Chapter 780
Episode 192: Three Days Ago (Part 1)
Three days ago, at the Tower of Stories.
That day, the Ziple leadership was once again holding a meeting in the tower. With the movements of Runkandel and Kinzel to monitor, the Ziple were caught up in a whirlwind of chaos every day. Yet, the atmosphere in the conference room was unusually tense.
This was because Veradin had excluded Kadun from the meeting.
“…Sogaju, are you really planning not to call Lord Kadun?” Octavia asked.
“Sogaju, wouldn’t it be better to call Lord Kadun even now? He must be feeling deeply slighted.”
Even Ronilzo, who had never questioned Veradin’s decisions before, thought this time his actions were excessive.
Back when Kelliak was still alive, Kadun was the guardian dragon of the entire Ziple, holding a rank even higher than Andrey or Octavia.
Kadun hadn’t committed any offense that warranted exclusion from the leadership meetings.
Surprisingly, since the last meeting where Veradin insulted him, Kadun hadn’t once shown any anger in the conference room. Even when unpleasant topics about Runkandel came up, he kept his temper in check and remained silent.
“Is there any issue that can’t be addressed without Lord Kadun present?” Veradin asked, clearly unwilling to yield to their requests.
“Sogaju, it’s not that, but why do you insist on provoking Lord Kadun like this?”
“I didn’t want to call him because I dislike seeing him sulk like a spoiled child every meeting. If anyone’s provoking whom, it’s Lord Kadun, not me. Does he have the right to show his displeasure in front of me without consequence?”
“Sogaju! The Tower of Stories, the First Tower, is originally the domain of both the Sogaju and Lord Kadun. If you exclude him from meetings here over such trivial reasons, how do you think that will make him feel?”
“Now is the time to focus on our enemies, not to worry about personal feelings.”
“You yourself said unity is important! Our enemies are rallying around the fallen Runkandel and Orgal, while we’re stuck in petty power struggles. Do you harbor some grudge against Lord Kadun?”
“Fine. Then let’s move the meeting immediately. We can hold it in Drakka instead of the Tower of Stories.”
“If you keep this up… I’m afraid I can no longer trust your judgment, Sogaju. If there’s no reasonable explanation for excluding Lord Kadun from all important matters, not just this meeting—”
“No explanation?”
Veradin’s cold gaze cut through Octavia’s words, silencing her.
“If my father had done this, do you think I would be speaking out like this? Lord Wraith Captain, if there’s no reason, what then? Will you rebel? Or refuse to attend meetings with Lord Kadun? That too would be insubordination.”
“Rebel…?”
“The Sogaju’s orders are absolute. Even the old wraiths who were previous heads of the family obeyed those laws. If you think I’m lacking compared to Jin, I have nothing to say, but I believe many in the family have lost their minds.”
Octavia clenched her teeth and avoided Veradin’s gaze.
‘Why has he changed so much…?’
When Veradin first regained consciousness after losing all his memories and becoming like a newborn, it was the happiest moment for Ziple.
Moreover, the returned Veradin quickly took control of the family and even gained powers similar to record magic. Thanks to that, they managed to end the Dark God War with minimal losses and partially filled the void left by Kelliak.
But lately, in Octavia’s eyes, Veradin was losing his mind.
‘Is this a side effect of the mental manipulation we performed? No, it feels more like retaliation for that manipulation. Lord Kadun was deeply involved in that mental tampering.’
At that thought, another name flashed through Octavia’s mind—someone even more deeply involved in Veradin’s mental manipulation than Kadun.
‘The Sogaju…! If Veradin is going mad and taking revenge on Kadun, his reach could extend to the Sogaju as well!’
Kelliak Ziple.
For years now, he had been trapped in the maintenance device on the top floor of the Tower of Stories.
And only two people in Ziple could freely enter and exit the tower’s highest floor: the fire dragon Kadun and Veradin Ziple.
If Veradin were to attack Kelliak’s maintenance device alone…
Of course, Kelliak wouldn’t be able to fight back.
The thought sent chills down Octavia’s spine. It was something she had never even considered before Veradin started acting so recklessly.
‘If what he’s doing is truly revenge, and he has no intention of stopping…’
Veradin had to be removed from power immediately. No matter how dangerous and chaotic the situation, they had to eliminate the possibility of Veradin ‘killing’ Kelliak.
“You’re one of those people, Lord Wraith Captain. To speak so boldly just because you’re uncomfortable with how Lord Kadun is treated… I suppose you find me quite laughable.”
“…I will be more careful from now on, Sogaju. I showed weakness.”
“I hope you mean that sincerely. Please don’t harbor other intentions and make mistakes.”
Octavia shuddered, feeling as if Veradin could see right through her. She wondered if Veradin had already grown too strong for either her or Kadun to control.
“Now then, let’s begin the meeting. We need to find a way to cut off the warriors and engineers flocking to Runkandel. Since Valeria Hister’s existence became public, far too many talented people have been drawn to Runkandel.”
“Almost all applicants within the federation have been investigated. There were over two thousand mages and engineers. What should we do with them?”
“Ronil, Lord Wraith Captain, please share your opinions.”
“I think we should execute some as an example and absorb the rest.”
“I prefer to kill them all. The real elites among those two thousand have already defected to the alliance, so the rest are practically useless. Killing them will instill fear in others.”
“Both are reasonable options. However, given the current situation, we will postpone punishment for those suspected of treason. Summon all those who couldn’t join the Balmel Alliance to our research facility. We’ll put them to work on menial tasks for now, and reconsider their fate once the situation stabilizes.”
“Understood.”
“And…”
Just as Veradin was about to bring up the next topic, his eyes suddenly sharpened.
At the same time, Ronil and Octavia tensed, raising their senses. They sensed a familiar, immense, and fierce energy rapidly approaching the Tower of Stories.
“It seems Lord Kadun is about to cross the line…”
It was Kadun’s energy. If he were merely flying, his aura wouldn’t be this wild. His clear intent and fury were already coloring the entire sky outside.
“Ronil.”
“Yes, Sogaju.”
“Order all troops on standby in the tower to prepare for battle immediately.”
Sogaju!
Octavia almost shouted but stopped herself.
‘Kadun, not now…!’
She knew Kadun well.
In fact, it was almost a miracle he had endured all the insults from Veradin until now. The Kadun she knew would have settled things with Veradin long ago.
‘I have to try to stop Kadun somehow. A fight between Kadun and Veradin right now must not happen!’
She could stop Kadun. If she pleaded earnestly that fighting now would only harm Ziple, Kadun would eventually relent.
The real problem was Veradin. Octavia wondered if Veradin would simply let Kadun bare his teeth and walk away. She doubted it.
‘If Veradin decides to abandon Kadun and launch a preemptive strike, what then…?’
No one could predict who would win that fight. What mattered was that whichever side won, Ziple would suffer irreparable damage.
Outside, Kadun was descending through the clouds.
The tower’s mages had already taken battle positions, pointing their staves at Kadun. Veradin stood among them, glaring at Kadun.
[Veradin…! Why are you doing this to me? I am the pillar of the family and the guardian dragon of your father. Do you truly think this is acceptable?]
“This is your final warning, Lord Kadun. Cease your energy immediately and submit to the family’s authority. What you’re doing now is treason.”
[Treason? This brat has finally lost his mind. Mages pointing their staves at me, I’ll give you a choice. Whose orders will you follow? That mad Sogaju has no future. Today, I will reduce him to ashes.]
“Haah, so it has come to this. Very well. From now on, Fire Dragon Kadun is a first-class traitor of the family. Mages of the tower, protect me.”
“Sogaju, wait. Please give me a moment to speak with Lord Kadun. I will try to stop him! I swear on my name and honor, I will.”
“There’s no need for that, Captain of the Phantoms. Do you have any idea why I’m treating Lord Kadun so harshly?”
“Please, just tell me. Why are you doing this? Even Lord Kadun hasn’t asked.”
Octavia spoke almost pleadingly. She had to prevent the family from being torn apart.
At her words, Veradin turned around and pointed with his finger to the very top of the mage tower.
“From now on, watch closely where my father is. See what’s about to happen.”
With that, Veradin extended the family head’s staff, Hrotti, toward Kadun.