Chapter 39: Survival Was Impossible
Several minutes passed outside the caves.
The first person to come out was Shione, followed almost at the same time by Lumiere. When both of them appeared carrying a puppet’s head in their hands, the Elders looked at them with admiration.
Not all of them. Elder Raoes maintained an indifferent and calm expression on the surface.
About five minutes later, Gangrel came out.
When he saw his two younger siblings already outside, his expression subtly changed for a single second.
At that moment, even Shione and Lumiere felt that something was wrong with him. It was as if he was irritated about something, but hiding it with all his strength.
...
An hour later, a tall and imposing woman emerged with slow steps. She was absolutely calm and had a flawless aura, as if she had merely gone for a walk. Not much different from the other three.
Shione and Lumiere turned toward Flaris with great curiosity in their eyes. Now, both of them felt that building a friendship with Priam was important for their futures and, as a result, wanted to close the distance with this figure who was so close to him.
Flaris walked over, looking around as her expression changed.
"Where is Priam?" she asked the Elder seriously.
The Elder snorted. "The other three are still being judged. But judging by how long it’s taking... they must be having a very difficult time."
"Don’t worry, Priam is an idiot, but he’s really strong. He’ll come back alive." Shione spoke gently, trying to give a somewhat awkward smile and establish at least a little friendship with the other young woman.
Lumiere almost burst out laughing. Seeing his little sister trying to be nice was a unique sight.
Flaris was confused by those words. Didn’t this young woman hate Priam so much that she wanted a duel to the death with him before? How had she changed so quickly?
Soon, she remembered Flora and thought seriously.
’This Priam... where did he learn these things?’
"Tch, after all this time? Little sister, don’t fool yourself. There are probably not even any bones left of him." Gangrel’s voice sounded unexpectedly cold from the side.
He could no longer maintain that heroic mask. Seeing his two younger siblings alive and arriving before him had been a frightening warning sign. Now that his perfect plan to eliminate them had failed, he would have trouble finding another opportunity like this in the future.
He tried to say something else, but before he could even open his mouth, a figure appeared in front of him like a ghost, and a blade was placed against his throat, silencing him.
"You want to repeat that?"
Flaris shot him a furious look, with killing intent emanating from her eyes and her blade.
The Elder’s eyes widened in surprise. Was she crazy? This was the son of the clan leader and her heir!
Gangrel turned pale, also caught completely off guard.
This Demoness had moved perfectly, without him noticing, and the blade was already at his throat. The current Flaris was like a beautiful god of death; she had sharp instincts and had noticed this idiot’s murderous malice toward Priam a long time ago.
"Calm down!" Shione was startled and quickly pulled her back.
Flaris took a deep breath and, surprisingly, did not resist, because she trusted that this other young woman meant no harm to her or her cousin.
She stared into Gangrel’s eyes, conveying a silent message, then turned away with a snort.
Meanwhile, Gangrel’s gaze became increasingly filled with murderous intent.
...
About an hour after the second phase began, another figure emerged.
"Aella," Lumiere murmured lightly, remembering the name of that girl from the side branch.
The girl was covered in blood and had a deep cut across her abdomen. She moved with slow and painful steps, carrying a puppet’s head in her hand. In her eyes was a light filled with unshakable determination.
Seeing this, the Elder and the others took a deep breath. This young woman wasn’t extraordinarily talented, but she definitely had the mindset needed to become someone great in the future.
...
Fifteen minutes later...
"It’s over." Elder Raoes’ voice sounded indifferent.
"Over? What are you talking about?!" Flaris exclaimed sharply.
"Hmph, all of you faced puppets created from the bodies of Sorcerers. They have no autonomy, and the moment someone enters the cave, they’re forced to attack with everything they have to kill," the Elder explained slowly, but there was a mocking expression on his face.
"At your level, and considering the Ether consumption in a fight, after all this time, it’s impossible for them to still be alive. The two of them are dead. Later, we’ll send people to collect whatever remains are left and deliver them to their families."
"That’s impossible!!!"
Flaris roared, and her entire body ignited with an intense bluish flame. "I want to see Priam’s cave. There’s no way he died."
The Elder looked at her coldly. "Brat, your disrespect deserves punishment through disqualification. I’ve already explained the obvious. I won’t give a second warning, so stay silent and behave immediately."
Flaris stared at the Elder without the slightest trace of fear in her eyes. Just as she was about to spit out an angry reply...
"Wait, she’s right. Something is wrong."
The Elder was surprised and turned around, looking at Shione coldly. "What do you mean by that, Young Lady?"
He obviously couldn’t be disrespectful toward her, so he controlled his tone as much as possible.
Shione took a deep breath, then turned toward the caves and nodded.
"I think... no, I’m sure! Because of my special condition, I can easily sense large concentrations of Yin. In one of the caves, there’s a powerful Yin disturbance. It’s definitely a battle or something similar that’s still happening."
Upon hearing that, both Elder Raoes and the other Elders listening nearby were stunned. They were all ninth-level Disciple Mages, yet they couldn’t sense any of that. In fact, it should have been impossible even for people at their level.
If it had been anyone else, they would have simply mocked the claim. But they couldn’t doubt the absurd sensitivity this fifteen-year-old girl possessed toward Yin.
Gangrel’s expression darkened, and he almost roared in fury. How was he still alive? And why the hell was his little sister, who hated that bastard, trying to help him?
Elder Raoes snorted, thinking quickly about how to respond. This had caught him completely off guard. He was absolutely certain that Priam was dead. No, even he himself, if placed in Priam’s situation against that abomination, would have been in serious trouble. In other words, Priam surviving was impossible.
Of course, he had considered the possibility of that figure trying to take over Priam’s body to escape. That’s why he had installed special mechanisms inside the cave so that if the soul escaped from the puppet’s body, it would be detected and sealed properly. But if that happened, Priam would already be dead, because that figure would have needed to destroy his soul immediately after invading his body.
"!"
At that moment, a wave of energy was felt by everyone from behind them.
They turned around in surprise.
"Grand Elder," Flaris said seriously, looking at the old man who was responsible for the clan’s entire coming-of-age ceremony.
This figure had merely been observing from afar, not paying much attention to the trial. But after hearing Shione’s words, he felt that something was truly very wrong.
The moment Elder Raoes saw him, his face froze. Instinctively, he felt overwhelming despair.
The Grand Elder spoke slowly.
"Raoes, reveal the scores of all the young participants. That will make it clear who is dead and who isn’t."
