Chapter 102: The Tomb of Insects (1)

Starlight... Blue Fox? Initiation activity?

A memory flashed through my mind. It didn't take long to recall where I had heard it before.

Gith-Za-Rai.

The words that the half-human and half-skeletal necromancer had said resurfaced in my mind. When she worried that the Free Confederation Council might not pay the price for assassinating the emperor, she told me that Red Flake, an assassination group, had overseen the emperor's murder. If so, then the intruder was a member.

However, Gith-Za-Rai was already dead.

It isn't over?

The one who accepted and carried out the assassination—the one who was supposed to receive the reward—was gone.

So why did they appear now? For what purpose?

I couldn't come up with any answers.

Clatter! Clatter!

My vision jolted violently.

The fox-masked intruder sprinted through the forest with a bag in one hand and me in the other.

Thump! Thump!

Dirt exploded underfoot as they ran, spraying soil everywhere. Despite carrying such a load, they ran astonishingly fast.

The intruder glanced over their shoulder.

What are they looking at?

Following their gaze, I saw the marquis lying in a pool of blood, but he was slowly recovering. He glowed faintly with golden light.

The intruder grumbled, "Drinking not just a drop but the whole elixir bottle? Such extravagance makes people angry!"

Whoooosh!

I stared at the mask as it emitted an odd sound.

Is there something inside it?

Suddenly, a rustling noise came from all directions.

Bzzzz! Bzzz!

Are those... the beetles from before?

I looked around.

Bzzz! Bzzz!

Dozens of bronze-colored beetles appeared, glowing faintly.

Click! Bzzz!

The beetles flew toward the marquis, their thin blades clicking together with sharp metallic sounds. I did a triple take, finally noticing something was off.

These aren't just beetles.

Their shells gleamed with unusual brightness. The beetles moved in perfect unison, targeting a human, which was unnatural.

Even the sound their wings make is bizarre.

In the distance, I caught a glimpse of the marquis. His eyes narrowed with a dark, menacing gleam as he faced the approaching swarm. My gaze wavered the moment our eyes briefly met. Half his chest had been crushed.

BOOOOM!

The swarm of beetles exploded in rapid succession around the marquis as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

This can't be!

The explosions from the dozens of tiny beetles far exceeded what their small size should have been capable of producing.

Living bombs?

Thick trees vanished as though they had never been there. The rocks near the stream crumbled into dust, scattering in a cloudy haze.

Fwoooosh!

The aftermath of the explosion set a wide radius ablaze. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I stared at the center of the explosion, where fire and smoke obscured everything. Though it was not clear, I was certain about one thing.

He's dead.

There were human remains splattered in all directions from where he had stood—gruesome evidence of the marquis' demise.

Thump! Thump!

The fox-masked intruder carried me and fled far from the scene.

As if they were convinced they had escaped far enough, their pace began to slow.

They regretfully muttered, "

Ah...

my poor beetles..."

"..."

The fox-masked intruder turned to glance at me. "

Oh

, right, what was I thinking?"

They reached into their coat and pulled out something. Their gloved hand revealed the lower jawbone the marquis had taken from me.

Did they take it back?

"

Tada!

I made sure to save this for our skeleton friend."

The gloved hand reattached my lower jawbone.

Clack!

"All set? Does it fit?"

Click-click.

I tested my teeth by clacking them together.

"Perfect! It fits perfectly!" I exclaimed.

The fox-masked intruder clapped their hands in delight.

"You have a bright... personality," I commented.

"That's right! I'm a bright person! And I'm here to help you."

They rummaged through their bag and pulled out a key.

"Turn around," they said.

However, they didn't wait for me to comply. Instead, they lifted me and spun me around.

Click. Clatter.

The handcuffs were unlocked.

Click. Clatter.

The leg irons came off.

The shackles and chains that had bound me for days were gone.

Freedom.

I had steeled myself for decades of captivity, expecting only pain and confinement. Yet, my arm and leg joints moved freely. A dizzying sense of liberation surged from deep within me, overwhelming me to the point of vertigo.

Crack! Crackle!

I slowly rotated my arm and leg bones to loosen up. My stiff bones turned easily, filling me with an intoxicating sense of relief.

I expressed my deep gratitude to the fox-masked figure. "Thank you, truly."

I didn't know what they planned to do with me, but the sheer exhilaration of being freed warranted my utmost thanks. If they wanted something, I would give it. If they had questions, I would answer them all. That was how I felt.

I repeated my gratitude. "Thank you."

A soft laugh came from behind the mask. "

Hehe.

"

I stared quietly at their mask, illuminated by the moonlight.

What should I do? They saved me.

I decided to be direct because time was of the essence. Clicking my teeth lightly, I expressed what I understood of the situation.

"Do I have something to offer your group... Red Flake?"

It might have been an audacious question, but being straightforward would move the conversation along more quickly.

Whoosh.

At that moment, the fox-masked figure waved their hand in the air, tracing overlapping circles. The gesture seemed unexpectedly friendly. Their shoulders shook with amusement.

"Our skeleton friend wants to do something for me!" the fox-masked figure exclaimed.

"..."

"No one's ever asked me a question like that before!"

"

Umm...

"

I hesitated, as I was thrown off by the fox-masked figure's tone.

"Skeleton friend, don't think about what you can do for me. Think about what you're going to

receive

."

"Receive? What do you mean?"

The fox-masked figure didn't answer. Instead, they removed the glove from their right hand.

Swish.

A sleek, smooth, snow-white hand slipped out from the thin black fabric and extended toward me, inviting a handshake. Caught off guard, I instinctively shook their hand. The fox-masked figure shook it up and down cheerfully.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Elwin Esau, Assassin Order Red Flake Initiate sister. My codename is Starlight Blue Fox."

A sister?

It didn't seem like a fitting title for an assassin. Yet, the way she gracefully slid her hand out of the black glove had an air of sanctity about it.

"Nameless Skeleton," I replied.

"

Heh

, good. Nice to meet you, skeleton friend. You can just call me Sister."

"Alright."

"I've confirmed the conclusion of the emperor's assassination mission. But..." Elwin said, sighing deeply, "Gith-Za-Rai is dead, isn't she?"

"That's true."

Elwin shrugged. "The mission's done. The evidence is there, but one thing's missing."

"What's missing?" I asked.

"The person to receive the reward."

"Why doesn't Red Flake just take it?"

"We don't work like that. Gith-Za-Rai left the order and accepted the contract independently. It wouldn't be right for us to claim it."

"Then what do you plan to do?"

Tap.

The sister placed her bare hand on my shoulder bone.

I flinched instinctively.

Clack.

The sister briefly said, "You. You're here. Gith-Za-Rai's final soldier. You even carried the evidence of the emperor's assassination. You should inherit the rights."

I shook my hand dismissively since that was absurd. "No, I can't accept it."

I'm not qualified.

"

Huh?

Why not?" Elwin asked.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I didn't participate in the assassination. I happened to be there by chance, and I wasn't part of her legion either. I just stole a few things and ran. I have no right to inherit anything from her," I said firmly.

Elwin looked unconvinced, her expression turning incredulous. "Skeleton friend, do you know how I tracked you down?"

"No idea," I replied.

"Gith-Za-Rai and I were friends. She told me she was going to assassinate the emperor. We planned to meet afterward, but she didn't show up at the rendezvous point. So, I followed her trail. I found the assassination site and traced the magical imprint she left behind. That led me... to you."

"That's..."

I couldn't finish my sentence.

Elwin's white hand slipped under my cheekbone, softly and deliberately tracing the inside of my skull. "Here it is. A very deliberate binding mark remains."

Her touch was persistent, repeatedly exploring every corner of my skull. There was an inexplicable, intense emotion in her movements, as if she was desperately trying to sense the traces of someone.

Jealousy?

Elwin said, "You know, she probably liked you enough to put you in her top five."

I asked, "That much?"

"Are you pretending not to know? Or do you just want to forget because it hurts?"

It was difficult to explain. If I mentioned that this resulted from the hero perk obtained through repeated regressions, I'd surely be dismissed as insane.

I remained silent. "..."

As we chatted, dawn was breaking.

Then, we walked in silence for a while. A massive insect appeared in front of us.

"A beetle?" I muttered.

Elwin smiled. "It's a beetle, alright."

The jet-black beetle was remarkably sleek and eerily strange. It didn't move an inch, and two massive wheels were mounted underneath it. These wheels weren't like the ones on a cart. The beetle had one wheel at the front and one at the back, each as wide as my arm span, with silver star-shaped spokes. I couldn't tell if it was alive or what it was used for.

Is it taxidermied?

As I flinched, the beetle's wings opened, revealing a seat inside.

Whirrrr.

I asked, "A magical creature?"

Elwin climbed onto the beetle with the lightness of a bird. "Who knows? Something like that, maybe."

I stared blankly at the chair positioned where the beetle's carapace would be. "A seat?"

Elwin grasped the beetle's inner horn, which was conveniently located for handling.

The beetle suddenly let out a strange sound.

Vroom! Vroom!

Elwin glanced at me and said, "Hop on. I don't offer rides to just anyone."