Episode 725
Chapter 182: The Flaw of a Temporary Alliance (2)
Jin headed toward the underground prison of Tikan Palace, accompanied by Kashimir.
A few comrades, including Mary and the Tona brothers, were watching over Lin in the dungeon.
Though imprisoned, Lin wasn’t bound; she sat calmly at a desk, sipping tea.
“You’ve come, Twelfth Knight,” Lin greeted as she rose to meet Jin.
“Chairman of the Guardians—or rather, I should call you the Black Sword Chairman. I heard Rosa appointed you as such.”
“I’m unworthy of any title,” Jin replied quietly. “As Guardian, I failed to uphold my family’s laws. As Black Sword Chairman, I couldn’t eliminate the traitors. Just call me by my name.”
Without responding, Jin sat before her, studying her eyes—darkened by chaos.
Though clearly consumed by chaos, Lin hadn’t lost her composure. Instead, there was a resolute will shining through.
Jin sensed the aura of someone who had accepted pain and sacrifice as their burden.
“The investigation into the information you gave us yesterday has been completed.”
Lin’s intelligence concerned Rosa and the warship Ram.
According to her, Rosa had lost partial control over Huepester, and the warship Ram held a secret unknown even to Rosa.
“That’s a relief.”
“Until Yuria’s judgment came through, I honestly found it hard to believe. I wondered if your visit was a ploy by Rosa, or if, sensing the chaos faction’s weakening, you were trying to switch sides again. I had my doubts.”
“I understand. It was only natural to be suspicious.”
“Why didn’t you join the resistance from the start? Why make a pact with the Prophet?”
“If I had joined the resistance from the beginning, you wouldn’t have learned anything about the chaos faction’s weaknesses. I longed to fight alongside you, but I saw no hope otherwise.”
“So you chose to become an insider in the Garden of Corruption?”
Mary asked, and Lin nodded.
“I believed that only by becoming an insider would an opportunity come, one way or another.”
“I remember clearly the day Brother Dipus was captured—you saved me then.”
“But I have personally slain countless knights of our own family,” Lin said, setting down her teacup.
Jin recognized the guilt weighing on her.
As an individual, Lin might have been better off fighting honorably with the resistance and dying with dignity.
But she had obeyed Rosa’s orders for moments like this.
For the sake of the family, she was willing to endure personal torment and guilt.
Even if history branded her a monstrous traitor.
“Besides, like the late Fourth Knight, I was gradually succumbing to the Prophet’s chaos, losing my original will. If you hadn’t killed the Prophet this time, I would have truly become a traitor.”
A brief silence fell.
“Have you set the day for the final battle?”
“Not yet. It will probably be decided at tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Though we spoke last night, it’s best to act within a month. The time left for me and the remaining knights is short. Our lives are fading with the Prophet’s death.”
“Because of the pact with the Prophet?”
“Yes. Once we die, if you strike Huepester, we won’t be able to help at all.”
Jin nodded.
“Then I should be going. Staying longer will only raise the chaos faction’s suspicions.”
Lin stood.
“This will likely be our last meeting, Twelfth Knight. Once you and the temporary alliance begin your attack on Huepester, we will focus all efforts on halting the warship Ram.”
Stopping the warship Ram’s operation temporarily—that was the crucial information Lin had gained as an insider.
“Also, even before Ram is fully stopped, that dreadful ship won’t attack the Balmur Alliance.”
Rosa believed she alone controlled Ram.
But the late Prophet had prepared to seize control of Ram when the time came to deal with Rosa.
That truth had been fully revealed to Lin once her ‘brainwashing’ was deemed complete.
Lin extended her hand to Jin.
He glanced between her hand and her eyes for a moment.
“Please… defeat Rosa and the chaos faction, Twelfth Knight. Prevent our Runcandel from being destroyed so horribly.”
Jin grasped her hand firmly.
He felt the rough, calloused palm of an old elder who had devoted decades solely to the Runcandel family.
“I will make sure of it.”
Jin personally escorted Lin out. As they emerged from the underground prison into a secret passage leading to the sea, the youngest division awaited them.
Among them, Mesa bowed deeply before Lin.
“Great Aunt.”
“Mesa,” Lin smiled, meeting her gaze.
“Our Lord Sir Shiron was the supreme being of this world, yet he still wanders the Black Sea. Rosa has become chaos incarnate, driving our family and the world toward ruin. So you serve a ruler far greater than my generation ever did.”
“I will become a knight worthy of my lord and family.”
“Good. When the Twelfth Knight restores the family, your duties will increase. May I entrust the future to you and depart in peace?”
“…Yes, Great Aunt.”
“Well done.”
The remaining Runcandel members stayed until Lin disappeared beyond the sea’s horizon.
Huepester.
The army of chaos gathered at the Garden of Swords. Eyes clouded by chaos gazed up at Rosa seated on her throne.
Since becoming chaos incarnate, she was showing signs of fatigue for the first time—dark circles under her eyes, cracked lips, hair limp and lifeless.
She hadn’t properly absorbed the chaos she should have gained at the Battle of Ricalton, and a fragment of the power she had shared with Dipus had completely vanished.
Madness.
Rosa caressed her beloved sword, the one she had wielded since her human days. Occasionally, her fingers were cut by the blade, black drops of blood falling.
She paid no mind, seeming numb to the pain as she absentmindedly traced the blade.
The commanders watching her felt uneasy. Unlike the lower-ranked knights fully consumed by madness, these high-ranking officers still retained some will and reason.
They had never considered the possibility of defeat at Ricalton.
They had planned to launch a new invasion before the temporary alliance could regroup.
But Dipus and the Prophet were dead, and Rosa showed no effort to hide her exhaustion before her army.
“The troops have all gathered, Lady,” Lionel stepped forward.
Rosa said nothing, continuing to stroke her sword.
A cold wind occasionally tousled her hair.
“Lady,” Lionel called again, sensing the unease of the remaining rational commanders pressing down on his back.
Only Fadler watched with a venomous smile, indifferent to the outcome.
After more than thirty minutes, Rosa finally spoke.
“Former Lady, Sir Lionel.”
“Command me.”
“Have you ever loved a child?”
The sudden, unexpected question left Lionel baffled.
“Why ask that now? Is it because of the Fourth Knight’s death?”
“That child was far superior to the vermin over there, but not someone I held special affection for.”
At those words, Joshua, standing beneath the throne, flinched slightly. Since the Prophet’s death, he could no longer summon despair—the hope of prophecy was gone.
“Please answer the question.”
“Yes, I have.”
“Then what did you give that child?”
“Difficult questions in succession… In my case, I passed down the family—the Garden of Swords itself.”
Rosa nodded with satisfaction. A spark of life returned to her previously dark eyes.
“I wanted to pass this place to my child as well. But since I cannot… before the youngest and I settle this, as a mother, I feel compelled to give a proper gift. A playground of sorts.”
“A playground?”
Rosa rose from her seat.
“I will build a castle.”
“Lady, what do you mean?”
“This will be the youngest’s final stage. It must be exquisite and beautiful, with figures worthy of the myth that will be the child’s death.”
Lionel struggled to voice his concerns, and murmurs rippled through the army.
But the next moment, they could only gasp as Rosa raised her hand toward the sky.
Whoosh!
Black pillars suddenly shot up on either side of the formation.
Like a painting coming to life on a blank canvas, the framework of a ‘castle’ took shape with every gesture she made.
Creation—something only a god could accomplish.
At the same time, from behind the throne, a pale energy began to surge like a tidal wave.
It was the souls emerging from the mausoleum.
Lionel shuddered, overwhelmed by the power flowing from them.
“While I build this castle, your task is… to fill this place so it doesn’t look empty. Take your positions and prepare for the final battle. Prepare to welcome my son.”
As Rosa sheathed her sword, Lionel and the army knelt in unison.
As they emerged from the spirit realm, the ancient heroes of Runcandel, whose physical forms were just beginning to take shape, bowed in reverence to Rosa, raising their swords in salute.
Rosa’s gaze then briefly settled on Lin, standing among the Black Blade Order at the center of the formation.
She smiled as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
But Lin, with his head bowed, remained unaware of Rosa’s watchful eyes.