Episode 964
Chapter 238: Atonement and Letters (Part 1)

Tikan Palace.

“Our Radin is finally looking a bit more like himself. Tsk, poor thing,” Sandra said, ruffling Veradin’s hair.

For the past month, just as Sandra had said, Veradin had spent most days with a dark, lifeless expression.

And it was all because of Elona and the bio-golems.

Thanks to the Holy Sanctuary, Elona had literally become a monster serving Keliak. The rumor that Elona had wiped out the pro-Veradin faction in Jiple in a single day was now common knowledge even among the general populace of Huepester.

Moreover, other bio-golems like Almatiya and Kun, who hadn’t been rescued alongside Betty, had also become Keliak’s war machines.

Though these bio-golems were originally designed to be loyal only to Veradin, Keliak had somehow used a certain power to transform them into beings like Elona. Tikan suspected this was closely tied to the Holy Sanctuary.

But that wasn’t the only thing tormenting Veradin.

During the period when his personality was altered by the side effects of mind control, he had committed countless acts in Jiple—massacres that were little short of genocide, wars fought without regard for civilians, mass production of bio-golems, even turning weapons against friends who refused to abandon him.

All of these were more than enough to drive anyone mad, to plunge them into an abyss.

“There’s too much that needs fixing to just sit around feeling defeated,” Veradin said.

“Right, right. I’ve never really thought about such grand causes, but compared to when I was in Jiple, I’m practically an angel here. In Jiple, just breathing could drag you into doing something terrible. Since coming to Tikan, I’ve learned to think more like a normal person,” Sandra replied.

“Like a normal person…? You? Where exactly?”

“Why are fellow victims of mind control acting like this? If I’m like that, then so be it.”

“Hmm, understood.”

Veradin was deeply influenced by Sandra.

Now that the side effects of the mind control had worn off, Veradin had returned to his original self, aside from the mistakes he made during his madness.

But Sandra still bore the scars of bio-golem experiments even after leaving Jiple.

In fact, she had been a victim of those experiments since birth and had never lived a normal life before coming to Tikan.

Yet Sandra didn’t let any of that bother her. Now, she was fully dedicated to her role in Tikan and focused solely on capturing Jin.

Her daily visits to the gloomy Veradin were part of that. She believed that simply by facing another victim like herself, she could give Veradin strength. And she was right.

“Veradin—or rather, I suppose I should call you ‘Young Master’ now.”

“Heh, Sandra alone is already a handful, and now I have to look after this guy too?”

Hedo and Veil came to Veradin’s room.

“Young Master… You can just call me by my name, Sir Hedo. I don’t deserve such a title.”

“I’m alone, so consider this like taking in another child. It’s a shame Sandra has no close siblings.”

“Yeah, you’re the one who has to look after him. Immortal. From now on, Radin listens well. The order of command is: first me, second my wife, third Radin. Of course, the first two are just for convenience—there’s no real difference. Got it?”

“That damn Immortal… I can’t even quit because of the gold seal, and I can’t hit you either. What a pathetic life I lead.”

“Even without the gold seal, if you hit the lady, you’ll end up finished by me, Veil.”

Naturally, the members of Tikan welcomed Veradin’s defection.

There was little resistance even within Runcandel. It was no secret that Veradin was a longtime friend of Jin, and it wasn’t an impossible situation.

“Hmm, actually, I’ve been hanging around here since morning hoping to see Jin, but… ah, I must have guessed wrong. Hey, Immortal, the redhead is at Tikan now, right?”

“She is. She’s heading to the Garden of Swords soon, riding the Red Owl. Seems like she has something to report.”

“Huh? That sly one’s planning to meet our wife without me? No way. I’m tagging along to the Garden of Swords.”

“Hey, you’re not seriously coming with me, are you?”

“Yeah, it’s a date. What are you gonna do, Veil? You just have fun on your own. I’m off!”

Sandra suddenly lit up with determination and dashed out of the room.

Unfortunately, less than ten minutes after she left, Jin, Dante, and Betty arrived at Veradin’s room. Veil laughed heartily at the sight.

“Lord Veradin!”

“Veradin.”

“Master!”

Every time Dante met Veradin, a broad smile spread across his face. Between regent duties and restoring the Jin Demon Realm, this was only their third meeting since the Jito campaign.

Jin had seen Veradin more often but had never experienced such a bright atmosphere.

“You’re here? Betty, stop calling me ‘Master.’ I’m not your master, and I’ve only done wrong by you all.”

“Then call me ‘brother.’ ‘Father’ or ‘creator’ sounds too old for you.”

Betty surprisingly agreed immediately and even spoke casually.

“Yeah, that’s much better.”

“Now, brother and I have to go back to Jiple and reclaim our people—Lady Elona, Almatiya, and Kun. Even if they’ve crossed the line because of mind control, they’re still family.”

Almatiya and Kun aside, Elona had already crossed the point of no return.

The first thing she did after being captured by Keliak was to annihilate the pro-Veradin faction, wiping out three entire cities in the process.

Not a single survivor remained. Like the demons brainwashed by Jito, she showed no hesitation in killing innocent civilians.

Even if all the facts come to light later and Elona is freed from the Holy Sanctuary, that won’t erase what happened.

“Family…”

“No matter the brainwashing or manipulation, anyone who kills must be punished once they regain their senses. But since they’re family, we have to stand by them, even if everyone else turns away and points fingers.”

Betty’s words made Veradin nod.

“Also, we have to save everyone crushed under Keliak’s tyranny—not just civilians, but even the low-ranking members of the Federation who are unknowingly being used. Our atonement will only begin once we make the Federation a place where people can live again.”

“You sound like someone ready to die after finishing all that, Betty.”

“What’s the point of living, Jin? I’m a bio-golem partially linked to Veradin’s consciousness. So everything I say is also his will. There have been too many mistakes.”

“Questions about life and death can wait until after we fix those mistakes. Don’t let the pressure get to you, Betty.”

“But to avoid pressure, Veradin’s consciousness is more important than mine.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t. I’ll pull myself together and stay strong, Betty. I was planning to from today anyway.”

“Good thinking, Lord Veradin. Nothing gets solved by sulking. Staying gloomy only upsets me and Jin, who refuse to give up on you.”

“Don’t even think about ending your life after all this, Veradin, like Betty said. Otherwise, you’ll end up trapped in Runcandel’s underground prison, neither dead nor alive.”

Jin’s smile sent a chill down Veradin’s neck.

“Ugh, scary. Anyway, here. Take a look, Jin.”

Veradin handed over a thick notebook.

It contained all the classified information he had compiled about Jiple—from secrets only the master could know to detailed notes about the ‘Sanctuary.’

The Balmel Union had already grasped some of the connection between the Sanctuary and Elona, thanks to Valeria’s investigation after the fires of destruction had died down, where she found records of Keliak and Elona.

They hadn’t yet discovered that Elona was a monster born from the Sanctuary, but they had confirmed the Sanctuary’s coercive power and composition.

“My memories from when I was mad aren’t complete, so some parts are missing. But I clearly remember the location and structure of the Sanctuary.”

“Information about the Sanctuary will be key to rescuing Lady Elona.”

The problem was Elona’s combat power, enhanced by the Sanctuary.

When Jin had fought Jito, even he, a Changsung, had been shocked by Elona’s skill. Now, she was even stronger.

Moreover, Jin’s goal wasn’t to kill Elona but to subdue her and free her from the Sanctuary, and at the moment, he had no clear plan.

“If it were about eliminating Lady Elona, it might still be possible… but subduing her seems impossible unless the Laprarosa brothers return. Or if Luna reaches Changsung level.”

Even if they managed to subdue her, removing the Sanctuary without side effects would be another challenge.

“But Keliak isn’t a fool. He probably expected me to pass Jiple’s internal information to you. I think he’ll move the Tower of Stories to the Sanctuary.”

“Is that even possible?”

“With Jiple’s technology and the power of the Demon Stone, it’s definitely possible. It was already secretly underway when I was master. Back then, I didn’t know about Lady Elona’s connection to the Sanctuary… but Keliak probably got that info from Shinu.”

“It might not be Shinwoo—it could be Ganesto or even a witch. For now, we should review all the notes and see if there’s any useful information we can use immediately.”

Just as Jin finished speaking, the sound of Jet’s footsteps echoed in.

“Nari! We just received an important message from the Garden of Swords.”

“An important message?”

“Yes, Nari. Lord Siron has sent a letter to the Garden of Swords.”

Everyone in the room widened their eyes. That was the letter Siron had sent about a month ago.

“They say no one can open it except you, Nari. Should I have them send the letter here?”

“No, I’ll go to the Garden of Swords right away.”