Chapter 591: Kinzelo’s Purpose (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 591: Kinzelo’s Purpose (3)
“O-oh, ohhh…!”
Bubar, completely oblivious to the truth, let out a series of greedy gasps as he pored over the machinery and blueprints.
“You call this engineering? Ha! Hey, you poor fool. Do you really think this is just engineering?”
The “fool” in question, Quaul, felt his face flush.
The Gold Snow Tribe products had transformed the once-scruffy Quaul into a muscular young man. With his beard gone, his true features were actually quite handsome.
“It is engineering,” Quaul replied flatly.
“Idiot! This isn't just engineering; it’s art! Art! Haa, it’s a tragedy that I have to leave such precious works in the hands of people like you. This complex, geometric encryption, the design… no masterpiece of painting could ever compare.”
Since the complex encryption Bubar spoke of was entirely Quaul’s creation, he was being insulted and praised by the man in the same breath.
Hmph, hah, hoooo. Listening to Bubar’s grating, skin-crawling sighs for three hours was an agonizing ordeal for both the Barmul Alliance and Kinzelo.
As soon as the allotted time was up, Jin snatched the items back, as if he had been barely tolerating the noise.
“Ah! A-already?!”
“Yeah. It’s over. Get lost.”
“Just a little longer! Just a little more! Let me see it just a bit longer…!”
“Get your hands off before I cut them off.”
At Jin’s chilling voice, Bubar flinched and scrambled backward.
“Ha, haha! You’ll eventually need the help of the great Bubar to understand those works of art anyway! When that time comes, don’t expect me to help you even if you beg on your knees!”
Bubar was under the delusion that he had extracted a significant amount of information from the items. From his perspective, he had.
Seeing how excited Bubar was, the Kinzelo executives also assumed he had made some progress, despite their disappointment that the meeting was over.
If the trap had been too obvious, it would have raised suspicion. Quaul had accounted for that, setting it up so that Bubar could only recognize information that, while seemingly core, was irrelevant by Quaul’s standards.
“Then this concludes the meeting.”
Just as the Kinzelo group began to leave, Jin started walking after the retreating Bubar.
“Wh-what the—you crazy bastard! I pulled my hands back like you said! Why are you coming after me?!”
Bubar naturally assumed Jin was stalking him with the intent to assault or kill him. He was the only one who thought so.
Everyone else present clearly sensed who Jin’s killing intent was truly directed toward.
Bianca Caligo.
Jin walked past Bubar, who had tripped over his own feet in his haste to flee, and headed straight for the First Princess of the Caligo family.
“What is your name, demon?”
“Bianca Caligo… Do you… have business… with me?”
“I was wondering how much stronger I need to become to collect the price for Sir Ron’s left arm.”
“Who… is that?”
An invisible fighting spirit surged violently between the two, a powder keg that threatened to explode at the slightest spark.
Jin was the first to withdraw his aura.
“I’ll tell you next time.”
As Bianca watched Jin turn and stride back to his companions, she realized her hair had been standing on end.
“H-how rude to the very end! You lowly human! Sister, you should have just crushed him into a pulp!” Ainas, who had been cowering before their combined aura, suddenly barked.
If Jin had drawn his sword and started a fight just now, Bianca was one hundred percent certain she would have won.
However, a strange sense of unease washed over her. A feeling that now was the only moment she would ever be able to defeat him.
“Grand Duke… Margiella.”
“Yes, Princess Caligo?”
“Wouldn’t it be… better… to kill him now?”
If we don’t do it now, he might become a human more dangerous than all of Runcandel combined. That was what Bianca was implying.
“Hmm, it seems unlikely he’ll ever join our side. But he still has work to do for the sake of the world.”
“He knows perfectly well that we won’t kill him yet, which is why he’s acting so boldly, Margiella. You gave that devil too much information.”
“Aren’t devils inherently absurd beings? When the angel awakens, he will repent.”
Long after Jin’s group had disappeared on Mort’s back, Bianca could not tear her eyes away from the spot where Jin had stood.
*
While Jin and his companions were at the meeting, Jet had moved all of Quaul’s inventions from his hut to Tikan.
“Bubar Gaston, was it? That disgusting fellow. He was impressive in his own way, though. His intellect aside, his dexterity seemed to surpass even mine,” Quaul remarked as he inspected his inventions. Although Jin had broken a few, most were intact. Amela’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the devices.
“He didn't get any core information because of the traps,” Jin said, “but he was the original developer of the Demon God Stones and is suspected to be the reincarnation of the God of Sculpture. He’ll likely create something with the information he gained. And their leader, who supposedly can’t engage in external activities, seems to possess a special power as well.”
“As long as their technological advancement doesn't exceed your expectations, Master Quaul, it shouldn't be a major problem.”
“Even with good hands, there’s no hope if you lack a brain,” Quaul scoffed. “They already have a finished product like the Gruneil, so they’ll catch up on ships soon enough, but a spacetime device will be nothing but a dream for them.”
“Though they do already have that teleportation ability in the form of the Steel Gates,” Jin added.
Runcandel’s technological prowess, which had lagged far behind Zipple and Kinzelo—and which they had lacked the ability or will to develop in the first place—was now poised to equal or even surpass them.
To be precise, it was the technology of the Barmul Alliance, not Runcandel.
“Beast Demon King Orgal, huh…”
While the two were talking, Quicantel was thinking of Kinzelo’s leader. She had discussed Beast Demon King Orgal with Murakan several times before, which was why her mind was particularly clouded.
“I was certain he died after being betrayed by Heluram. Besides, during the Colon ruins massacre, didn't Myuron try to summon Orgal from hell to possess him?”
“I find that part strange as well, Lady Quicantel,” Jin said.
To confirm Orgal’s death, Jin had briefly summoned the recovering Tess, who also seemed to believe he was dead. Shuri, who had been Heluram’s Red Jade Cat, believed the same.
“Come to think of it, whenever the topic of Orgal came up, Murakan and I would naturally change the subject. I didn't think much of it then, but perhaps even that was due to history manipulation.”
“What kind of person was Orgal?” Jin asked.
He had only heard from Murakan that he was a "formidable demon." However, there weren't many beings in the world whom Murakan would personally describe as formidable.
“I don’t… remember clearly. However, Murakan and I didn't dislike him… In some ways, we respected him.”
“Respect? Murakan did?”
“Yes. Because he endured Heluram’s curse, the entire world was practically in his debt.”
“Are you saying he prevented Heluram’s curse from spreading across the world?”
“Yes. That much I remember clearly. But I have no memory of him stopping a rampaging Temar or Murakan.”
“If he was a being of that stature,” Jin mused, “perhaps even the Zipple Clan itself doesn't realize they manipulated Orgal’s history.”
That would explain why Myuron Zipple had tried to possess Orgal. Above all, Myuron’s possession black magic had never been fully cast. Jin had cut down the Hell Gate he summoned before the spell could be completed.
“Even if the Zipple leadership knew, it’s possible that information never reached someone like Myuron,” Jin continued.
“It’s entirely possible,” Quicantel agreed. “Too much history has been lost or manipulated over a thousand years. I can’t even be sure my memory of him protecting the world from Heluram is accurate. Regardless, if Kinzelo’s goal is the purification of the world, it does align with the image of Orgal in my unstable memories.”
Whatever Kinzelo’s true purpose was, those madmen could not be allowed to seize control of the world. All the companions were of one mind on that.
In any case, to uncover the truth of history, they had no choice but to wait for Valeria’s record magic to be completed and find Solderet’s legacies to verify it all.
“The timing of Orgal’s full recovery will be crucial.”
Runcandel, Zipple, Kinzelo. The race to recover was paramount for all three powers. No one could know which faction would be ready first.
Therefore, the leaders of each faction had to reorganize their ranks as quickly as possible while the war was paused.
In that regard, Jin already possessed the best conditions. He had luckily secured Quaul from the start, and with the ceasefire agreement signed, he could focus on his own growth without interference.
However, Jin felt a slight sense of unease. He couldn't be certain he held an absolute advantage.
“Indeed,” Quicantel said, seeing the anxiety Jin harbored about his impending trip to Laprarosa. “But do not worry too much. The world will keep turning even while you are away.”
“Even if something happens to Tikan in your absence, Runcandel’s protection is here now to replace Murakan’s, so it will be fine. Furthermore, the Palace Master is focusing on her recovery, so Lady Misha will likely return to her post before long. Then Murakan will return to Tikan as well. Ease your mind a little.”
“I understand, Lady Quicantel.”
“Young Master.”
Casimir entered the meeting room, looking for Jin.
“A Miss Nodab Sarsaeng has come to Tikan.”
Nodab Sarsaeng—that was Sandra Zipple’s alias.
Jin was no longer surprised by her impulsive behavior. Coming openly to Tikan during such a sensitive time was exactly her style. She was a woman capable of far worse.
“Did she come alone?”
“No.”
Jin naturally assumed she had come with Hedo, but Sandra’s companion was someone else.
“Veradin Zipple. She came with him.”
Jin’s eyes widened.
He had been worried he wouldn't be able to see him one last time before leaving for Laprarosa. A meeting with his unfortunate friend depended entirely on the Zipple Clan’s judgment, not his own.
“Technically, we’ve already entered a ceasefire, but to send those two without a single escort… Zipple must be truly desperate.”
Jin immediately saw through the intentions of the Zipple leadership.
“Yes,” Casimir said, “I also suspect they intend to use the relationship between those two and you, Young Master, to dig for information.”
“I’ll go meet them at once.”