Chapter 109: The Tales of Cinder [3]
The voice shattered into pieces amid the mysterious sobs of that being watching them from the darkness. The words traveled through the space, filling the dark void, drifting into the ash and igniting it in faint crimson hues.
The scene revealed itself before them.
’No way...’
It was a gigantic being, nearly ten meters tall, bound by thick chains and massive shackles to both the ceiling and the floor. It was a female figure dressed in garments resembling a long, worn noble dress, decorated in the gloomy gray tones of ash. Plates of black-silver rusted steel covered her chest, shoulders, and part of her abdomen, serving as armor.
The group fell silent, staring at that entity with expressions of pure horror.
The specter’s long ashen hair glowed at the tips with orange-crimson hues, like a faint dying flame in the dark basement of this castle.
She was kneeling, seemingly crying. Her broken voice continued to send chills through the group, who took a step back. However, that wasn’t the most disturbing part.
She had four arms. The primary pair rested on the ground, palms down, expressing the lament of a forgotten era, while the secondary arms passed beneath them, covering the specter’s eyes like a blindfold.
Mitsuki’s breathing trembled. He thought he had gotten used to this, but the truth was...
’We can’t beat something like this...’
Just like with the Master of Cinder, they would all be brutally killed if that thing decided to attack. That realization made Mitsuki extremely nervous, because this wasn’t a game like fighting the lesser specters outside. At most, Rank A specters had given them trouble, but this... this was on another level.
What rank would this ash beast even be? That answer was already obvious.
The system flickered and showed Mitsuki something.
[ The system is still preparing for the update. ]
[ You can continue using the system normally in the meantime. ]
’An update...? Why now? Why not before? I’ve been waiting almost two days for this damn update.’
He clenched his fist as he saw the specter move slightly, causing the chains to rattle faintly against the ceiling.
He glanced at his companions in silence, as if expecting them to do something—but they were just as terrified as he was. Marco gritted his teeth, gripping his sword tighter under mounting pressure. Azel trembled with fear, staring at the ground with the darkest expression Mitsuki had ever seen on his face. As for Monar, he was handling it the best, maintaining a deep calm.
The most important question now was: fight or not fight? Was there a way to lift the curse without fighting? Mitsuki hoped Monar could figure it out.
The scene stretched endlessly within the ash, with massive black-brick columns supporting the entire structure. Even so, those columns looked like mere pedestals beside that specter.
’We can’t just stand here! We have to do something!’
Monar was already doing something—analyzing the surroundings with his eyes, desperately searching for a solution.
Then, she spoke again...
"Why...? Why are you doing this to me?"
Her words were far too clear for her to be just another monster.
"Why can’t I get out?!" she screamed. Her cry exploded into an invisible shockwave that pierced everything, releasing the ash curse.
The group staggered back from the power of that single scream, their shields activating again in response—this time weaker from constant use.
Now they knew who was responsible for the endless wails filling the entire capital with the curse.
"Arthur... where are you...? Help me..."
She kept crying, as if unaware of their presence. In fact, she looked at Mitsuki as if she had mistaken him for someone else, but then lowered her gaze again and continued sobbing.
What she said, however, froze time for all of them.
"Arthur...? She said... No way," Azel whispered.
Marco swallowed hard.
"It’s her, isn’t it? So this is how the princess of Axorhibis ended up..."
Mitsuki trembled.
’I had my suspicions... but this confirms it... So she’s the girl I’ve been seeing in my memories...’
He had also seen the Ash Master before, but never its face.
There was something tying all of this together.
Monar sighed, disappointed with the results of his analysis. He looked at the specter in silence before finally speaking, breaking everyone’s uncertainty:
"I’m sorry to say this, but we only have two options right now: we fight her to the end, hoping to defeat her and lift the curse—with an almost certain chance that we’ll die together... or we go back to the city and wait for hunger, madness, or specters to kill us."
Mitsuki felt defeated.
’There’s really no other option? The only thing waiting for us is... death?’
Die or die. Azel clenched his fist tightly. The frustration was overwhelming. He covered his eyes, as if trying to hide the tears about to fall.
"I’m sorry... I’m really sorry... None of this would’ve happened if I—"
"I already told you not to blame yourself," Monar said. "Nemoria is far too unpredictable. Anything can happen. This is just one of those things that happened to us."
Marco calmed down after hearing that. Then he took a firm stance and looked at the specter seriously.
"A quick death in battle or a slow, painful death that tears us apart... I always knew I’d die in battle against the strongest enemy, but I never expected it would be against one of the greatest mysteries in the world."
Marco was admitting they would die—but he added something more.
"But I don’t want to die yet. I still have too many things to do, and I can’t allow myself to die. That’s why I choose to fight with every ounce of strength in my body if it gives me even a chance to be free again. I already fought once for my freedom—and I won. I can do it again!"
Marco turned to Azel.
"And Azel... yeah, this is your fault. If you hadn’t been such a coward, we wouldn’t have had to fight that dragon. So I’m demanding you fight by my side until the end. I’m demanding you put on that dumb grin of yours like always and give it everything you’ve got."
Azel calmed down as he listened. He took a deep breath, shaking off his guilt, and lifted his gaze. His expression now showed determination and courage.
"I’ll be there... always."
Nodding, Marco looked at Monar. The old elf smiled proudly, confirming his resolve.
The only one left... was Mitsuki.