Chapter 344: The Recorders (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 344: The Recorders (2)
Come to think of it, that white hair is the mark of a pure-blooded Zipple.
A Zipple from a thousand years ago—a mage from that era.
The white-haired woman inside the ice pillar looked so young it was impossible to believe she was from a millennium in the past.
Is she even thirty? She looks so young.
Perhaps because she was frozen in the absolute chill of the Ten Thousand Ice, her long, snow-white hair retained a vibrant luster. Her closed eyes made her look as if she were merely dreaming, as if her brilliant pupils might reveal themselves at any moment.
The robe she wore, seemingly made of durable leather, was devoid of a single scratch. The staff she gripped tightly, even in the moment before her imprisonment, was a plain instrument without any ornate decoration.
And her face was remarkably serene.
She had a kind expression, as if she couldn't harm a person, let alone kill a small insect.
It was hard to believe that such a person had been a member of the great evil that manipulated the world in those days. It was equally baffling how she had ended up trapped in this ice pillar in such a lifelike state.
The woman looked as if she might step out of the ice and start moving at any second.
“This person is an ancient mage of the Zipple?”
“Yes. A thousand years ago, the 2nd Palace Master used the power of the Ten Thousand Ice to seal this mage,” Talaris said, stroking the ice pillar.
Jin noticed new wrinkles on the back of her hand—wrinkles that hadn't been there before—but he didn't mention it.
“Is that because of the oath the Endorma bloodline swore, the one you mentioned earlier?”
“Indeed. You of all people should know, shouldn’t you? That there is no power without a price.”
As a Contractor of Shadows, Jin knew that fact better than anyone. His second chance at life, his strength and potential that surpassed any genius of his age—it all came with countless sacrifices and responsibilities.
Of course, Talaris didn't know the full details of his contract with the shadows. However, after seeing Jin save the Hongin in Colon, she had come to view him as a man who already understood the meaning of responsibility.
“The power of the Ten Thousand Ice that our Endorma bloodline wields is no different. In exchange for receiving a power far beyond what a human should possess, we were given a mission: to resolve the world’s abnormal phenomena.”
This was the first Jin had heard of it.
I always thought the Secret Palace maintained neutrality simply because of their disposition and influence. To think they had such a mission.
It was a story known to very few. The promise the Endorma bloodline had made with the divine sword—no, the god—of ‘Ten Thousand Ice’ was different in nature from the contracts of typical contractors.
“What kind of abnormal phenomena are you referring to?”
“The disasters brought by the Witch Heluram are the most prominent examples. The former Palace Masters struggled greatly to stop that woman. My mother did as well.”
“You’re telling an outsider too much, Mother.”
“An outsider? Daughter, how can our son-in-law be an outsider?”
“Since when did you get permission to call Jin your son-in-law…?”
“Hmph. Most people don't know this, but if my mother hadn't stopped Heluram, the world's population would be tens of millions—perhaps even hundreds of millions—smaller than it is now,” Talaris said, ignoring Siris.
Siris let out a sigh as Jin’s eyes widened.
If what she said was true, then everyone in the world owed a debt to the Secret Palace.
“The Holy Kingdom Defense War, five hundred years ago. Even then, the swords of the Secret Palace infiltrated the land of demons and killed high-ranking demons, contributing greatly to the peace of the human world.”
Ever since the 1st Palace Master was chosen by the Ten Thousand Ice, the Secret Palace had made immeasurable contributions to the peace and prosperity of the world over the past thousand years.
Talaris herself had made great sacrifices to eliminate these ‘abnormal phenomena’ from her youth until now, and she was still doing so.
“I’m told this woman was also one of those abnormal phenomena.”
Jin turned his gaze back to the woman inside the ice pillar.
“This is something I’ve learned from dating numerous lovers: you really can’t judge a person by their cover. Sometimes a guy who looks like a total pushover turns out to be an incredible powerhouse, and the opposite is often true as well. Looking at her, she seems like she couldn't even kill an ant, right?”
“She does look that way.”
“Detailed records were lost due to foreign invasions, but based on what remains in the Secret Palace’s library, this woman was a devil on par with Heluram.”
Suddenly, a name Jin had seen in the recording device from the third tomb flashed through his mind.
—How did it go? Sarah, did you destroy all the enemy’s towers?
—No, I couldn't. Would you believe me if I said there was another mage like Elona? Silderay. It was so horrific; I smashed about fifty of them before giving up and coming back.
—Wh-What? Really…!?
—Fooled again, Silderay! Khaha! You really fall for anything. You’re so easy to trick every time, I just can’t stop playing pranks on you.
—What? It was a lie? Again?
—Yeah. Do you think there could be another crazy monster like that in the world? Honestly, you're so stupid it's almost cute.
Elona Zipple.
A name that made even the Ten Great Knights of Runcandel from that era shudder and call her a ‘crazy monster.’ A name that made Silderay cower at the mere joke that another mage like her might exist.
“Her name is Elona Zipple. She’s a pure-blooded Zipple, but she was never the Patriarch. There isn't a single piece of information known about her other than her name. She’s a woman with unnervingly few records. However, according to the clues the 2nd Palace Master left in the Ten Thousand Ice…”
She was said to be a mage capable of erasing an entire continent.
As Talaris finished her sentence, she channeled the power of the Ten Thousand Ice into the pillar.
The pillar began to glow, and several ‘screens’ appeared across its surface.
A recording device? Images?!
Jin flinched as he examined the pillar.
Unlike the recording devices left by Solderet, what emerged from the ice pillar were not moving videos, but still images like paintings.
These screens contained scenes of Elona Zipple in battle, and the state of the battlefields she had swept through.
Even though they were only still images, Jin momentarily felt overwhelmed by Elona’s presence.
Elona with her staff extended, collapsed mountain ranges, tens of thousands of humans gathered to oppose her…
In a screen showing what appeared to be the next moment, not a single living person remained. Only bone, flesh, and countless droplets of blood forming a river were visible. And through it all, Elona’s clothes were not even slightly disarrayed.
“The 2nd Palace Master likely found it impossible to kill this woman. That’s why she barely managed to seal her using the Ten Thousand Ice.”
“Then is this person, Elona Zipple, still alive?”
“Though some records were lost, I was told that from the beginning, there was never a record of her being killed. Her time is simply frozen.”
A chill ran down Jin’s spine, and goosebumps broke out across his back.
A monster like this… is still alive, merely sealed.
It was likely impossible to kill her even now. If it were possible, the previous Palace Masters, including Talaris, wouldn't have left Elona alone.
And there was one part that was difficult to accept.
Why are there so few records of such a powerful mage? The only records are here in the Secret Palace. There’s a high probability her name isn't even in other history books.
Based on the descriptions from the Ten Great Knights in the recording and the traces left by the 2nd Palace Master who sealed her, Elona Zipple was undoubtedly the strongest mage in Zipple’s history. Even if she wasn't, her name should have always come up whenever the strongest was discussed.
Yet, Jin had never heard Elona’s name, even when he was researching magic extensively in his previous life.
When people discussed the strongest mage in history, they brought up the name of Riol Zipple, not Elona.
In other words, she was a forgotten person.
Like Chenmi, or the old Runcandels, or the countless others erased by the Zipple.
Did the Zipple erase her?
The first thing that came to mind was, naturally, the Zipple’s manipulation of history.
But why?
Elona Zipple was the Zipple’s greatest military asset at the time. According to what he had confirmed in Solderet’s recording device, she was described as ‘greater than the Patriarch’ and ‘50% of their total military power.’
Did they need to erase the traces of the disasters she caused? Or was it because her power was too great and uncontrollable? Considering how they tried to manipulate Temar’s history, that doesn't seem right.
Or perhaps there was some kind of accident. The Zipple had certainly suffered significant damage while defeating the Runcandels of that era.
While all sorts of assumptions flashed through his mind, Talaris spoke.
“The Secret Palace has been hiding this woman from the Zipple for a thousand years.”
Talaris had just revealed one of the Secret Palace’s greatest secrets to Jin.
The reason for hiding Elona’s existence from the Zipple was simple.
“You mean if they discover her, she could become active again.”
“It’s a future I don't want to imagine. If a monster like this is added to the Zipple, who are already running rampant, balance will cease to exist.”
That was certainly true.
Even with Cyron, the world’s only 10-star knight, the Runcandels were unable to surpass the Zipples. If the balance between the two collapsed, other powers like Viment, Kinzelo, or the Secret Palace were destined to be absorbed by the victor or perish in the fallout.
Of course, Elona might no longer fight for the Zipple. But that was merely wishful thinking, a possibility that was infinitely low.
“The reason I told you this secret of the Secret Palace is because you are glimpsing the hidden history of that time while searching for the tombs of the First Runcandel Patriarch.”
Talaris believed that in the process, Jin might find a clue to finally ‘killing’ Elona.
And perhaps, a way to stop the Zipples’ ongoing manipulation of history.
Furthermore, Talaris was desperate.
Jin could read that emotion from her.
“Recently, the seal of the Ten Thousand Ice has been weakening.”
At those words, Jin looked at the back of Talaris’s hand again.
The wrinkles that hadn't been there before. Considering her age, it was natural to have wrinkles, but like most warriors who had reached the pinnacle, she had significantly suppressed her aging until now.
Moreover, the Endorma bloodline was particularly resistant to aging due to the power of the Ten Thousand Ice.
The prominent wrinkles on the back of her hand meant that the power of the Ten Thousand Ice suppressing Elona was reaching its limit.
She had reached a point where it was difficult to even maintain her own body at its peak.
“Then, how much time is left—?”
The moment Jin spoke.
Cr-crack! Snap!
A crack appeared right in the middle of the ice pillar.