Student To King: The Transportation To A New World

Chapter 20: A Sudden Surprise

With Darklin on Ace's shoulder, Ace went ahead and walked towards the hallway the Golem was guarding. However, the moment he stepped in, the first thing both he and Darklin noticed was the stench in the air. 

"...I think you know where the dead bodies are," Darklin said.

"You don't say? But if they're up ahead how the hell did the Heroes die there rather than the floor behind us?"

"Only one way to find out." 

Ace began to walk slightly faster to see for himself the dead Heroes he heard about from Razor, the information he has of the Heroes was all strange, why the King was the only one that survived, how the Heroes were presumably dead by the golem. 

After the short walk, Ace and Darklin found themselves in a giant room similar to the one housing the golem. The walls all had engravings and pictures conveying a story. At the centre was a stone platform with a hole big enough to fit the blade of a sword it had some inscription on it but its surroundings showed a different story.

12 different bodies were scattered around the platform as Ace and Darklin checked up on each of the bodies. 

"Clearly they haven't been killed by the golem," Darklin commented

"If they did their bodies would be crushed or even unrecognisable given that its sword can probably slash someone in half." Ace replied.

As both of them checked, there were no signs of crushed bones or any signs of injury made by the golem. 

Ace kept looking around noticing that two of the bodies held similar armour to Ancel and Dave. The only difference was its bulkiness and the number of ornaments their armour showed. They did not look like regular paladins but rather one of a high rank. 

"One of them is David for sure, but the way they died..."

"A sword slash" Darklin answered for Ace. 

Slash marks and stabs were seen all over the bodies near the Ace, the strength of the sword easily cut through the Paladin's armour. Having recalled the news about how the Heroes have died, Ace focused on a certain sentence Razor has said. 

'All the king got was some fancy sword, for several lives to be lost' 

"...So that's how it is..."

"What is?" Darklin asked. He had genuine confusion on what Ace was on about after seeing the bodies first-hand. It made sense why things were unusual at the Golem fight, why their bodies weren't there and the cause of death of the bodies here.

"...I wouldn't know... was there writing on the platform?"

"I believe so. I will go ahead and read it for you." 

"Please do. I'll check on these bodies, someone I know might want some of their possessions." 

Ace was scavenging what the dead Paladin had, looking through their magic inventory, accessories whatever he could use. What caught Ace's eye was the ring on the Paladin's finger it looked much the same as Olivia's. When Ace saw the ring he noticed that the ring itself was an artifact to increase its wearer's stats. After fiddling with the Paladin's magic inventory he found something interesting.

"This is... a painting." The painting Ace held showed the Paladin without his armour and what was presumed to be his lover, Ace knew who the woman was in the painting confirming that the body he just looted was David's.

"I guess I'll only use this ring for a short while until I give it back to Olivia. But before that, everyone here needs to be cremated.

Darklin on his end flew towards the stone. After spending a few seconds reading the text, he relayed the information to Ace.