Chapter 686: Restriction (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 686: Restriction (2)
* * *
“You’ve returned, Lady Zephyrin!”
“You’re back, Grand Duke, Sister!”
At Kinzelo’s New Headquarters, Bubar and Ainas greeted the three returning executives with bright, cheerful voices.
Zephyrin, Bianca, and Lanke had escaped the subspace while Jin and Vail were locked in combat. Naturally, they were not in the best of moods.
Zephyrin, in particular, was incensed that she had been ‘played’ by Jin once again. What annoyed her even more was that this time, Jin hadn’t even laid a trap; they had simply pursued him, only to suffer losses.
“Honestly, getting involved with Jin Runcandel is a guaranteed recipe for exhaustion,” Zephyrin muttered. “Sigh, look at the state of us.”
Kinzelo had chosen to retreat rather than intervene in the battle for two main reasons. First, Zephyrin could not utilize the Leader’s power, and second, they needed to minimize the loss of their forces.
Zephyrin judged that Jin was unlikely to be killed by that madman who kept screaming for Sarah, so there was no need to overextend themselves to help the irritating human.
“Grand Duke… still… this time… Jin Runcandel… he did help us. He tore… the subspace.”
“He didn’t do it to help us, Bianca. The subspace just happened to tear from the aftermath of his fight with that lunatic. Haa, regardless, I’ll have to request a proper information exchange from Sir Jin later. Circumstantially, it’s certain he opened Temar’s tomb.”
[Cough… Hack!]
As Orgal entered the conference room, coughing violently, everyone immediately straightened up and bowed their heads.
“Ah, Master, why did you drag your ailing body all the way here? We would have come to report to you if you had just stayed put.”
[It is… joyful… cough! news, after all.]
“Joyful news?”
As Zephyrin tilted her head in confusion, a smile spread across the Leader’s blurred face.
[The being that… cough, awakened in Temar’s tomb. Did you feel nothing, hack, when you saw Vail, Zephyrin?]
Zephyrin’s eyes gradually widened at Orgal’s question. She soon realized what her master’s words implied.
“Could it be… that madman is a Trace of Life?”
When the Leader nodded, Zephyrin reflexively covered her mouth. The gesture stemmed from her own perceived blasphemy for having dared to call a ‘Trace of Life’ a madman.
“My goodness. The day has finally come when Jin Runcandel is actually useful to us!”
A Trace of Life—Vail—was one of the key entities Kinzelo had sought for so long for their Great Cause.
Even though Orgal had not seen Vail in person, he was certain. He had felt that distinct energy the moment Vail awakened and began wielding his authority. Furthermore, the history manipulation that Vail had dispelled upon his awakening included parts of the history that involved Orgal.
This meant that the speed at which Orgal’s authority returned would increase.
[Zephyrin.]
“Speak, Master.”
[We don’t know how quickly Jin, cough!, will learn the truth about Vail. Wheeze, we must make our move before he discovers the contract and the Restriction.]
“Understood. However, the man seemed to have an obsession with someone named Sarah. How should we handle that?”
[We must create something that can replace Sarah Runcandel… Gasp, it shouldn’t be too difficult. He is pure by nature and likely wounded at the moment.]
“Is there no possibility that he has already entered into a contract with Sir Jin? I saw them fighting before we returned. Sir Jin might have eliminated him.”
[If a contract has already been made, we will once again be at Jin’s mercy. Urgh! I can still feel the energy of life, so he hasn't been eliminated, hack hack. Besides, Jin Runcandel has many questions for him. Even if he was pushed back in battle, Vail is not so weak that he couldn't have escaped.]
Zephyrin turned pale at the mention of being at Jin’s mercy again.
“…I will head to Tikan immediately to assess the situation.”
[If Vail is not in Tikan, deploy the search teams. If he is with Jin, bring him back with the utmost hospitality.]
* * *
Unfortunately, what Zephyrin saw upon arriving in Tikan was Vail, who had already completed a contract and placed a Restriction upon himself.
Unlike when he first awakened, Vail now looked like an ordinary human. The glowing halo above his head and the two massive white wings had vanished, and his cross-shaped pupils were no different from a normal person’s. Only his golden hair emitted a faint, divine light, signaling that he was no ordinary being.
“Vail, go grab those snacks over there and eat them with me.”
“……Understood.”
Sandra was treating the god-like being as if he were a cute younger brother.
With a grim expression, Vail brought the snacks from the table. Ever since being forced to accept the reality that Sandra was not Sarah, Vail had wanted to tear her apart and kill her instantly, but he had no way to do so.
The contract and the Restriction were absolute. Currently, Vail was a slave completely subordinate to Sandra.
“You have to feed me one every five seconds. Got it? You eat some too.”
“Understood.”
“That’s too stiff. Can’t you sound a little friendlier?”
“I’ll try.”
“Mmm, good.”
The way Sandra treated Vail was a sight that even Jin and his companions in Tikan were not yet accustomed to. Naturally, the Kinzelo executives who had come to escort him were nothing short of horrified.
“…Sir Jin, what on earth is this situation?”
“A headache-inducing one. Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“Do you have any idea how noble a being he is? That crazy bio-golem…”
Sandra hummed as she chewed the snack Vail fed her. She was intentionally acting obnoxious after noticing Zephyrin bow to Vail the moment she saw him.
Zephyrin let out a deep sigh and bowed to Vail once more.
“Lord Vail, I am Zephyrin, a Demon Grand Duke. As I mentioned earlier, my Master has something to tell you and has asked me to escort you…”
“Vail, get rid of that Demon Dragon. She’s annoying me.”
“Do you mean for me to kill her?”
“Of course.”
Sssssss—!
As soon as the command was given, Vail began to transform into his original form. Jin quickly stepped in to stop Sandra.
“Sandra.”
“Tch. Stop, Vail.”
“Understood.”
“Friendliness!”
“I understand…”
“Dammit! Lord Vail, why did you enter into a contract with a bio-golem like this?” Zephyrin burst out.
“Hey, Demon Dragon. Is that attitude appropriate right now?” Sandra shot back. “You’re polite to Vail but treat me like a servant? Do you want me to tell Vail never to cooperate with you guys? Show some respect! I said respect!”
Eventually, Zephyrin pulled Jin outside.
“Sir Jin, that bio-golem seems to listen to you. I can no longer endure such insults. As temporary allies, I am making a formal request. Please arrange for us to host Lord Vail.”
“Sandra isn’t my subordinate, Zephyrin. And how do I know what kind of nonsense you’ll pull?”
“Have you forgotten that my Master helped you save the Hister family not long ago? This shouldn’t be such a difficult request. If you’re worried we’ll plot something, you are welcome to accompany us, Sir Jin.”
While Vail being Sandra’s subordinate was absurd, it was interesting to see Kinzelo suddenly show up and become so obsessed with him.
Jin had a feeling he could use Kinzelo to ensure the safety of Hedo and Sandra.
“Zephyrin, honestly, I thought you’d come demanding compensation for damages or asking me to share information about Vail. Why are you being so deferential? Answer me honestly.”
“……Fine. We already knew about Lord Vail’s contract and Restriction. That’s why we tried to contract him first without your knowledge, but the bio-golem beat us to it.”
“Ah, so you didn’t account for the possibility of Vail contracting with Sandra instead of me.”
“That’s right. Lord Vail is an incredibly important being to us, as he surely is to you.”
“Is it because of the entity Orgal called the Parent of Life?”
Jin thought that was the only reason Kinzelo would be this obsessed. From what he had learned during their first meeting, Kinzelo’s goal seemed deeply related to the Parent of Life.
‘It seems that’s also why they leaked information about the Zipple Holy Land to me.’
—I have no intention of lying even without a Contractor of Truth, Jin Runcandel. The reason the world is in this state is because the Parent of Life has perished.
Perhaps the ‘purification’ Kinzelo spoke of included the process of resurrecting the Parent of Life.
‘Kinzelo wants to resurrect the Parent of Life, and the Prophet wants to bring about the second coming of Heluram…’
In a sense, their goals seemed to be at opposite poles: those who would purify the world versus those who would plunge it into chaos.
Of course, in Jin’s eyes, they all just looked like lunatics constantly tormenting a perfectly fine world—just like Zipple, who tried to manipulate history to make the world move according to their will. Kinzelo used pleasant words like ‘purification,’ but in the end, they resorted to terrorism, murder, and various other atrocities. The Prophet and Zipple went without saying.
And in the midst of it all, Rosa was trying to bring the world to complete ruin. Just thinking about it gave Jin a headache.
“That’s right. We want to resurrect the Parent of Life, and Lord Vail is a crucial clue.”
“You’re being quite open about it.”
“We are allies, even if only temporary. Lord Vail is also related to my Master’s recovery. Don’t you also need my Master to be as recovered as possible before the final battle with Rosa Runcandel?”
It was a valid point. That was why Jin had been concerned about Orgal’s recovery during their first meeting. He had to meet Orgal anyway to inform him that Rosa’s power seemed to be growing faster than anticipated.
“Orgal himself already said that even without Vail, there are ways to accelerate his recovery in a worst-case scenario.”
“Does that mean you won’t cooperate?”
“No, I’ll cooperate. But I want to set one condition.”
“Ha, those damn conditions of yours. What is it?”
“Protection for Sandra and the Tower Keeper. You probably noticed at Temar’s tomb, but they’ll be treated as traitors even if they return to Zipple now.”
“Can’t you just not send them back? Zipple will be extremely displeased, but whether they like it or not, they can’t afford to be openly hostile toward you with the battle against Rosa looming. Besides, the betrayal is their own fault for failing to manage their people.”
“I don’t intend to send them back. They’re important combat assets, so even as traitors, they’ll be fine until the final battle. Still, I’m requesting your protection just in case. The more allies, the better.”
Zephyrin agreed to Jin’s demand surprisingly easily.
“As long as Lord Vail is here, we have no choice but to protect the bio-golem anyway. Besides, the idea of ‘protecting’ the Tower Keeper is almost laughable. For you, that’s a remarkably reasonable condition. I accept.”