C584
Tower of Stories.
"There was a laboratory in the middle of the Empire..."
Crunch, Octavia gritted her teeth.
She had her entire body wrapped in mana bandages, as if she hadn't fully recovered from the aftermath of the war yet, and several maintenance devices were connected to her back.
The visible black spots through the bandages were thick.
In addition to the chaos invasion, the Demon God Orb had subjected her to super-regeneration, so for now, she had to use a maintenance device every day.
"The Imperial Family, those wicked bastards' guts are bigger than I thought. Isn't the Imperial Capital a place where our Magicians come and go every day?"
Kadun, beside her, also calmed his anger.
Hedo lit a cigarette with a calm face.He was only keeping his composure because he really didn't think anything of it, but to Octavia and Kadun, it didn't seem so.
He gave the illusion of considering the situation with coldness and superhuman patience.
"It's embarrassing, but it's fortunate that the Imperial Family still has a trump card. So calm down, Kadun-nim. The same goes for you, Specter Commander."
At Hedo's words, Kadun and Octavia cleared their throats in embarrassment.
"...Hedo-nim is right. I've shown a shameful side."
"Yes... those bastards are cornered, so they won't hesitate to approach us again."
The power structure of the world changed after the war of the Sword Emperor Castle.
Now, it has come to the era where it is impossible to say for sure that Zipple is the only Clan at the top.
Of course, they didn't completely lose their position as the number one clan, but the major powers of the world don't know the exact situation of their respective damages.
They can only assume it's beyond their imagination.
Therefore, the two great clans had to watch each other's backs and strengthen their forces as soon as possible, at any cost.
Even in Runcandel, Cyron is still alive and kicking.
It was a foreseeable fact that he had entered the Kingdom of the 5 Black Sea Kings, but Zipple had to assume the possibility of him returning to the Continent at any time, and the existence of the Prophet was also a cause for concern.
In that sense, Zipple had no choice but to covet the Demon Men technology of the imperial family.
In any case, the imperial family couldn't conspire with Runcandel.
It was because Jin was there, and even though Rosa ignored him and asked for an alliance first, it was an unattractive offer for the imperial family because Runcandel wouldn't have any expert magic engineers.
Above all, the imperial family has maintained a closer relationship with Zipple than with Runcandel.
Although it seemed they had slapped each other on the back once in the war of the Sword Emperor Castle, they were now in a position where they needed each other.
"You're right. The tail cut of the Imperial Family failed because of the Twelfth Flagbearer of Runcandel, so they have no choice but to rely on us. Any negotiation can be carried out on favorable terms. It's not something to be angry about, but rather something to be glad about."
Zipple didn't exactly know the power of the Demon Men.
It was highly likely that the information spread by Jin's press, claiming that the Demon Men had super-regenerative abilities and a power superior to that of a 9-star Knight, was an exaggeration.
Still, they thought there must be a reason why the imperial family dared to deceive them.
As for combat power, they can simply look at the samples during negotiations.
"It's not too late to punish them after they lose their abilities and the clan recovers."
"But one strange thing is, how did demons know the Twelfth Flagbearer of Runcandel the location of the laboratory? It's impossible for our clan to have less intelligence than him."
Octavia nodded at Hedo's words.
"I think it's because the survivor of Histor is with the Twelfth Flagbearer. From the moment the Twelfth Flagbearer destroyed the patriarch's grand magic in the war, it has been confirmed that he and the record magician are together."
The Second Version Of The Demon Empress, in the war of the Sword Emperor Castle, Jin easily dissipated that magic as if he already knew it.
Octavia's gaze rested on another maintenance device behind her.
There was Beradin Zipple sealed there trying to escape.
He hasn't regained consciousness even once since the beginning of the war of the Sword Emperor Castle.
Even Octavia and Beradin weren't the only ones helped by the maintenance device.
Kelliark is also within one of the maintenance devices on the top floor of the Tower of Stories.
In other words, Zipple was facing its worst moment in a thousand years.
"It was when Kelliark finally declared that she would personally find the survivors of Histor, but Misha the Black Dragon and the survivor of Histor were also very lucky."
"First of all, we'll have to wait for the Imperial Family to contact us. And when that kid wakes up... I'll have to ask him to meet with the Twelfth Flagbearer of Runcandel."
"Octavia, no matter how close the Twelfth Flagbearer of Runcandel is to Beradin. Do you think he's going to spit out information about Histor?"
"There's nothing wrong with trying, Kadun-nim. Anyway, the Twelfth Flagbearer will also be curious about Beradin's condition, so he'll never avoid the meeting."
As the conversation progressed like this, Hedo was a little perplexed.
It was because before attending this meeting, he received a request from Sandra Zipple.
"Surely Auntie will make Beradin meet with Jin when he wakes up. Hedo tells them, then I will go with him."
"No, Miss."
"Why?"
"Miss, you are actually committing an act of treason by meeting with the Twelfth Flagbearer. So far, the patriarch has turned a blind eye, but if you continue..."
"Oh! I also have an idea. Have I heard that that Record Magician is with him? Then Auntie wouldn't be able to send Radin with a manipulated mind, so she will have some anxiety. Because she won't know what Radin will say! I'll take on that surveillance role."
"From my point of view, I think your mouth is more of a problem, Miss."
"Anyway, tell her that. End of story."
Sigh...
Hedo let out a deep sigh along with the smoke from his cigarette.
Inevitably, he finally rhymed.
"Specter Commander, how about we send Young Miss Sandra with the young patriarch?"
If anyone else had said it, Octavia would have considered it unworthy of hearing.
"Why do you think so? Hedo-nim."
"I believe we should keep an eye on the young patriarch. What memories he regained or lost due to this attempted mind control. We can't figure it out quickly, and there is a possibility that the survivor of Histor will check if the young patriarch's mind was manipulated."
"That makes sense. But for that kind of role, Sandra is another time bomb, so a more reliable person would be better for this role..."
"If you send the right person, it will be difficult to avoid the suspicions of the Twelfth Flagbearer. Naturally, the scope of the conversation between them will also be narrowed."
Hedo felt like something was missing in what he was saying, but he thought it was better to deal with Sandra's uproar later.
But surprisingly, Octavia and Kadun readily accepted his opinion.
"I prefer to do as you say. I've heard there's a strange atmosphere between the Twelfth Flagbearer of Runcandel and Sandra. That might help again. And even if she wasn't the Record Magician, the Twelfth Flagbearer had an Az-Mil Contractor. Recognizing mind manipulation is not a difficult job."
The strange atmosphere was Sandra's unilateral love attack, and the Twelfth Flagbearer would never lose his cool over something like that, but Hedo remained silent.
"Alright, Hedo-nim. As soon as Beradin wakes up, tell Sandra to get ready."
Hedo would have felt more comfortable if they had rejected him. Hedo simply nodded with an uncomfortable smile.
-------------------------
Of course, Talaris, she, had not expected at all that her seventy-seventh lover from thirty years ago would still be living in a wooden cabin on the outskirts of Palin Kingdom.
Giving them to Mort was like expecting her daughter and son-in-law to have a date.
A young man and woman, a remote country, an old log cabin that may still be standing. Few conditions are better for love to happen.
Boong!
The landscape that appeared when the pure white dimensional portal opened was very romantic, as Talaris had hoped.
In the dense forest without sunlight, the curved trees formed a semi-spherical space, and in the center, an old log cabin stood quaintly.
"It looks remote. To think that the log cabin Talaris-nim talked about really exists."
"Huh, Mort. My mother's 'affairs' are your fault too. If my mother didn't have the ability to move through dimensions, her lover count would have been halved."
[Booh, boong...]
"Anyway, I can't see anything particularly damaged here, so we can take a look and return soon."
"Yes, Lady Siris."
Contrary to Talaris's expectations, the two seemed like people who came to do "work," looking straight ahead.
"If I had known it would be so easy to get clues about Qwaul Ganesto, I would have asked Valeria to come with me here."
If there were Record Magic, she would have been able to easily look at the records Qwaul left here without having to search every nook and cranny of this uninhabited place.
If he didn't find more information, Jin thought it would be a good idea to come back with Valeria later.
However, as soon as the two entered the log cabin, they could find traces of people living there.
There was a strong smell of cigarette smoke in addition to a slight smell of food, as if they had eaten a few hours ago.
There were so many cigarette butts and empty bottles on the floor that there was no room to step.
"...Are people living here? It's definitely not the person called Qwaul Ganesto."
"It should be good if it were Qwaul Ganesto, but it would be a bit awkward because it was so easy to find him."
"Don't think so, maybe it's someone who still works as an engineer for Zipple, so there's no way they're living in a place like this without an escort."
"But let's see who it is."
"Mort, look around you. Hide and move..."
Siris, who was talking to Mort through the window, suddenly stopped speaking.
It was because she could see a person walking from behind Mort, there.
He had a scruffy beard, disheveled hair, and had the typical look of a bandit, but upon seeing him, Siris abandoned any expectation that he was Qwaul.
It was because her mother's taste was nowhere to be seen in his appearance.
But the next moment, he shouted at the two and pulled something from his arms.
'...A small mana cannon?'
Kikik, Kiririk-!
The mana cannon he pulled out looked small at first, but as he moved the parts, it quickly transformed into a medium-sized or larger one.
"Who are you?"
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KO-FI
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