CHAPTER 653

[T.L: punisher87]

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As Ronil showed signs of considering his response, Octavia stepped forward with a confident expression, as if she had nothing to hide.

"It's not possible to send the young patriarch, Jin Runcandel."

"I'm curious as to why," Jin replied, eyeing Octavia. She sighed and lowered her head.

"That child is no longer the Veradin Zipfel you knew. Now... he is almost like a newborn baby."

"A newborn? Could you explain it in simpler terms, spectre captain?"

"It is literally as I said. Veradin has lost everything, including language, knowledge, magic, habits, and memories."

According to Octavia's expression, Veradin is currently in a blank state.

Jin also felt a momentary sensation of his mind going blank upon hearing this news.

Ronil looked slightly uncomfortable. 

Jin wanted to subdue Octavia immediately and hold a sword to her throat if she didn't explain everything about Veradin properly.

Jin finally regained his composure and his gaze fell on Euria. Soon, the power of truth was manifested, and a blue string was visible.

-Until yesterday, I was stuck in a life support device. Well, thanks to that, my clan won't be able to manipulate my mind for a while.

- Then it seems that you have lost all of your mana.

- Not only mana, but I also have some memory issues. I can't even remember my siblings' names, and I forgot a lot of magic. It's a side effect of the rampage. I'm sure my mana will return, but I can't be certain about my memories. As for magic, I can just learn it again.

A conversation Jin had with Veradin before leaving for Laprarosa.

At that time, despite starting to lose his memories, Veradin didn't forget a single thing about Jin and Dante. After returning to the human world, Jin felt uneasy upon hearing that Veradin had not engaged in any external activities during his absence.

Eventually, his anxiety became a reality and weighed heavily on Jin's mind.

Unconsciously, he found himself staring at Sandra. She seemed different than usual, as if she had also been affected like Veradin's experimentation.

"Are you really saying he can't remember anything?"

"... I know very well that Veradin is close to you and the lord of the Sword Emperor Castle. So I asked him a lot about you guys because I was hoping it would be of some help to him. But he couldn't remember at all."

Jin couldn't speak for a while and struggled to contain his anger.

This was a negotiation room.

It wasn't a gathering to resolve personal anger or resentment.

Moreover, Jin was the host of the meeting and the representative of the Vamel Alliance and its allies.

Octavia didn't underestimate Jin for acting this way.

She simply thought that despite having nearly the strongest power in the world, he still had a youthful side.

It was imperative to end that aspect before it disappeared.

"Veradin is our young patriarch, and he was by far the most talented person in the next generation of our clan. His breakdown is even more heartbreaking and painful for us than for you." 

Jin didn't know what to do about Veradin right away. 

The thought of Valeria's record magic being helpful briefly crossed his mind, but it was just a hope.

"You're spouting nonsense. It was you guys who made Veradin like that. It's probably a side effect of the living golem experiment. You experimented on a person to make them look like that."

"I won't deny it. But that doesn't mean it's not painful."

"So, what are you going to do with Veradin from now on?"

"We'll find a way to make him normal again, no matter what it takes."

The blue thread appeared again.

Jin stared at the thread for a while, then closed his eyes once.

"Even with your fancy demon's god's stone, it's not easy, is it?"

"That child is not responsible in the first place. Anyway, for that reason, I couldn't send Veradin. Instead, Sir Hedo here will do the hard work for you."

"Since he is the strongest tower keeper on the Zipfel side, we'll send Zephyrin. Yes, even if Rosa Runcandel suddenly appears in the Eastern five Regions, you won't die in vain. It seems that this part has been roughly sorted out."

The remaining tasks were to set the time for the temporary alliance to launch a joint attack in the Garden of Swords, and to plan for contingencies.

Opinions started to fly around, but it was Orgal who took the lead in leading the meeting.

Orgal had a deeper and vast knowledge than anyone else about chaos, the attributes of that power that was only recently known to the general public, and about the evil god and the prophet.

"... So, it means that Kinzelo has been checking the formation of the ship called Ram since that day."

At Jin's question, Orgal nodded his head.

"Yes. If my prediction is correct, the current level of completion is less than 50%. Maybe not even 30%."

"Then we must strike before it's completed."

"I hope so, but it seems difficult at this rate."

"Ram...… did she take the last letter of her name? Prophet…no, Helluram seems to be very narcissistic."

When Jin said that, Orgal let out a low laugh.

"It seems you've been thinking of the prophet as Helluram all this time."

 "I suspected as much."

"If that's the case, wouldn't your Ruby cat have reacted to something in the Garden of Swords? The Prophet is not Helluram, but her daughter. She is just one of many daughters..."

"Many daughters? Does that mean there may be more beings like the prophet in the world?"

"At least not in the human world. If there's a space that Helluram hasn't arranged, there might be some left, but it's not really significant. After all, they can never come out in the human world until Helluram wakes up. Anyway, the only thing her daughters hope for is the resurrection of my former lover, Helluram."

"Is that why she uses humans as sacrifices?"

 "Not exactly humans themselves. Of course, things like flesh and bones are necessary, but their efficiency isn't that great. What's really needed is despair. Only pure, massive despair can awaken Helluram."

"You seem to know a lot about Helluram. It seems like you want to awaken her."

"That's not something people who have never been in love would say. Awakening Helluram would be of no benefit to me whatsoever. I don't even want to hope for it."

Euria's authority continued to form a blue string, but Jin was uncomfortable with the fact that he had to rely on Orgal's knowledge and experience in this way.

'Once I find Valeria, I have to somehow learn more about Helluram and the Prophet. Dr. Qwaul said that before the teacher left Tikan for the last time, she talked about the marble that I got from Joshua's villa.'

Schugiel Hister's magic tomb. Before leaving for Laprarosa, Jin had entrusted half of Schugiel Hister's magic tomb to Gilly.

Valeria found out about a year ago that Gilly had the magic tomb, and she obtained a clue to the record magic through it. 

Thanks to this, she was able to push forward with the restoration of Joshua's marble and Solderet's recording device. She's currently missing, though.

"Anyway, there is no way to prevent the restoration of Ram at the moment, so we have to assume that the final battle will proceed with Ram completed. What are we going to do is, we will deal with Ram and send the 12th flagbearer down to where Rosa is?"

Orgal nodded at Ronil's words.

"Very accurate. Until then, let's hope that Kelliark Zipfel recovers and the Demon's God's orb reaches its completion stage."

"12th flagbearer, I want to ask you something."

"What is it, Ronil Zipfel?"

"Do you have any means to purify chaos?"

Jin had intentionally placed knights from his clan on the route to the conference hall.

This was to show that they had a perfect means of purification, unlike other forces that use chaos as a means of control.

"Yes."

Ronil and Octavia's pupils widened as the blue string appeared.

"Then... please use the purification method on my father."

"You said earlier that you couldn't accurately inform me of Kelliark Zipfel's condition?"

"Because I needed to be careful."

"My purification method is not perfect. If there has been physical transformation due to chaos or if the enchantment has already been completed, purification may not be possible"

Ronil showed hesitation for the first time as another blue string emerged.

"Looking at the reaction, it seems that he is already in that state."

"I believe that this is not just a matter of the survival of our clan, but also the fate of the world. Whether my father can fight in his full state or not."

"During the final battle, I also need Kelliark's power. Of course, it is unpleasant, but if the purification method is improved before the battle and if his power is necessary at that time, I will allow you to use the purification method on him."

"....I understand."

The meeting continued for over two days, and the temporary alliance of the three forces made the world buzz from that day on.

* * *

March 7th, 1803.

As discussed in the meeting, Jin's group had entered the Kaldran Snow Field. He didn't use the red owl this time. He was with Zephyrin, Hedo, and Sandra Zipfel.

Fortunately. Unlike during the meeting, Sandra was showing the same side that Jin knew.

"Hahaha, Jin! My acting was really convincing, right? I wanted to express my immense love for you during the meeting. But no, no, Sandra! Wake up! Otherwise, we won't have a chance to meet separately like this! That's why I persisted with this charade!"

"... I wasn't originally planning to ask Zipfel and Kinzelo to send someone."

"Only those who are prepared can seize the opportunity at any time. Since I acted crazy that day when nothing was confirmed, I was able to be with you like this as soon as the opportunity came."

After saying that, Sandra smiled broadly and crossed her prosthetic arm with Jin's arm.

Jin didn't separate it right away. It was because he felt relieved.

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