Chapter 858
Episode 214: Brothers (1)
‘Father and the expedition party endured all those long years, knowing that everyone would either die or turn into monsters… and even now, they’re still holding on…’
Luna had followed Siron to the Black Sea in early 1799. Now, it was the beginning of December 1803—almost five years had passed.
Yet Luna didn’t have much to say.
All she had experienced in the Black Sea was slaying monsters, eating, walking through a land steeped in chaos, and fighting the kings of the Black Sea.
“…That’s all there was. Every day, I worried about Father as we pushed through the Black Sea. Honestly, all of us—me and the others—were almost certain Father would eventually succumb to the demonic corruption and become a monster. We thought that day would probably be the end of the expedition. But what scared us wasn’t death—it was everyone turning into monsters.”
If we had all become monsters, then it would have been up to you and the other brothers to deal with us.
Luna held back the rest of her words, offering a bitter smile.
Just as Siron felt sorry toward Jin, she felt the same. She believed that it should have been either Father or herself who struck down the corrupted beast.
“But recently, Father suddenly overcame the demonic corruption. He called it an awakening even he couldn’t understand.”
“An achievement even Father can’t explain…?”
“You don’t get it?”
“No, sister.”
Any warrior who attains enlightenment knows why it happened.
Naturally, Siron was the man who had delved deepest into the concept of ‘Mu’—martial mastery—in this world. Jin couldn’t imagine his father not understanding his own achievement.
Growth without reason usually comes with side effects.
‘But I can’t even imagine Father collapsing because of such side effects.’
Luna smiled.
“I think I know exactly what you’re thinking. The other knights and I felt the same. Our conclusion was that the demonic corruption tried to consume Father but failed and was destroyed. In other words, Father fought it—and won.”
“Hmm.”
“Father probably thinks the same. The important thing is that he’s changed.”
That much was undeniable.
The supreme swordmaster, once cold and ruthless, had begun to joke and laugh at trivial things since overcoming the corruption.
“When we first entered the Black Sea and fought the Kial, and as we pushed deeper, Father had almost lost his humanity. But recently, when we fought the Sur, he was… well, how to put it… like great-grandfather? That kind of feeling.”
Luna naturally compared Siron to Balas, whom she had just met and talked with. Siron had laughed heartily while slaying the Sur.
“Still, I can’t help but worry.”
“I don’t deny feeling that way either. But if Father faces another problem, it won’t be ours to bear. It’s a burden we can’t share.”
Jin nodded.
As always, all they could do was trust Father and wait—for the day he would finally complete his mission and return to the family.
—Please find out once and for all what mission Father and the previous Black Knights were carrying out there, and why Father’s Runcandel is so obsessed with the Black Sea. The excuse of ‘training’ is surely only half the truth.
Luna recalled what Jin had said before she left for the Black Sea.
“You must have guessed from facing Gliek and everything else—the reason Father is so fixated on the Black Sea is because of those guys.”
“Yes. When the corrupted beasts took over the family, there was a knight who said Father had already died fighting the kings of the Black Sea, and that the family would continue his legacy by conquering the surface and then purging the Black Sea.”
“The corrupted beasts must have known why Father had no choice but to go after the kings of the Black Sea.”
According to Luna,
Siron was the only one capable of hunting down the kings of the Black Sea.
“Father met the kings of the Black Sea in his youth. They were divided into five, but wanted to reunite and needed Father’s power. The power of creation, and among that, someone who could sever the will of the gods who shared the source stones.”
“Now that new creation mages like Elona and Ziphl have appeared, I think the kings of the Black Sea might make similar demands of them.”
“Father sensed Elona and Ziphl’s presence too. He knew some unknown force was trying to invade the surface. Elona is a creation mage, and Ziphl is a transcendent being. But Father said even they couldn’t unite the kings of the Black Sea. Only he could, which is why the kings are so obsessed with him.”
In other words, Siron wasn’t the only one obsessed with the Black Sea.
The kings of the Black Sea were far more fixated on Siron. They had constantly threatened him invisibly, and Siron didn’t want that threat to spread to the entire family.
Fundamentally, unless all the kings of the Black Sea were defeated, neither he nor Runcandel could ever be safe.
Whether when all five kings were still alive, or now with only Nirgan and Morganiel remaining.
The kings of the Black Sea were far more dangerous than Ziphl, the family’s greatest enemy.
“…Maybe Father was trying to find a way to perish alongside them.”
“He was, until he overcame the corruption and the situation changed.”
A sudden urge to go find Father and meet him arose.
But the reason Luna and the returning party had been able to escape the deepest part of the Black Sea so quickly was because Siron had spread his energy throughout the entire Black Sea. That energy formed a path from the deepest depths all the way to the surface.
Naturally, that path was now closed, and Siron and the remaining expedition had gone even deeper. Even for Siron, forcibly opening such a path couldn’t be done repeatedly at will.
“To release energy across the entire Black Sea and temporarily open a path… it’s hard to even imagine what realm Father has reached now.”
“He’s no longer a demigod, but a god. I wonder how many gods could even do something like that.”
Though the fact that Siron’s awakening was ‘unexplained’ still lingered, thinking he had reached godhood brought some comfort.
“Nirgan and Morganiel. Did Father say roughly how long it would take to defeat the last two kings of the Black Sea?”
“No, he didn’t mention that. He said he would definitely deal with them all and come back, so we just have to do our part and wait. And probably… on the day Father returns.”
You’ll inherit Barisada.
Luna added quietly. You’ll receive Barisada and finally become the true head of the sword family.
Even though Jin already knew this, he felt a bit dazed.
“Won’t you suddenly snatch it away from me then?”
“Oh… what would you do if I did?”
“I’d give it to you.”
“Too easy. Are you serious?”
“Of course not. Even if you’re my sister, that’s a bit much.”
As the siblings chuckled, footsteps came running down the hallway.
“Sister Luna!”
“First squad… no, si-sister!”
It was Mary and the Tona siblings.
When Luna lived in the family, unlike Jin, she didn’t interact much with the other siblings.
Back then, most of the siblings held some resentment toward Luna. It was because of the conflict that arose when she gave up the throne and Joshua’s rise to power.
Luna herself had never actively tried to make the siblings understand her intentions.
So their relationship had been mostly distant, but not anymore. Now, Luna and the siblings who came to see her greeted each other warmly, more so than ever.
Not just because a nearly unbeatable knight had joined their ranks, but because the ‘brothers’ they had missed had returned.
They had each endured trials in their own places and come to understand the past. The once chaotic family had finally found its center, led by Jin, and the siblings had grown. Each overcoming hardships as individuals.
“So, what should I call you? First squad? Lady Luna? Daytona, Heitona? Don’t be shy—just treat me like family.”
“Oh, thank you, sister!”
“To be honest, I’ve always wanted to get closer to you! We just weren’t good enough before.”
“No need to thank me. It wasn’t just you guys—I had my own issues, so don’t worry about it.”
“Sis, you’ll spar with me tonight, right?”
“Wow… Mary, you’re something else.”
“Now that I’m here, you have to take over some of the place Diphus oppa held. I can’t ask the younger ones, so I’ve been waiting for you to come back.”
“…Alright, I can’t replace everything, but I’ll do my best. For the sake of that guy who collapsed carrying so much.”
It was a rare reunion of siblings. Jin quietly smiled as the atmosphere suddenly became lively.
He had never seen the siblings laugh and chatter like this before—in either his past or present life.
“Sis, you’re not going to tell the youngest things behind our backs like before, right? Should we hear again what you just told the youngest?”
“I will.”
“Sister, when you spar later, please beat up Mary a lot. She always takes the hits for us.”
“Hehe.”
“Ah! You startled me!”
Daytona jumped, glancing sideways.
Yona was standing there. Jin and Luna had already been smiling as she quietly entered.
“Hehe, sister. It’s me, Yona… can I talk to you?”
“I really… was pretty cold to you all. Come closer, Yona.”
As Luna patted Yona’s shoulder, Yona giggled and suddenly started listing off the names of the people she had killed while Luna was away. She wanted to make sure Luna knew she hadn’t killed anyone she was told not to.
“And then there were those royal meatheads too…”
“Enough, enough. Yona, I should have looked out for you more, but all I did was scare you. You did well—those kinds of people deserve to die.”
For a moment, that was the kind of conversation the siblings shared—family warmth after a long time apart.
Then Jin looked around at his brothers and sisters and spoke the name of the last person.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s go see Sister Luntia.”