CHAPTER 234

If it wasn't human, then what was it?

A monster, a beast, or something else entirely.

Regardless, the heavy footsteps conveyed a great deal of hostility, and Murakan glared at the tightly-shut door.

"Kid, take care of the religious punk."

Even as Murakan said that, he did not put down the wine glass he was holding.

"Got it. Whatever it is, deal with it as quietly as possible."

"As you wish."

Thud, thud!

The sound of footsteps stopped in front of Rani's door, which was then flung open.

Murakan smiled.

Rather, he tried to smile… But as soon as he saw those outside the room, his expression could only harden.

The sources of the footsteps walked on two legs and had two arms, but were neither human nor monster.

If they had to be classified as something, they would be something closer to a powerless and miserable humanoid.

It was also an entity that Jin had encountered once at the Kollon Ruins before becoming a provisional flag-bearer.

'Living Golems…?!'

All of a sudden, the faces of the soldiers Murakan had put to sleep with the sleeping poison flashed by.

The ordinary faces of the two people on guard duty leisurely standing around…

They were people who didn't have to go through this.

It was like this when Jin first encountered the Living Golems in Kollon.

The mercenaries Jin knocked out suddenly transformed into Living Golems and attacked him.

At that time, the mercenaries who became Living Golems could only ask for one thing.

The sweet release of death.

'Zipfel, you crazy bastards!'

The moment Jin gritted his teeth, the sharp-as-blades claws of the Living Golems flew toward Murakan's face.

A fast and fierce attack that had achieved significant results in the years since Kollon.

Had it been the Murakan from before he regained his strength, it might have even given him a small scratch.

However, for the current Murakan, it was slower than the speed of a cloud floating by.

Slice!

Murakan raised his hand and swung it lightly as if it were a blade, slicing through all four arms at once.

He then stretched his hands out once more before the severed arms even fell to the floor.

Thump!

His hands, stained black with spiritual energy, were headed toward the energy center of the Living Golems.

Murakan had immediately figured out that their core, their 'heart', was located there.

"Tsk, I can't save you."

As Murakan lightly squeezed his hand into a fist, the Living Golem's hearts exploded, and they didn't even have time to scream. 

As soon as the heart broke, the swollen bodies began to rapidly shrink.

With only their blackened skin remaining, there was not a single trace of them having ever been human.

The three of them silently looked at the scene for several seconds. 

Of course, Rani felt the most shock of the three.

She grew nauseous for a moment, and upon barely calming her trembling body down, she remembered her identity.

She was the adopted daughter of the holy king, a paladin that guarded the religion, a subject and daughter of Ayula. 

Rani took out the holy book from her bosom and knelt next to them.

"Ayula, my poor brothers have turned to you in search of peace. Please look after their souls and console them for their unjust and meaningless death…"

The bright yellow light flowing from her enveloped her body.

Woosh…

The light soon became the sacred flame of Ayula and turned the bodies of the dead into ashes.

Rani, who cut her tribute short as she tried to suppress her urge to retch, looked sober.

The fragments of the heart that Murakan had broken did not disappear and remained on the floor.

"Ha, a Living Golem, huh? I can't believe it even after seeing it. How can something like this exist in the holy kingdom? Could it be that we accidentally arrived in a different country?"

Murakan spoke as he picked up a fragment and examined it.

Jin also closely looked at the fragments.

A blue glowing aura was emitted from inside the fragments.

He had a creepy sense of déjà vu, but it wasn't something he wanted to bring up right away.

"Rani Salome. I think it would be best if we moved somewhere safe first. They will send more soon."

Rani nodded with tightly shut eyes.

"…I understand, please follow me."

After leaving the empty hallway, they followed Rani but didn't actually leave the eastern temple.

"If they find out I'm gone, there's nowhere to hide in the holy kingdom. It would actually be safest here."

Rani began climbing the giant stone statue of Ayula that decorated the central wall on the first floor.

"Since they'll never think that I would dare to cross over by climbing over Ayula's body. Plus, barely anyone knows about this secret passage."

Ever since she had been young, she had been good at hiding, both herself and other things.

It was an ability that developed naturally as she tried to escape all kinds of vicious bullying and gazes that made her anxious after becoming the adopted daughter of the holy king.

Creak—!

Rani turned the giant stone statue's neck with all her might.

Ayula's head was pushed aside, revealing the empty space inside the statue.

Once they entered, and turned the head back to its original position, they were enveloped in darkness.

The inside of the statute was connected to a dual underground passageway leading to a gutter in the eastern temple. 

After walking for a few minutes, they reached the drain, and Rani stumbled and leaned against the wall.

"Ha, haah, ha…!"

She was now weighed down by the feeling that her faith, which she had built up her entire life, was completely wrong.

Her father, Holy King McLan, was kidnapped by the Zipfel Clan, and Vankella had been corrupted to the point that it could no longer be called a 'holy kingdom'.

"The holy kingdom… is finished."

Jin didn't answer but made eye contact with her.

'Her mind is on the verge of collapse.'

The fact that she broke down was completely understandable.

However, there was no method of comforting her.

How could Jin comfort someone who was in the midst of losing her only family, her country, and her faith?

Instead of comfort, Jin was able to provide practical help.

"Choose, Rani Salome. If you are so tired and worn out by everything that you don't even feel the desire to take revenge, I won't ask any questions. I will send you to a land where you can quietly spend the rest of your life… We'll guarantee your safety for the remainder of your life, and give you enough money so that you don't have to work. If that's what you want, you can leave with us this instant."

Jin locked eyes with Rani.

"But if not, you must come to your senses and say something meaningful right now, so that we may help each other. How many enemies are there? How long have they been bending the holy kingdom to their will? Is there anyone within the holy kingdom that can be trusted during this time? Say something, anything."

"…It's true that I helped you at Santel. But I can't use that as a reason to ask you to save my father and fight against Zipfel with me."

"Why?"

Rani was speechless.

"You're willing to risk your life for me and the Holy Kingdom of Vankella? Are you really a Runcandel?"

"That's right, I'm a Runcandel. Therefore, Zipfel was always my enemy. Helping you is partly to return the favor, but also a choice to win the holy kingdom over to the Runcandel side. Letting Zipfel rule over the holy kingdom will ultimately result in a loss to both myself and my clan."

"Uh… Hm, kid. That's true, but aren't you being a bit cold? How distraught must she be…"

"So, you should make calculated moves as well. I'm saying to make a deal with me. This is from a successor of the Runcandel Clan to the successor of the holy king."

The air was heavy with silence.

Murakan understood Jin's intention and looked at Rani with a serious gaze.

As Rani got used to the bad smell from the sewage water in the gutter, she opened her mouth again.

"…I'm sorry for showing you an unsightly side of myself, Jin Runcandel. I accept. I'll follow your words, and make a deal with Runcandel."

Before saying these words, there were many shifting thoughts running about in Rani's mind during that short period of time.

That this provisional flag-bearer that looked much younger than herself definitely did not love the holy kingdom as much as she did.

However, despite that, Jin was much more aware of the holy kingdom's stability and interests than she was. That fact made her feel ashamed.

"Fine, I'll decide on what I'll receive after rescuing the holy kingdom or driving Zipfel out. What you'll receive are the reinforcements that are Murakan and myself. This guy in particular has become quite a bit tougher compared to when you first met him, so use him as much as you'd like."

Jin internally sighed in relief.

Had Rani decided to run away in despair, he would have had to figure out what to do all over again.

'If I drive Zipfel out of the kingdom, I'll be able to help my benefactor and also get proper credit when I return to the clan.'

"…First, I'll explain the current situation as I understand it."

Zipfel had already won over major figures and organizations within the kingdom several years ago, one by one.

And among them, the first group to become a dog of Zipfel was the knight order that Rani Salome belonged to.

"That's why my father sent me there. Since there was no one he could trust other than me, he told me to join them and take a look. It seems like up until recently, even Father was not convinced."

"Then the holy king must've become convinced after hearing from you about the Santel incident…"

"That's right. The Zipfel Clan kidnapped my father immediately after my report. At first, they tried to fool me with the fake one. Since he's someone who imitates my father's speech and actions."

However, there was one fact that only some of the holy king's closest associates knew.

The holy king could not move his left index finger. 

Rani had already felt that the holy king's divine power was weaker than before, but while eating, she saw the fake using his left index finger normally.

As soon as Rani questioned it, Zipfel had sent the severed index finger of the holy king's left hand to her room.

Moreover, it was delivered through a paladin of the same age as Rani, a paladin she had trusted.

It was at that moment Rani fell into despair.

"What bad taste, those perverted bastards… Were you able to keep the finger?"

Rani shook her head as soon as Jin asked.

"As soon as I checked it, the finger caught fire and disappeared."

"So they used a Seal of Fire. It's a magic that can't be used unless you're affiliated with Sheenu. It's the work of Kelliark Zipfel, or possibly Kadun."

In other words, their opponent was indeed the Zipfel Clan.

And the patriarch, Kelliark, at that.

Even though Murakan had regained his strength, it would obviously be impossible to fight against the entire Zipfel Clan.

However, it was a different story if it was a 'battle of public perception' rather than a full-on confrontation.

Even though the holy king's finger was gone, a piece of the Living Golem's heart still remained with Jin.

'Living Golems and transformation. That will be your downfall.'

As Jin took out a piece of the heart and showed it to her, Rani understood what he planned to do.

"Are you going to use that as evidence to assert that the Zipfels turned the holy kingdom's soldiers into Living Golems?"

"That's right."

"But I'm the only witness."

"It's okay. I've disrupted the Zipfel Clan's Living Golem experiments before. There's a witness and a major reporter waiting to report on it."

"…Sorry?"

"But that alone isn't enough. There must be more, several solid pieces of evidence in order to expose the Zipfels, and they must all be brought to light simultaneously. Who else knows that Holy King McLan can't use his left index finger?"