At the Great Hollow on Mercury Street.
The marked area provided by the system was located beneath this hollow, and there seemed to be some new changes in the vicinity.
Since the last time he had visited, several more monster corpses had appeared near the edge of the hollow. Obviously, these were not the ones he had killed previously.
Greene sensed a familiar aura, but the figure standing at the edge of the hollow was not a skeletal knight. However, the glint of the visitor’s armor was equally familiar.
It was the same batch of armor that Dolores had distributed from the military barracks.
Seeing Greene approach, the newcomer introduced himself. “I am Integal, belonging to the South Guard Group.”
“Why are you here…?” Greene asked.
“I am here to clear out the monsters. The fewer monsters that reach the surface, the fewer casualties there will be,” Integal replied.
“I can sense that your strength is nearing the Transcendent level. You shouldn’t be an ordinary guard.”
Greene remained on high alert. He even suspected that the man might have killed someone to steal the armor. With his strength, if he were to join the Royal Knights, he could at least become a captain.
“I have seen you before. Thank you for leading the dragon away alone… As for my power, it is because someone gave his strength to me.”
Integal gripped his sword, his tone complex.
“My sister died in this disaster. Fortunately, a kind nun stayed with her during her final moments. After I buried her, I began wandering around this area.”
“I learned some things from the mouths of those noble skeletal knights. When I arrived here, a noble knight who claimed to be the Prince of Sukelan was standing right where I am now.”
“I hoped he would take my flesh and blood to extend his life. I believed he could use that time to do things I, in my weakness, could not—to kill more monsters and protect the citizens.”
“However, he refused my proposal. He asked me: since I possessed the courage to sacrifice myself, why not take that courage and accept his power instead? He believed more than I did that I could put that strength to good use.”
‘The dead should not compete with the living for the world.’
Those skeletal knights had resolutely returned to the depths, and their King and Prince were no exception.
The Prince of Sukelan told Integal this and subsequently passed his power to him. Integal had never possessed such formidable strength before.
Thus, Integal had stayed there, half-contemplating and half-adapting while slaying monsters, until his thoughts were interrupted by Greene’s arrival.
Greene believed his words to some extent. When asked about his own purpose, he casually made up an excuse, saying he was going down to retrieve an item that could reduce the hidden dangers within the city.
Integal asked if he needed help, but Greene, having reservations, declined the offer. The former trusted Greene because of the incident involving the dragon.
“Sir, you haven’t told me your name yet,” Integal suddenly asked.
“Greene,” he replied.
Upon hearing the name, Integal seemed to realize something. He smiled at Greene and said:
“You and Her Highness the Princess are both kind and brave people. Please allow me to express my gratitude on behalf of myself, my comrades, and the citizens.”
Integal naturally associated him with the Greene who had recently proposed to the Princess. Judging by the reaction, he had guessed correctly.
His perspective might have been somewhat limited.
In this disaster, he had experienced the deaths of relatives and comrades; he had seen and heard too many people crying for help.
At the same time, he had seen a Princess who was willing to lower herself to work for ordinary people like them, and he had seen Greene, who dared to lead a dragon away alone, indirectly saving most of the population.
Having witnessed too many tragedies, Integal felt even more gratitude and respect for those willing to prevent them.
His gratitude and respect were heartfelt.
Perhaps Greene did not realize how great his actions were, simply because he knew his motives were not entirely noble.
But someone would always notice their efforts.
And at this moment, someone happened to be standing right in front of him, expressing that gratitude.
Feeling a bit like he was escaping, Greene prepared to enter the hollow. Integal’s voice called out from above:
“In 2 hours, if you haven’t come back up, Mr. Greene, I will go down to find you.”
“Stay safe!”
***
The system had thoughtfully marked several key points, so Greene didn’t have to go through the trouble of wandering aimlessly.
Although he no longer feared ordinary monsters given his current abilities, he could feel a Miracle brewing in the deeper layers. However, it would take at least half a month before there was any new movement.
The armor of some skeletal knights lay scattered about. Beside each of them were several times their own number in monster corpses.
After killing a few monsters along the way, he followed the guidance without incident and found the target in a cave with an eerie layout.
On a stone platform sat a section of bark scroll radiating a strange aura. Eerie patterns were carved into the floor, and the architectural style of the walls was sharp and jagged, looking quite hideous.
**[Elf’s Last Wish]**. One could tell from the name that it was related to elves, but why was it a cursed item?
Most of the elves Greene had met before had some sort of soul-related issues. This might be a racial trait, or perhaps a flaw.
Then, Greene noticed the patterns on the ground. When he remembered and realized their function, his eyes widened.
In the past, Rand Royal City had suffered a Soul Plague disaster following a dragon calamity. Afterward, the cause was traced back to a ritual utilized by a group of cultists, and the ritual pattern was exactly like the one on this floor.
At that time, the reporting mage said the ritual functioned by extracting power from a certain object and slowly releasing it.
Was this item the source?
Greene could indeed feel the power of this item being drained by the magic circle beneath it, and it seemed to be nearing full accumulation.
He had arrived just in time. Greene remembered how terrifying that plague had been, so he did not hesitate, nor did he have the time to.
Activating all the items on his person that increased soul resistance, Greene reached out and picked up the bark scroll. It seemed as though nothing had happened.
He just felt a little sleepy.
No, that wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be feeling sleepy at a time like this.
Just as he realized this, the system’s life-saving voice rang in his ear.
**[Soul-based curse detected. Recommended: Enter Dolores’s [Chastisement] memory to isolate the influence]**
“You’re giving me a warning, but… let me in already…”
Greene felt a sharp, intense pain in his head. In his blurred vision, he saw an incredibly massive tree, along with laughter, elves, and hymns.
The next moment, his consciousness was cut off.
The intense pain stopped abruptly, followed by a strong wave of dizziness, but he recovered quickly.
**[Memories of [Chastisement] generally point to segments where the original owner of the memory feels guilt toward you. They are intended to allow one to recall the moments they hurt you, but this is not absolute]**
Upon hearing the system’s words, Greene visualized a scene in his heart: the end of his journey with Dolores, the sky city of Hemulst.
That was the place where Dolores had betrayed him.
But…
When Greene saw his surroundings clearly, he found that he was not surrounded by the blue sky, but by a sea curtain that transitioned from deep blue to pitch black. Countless ruined buildings around him bore the shadows of various marine life.
There was no starlit sky, yet schools of fish swam overhead.
This was not the sky city, but the lost underwater city of Meresgrun—the place where the Prophet had betrayed him.
He turned around and saw two familiar figures.
The white-haired, green-eyed Dolores, and the green-haired, blue-eyed Prophet, Phil.
This was the moment just before they were about to leave the city. They had finished their exploration and tasks, and the Prophet Phil was preparing to open the gate to leave.
Dolores was kicking her legs somewhat boredly on the side, doodling in a notebook.
Just as Greene was wondering why they weren’t in the sky city, Dolores’s inner thoughts interrupted his thinking.
‘By my count, Phil should be betraying us soon. Even though the journey was romantic, the end result is still an unavoidable tragedy. I actually quite like the scenery of this city.’
Suddenly, Dolores’s pen stopped. She felt a strong, highly aggressive gaze land on her.
She put away her pen, looked at Greene, and asked in confusion, “Honey, what’s wrong?”
She felt that the current Greene seemed a bit off. He looked as though he was carrying a hint of sorrow. Was it because he was reluctant to leave the scenery?
Her concern for him outweighed the boring trifles in her hand. Dolores walked up to Greene, her expression somewhat suspicious.
“Honey, do you have something on your mind that you’re hiding from me?”