Chapter 160: Dvergr Andvari (3)

Long ago, there lived a nobleman with a thick blue beard.

The villagers feared him, calling him “Bluebeard.”

His eccentric and cruel temperament played a part, but the main reason was that every woman who married him vanished without a trace.

‘My wives couldn’t endure my personality and ran away.’

Bluebeard always offered the same excuse.

Time passed, and Bluebeard took the youngest daughter of a ruined noble family as his new wife.

After the wedding, Bluebeard announced he had somewhere to go and left the house empty.

He told her she could use the mansion freely, but gave her one strict warning.

‘Never enter the small room at the end of the corridor.’

Left alone, the woman began exploring every corner of the mansion.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, she opened the door to the small room Bluebeard had forbidden.

The moment she looked inside, she collapsed on the spot.

The small room at the end of the corridor.

Inside, the corpses of all his missing wives were on display.

—Charles Perrault, “Bluebeard”—

***

The underground prison of the Dvergr family.

The glow from dozens of golden statues devoured the thick darkness.

Silence so heavy even breathing felt subdued.

At the center of that silence, two men stared at each other.

Andvari and Orth.

One who chased light, and one who hid in shadow.

The two men who understood each other better than anyone else remained silent for a long time.

Finally, Andvari spoke.

“Orth, do you remember? The moment we first met. I was pulling a shabby carriage, and you were wandering the back alleys in rags.”

“You and I had so much in common. Even though we were persecuted for being men, we never bent our will. We both had ambitions that couldn’t be broken.”

A faint smile appeared on Andvari’s lips.

“We used to fish together a lot back then. Do you remember the scenery by that river?”

“We caught a lot of big pikes, didn’t we?”

“Yes, that’s right. Back then, that alone was enough to make us happy.”

Silence settled over the basement once more.

Then Orth spoke.

“So many things have changed, Andvari-nim.”

“Nothing in this world stays the same.”

“Andvari-nim. You have changed things that should never have been changed.”

Orth drew the sword at his waist.

“If you have degenerated into a greedy monster, I will fulfill the oath you once made me swear…… I will correct you now.”

“What a…… regrettable answer.”

Then.

Clang—!

A sharp metallic ring shattered the silence.

Two blades clashed at the center of the prison.

Screeech— screeech—!

The thick greatsword and the sharp longsword grated against each other.

Andvari let out a sigh.

“Orth, my friend. Do I still look like the peddler who only knew how to count on an abacus?”

Ten years.

A long stretch of time that could move mountains.

During those years, Andvari had risen to the position of knight commander in the Lavianglily Kingdom.

He had become the strongest knight to inherit the Seven Ghosts Strike secret art.

Clang!

Orth’s blade shattered mercilessly.

At the same time.

Thud—!

Orth was subdued in an instant.

Andvari looked down at him and continued.

“Orth, my old friend. Our origins and statuses were different…… but I have always treated you like my own younger brother.”

“I-I have served you as a father figure, Andvari-nim.”

“Yes, how could I not know? Every single thing you have done for me.”

“Orth, weren’t you the one who understood me better than anyone? Didn’t we swear together to drive out the things that darkened this kingdom?”

“The one darkening this kingdom…… is you, Andvari-nim.”

Andvari’s expression twisted violently.

“No! I am the one who will revive this family! And in time, I will be praised as the hero who elevates Lavianglily to the hegemonic power of the Lockpia Continent!”

“You are nothing but a puppet swallowed by that cursed ring.”

“Shut up!”

Orth was bound hand and foot and thrown into the iron cell.

The door of the underground prison began to close.

Creeeeeak—

Beyond it, Andvari’s mutter could be heard.

“This ring…… this power is a blessing that will open a brilliant future. Those fools who cannot recognize it…… have no value in standing beside me.”

Orth whispered softly.

“The cursed one was never the ring. Andvari…… you yourself were the curse……”

But.

Boom!

The heavy iron door slammed shut, swallowing Orth’s final words.

Boom!

A violent roar slammed into his eardrums.

Andvari opened his eyes from a headache that felt like it was crushing his skull.

“Ugh…… ugh. Where the hell am I……?”

Andvari stood on ground surrounded by lava on all sides.

Acrid fog stung his eyeballs, and the smell of rotten eggs pierced his nose.

Bubble bubble bubble bubble—

On closer look, it wasn’t lava.

Melted gold was boiling and foaming.

At that moment.

[……Andvari.]

A grotesque voice came from behind him.

A voice that belonged to neither human nor beast.

Andvari turned toward the owner of the voice.

At the same time, he flinched without realizing it.

A creature with an owl’s head, a wolf’s upper body, and a snake’s tail.

A giant monster was staring at him.

Andvari immediately recognized what it was.

The ominous aura rising from its entire body.

“Demon.”

And not just any demon—it was clearly a high-ranking one.

Andvari drew his greatsword.

“You picked the wrong person to bewitch. Hunting your kind is exactly what I—”

The demon’s voice rang out again.

[I never gave you permission to speak.]

“!?”

Andvari panicked and touched his face.

No sound came out.

“……! ……! ……! ……!”

The spot where his mouth should have been was covered by skin.

The demon’s voice boomed once more.

[I never gave you permission to stand.]

At the same time.

Thud—

Andvari dropped flat onto the ground.

His body had moved on its own.

The sensation of having complete control over his flesh stolen from him.

Then the demon’s voice began flowing directly into his mind.

[Andvari, what do you truly desire? I shall grant it. The price is……]

Andvari felt as if his head would split.

His eyeballs melted like sludge, and red lava poured from his nose.

Yet he couldn’t even scream as he wished.

The demon’s voice echoed like a ringing bell in his ears.

[Andvari……]

[Andva……]

[And……]

His body wouldn’t move.

Breathing grew increasingly labored, and cold sweat ran down his spine.

It felt as if hot irons were searing every nerve in his body.

His eyelids and lips were sewn shut, stuck together.

“Gr…… ugh…… h……”

Only groans boiling up from his lungs leaked through his nostrils.

At that moment.

“Andvari……”

A low whisper seeped into his ear.

At the same time, all sensation in his body returned to normal.

Andvari shot upright and reached out.

“How dare a mere demon……! Try to insult me……!”

With a face twisted in rage, Andvari clenched his fist.

In that instant.

Screeech— screeech—!

The distinct metallic texture of fingernails reached his fingertips.

Only then did Andvari regain his senses.

“Wh-what is this……”

The steward had turned into a golden statue.

In the exact posture of reaching toward Andvari.

In his hands were a wet towel and a lantern.

Andvari wiped his sweat-drenched face with his sleeve.

Then his eyes fell on the golden ring on his finger.

‘……I fell asleep while wearing the golden ring?’

He had always handled the golden ring with extreme care.

There was no way he would make such a careless mistake.

Andvari laid the golden steward on the bed and covered him with a blanket.

‘Of all people, I turned the steward into gold.’

He was the one person whose disappearance from the mansion would be noticed immediately.

Andvari frowned from a severe headache.

When had he entered the room?

When had he lain down on the bed?

When had he fallen asleep?

He couldn’t remember any of it clearly.

Discomfort and anxiety assaulted him at once.

Andvari staggered out of the room.

Creeeak—

Moonlight seeping through the windows dimly lit the corridor.

The memories of the past few days were hazy.

‘……Exactly how much time has passed?’

Andvari struggled to recall his last clear memory.

Everything after locking Orth in the underground prison was blank.

At that moment.

“Andvari-nim?”

A maid in her nightgown approached from the end of the corridor.

She blinked and continued.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look well. Are you feeling ill……!”

Andvari cut her off and asked.

“The banquet…… when was the banquet celebrating my appointment as Minister of Finance?”

“……That was fifteen days ago. Ah, since midnight has passed, it’s been fifteen days and one more day.”

Andvari wiped his face.

The maid tilted her head.

“Andvari-nim? Should I go to the village right now and call a doctor?”

“No, it’s fine. I have some thoughts to organize, so you may leave.”

Fifteen days of memories had vanished completely.

It had never happened before.

After confirming the maid had left, Andvari turned on his heel.

His destination was the basement of the mansion.

The underground prison of the Dvergr family.

Only family members knew of the underground prison’s existence.

That meant Orth had been left there without food or water for fifteen days.

Andvari’s steps quickened.

Step step step step step—

His limbs trembled, and his breathing grew ragged.

His body felt like it no longer belonged to him, as if he had been bedridden for a long time.

Finally, Andvari reached the iron door of the underground prison.

His heart felt like it had stopped.

The iron door of the underground prison was half open.

‘If Orth has escaped……’

If news of Andvari’s actions reached the Lavianglily Kingdom, something irreversible would happen.

At that moment.

A whispering voice leaked through the gap in the door.

It was Orth’s voice.

Andvari swallowed dryly and listened closely.

The whisper was so faint he couldn’t make out the conversation.

But.

It wasn’t only Orth’s voice coming from the underground prison.

Someone was talking with Orth.

‘Who the hell is it?’

Andvari peered through the gap in the door.

“Wh-what is this……”

Inside the underground prison of the Dvergr family.

An appalling scene was unfolding.