CHAPTER 686

[T.L: punisher87]

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* * *

"Have you arrived, Ms. Zephyrin!"

"You are here, Grand Duchess, elder sister!"

Kinzelo New Headquarters, Bubare and Ainas welcomed the three executives who had just returned with cheerful voices.

Zephyrin, Bianca and Ranke had managed to escape the subspace while Jin and Bale were engaged in battle, so naturally, their spirits were not in a good state.

Especially Zephyrin, who was once again furious at the fact that Jin had "played" with them.

Moreover, this time Jin hadn't even devised a scheme; she had just pursued him and suffered losses, which made Zephyrin even more annoyed.

"Anyway, it's always exhausting when dealing with Jin Runcandel. Ugh, what a mess."

There were two main reasons why Kinzelo chose 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 crazy guy kept calling for Sarah, it seemed unlikely that Jin would die, so Zephyrin judged that there was no need to go out of their way to help that despicable person.

"But... but this time... Jin Runcandel... actually... helped us. He... tore the subspace."

"He didn't help us on purpose, Bianca. It was just a consequence of the aftermath of his fight with that crazy guy. Well, anyway, we'll have to request proper information sharing from Jin later. It's clear that he opened the Tomb of Temar."

[Cough... Cough!]

As Orgal entered the conference room, everyone immediately stood up in courtesy.

"Ah, why did the master bother to bring your dying body here again... If you had stayed put, we would have gone to report to you."

[I'm... Cough! glad.]

"Are you glad?"

As Zephyrin tilted her head, a smile appeared on the blurry face of the leader.

[At Temar's tomb, cough. Seeing the awakened being, Bale. Cough, have you not sensed anything, Zephyrin.]

At Orgal's question, Zephyrin's eyes gradually widened. Soon, she recognized what her master's words meant.

"No way... Are you saying that a madman is a trace of life?"

As 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 moment has finally come when Jin Runcandel has become 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 such a long time.

Even though Orgal hadn't seen Bale in person, he was certain. From the moment Bale woke up and started wielding his authority, Orgal had felt his distinctive energy.

Furthermore, 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 rate.

[Zephyrin.]

"Speak, Master."

[Jin, cough! I don't know how quickly he will get information about Bale. Cough, we'll have to strike before he learns about the contract and the restrictions. Whoosh, we have 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 too difficult since he is already pure and has been wounded.]

"Is it possible that Sir Jin has already made a contract with him? I saw them fight before he returned. Sir Jin could have eliminated him."

[If the contract has already been made, then Jin caught another one of our weaknesses again. Cough! I can feel the energy of life, it's unlikely that Bale has been eliminated. Besides, Jin Runcandel has a lot to hear from him. Even if he is pushed back in the battle with Jin, it is not to the extent that Bale cannot escape.]

Zephyrin paused for a moment, thinking about the possibility of getting caught by another weakness.

"...I will 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.]

 * * *

Unfortunately, what Zephyrin, who visited Tikan, saw was Bale, who had already signed a contract and put a golden oath on himself.

Unlike when Bale first awakened, he now appeared like an ordinary human. The shining halo above his head and the magnificent, giant wings were gone, 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."

"... Alright."

Sandra treated that divine being, Bale, as if she was handling her younger brother. Bale had a dark expression on his face as he brought the snacks to the table.

Ever since he realized that Sandra wasn't her Sarah, Bale wanted to tear her apart right away, but there was no way to do so. The contract and the golden oath were absolute. Currently, Bale was completely subservient to Sandra, like a slave.

"Just feed me one every five seconds. Got it? You eat the rest on your own."

"Understood."

"You're so cold. Can't you give me a more intimate response?"

"I'll try my best."

"Well, alright."

Sandra's way of treating Bale was still unfamiliar even to Jin and Tikan's comrades.

Therefore, the executives of Kinzelo who came to see him couldn't help but be astonished.

"... Sir Jin, what the hell is this situation?"

"A headache. Can't you tell just by looking?"

"What a noble being she is, that mad living golem."

Sandra hummed a tune while chewing on the snack Bale had given her. She deliberately acted obnoxious, noticing that Zephyrin followed proper etiquette when seeing Bale.

Zephyrin sighed deeply and once again lowered his head to Bale.

"Lord Veil, I am Zephyrin, Grand Duchess of the demon world. As I mentioned earlier, my master has something to tell you, so he asked me to bring you to him..."

"Bale, get rid of that Demon Dragon. It's annoying."

"Do you mean to kill her?"

"Sure."

Zzzzzt!

As the order was issued, Bale began to transform into his original form, terrifyingly. Jin intervened and stopped Sandra.

"Sandra."

"Tch. Stop, Bale."

"Understood?"

"Intimacy!"

"I got it..."

"Damn it! Lord Bale, 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 you treat me like some lowly being? Should I tell Bale to never cooperate with you guys? Follow proper etiquette, show some respect."

Eventually, 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 assistance to ensure that we can accommodate Lord Vale."

"Sandra is not my subordinate, Zephyrin. And what kind of nonsense are you going to pull?"

"Have you forgotten how my master helped you to save Hister some time ago, Sir Jin? It's not such a difficult request. If you're worried about potential trouble, Sir Jin can accompany us."

If it weren't for Bale's subservience to Sandra, it would have been intriguing to see Kinzelo come unexpectedly and show an obsession with Bale.

If things went well, Jin had a hunch that they could make use of Kinzelo for the safety of Hedo and Sandra.

"Zephyrin, honestly, if you had come to us, I thought you would demand compensation for the damage or ask us to share information about Bale. But why are you openly showing this submissive attitude? Answer honestly."

"... Fine. We already knew about lord Bale's contract and the golden oath. So we tried to make the contract without your 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 correct. It would be the same for Sir Jin, of course, but to us, lord Bale is an extremely important being."

"Is it because of the existence called the Parent of Life that Orgal mentioned?"

Jin thought that Kinzelo was fixated on Bale to such an extent for a reason. From their first meeting, it seemed that Kinzelo's goal was closely related to the Parent of Life.

'It seems like 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 contractor of truth, Jin Runcandel. The world is in this state because the Parent of Life has been annihilated.

Perhaps the "purification" that Kinzelo mentioned included a process to resurrect the Parent of Life.

'Kinzelo wants to resurrect the Parent of Life, and the Prophet wants to bring forth Helluram...'

In other words, their goals seemed to be at odds. Those who sought to purify the world and those who sought to plunge it into chaos.

Of course, in Jin's eyes, they all looked like madmen who kept tormenting the world. Just like Zipfel, who manipulated history to move the world according to their own will.

Kinzelo might speak pleasant words about purification, but they ultimately engaged in terrorism, murder, and various atrocities. The Prophet and Zipfel 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 parents of life, and Lord Bale is an important clue to that."

"You're quite candid about it."

"Even though it's temporary, we are allies. Lord Bale is also related to the recovery of my master. Isn't it necessary for you as well to facilitate my master's recovery as much as possible before the confrontation with Rosa Runcandel?"

That's a valid point. That's why Jin was concerned about Orgal's recovery during their first meeting.

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 the recovery, even if it's not Bale. That's what Orgal himself mentioned."

"So, does that mean you can't cooperate?"

"No, I want you to cooperate. But I want to propose one condition."

"Ha, these sickening conditions. What is it?"

"Protection for Sandra and the Tower Keeper. You probably noticed it roughly at the Temar's Tomb, but they will be treated as traitors if they return to Zipfel now."

"Why not just send them back? Zipfel may find it extremely unpleasant, but whether they like it or not, they can't afford to be at odds with you right now, especially with the impending confrontation with Rosa. Betrayal is their own fault for not managing people properly."

"I have no intention of sending them back. Until the confrontation, despite their betrayal, they are still valuable forces, so there shouldn't be a problem. However, just in case, I am requesting protection for them from you as well. The more hands we have, the better."

Zephyrin surprisingly complied with Jin's request.

"As long as lord Bale is here, we have no choice but to protect the living golem. Protecting tower keeper is almost comical, but it's a surprisingly conscientious condition coming from you. Let's accept it."

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