Episode 139: Warning (3)
Miya stepped outside and glanced back at Damian, her large eyes filled with reproach.
“What’s wrong?”
“Meow! Meow! Meow!” Miya pointed angrily at the bag, clearly upset about being cooped up inside it for so long.
“People are watching. I can’t just let you out, you know.”
Despite her human-like appearance, Miya was a flash golem, an undead creation. As a masterpiece of necromancy, she radiated a potent dark magic that even ordinary people could sense from a distance.
“Meow!” Miya still seemed unconvinced by Damian’s explanation.
Bzzz!
Just then, the sword at Damian’s waist began to hum.
“Meow?”
Bzzz.
“Meow! Meow!”
Bzzz! Bzzz!
Every time the sword emitted its hum, Miya grew more agitated. Damian looked bewildered. How on earth could they understand each other?
“Enough chit-chat. Take care of those things,” Damian said, turning Miya around to face three ancient golems. “They’re not undead, but you can handle them, right?”
“Meow!” Miya replied confidently, charging toward the ancient golems with the agility of a cat.
With a swift punch, her tiny fist smashed into the head of one golem, causing it to crumble. The remaining two golems swung their weapons at her, aiming for her neck.
In that moment, Miya raised her forearm, which suddenly transformed into a massive, muscular limb. She had the ability to absorb the blood of monsters and mimic their physical traits. Having absorbed troll blood in the past, she could morph her arm into that of a troll.
The blades glanced off her troll-like arm, unable to cut through the thick muscle. Miya retaliated with a powerful punch, shattering the golems into pieces.
‘She’s gotten stronger,’ Damian thought, impressed. Miya was a remarkable creation of the legendary necromancer, a masterpiece with the ability to replicate monster abilities and exceptional physical prowess, surpassing even mid-level creatures. However, her lack of experience left her with vulnerabilities.
When Damian first released Miya from the vault, she had struggled against a guardian flash golem. But after just one battle, many of her weaknesses had vanished. Her learning ability was astonishing.
“Meow!” Miya approached Damian, her arm bearing a long gash from the golem’s attack. The wound began to heal rapidly, the torn muscles knitting back together and the skin returning to its original state. Rapid regeneration was another of Miya’s unique abilities.
“Well done,” Damian praised.
“Meow!” Miya beamed with joy at the compliment. Damian handed her an object.
“Now, carry this and follow me.”
Miya looked at him quizzically.
“It’s a pack frame. Useful for carrying heavy loads.”
“Meow?” Miya seemed to question why she was being given such a thing.
“We need to take a lot of stuff from here. I can’t carry it all myself, can I?”
“Meow…” Miya looked reluctant.
“Don’t want to? Well, I guess there’s no choice.” Damian set the pack frame down and pulled out a travel bag from his spatial pocket. Miya’s expression hardened at the sight of the bag.
“Meow! Meow!” She quickly strapped on the pack frame and gestured for Damian to follow her.
“Meow!”
Damian and Miya ventured deeper into the sixth floor. Despite being near the end of the ruins, the floor appeared empty, with all the rooms barren.
‘At least, that’s how it looks,’ Damian thought, stepping into one of the empty rooms. He channeled magic into the ancient script etched on the wall. The room vibrated slightly, and the floor and walls split open, revealing desks and strange equipment.
He had seen this before in his past life while exploring ruins with Dorco. The ancients had a peculiar way of hiding rooms.
‘Why go to such lengths?’ Damian wondered, examining the papers on the desk.
‘A semi-permanent light source… a relic that produces light.’ He picked up a fist-sized orb from beside the desk. As he infused it with magic, it emitted a bright light. ‘Wizards will love this.’
Handing the relic to Miya, Damian moved to another room.
“A new alloy? It reverts to its original shape after being deformed? Interesting.”
“A relic that stimulates muscle growth… sounds suspicious, but worth taking.”
“A bracelet that projects a force field… this looks quite useful.”
Damian continued to collect relics from each lab.
“Meow…” Miya, following behind, sounded weary. Her pack frame was now piled high with items.
“Don’t complain. With your strength, this should be easy.”
“Meow…” she grumbled as they entered another lab.
This time, there was no need to activate any wall mechanisms. The lab seemed to have been used for research. Several glass flasks were scattered across a large table, most of them blackened and empty.
Except for one, which contained a vibrant red liquid, so fresh it seemed newly filled.
“What’s this?” Damian picked up some papers from the lab to investigate.
“An experiment analyzing the abilities of mythical beasts through their blood?” The flasks must have contained the blood of such creatures, but time had dried them all up.
“Why is this one still intact?” Damian examined the remaining flask, wiping its surface to reveal ancient script.
“Phoenix?” According to what Damian knew, phoenixes had long been extinct. No one had seen one, and their existence was only confirmed through historical records and artifacts containing their feathers.
“Is this something only found in ruins?” Damian mused, intrigued by the flask. Miya’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“Meow!”
“You want this? It might be dangerous, you know.”
“Meow! Meow!” Miya seemed unfazed. After a moment’s hesitation, Damian handed her the flask.
“Well, you’re already dead, so you can’t die again, right?”
Miya opened the flask and drank it in one gulp, looking satisfied.
“Now that you’ve had that, you need to work hard.”
“Meow?” Miya’s face fell slightly.
“Let’s go. There’s still a lot to explore.” Miya, looking a bit deflated, followed Damian out of the lab. As they exited, someone stood at the entrance.
A man in an elegant black suit, a felt hat, and a polished wooden cane. He looked like a nobleman who had fled a party.
But despite his aristocratic appearance, the man exuded a sinister aura.
“How strange,” the man spoke, his face obscured by the hat pulled low.
“Someone’s made it this far. I thought I made it clear that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
He lifted his cane to raise the brim of his hat, revealing pale skin and slicked-back hair.
‘Found him.’
Gastal the Selector.
The target Damian had been searching for was right in front of him.
Gastal the Selector.
In his past life, he had been a loyal lieutenant to Dorco, achieving great feats.
As Damian suspected, Dorco had been hiding deep within the ruins.
Perhaps it was the relief of finally finding him.
He felt a rush of excitement, so intense it was almost maddening. He wanted nothing more than to drive a blade into that slender neck.
“I have questions for you,” Gastal said, pointing behind Damian.
“How did you activate the ruins’ mechanisms? Can you read ancient script?”
Only Dorco and Damian knew about the ancient script, so Gastal’s surprise was understandable.
“Why so silent? Are you afraid of me? Don’t worry. Answer my questions, and I’ll let you go.”
Damian didn’t believe him. He knew how little promises meant to dark wizards.
“Growl!” Miya bristled, her fur standing on end as she glared at Gastal.
Though created by the necromancer, Miya harbored a deep-seated hatred for dark wizards.
“Hold back. He’s not someone you can handle,” Damian said in a low voice.
The necromancer who created Miya was a high-ranking dark wizard, but Gastal had reached the level of a grand dark wizard.
If a high-ranking dark mage was comparable to the middle class, then a grand dark mage was akin to the master class.
In other words, they were on an entirely different level.
“A flesh golem?”
As soon as Gastal laid eyes on Miya, he identified her true nature.
“That’s quite a well-crafted one. You don’t seem like a dark mage, though. How are you managing to control a flesh golem…?”
“Gastal.”
Damian interrupted abruptly.
Hearing his name, Gastal’s eyes widened slightly.
“How do you know my name? Not many people are familiar with my face.”
“Thank you for showing up right in front of me.”
Damian drew his sword, Dawn. The blade glinted with a chilling light.
Seeing this, Gastal smirked.
“So, you’re a hunter after my head. That explains how you recognized me.”
Gastal struck the ground with his staff.
The shadows at his feet spread wide, and from within them, skeletons began to crawl out.
It wasn’t just a few. There were dozens, perhaps even hundreds.
In an instant, the entire sixth floor was filled with a legion of skeletons.
“I have a policy of never backing down from a fight I’ve walked into.”
Gastal struck the ground with his staff once more.
The skeletal army let out a ghastly wail and charged forward.