Soul Devourer Chapter 7 Episode 5 — The Floating Castle and A Caged Bird
After effortlessly clearing the S-Rank Dungeon, I teleported to the Base-type Divine Artifact I had obtained as a dungeon reward,《Laputa》, together with Samael and the others.
The scenery changed in an instant, and before me towered an enormous royal castle that radiated an overwhelming presence. Turning around, I saw that the ground ended roughly 100 meters behind us.
I walked to the edge and looked straight down.
The heart of Tokyo looked no bigger than a tiny black dot.
Despite being at such an incredible altitude, there were no violent winds threatening to blow me away, nor did I have any difficulty breathing.
As I stared at the edge of the platform, I noticed a transparent wall. When I reached out to touch it, I could clearly feel its surface. It prevented me from going any farther.
Returning to where I had arrived, I pushed open the tightly shut castle gates.
The moment I stepped inside, a fantastical garden filled with flowers of every color spread out before me.
“With this much space, Samael can move around freely.”
Following the stone-paved path, I opened the doors leading into the castle.
Cave-like corridors stretched endlessly to the left and right, while a grand marble staircase rose to the 2nd floor in the center.
A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the walls were adorned with portraits of figures who looked like great historical figures... or perhaps even gods.
“For now, let's have a look around. Samael, Tamuel, Nox, Carmilla, wait here.”
~squirm~wriggle~squirm~wriggle~
~clatter~clatter~clatter~clatter~
~~~~~
“Understood.”
Leaving them behind, I inspected the rooms one by one.
There was an office furnished only with a desk and bookshelves, a reception room lined with luxurious sofas, bedrooms equipped with king-size beds, and countless other rooms prepared for different purposes.
Despite the castle's old-fashioned exterior, its furnishings were thoroughly modern.
Desks, chairs, beds, bathtubs, toilets...
The contrast was honestly rather disorienting.
The castle was equipped with all the essentials for daily life, but there were no clothes or food supplies.
Those would have to be brought in myself.
There were an enormous number of rooms. It looked spacious enough to house dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of people.
As things stood now, it was far more space than I could ever use.
There was even a room resembling a control center.
From there, I could monitor every room inside the castle, as well as everything happening outside it, all in real time.
In addition, it was equipped with a castle-wide announcement system and a function that rendered the entire castle invisible by installing magic stones.
There was also a document explaining the specifications in detail.
Regarding the concealment function, it stated:
━━━━━━━━━━
Concealment Duration by Magic Stone Rank:
E-Rank → 1 hour
D-Rank → 12 hours
C-Rank → 1 day
B-Rank → 1 week
A-Rank → 1 month
S-Rank → 1 year
━━━━━━━━━━
I had A-Rank magic stones to spare.
Without hesitation, I placed one on the pedestal and activated the concealment function.
With that, no one outside would ever know of the existence of《Laputa》.
“Now that I finally have a secret base of my own, I should make it my main headquarters... Which means I need to think about what to do with Dad and Mom.”
For the sake of their safety, having them live here would undoubtedly be the best option.
Perhaps because it was a Divine Artifact, there were no issues whatsoever with running water, electricity, or internet access.
I could simply move everything from our current house here and keep the food stocked myself.
But I also understood that this was my own selfish desire.
Whether Dad and Mom would agree was another matter entirely.
If they wanted to go out for dinner with friends or go somewhere together, I, as the registered owner, would have to accompany them.
They could certainly live here...
But I didn't want to turn them into birds trapped inside a cage.
With the《Substitute Pendant》, their safety was already secured to a reasonable extent.
That was precisely why I should respect their wishes as much as possible.
If I became too overprotective, it would only become a source of stress for them.
After finishing my tour of the castle, I returned to the lobby where Samael and the others were waiting.
“Samael, you're too large to fit inside the rooms, so make the garden your territory. Tamuel and Nox, stay by my side at all times as my guards. Carmilla, you're free to choose whichever room you like.”
As soon as I said that, Carmilla stepped forward and spoke.
“…Master, please allow me to remain at your side as well.”
“...Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. I'd be happy to have you with me too, Carmilla.”
“Thank you very much.”
After finishing my inspection of《Laputa》, I teleported back to the Troll Dungeon and saw Samael and the others off.
From now on, Carmilla would accompany me as well.
She had already been strengthened to the equivalent of an A Rank monster, so fighting enemies one at a time would pose no problem.
Afterward, I returned home using【Void Magic】and greeted my parents.
“I'm home.”
While eating the dinner Mom had prepared, I told them about my dungeon expedition in Russia.
Answering their questions, the evening passed peacefully.
Of course...
I never mentioned the incident involving the〈Semi-Tsar〉.
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E/N:
Nick Fury be like, "Motherf**ker!" 🤣
Stay tuned!
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