Chapter 219: Child of Prophecy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 219: Child of Prophecy
October 7, 1797. Jin was looking at a newsletter from Huphester. The headline announced the Schuteron Kingdom’s knight investiture ceremony, which had taken place four days prior.
[This central knight investiture ceremony of the Schuteron Kingdom was presided over by the 1st Prince, Tollian Schuteron, in a rare exception, instead of King Rumon Schuteron.
Most notably, several prominent heirs, including Joshua Runcandel of the Runcandel family, as well as representatives from the McLoran, Tuko, Niltro, and Ken families, attended Prince Tollian’s ceremony.
This suggests that Prince Tollian has effectively brought the succession war to an end. Furthermore, the fact that Cyron Runcandel once assigned a Guardian Knight to Prince Tollian is once again coming into the spotlight...]
Four days ago, Jin had clearly watched Joshua Runcandel's body disintegrate and die after unleashing Volcano.
If he had truly died then, this article couldn't possibly exist.
As Jin kept his eyes fixed on the newsletter, Gilly approached his side with a worried expression.
“Young Master.”
“…Just as I thought. There was more to it. He wasn't the type to die so easily.”
Gilly and the others had already been briefed on what had transpired in the Blue Bird Archipelago. Consequently, they also struggled to process the newsletter describing Joshua as if he were still alive.
“It’s not as if you would mistake Joshua Runcandel’s face, Young Master… This is strange. Could the one you killed have been a body double, or perhaps someone transformed by Bubar Gaston?”
Jin shook his head at Casimir’s suggestion.
“The possibility of a double or a transformation is low. The Decisive Technique he unleashed was powerful enough to cost a Pluto Tribe Fighting King both his arms. That’s a level of power no one but a Runcandel could display. It might be a different story if he had used another style of swordsmanship, but that was pure Runcandel technique.”
While many martial families possessed Secret Techniques and Decisive Techniques, Runcandel swordsmanship was impossible to so much as mimic—even for a 10-star Knight—without a ‘blessed body.’ Their physical frames simply couldn't withstand the strain.
“True. If there is a double, it’s more likely that the Joshua who appeared at the Schuteron investiture ceremony is the fake,” Casimir conceded.
“That’s what we need to verify. But somehow… I have a feeling that snake-like bastard has pulled some kind of trick.”
“Um, could he be under a curse, like Shuri?” Enya whispered, casting a cautious glance at Shuri.
“If that were the case, we would have seen his body regenerating as it fell apart.”
“Young Master, then what about the possibility of him using Numerus’s Tears?”
“I've heard that activating Numerus’s Tears bathes the surroundings in an intense light. While the area was glowing with aura when Joshua died, the nature of that light was entirely different.”
“Hah, I was asleep the whole time. This is so frustrating. What in the world is going on with your eldest brother?”
“…A clone?”
As Jin uttered the word, his companions’ eyes all snapped toward him.
“A clone, Young Lord?”
“The thought just occurred to me. Looking back at his attitude and everything he said to me in the Blue Bird Archipelago, I can't imagine him being anyone other than the real Joshua.”
Cloning a human was, naturally, an impossible feat.
But since they were facing an incomprehensible situation, they had to consider methods ‘known to be impossible.’
After all, things like Shuri’s curse of immortality, or the compass and Demon God Stones created by Bubar, were all considered impossible until very recently.
“Please, continue,” Casimir said.
“My assumption is this: he possesses multiple clones of himself, and he sent one of them to the Blue Bird Archipelago. Julian, the Contractor of Paitel, was undoubtedly one of his vital assets. Since the island was covered in lightning, he must have judged that something had gone wrong with Julian.”
Jin glanced over at Julian.
He was still unconscious and bound in restraints, not yet recovered from the aftereffects of the descent.
“He likely realized Julian had gone into overload. From what I saw, Kuzan and Beris didn't seem to get along with him very well.”
“So he came to the island to suppress him…?”
“Yes. He probably came alone, without an escort, because he didn't want to lose other capable subordinates to a rampaging Julian. Or perhaps it was to protect the secrets surrounding the Blue Bird Archipelago.”
Joshua had arrived at the archipelago alone on a small boat, without a single Enforcement Knight in tow. That had bothered Jin from the very beginning.
“It could be that he didn't bring knights because he was confident he could suppress Julian on his own. But considering Joshua’s usual personality, it was uncharacteristic. Furthermore, he even went as far as to self-destruct when fighting Garmund.”
“I also found it completely incomprehensible that the despicable bas— I mean, the 2nd Flagbearer, would attempt to self-destruct, Young Master. Even if he was being pushed back by a member of the Pluto Tribe, he is not the type of person to throw away his life like that.”
“He seemed completely blindsided by my presence in the Blue Bird Archipelago. Then, after deciding he could suppress me, he even confessed to coveting my Spirit Energy. Despite my provocations, he never once said he would kill me. Until the very end, he was only thinking about a future where he captured me and stole Solderet’s contract.”
—That power should have been mine from the start.
Those were Joshua’s words the moment he saw Jin unleash his Spirit Energy.
Jin hadn't realized it then, but looking back, it was a strange thing to say. His tone suggested he'd known all along that he was meant to be the master of Spirit Energy.
“But then Garmund appeared, and the tables turned. He was instantly cornered… and I think he made a decision. Even if it meant delaying my capture, he had to cripple my combat strength first.”
“Do you think he failed to account for the fact that Volcano’s power could have killed you as well, Young Lord?”
“He’s a 9-star Knight. He had to know Garmund was strong enough to protect me. So, he decided to use Volcano to kill or maim Garmund, then make plans to seize my contract at a later date. That’s my hypothesis.”
In Jin’s mind, Joshua would never have chosen to self-destruct if he only had one life. But if he had several, sacrificing one to eliminate a powerhouse like Garmund would be a justifiable trade.
As far as Joshua knew, Garmund was the strongest force Jin had at his disposal.
A silence hung in the air.
It wasn't an easy hypothesis to accept, but his companions were already considering the implications if Jin’s theory proved true.
“…My head hurts. If the Joshua at the Blue Bird Archipelago was indeed a clone as you suggest, Young Lord, I have no idea how we should even begin to deal with this.”
“Young Lord, how about meeting with Lord Cyron and speaking with him?”
Jin shook his head at Alisa’s question.
“This is, in essence, a war of succession. Asking my father for help would be an admission of my own incompetence. Besides, I lack definitive proof. I have no way of proving that I witnessed his death with my own eyes.”
“That is true.”
“Whether the Joshua at the Schuteron investiture was a double, or the one I met was a clone, or if this is all entirely wrong—all we can do for now is theorize. We’ll get more information once Julian wakes up.”
“Kuzan and Beris,” Casimir said. “I will instruct the Seven-Colored Bird members to search for those two as well.”
They hadn't been able to search for them for long when leaving the Blue Bird Archipelago. They had judged the chances of survival to be slim, and there was the risk that Joshua’s people might arrive at any moment.
“There’s no need to go out of our way to find them. Sending people toward the Blue Bird Archipelago right now might leave a trail. If they’re alive, they’ll surely send a signal first. They must have realized by now that I am not their true enemy.”
*
Tremble, tremble…
The man in the chair was shaking violently. A cold sweat drenched his body as a high fever raged, accompanied by unbearable pain and the disorienting shock of his consciousness fracturing.
And a bottomless sense of defeat.
These were all phenomena Joshua experienced whenever he lost one of his bodies.
Whoosh…
A dark energy coalesced in front of him.
Spirit Energy—the very power Joshua lusted after.
Soon, the form of a woman sculpted itself from the Spirit Energy. She looked down at Joshua with a smile.
“To think the man who would become the master of Runcandel is shivering all alone in a basement like this. How pathetic. It’s like looking at an orphan left out in the pouring rain. How do you feel? Orphan.”
The darkness of the basement obscured the woman’s face. Only her two eyes, glowing with a brilliant amber hue, shimmered in the dark.
“Have you come to mock me?”
“Yes, that’s right. I came to mock you. Haha, you fool! Why on earth did you self-destruct? Did you think making a body for you was an easy task?”
Joshua stared at the woman for a long time without answering.
“Don’t just glare; give me an excuse. Was that really the best you could do? If so, I’m disappointed.”
“I had no choice. It was the only way to kill the Pluto Tribe member my youngest brother summoned.”
Kyahaha!
The woman suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. Then, she abruptly stopped and gritted her teeth.
“Here’s a question for you, stupid. Do you really think that Pluto Tribe member, Garmund, is dead? No. His true body doesn't even belong to this world.”
“…Are you saying the Pluto Tribe member is alive?”
“He’s trapped in a world that has already perished, but his main body is intact, which means he is very much alive. In other words, you threw away one of the bodies I made for you for absolutely nothing.”
She spoke with a beaming smile, but her eyes held a deep, embedded contempt.
“Honestly, I can’t understand why the prophecy pointed to someone like you. If it had been your eldest sister, or your youngest brother… No, if it had at least been someone like Dipus or Mary, things would have been much easier…”
It was a humiliation that felt like his heart was being gouged out.
“Or your father, whom the prophecy originally pointed to. If only that man hadn’t defied fate to reach the Realm of Creation, if only he had met me before then, how wonderful would that have been? I would have had no reason to help a half-wit like you, would I?”
Joshua waited quietly for the woman’s jeering to end. He knew all too well that, in the end, she could neither leave nor defy him. She would mock him for a while, but then, as always, she would bow her head.
Sigh…
The woman stopped her vitriol and let out a sigh.
“Well, fine. I suppose there was some gain. We now know your youngest brother can summon the Pluto Tribe. If we had discovered this at a more critical moment… the thought alone is horrifying.”
The woman gently wrapped her arms around Joshua’s neck.
“And Shuri. We’ve found her whereabouts as well. It’s upsetting that Jin has her, but… in the end, everything will return to you, Child of Prophecy. I shall create a new clone for you.”
“What is required this time?”
At Joshua’s question, the woman smiled brightly.
“We still have sufficient materials from what you gave me last time.”