Chapter 576
Episode 149: The Light of Hailan, or (Part 1)
May 10, 1800.
About a month had passed since the war ended.
Even those who hadn’t witnessed the Battle of Geomhwang Fortress or the Gliek Suppression firsthand now knew what had transpired.
News outlets from every faction were still relentlessly reporting on the emperor’s brutal crackdown on the empire’s pillars, the true nature of the White Stone, and the aftermath of it all.
In the end, Ron Hailan had succeeded in single-handedly halting the final explosion of chaos.
But even for someone who had ascended to Changseong, fully dealing with the chaos that had already slipped past his protective barrier during the battle with Gliek—and the fallout from the self-destruction—was impossible.
Just as everyone on the battlefield had feared.
The chaos that escaped the protective barrier was turning vast swaths of the world into uninhabitable wastelands.
“This is insane. It just never ends. And this is supposed to be the remnant of the so-called Chaos King? What kind of monster leaves behind this much destruction?”
Daytona and Heitona.
The two brothers were currently on a mission to suppress one of the “Remnants of Chaos” that had fallen near the Kingdom of Delki.
Their faces, along with those of the guardian knights they led, were etched with exhaustion. They had been pulling all-nighters for days on end, with no end in sight.
The monsters labeled as remnants of chaos were spawning across the lands contaminated by Gliek’s chaos worldwide.
Delki was just one of many. So far, about fifty contaminated zones had been discovered—and that number was growing every day. How many more remained undiscovered was anyone’s guess.
If Ron hadn’t been able to withstand Gliek’s self-destruction, or if he had ascended with a different trait than protection, the world would have been irreversibly destroyed.
“What kind of monsters did the youngest and the others on the battlefield actually fight?”
“Something so horrific that beings like us don’t even matter. And that’s just the remnants of the real monster.”
Heitona answered as he hacked apart the torso of a creature.
The monsters in the contaminated zones possessed vitality unlike any known demon.
When torn apart, they multiplied in proportion to the number of pieces—only stopping when reduced to fragments no larger than a grain of rice.
Some even had regenerative abilities instead of multiplication. These were among the strongest, and every monster in the contaminated zones was unique.
The strongest known specimens required the strength of a Black Knight to be defeated.
Their behavior was also unlike any typical demon. They specialized not in combat but in parasitism, using humans and other living beings as hosts.
Once infected, the host became contagious, and those attacked by such creatures would be consumed by chaos and go berserk.
The only relief was that not all humans were equally susceptible. Seasoned warriors and mages showed considerable immunity. Daytona and Heitona shuddered to think what might have happened otherwise.
The Mage Association had named this phenomenon “Contagious Chaos.”
In other words, the world was facing a catastrophe on a scale rivaling the greatest disasters Heluram had ever unleashed.
Not only the Tona brothers but members of all factions, including Jiple, were working to suppress chaos worldwide.
“It’s already terrible, but if our family’s Dipus and Jiple’s Flame Dragon Kadun hadn’t acted swiftly to contain the initial outbreak, things would have been even worse. Damn, it’s chilling. And yet, this is the first time our family has suffered such a blow since the Imperial Guardian War five hundred years ago.”
“Not just our family—the whole world is facing this for the first time. And it’s a small mercy that Jiple suffered damage of this scale too…”
Runkandel and Jiple.
Aside from the empire, these two families had taken the heaviest losses in the war.
Runkandel lost nearly three hundred elite knights, including five Black Knights, and Rosa was severely wounded.
Jiple suffered grievous injuries to Keliak, lost their entire 1st and 2nd fleets including Kojeck, and over thirty dragons and more than five hundred mages.
The aftermath of the final explosion was especially devastating.
Gliek’s self-destruction lasted a full three days. Forces from all factions could only withdraw from the battlefield two days after the unprecedented blast began.
The remaining strength of the two factions was now less than that of a single family a month ago.
And naturally, Rosa and Keliak’s injuries were considered incurable by normal means—their wounds were inflicted by the power of chaos itself.
“Squads 10 and 11, a message just arrived from headquarters.”
A guardian knight approached the Tona brothers.
“Report.”
Their eyes widened as they listened.
“So, it’s been decided after all.”
“We’ll have to hurry to meet the deadline.”
Without even the time to brush off the monster flesh clinging to their bodies, the brothers pressed deeper into the contaminated zone.
They felt a strange power stirring within them—something that had begun to awaken since the war’s end.
“A truce with Jiple has been agreed upon.”
At Rosa’s words, Dipus nodded as if he had expected it.
A black spot was visible on Rosa’s wrist beneath her sleeve. When Dipus noticed, she instinctively covered it.
“It’s because of Kinzel.”
“Yes. They were the only ones who emerged from this war unscathed. And likely, from the start, they watched this war unfold, hoping both our forces and Jiple’s would weaken. And in the end, things turned out exactly as they wanted.”
Suppressing a cough, Rosa recalled the war’s final moments.
The terrifying explosion sweeping away her family’s knights and Jiple’s mages… and the moment Jiple’s Demon Stone shattered.
“Since the Demon Stone was destroyed, Jiple won’t be able to recover their strength anytime soon.”
If Siron had been with the family, now would have been the perfect chance to end the millennium-long war with victory.
But the Black Knights sent to the Black Sea early in the war had returned without contact.
Conversely, Jiple too was in no position to gamble on attacking Runkandel now, despite this being their best opportunity, with Kinzel looming as a common enemy.
Jiple’s priority was restoring the Demon Stone—not just to regain power, but for another, deeper reason.
“Mother, as you know, recently strange things have been happening to me and the purebloods.”
Dipus was referring to the strange power the Tona brothers had sensed.
“You mean the awakening of mana?”
“Yes.”
Mana.
Since the war’s end, all purebloods of Runkandel except Jin had begun to feel mana for the first time in their lives.
Rosa herself did not sense it, but she knew the mana her children had was still extremely weak.
With the Demon Stone broken and Jiple severely weakened, the magic that manipulated history and stories was faltering.
Thus, the ancient pact and curse suppressing Runkandel for a thousand years had become unstable.
That was why Keliak had urgently proposed the truce. Rosa knew this but had no choice but to accept.
“What should we do?”
“If you’re asking whether to keep it secret and stay alert, there’s no need.”
Dipus flinched and met Rosa’s gaze.
“Why the surprise? It’s already known that our family wields the power of the magic sword, as the youngest has told everyone. This phenomenon is just the result of Jiple’s weakening and the curse they placed on us fading.”
“So if they recover, it’ll all go back to square one.”
“Not everyone who can wield mana will become like the youngest. And unless Jiple is completely destroyed, that power will remain limited.”
Rosa judged that trying to harness this faint mana immediately was pointless.
Only by finishing Jiple and truly ending the family’s curse could they reclaim their status as the Sword Family.
“Anyway, the squads won’t have time for personal training until chaos is fully suppressed. They need to stay sharp and focus on clearing the contaminated zones.”
Dipus bowed his head.
“And squad 12—is it still there?”
“Yes.”
During Gliek’s three-day self-destruction, Jin and Dante had suffered no additional damage, protected by Ron’s concentrated will.
The land where Geomhwang Fortress once stood was now the most severely contaminated place in the world.
For the past month, those assigned to suppress chaos had yet to even begin purifying the fortress grounds.
They were merely holding Jin in place, preventing the still-raging chaos within the territory from escaping.
Just as Rosa was about to speak, a guardian knight rushed into their office.
“Acting Head! Two hours ago, squad 12 entered the Geomhwang Fortress territory…!”
“What!?”
Dipus shouted.
Like Rosa and Keliak, Jin was still not fully free from chaos’s influence.
And it was already known that those consumed by chaos would respond to greater chaos and undergo demonic transformation.
Entering the fortress territory now was tantamount to suicide.
“Mother, I’ll go myself—”
“No, that’s unnecessary.”
Rosa’s voice was calm.
“He must be confident something will protect him. If the youngest had fallen into demonic transformation and entered the territory, there would have been other reports—attacking allies, or something else.”
What could possibly be protecting the youngest?
Dipus couldn’t bring himself to ask, seeing the bitter look in Rosa’s eyes.
At that moment, Jin was not alone as he entered the Geomhwang Fortress territory.
Before anyone else, one person had already stepped into the domain turned into a hell of chaos. And just as Rosa had predicted, the two of them walked across the corrupted land with the aid of some mysterious power.
A blessing no one else could ever receive.
“Dante.”
Jin called out his friend’s name, watching his back.
“Jin.”
Dante didn’t turn around. Jin sat down beside him and shifted his gaze to where Dante was looking.
Amid the raging storm of chaos engulfing the entire territory, there was a single point that shone with a bright light.
That single beam of light—
That light, once a person, had protected the two of them from the chaos of the tainted land.
“This is what Grandfather meant when he said this isn’t the end for you and me, and that we shouldn’t let sorrow keep us down for too long…”
Without looking at Dante’s tears, Jin gently patted his back for a long while.