C683 Jin, Valeria, and Hedo were speechless for a moment.
That crazy old knight, one of the Ten Great Knights of Runcandel, recognized Sandra as Sarah.
"Hehe! At first, I thought he was a monster only attacking my Jin, but it turned out he was a good friend, right?"
Sandra also completely ignored Bale's denial of her identity.
From her perspective, since Bale wasn't attacking Jin and was even helping him, anything else didn't matter.
"...milady, are you alright?"
"Yes, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Even my hands and feet, which were bruised from hitting that guy, have completely recovered. Wow, he was really tough. I don't think my fists and feet hurt this much even when fighting Hedo."
Hedo couldn't hide his anxious expression, like a middle-aged man facing a crisis.
He had lost his sword due to his trivial curiosity and had put Sandra in danger.
Additionally, the fact that he secretly contacted the Vamel Alliance during his vacation had come to the knowledge of his clan.If the monster that had awakened from the seabed hadn't shown such extreme kindness to Sandra, he would have simply fought and lost everything.
In reality, he hadn't lost anything yet, but Hedo felt the emotion of defeat for the first time in a long time.
"Milady, you must give that crazy person one more order."
"What order?"
"Tell him not to attack our clan, the Vamel Alliance, and Kinzelo. Judging by his behavior, it seems he will unconditionally accept the lady's order."
"Oh, that would be necessary. Yaaa! Just attack the Garden of Swords! Oh, have you already destroyed everything?"
With that, Hedo calmly adjusted his shattered glasses and took a cigarette from his pants pocket.
Even before Bale moved directly, many of Zipple's battleships had been knocked down by the graveyard giant's red lightning.
[Sarah, what did you say?]
"Those from the Garden of Swords, only attack Runcandel!"
[I'll do what I can!]
"...I guess we won't have much to say when we return to our clan. It's all my fault, my lady."
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
"I mean, I put you in danger. If we return to the clan, you and I will be subjected to a high-level investigation because of my mistake."
"This isn't the first time, is it?"
"This time is different. According to the evidence, you and I secretly conspired with the Vamel Alliance, and in the process, caused a loss of power to the clan. Since I'm an important power, it won't be a problem, but you will undoubtedly lose your freedom. You will become a hostage to prevent me from betraying the clan."
"That guy named Bale seems like he would fight the whole clan if they touch me. Hedo would do the same."
"That doesn't mean much. First, we don't know when that crazy person will realize you're not Sarah Runcandel, and in a situation where the Evil God runs rampant, our confrontation with the clan will cause several problems."
"Or can we escape for a while until Father's anger calms down?"
"My lady."
"What is it?"
"First... it would be better to think about it after the situation has passed."
Jin's eyes widened.
Hedo's words hinted that he might betray Zipple.
Jin didn't say anything to Hedo.
Whatever Hedo did, Jin was determined to help as much as he could.
If someone who helped in the search for the legacy of the ancient Runcandel is in trouble.
Then, of course, Jin had to take responsibility.
[Ugh, I can't believe I forgot about that crazy person. The manipulation of history is very scary,] said Quikantel, escaping the chaos above and descending to the seabed.
Fortunately, Bale didn't attack her.
But that wasn't due to loyalty to Runcandel or memories of the past; it was simply because Quikantel had a familiar face that he recognized.
"Quikantel-nim."
When Quikantel transformed into a human, her companions naturally stood close by.
Jin breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that everyone was safe.
"Jin, as you can see, that guy isn't human, but a divine being."
"Seeing him fight, it didn't seem like he got stronger through training."
"Yes, Bale was strong from the beginning... but he couldn't control that power and caused great problems everywhere. Countless humans must have died at his hands. At that time, Runcandel considered Bale as a subjugation target, not a recruitment one."
"How did someone like that become one of the Ten Great Knights?"
"Because of Sarah. I still don't remember the details of that process, but Bale swore loyalty to Sarah, not Runcandel, and Temar appointed Bale as one of the Ten Great Knights as a way to repay debts he had to the world."
"Indeed... if he could control his power, he would be of great help," Jin said, looking at Bale. His fighting style was clearly different from that of humans.
First of all, he was able to engage in aerial combat with his two wings, and the power emanating from his sword and body was neither mana nor aura, but divine power.
The blue illumination energy that had colored the sky was already being replaced by Bale's golden power.
It wouldn't be strange to say he's close to a Genesis Knight in terms of power alone.
He didn't have a deep understanding, but he wasn't as superficial as weapons that were simply massive.
Every time his wings flapped, a storm spread, and the sky was struck by golden lightning following his sword's trajectory.
The lightning from his eyes was so powerful that the graveyard giant seemed weak, and every time he moved, the sea overturned.
It looked as if an angry god had directly entered the battle.
Some chaos dragons even burst when Bale merely reached out and grabbed them in the air. And he didn't even touch anything.
"The problem is that he was buried here because he was out of control."
"Is it because of Dame Sarah's death?"
"That's right. Until Sarah died, he had imposed a restriction on himself. He couldn't use any power without Sarah's order. When the restriction was in place, he seemed like an ordinary human. When Sarah died, the restriction was lifted."
That means unless he gets controlled again, Bale is like a bomb that can explode at any moment.
There's a high probability that he will turn against them once he realizes the real Sarah is dead.
"...And he was also expelled from the Ten Great Knights. Because he caused havoc every day and destroyed the world."
"It would be better to decide what to do with Bale-nim after checking the records through Aroa. Since Bale-nim's awakening is already bringing us forgotten memories, it would be great if we could conclude this fight by saving him as much as possible."
It would be very reassuring if Bale became an ally.
Above all, Bale seems to have few memory losses, except for his perception of Sarah, so he could play a crucial role in tracking the past from now on.
[Padler! You couldn't even prevent Sarah from becoming like this, and you couldn't even prevent yourself from falling apart. Don't you feel pathetic?]
[Shut up, Bale.]
[Every time Sarah defended a coward like you, I felt sick to my stomach.]
[I forgot all the people who were my companions back then. But I remember you as clearly as day. When Temar destroyed my kingdom... You stood beside him.]
[Now that I think about it, you couldn't even protect your own kingdom, let alone Sarah. Now you cling to Runcandel again, trying to prolong your miserable life? Also rejected by Sarah.]
[This is a great idea. It seems there's a woman named Sarah down there, and you'll be able to see her die unlike me.]
[Your mouth, which always acted so noble, is finally revealing its true nature. Try it, I wish you luck.]
Hateful words and swords were exchanged between them.
Once they fought together on the battlefield as Ten Great Knights.
It was a scene Jin had never seen before, but for some reason, he felt bitterness welling up in his heart.
It was probably Sarah's death that made them hate each other so much.
Sarah's death must have been a consequence of Runcandel's defeat.
If Jin was defeated in this life, the Vamel Alliance and his comrades would suffer the same fate as those ghosts who hated each other terribly.
Thinking to that point, Jin checked the records and changed his thoughts about Bale, whom he decided to get rid of.
'I will definitely turn him into my ally. If he can't become a true comrade, at least I'll make him a controllable weapon.'
Jin thought he should not only turn Bale but also Elona Zipple, who is being sealed by Talaris, if possible.
Zzzzz-!
An intense blue lightning bolt struck Bale's forehead.
Bale let out a mocking laugh after blocking the blue lightning with his wings.
[Do you think you can kill me with that much power? Your worms are even more annoying.]
Stam and Lionel were bounced back by Bale's sword.
Although Bale is strong, Padler, Stam, and Lionel fought at a significantly lower level than when they faced Jin in the Garden of Swords.
This is because the battle wasn't taking place on the ground.
The three fought in an unstable position, stepping on the surface of the sea, the chaos dragons, and the black ships, while Bale completely dominated the air.
Padler's group also knew why they were at a disadvantage.
However, the reason they couldn't easily drag Bale to the seabed, where they could fight fully, was because Jin was standing below.
Also, the companions by his side, especially Hedo, were formidable opponents, so Padler decided it would be better to fight an unfavorable battle in the air.
[Today is a special day, Padler. It's the day Sarah is completely freed from you...]
Finally, Bale grabbed Padler's neck as he fell into the sea.
Padler opened his eyes in rage, and Bale smiled at the thought of finally finishing him off.
But soon Bale's expression wrinkled.
[What? Are you going to run away?]
Padler's body gradually became vague.
Jin and his comrades thought it must be the Prophet retrieving his soul.
However, it wasn't her summoning Padler back to the Garden of Swords, but Rosa Runcandel.
Looking through Padler's eyes, Rosa smiled as she gazed at the seabed.
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