Chapter 899
Episode 226: The World of Rokia
In the engine room, where massive magical circles covered the floor, walls, and ceiling, two figures gazed intently at the glass chambers before them.
Ran and Mu. Just like Anne, they appeared exactly as they had in their days as Rune Candelle Riders—except they wore black robes instead of the riders’ coats.
They focused on one of the five chambers glowing with a crimson light. Inside that chamber was Anne, and the red glow signified that she had lost her physical body in the mortal realm.
“…No way, this happened so fast? It’s been less than an hour since she arrived from the Demon Realm,” Ran muttered.
Mu shrugged. “Yeah, maybe our eldest sister has become colder than we thought. Or perhaps someone else—Jin or the former Black Knights—came to her aid and got overwhelmed. Either way, it’s bad luck. We’ll get the full story once she wakes up.”
It would take at least a month for Anne to regain consciousness and emerge from the glass chamber.
They inspected the three empty chambers and the engine room itself, carefully checking for any cracks in the glass and reinforcing the faded magical circles with fresh energy.
Once their work was done, they left the engine room and headed straight for the nearest teleportation gate—the central gate of Huepester, which had been sealed since the War of the Sword Emperor in the mortal realm.
The gate attendant, seeing the siblings enter, bowed deeply, clearly intimidated.
“Welcome, new… administrators.”
In this world, they were called administrators. Everyone who lived here feared them more than any great power.
“Where shall I take you?”
“To the Creator’s Space.”
“Right away!”
Long ago, Rokia had created this world and named her residence the Creator’s Space. A thousand years ago, Rokia had many titles, but “Creator” was the one most commonly used by the people during her time as a Tenth Knight.
“Just a thought,” Mu said as they stepped inside the first-class cabin. “The head of the family named this place after your title from when you were a Tenth Knight.”
“Why?”
“I wondered if you still held some attachment to those days.”
The teleportation gate whisked them instantly to their destination. The Creator’s Space was identical in scenery to the Garden of Swords from a thousand years ago, only the name and location had changed.
“You’ve been looking at this place every day since leaving Dokma Castle, and you’re only now asking? Of course you still feel something. You lost your utopia right before your eyes.”
“That’s true.”
But the Creator’s Space was empty, filled with a hollow atmosphere.
Compared to the real Garden of Swords in the mortal realm and the one in Karon here, far fewer swords were planted in this vast garden, and no one walked its paths.
Only the Kanesto family used this expansive garden. No servants, butlers, scribes, or knights remained. The only sound was the chirping of insects, which kept the place from feeling completely desolate.
The two made their way to the training hall where Joshua was.
In the center, as always, Joshua sat cross-legged in meditation. Since awakening the Kanesto bloodline, meditation had become his most frequent activity.
“First Rider.”
Joshua and those rescued from hell had become riders of the Kanesto family. Joshua was the First Rider, Ran the Second, Vigo the Third, Mu the Fourth, and Anne the Fifth.
Only Vigo had yet to complete his awakening, so he had never visited the Creator’s Space.
“You’re here.”
“Anne lost her physical body in the mortal realm. She won’t wake for at least a month.”
“That was inevitable. It’s not a problem that she didn’t hold out as long as expected.”
“Should we report to the head of the family?”
“No. I will inform Mother myself.”
Unlike the other Kanesto riders, Joshua called Rokia “Mother.” The riders believed this was because Joshua had achieved the deepest awakening, forging the strongest bond with her.
“Understood.”
“Any errors to report?”
The world Rokia created was unstable.
Generally, history here unfolded according to the Creator’s will, but unexpected problems often arose—powerful beings suddenly shifting the balance of power, unplanned natural disasters destroying places that should remain intact.
The administrators’ job was to fix these errors: eliminate threats, rebuild collapsed structures, remove anomalies.
If possible, they did so unnoticed, but sometimes the process became visible to the people, which was why everyone feared the administrators.
Creating a world without errors was one of Rokia’s deepest wishes.
“No serious errors confirmed yet, but Serial Zipple has become somewhat violent. Unlike usual, he assassinated several figures who opposed him at the Lutero Federation tournament.”
“The victims were heads or riders of minor families with little influence, so it’s not an immediate problem. Still, we’ve flagged Serial Zipple as a person of interest.”
“Serial Zipple… In the mortal realm, he’s about the same rank as Veradin Zipple. Understood. If this escalates into an error, report to me before taking action.”
“Understood.”
“Mu.”
“Yes, First Rider.”
“Is your body still intact in the Demon Realm?”
“Yes. It’s well hidden in the abandoned Flame Zone. The mortal realm body is also unharmed.”
“Go to Dokma Castle in the Demon Realm. Inform Lord Keliak that Anne was attacked. Druga Kilet probably retreated to Grosh Castle after assessing the situation, but because of Sakiel’s watch, it will be difficult to relay the situation directly to Ragal. As Lord Keliak suspected, Biceps seems to have allied with Rune Candelle.”
“Our youngest has always been lucky. Since the war began, we’ve had no information from the Demon Realm, which must have been frustrating. But creatures like Biceps just come looking for us on their own.”
“That’s not luck. It’s the inevitable result of Jin’s recent actions.”
“Biceps had no choice but to side with the Balmel Union. Seeing Anne trapped in a glass chamber for a month, I’m just venting. We have so much to do but not enough hands. If Rosa Rune Candelle—no, Rosa Kanesto—were here, she’d be a huge help.”
Joshua chuckled.
“If that were the case, you wouldn’t be living so comfortably now.”
“If Rosa Rune Candelle had fully awakened as Kanesto and treated us like she did in the Rune Candelle days, I’d seriously ask Mother to purge her.”
Joshua recalled the story Rokia had told him about the Cursed God War—the conversation between Jin and the last remnants of Rosa Rune Candelle’s humanity, separated from the Cursed God.
“I stopped fighting because I was tired, because I saw no path forward, because I thought I’d done enough. Becoming a Cursed God was the easy way out. Probably the most tempting and easiest path I ever took before becoming one.”
“I’m walking the path to claim the price as the family’s rider. If you have any words for the Cursed God, tell me.”
“Please… may death not be an easy escape. May that ugly soul and body be trapped somewhere in torment, never freed through eternity. May I… always be there beside it, desperately. More desperately than anything else…”
Rokia told Joshua that the curse Rosa had placed on the Cursed God had not come to pass.
Both the human Rosa Rune Candelle’s consciousness and the Cursed God had completely vanished from this world—neither ascending to hell nor reincarnation, but total annihilation.
No immortal power remaining in the mortal realm could reverse that.
“Rosa Rune Candelle has completely disappeared, so it’s a meaningless story.”
“But since the First Rider smiled, I guess it was a good joke.”
“I smile often, so it’s nothing to be proud of.”
“Then, our adorable little terror, our beloved enemy! How about awakening the youngest Kanesto bloodline? Is that even possible?”
Joshua had asked Rokia the same question as Mu.
“As long as Jin is the contractor of Solderet, the Kanesto blood cannot awaken.”
“I don’t understand why our awakening is considered a curse. Does that mean the others might awaken someday?”
“That depends on what we do next. If Mother’s world becomes perfect enough to replace the mortal realm, then all brothers in the Balmel Union will awaken. Even Jin…”
Unlike the other Kanesto, Joshua wasn’t particularly interested in Jin or the others awakening.
He wanted to show his mother that they could succeed without them. Still, if possible, Dr. Quaul was encouraged to awaken whenever the opportunity arose.
Quaul possessed abilities far beyond what his bloodline’s concentration should allow, making him a massive, beneficial anomaly in the Balmel Union. In Rokia’s world, he was like a walking error.
“Enough pointless speculation and jokes. Ran, from today onward, you will take charge of the Creator’s Space in my stead.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the mortal realm. Mother has finally found a clue about that person—Lucy Rune Candelle, the last Tenth Knight from a thousand years ago whom Jin has never seen. Have you thoroughly checked the glass chambers?”
“Yes, they’re perfectly adjusted.”
Joshua stood up.
“I’m leaving immediately. If you encounter any errors that are too difficult to handle on your own, report to Mother right away. And just in case, don’t mention Lucy Runcandel when Mu meets Lord Keliak. That man commands the dragons Shinu covets.”
“Wow, you’re joking, right? You still think I’m Mu from the Runcandel days?”
Joshua chuckled softly once more.
“Yeah, I’m joking.”
“Not funny. Take care.”
As he headed toward the engine room, Joshua pondered Lucy Runcandel’s true identity.
‘To have dragons even Shinu couldn’t control follow her… the mother of all the imprisoned dragons. No wonder Mother is so cautious.’