Episode 703
Chapter 179: An Inescapable Trap (2)
“How severe is the damage?”
“Extremely serious. The capital of the Milkun Kingdom has vanished without a trace, and civilian casualties are estimated to exceed two hundred thousand.”
The moment Jin heard the figure—two hundred thousand—he thought his ears must be deceiving him.
“…Did you say two hundred thousand?”
If that was true, then Dipus had already committed an irreversible massacre of civilians.
The Tonah brothers, who had been listening, clenched their teeth, and Mary’s face turned deathly pale.
She barely held back her emotions, but her fists trembled uncontrollably.
Even if Dipus were to somehow break free from the chaos’s corruption later, such a colossal tragedy could never be undone.
That was what was driving the brothers to madness.
“…At least ten thousand people were taken hostage as well.”
Kashimir’s somber expression deepened as he continued explaining, and Jin felt as if his entire body was sinking underwater.
‘Rosa… that mad monster…!’
A massive catastrophe had unfolded—one caused, inevitably, by the brothers who had become Rosa’s war machines.
Jin’s eyes wavered as he stared at Kashimir.
“If there are over ten thousand hostages, does that mean the Chaos Dragons and Black Ships of the Fiend were involved?”
“Yes. Under Lord Dipus’s command, they launched simultaneous attacks across the Lutero Magic Federation. During the assault, abilities presumed to be massive dimensional gates—either teleportation or summoning—along with tunnels, were used by the fiends.”
The Lutero Magic Federation was caught completely off guard.
Hundreds of Black Ships and thousands of Chaos Dragons emerging suddenly from tunnels and dimensional gates were impossible to counter quickly unless you were Drakka’s main base.
Moreover, Dipus had executed a diversionary tactic. At first, he appeared with his fleet near Drakka as if launching a full-scale invasion, but as Ziphl hurriedly gathered forces, he vanished like smoke and struck across the federation’s territories.
One hour.
In just one hour, Dipus’s chaotic army inflicted devastating damage on Ziphl and escaped. Drakka’s forces couldn’t keep up with the chaos army’s mobility.
And Dipus’s mastery of martial arts was a problem too. Neither Octavia nor the Phantom Corps could pierce the chaotic energy he emitted even once during the pursuit.
The world’s strongest family had been bested without even a proper strike.
The affected areas of the federation, including the Milkun Kingdom, were in utter chaos.
The chaotic energy Dipus left behind spread like an uncontrollable wildfire, still tormenting the remaining civilians.
With over two hundred thousand dead, the number of injured was far greater.
Even the Holy Empire, which had cut off all communication with Ziphl, dispatched healers immediately upon hearing the news.
Fear was spreading at a terrifying pace.
No matter what monster appeared in the world, Ziphl’s territory had been considered the safest refuge. Now, it had been utterly helpless against the fiends. Many said the end brought by the fiends was only a matter of time.
Throughout Kashimir’s explanation, Jin steadied his breathing.
What he had to do was not drown in grief, but to stop Dipus as soon as possible—starting now.
He needed to grasp the situation precisely.
“I must head to Drakka immediately. There might be another fiend attack while I’m away, so activate all defensive systems.”
Now that it was confirmed Rosa possessed large-scale teleportation abilities, battles could erupt suddenly at any moment.
‘There must be limits to such massive summoning and teleportation abilities. They probably require humans or despair as fuel. Perhaps the hostages were taken to supply that.’
The terror experienced by those already under the fiends’ direct rule and the sudden fear felt by those who thought they were safe would create vastly different depths of despair.
Whether Rosa had enough power to move troops at will was unknown.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
“And where is Sir Siris?”
“He just returned from the Holy Empire.”
“Then it would be best if Your Grace personally visits Kinzello with Siris’s help. Also, check on the Empire. They might have been attacked as well.”
“Understood.”
Jin and Kashimir turned and walked away, while Mary watched their backs before heading back to the healing chamber, struggling to hold herself together.
“There’s going to be a big fight soon. To fight properly, you need to focus on recovery. Prepare the family’s knights.”
“Yes, sister!”
Even as Jin headed toward the Red Owl’s launch bay, reports from the Seven-Colored Bird kept coming in nonstop—real-time updates on the damage.
The deaths, expressed only as staggering numbers, felt utterly unreal.
Suddenly, Jin stopped.
He was in front of Yuria’s room. Beyond the closed door, he heard muffled sobbing.
As Azmil’s contractor, she had sensed a bad omen about this crisis for some time.
Perhaps Yuria already knew the outcome of this disaster.
Jin gently stroked the door a few times, as if comforting her, then turned back toward the launch bay.
No matter what she had seen, he was determined to create a better future.
The Red Owl couldn’t lock onto Ziphl’s main coordinates. Jin landed in a forest on the outskirts of Drakka, where he immediately met Ronil Ziphl.
Ronil seemed to have been expecting the Red Owl’s arrival.
“Welcome, Lord Jin.”
Jin didn’t ask how he knew to wait here.
There was no time for that, and the pressing issue was Dipus.
“Lord Ronil.”
“Thank you for coming so quickly. I will serve you.”
The district where Jin landed had been attacked by Dipus. Being near the main base, the damage wasn’t severe, but the entire city was steeped in fear.
The catastrophe in Milkun and other federation territories couldn’t be covered up by controlling the media.
“While requesting support from Tikan, there was another raid.”
Ronil spoke as they boarded Ziphl’s Fourth Fleet flagship, Andion.
“Could it be another large-scale troop movement during that time?”
“No. Dipus Runkandel, accompanied by two Black Knights, struck the Barkl district. The area was prepared, so civilian casualties were minimal… but the Phantom Commander was seriously injured. Lord Kadun also responded despite not fully recovered and suffered internal injuries.”
Dipus, the elder brother…
Jin was about to say that when he looked out the ship’s window. This land was filled with people he had killed or wounded.
“…What happened to the Fourth Fleet?”
“Like the first raid, they escaped without damage. It seems they were empowered greatly by the fiends…”
According to Ronil, Dipus possessed not only dimensional travel through the fiends’ power and the prophet’s tunnels but also flight abilities like a veil.
That overwhelming mobility allowed him to strike and retreat repeatedly.
A fiend’s avatar.
Ziphl defined him as such. Dipus’s power was incomprehensible without having inherited some of the fiends’ authority.
Andion arrived at Ziphl’s main base. The fortress, known as the magical stronghold, was unusually open and crowded with civilians.
They were sheltering terrified civilians.
As Jin disembarked, some pointed fingers at him, while others bowed their heads as if a savior had come.
The former was because Jin was, after all, a Runkandel like the fiends and Dipus; the latter because of his past deeds.
Just as Ronil was about to order the crowd to be dispersed, Jin stopped him.
“Let them be.”
Jin passed through them and entered the inner quarters.
Inside and out, Ziphl’s followers were running tirelessly.
Only the highest elders remained still. They didn’t even show respect to Jin, who had arrived in haste, much like Ronil.
Many frowned or openly showed hostility.
Of course, Jin was too focused on the situation to care about the petty complaints of old men, but the elders naturally followed Jin and Ronil, as if they knew they needed to hear the upcoming discussion between the supreme authority and Jin.
Passing through two corridors, they reached the Ziphl family head’s office.
Where Kelliak should have been, Veradin sat instead.
“So we meet again, Jin.”
“Veradin.”
Despite the countless civilians under Ziphl’s protection who had died, Octavia and Kadun’s renewed injuries, and serious troop losses…
Veradin showed no sign of sorrow. He seemed more annoyed by the elders trailing behind Jin than by the calamity Ziphl had suffered.
“What brings the elders here?”
“What do you mean, family head? Of course, to attend the meeting…”
“If you’re incompetent, at least be perceptive and busy. Since you’ve come all this way, if you’re curious, listen. It won’t take long.”
The elders scowled but didn’t dare contradict Veradin.
“You seem unsettled.”
“Your calm demeanor suggests otherwise. I just heard the Fourth Fleet struck Barkl district again. How can you remain so composed?”
“About a hundred civilians died. The Phantom Commander and Lord Kadun were injured, but the Fourth Fleet suffered no damage even while facing them. If that’s the case, there must be a reason they stopped even if they had the chance to raze Barkl and enter Drakka.”
“Then why urgently request support from the Bamel Alliance? For post-attack recovery?”
At that, Veradin smiled slyly.
“That’s a rather strange question. Isn’t it only natural for a temporary alliance? Above all, we have to prevent the despair that the fiends accumulate from growing any larger… We need to rescue the hostages. Along with the second squad, as soon as the fourth squad begins their operation, the despair bound to the fiends is rapidly increasing.”
When Veradin mentioned ‘despair,’ Jin’s eyes widened.
Zipl had already been monitoring the scale of despair that Rosa was harvesting.