"It should happen soon…" Daru muttered as he watched the drawbridge from the outdoor grounds of the stone castle.

To both his disappointment and delight, he didn't encounter much trouble on his way here.

There were no Condemned Centurions.

Instead, what roamed the outdoor grounds were squadrons of Forsaken Legionaries, all of which he turned into experience points, purge tickets, and lesser demon essences with moderate effort.

There was one time when he made a mistake and three squadrons cornered him, but Azure Swordfall, Somersault Slash, Swallow Step, and Crescent Dicer made it possible to survive.

The SS-tier sword skill he learned from his first Vyrrkan opponent turned out to truly be a menace, especially when fighting against a group of weaker opponents.

Now, the outer grounds on Daru's side of the stone castle were made safe by none other than himself, and he was quite relaxed waiting for the drawbridge to open.

It was certainly making him wait, though.

Bored, Daru glanced to his right and observed the scattered corpses, severed limbs, and decapitated heads of the Forsaken Legionaries.

Such a thing wouldn't have been possible a dozen weeks ago.

The cemetery raids truly increased his levels quite rapidly.

Even now, remembering the moments when he decimated a dozen servant wraiths with a single Crescent Dicer brought him immense satisfaction.

Daru was half-lost in the pleasant memories when, suddenly, there were creaking noises a hundred meters in front of him, compelling him to look instinctively.

The drawbridge was finally opening.

With a loud bang and billowing clouds of ashes, its entire length and width slammed on the other side of the Underworld River, black metal spikes beneath the deck latching deep into the ashen ground.

The scourges charged out of the castle soon after, waving their gray banner with the insignia of a black crown.

Daru's eyes narrowed.

He disliked these specific Forsaken Legionaries and the Condemned Centurions leading them, but at the same time, he also understood that they were probably only under orders, reinforcing that The Crown was truly the ruler of the castle.

Daru was around ninety percent sure by now.

Of course, he couldn't claim full certainty. Not until he laid his eyes upon the abomination itself.

Unfortunately, as much as he liked to decimate the entire army of wraiths armed in stone armor sets and gray cloaks, he was not capable enough.

Only with his comrades from Egress would they stand a chance.

But even being with them didn't guarantee victory — far from it, so he must gather more information about the enemy first.

Regaining a pristine state of mind after a few deep breaths, Daru watched the wraith army disappear into the Dead Forest while walking closer to the drawbridge.

There was some vertical distance from its deck to the ground, but he could jump over it with a somersault slash, and that's what he did.

A minute later, his feet landed onto the reinforced wood deck of the drawbridge with a thud.

Daru glanced in the direction of the Dead Forest one last time before proceeding to enter the castle from this side.

There were still Swordspawns inside…that he was certain of, but this side was probably less guarded now, given that a few hundred wraiths just left to raid an ancient settlement like bandits.

This was why Daru decided to use this entrance instead of the one in front of the stone gates.

After all, unlike Rocante, he wasn't welcome inside.

His steps drowned by the howling of the Underworld River, Daru entered the castle with heightened vigilance.

He was both ready to fight and flee, depending on whether the battle was winnable.

In the end, though, it seemed that there was no need to.

This side of the castle was empty, and there was nothing but empty stone hallways and the occasional stone statue of a strange being.

It had the lower body of a spider, the torso of a human, and three heads.

The middle one was that of a mix between an imp and a human, the left head was that of a cat, and the right one a toad.

It was a rather harrowing creature for sure, but strangely regal in its own right.

Perhaps due to the crown on its head.

'Is this the appearance of The Crown?' Daru speculated, moving deeper and deeper into the castle.

He made sure to be extra careful of ambushes, too, as there were plenty of corners the wraiths could hide in.

There was nothing, though…

This side of the first floor of the vast stone castle was all empty hallways.

'Should I go back for now?' Daru pondered, knowing that in another half an hour, the wraith army would be back.

His expression also turned a bit grim.

The interior of the castle…turned out to be far larger than he thought.

Daru wasn't sure if he was imagining things, but he could swear that the exterior was somehow smaller than the interior it was housing.

How could such a thing be possible?

Yet, that was how he truly felt, and it didn't seem like he would be able to learn enough with the time he had left.

He even thought about delaying the investigation mission for now and returning to Egress first to restock on sustenance.

The farmers should've harvested enough Limbo Carrots and Hellberries by now…

Then he could take his sweet time learning whatever he needed to, increasing Egress' chances of success and also the rate of his survival.

That seemed like a good plan.

But then, a sudden idea popped into his mind.

What if he could find sustenance here?

He had to start retreating now if he would return to the drawbridge exit, but if he would exit from the side Rocante entered from, then even if he had to fight a bit, he wouldn't have to be wary of the returning army.

There shouldn't be too many Legionaries or Centurions there, if there were any…

So, he would have roughly thirty to forty minutes to find either the stock room, the kitchen, or the source of this castle's sustenance.

Nando stated that every wretch in Limbo needed sustenance, and the Damnedling Army confirmed it by raiding one of the cemetery's warehouses.

The wraiths of the castle, at the very least, should be a wretch.

Daru didn't need a lot, only enough for him to explore the castle as thoroughly as was allowed for a lone infiltrator like him.

It also wasn't as if he was being sidetracked by an irrelevant mission.

On the contrary, he was simply attempting to shorten restock time. Even if Daru failed, he would only have to return to Egress, at worst.

But if he succeeded...

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