[Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]

    Chapter 95

    As soon as the banquet at the royal palace ended, Kaylen rode his drake straight to Mount Melzrek.

    The lodge was completely silent, with not even a caretaker in sight.

    ‘Is it because this place belonged to Black Skull?’

    “Stay here.”

    [Ugh... Can I sleep inside?]

    “Sure. I won’t ride you on the way back.”

    Today had indeed been a grueling march.

    Giving the groaning drake some time to rest, Kaylen followed the memories of Black Skull.

    ‘It was the fourth room on the left of the first floor of the lodge.’

    Creaaak.

    As he opened the lodge door, the interior was unexpectedly spotless, without a speck of dust.

    Click.

    The fourth room''s door was a solid iron door, completely locked...

    Shhk-

    With a single swing of Kaylen’s sword, the door was sliced clean in half.

    No, it wasn’t just the door—

    The entire fourth room, from floor to ceiling, was split in two.

    “This is it.”

    Kaylen followed the revealed gap in the floor and descended the staircase leading underground.

    The underground atmosphere was the complete opposite of the clean surface above.

    The dark and eerie space was filled with sinister dark mana, and the walls and floors were densely embedded with skulls.

    As Kaylen passed through,

    Clack. Clack.

    The skulls embedded in the walls clattered their jaws together.

    -Intruder detected.

    -Eliminate.

    With those words, the skulls lodged in the walls and floor began rising one by one.

    “Tsk.”

    Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Kaylen swung his sword.

    He advanced, cutting down every undead that remained in the corridor, until he finally reached his target.

    “This is it.”

    A door made of black bones.

    It was Black Skull''s storage room and research lab.

    Soon, Kaylen was met with a gruesome sight.

    A vast underground chamber, where heaps of bones and decayed flesh were piled up like mountains.

    Several grotesque creatures roamed freely within.

    A creature with a human body and a dog''s head.

    Another with the body of a giant spider and a human head.

    Most of them were hybrids, combining a human with an animal.

    Among them, the ones with human heads trembled as they gazed around in confusion.

    ‘Chimeras... Did they go out of control after Black Skull''s death?’

    Beings created by fusing multiple creatures together.

    A thousand years ago, during the era of the Empire, chimera experiments had been one of the most common practices among dark mages.

    ‘There was no information about them in the memories.’

    Kaylen bit his lip as he looked at the chimeras that had already collapsed lifeless on the floor.

    I should have come sooner if I knew there were chimeras here.

    Woof! Woof woof!

    Aaaahhh!

    The barking of dogs and human screams overlapped.

    As the chaotic scene before him descended further into madness, Kaylen drew his sword.

    “Rather than live in this hell... I shall grant you a peaceful end.”

    Once transformed into a chimera, there was no returning to their original bodies...

    Without the dark mage''s control, the chimeras wouldn’t survive for long.

    Even a thousand years ago, attempts were made to save those who had been turned into chimeras, but every experiment ultimately ended in failure.

    For those who became chimeras, death was the only salvation.

    “May your next life be peaceful.”

    Swish.

    As Kaylen extended his sword, a brilliant white light emanated.

    Sizzle—

    A pure white line traced across the chimeras’ necks.

    In an instant, white flames engulfed their bodies.

    Before they could even feel pain, they crumbled to ash and vanished.

    Walking through the fading white flames, Kaylen sliced through the door to the next room.

    Unlike the previous slaughterhouse, the revealed space was calm.

    There were no corpses or bones.

    Instead, it resembled a library, with shelves densely packed with books.

    The enigmatic Sword Master had refused every offer and only asked for the Melzrek Lodge.

    A place so neglected that hardly anyone even remembered its existence.

    Surely... there must be a reason behind it.

    "Hurry, let''s go!"

    Urging the others, Kaitan boarded the carriage and arrived at Melzrek Lodge.

    And then...

    "Your Majesty. T-This place..."

    "There are undead here."

    "But... all the undead have ceased moving, and there are traces of aura..."

    "It seems that Sir Stein has already been here."

    The royal guards, investigating the underground chamber, were in awe.

    "He slashed through space with a single sword."

    "Look at those countless skeletons, all cut down at once. Hundreds of them felled with a single strike."

    Kaitan furrowed his brows.

    He found their admiration unpleasant.

    ‘Stein... He definitely knew about this place beforehand.’

    How did he know?

    Could it have been when he went off riding a drake under the pretense of eliminating Black Skull?

    With a restless expression, Kaitan pressed forward deeper into the underground chamber.

    "Ugh..."

    "This is horrifying."

    Though most of the chamber had been cleansed by Kaylen, the remaining bones and flesh made the men grimace.

    It wasn’t hard to imagine what had transpired in this underground space.

    Beyond this chamber...

    "There’s nothing here."

    "Only empty bookshelves remain. The entire space has been cleared out."

    "Is that so?"

    They had already taken everything.

    What exactly had been here?

    Kaitan couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling creeping over him.

    "Let’s return..."

    He had gone to the trouble of making a personal trip early in the morning, only to return empty-handed.

    All he learned was that Sword Master Stein had been there before him.

    With a heavy heart, Kaitan returned to the palace.

    ‘It''s already night...’

    Despite leaving early in the morning, by the time he returned, the sun had completely set.

    Kaitan, who rarely left the palace, felt utterly exhausted.

    "Chamberlain, I will drink alone tonight."

    "Understood, Your Majesty."

    On any other day, he would have indulged in a grand drinking session.

    But tonight, his mind was too troubled to share drinks with others.

    "Ugh..."

    With a gloomy expression, Kaitan downed his drink.

    The sudden appearance of the Sword Master made the alcohol taste bitter.

    ‘Because of that Sword Master, everything is in shambles. Even Diether Hart... he died because of him.’

    First Prince Diether Hart.

    Yesterday, he had ruthlessly shattered his bones.

    But in truth, Diether was the child he cherished most.

    With the saintess and the Sword Master watching, he couldn’t openly defend his son, who had succumbed to demonic corruption.

    Seeing his son’s remains disappear shattered his heart.

    Still...

    He couldn’t allow Violet to retrieve the bones of her demon-worshipping brother.

    With the saintess watching keenly, he couldn’t afford to leave any room for accusations.

    The Saintess of Sanctuary.

    She looked young, but she was a terrifying woman who had lived for a thousand years.

    "Diether Hart..."

    Muttering his son''s name, Kaitan drank until he passed out.

    And the next morning...

    ‘W-What is this...!’

    A dagger was lodged in his pillow.

    Along with it, a piece of paper.

    Kaitan''s eyes widened in shock.

    The handwriting was unmistakable.

    [Send 100 slaves, and 100 chickens, cows, dogs, and sheep each.]

    There was no doubt.

    It was...

    A report he had sent to Cesar.

    [Translator - Kiteretsu]

    [Proofreader - Kyros]