Chapter 581: Sorting Out the Situation (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 581: Sorting Out the Situation (1)
(The shocking and hideous truth behind the Viment Imperial Family—regarding the White Stone and Bio-Golems.
Following the awakening of the monster known as the King of the Black Sea, the Empire is enduring the darkest and most horrific spring in its history.
By now, there is likely no one left who does not know that the White Stone held by Hairan was, in fact, the King of the Black Sea.
It is also a proven fact that Hairan stood watch alone for a very long time, ensuring the White Stone did not awaken. Hairan remained vigilant, fearing that someone might covet the uncontrollable power of that monster and cause a global catastrophe—exactly as we see today.
This was confirmed when the Patriarch of Hairan, Sir Dante Hairan, who recently declared his regency, released documents and records exclusive to the Patriarch. Furthermore, Palace Master Talaris Endorma of the Secret Palace also released records concerning the White Stone, lending weight to Hairan’s innocence.
I would like to take this opportunity to express, as a member of humanity, my profound gratitude to Sir Talaris. Despite her neutral status, she released the Secret Palace’s information to resolve the danger facing the entire world and dedicated herself to the subjugation of Gliek.
The former Emperor, Amir Viment, and the Imperial Family were stoned to death by their own people.
Who could have imagined that the Imperial Family would commit the very act Hairan feared most? They went so far as to effectively sell the Empire to Zipple just to obtain the power of the White Stone.
Why were they so obsessed with the power of the White Stone?
Until now, although the Empire leaned closer to being pro-Zipple, it had maintained stable diplomatic relations with other Great Powers, including Runcandel.
There was no reason for them to obsess over the White Stone to the point of gambling the safety of the Empire’s citizens.
Even if the Imperial Family had succeeded in seizing the White Stone and processing its power, there was no guarantee the Empire could surpass the Great Families, and the world would have been plunged into the crisis of a Great War.
In such a scenario, the ones to suffer the most would, of course, have been the citizens of the Empire.
Nevertheless, it is presumed that the reason Amir Viment obsessed over the White Stone was because of ‘Bio-Golems.’
Amir Viment planned to use the power of the White Stone to complete the Bio-Golem research secretly conducted by the Imperial Family and mass-produce them.
Today, the evidence was made public.
The individual who submitted the evidence is the 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel, Sir Jin Runcandel.
As everyone knows, Sir Jin has a history of revealing the truth about Bio-Golems during the Holy Kingdom Incident, alerting the world to their evils and dangers.
Once again, Sir Jin has proven his judgment correct. The Imperial Family’s greed to mass-produce Bio-Golems is ultimately what is contaminating the world with Chaos.
Bio-Golems are created using living beings, including humans, as raw materials. Due to its horrific nature, it is a cruel sorcery on par with the now-extinct Dark Magic.
The Bio-Golems that the Imperial Family named ‘Demons’ did not deviate from this method.
Furthermore, it is reported that the Imperial Demons Sir Jin encountered personally possessed combat power exceeding that of a 9-star Knight and were equipped with super-regeneration abilities.
The Imperial Family intended to mass-produce thousands, even tens of thousands of such Demons to seize global hegemony.
However, there is one strange point.
If they wanted hegemony, the fact that they ‘sold’ the Empire to Zipple for the White Stone remains unexplained.
During the first battle of the Sword Emperor Holy War, Zipple attempted various negotiations with Sir Jin. They even offered to restore the then-sealed Sir Dante to his original state and destroy the Empire if the White Stone was handed over.
Regarding this issue, Sir Jin stated the following in an interview:
—The Emperor likely intended to use Zipple’s strength to obtain the White Stone first, mass-produce the Demons, and then betray Zipple. He probably judged that if he could mass-produce Demons, he would have a chance of winning a war against Zipple.
Above all, the Emperor knew exactly what the White Stone was. Unlike us in Runcandel or those in Zipple, he was aware from the beginning that it was Gliek, the King of Chaos…
According to Sir Jin’s interview, the Emperor coveted the White Stone despite knowing everything and had plans to betray Zipple.
This reporter expects that Sir Jin’s opinion is likely correct and believes it is time for the Imperial Family and the entire Empire to reflect once more on the values and the path of righteousness that Hairan has upheld…)
With the evidence of the Demon corpses at the forefront, new articles were immediately written and distributed.
Upon seeing these reports, members of the Imperial Family and pro-Imperial nobles all reacted with fury, protesting their innocence.
“Imperial Chamberlain, Sir Barcam! Are the articles coming out recently actually true?! Please, say something!”
“Is it true that the former Emperor knew the identity of the White Stone from the beginning?”
“Did the Imperial Family then condone the Emperor’s tyranny even while knowing that such a disaster could befall the world because of Gliek?”
Chamberlain Barcam, his face haggard, shook his head repeatedly.
“No, His Majesty… no, the former Emperor…”
“His Majesty? What is this madman saying now?!”
“The former Emperor never shared any related information with the Imperial Family. Even I, the Chamberlain, knew nothing about the Demonization process.”
“There are reports that the Bio-Golem, the Demon corpse currently presented as evidence, belonged to the Viment Imperial Guard. Among the grotesque piles of flesh, the Imperial Guard’s golden epaulettes and a blood-soaked pure white coat were found, and they have been confirmed to be authentic, not fakes. Please speak on this as well.”
“The Demon corpse was an Imperial Guard?”
The reporters and citizens gathered at the Imperial Palace began to buzz at those words.
Using knights who were more loyal to the Imperial Family than anyone else as mere experimental subjects was an unthinkable atrocity.
“W-we are still investigating why the Imperial Guard’s belongings were mixed in with that mass of flesh, but this is a fabrication…”
“Fabrication?! Sir Jin Runcandel is the one who risked his life to reveal the dangers of Bio-Golems during the Holy Kingdom Incident. Even in this war, he helped Hairan without asking for anything in return, simply out of loyalty! Why would such a man have any reason to fabricate evidence?”
“If Sir Jin and Sir Dante wanted to end the Imperial Family, they could easily do so with force. Sir Dante already proved that by revealing his power in the plaza. On the other hand, what about the Imperial Family? You say you have no connection to the Emperor, you don’t know why the Imperial Guard’s items were there. It’s all just words. Give us a proper explanation!”
“Ahem, hmph! That will be all for today. Instead, we will provide an explanation for this matter through an official Imperial statement and press release within three hours, so please withdraw…”
Just as Barcam said, new reports flooded out three hours later, and the Imperial Family issued a statement.
It contained nothing special enough to turn the situation around. All they could do was repeat, in slightly more organized sentences, that they were not involved and did not know.
The reason the Imperial Family acted this way was simple.
They believed that angry public sentiment was bound to fade eventually. Moreover, the Demon corpse Jin brought was not, in itself, decisive evidence that could link the Imperial Family and the Emperor together.
This was because no documents or witnesses had emerged regarding those who participated in or contributed to the Demonization research.
They claimed the Imperial Guard’s epaulettes and white coat were either a coincidence or a fabrication using items from guards who had died in the war.
After all, excluding Jin and Valeria, no one had seen the Viment Imperial Guard undergo Demonization in the Wantaramo Forest last September.
The Imperial Family was completely unaware of the existence of a person named ‘Valeria Hister.’ They also didn't realize that as long as she existed, this kind of denial was utterly useless.
Valeria had been using Record Magic on the Demon corpses to identify the locations of the Imperial Family’s ‘Demonization Research Labs.’
Boldly, the Imperial Family had been operating a laboratory right in the capital of the Empire, not in some remote region.
And as soon as the Imperial Family’s statement was released, Jin’s newsletters immediately went public with the location of the laboratory.
Of course, the laboratory had been closed and all involved parties had fled as soon as the war ended and the Emperor died.
However, they hadn't had the luxury of a proper cleanup.
Since it was located right in the middle of the Empire, blowing it up was out of the question. Above all, the Imperial Family had no intention of completely destroying the lab.
The Demonization research was now truly the last lifeline remaining for the Imperial Family.
Since no one had discovered the lab’s location until now, the Imperial Family planned to restart operations once the world calmed down a bit.
But thanks to Jin receiving the location from Valeria and making it public, even that plan had vanished like smoke.
“I didn't expect we’d find the location of the Demonization lab through the Demon corpses. I guess it’s true that the darkest place is right under the candle. Those madmen. To think they set up a lab right in the middle of the Imperial capital.”
Jin spoke as he sipped from the teacup placed before him.
Valeria was sitting across from him. She had visited Hairan’s 2nd Castle without a disguise, which meant she now trusted Jin’s companions to some extent.
In this war, Jin and his allies had all fought not for personal gain, but for the protection of the world. That sight had sent a vibration through even Valeria’s dry and cold interior.
“I didn't expect the people to trust you that much either, Jin Runcandel. Technically, Demonization and Bio-Golems are fundamentally different, but since you’re the one who said it, no one is even suggesting an investigation is needed.”
“The people have no choice but to believe it. And while the Imperial Family will deny it, they have no way out. Reporters, citizens, and even figures from various factions are storming the lab right now, so they can’t deny it any longer. The evidence we intentionally left behind will greet the angry crowds.”
Even in their haste, the Imperial Family and their Demonization researchers had smuggled out most of the important data, but they had left behind relatively minor documents—such as lists of participants and donors—as they fled the lab.
Jin had intentionally left them for people to find, and those documents were filled with the names of numerous Imperial figures.
“And, the Demonization the Imperial Family conducted is a different kind from the ancient Dark Magic’s Demonization.”
As Jin spoke in a bitter voice, Valeria nodded.
“Yes. I could tell by looking at the records of the Demon corpses. What the Imperial Family is researching is certainly Demonization, but it’s no different from a Bio-Golem experiment. So, your claim that the Demonization research is Bio-Golem research isn't actually a lie.”
Originally, Demonization and Bio-Golems were distinguished by whether a human body or another living organism was used as the base.
Demonization was magic, while Bio-Golems were closer to Magitech.
However, the Demonization research the Imperial Family was conducting possessed both attributes simultaneously.
“...Because the body of your Runcandel’s First Patriarch, Temar Runcandel, was being used for the Demonization.”