Chapter 740: No Work, No Food

"That's right, I am the heir of Ashborn—Glannid Ashborn."

Along with Jiroubou's—no, Glannid's answer, a low whisper came from the Beast's mouth.

"—I ask in the name of the angel."

"If you cannot answer, then let me strip it away!"

Everyone, whether they had answered or not, fell into silence. They hadn't solved the answer, except for one person—Matou Shinji, who was using the alias Johnny Smith.

"Aladiah."

Instantly, the Beast stopped moving, and an expression of disbelief appeared on Glannid's face.

"You, how did you know?"

"I just guessed randomly. I didn't expect to guess correctly. What luck! I'll go buy a lottery ticket as soon as I get out of here."

Shinji laughed exaggeratedly, his expression looking fake no matter how you looked at it.

"Since I answered correctly, shouldn't you hand over the inheritance to me?—Of course, you probably won't agree to that."

"Of course not. Ashborn can only be inherited by me. This is my inheritance ceremony, through stripping away your magic crests!!!"

By the time the magus realized the danger, it was already too late. The roar sounded again, echoing through the spacious courtyard.

Hearing the roar, the magus covered their ears and fell to their knees in pain. Although they knew the Beast's roar could stop the functioning of magic crests, no one except Heine had experienced what that felt like. Now they knew—it was the greatest pain, the greatest torment for a magus. That feeling of weakness and helplessness, being at someone's mercy, no one wanted to experience it a second time.

"Damn it, this range... it's resonance!!! I should have realized earlier that the entire Castle Adra is an amplifier for sound."

Because his magic crest hadn't fully recovered its function, Heine was less affected than the other magus. Also, having experienced it once before, he discovered the secret of the Castle ADra earlier.

The abnormality had existed from the beginning—the spacious hall, the enclosed corridors, and the hollow-sounding marble floor when stepped on—it was all to form a tuning fork covering the entire castle, amplifying the Beast's roar to the extreme.

"Oh? You've already figured it out?"

Glannid looked at Heine with some surprise.

"As expected of the person I—no, Jiroubou valued the most. As you said, this castle was built using Ashborn's secret techniques. If I want, I can make her voice appear in every corner at any time. Here, no magus can surpass me."

"So confident?"

Shinji chuckled as he stood up from the floor. Seeing this, Glannid's eyes widened.

"You, you—"

"What about me? The Eastern mystical systems differ quite a bit from Western magic. Most Eastern inheritances don't pass through magic crests. Without the effect of stopping magic crests, the remaining mental impact is hardly worth mentioning. Only children under ten would fall for it."

The child referred to was Rosalind. The Istari family's crest was on Heine, and Rosalind had no crest. She fell because of the mental shock contained in the voice.

"I don't know if you're Glannid or Jiroubou Seigen Tokitou, but do you still have confidence now?"

As Shinji spoke, he took out a pair of silver gloves from his pocket and put them on unhurriedly. In the silence, he conveyed a signal—if I could severely injure your trump card without using my equipment, now that I've switched to my gear, how long do you think you can last?

Such an arrogant tone naturally aroused Glannid's anger.

"Don't get too cocky! Ashborn's secret techniques are just beginning!"

"Bring it on, I'm looking forward to seeing it," Shinji provoked, beckoning with his hand.

"Castle Adra, open your gates!"

With this call, the castle gates swung open, and then all the angels throughout the castle came to life. Countless ethereal forms floated out.

Statues, pillars, ceilings, floors, murals...

From the moment they set foot in this castle, everyone could feel something watching them, yet couldn't find the source. Now they knew—the source of the gazes, the true nature of this Castle of Angels.

They were spiritual bodies.

However, not complete souls, but parts stripped from souls.

Over the centuries, countless magus had visited here with hope, but very few successfully walked out. The rest were killed, their magic crests stripped away as repair materials, and their spirits bound in angel statues, becoming Ashborn tools, becoming the energy source supporting the entire Castle Adra.

Angels were originally spiritual bodies, and the angels of the Castle Adra were tombstones of equal number.

Vengeful spirits continued to emerge, filling the entire courtyard in the blink of an eye.

"Devour them, you'll soon become one of them!"

Glannid laughed maniacally after revealing his trump card, but barely two seconds into his laughter, Shinji's voice sounded again.

"Boring. I thought I'd see something interesting, but it turns out to be this kind of trash—don't you know that among the world's three major religions, Buddhism is best at delivering lost souls?"

Buddhist light flashed, and the vengeful spirits around Shinji immediately disintegrated like ice hit by boiling water, leaving no trace.

"Of course I know, but after delivering these souls, how much power will you have left?"

"Hmm, this is indeed a bit troublesome, but it's just troublesome, right? Gray."

Shinji's words first made Glannid happy. He had grown to hate this man who had repeatedly thwarted his plans and was determined to strip away his spirit. However, the next sentence made his heart race again.

What? He's not the only one who can move? There are others?

Looking past the illusory spirits towards the angel statue, the girl in the cloak was still lying on the ground, trembling all over.

"Hmph, empty threats."

"Hey, Gray! It's your turn to shine."

"..."

Still no response.

Just then, a black shadow flashed by, slicing all the spirits in its path in half while mercilessly hitting the girl's forehead.

"Wake up, wake up, you coward Gray."

It was Add. It had already changed from City-Breaking Hammer mode back to Death Scythe.

"Time to work. Those who don't work don't eat."

Whether it was due to the pain in her forehead or the stimulation in Add's words, Gray finally stood up shakily, leaning on the scythe blade.

"In this state, what can she do?"

Seeing her pale face and fearful expression, Glannid became even more contemptuous.

To this, Shinji just smiled slightly.

"You'd better not underestimate her. She's the grave keeper of that cemetery. When it comes to spirits, she's a true expert."