Chapter 843

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After one month had passed, Murakan finally opened his eyes in the Garden of Swords.

"Murakan is showing signs of waking up!"

"Murakan! Can you hear my voice?"

It was Diana who had rescued him after he collapsed. If she hadn't arrived in time, Murakan would have died.

"Murakan!"

Diana hurriedly entered the hospital room. As soon as he regained consciousness, Murakan struggled to sit up, and Diana screamed in fright.

"What are you doing? Stay still. We even brought the Holy King and the master of the Hidden Palace in order to save you."

"Temar... I need to stop Temar. At the last moment, he briefly came to his senses, but I was too weak to seize that chance. He said he would definitely become a monster again."

"Stop moving, your wounds will reopen."

"No, no. He's fully back. Yes, he must have regained his sanity. Where is Temar?"

"Murakan."

"Where is he... cough."

Murakan vomited muddy shadow force and bent forward. Diana carefully laid him back down.

"The patriarch is with Lord Solderet at the Storm Castle right now."

"Ah, I knew it! That bastard is alright, isn't he?"

"Yes. So relax and rest. The Holy King and the master of the Hidden Palace said that even if you take five steps, you will die."

Murakan did not receive fundamental treatment.

No matter how powerful the Holy King's divine power was, it was impossible to repair the shattered heart of the Black Dragon. The Holy King and the master of the Hidden Palace took only minimal measures to prevent the heart from further disintegrating.

Murakan can only recover if Solderet heal him or by self-regeneration.

But Solderet didn't have much strength left, and who knew how many years it would take for natural healing.

'The Holy King said that Murakan's own will is the most important for self-regeneration. But can Murakan... have the will to live?'

It was true that Temar was at Storm Castle with Solderet.

However, as soon as Temar got away from Murakan, he went insane again and Solderet was casting a barrier across the entire Storm Castle while facing extinction.

Diana recalled the words that Murakan unconsciously uttered while he was wandering between life and death. They were all screams stained with guilt about killing the monstrous Ten Great Knights and Temar, whom he loved and cherished.

No one among his comrades was unaware of how much Murakan cherished and loved them. Even Diana was barely holding back her sorrow.

'Like those who left before me, I'll probably become a wraith of manipulation... Although I don't know much I have, but I can't hold out forever. Before it happens, I have to carry out the final order that the patriarch left before going mad. I must preserve the clan's legacy and leave hope in the world. I must prevent the world from falling completely into the grip of Zipfel.'

While Diana was lost in thought, Murakan seemed to fall into a deep sleep as if exhausted.

When he regained consciousness again, another week had passed.

His whole body was burning like a fireball, and each breath sounded like rusty iron. He couldn't open his eyes amidst the suffering and devastation.

Faintly, he heard the voices of those who had been guarding him.

'Diana... and, the first-class butler, Kean…'

Murakan was unable to open his mouth, and he barely had any sensation in his body.

"Kean."

Kean was the first-class butler of Runcandel.

"Yes,... Dame Diana?"

"The Head butler... is she... not here?"

"That's right."

"Couldn't Zipfel,... attack the Head butler,... at the meeting...."

"No, I don't think so. Even if... that's the case,... they would have escaped,... as Dame Sarah and Sir Bale are with them."

Murakan didn't hear properly, so he couldn't fully catch the conversation. Still, he could generally understand what they were saying, but even that was quite challenging for Murakan.

"Dia... Diana..."

"Ah, Murakan... just close your eyes and rest."

"Dra... Vyollo... Fr..."

"Everyone is busy with their missions... so, it seems. A few days ago, they came to see you..."

They came to see you.

Upon hearing that, Murakan unintentionally smiled. Remembering their faces caused a pang of pain in his chest, but his longing and joy were much stronger.

With a smile, Murakan fell back asleep again.

Another month passed.

"Your Majesty, is there any improvement in Murakan's condition?"

"As per Lord Ayula's revelation, Murakan has no will to live.They said that he seems to be content with the imagination of being in a coma."

"Sigh..."

"...It's a terrible situation. Having to send away the people he cherished more than anyone else. I pray that he can find peace someday."

Every time Murakan's consciousness returned.

He couldn't distinguish between Diana's lies, his own imagination, and the harsh reality.

Diana had no choice but to keep lying to him. She couldn't emphasize the truth to someone who could let go of the faint thread of life at any moment.

"Temar... Temar is unharmed too..."

Every time she heard Murakan's voice, Diana's heart clenched. She didn't have much time left either.

Diana checked that Murakan had fallen asleep again and went to the Storm Castle. Solderet's barrier enveloped the castle.

Zipfel knew that Solderet was in an unstable state, but they had never attacked the Storm Castle after the barrier was cast.

As Diana approached, the barrier briefly opened. Sylderay and the knights inside the castle greeted her.

"Diana."

"Sylderay, how is the patriarch?"

"He's the same. He becomes a wraith, then returns to his original form for a moment, and then loses consciousness."

Sylderay and the knights were on standby at the Storm Castle for a reason. When Temar went on a rampage, someone had to subdue him without killing him.

Sylderay had already subdued Temar dozens of times. He, too, was struggling to bear his crumbling inner self.

"What about Murakan?"

"The Holy king received a revelation from Ayula regarding Murakan, and it's not good."

"I see..."

Currently, Runcandel was waiting for the response about the intention to surrender that Luet delivered to Zipfel last time.

"When the patriarch returned to his original form, did he leave any specific orders?"

"The command he left when he first came to the Storm Castle was his last one."

"I see."

"Diana, what will happen to us if Zipfel rejects the surrender?"

"We will have to fight and die, I suppose."

That didn't scare her at all.

What was truly frightening was becoming a puppet of manipulation, unable to even fight back. It was like unknowingly killing people, just like her fallen comrades. Dying while fighting was just a wish, nothing more.

"To be honest, I don't understand. There's no reason for them to accept our surrender. I'd rather fight with all our strength and disappear while still in control. I am not going down so cowardly!"

As Sylderay said, it seemed that Zipfel had no reason to accept their surrender.

In the war, Runcandel suffered irreparable damage, while Zipfel remained unharmed, and they were close to perfecting the means of manipulation of history.

Even if they simply wait, Runcandel would soon face destruction—either by becoming the wraiths due manipulation of history or being brutally killed by the mages.

Sylderay thought that Zipfel wasn't attacking the Storm Castle and the Garden of Swords because they saw no need to waste their strength.

For over two thousand years, Zipfel had reigned over the world, and Runcandel was the only one who resisted them.

Zipfel had no reason to leave behind even a spark of Runcandel's existence. If it had anything to do with Runcandel, even a tiny pebble would be eradicated from the world by Zipfel's methods.

Diana didn't respond and turned towards Temar's sickbed. She sat there quietly for several hours, watching over him.

Suddenly, Temar began to rise slowly, as his body started transforming into a purplish color.

"Ha."

Diana and Sylderay easily subdued the rampaging Temar. Just as Murakan's heart had been broken, Temar was also weakened due to his fight with Murakan.

Once subdued, Temar returned to his original form and lost consciousness.

Diana went outside to cool her head and lit a cigarette, while Sylderay leaned against Temar's bed and burst into tears.

"Everyone is gone... Damn it! Solderet, you treacherous bastard! Is this what you meant by keeping your promise? Come out and reveal yourself, you damn...!"

As Sylderay cried out, a group of knights outside rushed into the room. They tried to restrain Sylderay, but they couldn't withstand his overwhelming strength.

"Sir Sylderay! If you act like this, how can the other clan members maintain their composure? Please calm down, I beg you!"

"It is not the Guardian deity who made the patriarch like this. Lower your voice, Sir Sylderay."

"If it's not Solderet, who else could have made the patriarch like this? When the patriarch was in trouble, what was that useless guardian deity doing?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, Sylderay!"

Diana returned to the hospital room and grabbed Sylderay's shoulder.

"Nonsense?"

"Didn't you hear the patriarch's last command? Never blame the Guardian deity, and fulfill the promise made with the Guardian Deity. He emphasized that even while losing consciousness."

The promise.

The promise between Solderet and Runcandel was about survival. It was about surviving and preparing for the future, a thousand years later.

"Diana, even after seeing the patriarch like this, do you still believe in Solderet...?"

"Whether I believe it or not is not the important issue."

"Look at this, you don't believe in Solderet anymore either! You feel the same way as I do, Diana. I don't understand you anymore."

"My feelings are not important either. Sylderay, what's important is... the fact that it's the patriarch's command. The patriarch's command is absolute, and we are the ones who made it Runcandel's laws! If you keep showing that pathetic appearance, I won't just let it pass, no matter who you are."

"Ha."

"Follow the patriarch's command. It's our only duty and hope left."

"What hope is this? Waiting for them to accept our surrender? A thousand years? You mean everything we've done so far was for the contractor that will appear a thousand years later? Solderet knew from the beginning it would end up like this. He just used the patriarch and us."

Diana hugged Sylderay, who was venting his frustration, for a long time.

She didn't entirely disagree with Sylderay's words. However, she was simply following the patriarch's command because it was absolute. If it was the only means that could someday defeat their enemies, even if they turned into monsters, she had to follow it.

'Solderet said he would create guardians using our souls. Is it to protect Runcandel through those guardians even if we become monsters…? But even if those guardians have powers exactly the same as ours, can we really stop Elona and Zipfel?'

Suddenly, urgent footsteps were heard in the corridor.

"Sir Sylderay! Dame Diana! We've received Zipfel's response."

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