DOTM: Chapter 272/273

Chapter 272: Simple Game

"This is Beckford's trump card?"

Ethan could only smile without saying a word. This might be a serious problem for Brent and the others, but for Ethan's group, it was just a joke. None of them relied on magic stone technology to function—Ethan had invested his entire fortune in the Goddess of Dawn, and he didn't use any magic stone equipment himself.

Moreover, as his own strength increased, he gradually moved beyond the awkward stage of relying solely on items to use magic. Even if all the magic equipment he carried became unusable, he wasn't helpless. Not to mention, this strange sealing effect didn't impact his magic at all.

This made the situation rather interesting.

Perhaps in Beckford's plan, without the aid of magic stone equipment, these adventurers would fall into a tough predicament when facing the various monsters in the castle.

However, Ethan's group was an anomaly, allowing them to rampage through the castle without resistance. Even if a stronger monster occasionally appeared, a single magic projectile was enough to deal with it.

"This game seems kind of interesting."

"What a childish game."

Loki felt that wandering around looking for "companions" locked up in various places wasn't fun at all. Even though he could mow down the monsters like chopping vegetables and show off his strength in various ways, he still found it boring.

"I think it's pretty fun."

The happiest of all was the child, Laura. She saw this as a real-life action-adventure game. She even kept pestering Logan for different kinds of weapons to try them out one by one.

It was supposed to be a tough battle, yet somehow, it had turned into a game.

Since the monsters posed no real threat, the castle—no matter how large—couldn't stop this group from rescuing the "companions" hidden in every corner.

The team grew larger and larger, but after understanding the situation, no one was foolish enough to step forward and cause trouble for Ethan and the others.

Not only did the rescued adventurers stop making trouble, but even Brent and Brad stayed mostly silent, quietly watching Ethan and the others take the lead.

"How many people have been rescued?"

Laura had been counting silently because she was the most immersed in the game. She immediately gave an accurate number. "Seventy-one."

"Only seventy-one?"

Ethan felt like they had already searched almost the entire castle. Though the castle was large, a quick sweep through all the rooms shouldn't have taken that long.

"We've already checked all the rooms, haven't we? And we've only rescued a little over half the people. That means many are hidden in more secret places."

It wasn't surprising for a castle like this to have dungeons or secret rooms, but what was the point? Just to increase the difficulty?

"No, it's to make us stay in the castle longer."

Back in the main hall near the entrance, the area was relatively spacious, allowing everyone to gather. Ethan immediately had Selene examine everyone.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like something's not right."

Things definitely weren't that simple. Ethan believed Beckford still had something up his sleeve. He not only had Selene examine everyone but also personally checked their conditions.

"As expected, there's a problem."

Upon inspection, he discovered that a "seed" had been planted in the bodies of these "captives." The seed was extremely well hidden, buried deep inside their bodies, and didn't cause any immediate symptoms.

However, it contained a strong amount of death energy, enough to instantly turn someone into a powerful undead creature once activated.

This thing was troublesome, but only if it was triggered. Although Ethan didn't know the exact activation method—or whether Beckford could activate it remotely—as long as it remained dormant, dealing with it wasn't difficult.

He began removing these death seeds one by one. Even Selene, who wasn't especially skilled in Holy Light magic, had become much more proficient through repeated practice.

Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines as they watched Ethan extract energy masses radiating strong death auras from people's bodies one after another. Even if they didn't know exactly what it was, they could tell it wasn't anything good.

After removing the seed from the last person, Ethan finally let out a breath of relief. He also checked Brent and the others—and the results weren't encouraging.

"The situation isn't great."

Brent nodded. He had realized it too. Although Ethan hadn't extracted any energy masses from him just now, the faint wisps of black smoke that were drawn out didn't seem like anything positive either.

"In this castle… even the air we breathe might be filled with potent death energy. The longer we stay, the more it accumulates in our bodies. We just don't know what kind of method was used to keep us from noticing."

The seeds in those people hadn't been deliberately planted. They had formed from the slow accumulation of death energy from being in the castle too long.

"The most troublesome part is that even knowing this, we don't have a good way to prevent it."

Ethan himself didn't need to worry. Neither did Selene. In fact, this negative energy was beneficial to her.

Loki? This small amount of negative energy couldn't harm him—he was an Asgardian god. Logan and Laura weren't a concern either. Maybe they would have been in trouble before, but after coming into contact with Druidic teachings and learning some basic Druidic techniques, even without becoming full Druids, defending against this minor negative energy wasn't difficult.

The real problem lay with those outside of Ethan's group. Carrying around such a large group of people was like hauling a bunch of bombs that could go off at any time.

"They can't stay here any longer."

Brent had realized it too. Not only could those people not remain, but he and Brad also weren't suitable to stay any further.

"Even though splitting up is a bad idea, we have no choice but to separate now."

"But if we leave with this group, there are still almost half of the people who haven't been rescued. What about them?"

Ethan shook his head. "I'm not telling you to leave completely. You take this group out of the castle first and wait outside to meet up with the others we rescue later."

For now, this was the most suitable option. But Ethan had no idea how long it would take to find the remaining people. It didn't seem like it would be a simple task.

"Actually, it's not that hard."

"How are you going to do it?"

"I'm going to tear this castle down, floor by floor."

No matter how secretly Beckford hid people or how many traps he laid, Ethan would no longer follow the game's design. Before, when he hadn't figured out Beckford's plan, he had gone along with it. But now that he knew time couldn't be wasted, he no longer had the patience to play by Beckford's rules and opted for his usual solution.

His signature violent problem-solving method.

Starting from the top floor, tearing down room by room. No matter how secretive the trap or hiding place, if he just blew open the walls, what was there to hide?

He blasted a wall open with a magic cannon shot, allowing Brent and the others to exit the castle. Then Ethan began this unreasonable "cheat-code-style" gameplay. The remaining people were quickly found by Ethan.

Each person found was inspected to ensure they wouldn't turn into undead creatures due to prolonged imprisonment.

"You're playing like you've activated god mode."

Laura was clearly unimpressed with Ethan's "playstyle." It lacked any sense of technique. But Ethan didn't see anything wrong with it. If a problem could be solved simply, then solving it simply was best. Why make it complicated?

Besides, it was their enemy who had set the rules. Making the enemy unhappy was always the right move.

It didn't take long for Ethan to dismantle the castle bit by bit. The newly rescued people also left the castle directly and joined up with Brent outside.

Before long, it hardly mattered whether anyone was inside or not. The entire castle had been reduced to ruins. From a distance, anyone could see what Ethan was doing.

Brent counted the people and found that only one person was still missing, someone he was quite familiar with: Captain Bruno, who had joined the expedition from the very beginning.

"The Magic Heart still hasn't been found."

If he wasn't above ground, he must be below—assuming Beckford hadn't lied. More importantly, even after the entire castle was demolished, the suppression of magic stone equipment remained. That meant whatever technology or equipment was causing it had to be underground.

"How are you going to find it?"

Ethan looked at Loki, and the Asgardian prince immediately understood what he meant.

"I just barely recovered. Can't you think of another way?"

"Just use the scepter. You don't need to draw on the Casket of Ancient Winters. That should be no problem for you."

"I was just making an excuse. I simply don't want to help."

Though he said that, Loki still took out the scepter in his hand. But just as he was about to launch an attack, the last missing person, Captain Bruno, suddenly appeared on his own.

"Captain Bruno?"

Ethan didn't approach but remained on high alert. The man's appearance was strange, and the combat suit he wore was clearly the type only found in the Sea of Miracles.

After Bruno spoke, Ethan immediately realized that the person before him wasn't the companion they were looking to rescue.

"I didn't expect you to be so strong, even destroying Lord Beckford's Death Castle. Truly, it's hard to believe."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 273: Illusion and Backstab

Bruno looked Ethan up and down, seemingly trying to find something special about him. But no matter how he looked, Ethan appeared to be just an ordinary young man, no different from countless other young adventurers.

If there was a difference... it was that this young man didn't have any magic stone equipment. That was truly unbelievable. How had he accomplished so much without any magic stone gear?

"Is it because of that staff?"

He suspected that the staff in Ethan's hand was a very special piece of magic stone equipment, one so powerful that even Lord Beckford's Death Castle couldn't suppress it. That might explain why this young man was able to do such astonishing things.

"If…"

Just as Bruno was about to speak, a figure suddenly appeared behind him, wrapping an arm tightly around his neck. A blade of energy radiating a sacred aura pierced through from Bruno's front.

"You…"

Struck in a vital spot, Bruno felt all his strength drain away. He didn't even have the energy to speak. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out before he collapsed to the ground.

After Bruno fell, everyone clearly saw that the one who had dealt the fatal blow was Ethan.

Logan turned his head to look at where Ethan had been standing earlier. He saw another Ethan still standing there, but it was slowly dissipating—clearly, it had been an illusion created by Ethan.

"No wonder Loki is so fond of this move. Sometimes, it really is useful."

The moment Bruno appeared, Ethan had silently cast an illusion, leaving an image of himself in place while quietly moving behind Bruno. Just as the man was about to speak, Ethan cleanly and decisively delivered a backstab.

Logan had been on his ship for a long time, and Ethan had learned many practical techniques from this experienced warrior, including how to strike from behind for an instant kill. He had especially practiced targeting the kidneys.

As for what Bruno wanted to say? Ethan couldn't be bothered to listen. The situation was already clear. This guy was obviously a spy planted by Beckford. Now that all of Beckford's other plans had failed, this "loyal" subordinate had finally stepped forward to confront Ethan and the others.

Ethan didn't know whether he intended to fight them or had some other objective, but since he was confirmed to be an enemy, it was best to strike first.

"Too bad about my Battle Cross."

The Battle Cross in his hand was hissing with black smoke. After backstabbing Bruno, Ethan discovered that the negative energy within the man was astonishingly intense. The energy blade of the Battle Cross had been corroded, and even the weapon's core structure had been affected.

He tried using Holy Light to dispel or purify the corruption, but too much Holy Light had already been consumed from the earlier sea blessing. The remaining Holy Light energy wasn't enough to cleanse the dark energy invading the weapon's interior.

It wasn't that there were no methods to "save" the weapon, but doing so would take too much time and effort. Besides, the Battle Cross was gradually falling behind Ethan's current needs. So he let it be eroded and destroyed. There was no dramatic transformation into a corrupted weapon or anything like that. The overwhelming negative energy simply destroyed the weapon's inner structure. On the surface, it still looked intact, but in reality, it was now just a hunk of metal, devoid of any special properties.

"This guy is a bit strange."

Ethan tossed the ruined weapon aside and looked down at Bruno's corpse. It was still radiating terrifying energy. Compared to before, when the energy had been hidden and difficult to detect, now even those with the weakest perception could feel how dreadful it was.

"Still playing tricks even after death?"

Ethan observed for a moment and quickly understood what was happening. Although the body was dead, the massive amount of death energy inside was protecting the soul and beginning to transform Bruno into an undead. Realizing this, Ethan immediately extracted his soul.

In the past, Ethan didn't have the ability to casually extract souls. When he had divided and extracted Professor Charles's psychic body, it had only been possible with the professor's full cooperation and several preparatory steps.

Even now, he couldn't just extract a soul from a living body. But in Bruno's case, the body was already dead, and his soul was being forcibly held within by special energy. That made it easy for Ethan to handle.

As Ethan raised his hands, a chain of pale white light appeared. Bruno's soul, saturated with death energy and already in the process of transformation, was drawn out of his body and into Ethan's grasp.

It looked like Ethan was grabbing Bruno by the neck and lifting him, but this Bruno was a translucent soul with no physical weight.

Souls were fragile—Ethan had long known that.

Moreover, once separated from the body, it seemed that certain mental barriers vanished. In soul form, many beings found it difficult to conceal their thoughts, and secrets were often exposed.

Back then, Wilson hadn't been able to hold his tongue in soul form and had blurted out Beckford's name, revealing a more powerful mastermind behind the scenes.

Now that Ethan had captured another one, it would be a waste not to interrogate him properly. He still had the Holy Light Cross in hand, which was highly effective against evil souls.

And Selene could use this soul to practice Mind Flay, a spell that directly affected soul bodies.

It didn't take much effort to get Bruno to spill everything.

First, Beckford wasn't on the island at all. After setting things up in the northern route, the mastermind had already moved on to another region to carry out similar preparations.

Second, the Magic Heart was actually within Bruno's body. That explained the massive amount of negative energy radiating from his corpse.

As Ethan had previously speculated, the island's purpose was to trap adventurers in this sea region and gradually transform everyone in both this area and the Sea of Calm into undead creatures.

As for the ultimate goal, Bruno didn't know. He himself had been an adventurer in the Sea of Calm. During a voyage, he encountered Beckford, who had recently returned. After being easily defeated, Bruno had surrendered without hesitation.

Beckford had already settled on his plan by then, but he was wary of unforeseen developments, so he didn't turn Bruno into an undead right away. Instead, he had him return to the central island to gather intelligence so Beckford could be better prepared.

That was why Bruno had agreed so readily to join Brent's team. He was there specifically to gather information up close.

"Why surrender?"

Everything that needed to be said had been said, and as the situation was now under control, Brent and the others arrived and heard the entire "confession." At this point, Brent understood everything. But he still wanted to know—why had Bruno chosen to surrender?

"Why?"

In soul form, Bruno couldn't control his thoughts very well. He blurted out whatever was on his mind, and after being tortured by Ethan, his spirit had become unstable.

"You think I wanted to die like that? Even if I become an undead, at least I can keep 'living'."

"That's what you call living?"

"Why not?" Bruno's expression grew more twisted, and now he looked no different from a malicious spirit. "I can think. I can move freely. I'll become even stronger!"

Bruno, now fully deranged, seemed to forget that he was still in Ethan's grasp. He suddenly went berserk and tried to lunge at Brent, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free from Ethan's hand.

Seeing that he was completely insane, and having already learned everything he needed, Ethan's hand flared with a golden-yellow light even brighter than before. Holy Light surged into Bruno's soul, purifying this maddened evil spirit, now tainted by vast amounts of death energy.

With the soul destroyed, Ethan casually destroyed the body as well. From Bruno's confession, he had already learned that the island's Magic Heart had fused with the man's body and could no longer be separated.

Bruno had been tasked with guarding the Magic Heart. If things went badly, he was supposed to merge with the heart and gain powerful strength to deal with the problem. But once the merging began, he would never be able to leave the island again.

However, just as the merging process started, Ethan's backstab had killed him. The power hadn't even fully awakened before it was lost.

"So, we just need to destroy his body, and then we can leave the island, right?"

"Yes."

This island was formed and sustained by the energy from the Magic Heart. As long as the Magic Heart was destroyed, the island would immediately collapse.

"We have to move quickly, or we'll end up sinking with it."

Ethan released the remaining Holy Light from the Holy Light Cross, transforming it into a golden-yellow flame filled with sacred energy that ignited Bruno's corpse.

As the flames burned, the Magic Heart fused with the body began to suffer damage. The island also started to show signs of collapse.

The dark clouds that had loomed over the sea gradually dispersed, and the negative energy saturating the island began to fade.

Just as everyone made their way toward the beach, they looked back and could no longer see any trace of the castle. The ground beneath them began to shake, and the tremors grew stronger with each passing moment.

"The island is collapsing."

(To be continued.)