Chapter 755
Episode 185: The Remaining Ones (5)
Jin sighed quietly, his thoughts drifting to the life of a man named Padler.
A thousand years ago, the Blue Thunder King had been a teenage knight sworn to protect Runcandel. Now, he was a monster, locked away in the family’s underground prison.
“How is his condition?”
“…Not good.”
“Let’s go immediately. Riders, follow me. The rest, disperse and attend to your duties.”
The underground prison lay on the opposite side of the sacred shrine. As Jin passed by the shrine, he paused briefly.
Just as the Sword Garden remained unharmed, the shrine looked exactly as it had in the past. Though many ancestors had been exiled due to the Dark God’s influence, the shrine still stood as the family’s foundation.
“Sister, and brothers.”
Using the familiar terms, Jin’s siblings’ expressions lightened noticeably.
“Yes, youngest.”
“Let us be like our ancestors who fought to the very end, even in death.”
Padler was imprisoned in the lowest level—the same cell where Joshua had once fallen.
Jin furrowed his brow the moment he saw him.
Though he had been warned the condition was bad, it was far worse than expected. From several fist-sized holes in his body, a dark energy surged like blood.
It was the aftermath of a fierce battle with Veil. Tona and the others had reported that during the final battle, Padler had broken away from the main fight with Veil to settle their duel separately.
The result was Veil’s complete victory. Though Padler fought valiantly, Veil had never lost to him even once during his active years.
Yet Veil had not destroyed Padler for one reason.
The chains.
Jin’s gaze fixed on the chains binding Padler’s heart through the gaping wounds in his chest. Veil had recognized this during their fight and spared him for the time being. Though “alive” was a generous term for his current state.
“Sir Padler.”
The chains binding his heart were already half broken. Looking down at him stirred a complicated mix of emotions.
Padler was, after all, a fallen ancestor.
But his corruption wasn’t solely the Dark God’s doing. Before his heart was bound by the dark energy, he already harbored deep hatred toward Temar.
[You have come.]
“You’re stubbornly resisting annihilation.”
[Indeed. Recovery or revival is impossible.]
“Is there some lingering attachment?”
[No such thing. I only wished to speak to you before disappearing from this world.]
“What do you want to say?”
[An old story…]
Padler faintly smiled.
He wouldn’t offer pitiful excuses to survive. The emptiness in his eyes was that of someone who had already let go of life.
“What I desire is not the revival of Runcandel, but its corruption and destruction… When we first met, you said that to me. I hope your thoughts have changed.”
—I don’t know all that happened a thousand years ago, Sir Padler. And when I mention Sir Sildray and Lady Sara, I don’t mean to say you should be like them… I only wanted to say that you seemed to care deeply for each other. That must have been before the fall of the Idal Kingdom in your memories.
[The feelings we once shared cannot replace all that I have lost.]
A conversation from the first major offensive.
At that time, Padler said he neither remembered nor wished to remember anything beyond Temar’s destruction of Idal.
[The truth remains unchanged. Temar erased my kingdom without leaving a trace… that fact will never change.]
Black tears streamed from Padler’s eyes. He recalled the day Temar struck the Idal Kingdom.
[But as the Dark God was dying, one more memory surfaced. A truth I had forgotten.]
“If it’s the truth…”
[Why Temar went mad. Someone made the one who was the family’s and the world’s hope into a monster. There was a traitor within the family.]
Jin’s eyes widened.
“…Who was it?”
[Lokia. Lokia Ganesto.]
Padler spat the name bitterly.
[He was the traitor… He allied with the witch and turned Temar into a monster. Everything was Lokia’s scheme. Sildray’s temporary departure, the gods’ betrayal, even Ziphl’s rise.]
—Master, no! Brother, this won’t do. I have to meet that witch in the Black Sea. Lokia said that if it’s a witch, there might be a way. To stop Ziphl’s rewriting of history…
Jin recalled the conversation between Sara and Temar at the third tomb.
At that time, Temar lied to Sara, claiming he could sway the gods, but Sara planned to secretly meet Lokia despite his warnings.
“Please tell me more.”
[Before killing me, Lokia said his goal was the resurrection of the Sun God. That’s why he killed all our comrades but spared only Veil. He wanted to erase this world completely and restore a rightful one. The original form of the world, he said. He used everything for that purpose—the family, the witch, even Ziphl.]
“There are those who say similar things even now.”
[That must be the Beast King Orgal. But he too was deceived. It was Lokia who urged that the Beast King be erased from history. There’s even a high chance Lokia was involved in the recent birth of the Dark God.]
“How can you be so sure?”
[Because the Dark God carries Ganesto’s blood. I only realized this after the chains on his heart were broken. Even the Dark God only recently learned he was Ganesto’s descendant. But he probably never realized Lokia’s involvement.]
Padler knew this because he had observed the Dark God’s inner world for a long time.
[If not for Lokia, if only he hadn’t betrayed us… Temar wouldn’t have gone mad, my kingdom wouldn’t have vanished, and my comrades, Sara wouldn’t have died like that…!]
His body trembled as he coughed up the dark energy. The breath he had been holding until Jin’s arrival was fading.
“Sir Padler!”
[This is all I remember… Though I resented Temar so much, I too was fooled by the same trick, threatening the family… I became a monster who killed many.]
Padler gripped Jin’s shoulder.
[Jin Runcandel. I endured to tell you the truth because I believe you can break this cursed cycle…! Lokia Ganesto, that demon, is definitely still alive.]
The holes in Padler’s body slowly widened. Annihilation was closing in.
[He received immortality from the witch. I saw with my own eyes Lokia resurrecting multiple times. Neither the family head’s sword nor Elona’s magic could kill him! You must find Lokia. We cannot let him win!]
Padler’s eyes, locked with Jin’s, faded into darkness.
Now… I too must tell Sara, the family head, and our comrades…
With those final words, Padler completely vanished.
Jin and his siblings stared at the empty space where Padler had been for a long moment.
“Is all of this… truly rooted in a betrayal from a thousand years ago?”
“If the Dark God was used by that traitor, then, youngest, could Dr. Quall also be under Lokia’s influence?”
“Quall said he only recently learned he was Ganesto’s bloodline.”
Mary and Tona spoke up first.
“I don’t think Sir Padler was lying, but some parts don’t add up. If Lokia was the traitor, why was he completely erased from history until recently?”
“That could be explained if Lokia used Ziphl’s historical manipulation to protect himself. What’s stranger is that Lokia even schemed against Orgal, who shared his goals.”
“That’s true…”
“The key is uncovering Lokia’s identity and whether he’s still alive. If he is, and truly the traitor, then as Sir Padler said, we must find and eliminate him.”
They couldn’t fully trust Padler’s words—not because they doubted him, but because his memories might be incomplete.
But if everything he said was true, Lokia had been the greatest shadow manipulating the world from behind the scenes for the past thousand years. Even now, he was still spreading his influence.
“There’s too little evidence, so we’ll investigate this carefully. For now, let’s stabilize the situation and prepare for the enemies right in front of us.”
As Jin opened the prison door, he saw Veil leaning against the wall. He had known for some time that Veil had been eavesdropping.
“You’re not supposed to enter without my permission, Veil.”
“I know, but I’m an old teenage knight. Can’t you cut me some slack?”
“That’s why I’m just warning you.”
“…Everything that man said is probably true.”
“You knew?”
“No. Padler’s a pain, but his feelings for the family and Sara were genuine. If what he said is true, Sara’s enemy is Lokia. I’ll find both Ziphl and Lokia and make them suffer.”
“Do you remember anything about Lokia?”
“He was a suspicious guy. I never thought he was a traitor, but it’s true he often dealt with the witch. But I have no idea what he did after I was sealed. Oh, and come to think of it… Lokia was the one who insisted most strongly that I be sealed, not killed.”
“Got it. If anything else comes to mind, tell me immediately.”
“What about Padler’s belongings?”
“Belongings?”
“Silus. His sword.”
Padler’s sword was currently stored in the warehouse.
“Speak your mind as an old comrade. What do you think we should do?”
“We can’t just place him in the ancestral tomb or stick him in the garden right now.”
“Exactly. No matter the circumstances, Sir Padler killed countless people.”
“In the end, he deliberately drew me out to face him one-on-one, to stop himself from killing anyone else. Still, I know that was a reckless move.”
Veil despised Padler, but now that he’d regained consciousness only to vanish, a strange feeling stirred within him.
They had always been rivals, often clashing over Sarah, but they had once been comrades.
“…So don’t give that sword to anyone. Keep it for now. If, later on, everything Padler said turns out to be true, and because of that the family regains its former glory, then how about placing it in the ancestral tomb? If not the tomb, then at least in the garden. I’m asking you.”
Jin stared quietly at Veil before answering,
“Alright. We’ll do just that.”