The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

"Purpose?" I asked.

Isaac didn't answer. The crow's red eyes were fixed on the empty air, unmoving. His gaze rolled like a slow wheel through the void until it stopped over the whitened manuscript.

I lowered my eyes to it as well. With Isaac's silence as a backdrop, my thoughts aligned. One clue pointed the way—the rise in my Wisdom stat. This manuscript contained Ashton's power. My awakening in the grave was also proof. Even seeing those words in the air could not be separated from Ashton.

The Archmage Trapped in the Cracks of Time being here was also part of the design. Everything was not a coincidence. Dots had been placed, lines drawn, and architecture planned. When the pages turned white, it felt like a pivot had been reached.

Rubia's voice wavered. "Are you saying Kevin Ashton planned… for me to raise Mr. Skeleton?"

In the end, it all boiled down to one question.

"But… why?"

Her eyes met mine, reflecting the same question I carried.

I turned to Isaac. "Any guesses?"

"Who can say? Half-formed theories will only cloud your judgment. For now, leave. The protection here won't last." "Already?"

"What do you mean already?!"

The crow tapped the window with his beak.

Tap. Tap.

Outside, the stars drew long arcs across the night.

"This girl has her schedule, too. By now, her absence will be noticed."

Isaac was right. Someone in Rubia's position would have every hour accounted for.

"I'm fine…" Rubia said with a soft smile.

The gratitude in her eyes weighed on me like guilt. "No. I've kept you too long."

Rubia sighed, faintly wistful. Warmth drifted through the library.

"I'd like to follow… but staying here and doing my part is what will help you most, isn't it?"

"I'll return before the emperor arrives."

I had three months. It was enough time.

"I'll prepare things in the meantime," she said.

"Prepare… what exactly?"

"Hmm. Circumstances where I can eliminate rivals at any time. Like that tournament you mentioned."

"Not bad. A clean kill, right in front of everyone. She gets it, doesn't she?"

I glanced at Rubia.

Instead of replying to Isaac, her eyes fell on the book in my hands. "If You Wish to Kill a Troll… Is it another Ashton work?"

I nodded, holding it out. "Take it."

"Truly?"

"I meant to leave it here anyway. It's better if you're the one reading it."

Rubia's face lit up as though she'd stumbled upon a gold coin in the street. "Thank you!"

Rubia loved books. She always carried Ashton's name on her lips and visited this library without fail every day. For her, it was a fitting gift.

"If danger comes, seek T&T. Or the lord of Grassmere. Or Yube at the inn. All will answer my word," I explained.

I even gave her info about Yube's alias, his location, Rena, and the Grassmere lord indebted to me. She would not be alone. Yet unease still pressed in.

"And one more thing… Isaac. The secret passage. How do you open it?"

"Why?"

"She may need it, if cornered…"

Isaac flicked his gaze to Rubia. "Better she not know."

"What?"

"If she's pushed so far that even T&T and Grassmere fail her, it means the ghosts are already involved. It'll be worse. In that case, knowing the entrance will only doom it. Once captured, they'll drag it from her lips by any means they like."

There was no need for details. I could picture it easily with torture and violation.

Rubia firmly added, "I agree. I wouldn't be able to endure that. If my weakness endangered the passage, I'd regret it forever."

Her resolve steadied me.

I nodded. "Then… until next time."

Before I could turn away, Rubia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.

I gasped. "Wha…?"

"Heh. What's with the act? People embrace when they part."

Isaac's jeer hardly reached me. Through the cold armor, I felt her warmth, a living heat I didn't deserve. It seeped into me and stirred the silence buried in my chest.

Flap!

Isaac left us, wings spreading as he went to open the passage.

"Return safely. I'll do well here too."

Rubia's smile was bright, her eyes shining with stubborn light. They patched cracks forming in places I hadn't known were breaking.

Rumble!

The stone floor split, a narrow seam of darkness opening below.

"Need more time? If you hate leaving her, take her with us. You've done it before."

Isaac eyed me with an unreadable expression. Regardless, I knew I couldn't.

"No, let's go."