Chapter 832
Episode 209: The Seventh Tomb of Temar – The Painting of Kaitam (5)
The Ten Knights exchanged glances between Jin and Murakan. Murakan transformed into his human form, emphasizing that he had no intention to fight.
“Right! From what I can see, you don’t have enough hands here either. Temar’s injured and on the run, sure, but where are the others? Why is it just the three of you?”
“The others…”
Just as Dranax was about to answer, Frey raised a hand to stop him.
“They’re all out on external missions. They should be back soon.”
Murakan took Frey’s words at face value, but Jin immediately sensed the lie.
‘They probably want to hide their true strength since they don’t trust us yet. But it’s likely that the people who showed up now are the full force of Storm Fortress. They’re not preparing an ambush or surprise attack.’
They readied themselves for battle, assuming the ‘fake Murakan’ had launched a full-scale assault. If there were more knights or troops, they would have deployed them all.
“I see.”
“I still haven’t heard an explanation. What about those clothes and the witch’s red jade cat? Explain, Bamel.”
“The clothes were made by the Infernal Royal Family of Laprarosa for Temar in the past. They were meant to be worn after training, but he forgot. So I ended up wearing them this time. The red jade cat is called Shuri. It was abandoned by Helluram and picked up by Solderet.”
“Also from Laprarosa?”
“Yes. Before being discarded, the witch cursed it with immortality. Poor thing.”
Frey held Jin’s gaze silently for a moment. It was hard to tell if he was telling the truth.
“…To sum up, you’re a secret weapon prepared by Solderet. The Murakan here was once defeated by the fake and has been receiving treatment ever since, with memory issues. Now, he’s returned to fight for the family again. Is that right?”
“Yes, Sir Frey.”
Frey fell into thought.
If their story was true, it meant unexpected reinforcements. There was hope in dealing with the fake Murakan.
‘But if this is some witch’s scheme…’
Just as Frey reached that thought, Jin released Sigmund and handed it over to them.
“If Murakan and I were enemies, there’d be no reason to go this far. Even if I were a witch, I doubt they’d send someone like me or Murakan just to act as spies. If we were working with the fake Murakan to attack here together, Storm Fortress would inevitably fall. Since I can’t think of any other way to show trust, I’m handing over the remaining swords.”
“Seems like losing the swords won’t make you any weaker.”
“You can restrain me if you want.”
“Even if you’re bound with ancient eternal steel, I doubt anyone could subdue you.”
“Ah, then what do you want, Frey? Think about my position! I barely recovered after being beaten by that fake, and I rushed back to the family. But Temar’s on the run because of the fake, and you’re attacking me. How do you think I feel? Damn it!”
“Murakan, calm down.”
“Calm? Do I look like I can calm down? No, talking won’t explain anything. Where is that fake bastard? At least tell me where you think he might be. The kid and I will go and bring back his head. You’ll have no choice but to trust us then. The two of us are enough, so hurry up and tell me.”
It wasn’t an act—Murakan’s voice was genuinely filled with rage. Even though this was a scene from a painting, it felt like vivid reality to him.
“If you know I’m the real Murakan, what are you going to do later? Hurry up and tell me! If you don’t want to, then the kid and I will go find him ourselves. Let’s go, kid!”
It seemed better to go along with him. Jin shrugged and asked for the swords back, but Frey shook his head.
“Fine, I’ll trust you. I really want to believe that the Murakan currently committing betrayal and slaughter is the fake… I’ve doubted a thousand times whether that demon is truly the Black Dragon we knew.”
“Frey, are you sure about this?”
“If Frey’s willing to trust, why are you complaining? Violo, do you think you’re smarter than Frey?”
“Dranax, I was just asking… but you’ve been picking fights since earlier.”
“Don’t like it? Want to settle this after a long time?”
“Both of you, stop it. We’ve decided to trust them. They’re now our returned friends, people the family’s god has arranged for us. Especially you, Dranax, it’s troublesome if you keep showing such shortcomings.”
“Yeah, sorry.”
Frey handed the swords back to Jin.
“Bamel, you seem wise enough to understand why we were suspicious. For us, accepting you and Murakan is a gamble. Honestly, we’d like more time to verify everything… but the situation isn’t that good.”
“Of course, Sir Frey. It’s hard to fully trust me until you see me fight alongside you. But once we fight together, you’ll know. I’m someone who would lay down my life for Runcandel anytime.”
“How can that be? You say you trained in Laprarosa with Solderet’s help, but you seem to have no real connection to the family.”
“It was decided from birth.”
“Yeah, the kid—when he first developed a sense of self—trained only to fight for Runcandel. It was like a secret love for the family.”
“Then Solderet must have been cruel. To make someone live a barren life from birth just for Runcandel.”
Murakan flinched but didn’t answer. Jin noticed they didn’t have an entirely positive view of Solderet.
—Everyone blames the family head… Damn it! Solderet, you damn traitor! Is this what you meant by keeping your promise? Show yourself, you bastard…!
—Sir Silderei! If even you act like this, what are the rest of the family supposed to do? Please calm down!
—The guardian spirit didn’t do this to the family head. Please lower your voice, Sir Silderei.
—If not Solderet, then who made the family head like this? When the family head was attacked, where was that useless god? What was he doing?!
The desperate cries of Silderei from the first tomb’s recorded footage echoed in Jin’s mind, along with the image of Temar lying weak and unconscious in bed.
Back then, Diana had scolded Silderei and told him to follow the family head’s last command.
“…You probably thought Temar was defeated by me, so you might hate Solderet. But what was that thing Violo said earlier? You shouted at me, asking if the witch was going to prevent Solderet’s disappearance.”
“Murakan, your memory seems seriously impaired. You’ve even forgotten the disappearance of the god you serve. Solderet was already fading away slowly before making a contract with the family head. We, Ziphl, and everyone else knew this.”
Jin’s eyes widened.
‘Then the reason communication with Solderet was cut off before I returned must be related…’
But since the history in the painting was incomplete, he couldn’t jump to conclusions.
‘One thing’s certain: Solderet hasn’t completely vanished yet. He’s probably hiding for some reason. If he had disappeared, neither my spirit nor Murakan or Misha would be able to maintain their forms. Or maybe he did disappear but left all his remaining power to me and the Black Dragons…’
Either way, Jin guessed Solderet had used all his remaining strength for him, Murakan, and Misha—including the ‘return.’
“Is that so? Damn, I don’t remember any of that. So does the witch have a way to stop disappearance?”
“I don’t know. But even if there is, it wouldn’t be a normal method. It would demand a heavy price.”
“Of course, I have no intention of asking the witch for help. No matter what, I won’t do that. I’m just saying it offhand, so don’t suspect me.”
“That was a ridiculous excuse, but I can understand it if you really are the real Murakan. Anyway, welcome back, Murakan. You’ve forgotten a lot, but at least you remember your mission and our names, so that’s a relief.”
“As I told Dranax earlier, I wonder how I ever forgot you all. The moment I saw you, everything came back clearly. Haha, even the Saint of Hamaren once had a crush on me.”
“You say that so casually with the person right in front of you, Murakan. And about old times, no less. Has your shamelessness not changed even after losing your memory?”
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s part of Frey’s dark history… Why would anyone like a guy like that?”
“Right? It’s rare to hear you say something sensible, Violo. How could you choose Murakan over a great guy like me?”
“I usually side with Frey or the steward. You’re just the one who always picks fights. And you’re more beast than man, Dranax.”
“Ah, where’s Luet?”
“The steward is with the family head, so we don’t know his exact location, Murakan.”
“You’re not hiding him because you don’t trust us yet, are you?”
“We really don’t know. But even if we did, we wouldn’t say. If we need you, the family head’s side will contact us first.”
“Alright, so it means we can’t fully consider ourselves family until we kill the fake. Can we go after him right now?”
“No. You two should stay here and help us defend Storm Fortress.”
“Why? On the way here, I heard from the villagers that the fake Murakan has been wreaking havoc all over Hupester. Wouldn’t it be better to find and strike him first, before more innocent people die?”
Frey hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing his words.
“Frey, I get the feeling there’s something here in Stormhold worth protecting.”
“You’re not one to hide anything from me, Bamel. That’s right. There’s an item in Stormhold that the fake Murakan is after. Because of that, he’s deliberately attacking various parts of Hupester. He’s trying to lure us out.”
“May I ask what this item is? If you’d rather not say, that’s fine. Either way, Murakan and I will be on standby, waiting for the fake Murakan’s next move.”
Frey stared quietly at Jin for a moment, then finally spoke.
“…Barisada, the Lord’s Sword. That’s what the fake Murakan is after.”
“Barisada? What does that fake want with it?”
“In the past, Solderet told the Lord that Barisada isn’t just a sword—it’s also a key to somewhere.”