Chapter 26 Spot where fog has lifted(3)

Editor: BaeBae

The fog started to dissipate.

As the moisty air that held the entire tower prisoner dispersed, giant dark clouds formed over head.

The Gray tower’s true appearance revealed itself, as the fog that once covered it disappeared.

Only thing left was the Golem which was holding the tower up from total collapse.

Huksel’s crew held their breath as they watched Juan walk down the Golem’s arms.

As if it was attending its owner, the Golem carefully dropped his palm, in which held Juan and gently let him onto the ground. By now, Juan’s body had mostly recovered, a new layer of white skin had grown.

“How did he do that……?”

“He’s an outsider. Maybe he knows some strange magic we don’t know about.”

The scene where Juan was relentlessly stabbing the Golem on the head was firmly entrenched on their minds.

While he looked calm for now, that scene was enough to have them stiff frozen in place.

Soon after, another thing caught the attention of their eyes.

The Gray tower’s treasure.

When Juan returned from the top of the tower, he had a cloak draped over his shoulder.

Made of material that seemed not of this world, it looked silky smooth and light. Rather than silk, it almost looked as if it was made from condensed fog.

“Grunvalde’s Gray cloak…..”

Beside Huksel, Anya mumbled something. Huksel quickly grabbed her arm.

“What does it do? It doesn’t look like any ordinary item….”

“…..It’s the cloak of the demon that had once devoured the old city in fog. The only relic that endured, after the emperor burned Grunvalde to death. It’s not too far-fetched to say, that item is Grunvalde himself.”

“My god.”

“And it seems he possesses Taltere’s sacrificial dagger as well. As it absorbs more blood it’s said it sharpens….so much that it can cut through steel. If the church found out about it, they’d lose their mind and would chase after the demonic weapon. By golly, how did I only notice it now…”

Huksel wanted to ask who Anya really was to be this knowledgeable.

It was possible she was after Grunvalde’s grey cloak from the beginning.

It was common to see antique merchants and magic product merchants make their way to forbidden historical sites.

Huksel swallowed his saliva.

If Anya’s words were true, they were looking at an imperial weapon far greater than ordinary magic products, that had been used to kill gods.

Unlike in the past, presently the church’s work made it difficult to attain excellent magical products. A demon’s weapon that was used to subjugate an entire city would be immeasurable in worth.

“Boss, that item in his possession…..”

Benson’s pupil was also filled with greed. If they’d got hold and sold even one of his weapons, their whole lives would be turned.

But after looking into Benson’s eyes, Huksel decided to give on his greed.

“……Don’t even think about it. Know your place. Even if you’d somehow got it, you would be killed by a paladin if the word got out. Maybe you’d have a chance if you were strong enough to bash a Golem into submission…….but that’s not you.”

Only then, Benson thought back to when Juan had brute forced the Golem under his control. But even so, the niggling thought of greed didn’t go away completely inside him.

“Yeah, but shouldn’t we get something at least. We went through a lot of trouble and he suddenly showed up and took the treasure away.”

Huksel gave a slight nod at Benson’s grumbling. Their thought process was beyond shameless as they’d been the one to ask and had coerced Juan into the tower in the first place.

It was a lie if Huksel didn’t feel any unjusticement.

Huksel looked at Anya. She’d been the expedition sponsorer and he had promised her compensation from the trip, so he decided that it was up to her.

But her expression was bland and showed no reaction to all this. Frustrated, Huksel walked up to Juan.

“Um……So uh, good job. You’re unbelievably strong. Forgive me for doubting you.”

“I don’t care.”

“Ah. I see. That’s a relief. So…..how much treasure is up there?”

“Treasure?”

Juan’s oblivious reply ticked Huksel off. Just before, he saw Juan going up the tower while riding the Golem.

Without the Golem, it was impossible to get to the top as the tower was a hair’s breadth away from collapse.

“You promised. That you’ll select the first item and give the rest of the share to us.”“Ah, yeah that.”

Juan smiled.

“There’s nothing up there, except this.”

“What?”

“Grunvalde and his treasure all but disappeared within the fire that burned the city to dust. The story of hidden treasure in the tower is nothing but a rumour. If the treasure existed, the emperor would have used it already, why would he keep it stored here needlessly?”

“No, this cannot be. I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Weren’t they adventurers? It’s not strange to find them carrying items found from previous expeditions. And anyways…..”

Juan walked past Huksel.

“Didn’t we already split before entering the tower?”

Huksel couldn’t say in reply. Then, Benson came over to him. He whispered something into his ears and Huksel’s eyes were glimmered.

*****

Dusk was fast approaching and Huksel and his crew decided to sleep near the Gray tower for the night.

While the tower had disappeared, many attracted monsters still roamed nearby. It was dangerous to travel through the night.

Laying on top of the Golem, Juan was looking up into the sky. The trapped fog from the tower had all been released, filling the sky above.

It seemed heavy rain was on the way as distant sounds of thunder could be heard. A wet musty smell had already travelled ahead through the breeze.

‘All of that is Grunvalde’s mana….’

As he retrieved Grunvalde’s Grey cloak, most of the mana contained within had flowed out. Maybe a by product of being sealed for all those years.

For a while he could only display one tenth of his actual power. Good news was that Juan was now able to control fog.

Even if it took a long time, he needed to regain his power.

Then suddenly, Juan smelt fresh blood.

It was upsetting to have his good mood interrupted. Someone was stealthily approaching him. The Golem slowly started to move as it noticed its presence. The person in hiding came to a stop and opened their mouth.

“Child, there’s something I want to say.”

A female voice. It was the woman with the mysterious identity from Huksel’s party, Anya.

Juan turned his body to the side and peered down the Golem.

Anya was looking up at him with a tired expression and blood over her face and body.

Juan realised the smell of blood coming from her belonged to several people.

To be exact, Huksel’s crew.

“Killed them all, did you?”

“Yes. They were talking about killing you during your sleep. Bastards would have all been killed by the Golem if it wasn’t for you. I slipped a sleeping powder into their dinner. I don’t know if this is enough to gain your trust….. But anyways, it’s a small present for you.”

Anya dropped something beside the Golem’s feet. It was Huksel’s head. Then she proceeded to drop all her weapons and equipment to the ground, trying to show she wasn’t a threat.

“While I admire your courage for doing this, it looks like you need to work on your beheading skills.”

“I thought it would end quietly….I don’t know if he was immune to the drug but the thief suddenly woke….. I must say, beheading all of them was quite a task. I hope my struggle is worth your time.”

Juan instructed the Golem to kick Huksel’s head away. Huksel’s head rolled away, only stopping once it hit the tower.

“This head doesn’t mean much to me. I could have had their heads from the moment they pleaded for me to stay the night. Rather, I’m more interested in your motives.”

Juan knew from the beginning that Anya was the most skilled individual from Huksel’s team. That’s why on their first meeting, he ambushed and held her prisoner instead of anyone else.

Furthermore, as he got to travel together, he soon understood she didn’t join for the simple reason of treasure.

“What’s your purpose? Were you also going for the Grey cloak as well?”

“No. But in a roundabout way, you could say yes.”

Anya sheepishly looked on as she pointed below Juan.

“The Golem?”

“The mighty arms that pillared the throne, built for when the gods would eventually return, it’s a distinct symbol, proof that our emperor hasn’t given up on us. Yes, I came here to find a way to control the Golem.”

Juan stroked his chin. Resurrected with a child’s body, one of the things he found strange was his non-existent beard.

It was a weird sensation, stroking his smooth chin.

“Most of the Golems were put to sleep, when the emperor began his reign of peace. By now, they would be covered in moss and erosion. However, according to our ‘sources’, there were a few Golems left that could be operable. One at the Gray tower. I came, wanting to find out how to activate and control these Golems.”

Juan made a quick observation at Anya’s level of skill. It looked as if she was more skilled in assasination rather than normal swordsmanship.

A little familiar in magic but not at a high level. Even if she had found out how to defeat the Golem, retrieving the Grey cloak would have been beyond her capabilities.

What would have happened if she did manage to control the Golem….. Juan recalled the many Golems he’d hidden away throughout the empire. When he was emperor, he’d constructed a myriad of Golems.

Especially in the northern lands to face humanity’s arch enemy, he placed countless Golems, so many they formed great walls to deal with the cracks. But right now, they were all asleep.

“Control the Golem? Why?”“So I can topple the empire.”

Anya’s reply was not what he’d anticipated. Juan laughed heartily. He welcomed this kind of unexpectedness.

If one could control the Golems they would have an enormous power at their disposal. Topping the empire wouldn’t be impossible.

“You were gibbering this and that about the emperor, so I’d thought you were one of those lunatics. You don’t seem like one.”

“Don’t misunderstand. We’re faithful towards the emperor. But we feel the current empire is not what the emperor had envisioned. Rather, it feels like a group opposing his will.”

“So…… still a group of lunatics but with a noble purpose?”

“I don’t mind what you think of us.”

Anya stretched out her hand.

“Aren’t you also discontent with the current empire? If so, could you please tell me how to operate this Golem. Do you need Grunvalde’s power to do so? For a while now, it seemed you had control of it.”

“Easy. I ‘just’ did it.”

“Child, please.”

“If you can’t ‘just’ do it, then give up.”

Anya bit her lips. He could see that her eyes were in conflict but luckily for her, she didn’t do anything foolish.

“Can’t help it then. There’ll be another chance one day. We’ll never stop trying…… So then, what are you going to do with the Golem? Take it around with you? It’s going to attract many eyes.”

“Mind your own business.”

Anya picked up her dropped weapon and restrapped it on her waist.

“Alright. But I can’t be but curious about your next destination. From Tantil’s colosseum to the Gray tower…..what’s next? Rambell’s underground labyrinth? Manannan mac-lir’s Sanctum? The emperor’s throne?”

Anya didn’t realise she had unintentionally spat out the correct destination.

Juan simply smiled back, making sure not to react to any places she named.

“If you want to continue on this journey, you will find it difficult with just luck and skill. When it’s time, we’ll meet again.”

Anya disappeared into the Gray tower’s shadow. Juan felt Anya’s presence quickly fading away. Soon he found himself alone with just the Golem. He slowly patted it.

Did he really stay around here to listen to her and ‘that’ story?

No. Juan stuck around to say goodbye to his friend that he’d met in a long time.

Soon, the Gray tower would disappear.

And this meant Golem’s work was done. It had nothing to guard anymore.

But more than that, once Juan retrieved the grey cloak, the Golem lost the ability to operate on its own.

Anya was right in saying he shouldn’t bring it on his journey. It attracted too many eyes but more than that he lacked sufficient mana to utilise the grey cloak’s power and operate the Golem at the same time.

Juan approached the Golem’s head where the blue rune was located. He patted the area with care.

“Job well done.”

Juan pulled it closer to him and whispered.

He stabbed his dagger into the blue rune then pulled it out. The Golem shuttered then like a candle fading, slowly sat down.

Simultaneously, the uneven Gray tower started to finally collapse. With a roaring sound, dust of stones spanned out and rushed towards him.

Looking at the fallen ruin, Juan uttered a whisper as he tightly grasped the rune.

“Farewell. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Juan walked in the opposite direction, leaving behind the ruins of Gray tower.

But then he suddenly realised inside the nearby forest, instead of beasts and monsters, there were people.

Before he’d even figured out who their identities were, all of a sudden, his body felt heavy.

Juan stuttered and lost his balance. Everything turned red before his eyes.

Surprised at the sudden development, Juan tried to stand. However, it felt like a thousand blocks of steel were weighing him down.

Some peculiar energy was jolting around in his body.

It was Taltere’s blood.

Juan suspected if Taltere’s ego had awoken, but quickly denied such thoughts. Wherever he looked, he couldn’t feel Taltere’s consciousness.

As one drop of Taltere’s blood was consumed unwillingly, mana inside him jerked. Subsequently, another drop of blood was consumed.

“Keu-uk!”

It was Taltere’s blood. There was a lot of power behind it. Juan was using his entire strength trying to subdue the uncontrollable mana brewing inside him.

He felt like his whole body was boiling.

Juan fell to the ground. Then, he heard someone’s voice.

“Wow, I thought this would’ve been enough to instantly subjugate you. I applaud your mental fortitude.”

Juan weakly brought up his head and looked up.

A man he’d hadn’t never seen before.

And Sina Solbein of the Blue rose order.