Chapter 492

Episode 137. Everyone had good plans, but (3)

Jin's eyes grew wide as he looked up at the sky a beat late.

"What the hell..."

An expletive burst out reflexively. Anyone not affiliated with Zephl would have
done the same.

The massive ships, over a hundred feet long, looked like tumors filling the dark
and vast morning sky.

The ships blocked the stars, and the unique softness of the clear night sky was
gone, filled only with gloomy darkness.

There were two things that could be considered fortunate.

First, although the illusory barrier made the ships appear close, in reality, there
was a considerable distance between the group and the fleet.

Second, not a single ship had its lights on. The ships were not in operation, but
merely moored in the sky.

For a few seconds, the three of them couldn't take their eyes off the sky as if
they were mesmerized.

'Mirror.'

Jin immediately thought of Colon's artifact.

'To operate that many ships, you would need at least tens of thousands of 7th or
8th class magicians. And even more to draw out the full power of the ships.'

With an artifact that provides infinite magic power, the mirror, there would be no
need for so many magicians.

If Jin hadn't acquired the mirror from Colon during his time as a cadet, he would
have felt much more desperate seeing the ships now.
However, even without the mirror, there were still the methods of bio-golems and
demon stones. It had already been confirmed in the Gaipa region that the dead could
be revived to operate the mass-produced ships.

Of course, Zephl's demon stone was not yet complete.

But for how long would it remain incomplete?

'When the demon stone is complete, and the mass-produced ships start operating in
earnest. If the cubes are used together...'

Runcandel, no, the world would be over.

Jin couldn't predict when the demon stone would be completed. However, one thing
was certain: the most important ingredient for the demon stone was himself.

'I need to pay more attention to escaping. And... I must secure the ship's
blueprints.'

With the blueprints, Jin could effectively counter the mass-produced ships. The
blueprints were the most important means of finding out the weaknesses of the ships
and the essential resources needed for their production.

'Also, the points shared between Sandra Zephl's right arm and the space-time device
should also be shared in the blueprints. Since they all use the power of the demon
stone, it would be helpful for research.'

As Jin recalled that he was the core of the demon stone, his body and mind seemed
to awaken with a new sense of tension that this place was Zephl's headquarters.

Murakan spat out a rough breath.

"Damn it! Anyway, those crazy Zephl bastards, when did they make and store those
things? Roughly a hundred feet... Well, one for each breath, so a hundred times
should do it."

Despite the content, his words were tinged with a flustered tone. This time, even
Murakan seemed to be genuinely shocked.

"Damn it."

Diphus opened his mouth to curse.

Diphus opened his mouth as if to spit out the words.

Upon seeing the fleet, he couldn't help but think for the first time since he was
born.

'Is it possible for our family... to win the war against Zieph?'

He had never doubted it, not even once. He believed that someday, Runecandle would
surpass Zieph and become the true loser of the world.

However, facing the massive airborne fleet filling the sky, it seemed like such a
thing would never happen.

Moreover, the fleet might not even be all there is. There could be fleets hidden
somewhere other than the Sota Desert.

Born in Runecandle, he felt dizzy as if seeing the true face of the enemy for the
first time today.

Nonetheless, he soon pushed away the feeling of despair and regained his senses,
thanks to a fact that came to mind.

'Zieph, with such a fleet, couldn't defeat Runecandle. My father's Runecandle.'

Jin knew from Siron directly, but Diphus also had a vague suspicion for some time.
That his father, Siron Runecandle, didn't have much time left.

'My father will disappear from the family in the not-so-distant future... before
that happens, we must prepare for the void somehow. It's probably why my mother
favors Joshua, even though I can't accept it.'

Diphus' gaze fell on Jin. He saw the image of Jin, who turned the Sword Garden into
a wasteland, overlapping with Jin's current still figure.

The Demon Sword.

The legacy of old Runecandle.

To counter Zieph's power, they had to regain that power.

'We desperately need the power and abilities of the youngest.'

Not just the Demon Sword, but Jin had also used the power of Soldierette to
instantly destroy the barriers and defense magic of the two Magic Towers, and there
was the King's Sword as well.

They had to purify the family as soon as possible.

Determined, Diphus turned around.

"Well, as you said, youngest... risking my life for the family isn't just because
of the barriers."

"Oh, Diphus. Are you planning to burn your body right now and destroy all those
things?"

"If destroying those flying ships and oxidizing them could deliver a fundamental
blow, I would have done so. While resource damage isn't meaningless, securing the
blueprint should come first. Either we make it ourselves or identify their
weaknesses, we need to do one of those to have a chance in future battles."

After pushing away his despair, Diphus' unique perseverance stirred in his heart.
He now felt the need to grit his teeth and struggle against Zieph, not just with
his brothers.

It didn't mean he would give up the position of the family head, but it seemed
necessary to minimize unnecessary fights as much as possible.

"Making our own..."

Jin pondered over that part of Diphus' words.

It wasn't a thought he hadn't had before. Although he didn't know about bio-golems,
it was always a good idea to create space-time devices and flying ships if
possible.

All of this was based on magical engineering and research, so Runecandle and
Hufester couldn't keep up with the Lutero Magic Federation, and they had never had
high hopes.

Then, suddenly.

Jin recalled a conversation he had with his brother Tantel just before he left
Lafrarosa.

"We can never return to that world because we know that our time has stopped. This
place is a recreation of Lafrarosa, where we lived, but it's actually more like an
afterlife."
"Wouldn't you be more curious about the outside, then?"

"What's the point in desiring something we can't have, brother? Besides, there are
no brothers we loved in that place, even if we reminisce. However! I've heard this
from the Tutelary brothers."

"What is it?"

"Since half a million years have passed outside, maybe a magic or device that can
extract us has been developed. So, if it's alright... I wish you could look into
it, brother."

The reason the conversation came to mind was none other than this.

"We didn't have the concept of a mage like other races, hehe. Instead, those who
could handle magical power all became blacksmiths, like me."

King Boras of the Otu Clan spoke these words to Jin as he implanted a new 'tooth'
in him.

At the time, Jin had experienced the 'memory transfer magic' through the tooth and
was greatly shocked. The magical civilization achieved by the King's Clan had
outstanding aspects even when compared to the present.

He placed his hand on his chest.

Underneath the infiltration suit, he felt the solid Light Heart. The Light Heart
was made from the blood of the Tutelary brothers, but it might be possible to
create it in a different form if it's not implanted in a human body.

It was as if an artist had been suddenly exposed to an intense sea of inspiration.

These thoughts were floating in Jin's head.

'If we can create a flying ship that uses the Light Heart as a power source through
the technology of the King's Clan...'

It might just be a fanciful dream, but he couldn't know without trying.

'I need to meet the brothers in person, I should prepare for the third trip to
Lafrarosa. And also find a way to bring the brothers... back into this world...'

Bringing the real brothers back into the living world, not in the form of a dark
guardian.

That had been one of Jin's most important issues since his first visit to
Lafrarosa. It was the only way to repay what he had received from his brothers, and
it was natural to want to be together as siblings.

"I still don't know the principle of the cube, but it's an item that can summon the
resurrected dead. If we properly research and analyze it, it might help in calling
the brothers back."

Even after seeing the advanced technology of Zifel and the fleet of over a hundred
flying ships, Jin felt grateful for the fact that he could still harbor such strong
hope.

"Let's follow Joshua again. As he had a means to ignore the barrier, it's highly
likely that he knows the exact location of the blueprint. Since we didn't expect to
penetrate the barrier like this, the sooner we arrive, the more we can catch him
off guard."

Secretly and swiftly, they began to run towards the Tower of White Night.

The Tower of White Night emitted a faint light, unlike the fleet floating behind.

A tower befitting the name, White Night.

Although they had run for a while and were considerably closer, the group realized
that there were no additional barrier magic or guards near the Tower of White Night
for some reason.

Jin naturally thought that there would be additional traps and magic near the
tower.

He had assumed that some of them would not be easily deactivated even with a spirit
sword, but nothing happened even as they approached a few hundred steps from the
tower.

"There's no way. Was that barrier earlier all there was?"

"It feels like someone deliberately blocked the activation of barrier and guard
magic. We don't see any magicians guarding or even a single patroller."

"Ever since the kid broke the barrier, it did feel strangely lax. Hmm."

"…Could this be a trap?"

At Diphus' words, Jin's eyes narrowed, and at that moment.

Rumble, crash…!

The ground where the group was standing began to shake and tremble unstably as if
there was an earthquake.

It wasn't that some trap had been activated under their feet or a barrier had
started. The entire area around the Tower of White Night was vibrating.

And the group immediately realized what kind of vibration it was.

'An aura…!?'

A phenomenon that often occurs when a large-scale battle takes place, or when
transcendent beings reveal their energy aggressively.

The epicenter was the Tower of White Night.

------End------