C310 - Fragment From The Past: Sarah (3)

"Jin!"

"Young master, are you alright?"

His companions approached. Jin handed the broken sword and the pearl to Jet and smiled bitterly. "Yes, I'm fine."

Shadow Energy gathered in Jin's hand. The dark energy soon transformed into a flower. Jin placed it on the ground and bowed his head, to which his companions followed suit.

It was a moment of silence for Sarah. Murakan and Quikantel seemed to have difficulty suppressing their emotions.

'Rest in peace, Lady Sarah.'

Olmango still stood on the surface of the sea, waiting for the group.

He had used his divine powers to create invisible steps, and the group followed the god to return to where they had come from.

"So, who was the guy inside, Jin Runcandel?" Olmango asked when they reached the beach.

"It was Lady Sarah Runcandel."

"Sarah Runcandel..." Olmango repeated her name over and over to himself, but he couldn't remember anything about her, no matter how many times he said her name out loud. "I feel a certain nostalgia and sympathy, but for some reason, it seems like I don't remember anything about this Sarah Runcandel. Perhaps because the Zipple have erased her from history."

"Are you sure you even knew Sarah, Lord God of Clams?"

Olmango nodded in response to Murakan's question. "Yes, I knew her. My heart wouldn't ache so much if I didn't, right?"

"But if the Zipple have completely erased her from history, shouldn't she have been erased from Murakan's and Quikantel's memories as well?" Alisa asked.

"The Zipple clan's manipulation of history isn't perfect. If it were, I wouldn't have been able to gather all of you. It would have been impossible to hide Temar's second tomb once again with my powers if it were like that."

Murakan and Quikantel nodded. "That's right. They've always erased defeated enemies from history, but it has its limitations. That's why Runcandel could also maintain their existence while erasing the fact that they were also a family of Magic Swordsmen."

It was also the same reason why Tzen-mi's magic tome and Schugiel Histor's tome still existed in the world, and why Valeria was still alive.

"But even though it's somewhat limited, I had trouble remembering Silderay and Sarah until I met the guardians of the tomb. That means even my own memory is being affected by their magic."

"Oh, I don't understand any of this at all. Jet, no, sir. Manipulating history? Can one really do such things with magic? It's not like they're playing at being gods or something."

"It's a tremendously dangerous power that should not be allowed for humans. And that's the kind of enemies we're up against." A brief silence followed Quikantel's words.

The onlooker. That's what Sarah had accused her of being. But unlike a thousand years ago, Quikantel was helping Jin. She was now fighting by his side. It also meant that her God, Olta, wasn't against getting involved in Jin's battles.

None of them got to hear the details of the story.

But they all understood why Quikantel felt sorrow for Sarah. As a guardian dragon, she wasn't allowed the perfect free will that humans possessed.

Regardless of her own choice, she had to obey the decisions set by the God she served and had to be willing to make any sacrifice for the contractor on any occasion.

Such was the life of a guardian dragon.

And yet, Murakan had tried to kill Temar.

He couldn't imagine how tormenting it must have been for Murakan.

"Kid?"

"Yes?"

"So, what did you see on the recording device this time? Come on, tell us."

Jin looked at Olmango and his companions. He had to do it for Murakan's sake.

"Could you give us a moment?"

Olmango and the rest of the group didn't complain. They were about to give them some space when Murakan gestured with his hand.

"Everyone here is your companions, kid. It seems you've seen something bad about me. There's no need to keep it hidden. Tell us everything just as you saw it."

"Hmm. So, shall I leave at least?" Olmango wanted to respect their privacy.

Murakan smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Join us. I'm a bit annoyed that Solderet didn't leave any message for me, but it seems you were quite friendly with my old companions, not to mention the incredible job you did in keeping Temar's second tomb hidden all this time."

Jin nodded. "What I saw there was how you tried to kill Temar."

Everyone was left open-mouthed by his words. In contrast, Murakan and Quikantel seemed quite calm.

The expressions on everyone's faces ranged from intrigue to sadness with each detail Jin gave about the fascinating stories of the old days.

Murakan sighed when Jin finished the description. "That Temar. I fought against him when he lost control and fell into a long sleep when he pierced my heart. However."

As expected, Murakan didn't remember anything about the leader of the Kinzelo or the mysterious Dark Sea Tower. He didn't remember at all going to that tower with Sarah and Fadler.

"I have no idea who that strange idiot in the Dark Sea Tower is supposed to be. And as far as I recall, Temar didn't become that weak."

Murakan was quite surprised to hear that Temar was supposed to be subdued so easily.

"The leader of the Kinzelo, huh? So, I met that idiot a thousand years ago, huh? And here I was, thinking he was just some demon who had heard of me. Seems like he has something to do with me after all."

Surprisingly, Murakan didn't seem confused about it. He simply decided to accept the fact that his memory was flawed.

Above all other reasons, it was because Solderet had left recording devices behind.

"The reason my damn God bothered to leave recording devices was probably that he considered my memory might have some issues. No, he must have been sure of it. If we carefully unravel each one of them, someday we'll get to the truth."

"But Murakan." Quikantel spoke up.

"What?"

"About that phrase the Kinzelo leader was supposed to have said in the scene. About orphans."

"That he only extends goodwill to wretched orphans, like someone very troubled with overflowing fortunes. You mean that part?"

"Yes. Doesn't it sound familiar to you?"

"Well, I'm not sure. But it does sound exactly like the kind of thing a hateful person might say to someone relatively weaker."

"The expression sounds familiar to me for some reason."

"You know those damn demons use flashy expressions for everything. I doubt it's anything important, but if it's bothering you, try looking into it. Are there any active demons these days? I heard the kid's older sister killed one once."

The pendant that Luna had given to Jin back at the Storm Castle was an item that originally belonged to Orugal, a Demon Lord, and he obtained it after killing a demon.

Murakan took the Shadow Energy pearl from Jet. "Hmph, seriously. I really don't want to, but it looks like I have to meet Misha as soon as possible. I have to find out if she knows anything about this pearl and what she might know about the scenes you've seen. You still have a few days of vacation left, right?"

"About a week, yes."

"Alright, then let's get started. We'll even have enough time to deliver Sarah's sword fragment to Picon. Hey, god of clams."

"What?"

"Thanks for keeping that kid's tomb safe." Murakan scratched his head as if it made him uncomfortable to say it.

Olmango just shrugged. "Don't thank me. It was a request from Solderet. How could I refuse?"

"I know it must have been tough, not to mention all the trouble you would have gone through if the Zipples ever discovered you."

At that comment, Olmango pretended to cough and nodded. "Yes, it was quite tough. If you're really grateful, do you think I could ask you for a favor?"

"Well, what is it?"

Olmango looked around once again to check the reaction of Jin and his companions. "Cookies."

"What?"

"Um, do you think you could bring me more Rietla cookies? Seriously, it was an unforgettable flavor."

"Oh, come on. You must be crazy. You're supposed to be a god! I can't believe you're doing this for cookies! No wonder people, including myself, treat you like a useless god when you can even walk on water and handle such huge clams! Have some class, will you?"

"Try living off seafood your whole life, and you'll see what I mean."

"I'll make sure someone is sent to deliver you cookies regularly, Olmango."

Jin's words made Olmango's eyes light up. "Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"I couldn't be more grateful. My contractor, Clamwell, will finally get plenty for himself too. I've been feeling sorry for him all this time, you see. I hadn't realized I'd eaten almost all of them by myself."

Jin chuckled and looked Olmango in the eyes. "But one more thing, Olmango."

"Yes?"

"Do you know who has the key to the third tomb?"

Jin and Murakan went there to deliver Sarah's broken sword to Picon (he had nothing to add about the scene Jin saw in the second tomb), and then they immediately headed to see Misha.

"Please present your identification." A well-dressed waiter spoke in a dry tone.

Jin and Murakan were in a luxury bar in the Kingdom of Mila to see Misha.

The bar, called The Shadow, was exclusively reserved for members, and no one could enter without a recommendation from one of them.

Even royalty couldn't access the place without following the rules.

Elite members of global factions like the Runcandels, Zipples, or the Vermont Empire were exempt and granted entry as long as they could present the emblems or symbols of their clans. However, Jin and Murakan were in disguise.

"We've come to see Mrs. Grace Shields."

Instead, they presented the name of the bar's owner, known to an extremely rare number of people.

The waiter immediately changed his attitude. "I didn't realize you were the lady's guests. Please forgive my discourtesy. Allow me to escort you inside."

The waiter immediately led the two to a secret room and returned to his place. A black-haired lady was drinking alone inside the room.

"It's been a while, Jin. How have you been?"

Grace Shields. It was Misha's alias. She was the owner of The Shadow. The bar was one of her many hideouts.

"I've been great, thanks to you, Misha. I couldn't see you after the battle in the Western Sea. I apologize for not coming sooner to thank you."

"If you hadn't come to say something more important than a thank you, I would have beaten you up."

"Hmph, you and your damn temper. If we didn't find you here, we were going to give up. How many hideouts do you need?"

They had to make over twenty jumps through portals in the last two days just to check all the hideouts she had indicated. Thanks to all those jumps, Murakan looked pale and ghastly.

"I can hear you begging for a beating. Damn? Did you just say damn? Come here. Let me twist your jaw in six directions."

After a violent exchange of greetings, Jin handed her the two Shadow Energy pearls.

Blood spurted from Murakan's mouth. Misha, who had been holding Murakan by the neck, pushed her brother aside and fixed her gaze on the pearls. "Where did you get these?"

"I went to Temar's tombs."

"Tell me more."

Jin began describing from the day he met Picon to how he found Olmango. Misha seemed serious throughout the time Jin described what had happened.

Like Murakan, she wasn't aware of the plans Solderet had made in the form of Temar's tombs.

"Jin, the pearls you've brought are recording devices. I've only heard of them. This is the first time I've seen one."

"They're recording devices?"

"Yes. The scenes you saw were probably the result of these recording devices being activated. The recorded scenes were likely unstable because the device was damaged."

"Is it possible to repair them?"

This is how Misha responded to Jin's question. "I find it impossible."

"Damn it, Misha. What do you want us to do if you can't?" Murakan asked.

"That's enough from you. Jin, as I see it, it's time to look for that girl, Aria Owlheart."

Jin's eyes widened.

He didn't think Misha was the first to mention her name.