CHAPTER 236

Jin spoke while approaching Vitura.

"I didn't expect you to recognise me, Sir Vitura."

"I once attended a party. I spent the night only quenching my thirst before returning home, so you may not have seen me."

Vitura looked bitterly at the Paladins of the Golden Shield who had fallen by his blade.

"Most of the paladins under my direct command also fell into their hands. Rani, I can't tell you how thankful I am that you're still fine in the midst of all this."

"…Sir Vitura. I was suspicious of you. Please forgive me."

As Rani lowered her head and apologized, Vitura waved his hand.

"I would have reacted in the same way if it were me. Since your father and I have been political enemies for a long time. And I've always been at the forefront saying that we have to stand on the Zipfel Clan's side."

Holy King McLan and the commander-in-chief of the paladins, Vitura Velter.

The two were known to have been enemies for a long time, and in fact, they often got into heated arguments during official meetings.

But that was all just them playing a role to maintain political balance. 

McLan played the role of a hero, putting pressure against vested interests, while Vitura played the role of a villain who campaigned for vested interests.

The conflict between the two that continued after McLan became the Holy King was actually cooperation, and the only people who knew about it were themselves.

There was a long story behind why that came to be, but Vitura didn't think now was the time to give Rani a detailed explanation.

Firstly, they needed to discuss the current situation.

"Rani, soon it will be reported to Zipfel that you and Young Master Jin came to visit me. There are only a few people left in the official residence who are fully under my command, and even those few are under surveillance."

"So right now, the Zipfel Clan believes that they've won you over to their side."

Vitura nodded at Jin's words.

"You'd probably think that I was the first one to be won over to their side… But those bastards started planting spies in the Holy Kingdom twenty years ago."

Twenty years ago was before Jin was even born.

Jin didn't know about it because he was expelled from his family without any authority in his previous life, but the holy kingdom fell into the hands of Zipfel back then as well.

"Vankella is divided into two."

"You mean the Zipfel Clan and the forces opposing them?"

"…No, it's divided into those who support Zipfel and those who support Kinzelo. The holy king's double is the work of Kinzelo. I still can't believe it, but they have the ability to transform people."

Rani's eyes widened.

Faced with this fact, Rani had no choice but to be in shock. Not was the Zipfel taking over the holy kingdom, but even Kinzelo was reaching out to grab hold of them.

As far as she knew, Kinzelo was nothing more than a third-rate terrorist group that couldn't even be compared to the Zipfel Clan.

If one were to hear such a group ruled half of the holy kingdom, anyone would react similarly.

Jin had a calm expression, and Murakan just shrugged his shoulders.

"It seems the name Kinzelo doesn't surprise you, nor did it surprise your knight."

'I'm not some mere knight.'

Murakan thought, nearly ready to snap back.

"The day I left the Garden of Swords, I was attacked by those with the ability to transform. They were Zipfel's most extreme followers. From then on, I tracked down their identities and found out that Kinzelo and the Zipfel clan were allies."

"So that happened… However, now they are no longer allies. They were up until recently, but now, although I don't know why, they've become complete enemies."

Vitura pretended to be a subordinate of the Zipfel Clan and watched the whole thing.

High Priest Montiano, as well as High Priest Connyu, and other powerful figures plus their forces were already completely obedient to Zipfel, so there wasn't much he could do. 

But when the two organizations that had been allies became enemies, Vitura decided that the only chance to take back the holy kingdom had arrived.

Because he expected the united front that had ruled over Vankella to weaken.

And as expected, the holy kingdom became divided.

The moderate faction followed the Zipfel Clan, and the hardline faction followed Kinzelo. 

"The traitors believe that the Zipfel Clan's Kelliark and Kinzelo's leader are greater than Ayula. I wasn't able to see Kinzelo's leader in person, but Kelliark had enough power that anyone who lacked faith would feel that way."

Even after the alliance was broken, they decided to stick to their respective goals, splitting the kingdom in half for the time being.

Although some loyal subjects, including Vitura, remained… They were as insignificant as a mote of dust when compared to the scale of the traitors.

It was only a fight worth taking if at least one of the moderate or hardline factions had the will to retake the kingdom.

As Vitura briefly explained, the foul smell of blood from the dead Golden Shield Paladins wafted up.

"Since when have Living Golem experiments been carried out? When we brought Rani from the Eastern Temple of Ayula, there was a fight there with the holy kingdom's soldiers who had become Living Golems."

Jin took out a piece of the Living Golem heart from his breast pocket and showed it.

"…Oh, Ayula. Your sons are meeting such a miserable fate."

Vitura trembled for a moment while holding a piece of the heart.

"It's been about half a year since they started conducting experiments. Every month, more than a hundred citizens and soldiers of the kingdom are taken to their base and turned into test subjects."

Rani's expression became distorted.

She felt like she was going insane learning she'd been unaware that any of this was happening, even with her eyes wide open.

"Rani, it's not your fault. The fault lies with your father and myself. We missed the chance to tell you."

"When you say their base, do you mean the Lutero Magic Federation?"

Jin naturally assumed that the Living Golem experiment was the Zipfel Clan's work.

"It's not the work of the Zipfel Clan. It's Kinzelo."

However, unlike in Kollon, the Living Golem experiment on the holy kingdom's subjects was Kinzelo's evil deed.

"Kinzelo is experimenting with Living Golems…?"

Kinzelo was an organization closely related to the beastmen.

Representatives of fighting tribes such as the White Wolf Tribe and the Orange Tiger Tribes were following Kinzelo's leadership.

And that blue aura that was clustered inside the heart fragment, the thing that gave Jin the creepy feeling of deja vu. 

'Kinzelo, those bastards, are they really planning on reviving the Illustrious Legend Tribe?!'

The heart of the living golem seen in the holy kingdom was strangely similar to the Heart of Light that belonged to the Illustrious Legends.

Murakan seemed to have the same thought, as he placed his face close to the heart fragment.

'But how would they be able to accomplish that? They completely disappeared about fifty thousand years ago. Nothing is known about the Heart of Light, and the Illustrious Bladeworks technique that controls lightning has been completely lost…'

As Jin's mind kept turning, he remembered an article from a newsletter.

An article about himself… When 'Vamel' controlled lightning. 

The members of Kinzelo who survived at that time, were witnesses of the Illustrious Bladeworks.

Could it be after seeing that?

An indescribably unpleasant and ominous feeling pressed down on Jin's chest.

"Kinzelo is taking the holy kingdom subjects to Oterium."

The headquarters of the Dark Magic Association and the place where Liol Zipfel's legacy rests.

That was the place where the Living Golem experiments were being carried out.

"Are the Zipfel Clan conducting experiments on the subjects like the other bastards?"

"At the very least, not as of this time. It seemed like Zipfel planned to use our holy relics and demonic holy relics we store, but they're not using the holy kingdom's subjects as test subjects."

"That is probably the result of them being conscious of public opinion for when they and Kinzelo fight for the position of sole ruler of the holy kingdom in the future. That's what hypocrites like them do."

Vitura nodded, feeling wretched.

But he also felt surprised.

Jin accurately determined the results he had obtained after years of observation, just from listening to a few sentences concerning the situation.

"Ha! Look here, Captain Paladin. If the situation's gotten this bad, why didn't you ask the Runcandel Clan or some other force for help?"

When Murakan spoke as if he was frustrated, Vitura sighed.

"If Runcandel joins in these circumstances, do you think this land will survive?"

Jin agreed that Vitura's choice was absolutely the right one.

The Zipfel Clan and Kinzelo would at least try to rule from behind the scenes, but the Runcandel Clan would have used this opportunity to start a war. The holy kingdom would've turned into a wasteland, with the clan taking only the saints with excellent healing abilities and items from the Eternal Storage.

Strictly speaking, what Runcandel needed was not the 'neutral nation of Vankella', but the 'healing ability of the saints', plus some valuables.

"Hm, that's right, I suppose. Kid, what are you thinking about so intensely?"

Jin stood silently, his arms crossed.

A method to get the Zipfel Clan and Kinzelo out at once, without sacrificing too much. He'd been deep in thought ever since he'd heard that the 'Living Golem experiment' was done by Kinzelo and not Zipfel.

What could he do to properly screw them over?

"What?"

"I can see a rough plan forming. It's a relief that Kinzelo is still a relatively unremarkable group."

"…Sir Vitura."

"Please speak, Young Master Jin."

"All the leaders of the holy kingdom have either betrayed the kingdom, or maintained their loyalty like yourself, but are powerless. Is that right?"

"…That's right."

"But the citizens know nothing about this. They probably don't even know that roughly a hundred or more subjects are being used as test subjects every month."

Vitura's eyes slowly enlarged.

"Do you plan to inform the citizens about this?"

"Yes. But no one will believe us even if we tell them the truth, so we'd best bring proof. I and my friend here will go to Oterium and rescue the captured subjects."

"It's not that I haven't thought about that, but there are many 8- and 9-star mages from Kinzelo waiting there."

"I know. The mages of the Dark Magic Association under Kinzelo. I've done a lot of research on them."

'And yet you can bring back the subjects with just the two of you?'

That thought ran through Vitura's head, but didn't pass his lips. He decided to listen a bit more first.

"The rescued subjects will be evidence more solid than anything else. And though it's regretful, not many of the subjects rescued from Oterium will be alive, or well. Most of them will have either become Living Golems or still be in the process of transformation."

"So you plan to show the true situation to the citizens remaining in the holy kingdom…"

The best method was to bring back the citizens who were taken as test subjects.

However, with the current strength of those loyal to the king, it was impossible to even head to Oterium.

"Yes, that's what I'm thinking. And we'll direct all that responsibility onto Zipfel, not Kinzelo. I plan to spread that the citizens who were captured as test subjects were all found in the Zipfel Clan's Fourth Tower of Magicians."

"The Zipfel Clan's Fourth Tower of Magicians… But isn't that a lie?"

"It doesn't matter if it's a lie. If it becomes known within the holy kingdom that its subjects have been captured, and even sacrificed, in Living Golem experiments… The Zipfel Clan will be forced to provide an explanation, since if they lose public support, future governing will become quite difficult."

The citizens were currently completely unaware that the holy kingdom had fallen to the Zipfels.

However, if it was revealed to the world that the ZIpfel Clan had been conducting 'experiments' on its subjects, they'd have to work hard to stabilize the land they'd already taken over.

It was not an issue that they, who at least outwardly advocated justice, could easily ignore.

"Wouldn't it be easily disproved if the Pillar of the Fourth Tower of Magicians comes forward and says something. Though, it seems like you have a plan."

"Currently, the Pillar of the Fourth Tower of Magicians, Kal Zipfel, is not within the Lutero Magic Federation. He's held prisoner by Kinzelo, a group known to the public as a third-rate terrorist organization."

The moment Jin sets foot on the land of the holy kingdom with those captured subjects, the Zipfels will be forced to make a choice.

Either admit that Keliark's legitimate son, Kal Zipfel, was captured by a nameless third-rate terrorist group, or be framed for the Living Golem experiment on Kinzelo's behalf.

If they choose the former, their status will drop. If they choose the latter, their image will be ruined.

"Let's capture Kinzelo with military might, and capture Zipfel with moral might."