Chapter 967

C967

Zipple, Drakka.

Kelliark surveyed his territory, reclaimed after a long absence. The garden was soaked in corpses, blood, and fire.

All the corpses belonged to the Red Legend Tribe. The Magicians shuddered, remembering how Kelliark and Elona had incinerated them in an instant.

“We were having difficulties dealing with these fellows even after securing Elona… Beradin, I can’t help but regret it when I think about the expectations I placed on him.”

Kelliark spoke in a dry voice.

Octavia, Ronil, and Satrin stood beside him. Octavia still showed her confusion about Kelliark’s return, but not Ronil and Satrin.

They acted as if Kelliark had always been in control of Zipple, and naturally assisted him.

“Ronil.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

“I’ve read all the reports you wrote on Beradin’s movements. There were quite a few disappointing parts there as well.”

“It’s because I didn’t assist adequately.”

“Yours and Satrin’s role wasn’t the problem from the start. Rather, it’s Beradin who failed to utilize you properly.”

Ronil and Satrin.

Kelliark had meticulously raised them to be obedient, secret weapons of the clan. Regardless of who the Zipple patriarch was, Ronil and Satrin always held the role of loyal, secret tools.

Therefore, now that Kelliark had returned, they offered their loyalty without any qualms, despite once calling him a traitor.

They didn’t care who the patriarch was. Even if the illegitimate child of a collateral family who had been abandoned in an orphanage long ago suddenly became the patriarch, the two would have behaved the same way.

Only Kelliark knew this fact. He had originally attempted to seize Beradin’s body to continue his immortality, and he had planned to use his offspring in the same way to rule as Zipple patriarch forever.

That’s why individuals like Ronil and Satrin were necessary: mindless monsters blindly devoted to the clan and the patriarch.

This was also the reason they had taken a different stance from Octavia during the Tower of Stories upheaval in the past.

At that time, Octavia had shouted that they should save Beradin even if the clan suffered a heavy blow, while Ronil and Satrin had argued that they should abandon Beradin. The patriarch could be replaced, but the clan couldn’t.

“By now, Beradin has probably transferred all the confidential information known only to the patriarch to Runcandel. So first, we need to render that critical information meaningless.”

“What should we do then?”

“We will relocate the Holy Land. From today, you two must eliminate all administrators below the second level. Also, isolate all first-level or higher administrators individually.”

“Understood.”

“What should we do with the living golems currently remaining in the Holy Land?”

“It’s a pity to dispose of the living golems still remaining in the Holy Land. Elona will manipulate their memories to recycle them as soon as she has some free time, so provide them with sufficient sustenance to maintain their functionality until then.”

“As you command.”

Octavia couldn’t hide her complex emotions that were difficult to describe.

Even Ronil and Satrin’s attitudes, obediently following Kelliark’s orders, and Kelliark’s bold actions upon his return, weren’t easy for her to understand.

Thus, Octavia hadn’t been able to organize her thoughts for a month. Kelliark hadn’t given her any specific orders yet.

“Octavia.”

“Yes.”

“It seems you still find it difficult to address me as the patriarch. Aren’t you glad I’ve returned?”

“…It’s not that. The truth is, it’s quite confusing. Patriarch, you have longed for Beradin to take your place as heir, haven’t you?”

“That was until he betrayed me.”

“Of course, it’s true that Beradin betrayed you, Patriarch. However, that’s why I find it even more difficult to understand. It seems Ronil and Satrin were initially rigorously trained by the patriarch, but I wasn’t. Why?”

Kelliark smiled kindly.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I wonder why you aren’t punishing me. Regardless of the circumstances, I have been loyal to Beradin, who sidelined you, Patriarch.”

“It’s amusing… In a way, Beradin was merely a test subject for you. A precious test subject for all of us. It seems the researcher swore loyalty to the test subject.”

“Please tell me the reason you aren’t punishing me. If it’s you I know, you should have purged me or… manipulated my mind, as you did with Lady Elona and the other commanders of the Magical Golem Corps.”

“You overestimate yourself, Octavia.”

Octavia’s pupils dilated.

“Since my return, you haven’t truly opposed me. Even when some naive and weak individuals who followed Beradin sacrificed their lives and crawled before me, you simply stood by without taking a stance. That’s the reason I pardon you.”

“…Yes?”

“It could mean you’re not worth killing, or that you still have something to offer the clan. Or I might be acknowledging your merits. Regardless, you’ve worked for the clan alongside me for a long time.”

“I still don’t understand. What do you want me to do?”

“Octavia, just a few years ago, you were the second-in-command who remained behind the scenes. At that time, the deputy patriarch was Andrei, but the people in power recognized you as the true second-in-command. But have you ever thought why that was? Why did I bother to highlight Andrei and keep you hidden?”

“That… I believe it was because Andrei was a more disposable hand than I was.”

“Exactly. However, there’s a flaw in that reasoning. It doesn’t mean you were more valuable to me than Andrei. It’s because you couldn’t do what Andrei could; that’s why you were the hidden second-in-command.”

Kelliark turned and looked Octavia in the eyes.

“Andrei was a crude and untalented person. However, he was an excellent conspirator. No matter how dirty or despicable the measures I took were, I didn’t need to explain anything to Andrei. He always understood me.”

“Ah…”

“On the other hand, what about you? You participated in all the evil deeds we did while experimenting on Sandra and Beradin. However, you always displayed an ambiguous attitude with an uneasy expression on your face. You never strived to cross the line, but you never strived to remain behind either. You simply remained in the gray area, rationalizing that it was all for the clan.”

Octavia was shocked.

Kelliark wasn’t wrong.

“What happened when Beradin betrayed me? You eventually started following Beradin’s orders after stopping his rampage several times. It’s the same now that I’ve returned from Hell. You’re still standing in a gray area, still confused. That’s why you didn’t become deputy patriarch like Andrei.”

During her time as a Zipple leader, she had participated in more experiments and atrocities than anyone, yet Kelliark had never treated her as a reliable accomplice.

“However, despite all that, the reason you were pardoned… is probably because you were expected to cross the line from now on. Like you, like the late Andrei, Patriarch…”

“Frankly, you can’t be that kind of person by nature. So don’t strive to be. But I do believe the clan needs someone like you to a certain extent.”

Octavia’s self-disgust boiled over, and her once-solid and ruthless insides trembled like rotting flesh.

As Kelliark had said, Octavia had always had an underlying negative stance towards the “experiments.”

All those vile actions had been covered up as if they were for the sake of Zipple. The long-neglected truth was gripping Octavia’s throat.

“So from now on, you will continue to remain in the gray area, just as you have done so far. I will make all the decisions… As long as you don’t betray me like Beradin, you can continue living as Zipple’s Spectre Commander forever.”

Octavia couldn’t respond.

Just as she was thinking that perhaps it would be better to die, Kelliark saw her.

“Oh, by the way, I won’t stop you if you have any thoughts of giving up on life. We can always turn you into a living golem, even if your battle prowess diminishes slightly.”

Kelliark approached Octavia and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I hope I don’t have to do something so cruel to my younger sister again. Since you’re having complicated thoughts, you can take the rest of the day off. If you like, you can participate in the task of cleaning up those related to the Holy Land, along with Ronil and Satrin. Or you can assist Elona.”

“…I’ll retract what I said about being happy you’ve returned, Patriarch. It’s not easy to confront my own face that I never truly knew at this age.”

“Neither did I know I would have to rise from the bottom at the age commonly called the end of life, dear sister. It’s rather disheartening.”

“It seems Ronil and Satrin won’t assign me the task of cleaning up the Holy Land. I’ll try to calm my heart a bit and support Lady Elona instead.”

“Ah, right. Among the Red Legend Tribe, there are those who must be dealt with. Elona has probably already found their headquarters, so you can look forward to that.”

Octavia bowed her head and turned away.

As her figure disappeared beyond the door, Ragal approached Kelliark.

“My friend Kelliark, your sister seems to be in a bad state.”

“That’s the nature of the lineage. Octavia even resembles my childhood self… There were times when I was like Octavia. She will eventually follow me.”

“Well, maybe that’s the case if you say so… but I’m a little uneasy. Those people always end up causing trouble. I’ve seen many of them in Hell. Paellito was like that too.”

“Focus on injecting poison into Elona, for now. It’s not that difficult to control Octavia even if she surpasses my expectations.”