Shane and Frieren finally brought an end to the bloody God of War, Rivale.
This bloodthirsty demon who had slaughtered countless lives had, at last, received the punishnt he deserved.
Unwilling to accept his fate, he reached out, trying to grab the fallen battle axe on the ground—but his arm quickly dissolved into particles of magic and vanished. Every struggle proved futile.
In the end, he disappeared completely, filled with boundless resentnt.
Shane let out a long breath of relief. Staggering a few steps, he collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
He didn't even have the ti to mourn the broken longsword in his hand—he was simply grateful to have survived another day.
At that mont—
The entire Blackrock Mountain began to tremble. A deafening rumble rose from beneath their feet.
Then, the earth split apart.
The rock beneath them shook violently as a massive chasm tore through the ground, appearing out of nowhere. Countless stones tumbled down from the fractured cliffs.
The thunderous noise was overwhelming.
Blackrock Mountain was split in two.
A dark mist seeped out from the fissure, carrying the damp and rusty scent unique to the depths below.
After a while, the tremors gradually subsided. What they saw next made Shane's pupils contract—
At the bottom of the abyss stood a massive arched entrance.
Above the arch, a line of twisted text was inscribed—the sa script as the one in the Dwarven Spring Amusents.
Shane imdiately recognized it—
[Ironforge]
This was the lost royal capital ntioned in the dwarven code—the ruins of the dwarves' most glorious civilization.
Shane and Frieren exchanged a glance, both of them feeling complicated emotions. The crack that opened the entrance extended from the very spot where Rivale had died.
In other words, the key to unlocking this ruin… was the death of a demon?
The dwarves were really quite vengeful.
Frieren channeled mana into the gem atop her staff, casting a soft light that illuminated the path below. One after the other, they stepped into the mysterious underground city.
As soon as they passed through the archway, two rows of broken dwarven stone statues appeared on either side of the entrance.
The statues stood atop tall pillars, clad in armor and holding battle axes. Though covered in cracks and worn smooth by ti, their forr majesty was still evident.
From the axes hung strange crystals suspended by chains. Due to the passage of ti, the crystals had lost their magical power and now lay dull and lifeless.
Shane and Frieren walked between the towering statues.
They couldn't help but feel small.
"No matter what kind of novels or stories you look at, dwarven ruins are always massive, deep, and awe-inspiring," Shane couldn't help but remark.
Frieren didn't quite understand and gave him a puzzled look. "Dwarves worship strength. Their architectural style is rough by design—it's ant to showcase their reverence for raw power."
Shane smiled but didn't reply.
That wasn't really what he ant. He just wanted to complain that all dwarves seed obsessed with making everything big.
After passing through a long corridor, they arrived at a staircase hundreds of steps high. At the top stood a massive door engraved with a goblet.
[Celebration Hall]
The hall was so vast that its boundaries couldn't be seen. The ceiling soared high above, and the walls on both sides were covered with enormous murals.
Though their colors had faded with ti, the scenes were still clearly visible—so depicted dwarves forging divine weapons beside blazing furnaces; others showed massive steel machines; and many portrayed dwarves gathered together, raising their cups in celebration.
The murals flowed together seamlessly, vivid and lively. Shane could almost imagine how lively this hall must have once been.
At the center of the hall stood a broken chanical construct. It was several ters tall, made of thick steel. What was once a smooth tallic surface was now covered in moss and rust.
Shane had no idea what it was used for, but considering it was placed in the Celebration Hall, it was probably either for service… or for dancing.
He stepped forward and gently touched the construct. A cold tallic sensation spread through his hand, accompanied by fine dust falling away—an imdiate reminder of the passage of ti.
anwhile, Frieren stopped in front of a mural, her gaze fixed on a massive chanical design depicted on it. A hint of curiosity flashed in her eyes.
"This machine looks familiar…"
Huh?
Shane walked over and took a closer look.
!!!
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The mural depicted what looked like a chanical version of a "Goddess"—sothing eerily similar to a steel-clad divine figure.
Thousands of years ago, had dwarven technology already advanced this far?
Magic plus technology?
No wonder the Demon King had slaughtered the dwarves. If left unchecked, humanity could have overwheld everything with a tide of steel—what place would demons even have left?
Still—
"Familiar? Where have you seen it before?"
Frieren frowned, thinking hard.
"It feels like… like… the Demon King's castle."
The mont she said those words—
Before Shane could respond, a harsh clattering sound suddenly echoed behind them.
Frieren imdiately summoned her staff, alert. Shane also raised his broken sword defensively.
The steel construct that had been standing silently in the center of the hall suddenly "ca to life." Its joints creaked as it moved stiffly, extending a long chain-like arm from its right side.
At the sa ti, a magnetic male voice echoed from its head:
"Welco, my dear guest. Would you like to play rock-paper-scissors?"
After saying that, the construct stopped moving, maintaining a polite posture with one arm extended, waiting for their response.
The sudden situation left both of them stunned. After confirming that the construct showed no signs of aggression, they relaxed slightly.
"A machine from thousands of years ago still functioning… dwarven technology really is impressive."
"It was probably triggered by our voices. Perhaps the dwarven sages designed a sound-detection magic array for it," Frieren speculated.
Shane nodded.
After looking around and confirming there was nothing particularly valuable, they prepared to leave the Celebration Hall and head onward.
Clang!
The dwarven stone statues that had been standing atop the pillars suddenly moved. The battle axes on both sides swung down and crossed together, blocking the exit.
Fortunately, Shane reacted quickly and stepped back in ti—otherwise, he would've been crushed flat.
Behind them, the construct's voice sounded once more:
"Welco, my dear guest. Would you like to play rock-paper-scissors?"
Damn it.
So this was a trial dungeon.
No clearing it, no leaving?
"It seems we have to play with the construct."
Frieren smiled, putting away her staff and stepping forward confidently. She rolled up her sleeves. "Then let handle it. I'm a master at this."
The construct seed delighted and imdiately let out a cheerful, magnetic laugh.
Then Shane witnessed a completely absurd scene—
An elf girl and a chanical construct playing rock-paper-scissors at lightning speed…
Five seconds later—
The elf girl: 0 wins, 20 losses.
Construct: "It seems you'll need to stay and practice a bit longer."
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