CHAPTER 249

At the party, Margiela had purposely made things awkward for Vishukel and she seemed to enjoy doing so quite a bit.

'At the time, I thought she was just a little mischievous, but it turns out she was part of the Kinzeo Group as well.'

It was unexpected.

It wasn't as if she was talented at martial arts or magic, and seeing how she was disabled, it was surprising to see her in a terrorist group… No, a wicked cult. (At least, that was what Jin saw them as.)

And why reveal her identity at this particular moment?

'Kinzelo will help me, so in return, go easy on them?'

If their plan was only to deliver this message to Jin, they would've sent another member.

The reason wasn't her handicap.

VIshukel was Kinzelo's vice leader, and Margiela was his cherished younger sister.

Despite being fully aware Jin had wiped out most of the Kinzelo Group without mercy, they still sent Vishukel's precious sister?

Jin couldn't understand their reasoning.

'I don't know what, but that girl… For some reason, I feel like she might have special abilities like Yona or Bouvard.'

All he needed to do was find out.

There was no point in thinking too hard about it, so Jin decided to reply to her first.

Instead of mouthing his words like she had, he used the universal gesture for 'Me?'.

Jin pointed to himself with his index finger.

He planned to pretend he hadn't understood Margiela's message.

'Kinzelo will help you.'

Margiela mouthed again.

Jin again made the 'me?' gesture before looking left and right, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn't know understand what was happening.

Margiela pounded her chest in frustration.

'Do the Runcandels not even teach how to read lips?!'

She repeated this several times, but the result was the same.

After about the fourth time, Jin even stopped looking at her.

Ultimately, Margiela could only conclude Jin hadn't received her message.

It was something she hadn't ever expected would occur.

Though she wanted to take a bit more risk and approach Jin so he could hear her, it wasn't easy for her due to her wheelchair.

To her, it almost felt like Jin was pretending to not understand on purpose.

'It doesn't matter since Kinzelo will help me regardless. If they're this desperate, there's no need for me to play along.'

It was obvious why they wanted to help him.

Since all the blame was going to fall onto the Zipfels, it was obvious they wanted to curry favor.

"Jin."

"What?"

"I feel like that person over there in the wheelchair is trying to say something to you, isn't she?"

"Don't look directly at her, but remember her. We'll have to meet up with her later."

"She your type?"

"No, but she is part of Kinzelo. When the crowd dies down, quietly go and grab her."

"I see. So it was a love that could never be, huh."

"You can do it, right?"

"You have to ask? It'll be a piece of cake."

The angry crowd was still loudly screaming.

"Don't kill the reporter!"

"Reveal the truth!"

Half of the people were cursing at Zipfel and the other half were cheering for the Runcandels who were blocking their path.

Luna and Joshua were putting pressure on the Midnight Sun Magicians with just their gazes.

Those on Zipfel's side were unable to do anything.

Jin noticed the people in the crowd furiously jotting things down with their pens.

They were all reporters.

It was a strange sight.

Zipfel, the symbol of good and justice, was being criticized, while Runcandel, the symbol of evil and corruption, was being supported.

This was what Jin wanted.

For now, it was only limited to those in the central square of the holy kingdom, but Jin wanted this perception to eventually be shared by the whole world.

He didn't hope that Runcandel would replace Zipfel as the symbol of justice.

He didn't believe that was the case, either.

He just didn't want the hypocrites of Zipfel reigning over the world.

'Zipfel, you bastards have no choice but to back off for now. That is, if you don't want to fight my sister and cause the whole crowd to be massacred.'

Maul shook his head.

He had the same thoughts as Jin.

They no longer had the justification to put an end to this by punishing Kal Zipfel.

"…Midnight Sun Magicians! Everyone, return!"

Maul shouted, regretfully.

The Midnight Sun Magicians shared his feelings.

It was the first time they'd ever received this kind of humiliation since becoming one of Zipfel's elite magicians.

"Good decision, Sir Maul."

Luna smiled and waved at Maul's back.

As Maul and the Midnight Sun Magicians began to climb the stairs of light extending from the Kozak, Luna also turned away.

"Let's take our leave as well, second flag-bearer."

"As you command."

"Dino, I'll see you later."

The two hooded figures slowly walked through the crowd once again.

Luna deliberately did not greet Rani.

Because no matter what she said to her, it could look like the Runcandels were trying to get involved with the holy kingdom.

She also felt it would make the Runcandels appear cooler.

The Runcandels that her younger brother was bound to lead.

Waaaa—!

The subjects who had been shouting complaints were now cheering loudly.

A cheer for the flag-bearers of Runcandel, as well as a cheer that came from the sense of victory at having forced the Zipfels to retreat.

And, in the midst of this, Kal Zipfel was speechless as he remained restrained.

The Midnight Sun Magicians had not taken Kal with them before returning.

Though this was to be expected, since the moment Kal was taken back it would be as if the Zipfel Clan was announcing he was their scapegoat.

"Sir Kal, I will ask one final time. Were you truly involved in the Living Golem experiments?"

Rani asked this as she looked directly at Kal.

"Kill me. I do not wish to make excuses."

"Of course, if it turns out that you are the real culprit, I will do so. However, if you intend to withhold the truth, you will rot in the dungeons of the Holy Kingdom of Vankella for the rest of your life. Paladins of the Golden Shield, imprison Sir Kal Zipfel."

* * *

In the afternoon, all the reporters present in that square had acquired the biggest scoop of their careers.

From that point on, breaking news frantically spread all over the world one after another.

Kal Zipfel's confession, Dino's revelation, Kinzelo's true identity, the confrontation between the Midnight Sun Magicians and the Runcandels, etc.

In the past decade, there hadn't been an incident that occurred within one country only to so quickly spread around the world.

The reporters of the Runcandels, representing the Huphester Alliance, and the reporters of the Zipfels, representing the Lutero Magic Federation, were literally waging war.

Runcandel wrote that the Midnight Sun Magicians, who had brought the Kozak with them, withdrew due to being unable to compete against 'the two Runcandel flag-bearers', while Zipfel described it as the Midnight Sun Magicians having shown mercy.

However, even before the war began, the Runcandels were heavily favored.

This was to be expected. Dino, the one who had initially exposed the situation, was a reporter of the Huphester Alliance, and the Midnight Sun Magicians had retreated without achieving anything.

Those who remained neutral wrote articles speculating on who was behind the Living Golem experiments. 

It was written exactly like the newsletters Dino had distributed, but that was enough.

What they were most interested in was the name that came up, 'Vamel'.

Just who exactly was this Vamel?

Why was he uncovering Zipfel's corruption?

More people were interested in him than the suffering of the holy kingdom.

It was simply the bitter truth that people cared more about exciting and interesting stories than they did the pain of others. Regardless, in the end, it was a great help to the Holy Kingdom of Vankella.

Tracing Vamel's movements was the surest way to find out the truth.

"Damn it, just who is she?"

Meanwhile, Murakan continued to vent his anger after leaving the square.

He was angry about failing to capture Margiela.

"I was definitely tailing her, but as soon as she entered the alley, she vanished like a puff of smoke."

"I get it. No one's blaming you, so why are you mad?"

"My pride feels strangely hurt. I regained forty percent of my strength, but I can't believe I failed to tail a mere human. Also, since she disappeared like that, she must've known I was after her from the beginning, right? Ugh!"

"I think Margiela also has some sort of special power. Like Yona, Bouvard, or the leader of Kinzelo."

"Why are they using strange powers if they aren't even gods?"

"The Demon God's Orb was Kinzelo's work to begin with. I guess those bastards want to become gods."

It was a pity that they lost sight of Margiela.

However, it was not entirely unexpected that Murakan would lose her trail.

There was no way Vishukel would send the sister he cherished so much off without some kind of precaution.

"Anyway, we've finally reached the end of repaying that favor. It might be difficult to completely uncover the truth, but we've created a situation that's adequate for Rani to ascend to the throne, once the trial and investigation are completed."

Rani had been playing the center role of the holy kingdom immediately following the death of the false holy king.

The traitorous officials were still not on her side, but once Zipfel's corruption was revealed, they wouldn't have any power left.

Power comes from the people, and thanks to Vitura's list being distributed all over the world through newsletters, the people were learning the names of the traitors by heart.

Zipfel was no longer able to empower them, so they were finished.

On the other hand, every single one of the subjects supported Rani.

She still hadn't left the square.

And the square was filled with more subjects than when Kal Zipfel had arrived.

To be exact, they were not gathered in the square, but throughout the capital of the holy kingdom.

So many subjects came to protect her that even the wide square couldn't accommodate them all.

In addition to the subjects, there was also a considerable number of people who purely wished to share the suffering of the holy kingdom.

Not everyone in the world just wanted to have fun.

"That's true, but… I don't know if she'll be able to do a good job. Things have happened that are too big for a person of that size to handle. Even after you become a flag-bearer, take care of her."

"If she needed someone to take care of her, then it wasn't right for her to take the throne. I reckon Lord Rani will do well. Because she's someone who didn't lose faith, even while being ostracized."

"You're quite cold, aren't you? Well, you're right. In the human world, that's what being king means. Most of the bastards I've seen in my three thousand years of life weren't fit to be called a king."

Soon, a trial was scheduled to take place.

It was a trial targeting traitors, including the high priests Montiano and Connyu.

As this was a trial hosted by the last remaining loyalists, the death penalty was unavoidable.

'Vitura sacrificed his future, honor, and even his life. Those bastards will have to lose at least that much too.'

After the trial was over, nearly ninety percent of the holy kingdom's officials would face death.

A state funeral and a requiem for the victims of the Living Golem experiment was to be held after.

'Anyway, I wonder how Kinzelo plans to help me.'

Jin suddenly recalled Margiela's message.

However, that question resolved itself with the sunrise of the next day.