Chapter 751
Episode 185: The Survivors (Part 1)
It had been ten days since the decisive battle between the Provisional Alliance and the Fiendish God on the first day of July, 1803.
The world was slowly returning to its former self.
The sky and earth, no longer tainted by the chaotic energy; the shining beaches; fishing boats gliding across the sea; bustling marketplaces filled with people; and everyday life free from the terror of the Fiendish God…
Thankfully, this return to normalcy wasn’t limited to just the Lutero Magic Federation and the Biment Empire.
The entire continent, including the Hupester Union—which had been engulfed by the chaotic energy—was also beginning to regain some semblance of its old self.
Not every human in Hupester had been sacrificed to the Fiendish God.
When the chaotic energy that had blanketed the continent finally dissipated, far more people remained in Hupester than the Provisional Alliance had anticipated.
“This is the first time I’ve realized how joyful and relieving it can be to check reports and numbers. Are you sure these figures and notes on this paper truly reflect the survivor counts in each region?” Mary asked.
Though her face was drawn and exhausted from not having slept properly even once since the war ended, her eyes sparkled brightly.
“Come on, sister! We and Tikan have been sending people out ourselves to verify everything. It’s all genuine,” the Tona brothers replied.
Like Mary, their faces were gaunt but their eyes shone with energy.
“Go on inside and get some rest. We’ll handle the rider duties. Stop asking the same questions over and over.”
“Just because we checked once or twice, you’re acting like you want to devour us. Are you crazy?”
“Hey! Are you going to hit me? Go ahead and try!”
“Wait, no! Oof!”
Mary left two fist marks on their foreheads.
“Hah! We have some pride as riders, you know.”
“We’re old enough to know better. Ouch, my forehead!”
“No one saw it. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll let it slide. What about the youngest? Still not awake?”
“How many times have you asked that? Hey, put your fist down.”
“Sis, you heard it straight from the Sovereign an hour ago. The youngest is recovering smoothly.”
“I’m still worried since they haven’t regained consciousness.”
“That’s true. But remember? Medically, it’s not unconsciousness—it’s more like a deep sleep. The Sovereign emphasized they’ll definitely wake up, so no need to worry.”
“I get that you want to reduce their workload once they wake up, but at this rate, you’re going to wear yourself out.”
“Could you bring the teapot over here?”
“Ugh.”
What the siblings didn’t know was that from the moment their conversation began, Jin had already opened his eyes in another building.
Since Lani had just left after visiting him, no one was in the room where Jin lay.
For a while, Jin stared blankly at the ceiling.
‘This place…’
The ceiling was familiar yet strange—it wasn’t Tikan’s.
‘…The Garden of Swords?’
The room he had used back when he was a trainee rider.
It was exactly that place.
Though he could move, Jin remained still, staring up at the ceiling as if tied down.
He was afraid it might be a dream.
Since Jin’s return to Inse, the Garden of Swords had been destroyed multiple times.
He had witnessed its destruction firsthand during the first major offensive, and the massive Fiendish God’s fortress had been built on the very site where the Garden once stood.
So he couldn’t believe the Garden of Swords could still be intact.
Trying to calm his trembling heart, Jin recalled his last memory.
The moment he made a pact with the Fiendish God and fell to the surface.
‘Maybe I did see the Garden of Swords still standing back then.’
He got up and pinched his cheek.
It hurt. He pinched harder, then took a sip of water from a glass nearby.
The cold water flowing down his throat felt clearer than ever.
“Master!”
Gili’s voice called out.
“Lord Jin!”
“Twelfth Rider!”
“My lord!”
“Sir!”
“Jin!”
“Darling!”
Other comrades’ voices joined in.
They had just returned from seeing off the Sovereign.
Gili embraced Jin tightly, wiping away tears.
The others’ eyes were moist too, especially Jet, who had collapsed and was sobbing uncontrollably, repeatedly saying, “Our lord, our lord, our lord has awakened!”
From outside, Jet’s cries could easily be mistaken for mourning, not celebration.
“Master, are you alright?”
“Darling! Are you hurt anywhere? Why have you been lying down so long? Do you know how worried Sandra was?”
“Master, you’ve awakened after ten days. And as you can see… you did it. You saved the world and reclaimed Runcandel. You’ve restored the Garden of Swords.”
As his comrades spoke, Jin felt an unexpected mischievous impulse rising within him.
“…Who are you all?”
“…Master?”
“Where am I…?”
“What did you say?”
“My lord!?”
“L-Lord?”
“Darling? No, this can’t be!”
His comrades’ hearts sank as their eyes widened in shock.
Jin was about to ask one more time who he was, but Valeria entered and caught him.
“You’re surprisingly careless. Playing pranks like this on those who’ve been anxiously waiting for your awakening is a bit much, isn’t it?”
Though her tone was reproachful, Valeria smiled brightly.
For ten days, except when he was asleep, she had been monitoring Jin’s status through his record window.
Right now, the record showed that Jin had just woken up and was playing a prank.
“Was that too cruel? Sorry, everyone.”
“You were very cruel, Master. My heart nearly stopped.”
“I almost threw a punch.”
“Darling, your head is really okay, right?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Though the body still needs more recovery. Gili, are all our comrades safe?”
“Yes, Master. No one from the Bamel Union died.”
Just from the atmosphere, it was clear. The Bamel Union had suffered the least damage in this war.
In fact, they had grown stronger than before the war.
Gili and the others spent some time updating Jin on the current situation.
Most of the allied noble families and civilians in Hupester had survived, and in Runcandel, about three thousand knights, a hundred or so scholars, and countless servants remained.
It wasn’t a cause for unbridled joy.
The entire population of the city of Karon had been sacrificed, countless knights had fallen corrupted and died, and worldwide casualties easily exceeded a million.
Even though the Fiendish God was dead, those lost would not return.
Still, it was overwhelming to see so many survivors—things they thought were completely gone were still here, sparking hope.
The living had a foundation to prepare for tomorrow.
That was why his comrades were so elated.
They had to be. Only by doing so could they push away the sorrow of war and move forward.
“The reason so many survived in Runcandel is because the Fiendish God clung to the family until the very end. Even if it destroyed the world, it wanted to preserve the Garden of Swords and Runcandel,” Valeria said, opening the record window to show the details.
It was a record of the contradictory feelings the Fiendish God itself didn’t fully understand.
Before the final battle, the Fiendish God’s greatest focus wasn’t building that massive, terrifying fortress, but restoring the Garden of Swords.
It had placed a barrier over the entire restored Garden and built the fortress on top of it.
And all the surviving family members were trapped inside, never once corrupted by the chaotic energy.
“So, even though it became the Fiendish God and corrupted most of the family’s knights with its power… it preserved some parts intact.”
“Exactly. The Fiendish God left behind not the corrupted Garden of Swords, but the one remembered by the human Rosa Runcandel.”
Jin recalled the final battle at those words.
The white, lonely landscape that had dwelled deep within the Fiendish God’s heart.
“…Maybe it left a last refuge in case it lost. If it died, you would have to lead the survivors.”
There was a commotion outside.
Jet had gone out to announce Jin’s awakening.
The heavy footsteps of the family’s knights lined up echoed through the halls.
They were preparing to welcome Jin.
Gili opened the wardrobe and pulled out a coat Jin had never worn before.
“Master, you should receive a more detailed report later, but for now, it’s best you go out.”
Jin stared at the coat, similar to a rider’s uniform but embroidered differently.
‘Ten black swords stitched on the collar…’
Before nineteen, only Luna had worn that coat in Siron’s Runcandel.
It was the coat symbolizing the ‘Head of the Sword Family.’
Even when Joshua acted publicly as the head, Siron never allowed him to wear it.
“…Could it be that Father has returned?”
“The head has not yet come back.”
“Then who could have authorized me to wear this? Even if I accomplished great deeds, I can’t just put it on myself. I’m still the twelfth rider of the family, Gili.”
Gili lowered her head silently, as if urging him to put it on.
After a few seconds, Jin stood, washed his face briefly, and donned the coat.
As he stepped into the hallway, the knights waiting there saluted and followed him.
Jin wanted to see each of their faces, but first, he felt he had to go out to the garden.
All the surviving vassals of Runcandel stood lined up in the garden.
At the forefront, Mary and the Tona siblings proudly raised the family banner.
Hearing about it and actually seeing it were two very different things.
Jin felt his chest tighten with emotion as he looked over the assembled knights.
As Jin approached, the knights stepped aside on either side and saluted with their swords.
At the end of the formation stood figures Jin had never expected to see.
“Have you come, Knight of the Twelfth Order?”
“You’ve finally awakened.”
Alpen and Tasha were the first to speak to him.
Between them stood the one-armed former head of the clan, whose face bore a striking resemblance to Siron.
“Welcome, great-grandson,” the one-armed former clan head said with a sly smile.
He was the 57th head of the Runcandel clan and Siron’s grandfather—the very man they had rescued in the final battle.