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Why were Elijah and Alan's screens black? Was the broadcasting of the tower malfunctioning? This had never happened before.

"What's happening?"

"Why is it black?"

The people questioned. Even the broadcasting items weren't working.

"..."

Harrison fell silent, even though he was confused as to what was happening, he maintained his composure

'Why now? This never happened.'

However, that was only on the outside.

Inside, his mind was in turmoil. He quickly tried to salvage the situation so the people would not be dissatisfied.

"Haha…it seems the trials of the two are unique, so unique that even the tower has blocked them from viewing. We can't do anything about it. Please observe the trials of the other participants until we can figure out what to do."

He turned their attention towards the other challengers using a wide area of effect skill.

He looked at Ragnar and the other officials, but their faces told him even they were confused.

"...I have a bad feeling about this."

He muttered…His instinct, sharpened by numerous battles, was telling him.

Something is wrong…The Tower Of Trials event this year will be significant.

*******

[Ragnar POV.]

'Is this the work of the Supreme dragons?'

Ragnar thought he gazed at the two black screens belonging to Elijah and Alan.

He thought that the Supreme Dragons in charge of the two were responsible for this. It made sense actually, Although he wasn't as motivated to climb the tower, even though he had passed the 10th floor…he knew very well the contents of the Trial.

It was justifiable for the Supreme Dragons to interfere and block the trials. They couldn't let the importance of their successor be shown like that could they? Who knows what the trial a successor of a Supreme would face on the 10th floor?

The risk was high.

Little did Ragnar know, he was completely wrong. Suleras and Agri didn't give a damn if the trial was seen or not.

They were Supremes, there was only one being that terrified them, not some earthlings.

They didn't need to, and neither did they want to.

"I'm taking a nap, wake me up when the issue is fixed."

Ragnar said to the elders of the Drakmor Family and his children who were with him.

The only challengers he was interested in seeing were not there anymore…there was no need for him to watch any longer, taking a nap was more important.

*********

[Alan Peccator PoV.]

I passed the tenth-floor trial and entered the 11th-floor. A wave of cool air swept over me.

[You have entered the 11th floor.]

What accompanied the wave of cool air was a stench, a rotting stench.

"BLEURGH!"

I puked. Among my senses…my nose was extremely sensitive. The putrid stench here stabbed my nostrils like a dagger and subjected me to an olfactory experience that was both physically repulsive and emotionally jarring.

It was fucking hideous!

"BLEURGH!"

It only stopped when I used mana to close my nostrils forcefully…only then was I able to gain a moment of respite.

I examined the 11th floor…catacombs?

[Trials of the Destitute, The Catacombs of the Lost Empire.]

"..."

I looked at the large gateway before me, there was earth everywhere else.

"Trials of the destitute?"

Huh…

Once again, the tower trial name didn't give me any hints…

Is this gonna be the norm after the tenth floor?

The tower sure does like being mysterious.

I entered the passageway into the catacombs. As I stepped deeper into the Labyrinthine mazes…there was something here…a voice.

A hushed stillness…but there was a voice.

A cry.

I could hear it. I was certain of it.

"Hmmm…what are catacombs again?"

I questioned, I swear Sabrina taught me this before.

[Supreme Dragon of Frost Lanesha explains that catacombs are subterranean passages and chambers that have been historically used for various purposes, often serving as burial grounds, religious sanctuaries, or hidden shelters. ]

Explained Lanesha, I was grateful to her

"Thank you Lanesha, Unlike Suleras, you are helpful."

I thanked her. She was certainly much better than a certain stingy dragon who didn't do anything to help me.

"Based on the horrible stench from before…It's probably a burial ground."

I said, the smell wouldn't be this horrible if it was a religious grounds or shelter.

[Supreme Dragon of Frost Lanesha agrees.]

I tread the passageways carefully, it was an entire maze in here, I was following the traces of mana so I was sure I wouldn't get lost but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"It's too quiet,"

I remarked. The Catacombs are too quiet…

I heard a cry before…but now only a deathly stillness remains.

[Supreme Dragon of Lanesha advises you to be cautious.]

Advised Lanesha. She was right…Silence like this can only mean something bad is about to happen.

"Yeah, Yo-"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'

"..!"

I was startled by the loud cry that echoed and wielded the Ame-No-Sakahoko in an instant.

But there was nothing.

Due to the large number of passageways here, it was difficult to pinpoint where it was coming from.

"..."

I loosened my guard and continued to roam the passageways, the Ame-No-Sakahoko in hand.

Thankfully, someone was here to keep me company, which was Lanesha.

[Supreme Dragon of Frost Lanesha says that an intense energy of death permeates the catacombs.]

"Yeah, I know."

I wonder where the monster that let that scream out was…It's probably a ghost type. It would fit the theme of this trial after all.

I continued to roam the catacombs, heading towards the area with the most significant mana signature. It was far away…but I was steadily getting closer.

I don't know whether there are any traps here, So I have to tread carefully.

I took a sharp turn and stopped in my tracks, silent at the scene of a massacre before me.

Entire corpses of humans covered in hoods, mutilated beyond recognition, and guts littered the area, along with other 'things'.

[Supreme Dragon of Frost Lanesha says the monster surely is cruel.]

I agreed with Lanesha, whoever-No, whatever did this is probably horrifying.

I activated mana sense to see if any of the corpses were 'alive' or not. Who knows? Maybe a corpse would jump me.

After confirming that anything here was dead and devoid of mana, I examined the corpses.

"..."

Although I had to clean a lot of the carnage here, I was able to salvage something.

Daggers with a demonic symbol and demonic circle tattooed on multiple parts of the bodies, furthermore, the anatomy was different.

They looked like humans but had different colored skin in some areas, and horns and claws.

"..."

I examined the wounds on the corpses and was able to conclude that whatever this either wielded had claws, sharp claws.

And also a temper. How it mutilated these corpses was proof.

Entire bodies split apart, multiple puncture holes in the heart and neck, twisted necks, and some even looked like they had their souls sucked out of them.

"Hmm?"

As I was foraging, I found a piece of paper.

However, I was unable to read what was inside…but the tower automatically translated for me.

I didn't even have to do anything, the notifications just popped up.

[Corrupt the empire, let the heathens know their place, their god is meaningless, corrupt their saintess, their knights, their nobles, their emperor.

Let chaos rule the world.]

It seems I was wrong. Maybe this wasn't a burial ground, but a religious area for either demon worshippers or this Empire.

It was one of the two.

"I should ge-"

*Wah!*

*Mom…*

*Scary..!*

…

…

…

I was interrupted by voices that suddenly appeared.

One belonged to a baby, unable to utter words, one to a little girl, and one to a boy.

"..."

I fell silent.

This trial is eerie.

*Save us!*

*Saintess!*

*Why has God forsaken us?*

They stung. The entire catacombs were filled with these voices.

They echoed everywhere

There were pleas, calls, regrets, cries, and the suffering of children.

I wielded the Ame-No-Sakahoko and went ahead, the purifying power of Ame-No-Sakahoko blocked the voices of the damned who had died here in these catacombs.

"KYAAAAAA!"

I heard the scream again, and this time, I rushed towards it, enhancing myself with mana and also creating multiple shields around myself to prevent any ambushes.

I rushed to the location where I heard the scream…and came upon an open location in the catacombs, lit by orbs of blue flame that floated upwards.

It was a graveyard…and an Altar?

I could see multiple graves and also multiple altars, each adorned with the corpses of the humans I saw a while back, the ones that had deformities. Maggots and flies ate their corpses and it was truly a heart-wrenching sight.

But that was not all.

The most notable thing I noticed when I entered this expanse was her.

A nun, with her back towards me silently praying, her words in a language I was unable to understand…this time even the tower didn't translate it.

'Was it the source of the screams?' I thought to myself.

I would find out soon enough.