Chapter 1 (Part 10)

When she went downstairs, the knights’ gazes were unmistakably different from yesterday.

Yuliana glared around without realizing it. The knights avoided her gaze.

“Lia, I was going to escort you down the stairs, but you came down first.”

Anthus descended the stairs confidently, not fully buttoning his shirt, revealing his white skin.

He was smiling with a sly look, as if he was planning something.

“I don’t need an escort to go down the stairs, Duke.”

Anthus began to button his shirt slowly while looking at Yuliana. When she turned her head away, she noticed the knights glancing at her and Anthus.

Could they be misunderstanding because we were in the same room yesterday?

“Everyone, I passed out yesterday due to mana depletion. Thanks to the Duke’s care, I recovered. Duke.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for watching over me and even nursing me while I was completely unconscious.”

She was implying that he couldn’t have spent the night with an unconscious woman. The knights seemed to understand, looking disappointedly at Anthus.

Anthus spoke softly with the kindest smile.

“I can stay up all night nursing you again, just like last night.”

Yuliana glared at Anthus with fierce eyes.

“Lia, it’s embarrassing when you look at me like that.”

She was getting tired of trying to stop him from calling her by her nickname. She wondered why things always got twisted when she was with Anthus.

Yuliana’s head was getting more and more confused.

“Lia, you look beautiful today as well.”

The knights of the Duke’s household, who had been disappointed earlier, now looked at Anthus with admiration for his bold expressions of affection.

* * *

Recalling Ifrit’s words to summon Noum before she fainted yesterday, Yuliana chanted a spell and called Noum.

[Yuli, are you alright? Ifrit was very worried.]

“I’m fine. I’ve recovered a lot. But you said you had something to tell me yesterday.”

[While I was examining the ground yesterday, I found a large empty space beneath the corpses. I checked it out and found nine iron cages for imprisoning beasts and an altar soaked in blood.]

“Anything else?”

[The cages were filled with bodies that hadn’t been dead for long. It was horrifying. It felt like someone was experimenting with humans.]

“Experimenting for what?”

[Why would someone kill so many people without a purpose? It was an altar used for offering sacrifices to summon demons! There must be some sinister plot.]

Noum shivered.

[If a spirit like me can look at a human corpse and think it’s gruesome……that says it all.]

Cold sweat ran down Yuliana’s back. Something serious was definitely happening.

“Duke.”

“What did the spirit say?”

“The disappearance of the villagers and the monster we saw yesterday…”

She had a bad feeling. Anthus felt the same.

“It seems a dark sorcerer might be involved in this new type of monster, Duke.”

“Lia, what did the spirit say that makes you so sure it’s a dark sorcerer?”

“Noum said there is a large empty space beneath the well. And according to Noum, there are many bodies in iron cages and an altar.”

Anthus nodded at Yuliana’s words.

“It certainly seems like dark sorcery. Let’s wait for the wizards from the Mage Tower and reinforcements from Seignior Faihan’s territory before we move.”

“Yes.”

By the time they finished lunch, the wizards from the Mage Tower arrived. Soon after, reinforcements from Seignior Faihan’s territory also arrived.

Under Anthus’s command, they began digging the ground. Those who discovered the bodies were horrified by the gruesome sight.

“Who could have done such a thing…”

“Oh, God…”

Those digging the ground continuously prayed for the souls of the dead.

Anthus went to the well with Yuliana and the wizards.

“Leave this to me.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to conserve your mana?”

“It’s alright. I’ve recovered a lot. Noum.”

[Yuli.]

As the earth spirit Noum appeared, the wizards exclaimed in admiration, looking back and forth between Yuliana and the spirit. Summoning a spirit required not only a lot of mana but also a strong affinity with spirits.

“Can you find a way down to the underground space?”

[I already looked, but there was no way down.]

“No way?”

“There’s no entrance?”

Anthus slightly interjected between the spirit and Yuliana.

“No.”

“If there’s no way down…”

“Then…”

Anthus and Yuliana spoke simultaneously, their gazes meeting.

“If there’s no path…”

“We’ll make one, Lia.”

“Exactly.”

“As expected… Lia and I really are in sync.”

“I’ll admit it just this once.”

Anthus’s smile widened as Yuliana agreed.

“Everything else will match well too. I’ll show you that we match well in other ways too.”

“I’ll ask Noum to make a path down to the altar.”

“Please do, Lia.”

“Noum, please make a staircase down to the underground space.”

[Piece of cake.]

The ground sank, creating a path, and a staircase began to form.

“Noum, you’re great at making stairs. There’s nothing you can’t make with earth.”

[I’m probably better than the dwarves. And since it’s a path for you, Yuli, I have to make it well.]

Noum couldn’t hide his excitement at Yuliana’s praise.

“Thank you, Noum.”

After a while, the staircase to the underground space was completed.

“Good job, Noum. You can go back now. Sylph.”

[Yuli, are you alright?]

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for worrying. I called you because I need your help, Sylph.”

[Whatever you need, just say it!]

Yuliana pointed to the staircase leading underground and asked Sylph.

“Please go down to the space below and purify the air a bit.”

[Alright, alright.]

After a while, Sylph returned.

[The stench and poisonous gas from the corpses make air purification useless.]

“I see. Thank you, Sylph.”

Yuliana relayed Sylph’s words to Anthus.

With thorough preparations and the designated personnel, Anthus and Yuliana began descending underground.

A foul smell wafted up the stairs. It wasn’t the damp smell of a basement but a stench that made everyone’s faces grimace.

After about 10 minutes of descending the stairs, they finally reached a large open space.

In the center was a large stone altar made of black stone. Surrounding the altar were nine iron cages… filled with people who had died entangled with each other.

“Ugh.”

Although Yuliana had seen corpses yesterday, the sight of these unfamiliar and horrific bodies made her turn her head and retch.

“Lia! Are you alright?”

Patting her back, Anthus looked anxious.

“I’m fine. Ah… I’m sorry for showing such an unsightly scene.”

Anthus took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Yuliana, continuing to pat her back.

“Would you like to go back up?”

“…No, Duke.”

Yuliana gradually calmed down and stood up. Anthus looked around and walked toward the altar.

“There are certainly no signs of anything alive. And that altar…”

Anthus noticed a magic circle drawn on the altar and immediately called the oldest wizard, Carlotz.

“Please take a look at the strange magic circle on the altar.”

Carlotz looked at the magic circle and shook his head.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a magic circle.”

In his 80 years, Carlotz had never seen such a horrifying scene. He had seen many deaths in wars, but this was on a different level.

“I will report this altar to the Mage Tower and do my best to help catch the culprit.”

“If the Mage Tower helps catch the culprit, the Sirius Empire will provide a suitable reward.”

Anthus turned and looked worriedly at Yuliana, whose face had turned pale.

“Yuliana, you’ve done well. I plan to finish the recovery and investigation of the bodies. Let’s go back to the surface.”

“I’m not going up. As a member of the investigation team, I will stay here and investigate until the end.”

“Understood. But if you start feeling unwell, you must go back to the surface immediately.”

“I understand.”

He didn’t intend to force her if she wanted to stay. He thought it would be safer for her to stay by his side, but he also wanted to send her back to the surface to avoid this gruesome scene. However, Yuliana showed her dedication to her responsibilities as a member of the investigation team.

Many personnel began descending underground to recover the bodies. People who saw the horrific scene immediately wretched and grimaced in pain.

The painter who came down to capture the scene in a drawing was particularly distressed. He trembled as he faced the horrific sight he had never seen before.

“Duke, I think we should draw the magic circle on the altar and show it to the Mage Tower. Also, we found various strands of hair on the altar. It seems many people were killed on this altar.”

Carlotz wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued speaking.

“I believe they conducted forbidden experiments on this altar. Otherwise, the magic circle cannot be explained. And the story of the new type of monster with regenerative abilities and emitting poison… it feels ominous…”

Carlotz frowned, biting and then releasing his lower lip as he continued.

“If it’s not demon summoning… I suspect they might have used the bodies of the dead to create new types of monsters.”