STM 56

“No. It’s not the Grand Duke’s idea. It’s just our opinion that he should marry someone who helps our family……”

“Our? Your cousin Rick? The Grand Duke’s chief aide? Then that’s pretty precise news?”

Every time she opened her mouth she gave herself away.

“No, it’s not precise. The other side has a big secret, and if that’s true……”

“What secret? Wait, the Grand Duke has met only a few people lately, so if we check them one by one……”

Haas looked around like he expected the right answer to fly out of Ennya’s mouth.

“Be quiet. The Grand Duke might come here.”

“That’s nonsense. He’d come only if you explode the orb. You said that you had to explode it to open a portal here.”

Ennya’s words made Haas glare at the orb in his hand. That orb was the reason he joined this stakeout.

But the magic was hard to use and the artifact used for it cost a fortune, so people rarely used it.

Does that mean this matter is that important?

“Should we have exploded this earlier?”

“Why?”

“Zav’s men moved in a lot. They must plan something tonight.”

“Then let’s go in and check.”

Ennya jumped up like she’d been waiting for permission. She hated only watching from outside. Haas jumped up in shock and grabbed her.

“Where are you going? We were told to only watch.”

“Exactly they told us to see if Adeye Lu is inside. But we can’t tell from here, so we should go in and……”

Then a a loud noise shook the ground.

Boom~~~

The sound came near the mansion. The echo rose under the ground and reached the two peoples’ feet.

“What is, what is this……”

“Huh? There!”

Haas pointed at the mansion and both their eyes went wide. The mansion was shaking as if shrouded in a ripple.

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“Sillian.”

Doctor Kim Baron Owick’s name, she was prostrating to the floor like a guilty sinner.

“I’m sorry. I’m, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not Sillan’s fault. The ones who kidnapped Lu into the Owick family are the problem. Sillian’s partner just happened to be in that group.”

“S, s, s-sorry……”

Sillian’s forehead now touched the floor. She kept saying only that as soon as they brought her here, so she wondered if they could get any reliable information, but Doctor Kim’s gaze stayed firm. She was the only one who could help now.

“Don’t apologize yet. Say that you don’t know what happened inside the Owick house but the ground shook and a barrier shielded the area. That’s why the people I sent couldn’t get inside at all.”

Eek!

Sillian began to tremble like a tree and let out a strange scream.

“No, that can’t happen…… if the spirit blessing activates…… big trouble will come……”

“What big trouble will come?”

“……d……d…die……”

The small sound was not clear but Doctor Kim heard it.

“D-die?”

Doctor Kim, who somehow understood Sillian, roughly grabbed her.

“How do people get out of there?”

Sillian shook her head.

“……all……people……die……barrier……”

“All people must die for the barrier to lift? Then how do we break the barrier before that?”

Sillian shook her head again but Doctor Kim grabbed her chin and forced her to look up.

“Sillian, Lu lured the monster as bait to save you. Would you want the one who saved you to die?”

Sillian’s eyes widened.

“Squeeze your memory. You must have heard about that damned barrier.”

“If we find the secret room……”

“Secret room? If you find that room can you escape?”

Sillian nodded and then frowned as if she would start to cry.

“B-but……the mansion is now……space……twisted……”

“You mean the space warped so you can’t find the secret room? If we can’t lift the whole barrier, what if we break it piece by piece and move forward? The barrier can’t be infinite, right?”

Can we just smash everything stupidly? Sillian thought and then nodded slightly.

“T-then maybe……”

“But the problem is what power works there. Solongo sent word. Magic doesn’t work on that barrier.”

“T-there is a possible power…… something that can even subdue monsters…… if it is a transcendent power……”

“The power of a divine beast?”

Sillian nodded. They had information but no usable method. Only two people could use divine beast power now.

One was Zav who caused this mess, so he’d never help.

The other was Grand Duke Montaine who acted arrogant and would never agree to help. He’d brag and stall, demanding every last coin.

“If I can save Lu I’d give all my fortune, I don’t care.”

Doctor Kim would do anything for the comrade, who was now trapped and inside the mansion, confused and desperate to get out.

But she needed a method that worked right now. She didn’t need the divine beasts families that couldn’t help.

Then a name suddenly popped into his head.

“There is one more power that can kill monsters. Swordmaster.”

Sillian looked up in surprise. Doctor Kim clenched her teeth and asked.

“Could Kun Tairok do it?”

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Bang.

The door opened and the words that already left my mouth several times came out again.

“What, another wall?”

Yes. I tried to leave relaxed but the building suddenly shook and became like this. Space warped like the maze at Lord Gumber’s summer villa.

Back then I wandered lost, but now I had another way. I hit the wall without hesitation with the club in my hand.

The wall collapsed and a hole appeared. The people inside saw me.

“Gah! Who are you?!”

Two soldiers, sitting on the floor like they had no energy, jumped up shocked. They were clearly Zav’s soldiers.

Everyone I met coming here reacted the same. How did I get in?

“You smashed the wall? How did you do that?”

One of them looked confused then his eyes lit when he saw the club in my hand.

“Did you break that with that?”

Right. People trapped in this mansion couldn’t break walls by any means, but I could.

“No way. That wall didn’t even fall to explosives…….”

Explosives? Oh. I remembered a room I passed a little while ago. Corpses in ugly shapes rolled around and burn marks covered every surface. They used explosives there.

“Give me that club right now.”

A soldier threatened me with his sword.

Why did they all act the same?

Everyone I met tried to steal from me, not ask for help. So I fought back the same way.

Whoosh~!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

I swung the bone club, no, the wooden club, and the two people flew through the air.

One hit the wall and collapsed, the other shot up through the ceiling and vanished. That weapon felt like a cheat.

But why were there so many of Zav’s soldiers?

I already knew how reckless Zav was without seeing him. He occupied someone else’s house and brought explosives to blow it apart.

“Shameless jerk.”

I clicked my tongue and cursed Zav while I looked around. I saw the wall and ceiling I broke but ignored them.

I couldn’t keep smashing walls forever.

“Mo, did you find anything from the collected data?”

[Rooms that appear from space warping show no pattern.]

Ha, smashing walls seemed the only way…….

[However, the club showed anomalies. People hit by the club fly along paths that differ from the force direction.]

Oh? Really? I hadn’t noticed because I swung without thought. I picked up a brick shard from near me, floated it in the air, and threw it with the club.

Whoosh~

Twack!

The shard flew fast and hit into the wall like it drove into tofu. The trajectory felt weird like Mo said. After a few tests I knew.

“The force messing up the house seems to protect one direction. Mo, can you mark the exact point?”

Mo immediately marked a red dot on one direction. The corner between walls.

Nice. Let’s follow that direction and see what appears.

I approached the corner and hit hard the club. The wall fell and another room opened.

I stepped in calm and picked up several brick shards scattered around. Then I proceeded to break down the walls.