Episode 182. Return (3)
“Rubin?”
Dorian was surprised to see Rubin standing at the door. Their annex was right next to each other, but he had not expected the youngest to come to see him in person.
“Brother, may I ask you a favor?”
“ask?”
“Can you take me to the ‘Garden of Bones’?”
“…in the garden of bones?”
“Yes, I’ve always wanted to go. As you know, my brother, the bloodline of the main family cannot receive any training from the family until they start living in the stomach with the Roinens.”
“So, now that you’re qualified, you want to give it a try?”
Dorian stroked his beard.
He was already looking for a good excuse. Having just entered the 4th star, he wanted to show off his realm to the outside world. Even if the youngest didn’t volunteer to be a sacrifice, he had been trying to instigate this situation from the beginning.
“Hmm… You need to be at least 4 stars to go to the ‘Garden of Bones’.”
“As far as I know, that’s why I came to see you, brother. And I don’t even know where you are.”
“Really? Then of course.”
Dorian hummed just enough to silence the sound as he gathered his weapons.
It was widely known that Rubin won the first and second rounds of selection.
In fact, it was a story I had heard so many times. Every single person from a collateral family I met while on a mission told me the story without fail.
‘I need to show you how different that kind of test is from the real thing. It’s a shame that Maphis isn’t here.’
I thought of Mafis, who had died ridiculously during a mission. If he hadn’t died, he would have loyally supported me as I was trying to become the next head of the family.
Mafis was particularly sensitive to Rubin. When I brought up Rubin when we met about a year ago, he quickly changed the subject to something else.
The sight seemed to bring back a frightening memory.
‘The family’s fortune is flowing towards the youngest son, and we need to stop it.’
Thud thud.
All the way to the ‘Garden of Bones’, they talked about everyday things without getting on each other’s nerves.
“Do you know when your second brother’s funeral will be held?”
“The head of the Imperial Department said he would attend, so we should start when he arrives. Since all the essential attendees, including you, have arrived today, there won’t be much left.”
The first place the two headed was the forest behind the mansion.
There were tall trees growing thickly, and there were passageways leading underground here and there.
“This is the way to the ‘Garden of Bones’.”
“It doesn’t matter which path you choose, you’ll end up at the same place.”
The two walked through the underground passage. When they came out of the passage, they were surrounded by a wall of fog. The fog swallowed them up in an instant, and soon only the sound of their footsteps could be heard.
‘This is the garden of bones… … .’
This refers to the training ground of the main house, which is buried in fog.
Giant bones rise up like pillars, piercing the ground here and there. The closer you get to the center, the more red the fog becomes, as if it contains blood.
In the middle of it all stands a huge dome-shaped building, looking like a bizarre mass of tangled bones.
“You know, the ‘Garden of Bones’ is a training ground for vassals of 4 stars or higher. Because of the strict requirement of being 4 stars, the number of vassals who use this place is extremely rare.”
Rubin left Dorian’s mouth open as if he knew what he was talking about.
“I think I’ll go with the Killing Squad or maybe Damon. Now, look at this. This is the entrance.”
A dark red rock appeared blocking the entrance to the training ground. The reason it was said to be a place only allowed to ‘4 stars or higher’. It would have been impossible to move this rock without some amount of darkness.
Even.
“… Huuuuugh! Shit.”
Even for Dorian, who had reached the 4th star, it wasn’t easy. He placed his hand on the rock and blew smoke into it, but the rock didn’t move at all.
“… … .”
Rubin silently looked at his half-brother who was struggling. As expected, it was not out of the ordinary. Even though he had become a four-star, Dorian was still unable to fully utilize the Dark Circle.
“Let me help you.”
“… What? What good will a guy like you do for me? Stay still… … .”
“We may not be enough, but if we join forces, we can do it.”
Rubin placed his right hand on the smoke and blew smoke into it. He said so, but he didn’t need Dorian’s smoke. One of his two smokes would suffice.
The next moment.
Peeing.
A clear sound cut through the space. The rock blocking the way moved smoothly, and for a moment, Dorian’s eyes trembled.
No way? He looked back at Rubin with a surprised face, but he didn’t give any weight to the thought that came to his mind. It was too absurd a fantasy.
‘That can’t be. Like he just said, it was possible by combining forces. But was that possible?’
It was about opening the door by combining the dark secrets of two people. Dorian didn’t know the details either.
‘Well, I guess it opened like this because it was possible.’
There was no way it could open otherwise. Dorian, who believed so, soon forgot about this incident.
Inside the training center.
It was foggy here too. This place seemed to be the epicenter of the fog.
A thick, thick fog filled the space, making it impossible to find even a person right in front of you if they took just one step away.
‘… So you were here after all.’
That moment.
Rubin’s gaze was directed beyond the thick fog. There were two figures that he could clearly perceive, although Dorian had not yet sensed them.
“Rubin, is it strange?”
“… … .”
Rubin approached ‘them’. Step by step. As he approached a little closer, he felt their darkness change for a moment.
That must mean they had entered their radius. They seemed to have noticed Rubin and Dorian’s approach and were trying to investigate the two.
“Wow, we’re not the only ones who came here.”
The voice came first.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Now it was walking quite quickly from that direction, finally revealing itself before the two of them, clearing away all the fog.
As I had sensed earlier, there were two of them.
One is a large man with copper-colored skin.
The other was a man with pale skin, small build, and dark blue lips.
“… … .”
Since it was the first time all four of them had met, there was an awkward silence for a moment.
“Hey, Marek.”
“yes.”
“While we were staying at the main house, I think you said that no one would come to the training grounds here. Am I remembering wrong?”
The bronze giant spoke. His booming voice echoed through the room. His body, rugged and shaky, was completely outside the mold of an assassin’s swordsman.
As Rubin, this was the first time in his past and present life that he had been in the body of an assassin so far removed from ‘stealth’ and ‘stealth’.
‘A group of people who seek the extreme of nothingness, free from the karma of assassination.’
At that moment, a man named Marek opened his mouth. He looked as pale as frostbite.
“It’s not a mistake, Lord Diven. I heard that too.”
“Hmm! I guess the message hasn’t been delivered yet. Hey, you guys! Are you the vassals of the main family?”
Deven strode towards me. He only took a single step closer, but he filled my vision.
At that moment, Rubin notices one of Diven’s habits. Whenever he speaks, he flares his nose and glares. It’s like an angry tiger catching its breath.
“Are you asking if they are the vassals of the main family now?”
But Dorian just blinked, as if he hadn’t fully grasped the situation. Rubin stepped forward and answered.
“We are not vassals of the main family.”
“You’re not a god?”
“I think you two are the Dark Lords. Are you Deven Khaldun and Marek Helid?”
Those who currently belong to the Black Shadow 8. From what the two people just said, I could guess their families by the names ‘Deven’ and ‘Marek’.
‘The dark shadows that were in the bottom four.’
I expected that some of the Dark Spirits would definitely come to the ‘Garden of Bones’. As they are those who seek strength, they would not waste time under any circumstances.
Not honoring death is the culture that runs through all assassination families. To them, this funeral was nothing more than an opportunity to follow the imperial command and face other dark spirits.
“My name is Rubin Roinen.”
“… … .”
“Marek, did you just say Roinen?”
“… We didn’t notice, Master Rubin.”
“Ah, Master Rubin. I am Diven, the head of the Kaldun family. I think you already know that. Then who is the child behind me?”
“… My name is Dorian Roinen.”
After that, the usual courtesy was exchanged. Although he was a child of the main family, he was treated with respect considering his status as a black spirit, and the black spirits also treated him with courtesy.
“We were going to have a little fight here.”
“Kuuuum, this isn’t a fight for the status of Black Shadow! Don’t misunderstand!”
“Deven, there is no point in fighting between black shadows. You know this very well.”
“Hey, no! If I kill you, won’t there be an empty spot?”
“That’s right. Then the head of the household who was defeated by Benik Benar will return.”
“Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding!”
Deven and Marek seemed to be quite close friends. Deven had a loud voice and bold speech. As expected, the more I looked at him, the farther he seemed from being an assassin.
Marek looked sensitive, but he was talking calmly.
“By the way, I wonder why you two are here.”
“Marek, what could it be?”
“yes?”
“Ah, you don’t have any brothers, so you don’t know. Isn’t it just discipline under the guise of training?”
Then Marek looked back and forth between Rubin and Dorian with sharp eyes. Dorian coughed in vain at the knowledge that his plan had been discovered, but his next words instantly made his face turn red.
“Discipline, Master Diven. Does a younger brother discipline his older brother? Oh, I suppose that could be the case with Roinenga.”
The tone was light, but the content was sharp.
‘Did you notice?’
In fact, right after entering the ‘Garden of Bones’, Rubin had been suppressing his two dark affinities as much as possible. No matter how dark the shadow was, he couldn’t tell that his dark affinity was stronger than Dorian’s.
Diven Kaldun laughed softly, his phlegm boiling, and looked at Dorian.
“Hahaha, Master Dorian. Don’t misunderstand. Marek is a talented guy. He knows how to distinguish the weakest among the gathered people.”
“… … .”
Dorian’s face was already red. He felt that he had been openly insulted by the Black Spirits.
On the other hand, Rubin found some truth in Diven’s words. Diven described it as a trick, but-
‘A trick? No way.’
I guess you’re talking about the unique ability of the 6-star dark smoke that Marek possesses.
According to him, it seems that Marek’s vision ‘marks the weakest’. No matter how delicate the dark smoke that detects the opponent is, the ability to immediately distinguish the weakest is a separate matter.
“You have a special talent. Perhaps it is Marek’s own ‘characteristic’.”
Rubin’s soft words. Those were the words that drew the two black widows closer.
“Oh my, what is this, Master Rubin, you already know that?”
“I guess so. But I don’t think Master Dorian knows yet.”
“Oh, that’s right! Marek, I remembered. The son of the main family who won the first and second exams at the main family, that was Master Rubin!”
Diven suddenly shouted. It was a scream that made his ears rip off, but Marek, already used to it, grabbed one of his ears for no reason.
“That’s right, my lord. That’s my 6-star trait.”
Of course, picking out the weakest among the pack would only be part of the trait. Marek probably had another trait that was more effective, Rubin guessed.
What is it, is it that the opponent’s weaknesses are revealed during battle? Or is it that you can read the opponent’s dark side?
This is something I didn’t know even before returning. To find out, I guess I’ll have to watch it myself.
“If it’s okay, can I watch the two of you fight?”
Rubin was now leading the conversation. Dorian was just hesitating, overwhelmed by the momentum of the dark shadow.
“Ugh, what about the secret fight between Marek and I? No matter what, it seems like a strange picture for the black spirits to be fighting in front of the children of the main family.”
As he said that, Deven looked at Marek while moving his upper body muscles. It was a negative reaction.
But Marek was different. There was a smile on his pale face. It was like a corpse smiling.
“It seems that Master Rubin wants to measure our level.”
“… … .”
“Then how about we do it in a more efficient way? Why don’t you and I have a duel?”
“Hey, Marek. No matter what, this is your hometown. That’s crossing the line.”
“In fact, just as Master Rubin wants to know our level, I am also curious about Master Rubin’s level. From what I see, it seems that Master Dorian here has already surpassed the level a long time ago.”
It was what Rubin had hoped for. There was nothing more certain than feeling it with your own body. And the goal wasn’t to beat Marek anyway.
I am here to proclaim who will succeed the Siren by revealing my own realm.
By bringing Dorian into this position, he also wanted to show him the gap. So that he would never be greedy for the next head of the household again.
‘But unexpectedly. I was aiming for that big guy.’
The giant Deven is looking down on Marek, but there is a subtle wall to his expression.
Contrary to appearances, I had a feeling that Marek might be the stronger one between Diven and Marek.
It just seems that way because Marek has a more gentle personality, but in reality, Diven is not leading Marek. Rather, it is Marek who is leading the situation.
‘It doesn’t matter which of the two is stronger. In any case, it doesn’t change the fact that they are both lower-ranking Dark Shadows.’
With that thought in mind, Rubin turned to Dorian. When he didn’t get the answer he wanted, a look of regret came over Marek’s face.
“Brother Dorian.”
“… … ?”
“Would you lend me your sword?”
“What? My sword?”
The purpose is to highlight your own appearance. So there is no need to show the soulless blood frost to the black spirits.
“Haven’t you heard? I’m going to have a duel with Lord Marek Helid.”
