C686
"Zephyrin-nim has arrived!"
"Grand Duchess, Elder Sister has arrived!"
The new Kinzelo headquarters, Bouvard, and Ainas greeted the three executives who had just returned with cheerful voices.
Zephyrin, Bianca, and Ranke had managed to escape from the subspace while Jin and Bale were engaged in battle, so naturally, their spirits were not in good shape.
Especially Zephyrin, who was once again furious about the fact that Jin had "played" with them.
Moreover, this time Jin hadn’t even devised a plan; he had just chased after her and suffered losses, which made Zephyrin even more infuriated.
"In any case, it’s always exhausting dealing with Jin Runcandel. Ugh, what a mess."
There were two main reasons why Kinzelo opted to retreat instead of intervening in the battle.
The first reason was that Zephyrin couldn’t use the authority of the leader, and the second was to minimize the loss of power.Since that madman kept calling for Sarah, it seemed unlikely that Jin would die, so Zephyrin judged that there was no need to deviate from her path to help that despicable person.
"But... but this time... Jin Runcandel... actually... helped us. He... broke the subspace."
"He didn’t help us on purpose, Bianca. It was just a consequence of the aftermath of his fight with that madman. Well, anyway, we’ll have to ask Jin to share the proper information later. It’s clear he opened Temar’s Tomb."
[Cough...... Cough!]
When Orgal entered the conference room, everyone immediately stood up as a sign of courtesy.
"Ah, why did the master bother to bring your dying body here again... If you had stayed still, we would have gone to inform you."
[I... Cough! I am joyful.]
"Are you joyful?"
When Zephyrin tilted her head, a smile appeared on the blurry face of the leader.
[In Temar’s Tomb, cough. Upon seeing the awakened being, Bale. Cough, did you not perceive anything, Zephyrin.]
Upon Orgal’s question, Zephyrin’s eyes gradually opened wide.
Soon, she realized what her master’s words meant.
"No way... Are you saying that madman is a trace of life?".
When the leader nodded, Zephyrin reflexively covered her mouth.
Her action stemmed from her own irreverence for describing a "trace of life" as a madman.
"Incredible. The time has finally come when Jin Runcandel is useful to us."
Bale, a trace of life and a key figure for their great cause, was one of the beings they had been searching for so long.
Although Orgal hadn’t seen Bale in person, he was sure. From the moment Bale woke up and started exercising his authority, Orgal had felt his distinctive energy. ṛ𝐀
Moreover, the manipulated history that Bale had undone coincided with some parts of Orgal’s own history.
That meant Orgal’s power would return at a faster pace.
[Zephyrin.]
"Speak, Master."
[Jin, Cough! I don’t know how quickly he’ll get information about Bale. Cough, we’ll have to attack before he learns about the contract and restrictions. Whoosh, we need to start moving.]
"I understand. But he seems to have an obsession with a person named Sarah. What should we do?"
[We need to create something that can replace Sarah Runcandel... Hmm, it shouldn’t be very difficult since he is already pure and has been hurt.]
"Is it possible that Sir Jin has already made a contract with him? I saw them fighting before he returned. Sir Jin might have eliminated him."
[If the contract has already been made, then Jin caught another one of our weaknesses. Cough! I can feel the life energy, it’s unlikely that Bale has been eliminated. Moreover, Jin Runcandel has much to hear from him. Even if they make him retreat in the battle with Jin, it’s not to the point where Bale can’t escape.]
Zephyrin paused for a moment, considering the possibility of being caught by another weakness.
"...I’ll go to Tikan immediately and assess the situation."
[If Bale is not in Tikan, release the search team, and if he is with Jin, bring him back urgently.]
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Unfortunately, what Zephyrin, who visited Tikan, saw was Bale, who had already signed a contract and was under a golden oath.
Unlike when Bale first awakened, he now looked like an ordinary human.
The bright halo over his head and the magnificent giant wings had disappeared, and even his cross-shaped eyes were no different from those of an ordinary person.
Only his golden hair emitted a subtle and ethereal glow, indicating that he was still an extraordinary being.
"Bale, bring some snacks, and let’s eat together."
"...Okay."
Sandra treated that divine being, Bale, as if she were treating her younger brother.
Bale had a somber expression on his face as he brought the snacks to the table.
Since he realized that Sandra was not his Sarah, Bale wanted to tear her apart immediately, but there was no way to do so. The contract and the golden oath were absolute. Currently, Bale was completely subjected to Sandra, like a slave.
"Just give me one every five seconds. Got it? Eat the rest by yourself."
"Understood."
"You’re so cold. Can’t you give me a more intimate response?"
"I’ll do what I can."
"Well, that’s fine."
The way Sandra treated Bale remained unknown even to Jin and Tikan’s companions.
That’s why the Kinzelo executives who came to see him couldn’t help but be astonished.
"...Jin, what the hell is this situation?"
"A headache. Can’t you tell just by looking at it?"
"What a noble being that mad living golem is."
Sandra hummed a tune as she chewed the snack Bale had given her.
She deliberately acted obnoxiously, realizing that Zephyrin was following proper etiquette when seeing Bale.
Zephyrin sighed deeply and bowed her head towards Bale again.
"Bale-nim, I am Zephyrin, Grand Duchess of the Demon World. As I mentioned before, my lord has something to tell you, so he asked me to bring you before him..."
"Bale, get rid of that Demon Dragon. She’s annoying."
"Do you mean to kill her?"
"Sure."
Zap!
At the order, Bale started to transform into his original form, terrifyingly.
Jin intervened and stopped Sandra.
"Sandra."
"Tch. Stop, Bale."
"Should I stop?"
"Yes!"
"Understood..."
"Damn it! Bale-nim, why did you make a contract with this damn living golem?"
"Hey, Demon Dragon. Is that attitude of yours appropriate? You treat Bale with respect, but treat me like an inferior being? Should I tell Bale to never cooperate with you guys? Follow proper etiquette, show some respect."
Finally, Zephyrin dragged Jin outside.
"Sir Jin, that living golem follows your orders very well. I can’t tolerate this kind of humiliation any longer. As a temporary alliance, I formally request Sir Jin’s help to ensure we can accommodate Bale-nim."
"Sandra is not my subordinate, Zephyrin. And what kind of nonsense are you going to pull?"
"Have you forgotten how my master helped you save Histir some time ago, Sir Jin? It’s not such a difficult request. If you’re worried about potential problems, Sir Jin can accompany us."
If it weren’t for Bale’s servility towards Sandra, it would have been intriguing to see Kinzelo arrive unexpectedly and show an obsession with Bale.
If things went well, Jin had a hunch they might be able to use Kinzelo for the safety of Hedo and Sandra.
"Zephyrin, honestly, if you had come to us, I thought you’d demand compensation for damages or ask us to share information about Bale. But why are you openly showing this submissive attitude? Answer sincerely."
"...Fine. We already knew about Bale-nim’s contract and the golden oath. So we tried to make the contract without his knowledge, but the living golem made a preemptive strike."
"Ah, so you didn’t anticipate that Bale would make a contract with Sandra instead of me."
"That’s right. It would be the same for Sir Jin, of course, but for us, Bale-nim is an extremely important being."
"Is it because of the existence called Father of Life that Orgal mentioned?"
Jin thought Kinzelo was so obsessed with Bale for some reason.
From the first encounter, it seemed that Kinzelo’s objective was closely related to the Father of Life.
'It seems they leaked information about the Holy Land to me for that reason.'
-I have no intention of telling a lie, even if there is no truth contractor, Jin Runcandel. The world is in this state because the Father of Life has been annihilated.
Perhaps the "purification" that Kinzelo mentioned included a process to resurrect the Father of Life.
Kinzelo wants to resurrect the Father of Life, and the Prophet wants to give birth to Heluram...
In other words, their goals seemed to be at odds.
Those who sought to purify the world and those who intended to plunge it into chaos.
Of course, in Jin’s eyes, they all seemed like madmen who kept tormenting the world.
Just like Zipple, who manipulated history to move the world according to their will.
Kinzelo could utter pleasant words about purification, but ultimately they were engaged in terrorism, murder, and various atrocities.
The Prophet and Zipple were no different.
And Rosa was trying to completely destroy the world amidst all that.
When Jin thought about it, he suddenly felt a headache.
"Yes. We want to resurrect the Father of Life, and Bale-nim is an important clue for that."
"You are very sincere about this."
"Although temporarily, we are allies. Bale-nim is also related to my master’s recovery. Isn’t it necessary for you to also facilitate my master’s recovery as much as possible before the confrontation with Rosa Runcandel?"
It’s a valid point. That’s why Jin was concerned about Orgal’s recovery during their first encounter.
In any case, he needed to meet with Orgal.
He also needed to inform him that Rosa’s power was growing faster than he had anticipated.
"There is a means to accelerate recovery, even if it’s not Bale. That’s what Orgal himself mentioned."
"Then, does that mean you can’t cooperate?"
"No, I want you to cooperate. But I want to propose a condition."
"Ha, these sickening conditions. What is it?"
"Protection for Sandra and the Tower Guardian. You probably realized to a large extent in Temar’s Tomb, but they will be treated as traitors if they return to Zipple now."
"Why not send them back? Zipple may find it extremely unpleasant, but like it or not, they can’t afford to disagree with you right now, especially with the imminent confrontation with Rosa. The betrayal is their fault for not managing their people well."
"I have no intention of sending them back. They are still valuable forces. However, just in case, I also request protection for them. The more hands we have, the better."
Zephyrin surprisingly agreed to Jin’s request.
"As long as Bale-nim is here, we have no choice but to protect the living golem. Protecting the Tower Guardian is almost comical, but it’s a surprisingly considerate condition coming from you. Let’s accept it."
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