CHAPTER 702

[T.L: punisher87]

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First class butler Petro, along with the butlers and maids of Runcandel, and around thirty Colon natives, and Picon Minche's contractor, Vin Branche.

Led by Mary, the knights successfully infiltrated Huphester and rescued around a hundred survivors.

"… We thought our allies were in our elder sister's territory, but they had fled to the west of Delki. There were no major issues until we infiltrated there again."

"Chaos-tainted knights and monsters continued to attack, but we were surprisingly lucky. The butlers who remained in the territory informed us of the situation before we could fully explore, and Mother... No, not only Rosa, but also powerful enemies like the knights of the mausoleum did not appear."

Daytona and Haytona said. The two of them and Jin were sitting in front of the recovery room, where Yona and Mary were, with worried expressions on their faces.

"Things went smoothly even after we arrived in Delki. The unexpected figure, Prince Laika, had hidden the survivors well. But while we were transferring the rescued individuals and escaping to the waiting Cosmos warship in the sea, we saw Elder Brother Diphus..."

Diphus Runcandel.

He, who attacked Mary and the knights at the end, took on a completely corrupted form, with horns on his head like Rosa.

-Ha. What about my brother Diphus and his knights now?

-Everyone will be imprisoned in the dungeon. 4th flagbearer...… was coveted by Rosa before. He's likely become Rosa's subordinate with the help of chaos.

The story Mary heard from Lynn Milcano ultimately became a reality.

"When our second brother appeared, we thought the operation was doomed to fail. Just releasing his aura was enough to shake the Cosmos fleet. Even if our entire force resisted, it seemed impossible to deal with him."

Mary approached Diphus as if she had lost her mind as soon as she saw him.

-Ora… boni Right? Diphus oraboni. It's me, Mary. Don't you recognize me?

-Elder Sister Mary, you must not go there! Please stop!

Mary didn't seem to have any intention of fighting Diphus, who had transformed.

Diphus, too, didn't swing his sword at Mary.

Instead, he smiled contentedly and patiently waited for Mary to approach.

-[Yes, Mary. Your place is by my side, not with the Tikan. Come, let me help you. Just like always.]

Moreover, Diphus even greeted Mary with those words.

But fortunately.

Mary hadn't lost her reason upon seeing Diphus.

"Elder Sister immediately recognized that there was no point in confronting elder brother directly and swiftly utilized her wit. If she hadn't pretended to be shattered at that time, none of us would have been able to return..."

Diphus hadn't forgotten his past relationship with Mary.

That's why her actions seemed reasonable in his eyes.

In other words, he had let his guard down.

As soon as Mary approached Diphus, she calmly unleashed a lightspeed thrust, and she rushed into battle, opening the volcano.

Diphus lost half his body at the very beginning.

Mary displayed a merciless swordsmanship like never before, and it was only then that Tona brothers, and the knights recognized her intention and hurriedly prepared to escape.

The battle didn't last long.

Chaos rapidly restored more than half of Diphus's lost flesh. Intuitively, Mary was certain that there would be no more chances for him to fully recover.

So she used all her strength to escape with the fleet while Diphus was recovering. However, she couldn't avoid a few of Diphus's attacks just before their arrival.

That's why Mary was in the recovery room right now.

"... Youngest, I am so worried about elder sister."

It wasn't about the physical injuries she sustained.

It was her heart.

Although it was clear that Mary's display of wit and temporarily overwhelming Diphus was a calculated move, her agonizing heart was undoubtedly genuine.

'Was Euria's condition not good because of Elder Brother Diphus? With Elder sister Mary's belongings in Tikan, the power of Truth may have foreseen such an unfortunate future. I don't know what to say to elder sister Mary...'

While Jin silently patted his brothers on the shoulders, there was a movement inside the healing room.

"Worried? I'm more worried about you guys sitting there receiving comfort from Jin, you idiots."

"Elder Sister Mary!"

"Elder Sister, have you awakened...!"

The Tona brothers jumped up and their eyes turned red as they looked at Mary.

Mary clicked her tongue at their appearance.

"I've been awake since earlier. I was just too tired and wanted to rest a bit while cuddling with Yona, but I kept hearing voices. I thought it was my duty to put you two in your place if you acted like spineless worms."

"I'm sorry, elder sister."

"But I didn't cry. Of course, if you hit me, I will strike back evenly."

"Proud, pathetic fools. Jin is your younger brother. I understand that your power or skills may be lower than his. But at least make an effort to appear as composed as elder brothers. How long will you rely on Jin? It's about time you became a more reliable support."

After scolding the Tona brothers, Mary made eye contact with Jin.

"Don't you make that disgusted expression either. If the boss shows any sign of worry or concern, it only makes the subordinates more frustrated."

"Yes, elder sister. I will be careful."

"It's not an entirely unexpected problem that we couldn't save everyone and that Diphus oraboni turned out like that... It may seem like a beggarly situation, but it's not entirely unforeseen."

[T/L:- Mary addresses Diphus differently from others. While other addresses as elder brother she addresses him as oraboni.]

Anyone who knew about Diphus and Mary's relationship could tell.

That Mary was forcing herself to pretend to be okay.

Jin admired Mary.

For her determination to never show a weak side again and to never lose her composure, even when facing a chaos-stained Diphus.

Since coming to Tikan, she has kept all her promises.

Offering feeble comfort to such a Mary would be an insult.

"So what we should worry about now is the safety of the remaining survivors and Diphus Oraboni's intentions."

"Elder Sister, regarding elder brother Diphus's intentions...?"

"No matter what I think about it, Diphus oraboni let us go on purpose. The Cosmos' ships are impressive, but if oraboni had truly intended to pursue us, he could have captured us easily."

"Oh, Elder sister. Does that mean elder brother Diphus regained his sanity for a moment?"

"Is that what you think? Hey, Haytona. We should completely rule out such assumptions from the start. Oraboni is no longer the person we knew. He has crossed the river of no return."

Mary's exclusion of even a glimmer of hope for Diphus is no small matter.

She was convinced that the moment she harbored hope for Diphus, Rosa would surely exploit it in some way.

Or it could be the corrupted Diphus himself who would exploit it.

The best choice she could make for Diphus was to end Rosa and the Garden of Swords as soon as possible, even if it meant having to confront Diphus himself.

"In any case, I've been lying down and pondering why Oraboni let us go. Somehow... I have a feeling it's because of despair."

Valeria had recorded the information that her companions had gathered while Mary was absent and left it in her healing room. Mary had reviewed it all.

"Is it possible that Rosa is using Joshua to generate despair? And maybe Diphus Oraboni is the same. However, unlike Joshua, Oraboni... rather than personally falling into despair, plays a role in maximizing the despair of others."

"Elder brother Diphus deemed it more effective to release us once and then capture us again, creating despair, rather than annihilating the elder sister and the rescue targets in Delki. Are you suggesting this?"

"Yes, because failure after success always has a greater impact. Or it could be that the despair obtained by killing us in Delki wasn't satisfying enough. As I just mentioned, Oraboni didn't briefly regain his sanity amidst the chaos because of me. And it's even less likely that he simply let us go out of caprice. There must be a reason, and it must be related to Rosa's completion."

The only things that can complete Rosa are time and despair.

Jin thought that Mary's intuition might be correct.

"In that case, elder brother Diphus will lure us again."

A hunter releases its prey usually when it wants to lure out an even bigger prey.

"Yes, that's likely. We should prepare ourselves or strike first... but it's difficult to make a judgment. It's too risky to make a move first, considering the many options Oraboni has and the dangers involved in preemptive actions."

"First of all, we will deliver information about elder brother Diphus to Kinzelo and Zipfel. Orgal is currently looking for Joshua, so I think we need to check elder brother Diphus's location along the way."

Diphus was no different from Joshua.

As long as they didn't find and completely eliminate him, Rosa would continue to generate despair through them.

But unlike Joshua, Diphus's death would lead to despair for Jin and Mary.

While Mary considered only getting rid of Diphus as the task at hand, Jin wanted to find another solution.

'Perhaps Rosa is hoping for us to kill elder Diphus. Besides, elder brother has undergone physical transformations, so it's impossible to treat him with the current purification device.'

The best option was to subdue Diphus and seal him until a means of purification could be found, just like Luntia had been left in subspace.

In that moment of contemplation, Jin saw Kashmir and Jet approaching from the other side.

Kashmir had come to Jin immediately after receiving a report from Jet.

"King Kashmir."

"Young master Jin, I just received some troubling news from Zipfel's side."

"Are they talking about the termination of our temporary alliance?"

"No, on the contrary, they have requested support as part of the temporary alliance. It seems the Lutero Magic Federation has been attacked, and the attacker... they said it was Sir Diphus."

Jin, Mary, and Tona brothers instinctively clenched their fists.

Diphus had already begun to make his move.

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