On March 4, 1803, about 10 days had passed since the Battle of the Garden of Swords, also known as the Great Battle.
The whole world was trembling with an unprecedented fear unlike anything seen before.
Just three years had passed since the official truce agreement of five years, and without any warning, the great forces launched a surprise attack on Huphester overnight, which in itself was a shocking event.
And the fact that the real winner of the battle was Runcandel, and that Runcandel colluded with Chaos to contaminate the entire Huphester, plunged the world even deeper into terror.
(Rosa Runcandel revealed that Chiron Runcandel, patriarch of Runcandel, was died in Black Sea. The being who killed the demigod was the King of the Black Sea, implying that there are still other beings like Glyek of the Sword Emperor Castle war...)
(Black Panther, as the new patriarch of Runcandel, announces that she would continue to follow the will of the former patriarch and subjugate the kings of the Black Sea. However, she emphasized that unifying the entire world was the top priority.)
(Jin Runcandel forms an alliance with Zipfel and Kinzelo and committed treason. Rosa Runcandel revokes his flagbearer status and defines him as an enemy of the clan...)
(The world was in turmoil. Was the thousand-year war coming to an end?)
Every day, special reports were pouring in. Newsletters from Huphester were particularly active. They were all praising Rosa and pushing Jin as a traitor, but Jin rather felt relieved by such black propaganda and incitement.
“It seems that Rosa has no intention of immediately eliminating all humans in the world. To incite means to be conscious of public opinion.”
At Jin's words, his comrades nodded in agreement.
“As you said, Rosa doesn't seem to have any intention of turning humans around the world into enemies. Well, what's the point of being the sole conqueror of the world if you have nothing to rule.”
“She may be inciting people not for the purpose of ruling, but to effectively obtain sacrifices, Miss Cuicantelle. On that day, perhaps the entire population of Kalon was used as a sacrifice to operate that mighty black ship and the power of chaos. That woman is someone who believes that it doesn't matter if everyone, except for Runcandel, dies."
“The ruler of the perishing world…… then, is she gathering human scarifies to prepare for the next fight between us, Zipfel and Kinzelo?”
“That might be the reason…….”
Jin's gaze fell on the newspaper, which contained the news that ‘Rosa will inherit the will of Chiron’.
“The remaining kings of the Black Sea. It's probably true that Rosa said she would subjugate them. After all, they are the most threatening existence to Runcandel right now."
5 kings of the Black Sea.
Jin doesn't know the exact number, but he's been aware of the fact that they're seeking revenge since the battle against Glyek. With the expectation that this is reason why Chiron is obsessed with the Black Sea.
“Couldn’t the kings of the Black Sea be allied with the Prophet?”
“That's a possibility. We can only find out the truth about whether the prophet is really the witch and what the relationship between the first chaos and the kings of the Black Sea is when we investigate further.”
The moment Jin said that, Jet and Gilly entered the conference room.
"My lord, Zipfel and Kinzelo's ships have entered our territory."
At 3:00 PM, the both major forces came to Tikan for a meeting.
“We have to hope that they have useful information. Did they keep their promise?"
“Yes, my lord. Both sides only brought one first-class battleship each. They didn't make any unreasonable demands, and they are landing by sea and only a small number of them are entering the country. Zipfel brought a total of four people and Kinzelo brought a total of three people. They all seem nervous, and it seems that they came to our base with only that small number without any escorts."
Just three years ago, even core figures of the two major forces would not have felt threatened in their personal safety.
But now they had to move a lot of forces to attack Tikan. The reason is because Tikan's overall power has risen, but above all, it was because of Jin.
“They must be in a hurry, but we are no different."
Jin and his entourage left the mansion and headed towards the first floor of Tikan, where they soon faced the leaders of each faction.
As soon as Jin saw them, he frowned as if he was disappointed.
“Why have you come? I'm sure it was communicated that only the leaders should meet."
The four people on the Zipfel side took off their robes.
Octavia, Hedo, Sandra, and a person whom Jin saw first time in his life.
'Ronil Zipfel...….’
The eldest son of Kelliark.
In his previous life, he was known as a talented person among the Zipfel 2nd generation, just after Veradin, and the powerful people used to classify him as a person who did not see much light because he was overshadowed by Veradin and Luna.
'Does it mean that he was the hidden power of Zipfel like Octavia?'
Strictly speaking, Ronil was more like an 'unknown power' rather than a hidden power.
Jin did not know this in his previous, but the leaders of each clan at the time considered Ronil as a key figure.
While being deliberately sarcastic, Jin was conscious of the strangely quiet Sandra for a moment. Unlike her usual self, Sandra was looking at Jin with emotionless eyes.
‘Did she learn to distinguish between work and personal relationships? Surely, this is not the result of any experiments conducted by Zipfel.’
Ronil lightly bowed his head.
“My father is seriously ill, so I came as a substitute for the 1st Magic Tower. Runcandel’s 12th flagbearer, please forgive us."
Although he stepped forward, Ronil was not higher in hierarchy than Octavia. Jin recognized that he was handling the awkward situation in place of Octavia.
“Sir Jin, our leader came in person! Haha. I hope you can praise us!"
Margeilla spoke as she pushed her wheelchair. Just as she said, Orgal, Bishkel, and Margiella came to Kinzelo.
Jin didn't answer and met Orgal's eyes.
“You have a pretty triumphant face, leader. Like someone who owes me a debt.”
“Did it look like that? Helping you in the garden of the swords that day was a choice for everyone. I don't intend to receive any special compensation."
"Well, that's a relief."
“But, Jin Runcandel. You have some delicate sides. Did you call me leader just because Zipfel might not know my identity?"
"No way. I don't think the people responsible for manipulating your history don't know the name Orgal.”
-If it's that kind of being, maybe even Zipfel themselves doesn't know that they manipulated Orgal's history.
-If so, that's a relief. Even if Zipfel knew, there is a possibility that the information did not go down to Myuron.
A conversation Jin had with his comrades right after he first learned about the leader's identity.
Jin has been curious ever since then. Whether Zipfel is aware of the history manipulation of Orgal, and if so, what is the reason for manipulating his history.
From Jin's point of view, it was a strange scene. Those who manipulate history and whom history was manipulated are in one place.
“Besides, weren’t Kinzelo and Zipfel quite close when I was a reserve flagbearer?”
“That was until you killed Andrei Zipfel and destroyed the initial Demon’s God’s orb. But Jin, only recently learned my name. It was a little later than when you found out.”
"It means that world's No.1 Zipfel has been dealing with an unknown person for so long."
“As long as we can give each other what we need, that’s enough. By the way, are we going to use this opportunity to talk about something unrelated to the purpose of this meeting?"
Of course, the purpose of the talks is a temporary alliance. To face Rosa's Runcandel.
“Well, is it really an unrelated topic?"
Jin smiled.
“Orgal, perhaps you will gain more power when you are freed from the manipulation of history. If so, I think it's time for Zipfel to undo your history manipulation in order to deal with the public enemy, Rosa.”
Jin honestly didn't think so. It was just a thrown word to see how it would land.
Octavia, who had been suppressing her emotions throughout, narrowed her eyes at those words.
“12th flagbearer, that’s too much speculation. We did not manipulated his history.”
"Is that so?"
"After calling for a meeting, don't you think you're being too impolite?"
“I don't think this is something I'd say to those who broke the ceasefire as soon as I finished my training and returned to my family. I understand the pain of losing a lot of power rather than achieving what you had expected this time, captain of spectre."
“Ha, how dare you….”
Octavia was already annoyed by Jin's unilateral notification from the beginning. From her perspective, the Zipfel wasn't a clan that the Tikan could order around, no matter how much Zipfel might have been suffered the damage.
Furthermore, to receive such disrespect was outrageous. Even Hedo, who usually thought poorly of Octavia’s and Kadun’s personalities (especially when dealing with Jin), understood her reaction this time.
However, regardless of understanding, he had to intervene. So, just as Hedo and Ronil were about to step out, Orgal spoke first.
“A rather amusing thought to restore my power and then use me to deal with Rosa... But, Jin. Aren't you underestimating me too much?"
Orgal looked at Zipfel. His face was blurry and they couldn't see it well, but it seemed like he was smiling.
“The current Zipfel has never manipulated my history. That's impossible. The ones who bound me were the past Zipfel, so they have no authority over the magic to release it. So it would be best to put that aside.”
"They don't have the authority?"
"Yes. Even the current Zipfel would rather let me go. Unlike Rosa Runcandel, who is no different from the King of the Black Sea, I am at least of the type with whom conversations are possible."
It was new information. Octavia was gritting her teeth as if it were shameful. Jin made eye contact with Ronil.
“Is it true?”
It seemed to be true. But it was impossible to completely exclude the possibility that it was false.
Whether Zipfel and Kinzelo had previously met and agreed that the method was not feasible, or whether Zipfel had hidden the fact that it was possible.
“…… yes, 12th flagbearer. So I hope you don't provoke the Spectre Captain any further. After all, isn't our meeting today to discuss countermeasures as the Spectre Captain suggested?"
Instead, Jin had a way to check whether what they said was true or not.
“Well, I think I might have been a little excessive. I'm sorry for making you come all this way. Let's go inside and have a meal while we talk."
“Thank you, 12th flagbearer.”
“But there is one thing I want to tell you first. In the hope that we all talk openly without any lies...….”
Jin slowly looked back at the people.
“Today's meeting will be accompanied by Az Mil's contractor. The contractor will personally censor all conversations, and everything will be recorded. If you do not agree to this, there will be no meeting."
On March 4, 1803, about 10 days had passed since the Battle of the Garden of Swords, also known as the Great Battle.
The whole world was trembling with an unprecedented fear unlike anything seen before.
Just three years had passed since the official truce agreement of five years, and without any warning, the great forces launched a surprise attack on Huphester overnight, which in itself was a shocking event.
And the fact that the real winner of the battle was Runcandel, and that Runcandel colluded with Chaos to contaminate the entire Huphester, plunged the world even deeper into terror.
(Rosa Runcandel revealed that Chiron Runcandel, patriarch of Runcandel, was died in Black Sea. The being who killed the demigod was the King of the Black Sea, implying that there are still other beings like Glyek of the Sword Emperor Castle war...)
(Black Panther, as the new patriarch of Runcandel, announces that she would continue to follow the will of the former patriarch and subjugate the kings of the Black Sea. However, she emphasized that unifying the entire world was the top priority.)
(Jin Runcandel forms an alliance with Zipfel and Kinzelo and committed treason. Rosa Runcandel revokes his flagbearer status and defines him as an enemy of the clan...)
(The world was in turmoil. Was the thousand-year war coming to an end?)
Every day, special reports were pouring in. Newsletters from Huphester were particularly active. They were all praising Rosa and pushing Jin as a traitor, but Jin rather felt relieved by such black propaganda and incitement.
“It seems that Rosa has no intention of immediately eliminating all humans in the world. To incite means to be conscious of public opinion.”
At Jin's words, his comrades nodded in agreement.
“As you said, Rosa doesn't seem to have any intention of turning humans around the world into enemies. Well, what's the point of being the sole conqueror of the world if you have nothing to rule.”
“She may be inciting people not for the purpose of ruling, but to effectively obtain sacrifices, Miss Cuicantelle. On that day, perhaps the entire population of Kalon was used as a sacrifice to operate that mighty black ship and the power of chaos. That woman is someone who believes that it doesn't matter if everyone, except for Runcandel, dies."
“The ruler of the perishing world…… then, is she gathering human scarifies to prepare for the next fight between us, Zipfel and Kinzelo?”
“That might be the reason…….”
Jin's gaze fell on the newspaper, which contained the news that ‘Rosa will inherit the will of Chiron’.
“The remaining kings of the Black Sea. It's probably true that Rosa said she would subjugate them. After all, they are the most threatening existence to Runcandel right now."
5 kings of the Black Sea.
Jin doesn't know the exact number, but he's been aware of the fact that they're seeking revenge since the battle against Glyek. With the expectation that this is reason why Chiron is obsessed with the Black Sea.
“Couldn’t the kings of the Black Sea be allied with the Prophet?”
“That's a possibility. We can only find out the truth about whether the prophet is really the witch and what the relationship between the first chaos and the kings of the Black Sea is when we investigate further.”
The moment Jin said that, Jet and Gilly entered the conference room.
"My lord, Zipfel and Kinzelo's ships have entered our territory."
At 3:00 PM, the both major forces came to Tikan for a meeting.
“We have to hope that they have useful information. Did they keep their promise?"
“Yes, my lord. Both sides only brought one first-class battleship each. They didn't make any unreasonable demands, and they are landing by sea and only a small number of them are entering the country. Zipfel brought a total of four people and Kinzelo brought a total of three people. They all seem nervous, and it seems that they came to our base with only that small number without any escorts."
Just three years ago, even core figures of the two major forces would not have felt threatened in their personal safety.
But now they had to move a lot of forces to attack Tikan. The reason is because Tikan's overall power has risen, but above all, it was because of Jin.
“They must be in a hurry, but we are no different."
Jin and his entourage left the mansion and headed towards the first floor of Tikan, where they soon faced the leaders of each faction.
As soon as Jin saw them, he frowned as if he was disappointed.
“Why have you come? I'm sure it was communicated that only the leaders should meet."
The four people on the Zipfel side took off their robes.
Octavia, Hedo, Sandra, and a person whom Jin saw first time in his life.
'Ronil Zipfel...….’
The eldest son of Kelliark.
In his previous life, he was known as a talented person among the Zipfel 2nd generation, just after Veradin, and the powerful people used to classify him as a person who did not see much light because he was overshadowed by Veradin and Luna.
'Does it mean that he was the hidden power of Zipfel like Octavia?'
Strictly speaking, Ronil was more like an 'unknown power' rather than a hidden power.
Jin did not know this in his previous, but the leaders of each clan at the time considered Ronil as a key figure.
While being deliberately sarcastic, Jin was conscious of the strangely quiet Sandra for a moment. Unlike her usual self, Sandra was looking at Jin with emotionless eyes.
‘Did she learn to distinguish between work and personal relationships? Surely, this is not the result of any experiments conducted by Zipfel.’
Ronil lightly bowed his head.
“My father is seriously ill, so I came as a substitute for the 1st Magic Tower. Runcandel’s 12th flagbearer, please forgive us."
Although he stepped forward, Ronil was not higher in hierarchy than Octavia. Jin recognized that he was handling the awkward situation in place of Octavia.
“Sir Jin, our leader came in person! Haha. I hope you can praise us!"
Margeilla spoke as she pushed her wheelchair. Just as she said, Orgal, Bishkel, and Margiella came to Kinzelo.
Jin didn't answer and met Orgal's eyes.
“You have a pretty triumphant face, leader. Like someone who owes me a debt.”
“Did it look like that? Helping you in the garden of the swords that day was a choice for everyone. I don't intend to receive any special compensation."
"Well, that's a relief."
“But, Jin Runcandel. You have some delicate sides. Did you call me leader just because Zipfel might not know my identity?"
"No way. I don't think the people responsible for manipulating your history don't know the name Orgal.”
-If it's that kind of being, maybe even Zipfel themselves doesn't know that they manipulated Orgal's history.
-If so, that's a relief. Even if Zipfel knew, there is a possibility that the information did not go down to Myuron.
A conversation Jin had with his comrades right after he first learned about the leader's identity.
Jin has been curious ever since then. Whether Zipfel is aware of the history manipulation of Orgal, and if so, what is the reason for manipulating his history.
From Jin's point of view, it was a strange scene. Those who manipulate history and whom history was manipulated are in one place.
“Besides, weren’t Kinzelo and Zipfel quite close when I was a reserve flagbearer?”
“That was until you killed Andrei Zipfel and destroyed the initial Demon’s God’s orb. But Jin, only recently learned my name. It was a little later than when you found out.”
"It means that world's No.1 Zipfel has been dealing with an unknown person for so long."
“As long as we can give each other what we need, that’s enough. By the way, are we going to use this opportunity to talk about something unrelated to the purpose of this meeting?"
Of course, the purpose of the talks is a temporary alliance. To face Rosa's Runcandel.
“Well, is it really an unrelated topic?"
Jin smiled.
“Orgal, perhaps you will gain more power when you are freed from the manipulation of history. If so, I think it's time for Zipfel to undo your history manipulation in order to deal with the public enemy, Rosa.”
Jin honestly didn't think so. It was just a thrown word to see how it would land.
Octavia, who had been suppressing her emotions throughout, narrowed her eyes at those words.
“12th flagbearer, that’s too much speculation. We did not manipulated his history.”
"Is that so?"
"After calling for a meeting, don't you think you're being too impolite?"
“I don't think this is something I'd say to those who broke the ceasefire as soon as I finished my training and returned to my family. I understand the pain of losing a lot of power rather than achieving what you had expected this time, captain of spectre."
“Ha, how dare you….”
Octavia was already annoyed by Jin's unilateral notification from the beginning. From her perspective, the Zipfel wasn't a clan that the Tikan could order around, no matter how much Zipfel might have been suffered the damage.
Furthermore, to receive such disrespect was outrageous. Even Hedo, who usually thought poorly of Octavia’s and Kadun’s personalities (especially when dealing with Jin), understood her reaction this time.
However, regardless of understanding, he had to intervene. So, just as Hedo and Ronil were about to step out, Orgal spoke first.
“A rather amusing thought to restore my power and then use me to deal with Rosa... But, Jin. Aren't you underestimating me too much?"
Orgal looked at Zipfel. His face was blurry and they couldn't see it well, but it seemed like he was smiling.
“The current Zipfel has never manipulated my history. That's impossible. The ones who bound me were the past Zipfel, so they have no authority over the magic to release it. So it would be best to put that aside.”
"They don't have the authority?"
"Yes. Even the current Zipfel would rather let me go. Unlike Rosa Runcandel, who is no different from the King of the Black Sea, I am at least of the type with whom conversations are possible."
It was new information. Octavia was gritting her teeth as if it were shameful. Jin made eye contact with Ronil.
“Is it true?”
It seemed to be true. But it was impossible to completely exclude the possibility that it was false.
Whether Zipfel and Kinzelo had previously met and agreed that the method was not feasible, or whether Zipfel had hidden the fact that it was possible.
“…… yes, 12th flagbearer. So I hope you don't provoke the Spectre Captain any further. After all, isn't our meeting today to discuss countermeasures as the Spectre Captain suggested?"
Instead, Jin had a way to check whether what they said was true or not.
“Well, I think I might have been a little excessive. I'm sorry for making you come all this way. Let's go inside and have a meal while we talk."
“Thank you, 12th flagbearer.”
“But there is one thing I want to tell you first. In the hope that we all talk openly without any lies...….”
Jin slowly looked back at the people.
“Today's meeting will be accompanied by Az Mil's contractor. The contractor will personally censor all conversations, and everything will be recorded. If you do not agree to this, there will be no meeting."
