The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth

Chapter 277: The Rothschild Family (2)

The Rothschilds, a family that once wielded great influence through the unique necromantic art of puppetry during the Magical Era, had long since vanished from history.

Not even the renowned necromancer Wel Bahar of the Assembly of Seven Elders had managed to replicate the puppetry of the Rothschilds. Most had assumed the art had been lost forever, yet here it was, still preserved a thousand years later.

“This is... like a labyrinth where you can’t find your way without knowing the solution to the riddle,” Anthem muttered, his voice filled with awe.

“That’s fortunate,” Karyl replied with a nod.

That must be why Kay became the guide for this relic. None of us could solve the riddle on the stele back then, but thanks to Anthem, it’s confirmed that this is indeed the site of the Rothschild family.

Anthem marked the walls as he slowly navigated through the labyrinth. Unlike before, when they had used brute force to open the door, they now took the safer, albeit slower, route. In terms of complexity, this labyrinth could very well rival the Minotaur’s lair, but Karyl had traversed even more treacherous mazes, such as those within Pharel.

However, he had only been here once, guided by Kay, so he had no knowledge of the mechanisms or traps that might lie in wait. This gave him time to gather his thoughts while allowing Anthem to familiarize himself with the intricate techniques of the Rothschilds.

If this place is indeed the Rothschilds’ stronghold and Kay was chosen as one of the Ten of the Oracle, then someone must have come to retrieve her before we arrived. That must have been when the golems were destroyed.

Karyl furrowed his brow slightly.

Yet despite that, Kay still came to the imperial capital. Was it truly for the divine command of the Oracle... or was there another reason?

He had heard her voice only a couple of times, so understanding her past was quite literally impossible. However, if she really had come to the capital for another reason... Various possibilities swirled in Karyl’s mind, most of them unfavorable.

Whether it was coercion or some other leverage, Karyl knew what Kay wanted from Olivurn: the resurrection of the Rothschild family. But now, Karyl was certain he held the most critical card before even meeting her.

And he was sure she was already watching them.

[Which one of you broke the Formation of Loire?]

A deep voice suddenly echoed through the labyrinth. Karyl wasn’t surprised—he immediately recognized that the voice was altered.

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you come out and ask us in person?” Karyl responded as though he had expected this.

[How... How could anyone solve that riddle?]

The voice was still deep, but there was an unmistakable tremor in it.

What’s this about? Karyl thought, not missing the subtle difference. There was a sense of unease, as if the speaker was genuinely curious about the solution because she hadn’t been able to solve it herself.

Could it be... that she’s trapped in this old relic, unable to get out because of the traps above?

Karyl glanced at the ceiling before replying, “It wasn’t difficult.”

Since the voice seemed to be coming from a specific point, Karyl was already scanning the walls for any hidden mechanisms.

“I just broke it.”

Since his statement wasn’t untrue, Anthem gave a wry smile and nodded in agreement.

[Then... does that mean I can get out of this place?]

Hmm.

From this, Karyl was certain—for some reason, she was trapped in this ancient labyrinth.

Narh Di Maug must have rescued her from here. If that’s why she follows him, then getting her on my side will be easier.

Karyl had outmaneuvered the Platinum Dragon, acting first to claim the prize.

“My partner and I can leave,” Karyl said, his gaze fixed on a small crystal embedded in the wall, “but you can’t.”

There it is. That’s how she’s been watching us, he thought.

Karyl was waving as if to greet her.

“Not without my permission, anyway. If you want to leave...”

He whispered something under his breath, and then, without hesitation, he drove his fist into the crystal.

CRACK!

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the labyrinth, reaching a dark room where she stared at the now-cracked, fading mirror, speechless.

He pinpointed the crystal’s location perfectly. Not only would it be impossible without being a high-level sorcerer, but even Sword Experts would need considerable force to even scratch it.

Yet, this person had done it, effortlessly combining two feats that should have been beyond reach. Someone with such capability had sought her out.

Could he be a dragon? But no, he wouldn’t know about that place...

Her trembling eyes were still locked on the darkened remnants of the magical mirror.

No, even a dragon wouldn’t know. This is a secret passed down through generations...

The last words he had spoken before shattering the crystal echoed in her mind.

“If you want to escape this labyrinth, come to the Settling Basin.”

She was the only one supposed to know about that secret location.

***

“My lord, my lord!” Anthem shouted urgently.

Karyl, who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, slowly turned his head.

“She’s really come, just like you said.”

“Ah, yes.”

The woman in the black robe seemed slightly bewildered as she watched Karyl stretch, as though he had been waiting for quite some time. He gave a light wave while Anthem whispered something in his ear.

“...You told me to come to the Settling Basin, so why are you here?”

She had waited there for a long time, but since the two had never arrived, she had eventually gone to the place where Karyl had shattered the crystal.

“Nice to meet you, Kay Rothschild.”

Hearing Karyl abruptly call her name, she flinched slightly under her black robe.

“And sorry about that. Actually, I don’t know the way there. I managed to break the labyrinth’s formation, but I have no idea which path leads where.”

“Wh-What?”

“I was waiting for you to find us.”

He flashed her a smile, and only then did Kay realize that Karyl had completely deceived her.

“What if I hadn’t come?”

“You would have.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Karyl said with a nod, prompting a glare from Kay.

“I thought you’d come if I mentioned the Settling Basin,” Karyl said with a chuckle. “I mean, that’s a secret of the Rothschild family, right?”

“Yes, so how do you know about it?”

“I just do, and I also know what’s inside it. I came to acquire the secret arts of the Rothschild family.”

Karyl’s confident demeanor made Kay look at him with more curiosity than discomfort, intrigued by his identity.

“Nain Darhon, the master of Antihum and leader of the Immortal Council, once said that 250 years ago, one of the two companions of Kaye Aesir used necromancy known as puppetry. Needless to say, your family is the only one across the continent that practices such magic.”

“What does that have to do with the Settling Basin?”

“Don’t try to fool me. You know what’s in there better than I do.”

Karyl frowned slightly and continued, “The masterpiece left by your ancestor, one of Kaye Aesir’s companions, is in that basin, right?”

Before, when Kay Rothschild escaped these ruins and returned to the imperial capital because of Narh Di Maug, she wasn’t alone. There was a special puppet with her, and it was thanks to that puppet that the name Kay Rothschild became known across the entire continent.

Some went so far as to hail the puppet as the eleventh chosen by the Oracle, a hero who had eradicated the Tarak and matched Karyl’s renown as the Sword Saint.

“Is that what you’ve come for?”

“Yes.”

Kay nodded in understanding.

“I see... So you’re just grave robbers.”

“...What?”

Anthem looked at her, his expression bewildered by her answer.

“Then, you must die.”

“...”

KABOOOOM―!!

The walls of the labyrinth crumbled, revealing two massive golems bursting forth from their hidden compartments.

“Get down!” Karyl’s voice cut through the chaos, his tone firm yet steady.

“Ugh!!”

As Karyl firmly pressed the back of Anthem’s head, a sharp blade glinted in the spot where he had just been standing.

Finally, they’ve come out.

The two golems were completely different from the ones they had encountered earlier.

“Hu... Human?”

Their skin was eerily lifelike, and their chests rose and fell as though they were really breathing. It was only natural that Anthem was shocked.

“No, those are puppets. It’s a unique technique of the Rothschild family.”

With that, Karyl launched himself at them.

“...!!”

He closed the distance between him and the puppet in an instant, grabbing its face and slamming it into the wall.

Crash―!!

With a dull thud, the puppet’s head was crushed into the wall.

“One down. It’s shockingly weak.”

Unlike the golems they had encountered earlier at the gate, this broken puppet had a sticky substance oozing out of its head, almost like brain matter.

“Ugh...”

Anthem couldn’t help gagging.

“...!!”

But what was even more surprising was how easily these puppets were destroyed compared to the difficult battle they had just fought.

“It’s clear. These puppets were made by you.”

Karyl stopped himself from destroying the other one and instead checked its face, which was concealed by a black cloak just like Kay’s, then spoke nonchalantly as though this was no longer worth the effort.

“The difference between the golems outside and the puppets you’ve made is like day and night. You knew that, which is why you never tried to leave.”

“...”

Kay’s eyes trembled as if her innermost thoughts had been exposed.

“As I said, the fact that we made it inside means we dealt with the golems at the gate. Did you really think these puppets could stop us?”

The reason Karyl checked the puppet's face was because the golems she had used in her past life were different from these.

Whether Narh Di Maug is connected to the Wooden Cloud or not, I now understand why she came to the capital.

He looked at Kay.

“It’s almost amusing. It seems even you couldn’t deal with the guards at the gate, so you were stuck here. I don’t know why the heir of the Rothschild family is in such a state... but with these puppets, it’ll take you a hundred years to get out.”

Karyl lifted the broken puppet and went on, “But if you help me, I’ll make sure you get out of here.”

Perhaps the Platinum Dragon had made this proposal to her in his previous life.

“Don’t you want to see the outside world? If you help me, I’ll show you the light.”

“Who says I want to leave? How could you know what I really want?”

Karyl laughed at her question. He already knew the answer because she had already revealed it to him before.

“The choice is yours. I’m going to the Settling Basin. If you help me, I’ll do more than just get you out of here. I’ll also give you a gift.”

Karyl gave a sly smile as he drew his sword.

“I’ll awaken the Rothschild puppet that sleeps in the Settling Basin. After all, I need it."

“You're crazy... Do you even know what that is...?”

Kay tried to argue, but Karyl cut her off before she could continue.

[Let me tell you an interesting story.]

Karyl recalled Kaye Aesir’s words when he obtained the dragon’s heart at Einheri.

[There are two more bastards like me, none of them remembered by history. Those guys were even weirder than I was. You know what that means. If you’re lucky, you might get them too. Just like you got my power now.]

Luck? No.

Karyl said firmly, “I know exactly what it is, so guide me. I brought the perfect soul to put into the puppet left by Kaye Aesir’s comrade and your ancestor.”

Rumble―

At that moment, the Freezing Talon trembled as if tensing up.