Episode 668
Chapter 170: Meeting Another Friend, Dante (Part 1)
Valeria Hister.
Two months before Jin’s return to Lafrarosa, she finally uncovered the truth: somewhere in the Caldren Snowfields lay Temar’s fifth tomb.
She pieced this together by tracking Runtia’s movements and reconstructing her words through record magic.
But from the moment Valeria set out for the Caldren Snowfields with Neru, she found herself relentlessly pursued by three forces.
Runkandel, Ziphl, and the Imperial Court.
Runkandel’s pursuit was led by the Black Sword Society and the Black Knights, along with their subordinate knights. Ziphl’s forces were led by Ronil.
They occasionally caught sight of Valeria or crossed paths with her, but that was all.
The real threat came from the Imperial Court.
Valeria was chased so desperately that she couldn’t even contact Tikan once in two months—and it was the Imperial Court behind that urgency.
“Are there really such exceptional trackers within the Imperial Court? Even the Knights of the Sword Garden and Ziphl’s elite forces couldn’t find Valeria.”
“Though I’m from the Special Operations Unit, even they or the Royal Guard can’t compare to the first division of the Black Sword Society or the Black Knights. Even if they’ve grown stronger through chaos power or mind transformation… I’m not sure. The same goes for Rosa’s subordinates and Ziphl.”
Valkas and Alisa spoke.
Jin was relaying to his comrades the stories Valeria had told him on the way to Tikan.
“There were a few outstanding trackers among the Imperial Court’s pursuers. They were said to be knights from the Sword Garden.”
“Has the Imperial Court betrayed Ziphl?”
“That’s right.”
“Those who recently pledged the eastern empire to Ziphl… Hmm. Either the eastern territory was a smokescreen, or they recognized the Sword Garden’s power and switched sides.”
“I think it’s the former, Sir Valkas. I suspect the Imperial Court may have contacted Runkandel far sooner than we thought. They possess parts of the first head of the family’s body, so they could have used that as leverage.”
Valeria hadn’t been able to pinpoint exactly when the Imperial Court betrayed Ziphl, but it wasn’t a crucial detail.
—From what we’ve seen, Temar Runkandel’s body itself was like a repository of ancient prime magic knowledge. We never got a chance to analyze it properly because the deal fell through.
This was what Kinzel’s side told them when they shared the spacetime device.
“Jin, you said you saw an enormous number of bio-golems—magic sword-wielding constructs—in Ziphl’s sanctuary?”
“Yes, Lord Quikantel. It’s possible they shared the left arm with both the Sword Garden and Ziphl. That might explain why Ziphl never noticed the Imperial Court’s betrayal.”
“…He can’t rest even after a thousand years. His body torn apart, sent here and there. It’s a relief Murakan isn’t here to witness this.”
“What do you mean by the Sword Emperor’s danger?”
“Some of the Imperial Court’s pursuers we encountered were killed, and we examined their records. Among them was this entry:
‘Runkandel… Runkandel commands the Biment Imperial family’s Airan Biment to kill the Sword Emperor Dante Hiran, unleashing a monster.’
“Airan Biment was ranked around 30th in the imperial succession before the late Amir. Neither Alisa nor I know much about him, but he wasn’t particularly notable. Seems he was Runkandel’s main contact.”
Kashimir had little interaction with Amir or Airan during his time at the Imperial Court.
Their ranks were too far apart, and the Biment family tended to keep even their own kin hidden.
“So he’s practically a new player. We’ll have to start gathering intel on him from scratch.”
“Don’t worry, my lord! I, Jet, will find out even the color of that Airan’s underwear!”
“That part about unleashing a monster… does that mean a knight corrupted by chaos? It’s strange the name of the one who unleashed it isn’t clearly recorded.”
“There’s one person who immediately comes to mind.”
Jin narrowed his eyes.
“Joshua Runkandel… I have a strong feeling it’s him.”
“Master, that bastard… hmmph, that worthless son of a dog! Has Rosa reinstated him?”
Gilly’s outraged reaction made Jin smile.
“Since his father was absent and he succeeded in rebellion, there’s no reason to keep a dog who used to obey around. Though he showed nothing but trash before, he might have changed now. Or rather, he was forced to change—through the marriage alliance.”
“That’s a filthy and despicable story. Thinking of that bastard and Rosa fills me with rage I can barely contain.”
“But if it’s Joshua, why wouldn’t his name appear clearly in the record magic?”
“Well, maybe because he embraced chaos and became a completely new being. Of course, I can’t be sure—it’s just a hunch.”
“In any case, there are three main tasks we need to start immediately. First, investigate the Sword Emperor’s castle. Second, rescue our allies trapped inside Huepester. And finally… enter Temar’s sixth tomb that Valeria found.”
Jin nodded at Quikantel’s summary.
“Yes. All three seem like tasks I must handle personally.”
The main allies left inside Huepester were Vin Blanche and the forge god Picon Mintze, contracted to him.
Also, Petro, Jin’s butler; Heinz, the butler and steward of Sirron; the nannies and retainers of the ‘Brothers’; and several others presumed not to have sided with Rosa, including the Hongin in Luna’s territory.
Aside from Vin Blanche and the high-ranking retainers, there weren’t many who could truly help.
But even those who weren’t strong couldn’t be left behind.
That wasn’t Jin’s way, nor the way of the Balmel Alliance.
Above all, it seemed the Sword Garden was currently ignoring them for some reason, but Rosa could use them as hostages at any time.
“No, I think you should stay out of the rescue operation inside Huepester.”
“I agree, my lord.”
“Master, I think so too!”
Jin’s comrades unanimously opposed his reentry into Huepester.
“Returning safely from the Caldren Snowfields was almost a miracle. You’re the head of the Balmel Alliance, the center of the temporary alliance, and Rosa’s only rival. So until the day you settle things with Rosa, don’t think about going into Huepester yourself.”
Just as Jin was about to reply, Mary placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Listen, youngest brother. You’re the strongest among us, and I know you carry a heavy burden because of that. But that doesn’t mean you have to take on everything yourself. Even Father didn’t. Or rather, he couldn’t.”
“Sister.”
“I’ll organize a team to rescue those inside Huepester. And just so you don’t worry, even if we see Diphus… Diphus brother in a state like Runtia sister, I won’t lose my composure. Not ever.”
“I’ll also ask for help from the Nameless. Almost all their forces are searching for Lady Yona, but some will surely support us.”
Faced with their firm stance, Jin couldn’t insist any further.
“Understood. Anyway, I have to handle the Sword Emperor’s castle and Temar’s tomb myself. I did think it might be excessive for me to act directly, but I guess I just didn’t want to admit it.”
“Are you heading straight to the Sword Emperor’s castle?”
“Yes. Once Valeria wakes, I’ll hear the rest of her story and then go.”
On the way back, Valeria had lost consciousness due to a surge of the remaining marriage energy while inside Kojek.
It wasn’t fatal, but she was currently receiving help from a chaos purifier and couldn’t share information about the sixth tomb with Jin.
“Understood.”
“I really want to see that Dante fellow.”
Since returning from Lafrarosa, Jin hadn’t met Dante even once.
There had been constant incidents since his return.
Moreover, just as Jin took charge of almost everything in the Balmel Alliance, Dante played that role in the Empire.
Currently, aside from Dante, there were almost no superhuman-level figures left in the Empire.
Since the Gliek subjugation, the Empire’s best talents had been lost, increasing Dante’s responsibilities.
Maybe because of the shock from Veradin, just thinking about meeting Dante soon gave Jin a strange sense of comfort—even if it wasn’t under good circumstances.
No matter what crisis Dante faced, Jin was confident he could handle it, and that gave him peace of mind.
“I hope I can meet a friend who’s safe and sound and just clear my head a bit.”
“Exactly, Master. If the person Valeria found in the records is that worthless fellow, no matter what he does, he won’t be able to threaten you.”
Of course, Gilly wasn’t saying that because he truly wasn’t worried. But the others found it hard to imagine Jin in danger because of Joshua.
Knock, knock. Someone came to the meeting room.
It was Quaul and Valeria.
Quaul had been waiting outside the hospital room, piling up cigarette butts, just waiting for Valeria to wake. As soon as she did, he brought her along.
“Ughhh!”
Suddenly, Quaul grabbed Jin and burst into tears. No one had ever imagined this rough, gruff engineer breaking down and sobbing like a child.
“Well done… truly well done! You’ve really brought Valeria back safely…!”
Though the others had already accepted it some time ago, they couldn’t help but comfort Quaul, feeling both sorry and reluctant to see him crying like that.
Valeria, too, widened her eyes at Quaul’s reaction but didn’t say a word against it.
“Hahaha, the chaos has completely vanished!”
“You collapsed because of the chaos and couldn’t finish telling the story, Jin. Where did you leave off?”
“At the location of the sixth tomb.”
“Oh, right. The sixth tomb of Temar isn’t just somewhere in the region, Jin.”
“Not in the region? Do you mean it’s in some kind of pocket dimension?”
At that, Valeria shook her head and replied,
“Yes, it’s a pocket dimension. But not just any region—it exists inside a very special sword.”