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The faint bluish glow illuminating Lionel's body was fading away.
His soul is leaving. Lionel's body, now devoid of soul, turned into a grim and dark form like other masses of chaos.
The soul went to the mausoleum like the wind. Jin immediately unleashed the Shadow Sword, guessing that this was the key to summon Lionel again later.
As the blade touched, there was a distinct sensation, as if cutting through flesh, but the soul did not stop returning even as it was being torn apart.
Lionel will appear again.
However, it was not Lionel that was the problem right now, but the owner of the new energy that was coming out of the mausoleum.
'This energy....'
A blue energy like the lightning energy of the Plutonian was emerging from the distant chaos.
The energy of one of the ten great knights that Jin saw in Temar's tomb in the past.
Padler Runcandel.
The second knight summoned from the mausoleum was Padler.
Like Lionel, he also possessed a body shining with a faint light. There seemed to be some difference between ordinary chaos summons and Lionel and Padler.
-I, one of ten great Knights, Padler Runcandel have been bestowed with Runcandel's name by the patriarch and have enjoyed infinite glory ever since. I will atone for attacking the patriarch, even after my death.
As soon as Jin saw Padler, he remembered what he had said in the recording device.
A thousand years ago, when Temar was consumed by chaos and Murakan decided to kill Temar, who was in the Black Sea Tower, he was one of the two knights whom Murakan took along.
Jin didn't know much about Padler.
All he had seen were some fragmented aspects in the records left by Solderet.
But one thing was certain.
It was an undeniable fact that Padler should never have been standing here.
In the first place, none of the ten great knights were enshrined in the mausoleum. Not only in the mausoleum, but nowhere in the Garden of Swords could one find any mention of them. Zipfel had erased their history entirely.
All the ten great knights Jin had encountered so far had become guardians of Themer's tomb, waging a lonely war for a long time.
-(The Garden of Swords has announced the discovery of the legacy of Temar Runcandel, the first patriarch… No specific details were disclosed, but it signals a strong determination to reclaim the forgotten history of the clan.)
A sentence that suddenly popped into Jin's mind.
'Temar's fifth tomb...… Sir Padler was probably guarding it.'
The Prophet was using the Padler, who was the guardian of the Fifth Tomb.
Either the clan reached Temar's tomb before Valeria did, or they attacked her who found the tomb. Either way, Jin felt like his heart was about to rot.
As Padler got closer, the bodies of Ran, Vigo, Myu, and Anne, who had been pushed far away in the aftermath of the battle, were disintegrating into particles.
Their particles seemed to flow into Padler. They became a material for summoning Padler.
Yet Jin did not think of it as the deaths of the four.
"... Sir Padler Runcandel. You may not know me, but I do know you."
[No, I know you. Jin Runcandel, the 12th flagbearer of current Runcandel. Ilina told me about you.]
"What did she say about me?"
[You are someone who resembles the man who was my lord, Temar Runcandel.]
"I have often heard such comments."
[But I have very little memory of him.]
"I thought I might hear stories from that time, but it's a shame it didn't happen. So, is the reason you're blocking my path now... for Runcandel?"
Padler raised his eyebrows as if he had heard something strange.
[Jin Runcandel. You revered someone, dedicated your kingdom and your entire being to, and then you are betrayed...… Can you fight for them?]
Jin didn't answer and made eye contact with Padler. Black tears flowed from his eyes like dead blood.
[There is only one thing that I remember about Temar Runcandel. He ultimately destroyed my kingdom, Idal, with his own hands, without leaving even a handful of soil or any life behind.]
Padler Runcandel.
He was not originally a pure-blood Runcandel. Like Sylderay, he was influenced by Temar and was given the name of Runcandel.
His real name was Padler Idal.
King of the Idal kingdom that existed a thousand years ago, a magic swordsman called the 'Blue Thunder King', and a rare genius who perfected the magic sword that was considered unique to Runcandel.
Jin couldn't tell if Padler's words were true or false, or if history was fabricated.
But it seemed that no words could quell the hatred that filled his heart.
[What I desire is not the revival of Runcandel, but its corruption and downfall. Descendant of Temar, your mother. This power that Rosa Runcandel chose will eventually lead Runcandel to ruin.]
"Before meeting you, sir, I met Sir Sylderay and Dame Sarah at Temar's Tomb. Although to be exact they were guardians made with a soul. I also caught glimpses of them and sir, you're talking in the Solderet's recording device. They...…."
[Do you want to say they were different from me? Because you want to impose sacrifices on me too?]
A smirk formed on the Padler's face.
"Do you remember them?"
[No. I don't remember, and I don't want to.]
Seureung...….
Padler slowly drew his sword. 'Silus', the sword that symbolized his blue thunder a thousand years ago, was spreading blue light.
The sword was not forged by chaos energy, but the very thing that existed a thousand years ago.
[I will defeat you today and get my revenge against Temar and that's my only reason for becoming a devil. I have no personal grudge against you.]
"I don't know everything about what happened a thousand years ago, Sir Padler. And when I mentioned Sir Sylderay and Dame Sarah, it wasn't to say that you should resemble them."
Jin closed his eyes tightly.
"... I just wanted to say that you guys seemed to cherish each other deeply, sir. That would probably be the time before the fall of the Idal kingdom in your memory."
-[Before you came, I killed all of them. Oh, to be exact, I swept them with the Padler. You're late again, man. Where did you goof around this time?]
-[Padler is a bit injured. I'm as strong as always, but that weakling should probably be trained by you or the patriarch.]
-What the heck, shouldn't you stop using expressions like "melting people"?
-To me, people are only those who are not enemies of Runcandel, weakling. Don't act all surprised when you know.
-Still, it doesn't seem like it's good for you emotionally.
- Am I a teenage girl? Take care of your health instead of worrying about my emotions.
The words Jin heard when he faced Guardian Sarah and the conversations he saw on the recording device.
Sarah and Padler seemed to have an especially close relationship, almost akin to lovers rather than mere companions.
But now, Padler was now devoid of any enthusiasm even as he looked at the remnants of the flame of hell around him.
As Jin opened his eyes again, he grasped the Bradamante.
It is possible enough to reopen the flame of hell. He had lost his stamina from the previous battle, but that was not a problem at all.
However, it was too cruel to slash Padler with the sword inherited from Sarah.
Regardless of the circumstances unknown to Jin, even considering Sarah, who was the first to utter Padler's name upon awakening after a thousand years.
[The camaraderie that once we shared cannot replace my lost entirety.]
Jin nodded ruefully.
"Cutting you down today goes beyond discerning truth from lies, sir... It is because I see it as the path for your sake, sir. Please do not forgive your poor descendants for his inevitable choices."
Padler clearly died a thousand years ago. The life of the dead awakened by chaos was only filled with futile hatred.
The only thing Jin could do for the Padler way to quickly stop the time that dragged him along like a broken carriage.
[Sure, they say you look like Temar, yet speak such arrogant words. How dare you cut me with that weary body...….]
As he said, Padler was not a person that Jin could handle alone in a tired state.
He was one of the strongest ten great knights, always fighting alongside Sarah. What that fact meant was simple.
Sarah, who was mentioned as the strongest among ten great knights, thought of him as the most reliable companion. Even if Jin's physical condition was normal, he would not have been able to guarantee the victory.
"Also, don't forgive me for not being able to handle you alone, sir."
Shadow force wrapped around Bradamante.
Shadow Sword Special technique
Black Light Call
Bradamante's black blade cut through the chaos-filled air. Then, as always, following the path carved by the blade, a black door leading to the Laprarosa was opened.
Jin was nervous. The brethren battle king must be summoned in order to subdue Padler as quickly as possible and to receive help in the ensuing battle and even escape.
Even if an ordinary warrior was summoned, it would certainly be of great help, but Jin had to bet too much on the fight against the Padler.
Fortunately, seeing the summoned brethren, Jin sighed inwardly.
A large bow that is unbelievably huge for a weapon used by humans, 'God Killer' was sparking lightning bolts.
10th battle king of Plutonian tribe, Kaio. He was coming out of the portal created by black light call.
"Sorry for calling you, Brother Kaio."
"Brother Jin, has the moment already come when you need the strength of the other brethren even after becoming the battle king?"
It seemed like he was talking bluntly, but after Jin left, Kaio was looking forward to a moment like this coming sooner than anyone else.
Just as Jin still harbored a sense of guilt towards him, Kaio felt the same way. Even though brethren don't keep score.
"Anyway, this is how it feels to be chosen. I am Kaio, the 10th battle king of the Great Plutonian tribe. I came into the world at the call of my brother, so name the enemy."
Kaio suddenly stopped talking.
He recognized the lightning bolts of Padler, which resembled the energy of the Plutonian tribe.
"A human who uses powers similar to ours… Could it be that you are the descendant of Temar's human companion called the Blue Thunder King?"
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