Episode 518
Chapter 142: Negotiations (4)
Zephyrin had the appearance of a birdman often described in novels. His overall form was human, but except for his face, his entire body was covered in black feathers, and wings sprouted from his arms.
He flew incredibly fast. At first, he looked like a mere speck in the sky, but in an instant, he was close enough to be clearly seen.
“Hmph, what’s with that crow-man? Is this some surprise costume show our son-in-law prepared for me?”
“That’s the demon dragon Zephyrin. It seems he’s come to see me about something.”
“Another woman, huh? Our son-in-law sure is popular.”
Unsurprisingly, Zephyrin didn’t look very friendly.
He was already furious—having been toyed with by Jin in the Sota Desert, his plan to take Joshua hostage had failed, and after the final battle and the volcanic damage, he’d overexerted the captain’s power once again.
‘No wonder I feel a chill.’
Normally, Jin might have been a bit tense, but instead, he calmly glanced sideways at his comrades.
A small, involuntary smirk escaped him.
“Isn’t that—Zephyrin? Isn’t that Zephyrin!?”
“Zephyrin, you say? Damn it…!”
“We treated him so well!”
The eyes of the Black King’s squad members standing guard outside sharpened like blades.
“He’s the captain’s enemy! Prepare Black King Cannon No. 1!”
“Open fire on all cannons, including Black King Cannon No. 1! We’ll avenge the captain!”
“The captain’s sacrifice won’t be in vain!”
The Black King’s squad spoke as if Valkas had died back then. Whether it was to stir up their anger or because someone had used the word “enemy,” a strange momentum had formed.
The cannons were aimed.
From the central watchtower, the squad members signaled readiness. They were fully prepared to shoot the damn thing down and were waiting for the order.
“Hmm, my lord, the decision is yours.”
“Let’s test our defenses.”
When Valkas raised his hand, the men in the watchtower nodded.
Click! Screeeech! Clack!
At once, defensive equipment installed by the Black King’s squad began to emerge all along the outer walls of Tikan.
It was a seamless, precise operation, like interlocking gears turning in perfect harmony.
Gun ports opened here and there, revealing cannon barrels, while artifacts placed on nearby reefs simultaneously deployed anti-air shields.
Hook cannons for suppression and pressure fired from all directions. Some artifacts shot nets, and over forty massive bows were drawn by squads of men.
Countless other defensive devices were aimed at Zephyrin.
‘I heard the fortifications had begun, but was it really this extensive? Hah, and here I thought they’d at least greet me politely… This is ridiculous, Lord Jin!’
Fire!
At the captains’ shout, the sky instantly turned red with shells, flames, arrows, hooks, and nets.
Any ordinary dragon would have died at that moment, but Zephyrin dodged nimbly.
‘…This is pretty fierce.’
That was the first shock to him.
Normally, he would have scoffed at such a pitiful attempt. But now, without the captain’s power to draw on, it was a different story.
“Fire the Black King Cannon!”
“Fire!”
As soon as the formation was judged complete, Black King Cannon No. 1 unleashed its blast.
Boom!
The heavy, satisfying roar sounded just after the shot grazed Zephyrin’s cheek and shoulder.
‘Wait, what was that just now?’
Had he taken a direct hit in his weakened state, he would have died or suffered equivalent damage.
That instinct was so certain that Zephyrin had no choice but to intercept the incoming Black King Cannon No. 1 at an angle he couldn’t avoid.
He drew on the captain’s power to do so. (At that moment, the captain lying down coughed up blood, and Kinzeloen sounded the alarm.)
“Quite impressive.”
During the Black King’s incident, the battle had mostly taken place in a pocket dimension, and the squad had evacuated, so they hadn’t used it.
But the power of Black King Cannon No. 1 was tremendous.
“It’s the pride of our Black King’s squad.”
“Alright, I think we have a rough idea of its capabilities. Now, guide Zephyrin to land here.”
When Valkas relayed Jin’s order, the firing shifted from suppression to guidance.
After about five minutes of tumbling through the sky, Zephyrin landed in front of the mansion’s courtyard, looking battered and bruised.
Pant, pant “Y-You… Jin Runkandel! You bastard, insulting me again? Have you forgotten our pact? Come out! I’ll tear you limb from limb!”
He shouted in fury, on the verge of losing his mind.
But before him stood all of Jin’s comrades.
“Hmph, who’s going to tear limbs apart?”
“Zephyrin, you wrecked the Black King’s stronghold and still have the nerve to show up here.”
“Keep your eyes open and your posture straight.”
Talaris, Valkas, and Lata spoke in unison.
Especially Talaris, who closed the distance in a flash and punched Zephyrin square in the jaw before he could even respond.
Crack! Snap!
The sound of a fist imbued with the power of a blizzard colliding with a demon dragon’s jaw made anyone hearing it wonder one thing:
Is he even still alive?
That punch was the second shock to Zephyrin.
“Ugh!”
Shockwaves and gusts spiraled out like a tornado, followed by a sudden chill that froze Zephyrin’s limbs, binding him like chains.
“No… Ugh!”
“No? What do you mean no?”
“Ha! Archery princess, you don’t know who you’re messing with—ugh! Aagh!”
“Hmph, looks like you’ll have to take a few more hits before you soften up.”
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Without his comrades needing to intervene, Talaris relentlessly pummeled Zephyrin with overwhelming, vigorous strikes.
After five minutes of merciless beating, Zephyrin’s face was swollen, and he could only think:
‘This… isn’t how it was supposed to go…’
Of course, this wasn’t the outcome he had expected.
Even if he couldn’t fully use the captain’s power (though he had just used it again), Zephyrin’s skill was no joke.
But he’d been caught off guard by Tikan’s defenses, forced to draw on the captain’s power prematurely, and arrived on the ground somewhat exhausted—and his opponents were no ordinary foes.
Besides, Zephyrin had expected that if Jin had any honor, he would at least greet him with some courtesy. After all, they had a pact from the Sota Desert.
“Oh, so it was you, Zephyrin. If you’d given us a heads-up, we would have welcomed you properly. I thought you were a terrorist. Well, I guess you are one, since you’re with Kinzeloen.”
Jin spoke casually, pretending not to notice, and Zephyrin’s eyes darkened with violet magic, filled with venomous rage.
“Jin Runkandel, you bastard!”
“Now’s not the time to be so reckless. Acting stupid won’t get you anywhere.”
Zephyrin calmed down and surveyed Jin’s group.
“…Lord Jin, it’s been a while.”
In the end, she admitted that if she still had her full strength from long ago, she might have acted differently. But now, she knew she could get into serious trouble if she kept provoking them.
“It’s not that long, comrade from the Sota Desert. Looks like you made it out of that desert in one piece.”
That demon bastard…
Suppressing a curse rising in her throat, Zephyrin forced a smile.
“Of course. Even if I can’t fully use my power, what does that matter?”
“Sounds like you’re saying that if you could use your power properly, we’d be nothing to you.”
“That’s not true. You’re misunderstanding me.”
“I’ve been wondering—what exactly do you trust to keep acting alone? Besides, this is my territory. You can’t just show up uninvited.”
Zephyrin preferred to act alone for a reason.
As a great duke of the demon realm, she thought it undignified to run around in a crowd unnecessarily.
But it was an awkward situation to explain, so she said nothing. Dragons, demons, and other near-immortal beings tended to have these strange, old-fashioned customs and beliefs.
“I was going to kill you, but since we had a pact, I spared you. So don’t ever be this rude again.”
“Hmph, fine… Now can you untie me and we can talk?”
“No.”
Talaris cut her off immediately, and Zephyrin replied quietly:
“Archery princess, it’s not wise to joke around any further. There should be records left by previous archery princesses about me…”
Talaris chuckled lightly.
“Hmph, today’s full of people who take jokes too seriously. Demon dragon Zephyrin, there are indeed some brief records.”
“Most of them must have been lost. There were quite a few interesting stories with the archery princess. Didn’t any say not to make an enemy of me?”
There was one line about Zephyrin in the archery princess’s records:
Avoid if encountered.
‘She’s not marked for sealing or annihilation, and her current power seems average. But there must be a reason for that record.’
Fssshhh…
The ice binding Zephyrin scattered into the air.
“I haven’t seen any such notes, but know this: if you threaten my son-in-law again like this, it won’t end as a joke. You and your territory alike.”
Everyone in the world knew that the Second Princess, Thalaris Endorma, was very close to Jin. So much so that gossipmongers were already treating Jin and Siris’s marriage as a done deal.
But those who knew the “Secret of the Second Princess” understood that they maintained absolute neutrality. Sometimes, to resolve the world’s anomalies, it was necessary to ally with any faction—even if only temporarily.
“To think they’d warn me so bluntly, hinting they might break neutrality… The Second Princess isn’t what she used to be,” Zephyrin thought, surprised by this new information.
“Hmph. I’ll take note of that. Anyway, Lord Jin, make sure you keep your promise to me.”
When Zephyrin arrived, he was full of bravado, but now he felt a mix of frustration and unease.
—That’s right. To Runcandel, those items are nothing more than pearls on a pig’s neck. Next time, we won’t be taken for fools like this. So enjoy this small victory today, Lord Jin.
If that sly bastard washed his hands of this, they’d be left empty-handed again, beaten and humiliated.
“Consider it done,” Jin said unexpectedly, agreeing to Zephyrin’s demand without resistance.
“Are you saying you’ll hand over the blueprints and the machines to us?”
“That’s too much. I’ll hold a formal meeting with Kinzello. At that time, you’ll have the chance to decode the blueprints and machines. The decoding will be done in front of both factions, and everything must be shared with us.”
“Hah! You’re spouting nonsense like a bandit again.”
“You’re mistaken, Zephyrin. I was the victor in the desert that day. The items are in my hands, so Ziphl and your Kinzello are the losers. You should be grateful I’m even showing this generosity. If you don’t like it… you can just leave empty-handed. I wouldn’t mind if you left with your neck on the chopping block.”
“The entire demon race will curse you one day, Lord Jin.”
Jin smiled wryly and replied,
“That’s fine. I’m immune to curses. I’ll set the date for the meeting and notify you. Looks like we’re done here. Since you were in the middle of a meal, why not try some of the food before you go?”