Cabel was stunned at what he just saw. After he walked further in and passed the stone walls and the lit torches that were nailed in the walls, what awaits him was a spacious room and an altar at the end of the room.

The altar that was in front of him has slashes and scratches that seem to come from battles that happened there.

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"What happened here?"

Cabel felt his mouth dry and his heartbeat faster. Every corner of the room has slashes that seem to come from magic and scratches that seem to have been made by some monsters.

Of course, Cabel doesn't have any clues as to what this proof is and how it happened, as it only symbolizes how the battles have undergone in this place. And only the mark on the walls are what gives him the idea of how extreme it must have been that it leaves traces in every corner of the room..

The questions that swirled in Cabel's head are…

"Where are the remains of the past that Chrisfold and Alisha just told me?"

Though Chrisfold and Alisha never tod him about it, Cabel has thought that with Emsworth's many vicious enemies there will be idiots that will try to covet the Duchess power that resides in her sealed soul, he was sure that there will be stupid people that will attempt to get it from Carsillion.

It can be either the people that helped Carsillion during his betrayal in the Duke's family or the people that have learned from it when they dig the things that happened in the past.

Though it means that the opponents are more dangerous than they thought as they have this kind of information that even his guild didn't know. That means that whoever challenges the "Test" that the Duchess soul made means that they have a vast network that exceeds his shadow knights.

"I really need to interrogate those two."

"I wonder how the test will trigger? I need to wrap this up and head to Evelyn."

As of now, Cabel is inside the chamber where Chrisfold and Alisha have said to be where the late Duchess's soul resides now.

Cabel's guard is up. He needed to make it before the sun came up. It was the fifth day that Evelyn has been in the enemies quarters.

He only knew from Chrisfold and Alisha, Evelyn's contracted spirits that she seems to be fine.

Although Chrisfold and Alisha didn't say a thing about what they learned through Cathy that Prince Adley seems to have a disgusting plan of making Evelyn his bride.

They decided to keep Cabel in the dark for now. Chrisfold and Alisha know how Cabel reacts when it comes to Evelyn.

He tends to lose his mind and rationale when something happens that concerns Evelyn's well being.

Alisha and Chrisfold have seen Cabel struggles for the past four years that Evelyn suddenly vanished in the St. Prisch Academy.

That itself was a proof for them to hide it from him. They need Cabel to focus on the task at hand. They needed to get the soul of the Duchess that has been sealed and has been used as a substitute for St. Prisch Academy's reserve energy.

"Carsillion , really did something that deserves a painful death."

That's right… Cabel knew that Evelyn didn't give Carsillion an opportunity to atone for his sin. There are some things that a scum in the world can't attain in life and Evelyn decided not to forgive him and do the same thing that Carsillion did to her mother.

"That's why she killed him without mercy…"

Cabel knew that Evelyn changed… she changed to being someone that knew to fulfill her promise and take the things that have been stolen from her and discard the people that have already abandoned her.

And he understands that Evelyn could only survive in an environment that made her the villain if she became a villain herself.

Cabel smiles as he thinks about how Evelyn does things now.

Looking at the altar in front of him, Cabel mumbles to himself.

"She's cunning now and knows how to move her pawns… she definitely changed."

Thinking about Evelyn made Cabel's decision more determined than ever.

"Because she made me one of her chest pieces, as her knight, I need to fulfill my duty to promote myself and become her king."

He smirks and his red eyes glow differently as he glares at the center of the podium where a figure stands there covered with a black fabric.

Cabel decided not to wait anymore and approached the altar. Every step he makes, he can feel the ground vibrate.

He became vigilant ever since he stepped foot to this chamber. He started to scan the area with his heightened senses, there was nothing out of ordinary except for the one in front of him.

It was an altar placed at the end of the room where each corner has a pedestal with gargoyle that seems to stand as a guardian and the torches that stand and circles the whole room. It has quite a height as it has sixteen steps.

"Tsk!"

Cabel clicked his tongue, he got this eerie feeling each time that his steps lead him closer to the altar.

After a while he reached his destination and is now standing in front of the covered figure that only reached his abdomen.

Whoosh…

What he saw underneath the covers was a simple circular basin that was placed at a pedestal. There was no water in it. He placed his hand on the edges of the basin and was irked that he thought there was something special that needs to be covered by a cloth.

"What the hell is this even for? Where's the test? I don't have time for this..."

Then Cabel heard a sound from the back and turned his head around, his sudden movement made a graze on his thumb.

He flinched at the sudden pain that he felt.

"What the heck?"

He was dumbfounded, the corner of the basin where his thumb was placed before had a sharp edge and when he looked at his thumb, he thought that it was just a simple graze but there was blood dripping from it.

"Tsk....!"

The cut was quite deeper than he thought and he immediately treated it by cutting a small piece of his right sleeve and bandaging it to the wound.

He didn't notice that his blood stenched the corner of the basin and dripped inside. Because Cabel is busy mending his wound he didn't see that his blood magically vanished from the basin.

It was like it drank his blood and evaporated every last drop that was left.

Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud!

Cabel immediately held his sword as he heard a loud sound that vibrates the whole place. The rubles that came from the ceiling drop one by one as the shaking of the ground intensifies.

Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud!

It was like an earthquake inside the chamber and all the torches that were standing and surrounded the whole room fire up.

The color was different to the ones that were nailed in the walls of the room, it was the color of the sky whereas the ones in the wall are red.

After that the shaking stopped.

And now that he was standing at the stage of the altar and was quite in a height, he could see what was below and thought that the placement of the torches seemed quite odd.

"It looks like it was making an enchanted spell…"

Before he can finish his sentence, the blue flames flare up and intensify and move down and into the floor!

"What the-?!"

Cabel is flabbergasted, the blue fire looks like it was making a large enchanted circle that occupied the whole space of the room and was writing the spells using its flame.

Cabel could only watch what was happening as he held the hilt of his sword with more gripping strength.

His skin can feel a big wave of mana. Cabel can feel the hair at his nape stands and his sweat drips at the corner of his face.

Then suddenly, his eyes reflected what was happening in front of him. The blue flames formed a huge snake… No! It formed something that was said to only be in the legends.

"A… dragon made of… fire?"

The blue flames began to form in the shape of a water dragon, it was ironic because it was made of fire but he resembles the water dragons that have depicted in the myths and legends.

Its whole body occupied the whole room that was enough to fit a thousands of people. Its body was rolled like a snake and only his upper body and the head was standing.

Cabel gulped down… the wave of mana that he was feeling right now was enough for him to know that what he was not seeing things.

'Don't tell me this is what they're talking about, that every test is different? But why does it have to be a dragon with an affinity that opposed mine?' Cabel thought.

"Shit!"

He could only curse! His affinity was ice. It was enough to tell that this "Test" will become a battle that isn't good for him.

A fire and ice? There was a clear line that they don't match at all. Cabel now knew how it would be hard for him to face this magic monster.

"Grooowl!!!"

The magic monster let out a scream towards Cabel as it noticed him standing there in the altar.

"Groooowl!!!"

Cabel pointed his sword towards the magic monster.

"Fine… I'll take this challenge. I'm ready so I'll beat you and get the Duchess soul back!"