The "remnants" in the Blackstone Ruins

The North, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Western Mountains, mine.

"You lot, hurry up and bring that stuff over! And you, take this rubbish outside and pile it up. Burn it tonight!"

Eddard's Captain of the Guards, Arthur Stone, shouted through a wooden megaphone, while the prisoners and miners repaired the shantytown and railings under his direction.

The old wooden shacks were no longer suitable for long-term habitation. To build sturdier, more durable concrete buildings, Eddard had specifically brought newly produced cement with him this time.

With no suitable storage materials available, all the cement had been packed into wooden barrels, with a lump of quicklime placed inside each as a desiccant. From a distance, the barrels looked as though they held alcohol.

These cement barrels weighed around forty kilograms each, and were carried using something resembling a harness. The journey of more than three hundred meters left many prisoners so exhausted they could barely move their hands. All those carrying the supplies were pirates who had just been captured.

"These disgusting bastards have forsaken the Drowned God. Look at them! They're even eating with those people. They're no longer Ironborn. They're traitors, rebels who will never enter the Drowned God's Watery Halls!"

Emmy Blacktyde spoke indignantly to the Ironborn pirates around him. They were chained together, while the strongest pirates, such as Emmy Blacktyde, were bound separately.

"Boss Emmy! What's going to happen to us? They're not going to kill us here, are they?"

Henry Pyke put the question to Emmy Blacktyde.

"Are they going to sell us to the eastern continent?"

A pirate chained together with Henry Pyke suddenly spoke up.

"But I heard these northerners usually send criminals to the Wall. May the Drowned God curse them! I don't want to go there. There's ice everywhere. I heard that when it's coldest, even your piss freezes while you're standing there!"

That came from a big man among another group of pirates.

"I heard..."

The captured pirates talked over one another, recounting what they had heard and speculated. Their future was unknown, so they were all somewhat afraid. The truly fanatical followers of the Drowned God had already died in the battle. Those left were either slippery types or men afraid of death.

After all, only a minority of people in this world truly feared no death and would sacrifice everything for their faith. Most merely sought benefits for themselves in the name of faith. Though these pirates of the "Sons of the Drowned God" all claimed to be true believers, most of them were ultimately just fishermen and sailors who could no longer make a living.

"Ahem, listen up, you lot. Lord Eddard has passed judgment on your crimes. Under the 'Pirate Reform Act' issued by House Flint, you all have the right to regain your freedom. But before that, you must complete your reform through labor and accept punishment for your plundering!"

Arthur Stone shouted at the pirates through his wooden megaphone. After hearing his words, they began talking over one another.

Clang, clang, clang...

"Silence!"

"Anyone who interrupts me like that again will have tonight's food cut in half. Keep your mouths shut and raise your hand if you have something to say. I'll answer your questions, but only one per person. Think carefully before you ask!"

Arthur Stone roared at the noisy prisoners, while an assistant beside him took out a handbell and rang it repeatedly. Once everyone had shut their mouths, Arthur Stone directly laid out his requirements for the pirates.

After hearing Arthur Stone's words, the captured pirates all turned toward Emmy Blacktyde.

"We..."

Clang, clang, clang...

"I am..."

Clang, clang, clang...

The conceited Emmy Blacktyde did not want to follow Arthur Stone's orders, but the other man had no intention of letting him speak. As long as he failed to raise his hand, Arthur's assistant kept ringing the bell.

Left with no choice, Emmy Blacktyde raised his hand. Seeing that he had yielded, Arthur Stone spoke directly:

"Good, you can follow orders. I was going to cut your food, but since you've obeyed now, I'll cancel that punishment. What's your question? Speak!"

"Is what you said true? We still have a chance to leave?"

After looking at him, Arthur Stone turned toward "One-Eye" Billy beside him, who whispered a few words in Arthur's ear.

"Emmy Blacktyde, is it? You must be from House Blacktyde of Blacktyde. If you have any standing in your family, we can help you write a letter asking them to come ransom you."

"I... I can't!"

Emmy Blacktyde had briefly grown excited at Arthur's words, but when he remembered the real reason he had left to join the Sons of the Drowned God, a trace of helplessness welled up inside him.

Seeing his expression, Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone sighed in sympathy. But then Arthur Stone remembered that the man at least had a family name, while he could only bear a bastard's surname until his death.

But Lord Eddard has never cared about any of that. How wonderful!

Arthur Stone then explained Eddard's new laws to the captured pirates. From now on, their reform through labor would operate on a points system. Once they accumulated enough points, they could leave. The points also had many other uses, including exchanging them for food, alcohol, and even prostitutes.

The pirates' work was simple: they only had to load the mine carts down in the mine. When necessary, they would also reinforce and repair the mine tunnels. "Arcane Power Two" would handle hauling the carts.

Random prisoners among these captured pirates would be parasitized by Parasite Demons, turning them into Eddard's insiders. This would allow Eddard to keep track of the prisoners' information and movements at any time, slowly and thoroughly "reforming" them into subjects of House Flint.

Meanwhile, Eddard had arrived at the former Blackstone Ruins with "Housecat" Bran and his two sons. After the Dragonglass Lesser Demons opened the passage here, several Wights with blood-red eyes had rushed out.

These were not Wights in the true sense, but puppets summoned through a form of Necromancy. They were the product of a crude form of soul-manipulating magic developed by the "Witch Queen," Alys Rivers, using the power of the Valyrian Dragonlords' bloodline.

After the White Holy Tree analyzed it, Eddard learned that this magic was a crude method of injecting twisted souls into corpses. Since Alys Rivers had not yet mastered a way to control the twisted souls of the Children of the Forest, she had settled for a method of torturing human souls instead.

Alys Rivers had brainwashed all the men and women of the Bloodheart Clan into fanatical demon worshippers. Under the combined effects of certain spells and drugs, these Clan Warriors' souls had undergone a change. After they died, the slaughter and hatred accumulated within their souls remained in their corpses, turning them into puppets controlled by Alys Rivers.

These Wights were vastly inferior to those created by the Others in the north, nowhere near their level of deathless endurance. This was related to the strength of the Children of the Forest's twisted souls. Most Wights created by the Others housed twisted souls of the Children of the Forest, which was why those Wights were so difficult to destroy.

These creatures were simply no match for the Wights summoned by the Others. Under the Dragonglass Lesser Demons' attacks, the somewhat frightening dried corpses became truly dead bodies.

The Dragonglass Lesser Demons shared similar characteristics with the Others. Normally, they did not need to eat at all. Only when injured or missing parts of their bodies did they consume dragonglass to restore themselves.

After ordering the Dragonglass Lesser Demons to bury the dried corpses, Eddard led "Housecat" Bran's family, "Thin Pigeon," and the others into the strange underground ruins.

There were still some differences between the Blackstone Ruins as Eddard had perceived them and what he actually saw. This area consisted of tower-shaped altar structures and houses. Although the buildings appeared very well preserved, from a distance they exuded a terrifying deathly stillness, as though some dreadful monster lurked within them.

Traces of human habitation were still visible in these buildings, for certain symbols upon them dated back to the time of the First Men. Since the ancient First Men had left no writing behind, some maesters at the Citadel refused to acknowledge that a civilization had ever arisen among them.

Yet in many ancient ruins throughout the present-day North, runes left by the ancient First Men still remained. Some maesters considered these runes evidence of the First Men's culture, while those who disagreed maintained that they were merely meaningless symbols.

But only Eddard knew that these runes were not meaningless scrawls. They were symbols originating from certain chaotic faiths-or, more precisely, demonic runes.

After the ancient First Men fell under Demon B'lack's influence, some of them continued to preserve their terrifying, evil faith. Although most of the ancient First Men worshipped the Old Gods, in certain unknown primitive tribes, Demon B'lack's soul still secretly watched this world.

A demon wielding mighty powers of authority, such as Demon B'lack, would never truly disappear. According to the information Eddard possessed, portions of Demon B'lack's body and soul still existed in the First Men's Barrows, the Neck, the Sheephead Hills, the Wolfswood, and the Frostfangs.

They were contingencies Demon B'lack had left with his dismembered flesh after his physical body in this world was destroyed. Given time, once he obtained enough souls and blood, Demon B'lack could resurrect himself and complete his previously unfinished undertaking.

According to the divisions of the demonic power system, Demon B'lack should have had seven such contingencies. Yet even after tracing back through Demon B'lack's soul, Eddard had obtained no information. It seemed that this last one should be his most powerful contingency.

"Whoosh..."

Just then, strange gusts of wind sounded from every corner of the buildings, followed by waves of a peculiar, foul, bloody odor. It was not the smell of mold or rot on objects, but rather resembled the secretions of some living creature.

"Watch out, my lord!"

As Eddard pondered these matters, a voice suddenly reached his ears. Immediately afterward, someone tackled him to the ground. The instant he fell, Eddard heard bolts being fired and guards drawing their swords.

"Hiss..."

After Eddard, their primary entity, came under attack, the Dragonglass Lesser Demons roared and rushed in from all around. "Thin Pigeon," who had just tackled Eddard, hurriedly rose and dragged him back into cover.

It had all happened so suddenly. By the time Eddard reacted, the Dragonglass Lesser Demons had already engaged the monster attacking him, while the guards, Bran, and his two sons were firing compound crossbows at it.

When Eddard stood with "Thin Pigeon's" help, he finally saw the strange creature that had attacked him. It was a terrifying monster combining a spider and a woman. Its upper body resembled a naked woman covered in scales and fine hair.

Its lower body consisted of the abdomen and rear of a gigantic black-haired spider. It appeared to stand over three meters tall. This was a strange creature combining desire and terror. Looking only at its upper half, it possessed a peculiar allure.

Its wildly disproportionate breasts and slender waist could easily make a hot-blooded young man flush. Though parts of the monster's body bore strange fine hair and scales, they did nothing to diminish its peculiar "charm." Its body also constantly emitted a faint, strange scent.

Over time, that scent brought an inexplicable sense of burning heat. Noticing that something was wrong, Eddard reacted. He hurriedly activated the Golden Eye and shouted to those around him, whose eyes had already begun changing color:

"Everyone, stop attacking and get behind me! Let the Dragonglass Lesser Demons deal with it!"

"Yes... yes... Lord Eddard!"

Although only a handful answered him, Eddard had already extended the tentacles on his head and pulled the nearest people over. After handing them Ice Dragonglass, he ordered the Dragonglass Lesser Demons to attack more fiercely.

"Hiss..."

These tireless, desireless Dragonglass Lesser Demons were completely unaffected by the spider monster. The infernal lava that had once flowed in their veins had been replaced by dragonglass. Cold and deathly stillness had become their entirety.

As the attacks continued to intensify, the spider monster began to struggle. After it let out a series of strange roars, rustling sounds arose among the buildings of the ruins, as though something were moving.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"...

Before long, strange hissing sounds arose from every direction around them. Without realizing it, Eddard and his companions seemed to have been surrounded by some kind of strange creatures.