Chapter 2066: Aunt Marble

After everyone finally found Marble, they immediately began teasing Blank about her.

"Hahaha! I had no idea you were an auntie’s boy," Sailor laughed loudly, clearly thinking that Blank was something like a favorite of his aunt. The remark promptly made the White Ghost Noble glare at him with pure intent to slice him into pieces.

"It’s a surprise. I thought White Ghosts were quite cold with one another," Mark added while rubbing his chin, pretending to carefully analyze the situation even though he was also deliberately trying to mess with Blank and make him even more irritated.

However, it became clear that Blank was both furious and shocked when he heard the same kind of comment from Elayne as well. "Me too..." Elayne said with genuine surprise before she smiled and let out a light chuckle. "I’m glad you’ve got such a nice auntie, Blank! And she’s also so pretty!"

"Ugh..." Blank groaned and clicked his tongue in frustration. "Thank you, but no, I am not my Auntie’s boy or whatever nonsense you’re making up in your rotten heads, you two! But thank you, Elayne." He remained gentle with her while still being furious with the other two men.

"Aw, now, you can’t say that to this old lady!" Marble laughed heartily. "You’re all quite the adorable little test subjects— I mean, strong undead. We escaped the chaos when Jester first arrived, saying that a certain "Elayne" was coming to this city. It was... well, very tragic. We’ve been holed up in here for weeks now, waiting for something to change, for him to finally leave... but it seemed the city only grew worse over time... I was only able to salvage the children and a couple of other people. Some Undead that already lived in this dungeon and built this underground village allowed us to stay here for the time being..."

"I see," Elayne nodded with understanding. "Well, yeah, a lot happened... the people above... we couldn’t really find any other survivors."

"Hm..." Marble sighed, her eyes filled with deep sorrow. "Everything we built over centuries is completely gone, huh?"

"..." Blank cleaned himself off and then glared back at her with a serious expression. "I have a question for you, Aunt Marble. There were Hollows — your own creations — roaming all of that city, killing the people and eating them... Jester controlled them, but I could tell clearly that they were all your creations, weren’t they?"

"..."

Marble fell silent. Her eyes grew sharper for a moment before she let out a soft, resigned sigh and finally nodded.

"That’s right," she admitted. "I have been experimenting for a long time on a new type of soldier meant to fight against the Demon King of Death. A powerful new type of synthetic Undead infused with ghostly souls. Through the darkness they produce, they create a powerful Hollow with a physical vessel — an ultimate lifeform. But someone leaked my experiments to the Demon King’s army, and Jester must have arrived not only for Elayne but for me as well."

"..." Elayne sighed heavily. "I see. Still, although you were planning to use them to fight back... it’s wrong to use these innocent souls in such a way!"

"Hmph..." Marble opened her mouth as if she was about to defend herself, but then she held back, realizing she truly had no right to argue. "You’re right... I did... wrong... I was taken over by my own desire for experimenting and finding the perfect being... It became an obsession... an unhealthy one."

"Haaa..." Blank shook his head slowly. "Well, the past is the past. There’s little we can do about it right now other than move forward. However, with the Demon King’s Army now knowing what happened here, they will likely return... and most likely find you."

"!!!"

Not only Marble but the rest of the White Ghosts and Undead present panicked at those words.

"T-Then what do we do?"

"Where can we possibly go?"

"The Wastelands are far too dangerous..."

"We cannot move fast enough to avoid them if they come looking!"

Elayne, at that moment, fully realized what Blank had been implying. "I am the leader of a rebel army of Undead... and a few Noble Races as well." She extended her hand toward them with quiet confidence. "I am the one who defeated Jester. And I have a safe place for you to stay — a Domain where you can live peacefully and comfortably, far away from danger. We’re moving right now. Our goal is to leave the Labyrinth Region entirely and find new pastures, away from the Army’s territory."

The White Ghosts and Undead present looked at one another with clear surprise and began speaking among themselves. Marble stayed completely still, silently analyzing Elayne and every word she had spoken.

In the end she held the final say in the matter, and everyone awaited her response with tense silence.

"I see..." Marble sighed at last. "Unfortunately, I cannot let you do that so easily."

"Eh? Why?!" Elayne asked in sudden panic.

"We just met, girl," Marble sighed again. "And even after everything you’ve shown us, I still cannot fully believe you yet... However... if you can best me in combat, I will allow it."

"C-Combat?! Is this really necessary?!" Elayne asked, still panicking.

"Are you afraid?" Marble sneered. "If there’s one thing we White Ghosts truly enjoy, it is fighting. If you’re a so-called "Leader of a Rebellion," then show it to me with your actions and your strength! Because no true leader can afford to be a weakling."

Elayne sighed in resignation and then nodded firmly. "Fine. But where would we even fight?"

Marble sneered wider, showing her sharp shark-like teeth. "There’s an Underground Spectral Furnace that the Undead discovered long ago. An Ancient Divine Spirit lives there. Due to her endless boredom, she built a gigantic colosseum where monsters, undead, and noble races fight for renown and valuable rewards. There’s even a larger village underground built around the colosseum where she reigns as its queen."

"Divine Spirit?!" Elayne gasped in surprise. At that moment Ignis appeared by her side.

"T-That must be her! It has to be!" he said in pure shock.

"Oh?" Marble raised an eyebrow with interest. "Do you know her Majesty, Queen Spectria?"

"Of course I know her!" Ignis roared proudly. "She’s my elder sister!"

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