Upon being struck by Yuan’s overwhelming strength, the formation that surrounded the castle on Weeping Ossuary collapsed like a sheet of fragile glass after being struck by a hammer.

"Let’s go."

Yuan immediately entered the castle, but instead of entering through the front gate, he went through the window that was closest to the presence.

Clang!

He smashed through the window and stepped into a vast, dim chamber fit for an emperor of death—pillars hewn from bone, a solitary throne carved of the same material.

Meanwhile, seated on the throne was a silhouette... or more precisely, a skeleton.

Even though whoever the skeleton belonged to appeared to have perished long ago, it still had a presence somehow.

Yuan turned to ask Supreme Ruler Dena, "What’s going on here?"

However, she shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I don’t know."

Suddenly, Gutou stepped forward and exclaimed in a shocked voice, "T-That’s the Supreme Ruler!"

"You can recognize him in that state?" Yuan raised his eyebrows, seemingly impressed by it.

Gutou nodded and explained, "As Bone Demons, everyone’s bones and structures are unique."

"It’s like how we can identify a demon purely by their blood," Supreme Ruler Dena remarked.

"Oh? I didn’t know you could do that, either," Yuan muttered. He thought that he’d already known everything about demons, but turns out that wasn’t the case.

"Anyway, why is the Supreme Ruler in that state?" he then asked. "And is he still alive?"

Gutou approached the throne, where the Supreme Ruler was seated, and examined it for a moment before shaking his head, "It may seem like he’s alive, but he’s already dead. As for his cause of death... sorry, but I don’t know. It looks like he had all of his lifeforce consumed, leaving his bones behind—"

Gutou suddenly halted his speech, and his eyes widened with shock.

"S-Something’s wrong!" he exclaimed.

"What is wrong?"

In the next moment the Supreme Ruler’s skeleton shuddered, then slowly rose to its feet.

"Uh... I thought you said he was dead?" Yuan said.

"That’s what I thought, but his bones suddenly returned to life!"

Suddenly, a yellow orb of light emerged in each empty eye socket.

"I wasn’t expecting any visitors," the skeleton spoke in a stiff voice.

"Are you Supreme Ruler Exosso?" Yuan questioned it.

"Indeed, I am. Who are you, and why did you break into my territory?"

Supreme Ruler Dena stepped forward and said, "Remember me?"

Supreme Ruler Exosso’s flickering eyes dimmed slightly as he turned to look at her.

"Supreme Ruler Dena... I thought you had been imprisoned within the Deprived Crimson Valley."

Then he noticed Supreme Ruler Grant, who was standing not far away.

"You are Supreme Ruler Grant... What is going on here?"

"We should be asking you that," said Supreme Ruler Dena. "Why are you in that state? And why are you alone?"

Supreme Ruler Exosso raised an arm and silently gazed at it.

"It appears that I have been betrayed," he muttered in a nonchalant voice.

"What?"

Supreme Ruler Exosso then spoke, "I do not have time to explain everything, so I will just say this—I will be dying soon, but if you promise to kill Owen for me, I will use what little power I have left to preserve my bones and gift them to you."

"Owen? Who is that?" Yuan asked.

"He was the Supreme Adviser... my advisor," Supreme Ruler Dena suddenly said. "In other words, the 10th Supreme Ruler."

"You mean the one who suddenly disappeared after he became the Supreme Ruler and hasn’t been seen since then?!" Lev exclaimed.

"To think he was hiding in the Bone Atoll..." Yuan muttered, before continuing, "Alright, we’ll kill him for you. That bastard framed Dena for something she didn’t do, anyway."

Supreme Ruler Exosso nodded, then fell silent. Without another word he collapsed back onto the throne, his presence completely extinguished.

Yuan collected his bones a moment later and asked, "So, what can we do with this?"

Gutou swallowed nervously at the sight of the Supreme Ruler’s bones before responding, "A Bone Demon’s bones are exceedingly valuable since it’s the source of our powers. As for the Supreme Ruler’s bones... it’s simply priceless. Any Bone Demon would kill even for one of his bones, much less his entire body."

"So it’s valuable, huh?"

Yuan stared at the heap of bones for a moment, then plucked a pinky bone and tossed it at Gutou.

"?!" Gutou hastily caught the bone and proceeded to stare at Yuan in disbelief.

"Consider that as payment for bringing us here," Yuan said.

"Really?!" Gutou shrieked, unable to contain his excitement. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Yuan quietly nodded.

"T-Thank you! Thank you very much!" Gutou bowed to Yuan repeatedly.

Even a tiny pinky bone from the Supreme Ruler could easily start a war in the Bone Atoll and was countless times worth more than what Gutou could earn in his lifetime.

"What should I do with the rest of his bones?" Yuan mumbled before turning to ask Supreme Ruler Dena. "Do you want it?"

"I have no use for it," she said, shaking her head.

"I want it!" An eager voice resounded.

Yuan shifted his gaze to the Demon Annihilation Sword, who had her hands raised.

He wondered why a girl like her wanted the bones for a second before remembering that her true form was the Demon Annihilation Sword and that she could consume demons to strengthen herself.

"You can have it."

Without hesitation, Yuan handed the whole skeleton to the Demon Annihilation, who immediately began chewing the bones as if they were a crispy snack.

Instantly, he could sense her aura surging even higher.

The Supreme Ruler Grant swallowed nervously when he saw this, as a monster was growing even more terrifying right before his eyes.

One would expect the Demon Annihilation Sword to swiftly devour the whole skeleton, but surprisingly, she was taking her sweet time with it, only eating a single piece of bone at a time, as if trying to savor the moment.

While she enjoyed her snack, Yuan turned to ask the others, "Alright. What now?"