Chapter 636: Return to the Family (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 636: Return to the Family (5)
The Garden of Swords, once aglow with sunlight and Azure Fire, was plunged into darkness in an instant.
It was a peculiar, warped darkness born of Chaos. Jin narrowed his eyes, looking up at the blackened sky and the transformed Garden.
Red, glowing eyes began to appear everywhere. They were the gazes of the knights confronting him.
‘As soon as the darkness deepened, the energy radiating from the knights grew stronger… Is this the result of the Prophet amplifying the Chaos scattered throughout the Garden of Swords?’
The Prophet and Rosa, who had been standing before him, were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had never been there in the first place.
Jin surmised that the two of them had used some method to amplify the Chaos. He suspected the Prophet had used Rosa’s power as a medium to cast a spell.
‘Or did the Acting Patriarch leave to prepare a defense against external attacks?’
Kinzelo and Zipple.
Jin was certain that both forces were watching this fight, preparing for an all-out assault.
‘If so, it was a reasonable decision, but she will come to regret leaving me unchecked.’
Whether she had left to guard against external attacks or for some other reason, Jin was confident he could make Rosa regret this moment for a long time to come.
He would make her regret every choice she had made up until now.
New knights continued to emerge from the shadows.
Like insects crouching in the darkness before swarming their prey, they came, unaware that this prey carried a poison they could not handle.
Their numbers already exceeded a thousand by a rough estimate. If they continued to multiply at this rate, they would reach ten thousand within an hour.
Every single one of those knights possessed an aura of 8-star rank or higher.
‘Even so, they are merely combat dolls, lacking the proper dignity for such power.’
To Jin, they felt no different from the monsters of the Mitra Great Desert he had encountered on his first day back in the human world.
Of course, that was strictly by his standards. A single group of these Chaos-tainted knights possessed enough combat power to wipe out an average kingdom in a day or two.
‘The ones I need to take seriously are the few real ones among them—the traitors who haven't lost their dignity even after being tainted by Chaos.’
Fwaaaaah!
The flames of the Karma Fire burned even deeper.
“How could you not know, even after all this… that the family’s goal is the Path of the Overlord, not depravity and atrocity?”
In an instant, the Azure Fire concealed Jin’s position. Black sword energies, having lost their target, struck the barrier of Azure Fire in vain.
Runcandel 5th Secret Technique
Light Speed Thrust – Pluto
Five streaks of Light Speed Thrust poured out simultaneously, shredding the battlefield.
Small holes were pierced through the chests of the knights in the front ranks, and the aftershocks spreading behind them erased the Chaos in great clumps.
Before the knights could react and fill the broken ranks, Jin had already reached the point where the central Light Speed Thrust had landed.
That was the spot where those who had resisted Chaos until the end, including the Tona brothers, were standing.
As soon as Jin took his position, the nearby knights were cut down by Bradamante and vanished like dust swept away by the wind.
“Wh-Whoa! Youngest!”
“Be-Behind you!”
The Tona brothers were overwhelmed with emotion at seeing Jin carve a path for them, but for now, they could only shout for him to watch his back.
A Black Knight was swinging a sword toward their younger brother’s back.
Without even looking in that direction, Jin pulled the Tona brothers into an embrace, stopping them as they tried to rush forward and shield him with their own bodies.
“Brothers, you’ve worked hard…”
The moment the brothers reunited, the Black Knight’s sword failed to reach Jin.
The Karma Fire had incinerated his entire body.
Thump. The dead Black Knight’s helmet fell to the ground with a hollow sound.
“I have much to say, but let’s get out of here first.”
The moment he first saw those imprisoned underground, Jin had expected many of them to die here.
That was why the Tona brothers had screamed for him to not worry about them and to do what he had to do.
Fortunately, the situation had changed.
‘If the Acting Patriarch is absent, I can save far more knights than I expected.’
Why did Rosa leave them alive? And why did she leave the area without killing them?
The questions surfaced in his mind.
The Prophet had explained it was merely a final consideration. If that was all it was, Jin felt he could forgive her even less.
Someone who dared to defile Runcandel had no right to show them “consideration.”
Of course, many variables could still interfere with the rescue.
Rosa could return to the battlefield, there was no telling how many more traitors would multiply, and he could never be certain that something wouldn't appear that even he would find difficult to handle.
Therefore, Jin had to evacuate these people first.
“However, it’s a surprise that you remained on this side, Elder Council Head Jorden.”
Jorden Runcandel.
Jin locked eyes with him.
“…In fact, judging by the atmosphere, it seems you were the leader of the resisters.”
Even as they spoke, the traitors could not approach.
Jorden looked back and forth between the Karma Fire protecting them and Jin, then let out a hollow laugh.
“I simply remembered the essence of the family that I had forgotten. Thanks to a certain crazy, monster-like fellow.”
— Have you regained your confidence now that you’ve lost everything? You certainly talk big.
— I simply remembered the essence of the family that I had forgotten.
Those were the exact words Jorden had said to Rosa when Joshua had fallen.
“And the leader of the resisters was originally the 4th Flagbearer, not me.”
“Where is Brother Dipus? And Sister Mary?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if they’re alive or dead.”
Dipus was still held in the underground prison, but the other resisters were unaware of that fact. He had been imprisoned separately.
“……I’m sorry.”
“It’s not something the Elder Council Head should be sorry for. Then, are the confirmed survivors only those present here?”
“Yes.”
Like the others, Jorden’s body bore the clear traces of the agony he had suffered in the underground prison.
He was nearly a skeleton, like a living corpse, and the energy of Chaos had eaten away at his entire being.
Nevertheless, Jin felt a certain transcendent dignity from Jorden—a dignity that never vanished, no matter how weak the physical body became.
“It seems the Elder Council Head’s closed-door training was successful as well.”
“It doesn’t seem comparable to yours.”
“I can’t take responsibility for the escape all the way to the end. I wish I could, but I doubt the traitors’ desperate struggle will end here. Once I break a path, you must take charge of the evacuation, Elder Council Head. To Tikan.”
“Puhuhu… Interesting. We were always enemies, yet you mean to trust me?”
“No, I am not trusting Jorden, the vile, snake-like Head of the Black Sword Council… I am trusting Jorden Runcandel, the knight of our family.”
Jorden’s eyes widened.
“……I shall obey, 12th Flagbearer.”
It wasn't that Jin had forgiven Jorden.
Jorden knew that as well.
It was simply that the two of them had finally come to share the Runcandel value of ‘struggle.’
That was enough. It was reason enough to set aside grudges and fight together for Runcandel.
“However, 12th Flagbearer, as you just suspected, this is not the full extent of Rosa Runcandel and the Prophet’s power.”
“Tell me everything you know.”
“The current strengthening of the traitors is the result of the Chaos embedded in the Garden of Swords being released. We experienced this exact same situation the day we were imprisoned.”
At the time, the resisters had put up a fierce fight against the Chaos-tainted traitors. Though not to Jin’s extent, they had cut down countless strengthened knights.
It was thanks to the presence of warriors like Jorden, Dipus, and Mary, who had reached new heights after their closed-door training.
What had driven them to utter despair that day was not the endlessly resurrecting and multiplying knights of Chaos—those combat dolls that only possessed high destructive power.
“……Soon, the knights who were enshrined in the Mausoleum will appear.”
“The knights from the Mausoleum?”
“What we personally confirmed were past flagbearers and Black Knights. But if I were the Prophet, I would summon beings far more numerous and powerful against you…”
The moment Jorden said that, Jin suddenly unleashed ten streaks of Light Speed Thrust to clear the surroundings. Furthermore, the energy of the Karma Fire, which had been continuously amplifying, was still growing to an unfathomable degree.
No matter how many ants there are, they cannot kill a lion.
Just as Jin felt the knights of Chaos were no different from desert monsters, Jorden could see that truth as well.
“……Though, it seems there’s no need to worry much.”
Jorden shrugged.
He realized that Jin had been using less than thirty percent of his current martial power.
The reason Jin had cleared the surroundings was simple: he had sensed that among the traitors, the real ones—the genuine threats—had begun to reveal themselves in earnest.
Black Knight Captain, Stam.
He was slowly walking toward Jin.
“Go, Elder Council Head.”
The resisters began to leave the Garden of Swords.
The Chaos-soaked ground was treacherous, but they used the blue path formed by the Karma Fire as their guide.
The resisters didn't even need to draw their swords against the swarming knights of Chaos. The Karma Fire, surrounding them like a wall, was protecting them.
Their battle for escape would truly begin once they left the domain of the Karma Fire.
“You don’t seem to have any intention of attacking them, former Runcandel Black Knight Captain Stam. Someone like you should be able to put a dent in my flames. Is it some last shred of conscience?”
Stam did not answer and simply glared at Jin.
Vast amounts of Aura and Chaos radiated from him.
“No, former 12th Flagbearer Jin Runcandel. It is because I judged that I must not waste a single ounce of strength to face you.”
“Fortunately, it wasn't some pathetic conscience.”
Jin stared into Stam’s red eyes for a moment.
The Black Knight Captain of Runcandel, who had been a lifesaver and a comrade-in-arms during the Sword Emperor Holy War, now stood before him as an enemy.
“Deciding to focus entirely on me is certainly an excellent choice. Though it is lamentable that you didn't use such judgment to stop Rosa Runcandel’s atrocities.”
“The justification of ensuring the family’s survival will ultimately belong to the victor. You do not yet have the right to judge whether Lady Rosa was wrong. Likewise, I am not yet certain that you are wrong. That is a matter that can only be determined after you are dead.”
“I didn't know you had a talent for bullshit as well as the sword…”
Just as he was about to charge at Stam, Jin sensed another ‘real one’ appearing from behind him.
[Black Knight Captain, I see why you’ve been waiting for me. For a moment, I thought that fellow was the current Patriarch, Cyron Runcandel.]
Turning around, Jin saw a knight he had never seen before—one who had just emerged from the Mausoleum.