Chapter 967
Episode 239: Keliak and Octavia
Ziphl, Drakka.
Keliak stood overlooking his reclaimed territory for the first time in ages. The garden was soaked in blood, littered with corpses and engulfed in flames.
All the bodies belonged to the Red-Eyed tribe. The mages shuddered at the memory of Keliak and Elona’s overwhelming power, how they had incinerated the entire enemy force in an instant.
“To think we struggled so much just to deal with these insignificant pests after securing Elona… Veradin, considering what we had hoped from him, it’s truly lamentable,” Keliak said in a dry tone.
Octavia, Ronil, and Satrin stood by his side. Confusion still lingered on Octavia’s face at Keliak’s return, but Ronil and Satrin showed none.
They supported him as naturally as if Keliak had been ruling Ziphl all along.
“Ronil.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“I’ve read all the reports you compiled on Veradin’s movements. There were more than a few disappointing points.”
“It’s because I failed to serve you properly.”
“That’s not your fault, nor Satrin’s. Your roles were never meant for that. It was Veradin who failed to use you both correctly.”
Ronil and Satrin.
Keliak had meticulously trained them to be tools utterly loyal to the family. No matter who held the title of head of Ziphl, Ronil and Satrin were always the faithful secret weapons.
So now that Keliak had returned, they pledged their loyalty to the man they once called a traitor without hesitation.
To them, who the head was didn’t matter. Even if some illegitimate child abandoned years ago in an orphanage suddenly became the head, they would act the same.
Only Keliak himself knew this truth. He had originally planned to take over Veradin’s body to achieve immortality and then use his descendants in the same way to reign as head of Ziphl forever.
That was why people like Ronil and Satrin were necessary—mindless monsters who gave blind loyalty to the family and its head.
This also explained why, during the Tower Rampage incident in the past, Ronil and Satrin had taken a different stance from Octavia.
Back then, Octavia insisted on saving Veradin even if it meant severe damage to the family, while Ronil and Satrin argued that Veradin had to be abandoned. The head could be replaced, but the family could not.
“By now, Veradin must have handed over all the secrets only the head could know to Runkandel. So first, we need to render the most critical of that information useless.”
“What should we do?”
“We’re relocating the sanctuary. Starting today, you two are to eliminate all administrators below level two. And all administrators level one and above must be isolated individually.”
“Understood.”
“What about the living golems still in the sanctuary?”
“They’re valuable weapons, too precious to just dispose of. Once Elona has the capacity, she’ll manipulate their memories and recycle them. Until then, provide just enough sustenance to keep them functional.”
“We’ll carry it out.”
Octavia struggled to hide the complex emotions swirling inside her.
She couldn’t easily understand Ronil and Satrin’s familiar obedience to Keliak’s orders, nor the boldness of Keliak’s return.
For a whole month now, Octavia had been unable to sort out her thoughts. Keliak hadn’t given her any special orders either.
“Octavia.”
“Yes?”
“Still hard to call me ‘Lord,’ huh? Aren’t you glad I’m back?”
“…It’s not that. I’m just confused. You always hoped Veradin would firmly establish himself as your successor, didn’t you?”
“That was before he stabbed me in the back.”
“Of course, Veradin betrayed you. But that makes it even harder for me to understand. Ronil and Satrin were clearly trained thoroughly by you, but I wasn’t.”
Keliak smiled gently.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I don’t understand why you haven’t punished me. No matter the circumstances, I remained loyal to Veradin, who pushed you aside.”
“That’s amusing… In a way, Veradin was just an experiment to you. A precious experiment to all of us. It’s the experimenter swearing loyalty to the experiment.”
“Please explain why you spared me. If this were the you I knew, you’d have purged me or manipulated my mind like you did with Elona and the Phantom Commander.”
“You overestimate me, Octavia.”
Her eyes widened.
“Since I returned, you’ve never openly defied me. Even when some foolish, weak followers of Veradin threw their lives at me, you stood by, unable to decide your stance. That’s why I’m keeping you alive.”
“…What?”
“That could mean you’re not worth killing, or that you still have something to contribute to the family. Or maybe it’s recognition of your past service. Either way, you’ve worked alongside me to build this family for a long time.”
“I still don’t understand. What exactly do you want from me?”
“Octavia, until a few years ago, you were the family’s unseen second-in-command. The deputy head was Andrei, but those in the know recognized you as the real number two. Have you ever wondered why? Why I put Andrei forward and kept you hidden?”
“I thought it was because Andrei was easier to use and discard than me.”
“Exactly. But there’s a blind spot. That doesn’t mean you were more valuable to me than Andrei. You were hidden because, unlike Andrei, you couldn’t be used that way.”
Keliak turned and met Octavia’s gaze.
“Andrei was crude and talentless, but he was a perfect accomplice. No matter how dirty my schemes or vile my experiments, I never had to explain them to Andrei. He always understood me.”
“Ah…”
“But you? When we conducted all those experiments on Sandra, Veradin, and others, you participated in every atrocity. Yet you always wore a vaguely uneasy expression, never fully committing or resisting. You justified it all as for the family, standing in a gray area.”
Octavia was shaken. Keliak wasn’t wrong.
“When Veradin betrayed me, what did you do? You tried to stop his rampage a few times, then ended up following his orders. Even now that I’ve returned from hell, you remain lost in that gray zone. That’s why you never became deputy head like Andrei.”
Her whole body trembled.
Though she had been deeply involved in countless experiments and atrocities as a Ziphl leader, Keliak had never treated her as a reliable accomplice.
“Still, you possess magical talent far beyond Andrei’s, and you’re always ready to risk your life for Ziphl. In other words, your strength and loyalty are excellent, but you lack decisiveness.”
“So you’re keeping me alive because you want me to cross that line from now on. To be like you, or like the late Andrei…”
“Well, you’re not the type to become that kind of person by nature. So don’t push yourself. I just think the family needs someone like you.”
A wave of self-loathing rose in her, making her nauseous. The cold, unyielding core she had believed in churned like rotten flesh.
As Keliak said, Octavia had always harbored secret doubts about the ‘experiments.’
She had only covered up those ugly deeds by telling herself they were for Ziphl. The long-ignored truth now strangled her.
“So you’ll continue to operate in that gray zone, doing as you always have. I’ll make the decisions and take the actions. As long as you don’t betray me like Veradin, you can remain Ziphl’s Phantom Commander forever.”
Octavia couldn’t find words to respond.
For a moment, she thought death might be preferable. Keliak saw right through her.
“Oh, if you’re thinking of giving up on life, I won’t stop you. Even if their performance drops, I can just turn you into a living golem.”
Keliak stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I wish I could spare my younger sibling from such cruelty. Your mind must be tangled—go home and rest for today. If you want, you can join Ronil and Satrin in cleaning up the sanctuary, or assist Elona.”
“…I take back what I said about being glad you’re back. Facing my true self at this age is not easy.”
“I never thought I’d fall to rock bottom and climb back up at what people call my twilight years, little sister. It’s a bitter feeling.”
“I doubt Ronil and Satrin will give me any tasks in the sanctuary cleanup. I’ll calm myself and support Lady Elona instead.”
“Ah, that’s right. There are still some Red-Eyed tribe members you need to settle with. Elona must have nearly found their stronghold by now, so you can look forward to that.”
Octavia bowed her head and turned away.
As her figure disappeared beyond the door, Ragal came looking for Keliak.
“Keliak, my friend, that girl doesn’t look well at all.”
“No matter what, she’s family. Octavia even resembled me when I was a child… I, too, had a time when I was like Octavia. In the end, she’ll follow me.”
“Well, if you say so, then I guess that’s that… but I’m worried. Kids like her always end up causing trouble. I’ve seen plenty like that in the demon realm. Paelito was one of them.”
“For now, focus on injecting the poison into Elona. Even if Octavia surprises us and goes off-script, controlling her won’t be all that difficult.”