Episode 672
Chapter 171: Beneath the Imperial Castle… (Part 1)
The moment Dante gave the order, the faces of his ministers turned pale. None of them had ever seen him break a single promise.
“R-Regent Your Highness!?”
“You intend to demolish the Imperial Castle!?”
“Are you serious? Right now, of all times?”
Those who had been too intimidated to speak now found their voices rising in protest.
“That’s right. Any objections?”
“This castle holds thousands of years of imperial history! You can’t just decide to tear it down so easily!”
“Regent, although many of the Bimont faction have betrayed the Empire, this castle belongs not to the royal family, but to the Empire itself.”
“Belongs to the Empire, you say…”
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ve been thinking for some time that, sooner or later, this castle needs to be downsized. How many people and how much tax money are wasted maintaining this unnecessarily grand Golden Castle?”
“Regent, we understand your trust in Lord Jin. But this is a matter of great importance, and your suspicions are still just that—suspicions.”
“By the time suspicion becomes certainty, it will be too late. What if, instead of a lone assassin from some unknown tunnel, an entire army of chaos bursts forth? How will you handle that?”
“But—!”
“Enough! I have no intention of reversing this decision. You ministers will accept it. This castle is nothing compared to the safety of the Empire. I will tear it down ten times, a hundred times over if necessary.”
Faced with his sharp tone, the ministers fell silent. One more word of defiance and disaster would surely follow.
Jin admired Dante’s kingly resolve and believed this choice was absolutely right.
Still, he felt that if he stepped forward, the situation could improve even more.
“All of you ministers may not fully understand Dante, but your loyalty to the Empire is united and deep. Yet I sense your exhaustion and frustration from overwork and pressure.”
Jin cleared his throat.
“Ahem. May the Balmur Alliance formally present one opinion regarding the demolition of the Imperial Castle?”
“Speak, Lord Jin.”
“As Lord McGill just said, the prophet’s tunnels are still only suspicions. And as the Regent said, once confirmed, it will be an irreversible problem. I doubt the Regent will back down.”
“Could you persuade the Regent to reconsider…?”
“How could I persuade what even the Empire’s ministers cannot? Instead, the Balmur Alliance, who first raised the tunnel issue, will take responsibility for the castle’s demolition. As allies.”
The ministers exchanged glances and murmured among themselves.
Jin smiled at them—a smile filled purely with goodwill. Yet the ministers worried what the Twelve Knights might be planning.
“Currently, the Free State of Tikan boasts the world’s top defense capabilities. They’ve upgraded the magical cannons and dragon lances looted from the former royal family, and are armed with all kinds of cutting-edge technology.”
“Are you saying you’ll share those technologies with us?”
“Yes. Even more than before. We will dispatch Lord Amela, who contributed most to Tikan’s defense improvements, along with other personnel, and the Balmur Alliance will provide some of the key materials needed for development. From the moment the new castle, which will become the Empire’s new center, is built—regardless of whether tunnels exist or not.”
The ministers, now seeing Jin’s hand revealed, expected him to talk about what the Empire would gain.
“In addition to the new castle, we will support the defense of the entire Empire, and share technology related to airships. I believe this is sufficient compensation for tearing down an outdated symbol.”
Yet more promises of support left the ministers bewildered at Jin’s generosity.
“The Balmur Alliance and the Empire are allies. The Regent and I are closest friends. The world stands on the brink of destruction by chaos. I hope you all understand that this support is not an attempt to squeeze something from the Empire.”
Even if the castle wasn’t torn down, Jin had planned this from the start.
Now that Rosa had become a dark god, and even after she was eventually defeated, the Empire and Dante’s crisis would be the Balmur Alliance’s crisis as well. Rosa’s defeat wouldn’t end the threat while Ziphl and Kinzello remained.
“Thanks to your displeased expressions, Lord Jin has given us an unexpected gift. The benefits he offers far outweigh this castle.”
Dante, already aware of the matter, couldn’t help but take some credit.
The ministers were unsure whether to be pleased or upset, but within days, they leaned toward gratitude.
Amela had come to the Empire and demonstrated various equipment firsthand. The artifacts developed by Quawl far exceeded the ministers’ understanding.
“…The demolition isn’t progressing as quickly as expected. I worry it’s taking too much of your time.”
Destroying the largest structure on the surface was no small task. It wouldn’t be done in a day or two.
Jin and Dante toured the demolition site, searching for tunnels. The chamberlain-level attendants and ministers, who knew every secret of the castle, combined their information to estimate the tunnels’ locations. Whenever a new spot was identified, Jin personally inspected it.
Because only he could properly sense the chaotic energy.
“It’s fine. Most urgent matters have been resolved. Your safety is the top priority now. And this pace is actually quite fast. We can’t just smash everything indiscriminately.”
“Thanks for saying that. By the way, Joshua Runcandel is suspected to be the one who sent assassins into the royal family… If that’s true, that man is like a cockroach. Stripped of his knight status, reduced to a wreck, yet he returned.”
“Even if he’s not quite on the level of Lady Runtia, he must have grown stronger. That’s not the main concern, though. I worry about who he sent as the assassin to the royal family.”
It was hard to guess which assassin Runcandel had sent to Airan Bimont.
“Among those I’ve encountered in the Garden of Blades, few could defeat the current Dante.”
Rosa herself, Padler Runcandel, Lionel, and Runtia.
But Runtia was currently unable to leave Inse, and Padler and Lionel’s destructive swordsmanship was ill-suited for assassination.
“Of course, there may be others who can beat Dante. And if their goal isn’t assassination but a surprise invasion through the tunnels, the Empire would suffer catastrophic damage just from them…”
—<Runcandel… Runcandel orders Airan Bimont of the Bimont royal family to kill Sword Emperor Dante Hiran, unleashing a monster.>
“Unleashing a monster.”
That phrase lingered in Jin’s mind. The name ‘Runcandel’ was redacted or incomplete in the records, but the vague term ‘monster’ was clearly stated.
Was it just a metaphor for an overwhelmingly powerful individual? Or did it mean some bizarre creature born of chaos? Or something else entirely? Jin wouldn’t know until he faced it.
Most of all, Jin suspected assassination rather than invasion because the term ‘monster’ was singular.
“Is it likely the Runcandel you met was the former head of the family or one of the Ten Knights?”
“Probably.”
Now that demolition had begun, a heavy, ominous feeling weighed on Jin’s mind.
“I don’t know why I feel so uneasy. Nothing’s been confirmed yet…”
Perhaps it was anger at the Garden of Blades being tainted by chaos. Jin fought to suppress the sticky, unsettling sensation clinging to him.
Crunch! Crunch!
The roar of buildings being torn down echoed everywhere.
Several days in, only intact buildings had been demolished, and no results had emerged. Without the absolute support of the people for Dante and Jin, the capital’s atmosphere would have been far more unsettled.
Jin, Dante, and the Empire’s core hoped the tunnels would never be found.
But on the tenth day after demolition began, Jin’s suspicions were confirmed.
“It’s chaotic energy, Dante.”
“You found it!?”
“Near the third audience chamber on the first floor. Ready the troops. Let’s go.”
As the third audience chamber was being torn down, the hidden chaotic energy was revealed. No one else sensed it.
Even inspecting the site, the demolition of the third audience chamber seemed unremarkable.
Shing!
Jin drew his Bradamante. Dante and the waiting troops took defensive stances.
When the spirit-infused blade sliced a straight line across the floor, everyone watching held their breath.
‘What on earth is that?’
‘Could there really be tunnels beneath the Imperial Castle…?’
The floor cracked open, revealing not soil or rock, but a black, well-like mass of chaotic energy.
The entrance to a tunnel large enough to fit over a hundred people at once had been uncovered.
“How could such a thing have formed beneath the castle without us knowing?”
“When the prophet formed tunnels in the Sota Desert, Ziphl didn’t detect them either. I hoped none existed here, but it seems we were wrong.”
Jin looked at Dante and the troops.
“There are likely more entrances. Now that the tunnels’ existence is confirmed, increase the demolition speed and evacuate the nearby residents as planned. You and I should enter alone to investigate.”
Dante nodded. The two immediately entered the tunnel while the others carried out their assigned duties.
The tunnel was so deep it was almost miraculous the ground hadn’t collapsed, but unlike the tunnels Jin had encountered before, this one wasn’t particularly complex.
Even as he reached the very end underground, Jin was gripped by a strange, unsettling feeling. It wasn’t fear of an unknown enemy—yet cold sweat broke out on his skin and his heart pounded faster for reasons he couldn’t explain.
“Are you alright?” came a voice.
“Ah, so it showed after all. Ever since we started the search, I’ve felt unusually off. I don’t know why. It’s nothing to worry about…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. There was no distinct aura or energy, but he had a strong, unshakable sense that if he moved the wrong way now, something sharp would slice deep into his body.
Dante felt it too, just a fraction of a second later.
And in this world, there was only one person capable of putting both of them on edge without making a single sound.
The assassin known among their ranks as ‘Salsin.’
“No way…!”
Swish!
A sword swept past them both in an instant. Dante took a shallow cut across his back, while Jin barely dodged the blade.
Locking eyes with the attacker as he countered and launched a surprise strike, Jin finally understood the source of the ominous feeling that had haunted him all along.
[Die… …]
“Yona… sister.”
Clenching his teeth, Jin braced himself as she charged at him once more.