Episode 686
Chapter 175: The Binding Seal (Part 2)
“Welcome back, Zephyrin!”
“You’re here, Grand Duke! Sister!”
At the Kinzelro Divine Headquarters, Bubar and Ainas greeted the three returning officers with bright voices.
Zephyrin, Bianca, and Lanke had escaped through the interspace while Jin and Veil were still fighting, but naturally, their moods were sour.
Zephyrin was especially furious—once again, she felt she’d been toyed with by Jin.
What made it worse was that this time, Jin hadn’t even schemed; he’d just chased after something and ended up suffering losses. That only added to her irritation.
“Honestly, whenever you get involved with Jin Runkandel, it’s nothing but trouble. Ugh, what a mess.”
Kinzelro had chosen to retreat rather than join the battle for two main reasons.
First, Zephyrin couldn’t use the commander’s power, and second, to minimize casualties.
Since it seemed unlikely that Jin would die at the hands of that madman who kept shouting for Sarah, Zephyrin judged there was no need to recklessly help that annoying human.
“Grand Duke… but… this time… Jin Runkandel… did help us… He tore open the interspace.”
“He didn’t help us on purpose, Bianca. The interspace was just torn apart as a side effect of his fight with that lunatic. Hah. Anyway, we’ll need to properly share information with Lord Jin later. It’s clear from the situation that the Tomb of Temar has been opened.”
Cough… cough!
When Orgal entered the conference room, coughing violently, everyone immediately stood at attention.
“Ah, why does our lord insist on dragging his dying body here? If he stayed put, he’d have reported on his own.”
“It’s… good news… cough!”
“Good news?”
Zephyrin tilted her head, and a faint smile spread across the commander’s blurred face.
“From the Tomb of Temar… a being has awakened. Have you sensed anything from Veil, Zephyrin?”
Orgal’s question made Zephyrin’s eyes widen. Soon, she understood what her lord meant.
“Could it be… you mean that madman is a trace of life?”
The commander nodded, and Zephyrin instinctively covered her mouth—her irreverence at calling the ‘trace of life’ a madman made her uneasy.
“By the heavens. So the moment Jin Runkandel actually helped us has finally come!”
Veil, the trace of life, was a key to their grand plan and one of the beings Kinzelro had sought for so long.
Even though Orgal hadn’t seen Veil directly, he was certain. From the moment Veil awakened and began wielding power, Orgal had felt that unique energy.
Moreover, the historical manipulation Veil had undone upon awakening Runkandel included parts of Orgal’s own history.
That meant Orgal’s power would return faster.
“Zephyrin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“We don’t know how quickly Jin will learn about Veil. Before he discovers the contract and the binding seal, we must act first.”
“Understood. But he seems obsessed with a woman named Sarah. What should we do about that?”
“We must create something to replace Sarah Runkandel… it won’t be difficult. She was pure to begin with, and now wounded.”
“Is there a chance he’s already contracted with Veil? I saw them fighting before he returned. Maybe Jin eliminated him.”
“If the contract were already made, we’d have another weakness to exploit against Jin. But I feel the life energy—he’s not gone. Besides, Jin has much to learn from him. Even if Jin lost the fight, Veil could still escape.”
At the mention of another weakness, Zephyrin paused to think.
“…I’ll head to Tikan immediately to assess the situation.”
“If Veil isn’t there, send out search parties. If he’s with Jin, bring him back carefully.”
Unfortunately, when Zephyrin arrived at Tikan, what she found was Veil—already finished with his contract and bound by a seal.
Unlike when he first awakened, Veil now looked like an ordinary human.
The glowing halo above his head and the two massive white wings were gone, and his cross-shaped eyes looked no different from a normal person’s.
Only his golden hair shimmered faintly with a sacred light, marking him as no ordinary being.
“Veil, bring me some snacks. Let’s eat together.”
“…Alright.”
Sandra treated the divine being like a beloved youngest sibling.
Veil brought the snacks from the table with a dark expression.
Since realizing Sandra was not Sarah, Veil had wanted nothing more than to tear her apart—but there was no way.
The contract and binding seal were absolute. Veil was now completely enslaved to Sandra.
“Feed him one every five seconds. Got it? You eat on your own.”
“Understood.”
“That’s too stiff. Can’t you give me a more affectionate answer?”
“I’ll try.”
“Hmm, good.”
Sandra’s treatment of Veil was still unfamiliar even to Jin and Tikan’s comrades.
So when Kinzelro’s officers came to retrieve Veil, they were horrified.
“…Lord Jin, what on earth is going on here?”
“A headache-inducing situation. Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“That noble being, and that mad bio-golem.”
Sandra hummed a tune as she chewed the snack Veil had fed her. She was deliberately teasing Zephyrin, who had bowed respectfully upon seeing Veil.
Zephyrin sighed deeply and bowed once more to Veil.
“Veil, I am Zephyrin, Grand Duke of the Demon Realm. As I mentioned earlier, my lord has something to tell you, so I was sent to bring you…”
“Veil, get rid of that demon dragon. It’s annoying.”
“Do you mean kill it?”
“Of course.”
Screeeech!
As soon as the order was given, Veil began transforming back to his original form, but Jin stopped Sandra.
“Sandra.”
“Tch. Stop, Veil.”
“Understood.”
“Affection!”
“Okay…”
“Damn it! Veil, why on earth did you make a contract with such a bio-golem?”
“Hey, demon dragon. Is that attitude of yours appropriate? You’re so polite to Veil but treat me like dirt? I’m telling Veil not to cooperate with you anymore. Show some respect, damn it.”
In the end, Zephyrin dragged Jin outside.
“Lord Jin, that bio-golem obeys your commands perfectly. I can’t tolerate this insult any longer. As a temporary ally, I formally request that you allow us to serve Veil.”
“Sandra isn’t my subordinate, Zephyrin. And what nonsense do you think you’re up to?”
“Have you forgotten that my lord helped you save Hister recently? This isn’t a difficult request. If you’re worried we might cause trouble, you can accompany us.”
If it was absurd that Veil was enslaved to Sandra, it was equally interesting that Kinzelro suddenly appeared, obsessing over Veil.
Zephyrin had a feeling they might be able to use Kinzelro to ensure Hedo and Sandra’s safety.
“Zephyrin, honestly, I expected you to demand compensation or information about Veil when you came. Why are you acting so submissively? Be honest.”
“…Fine. We already knew about Veil’s contract and binding seal. We tried to contract with him first without your knowledge, but the bio-golem beat us to it.”
“Oh, so you didn’t consider the possibility that Veil might contract with Sandra instead of me.”
“That’s right. Of course, it’s the same for you, but Veil is very important to us.”
“Because of the so-called ‘Parent of Life’ Orgal mentioned?”
Jin thought the only reason Kinzelro would obsess so openly was that.
From the first meeting, it seemed Kinzelro’s goal was deeply connected to the Parent of Life.
‘That’s probably why they leaked information about the Zipl’s sanctuary to me.’
—Even if I don’t have a contract of truth, I have no intention of lying, Jin Runkandel. The world is in this state because the Parent of Life has vanished.
Most likely, Kinzelro’s ‘purification’ includes reviving the Parent of Life.
‘Kinzelro wants to resurrect the Parent of Life, and the Prophet wants to bring back Helluram…’
Their goals seemed diametrically opposed: one to purify the world, the other to plunge it into chaos.
Of course, to Jin, they all just looked like madmen disturbing an otherwise normal world—just like Zipl, who manipulates history to suit their own will.
Kinzelro talks about purification with pretty words but ultimately commits terror, murder, and all sorts of evil. The Prophet and Zipl are no better.
And Rosa is trying to utterly destroy the world. Thinking about that gave Jin a sudden headache.
“That’s right. We want to revive the Parent of Life, and Veil is a crucial clue.”
“You confess quite frankly.”
“Even if it’s temporary, we’re allies. Veil is also connected to my lord’s recovery. Before the final battle with Rosa Runkandel, restoring my lord as much as possible is necessary for you too, isn’t it?”
That was true. That was why Jin had worried about Orgal’s recovery during their first meeting.
I needed to meet Orgal sooner or later anyway. Besides, I had to let him know that Rosa’s power seemed to be growing faster than he had expected.
“Even without Veil, Orgal himself already said there’s a way to accelerate recovery in the worst-case scenario.”
“So, does that mean you refuse to cooperate?”
“No, I’m willing to cooperate. But I want to set one condition.”
“Ugh, that damn condition again. What is it this time?”
“Protection for Sandra and the Tower Keeper. You probably caught on at Temar’s tomb, but if they return to Ziplo now, they’ll be treated as traitors.”
“Why not just keep them from going back? Ziplo might be seriously displeased, but with the battle against Rosa looming, they can’t afford to be at odds with you. Besides, the betrayal is their own fault for poor management.”
“I don’t plan to send them back. They’re still valuable assets despite the betrayal, at least until the final battle. But just in case, I’m asking you to protect them too. The more hands, the better.”
Surprisingly, Zephyrin agreed to Jin’s request without hesitation.
“As long as Veil is around, we have no choice but to protect the bio-golems. And the Tower Keeper is hardly someone who needs protection—it’s almost laughable. For someone like you, that’s a pretty decent condition. I’ll accept.”