Chapter 908
Episode 228: The Fierce Battle at Groshae Castle (4)
Leila nodded as if she wasn’t surprised at all.
“Lord Zito takes pleasure in all kinds of suffering. Causing his loyal subordinates to endure pain is just another one of his twisted enjoyments.”
“So, you’re saying you’re ready to do whatever it takes for Zito—whether it’s killing enemies or enduring torment yourself?”
“Exactly. All of us demons exist solely for Lord Zito.”
Zito had never once explained his ultimate goal to his followers.
As a result, most demons, including the Demon King himself, believed that the purpose of this invasion of the human realm was simply to dominate through pain.
They thought that by inflicting suffering, a new order would rise to replace the sun god, and everyone would receive their rightful fate accordingly.
But what Keliak had discovered was far more horrifying than that.
“Don’t you ever feel that your life is pitiful?”
“You keep making rude remarks. But since I have no intention of killing a human with a witch behind him, you can leave now.”
Just as Leila called her subordinates to drag Keliak out, suddenly flames flickered in Keliak’s eyes. Mistaking it for an ambush, Leila drew her sword.
Yet, for some reason, when she met Keliak’s burning gaze, her body froze.
Like Dailus, who had died at the first defense line of Groshae Castle moments ago, strange, inexplicable images flooded her mind—memories she had long forgotten.
“Ugh… what have you done to me?”
Her mind was in utter chaos, and she couldn’t wield her sword properly. Clutching her head, Leila trembled violently.
“I suppose you can understand that I’m trying to help you. This is a power I call the Flame of Awakening. Don’t you see something surfacing in your mind?”
“What is this…?”
“You probably know better than I do. But it shouldn’t be hard to guess. Lost family, close friends, lovers… or something equally precious is coming back to you.”
Crimson tears streamed down Leila’s face.
Visions of the people she loved being mercilessly torn apart by Zito, tortures so horrific they erased her memories—all of it stabbed at her consciousness as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.
At times, Zito’s brainwashing reactivated, amplifying her rage toward Keliak. But unlike Dailus, she fought desperately to hold onto these newly resurfaced memories.
After a moment, the flames in Keliak’s eyes faded.
“Hah… hah…”
Leila gasped for breath and lifted her head.
Keliak, too, was drenched in cold sweat, catching his breath. Using the Flame of Awakening was dangerous even for him.
And even if he risked maintaining the flame, completely erasing Zito’s brainwashing was impossible—not even the witch Helluram could do that.
“What you saw just now was only a fraction. Only a small part of your forgotten memories have surfaced. You probably feel it most of all without me explaining. In short, you’ve been under Zito’s brainwashing all this time.”
Leila couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
Just as those who see the Seal of Fire feel absolute trust, the Flame of Awakening carried the same weight.
“Even now, after briefly pushing back Zito’s power with the Flame, if I don’t continue the follow-up, you’ll soon become Zito’s loyal dog again.”
“Hmph.”
“On the other hand, maybe it’s better you haven’t recalled all the truths you’ve forgotten. Seeing you suffer this much already makes me think that if everything came back at once, your mind might completely break.”
“Keliak Ziphl… how did you even know about the erased memories I didn’t even know existed?”
“That depends on what kind of relationship you and I will have going forward. I’ll ask again, Leila Belgassium. Do you still think it’s right to pledge loyalty to Zito?”
Silence stretched between them.
“…What do you want from me?”
“I want you to fight with me, not for Zito.”
“Zito… no, you mean to overthrow Zito and conquer the Demon Realm?”
“I have no interest in ruling the Demon Realm. To me, it’s just a means to reclaim my family. But once I’ve done that, the realm will need a ruler—not a monster like Zito, but someone worthy to be called king of a world.”
Clink.
Keliak poured tea into his cup.
“I believe that person should be your older brother, Paelito Belgassium. What do you think?”
“…Does Paelito know about this? Is he brainwashed too?”
“An obvious question. Paelito is just like you were moments ago—unaware he’s brainwashed, unaware why he’s so blindly loyal to Zito. Before the brainwashing, he was the fiercest resistor against Zito in the entire Demon Realm.”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a wave of excruciating pain washed over Leila, and she groaned.
“Ah, Zito’s influence is already trying to devour your awakened mind again. Like I said, now that you’ve seen the Flame of Awakening, this kind of pain will come and go at any time for a while. Is it unbearable?”
Leila couldn’t even answer, twisting her body in agony for several minutes.
“That was a silly question on my part. But if you truly want revenge on Zito, you have to keep enduring this pain. It requires willpower. If you give in to the brainwashing again because you’re afraid of the pain, it’ll be easier—but the memories you’ve regained will vanish.”
“I have no intention of finding ease. This pain… I can endure it. I will no longer fight for Zito.”
“Good attitude. Then will you fight alongside me?”
“You’ve told me the truth, so I owe you that much. But that doesn’t mean I’ll pledge complete loyalty to you. From now on, I’ll fight for the Belgassium family, for Lord Paelito, for the Demon Realm, and for myself.”
“Excellent answer. If I like you, I might even accept your loyalty. You won’t regret it. But I can’t confirm your resolve with words alone.”
“What must I do?”
“Come to Dokma Castle once every fifteen days.”
“Dokma Castle?”
“That’s where I reside. Every time you come, I’ll light the Flame of Awakening for you. And if one day you stop coming, I’ll understand that you’ve become Zito’s dog again.”
“That won’t happen. Thank you… for helping me realize who my true enemy is.”
Despite the painful memories tearing at her heart, Leila quickly regained her composure.
She knew that if she lost her cool even for a moment, she’d become Zito’s plaything once more.
“By the way, Dokma Castle… so you’ve already recruited Lagal Pun. Was that idiot brainwashed like me?”
“Brainwashing broke him, but Lagal Pun was originally a very capable man. So treat him with respect from now on. He started awakening before you and is enduring even greater pain.”
“Enduring greater pain than me… that Lagal?”
Of course, Lagal hadn’t suffered like that. Keliak had simply persuaded him without using the Flame of Awakening. And whether Lagal was truly talented before the brainwashing, Keliak didn’t really know. He was just boosting Lagal’s loyalty with simple methods.
Leila thought briefly of Lagal’s shallow, vulgar behavior and nodded. She hadn’t pledged loyalty to Keliak yet, but since he acknowledged Lagal, there was no need to dismiss him as before.
“Understood. I’ll be careful. Quite surprising… Keliak, it seems you’ve gained the rank of Immortal. To think someone like you would be so highly regarded.”
“Well then, I’ll be going. Endure the pain and come find me at Dokma Castle in fifteen days. Then I’ll tell you more. By then, I’ll truly be able to trust your resolve.”
“Understood. I’ll come to Dokma Castle in fifteen days.”
The first defense line of the Demon Realm—the sea.
Whoooosh!
Every time the sea breeze blew, the poisonous fog left by Lagal and the ashes of fallen demons cast a massive shadow over the waters. Groshae Castle had abandoned the first defense line and sent no more troops.
The poisonous fog prevented the allied forces from advancing further. While it was possible for Jin and the superhumans to clear the fog and push forward, their priority was to find records about Lagal. After all, the other three defense lines were still fiercely contested by the remaining major forces.
“Valeria, want to take a break before continuing?”
Under Murakan’s protective spirit barrier, blue spears were being replenished nonstop. Valeria had been sifting through battlefield records for six hours straight.
“I’m fine, Jin. There are just so many records of the dead on the battlefield that filtering through them is tedious, but it’s not too hard.”
Jin carefully wiped the sweat from Valeria’s forehead.
<The owner of Dokma Castle, Lagal Pun, joined the battlefield upon receiving a support request from Sakiel Groshae, the Chief Secretary of the Demon Realm.>
<However, Lagal Pun did not fight with full effort, acting under the orders of Keliak Ziphl.>
After a while, the only meaningful records they found about Lagal were those two lines.
But that was enough to confirm the collusion between Keliak and Lagal.
“Phew, all the other records are just battle reports. Still, it’s worth it—this definitely confirms the connection between Keliak Ziphl and Ragal.”
Jin nodded.
“Just as Biceps predicted. Keliak Ziphl and Ragal Pun… According to Biceps, Ragal Pun was definitely brainwashed like the others. But since he prioritized Keliak’s orders over defending Grosh Castle, that means Keliak must have the ability to break or at least weaken Zito’s brainwashing.”
[Kid, is it possible that Keliak and Zito are working together?]
“If that were the case, the enemy’s first line of defense wouldn’t have been wiped out so easily—Ragal fought seriously just now. If Keliak were truly loyal to Zito and the Jinma faction, Ragal would have fought with full force.”
Jin paused, then added thoughtfully,
“It looks like there’s a fracture forming within the Jinma faction. Because of Keliak Ziphl.”