook the family as deeply as this.
No one had ever expected Joshua to fall so completely.
Since Luna gave up the throne, Joshua had always been the heir apparent, backed strongly and favored by Rosa herself.
Yet it was Rosa who personally ended Joshua’s reign. And she did it in the most ruthless way imaginable—publicly humiliating him, crushing his pride, and tarnishing his honor for all to see.
“Hah, it’s satisfying, sure. But there’s something off about it. He wasn’t the type to go down so easily… Well, whatever his intentions were, the fact remains he interfered with a critical mission and paid the price with the loss of two Black Knights. So maybe it’s not entirely unjust.”
Clink, clink…
As Dipus refilled his glass, his eyes glazed over. He had long awaited the day Joshua would fall, ever since childhood. But now that it had come to pass in such a bitter way, a sour emptiness coursed through his veins instead of relief.
Even downing shot after shot of liquor—liquor too strong for most to handle—did nothing to soothe the ache in his stomach.
Dipus’s feelings toward Joshua were never just hatred; there had been a complicated mix of affection and resentment.
He was haunted by the regret of not being the one to take down his rival with his own hands, by the bitter realization that his mother’s word carried far more weight than his own authority and fighting spirit as a senior knight.
These tangled emotions tormented Dipus.
“By the way, youngest brother, you went too far. If you knew he was a clone, why didn’t you give me a heads-up? No, wait… maybe I’m just the fool for not realizing it sooner. Ever since you teased that wicked tongue of his about killing him together back at the Sota Desert outpost, I had a feeling something was off.”
“You’ve been talking to yourself and answering yourself this whole time. You’re no different from a drunkard, brother. If Mary were here, she’d scold you.”
“He would’ve understood me. You try having your prey stolen after decades of hunting and see if you don’t feel like your insides are turning over.”
At that, Jin quietly smiled coldly.
In his previous life of 28 years and his current life of 20—48 years in total—Jin’s greatest enemy had changed twice.
In his past life, the Runcandel family itself was his greatest adversary. In this life, after many trials, he found himself standing against the Ziphl family as a Runcandel.
But enemies and personal vendettas are different things. The one person Jin bore the deepest grudge against, ever since uncovering the curse’s truth, had never changed.
“Joshua Runcandel…”
So Jin, too, felt like his prey had been stolen, and his bitterness was no less than Dipus’s. If anything, he was barely suppressing an even deeper sense of emptiness.
And the reason was clear.
“This isn’t the end.”
“Honestly, that’d be less disgusting to hear. But this time, it’s definitely over. Even if it weren’t, it’s not something mother would forgive. After seeing him stammer and tremble like that yesterday, who would follow Joshua again? This kind of thing wouldn’t happen in any other family, but this is Runcandel.”
Jin accepted the drink Dipus offered and downed five or six shots in quick succession.
“Come to think of it, isn’t something strange about all this?”
“What do you mean?”
“If mother had formally put Joshua on trial within the family and ordered a full investigation into the mission, maybe he wouldn’t have fallen so pathetically. Even if he’d shared the information from the start, given the variable Hedoh was, it might have been impossible to save both Black Knights.”
Hedoh—the Keeper of the White Night Tower.
Since reporting the mission, neither Jin nor Dipus had heard anything about him from Rosa or the council of elders.
They didn’t know if Rosa and the elders were simply unaware of him or if there was another reason. They suspected the latter was far more likely.
“If that had happened, mother could have turned around and brought me or you down instead. Joshua was the one responsible, but as knights, we also bore responsibility. And even if he was a clone, in the end, he unleashed the volcano for the family’s sake.”
“In that case, Joshua could have twisted the story to make it look like you betrayed the family, especially with your ties to the Ziphl family and Veradin.”
“I doubt mother was unaware of any of this. No, she must have known. And her goal was always to make Joshua head of the family. But now, she’s made a decision that’s the exact opposite.”
“In the end, mother must have accepted it—he’s not fit to be head of the family. I don’t know why it took her so long to realize it. Damn it, to be so scared she had to bring knights along and show such a pathetic side… If it were me, I’d have cut his head off on the spot.”
As Dipus nervously drained his glass again, Jin pondered why Rosa had attacked Joshua instead of them.
The end.
Dipus was right. Anyone who saw Joshua’s pitiful state yesterday would never recognize or follow him again.
Suddenly, a new theory struck Jin’s mind.
“The Prophet.”
“What?”
“What if Joshua’s mind was manipulated by the Prophet’s power and dark magic?”
“No way. The Joshua who stammered yesterday was exactly the same as when he was crushed by his father and eldest sister as a child. That was his true nature.”
“I know. I don’t really believe the Prophet manipulated Joshua’s mind. But if mother later claims that and reinstates Joshua… what do you think?”
Clack. Dipus set down his glass.
The Prophet—using unknown powers—had decisively aided this mission and had helped Joshua and the family’s tasks until now.
He had also created Joshua’s clone.
Though the Prophet’s true identity remained a mystery, everyone in the Runcandel family now knew of his deeds and existence.
Some would say he had broken the law and should be expelled. Others would argue he was necessary to fight their enemies. Some would remain neutral and silent.
But all had to admit one fact: the Prophet possessed godlike power.
“I see. Then what’s the third possibility? Even if killing two senior knights is one thing, what’s the real purpose? How does their death benefit the family?”
“Feels like I’m taking a test, second brother. Benefit the family? It’s an opportunity to cut out the rotten chain of favoritism and purify the family. Even if Joshua dies, the Prophet belongs to mother anyway. How to use his power can be decided then.”
This was a conversation Jin and Dipus had in the Sota Desert.
Not only Rosa but Dipus also believed the Prophet’s power should be used for the family’s sake—to find the first head’s legacy and to slaughter their enemies.
Their conviction only grew stronger after witnessing the mission’s events.
A flying fleet over a hundred ships, Hedoh, the Black Knight Mon crippled, and an unknown demon race—the enemy’s hidden power had only partially revealed itself, yet it far exceeded the knights’ imagination.
“Mother will never give up the Prophet’s power. Bringing Joshua down this time… might even be a warning to the Prophet. If mother and the Prophet aren’t as close as she was with Joshua, it’s entirely possible.”
“So you’re saying mother plans to bind the Prophet, pin everything on him later, and reinstate Joshua?”
“Not only that. By bringing Joshua down, she reasserted her own authority. The stain from the exile incident will vanish. She showed the resolve to crush the very senior knights she supported. No matter the truth, family members will fear her even more.”
“Then, after raising your power to its limit, she’ll bring Joshua back and hand over all authority… while the Prophet bears all the blame and justification.”
A brief silence fell.
Neither refilled their glasses.
“…That’s not impossible. In fact, it’s quite likely. If the reinstated Joshua shows a completely different, stronger side—so strong that no one doubts his previous shortcomings were due to the Prophet’s mind control.”
If at that point Joshua received the power to ruthlessly purge doubters and became the undisputed strongest knight, Rosa could easily restore him.
“There’s one more thing.”
“There’s more?”
“Do you know how the Prophet creates Joshua’s clones?”
-You know how that woman clones Joshua?
-All I know is it requires a lot of humans.
-…What?
-It seems she uses prisoners from Huepester. When they’re sent to the Prophet, a new body is created… The Prophet mainly uses those bodies to control people like me. To strengthen his reserve contractors and to suppress them if they go berserk.
Jin had killed the first Joshua clone in the Cheongsae Archipelago and learned from Julian that the Prophet used humans as raw material.
Later, by chance, he heard from Emma about strange executions happening in ‘Ricalton’ and began investigating. After the Black King incident, he even sent the Black Knight Dox there.
“Humans are used as raw material. A very large number of them. This info came from capturing the Prophet’s direct hounds during their reserve knight days.”
“Hah. If that’s true, he deserves an even heavier punishment…”
“But Joshua is already locked away in the underground prison. There’s no digging any deeper—at least not officially. Who would dare argue that Joshua, who was personally brought down by his own mother, deserves to be trampled on even more? I may have a witness, but there’s still no solid proof. Even I can’t make such a claim lightly.”
A cold breeze seemed to brush down Dipus’s spine.
His dulled senses, numbed by poison, suddenly sharpened, and goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
‘If the youngest is right… Joshua’s downfall was nothing more than Mother’s perfectly executed scheme…!’
Of course, it was all just speculation.
But as a son—and knowing Rosa Runcandel as they did—the two men instinctively felt that this theory was dangerously close to the truth.
“So this isn’t the time to drown our sorrows in drink. The real fight is only just beginning.”