Swordmaster's Youngest Son Novel - Chapter 843

Chapter 843

After a month passed, Murakan finally opened his eyes in the Garden of Swords.

«Murakan is showing signs of awakening!»

«Murakan! Can you hear my voice?»

It was Diana who had rescued him after he collapsed.

If she hadn’t arrived in time, Murakan would have died.

«Murakan!»

Diana rushed into the hospital room.

As soon as he regained consciousness, Murakan struggled to sit up, and Diana cried out in fear.

«What are you doing? Stay still. We even brought the Holy King and the Hidden Palace Master to save you.»

«Temar… I need to stop Temar. In the last moment, he regained his senses briefly, but I was too weak to take advantage of that opportunity. He said he would definitely turn back into a monster.»

«Stop moving, your wounds will reopen.»

«No, no. He’s completely back. Yes, he must have regained his sanity. Where is Temar?»

«Murakan.»

«Where is he… cough.»

Murakan coughed up muddy Shadow Energy and leaned forward. Diana carefully laid him back down.

«The patriarch is with Solderet-nim at Storm Castle right now.»

«Ah, I knew it! That bastard is alright, right?»

«Yes. So relax and rest. The Holy King and the Hidden Palace Master said that even if you take five steps, you will die.»

Murakan didn’t receive fundamental treatment.

No matter how powerful the Holy King’s divine power was, it was impossible to repair the Black Dragon’s shattered heart.

The Holy King and the Hidden Palace Master only took minimal measures to prevent the heart from disintegrating further.

Murakan can only recover if Solderet heals him or by self-regeneration.

But Solderet didn’t have much strength remaining, and who knows how many years natural healing would take.

‘The Holy King said that Murakan’s own will is the most important thing for self-regeneration.

But, can Murakan… have the will to live?

It was true that Temar was at Storm Castle with Solderet.

However, as soon as Temar moved away from Murakan, he went mad again, and Solderet was casting a barrier across all of Storm Castle while facing extinction.

Diana recalled the words Murakan uttered unconsciously as he wandered between life and death.

They were all cries stained with guilt for killing the monstrous Ten Great Knights and Temar, whom he loved and cherished.

None of his comrades were unaware of how much Murakan cherished and loved them. Even Diana could barely contain her sadness.

‘Like those who left before me, I will probably become a phantom of the manipulation… Although I don’t know how much time I have, but I can’t hold on forever. Before that happens, I have to carry out the final order the patriarch left before he went mad. I must preserve the legacy of the clan and leave hope in the world. I must prevent the world from completely falling into the clutches of Zipple.’

As Diana lost herself in her thoughts, Murakan seemed to fall into a deep sleep as if he were exhausted.

When he regained consciousness again, another week had passed.

His entire body burned like a ball of fire, and every breath sounded like rusty iron. He couldn’t open his eyes amidst the suffering and devastation.

Faintly, he heard the voices of those who had been taking care of him.

‘Diana… and, the first-class butler, Kean…’

Murakan couldn’t open his mouth and barely had any feeling in his body.

«Kean.»

Kean was the first-class butler of Runcandel.

«Yes,… Diana-nim?»

«The head maid… is she… not… here?»

«That’s right.»

“Couldn’t Zipple,… attack the head maid,… at the meeting…”

«No, I don’t think so. Even if… that’s the case,… they would have escaped,… since Sarah-nim and Sir Bale are with them.»

Murakan couldn’t hear well, so he couldn’t fully grasp the conversation.

Even so, he could generally understand what they were saying, but even that was quite challenging for Murakan.

«Dia… Diana…»

«Ah, Murakan… just close your eyes and rest.»

«Dra… Vyollo… Fr…»

«Everyone is busy with their missions… apparently. They came to see you a few days ago…»

They came to see you.

Hearing that, Murakan involuntarily smiled.

Remembering their faces caused a sharp pain in his chest, but his longing and joy were much stronger.

With a smile, Murakan fell back asleep.

Another month passed.

«Your Majesty, is there any improvement in Murakan’s condition?»

«According to Ayula-nim’s revelation, Murakan has no will to live. They said he seems content with the imagination of being in a coma.»

«Sigh…»

«…It’s a terrible situation. Having to say goodbye to the people he cherished more than anyone. I pray that he finds peace someday.»

Every time Murakan’s consciousness returned.

He couldn’t distinguish between Diana’s lies, his own imagination, and harsh reality.

Diana had no choice but to keep lying to him.

She couldn’t emphasize the truth to someone who could let go of the weak thread of life at any moment.

«Temar… Temar is also unharmed…»

Every time she heard Murakan’s voice, Diana’s heart tightened.

She didn’t have much time either.

Diana checked that Murakan had fallen back asleep and went to Storm Castle.

Solderet’s barrier enveloped the castle.

Zipple knew that Solderet was in an unstable state, but they had never attacked the Castle after the barrier was cast.

When Diana approached, the barrier briefly opened.

Sylderay and the knights inside the castle greeted her.

«Diana.»

«Sylderay, how is the patriarch?»

«He’s still the same. He turns into a phantom, then returns to his original form for a moment, and then loses consciousness.»

Sylderay and the knights were on standby at Storm Castle for a reason.

When Temar went mad, someone had to subdue him without killing him.

Sylderay had already subdued Temar dozens of times.

He was also struggling to endure his crumbling inner self.

«What about Murakan?»

«The Holy King received a revelation from Ayula regarding Murakan, and it’s not good.»

«I see…»

Currently, Runcandel was waiting for the answer regarding the surrender intention that Lueth delivered to Zipple last time.

«When the patriarch returned to his original form, did he leave any specific orders?»

«The command he left when he first arrived at Storm Castle was the last one.»

«I see.»

«Diana, what will happen to us if Zipple rejects the surrender?»

«We’ll have to fight and die, I guess.»

That didn’t scare her at all.

What was truly frightening was becoming a puppet of the manipulation, unable to even defend oneself.

It was like killing people unknowingly, like their fallen comrades. Dying while fighting was just a wish, nothing more.

«To be honest, I don’t understand it. There’s no reason for them to accept our surrender. I’d rather fight with all our strength and disappear while I’m still in control. I’m not going to fall so cowardly!»

As Sylderay said, it seemed that Zipple had no reason to accept their surrender.

In the war, Runcandel suffered irreparable damage, while Zipple remained unscathed, and they were close to perfecting the means of manipulating history.

Even if they simply wait, Runcandel will soon face destruction, either by becoming phantoms due to the manipulation of history or by being brutally murdered by the Magicians.

Sylderay thought that Zipple wasn’t attacking Storm Castle and the Garden of Swords because they saw no need to waste their strength.

For over two thousand years, Zipple had reigned over the world, and Runcandel was the only one who resisted them.

Zipple had no reason to leave behind even a spark of Runcandel’s existence.

If it had anything to do with Runcandel, even a small stone would be eradicated from the world by Zipple’s methods.

Diana didn’t respond and turned towards Temar’s bed.

She sat there silently for several hours, watching over him.

Suddenly, Temar began to slowly rise, as his body began to transform into a purple color.

«Ha.»

Diana and Sylderay easily subdued Temar who was out of control.

Just like Murakan’s heart had been broken, Temar was also weakened due to his fight with Murakan.

Once subdued, Temar returned to his original form and lost consciousness.

Diana went outside to clear her head and lit a cigarette, while Sylderay leaned against Temar’s bed and burst into tears.

«Everyone’s gone… Damn it! Solderet, you treacherous bastard! Is this what you meant by keeping your promise? Come out and show yourself, you damn…!»

As Sylderay shouted, a group of knights outside rushed into the room.

They tried to restrain Sylderay, but they couldn’t withstand his overwhelming strength.

«Sir Sylderay! If you act like this, how can the other members of the Family keep their composure? Please calm down, I beg you!»

«It’s not the guardian deity who made the patriarch like this. Lower your voice, Sir Sylderay.»

«If it’s not Solderet, who else could have made the patriarch like this? When the patriarch was in trouble, what was that useless guardian deity doing?»

«What nonsense are you saying, Sylderay!»

Diana returned to the hospital room and grabbed Sylderay’s shoulder.

«Nonsense?»

«Didn’t you hear the patriarch’s last order? Never blame the guardian deity, and keep the promise made with the guardian deity. He emphasized that even as he lost consciousness.»

The promise.

The promise between Solderet and Runcandel was about survival.

It was about surviving and preparing for the future, a thousand years later.

«Diana, even after seeing the patriarch like this, do you still believe in Solderet…?»

«Whether I believe him or not isn’t important.»

«Look at this, you don’t believe in Solderet anymore either! You feel the same way I do, Diana. I don’t understand you anymore.»

«My feelings aren’t important either. Sylderay, what matters is… the fact that it’s the patriarch’s order. The patriarch’s order is absolute, and we are the ones who turn it into the laws of Runcandel! If you keep showing that pathetic appearance, I won’t let it pass, no matter who you are.»

«Ha.»

«Follow the patriarch’s order. It’s our only remaining duty and hope.»

«What hope is this? Hoping they’ll accept our surrender? A thousand years? You mean everything we’ve done so far was for the Contractor who will appear a thousand years later? Solderet knew from the beginning that it would end like this. He just used the patriarch and us.»

Diana hugged Sylderay, who was venting his frustration, for a long time.

She didn’t completely disagree with Sylderay’s words.

However, she was simply following the patriarch’s order because it was absolute.

If it was the only means that could one day defeat their enemies, even if they became monsters, she had to follow it.

‘Solderet said he would create guardians using our souls. Is it to protect Runcandel through those guardians even if we become monsters…? But even if those guardians have powers exactly the same as ours, can we really stop Elona and Zipple?’

Suddenly, urgent footsteps were heard in the hallway.

«Sir Sylderay! Diana-nim! We’ve received Zipple’s response.»