C660
Pwooh!
Black blood tainted with chaos splattered across Jin's face.
Luntia, who relentlessly wielded her sword despite her body being in tatters, finally ceased moving.
[Ha.......]
Disconnected points that seemed severed like threads could be seen behind Luntia.
The connection points tried to converge back into Luntia, but were blocked by the shockwaves left by the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends.
Chaos particles, like black rain, fell between the cracks of the subspace.
Jin stabbed a sister who, in his view, had homogeneity within her.
Although the situation couldn't have been avoided, it still pained his heart as if something had broken.[I've... lost]
A metallic sound came from Luntia's tired throat.
Jin didn't twist the sword that pierced her chest.
If possible, Jin wanted to speak to his sister one last time.
Luntia, facing her death, if only she could shake off the madness even a little.
"Elder Sister Luntia."
[Hu.]
"Have you regained your senses?"
[Little brother...]
Jin's eyes widened.
Luntia's reason was returning.
Luntia slowly grasped the Bradamante Sword.
Her eyes, alternating between the sword and Jin, were no longer filled with the darkness of chaos.
Suddenly overwhelmed by emotions, Luntia closed her eyes tightly for a moment.
[I did something terrible to you...]
She began to push the blade out of her body with the few remaining strengths she had.
It wasn't an action of revenge.
Jin carefully helped her remove the sword from her body.
Every time he moved or exerted force, hardened flesh fell like stones.
As soon as the sword was out, Luntia breathed slowly.
Jin didn't know what to say to her.
[You had no choice but to stab me]
Jin had only seen a human regain reason even after being completely engulfed by Chaos once before.
It was when Ron Hairan became a Genesis Knight, but Luntia's reason for returning seemed different from his.
She wasn't a Genesis Knight like Ron.
[There couldn't have been a better option than this. If it weren't for you, I would have had to endure meaningless years dominated by this dark space and Chaos.]
"How... did it come to this?"
Luntia responded with a bitter smile.
[Because of the Family]
The Family.
The family she spoke of wouldn't be Rosa or the other siblings.
When Runcandel used the word "Family," as if referring to something very precious, it usually referred to someone other than blood relatives.
A nanny who played a more genuine paternal role than the parents, companions formed during the growth process, someone who gave their heart, or siblings who became intimate in very special cases.
So Jin immediately thought of a person's name.
"...nanny Lisham. Did Rosa and the Prophet take Lisham hostage?"
Lisham is Luntia Runcandel's nanny.
Before starting the battle, Jin asked Luntia if she had any weak points, because he had Lisham in mind from the beginning.
Luntia nodded.
[My nanny asked me for a favor]
"Did nanny Lisham ask you to accept Chaos...?"
Nannies in Runcandel have been so dedicated to the point of being cruel.
Personal life doesn't exist for nannies. They exist solely for the children entrusted to them and never do anything that could harm them under any circumstances.
Taimyun Marius, who deceived Luna, ended up becoming Joshua's dog, but her essence was, ultimately, a twisted love for Luna.
Not just Gilly, but not even Taimyun would have asked her child to accept chaos.
As far as Jin knew, Lisham wasn't that kind of person.
She is capable of paying any price, even death or something worse, for the sake of Luntia.
"Hasn't nanny Lisham already been brainwashed?"
[No, the nanny was fine. It's just that.......]
Luntia's eyes turned red.
[She had a daughter.]
"Nanny Lisham had a daughter?"
Runcandel's nannies can't have children.
Even the adopted children raised by Taimyun in the orphanage were only weapons that could be used and discarded at any time.
If they were Taimyun's biological children, Runcandel wouldn't have chosen Taimyun as a nanny.
However, Lisham has a biological child.
Even without hearing it, Jin seemed to know the unpleasant circumstances that would follow.
[When I was in the Castle of Storms, my nanny was away for about a year. She said she gave birth to a daughter then...]
Lisham risked paying a cruel price for infringing a nanny's laws. In addition to the newborn child, her relatives from three generations were almost exterminated.
But Lisham didn't pay any price.
[But at that time, Father covered it for me]
At that time, Cyron covered Lisham's misdeed and saved her daughter and her relatives with a single word.
It was the first time a nanny had broken the Family's law at the time, and Cyron covered it up.
In return, after giving birth, Lisham never saw her daughter or family again, and they were all exiled from Hufester and moved to a small town in the Lutero Magical Federation.
-...The reason the patriarch forgave me at that time was probably because of the young lady.
-For me?
-Young lady, you cared a lot for me when you were young. Of course, you still do.
-If I were my father, I would have thought that my current state lacked determination and fighting spirit. So I wouldn't have saved my nanny and her lineage.
-But I am alive, young lady. And now, though I am old and don't have much time left... After that day, the daughter I never saw again lives a normal and happy life with her family. A peaceful and happy life.
-Ha....
-Rosa-nim said she would kill them all now. Since it was originally the Patriarch's work, even Rosa-nim didn't know where the girl lived... but Lady Ilina found out.
-What, get up. Nanny. What are you doing?
-I have dedicated my entire life to you, young lady. I gave my youth and everything to you. So, just once... just once, can't you show mercy to this wretched person?
-I will try to stop my mother. Get up, don't do this!
-But that alone won't allow my daughter and grandchildren to survive...
Rosa's condition was that Luntia "replace" the owner of this subspace, the person who originally owned this space.
Luntia accepted the condition.
While Luntia explained these things, Jin struggled to control the hatred building inside him towards Rosa.
[She said it was only for a year and that it was enough to replace the original owner of this subspace for only a year. The old knight Padler Runcandel, he was originally the owner of this place].
Jin had foreseen that the Prophet would retrieve Padler from his grave, but never thought Luntia would be the one to replace him.
He hadn't even considered such a thing possible.
"Damn it..."
[But as soon as I took Sir Padler's place thanks to Ilina's abilities, I realized it was a lie. I wouldn't be able to leave this place even after 100 years, not just a year. The Prophet might have another method I didn't know, but I was sure. I have completely become one with the subspace.]
That's why Luntia could regain her sanity despite being consumed by Chaos. She was no longer the human Luntia Runcandel; she had become the subspace itself.
Therefore, as the chaos of the subspace consumed, the chaos that consumed Luntia also weakened.
This also meant that if the subspace collapsed, Luntia would also face death.
Even now, the subspace was breaking in real-time. Dropping the black rain of chaos.
Jin's gaze fell on the connection points.
"If I reconnect them, can you survive?"
[Probably. The entire subspace hasn't been completely destroyed yet. But I really don't want that, little brother. It's better to end like this. At least my sanity has returned, and I can die as myself.]
"How did you get in here, elder sister? In my opinion, the Prophet doesn't know how to return here, even if she can replace Sir Padler with you, elder sister."
[It could be. But, does that matter? The purpose would have been to use Sir Padler, who was here in my name, as a complete force anyway].
"I know a sure way to enter here. If you're alive, I'll come back when I can save you someday. It's not yet possible to cure cases of total invasion like yours, but there is a way to purify chaos."
[If I reconnect to it, I'll go mad again].
"I don't want to lose you like this. If you hold on, I'll make sure purification becomes possible. If you disappear like this, you won't be able to get revenge on them, right, elder sister? There's no guarantee they've kept their promise to save nanny Lisham's daughter."
[That's right, there's no guarantee. It was just our mother's promise. If the nanny had told me before her family was taken hostage, I might have found another way. But at that time, I couldn't ignore my nanny.]
"If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to ignore Gilly either. I'll check and protect nanny Lisham's family, so please wait."
Luntia pondered for a moment before nodding.
[Alright. Since I'm trapped in a snare anyway... But, what's the reason for going so far for me? Even if you kill me here, it wouldn't be so bad for you.]
"Then, we couldn't become a better family, elder sister."
Jin grabbed the connection points.
[Jin, if I regain the power of the subspace now.]
"I'll connect you after finding Histor. If you have enough strength to move, please help me. You said Histor is hidden somewhere in this subspace."
[Agreed.]
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