Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 148: The Relic is Fake ?
Ard, Irwin, and Lesnar stepped forward to check on Elmer and Grethia, while Irina stood guard behind the now-closed door after Ard pulled Exgrandal from the keyhole and put it away. They observed the state of the machinery: the upright sarcophagus-shaped tubes with transparent covers, and the sturdy cables connected from the machine to the tubes. Irwin stood in front of a stone box-shaped machine that looked like a console, featuring only three buttons—red, blue, and green—along with a frame on top that seemed designed to hold something and an antenna. He turned to look at Ard.
"Hey, Ard, how do we free them, and what does this thing do?" Irwin asked.
"How should I know? This is the first time I’ve ever seen a machine like this," Ard replied.
"This... is actually a device used to preserve corpses if someone dies before a week-long ceremony can be completed; then they are buried along with their sarcophagus," said Lesnar, who recognized the device.
Ard and Irwin immediately went silent. The two of them glanced at each other and then turned to look at Elmer and Grethia inside the sarcophagi with the transparent tube-like covers. From the look on their faces, it was clear they thought the two people inside the sarcophagi were already dead and were simply being preserved. Ard and Irwin immediately checked them, pressing their faces against the tubes to see their condition without touching them. When they saw Elmer and Grethia’s chests rising and falling, a sign that both were still breathing, Ard and Irwin felt instant relief.
"Phew... I thought they were beyond saving," Irwin muttered with relief.
"Me too. Lesnar, can you open the sarcophagi? We have to help them," Ard said to Lesnar.
"Alright, hold on," Lesnar said, stepping toward the box-shaped device that stood nearly as tall as Ard and Irwin.
But before Lesnar could touch the machine, Irina suddenly ran toward them. She immediately grabbed Ard and Irwin.
"Someone’s coming, we have to hide," she said in a panic.
"Huh... where?" Irwin asked, looking around for a place to hide.
"Lesnar, quick, pick up Ard and Irwin. I’ll climb onto your shoulder like before," Irina said.
"Alright," Lesnar replied.
Immediately, Lesnar pulled Ard and Irwin close, lifting them up, while Irina leaped back onto his shoulder. They moved to the corner of the room and vanished. Moments later, "greek," the wall rotated again. Lesnar, Ard, Irwin, and Irina watched as Idor entered carrying Githiess’s egg and holding a key that looked remarkably like Exelion. He stood before the sarcophagus tubes of Elmer and Grethia, then shifted to stand in front of Grethia’s.
"Princess, once the entire kingdom of Tartagia falls into my hands, you will become my empress. Don’t worry, I won’t kill your lover; we will use him for peace and as a way to enter the kingdom of Grimgarth, conquering it so we can return to the surface. Just wait, my bride-to-be; very soon, everything will be achieved," Idor said, speaking in front of Grethia’s tube.
Ard, Irwin, and Irina felt nauseous as they listened, watching an old man who intended to marry a young girl who looked to be about 18 in human years, even though the lifespans of giants and humans were clearly different. Lesnar looked furious and wanted to immediately finish off Idor, who seemed to have his guard down, but he was stopped by Ard.
Then, Ard pointed to the back of Idor’s bald head, as he was no longer wearing his hood. There was a tattoo that served as the mark of the goddess Ophelia, the exact same one that had been on the bodies of Abel and Julius back when Ard and the others were in the elf village.
Ard nodded to calm Lesnar, who nodded back in response, and they turned their attention once again to what Idor was doing in front of them. Idor placed Githiess’s egg into the iron shell located on top of the machine. After that, he shifted back to Grethia’s tube and gripped it, then suddenly leaned down, squinting his eyes and raising one hand to his beard, as if he were examining something on the lower part of the transparent tube.
Ard and Irwin immediately glanced at each other; they had clearly pressed their faces and palms against it when they were checking on Grethia just a moment ago. The hearts of both began to thud loudly as they braced themselves. Ard gripped Exgrandal tightly while Irwin prepared to draw his sword, but then Idor stood up, turned around, and walked back toward the door.
"Grek," Idor exited and the door closed behind him. Ard, Irwin, Irina, and Lesnar immediately breathed a sigh of relief, yet they remained still, waiting a few moments for Idor to get further away even though they could no longer see him.
After that, Irina climbed down from Lesnar’s shoulder, and Lesnar placed Ard and Irwin back on the ground. They immediately walked over to the machine where Githiess’s egg now sat on top.
"Alright, let’s take that egg," Ard said.
"Agreed,"
Lesnar stepped forward and reached out his hand, but as he grabbed the egg, his expression changed completely. He lifted it effortlessly and handed it to Ard.
"Huh... this can’t be right. This egg is incredibly light," Lesnar said.
"Really?" Ard asked, confused.
Ard took the egg, and it turned out what Lesnar said was true; the egg was so light that Ard could lift it with one hand. Then, "kresk," Ard squeezed the eggshell until it cracked and crumbled. Naturally, Irwin and Irina’s eyes widened, and they rushed over to him.
"Oi, Ard, what are you doing?" Irwin said anxiously.
"Yeah, why are you destroying the egg? The Dragon God is definitely going to be angry with us," Irina said, her confusion mixed with fear.
Ard only smiled and tossed the egg to Irina, who caught it carefully. But when she realized the egg was as light as a balloon, she examined it closely and looked back at Ard.
"Ard... this egg... is it made of pumice stone?" Irina asked.
"Yeah. The Githiess egg used in the ceremony just now is a fake. The real egg isn’t in Idor’s hands; he forged it because he’s seen what it looks like and is using it to deceive his followers," Ard answered casually.
"Let me see that, sister," Irwin said, taking the egg from Irina’s hands.
Irwin weighed it in his palms, then looked at the inside of the egg that had cracked when Ard squeezed it. What Irina said was true; the egg was indeed made of pumice stone, and the interior was plastered with lime to make it hard.
"Wait, if that egg is a fake... then where is the real one?" Lesnar asked, confused.
"Only they know," Ard said, gesturing toward the two tubes with his thumb.
The four of them turned to look at Elmer and Grethia, who remained unconscious inside the sarcophagus tubes. Suddenly, Irina grabbed Ard’s shoulder.
"Ard... someone else is coming, hurry," Irina said.
In a panic, Irwin dropped the egg, and because it was already cracked, it shattered into pieces on the floor. The four of them retreated to the corner near the door, resuming their previous positions and vanishing. "Sreeg," the door rotated again, and Idor stepped back inside. His eyes widened at the sight of the egg scattered across the floor. He immediately knelt and began picking up the fragments with all four of his hands. Ard whispered to Lesnar,
"Now we get out, quick," Ard whispered.
"And what about them?" Lesnar whispered, glancing back at the two sarcophagus tubes.
"We leave for now. They’ll be fine. We’ll report to Lord Kresus and come back here; we have enough evidence," Ard answered in a whisper.
"Yes, Lesnar, Ard is right. Let’s go while we have the chance," Irina added in a whisper.
"Alright," Lesnar whispered back.
Slowly and stealthily, Lesnar walked toward the revolving door and exited the room, leaving Idor alone inside to brood over his shattered egg with a furious expression. Then Idor glanced at Elmer and Grethia’s sarcophagus tubes; after that, he turned to look at the corner and then back toward the door. He returned his gaze to the shards of the egg in front of him and in his hands.
"Damn it... I’ve felt someone’s presence here from the start... then there are palm prints on both glass covers of the sarcophagi, and now this egg is a mess," Idor said in his head.
He looked back at the palm prints and stood up. Then, he approached Grethia’s tube and leaned down to examine the prints on the tube closely until his eyes squinted, but suddenly he smiled.
"Hmm... interesting. The ones who infiltrated my home turn out to be... humans. The path to the surface is open, hahahaha... just wait a little longer, Princess, I will certainly satisfy you, hahahaha," Idor said while laughing. His eyes, which were originally black, turned a bright blue as if emitting an energy that wasn’t his own.
