REAPER SCANS

The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

[Translator – SCM]

[Proofreader – Karane]

Chapter 416

The monkey statue broke free with little resistance, landing on Seol's hand. It seemed to have been a separate statue from the beginning, as it came off cleanly without any broken pieces.

"Where should we put the monkey?"

"I think it will get stepped on and crushed if we place it carelessly…"

Seol approached the back of the troll holding a club.

"Mariju, over here."

"Ah! Yes!"

Fwoosh…

As soon as Mariju brought her flame close to the troll's back, something changed.

Tss…

A pattern similar to the one engraved on the ground appeared on the statue’s back.

"Put the monkey… here…"

Tap…

The monkey statue clung to the troll's back as if it belonged there. 

Mariju said, "Sir Jalv."

"Understood!"

Swoosh…

As Jalv touched the round orb, the light from earlier was emitted once more.

Whoosh…

Crack…

The battle between the statues began once more.

Thud…

The pirate's sword plunged into the small troll’s chest.

Tang—!

And the Warrior deflected the giant troll's massive club.

Up until this point, the fight played out the same as before.

Creak—!

Thud—!

However, this time, the monkey hanging on the troll's back severed its necklace, causing it to fall to the ground.

KWAAAA—!

The large troll screamed in anger.

Fwoosh—!

Soon, hot flames engulfed its head.

Tss…

The party frowned at the realistic smell of burning flesh.

Crackle…

The dwarves and the monkey turned back into stone. Meanwhile, the trolls shattered into dust.

Swoosh…

Clang—!

"Door! A door!"

The hidden room they were in was no longer hidden, and part of the outer wall had transformed into a door.

"Do we just go out?" Jalv asked Seol.

"For now, let's follow the statues."

Drrr…

The statues huddled together and moved toward the door; their uniform movements made it seem as if there were rails beneath their feet.

Seol's party followed after the statues.

"Is it magic of some kind of mechanical mechanism? How interesting."

"Doesn't the Federation have the Castrang?"

"The Castrang is a product of logic mixed with a pinch of magic… But this… it's like magic from a fairy tale, isn't it?"

"Magic from a fairy tale… That makes sense."

"Oppa, why did such statues suddenly appear?"

Because of how big the space was, they hadn't encountered anyone else yet.

Seol's party discussed the test of the statues.

"Maybe the ruin is testing us…"

"Testing us? All of a sudden?"

"Remember that severed head at the auction?"

"Ah, that man! I remember. It was really grotesque."

"Everything started when that severed head spoke. So, there must be a connection."

"Who could be behind this…? I wonder if they know more about this ruin."

"At least more than we do, for sure. They probably knew things would turn out this way."

Mariju held her forehead. "This is bad. Getting out of the ruins is already hard. And now, there are conspirators mixed in."

Jalv pounded his chest in response to Mariju’s worries. "Ms. Mariju, just believe in me! I'll make sure you get back to your residence unharmed!"

"But my knee's already scraped…"

"That's…"

"I'm joking."

"Hmm! At least we can trust each other!"

"…"

"…"

"E-Ehem… I guess not."

Neither Mariju nor Seol's party responded to Jalv’s comment.

Thud…

"The statues stopped moving.'

Seol looked up at the ceiling, and the characters from before appeared again.

Once again, Seol easily deciphered the sentence.

"The path to the destination is a series of hardships."

Swoosh…

Another stone statue appeared around them. It looked like vines.

"Only the mysterious orb will open the path."

As Seol said that, everyone nodded.

"The mysterious orb is that round sphere, right?"

"It seems there's something hidden there."

Seol slowly approached the Magician statue.

In front of them, a wall of vines was blocking the way.

He stroked the mysterious orb.

And as he did…

Whoosh…

The round sphere reacted.

Just like before, the statue briefly came to life.

Whoosh—!

A blue light shone from the sphere.

The vines turned a vibrant green, looking too tough to cut.

Swoosh…

"Oh my god…"

"The vines are disappearing…"

"Are they rotting…?"

Seol watched the scene, his eyes fixed.

Thud…

As the vines disappeared, the dwarves turned back into statues.

They moved forward again as if nothing had happened.

"It's strange that we haven't encountered anyone else yet."

"More importantly, that orb… I wonder what kind of power it has."

"It seems to accelerate decay…"

"Or maybe it's draining life force."

"As expected! That could be it."

Seol heard their speculations but continued pondering by himself.

Mariju quickly approached Seol, who was walking ahead alone, and asked, "You have an idea, right…?"

"Something did come to mind…"

"Couldn't you tell us?"

"…"

Seol looked around at the party and said.

"Both ideas make sense, but let's wait and see. The next test might reveal more."

"Ah! Well, it doesn't matter, but…"

Seol tilted his head and asked Somi.

"Somi."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Were the ruins always this big?"

"I was wondering the same thing…"

Mariju answered instead. "The Star Graveyard extends underground. It seems the interior changed and merged with that area."

"How unbelievably large…"

"Right? I thought the same."

Amid their conversation, the dwarves suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Huh? Why did they…"

Another group of dwarves popped out from a left path.

Others seemed to be undergoing the same test.

Ziing…

The dwarves on Seol's side activated the orb's power.

Pss…

The opposing dwarves not only shattered but turned to dust. The power contained in the opposing dwarves' orb was absorbed into the ones who destroyed them.

"Are we supposed to go together from here?"

A broken stone stone bridge loomed ahead. Although all that remained was a skeleton arches and pillars, its massive scale hinted at its former glory.

It was at that moment…

"Wait! Someone's coming!"

Swoosh…

A chilling energy approached from the other side, followed by someone's scream.

"A-An assassin!"

"An assassin is chasing after us!"

At that moment, Somi’s and Mariju's expressions became distorted.

Jalv asked, "An assassin?"

"That man killed the people he was with. AAH! There he is!"

Seol smirked as he saw the one accused as a murderer.

"Ur…"

"I caught your scent earlier. It looks like I got lucky and chose the same path."

Having met with Ur was a relief, but he was being accused of being a murderer.

Seol asked, "Did you kill someone?"

"Kill someone? Yes, I did."

The six who came over cried out.

"He turned them into ice statues in an instant and killed them!"

"He murdered them out of nowhere! He's with the ones who messed up the auction!"

Seol raised his hand lightly, silencing them.

If anyone asked if there was someone capable of silencing multiple people with such a simple gesture, they would point to Seol.

Whoosh…

Just the faint energy he released was enough to calm everyone down.

To be precise, they had become afraid. But Seol had intentionally suppressed his killing intent, so they didn't notice.

"Why did you kill them?"

"Are you interrogating me?"

"No, I'm just curious."

Ur sighed. "Isn't it strange?"

"…"

"How did those not at the auction know what happened there?"

"I see…"

Ur had seen the faces of everyone at the auction.

His eyes and senses couldn't be fooled even if they wore masks. These people were beings who weren't at the auction.

Which meant that there was a high chance they were on the same side as those who had planned this.

Of course, killing someone based solely on that clue wasn't right. There had to be something more.

Jalv shouted, "You killed someone just because of that… Although they might have heard it from someone else."

"They appeared in the same space as me right after the incident. And my nose is quite sensitive. Especially…" Ur slowly walked closer. "The smell of killing intent."

"…"

"As soon as they realized I was alone, they revealed an ungainly killing intent. No matter how much they hide behind their masks, they can't hide that foul killing intent. Isn't that right, Seol?"

"What the… That's just speculation…! Ms. Mariju, it seems this guy…"

Jalv defended the people who came over, but Seol nodded at Ur's words.

"Step back, Ms. Mariju, Somi."

"Understood."

"I'll protect Ms. Mariju!"

As Somi and Mariju stepped back, Jalv couldn't maintain his stance—he needed to respect the majority's opinion.

"Th-Then… That's right! Ms. Mariju, since the situation seems chaotic.."

Jalv tried to stand back-to-back with Seol, as if he were proposing they should protect each other.

But as he did, Seol bluntly said, "Jalv, what are you doing?"

"There are a lot of enemies. That's why we should join forces…"

"Shouldn’t you be standing over there? With them?"

"Huh…?"

At that moment, silence fell.

"What are you talking about?"

"You aren't good at hiding your killing intent."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Are you suspecting me now?"

Jalv shouted. "Ms. Mariju! This guy is suspicious. And that guy over there…"

Mariju stared at Jalv with an unwavering gaze.

Her cold gaze already showed that her heart had turned away.

"Ms. Mariju?"

"Jalv, it's been about five years since you became my bodyguard."

"That's right, so…"

"From this moment on, you are no longer a retainer of the Sanshi family."

"What..?!"

"It's just as Seol says. You aren't good at hiding your killing intent."

"…"

Jalv then joined the six who had removed their masks. "When did you figure it out…?"

"I had my suspicions. But I became sure of it after the ruins changed."

"Why…?"

"Your killing intent leaked out just by being alone with me."

That was true.

The reason Seol hadn't gotten too close to the two was also because of that.

If Seol and Somi hadn't been nearby, Jalv would have killed Mariju.

In that brief moment, a faint killing intent had leaked out. He had noticed it early on but chose not to say anything.

"Then why did you two act so calm?"

"I wasn't sure if the three of us could defeat you, Jalv. After all, you're strong."

In Seol's case, it was the opposite.

He thought that if he left him alone, he might reveal his true intentions to the others.

"Then, why did your mind suddenly change?"

"Just now, I was able to sense Seol's energy. It was so faint that I almost missed it. Jalv, no… all of you." Mariju spoke in a confident tone. "Won't be able to defeat Seol."

"What?"

"Hahaha! Just because you're alive, you're speaking nonsense."

Seven people wouldn't be able to defeat one? If they had said the four of them, including Seol, they might have pretended to think at least.

Swoosh…

"Then, shall we see?"

Mariju hid behind Seol. "Excuse me… this seems to be the safest place."

"…"

"Kill the flame…"

"What…?"

"It will be hard to watch."

Nod…

As Mariju killed her flame, the ruins soon became engulfed in darkness.

The faint light leaking from somewhere made it hard to distinguish even what was right in front of them.

Whoosh—!

A horrifying sound followed by the splatter of blood could be heard. She could even hear a few drops of blood splashing on her dress.

"It's okay now."

Mariju reignited her flame.

Fwoosh…

"Oh my god…"

The lights were off for only a moment.

She couldn't even have counted to three, yet the carnage before her eyes far exceeded her imagination.

Headless corpses stood like fools.

Boom—!

Boom—! 

The corpses fell backward in unison.

"E… Eek…"

Only Jalv remained. He was burying his head in the ground and crying.

"You monster… Don't come close…"

Just what had he seen?

Mariju didn't even want to imagine.

"You're stronger than I thought…"

"…"

Seol approached Jalv and looked at his eyes.

Crackle…

Soon, his memories transferred information to Seol.

"Hmm..."

"Did you find anything?"

Seol scratched his chin at Ur's question. "This place is indeed a long-dormant, ancient, dwarven ruin."

"I know that."

"The guys who ruined the auction are after a treasure hidden here. These guys… didn't care much about the auction."

"Oh… A treasure? Do you know what it is?"

"It seems he doesn't."

"Why did they orchestrate this now?"

"The ruins needed living sacrifices to regain its power."

"Ah, so today was the day the sacrifices came willingly."

"Yes…"

"What are you going to do with that woman…?"

Ur already knew about Somi; he was asking about Mariju.

Swoosh…

She removed her mask.

Soon, her ruby-like eyes and facial features were revealed.

"Let me re-introduce myself, I'm Mariju Sanshi. Unfortunately, I've just lost my bodyguard."

"…"

"If you help me get out of this place safely, I'll express my gratitude on behalf of my family."

"Oppa…" Somi made a drenched, puppy-like face. She was someone very affectionate.

Seol didn't dislike that characteristic of hers.

"Okay…"

"Thanks…"

Ur snorted. "Hmph. Anyway, Seol, that's all you know, right?"

"Yes, is there something more you know?"

"Yes… that orb."

Ur was referring to the blue orb on the dwarf's hand.

Following Ur's finger, Seol said. "What is that orb? And why is the ruin putting us through these tests?"

"Tests? No. It's telling a story."

"Story?"

"Yes. The story of what happened because of that orb."

"Is that orb really that significant?"

" Seol, check this out."

Whoosh…

Ur activated the orb.

A light soon scattered into the air.

Crackle…

The changes that occurred as the light spread overwhelmed everyone.

The massive stone bridge was returning to its former glory.

"No way…"

"This…"

Seol's expression hardened.

It wasn't recreating the stone bridge. It was restoring it to its former state.

Ur smirked. "This… is an artifact of Cagon."

The Cagon Empire that stood at the pinnacle of time and verbal magic…

Cagon was a forgotten empire whose greatness was still only praised by Ur.

"It's a relic from Cagon that ended up in the hands of that dwarf. That's where the story begins."

WHOOM…

The ruins started to change.

In the distance, the structure of the ruins transformed, recreating something.

It was a fortress, a castle that seemed to have been scaled down.

Mariju narrowed her eyes and said. "That castle… I've seen it before."

"You have?"

"There are traces of it left in the North." She paused momentarily and sighed. "It's the Throne of Ashes. An ancient dwarven kingdom."

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