Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 400

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 170.
In the Name of Loyalty and Vengeance (12)
Maximian gestured for Riche to come closer. When she approached, her face bore the expectation of an explanation for how this situation had come to pass, but Maximian simply shook his head and signaled her to wait. Still, he offered one comment.
“You’re whole again.”
Riche started to retort with something like, “What is that supposed to mean—you sound dissatisfied,” but swallowed her words instead. The price Joshua had paid to make this possible suddenly came to mind.
「I won’t demand that centuries pass and you continue to serve Icabon’s descendants with a willing heart. But if even a fragment of the sincerity your old heart once held remains, you couldn’t possibly conceive of seizing that descendant’s body to satisfy your greed. And you couldn’t speak of serving a replicated puppet as ‘your Duke,’ bound by the oath you once made with such faithfulness. You said you didn’t wish to become a mad spirit of the Wasteland, yet you’re already abandoning your old convictions one by one. Once you’ve discarded them all, how is your form—hollowed out by nothing but vengeful obsession—any different from a mad spirit of the Wasteland? In even the slightest way?」
Korned trembled violently.
“Enough of this drivel! I am justified. Because I was denied my rightful due, I have the right to claim it from anyone. Moreover, this one is his bloodline. Yes, precisely because he is Icabon’s bloodline, I will seize his rights to fulfill my own! He must surrender what is mine!”
「Why not abandon your lies and be honest instead? Your true desire isn’t that at all. What you truly want from Icabon’s bloodline—from the Demonic, from your Duke—isn’t any of that, is it? Who is the one who can grant all of your wishes? There’s only one, isn’t there?」
“One? No, two. The one in Jade Ring Castle will suffice. I’ll collect my debt from this one, and handle the rest with them. After suffering for centuries, no one could deny me this much gain. No one will oppose it.”
「That’s merely your hope. Don’t you understand that the belief that all the People of Promise share your intentions is nothing but delusion?」
“They’ll be persuaded by me. Now that I have this useful body, I can accomplish far more going forward. With my long-awaited wish within arm’s reach, how could they possibly refuse?”
「Desiring a human body is your greed alone. Those not in your faction will all see through it. They’ll recognize that you seek a human body not to work alongside the Duke, but simply because you desire one for yourself. And that you have no intention whatsoever of sharing that body with anyone else.」
Korned lowered his gaze and steadied his breathing, then suddenly jerked his head up.
“Fine, good. I had no intention of denying it from the start. There’s nothing wrong with my desires. Living an entire lifetime again in a human body is something I’ve yearned for since ages past. Moreover, a Demonic’s flesh is extraordinarily useful. Another human body might accept my soul, but to perfectly reclaim the magic I wielded in life, I need a medium this powerful—no other will suffice. I’m mad with joy right now. I can do anything with perfect freedom, as though this were my original body!”
「The method by which you obtained what you desired was nothing but deception.」
“Then was the method Icabon used to bind me not deception? I have no qualms of conscience about countering deception with deception.”
At that moment, Maximian rose, tapping the ground with the handle of his spear.
“Wait, I have something to say too.”
Maximian turned to face Korned. Though he frowned slightly at the fact that his opponent wore Joshua’s visage, he was fundamentally a man skilled in logical distinction. Once he determined the other was not his friend, the two beings became clearly separated in his mind.
“Your delusion has quite the lifespan. You, the so-called staff mage Korned, speak contradictions while seeming pleased with yourself—clearly your mind is dull. Don’t you see the inconsistency in your own logic?”
Korned tilted his chin and laughed mockingly.
“You, who aren’t even a mage, dare boast of knowledge before me? In any case, Kelsniti cannot bind me forever. Once the restraint breaks, you’ll regret those hasty words.”
“Ah, wait. Let me prove that your mind is dull.”
Maximian sauntered toward Korned.
“Listen here. You claim you have every right to harbor resentment and seek vengeance against Joshua, yes? That’s because Joshua is a ‘Demonic possessing Arnim Castle,’ a continuation of the oath you made with Icabon. The logic that descendants must bear responsibility for ancestors’ sins is absurd, but apparently it satisfies your twisted reasoning, so let’s accept it. But then what? What did this Icabon do by deceiving you? He bound you to serve him as Duke. Yet you just denied that with your own mouth, didn’t you? You said your new Duke is the replica in Jade Ring Castle, correct? Then Joshua is no longer your Duke, is he? He’s simply Joshua. So if this Icabon fellow bound you with an oath, but you no longer have any connection to him, then why should Joshua—who isn’t even your Duke anymore—fulfill any of your grudges or wishes? You must choose one or the other, mustn’t you?”
Riche didn’t immediately grasp the meaning. But she noticed Korned didn’t look as though he understood either. Maximian spoke without smiling.
“Was my meaning too difficult? You must choose a single Duke to fulfill your wishes and bear responsibility for your resentment. Just because there are two candidates, you can’t conveniently take vengeance on one while choosing the other as your Duke. If you intend to choose that one as your Duke, then go settle your grudge there. Leave Joshua alone—he’s irrelevant. Let that wretch spend his life performing theatrical nonsense and die in some gutter. Your Duke, or whatever fish bone you wish to worship, is someone who’d reject you even if you prostrated yourselves before him.”
As Maximian’s words grew increasingly sharp, his displeasure was clearly intensifying. Above all, the fact that his opponent wore Joshua’s face was deeply irritating him.
“That kind of talk….”
Korned opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again. He was clearly at a loss for words. If he acknowledged Joshua as Duke, he’d have to honor his promise and return the body to him. If he didn’t acknowledge him as Duke, he’d lose the justification for vengeance while no longer being bound by the old oath. Without justification for vengeance, he lost all legitimacy for claiming this body.
Maximian pressed his spear handle against the sand with his elbow, then slowly rolled up his sleeves and asked.
“So, does your foolish conscience still function?”
Korned gnashed his teeth and cried out.
“You, who’ve lived barely more than a decade, what do you know of my conscience! Yes, if I—if we—are still bound to the Demonic and Arnim, then isn’t Arnim equally bound? Shouldn’t Demonic Joshua also honor the promise and grant our wishes!”
Kelsniti’s voice resonated.
「If you truly desired this, why did you resort to such measures? If Joshua is to honor the promise Icabon made on his behalf, shouldn’t you also faithfully fulfill your obligations?」
“If he could truly grant the wish, then yes. But can he? Can he accomplish what even Icabon failed to do! Icabon lied, and his descendant will surely do the same!”
Korned seemed to have lost all reason. Whether from being cornered or from stirring up ancient resentments, he poured out everything he wished to say without logic or order.
The more agitated he became, the colder Kelsniti’s voice grew.
「Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten why Icabon couldn’t grant your wishes? If only you hadn’t sown discord between the two of them, if only you hadn’t been so jealous and distrustful of Anne, you would have achieved your desires centuries ago and been resting peacefully by now. Am I wrong?」
“If Icabon had valued us and our promise even a little, would he have abandoned us and followed that woman? Because of that, we all died and became vengeful spirits haunting Jade Ring Castle! I ask you the same question. Am I wrong?”
「We’ve repeated this story hundreds of times already. The Castle was invaded that day because you drove her away. You committed acts so treacherous that you couldn’t even dare hope for forgiveness. Did you think she would endure such humiliation? You claim Icabon let you die? And yet you dare speak such nonsense when you saw how Icabon treated your corpses…」
“Icabon grieved and regretted Kelsniti, not us! For insignificant beings like us, whether we lived or died… no, it would have been better if we died so he wouldn’t have to keep his promise!”
Though Maximian and Riche couldn’t fully comprehend the exchange, they sensed this was an ancient dispute between them—the very root of their conflict. Yet they couldn’t fathom who this woman they spoke of was. Who was this person that Icabon had abandoned even the People of Promise and Kelsniti to pursue?
「You’ve already forgotten what kind of person Icabon truly was. Because you’ve built resentment from such delusions, you’re becoming increasingly like a mad spirit.」
“Kelsniti, Kelsniti. You’ve always been this way, and even after death, you remain tiresomely identical. Your own death was ultimately because of Icabon, yet have you ever harbored even a shred of resentment? Do you even know what resentment is? Like a child who knows only one thing, you chase after Icabon without ever looking back. Even in death, you follow him around to defend him. It’s sickening, your stubborn loyalty. Your narrow-minded words, your arguments that see everything only through Icabon’s perspective—they’re not worth hearing. Understand?”
Korned suddenly turned his head toward Maximian and Riche.
“Shall I tell you? Do you know what kind of being Kelsniti is? I doubt you do at all. If you’ve only exchanged polite conversation, you know less than half—less than half of half. Kelsniti appears very kind, as you can see, but only to those who don’t interfere with Icabon. The moment you stand in Icabon’s way, don’t expect mercy from the Priest. That’s like waiting for clear water to spring forth in the Wasteland that Ganapoli has become.”
There was no way to know what expression Kelsniti wore in this moment. Yet strangely, he made no attempt to defend himself. He simply listened to what Korned was saying.
“Can you trust such a being? Kelsniti is not Joshua’s friend—he is the friend of Icabon von Arnim. He is the blood priest devoted to Icabon, and after sending all those who touch Icabon to the afterlife, he’ll make the sign of the cross and sleep a dreamless sleep!”
Korned’s eyes darted about, searching for Kelsniti again. Though he was not a spirit, he inhabited Joshua’s body, yet he seemed unable to see Kelsniti.
“Go ahead, call out all you like. Mad spirit or whatever. But it won’t actually happen that way, will it? I’ve taken this body for myself. How about living another lifetime as a human? It would be quite splendid, wouldn’t it?”
It was Maximian who replied.
“It will probably be very short. After all, he’s Demonic.”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The rights to this book belong to the author and 14 Months Publishing.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, written consent from both parties is required.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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