Chapter 755: Those Who Remain (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 755: Those Who Remain (5)
Jin suppressed a sigh as he briefly contemplated the life of the man named Padler.
A thousand years ago, the Blue Lightning King had protected Runcandel as one of the Ten Great Knights. Now, he was confined to the family’s underground prison, reduced to a monster.
“What is his condition?”
“...It is not good.”
“I’ll go see him immediately. Flagbearers, follow me. The rest of you are dismissed; return to your duties.”
The underground prison was located in the lowlands, on the opposite side of the grounds from the Mausoleum. As Jin passed the Mausoleum, he paused before it for a moment.
Just like the Garden of Swords, the Mausoleum was untouched, looking exactly as it always had. Though many ancestors had been exiled due to the Evil God, the Mausoleum remained the foundation of the clan.
“My sister, my brothers.”
When Jin addressed them with such familiar titles, the expressions on his siblings’ faces softened considerably.
“Yes, youngest?”
“Let us strive to be like our ancestors, who fought to the very end.”
Padler was held on the lowest floor, in the same cell where the fallen Joshua had once been imprisoned.
Jin’s brow furrowed the moment he saw him.
He had been warned that Padler’s condition was poor, but this was far worse than he had expected. Soul energy billowed like dark smoke from five or six fist-sized holes in his body.
These were the marks left from a fierce battle with Vail. The Tona brothers had reported that during the final battle, Padler and Vail had broken away from the main battlefield to settle their score in private.
The result was Vail’s complete victory. Although Padler had fought desperately, Vail had never lost to him, even back when they were in their prime.
Yet, there was only one reason Vail had not utterly destroyed him.
The chains.
Jin’s gaze fell upon the chains binding the heart inside Padler’s hollow chest. Vail had noticed them during the fight and chosen to keep Padler alive—though it was hard to call this state ‘living.’
“Sir Padler.”
The chains binding his heart were already half-shattered. Looking down at him, Jin felt a surge of complex emotions.
In the end, Padler was nothing more than a fallen ancestor.
However, his fall had not been caused by the authority of the Evil God alone. Long before his heart had been bound by soul energy, he had already harbored a deep-seated hatred for Temar.
[So, you have come.]
“You’re forcing yourself to delay your own extinction.”
[Indeed. Recovery is impossible. I cannot be resuscitated.]
“Do you have some lingering regret?”
[Nothing of the sort. I simply had something to say to you before I vanish from this world.]
“What is it you wish to say?”
[An old story...]
A faint smile played on Padler’s lips.
He wasn't the type to offer pathetic excuses for survival. In his eyes, Jin saw the peculiar emptiness of one who had already let go of life.
“‘What I desire is not the revival of Runcandel, but its corruption and ruin’… That is what you told me when we first met. I hope you have changed your mind.”
—I do not know everything that happened a thousand years ago, Sir Padler. And when I brought up the names of Sir Silderay and Lady Sarah, I didn't mean to say you should have been like them… I only wanted to say that you and they seemed to cherish each other deeply. That was likely before the fall of the Idal Kingdom in your memories.
—[The feelings we once shared cannot replace all that I have lost.]
This was the conversation they had shared during the first total offensive.
At that time, Padler had claimed he remembered nothing of the past other than Temar destroying Idal, and that he had no desire to remember anything else.
[The facts do not change. The fact that Temar destroyed my kingdom without leaving a trace… will never change.]
Black tears flowed from Padler’s eyes. He was remembering the day Temar struck the Idal Kingdom.
[However, as the Evil God was dying, one more memory surfaced. A truth I had forgotten.]
“A truth?”
[The reason Temar went mad. There was someone who turned him—the hope of the clan and this world—into a monster driven by madness. There was a traitor within the clan.]
Jin’s eyes widened.
“...Who was it?”
[Lokia. Lokia Ganesto.]
Padler spat the name out as if it were filth.
[He was the traitor… He joined hands with the Witch and turned Temar into a monster. Everything was Lokia’s scheme. Solderet leaving Temar for a time, the gods betraying us, Zipple rising to power—all of it.]
—Patriarch—no, Brother! This won't do. I’m going to go find that Witch said to be in the Black Sea. Lokia said that if it’s the Witch, she might have a way. A way to stop Zipple’s manipulation of history…
Jin recalled the conversation between Sarah and Temar he had heard in the third tomb.
At the time, Temar had lied to Sarah, claiming he could persuade the gods, while Sarah had intended to meet Lokia in secret despite Temar’s objections.
“Please, tell me more.”
[Before he killed me, Lokia said his goal was the resurrection of the Sun God. That is why he killed all our comrades but left Vail alive. He claimed he would completely erase the current world and restore it to its proper state. He called it the world’s original form, and Lokia used everyone for that purpose. The clan, the Witch, and even Zipple.]
“There are those saying similar things even now.”
[That must be the Beast Demon King Orgal. But even he was likely just a pawn. It was Lokia who urged for the Beast Demon King to be erased from history. Even the birth of the Evil God this time—it is highly probable that Lokia was involved.]
“How can you be so certain?”
[Because the Evil God is one who carries the blood of Ganesto. I only realized this after the chains on my heart were loosened. It seems the Evil God himself only recently learned he was of the Ganesto bloodline. However, he likely didn't realize Lokia was pulling the strings.]
The reason Padler knew this was because he had spent a long time peering into the Evil God’s inner world.
[If not for Lokia, if only he hadn't betrayed us! Temar would never have gone mad, my kingdom would never have vanished, and my comrades—Sarah—would never have died like that…!]
Urgh!
Padler trembled, coughing up soul energy. The breath he had been forcibly holding until Jin’s arrival was finally flickering out.
“Sir Padler!”
[This is all I remember… I resented Temar so much, yet in the end, I fell for the same tricks and became a monster that threatened the clan… and killed so many people.]
Padler grabbed Jin’s shoulder.
[Jin Runcandel. I endured to pass on this truth because I believe that you, if anyone, might be able to break this cursed cycle…! Lokia Ganesto, that devil is surely still alive.]
The holes in Padler’s body were gradually widening. Extinction was closing in.
[He received eternal life from the Witch. I saw with my own eyes Lokia being resurrected multiple times. Neither the Patriarch’s sword nor Elona’s magic could kill him! You must find Lokia. You must not fall into his trap!]
Padler’s eyes, meeting Jin’s, were fading into the darkness.
Now… I too can go to Sarah, to the Patriarch, and to my comrades…
With those final words, Padler vanished completely.
For a long time, Jin and his siblings stared at the empty space where Padler had been.
“So all of this… everything that has happened, stems from a betrayal a thousand years ago?”
“If the Evil God was used by that traitor, then, youngest… couldn't Dr. Quaul also be being used by Lokia?”
“Quaul also said he only recently found out he was of the Ganesto bloodline.”
Mary and the Tona brothers were the first to speak.
“I don't think Sir Padler would lie at this point, but some parts don't add up. If Lokia is the traitor, why was he perfectly erased from history until recently?”
“We can assume Lokia used Zipple’s history manipulation to protect himself. What’s stranger is the part where Lokia plotted against Orgal, who shares the same goal.”
“That’s true…”
“What matters is Lokia’s identity and whether he is alive. If he is alive and proven to be the traitor, then as Sir Padler said, we must find and execute him.”
Jin couldn't fully trust Padler’s words just yet. Not because he doubted the man’s intent, but because there was no guarantee his memories were perfect.
However, if Padler’s story was true, Lokia was the ultimate mastermind who had manipulated the world from the shadows for the past thousand years—and was still extending his reach even now.
“The clues are too scarce. We will look into this matter one step at a time. For now, let’s stabilize the political situation and prepare for the enemies right in front of us.”
As they stepped out of the prison cell, they saw Vail leaning against the wall. Jin had known for a while that he had been eavesdropping.
“This isn't a place you should enter without my permission, Vail.”
“I know, but I’m a former member of the Ten Great Knights. Can’t you cut me some slack?”
“That’s why I’m only giving you a warning.”
“...What that bastard said, it’s probably all true.”
“Did you know?”
“No. Padler was an annoying bastard, but his feelings for the clan and for Sarah were real. If what he said is true, then Sarah’s enemy is Lokia. I will find Lokia, along with Zipple, and make sure he dies a painful death.”
“Do you remember anything about Lokia?”
“He was a suspicious fellow. I never thought he’d be a traitor, but it’s true that Lokia frequently interacted with the Witch. I have no idea what he did after I was sealed. Ah, come to think of it… Lokia was the one who argued most strongly for sealing me instead of killing me.”
“Understood. If you remember anything specific, let me know immediately.”
“By the way, what are you going to do with what Padler left behind?”
“Left behind?”
“Silus. His sword.”
Padler’s sword was currently being kept in the warehouse.
“As his former comrade, give me your opinion. What should be done?”
“Placing it in the Mausoleum or planting it in the Garden right now wouldn't be right.”
“Indeed. Regardless of the circumstances, Sir Padler killed many of our people.”
“At the very end, he intentionally drew me away to settle things so he wouldn't kill anyone else. Still, I know asking for honors is pushing it.”
Vail had loathed Padler, but now that he had vanished after regaining his senses, he was overcome by a strange emotion.
They had always fought over Sarah, but there had been a time when they were comrades.
“...So, don't give that sword to anyone else. Keep it, and later, if Padler’s words are proven true—if his truth helps the clan regain its former dignity—then how about placing it in the Mausoleum? If not the Mausoleum, then at least the Garden. I'm asking this of you.”
Jin looked at Vail for a moment before replying.
“I will do that.”