C697
Holy King Lani
After rescuing Yona and returning, Jin was able to meet with Holy King Lani, who suddenly visited Tikan.
It was Owal who called her to Tikan, and the reason Lani agreed to his request was because Nameless is now formally affiliated with the Vamel alliance.
If Owal had contacted Lani as Nameless, she wouldn't have accepted.
âItâs been nearly three years since you returned to the human world, and you never showed up even once, only sending letters and difficult tasks my way,â said Lani, pretending to be upset.
After Jin returned to the human world, he handled Talaris, who was sent to the Holy Kingdom, and also examined Valeria, who was injured by Luntia. But this was the first time he had seen Jin in person.
Jin smiled awkwardly. Despite meeting someone he hadnât seen in a long time, he couldnât show an expression of happiness.
âLani.â
âHello. I was planning to tease you after all this time, but it seems the mood isnât right for that. I donât need to explain that Iâm not really upset, right?â
âOf course.â
Lani patted Jin on the shoulder.
She too, as a king and a key figure of the anti-chaos forces, had gone through many hardships, but the burden on Jinâs shoulders was much heavier. It pained her to think about it.
âIâm grateful. If it werenât for you and Lord Murakan, I wouldâve died, and Inse wouldâve suffered all sorts of exploitation under Zippleâs control. Even now, as soon as you return, you fight with all your strength for the worldâs sake.â
âIt was for personal matters related to recovering my clan.â
âEven so, Ayula will always bless you. So donât worry too much about Lady Yona. I donât know her well, but from what Iâve heard from you and Nameless King, she seems like a good person.â
Jinâs face remained grim the whole time due to Yona.
ââ¦yes. Elder Sister Yona is a very good person.â
Jin was delighted that Yona had been rescued safely.
During the rescue, there were no mortal casualties among their allies, and Yona was in a condition where she hadnât undergone the physical transformations Jin was most worried about.
Lani had even come here to prepare for any problems that might arise during the chaos purification.
But Yonaâs chaos wasnât purified.
âAlthough her chaos hasnât been fully purified like the others, at least sheâs able to control it like before, right?â
That was true.
The purification device had some effect on Yona.
Achieving complete purification was impossible, but Yonaâs chaos had now entered a âstable stateâ like before.
Just like when Yona overcame her chaos by herself, before Glyekâs power stimulated it.
Yonaâs chaos was too immense.
Borasâ purification device had its limits when it came to intervening in that chaos.
âPerhaps itâs a similar situation to what Lingling and I went through beforeâ¦â
It would be better if Yonaâs chaos separated like the bothersome Lingling and turned into something cute and useful, but Vahn is currently in Lafrarosa.
Itâs frustrating because there are no guarantees it can separate like Lingling even if Vahn steps in personally.
But Jin shouldnât keep worrying about it. In any case, the situation regarding Yona had improved to a point that couldnât be compared to before.
âThank you, Lani. I was too absorbed in my own thoughts. Since the Holy King came here personally, and I donât have Murakans to offer, what should I do?â
Upon arriving in Tikan, Lani examined Yona and inquired about Murakanâs well-being from her companions.
âItâs a pity. Heâs acting as Solderetâs proxy⦠It seems like a notable but neglected position that suits Murakan-nim.â
For Murakan to return, the recovery of Talaris is the most important situation.
Due to Talarisâ injuries, Misha is currently carrying Elonaâs seal.
âI have something to tell you about the Hidden Palace Master.â
âIs it bad news?â
âI wouldnât say itâs good news. There arenât any issues with the Hidden Palace Masterâs recovery. The reason the recovery is being delayed is that I have less and less time to focus on it.â
âSomething happened in the Holy Kingdomâ¦ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lani nodded.
âYes, the demonic relic in our Kingdomâs possession, Zitoâs Eyes. Theyâve been showing unfavorable signs recently.â
âZitoâs Eyes?â
The war five hundred years ago, known as the Holy Kingdom Protection War, was a famous battle when demons invaded Vankela.
However, it wasnât just the Holy Kingdomâs citizens and saints who defended against the demons, but Runcandel and even Zipple, who unusually joined forces.
âThe name Zito might not be familiar to you. It has never been active in the human world and is rarely known even in the Demon World. Even I, as the King, couldnât find any record about Zitoâs Eyes.â
âYou, as the King, couldnât access the records on that topic?â
âThatâs right. I only recently learned of Zitoâs Eyesâ existence in the Holy Kingdom, and theyâre showing bad signs. Ayula-nim warned me through a dream.â
Recalling the dream she had a few days ago, Lani shivered as if in pain.
âWhat Ayula-nim showed me was a future where Zito is reborn through that object. The entire world was in flames, including a scene where everyone, including you and Murakan-nim, the protectors of the human world, died.â
If someone else said something like this, Jin would dismiss it as nonsense, but Lani was the Holy King.
She couldnât mistake mere nightmares for Ayulaâs warning.
âDealing with Rosa is already overwhelming, and now there could be a new adversary.â
âTo prevent that from happening, Iâm controlling Zitoâs Eyes according to Ayula-nimâs warning. Iâve been using almost all my divine power for that purpose, which is why the treatment for the Hidden Palace Master is being delayed.â
âDo you have any information on why Zitoâs Eyes started showing abnormal signs? Perhaps it was influenced by the remnants of chaos left by Glyek?â
âAyula-nim didnât say anything special about it. But I have a guess.â
âI can also think of a few likely suspects.â
Kinzelo.
Currently, they are the only ones in the human world who control demons.
Kinzelo had already possessed high-ranking demons like Bianca, and while Jin was in Lafrarosa, they recruited even more powerful beings from the Demon World.
âIâve heard that Orgal, the demon beast king, who turned out to be Kinzeloâs leader, is one of the rulers of the Demon World. I think he must have something to do with this situation.â
âThatâs a fact. From the beginning, theyâve been continuously gathering demons in Kinzelo, and itâs possible theyâve established some kind of gate connecting to the Demon World.â
âAfter the Holy Kingdom Protection War, it was reported that the demon society collapsed completely, but itâs likely as you said. Even if itâs not an external dimension, they could be summoning demons through rituals.â
âSummoningâ¦â
âYes, Ranke Halovice. You have some perseverance. Anyway, according to your explanation, the Great Desert became like this because all the forces contaminated it as an experimental processing plant. Then, you only used this place as a playground because you liked it, is that right?â
âYesâ¦â
âThe first part is convincing, but the second is insufficient. You had some purpose here.â
âI just⦠like being here, thatâs all.â
The conversation Jin had after defeating Ranke right after coming out into the human world.
Even then, Jin thought Ranke didnât just consider the Great Desert as a playground, but talking with Lani made it seem even more suspicious.
âFirst of all, during the Holy Kingdom incident, Kinzelo must have been trying to find Zitoâs Eyes along with a living golem experiment.â
âI think so too. At that time, I was only aware of the living golem experiment, but Iâm sure Kinzeloâs real purpose was Zitoâs Eyes.â
âIsnât it a problem that youâre using your divine power to keep Zitoâs Eyes under control and prevent further issues?â
âFor now, itâs fine. But this kind of problem is unprecedented, and the information provided by Ayula-nim is excessively limitedâ¦â
If Murakan were here, he wouldâve complained about why in the world Ayulaâs warnings were so vague.
Lani chuckled at the image that suddenly came to mind, then hesitated for a moment, wondering if that was blasphemy.
âIn that case, itâs not an urgent problem, but itâs like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. The fact that Ayula, who is a god and extremely reluctant to get involved in the human world, personally issued a warning suggests that if it goes off, there wonât be a solution.â
âPerhaps there wonât be an issue until Ayula-nim manifests again and provides more specific information.â
âActually, I had something to do with Kinzelo, so I need your permission.â
âPermission?â
âCan I mention Zitoâs Eyes directly and confront Orgal?â
âOf course.â
âGreat, Iâll go to Kinzelo and gather any information on Zitoâs Eyes to share it.â
âYou say they want Sir Bale, but will they easily give you the information?â
âEven if they want to keep it concealed, just cleverly mentioning Zitoâs Eyes or staying silent about it will be enough. It means the information is too sensitive to reveal.â
âThatâs true. It seems you plan to leave immediately, but still, letâs have tea together. I came here on a regular battleship because I donât have a space teleportation battleship like the Red Owl.â
âNaturally. When space teleportation devices can be mass-produced, Iâll send one to the Holy Kingdom.â
âOh, I see. Youâre pulling another promise out of me like this. Since Iâm grateful, Iâll personally serve the tea as a guest!â
New Kinzelo Headquarters
They were finally going to see the long-awaited traces of life today, so they were filled with excitement, butâ¦
Unfortunately, Bale had already made a contract with Sandra, so their joy was dampened.
Orgal couldnât hide his disappointment even in front of Jin.
[Youâve already signed a contract with Sandra Zipple⦠Itâs hard to believe even when I hear it.]
âItâs sad to hear such a disappointed voice. What can I do, Orgal? It happened as soon as Baleâs seal was lifted. Anyway, I fulfilled my promise. There was no mention of a private conversation between you and Bale in the content, so it would be better if all conversations took place where I heard them.â
[Hmm, that doesnât matter. Coughâ¦]
âIâm glad to hear that. And I have a question I want to ask.â
[What is it?]
âWhat do you think about Demon King Zito?â
At Jinâs sudden question, Orgal coughed continuously.
Fortunately, he seemed a bit better, as he wasnât bleeding as much as before.
/SHADOWK
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