I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 574: Moonveil Serpents

Laurence stumbled backward, his eyes wide as he stared at the spaces where minotaurs had been standing seconds ago. "What... where did they..."

Only Brutus remained, the largest minotaur standing motionless as he regarded Laurence with contempt.

"They returned to our Master’s domain," he stated, his tone making clear he had no intention of explaining further to someone he’d already dismissed as worthless.

Then Brutus turned toward where Rhys had been waiting near the courtyard’s edge, the young mage having observed the entire exchange.

"Let’s go," Brutus commanded, his voice carrying authority that expected immediate compliance.

Rhys nodded once, as wind gathered around his form.

The air itself seemed to respond to his will, currents materializing and solidifying into a force that lifted him from the ground.

The wind carried him upward and forward, depositing him onto Brutus’s shoulder, where he settled into position.

"What about the lord?" Rhys asked quietly, glancing back toward where Laurence stood frozen in shock.

Brutus’s laugh was harsh and humorless, the sound carrying across the courtyard with such force that several soldiers flinched.

"He is no lord," the minotaur stated with absolute conviction. "He is nothing but a puppet for my Master. He will never amount to anything in his life beyond serving the one who actually deserves power."

Then Brutus began running.

He reached a full sprint, covering ground with a velocity that belied his substantial size.

His powerful legs propelled him forward with force that cracked cobblestones beneath his weight, momentum building as he crossed the courtyard in seconds and burst through the open gates into the corrupted forest beyond.

Trees that would have blocked normal passage were plowed through, Brutus’s bulk and enhanced strength reducing obstacles to splinters as he ran in a straight line toward where his master waited.

The purple mist parted before his advance, visibility irrelevant when supernatural senses could track Jack’s location across miles of twisted landscape.

Rhys held on with both hands, wind magic helping maintain his balance as the massive minotaur accelerated to speeds that exceeded what horses could achieve even at full gallop.

The forest blurred past them, twisted vegetation and corrupted terrain becoming indistinct as Brutus focused entirely on reaching the dungeon entrance where Jack and Father Caelen would be conducting their investigation.

------

Back in the courtyard, Laurence stood motionless as the sound of Brutus’s departure faded into the distance.

His hands were still extended in front of him, fingers spread as if he could still feel the contract that had burned away moments ago.

Captain Torven approached slowly, his weathered features showing concern at what transpired. "My lord," he said carefully, the title feeling hollow now despite being technically accurate. "What was in that contract? What did you agree to?"

Laurence’s laugh was slightly hysterical, shock and terror, and recognition of what he’d just done, combining into a sound that wasn’t quite sane.

"I don’t know," he admitted, his voice cracking. "I don’t understand half of what I read. Something about betrayal makes me gouge out my own eyes. Something about my children being bound from birth. Something about Jack Kaiser having jurisdiction over my choices."

He looked up at the captain, his eyes wide and haunted. "I signed away everything, didn’t I? My freedom, my children’s freedom, my ability to make decisions that contradict whatever Kaiser wants. I’m not a lord anymore. I’m a puppet, just like that creature said."

Captain Torven’s expression remained carefully neutral, his military training preventing him from confirming or denying an assessment that would undermine what little authority his commander still possessed.

"You made the choice that ensured our survival," he said instead, offering what comfort he could. "Lord Kaiser will clear the dungeon. The serpent attacks will stop. The territory won’t fall to corruption. That’s worth something, even if the price was high."

Laurence wanted to believe that.

He wanted to convince himself that selling his soul had been a pragmatic decision rather than a cowardly surrender.

But standing in the courtyard surrounded by soldiers who’d just watched him sign away his autonomy, he couldn’t quite manage that self-deception.

He was nineteen years old.

He’d inherited his father’s title not too long ago.

And he’d just bound himself and all his descendants to eternal servitude under someone who operated on a scale so far above his comprehension that comparison was meaningless.

The purple mist continued swirling at the courtyard’s edges, the corrupted forest pressing close to the fortress walls, the night stretching endlessly ahead as Laurence processed what he’d become and wondered whether survival at this price was actually worth it.

-----

Jack stared at the dungeon entrance ahead, barely visible through the thick purple mist that saturated the corrupted forest’s heart.

There was so much darkness beyond the threshold that, even with his enhanced perception, he couldn’t penetrate more than a few feet inside.

Father Caelen remained lying on the serpent’s back, his flask tucked away as awareness replaced his earlier relaxed posture.

"That’s unlike any dungeon entrance I’ve seen," he observed quietly. "The corruption radiating from it is... substantial."

"Good," Jack replied, his yellow and orange eyes tracking the archway’s dimensions as he urged the bound serpent forward. "All that means whatever’s inside is worth investigating."

The Disaster-class serpent moved without hesitation, its massive body gliding toward the entrance with the same confidence it had shown throughout their journey.

Jack remained seated on its skull, with no intention of dismounting.

If the dungeon could accommodate a creature this size, riding through would be faster than walking.

They crossed the threshold.

Jack’s stomach lurched as gravity reversed instantaneously, the fundamental force that had been pulling him downward suddenly yanking him upward with disorienting violence.

The serpent beneath him twisted, its body responding to the change as they fell toward what had been the ceiling but was now somehow the floor.

Trees grew upside down, roots extending into empty air above, while branches pressed against stone beneath.

The purple mist that had filled the forest hung from the ceiling like dense fog, clinging to the inverted canopy in defiance of normal atmospheric behavior.

Jack, Father Caelen, and the serpent hit the new floor with jarring impact, the creature’s bulk absorbing most of the force as they adjusted to the dungeon’s warped physics.

Jack rolled off the serpent’s head, landing in a crouch.

He looked back toward where they’d entered.

The archway had vanished completely, sealed as if it had never existed.

Solid stone wall stretched where the entrance should have been, no seam or indication that passage had been possible seconds ago.

"We’re trapped," Father Caelen stated flatly, his priestly calm holding despite the concerning development.

Jack barely heard him, but his attention was fixed on his right arm.

Silver veins had appeared across his skin.

Intricate branching patterns that started at his fingertips and spread up his forearm to his shoulder, glowing faintly.

---

Floor 10 - Moonveil Serpent Herd

Seven massive forms coiled in the darkness, scales gleaming with ethereal light that had given their species its name.

Each serpent measured comparable to the Disaster-class creature Jack had killed and bound, their presence dominating the tenth floor’s vast chamber.

The largest raised its head, tongue flicking out to taste air that suddenly carried a scent it recognized despite centuries of separation.

"He’s returned," it hissed, the sound reverberating through the chamber with a mixture of anticipation and hatred.

Another serpent uncoiled slightly, its eyes glowing brighter as it processed the information. "I smell the blood of the Fallen King," it stated.

The third serpent’s laugh was cold and filled with venom that transcended simple poison. "And the blood of the Traitor."

All seven serpents began moving, their massive bodies creating tremors that spread through the dungeon’s inverted structure as they prepared for the confrontation they’d been waiting to have since being summoned to this cursed place.

"To think the successor would have the blood of all three in his veins." A cold voice called out.