Chapter 1345: Chapter 1345: Stone Mirror Demon: Goethe

Three skeletons sat around two black stones placed on the snow, with demonic inscriptions carved on the stones – Death.

The three skeletons were undead creatures, completely unafraid of the freezing heavy snow weather. They must have been sitting here for a long time, as their clothes’ shoulders and their bare skulls were covered with a layer of snow.

Under normal circumstances, Shard would have chosen to bypass such a scene, but today he came here specifically to look for clues. Thus, he walked over, but the skeletons paid him no mind, fixating their gaze on the two half-buried black stones in the snow.

[Undead, but corrupted by demons, their souls trapped within the bones.]

“She” gently reminded, causing Shard to stop in his tracks carrying his briefcase:

“Gentlemen, what are you doing?”

After asking the question, he indeed received an answer. Among the three skeletons, the one in dark red clothing moved its jaw up and down;

“We are distributing the quotas of death.”

“What do you mean?”

The skeleton in black clothing replied:

“We are hunters from a nearby village. A year ago, we entered this forest to hunt and ended up here while chasing a wild chicken. The three of us shot at the wild chicken that was hiding in the bushes, and when we went over to find it, we discovered the chicken had fallen at a man’s feet. We threatened him to hand over our prey, and thus we ended up in this state.”

As he spoke, there was actually a hint of operatic monologue in his tone.

“Aren’t you already dead?”

Shard inquired again, and then the last skeleton, clothed in deep blue, spoke:

“That man allowed us to die but not to completely depart. He said, since we like to suspect others of taking our things, then we should decide who this thing truly belongs to ourselves. He transformed that wild chicken into two stones, which would permit two of us to die completely, leaving the remainder to continue suffering.”

While the three skeletons spoke, they never looked towards Shard but instead fixated on those two stones, as if fearing they might be snatched by their companions:

“So we’re trying to distribute the quotas of death.”

“Hmm…”

This rather malicious curse definitely seemed like the handiwork of the Stone Mirror Demon: Goethe:

“So, you’ve been in this stalemate for a year?”

“Yes.”

Again, it was the skeleton in black who first spoke:

“We balance and constrain each other. No one dares to first reach for the stones, otherwise they will certainly be attacked by the other two together. We’re competing on who has more patience, but the good news is, we now have infinite life to wait.”

This statement made that sense of black humor even stronger:

“Have you ever thought that your stalemate and waiting are part of the eternal torture itself?”

The skeleton in dark red clothing said:

“We surely know, but what else can we do? Who can selflessly sacrifice themselves to let the other two leave?”

The three skeletons nodded together, never once breaking their eye sockets’ gaze from the two stones in the snow.

“Would you like me to help you?”

Shard proposed in the snow, but the three skeletons probably misunderstood his intent, as the skeleton in black spoke first:

“I have inherited treasures at home. Help me hold one of them at bay, and all these will be yours.”

The skeleton in red said:

“Don’t believe his treasures; they’re nothing but crude clay pots. I have a beautiful daughter. Help me hold one of them, and she shall be yours.”

The skeleton in blue finally said:

“Oh, sir, his daughter is stronger than a wild boar, more ferocious than a brown bear. I have a sharpshooter’s talent. Help me hold one of them, and I will give you a part of my soul.”

“That’s a lie. If his talent were remarkable, he wouldn’t be hunting with us here. Don’t believe his ghostly words, sir, what I offer is the most valuable gift.”

The skeleton in black said again, and then the three skeletons all asked together:

“So, sir, who will you help?”

“Wealth, beauty, and power, choose one of the three?”

Shard asked, still holding the briefcase in his left hand, while his right hand brimmed with the silver thunder:

“How about this, I’ll take none of them!”

In an instant, a streak of lightning flashed, the Thunder Spear directly hit the center of the three skeletons at close range. As stones, snowflakes, and earth exploded, all three skeletons were blown away. Meanwhile, a large crater was blasted into the ground, with silver arcs of electricity jumping continuously on the snow surface.

In the large pit on the ground lay dozens of skeletons just like them:

“Making deals with demons is common knowledge among Circle Sorcerers; not dealing with anything corrupted by demons is another common knowledge.”

The skeletons picked up their broken limbs and reassembled themselves, struggling to stand up from the snow. Some black shadows swiftly slid below the snow layer, splitting into three streams that entered the three skeletons. Then, eerie black stones adhered to their bones, and six black flames appeared in their eye sockets.

The skeleton in black wielded a stone scythe in its right hand, the one in red raised its right hand, causing a mud bullet to materialize in its palm, and the blue skeleton’s size increased, exuding immense pressure.

As they felt their power, Shard opened the briefcase and took out a small bottle. Uncorking it, he flicked his wrist, and with the sorcery of Water Flow Control, the Holy Water within flew out like a long snake, swirling before Shard. As he gently blew towards it, the Holy Water slowly froze in the snow, forming a complete ice spear:

“You’re daring to fight back even though I haven’t made a move?”

The black skeleton moved the fastest, gliding over the snow with a scythe to strike at Shard. But Shard easily evaded by sidestepping, and as if wielding a sword, he used the ice spear to slice off the top of its skull. Breaking a third of the spear and thrusting it into its left eye socket, he continued forward.

His movements in the snow were smooth and fluid, the confrontation lasting less than two seconds.

Next came the large blue skeleton like a raging bear charging at Shard, but Shard had no intention of dodging. He slightly bent down, lowering his center of gravity, and with a hint of seriousness on his face, activated the ‘Power of the Red Dragon’ spell, colliding directly with the blue skeleton:

“Hah!”

Equally matched in strength, Shard kicked the skeleton over:

“Daring to fight back?”

Shard raised the ice spear high and stabbed it into the left eye socket, then broke it inside the blue skeleton’s skull, kicking the immobilized skeleton aside.

He turned slightly, avoiding a black mud bullet flying at him. Checking the ice spear, now only left with its last piece, he shifted his right foot back, lifted his left foot, leaned his body back, and twisted his waist forward to throw forcefully.

As the ice spear cut through the snowy woods with a whoosh, it stabbed into the right eye socket of the red skeleton, dragging it backward. With a thud, it pinned to a pine tree, and the falling snow from the branches buried the skeleton in the snow pile with a crash.

The wind blew snow across the eerie woods, Shard hummed while standing on the open ground beside the path, dusting his hands off, and he turned to pick up his briefcase again. Just as he was about to continue towards the nearby manor, applause echoed from behind him.

Shard frowned and turned to see “Ston Osenfort,” dressed in a brown robe and black boots, emerging from the woods while clapping:

“Really impressive, truly impressive.”

But this was certainly not Ston Osenfort, although they looked identical. The nonchalant smile and slick demeanor on his face were nothing like the more brutish persona of Ston Osenfort. The deep black eyes and slightly dim skin in the daytime directly revealed what the entity truly was.

[A demon’s true form.]

Thus, in this rather unexpected time and place, Shard encountered the demon of Randall Valley for the first time.

“No, unless I burn my Divinity, I have no confidence in defeating it now.”

Shard knew this well, as the doctor had said the opponent was like the final obstacle found in knight novels, appearing right before defeating the Demon King.

“Osenfort? No, you’re not him.”

Shard said, still holding his briefcase in his left hand while reaching into his pocket with his right, taking out a silver cross pendant with a silver chain. The sharp and pointed end of the cross spiraled with a silver snake, with a ruby that seemed to glow in the snowy day adorning the snake’s head.

The Keeper of Secrets Level Relic [Desecration Cross], when stabbed into a transcendent humanoid creature’s chest, absorbs and imprisons their soul, even drawing the soul into one’s own body, forming a special Desecration Spirit Rune.

Shard held the relic toward the demon, which did indeed slow to a halt, yet its smile remained unchanged:

“A silver cross? It seems you’ve already investigated my identity.”

“Since I dared to take on Ston Osenfort’s commission, naturally, I wasn’t going to investigate nothing. I’m not interested in you or your relationship with Ston Osenfort; I just want to complete the commission and receive Osenfort’s reward.”

The demon crossed its arms in front of its chest, slightly tilting its head to look at Shard in the snow, striking a pose quite reminiscent of the real Osenfort:

“A foreign Circle Sorcerer, yet you don’t appear as loyal as you claim. Since you agreed to help Ston Osenfort acquire those three items, why did you also secretly accept a commission from Haila Osenfort?”

The demon indeed knew what was happening at the manor, but fortunately, Dr. Schneider had already informed Shard of the potential events, so Shard wasn’t particularly surprised by this:

“When a beautiful woman seeks my help, even holding my hand and guiding it to her chest, and I feel capable of fulfilling the request, I see no reason not to agree to her.”