Lucian stepped forward and grasped the twinblade planted at the center of the tower, pulling it free.
As soon as it settled into his hands, a name surfaced in his mind.
[Euporia]
The weapon's design was peculiar. Rather than a tool of war, it resembled an intricately crafted piece of art.
Though both ends were symmetrical in shape, the two blades themselves were vastly different.
Originally, the entire weapon should have gleamed with a golden luster. But now, it had withered, sections of it faded into a lifeless black.
One end had begun decaying from the tip, its edge even chipped and broken in places.
The other had withered starting from the blade's base, the decay creeping toward the central grip. It was hard to tell whether it could still endure the strain of intense combat.
Lucian frowned slightly as he felt the weapon.
There was almost no power within it.
…Could this really be called the tower's secret treasure?
The twinblade named Euporia emitted only a faint, dim glow, so weak that it was impossible to tell what purpose it served.
At present, there was no indication of its abilities, and it didn't even seem particularly sharp.
If there was anything noteworthy, it was that the weapon had already been reinforced to +9.
At the very least, he wouldn't need to upgrade it himself. That much was a small consolation.
Lucian turned it over in his hands for a while, but still couldn't discern its true nature.
At first, he thought it might simply be a useless relic.
But on second thought… that didn't seem right.
The horned crone had clearly said it was meant for combat.
It couldn't just be some ceremonial object with more symbolic value than practical use.
And even if the horned folk were strong, they wouldn't take something entirely useless and reinforce it to +9, then call it a hidden treasure.
There had to be something about Euporia that he didn't yet understand.
Lucian tried swinging the twinblade.
Unfortunately, he had little experience with this kind of weapon. His movements were somewhat clumsy.
Even back in the game, he rarely used twinblades.
The only one he had really used was Eleonora's Poleblade, mostly because its skill was flashy and visually impressive.
Its main drawback was that the weapon skill had too much movement, making it hard to consistently land full damage.
So when he actually wanted damage, he usually switched to a setup with the Cragblade skill, dual-wielding blood-infused twinned knight swords for jump attacks.
Twinblades had a clear advantage when it came to jumping strikes, up to six hits in a single attack, even surpassing dual curved swords.
Unfortunately, in most cases, two of those hits were difficult to land reliably.
Because of that, twinblades never really became a mainstream choice.
But in reality, that drawback didn't matter as much. With proper control, attacks wouldn't miss so easily.
Since arriving in the Lands Between, Lucian had used many kinds of weapons—swords, spears, axes, halberds.
But twinblades, which required a high level of technique, were rare. He had barely even seen anyone wield them.
Unable to uncover the weapon's secrets for now, Lucian stored Euporia away, planning to experiment with it later.
Then he raised his head and looked at the skull-shaped guardian spirit floating above him.
Reaching up, he grabbed it and refined it instantly.
Within moments, he had absorbed its power.
Releasing his grip, the guardian spirit floated back into place.
The power of a Great Rune didn't require destroying the source to analyze it. Even after refinement, the spirit remained intact.
Lucian decided he would return it to the horned crone later.
In the end, it would be better to reunite mother and son.
Extending his hand, Lucian began to test the power he had just gained.
As he channeled magic, clusters of yellow-black wraiths streamed out from his palm, flying toward a designated direction.
When he cut off the flow of magic, the wraiths drifted briefly before dissipating.
With this ability, he should now be able to harm spiritual entities.
Lucian stepped out of the tower and looked over the poisonous swamp below.
Since he was already here… he might as well take a proper look around this place.
If experience had taught him anything, it was that there was definitely something unpleasant lurking in the other half of the swamp.
—
It didn't take long before Lucian found exactly what he expected.
A Lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirit, its body soaked in dark green poison, burst out of the swamp.
Raising its massive head, it lunged into the air, its enormous body splashing foul liquid everywhere as it hurled itself toward Lucian.
Originally, Lucian had planned to test out Euporia on it.
But seeing that creature coated in that sickly, greenish sludge, he immediately lost the will to do so.
Not just this new weapon, he didn't want any of his weapons touching that thing.
Lucian closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
Then, he summoned blazing solar fire, condensing it in his hands into an enormous twinblade of flame.
With that burning weapon in hand, he dove downward, meeting the charging Tree Spirit head-on.
The creature reeked of decay, as though it had been marinated in the swamp for ages.
Even with the wind dispersing the stench, it was enough to make one recoil.
Lucian twisted aside, narrowly avoiding its bite as they crossed paths.
His flaming blade sliced effortlessly through its body, leaving wound after wound in its wake.
As he continued to spin the weapon, fire spread rapidly across the creature's form.
By the time Lucian landed, the flames erupted violently, incinerating the Tree Spirit from within until nothing remained but ash.
After defeating it, Lucian noticed something near the remains.
Following the faint prompt, he sifted through the ashes and retrieved the item.
It was a necklace adorned with a strange horn-shaped ornament.
[Immunizing Horn Charm +2]
A talisman.
Lucian recalled that this type of charm increased resistance to poison and rot.
A +2 version should be quite effective.
After storing it, he began thinking about his talisman slots.
He had been collecting quite a few lately.
Maybe it was time to visit Enia at the Roundtable Hold again, see if he could acquire another talisman pouch while he was at it.
With that done, Lucian judged that there was likely nothing else of value left within the Tower Settlement.
So he flew toward the exit.
Before long, he arrived at the Miquella's Cross outside the settlement.
Moore was no longer there, but Ansbach remained.
He was seated on a wooden crate Moore had left behind, holding a thick, yellowed book in one hand and a pen in the other.
Ever alert, Ansbach quickly noticed Lucian's arrival.
He looked up, confirmed who it was, and then closed his book, standing up.
"Sir Lucian, have you finished exploring?"
Lucian had already removed the Divine Beast head. He descended and landed before him, nodding.
"Yes. All enemies that could interfere with exploration have been dealt with."
"The Tower Settlement is now safe to move through freely."
Ansbach stroked his beard and nodded.
"I see. You have my thanks."
"Now I can proceed with a more thorough investigation."
Lucian pointed at the book in his hands.
"Is that all your own writing?"
"That's quite a volume."
Ansbach glanced down at it and smiled.
"Indeed. At my age, memory isn't what it used to be."
"To keep track of findings and organize collected information, I've compiled everything here."
At the mention of gathered information, Lucian asked.
"By the way, during your exploration, did you come across anything related to betrayal?"
"I'm curious about the reasons behind Queen Marika's actions back then."
"And that so-called 'great holy war' carried out by Messmer's forces… or rather, that massacre. What exactly happened?"
Ansbach glanced at the insignia pinned to Lucian's chest and stroked his beard thoughtfully.
He recognized it, the emblem worn by knights and commanders who had fought alongside Messmer.
"Ah… the 'great holy war.'"
"The insignia you bear is proof of it."
"It belonged to those who fought with Sir Messmer, and died for that cause."
"They slaughtered without restraint, claiming it was to burn away impurity…"
"There was no compassion in it. No honor. It was nothing but a massacre."
"Only those who truly believed it was a righteous crusade could find even a trace of fervor in the screams of the dying."
"After all… they knew full well what they were doing."
After a brief pause, Ansbach continued:
"In the end, it seems the crusade did not conclude as intended."
"The horned folk still remain, which contradicts its supposed purpose."
"My guess is that war-weariness grew too strong. Even with the idea of a ' great holy war' to justify it, the soldiers could no longer endure it."
"And… after the crusade, it appears that every statue of Queen Marika in the Realm of Shadow had its head destroyed."
Realizing his wording might not be precise, Ansbach quickly added:
"At least, every statue of Queen Marika that I've seen was like that."
"Perhaps… toward the final stages, Sir Messmer and Queen Marika were no longer entirely aligned?"
"With so little information available, this is only speculation. There's no need to take it too seriously."
Lucian listened in silence, organizing the pieces of information in his mind.
The detail about Marika's statues having their heads destroyed left him without any clear explanation.
He hadn't yet seen such statues himself, nor had he met that particular "relative," so the truth behind it remained unclear.
But if this phenomenon was widespread throughout the Land of Shadow, then it was indeed quite strange.
After thinking it over, Lucian nodded.
"Alright. I understand."
"Then regarding the cause of the crusade, the so-called betrayal by Queen Marika, have you found anything about that?"
Ansbach shook his head.
"The records within the Tower Settlement do mention Queen Marika's 'betrayal.'"
"But they never explain in detail what actually happened."
"What their relationship once was, what exactly constituted her betrayal, or her reasons for it… none of that is recorded."
"However…"
He paused to think before continuing.
"Among the information related to Queen Marika, there is a peculiar term; shamans."
"According to the records, it seems Queen Marika herself was once among them."
"The horned folk describe these shamans in a rather unusual way, they say shamans can allow people to be reborn as kind, virtuous individuals."
"My guess is that 'shaman' refers to a kind of role… perhaps similar to priests, responsible for rites performed upon the dead."
"It's possible that what the horned folk consider 'betrayal' is connected to Queen Marika's identity as a shaman."
"After all, based on the descriptions, that role appears to have been entirely in service to the horned folk."
"Unfortunately, the accounts are far too vague to draw any firm conclusions."
Ansbach lifted his gaze toward the distant cliffs.
"According to those same records, there may be shamans within certain gaols, places where prisoners are 'reborn' into better people."
"I recall the horned man in our group mentioning that there is such a gaol somewhere near the Tower Settlement."
"It lies close by, yet is not directly connected to it."
"There may well be shamans there."
"That place might hold the answers you're looking for… though I haven't yet pinpointed its exact location."
Hearing this, Lucian had already made up his mind to investigate the gaol himself.
If he could meet one of these so-called shamans, he might finally uncover some of the truth about the past.
That said, Ansbach's ability to gather so much information was impressive, he could easily be called a scholar.
It completely overturned Lucian's impression that everyone from the Mohgwyn Dynasty was insane.
It seemed that in the future, if he had questions, Ansbach would be worth consulting.
Lucian nodded.
"Understood. Thanks for the information."
Ansbach stroked his beard.
"Would you like me to search the Tower Settlement again for records of the gaol's location?"
"Now that the enemies are gone, it might be possible to uncover rarer information, things known only to higher-ranking members of the horned folk."
Lucian shook his head.
"No. I don't feel like waiting."
"It'll be faster to search for it directly."
"As for you, feel free to continue exploring if you wish."
"The main gate of the Tower Settlement has already been opened by Leda and the others. You can now head straight to the deeper areas without detouring."
Ansbach nodded and prepared to head back inside.
Truthfully, he had little else to occupy him.
The task of searching for the remains left behind by Miquella had been taken up by the native horned folk.
Gathering supplies for the group was handled by Moore.
And as for Leda… her actions dictated the direction of their group, so there was no need for him to take initiative there.
Even mapping the area wasn't currently necessary, they hadn't yet expanded their range of operations.
So, for the time being, he was completely free.
And he didn't mind that at all.
Since leaving the Mohgwyn Dynasty, he had felt an odd sense of emptiness.
For someone like him, old and no longer suited for battle, gathering information and conducting research was something he genuinely enjoyed.
After his previous exploration, he had grown deeply interested in the history of the horned folk.
Unfortunately, there was still far too little information. Everything remained shrouded in mystery.
Now that his companions had cleared the Tower Settlement, it was time for a second investigation.
—
Lucian rose into the sky, looking down over the Tower Settlement from above.
From this vantage point, he could clearly survey the surrounding terrain.
To the west of the settlement lay sheer cliffs, bottomless, with no sign of any structures. Clearly not where the gaol would be.
To the east, however, there was a mountain mass partially obscuring the land.
That mountain seemed to connect with the Tower Settlement.
Could the gaol be hidden within it?
If so, that would be the best place to start.
Lucian flew in that direction, putting the Divine Beast head back on as he summoned a powerful storm across the sky.
In an instant, the area around the Tower Settlement was engulfed in vast, surging natural force.
The wind became his senses, mapping the terrain in perfect detail within his mind.
Using the storm to scout, Lucian quickly surveyed the entire surrounding region.
Sure enough, to the east of the Tower Settlement, north of the Cerulean Coast, there was a concealed entrance.
It lay beneath a cliff, well hidden. The opening was narrow, exuding a cold, oppressive aura.
Lucian immediately made his way toward it.
Before the entrance lay a large lake.
Within it rested a sizable dragon.
Nearby, scattered along the shore, were numerous strange iron cages, resembling oversized birdcages, yet clearly large enough to hold people.
Lucian descended from the sky, landing before what appeared to be the gaol's entrance.
At his arrival, the dragon in the lake slowly rose to its feet.
At first, Lucian had intended to ignore it.
But upon getting a closer look, his interest was immediately piqued.
Because the dragon before him… was dead.
Its body was heavily decayed, rotted flesh hanging loosely, much of it exposing bare bone.
Maggots writhed across its skeletal frame, causing the remaining flesh to pulse and shift grotesquely.
This dragon…
was clearly one of Those Who Live in Death.