SSS-Class Overlord: My Harem Rules the Realms (18+)-Chapter 78: Statue of Vampire King?

Ethan’s eyes were locked on the hidden script bleeding across the brittle page when a sudden,

deep thunk vibrated through the library floor.

The old leather book snapped shut in his hands, nearly catching his fingers. A hush fell over the

room as all three of them froze, listening.

Then the bookshelf directly in front of Ethan began to tremble. A groaning, ancient noise filled the

air as gears hidden behind the walls clicked into motion. Dust cascaded down like a grey curtain.

Reyna took an instinctive half-step back, blade rising. "Shit’s movin’, don’t ya?"

Daniel edged closer to Ethan, gripping his axe so hard his knuckles whitened. "It’s a trap, isn’t it?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes as the shelf slid away from the wall, revealing a dark stone archway.

Beyond it, a staircase curled downward into shadow, lit only by a faint glow leaking from below.

He slid the book into his coat. "Trap or not... we’re going."

Reyna growled low in her throat. "Aye. Been standin’ ’round long enough, don’t ya?"

Ethan turned to them both, voice crisp. "Stay tight. Weapons up. Expect the worst." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

He took point, boots silent as he stepped onto the first stone stair. The air grew colder as they

descended, the scent of mold and ancient stone thickening around them.

Step by step, the corridor curved like the spine of a coiling serpent. The torchlight from Ethan’s

conjured flame played over stone carvings on the walls—symbols of fangs, wings, and crowns

intertwined in knotwork. It felt as though unseen eyes tracked them from the dark.

Reyna leaned in, voice low. "Somethin’ ’bout this place crawls up my spine, don’t ya?"

Ethan didn’t answer. His jaw was clenched, eyes locked forward.

After a long descent, the stairs opened abruptly into a blinding burst of daylight. The three of them

stepped out of the darkness, squinting against the sudden brilliance.

And stopped dead in their tracks.

They stood in the middle of a vast field, hemmed in by crumbling iron fences whose spiked tops

had rusted to jagged, poisonous-looking points.

Beyond the fence line, the ground fell away into darkness, as though the entire field hovered above an endless chasm.

Where crops should have grown, only twisted, blackened stalks rose waist-high—brittle as bone,

their leaves hanging like strips of decayed skin. The wind carried a scorched, metallic tang, heavy

with corruption.

And in the exact center of the field stood a massive statue.

It towered at least twenty feet high, its stone surface pitted and stained as though burned by acid.

From a distance, its shape was vague—a cloak, fangs, wings folding in—but no single detail was

clear enough to identify what it depicted.

Ethan tilted his head, eyes narrowed. "What the fuck is this statue?"

Daniel stepped up beside him, staring with an uneasy squint. "I... I can’t even tell what it’s

supposed to be. It’s all... blurred."

Reyna rested her sword across her shoulders. "Somethin’ don’t smell right ’bout this. Feels like

the whole place’s watchin’ us, don’t ya?"

Ethan didn’t respond. He began walking toward the statue, each step crunching over dead stalks

that shattered like glass underfoot.

Daniel grabbed Reyna’s arm. "Stay close to Ethan. If anything happens—"

Reyna yanked her arm free, glaring at him. "Ain’t no bugger touchin’ him while I’m standin’, don’t

ya worry."

Ethan reached the statue’s base and circled it, eyes tracking every curve and gouge.

Up close, he could just barely make out a humanoid figure draped in flowing robes, hands folded around the hilt of a sword plunged downward into a stylized sunburst.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone chest, and deep claw marks scored the statue’s legs.

Ethan inhaled slowly, speaking only in his mind.

System. Scan this statue. Give me details.

A flicker of blue light danced across his vision.

[System Notification]

[Scanning...]

[Object identified: Monument to the Vampire King Var Kalthas. Species extinct as of 2,700 years

ago following the War of Dawn and Ash. Subject noted for dominion over blood rituals and largescale monster corruption.]

[Warning: Residual magical corruption detected within the structure. Proceed with caution.]

Ethan’s lips curved into a dangerous smirk. "Vampire king, huh? So that’s what you are."

Reyna stepped up beside him, frowning at the fangs now faintly visible around the statue’s mouth.

"Vampires all dead, ain’t they? Or so the bards sing, don’t ya?"

Daniel’s eyes darted around the field. "Why would a vampire statue be hidden under a city and

connected to all this corruption...?"

Ethan tilted his head slightly, thinking. "Because monsters like this don’t stay buried unless

someone wants them forgotten."

Just then, another pop-up blinked into his sight.

[System Notification]

[Morse code sequence in possession may be relevant. Suggest attempting cross-reference.]

Ethan blinked. "What? The Morse code from the photograph?"

[System Notification]

[Monument contains hidden mechanism requiring input. Morse sequence may unlock

further data or passage.]

Reyna leaned closer, peering up at the towering figure. "Bloody hell... statue’s got a lock? Fancy

bastards, don’t ya?"

Ethan ignored her, mind racing. He drew the photograph from his coat and held it up beside the

statue, examining both under the sunlight.

[VX-13. OMEGA. 1147-AL.]

He lifted his eyes to the statue’s stone sword. A faint seam ran across the sunburst engraved at

its base.

Ethan spoke aloud, voice low and sharp. "System. Use the code. Let’s see what secrets this

bloodsucker’s hidin’."

[System Notification]

[Engaging sequence...]

As Ethan watched, tiny runes etched into the sunburst began to glow, pulsing with a dull crimson

light. The air shimmered around the monument, as though heat ripples rose off the stone.

Daniel took a step back, eyes wide. "Ethan...?"

Reyna swung her sword off her shoulders, gripping it in both hands. "Whatever comes outta this

thing, I’m cuttin’ it in half, don’t ya?"

Ethan gave a cold grin, eyes locked on the shifting runes. "Good. I’d hate for things to get

boring."

And as the ground beneath their feet began to quake, the secrets of the Vampire King waited to

reveal themselves...

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