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Chapter 592 Flesh and Bones

　　Arthur's interaction with Grandmaster Casca was minimal, but he did not have an unpleasant impression of the man. However, his death did not affect Arthur that much except for an unceasing feeling of pity and rage.

　　"You care about the ruins even in this situation?" glared Velos at the grandmaster. "A man of our own has been murdered in this place. We are responsible for this."

　　"You have failed to do your duties and chose to play around with a young man instead. You wasted enough time before I got here, and this is what killed Grandmaster Casca."

　　Velos was silent before he turned to glare at Arthur. His eyes said that he started to suspect the reason that Arthur was trying to leave the city. As the threatening aura rose, Jumana took a few steps to stand between them.

　　"You are too old to blame it on the kids," said the grandmaster before she pointed toward the corpse. "You need to find them before they reach the last room of the ruins. Otherwise, not even Runera can defeat them."

　　Velos nodded, and he turned toward his men and gestured. They split to enter the different paths and find which one the culprits chose to destroy. This left Arthur, Jumana, and the Captain standing in front of the corpse.

　　Jumana waved her hand, and the spears left Grandmaster Casca's body before the corpse began to descend. The man had a peaceful look on his face while he died as if he felt no pain. Jumana placed her hand on his chest, allowing the blood to cover her palm.

　　"We need whatever clues we can get about our opponent, and this corpse tells us everything."

　　"Do not call him a corpse," said Velos frowning at the disrespect. "He is a renowned grandmaster just like you. Disrespecting him is disrespecting Runera."

　　"I will be a corpse when I die, too, Velos. Is that not the utmost disrespect if you call a bag of flesh and bones by our names?" the short woman said before turning to them. "His mana paths are destroyed."

　　"...how is that possible? Was he poisoned?"

　　"An external traumatic attack caused it. Whoever killed him managed to paralyze him before he did. This means we are dealing with a terrifying opponent who toyed with a grandmaster of this strength."

　　Arthur was quiet throughout the exchange, pondering whether he should attempt reviving Grandmaster Casca. However, he had an odd feeling about this corpse, as Jumana said it.

　　"Does this not feel different for you?" said Arthur, grabbing the attention of the two grandmasters. "This corpse does not feel alive."

　　"Because he is dead," frowned Velos at him. "We have no time for stupidity, Alexie. I brought you here because Grandmaster Casca treated you as an equal."

　　"Have you ever killed a person, Captain Velos?" asked Arthur as he stared at the corpse. "Even after a person dies, their body radiates a certain type of lifeforce that dwindles over time. However, this man's blood is still warm, but he feels as if he was dead for a million years."

　　The two stared at the corpse before glancing at each other. Then, finally, Velos knelt toward the corpse and touched it, feeling the warmth it once had, before nodding.

　　"You are a terrifying young man, Alexie. But, for a runemaster and awakener as young as you are to sense souls is nothing short of genius," said Jumana.

　　"This corpse is like you said. It had its soul taken away after the body died," Velos frowned as he glared at the pillar. "We are dealing with a monster who devours souls."

　　The lack of soul was why Arthur was silent throughout the whole incident. He couldn't feel any hint that this corpse had once been a person. It was alienating to consider a corpse as nothing but residue tissues.

　　The sense of urgency he felt was still there, but Arthur was now sure that Mistletoe members were the ones who attacked these ruins because of the destroyed mana paths inside Casca. However, the world can be damned if anything happens to his mother.

　　"I will lead you toward the culprit if you promise to let me leave the city," said Arthur. "Even if I was an accomplice, it is better to strike the head than a tail."

　　"You think we need you to find the bringer of destruction?" smirked Velos and shook his head. "That will not be a problem with how many clues they are leaving."

　　"We did not feel a second explosion," said Arthur with a calm face. Before Velos could refute that, the Runic Guards returned from the ten paths that they searched.

　　"There are no clues anywhere about where they went. The illusions are still intact," reported the guards, making Velos turn to Arthur with a frown.

　　"I was called an equal of the man who just died," said Arthur. "I have the capabilities of leading you inside these ruins. If you doubt me, that doubt will be cleared in a few minutes."

　　"Lead the way, kiddo," said Jumana as she rose. "He is our best chance to catch these fuckers before any of them reaches the final room. It is no longer a case of murder, but terrorism."

　　"...I understand," said Velos before he nodded to Arthur. "I accept your offer. You have my word, Alexie Linan."

　　***

　　Julia's tears streamed down her face as she stared at the man dying before her. The hall was torn apart as his body was impaled to the pillar. Scire took slow steps toward him before jumping to stand on the spears that were draining the life out of Grandmaster Casca.

　　"You are an interesting soul," said Scire with a smile. "And a perfect test subject for the ability we were gifted. This will be a delicious gift."

　　Scire grabbed Grandmaster Casca's hair and raised his head to look at him. The Grandmaster was disoriented, but a smile covered his face.

　　"I never thought that death would welcome me so soon."

　　"You can pray to whoever gods you believe in, mortal. Rest assured that your insignificance will contribute to the eternally significant."

　　"I believe in no god other than the truth, and now that I am to die, I can rest assured for death is the ultimate truth we face. I, at least, died defending the truth behind these ruins."

　　Julia's tears couldn't stop as she saw Grandmaster Casca's peaceful expression. However, Scire's grip on his head tightened as if he was angered.

　　"The gods are the reason behind your existence, mortal. Since the dawn of time, your race has been protected by them from the calamities. How dare you disrespect them?"

　　The voice was full of rage, and the penetrating energy wreaked havoc inside the ruins. However, the storm passed while Grandmaster Casca seemed unaffected by them.

　　"Kill me, coward," said Grandmaster Casca with a fearless smile.

　　"I was right to sacrifice your race," said Scire before raising his other hand. "Let the darkness devour your soul."

　　A black dot appeared above Scire's hand before it began spinning and growing larger. The sphere grew bigger until it was as big as a baseball ball before fusing with Scire's hand. Then, a black hole appeared in his hand.

　　"Goodbye, defiant runemaster," said Scire before grabbing Grandmaster Casca with the black hand. There was no change other than a light leaving the runemaster and entering Scire's body. "I am... returning more."

　　Then, Julia watched Grandmaster's head fall, and he never moved again. Her eyes closed as she realized that the man respected by every runemaster had died in a dark hall underground, away from his family and colleagues.

　　"...Boss?" called out Serpent toward Scire, who descended on the ground. "Are you alright?" his voice was skeptical about whether this person was different.

　　"Follow me, or you die as well," said Scire before going into one of the elemental paths. The rest were silent before carrying Julia and taking her with them.

　　"This cannot be our boss," said the woman carrying her. "Our boss would never kill a man without reason. We could have left him paralyzed."

　　"Things are changing, it seems," said Serpent before turning to her. "Follow orders if you want to stay alive."

　　Julia could tell that whatever happened a few minutes earlier was not something this group was used to doing. They reached another hall after following the path lined with numerous runes.

　　"How interesting," said Scire, standing in front of the gates at the far end. Furthermore, the gates were glowing, seemingly unlocked. "Someone left a message in these ruins."