Chapter 634: Return to the Family (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 634: Return to the Family (3)
February 25, 1803. Early dawn.
As expected, Jin was preparing to head for the Garden of Swords.
He had gone so far as to broadcast his return to the world through Dino Jagrun, announcing that he would arrive at the Garden of Swords on this very day. Furthermore, the special report Dino personally released subtly implied that Jin was now poised to ascend to the position of Patriarch.
It was nothing short of a declaration of war against Runcandel.
“Do you think Kinzelo and Zipple will truly join the fray?” Talaris asked.
The comrades standing nearby glanced between her and Jin, their expressions fraught with worry.
“They will certainly come,” Jin replied. “If they can’t read an opportunity this significant, they have no right to lead such great powers.”
From the very beginning, Jin hadn’t planned for the two major factions to participate. When he first decided to return fifteen days ago, he hadn’t been certain of his path. However, Runcandel’s reaction to the news made it clear: the Prophet had already seized control of the clan.
It also became evident that Kinzelo and Zipple had only refrained from provoking the Garden of Swords because they assumed Runcandel still possessed a burdeningly formidable strength.
And so, Jin made his move. He decided to create a massive stage, one they would be forced to step onto if they weren't complete fools.
“Even if the leaders of our enemies are far more foolish than I anticipate and fail to appear, it is still right for me to go—if only for the sake of those within the clan who are resisting the Prophet.”
Those who had never relied on, nor ever intended to rely on, the Prophet’s foul power. The true knights of Runcandel and his own siblings, who had offered loyal advice until the very end, must be suffering within the Garden of Swords.
It was unthinkable for him not to go to them.
Besides, judging by the article Runcandel released about Temar, Valeria might have been captured as well.
“As I said before, now is the perfect time, while the clan is still unaware of the full extent of my power.”
“Hmm, well… true. With the martial prowess my son-in-law possesses now, you should be able to escape even if things go completely sideways. Goodness, I said it wouldn't take you long to reach 10-star, but to think you’d return even stronger than me. Does this even make sense?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. You’re overestimating me. And if you hadn’t helped me, Lady Talaris, I would have had to consider other methods. This choice is only possible because I have Mort and the Red Owl.”
“Yes, yes. To think I’d live to see the day Talaris Endorma becomes nothing more than someone’s ride,” Talaris said with a laugh.
Jin chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. The two no longer looked like a superior and subordinate, but rather like close comrades. Siris found herself surprised that she didn’t dislike the sight as much as she expected.
“Jin.”
“Yes, Lady Siris.”
“Our Secret Palace has protected you countless times. Now it’s your turn to protect the Secret Palace.”
Jin didn’t answer immediately, meeting her eyes for a long moment.
“So, go and come back alive. You have a debt to pay, don’t you? You still have to teach me some swordsmanship.”
“Of course. I’ll guarantee you rapid growth.”
“My daughter, since when did you start saying such mature things?”
“Mother, you be careful as well. You mustn’t overexert yourself while your body isn’t fully recovered.”
“Young Master…” Gilly placed a hand on Jin’s shoulder. “Please, return safely.”
“You’ve only just returned, and you're already heading into a forced march. My Lord, I apologize for not being of more help.”
“Young Master Jin… are you really going to be okay alone?”
His comrades gathered around Gilly, all voicing their concern. Talaris let out a sigh, as if the scene were stifling her.
“Goodness, really. I told you, my son-in-law isn’t at a level where you need to worry anymore. Stop acting like Jin is marching off to his death. Honestly, that brat cooped up in the lab over there has a better attitude.”
Quaul was completely engrossed in his research, acting as if he couldn’t care less whether Jin went to Runcandel alone or not. He was captivated by the items Jin had brought back from Laprarosa—materials any magitech engineer would sell their soul for. His only regret was that Valeria, who would have shared in this joy, was absent.
“As Lady Talaris said, don’t worry too much. I will be back. Though I doubt it will happen, if I don’t return within three days, make sure to prepare for evacuation.”
“In the end, even my son-in-law adds unnecessary words. Now, get on. Let’s go!”
Jin boarded the Red Owl.
“I’m off. As always, I will return with what I desire.”
* * *
The Garden of Swords.
For over a thousand years, it had been the home of Runcandel’s sword ghosts, a place revered and feared by every martial artist in existence.
In its very center, Rosa stood motionless.
Her face was pale, her lips parched. With a body so gaunt it was hard to believe she was the Black Panther of Runcandel who had once commanded the clan alongside Cyron, she looked up at the sky. A sun that did not suit the winter was blazing down.
Even facing it directly, Rosa felt no burning sensation in her eyes. She simply felt that it was unnecessarily bright.
“The youngest… is coming.”
A woman in a black hood nodded. Ilina Runcandel, the woman known as Joshua’s unfortunate spouse. Now, everyone in Runcandel knew who she truly was.
The Prophet of Disaster. The one who had ‘saved’ Rosa and the other members of Runcandel from Chaos.
“You sound as if you’re regretful. Do you think things would have been different if he had been just a little faster?”
Thwack!
In an instant, Rosa drew Frenzy and pierced Ilina’s throat.
Ilina died on the spot and collapsed. After convulsing for a few seconds, she stood back up. Instead of blood, Chaos leaked from the wound.
“Ah, really. How many times must I explain that every time this happens, it costs a life or two?”
“It is unacceptable for a member of Runcandel to speak to me in such a manner. Even if that had been your last life, I would not have hesitated to kill you.”
“You could have just corrected me nicely…”
“Do you wish to die again?” Rosa’s voice was low and menacing. “I have felt the pain of death myself; surely it is not a light matter for you either.”
At her tone, Ilina bowed her head. “I apologize. I will be more careful in the future.”
Rosa turned her gaze back toward the main gate in silence.
The main gate.
Looking back, for Rosa Runcandel, that gate represented years of countless, lonely vigils. How terribly, how desperately she had longed for the day Cyron would return through those gates, his task complete, to save the clan…
In the end, that day never came.
Instead, the one arriving was her youngest son—the one who would never bow or compromise, the one she would inevitably have to break with her own hands.
The thought was bitter.
“All knights of Runcandel, prepare to receive the clan's 12th Flagbearer.”
Rosa’s words were like the wind, carrying absolute authority. No matter how softly she spoke, they reached every corner of the estate, and no one failed to hear them. Just as Cyron’s voice once had.
Knights rushed out from all corners of the estate and lined up before her. It was just like when the clan prepared for Cyron’s arrival. The Flagbearers stood at the very front, followed by the Black Knights, the Black Sword Council, the Enforcement Knights, and the Guardian Knights.
The numbers far exceeded what Jin remembered, yet there were only four Flagbearers present.
“Lord Rosa.” It was Stam, the Black Knight Captain.
“Speak.”
“What should be done with the knights in the underground?”
The knights in the underground—they were the ones who had resisted Rosa until the very end.
“Release them all, except for the 4th Flagbearer.”
“Understood. And… may I return their weapons?”
Stam’s reason for asking was simple. Though they had turned their backs on Rosa and the clan for now, they were all knights who had once been devoted to Runcandel. Their rejection of Rosa was not a betrayal; they simply could not overcome the logic of the power and the Path of the Overlord that Rosa had embraced.
Thus, Stam wanted to give them one last chance—a chance to fight alongside Jin and realize the ‘honor’ they believed in.
Ilina looked as if she wanted to scream, to ask if he was insane, but Rosa did not dislike Stam for it.
There had to be people like him.
“Do so. Furthermore, all of their swords shall be planted in the Garden.”
“…Thank you.”
“May I dare to say one thing? I believe this is dangerous. Jin Runcandel’s fate has already veered off its trajectory once. Even the smallest factor could lead to a major problem!”
Rosa ignored her.
She began to focus on the aura of her youngest son, which was rapidly closing in from the distance. She recalled the day Jin first returned to the clan after finishing his term as a reserve flagbearer.
— It seems there is someone else who wishes to welcome this old man.
— Patriarch, what do you mean?
— Rosa, you’ve grown dull. A quite powerful aura is approaching the Garden of Swords. And at a very high speed, at that.
Now I can see the things you felt back then… Cyron.
Impressive.
The very first emotion that filled Rosa’s heart was no different from what Cyron had felt then.
Slowly, the main gate opened.
Jin strode toward Rosa, unperturbed by the altered state of the clan or the dark energy of the knights stained by Chaos. As the distance between them closed, both felt as if the surrounding scenery was being erased.
Amidst these countless people and non-human entities, the mother and son focused all their senses only on each other.
Everything was the same as that day. The day Jin proved he was worthy of being a Flagbearer by parrying a single strike from Cyron.
But today was not that day.
“12th Flagbearer Jin Runcandel has returned to the clan after completing his closed-door training.”
Jin did not perform the sword salute.
Rosa did not answer, simply looking down at him. As a Runcandel, as a human, and as a mother, she wanted to hold onto this brief, final moment where she could face her youngest for just a little longer. Because of that, just as Cyron had done that day, she wanted to draw her sword. She wanted to savor the sword of the son who had grown so much in a single clash.
However, Jin did not allow that moment to linger.
“But Mother… you have betrayed your promise to me.”
I am disappointed.
You no longer have the right to test me.
As Jin finished speaking, Rosa’s hand, which had been moving toward her waist, stopped involuntarily.
That was the final trace of human emotion Rosa felt.
A streak of black blood trickled from between her cracked lips. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and replied:
“The promise is still valid. If you can show me here and now what you intended to prove, I will return everything in the clan to the way it was this instant.”