Chapter 441

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"Hmm, tomorrow? Why don't you hang out with my daughter a little more?"

"Mother! Am I still a child? Why do you keep saying such strange things..."

Talaris coughed lightly as Syris shot her a sharp look. It was unusual for Syris to speak so sharply.

"Hmm, ahem!, it was just a suggestion. You shouldn't talk to your mother like this, you know?"

"And to avoid situations like today, we should get reinforcements as soon as possible. You can't always protect Tikan, mother."

"You're absolutely right, Lady Syris."

When Jin replied, Syris's eyebrows furrowed strangely.

"It's not that I dislike it. Since we're allies, it's natural to protect each other. But it doesn't mean that my mother or I will always be waiting at the Hidden Palace, so we need alternative options."

Syris spoke, and it became even more apparent that they needed to secure forces to protect Tikan as soon as possible.

'I can't always rely on luck like this.'

The fact that there were no casualties other than damage to equipment and facilities during the attack by Luton and the exiles was almost like divine intervention.

Of course, it was also a result of Jin and his comrades constantly being on guard against enemy invasions. If the Talaris had been a little late or absent, they wouldn't have been able to defend it so perfectly.

In the future, their enemies would surely come prepared, calculating even the possibility of the transfer gate like Luton did.

'Runcandel still can't directly attack, but there will be those like the elder council who try to bring external forces to attack us.'

Moreover, Kinzelo, Zipfel, and Vermont.

At least Kinzelo still maintained a somewhat friendly stance toward Jin, so the possibility of it suddenly turning hostile was low.

'I'm pleased with that fact, but it's not a bad thing in terms of the safety of my comrades.'

On the other hand, Zipfel and Vermont were entirely different.

They could attack Tikan at any moment without warning. Tikan, under the name "Free City," had essentially given up its neutrality that it had maintained for a long time.

'Especially Vermont is likely to see Tikan as a thorn in their side.'

Jin remembered the unpleasant encounter with the emperor. The emperor implied having hidden forces and proposed an alliance, but Jin had sternly rejected it.

Furthermore, since Tikan was also the city of the exiled prince Kashmir. So the Emperor could attack this place at any time.

'It's possible that my enemies within Runcandel and the Emperor might form a temporary alliance.'

It had been only a few days since the death of the exiles, and there had been no significant changes between the Elder Council, Rosa, and Joshua.

'Mother is holding their leash. There may be some kind of dealings going on between Mother and the Elder Council, or Mother may be unable to decide what action to take against the Elder Council.'

It was a dilemma for Rosa.

If she attacked the Elder Council, she would effectively acknowledge that she had purged enforcement knights long ago. Of course, she could bring up the pretext that the Black Sword Association hadn't properly punished the knights who had committed treason years ago, but it was difficult to cover it up like this given the atmosphere of clan..

However, letting it pass without any action was too significant an issue.

Whether it was a purge without a justification or not, it still meant that the Elder Council had not properly carried out the orders of the acting matriarch years ago.

In the end, Rosa had to impose some form of punishment on the Elder Council.

If the punishment was too severe, there would be strong opposition, and if it was too lenient, the authority of the acting matriarch would be weakened.

'The former could lead to a complete split between the Elder Council and Joshua's faction, while the latter could be a violation of the clan's law.'

Jorden had his ambitions, but on the surface, he seemed closer to Joshua's faction. And Rosa was pushing an image of Joshua as a prominent next Patriarch who had already taken control of the Black Knights and the Elder Council at the same time.

Meanwhile, threatening competitors like the 12th flagbearer and the 3rd flagbearer had emerged, so if the Elder Council completely turned against Joshua, it would be a painful blow to that image.

'Even though Mother holds the leash, the Elder Council has more options. The old men could align themselves with elder brother Diphus or elder sister Mary, or even betray Runcandel and align with external forces.'

In other words, the Garden of Swords has once again entered a new phase due to this incident.

In other words, in the midst of the rapidly changing situation, what mattered most was victory.

And for victory, the safety of allies always took precedence.

"I will have two of the Seven Swords of Hidden Palace, Ryu and Hiten, stationed here from now on."

Talaris' pupils widened. She hadn't expected Syris to come up with such a radical suggestion.

Clap! Clap!

Talaris applauded in celebration of the progress they had made, and even Luton joined in, watching her cues. The small beastmen also joined in the applause, and even Murakan got involved, but only Jin and Syris didn't understand the reason.

"Lady Syris, thank you for considering this."

"Sure. I think I need to rest for now."

Syris got up from her seat, and Talaris poked Murakan in the side.

"Eheung, what do you think about it, handsome oppa? It would be a big problem if my future son-in-law marries someone else later, don't you think?"

"Are you threatening the kid?"

"Not necessarily. Anyway, about tomorrow. The Black King's leader said he would meet you, right?"

"I plan to go and see. There's also someone peculiar I need to investigate in the Black King mercenaries."

"Someone peculiar?"

"A rookie mercenary named Zephyrin, but Murakan and Ms. Cuicantelle think there's a high chance she's a Demon Dragon."

The leader of Kinzelo who is presumed to be a demon and Plutonian-type golems, the sealed Smarion Proch beneath the Ghost Castle, and the demon dragon, following the Majins and Emperor, who proposed an alliance.

"The times have indeed changed. In my younger days, such strange things didn't wander around like this. And your greatest enemy, the 2nd flagbearer, seems to have someone like the Prophet, right?These are dangerous times."

Talaris shrugged wearily, as if she were tired.

She had been aware of most of the information Jin had acquired recently.

"Among them, there's something that I can guess about Smarion Proch."

"What is it?"

"The power of chaos."

"What is that?"

Jin's pupils narrowed.

"It's a strange power that occasionally appears in the world, like what your youngest sister, Yona Runcandel, has within her."

-Haven't you ever thought it was unfair?

-What? Was it just me watching over you? I told you earlier, when you're bathing or doing things like that...

-Not that. You have been treated as a murder doll all along. Since you were so young. It was terrible and absurd even considering that you are a pure-blood Runcandel.

-Is that bad?

-It's bad.

-Haven't you ever committed a murder, youngest?

-That's not the issue.

-Hehe, I was born like this from the beginning. So, there's no need to be sad.

-Born like this, what is that supposed to mean...

Jin was reminded of the conversation he had with Yona in the past. She hadn't honestly told him what kind of power she was born with since then. She had only muttered that "Even you have a secret, youngest."

"Not only elder sister Yona, but even Bubare and Margiella Ivelianos from Kinzelo have special powers. Does that mean it's the power of chaos?"

"Yes. It could be innate, or it may be acquired. I don't know the details, but one thing for sure is that the owner of that power can be consumed by chaos at any time."

"Consumed, you mean..."

Jin remembered the sealed Smarion Proch.

"It means turning into a monster like Smarion Proch. I've also faced people who changed after being tainted by chaos in my younger days."

Talaris paused for a moment. It was because unwanted memories that she didn't want to recall resurfaced.

Talaris suppressed the bitter and painful memories that rose for a while and then spoke.

"On the other hand, I've seen people who gracefully ended their lives without being consumed by chaos. Based on my experience, it seems that transforming into a monster is related to the owner's will and the size of the chaos they possess."

"Madame Talaris."

"Speak."

"Could it be that my father is also related to that power called chaos?"

That was a secret known to only a very few.

Talaris had no intention of revealing that much at first, but now that it had come to this, she saw no need to deny it.

"Yes. Chiron has been fighting that power for a long time too. How did you find out about it?"

"Sir Lata told me about a conversation between my father and Smarion Proch. I inferred it from that conversation."

Jin couldn't help but feel deeply disturbed.

The idea that Chiron and Smarion shared 'the same issue' had been a foreseen problem since the moment he first encountered Smarion in the Ghost Castle.

But could it be that the issue wasn't unique to just Chiron and Smarion?

'Elder sister Yona and my father, too. Could they suddenly become monsters at some point...?'

Just imagining such a scenario tore apart his heart. Given the immense power they possessed, it seemed unlikely that the size of the chaos they held was small.

Jin thought that it must be different from people like Bubare and Margiella.

"Chiron acquired it, and Yona's is innate. That's what I heard directly from your father."

"So that's why my father is obsessed with the Black Sea."

"Yes, but even if he's a close friend, Chiron didn't tell me everything about his chaos, so I have nothing more to say."

"This alone is enough."

"The important thing is that Smarion Proch must be eliminated. Once chaos consumes a person, it only grows stronger over time."

The sealed Smarion's power was becoming stronger and stronger. He needed to be removed before he became something unbearable.

"By the way, handsome oppa, you seem to be clueless about the power of chaos. It seems like something you should know the most about, right? Why this power disturbs the balance of the world, what its foundation is. Don't you know anything about it?"

All eyes turned to Murakan. He shook his head as if he didn't know.

"I don't know. Maybe it disappeared from my memory. I don't even know if I never knew it in the first place. I hate to admit it, but... It seems like a question worth asking once I meet my sister."

Huff! Murakan let out a frustrated sigh, then added.

"Kid, before you meet the Black King mercenaries, let's make a brief stop at the Tabernacle."