Chapter 964

C964

Tikan Palace.

“Radin, you’ve finally shown a bright expression on your face. Tsk, poor boy,” Sandra commented, ruffling Beradin’s hair.

For the past month, as Sandra had said, Beradin had spent most of his days with a dark, lifeless expression on his face.

Naturally, it was because of Elona and the living golems.

Thanks to the Holy Crown, Elona had literally become a monster for Kelliark. The rumor that Elona had eliminated the pro-Beradin faction members who rebelled against Kelliark in just one day was now well-known even among the common people of Hufester.

Furthermore, the living golems who hadn’t been rescued like Betty, Almatia, and Kun, had also become weapons of war under Kelliark’s command.

The living golems created after Beradin were originally designed to be loyal only to him, but Kelliark used some kind of ability to make them resemble Elona. Tikan suspected this had something to do with the Holy Crown.

But that wasn’t the only thing tormenting Beradin.

Beradin’s personality had changed due to the mind manipulation, but he was haunted by all the actions he had taken while under its influence.

A purge that was no different from a massacre, a war that excluded civilians, the production of living golems, and even turning his sword against his friends who had never given up on him.

All these things were more than enough to drive a person mad and plunge them into the abyss.

“There are too many things you need to correct, so getting discouraged isn’t the solution.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve never really thought about noble causes, but compared to when I was in Zipple, I’m practically an angel here. It seems that in Zipple, even breathing could lead to getting involved in wrongdoing. Since coming to Tikan, I’ve learned to think like an ordinary person.”

“Like an ordinary person…? Where the hell is my previous elder sister?”

“Why do we, victims of mind manipulation, behave like this amongst ourselves? If I can become normal, then you can also become like me, right?”

“Um, I understand.”

Beradin was heavily influenced by Sandra.

The aftereffects of Beradin’s mind manipulation were over, and he had become like his usual former self, excluding the mistakes he made when he was insane.

However, Sandra still couldn’t erase the traces of the living golem experiments even after leaving Zipple. In fact, she had never led a normal life until she came to Tikan, as she had been a victim of the living golem experiments from the beginning.

But Sandra didn’t care about those things at all. The current Sandra was solely focused on her responsibilities as a member of Tikan and her dedication to making Jin hers.

One of the reasons she visited the depressed Beradin every day was because she believed that simply knowing someone like herself, who was also a victim of the experiments, could be a source of strength for Beradin. Her choice was, in fact, correct.

“Beradin, no. I should call you ‘Young Master’ now.”

“Hah, Sandra alone is a burden, and now I have to take care of this guy too?”

Hedo and Bale visited Beradin’s room.

“Young Master… You can call me by my name, Sir Hedo. What have I done to deserve being called ‘Young Master’?”

“Well, I’ll consider it as having another son. I always wished young Sandra had a closer sibling.”

“Oh, you’re going to take care of him, Immortal. You’ll also have to listen to Radin. The order of command is me first, Jin second, and Radin third. Of course, the ranking between first and second is just for convenience, there’s no real difference, understood?”

“That damn Immortal name, I can’t kill him because of the golden oath, and I can’t hit you either. My situation is truly miserable, truly miserable.”

“Even without the golden oath, if you dare harm young Sandra, you will meet your end at my hands, Bale.”

Naturally, the members of Tikan welcomed Beradin.

There wasn’t a significant backlash even within Runcandel. The fact that Beradin was a long-time friend of Jin was no longer a secret, and it wasn’t an impossible occurrence.

“Well, anyway, I’ve been waiting here since morning just to see Jin, but it seems I was wrong. Hey, Immortal, is Redhead in Tikan now?”

“Yes. But she’ll soon be going to the Garden of Swords using the Red Owl. She seemed to have something to report.”

“Eh? Then, that damn girl plans to meet Jin without me? It can’t be helped. I’ll have to go to the Garden of Swords too.”

“Hey, does that mean I should go too?”

“Oh, I’m going on a date, so why are you following me? Bale, you can entertain yourself. Well then, I’m off!”

Sandra suddenly brightened with excitement and quickly left the room.

Unfortunately, not even ten minutes after her departure, Jin, Dante, and Betty arrived at Beradin’s room. Bale couldn’t help but hold his stomach and laugh.

“Beradin!”

“Beradin!”

“Patriarch!”

Dante had a wide smile on his face whenever he met Beradin. He was busy with regent duties and the restoration of the True Demon World, so this was only their third meeting since Zito’s punitive expedition.

Jin had met Beradin more times than Dante, but today’s atmosphere was much brighter than before.

“You’re here? Betty, stop calling me ‘Patriarch’ from now on. I’m not the ‘Patriarch,’ and I’ve done nothing but terrible things to all of you.”

“Then I’ll call you ‘Orabeoni.’ Calling you something like ‘father’ or ‘creator’ just doesn’t suit your age.”

Surprisingly, Betty readily agreed and even spoke informally.

“Sure, that’s much better.”

“Now, Orabeoni and I have to work together to get our people back from Zipple. Lady Elona, Almatia, and Kun. Even if they’ve crossed a line due to mind manipulation, they’re still our family.”

They knew nothing about Almatia and Kun, but Elona had already crossed a river of no return.

As soon as she was captured by Kelliark, her first action was to eliminate the pro-Beradin forces, and three cities were razed in the process.

Not a single survivor remained. Like the demons manipulated by Zito, she had no qualms about killing innocent civilians.

Even if all the facts are revealed later and Elona regains her freedom from the Holy Crown, that fact won’t be forgotten.

“Family…”

“Manipulated or not, for whatever reason, there should be consequences for taking someone’s life. But we’re still a family and we should be there for them, no matter how much others distance themselves or point fingers once they regain their sanity.”

Beradin nodded in agreement with Betty’s words.

“Besides, we have to rescue all the people who are being crushed under Kelliark’s tyranny, Orabeoni. Not just civilians, but also the lower-ranking members of the Federation who are used without their knowledge. We have to restore the Federation into a place where people can live, and only then can we find some redemption.”

“You talk like you’re going to die after all this is over, Betty.”

“What else are we going to do with our lives, Sir Jin? I’m a living golem with a partially conscious link to my Orabeoni. So everything I say is also a reflection of his will. We’ve made too many mistakes.”

“It’s not too late to think about important questions like the meaning of life or death after correcting your mistakes. So don’t let the pressure get to you, Betty.”

“But my Orabeoni’s consciousness is more important than mine if you don’t want to feel pressured.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t. I’ll regain my senses and be strong, Betty. I was planning to do that starting today.”

“That’s good, Beradin. Being in a bad mood won’t help, even if you feel depressed. Ultimately, it just bothers me and Jin to see you so gloomy.”

“Don’t even dream of ending your life like Betty said even after everything is over, Beradin. Otherwise, you’ll end up trapped in Runcandel’s underground prison, neither alive nor dead.”

Beradin shuddered at Jin’s words.

“Well, that’s scary. Anyway, here. Look, Jin.”

Beradin handed over a thick notebook.

Inside, there were classified secrets of Zipple compiled by Beradin. It started with information only the Patriarch could know and was packed with details about the “Holy Land.”

The Vamel Alliance had already obtained some information about the relationship between the Holy Land and Elona. The decrease in explosions caused by the Fire of Destruction had allowed Valeria to examine the records about Kelliark and Elona.

While they hadn’t yet discovered that Elona was a creature born from the Holy Land, they did confirm the existence of the Holy Land’s coercive power and the material of the Holy Crown.

“The memories are complete from my time when I lost my mind, so some parts are missing. However, I remember the location and structure of the Holy Land quite vividly.”

“The information about the Holy Land will be crucial to rescuing Lady Elona.”

The problem was Elona’s combat abilities when using the Holy Land.

Even during Jin’s fight with Zito, he was surprised by the immense power Elona possessed. And Elona was even stronger now than she had been then.

Furthermore, Jin’s goal wasn’t to kill Elona, but to subdue her and free her from the Holy Crown. At this point, he couldn’t think of a good strategy.

‘Eliminating Lady Elona would be possible even now… but subduing her would be a challenge, unless the Laprarosa siblings return or Luna also attains Genesis Knight.’

Even if they somehow managed to subdue her, removing the Holy Crown without adverse effects would be another problem.

“But Kelliark isn’t stupid, so I suspect he anticipated that he would be passed Zipple’s inside information. In my opinion, he might move the Tower of Stories to the Holy Land.”

“Is that possible?”

“It’s entirely possible with Zipple’s current technological capabilities and the power of the Demon God Orb. This was a covert operation even when I was in charge, although I didn’t know about Lady Elona’s relationship with the Holy Land at the time… Kelliark probably obtained this information from Sheenu.”

“Or it could be Ganesto or the Witch. Anyway, I’ll go over the notebook and see if there’s any information that can be used immediately.”

Just as Jin gave his response, the sound of Jet’s footsteps was heard.

“My Lord! An important message has just arrived from the Garden of Swords.”

“An important message?”

“Yes, my Lord. Sir Cyron sent a letter to the Garden of Swords.”

Everyone in the room’s eyes widened in astonishment. It was a letter Cyron had sent approximately a month ago.

“They say we can’t know the contents until you yourself open it, my Lord, but should I send the letter here?”

“No, I’ll go to the Garden of Swords immediately.”