Born In Ashes: The Enigma

The first time Azrael had met Rudheer and asked him what he was doing in the Moon Forest, Rudheer had told him that he was forced to go there because of the people from the Knight Tower.

However, using the power of his traits, Azrael had determined that Rudheer was lying to him, and that he hadn't gone to the Moon Forest because of the Knight Tower, but for a completely different reason.

Later, on their way back to New Moon City, Azrael had sensed faint fluctuations of cosmic energy and when he went to investigate, he discovered a flower called Sky Mist Flower— a plant known for inducing a state of tranquility in those who consumed it. (Chap— 69)

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----) Sky Mist Flower: A rare herb that causes the consumer to enter a deep state of calm, thereby enhancing their comprehension abilities and fully stabilizing their mind. Regardless of the emotions the consumer may be experiencing, as long as the herb's effects persist, their mind will remain completely at peace.

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No matter what emotions the consumer of the Sky Mist Flower was experiencing, after consuming it, their mind would enter a state of complete calm for a certain period.

Since the herb was of no particular use to Azrael, he had simply stored it away without giving it much thought.

Later on, while speaking with Rudheer, Azrael noticed that Rudheer harbored a distinct and intense hatred toward the people of the Knight Tower.

During the recruitment event, Azrael had seen Rudheer glaring at Alex as if he wanted to tear the man apart with his bare hands.

When Azrael connected all of these pieces with the information he had gathered, he came to a startling conclusion.

The people of New Moon Town had told him that Alex became the Tower Master around two years ago. Before him, the previous master of the Knight Tower had reportedly died somewhere under unknown circumstances.

When Azrael added this information to Rudheer's strange animosity toward the Knight Tower—and the fact that he had sensed another presence in Rudheer's house during the night he stayed there—a shocking hypothesis formed in his mind.

'What if the previous Tower Master of the Knight Tower hadn't actually died?'

Rudheer had once told Azrael that he had a son, and Azrael had used his traits to confirm that Rudheer wasn't lying.

The last time Azrael stayed in Rudheer's house, he had sensed another person in Rudheer's room.

Judging by the strange groaning sounds he'd heard—groans that didn't sound entirely human—it had been obvious something was wrong with that individual.

Recalling those beast-like groans reminded Azrael of Harris's condition when he had completely lost his mind during his battle against Alex.

Rudheer, a mere Level 4 Apprentice Warrior, had ventured deep into the Moon Forest... his son, who behaved like someone who had lost his mind... the Sky Mist Flower, known for calming unstable minds...

As all the dots connected in his mind, Azrael finally understood what was going on.

To become a Tower Master, two conditions had to be fulfilled:

First, the current Tower Master must willingly pass on their position.

Second, the successor must receive approval from the main branch of the Tower.

It was similar to Rose, who had been granted her position by Harris and, thanks to her former noble status, had easily obtained the main branch's approval.

In Alex's case, after the previous Tower Master was presumed dead, he had directly become the Tower Master with the approval of the main branch.

But he hadn't received any permission from the previous master, because everyone believed he was already dead.

But in reality—

"This guy didn't die but actually became a vessel of corruption..." Azrael muttered under his breath, gazing at the chained man who came into his sight after he entered the room.

The man stood nearly two meters tall, with long, unkempt hair and eyes that were completely inky black. As soon as the man saw Azrael enter the room, he growled like a beast.

The reason Rudheer had entered the Moon Forest was actually because he was searching for the Sky Mist herb, which he hoped to use to calm the mind of this man—his son who had lost all sanity.

'Rudheer harbored deep hatred toward the people of the Knight Tower... I wonder if it was because they were behind turning this guy into a vessel of corruption...'

Though Azrael believed that at least Alex wasn't involved in any way with this man—who is actually the real tower master of the Knight Tower.

If he had been, Alex would have definitely recognized Harris as a vessel of corruption during their fight.

Only after Azrael told him about the vessel of corruption did Alex realize Harris's true identity.

As for why this corrupted man was still considered the Knight Tower Master while Alex was not—it was because this world wasn't a normal one.

This world was created by Eonrift for his trial and thus operated under its own unique set of rules.

Since the rule stated that one could only become a Tower Master with the permission of the previous Tower Master—as long as that person was still alive—then Alex's ascension to the role of Tower Master was invalid.

Unaware that the previous master was still alive, albeit corrupted, Alex had assumed the position without truly getting his approval.

He had only appeared to be the Tower Master—but the real Knight Tower Master was always been the chained man now standing before Azrael.

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==[Trial Notification]==

— Your Eonrift Trial Task has been issued —

---) Objective: Find and eliminate the Vessel of Corruption among the three Tower Masters of New Moon City.

Time Limit: One Month

Reward upon Completion: Activation of your powers, ???

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Since the beginning, the three real tower masters of the new moon city were Claudia, Rose and the chained man in front of Azrael.

The trial details had never specified how many Vessels of Corruption were among the three Tower Masters.

From the beginning, more than one Tower Master had been a vessel of corruption.

Had Azrael left Eonrift after killing only Rose—the Juri Tower Master—the trial would have been considered a failure.

Reason—

---) Objective: Find and eliminate the Vessel of Corruption among the three Tower Masters of New Moon City.

His task was to eliminate The Vessel of Corruption among the three Tower Masters.

The important detail here was the word "The."

It was The Vessel of Corruption—not A Vessel of Corruption.

If his trial had been to eliminate 'A Vessel of Corruption' among the three Tower Masters, then by killing any Tower Master who was a vessel of corruption, he could have successfully completed his trial.

However, since the task was to eliminate 'The' Vessel of Corruption, it meant the directive referred to a specific target.

As for who that target was... well, in reality, there was no predetermined target, because he was required to eliminate all of the corrupted Tower Masters.

If he had left after killing Rose, then Eonrift would have simply stated that he needed to kill the Knight Tower Master—Rudheer's son—who was the vessel of corruption, in order to complete his trial.

And if he had killed the Knight Tower Master, Rudheer's son, but left Rose alive, then Eonrift would have told him that he needed to kill Rose in order to complete the trial.

The trial was never about identifying a single person and eliminate him. The trial used 'The Vessel of Corruption' as a shifting label—one that would always apply to whichever corrupted Tower Master was still alive.

A trap. If he failed to kill all of the corrupted tower masters, the trial would always claim he had left the true Vessel alive and his trial would fail.

It seemed unreasonable, since the trial never mentioned the name of the Tower Master he needed to kill and only instructed him to eliminate the Vessel of Corruption among the three Tower Masters.

But that's how the Despair-Level Trial worked. It was designed to deceive you—just when you believed you had completed the trial and left Eonrift with high hopes of receiving a great reward for surviving a Despair-Level Trial...

The only thing waiting for you outside would be the crushing information that you had failed.

And for failing a Despair-Level Trial, Azrael didn't even want to imagine what kind of fate might have awaited him.

'Even with my Infinite Comprehension Trait, I was nearly fooled by this trial...' Azrael shook his head and looked at the chained man.

The reason he dared to come here despite his body being completely broken was because of Rudheer.

Rudheer was just a Level 4 Apprentice Warrior, yet he had remained safe while living with this corrupted being.

Azrael had guessed that something was restraining the creature from harming Rudheer.

Now, looking at the heavy chains binding the man, he was relieved to see that his assumption had been correct.

Otherwise, in his current condition, he wouldn't have stood a chance against this monstrosity.

"I wonder how this guy became a vessel of corruption?" Azrael murmured under his breath.

He was sure that it hadn't been Rose who had corrupted this man—if she had, she would've been able to fully control him, just as she had said.

Rudheer could have given Azrael some clues about his son's condition, but knowing that Rudheer wouldn't have allowed him to kill the man so easily, Azrael had already decided to eliminate him the moment he entered the house.

In his current state, if he had let Rudheer live and the man had alerted the guards, completing the trial would have become significantly harder.

Azrael had no intention of complicating things further.

"It's time to end it..." He said coldly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Without holding back, he swung the Fallen Star at the chained man.

The man showed no fear in the face of the incoming blade.

Like a mindless beast, he merely growled, making no effort to dodge or defend himself.

Swish!

The razor-sharp blade of Fallen Star sliced through the man's neck... And since the man hadn't even tried to resist, his head was cleanly severed from his body.