C697
Holy King Lani
After rescuing Yona and returning, Jin was able to meet with Holy King Lani, who suddenly visited Tikan.
It was Owal who called her to Tikan, and the reason Lani agreed to his request was because Nameless is now formally affiliated with the Vamel alliance.
If Owal had contacted Lani as Nameless, she wouldn't have accepted.
“It’s been nearly three years since you returned to the human world, and you never showed up even once, only sending letters and difficult tasks my way,” said Lani, pretending to be upset.
After Jin returned to the human world, he handled Talaris, who was sent to the Holy Kingdom, and also examined Valeria, who was injured by Luntia. But this was the first time he had seen Jin in person.
Jin smiled awkwardly. Despite meeting someone he hadn’t seen in a long time, he couldn’t show an expression of happiness.
“Lani.”
“Hello. I was planning to tease you after all this time, but it seems the mood isn’t right for that. I don’t need to explain that I’m not really upset, right?”“Of course.”
Lani patted Jin on the shoulder.
She too, as a king and a key figure of the anti-chaos forces, had gone through many hardships, but the burden on Jin’s shoulders was much heavier. It pained her to think about it.
“I’m grateful. If it weren’t for you and Lord Murakan, I would’ve died, and Inse would’ve suffered all sorts of exploitation under Zipple’s control. Even now, as soon as you return, you fight with all your strength for the world’s sake.”
“It was for personal matters related to recovering my clan.”
“Even so, Ayula will always bless you. So don’t worry too much about Lady Yona. I don’t know her well, but from what I’ve heard from you and Nameless King, she seems like a good person.”
Jin’s face remained grim the whole time due to Yona.
“…yes. Elder Sister Yona is a very good person.”
Jin was delighted that Yona had been rescued safely.
During the rescue, there were no mortal casualties among their allies, and Yona was in a condition where she hadn’t undergone the physical transformations Jin was most worried about. ŗＡN𝘖𐌱Еš
Lani had even come here to prepare for any problems that might arise during the chaos purification.
But Yona’s chaos wasn’t purified.
“Although her chaos hasn’t been fully purified like the others, at least she’s able to control it like before, right?”
That was true.
The purification device had some effect on Yona.
Achieving complete purification was impossible, but Yona’s chaos had now entered a “stable state” like before.
Just like when Yona overcame her chaos by herself, before Glyek’s power stimulated it.
Yona’s chaos was too immense.
Boras’ purification device had its limits when it came to intervening in that chaos.
‘Perhaps it’s a similar situation to what Lingling and I went through before…’
It would be better if Yona’s chaos separated like the bothersome Lingling and turned into something cute and useful, but Vahn is currently in Lafrarosa.
It’s frustrating because there are no guarantees it can separate like Lingling even if Vahn steps in personally.
But Jin shouldn’t keep worrying about it. In any case, the situation regarding Yona had improved to a point that couldn’t be compared to before.
“Thank you, Lani. I was too absorbed in my own thoughts. Since the Holy King came here personally, and I don’t have Murakans to offer, what should I do?”
Upon arriving in Tikan, Lani examined Yona and inquired about Murakan’s well-being from her companions.
“It’s a pity. He’s acting as Solderet’s proxy… It seems like a notable but neglected position that suits Murakan-nim.”
For Murakan to return, the recovery of Talaris is the most important situation.
Due to Talaris’ injuries, Misha is currently carrying Elona’s seal.
“I have something to tell you about the Hidden Palace Master.”
“Is it bad news?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s good news. There aren’t any issues with the Hidden Palace Master’s recovery. The reason the recovery is being delayed is that I have less and less time to focus on it.”
“Something happened in the Holy Kingdom…”
Lani nodded.
“Yes, the demonic relic in our Kingdom’s possession, Zito’s Eyes. They’ve been showing unfavorable signs recently.”
“Zito’s Eyes?”
The war five hundred years ago, known as the Holy Kingdom Protection War, was a famous battle when demons invaded Vankela.
However, it wasn’t just the Holy Kingdom’s citizens and saints who defended against the demons, but Runcandel and even Zipple, who unusually joined forces.
“The name Zito might not be familiar to you. It has never been active in the human world and is rarely known even in the Demon World. Even I, as the King, couldn’t find any record about Zito’s Eyes.”
“You, as the King, couldn’t access the records on that topic?”
“That’s right. I only recently learned of Zito’s Eyes’ existence in the Holy Kingdom, and they’re showing bad signs. Ayula-nim warned me through a dream.”
Recalling the dream she had a few days ago, Lani shivered as if in pain.
“What Ayula-nim showed me was a future where Zito is reborn through that object. The entire world was in flames, including a scene where everyone, including you and Murakan-nim, the protectors of the human world, died.”
If someone else said something like this, Jin would dismiss it as nonsense, but Lani was the Holy King.
She couldn’t mistake mere nightmares for Ayula’s warning.
“Dealing with Rosa is already overwhelming, and now there could be a new adversary.”
“To prevent that from happening, I’m controlling Zito’s Eyes according to Ayula-nim’s warning. I’ve been using almost all my divine power for that purpose, which is why the treatment for the Hidden Palace Master is being delayed.”
“Do you have any information on why Zito’s Eyes started showing abnormal signs? Perhaps it was influenced by the remnants of chaos left by Glyek?”
“Ayula-nim didn’t say anything special about it. But I have a guess.”
“I can also think of a few likely suspects.”
Kinzelo.
Currently, they are the only ones in the human world who control demons.
Kinzelo had already possessed high-ranking demons like Bianca, and while Jin was in Lafrarosa, they recruited even more powerful beings from the Demon World.
“I’ve heard that Orgal, the demon beast king, who turned out to be Kinzelo’s leader, is one of the rulers of the Demon World. I think he must have something to do with this situation.”
“That’s a fact. From the beginning, they’ve been continuously gathering demons in Kinzelo, and it’s possible they’ve established some kind of gate connecting to the Demon World.”
“After the Holy Kingdom Protection War, it was reported that the demon society collapsed completely, but it’s likely as you said. Even if it’s not an external dimension, they could be summoning demons through rituals.”
“Summoning…”
“Yes, Ranke Halovice. You have some perseverance. Anyway, according to your explanation, the Great Desert became like this because all the forces contaminated it as an experimental processing plant. Then, you only used this place as a playground because you liked it, is that right?”
“Yes…”
“The first part is convincing, but the second is insufficient. You had some purpose here.”
“I just… like being here, that’s all.”
The conversation Jin had after defeating Ranke right after coming out into the human world.
Even then, Jin thought Ranke didn’t just consider the Great Desert as a playground, but talking with Lani made it seem even more suspicious.
“First of all, during the Holy Kingdom incident, Kinzelo must have been trying to find Zito’s Eyes along with a living golem experiment.”
“I think so too. At that time, I was only aware of the living golem experiment, but I’m sure Kinzelo’s real purpose was Zito’s Eyes.”
“Isn’t it a problem that you’re using your divine power to keep Zito’s Eyes under control and prevent further issues?”
“For now, it’s fine. But this kind of problem is unprecedented, and the information provided by Ayula-nim is excessively limited…”
If Murakan were here, he would’ve complained about why in the world Ayula’s warnings were so vague.
Lani chuckled at the image that suddenly came to mind, then hesitated for a moment, wondering if that was blasphemy.
“In that case, it’s not an urgent problem, but it’s like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. The fact that Ayula, who is a god and extremely reluctant to get involved in the human world, personally issued a warning suggests that if it goes off, there won’t be a solution.”
“Perhaps there won’t be an issue until Ayula-nim manifests again and provides more specific information.”
“Actually, I had something to do with Kinzelo, so I need your permission.”
“Permission?”
“Can I mention Zito’s Eyes directly and confront Orgal?”
“Of course.”
“Great, I’ll go to Kinzelo and gather any information on Zito’s Eyes to share it.”
“You say they want Sir Bale, but will they easily give you the information?”
“Even if they want to keep it concealed, just cleverly mentioning Zito’s Eyes or staying silent about it will be enough. It means the information is too sensitive to reveal.”
“That’s true. It seems you plan to leave immediately, but still, let’s have tea together. I came here on a regular battleship because I don’t have a space teleportation battleship like the Red Owl.”
“Naturally. When space teleportation devices can be mass-produced, I’ll send one to the Holy Kingdom.”
“Oh, I see. You’re pulling another promise out of me like this. Since I’m grateful, I’ll personally serve the tea as a guest!”
New Kinzelo Headquarters
They were finally going to see the long-awaited traces of life today, so they were filled with excitement, but…
Unfortunately, Bale had already made a contract with Sandra, so their joy was dampened.
Orgal couldn’t hide his disappointment even in front of Jin.
[You’ve already signed a contract with Sandra Zipple… It’s hard to believe even when I hear it.]
“It’s sad to hear such a disappointed voice. What can I do, Orgal? It happened as soon as Bale’s seal was lifted. Anyway, I fulfilled my promise. There was no mention of a private conversation between you and Bale in the content, so it would be better if all conversations took place where I heard them.”
[Hmm, that doesn’t matter. Cough…]
“I’m glad to hear that. And I have a question I want to ask.”
[What is it?]
“What do you think about Demon King Zito?”
At Jin’s sudden question, Orgal coughed continuously.
Fortunately, he seemed a bit better, as he wasn’t bleeding as much as before.
-
KO-FI:
https://tinyurl.com/SHADOWK
-
( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs)