Volume 3, Chapter 59 – Soul Crystal

Inside the hidden dungeon of the Marquis Coveport Mansion.

The previously orderly experiments and extraction of the ‘Soul Crystal’ had come to an abrupt halt.

The dungeon, once filled with the sounds of magic explosions, jailers’ roars, children’s cries, and screams, had now fallen into complete silence. The eerie stillness was chilling…

The entire dungeon was in disarray. Fragments of staffs, magical artifacts, broken swords, blood, and minced flesh were scattered chaotically across the floor.

Inside the dungeon, the white-robed mages who should have been casting spells to condense the ‘Soul Crystal’ seemed to have suffered severe blows, foaming at the mouth as they lay on the ground, their fates unknown. Only a few remained conscious, trembling as they lay prostrate…

As for the children who had been crying earlier, they had unknowingly stopped weeping, their tears frozen on their faces, gazing incredulously through the iron bars at the black-armored knights who had suddenly appeared in the dungeon. Though they didn’t know who these people were, the fact that they had attacked the white-robed mages and jailers upon entering the dungeon suggested they were not allies of those terrifying mages.

Could…

Could they be here to rescue them?

The children, nearly consumed by despair, couldn’t help but think this way.

They quietly watched these knights clad in black armor.

Strangely enough, even though the Black Knights exuded an icy, murderous aura and had brutally slaughtered the jailers and beaten countless white-robed mages to a pulp right before the children’s eyes, the children didn’t feel the slightest threat from them.Instead, they gradually began to feel an inexplicable sense of trust toward them.

While observing the Black Knights, the children’s attention was also drawn to the center of the dungeon, where a stunningly beautiful girl, like a goddess, stood out among the burly Black Knights. With her breathtakingly beautiful face, it would have been strange if she hadn’t attracted attention…

The black-haired girl, our Miss Yumo, after learning from Ed about the deeds of Marquis Coveport, found it difficult to control herself and, accompanied by ten knights of the Blackrose Family, ‘infiltrated’ the Marquis Coveport Mansion to investigate what the terrifying experiments the child had mentioned truly were.

However, upon arriving at the dungeon and witnessing the horrific scene before her, Miss Yumo’s azure eyes turned crimson with rage at the sight. Subsequently, the Blackrose Family’s ‘infiltration’ plan underwent a slight change.

Looking at the boy before her, whose body was half-dissolved, unrecognizable, constantly wailing, and on the brink of death, Yumo couldn’t help but frown. Even though she was accustomed to Abyssal Demons devouring humans, she still felt somewhat unsettled by the scene before her.

Sigh…

It seemed she had arrived too late…

This process of having one’s entire body dissolved and compressed into the so-called ‘Soul Crystal’ was likely several times more painful than being devoured by an Abyssal Demon, wasn’t it? Being devoured by an Abyssal Demon usually meant a quick death, but this dissolution? The process of extracting the soul? It probably couldn’t even be compared to torture, could it?

Humans… Sometimes these creatures are truly cruel to their own kind…

And they were just children.

‘Poor things…’

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After sighing inwardly, Yumo, with mixed emotions, slowly walked toward the pitiful child and gently raised her hand. Blood-red butterflies fluttered around the little boy. As golden dust scattered, the child, who had been moaning unconsciously, soon fell into a deep slumber.

Quietly slipping into eternal sleep…

It wasn’t that Yumo hadn’t considered saving the child, but his injuries were too severe, beyond the healing range of the Tears of Nature. As for giving him Shadow Essence? Given the little boy’s talent, it was almost impossible for him to control the Shadow Essence without turning into an Abyssal Demon.

Besides, the child’s mind was nearly shattered, and his soul had begun to dissipate…

After quietly sending the child off, Yumo slowly turned her gaze toward Saibok beside her. Saibok, under the fearful and uneasy stares of countless white-robed mages, respectfully handed a box filled with white gems to the black-haired girl.

“Miss, this is what they were making, some kind of ‘Soul Crystal’ or something.”

As he spoke, Saibok revealed a look of disgust and murderous intent, glaring fiercely at the white-robed mages lying on the ground, not daring to move.

“Soul Crystal?”

Taking a white gem from the box, Miss Yumo examined it carefully.

Indeed, as the white-robed mages had said, the gem contained an extremely dense and pure soul power. In other words, the power within this gem could be easily absorbed by the human body without causing any rejection…

Which meant…

Frowning slightly, Miss Yumo glanced at the purple-haired middle-aged man in luxurious attire who had been pinned to the ground by the dragon-horned girl not far away.

“What exactly do you intend to do with these Soul Crystals?”

When Yumo asked the question, Xizhi, who was restraining the purple-haired man, released her hold and forcibly lifted his bruised and swollen, unrecognizable face, dragging him before Yumo.

Seeing that the purple-haired man was still dazed and unresponsive, Xizhi wordlessly drew a dagger and stabbed it through the man’s shoulder. Instantly, blood splattered, and a piercing scream erupted from the man’s mouth!

“Ahhhhh!!”

Stimulated by the intense pain, the purple-haired man, Marquis Coveport, immediately regained consciousness and looked up in terror at the black-haired girl before him.

His eyes held nothing but fear.

“The lady asked you a question! Answer quickly! Why are you making these Soul Crystals?”

As she sternly questioned him, Xizhi decisively pulled out the dagger, her orange-red dragon-like vertical pupils meaningfully glancing at Marquis Coveport.

Under that glance, Marquis Coveport shuddered, seemingly recalling his earlier conversation with the girl before him.

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He forcibly swallowed his screams.

Then, Marquis Coveport looked at the stunningly beautiful, death-angel-like black-haired girl before him:

“N-no, these gems… I didn’t want to make them. This is the Crown Prin-no, His Majesty’s order! Those white-robed mages were also sent by His Majesty! I’m just following orders! I had no choice! Please, don’t kill me!”

“His Majesty? Xue Tian’ao?”

“Y-yes, it’s His Majesty Xue Tian’ao! He ordered us to collect Soul Crystals!”

Marquis Coveport hurriedly said.

“…”

Xue Tian’ao,

That Chosen Son again?

Surveying the dungeon filled with filth, blood, and an oppressive, gloomy atmosphere, Miss Yumo’s aura grew even colder:

“Why does he want to collect these gems?”

“His Majesty… he wants to collect these Soul Crystals to… to help members of the Royal Knight Corps break through and cultivate new talents… so… so that the Snownight Empire can grow stronger in the future…”

“Then…”

As she spoke, Miss Yumo glanced at the children imprisoned in the cages around them:

“What about them?”

“Th-these children… they are the children of the rebellious nobles from the south… and some purchased from slave traders.”

As he spoke, Marquis Coveport trembled uncontrollably, his voice full of tremors.

“Are all your Soul Crystals extracted from children?”

All?

Hearing this, Marquis Coveport couldn’t help but frown.

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Naturally, Soul Crystals couldn’t all be extracted from children, the quantity wouldn’t be sufficient. According to His Majesty Xue Tian’ao, cultivating a single exceptionally talented individual required at least 100 high-quality Soul Crystals…

The reason the dungeon was filled with children was simply because they were all handed over to him for processing…

However, he couldn’t outright state this fact.

Glancing at the dragon girl behind the black-haired girl, Marquis Coveport showed a complex expression.

To save his own life, he had no choice…

Otherwise, the drug in his abdomen would cause him to explode and die.

“Y-yes, these gems are extracted directly from children under His Majesty Xue Tian’ao’s orders. After all, children’s souls are purer, and the gems extracted have fewer impurities, making them easier to absorb. However, besides children, we also extract the souls of other criminals when necessary…”

After receiving the Marquis’s answer, Miss Yumo looked with mixed feelings at the box full of dazzling white gems in Saibok’s hands. Judging by the quantity, there were at least seventy or eighty, if not a hundred.

“So, the gems in this box were all extracted from innocent children?”

“Y-yes…”

“I see. You mentioned criminals earlier? Will those from Duke’s family who were taken to the imperial capital also be made into Soul Crystals?”

“Uh, th-this… I’m not sure, but His Majesty Xue Tian’ao seems to have such plans…”

As Marquis Coveport spoke, the dungeon fell into a brief silence. The surrounding atmosphere grew colder, and a suffocating, deathly stillness enveloped the purple-haired man, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

…

“I see.”

After a moment of silent contemplation, Miss Yumo nodded thoughtfully.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Her tone was eerily calm.

As soon as she finished speaking, Miss Yumo no longer paid attention to Marquis Coveport. Instead, she slowly turned and, under the protection of several Blackrose knights, walked toward the dungeon staircase.

As Yumo left, the overwhelming pressure of death that had been weighing on Marquis Coveport gradually dissipated. Hope for survival seemed to rekindle in his heart.

?!?

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‘She? She’s not going to kill me?!’

At this sight, an intense feeling of having narrowly escaped death surged within Marquis Coveport, causing the purple-haired middle-aged man to unconsciously reveal a joyful expression. Watching the black-haired girl’s departing figure, Marquis Coveport inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Ah, thankfully that woman didn’t lie to me.’

‘As long as I said what she taught me, I wouldn’t die…’

‘However, I really don’t understand what’s going on in the mind of this Blackrose Family lady.’

‘What’s wrong with using these children, who have no talent or background, to make SSoul Crystals to enhance the empire’s overall strength? Haven’t the nobles of the Sadik Empire done this plenty of times? Why such a big reaction? To go so far as to sneak into my Marquis Mansion for such a trivial matter and brutally beat my face like this?’

Touching his bruised and swollen face, Marquis Coveport couldn’t help but show a resentful expression.

‘Damn it…’

‘Later, I’ll definitely report this to His Majesty! I’ll make you pay for your foolish actions! This is the Snownight Empire, not the damn Sadik Empire! Your Blackrose Family can’t act with impunity here!’

While roaring inwardly, Marquis Coveport had already planned how to complain to Xue Tian’ao and denounce the Blackrose Family’s disrespect when he met him later.

Of course, the most important thing was to shift the blame for the exposure of the ‘Soul Crystal’ plan onto the Blackrose Family…

However, just as Marquis Coveport was scheming in his heart, the black-haired girl who had walked halfway suddenly stopped. This pause made Marquis Coveport’s heart shudder, and a sense of foreboding surged within him.

The next moment, as if to confirm Marquis Coveport’s ominous premonition, Miss Yumo slowly turned her head, sweeping a gaze that looked at ‘trash’ over Marquis Coveport, the white-robed mages, and the trembling jailers. After indifferently glancing at them for a moment, Yumo looked at the black-haired dragon-horned girl restraining Marquis Coveport:

“Oh, right, Xizhi.”

“Yes, Yu… oh, Miss Yu, what are your orders?”

“Don’t forget to clean up the trash.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Hearing these words and sensing the suffocating killing intent in Yumo’s voice, Marquis Coveport’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly looked pleadingly at the half-dragon girl beside him:

“Wait?! You promised not to kill me! You can’t…?!! Huh?!”

However, before he could finish, Marquis Coveport discovered with great terror that Xizhi’s dagger had already pierced his throat…