The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon-Chapter 278: You Are Like Sand (19)

It happened then. A group moved swiftly behind the Blue Lions. Despite their completely exposed backs, the knights never noticed, their blades still pointed solely at me. The figures emerged from the darkness, all wearing masks. Some wore silver half-masks, covering only the upper face; others wore full black masks. The air around them felt cold, yet familiar.

The ghosts?

Those masked faces turned toward me. They bore the Blessing of Concealment. I had half-expected it, hearing that they borrowed Botis's power, but their blades weren't aimed at the Blue Lions' unguarded backs.

Instead, they filled the gaps in the passage from the shadows, tightening the blockade. The moment I saw their stance, I realized it. They hadn't come to ambush the knights, but to aid them.

The situation was worse than I thought. My plan to kill everyone and absorb their essences felt absurdly out of reach. I glanced up at the high vaulted ceiling. If I wanted any chance of escaping...

I pulled up my status window.

[Name: None

Skeleton Soldier Lv. 13 (271)

Health: 121

Strength: 121

Agility: 121

Wisdom: 121

Bonus Stats: 29]

[Achieved Class: Skeleton Knight]

[All perks of the Skeleton Knight are retained.]

.

.

.

I distributed six points across each stat and raised Wisdom by an additional eleven.

Swish!

Gripping a priest by the collar, I slit his throat wide, scattering blood in every direction.

[Skill: Dull Tears Lv. 1 activated.]

The colorless, odorless poison spread into the corpse's blood. It was a suffocating toxin that crippled the respiratory system. Perhaps because it was the priest's blood, the knights hadn't been cautious. Those splattered in the face staggered, unable to breathe, and collapsed to their knees.

The others, well-drilled even in such emergencies, checked on their fallen comrades and fed them antidotes. A wise move. Their purpose wasn't slaughter.

Sprint.

I dashed through the gap where their encirclement faltered.

Swish!

A blade grazed my arm, yet barely cut the skin. I scattered more poison as I withdrew, forcing that knight to retreat hastily. Through the masks, I caught the ghosts' startled eyes. Did they not expect me to flee toward the marquis's path? I snatched up the fallen diamond once more.

[Eye of Illien...]

[Within 10 meters, many powers of the Demon Kings are nullified...]

The light quickly stripped away my Concealment. The masked ghosts hesitated, flinching back, unable to approach. I also felt something inside my head being peeled away. Not cleared, but repainted. Darker and heavier—like layers of thick color overlapping until the weight grew oppressive.

Crash!

Only one thing cut through that murky haze: the colossal noise echoing down the passage. It wasn't a threat nor a warning, just raw violence chilling the air of the underground with each approach. The closer Marquis Leandro came, the sharper my mind became.

One thought crossed me. If Leandro had kept Illien's relic for himself rather than returning it to the Empire, perhaps Lawrence Tartier would've died instead.

Force Shield. Dual Cast...

I invoked the same spell I had once used to leap across the two tower lords. This time, my target was the ventilation shaft high in the ceiling. After their antidotes had taken effect, the knights scrambled back to their feet. The ghosts rushed in with panicked eyes, finally witnessing me for who I was. A skeletal figure, bereft of armor.

Yet none faltered. None recoiled. They'd report exactly what they'd seen. I had no time to silence them all.

Flash!

I hurled the Relic of Light into the shaft and leapt after it. It was tight.

[Lord of Bones Lv. 1...]

[Using Skeletal Morphing]

Crack! Crackle!

I used the same skill I had once used to slip free of Leandro's shackles.

Crackle!

[Inactive perk: Crafting detected.]

[Lord of Bones: Skeletal Morphing enhanced.]

The Demon King's blessing urged me on. Fortunately, none of them seemed to wield flight magic. The Blue Lions and the ghosts could only stare blankly as I vanished into the shaft above. Now that they had seen me escape this way, I had to move quickly.

Hesitation meant death. I crawled up the narrow passage without pause. If I slowed even for a moment, Leandro would be waiting at the exit. He was nothing if not relentless.

Clatter!

As I ascended the cramped shaft, I checked my status window again.

[Skill EXP: 20,000.]

The gift from my Knight advancement remained. The bonus stats and stored EXP as well.

[Do you wish to use Skill EXP?]

There was no reason to hesitate. I poured it all into the skill I had in mind.

[Skill Level Up.]

[Stealth Lv. 6 → Lv. 8]

[Perk acquired: Perception Defense (B+)!

— Defends against wide-area magical detection across five dimensions.

— Prevents tracking by scent, color vision, hearing, touch, and taste.]

Good thing I saved my EXP instead of wasting it.

I had put it off before, thinking I couldn't use it for Essence Absorption or Sword Energy. I wanted to compare skills carefully before investing, but no time was better than now

Since the Stealth skill overlapped with Botis's Blessing of Concealment, it had always felt wasteful. Still, survival left me no other choice. I didn't know how much it would block his Detection, but the perk's description was far from ordinary.

The gamble was worth it. I crawled onward with the diamond held before me. The ventilation shaft was choked with dust, grit, and shards of rusted metal. Cobwebs clung to every corner, sticking to me with each movement. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Deliberately sharpened blades jutted out here and there. They weren't accidental debris, but traps.

They made it so no one could enter from anywhere but the designated passage...

Thankfully, I'd honed the Lord of Bone's Skeletal Morphing. Without it, I'd have had to smash my way through, collapsing the shaft. Wearing armor would have made squeezing through impossible in the first place. Maybe it was fortunate, then.

I pressed forward carefully, using Detection to find every narrow gap. Half-expecting corpses or venomous spiders, not a single sign of life appeared. I crawled through the pitch-dark shaft, where only a faint light seeped in from cracks. At last, I was almost there.

Outside... nothing. No presence. I infused Sword Energy into my blade just in case.

Creaaak.

I bent the iron grate slightly, slipped through, and restored it behind me.

Whssshh...

The moment I emerged, a chill wind struck my face. No one was around the vent. I stood beneath the shadowed bridge on the capital's outskirts, where not even a trace of presence could be felt. Thanks to memorizing the map carefully, I knew roughly where I was.

I had to move before the marquis arrived. Even though I had poured all my skill EXP into Stealth, I couldn't be certain I was safe from his detection.

Flash!

First things first: deliver the Relic of Light to Biblio. I sprinted at maximum speed. No signs of pursuit followed. Had I shaken them off?

I circled through alleys several times, taking detours around the outer wards, before finally arriving at Duke Biblio's manor. He had left the door open.

He seemed astonished by my entrance. "You, don't tell me...?"

"Yes. I have it."

Even Botis's proxy stared at me in shock.

I presented the Relic of Light. Seeing the diamond set in its shield, the old man frowned in distaste, then stretched his lips wide into a smile. As expected of Botis's proxy, unfaltering even in the face of its natural opposite.

After I briefly explained the situation, his face softened with laughter. "Marvelous. You seized the Relic of Light, escaped from so many ghosts, knights, and even Leandro himself? Hah! Like a dog chasing a rooster on the rooftop!"

He appeared as though he genuinely enjoyed the thought.

"But..."

One thing still weighed on me. My true form had been revealed. Though I had survived, I couldn't predict how the witnesses would pursue me.

The old man shook his head at my concern. "Do not worry. From now on, you need only continue using Botis's power, do you not?"

He wasn't wrong. The Blessing of Concealment still had nearly a month left. As long as I remained behind the veil that only Duke Biblio could see, I was safe.

"But the ghosts didn't aid me," I said.

"Of course not. They should've been slaves in the first place. It's only their leader causing trouble."

Their leader... Lawrence Tartier?

It would seem strange if I revealed I knew, so I stayed silent.

"It's just a brief tantrum, soon resolved. But you have given me great joy. If the relic had fallen into the marquis's hands, our enemies would have turned this entire affair into our weakness." He continued, "Now that it has come to this, Illien's relic will be sealed here."

"Sealed...?"

"Why? Do you disapprove?"

"If the ghosts aren't with us, wouldn't we need a way to control them?"

His lips twitched. "Do you think you saw them only because you held the diamond?"

"Wasn't that it?"

"Botis's blessings are all connected. For those lower in the hierarchy, every power they hold can be nullified by the one above them." The old man's eyes glittered with satisfaction, pleased by my feat. Perhaps he had let slip an important truth. "The sole ruler at the summit is me. And beneath me stands you."

The revelation stunned me.

"Then the ghosts..."

"They are nothing but borrowers of imitation power. If I sever the authority, they vanish as if they never were."

Imitations... So the masks they wore served as vessels for such power?

The old man's expression shifted. He had no intention of revealing more.

Clatter.

He set the shield on the table, placing both hands on its edges. A strange pulse seeped from his fingers.

Crackle... szzzt...

Dozens of writhing, finger-like tendrils sprouting from the old man's hands, enveloping the diamond. The imperial treasure, once enshrined in glory, slowly dimmed and blackened. The core gem trembled violently, its radiance drained into the pulsing tendrils. The shield of pure light flickered and dissolved. Only the diamond remained, exuding dark ichor.

[The Light of Truth has been extinguished.]

[The Blessing of Concealment is reapplied.]

"It's done..."

Even without casting Insight, I could feel the vast power leaving him. The old man seemed exhausted, yet pride glowed in his eyes.

Clack!

He placed the blackened diamond into a small box. The box shut itself tightly, as though alive, and disappeared into a hidden channel.

"No one will ever find it now. And as promised, you shall be rewarded. I will see to it that the girl in Erast... Rubia receives special favors. She shall not remain a mere lordling. I will grant her supreme power."

I had done it. At long last, after countless detours, I stood before the completion of Rubia's scenario.

Fortune smiled on me. The ghosts and the Blue Lion knights. The effeminate duke and Marquis Leandro. Even each faction of Necron was divided by its own ambitions. And so, Botis's proxy needed me.

From outside, they appeared tightly united. Yet inside, they were no more than sand, endlessly slipping apart.

I was lucky. Seizing the diamond without being captured was more than I could've asked for. This life was finally beginning to align, step by step, without a single misstep. And for once, I was satisfied.