Chapter 542: Omen (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 542: Omen (11)
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the inner castle, Talaris was looking down at Ron.
Ron’s breathing was so faint that Talaris had to focus intensely just to hear it. He had grown weaker since the day she first arrived.
The Sword Emperor’s famed Steel Body had withered so much that neither clothes nor blankets could hide his emaciation. The thick scent of death permeated the air.
“Ron.”
Talaris sat on the edge of the bed and gently took Ron’s thin hand.
“The grandson you adore so much, that boy’s friend, and your knights—they are all fighting for Hairan. Do you truly intend to never wake up?”
There were only two people Talaris could truly call her friends.
Cyron Runcandel and Ron Hairan. Talaris shook her head as she recalled their younger days.
“Sigh, you pathetic humans. The stronger you get, the more you disappoint me.”
*
The possibility of Kelliark Zipple appearing in person had been foreseen, but when the man’s majesty finally descended upon them, everyone felt a suffocating pressure.
The fleet was entirely shrouded in fire mana. The lead flagship, the Kozec, was so far away it looked no larger than a fingernail.
Yet, everyone in the Sword Emperor Castle felt as if they were facing Kelliark from just a step away.
An overwhelming presence emanated from the fleet as it slowly approached the Sword Emperor Castle, led by the head of the world’s most powerful family.
Not a single knight of the Sword Emperor Castle feared death.
However, neither did anyone believe they could win. It felt as though no anomaly or miracle could possibly save them.
Their morale did not drop.
They were simply worried. Worried that it might all end before they could land even a single meaningful counterattack.
“I finally get to see the face of the current Zipple Patriarch,” Murakan said in a low voice.
This was also Jin’s first time seeing Kelliark Zipple in person. In both his past and present lives, he had only seen the man’s likeness in newsletters and clan records.
“A titan among titans. I’m curious to see what he’s like in the flesh as well.”
Fortunately, the Zipple main force did not attack the Sword Emperor Castle immediately upon arrival. The problem Amela had worried about did not occur.
The current Kozec was capable of unleashing power on a completely different scale than what Jin had experienced before.
“Sir Luyan.”
“Speak, Sir Jin.”
“Runcandel must have finished their preparations for a full-scale war as well.”
“I suspected as much. If it’s an item Zipple covets this much, Runcandel won't just sit idly by. If Runcandel steps in, some of Hairan might survive, but…”
“It won’t be just some. I will save everyone.”
“I know you are sincere, and that you have the ability. However, we will never flee and leave our Young Lord behind.”
“The same goes for me, Sir Luyan. However, I want you to promise me one thing.”
“A promise?”
“The seal of chaos trapping Dante exists because he is resisting the chaos.”
Jin then informed Luyan that Talaris was here.
She had granted him permission earlier to explain the mission of the Secret Palace and the dangers of chaos in more detail to Luyan. It was a concession Talaris had made out of consideration for Jin, not Luyan.
Jin explained the situation for some time, and Luyan listened intently.
“…So you’re saying that if the Young Lord cannot overcome the power of the White Stone, a monster will awaken that even the Palace Master cannot handle alone?”
“That is correct.”
“Then the Young Lord will… Ah.”
Luyan did not demand to know why he was only being told this now.
He knew that the Palace Master was only showing such consideration—even revealing the Secret Palace’s mission to an outsider—because Jin was at the center of this incident. Furthermore, even if Jin had informed him earlier, the situation would not have changed.
“…If that happens, please promise me that you will order all remaining Hairan knights to retreat.”
If Dante died and the chaos awakened, turning the Sword Emperor Holy War into a pitched battle between Zipple and Runcandel or a subjugation of chaos, it was only right for the Hairan knights to leave.
Whether they died caught in the crossfire of the two great families or were killed by the monster of chaos, it would be a dog’s death.
In that case, since the chaos would have effectively killed Dante, they would have to fight and take revenge on that monster. Luyan couldn't bring himself to say that. He understood the heart with which Jin was asking for this promise.
The mere act of assuming Dante’s death was heart-wrenching for Jin.
“…I shall do so,” Luyan replied in a dark voice.
The fate that had befallen Hairan was absurd.
They had risked their lives to protect Dante and the pride of Hairan, yet Hairan could only persist if the chaos of the White Stone swallowed Dante and awakened. A miserable and horrific persistence.
“In exchange, you must promise me one thing as well.”
“Please, tell me.”
“If, by some chance, the Young Lord returns… if he returns when we are no longer here. Please help him, so that Dante, that child, does not become a monster.”
No one knew how things would unfold.
Luyan was speaking of a time when Dante might be the sole survivor while Hairan was destroyed.
He was asking Jin to help Dante so that he wouldn't kneel before loss, sorrow, and trauma—so that he wouldn't stray from the righteous path and become a demon.
That was something only a friend could do.
“Hasn't Dante already suffered too many wounds? It must have been hard to endure. Even now.”
“Even if Dante falls into hatred and lashes out at me, I will never let him go.”
“Yes, you are that kind of person. I just wanted to say it. There is so little Hairan can do for that child.”
Kelliark’s flames now dyed the Sword Emperor Castle crimson, and the fleet stopped its advance. Everyone on the walls looked up and glared at the fleet.
From among the mages standing at the bow of the Kozec, an old man with long white hair and a pure white robe stepped forward.
It was Kelliark Zipple.
“Deploy the shields!”
Dragon Knight Leader Kalmain shouted, his eyes wide.
The heat radiating from the flames surrounding the fleet was already penetrating the entire Sword Emperor Castle. It was a heat that ordinary knights found difficult to endure.
The stones forming the walls glowed red and exhaled heat, and the air was so hot it felt as if it would melt their lungs and organs.
This was something no one had expected.
He hadn't even cast a proper spell, nor was the entire fleet moving; this phenomenon occurred simply because Kelliark had stepped to the front of the Kozec alone.
The knights deployed their shields and activated defensive equipment. The entire Sword Emperor Castle was instantly covered in blue membranes, seemingly blocking the heat.
But in the next moment, Kelliark gave a single wave of ‘Hrotti,’ the Zipple Patriarch’s exclusive staff. The shields surrounding the Sword Emperor Castle vanished instantly.
As if they had never been deployed in the first place.
“I only came to have a few words with someone I am curious about, so there is no need to be so hostile.”
“You spew nonsense after emitting enough heat to melt the castle,” Kalmain shot back.
At Kalmain’s words, Kelliark smiled gently, like a warm old man listening to a child’s tantrum.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a battlefield, so I didn't pay enough attention. I shall remove it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the heat vanished as if it were a lie. Since the fire mana was still blazing around the fleet, Kelliark’s power had clearly reached a realm of authority beyond mere magic.
“And just as a precaution, do not interfere with our conversation any further. If I set my mind to it, I could massacre all of you within seconds. As I have shown consideration, you should show me consideration as well.”
“Kelliark…! How far do you intend to insult us!”
The person who shouted was Commander Golo, who stood on the left side of the wall. He was the one who had evacuated the non-combatants and civilians during the first battle.
He hadn't shouted with any specific intent.
He had simply screamed unconsciously in an attempt to resist the pressure and fear binding his entire body.
“You are slow to understand.”
The warriors who had reached high realms could sense what was about to happen. But they had no means to block it and no time to warn of the danger.
Furthermore, their intuition was wrong.
A sickening pop.
Space Explosion.
Kelliark Zipple’s magic unfolded.
But the target was not Golo. Everyone expected Golo to explode and die, but the one Kelliark’s magic harmed was Kalmain Aita.
An explosion erupted at Kalmain’s shoulder.
That explosion completely took his right arm. Torn from his body by the blast, the limb scattered without a trace in a subsequent space explosion. Only the hollow clang of his sword hitting the stone floor remained.
“Guh…!”
“Commander!”
“Kalmain!”
The Dragon Knights and Sword Saints shouted simultaneously and tried to rush toward Kalmain. However, Kelliark stopped their movement by detonating space explosions right in front of their faces, all at once. It was a final warning.
Then, he spoke.
“My consideration ends here.”
Most of those in the Sword Emperor Castle could not remember ever hearing a more chilling voice in their lives.
A terrifyingly sudden silence fell. Kelliark waited for about five seconds, and after confirming that no one moved a muscle, he locked eyes with Jin. He did so with an indescribably benevolent smile.
‘Jin Runcandel.’
‘Kelliark Zipple.’
Facing the majesty in Kelliark’s eyes, Jin felt his blood run cold and his joints ache. The man possessed an energy that felt entirely different from the transcendent figures Jin had encountered so far.
Soft yet strong, dull yet sharp, light yet heavy, and benevolent yet evil.
That was how Jin defined the impression of the man named Kelliark Zipple.
‘I think I understand why people who have seen Kelliark in person compare him to a god.’
He was, without a doubt, an indescribably shocking individual.
‘But I also see why Kelliark is second-best.’
Because he could glimpse a single emotion hidden within Kelliark’s divine, mysterious atmosphere and that benevolent smile, Jin gained insight into why he stood behind Cyron.
Therefore, Jin also gave him a smile.
“You hate me, don’t you, Lord Kelliark Zipple?”
If the person before him were Cyron instead of Kelliark, the current Jin would never have been able to read his emotions.
To begin with, his father was a being in a position where he would never harbor a purely human emotion like hatred toward someone like him. No matter how Jin provoked him, his father would never feel anything beyond mere displeasure.
Even if Jin had been born into Zipple and killed everyone in Runcandel.
“Does it show?” Kelliark asked in a calm voice.
“Yes,” Jin replied, his smile fading. “Enough to make the divine power you just displayed feel faded.”