SSS-Class Overlord: My Harem Rules the Realms (18+)-Chapter 77: An Unknown Code?

The echo of the metallic clatter still hummed in Ethan’s ears. Silence returned like a held breath,

thicker than before.

He shot a look at Reyna and Daniel, jerking his chin toward the dark hallway.

"Move quiet," he murmured. "Weapons ready."

Reyna hefted her longsword, resting the flat of the blade against her shoulder. A glimmer of grim

anticipation burned in her eyes.

Daniel swallowed hard and shifted his grip on the battered axe he’d found earlier, the haft sweatslick in his palms.

The three of them advanced.

Every step was measured, soundless. Ethan glided over debris, his boots brushing dust into faint

spirals. Light from gaps in the ruined ceiling traced ghostly shapes along cracked walls, catching

on splinters of glass like shards of stars.

The hallway twisted ahead, oppressive and tight, as though the very stones were leaning inward

to listen. The smell of mold and stale blood clung to the air, thick enough to taste.

Ethan kept one hand curled around Warlord’s Fang’s hilt. The other hovered near his coat, ready

for quick access to his system. His heartbeat thumped a slow, controlled rhythm in his chest.

There was a savage thrill in the uncertainty, a tension coiling beneath his skin. This was what he

lived for—the unknown, the edge between hunter and hunted.

Dust sifted down from the cracked ceiling. Somewhere deeper in the house, wood creaked and

snapped like knuckles popping.

They reached the doorway from where the sound had come. The door hung half-open, darkness

spilling through the gap.

Ethan raised two fingers, signaling them to wait. He listened, straining for a breath, a whisper...

anything.

Nothing came.

In a single, smooth motion, he kicked the door open and swept inside, blade half-drawn—

Only to freeze.

No enemy waited to ambush them. No monster sprang from the shadows.

Instead, a single photograph lay face-down on the dusty wooden floor, edges curled and

yellowing.

Reyna scowled. "A bloody photo? I was hopin’ fer somethin’ ta chop, don’t ya?"

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. Carefully, he crouched and flipped the photo over.

The faded image showed a tall man with a hawkish nose and a stiff military posture. His robes

were ornate, heavy with embroidery. A seal of nobility was pinned to his chest.

"System," Ethan muttered. "Scan it."

A pale blue glow bloomed at the corner of his vision.

[System Notification]

[Scanning photograph...]

[Subject identified: Baron Cestrov Lorne. Former ruler and landholder of this territory, declared

deceased five years ago.]

[Additional note: Anomaly detected within the object. Recommend physical manipulation for

further analysis.]

Ethan tilted the photograph, rotating it under the dim light. The paper flexed stiffly, and a glint of

ink shimmered across the back.

Letters and numbers appeared, previously invisible. Tiny, scrawled lines:

[VX-13 | OMEGA | 1147-AL]

Reyna blinked. "The hell’s that s’posed ta mean, don’t ya?"

Ethan stared at it, gears turning in his mind. "System, is this some kind of code? Morse, cipher,

coordinates?"

[System Notification]

[Analyzing...]

[Partial match: Encryption format resembles older military cipher protocols. However, unable to

fully decode without linked data. Recommend locating connected physical object for decryption.]

Ethan exhaled, tucking the photo carefully into his coat. "Fine. We’ll figure it out when we hit the

matching piece."

He pushed to his feet and swept the room with a cold, appraising look. His eyes flicked toward an

arched doorway at the room’s far end.

"C’mon. Let’s check the library."

They crossed the mansion’s echoing halls, passing shattered furniture, dusty statues with missing

heads, and scorched patches along the walls that hinted at violent magic.

The closer they drew to the library, the colder the air seemed to grow. It felt charged somehow,

like the hush before a storm.

The library door loomed ahead—thick, dark wood scarred with deep claw marks. Ethan forced it

open with his shoulder.

Inside, the air was dense with the smell of rotting parchment and leather. Floor-to-ceiling shelves

stretched into gloom, sagging under the weight of countless books. Pages lay strewn everywhere

like fallen leaves.

Reyna whistled under her breath. "Now this’s more like it. Bet there’s secrets hidin’ in these dusty

bastards, don’t ya?"

Daniel stood still, eyes wide. "How many books...?"

Ethan’s lips curled into a sharp grin. "More than we’ve got time for."

He barked orders. "Split up. Pull anything that looks official, old, or weird. Move."

Reyna stalked off, muttering about how paper smelled worse than an ogre’s pits. Daniel moved

hesitantly between shelves, eyes scanning the spines.

Ethan reached for a stack of battered tomes, opening them with methodical precision. He flipped

pages rapidly while murmuring:

"System, assist with rapid scanning. Catalog titles and cross-reference keywords: Baron Lorne,

VX-13, Omega, monster corruption."

[System Notification]

[Understood. Activating high-speed document scan.]

Blue light shimmered across the text as the system devoured page after page. Ethan worked in

silence, mind running sharp and cold.

Several books yielded nothing but tax records, trade logs, and court gossip. But as he reached for

a cracked leather volume, the spine nearly crumbled in his grasp. The leather was mottled,

blackened by age, edges curled like burnt paper.

A chill prickled across Ethan’s skin as he flipped it open.

[System Notification]

[Suspicious anomaly detected within document. Recommend detailed inspection.]

Ethan’s black eyes glinted with dangerous interest. "Show me."

He shifted the book closer to the light. The pages were thick, vellum-like, stained brown with age.

The ink was so faded it was almost invisible, but as Ethan tilted the book, strange shimmering

patterns flickered across the paper—like veins of silver beneath the surface.

Reyna wandered closer, peering over his shoulder. "That look like normal scribblin’ ta you, don’t

ya?"

Ethan didn’t answer. He dragged a thumb along the margin, feeling the slight groove of hidden

writing beneath the surface. It felt like scars.

Daniel approached, looking pale. "Is that... magic writing?"

Ethan shot him a grin. "I don’t know about that."

He nodded once.

"System. Enhance hidden markings. Display overlay."

[System Notification]

[Activating spectral overlay...]

[A glowing latticework of letters and symbols blossomed across the pages, shimmering like

starlight. Words crawled into focus:]

["bound by pact...

the blood key seals the gate

VX-13

the price of awakening is blood"]

Ethan’s brow furrowed. "Blood key..."

Reyna’s fingers twitched on her sword hilt. "Sounds like dark ritual nonsense, don’t ya?"

Ethan kept scanning, eyes flicking faster. "No... it’s tied to this corruption. VX-13. Omega. It’s all

connected."

Suddenly the library’s walls seemed to tighten around them. A low vibration pulsed through the

floor, like a heartbeat deep beneath the stone.

Daniel whispered, voice trembling. "Ethan... something’s coming."

Ethan didn’t look up. His voice was soft, almost amused.

"Let it. We’re finally gettin’ somewhere."

And as the glow of hidden words spilled over his face, Ethan turned the page to reveal yet deeper

secrets... and the silence seemed ready to shatter.

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