Chapter 271: You Are Like Sand (12)

If no sudden tattoo appeared within three days, then Duke Biblio could not possibly be one of Necron's followers.

Hope stirred within me.

Should I approach him?

Perhaps there was a way to make Rubia the lord without clashing directly with Marquis Leandro. I was still weighing which path would be faster and safer when the reptilian beside me handed me a sheet of paper.

"A report on the duke."

I skimmed the page.

"His reputation is good. They say he's kind to his neighbors, especially compassionate toward children."

That kind of image could be easily fabricated.

What did he do, locked away in his room for a whole week when no one came to visit?

Even T&T hadn't been able to pierce that veil.

"His house is bound by a locking spell. On rare occasions, he invites children inside, but even when we slipped an agent among them, we saw nothing unusual."

"Once a week, he goes out. The places he visits are always the same."

"He eats at the same restaurant, browses the market, then returns home. Sometimes he adds charity work to his routine."

Duke Biblio's life befitted that of a wealthy old man rather than a duke of the Empire. Of course, if I observed him myself, I might see something different.

I thought it'd be better for me to handle this than send in Rena's subordinates. "I'll look into it."

With Stealth and, if necessary, combat, my abilities were overwhelmingly superior. If something went wrong, I wanted no ties binding Rena and me together.

"Since you carry the director's pendant, I'll trust your judgment. Do you need any other assistance?" the reptilian asked.

Assistance...

"Does it have to be confined to the capital?"

"Not at all, but missions in the Free Confederation and Ember region are currently limited."

So the whole empire was within reach.

"I want some help with the succession conflict in the south. Even if I... don't return."

"You mean Erast?"

"You know of it?"

"Count Ray's assassination falls within our investigation as well. We have no conclusive results yet, but..."

So their reach extended even there. No wonder the imperial family found them unsettling.

"Help Rubia Ray. If things go poorly, at least make sure she survives, even if it means fleeing to another city," I ordered.

"Understood. Is Rubia Ray the only one to be protected if worse comes to worst?"

I paused to think. "There's a knight named Christina. She could be a strong ally... if possible, keep her with Rubia."

The reptilian nodded. "I'll get started immediately."

***

When part of T&T moved to support Rubia, I gathered a map and guided myself to the duke's house.

"From here, I'm on my own," I said softly.

The catfolk who had accompanied me slipped away in feline form, disappearing down the alley.

Just as the report had said, it was a very small house. There weren't even guards. The surrounding trees were dead, their bare branches emphasizing the desolation. It looked like a hermit's retreat.

The house was large enough for basic furniture, yet it was far too humble for a man with the title of duke, even if it were only honorary.

Between the tightly fitted stones, I could feel a chill seeping outward.

Does he truly live there alone?

No servants came or went. No one showed the slightest interest in the place. It was a stark contrast to Count Ridbaren's manor, filled with guards and bustling with staff.

If he is connected to Necron, could this really be the case? Wouldn't it be natural for him to be basking in every luxury humanity had to offer?

I thought it was worth approaching him. Perhaps he opposed the war like Marquis Ivote and was part of some hidden force keeping Necron in check.

On the third day of waiting outside the house, the door opened, and I saw the man in the portrait step outside.

Krrrrk.

So that's Duke Biblio.

He was an elderly man with refined features. His face radiated dignity and wisdom, and his white hair lent him an air of nobility.

I checked carefully again and did not see a tattoo on his neck. I glanced at the paper listing the places he was supposed to visit once a week. Then I followed the duke as he walked down the alley.

I simply tailed him, but what I saw might differ greatly from what T&T's men had seen. Perhaps he had secret meetings at his weekly haunts, sending letters or magical correspondence. Perhaps he was meeting with an organization that opposed the Necron Society. That might be the moment to approach him. Yet the duke did not head where I expected.

Instead, he walked toward a completely different, unfamiliar destination. He did not hesitate, nor did he glance back.

Did he notice my pursuit?

No, the opposite seemed more likely. T&T had trailed Duke Biblio intermittently before. That list of routine destinations was the result of their efforts.

With Rayleigh's Stealth skill that I absorbed, my concealment would far surpass that of most T&T agents.

I crumpled the paper and tucked it away. The list was a decoy created for watchers. The place he was headed now was his real weekly destination.

Pulling his hood over his head, the duke moved into the back alleys of the capital. He went to the district where the Empire's poor gathered. Without proper drainage, sanitation was horrid, and law enforcement was nonexistent. Half the trash piled in the alleys looked like corpses. Biblio walked as though he had passed this way dozens of times.

It felt strange. Through every twisted, branching path, he never hesitated, striding forward with certainty.

What in the world is this duke's true identity?

So familiar and confident was his gait that, curiously, not a single vagrant tried to accost him. Soon, he approached an abandoned sewer entrance. He bent forward and walked straight inside.

"..."

I reached into my cloak to unfold the report and check it again. Of course, there was no mention of any sewer.

[Skill: Spell Insight Lv. 3 activated.]

[No traces found.]

Nothing.

Until now, I had followed this enigmatic duke without hesitation. However, my steps faltered.

What lies within that half-finished sewer?

I couldn't even think of guessing the danger. I could not decide with certainty whether I should follow him or not.

In that case...

Clatter.

I gripped Rena's pendant in my hand. Yet, the charm that always offered guidance in moments of life and death remained silent. What spoke instead was instinct, the intuition of a human who had survived hundreds of brushes with death. The intuition born of Rena's extraordinary senses, sharpened through relentless training, now crystallized into this heirloom item.

There was nothing more reliable. Suppressing every trace of my presence, I carefully stepped inside. I couldn't simply turn back now.

If not here, then when would I get another chance to follow the duke?

Even if I died here, I had to uncover the true nature of Duke Biblio. That knowledge was vital for making Rubia Ray the lord. With the Erast succession ruling fast approaching, there was no time left to wait for another opportunity.

I walked for a while through the darkness, crouching low until the ceiling suddenly opened above me.

This wasn't an abandoned sewer. It widened into a massive space, so vast that I couldn't fathom why it had fallen into disuse.

Looking closely, the masonry differed from the construction I had seen outside. Despite my lack of expertise, I could immediately tell that it was ancient. The drainage system was from another age.

To think such a place existed beneath the capital!

I had walked the ancient passages beneath the city with Naneow as my guide, but this was astonishing in its own way. This passage was far more oppressive, steeped in damp gloom.

I glanced at the pendant. When the effeminate duke cornered me, it had flared to life, as though ready to shatter under the weight of impending doom.

Now, nothing. That meant this was not yet considered a true crisis.

Tap.

I descended deeper still. The ceiling rose even higher, making it impossible to believe I was underground. Below the three to four-meter thick towering columns, stretching more than twenty meters upward, yawned deep, dark pits.

I activated every detection skill at my disposal, but I did not find a trace of hidden humans, not even a rat. I could only feel the echo of my senses circling endlessly around the massive pillars.

I scanned upward. The evenly spaced columns were smoothly polished, far too smooth to be the work of a hammer and chisel. It looked more like something had coiled around them and rubbed for ages, wearing them down.

Up to twenty meters high though?

As that thought ran through my mind, a single word surfaced.

The snake.

The scale didn't fit at all, but perhaps it was time to turn back. I had long since lost the old man's trail.

I retraced the path in my mind when I heard some sounds.

Shiiiiiik... shiiiiiik!

From deeper within, where thicker, taller columns loomed, a whispering echo crawled up through the abandoned sewers.

[You have entered the domain of The Snake that Swallows the Night!]

[You have already experienced this area-wide suppression.]

[Your Wisdom is high.]

[You barely resist the suppression.]

[Movement Speed reduced by 50%.]

[Attack Speed reduced by 50%.]

[Omnipotence decreased by 35%.]

[Some skills have been sealed.]

This is—!

I sensed the same presence I had once escaped by feigning death, triggered by the pendant's power. The imperial palace. Necron. The larva. Botis. Information flooded my mind faster than I could process.

Whoosh!

Something slammed into me at a speed too fast for sight. I instinctively threw myself sideways.

Crash!

A black mass crashed against the ground for more than ten meters. Even then, I didn't dare counterattack.

Screeeech!

A razor-sharp tail scraped along the newly gouged hole, dragging across it slowly, deliberately.

A miss?

I shook my skull. It had more than enough chances to strike true. I was being toyed with—a hunted prey, mocked and cornered. The difference in power was already undeniable.

From the darkness, a long snout split open, whispering, "Come closer."

If that was its snout, I couldn't tell. The darkness itself had congealed into a barrier, thick enough to be felt, suffocating my vision. My foe was cloaked in black from head to toe.

His attacks rained down again, not to strike me dead, but to herd me forward, like a cruel game. Bitter disgust welled within me. I deliberately dodged aside, slipping between two colossal pillars. If the tail struck one, it would hit me too. Perhaps both pillars would collapse on us. However, before I could even set my stance, something coiled around the column in an instant. The next attack descended from above.

Crunch!

My armor buckled, and my collarbone shattered at once. The blow was so swift and heavy that I couldn't even activate Force Shield. Two more strikes like that, and I'd be beaten into a pulp.

[Do you falter now that you've come so far?]

From the shadows nearby, a faint glow appeared. A face I recognized emerged.

"You!" I shouted.

The black orc I had seen three days ago at Rena's shop, the one who had pledged loyalty to me with the pendant, grinned wickedly. Then his features writhed and shifted into the catfolk who had guided me here. His lips pulled unnaturally wide, creating a warped smile. His visage rippled, morphing into the two reptilians I had seen at Rena's shop. However, their heads loomed far higher than their actual height, six times taller at least.

I instinctively stepped forward, then recoiled, retreating five paces in alarm. For below those shining, changing faces, nobody existed at all. There were only writhing lumps at the ends of long, black tendrils.

How does it know all these faces?

The long tail swept around a pillar, shaking the earth itself with its weight. Debris was scattered in every direction.

Grrrrrrr...

Buried in darkness, the creature moved with deliberate slowness. Only now did I realize that there was no escaping it, not here.

I tightened my grip on my sword, channeling every ounce of strength into it. I even felt regret that I could not call upon Malphas' blessing.

Fwip!