Chapter 511: Fall (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 511: Fall (4)
Luna’s renunciation of the throne, Jin’s bid for the patriarchate, and now Joshua’s downfall. Of all the monumental events of their generation, this latest development had undoubtedly dealt the greatest shock to the clan.
No one had expected Joshua to fall like this.
Ever since Luna had given up her seat, he had been the presumptive next Patriarch, backed by Rosa’s unwavering support and blatant favoritism.
Yet, it was Rosa herself who had personally orchestrated Joshua’s end. She had done so viciously, trampling his pride and shattering his honor before everyone’s eyes.
“Ha, it’s satisfying, I’ll give you that. But it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. He’s not the kind of man to go down so easily… Well, whatever her intentions, I suppose it makes some sense. It’s the price for sabotaging a vital mission and losing two Black Knights.”
Glug, glug…
Dipus’s eyes were vacant as he filled his glass. Since childhood, he had dreamed of the day Joshua would fall, but now that he had witnessed this pathetic conclusion, a hollow sense of futility flowed through his veins instead of blood.
He downed glass after glass of a liquor so strong an ordinary person couldn’t manage a single sip, yet the bitterness in his gut remained.
It wasn't that he harbored some lukewarm affection for Joshua alongside his hatred. It was the regret of not being able to deal with his nemesis with his own hands, and the crushing helplessness of knowing that a single word from his mother carried infinitely more weight than all the authority and fighting spirit he had built as a high-ranking flagbearer.
Those were the thoughts tormenting Dipus.
“Anyway, Youngest, you went too far. If you knew that guy was a clone, you could have at least given me a hint. No, never mind… I’m the fool for not noticing until now. I should’ve known something was up the moment you started running that wicked mouth of yours back in the Sota Desert barracks, suggesting we kill him together.”
“You’ve been talking to yourself and answering yourself for a while now. You sound like a complete drunk, Brother. If Sister Mary were here, you’d get an earful.”
“She would have understood. Try having a nemesis you’ve stalked for decades snatched away from you. See if your stomach doesn’t turn inside out.”
At those words, a quiet, cold smile touched Jin’s lips.
Twenty-eight years in his past life, twenty years in this one—forty-eight years in total. In nearly half a century, Jin’s greatest enemy had changed twice.
In his past life, his own clan, Runcandel, was his greatest enemy. In this life, through a series of events, he had come to stand against the Zipples as a Runcandel.
However, an enemy and a nemesis were two different things. The person Jin held the deepest personal grudge against had never once changed since the day he learned the truth behind his curse.
Joshua Runcandel…
Therefore, Jin had also been robbed of his prey. His own gut was churning, and he was barely suppressing a sense of futility even deeper than Dipus’s.
The reason was simple.
“I don’t think this is the end.”
“I’d almost feel less disgusted if that were the case, but he’s finished this time. Definitely. Even if Mother forgave him—which she won't—it wouldn't matter. Who would follow Joshua again after seeing him stuttering and shaking like that? It wouldn't happen in any other martial clan, let alone Runcandel.”
Jin accepted the drink Dipus offered and downed five or six glasses in a row.
“If you think about it, isn’t it a bit strange?”
“What is?”
“If Mother had formally subjected Joshua to a clan trial and ordered a full investigation, he might not have fallen so pathetically. To be blunt, even if he had shared information from the start, it might have been impossible to save both Black Knights, not with a wild card like Hedo in the mix.”
The Tower Keeper of the White Night, Hedo.
Since reporting on the mission, neither Jin nor Dipus had heard a single thing about him from Rosa or the Elder Council. It was unclear whether Rosa and the elders truly didn't know of him or if there was another reason. They both suspected the latter was far more likely.
“Had she done that, Mother could have used it to bring you or me down instead. Joshua was in charge, but we still bear responsibility as flagbearers. And even if he was a clone, he did unleash the Volcano for the clan in the end, didn't he?”
“By that logic, Joshua could have twisted the fact that we received help from Sandra Zipple to frame you as a traitor. Especially given your relationship with Veradin Zipple.”
“I doubt Mother was unaware of things even we can figure out. No, she definitely knows. And Mother’s goal has always been to make Joshua the Patriarch, yet now she’s made a decision that is the complete opposite of that.”
“She must have finally admitted it. That he isn’t Patriarch material. I just don’t know why she only realized it now. Dammit, to bring all those knights just to put on such a pathetic display out of fear… If it were me, I would have cut his head off on the spot.”
While Dipus continued to drain his glass irritably, Jin pondered why Rosa had attacked Joshua instead of them.
The end.
Dipus wasn't wrong. Anyone who saw Joshua’s miserable state yesterday would never be able to respect or follow him again.
Suddenly, a new hypothesis flashed through Jin’s mind.
“The Prophet.”
“What?”
“What if… Joshua’s mind was manipulated by the Prophet’s power and black magic?”
“As if. The Joshua stuttering yesterday was the spitting image of how he looked as a child when he was being crushed by Father and our eldest sister. That was his true self.”
“I know. I don’t actually think the Prophet manipulated Joshua’s mind. But what if Mother claims that later to reinstate him? How would that look?”
Clack. Dipus set his glass down.
The Prophet. He had used an unknown power to provide decisive aid in this mission, just as he had assisted Joshua with his assignments until now.
He had also created Joshua’s clones.
While the Prophet's true identity remained a mystery, his actions and very existence were now known throughout Runcandel. Some argued he should be expelled for violating the clan's laws; others claimed he was a necessary evil for facing their enemies. The rest remained silent, holding their tongues.
However, all of them had to admit one thing: Joshua’s Prophet possessed power that was practically divine.
—I see. Then what is the third reason? Putting aside how you'll kill the 2nd Flagbearer, what is your ultimate goal? What benefit does his death bring to the clan?
—I feel like I'm being tested, Second Brother. You ask what benefit it brings? It’s an opportunity to cut the rotten cycle of favoritism and purify the clan. Even if Joshua is killed, the Prophet will be bound to Mother regardless, so we can decide how to use his abilities then.
That was the conversation Jin and Dipus had shared in the Sota Desert.
Not just Rosa, but Dipus as well, believed the Prophet’s power should be used for the clan—whether to find the First Patriarch’s legacy or to slaughter their enemies. That conviction had only grown stronger after what they had witnessed on this mission.
A flying fleet over a hundred ships strong, Hedo, and the mysterious demon who had crippled the Black Knight Mon. They had surely only seen a fraction of the power their enemies were hiding, yet it already far exceeded the flagbearers' imaginations.
“Mother will never give up the Prophet’s power. Dragging Joshua down this time… might have been a warning to the Prophet. It’s entirely possible if the relationship between Mother and the Prophet isn't as close as the one he had with Joshua.”
“So what you’re saying is, Mother intends to bind the Prophet, blame everything on him later, and then reinstate Joshua? Is that it?”
“Not only that, but by bringing Joshua down, Mother has re-established her own authority. This incident will likely erase the stain left by the Exile incident. She showed the resolve to personally break the very 2nd Flagbearer she had so ardently supported. Regardless of the truth, the clan members will have no choice but to fear Mother even more from now on.”
“And after raising her own authority to its absolute peak, she pulls Joshua back from the brink and transfers all that power to him… while the Prophet shoulders all the blame and provides the justification.”
A brief silence hung in the air.
The two men no longer refilled their glasses.
“…That isn't impossible. No, it’s quite likely. That's assuming the reinstated Joshua can display a level of strength so formidable that everyone would believe his past failures were due to the Prophet's mental manipulation.”
If the Joshua of that time received the authority from Rosa to ruthlessly purge anyone who harbored doubts, and if his own martial prowess truly became the strongest among the flagbearers…
Joshua’s reinstatement was entirely possible.
“There’s one more thing.”
“There’s more?”
“Do you know how the Prophet makes Joshua’s clones?”
—Do you know how that man clones Joshua?
—I only know that it requires a great many humans.
—…What?
—It seems he uses death row inmates from Huphester. When they are sent to the Prophet, a new body is made… His Grace mainly used those bodies to handle people like me. To strengthen his prospective contractors, and to personally suppress them when they went on a rampage.
After killing Joshua’s clone for the first time in the Blue Bird Archipelago, Jin had learned from Julian that the Prophet used humans as material. Since then, he had accidentally heard from Emma about strange executions happening in ‘Ricalton’ and was in the process of investigating the matter. Right after the Black King Corps incident, he had even dispatched the Black Knight Dox there.
“Humans are used as material. A vast number of them. I learned this after capturing one of his direct subordinates back when I was a reserve flagbearer.”
“Ha. If that’s true, he should pay an even greater price…”
“But Joshua is already locked in the underground prison. We can't dig any further. At least not officially. Who would dare claim that Joshua—the man Mother personally dragged down—needs to be trampled even further? Even though I have a witness, I don't have definitive proof yet. Even I can't make such a claim recklessly.”
Dipus felt a chill run down his spine.
His senses, dulled by the strong liquor, sharpened instantly, and goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
If what the Youngest says is true… Joshua’s fall is just part of Mother’s ploy…!
Of course, this was all just a hypothesis.
However, as sons who knew Rosa Runcandel, both of them felt an instinctive certainty that the hypothesis was frighteningly close to the truth.
“So, this is no time to be soothing your bitter stomach with booze. The real battle has only just begun.”