ã€ŠLet me play the villainã€‹


 Chapter 1 : whose fault

    In truth, I was broken. This world¡­ well, now that world, isn''t easy. Work, money, work, money. It was the same cycle. I was fed up with it but kept going. I wasn''t brave enough to stand up for myself. I was nobody in a low society with my low-paying job.

    But then it all came crashing down. The higher-ups¡­ they didn''t want me anymore. I became nothing to them. I lost my job¡ªthe only thing that kept me sane in that insane world.

    Still, I held on. I was afraid to let go, afraid to fall even further. Even when reality hit me hard, even when the world I had built for myself crumbled before my eyes, even when I had no idea what to do anymore¡­

    I kept holding on.

    But when a homeless man asked me where the Philosopher''s Stone was, that was my last straw. I knew what I had to do. I had to let go¡ªI had nothing left to hold onto. That same homeless man became my very first victim. He bled and bled, screamed and screamed, but I was lost in a joy I had never felt before.

    "Ugh, sir, I''m homeless. It''s been a long time since I even talked to someone. I don¡¯t know what you''re saying."

    "......"

    Under the bright moon and stars, in a rundown alley, a homeless man lay on the ground. In front of him, crouching, was a handsome young man dressed in luxurious clothes.

    "So you people don¡¯t know why I''m here¡­ why I''m in this¡­ this video game I played for fun as some mediocre villain. Is it not your people''s curse that I''ve ended up here?"

    The homeless man shook his head in utter confusion.

    The young man sighed in disappointment. A moment of silence passed between them before the homeless man spoke again.

    "Sir¡­"

    "Do you realize that by denying it, you lose the tiny bit of value I had for you? And now¡­ you know a secret that no one should have known."

    As the young man interrupted, he and the homeless man locked eyes, staring at each other in tense silence.

    "Please, Lord, I won''t tell a soul," the homeless man begged at the young man''s feet, but all he met were cold, unfeeling eyes.

    "Why do you have to be useless? It''s your fault," the young man said, kicking the homeless man away, tears streaming down his face. He then looked at the man helplessly.

    <Summon Hellhound>

    In the young man''s world, a fiery wave erupted from the earth, and through the crimson flames, two fierce wolves emerged, lunging at the homeless man. They tore into him despite his horrifying pleadings and screams.

    The young man pulled his hood back over his head and blended into the darkness of the alley, silently moving toward the carriage waiting for him on the road. As he walked, he looked up at the cloudless sky. The stars shone like jewels, and a cluster of colorful layers painted the galaxy like a mystical work of art.

    "God, it''s all directing at you now. I don''t know why, but I have this feeling that you''re asking something of me. Back on Earth, I had¡­ something like a realization. And just after that, you put me in this villain''s body, one destined to die by the hero''s hand. By doing that, are you expecting me to be better? ¡­Well¡­ fine then. If you want a better villain, then let me be the villain you want."

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ''Mordred Vorthian Arclore'' was my name¡­ or rather, the name I accepted.

    I was originally a salaryman living an ordinary life. But when life got tough, with a poof, I ended up here without a clue.

    This world is not unfamiliar to me. It is the world from a video game I used to play when I was younger. Destiny Quest¡ªa game that lets the player choose a character and experience the story through their eyes.

    There were many characters in the game. Some were villains, and many were heroes. Unfortunately, I am not a hero destined for a good life. In the end, I am a villain¡ªa mere stepping stone for the hero.

    But thankfully, in this life, I am not like I was before. I have money¡­ and power.

    A burst of red fire erupted from the earth, and from within the flames, two fierce wolves were born. They stepped forward, circling Mordred, who stood gazing out the window.

    And that¡¯s not all¡ªI even have the Item Storage with all the equipment I had when I played the game. With all these advantages, I think I can surpass the original Mordred. After all, there must be a reason why I¡¯m here, and I believe this is my purpose.

    Tap! Tap!

    Someone knocked on the door to his room.

    "Come in," Mordred responded.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    As the door opened, a beautiful young woman stepped inside. Dressed in a maid''s uniform, she lowered her head respectfully.

    "Master, there has been an accident in one of our factories."

    Upon hearing this, Mordred fell silent.

    "What are the casualties?"

    "Goods have been exposed, and a few civilians lost their lives. All assets are under guard, and I believe they are trying to find the source. If you give the order, Nigun and I can silence them," the maid answered.

    "Unnecessary. Instead, find out who those civilians are and their backgrounds."

    The maid momentarily became confused by her master''s words.

    "But Master, I don''t believe there''s any point in looking into them. What¡¯s more important is silencing the guards."

    "I believe there is. And I want you to obey my order," Mordred''s voice was loud and domineering, instantly silencing the maid.

    "Y-Yes, Master," Obeying his command, the maid left the room.

    As he watched her leave, Mordred turned back to the window, gazing at the night sky.

    "After all, those bound by laws are like bees¡ªit only takes a tiny bit of honey to get what I want."

    Gazing at the bright moon, Mordred whispered to himself like a chant...

    "A man should do what he believes..."

    . . . . . . . . .

    In Destiny Quest, the player can choose to be either a hero or a villain. While a hero¡¯s story leads to a better ending, a villain¡¯s fate is either death or imprisonment for their crimes.

    But since I''m here now, I refuse to accept either outcome.

    With my words, a digitalized panel appeared before my eyes¡ªjust like the in-game status screen. Only I could see it. Even if I opened it in front of others, they seemed unable to perceive it.

    Name: Mordred Vorthian Arclore

    Titles: Second Son of the Arclore Noble Family. Owner of the Underworld Spirit-Human Research Lab. Traitor of Ancient Spirits.

    Class: Spirit Warrior

    Traits: Dignity of a Villain?, Synchronization, Appraisal

    Contracted Spirit: Hellhound (2)

    Special Catalogue: Item Storage 48/50

    In Destiny Quest, there are only a few main classes a player can begin with. However, within those few classes, there are thousands of sub-classes to choose from. Its one of the game''s main selling points. However, Even if two players select the same class for their heroes, their power levels can still vary drastically.

    What determines this difference is the Special Catalogue¡ªa unique ability possessed by each character. Every hero and villain in the game has a catalogue exclusive to them. Mordred¡¯s original catalogue was tied to his class, allowing him to form deeper bonds with creatures. However, due to my intervention, it has changed into one of his traits.

    Now, his Special Catalogue has been altered to Item Storage¡ªa feature that allows a player to store up to fifty items of their choosing while playing the game with any champion. It functions as a kind of memorial storage, where players can preserve and admire their favorite items.

    In the original game concept, Mordred is the second son of one of the most prestigious family in the Caldorath Kingdom. On the surface, he appears to be nothing more than a spoiled noble child, but in the shadows, he is a drug lord conducting cruel experiments on humans.

    Most of the heroes in the story target Mordred because of this. If I were to sever my ties with the underworld now, some of them might not even know I exist.

    But it¡¯s too tempting. The experiments Mordred is conducting are something unheard of¡ªsomething revolutionary. By using his class to summon spirit beings into this world, he extracts their blood and other parts for experimentation, creating something entirely new.

    In the game, this concept was never fully explained to the player, but in Mordred¡¯s memories, there is a wealth of information about what is actually going on.

    And after all, my goal is to be a better villain, not to abandon villainy altogether.

    "Since this is too important to give up, I need to eliminate any disturbances that stand in my way."

    Although the Item Catalogue itself is useless, the items stored within it are invaluable in countless ways. Summoning the digitalized panel, I clicked on Item Storage, and a list of items appeared before my eyes.

    <Token of Gratitude>

    Among them, I chose a token with a giant blue gem at its center.

    "Knight of Remiar, come forth to prove your worth once again."

    The gem on the token shone brightly, casting a thick blue smoke across the surroundings.

    Whoosh!

    Through the mist, a giant sword swung, scattering the smoke and revealing the figure of a heavily armored knight. He walked forward with heavy steps toward Mordred. The two hellhounds beside him growled, taking defensive positions in front of their master. However, when the knight thrust his sword into the ground and knelt, the hellhounds quieted down.

    "What do you require of me?" he asked.

    "First, I need to know¡ªdo you still obey me?"

    "Mordred, this is not a contract; it is a promise my original body made to you. You once saved him, and in return, he gave you his avatar. I will obey your every command, as my true self declared."

    Well, that¡¯s some lore I didn¡¯t ask for. Also, you¡¯re just an exchange item from a limited-time store.

    "Very well then. Do you still have your shadow assassins following you?" Mordred asked, wanting to confirm whether the mechanics he remembered from the game were still valid.

    The knight nodded, and in the next second, his shadow split into two. From within, two dark assassins emerged.

    "I want you two to follow Vanessa and Nigun. See if they carry out their tasks perfectly."

    With the Synchronization effect active, Mordred could send information about Vanessa and Nigun directly into the Knight of Remiar¡¯s mind, who then relayed it to the two shadow assassins.

    Whoosh!

    The shadow assassins vanished from the room, blending seamlessly into the darkness. With that done, Mordred recalled the Knight of Remiar back into the pendant.

    "First rule of being a villain¡ªnever trust others too much."

    Since I don¡¯t have any contracted creatures for gathering information, this is the only way to spy on them. Besides, the task they¡¯re handling is rather important. After all, I believe it¡¯s connected to one of the heroes destined to defeat me.

    . . . . . . .

    Uh!

    In a peaceful sanctuary, a young girl praying to her beloved god suddenly opened her eyes in distress.

    "Saintess, what¡¯s wrong?" The people around her looked at her with concern.

    "Something is wrong. I feel uneasy."

    Stopping her prayer, she stood up and walked away, followed closely by her attendant nuns.

    She made her way to the training grounds, where the sanctuary knights were practicing. There, she spotted a knight instructing others in their drills.

    "Sir Ardentis."

    "Saintess, it is an honor to see you, but what brings you to a place like this?" The knight quickly bowed to her respectfully.

    "I apologize if I am disturbing you, but I need you to check on the holy knight candidates we selected¡ªthe ones who still haven''t been invited and are living with their families. If possible, gather them."

    "Your Highness, is there a problem?" The knight looked a bit perplexed by the sudden request.

    "Not at the moment, but I have this feeling... it''s like something dark and ominous is pulling the strings of light away from us."

 Chapter 2: peace

    In the morning, when the first ray of sunlight fell on the Arclore family residence, Mordred heard a knock at his door.

    "There¡¯s gonna be a crime if it''s not something important."

    Still sleepy, Mordred got up from the bed. But before he opened the door, without even realizing it, he began to dress himself.

    "So this is what the dignity of a villain is called."

    Finally noticing his actions, he looked at himself in the mirror. Though still in his nightdress, he looked like a flower blooming in the morning.

    "Come in."

    At his words, an old butler dressed in a dark suit stepped in. "Young master, the mistress invites you to Breakfast."

    "My mother?....... I will be there in a minute. You can go now."

    The butler lowered his head in response as he took his leave.

    It''s been at least a week since I''ve been in this body, but not once have I been invited to anything. Why now, all of a sudden¡­?

    Getting up, he changed into a darker outfit¡ªa color that made him appear deep and mysterious.

    Stepping out of his room, he followed the path to the dining room with the help of Mordred''s original memories.

    On his way, he passed numerous maids and butlers working in the residence, as well as knights guarding the place, all of whom bowed slightly to him. In front of them, Mordred stayed sharp, like a knife that had just been sharpened.

    "Did you feel like something changed in the young master?"

    Looking at Mordred¡¯s distant figure, the maids whispered to another.

    "Shh! It''s not our place to discuss them."

    The dining hall of the Arclore family was a grand space filled with numerous paintings and sculptures by skilled artists. Surrounding the entire place was a beautiful garden, with giant windows on each side offering a perfect view of its beauty.

    As Mordred approached, he heard the sounds of plates and cups moving. When he finally arrived, he saw his mother¡ªa true beauty even in her mid-age¡ªsitting alone at the dining table. The maids were preparing the table, placing two plates on either side.

    So it''s just me and her.

    "I hope you had a wonderful morning, Mother," Mordred said, drawing all attention to himself.

    In Destiny Quest, Mordred hid his secret business so well that even his own family remained unaware of his true nature. His mother still believed him to be her dear, clueless son, ignorant of society¡¯s workings. However, in one scene, when one of the heroes exposed Mordred¡¯s true colors, his own mother had him executed in public.

    Since none of that happens now, I should be the clueless son.

    "Sit, my son; I hope you had a wonderful morning as well," Mordred¡¯s mother, Isadora Arclore, returned the greeting, showing a beautiful smile that warmed up the room. She was dressed in a bright red gown, and her skin was like a fairy¡¯s¡ªjust seeing her was enough to make someone feel at ease.

    "Certainly, I did, but I wonder mother, why did you called me." While sitting down, Mordred got straight to the point, but his mother responded with a hint of laziness.

    As Mordred took his seat, a maid offered him a cup of tea along with the breakfast he desired.

    "Why? ¡­ I just wanted to spend some time with my son. Don''t you like it?"

    "......I missed you too, Mother," Mordred answered after pondering for a few seconds.

    After finishing their small talk, the maids all left, leaving the mother and son alone. Dining on his meal, Mordred savored the taste. Something this fancy had never been a delicacy he enjoyed in his previous life.

    Only after a long silence did the two speak again.

    "There was a letter from the royal family. Apparently, they''re choosing candidates for the academy this year."

    Lifting his head, Mordred looked at his mother, finally getting the reason for his summon.

    There are a few academies in the kingdom¡ªVanguard and Baranguard are some of them¡ªbut the Kengen Academy, which is directly supported by the royal family, is something only the best of the best can attend. As one of the most prestigious families, Arclore would definitely receive admission.

    "Come to think of it, I''m not an adult yet. I''m just in my academy years. Also, the academy will be the best place for me to locate other heroes'' whereabouts."

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Do you want me to attend the academy, Mother?"

    "I''m glad you agreed," Isadora responded without delay.

    Looks like I had no option from the beginning.

    "Don''t worry, you won''t feel alone; after all, that girl is also going to be there." With a teasing smile, Isadora looked at her son.

    "Pff... What... What girl?" Mordred almost spilled his tea if not for his traits. Also, seeing his mother''s smile made him feel a bit sick.

    "Who else but your fianc¨¦e?"

    My fianc¨¦e...?

    . . . . . . .

    To humans, companionship is something serious; as weak beings, we depend on each other for physical and mental needs. But I''m different. I lived a dull life, and the only thing I focused on was my job. In truth, I never had a female companion, even in school. It''s not a problem for me to talk to a woman, but I don''t know how to handle someone who is supposed to be intimate with me.

    After breakfast, Mordred bid farewell to his mother, quickly returned to his room, and began to think. In the game, Mordred definitely had a fianc¨¦e, but later on, after being exposed for his crimes, she also became someone who helped the hero execute him.

    It''s okay; with my knowledge, I should be able to prevent her from turning against me. But the problem is... I don''t know how to talk to a woman like that.

    He originally tried to lean against the door to think about it, but his trait forced him to sit on a nearby chair and cross his legs in a prideful manner while pondering this devastating problem.

    "Come to think of it, Mordred doesn¡¯t have just one girlfriend. Later in the game, it is revealed that the original Mordred, the clueless son of Isadora, had been possessed by a spirit that escaped from an ancient city. The lore explains that when the original Mordred first summoned a spirit being, this particular spirit emerged with the help of his comrade from the ancient spirit society. But in the end, he betrayed his comrade, seized Mordred''s body, and closed the spirit gate to prevent others from coming through.

    As a result, except for the Hellhound that Mordred summoned using a very secret method, he never opened the spirit gate again out of fear that his old comrade would find their way to him.

    Among those old comrades, one had a romantic relationship with this spirit. I think she also ended up helping the hero in the same group.

    "Let''s see what I remember about this fianc¨¦e of mine." Leaning back in the chair, he started to dig through his memory.

    . . . . . . .

    That same morning, in the Hansvill Valley, which belonged to the Luminious family...

    "Young lady, young lady, look", a maid ran in the corridor before barging into a room where a young woman was lying on a long, comfortable sofa, reading a book in her hands. Upon hearing the maids, she lowered the book to look at her.

    "Misifin, it''s quite unsightly to see you run like that"

    "I apologize, my lady, but look", the maid showed a letter in her hand before handing it to the woman.

    ''invitation to the Kangan Academy" After leading the latter, she tosses it aside before going back to reading the book.

    "An academy exists only to show off their power; I''m not interested."

    "but my lady..."

    "How is the task I gave you? "she asked, interrupting the maid while turning a page from her book.

    "... my lady, the books have been secured, but we lack the necessary security to transport them back" The maid took her usual demeanour, one fitting for a high aristocrat family servant.

    "What about the mercenaries"

    "because of the mercenary king''s sudden announcement of taking a disciple, almost all of the mercenaries gone to Eluwald wild to test their luck" As she reported, the maid looked around the rooms, seeing how messy it was; she began to pick up the clothes and other things around the floor. Her young lady appears diligent to the outside world, but in private, she''s a carefree flower in the noble house. Even now she is dressed in a light dress that can see through to her undergarments. All of her carelessness is because she is completely obsessed with learning magic, and all the books in her library are filled with knowledge about elemental magic, which is the aspect she''s msot proficient in to the point she became the Adept stage elemental magician at such a young age.

    "It has been months, and the mercenary king still hasn''t chosen a disciple, is he that stingy with that barbarian title"

    "Someone did come at the top in these past months but suddenly someone else who had been at the bottom of the ranking showed a sudden burst of strength and began to compete for the title, thus prolonging the event"

    "who''s that, "asked the lady, turning another page, still not much interested in the topic.

    "his name is Agathor; some say he''s someone from a fallen family trying to revive its name, but some says he''s the illegitimate child of the mercenary king. Nonetheless, he seems skilled from what I heard"

    "..."

    "He even said to defeat young master Loren", said the maid, looking secretly at the young lady.

    "Loren... The same one who is friends with the young master, Mordred?" The girl lowered her book and looked at the maid, finally taking an interest in the subject.

    "That''s what I''ve heard. But don''t worry, young lady¡ªsomeone like young master Mordred would never be the type to seek vengeance for his friend... Not after attending the academy, of course."

    Then, finally, the girl put down her book.

    "Young master Mordred, attending academy this year.. "

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    "Josaphin ven luminous"

    Just like I remember, she''s from the luminous family, the prodigy whose class is a magician with sub-class Elementalist. Even before turning twenty, she was at the Adept stage.

    In Destiny quest, there exists a ranking system with living beings having five different stages while items having six different stages. Unlike magicians and warriors ranking systems where their own power is considered for rank. A summoner''s rank is determined by the power of their soul. Item rank depends on rarity and the type of ability it possesses. Except for item rank, the other ranking systems each have three stages within a given rank: beginning stage, middle stage, and peak stage.

    Considering I summon hell hounds, I should be also in the peak initial stage. Not bad..

    Sitting in his chair, holding the token of gratitude in his hand, Mordred thought to himself in silence. The sound of birds and wind kept echoing throughout his surroundings as he had opened a window on his side.

    In terms of time, I''m at a stage where some heroes aren''t even known yet. And since there is no player to limit or guide individual strength, I''m sure power dynamics will change.

    <Item Appraisal Complete>

    Name: Token of Gratitude

    Grade: Rare

    Description: An item bestowed by the Knight of Ramir to his savior. Once it recognizes its owner, it becomes bound to them for life. (Contains the avatar of Knight Ramir.)

    Current Owner: Mordred Vorthian Arclore

    Note: Appraisal takes a long time to complete and only works on magical items and other nonliving objects. Physical contact is required for activation.

    Putting the token back into storage, Mordred stood up, walked to the open window, and gazed out at the bright sky and the beautiful scenery of Arclore''s residence.

    "The whole place feels like a lavish city, but only the Arclore family and their servants can stay here."

    "This world is too peaceful... The true Mordred would hate it. But I... I guess I should enjoy it."

 Chapter 3: siblings

    Tok, tok.

    Someone knocked on the door.

    "Young master, it is I," came a female voice at the same time. Mordred recognized the voice as belonging to Vanessa, one of his loyal followers in the game.

    "Come in."

    "All of the civilians'' records are here, my lord, including their family members and where they live," she handed Mordred a list of names. This time, she wasn¡¯t dressed in her usual maid attire; instead, she wore a hooded jacket with slim, soft pants¡ªclothing suited for someone moving silently through the night.

    "You did well."

    Even though the handwriting wasn¡¯t very clear, Mordred managed to scan through the list. As he did, one familiar name caught his eye.

    "Are you certain the Ashburn family is in this place?"

    "...Up until last night when I checked, they were still in their home. They don¡¯t yet know about the loss of their parents," Vanessa answered carefully, remembering who the Ashburn family was.

    "Desire Ashburn should be here. I want you two to fetch him for me."

    He was one of the heroes in the game who drew his sword at Mordred before any other hero did, and he was a character with great potential to reach the Champion Realm quickly. To me, in order to rest comfortably, either he needed to be on my side or on the other side of life.

    After Vanessa left with Mordred¡¯s order, the shadows in the room wriggled as two shadow assassins hidden in the dark appeared before him.

    "Is what she said the truth?" Mordred asked in a cold voice while still gazing at the scenery outside.

    "They did tell the truth. At midnight, Vanessa and Negun divided the task among themselves to verify their location, and Vanessa herself was the one who confirmed the whereabouts of these two children."

    "...Continue to keep an eye on them. Make sure they do their job perfectly. If something goes wrong, inform me before taking any action."

    "Yes, my lord." With those words, the two shadow assassins blended into the darkness once more.

    There were so many red flags on a villain''s path that I couldn''t trust anyone, not even the ones Mordred had known since childhood. And when dealing with a destined hero, a villain needed to be extra careful.

    In the silent room, Mordred rang a bell that was placed on a nearby table. Soon, a maid arrived in response to the call.

    "Prepare my carriage; I need to go somewhere."

    . . . . . . .

    By order of the Saintess of the Holy Sanctuary, the holy knight Ardentist and a group of knights began gathering all the holy knight candidates they had been eyeing. This included children who had no clue about war or swords. But once the parents heard that their children would be trained to become holy knights which is an honorable title in itself, they happily agreed to entrust their children to them.

    But that was a fact the children didn¡¯t understand...

    "Mother, I can''t. Please don''t let them take me away..." a young boy cried in his mother''s lap before she gave him to a holy knight.

    "Shh! Shh! Shhh! Your mother isn''t going anywhere. When you want, you can see her anytime. But right now, you need to come with me if you want to protect your mother and loved ones in the future," the holy knight whispered kind, soothing words, comforting the crying child.

    Similar events took place elsewhere in the village, and the knight who received another child was Ardentist.

    "You''re a brave child, a good kid," Ardentist said, guiding the boy holding onto his hand toward the carriage. Unlike the other children who were crying, this one didn¡¯t shed a tear despite being separated from his family. Instead, he showed excitement upon hearing that they were going to the Holy Sanctuary.

    "What''s your name?" he asked before the boy got into the carriage.

    "Giben," said the kid in his innocent voice.

    "Well, Giben, I''m looking forward to seeing you as a holy knight one day."

    The child smiled upon hearing that, waving his hand to Ardentist. He got onto the carriage and headed back to the sanctuary.

    After the carriage disappeared, Ardentist got back on his horse.

    "Where else?"

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "In a nearby slum, just one kid," answered the knight beside him.

    "Let''s go." Ardentist, urging his horse, began to move with another two knights following behind him.

    . . . . . .

    In one of the poor houses in the slums, a kid around the age of fifteen or sixteen sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, wearing a long, old blanket from head to toe to warm himself from the cold. The whole house was like an abandoned building; except for the child, there was no living presence in it.

    Thud!

    Suddenly, the closed door of the house swung open, and a young girl, appearing to be a few years older than the boy, came in. In her hands were a few buns. After closing the door tightly, she walked over to the young boy. The young boy, who had been starving for a long while, took a bun from the girl''s hand and began to eat his fill. But despite already eating one, he was still hungry. However, he didn''t take the second bun from the girl''s hand.

    "it''s ok, you can eat it. I had my fill" Seeing her younger brother still seemed hungry, Olivia gave the last bun to him.

    "I can see through your like clear water sister. Don''t worry, when mom and dad come back, they gonna bring us a whole lot to eat", the little kid said like an adult with his sweet smile. Seeing that smile made Olivia''s worries disappear for a moment.

    Bang!

    But suddenly, disturbing the quietness and the sibling''s chatter, something hit on the door.

    "Olivia you bitch I know you in here, you stole from my shop for the last time"

    Bang! Bang!

    The loud sound on the door kept going on, and the two siblings hugged each other in fear, looking at the door. Even though Olivia is older than her brother, she''s still a frail little girl who''s waiting for her mom and dad to come back. But as days went by, she realised something was wrong and she had to take responsibility for her younger brother as the older sister, even if it meant stealing from someone else.

    Bang!

    With another loud sound, the door broke open, and a few men barged into the house.

    Among them, one man walks up to Olivia.

    "You stole enough from me. You hear me, you stole enough. It''s not only parent ditching their debts; now, Even their little offspring began to steal from me." he screamed.

    "Look around, take everything valuable,"

    The few men who came along with him began to search through the house, destroying everything.

    Oliver held her brother''s hand as she stood in front of him.

    After a few moments, the men found nothing valuable in the house except for the old furniture.

    "If there is not anything valuable, we have to go with something else." the man looked at Olivia.

    "Come here", he forcefully grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

    "No... Let me go"

    "Shut up, you brat, nobody would give a damn"

    "Let her go", her brother rushed out and hit the man with his hand, but to the mature man, his kid-like punches were nothing to feel. So the kid bit his hand instead.

    "Ugh, damn brat" With a kick, the man pushed the boy and then dragged Olivia forcefully through the door and through the street.

    The young boy stood up again with his shaking hand, holding his stomach, which gave him great pain.

    "No, sister", the boy tried to walk, but the other men left behind kicked him again, making him fall to the ground again.

    "She''s still young, but that slave market should have some place for her", the man dragging Olivia away thought to himself as he walked into an alley, holidng Olivia in one hand.

    "Please let me go. Mom and Dad will come back soon", Olivia continued to plead, but the man''s tight hand never let her go.

    "When your mom and dad come back they can save you then"

    "For how much are you thinking of selling her?" When The man took a turn, he suddenly met with two strangly dressed duo blocking his path.

    "And who the hell are you two"

    "Someone interest in buying that thing"

    The man turned silent upon hearing them. The fact that these two strangers suddenly appeared in front of him bothered him, and the way they dressed, hiding their faces, was very suspicious, so he didn''t want to get much involved in whatever was going on there. On the other hand, Olivia became anxious looking at the duo in the street.

    They both seem like women, and she even feels that they are trying to help her because of that fact.

    "Fifty gold coins" After a silence, the man spoke, and almost at the same time, one among the duo Responded.

    "Agreed"

    One of them threw a pouch of coins that fell on the road; the man pushed Olivia to them and grabbed the coin pouch before running away.

    "Who are you two, please I have a little brother who needs me, let me go"

    "Is you''re brother ''Desire'' still in the house."

    "Huh... Yas" Olivia realised that these two strangers knew about her more than she thought.

    "You take her away, I take the other one." the duo, who is actually Vennesa and Negun, talked to each other, and one of them knocked Olivia unconscious before grabbing her like a travelling bag.

    Then they separated on the street, one headed for Olivia''s house while the other headed back to a carriage.

    When Vennesa who headed to Olivia''s house arrive, she first saw the broken door in the house, then barged in.

    "kid, are you OK?" she found Olivia''s brother, who was lying on the floor. He was bleeding, and all over his body was a sign of Brutally being hit. But despite the harm, he still shows some signs of life.

    "He''s still breathing" Taking out a medicine pill, she carefully put it in his mouth.

    "Let''s get you somewhere safe" Holding Olivia''s brother from her hand, vennsea turned to leave.

    But what she faced was a few knights standing at the doorstep.

    "Who are you"

    . . . . . . .

    Clank! Clank!

    The holy knight armour erupted a sound as the three knights got off from their horses'' tops. Then, the sound continued with every step they took.

    "Are you sure this is the place?"

    Looking at the house that was poorly taken care of and had its door broken, Ardentist asked.

    "I''m certain, sir."

    "Proceed with caution then" Taking the lead, Ardentist walked to the house, and when he prepared to enter, he met Vennesa who was also stepping out to leave.

    "Who are you"

    Examining the way the figure dressed, Ardentist realised she dressed to be more agile.

    In the same way, Vennesa also examined the Knights, and realising they were Holy Knights, she took a step back.

    "The boy, he''s the candidate"

    Hearing the nearby Knights'' warning, Ardentist got more sucpicioius; in fact, from the moment Saintess suddenly said she needed to gather the holy candidates soon, he had his doubts; something was wrong, and he had been prepared for everything.

    "What is your purpose with that boy."

    "I need answers to my questions"

    The holy knights slowly encircled Vennesa, preventing her from escaping.

    Vennese is truly being surrounded and she didn''t know what to do except clash with them and run out.

    While Vennesa is thinking, under her feet, her shadow wiggles and blends into the other shadows in the room.

    In a carriage, Mordred is sitting in a corner while looking out from the window, the token of gratitude in his hand suddenly glowed.

    "Hmm.."

 Chapter 4: Light of awesomeness

    Holding the unconscious Olivia in his hands, Negun, in his hurried steps, arrived at the carriage park at the end of the slum road. There, he carefully placed her onto one of the seats.

    At that moment, he heard the sound of another carriage approaching in their direction. Looking at it, Negun recognized it as one of the carriages Mordred used when traveling in secret.

    "Boss?"

    . . . . . . . . .

    Inside the carriage, with Mordred''s intention, the Knight of Remiar was summoned from the Token of Gratitude and knelt beside him. The carriage was just large enough to accommodate his size.

    "What''s the point of glowing?"

    "It was a message from the assassins. There appear to be a few warriors blocking Vennesa from taking one of the children away."

    "Warriors? Are they mercenaries?"

    "That''s unknown. The assassins could not sense the aura of those knights; they are concealing it."

    Ohh, interesting...

    If they were just regular mercenaries, Vennesa had more than enough capability to handle them on her own. However, since she appeared to be struggling, either they were individually more powerful than her, or they overwhelmed her with numbers. Or it could be both.

    While Mordred was thinking, the carriage came to a halt.

    "In the case of the hero, their luck is extremely high. I had some doubts about whether this would be a success, and it was a good thing I was nearby."

    After calling back the Knight of Remiar to the token, Mordred got off. The first thing he saw was Negun running toward them.

    "Boss, you''re here personally! We''re almost done. Vennesa should bring back the other kid with her."

    "Not exactly. Let''s go. I need to finish the job with my own hands."

    With Negun as his guide, Mordred entered the slums.

    The slums were a truly dirty place. The streets were muddy, the houses were not built with proper materials, and even the people Mordred saw seemed to have evolved from a different species.

    Thankfully, even though Mordred belonged to the highest class of aristocracy, he didn''t have the kind of ego that would make entering a place like this nearly impossible.

    As they walked, they soon approached the house where Vennesa was.

    "It''s just around the corner, Boss. We can see it¡ªlook." Negun pointed toward a poor-looking house. However, behind him, Mordred suddenly jumped into the shadows of a nearby house as he noticed knights standing at the door.

    "Holy Knights? Why are they here?"

    Hidden in the shadows, Mordred peeked at them.

    The worst enemy any villain in the game faces is the Sanctuary of Holy Light and its knights. There are six Crowned Gods in the game, and opposing them, there are six Fallen Gods. In some special events, players can receive a god''s blessing depending on the side they choose. If the player is a hero, they receive a blessing from one of the Crowned Gods, but if the player is a villain, they receive a blessing from one of the Fallen Gods.

    The fact that the Holy Knights are here, at the same moment I try to get rid of one of the greatest Holy Knights in the future, means that woman from the Sanctuary is onto me.

    From the moment of my birth in this world, I had calculated everything¡ªthe game, every hero I faced, and even the challenges they would bring. But up until now, I hadn''t thought about certain people. No... in truth, my brain refused to think about them and kept forgetting, because of how much of a pain they are. Ignorance is bliss, they say. But reality is a cruel curse we cannot ignore. To think I would face off against her this soon...

    The Saintess of the Holy Light Sanctuary¡ªshe''s a character who possesses a unique Prophet class. At high levels, she can predict the future; at lower levels, she can sense the present. In the game, she wasn''t a playable character; instead, she acted as a guide for the hero to slay villains. She appeared at the most critical times of the hero''s journey, providing hints to help them move forward.

    The Holy Sanctuary and the Saintess¡ªright now, I definitely don''t want to get involved with them. They''re like dogs with a keen sense for villains.

    "Boss, what''s going on?"

    "Fall back. Take the other child with you to the residence."

    "But Boss, Vennesa..."

    "This is an order."

    Negun lowered his head. Obeying Mordred''s words, he quickly left. Mordred watched as he moved farther away.

    "Hold her!" At Olivia''s house, the Holy Knights surrounded and subdued Vennesa, holding her tightly and not letting her move as they dragged her out.

    "Get her into the Sanctuary. The Saintess will give us the final judgment¡ªwhether she has a pure heart or a foul one."

    The Holy Knights dragged Vennesa away, and the Ardentist went back into the house and spoke to the child.

    "What''s your name, kid?"

    "De... Desire. Where''s my sister? Did you see my sister, Uncle? Please save her from that man," the boy asked while crying.

    "We will save her as soon as we can, but for now, you need to come with us. It''s not safe for you here anymore."

    The Ardentist lifted Desire from the ground and brought him outside. He didn''t know what had happened to the boy''s sister, but because of the urgency of the situation, he needed to escort the Holy Knight candidates to the Sanctuary first.

    "Vennesa got caught. Not good. If she''s brought before that woman, she''s going to know everything."

    "Think, Mordred, think...!"

    "Remiar, call back the assassins."

    As the Token of Gratitude glowed, he slowly fell back along the way he came. After a moment, two assassins appeared in front of him.

    "One of you, follow behind the carriage Vennesa is in. The other, bring me a human vessel¡ªa living one."

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    With their orders, the two assassins disappeared in separate directions.

    Alone in the street, Mordred opened his unique catalog inventory and took out an eye-shaped item.

    "Though it''s a shame to use a high-grade item like this randomly, I have no choice."

    After a few seconds of holding it, the appraisal was completed.

    ---

    <Item Appraisal Completed>

    Name ¨C Gaze of the Deep One

    Grade ¨C Prestige

    Description ¨C An eye that fell from the dark abyss. Those who look at its closed eye suffer no harm, but whoever gazes into its open pupil will transform into a horrific monster. Once used, it will be bound to the possessor until their death. (The strength of the monster depends on the individual.)

    Current Owner ¨C Mordred Vorthian Arclore (Not Bound)

    This item is a grade above the Token of Gratitude, meaning it surpasses Rare and Honor grade items. Players need to go through a hellish quest to acquire one. The item''s appearance is that of an eye with its pupil closed.

    Soon, the assassin returned, dragging an unconscious young man in his grasp.

    Awakening the young man, Mordred held him against the wall, preventing him from moving.

    "Activate, activate... How do I activate this?"

    In the game, there was an icon for that purpose, but in reality, there were no icons.

    Suddenly, as he pondered, knowledge surfaced in Mordred¡¯s mind.

    ''O great Deep One, open your eyes and look upon this polluted world once again, to spread your undeserving kindness to us slowly dying beings.''

    The eye suddenly burst open, emitting a deep red miasma. It stared directly at the innocent young man before it.

    "Ah, what is this? Ah, please, save me... Nooo¡ª!"

    . . . . . . . .

    "Get in."

    At Ardentist¡¯s command, Desire stepped into the carriage, where a few other Holy Knight candidates sat. Anxious, he kept glancing toward the slums, hoping the Holy Knights would bring his sister back.

    "Escort them safely. Be careful of the prisoner; although she appears weak, we still don¡¯t know her background."

    Ardentist had just finished speaking when suddenly, a giant roar echoed through the air.

    "What''s that?"

    "It came from the direction of the slums."

    The knights tensed as the unidentified, beastly roar continued to ring out.

    The residents of the slums ran in terror, causing chaos in the streets.

    "Something isn¡¯t right. Get the candidates to the Sanctuary quickly," Ardentist urged.

    However, from the depths of the slums, something massive leaped into the sky, soaring toward the clouds before crashing down beside the Holy Knights.

    Boom!

    The earth trembled, and the ground cracked. A powerful shockwave of dust and wind erupted outward, knocking weaker Holy Knights off their feet. The carriage carrying the candidates was thrown from the ground¡¯s impact, and the horses bolted in fear.

    From a distance, hidden in the shadows, Mordred watched in silence, his cold gaze fixed on the monster he had just created.

    "A monster that hates holy energy... Perfect. Seems even the gods are helping me become a better villain... better at villain..."

    Caught in the violent dust storm, Ardentist was the first to regain his footing.

    "Stand together, knights! Use your holy energy to resist!"

    "Raghhh!"

    As the knights struggled to stay within each other''s sight amidst the swirling dust, the monster began its assault, targeting a lone knight.

    "Raghh!"

    "Ahh... Shit... Help¡ª!"

    Through the knight¡¯s desperate screams, Ardentist stood firm. Holy energy surged within him, flowing into his sword, which began to glow with a brilliant light.

    "Vile beast, your trickery ends here!" Suddenly, with a surge of energy, Ardentist swung his sword. A huge wave of energy moved along with it, forcing away the dust and violent air around.

    "Raghh!"

    The monster hidden in the sand finally got revealed. Its appearance was similar to a huge, deformed human, but its face was like liquid; its eyes and mouth were not in their place, and its skin was melting down drop by drop.

    "Holy God! What kind of evil is this?"

    "Grab your sword, knight. With the light of our God, we shall eradicate this darkness."

    From his last action, Ardentist lost half of his holy energy. And he felt slightly exhausted. Although He expected to harm the beast with that sword swing, the monster seemed to have some resistance against the holy energy.

    "I never see a dark being like this; a creature that can resist holy energy is definitely the work of a fallen god. Saintess need to be informed about this quickly"

    With a Ardentist effort, the remaining knights quickly gathered together to resist the creature, which was taller than any regular human.

    "Raghh!"

    The beast ran madly toward the holy knights, drops of its melting skin falling to the ground along its path.

    "Knights, guard me!"

    Together, the holy knights resisted the creature''s mad charge, while Ardentist stood in the middle, surrounded by them. With his sword held high, he got into position to channel another holy attack to slay the creature once and for all.

    Raghh!

    Monster''s giant hand slammed at the holy Knights, sending one flying away and smashing another one into a bloody pulp. Nearby, holy knights fell into a tense atmosphere upon seeing their comrades'' gruesome deaths.

    "Don''t be afraid, can''t you see you''re fear strength him"

    Ardentise screamed, encouraging the knights again. The encouraged knights swing their sword at the beast. But despite their sword being enchanted with holy energy, which should have made them sharper, they failed to penetrate the beast''s skin.

    "What kind of monster is this?"

    "It''s too strong."

    While the knights struggled, Ardentise finished his preparations, with a loud roar he thrust his sword at the beast, sending a huge beam of holy light at its chest.

    Boom!

    A blinding light spread out, and the beast got completely swallowed in it. It screamed in pain, and the skin of its body began to emit something akin to burning smoke.

    "Did it work?"

    But as the light disappeared, Knight fell to despair; even though it was injured, the beast was still alive.

    Raggh!

    The enraged beast roared in anger and grabbed a nearby knight before crushing him into pieces.

    "I''m all out of energy, shit, I should have asked for reinforcement before coming here, this is my fault"

    Ardentist became panicked. The mad beast rushed at them once again, and this time, the holy knights had fewer people to resist it.

    "Is there a Dark being I see?"

    However, suddenly someone fell from the sky, a giant man heavily armored, swinging his giant sword at the beast.

    Boom!

    "Be purified by the light of my awesomeness!" The sword swung across the beast, slashing it apart.

    "Arghh!" The miserable scream of the monster rang in all the holy knights'' ears as they gazed at the strange warrior that appeared.

    "That''s... "Ardentists observe this new warrior, the armour he''s wearing, the sword he swings and more importantly, the energy he gives. This warrior is clearly someone with holy energy. This man is a comrade of them.

    "We thank you for your help, warrior; if not for you, we would have ended miserably", as the one got saved Ardentist greeted the warrior first as he looked at the beats that got sliced apart

    "Hmm, don''t mention it; me and my subordinate have been following this creature for a long time. But I lost the tack for her when she entered these slums so I suspect something must have gone wrong"

    The warrior wiped his heavy sword clean before placing it on his back, then he looked at the Ardenstis and the other holy knight.

    "Good job for holding the beast in, my fellow one blessed by the light," the warrior¡¯s cheerful smile warmed every knight up. He was strong, and he didn¡¯t act rough in front of them. More than anything else, he even saved them and didn¡¯t ask for anything in return. Truly, he¡¯s a warrior of the holy God.

    "Ah, may I know your name, sir? I¡¯m from the holy sanctuary belonging to Bishop Ryun. My name is Ardentist."

    Ardentist first introduced himself to the warrior.

    "Call me Arthur, I don''t belong to any holy god faction. And I walk alone on the path of light," the warrior introduced himself in return.

    "Someone working alone? Oh, you must have the blessing of our God than?"

    To what Ardentist asked, the warrior simply smiled. Ardentist didn¡¯t inquire further; he knew some knights did not like others to know about their personal information.

    "But it''s a shame," Arthur continued. "My subordinate said she found a kid with the potential to be a holy knight and was protecting him until I arrived. However, I lost contact with her. The beast must have done something to her." The warrior showed a sorrowful expression.

    "Huh," his tale felt familiar to Ardentist; the holy knights around him felt the same.

    "Could that person have been a woman," Ardentist inquired further into the question.

    "Yas, she indeed is a woman; why?, do you happen to know about her" the warrior looked at them with hope.

    The holy knights quickly acted and Searched around to find Vennesa, who was restrained by chains.

    "She''s alive!" Arthur cheered as he saw her.

    "We found her when we went to secure one of our holy candidates, but because of her suspicious actions, we subdued her to investigate. We had no idea she was protecting the kid until you came, lord. I apologize for the trouble we caused," said Ardentist with a bow toward Arthur.

    "She''s my trusted subordinate, but unfortunately, she''s become mute from an accident, and ever since then, incidents like this happen to her often. So please don''t worry about it much."

    The holy knights released Vanessa''s shackles and brought her to Arthur.

    "You, still clumsy like a kid. When she was just a child, she really hated the idea of harming others," he caressed her head. Only after hearing what he said did Vanessa get the gist of what was happening and stood beside him.

 Chapter 5: Light of awesomeness ll

    "Oh, by the way, what happened to that child you were protecting? Is he OK?"

    Vanessa looked at Ardentist and he responded to what Arthur asked. "Actually, we secured the child and planned to send him back to our sanctuary to train him."

    "It''s unfortunate. I had planned to train him under my care," Arthur showed a dissatisfied expression. However, the fact that the child must go to the sanctuary was clear in Ardentist''s mind, and he showed no intention of giving the child to anyone else, even if that person happened to be the one who saved him.

    After a moment of silence, realizing the two had reached an impasse, Arthur finally spoke.

    "Very well then. I slay the dark, and my job is done here. Farewell, fellow candles in light. Oh! Almost forgot to get a reminder," he said before proceeding to grab the severed head of the monster. Then, he jumped up with Vanessa in his hand, disappearing through the clouds.

    "He must be in Morphe stage to move like that," enviously watching Knight Arthur disappear through the clouds, Ardentist turned back to settle things on their side.

    Some holy knights found a few horses that hadn''t run far away, bound them to the carriage, and the first thing they did was escort the holy candidates back to the sanctuary.

    Before moving away, Ardentist got closer to the corpse of the headless monster and sliced off one of its hands.

    "Might be useful to the Saintess,"

    . . . . . .

    Looking at the holy knights and the carriage moving far into the distance, in the far corner of a slum, Knight Arthur stood motionlessly, his long cape slowly waving in the wind.

    Right beside him, Vanessa knelt before Mordred, who stood hidden in the shadow of a nearby tree.

    "Master, I failed. I don''t deserve your kindness. I''m not worthy to serve you anymore," Vanessa draw out a tiny knife hidden under her dress in a swift motion.

    "I saved you because I have use for you, and it''s not yours to decide whether you''re useful to me or not. Don''t act stupid,"

    Vanessa and Negun are siblings who have served Mordred since their childhood. They grew up with him and served him with true loyalty. Even when he turned to a dark path, they followed him without question. Though true loyalty is a subject I doubt from anyone, they are still valuable to me.

    Upon hearing Mordred, Vanessa paused and calmly put the knife back before continuing to kneel before him.

    "I apologize. The holy knights are more protective of their candidates, and I failed to retrieve the one you wanted."

    The knight, Arthur¡ªwho is actually the Knight of Remiar¡ªalso knelt beside Vanessa before Mordred.

    "Unfortunate, but it''s fine. I don''t want any attention from the holy sanctuary. If we ask for the candidates, they will try to keep an eye on us,"

    Also, it''s not like Desire would become a hero anytime soon. In the game, players start to play as Desire only after he awakens in the holy sanctuary as a holy knight. More than that, I have his sister with me. The unique trait Desire has is his pure heart, which gives him a tremendous boost when connected with holy energy.

    The fact that he abandoned his sister and fled is a sin he cannot forgive himself for, especially with his pure heart. If I use his sister in the correct way, I would be able to take care of him.

    But the problem is, how to make his sister obey my words...

    After a moment of silence, Mordred looked at the head of the monster Remiar brought back.

    On its forehead, there was the gaze of the Deep One.

    The holy knights that face off against it seem to still be in the beginner stage of the Adept rank, only the one in charge of them seems to be at Adept peak rank but with no special named skills. And the monster created by the item is at beginner Morph rank. So, Knight Remiar, who is also in the Morph rank, didn¡¯t have any problems when he retrieved the monster¡¯s head.

    Even if they¡¯re in the same rank, Remiar is still much more powerful than the monster.

    "Be detached, be detached, be detached."

    Grabbing the eye in its head, Mordred put some force to pull it back while praying. Normally, the item is supposed to be attached to the monster permanently, but now since the monster is dead, Mordred is unsure whether he could retrieve the item or not.

    However, the closed pupils of the eye suddenly opened, looking directly at him.

    Mordred quickly closed his eyes and took a step back. Remir, who¡¯s on guard, acted swiftly as he put himself in front of Mordred. He knew how ominous this item was.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    But the eye did nothing bad to Mordred and simply fell from the monster¡¯s head to the ground.

    "It got detached!."

    Picking up the eye, Knight Remiar offered it to Mordred. Who then put it into his item catalog.

    Almost scared me to death.

    "Let''s move, I have work to do."

    The Knight Remiar got called back into the token, and Vennesa followed behind Mordred. The two got into the carriage and drove away from the slums.

    . . . . . . .

    Under the bright sun of the middle of the day, the crows of bad omen cried near a large and gloomy factory.

    Parking near this building, Mordred stepped out from his carriage, wearing dark clothes with a hood covering his face.

    From the factory, a few people and one wearing a white coat came out to greet him.

    "Mister Mordred, I expected you to visit here."

    The woman wearing the coat greeted Mordred with a slight smile.

    "Unfortunately, some people don''t know how to do their work, so I had to." With few words, Mordred walked past her. The woman became silent upon hearing him and followed behind.

    Charlotte Pharoa, a skilled alchemist that got banned from the alchemy association for her taboo work. After becoming unemployed, she still continued to do her work, becoming a criminal wanted by the guardian Knights of the kingdom. After the transmigration, i managed to hunt her down with Mordred''s connections to the underworld. Then, after explaining my purpose, she gladly started to work for me.

    "Where are the casualty subjects?"

    "In the basement, but I do not suggest you go there. Even after their death, the toxicity of their bodies still has not faded."

    While talking, Mordred went into the factory. On the outside, it''s just a factory that produces chemicals for alchemists to purchase, but underneath, it is the facility where Mordred conducts his experiments on humans and other living beings.

    The factory workers bowed to Mordred as he passed through. Dressed as workers, they are all underworld thugs hired by the factory as guards. The funds are fully supplied by Mordred''s personal allowance, which he receives from the Arclore family.

    To support the entire factory and workers with only his allowance, one can imagine how giant and resourceful the Arclore family is. Even after all that, Mordred still has enough money to spend on anything he wants.

    Mordred went directly to the main office in the factory, where a bald and sly-looking man lick his feet.

    "Boss, this slave is glad to see your majestic figure."

    The bald man is a guinea pig Mordred put in as the factory owner. Originally, he was a homeless man, and after getting this job, he became a dog under Mordred''s foot.

    "outside"

    The bald man hurriedly left the room with Mordred''s order. After he left, Charlotte pulled a book from a nearby bookshelf, revealing a secret passage leading to the underground.

    When Mordred walked down through the passage, the sounds of some unknown creatures echoed from it, all coming from where he''s heading.

    The experiment lab is not something much larger and had fewer people, all of whom Mordred chose to his liking, and they are all either alchemists or spirit summoners, just like him.

    Because of the fear that the other spirit would come out from the portal he opened, the spirit that snatched Mordred''s body didn''t dare to summon the new spirit beings. So, he had to resort to another method and hired people with that ability to do the task for him.

    "This way, boss," walking past the working people, Charlotte guided Mordred into a corner of the underground place, where a pungent smell assaulted Mordred''s nose.

    Opening a cage, Charlotte lit a bright lamp, illuminating a gruesome scene inside. There were numerous deformed bodies of people, but their features were hardly recognizable as human.

    "Did you manage to identify the two people I asked for?"

    "I did," Charlotte then ordered a few slaves to move the two bodies from the mess and place them in front of Mordred.

    "Hmm... can you heal them or at least make them more human-like?"

    "uh... it would be hard. The blood we used this time is from a morph-rank spirit beast. It literally destroyed their bodies. Reversing or healing them is impossible with the current abilities we have."

    The morph-rank human and spirit beast are not the same. While the morph is the third rank of the human power ranking, for spirit beasts, it''s the second tier. If a human and spirit beast met, both at morph tier, the human would win without difficulty.

    Mordred gazed at the two lifeless, deformed bodies. They gave off a very repulsive smell.

    Truly dead. Shame. The plan to control Desire''s sister with their parents is a failure before it even started.

    "Get rid of them."

    Weirdly, looking at the lifeless body, which is in some way my fault, I didn''t feel an ounce of pity or sympathy.

    I guess that''s a benefit of being a villain.

    "You have something to say, Charlotte?"

    In the main office of the underground factory, Mordred sat in the comfortable seat, which is the place Charlotte usually sits, but now she sits where guests usually sit.

    "I have a new suggestion, boss."

    "What is it?"

    Taking out a report from the pile of files on the table, Charlotte handed it to me, and I began reading it.

    "A warlock?"

    "We''ve only been doing experiments with spirit beings but haven''t succeeded much in that subject. It''s not that I''m suggesting we move on, I''m just saying, why don''t we do both?"

    Charlotte said hesitantly, choosing her words carefully.

    In the same way as spirit summoners, warlocks also belong to the summoner class, but unlike spirit summoners where the creatures are summoned from the Spirit Realm, warlocks summon demons from Hell. So, one can guess how the Holy Church would go nuts over these guys.

    It''s pretty common for warlocks to be on the dark path.

    "Charlotte, are you suggesting we do research on hellspawns?"

    "But you do know that I only support spirit beings maintains right? ."

    Hearing the very fact she afraid of, Charlotte felt like she got choked on her own saliva.

    "Sir, the spirit creatures gave us a lot of knowledge, and I think we should broaden our horizons. Hellspawns are a totally new subject to us. And just like how we produce medicine that even the royal family didn¡¯t manage to achieve, I¡¯m confident if we experiment on hell beings, we will be able to achieve something new¡ªa new way of magic or a new path to power."

    With her fancy words, Charlotte trying her hardest to make me agree to this thing. And I¡¯m liking it. After all, in the end, what she''s doing is beneficial for me. This is a new development destiny quest didn¡¯t had.

    "Fine, proceed with caution then."

    "Boss, are you really..."

    Charlotte was truly surprised by Mordred agreeing so easily. She jumped in cheers and tried to even hug Mordred, which eventually ended up being a failure.

    "Hold on, warlocks can summon hellspawns along with dead beings'' souls, am I right...... Charlotte, don¡¯t get rid of those bodies. And I just changed my thoughts¡ªif your warlocks could do one thing I asked for, I would agree to the subject again."

    The smile on Charlotte''s face faded upon hearing that.

    "Boss, are you really gonna do that to me?"

    "I just did, Charlotte. Now move quickly before I add another condition."

    Like an arrow released from a bow, Charlotte hurriedly left the office, first heading to the basement of the place to prevent the deformed bodies from being thrown away.

 Chapter 6: Hope

    Unfortunately, the warlock Mordred needed wouldn¡¯t be able to meet him for a few days. So, after a short ride, the carriage, dragged by two horses, entered the Arclore residence.

    However, when it stopped in front of the main residence, there was another carriage halted in front of it.

    ''Vandir vorthian Arclore,'' the youngest son of the Arclore family head and the younger brother of Mordred Vorthian Arclore, stepped out from his carriage the very moment Mordred¡¯s carriage came to a halt.

    Mordred, dressed in his dark suit, stepped out. His charm was otherworldly, and the demeanor he showed even while walking was the true epitome of someone on a higher level of dignity.

    "Brother, fancy seeing you here."

    "Right back at you, little brother."

    The two brothers greeted each other with a smile. Vandir had two maids and a butler following behind him, while Mordred only had Vanessa as his maid.

    "Are you here to see Mother?"

    "Not correct. Since I¡¯ve been admitted into the academy, I need to know more about the subject I study. Where else but the library would be a better place for it?"

    "Ah, I see. Congratulations on being admitted into the academy, brother."

    A sweet smile showed on vandir face, but unlike Mordred, who is a mediocre villain in the game, vandir is one of the most terrifying villains.

    Hidden under that smile of his is his incredible jealousy toward his brother, who is beloved by their mother. As a result of this jealousy, in his heart, there was born an obsession to be like Mordred, to replace him one day. In the whole family, vandir is the only person who knows about the underworld business run by Mordred. Imitating that, he also joined the underworld, committing heinous acts.

    It was only after Mordred was killed that vandir finally showed his true colors. Dominating the whole Arclore family, at the end he became the head of the family. Along with his unique class, Doom, and unique catalog, Absolute Obsession, with power and money by his side, he became a nearly unbeatable challenge for the player.

    Making him one of my allies is impossible. Either I have to subjugate him or kill him for good... But now is not the time for that.

    Since I¡¯m still alive, vandir will hide his jealousy and continue to wait in the dark for his chance. Since that¡¯s the case, let him wait until I¡¯m prepared on my own.

    The two brothers arrived inside the main mantion where they separated and went their own ways.

    Walking in a corridor decorated with colorful stained-glass windows, Mordred came to the library of the Arclore family.

    "Young Master, how may I serve you today?"

    The librarian asked respectfully as he bowed to Mordred in a gentle way with the most articulate manners.

    "Is there a world map?"

    "A map of the world? Sir must be joking. We all know the terror in the sea doesn¡¯t let anything cross past it. It''s such a shame, really. But if Lord wishes, we possess a complete map of our continent. Would you like me to get it for you, Young Master?"

    "That would be sufficient."

    . . . . . . .

    As the sun in the east slowly drowned into the sea named Horizon, the lamps in the Arclore residence lit up to brighten the night of darkness.

    Dressed in her maid uniform, Vennesa was back in her usual maid performance. Pouring a cup of tea, she presented it to Mordred, who stood in front of a table.

    Slurp!

    While gazing at the large map spread on the table, Mordred took a sip.

    The map of the Destiny quest¡ªit''s the same as in the game, except for the part that still hadn''t been discovered by people in this world.

    If that woman in the sanctuary meddles in the very first thing I''ve done since coming to this place, she will definitely have the capability to interfere with my future plans. Two can¡¯t play this game, woman. If you screw me, I¡¯ll definitely screw you. The only way I could escape from her all-seeing grasp is by focusing her eyes on another side.

    Thud!

    With a pin, Mordred marked a certain place on the map.

    If the lore is correct, this place has a seal holding a herd of dark creatures from fallen gods.

    Slurp!

    Taking another sip, he leaned on his comfy seat; the leather seat was like a soft hand massaging his back. If not for Vennesa Being here and his dignity of villain trait working overtime. He would scream like a woman.

    "Send someone to check on this place. See if there''s anything like a deep, dark cave or a huge hole underground."

    "Yes, Master."

    Gazing at the map, Vennesa memorized the place pinned on it.

    Tok! Tok!

    "Master," Negun''s voice was heard from the other side of the door.

    "Enter."

    Clink!

    Negun, who was now also dressed in his butler uniform, entered the room and bowed to Mordred.

    "About the young girl, Master..."

    "She needs to wait more time. Keep her somewhere dark and alone. Let her feel the loneliness and sadness¡ªto the point where she craves the warmth of someone else. That will set the mood for the future plans."

    "At your words, Master."

    Leaning in the chair, Mordred took another sip, but the healthy tea didn''t feel enough for him.

    "I crave something intoxicating."

    At his words, Vennesa quickly moved, bringing a bottle of high-quality wine and pouring a glass for him.

    "Mmm..." The rich taste of the wine was something refreshing to him. Gazing at the night sky through the window, Mordred thought about his future plans while enjoying his glass of wine.

    ---

    Sanctuary of the Holy God:

    Stolen story; please report.

    In a giant hall where four towering god statues stood in four different corners, all the holy candidates that the holy knight brought gathered in.

    "From today, you will be nominated as candidates for the Holy Knights. We will train you and guide you in the path of light to bring the justice and kindness of our god to this world. It''s one of the greatest purposes you could fulfill in life, and I hope to see every one of your faces at the end of your training."

    A woman wearing light armor was giving a lecture to all the holy candidates. Among them stood Desire, who was very confused about the place and the state he was in.

    "Sister, where are you?" In his mind, he was still searching for his dear sister.

    After the woman finished speaking, she gazed at all the holy candidates. To her, most of them looked confused and stunned, just as she had expected. She remembered when she was also chosen as a holy candidate and brought to this place¡ªshe had the same reaction.

    Other than them, she also noticed a few who seemed excited, which was very rare.

    "Assign them to their rooms, let them rest for today, and begin training tomorrow," she ordered the nearby knight before turning to leave. However, Desire, who had been looking for someone to talk to, approached her.

    "Excuse me... Did you see my sister?"

    Aliyah looked back to see a kid talking to her.

    "Your sister?"

    "Yes, that knight uncle said he''ll look for her."

    Aliyah glanced at another knight. The knight shook his head in response.

    "Oh, your sister... Well, you see, your sister is in a very good place, but you cannot meet her right now. Only if you promise to train very hard to become a holy knight, I''ll let you see her."

    "But... I want to see her now."

    "Tch! Such a child."

    At that moment, another holy candidate overheard their conversation and came closer. Aliyah looked at the kid who had given the heartless response. Upon seeing him, she recognized him as one of the rare kids who had been excited to become a holy knight.

    "Can''t you understand? Being a holy knight is the best thing that could happen to you. Your sister probably didn¡¯t want to make you worry for her, so she ditched you."

    Even though he appeared heartless, he gave a very convincing reason. Who is this kid?

    "I''m Giben, and I say you should become a holy knight to show her that she doesn''t have to worry about you anymore. I bet she''s someone who really cares for you."

    Upon Giben''s words, Desire remembered how his sister took care of everything for him, and the sweet smile she gave him anytime he felt sad. In his heart rose the feeling to look after his sister and take care of her, to protect that smile of hers.

    "I...i will become a holy knight that my sister can be proud of and eradicate every bad thing from this world."

    A warm feeling rushed through Desire''s body with those words, as if his body was responding to his decision.

    The warmth was not illusory, and Aliyah actually felt it.

    "This... What is this? The warmth is similar to the light of the god... This kid is something special."

    Aliyah was very happy. Not only was there a kid with a very brave heart and words, but there also one with an extraordinary aptitude for the light of the god.

    "Seems the future generation of holy knights is going to be promising."

    . . . . . . .

    "Olivia, take care of your brother until your mother and I come back. I promise this time I''ll bring that dress you wanted so much..."

    Ever since that day, even after a week had passed, my mother and father never came back to us. I... We waited, starved, and stayed alone until Desire couldn''t hold his hunger anymore.

    Did our parents abandon us? Did we become a burden to them?

    With a slight headache, Olivia opened her heavy eyelids. The first thing that greeted her eyes was deep darkness that seemed to have no end, making her doubt whether she had actually opened them.

    She tried to stand up, but her legs were too weak¡ªher body had been starving for a while.

    Where am I?

    She had difficulty remembering what had happened to her. Searching through her memories, she suddenly remembered her little brother.

    "I hope he isn''t starving, wherever he is."

    Laying on the floor of the darkness, she still worried about her clumsy brother. She tried again to stand on her feet, but her weak legs shook even more with the effort.

    "Those two people... they bought me from that man. Did they do this to me? Why?"

    Clank!

    While Olivia was lost in thought, she heard a sound similar to a metal door being opened. A piercing bright light instantly lit up her surroundings, but the light was so intense that Olivia had to close her eyes for safety.

    She felt something hit her in that moment¡ªsomething soft. With her eyes closed, she moved her hands around to find what had fallen on her, and she discovered something that felt like a soft bun in her hand.

    In the next moment, she heard the door closing, and the brightness disappeared once again.

    "Wait... Please let me go. Why are you doing this to me?"

    Olivia pleaded, but her captors remained unmoved by her words.

    Back in the darkness, Olivia began to munch on the bun in her hand. Her starving body slowly regained enough strength to stand, but she could see nothing in the dark. She moved carefully in the direction where she had seen the light come from.

    Ah!

    Walking like a blind person, Olivia tripped over her foot and fell to the ground. Although no injuries occurred to her physical body, her strong mentality was slowly weakening, bit by bit.

 Chapter 7: The knight who weep

    Arclore residents are located to the north of Caldorath Kingdom. Even though it''s outside the kingdom, it holds much influence over the kingdom to the point that even a royal family member would think twice in front of the Arclore family. And, with the vast amount of land and the main clear water supply path it controls, the head of the family has tremendous responsibility.

    As the current beloved partner of the head of the family, Isadora Arclore shares this burden with her husband.

    "Your grace, the harvest report of this year has arrived."

    "Place it on the desk."

    In her working room, Isadora is looking at a report. The room she''s in is magnificently bright, with a large window beside her that opens to the outside valley, calming her mind from the workload if needed.

    "Also, your grace, the young master Mordred came to see you, as you requested."

    "Let him in."

    Mordred, dressed in a brown-colored suit, steps into his mother''s office to see she''s completely focused on her work. But when she hears his footsteps, she looks up at him.

    "Where''s your other one?"

    She noticed that only Vanessa was accompanying him.

    "Absent," Mordred gave a plain answer.

    After giving him a strange look, Isadora picks up a list from the pile of reports on her desk and hands it to Mordred.

    "What is it?"

    "Since you''re going to the academy, you obviously have to stay in the kingdom. We have several properties that belong to us. Choose one to your liking."

    Looking at the few papers presented to him, Mordred fell into thought.

    "Do you need more servants?" Isadora asked casually as she looked into another report.

    "Not necessary. I have essential ones."

    "Yes, I see. But how could someone be essential for you if they''re absent?"

    "Oh, I could assure you mother, his absence is the essential one for me."

    My mother paused as she looked at me and Vanessa. Seeing her face, I realized that what I said gave her a completely wrong idea.

    . . . . . .

    A lazy wind blew through a dreaded forest, shaking the tips of the trees, causing loose and dry leaves to fall to the ground.

    Walking under these trees was a man riding a horse. The dry leaves fell above the hood he was wearing to hide his face.

    The man stood in front of a sign where the words stated "Do not cross."

    He looked far ahead where the dreaded forest became more darker and lifeless. Looking around, he saw smoke rising to the clouds from another direction.

    "Hmph!"

    Urging his horse, the man followed the trail to the smoke. Where he ended up in front of an old tavern.

    With a thud, the door of the tavern opened as the man stepped in. The sound of cheers and laughter filled the interior.

    "Glass of beer, one copper coin," said the man at the bar table as the hooded man approached.

    Clink!

    Two poorly rounded coins fell on the bar table in response.

    While sitting down, the man focused his ears on the story someone was telling nearby.

    "In my days, we used no underwear, you see. So while we peeked at women in the river, climbing onto trees, what we didn¡¯t know was that we were also giving them an exclusive butt show for free."

    "Kha ha ha!" and the crowd goes wild.

    Thud!

    Two beer jugs were placed on the table in front of the man. But he only took one, and the other one was moved toward the man at the counter.

    "Anything about the forbidden forest?"

    The bartender looked at the man and then at the old man who was telling a story to others.

    "Hey Willie, you got a customer here."

    The old man stopped telling the story and came toward the man in the hood.

    "A glass of beer, acceptable, acceptable. So, what do you want to know?"

    "Forbidden forest."

    The old man fell silent upon hearing. Only for a few minutes...

    "Even I don''t know much about that place, since nobody''s allowed to go there, but I have heard from some of the experienced adventurer folks that a mystical creature used to live in that area, ruling every animal being in the forest. But once a great war broke out, fighting knights barged into the place, enraging the mystical beast. With its anger, it went on a rampage, destroying nearby villages and cities.

    Unable to bear the rage of the beast, people begged for two champion-stage warriors. Accepting their offer, they fought with the beast, bringing down the whole forest as an aftermath. Although the champion warriors didn''t manage to come out alive, neither did the beast manage to survive. With the wounds it suffered, it died in rage toward us, humanity. That rage turned into a curse, stealing life from everything around the body of the dying beast..." -

    ......

    - "¡­And rumors say that the place where the body of the beast was buried is what we now call the Forbidden Forest."

    In front of Mordred, Negun told all the information he had heard about the Forbidden Forest.

    A lore I never knew. Is it possible that this is the truth, and there are no ancient dark beings sealed there?

    I have to confirm this myself.

    "Prepare the horses. I''m going there on my own."

    . . . . .

    After long hours of work, when the night fell, Isadora finished her work. Looking outside at the valley brightened by the moonshine, she took a cold, refreshing breath.

    Tok! Tok!

    "Enter,"

    Isadora sat back in the chair, pouring the last bit of wine from a bottle.

    "My lady, young master Mordred has left the house."

    "At this hour?"

    Isadora looked perplex. Although not showing much on the outside, she¡¯s been keeping track of her son''s every movement¡ªwhat he eats and where he goes. And she knew, just a tiny bit, that her son was doing something illegal. But she didn¡¯t stop him, for as a man, he needed to know both the bright side and the dark side of the world, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt if he got experience from those things as long as he stayed in the Arclore territory.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "He''s at the growing age. Social experience is a must for a man to grow. Keep an eye on him."

    "At you wish, my lady." With a respectful bow, the butler took a step back from the room as he left.

    "You look awfully worried for your son." After the room regained its silence with the departure of the butler, a female voice came from the dark. However, Isadora showed no panic.

    "It''s nothing to be surprised about; I''m his mother after all," she stood up from the chair and walked to the edge of the balcony.

    "A mother can worry about her child, there''s no surprise, but I never thought I''d see this side of you, soulless witch of the winter."

    Clank!

    The wine glass in Isadora''s hand shattered at once, and a cold wind blew through the room, pushing everything aside forcefully.

    "I''m not the one who changed; time is the one that changed."

    "...."

    "If you say so, it''s all we care about. But remember what we are waiting for."

    The voice slowly faded into the dark and disappeared. looking at the mess in the room, Isadora stayed in silence.

    ... ... ... ...

    In the cold night, a horse carrying Mordred raced through a gloomy forest in a hurry. The night sky had a full moon, brightening the surrounding forest. However it didn''t help relieve the terror someone would feel in this forest.

    After a long, nonstop ride, Mordred halted his horse in front of the same sign Negun had mentioned.

    ''Do not cross.''

    "It takes much more to stop me."

    With an urge from him, his horse stepped past the sign and continued forward. In the forest beyond the sign, the air felt more dreaded than before, and Mordred did not see any living creatures in sight.

    Whoop!

    In the middle of the forest, a strange sound was heard. His horse suddenly froze, and Mordred became cautious, readying to pull out the Gratitude token.

    "It''s coming from that way."

    Urging the horse, Mordred moved again, heading in the direction the weird sound was coming from.

    As he moved, he saw a well in the middle of the forest, and the wailing sound echoed from within it.

    While Mordred got closer to the well, the wailing sound felt more and more familiar to him.

    "Almost like the sound of crying... Could it be, the Weeping Soldier?"

    At the edge of the well, Mordred gazed into the inside of the well and saw nothing but a dark abyss.

    Just as the lore described it: "It''s the tip of the darkness and just a taste of hell."

    From his item storage, he took out the Token of Gratitude, and the Knight of Remiar was summoned.

    "I feel terror within this thing. It¡¯s almost like the cries of innocent souls begging to be saved," Knight Remiar gazed into the darkness within the well, becoming a bit cautious.

    "Are you feeling fear?" Mordred gazed at the knight with judging eyes.

    "As a guardian knight, I do not feel fear. If you wish to dive into this well, I will be the first one to go."

    "That¡¯s courageous. Let¡¯s move then."

    With Mordred''s order, the Knight of Remiar held him and jumped into the well. The two were swallowed by the deep darkness within.

    In the dark night, the lonely horse stood, gazing at the well that had just swallowed its owner.

    Boom!

    With incredible speed, they fell. Knight Remiar landed at the bottom of the well after what felt like countless years in darkness. The sound of his landing echoed through the place, revealing it to be a passage. The smell of rotting death loomed in the air, and gallons of blood flowed across the floor like rainwater.

    "Not a good place to wear clean clothes," Mordred placed his foot avoiding the flowing blood on the floor.

    This place is similar to what was described in the lore, but something is different. Now that I think about it, the lore Knight Remiar mentioned about himself and the background the locals believe about this place, it seems some of the game''s factors have changed here. I may have to test this thing practically by myself, but that bears further investigation later.

    "Did this thing light up automatically, or has it always been burning?" taking a fire torch hanging on the wall, which is already burning to brighten the surroundings, Mordred moved on.

    But as he went deeper into the passage, fire torches began to light up on their own all the way through the wall. Seeing this, he put away the one he was holding.

    "Be careful of the surroundings, Remiar."

    While Mordred walked in the front, Remiar followed closely behind like a shadow looming over him.

    After a long way of walking, they came to a halt.

    "This is weird. We''ve come a long way, but there¡¯s no end to this path, and I also don¡¯t see the beginning of the path we came from."

    This must be an illusion designed to exhaust whoever enters this place.

    "Let¡¯s make haste."

    After that order, he and Knight Remiar walked for a long time. Neither Mordred nor Knight Remiar showed any weakness even after walking for hours. Sometimes they came across another path, and sometimes they encountered larger halls that contained nothing but brick walls.

    "This feels like a maze."

    Clank!

    At once, there came a sound similar to an iron chain dragging across the floor. Mordred and Knight Remiar halted their steps.

    At that moment, the two of them were about to step into another large passage after walking through a narrow one for a long time.

    Leaning against the wall of the passage, Mordred gazed into the chamber ahead, only to see a fully armored knight standing on the floor like a disabled man. His body leaned to one side, and his legs looked like twisted vines. Wrapped around his body were several chains that connected him to the ground.

    Every once in a while, this knight took a step forward, dragging those chains across the ground with a crushing weight.

    "The Weeping Knight! Finally, the objective is here,"

 Chapter 8: Cries of fallen

    Because of the fear I had toward the door of the spirit realm after the evil spirit took over my body, my current self is extremely weak and does not possess the confidence to open the door of the spirit realm myself. The looming threat on the other side is actually terrifying. Even though the evil spirit is already dead within me, his aura is hard to conceal.

    That leaves Knight Remiar as my offense.

    "Can you defeat him?"

    The Knight of Remiar gazed at the Weeping Knight in an almost unnoticeable way.

    "He appears weak, but his strength feels mysterious."

    Observing the shallow movements of the Weeping Knight, Remiar tried to gauge his strength.

    "Someone of the Adept rank is a knight who can wield their blade and train to use skills properly, while someone of the Morph rank is a knight who refines these techniques to their own will and emerges as a new being with ability to use skills. In terms of power, they are at the top of the rank any ordinary force could possess. But since the Weeping Knight fought in the great ancient war, he must be at least Champion rank¡ªthe rank surpassing the Morph stage."

    "If he''s at Champion stage, I, in the Morph stage, will face difficulty defeating him. I''ll have to admit it."

    "But don¡¯t forget the fact that he¡¯s no longer the knight he was in the past. He might have been at the Champion stage in that age, but now, after all this time, he¡¯s at the peak of the Morph stage."

    Mordred recalled the information he remembered from the game.

    Aside from the Crowned God of Light, there are four elemental gods. The Weeping Knight is someone who belonged to the Sun God¡¯s sanctuary. At the time he received his Champion rank, he also received a divine blessing along with the title Divine Knight.

    If I tell that to Remiar, his morale would weaken even more. It¡¯s just as they say, ¡°Ignorance is bliss¡±... sometimes.

    Although in mindset he¡¯s confident, in terms of power and skill, the Weeping Knight is still superior.

    A buff should help even the odds.

    Mordred opened his item catalog and took out a giant shield. After a moment, the appraisal result appeared.

    <Appraisal Complete>

    Item Name: Aegis Shield

    Grade: Rare

    Description: A shield once wielded by the Divine Knight of a fallen god. It has high magic resistance.

    Current Owner: Mordred Vorthian Arclore

    If I was in-game, I couldn¡¯t wield an item like this because of the class restriction. However even now, I feel some resistance from the this item against me.

    Nonetheless, this item is not suitable for me right now.

    "A Rare-grade shield," Knight Remiar examined the giant shield after Mordred handed it to him.

    "This is an honor for me."

    With the shield, Knight Remiar prepared to face the Weeping Knight. In truth, I have more ways to prepare him for the battle, but testing the abilities of Knight Remiar himself is a must for me.

    After all, even if he perishes at the hands of the Weeping Knight, I could summon him again.

    I think!

    "Draw his attention and fall back. Create a diversion for me,"

    Leaving Knight Remiar at the edge of the passage, Mordred fell back.

    A few moments passed in silence, and the Weeping Knight came closer to the passage, dragging the chains, where Knight Remiar was waiting.

    When the distance was sufficient, Knight Remiar moved at once, rushing forward and swinging his sword at the Weeping Knight.

    Clang!

    A clear and sharp sound of iron colliding resounded through the passage.

    The Weeping Knight had caught Remiar''s sword with his hand. Despite Remiar¡¯s fast-moving attack, the Weeping Knight suffered no damage. It was an incredible reaction speed.

    "Hmph!"

    Knight Remiar distanced himself and fell back.

    "Despite dragging those chains, he¡¯s fast to react¡ªdefinitely faster than me,"

    The Weeping Knight reacted like a machine, lifting his head and looking in Knight Remiar''s direction as though awakening from a deep slumber.

    Kraaa!

    A sharp sound came from the joints of his armor as the Weeping Knight turned to face him.

    "Uh!"

    To Knight Remiar¡¯s amazement, the air around the Weeping Knight suddenly burst into flames.

    "He¡¯s indeed in the Morphing stage,"

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    A knight in the Initial rank or Adept rank couldn¡¯t use skills like that. Only someone who has transformed their body in the Morph stage could use a skill in their expert path, and only someone at the peak of the Morph stage¡ªor who has surpassed it¡ªcould fully demonstrate it.

    Whoosh!

    The burning air gathered together, creating a ball of fire that shot toward Knight Remiar. He resisted it with the assistance of the Aegis Shield.

    Boom!

    Knight Remiar used his own skill. Resisting the fireballs, he advanced forward, getting closer to the Weeping Knight in a matter of moments and swinging the shield at him.

    Bang!

    The Weeping Knight staggered a few steps back. However, Knight Remiar grabbed hold of the Weeping Knight¡¯s arm, pulling the knight toward him and throwing him to the other side of the passage.

    Clank!

    The ground broke as the chains shackling the Weeping Knight moved along with him.

    "Ah!"

    Knight Remiar¡¯s own armor burned and melted as a result of touching the Weeping Knight.

    "He''s not an ordinary knight... neither am I."

    With the shield forward, Knight Remiar advanced with rushing steps toward the Weeping Knight. Surrounded by balls of fire akin to miniature suns, the Weeping Knight moved, commanding the flames around him.

    Boom!

    The two clashed, initiating a devastating battle. Both individuals, at the peak of the Morph stage, fought with such intensity that the vibrations of their clash echoed throughout the underground.

    "Nicely done, Remiar,"

    Mordred stepped out from the darkness where he had been hiding. Watching the two knights battle fiercely to prove their worth, he advanced deeper into the passage.

    Whoa!

    At the end of the passage, Mordred discovered ice shard-like crystals scattered along his path. At the end of these ice shards stood a giant crystal blocking the passage.

    Standing in front of the crystal, Mordred moved closer, peering into its depths. Sealed within, he saw dark figures, unrecognizable as human.

    Come.

    Be with us.

    Or let us be with you....

    Mordred felt like he was drunk. However, he suddenly snapped out of the bewitching and alluring voice he heard in his mind.

    A ring on his hand began to glow at that moment.

    Even in their sealed state, their influence still reaches me. If not for the mind-resistant ring, I might have fallen to their words.

    Looking at the ice crystal, Mordred stood still.

    "This is a trick. It''s not the real seal. Where is it? I know you crafty old monks wouldn¡¯t leave it so easily discovered."

    Huh!

    While in the midst of searching for a clue, Mordred noticed something resembling a manhole in the center of the ground inside the crystal.

    "So that¡¯s what you¡¯re planning. To open the real seal, I need to get rid of the crystal. But within it are dark beings that would attack anyone they see upon release... such a shallow trick."

    Opening his item storage, Mordred searched through the items.

    "...."

    However, Mordred, while looking through the list, suddenly paused. Glancing at his hand, he noticed... sweat. Sweat on his hand, even among these cold ice crystals, how?

    Bulb!

    Even on the floor, the river-like flowing blood began to bubble.

    "Master, get down!"

    Boom!

    Suddenly, Knight Remiar appeared in a flash, followed by a massive wave of fire filling the entire passage and burning everything to a crisp.

    Holding Mordred protectively, Knight Remiar placed the Aegis Shield in front of them, shielding both himself and Mordred from the blazing fire.

    "Mind explaining how the guy with only six balls of fire now breathes it like a dragon?"

    "In the battle, with every attack he threw, it was as if his fighting spirit was igniting. As a result, his rank began to rise."

    "Oh dear, so the Weeping Knight is at Champion rank now?"

    "Afraid so."

    "Now that''s not good, is it?"

    The heat of the fire constantly rose, and Mordred, caught in the middle of it, felt like a chicken in an oven.

    "If I rush forward and tackle him, you should be able to escape."

    "......"

    Knight Remiar prepared to engage in battle with the Weeping Knight once again, but just before he did, Mordred stopped him.

    Looking back, Mordred saw that the ice crystal was slowly melting from the heat of the fire.

    "Actually, make him angrier and more excited if possible."

    "If you say so."

    Although confused, Knight Remiar still obeyed, swinging his sword at the Weeping Knight while also shielding Mordred from the heat.

    "Could be easier with some assistance."

    Come forth at my words...

    <Hell Hounds>

    With a burst of flames, two burning wolves were born. Without a word from Mordred, the two wolves pounced at the Weeping Knight as a result of their synchronized trait.

    Chizzz!

    The heat of the flames erupted as the Weeping Knight faced more and more difficulty. At the same time, the ice crystal rapidly began to melt, along with the dark beings trapped within.

    "Ahhhhhhh....

    It burns...."

    A little whisper came within the darkness.

    Hmm! The Hell Hounds'' connection with me disappeared, probably dead.

    "How are you holding up, Knight Remiar?"

    "Not good."

    Once again, Knight Remiar fell back. The Weeping Knight mended the fire around him, creating javelins made of fire.

    With a skillful turn, he sent the javelin piercing through the air at Mordred and Remiar.

    "Let it pass."

    With Mordred''s words, Knight Remiar held his shield back and jumped away with Mordred in his hands. With its fast arrival, the javelin pierced right through the ice crystal.

    Boom!

    Caught the ice crystals in fire and melted it since upon the piercing of the javelin.

    "Very familiar skill."

    After the ice crystal completely melted, Mordred stood up and walked forward without fear.

    "It''s not safe."

    Knight Remiar came with the shield, looking at the Weeping Knight. The knight''s body was unmoving, and large smoke was emitting from him.

    "Unnecessary. Things would be easier from here."

    "Do you hear me, you knight of the Sun God?" Mordred''s voice resounded through the passage, and the Weeping Knight showed some response to it.

    "It was you. It''s your fault that your comrade died. It was you who was powerless to protect them, and it was your greed that led them down this path to destruction. While the other Divine Knights and their subordinates fly in joy, look at you. You killed your subordinate and left them to rot to death."

    With every word of Mordred, the Weeping Knight shook, and from the ground, chains rose and pierced through his iron body.

    "You let them die and are still here. What kind of knight are you? Not even accompanying your subordinate to the door of death. Are you waiting for someone to do it for you? If so..."

    While talking, Mordred signaled Knight Remiar to move closer to the Weeping Knight. At once, with his order, Remiar swung his sword, sliding across the shallow metallic armor and tearing it apart.

    Metallic dust blew away from the inside of the iron armor, and nothing else.

    Thud!

    With a heavy sound, the Weeping Knight fell to the ground.

    "I''d be very glad to do it for you."

    Looking at the shallow piece of metal, Mordred said his final words.

    "May I know how you did it?"

    Knight Remiar gazed at Mordred. He had no suspicion, only curiosity.

    "Too much waste of my time, but very well, as a reward for slaying the Weeping Knight...

    See those blood flowing in the ground? They''re the blood of the Weeping Knight''s former comrades. Those who died in the Great War as a result of his wrong judgment. But the Weeping Knight, who became a divine knight with the blessing of the Sun God, became the guardian of the seal after his death, which made him see the cruel result of his own actions.

    His comrades'' cries and his own sympathy made him the Weeping Knight, and his comrades'' silence and his own powerlessness became chains that prevented him from moving forward.

    I just had to break the balance. The more he got excited, the more he remembered his glory days, but the more he remembered his mistake, the more he got stuck in one place." After explaining, Mordred took back the Agis shield from Remiar''s hand. However, Remiar is still confused.

    "Weeping Knight is a divine knight?"

    Knight Remiar saw a smile on Mordred''s face as he stored the Aegis shield in his inventory. Then he began to examine the remaining iron armor of the Weeping Knight.

 Chapter 9: wish of the world

    To those who seek the warmth of the god, one of the places they can latch onto is the Sanctuary of the Sun God. Located between the two peaks of the Windfall Mountains, the first rays of light from the sun after the dark night illuminate this place.

    But on this certain day, the air of the sanctuary was polluted with the rotten smell of blood, and the desperate cries and screams resounded through the walls of the sanctuary.

    "Zythra, why... Son, why are you betraying us?"

    In the sanctuary''s main hall, the bishops lay on the floor with grave injuries. One man stood among them, piercing a spear through a cardinal''s chest, pinning him to the wall.

    The man had disheveled hair, a muscular body, and a fair face.

    "There was never a loyalty between us."

    "Ugh."

    With Zythra pulling back his spear, the cardinal took his final breath.

    While the cries of agony continued to resound from outside the main hall, Zythra wiped the blood from the spear.

    Through the large door of the hall, a few men came running, bringing a large metallic box.

    "Leader, we found it."

    After placing the box in front of Zythra, they took a step back, and Zythra moved his hand across the lid of the box.

    Clank!

    With a slight push, the lid fell to the side, revealing a ravishing longsword.

    "Sunclips, the world has forgotten your glory." The man held the sword in his hand and lifted it to the sky.

    A brilliant light erupted from the sword, slowly descending to the man and covering him completely.

    After a moment of brilliance, the light slowly ceased, but the Sunclips had its own shine, constantly gleaming.

    Holding the sword in his hand, Zythra gazed into the box to see two pieces of a broken part of a scroll.

    "Words of the world, finally! Eleven more pieces and you''ll be complete."

    "Leader, forces from the Holy Sanctuary are heading this way. What should we do?"

    A knight in Sun Sanctuary armor came running.

    "Let them come. I hide no more."

    Through the mountain came a platoon of knights, raising the dust like a herd of bulls.

    "Are you the sinners who caused this destruction?"

    The holy knight leading them gazed at the small group of people standing at the foot of the Sun Sanctuary. Then he noticed the Sunclips sword in one of their hands.

    "The sword of the Sun... How did you come into possession of this? Wait, you... you''re the commanding knight of the Sun Sanctuary?"

    Recognizing who the man was, the holy knight drew his sword.

    "I was, but not anymore."

    "Hand back the Sun sword!" From the moment the holy knight saw the sword, his gaze never left it.

    "This sword should be in possession of someone worthy. Do you dare to challenge me for it?"

    As a response, the holy knight pointed his sword at Zythra as he got down from the horse. "Worth should be proven by action, not with words."

    Holding the Sunclips in his hand, Zythra jumped down to the ground from the sanctuary stairs. In his hand, the Sunclips glowed like an urging beast. On the other hand, the knight from the Holy Sanctuary''s sword also glowed in the holy light.

    "You all are sinners, but I should honor the name of the Sunclips. With that same honor, I will punish those sinners afterward."

    Zythra and the holy knight swung their swords at each other and clashed. At first, the holy knight showcased his skills and held a high position, but as the moments went by, Zythra began to dominate the battle.

    Ugh!

    At once, with a kick to his chest, the holy knight got pushed back several feet and fell to the ground, his holy sword loosening from his hand.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "You... You''re a champion, how... How is that possible?"

    "Let''s stop playing, show me your real worth, Sunclips."

    Looking at the holy knight and the knights from the Holy Sanctuary, Zythra swung his sword. With every inch it moved, the air began to intensify.

    It all happened in an instant. First, the air heated, then the bodies of all there were. The holy knight felt their sweat begin to evaporate. And the next moment, everything evaporated to dust, like a drop of water. Whether it was human, horses, swords, trees, or even the rocks, everything turned to disappearing dust.

    Zythra gazed at the extinct landscape.

    "You... What... is your purpose? The continent is at peace. Why seek chaos?"

    The last remaining individual, the holy knight that fought Zythra, looked at him in despair with his heavily injured body.

    "It''s called inevitability. Chose never disappear. They hide in the dark waiting... And now you see its awakening."

    Zythra pointed the tip of Sunclips to the holy knight''s neck.

    "If you wish to live, tell me: Do you know anything about the Word of the World? Or where I can find its remaining pieces?"

    . . . . . . . .

    Looking at the piece of the scroll on the remains of the weeping knight, Mordred is stunned.

    "You fooled me, Mordred. I thought we trusted each other."

    Knight Remiar shows his distress. The fact that Mordred hid information made his nonexistent heart ache.

    But Mordred''s silence bothered him even more.

    "Mordred... Is something wrong?"

    Arriving closer to him, Knight Remiar saw the piece of the scroll.

    "Impossible... This is not supposed to be here."

    Mordred broke the silence.

    "What is it?"

    Knight Remiar is clueless about the piece of the scroll.

    "The word of the world, the one that began it all."

    In the lore of Destiny Quest, there exists an ancient item named the Word of the World. It''s a scroll that contains the chant for the spell "Wish of the World," a spell that requests a wish from the world.

    Using the item, the first Holy Maiden asked for a guardian for the peace and justice from the world. Thus, the story of the player began, depending on whatever hero character they chose. But at that time, when the wish was granted, there was no major threat. The Great God War had already happened, and it was time for all to calm down.

    The world treats everything as equal and reasonable to everyone and everything. When the wish for the guardian was granted, the world created something for him to guard: the living beings and the total existence. And the one whom he guarded from, the main antagonist of the game, Null, the Totality Eraser.

    That''s how the game lore begins. But there had never been any item like this while the player was playing the main quest.

    "If the fragment of the Word of the World is here, that means... It''s totally possible that those things exist... The item that breaks the balance of the game, the item that could only be acquired by participating in player-specific events. The item that outranks all... The Transcendent Rank Item."

    "Mordred," Knight Remiar placed his hand on Mordred''s shoulder, which distracted Mordred.

    Grabbing the piece of the scroll, he stored it in his inventory.

    "Well... I trust you now."

    Mordred calmed his mind. If the transcendent item really exists in this world, he needs to gather them before they break the balance of the world.

    "Send the shadow knights to search if there is anything valuable in the dungeon."

    With Mordred''s words, the two shadow assassins left, and after an hour of searching, they came back with a giant egg in their hands.

    "A dead egg... Could this thing be related to the mythical beast in the tales?"

    Holding the egg in his hands, Mordred used the appraisal, and after a moment, the result appeared.

    Item name: Deadegg

    Grade: Rare

    Description: Dead offspring of Youguth, the mythical beast. It is possible to create strengthening and vitality-boosting potions from the remaining yolk.

    Current owner: None.

    "Create potions? This is new kind of information."

    After reading the description, Mordred put the egg in his inventory.

    "Let''s poke the sleeping devil."

    After giving instructions to Knight Remiar, Mordred climbed up the wall with the help of the two assassins.

    Knight Remiar, who was left alone, stood in front of the seal and waited until Mordred''s order.

    "Time is right, Remiar."

    With those words, Remiar swung his sword and thrust it directly at the manhole in the ground.

    Creek!

    An ear-piercing sound came as soon as the seal broke, and a gust of dark wind rushed at Remiar.

    <Undo summon>

    On the outside, Mordred recalled the summoning, and Remiar disappeared in an instant before the dark smoke swallowed him.

    Whhhh!

    But a gloomy and creepy sound kept coming from inside the wall.

    "Success, enjoy the feast, you holy bitch."

    Urging the horse, Mordred rode away quickly.

    But before he even ran past ten feet, in front of him stood an abnormally tall woman.

    "A ghost? Can''t be, as soon as I opened the seal... Must be a demon."

    "Are you perhaps lost?" he asked.

    The woman lifted her head and looked at Mordred, but it took a while for both of her pupils to focus on him.

    "You... Freed us. What is that... you desire?"

    Her voice is shallow and thin, like the voice of a tiny bird, but Mordred heard it clearly.

    "I desire nothing but your freedom..."

    "Lies. There''s never an effort without reward. Say the purpose, and we shall fulfill it according to the contract."

    There''s a contract. Seems like I''m here before someone else who was originally supposed to unseal them after being bound by a contract. But that event should happen much later in the game. If I waited that long, that woman would pull me out like a fish from the dark.

    "Hmm... Do you possess a sense concealment gem?"

    ".... We do not, but if you want to conceal yourself..."

    Suddenly, the woman moved like a shadow and appeared in front of Mordred. Without stopping, she entered Mordred''s body, and a dark shine appeared around him before dispersing.

    "I can conceal you with my ability."

    Mordred looked at his hand, which was a bit dark in color, but he felt no pain or discomfort.

    "Doesn''t that mean you have to be with me all the time? I can''t drag a dark being with me. In the first place, I want to avoid being caught with demons."

    ".... If I can conceal you, I can definitely conceal myself from being caught as a dark being."

    "...."

    Since she made herself at home, and concealment is something I had been searching for, After all why shouldn''t I accept this?

    "Ahem... Welcome to the team then... Hyah!"

    With his urge, the horse moved again. The dark smoke rose out from the wall and spread across the whole forest as they left. That day, the whole forest fell into silence, wolves began to cry for Hunt, and birds flew away abandoning their homes.

 Chapter 10: New hope

    In her private office, the mistress of the Arclore family started her work again. The pile of letters and documents placed aside on her desk slowly began to decrease.

    Tok! tok!

    "My lady, there''s distant news."

    "Come in."

    Placing her fountain pen aside, Isadora gazed at the door.

    The old butler came in with a letter in his hand, which was tied to a pigeon.

    "Neravan letter, it''s quite surprising for them to write to us."

    Taking the letter in her hand, Isadora started to read it.

    "A trinity gathering of the sanctuary. Well now, what happened to those peace seekers to call out a gathering this time of the year?"

    "Guest of Wind said that it''s an omen from that prophet in the holy sanctuary," the butler informed her what he knew.

    "Hmm, they''re fortunate to have her with them... Did Mordred come back?"

    "Not yet, I''m afraid."

    "Inform me when he doe..."

    At that moment, the two heard the sound of a horse arriving at the Arclore residence.

    After the butler halted the horse, Mordred got down and walked back to his residence. On his way, he met an acquaintance of old Mordred.

    "Young master, it''s quite hard to get hold of you these days... you look unwell. Did you perhaps stay too much... outside?"

    The man was a minor lord under the Arclore family. If it were someone else, they would never think of talking to Mordred the way he did, but for this man, Mordred made exceptions.

    "Come, this is not a place for business."

    Silently, the man followed Mordred until they came to Mordred''s residence.

    "Sit. For what purpose have you visited me today? If I remember correctly, I have more time by my side."

    Leaning in his seat, Mordred gazed at the man with his cold, piercing eyes.

    "But lord, you only have time until the full moon."

    "So... why are you here?"

    "Tomorrow is the full moon."

    "Oh... Is it now"

    Mordred fell into silent upon hearing that. The man stayed obedient until Mordred spoke again.

    According to his memory, this man was the reason Mordred managed to bond with the hellhounds. Well, not the man himself, but through the people the man had connections with. With those connections, the man borrowed a valuable item that helped Mordred connect with the spirit realm without being detected, but it was unfortunate that as soon as the contract was made with the two hellhounds, the item crumbled to dust as a payment.

    With his authority and the fear the man had for him, Mordred managed to buy more time to return the item to them. Now, it seems time is running out for me.

    "From whom did you actually receive this item?"

    The man slowly responded.

    "Young master, those are trade secrets."

    "I''m someone involved in this trade. Shouldn''t I be knowing who I''m dealing with?"

    In response to Mordred, the man fell into thought.

    "Depending on your answer, this could be our last trade, or worse... This could be your last trade."

    Hearing those words, the man felt like his heart was pierced through.

    "It''s... It''s the White Pirates. They had the pearl of a dead Leviathan, but they suffered near extinction from the battle to retrieve it, so they''ve been looking for money to rebuild.

    You, my sire, needed the pearl at the moment, so, with harsher conditions of money and the return of the pearl to their hands after six full moons, they agreed to trade. But now they want it. If... we don''t give it back to them, sire... there¡¯s sure to be bad luck between us."

    "Bad luck? Every human has bad luck, man. Just look at me. I''ve been hunted by ghosts a moment ago. And White Pirates? What are they doing? What¡¯s the use of the Leviathan pearl to them?"

    "Just like any other pirates, sire. To reach the Land Beyond," the man''s voice echoed in the air like a whisper.

    Interesting, among the White Pirates, there¡¯s a heroic woman who indeed is a hero character in the Destiny Quest. But there¡¯s never been a mention of crossing the sea.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The real world... going astray from the game.

    "... Ask for another month. I¡¯ll compensate for time with this."

    Mordred placed the dead egg he found in the passage upon the table.

    "Sire, the pearl is highly valuable to their plans. Something like this isn''t going to make them calm."

    "Do you know what this is? This is an egg of a mystical creature. Not even the king owned something like this. I plan on using it for my... certain things. Now, I give this as an item of promise. After one month, I''ll give back the pearl and retrieve this from the pirates."

    The room fell into silence as the man fell into thought.

    "Well, sire, I¡¯ll be putting my head at risk..."

    "I won¡¯t forget about your efforts."

    Mordred took out a checkbook from his locker, wrote a high number, and handed it to the man.

    Looking at the long numbers with gleaming eyes, the man put the check close to his chest, through his clothes.

    "From one month then, sire, we will meet again."

    . . . . . . .

    After a long time of thinking, Mordred, who was still in his chair, stood up.

    "Prepare my bath."

    In his large bathroom, Mordred lay in the giant water tub. Maids were around him, pouring water and medicine into the tub with utmost care. A few were massaging Mordred''s shoulders with delicate movements of their hands.

    Word of the world, White Pirates'' movement, Holy Saintess, Desire Ashbron, Forbidden Seal.

    All of these changed and started their own stories. The usefulness of my knowledge of the game became extremely limited with the changing world.

    "However, above all else, what bothers me the most... is the Word of the World."

    If someone else other than me gets hold of that item, it¡¯ll be all over.

    <Open Item Catalog>

    With Mordred''s command, the item panel appeared in his vision. The maids stayed usual, as none were able to see it.

    <Word of the World - 4 Fragments>

    After a wish is granted, the Word of the World scroll shatters into thirteen pieces and is scattered across the continent to be found by the next wanderer of the world.

    That¡¯s what the lore said. With the pieces I possess, I have to find nine pieces more.

    After his bath, wearing his sleeping suit, Mordred sat closer to a table, sipping a glass of wine while looking at the night stars in the sky. Placed on the table were the four fragments of the Word of the World he had. Beside the table, Knight Remiar stood with a pile of books in both of his hands.

    Mordred tried to read or understand what was in those fragments, but his efforts turned to waste.

    "A favorite fiction slowly turning into a mystery. How am I gonna play this thing.."

    "You seem distressed."

    Suddenly, an alluring voice of a female was heard. Mordred didn¡¯t flinch nor was he shocked; in his calm state, he still gazed at the stars beyond the sky.

    "Things I know are turning into things I do not know anymore."

    With a sigh, Mordred took another sip.

    The tall woman that seeped out from Mordred''s body like smoke sat on his desk in an enchanting manner.

    "What made those things something you knew in the first place?"

    Mordred suddenly paused. At the same moment, he heard a knock at the door.

    "Come in."

    The tall lady turned into dark smoke as she was absorbed back into Mordred. Placing the wine glass on the table and putting the four fragments of the Word of the World back into the item storage, Mordred gazed at Vennese, who had entered.

    "Young master, it¡¯s a new report. Apparently, the Holy Knights called for a Trinity Gathering."

    "Trinity gathering? They sure catch on fast to things."

    Releasing those dark beings is the right choice; that should keep that woman busy for a while.

    "Yes, with one of the main Sun Sanctuaries burned down by an unknown individual, all the Sanctuaries are tightening their guard."

    "¡­What?"

    "You may go now."

    With Mordred''s order, Vanessa left the room. Picking up the wine glass, Mordred drank what was left in it with one sip.

    "Another thing I did not expect."

    [What made these things something you knew in the first place?]

    The ghostly woman''s words echoed in his ears once again.

    "That would be the information I had... If the information I now possess is useless, I have to gather new ones. Is that what you''re trying to say?"

    Mordred''s body glowed in a dark color in response.

    To gather information, this Trinity Gathering would be the most suitable place, but I doubt any ordinary or noble person could enter the gathering as they please. Only someone with a name for justice, someone blessed by the gods, or someone under a sanctuary could enter. Even if that¡¯s the case, that someone needs to be strong enough to be recognized by others.

    In the midst of his thoughts, Mordred''s eyes directed themselves to the knight Remir standing by the side.

    "......"

    . . . . . . . .

    The head of the Sun Sanctuary Union¡ª

    Thud!

    "Blast that goddamned bastard! Not only did we lose the Sun Eclipse, our Prestige item, but we also lost our century''s worth of effort to gather the World Fragment!"

    With a fit of rage, the pope slammed his fist on the table. The letter he was reading flew out of his hand, and the other bishops sitting at the same table had sour expressions.

    "Now they¡¯re calling the Trinity Gathering. No doubt they¡¯ll ask about everything we¡¯ve lost."

    "Those from the Moon Sanctuary would never let this chance slide to dig into our affairs,"

    Hearing those words only made the pope even angrier.

    "If only we had a prophet like the one in the Holy Sanctuary," remarked one of the bishops with a sigh.

    Suddenly, the clouds in the sky parted, and rays of sunlight descended on the sanctuary roof.

    A brilliantly bright ray fell upon the pope, illuminating him.

    Bathed in the light of the sun, the pope closed his eyes. The bishops fell silent, their mouths shut like the dead, not daring to speak a word.

    As time passed, the clouds in the sky gathered again, and the sunlight faded away.

    Within the dimming light, the pope opened his eyes. The bishops gazed at him with expectation, and the pope smiled at them with relief.

    Rising hurriedly from his seat, the pope knelt before the giant statue of the Sun God in the sanctuary. The fellow bishops followed his movement and knelt before the statue.

    "O Almighty God of the Sun, we offer our hearts and souls as gratitude for watching over us from above. With your divine care and guidance, we shall do your bidding without fail."

    We will do your bidding without fail...

    We will do your bidding without fail...

    The bishops'' voices resounded through the hall after the pope''s prayer.

    "Pope, are we allowed to know about the bidding of the god?"

    Outside the praying hall, a bishop asked the pope.

    "You all most definitely should know, because it''s... related to our future Divine Knight. Contact the Draconian family¡ªthat''s where our future lies."

    With the pope''s order, the bishops walked out excitedly. Soon, from the foot of the sanctuary, groups of Sun Knights rode their horses in the direction where the Draconians lived.

    Through the window of his personal room, the pope gazed at the fading knights in the distance. Holding a book in his hand, he walked away while reading it.

    "A sanctuary can only hold one Divine Knight at a time. After a Divine Knight passes away, the god himself appoints the name of the new Divine Knight."

    Reading the words aloud, the pope suddenly closed the book.

    "A new Divine Knight has been named. Then... what happened to the old one? How did the Weeping One pass away?"

    Gazing at the horizon, the pope fell into deep thought. His thoughts slowly led to terrible omens.

 Chapter 11:Mistakes of the past

    "Beauty is a sin, beauty is a distraction, your beauty... is the fall of all."

    ...

    "Those of you who are here are the fortunate ones we chose among thousands of maids working in this residence to serve our Masters."

    Outside the residence where the maids of the Arclore family live, a group of young and mature maids stood still.

    The head maiden, who serves the master of the residence directly, came to examine them. Because Today was the day they selected new maids for the young masters.

    Standing under the shadow of the roof, Vanessa gazed at all the maids. She, who was present today to choose a maidens for her master, needed to be extra careful in her selection.

    However, at the moment, she already had someone in mind.

    Among the maids stood one particular girl with extraordinary charm. It was as though she carried her own environment of cold and snow. Her skin was extremely fair, like snow, and her eyes were the same blue color as water.

    But slicing through her otherworldly charm was a scar, a cut mark that made any man pity her at first glance.

    "With utmost loyalty in your hearts, serve your masters well."

    With these words, the head maiden gave the order to the maids sent by the masters to choose new maids for them.

    For Vandir, his personal maid was responsible for selecting maids. However, compared to her, Vanessa had to choose a whole group of maids since her master would be moving to a new residence soon when he went to the academy.

    Looking at the group of maids, Vanessa gave her instructions to the nearby maids with her to choose from the group.

    After a few minutes, she selected at least fifty maids that she thought were fit to serve Mordred.

    "Evelyn, it''s been some time," Vanessa greeted her with a slight nod, as they were no strangers to each other.

    Evelyn nodded her head in response without saying a word. Vanessa didn¡¯t mind her lack of words. After all, considering what Evelyn had experienced, it was still surprising that she was staying as a maid in this family.

    "Although I¡¯ve chosen you to serve our master, you still need his approval. Behave to the best of your ability now."

    With the maids she had chosen, Vanessa arrived at the residence where Mordred was staying. However, after knocking several times on the door, she received no response from him.

    "Did Master go somewhere?"

    Unbeknownst to her, Mordred was still inside the room. Hearing the knocking sound, Mordred ignored it and went back to reading the book he held.

    Spirit Summoning was the name of the book in his hands.

    Beside the chair where he sat, on his bed lay a tall ghostly woman, also reading a book from the category of spirit summoning. Standing beside the bed was the knight Remiar reading a book about holy knights and their traditions.

    Thud!

    After completely reading the book, Mordred closed it. The tall woman gazed at him from the bed.

    "Let''s begin."

    With his words, she blended into the darkness and absorbed into Mordred''s body, turning him slightly dark.

    This should really work. With the ghost''s concealment ability, those from the spirit realm could not sense my scent. But if something goes wrong...

    Mordred looked at the knight, Remir.

    I don''t think he will be able to handle it.

    However, I''m not just a common spirit summon, but a spirit warrior. If something does go wrong, it serves as the last resort.

    Extending his hand, Mordred closed his eyes. In the game, players just had to click on the correct icon to open a portal from the spirit realm to summon a new spirit. But in this reality, there were no buttons. However, Mordred could feel that he could open the portal whenever he wished.

    "With the authority granted by the will of the world and the unity of God, I request a pathway to the realm of spirits."

    Mordred''s deep voice resounded through the room. In the game lore, it explained that the Realm of Spirits is in a different dimension, and the user needs the permission of the will of the spirit realm before doing anything else.

    A moment passed after his words, and on the floor of Mordred''s room, a magical circle appeared.

    The glow of the circle slowly began to increase, and a light erupted from the circle, showing a silhouette of a strange-shaped creature.

    As soon as Mordred saw that, he waved his hand, and the circle and the light disappeared like a blowing wind.

    "It''s... success."

    The fact that someone didn¡¯t jump straight out of the portal to Mordred, and just a creature was summoned, made Mordred aware that the concealment did work. The knowledge he gained from browsing through all those books proved valuable.

    "To summoners, what matters the most is the strength of their soul."

    Opening his inventory, Mordred took out a potion bottle.

    <Appraisal complete>

    Item name: Juice of Amrita

    Grade: Honour

    Description: Elixir of wonder that, upon consumption, would reborn the being completely with a new and powerful soul. (Only individuals in the Champion rank or above could consume the item; suitable for summoner-class individuals.)

    Current owner: Mordred Vorthian Arclore. (Cannot be consumed as the power of the being is under the minimum requirements for the item.)

    Gazing at the item for a few minutes, he stored it back. This was the first time he faced a complete restriction from an item, and it was one of the reasons that prevented him from using more powerful items in his catalog.

    "Let''s start from the bottom."

    Getting up from his seat, Mordred prepared to walk out of his room, but just when he touched the door handle, he heard a ghostly woman''s voice in his ears.

    "There are a few outside, waiting for you."

    Mordred halted. The voice he heard was from the tall ghost woman.

    I did hear a knock before, Vanessa maybe?

    Taking a step back, he sat back down on the chair.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Come in."

    After a moment, Vanessa stepped in, alone.

    "Master, your new maids for the journey have been selected. Would you like to take a look at them?"

    "Let them in." Although not very interested, Mordred had to take the necessary steps when doing certain things.

    However, when the maids came in one by one, his interest was piqued as he saw Evelyn among them.

    Evelyn... I''ve been expecting you.

    Just like Vanir, Evelyn is also a late-blooming villainess, but she was originally a childhood friend of Mordred. However, after the evil spirit took over his body, things turned for the worse. As a non-human being, the evil spirit had a curiosity toward humans. One of those curious results was the experiments it did on humans, and another was the deep cut mark on Evelyn''s face.

    Seeing her otherworldly beauty, the spirit couldn¡¯t resist his urge. He imprisoned her and tortured her until he became satisfied. And when that happened, what was left of Evelyn was her broken self.

    With the power of the Arclore family, Evelyn''s relatives turned silent, and she was accepted as a maid in the residence.

    Although she looked so calm, she had an incredible hatred for me. As a result of that hatred for me and her otherworldly beauty, she awakened her unique catalog seduction.

    The longer the man was around her, the more they favored her. As time went on, it turned to the point where men became slaves to her power.

    Although she''s a top-notch beauty, that''s all there is to her, but that''s all I need. If I could make her one of my allies, that would be a huge benefit. The only problem is... she would never forgive me for what Mordred did.

    After looking at all the maids, Mordred gave his approval. And with a bow to their new master, each one of them stepped out gracefully.

    Alone in the room, Mordred gazed at the closed door.

    "The evil deed Mordred did in the past is catching up with me. Good!"

    Ding!

    Mordred rang a little bell on his desk. After a few minutes, Negun knelt in front of him.

    "Do we have any information about the location of a Leviathan pearl?"

    "..... Currently, we do not possess such information, master."

    "Hmm...."

    Removing the few books on the table, Mordred looked at the map he borrowed from the library.

    Finding the location he searched for, he pinned it.

    "Contact the Adventure Guild. Put in a request anonymously to retrieve the Leviathan pearl from this place. After posting the mission, keep an eye out for it. There might be other parties trying to seek treasures from others'' chests."

    "As you wish, my lord." Memorizing the place pinned on the map, Negun stepped out from Mordred''s room.

    . . . . . . . .

    In the evening, Mordred took a walk around the garden of the Arclore family. It was a massive landscape covering a lake, a forest, and a field of blooming flowers of all kinds.

    Accompanied by Vanessa by his side, Mordred enjoyed the scenery he saw, in a noble way.

    A honey tea prepared by Vanessa was offered to his hand when he needed it, and a soft wind blew past him when he felt stressed.

    Well... This is truly the life of a noble.

    After an enjoyable time escorted by his maid, Mordred came back to his room. Putting on his bathing suit, he prepped to go for a bath, but at that moment, a bird landed on his window.

    "A pigeon... only a person crazy enough to use a pigeon in this time would be someone with great curiosity or someone too lazy to come look for me. I think I know who sent this."

    Taking the pigeon in his hand, Mordred took the letter bound to its leg.

    As he read it, the expression on his face turned into a slight smile.

    . . . . . . . .

    "To my knowledge, didn¡¯t we say to them we are taking a break? But look at us now, doing work again."

    On a road through a forest, two knights were riding their horses slowly, emblems on their armor signifying they were from the Holy Sanctuary.

    "We just got together and were having a moment, and those bastards had to crash it."

    "Honey, don''t be mad. After all, it''s an order from the Saintess. Like it or not, we have to do it. Absolutely. We got all the other time after that."

    The two knights argued in voices only they could hear.

    "Oh, believe me, woman, when we''re done with this, time will be the only thing holding me back."

    "Ha-ha... I don''t get it."

    As their horses slowly walked through the forest, the two knights'' smiling and happy expressions faded.

    "Something''s weird. We''re almost closer to the Forbidden Forest, but I didn''t see any creatures," the first one to feel that ominous feeling was the woman.

    "Don''t you think you''re imagining things? This is closer to the Forbidden Forest. It''s always been like this," the man tried to find reasons to erase the same ominous feeling he felt.

    "No, there should at least be a bird. But now... there''s no one."

    The two horses suddenly halted, in front of them on the road, A body of a brutally decapitated woman was scattered around.

    The two knights got down. Drawing her sword, the woman rolled the head part of the body, where the couple saw the face of a woman who had experienced great horror before death.

    "Maybe you''re right, there''s no one in here anymore. At least not a living one."

    The two gathered the pieces of the woman''s body and buried her under a large tree. Spilling holy water around the grave, the two prayed before hopping on their horses.

    Urging their horses, the two knights moved forward on the road.

    "Those scars marked on her body, they are not from a bear or any other creature I know of."

    "I had the same thought. Remember there was a tavern in this area? Let''s go visit it for some info."

    With another urge from them, the two horses ran faster down the road.

    After they faded into the distance, the grave they had made suddenly shook, and the dirt above it began to fall down.

 Chapter 12: Garden of tears

    In the dead silence of the forest, the two holy knights'' horses ran quickly. At the end of their road, the horses slowed their speed and came to a stop.

    "Something definitely happened here," said the male holy knight, looking at the tavern that seemed abandoned. He got down from his horse. In the same way, the female knight also got down from her horse. Silently, she first tied her horse to a nearby tree before making her way into the tavern.

    Clank!

    Opening the door to the tavern, the two entered and saw people inside the tavern. But all of them lay where they were, like in a deep sleep.

    "Did they piss off a magician or something?"

    Getting close to one of them, the holy knight turned the body around. Looking at the eyes that showed no life, he took a step back.

    While observing the sleeping figures, the female holy knight noticed dark liquid-like stains on the floor, leading to the upper floor of the tavern. Following the trail, she climbed the stairs.

    "Be careful," warned the male holy knight.

    The trail led the female holy knight to one of the rooms on the floor. Its door was slightly opened, so the woman pushed it and opened it.

    "Uh..."

    Inside the room, she saw body parts of humans everywhere. The bed was soaked with deep red color, and on the floor, the blood was still flowing.

    "Same scene. Let''s report to the Saintess; she should know something about this."

    After looking at other rooms and finding the same pieces of decapitated humans, the two knights arrived at the lower floor with tension and anxiety in their minds. However, before they left, they made sure to take out their holy water and purify the place first.

    However, the moment the holy water fell onto the lifeless bodies, they instantly began to wriggle like worms.

    "Whoa..."

    The two knights took a step back as the body¡¯s movements became more intense. Suddenly, its lifeless eyes turned dark as it jumped directly at the female knight who stood closer to it.

    Swish!

    With an extremely fast swing, even before the body got closer to her, it was sliced apart by her sword. The two parts of the body fell to the ground with a thud. However, no blood flowed out from the body.

    Instead, from the sliced body, dark mist rushed out, and before the two knights could react, they were swallowed by the darkness, losing sight of each other.

    As moments passed in the dark, they began to hear a deep and terrifying voice in their heads.

    "¡­This feels... familiar, although not as much as the light that shines above us, defeats us, seals us. The light that fades us. You¡¯re¡­ definitely pawns of some kind of light."

    "But your light is not enough to fade my darkness."

    The more they heard that voice, the more the two knights fell into insanity.

    "Arghhh!" "Ayhhhh!"

    From the tavern filled with a deathly aura, the screams of the two knights echoed out. Outside, their horses lay on the ground, their eyes are lifeless.

    . . . . . . . .

    As the afternoon came, a carriage carrying Mordred parked closer to the experimental factory. The crowd, always eyeing the area, scattered as he stepped out of the carriage.

    At that moment, he saw a few knights in the distance coming from the factory. They noticed Mordred but couldn¡¯t see his face as he was covering it with a mask.

    "Did they accept?" he asked, looking at Charlotte, who came to greet him.

    "Gladly. We retrieved all the evidence gathered against us... and also, we caught a spy."

    "Oh...Typical."

    Entering the factory, Mordred and Charlotte arrived at the underground experimental lab, where a man was tied to a pillar. The man was heavily beaten, with blood oozing out from every injury.

    Standing closer to him was another man with bloodstains on his hands. Most of the injuries on the spy''s body came from his beatings.

    When Mordred stood in front of the spy, the man forcefully showed the spy¡¯s face to Mordred.

    "Is he someone from the chemical lab, not from the research lab?"

    "Yes. He has been trying to get into the research lab a few times but did not succeed. In the end, he tried to buy information from someone inside and failed. As a last resort, he reported us to the guards. Fortunately, he chose the wrong guards."

    Examining the spy¡¯s face, Mordred confirmed that he had no memory of this man.

    "So, did you figure out where he''s from?"

    "Currently, we have no suspects."

    "Wait... is there a possibility that they still don¡¯t know that this guy got caught?"

    "Very likely. Only a few trusted people know about this case."

    "Then I believe you know what to do."

    Turning back, Mordred walked to Charlotte''s office. After a moment, Charlotte brought a suitcase and opened it, revealing its contents.

    "Are those the new results after experimenting with hell creatures?"

    After Mordred regained access to the Spirit Realm, the plan he had prepared with the warlocks became useless, so he simply agreed to Charlotte''s request. However, he didn¡¯t expect that she would get results this quickly.

    "Yes, these are all the ones we have, except for one, which is with me," Charlotte

    look at Mordred with puppy-dog eyes, as if asking to keep her favorite toy.

    "What¡¯s the use of them?"

    "Well... for now, it only enchants one item, but it only requires a drop. Using more than that has... disturbing aftereffects for some." Not revealing the complete truth, Charlotte provided just the necessary information for Mordred, and he got the gist of what she was saying.

    "But I''m surprised, boss. I thought you would rip that guy''s face off,"  getting comfortable with the atmosphere Charlotte pulled a chair and sat where the guests sit.

    "Did I not? Then how are you thinking of doing what I ordered?"

    Charlotte fell silent upon hearing him. It was then that she realized what Mordred actually meant when he asked whether others knew the spy had been caught or not.

    "Do you think they took the bait?"

    "Only time will tell."

    From the suitcase, Mordred took a red, blood-like liquid vial into his hand. After examining it for a bit, he placed it back in the case. Then he closed his eyes, appearing to be in deep thought. Charlotte waited silently until Mordred spoke again.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Nope. Not a clue about anything. I¡¯m just a regular office worker. I don¡¯t know anything about science, man. Let¡¯s just give Charlotte the lead to guide whatever project she wants to do.

    Opening his eyes, Mordred looked at Charlotte for a few seconds. Although confused, Charlotte didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable or complain about facing his gaze.

    With his thoughts, the item catalog appeared in his vision. Browsing through it, he retrieved a somewhat large vial containing a deep, dark, and thick substance. Charlotte curiously looked at it as Mordred handed it to her.

    "I want you to examine this, see what''s inside of it and what kind of result it''ll have on the human body."

    The moment before the item was given to Charlotte, its appraisal result appeared.

    < Appraisal complete >

    Item Name: Essence of None

    Grade: Honour

    Description: Source of power with vast amounts of usefulness.

    Current Owner: Mordred Verthian Arclore

    It¡¯s actually an item I bought from the store. The only reason I bought it was because of its cool name; other than that, I had no knowledge about it. Neither did the game provide any information related to it. With her knowledge, Charlotte should be able to figure out a way to use this thing.

    "What is it?" Charlotte observed the vial in her hand very curiously.

    "If I had known that, I wouldn¡¯t have given it to you, would I now?"

    "Well, if we look at it that way..." After taking another glance at it, she safely kept it in her pocket.

    Mordred was still looking at the two vials in the suitcase, but his shadow suddenly wriggled, and a part of it separated and jumped into Charlotte''s shadow.

    "You can go now. I believe you have work to do."

    Obeying his words, Charlotte stepped out of the room.

    . . . . . .

    Within a deep darkness, a woman was meditating with her eyes closed. Surrounding her were lit candles, burning within the darkness.

    Phew!

    In the silence of the room, the breathing sound of the woman resounded sharply.

    Suddenly, two of the candles'' flames faded, and the woman''s eyes opened a moment later.

    Looking at the two candles for a moment, she slowly stood up from her position.

    She took a step forward, and in the next moment, she appeared somewhere outside of a door in a corridor.

    Tok! Tok!

    After softly knocking on the door, she heard the voice of a female from inside¡ªa fair and pleasant one.

    "Wait a moment, please."

    Within seconds, the door opened, and a woman dressed in a glorious gown appeared in the woman''s vision.

    "Saintess, did you already expect me?"

    The woman knelt as soon as she saw the Saintess, showing the respect in her heart.

    "Well... not really. Before that, come inside."

    With her order, the woman stepped into the room, where she saw another person with the same appearance as the Saintess sitting beside a giant window. Through the window, sunlight poured directly onto her, brightening her and her surroundings with an ethereal glow.

    "Saintess, your body double is near perfect."

    "Thank you, Synthia. Is there any reason why you stepped out of the Guardian Globe? It''s your task to observe it," the Saintess beside the table inquired of the woman.

    "Actually, there is. Two lights faded off, and those two belong to..."

    "The two I sent to the Forbidden Forest," the Saintess finished Synthia''s words.

    She was reading a book and never took her eyes off it, even when speaking.

    "Did you know about this, Saintess?"

    "No, but the fact that you''re here means something''s wrong with the Guardian Globe, and currently, to my knowledge, I only knew two people were assigned to an unknown threat task... Connect the dots, and you get a guess."

    "Your mind is brilliant as ever, Saintess. But what could possibly take out two Morph Knights at once? The continent is at peace, and we¡¯ve faced no danger for a long time."

    Kneeling in front of the Saintess, Synthia showed her worries.

    "Change is an aspect of the world, and nothing lasts forever. I''ve been feeling bad omens lately. The reason must be because of the changing tides between peace and war, since the Trinity Gathering is closing in. Write this as a problem we need to talk about."

    "As you wish, Saintess." With a bow, Synthia stepped out of the room and disappeared from the corridor with another step.

    After she left, the Saintess closed her book and gazed out of the window.

    Lately, she¡¯d been feeling too many bad omens, and she couldn¡¯t really pinpoint which one she needed to prioritize. According to one of her knights, there was also a new kind of monster that had resistance against holy energy.

    Slowly standing up, she walked out of her room. Followed by a group of nuns, she arrived at a place where countless candles burned across a beautiful landscape filled with blooming flowers.

    With her bare feet, she stepped onto the land and buried two seeds in the ground. Afterward, she wrote the names of the two lost knights beneath them.

    Almost in the same way, beneath every blooming flower in this field was the name of a fallen soldier, written as their memorial.

    "I''m sorry, I should have been more careful," tiny, gem-like tears flowed from the Saintess¡¯s eyes as she looked at the newly blooming flowers in the field.

    It had been so long since she had planted a memorial flower in this field. And she had a bad feeling that she would be coming here very often in the future.

    On her way back, the Saintess suddenly stopped in her tracks. At that moment, she was on an upper floor area and could see, a bit farther away, newly training soldiers for the Holy Knights.

    She stopped because she saw something surprising. A very strict Holy Knight she knew very well was personally training two candidates.

    Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she arrived at the place where the holy candidates were training.

 Chapter 13: Baited

    Hayh! Hyah!

    Two holy candidates are swinging the swords they hold with all their might, with the long exercise they¡¯ve done, sweat is pouring out from their bodies.

    Nearby, a female knight stood, examining their every movement and correcting them if something was wrong.

    "Breathe through your noses, not mouths. And maintain a good balance when swinging the sword. It might seem pointless, but when you¡¯re out there fighting in the real world, you¡¯ll see it¡¯s worth it. Now do it once again."

    Obeying her words, the two holy candidates once again began their training.

    "This is interesting."

    However, before they began, they heard a fairy-like and sweet female voice. Looking at the source, they saw a woman dressed gorgeously.

    "Saintess," the female holy knight knelt as soon as she saw the woman. She then looked at the two holy candidates, who were still standing, mesmerized by the Saintess''s beauty. hitting them she urged them to kneel.

    "No need to bother. I only need to talk to Alliyah."

    The two candidates looked at each other before taking a few steps back, appropriately giving the Saintess and holy knight Alliyah space to discuss with each other.

    "Didn''t I say don¡¯t bother? It''s not like we are strangers to each other." Despite the Saintess''s words, Alliyah still stayed kneeling.

    "But things are different now, Saintess. It¡¯s my duty to serve under you now, and it¡¯s a sin to disrespect you."

    "Never have I ever heard that standing in front of others is a disrespect to them. So stand up."

    Obeying her words, Alliyah finally stood up.

    "Hyah! Hyah!"

    In the background, the two holy knights began their training again.

    "Don¡¯t you have patrolling duty today?" gazing at the two holy candidates saintess asked from Alliyah.

    "Elian took that task for me. These days, I¡¯m occupied with them," responded Alliyah, also gazing at the two holy candidates.

    "Oh... what''s this? Our icy cold Aliyah finally took interest in a male, and it''s not one but two at once," the Saintess teased, to which Aliyah showed no reaction at all.

    "It''s nothing like that, Saintess. Those two... I feel like they''re special."

    "Mm-hmm, that''s how everyone says it at first."

    "....."

    In truth, the Saintess already felt that the two candidates Aliyah was training were special in some way. When she saw one of them, she felt a warmth in her heart as if all her worries faded away.

    "Saintess, you''re looking at them way too long," after a few minutes of silence, Aliyah noticed the Saintess''s actions.

    "You''re right, I do feel something special in them, especially that kid. What''s his name?"

    "Desire... Desire Ashborn, and the other one is Gibbin. They started training a few weeks ago and have shown extraordinary talent."

    "They are indeed special."

    "Saintess... that''s what they all said at first."

    Being teased back by her long-time friend, the Saintess regained her momentum.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t steal them from you," with a smirk, she walked back to her own residence.

    "Desire and Gibbin... should I keep an eye on them?"

    . . .

    After finishing her work for the day, Evelyn came back to her own room, which had been assigned to her by Vennesa.

    Once inside, she locked the door tightly and took her clothes off one by one.

    Taking off the clip that tied her hair, it fell upon her snowy face like a golden waterfall. Gazing at her otherworldly beauty through the mirror, she touched the cut mark that ran across all that beauty.

    It was a deep cut mark that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

    "It''s painful, isn''t it... to serve under the same man who gave you this scar?"

    A blue, illusionary shadow-like woman appeared beside her, her voice like that of a fading echo.

    "You''re brave, Evelyn. If it were another woman, she would definitely slit his throat the moment she saw him standing like a proud lion in front of her."

    Even her movements were like the wind. Passing through the mirror, she positioned herself face-to-face with Evelyn.

    "But is that sorrow I see in your eyes? Are you that pitiful? Are you sad that after all this time, he didn¡¯t even bat an eye at you after all he had done to you?"

    Phew!

    With a blow of wind from Evelyn, the illusionary woman flew away like smoke.

    "What''s the matter? Can''t talk to me... Oh right, the only person you ever talked to comfortably in your life is him, right?"

    The woman''s voice was full of mockery.

    Evelyn turned around and walked through the illusionary body of the woman, stepping into the bathtub. She then lay in it carefully. Her fairy snow-like skin glistened as it got wet, and the cut marks and bruises across her body became more clearly exposed.

    "Mordred will perish by the same beauty he once admired... but first, he has to suffer," Evelyn''s voice was icy cold and sharply resounded through the room, and it completely resemble the voice of the illusionary woman.

    "Are you planning on using your newly found ability for that?" The illusionary woman floated around her in the air, positioning herself in a comfortable way while floating.

    "You know, we had to pay a price for that power. If you don¡¯t get the job done quickly, it will end in disaster."

    Evelyn''s eyes turned red at the illusionary woman''s words, and from her hand grew flower petals. These flowers emitted a pleasant scent that made the atmosphere in the room joyful.

    Evelyn closed her eyes, and with a calm breath, the petals were sucked back into her body, and the redness in her eyes disappeared.

    "I know, but I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t take too long. Once I¡¯m closer to him, he will be at my feet like a dog."

    Opening her eyes, her words resounded through the room. With a satisfying smile on her face, the illusionary figure dissipated like smoke. The room fell silent again. Although from the beginning, the only voice resounding through it was Evelyn''s own.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    . . . . . . .

    Somewhere in the north, in the middle of a giant lake...

    "Riandle, A spirit creature belonging to the third hierarchy of the spirit realm. Also known as the mind-sucking leech. To catch a Riandle, the most suitable bait is the giant fish that live in deep lakes, especially the ones that eat meat."

    "Hmm..."

    In this lake, on a peacefully floating boat, Mordred lay on a reclining chair. An umbrella was beside him, shading him from the shining sun.

    To attract a spirit creature into a contract, one must possess a powerful soul strong enough to control the beast. It¡¯s common knowledge that someone needs to be at least in the same rank as the creature to subdue it to their will. But, other than that, there are other ways¡ªhence why I¡¯m currently fishing.

    O god please¡­ if you¡¯re rooting for me, let one of those large fish catch onto my bait.

    Hamp! Hyah!

    Hearing the sound, Mordred looked back at the riverside to see Knight Remiar, who was training some moves belonging to the Holy Knights.

    As Knight Remiar swung his sword, sparks of light could sometimes be seen at the edge of the blade.

    Does Knight Remiar have an affinity with light attributes? Or could it be a holy attribute? Come to think of it, he is not someone evil by nature. It¡¯s possible that the original Knight Remiar is someone with justice in his heart who served one of the crowned gods.

    "It''s surprising that he''s doing every evil deed I¡¯m saying."

    Ting!

    Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bell. Jumping from his seat, he hurried to the fishing rod. Just as he got there, something emerged from the water, gasping for breath.

    It was a male human, and around his body was a rope binding him tightly.

    "Oh... it¡¯s just my bait, and he¡¯s... running away."

    "Let me get him for you, boss."

    Departing from Mordred¡¯s shadow, the shadow assassin jumped into the water and quickly caught Mordred¡¯s bait.

    "Please... pleeease let me go¡­ oop... Ah!" the man cried like a baby in the assassin¡¯s grasp.

    "Should I bind him back, sir?"

    "You should. How else am I gonna catch fish without bait?"

    Let¡¯s see... according to this book, those fish are in the deep depths of the lake, so my bait should reach deep enough to attract them.

    After the assassin tightly bound the ropes and secured the man back to the fishing hook, he also tied a huge rock to the man¡¯s feet before throwing him back into the water.

    With bubbles of air rising through the water, the man sank back in.

    A few moments passed, and the sun shone brightly at the center of the sky.

    Hyah!

    Knight Remiar was still training, while Mordred was close to falling asleep on his reclining chair.

    Ting!

    Just before Mordred succumbed to sleep, he heard the sound of his fishing pole again.

    "If it''s my bait trying to escape again, I will end him."

    Looking at the lake, he saw the man once again on the surface of the water and swimming around wildly.

    "Shadow, get rid of him..."

    However, Mordred noticed that the water beneath the man¡¯s feet was getting darker and darker. Suddenly, a giant fish erupted from the lake, swallowing the man in one bite before sliding back into the depths and disappearing from sight.

    It all happened in an instant that no one had time to react.

    "Are you okay?" After a moment, Mordred heard Remair''s voice.

    The boat rode back to the port, where Mordred stepped out.

    Vennesa, who had been staying under the shade of a tree all this time, ran up to him.

    "Master, did you succeed?"

    "I did suck at fishing, that¡¯s all I did. Maybe I should dive in with Remiar to catch one... No, bad idea. It''s not like those fish don¡¯t have protection methods. And I don¡¯t think Remiar would perform well underwater."

    In the spot where Vennesa had been waiting, there was a little picnic-like setup. Food and drinks were all prepared by her for her master¡¯s fishing trip.

    To ease his bitter mood, Mordred ate a few of the sweets.

    It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have a way to catch that damned fish. If he opened his inventory, he had countless methods. But all of them were one-time-use items, and Mordred, who had a deep love for his items, would never use them unless absolutely necessary.

    The item catalog he had was more of a memorial slot where he stored his most memorable and hard-to-get items as trophies. So, it wasn¡¯t surprising that a some among them were one-time-use items he refused to part with.

    "If it¡¯s hard, my lord, how about calling someone experienced in the field for help?" Vennesa suggested as she handed a glass of juice to Mordred.

    "Do you know anyone like that?"

    "No, but we could put out a task at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild."

    Slurp!

    While drinking, Mordred fell into thought. He needed to do things secretly, but it seemed that catching this fish was not something he could do alone.

    "Proceed in your way then, and catch a few fish if possible."

    Boom!

    Suddenly, a giant pillar of light rose to the sky. Mordred hurriedly reacted and saw it came from Knight Remair''s body.

    After swinging his sword, the light faded away, and Remiar walked toward Mordred.

    "Thanks to the aptitude my true self had, I managed to achieve some skills in the holy light path."

    Mordred was truly surprised by this. Even though he had guessed it, it wasn¡¯t something he saw as a real possibility.

    "So, you have a sense of heroism and justice in your heart?" Mordred inquired.

    "Fortunately not. This is just my imitation of the original form,"  understanding what Mordred meant, Remiar quickly answered.

    After finishing his drink, Mordred ended his fishing session. Getting back into his carriage, he rode back to the Arclore residence, where his mother had been waiting for him.

    "This way, young master."

    Guided by the butler, Mordred arrived in front of a giant hall where he saw his mother dressed in a long blue dress.

 Chapter 14: ignorance knowledge

    The large hall is a place where a lot of paintings and beautifully sculpted pieces are displayed. Just like the dining room, it was a place of beauty and fashion but in far greater quantities and quality. Mordred''s mother herself is the one who chooses every piece of art for this place.

    Gazing at the extravagant sculptures and paintings, Mordred moved forward. Some of the sculptures depict humans in positions showcasing their great strength, while some of the art consists of paintings of beautiful landscapes, located in regions far away on the continent, where people from the north would rarely visit.

    "How is it? Doesn''t it look wonderful?" As Mordred came closer to her, Isadora gazed at one of the statues in the hall.

    It was a statue of a man carving his own heart out from his body. Calling this thing beautiful is not something an ordinary person would say.

    But Mordred and his mother are anything but ordinary.

    "Beauty at its purest form," looking at the statue, Mordred praised.

    Isadora looked at her son and then smiled at him.

    "You¡¯ll be going to the capital in one month. Are you prepared?"

    "Prepared By you mean the lessons I¡¯m learning from the academy¡ªthan yes. But if you mean the leeches from the other families trying to suck onto me¡ªalso yes. I¡¯m your second son, mother. I should be able to handle these things on my own."

    Isadora was completely satisfied with her son''s answer, and her smile widened a bit.

    "Come here,"

    Although confused, Mordred made his way closer to his mother. Isadora took out a pendant with a red gem in the center. The pendant had an iron plate above the gem, carved with an image of a mother holding her newborn son in her hands.

    Isadora carefully put the pendant on Mordred''s neck, and as she did, she chanted a few words. After hearing those chanted words, Mordred felt as though he and the pendant had formed some kind of connection.

    "If your life somehow comes into danger, this will protect you in my absence," she whispered in his ear.

    "Also, remember, son, I don¡¯t ask you to be great at the academy. Just enjoy your time with others if you can. If you feel bored at the academy, you can always come back whenever you want."

    Isadora¡¯s words were those of a worried mother, and Mordred knew the reasons for her concern. After the evil spirit took over, Mordred had become an extremely violent person. In some events involving the Arclore family''s participation with other nobles, this violent behavior became more apparent as he caused harm to other children. All of those cases had been dealt with through the Arclore family''s influence, but children of Mordred''s age began to fear him more and more. As a result, he became somewhat of a loner while growing up.

    The only people who stayed by his side, even during his evil times, were Vanessa and Negun. At first, there was Evelyn, but she suffered because of Mordred¡¯s actions.

    "Don¡¯t worry, Mother. I know what to do now." After all, being better at the academy and aristocracy isn¡¯t something I¡¯m hoping for. What I¡¯m aiming for is to become a better villain.

    "Your father is also in the kingdom, but you won¡¯t be able to meet him. Your sister might come to welcome you. Be nice to her, and don¡¯t scream at her like you always do."

    "Yes, Mother."

    After spending some time with his mother, admiring the paintings, and talking about sculptures and what she should add next to the collection, Mordred returned to his own residence.

    "someone took the task to retrieve the Leviathan Pearl?"

    "Yes, young master. Although it¡¯s somewhat strange. It was an old veteran adventurer who suddenly appeared and took this task. He said that before doing the task, he needed to meet with the lord to discuss the reward."

    "Let him meet Negun in disguise instead of me. If he''s an old veteran, there might be some hope."

    Since the day of the academy entrance is arriving soon, I need to finish these tasks first. If possible, I really need to retrieve the Leviathan Pearl and hand it over to get back my mythical egg.

    "Any news from the factory? Maybe about who''s spying on us?"

    "Nothing yet. Charlotte has been observing carefully, monitoring the replacement she made for the caught spy, using his same appearance."

    "Is there any news from those underworld thugs about someone hating or targeting the company?"

    Sitting back in his chair, Mordred picked up one of the books on the table and flipped through it.

    "Negun has been doing it, but no positive result yet. It seems whoever is targeting us is hiding very well," Vanessa answered as she stood at the door.

    Hmm... This is a bit troublesome. There has never been mention of an incident like this in Destined Quest. All the times I played, Mordred, possessed by the evil spirit, did his experiments very aggressively, taking the lives of thousands of people as a result. But not one incident like this was mentioned.

    Maybe this is also an aspect that changed in reality since I altered the story.

    Pausing, he put the book back in the same place he had picked it from.

    "How is Olivia doing? Is she still holding on?"

    "She''s losing her mind slowly. If she stays in that state for another week, I''m sure she will fall into the state the Master wants her to be in."

    "She is someone valuable for the future, so make sure she doesn''t kill herself or die by any mistake."

    After informing and taking orders from Mordred, Vanessa stepped out of his room.

    For a few minutes, Mordred read the book on the table after she left. Then, he stood up and opened a secret door in his room, which led to a small lab space.

    I may have been clueless about how they conducted experiments with spirit animals and humans, but nothing stops me from learning it.

    Mordred took out a notebook from his pocket, a gift Charlotte had handed to him. It contained her experiences and the results she gained from experimenting with the creatures. The notebook itself served as a symbol of trust between Mordred and her.

    <Summon Hell Hound>

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    After reading the book for a few minutes, he summoned his pawns. At his command, two burning wolves appeared.

    The two wolves acted like playful puppies in front of Mordred.

    Jump! Run! Stop!

    Since my soul level is stronger than theirs, I¡¯m able to control these two. That means my soul level is indeed around the level of an initial-stage warrior. Definitely a peak initial stage.

    After patting the hell hounds a few times, Mordred took out a syringe. As the two hounds were loyal to him, their fire had no effect on him. Mordred slowly injected the syringe and drew some blood from one of the hounds.

    Afterward, he canceled the summoning. On one of the desks were items handcrafted by Charlotte herself. One of them resembled a microscope.

    Dropping a drop of the hound''s blood on the microscope stage, Mordred then drew his own blood using an injector and added a tiny drop to the hell hound¡¯s blood.

    He was just curious and needed to see what was going to happen. But once they came into contact with each other, the two blood samples showed no reaction to each other.

    After a moment of silence, thinking, Mordred picked up a blood packet from a drawer and took a blood sample from it.

    Holding the injector, he slowly added a drop of blood onto the hellhound¡¯s blood.

    Pshhhh!

    As soon as the two bloods met, the blood of the hellhound began to devour the human blood. Like being burned, the human blood evaporated, releasing smoke.

    Hmm... Interesting. So, the contractor''s blood isn¡¯t affected by the contract spirit''s blood. But it does harm any other human blood it comes into contact with. It seems human blood isn¡¯t strong enough to tolerate the hellhound¡¯s blood. I really wonder... What would happen if we tested the blood of a knight or a magician? Although they¡¯re the same kind as me and the other humans, the path they walk is different. If I could somehow acquire their blood...

    Stepping out of his room, Mordred sat back at his desk. Currently, his experiments only used ordinary humans and some ordinary creatures as test subjects. Moving on to those of knights, magicians, and other people with different classes had been something Charlotte had been suggesting for a long time. But due to numerous risky reasons, they hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to proceed with that task.

    "By any chance, is there any holy knight that your friends have killed recently?"

    "I''m unable to answer that. I¡¯ve been by your side this whole time without a connection to them."

    Mordred heard the ghostly woman¡¯s voice in reply.

    "Are you able to contact them?"

    "I can find them, but I¡¯ll have to leave you for that."

    "It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not planning on opening a portal to the spirit realm anytime soon."

    After a moment, dark smoke seeped out of Mordred¡¯s body. As it passed through the door, he heard its voice in his mind.

    "I¡¯ll be back within two or three days..."

    . . . . . . . .

    As days passed, one morning, Mordred ordered his meal to his room instead of going out to eat in the dining hall. At that moment, Vanessa was holding a large tray full of food as she made her way to Mordred¡¯s room.

    But when she arrived in front of his door, she struggled to open it.

    "Allow me, young miss." Fortunately, from the other side, Remiar opened the door for her.

    Remiar wasn¡¯t someone strange to her now. Although his origin was something mysterious, the fact that someone strong like him was working under her master was something she took pride in.

    "Thank you,"  with a greeting she stepped inside to see Mordred staring at a giant map of the continent. With tools by his side to measure distances, he was so utterly obsessed with his work that he didn¡¯t even glance at the food she brought.

    "Master, please take breakfast,"  Upon hearing vennesa, Mordred actually took a break from his work.

    "Which road are we taking to the capital, Vanessa?" he asked while Vanessa jamming his bread.

    "Since we¡¯re taking a more stable road than the shorter one, I think it¡¯s possible we¡¯ll be traveling along the Lagna River."

    "Excellent. Make sure that doesn¡¯t change, then."

    After Mordred finished his breakfast and Vanessa stepped out of the room, Mordred summoned the shadow assassin in front of him.

    "See this tiny place I¡¯ve marked?" he pointing at an ¡®X¡¯ mark on the map.

    "This place is important. It¡¯s located in the middle of nowhere, but I want you to look after it until I arrive. You¡¯ll have to be there for at least a few weeks before my journey begins, so prepare before you go. Oh... and come back once you¡¯ve identified these people." Mordred then explained the appearance and names of a few individuals to the assassin.

    "At your word, Master," the shadow assassin disappeared into the darkness at his command.

    That woman fooled me the first time, but I won¡¯t let the same thing happen a second time.

    . . . . .

    In a village located in the middle of nowhere, a group of kids was playing hide and seek.

    The oldest among them began counting from one to ten, and the little kids around him ran away in a hurry to hide.

    "ey, Celith, go find your own old place! This is my spot!"

    One of the older kids pushed aside a smaller boy. The little boy, named Celith, hurriedly stood up again despite falling pretty hard. He looked around and saw a giant bush, then made his way behind it to hide.

    But behind the bush, he saw another figure¡ªone much tinier than him.

    "Heyyy, whooo are you?" Celith asked in his childish voice.

    "Eek! You... you can see me?" the tiny bug-like figure spoke in a female voice. She jumped onto Celith¡¯s shoulder so he could see her more clearly.

    "Yes, I can! You''re so tiny!"

    "Ha-haa, just like I thought, you can indeed see me." The tiny figure jumped in joy on Celine''s shoulder.

    "Quickly, quickly. Let''s go, I want to show you to someone."

    "But I''m playing..."

    "Playtime is over, let''s go, let''s go," urged the tiny figure''s noisy voice. Celine walked past the frost that surrounded the village, into the deep where he disappeared from everyone''s sight.

 Chapter 15: voice of unliving

    Deep in the forest, avoiding the obstacles blocking his path, Celine followed the tiny creature flying in front, guiding him.

    "Come on, this way!"

    She flew past a giant tree, but because Celine was much slower than her, she had to fly back and circle around him a few times before he finally reached the tree.

    "Aren''t men supposed to be strong? Why are you so weak? Even a turtle would beat you with that kind of stamina!" she screamed as Celine leaned on the tree to catch his breath. It had been a few hours since he began following the little creature, and she hadn¡¯t stopped even once for him to rest.

    "I''m... I''m... just a kid," his voice was very weak from exhaustion, but he somehow managed to blurt out those words, annoyed with this tiny... screamball.

    The tiny flying creature looked a bit thoughtful for a second. Then she flew above Celine, dropping some shiny, dust-like stuff onto his body as she passed by.

    "What is this?"

    As the dust fell on his body, the moment it touched his skin, it was absorbed, and he felt his exhaustion fading away.

    "There! Are you still tired now?" the tiny creature asked as she flew in front of Celine.

    "I can move again. Wow... You''re amazing!"

    The tiny creature giggled upon hearing him.

    "Come on, if you want to see me do more amusing things, you have to help me!"

    Urging him once again, the creature flew away. Celine hurriedly stood up and ran after her.

    As time passed and the sun moved closer to the west, its orange glow fell upon the trees in the forest.

    Following the tiny creature''s guide, Celine arrived at an area with a lot of fallen trees.

    The tiny creature flew around one of those giant fallen trees.

    "This here. I want you to move this."

    Celine paused. He first looked at his own tiny hands, then at the giant trunk of the tree.

    "Are you serious?"

    "I am," the little creature said as she flew around the tree a few times before making her way toward Celine. Getting closer to his head, she touched his forehead.

    "You have wonderful eyes. I believe in you."

    Celine fell silent, staring at the tree trunk. After a few moments, he moved again.

    "Is there anything sharp?"

    The little creature shook her head in response.

    "Never mind... I think I have one," Celine pulled out a pocketknife he had with him and began to scratch the surface of the tree trunk.

    From then on, he worked tirelessly for hours. Whenever he got exhausted, the little creature flew around him and scattered dust onto him, which made him energetic again.

    "Thank you," Celine  started to work again. By this point, more than half of the tree trunk had been scratched and smoothed out by him after so much effort. Now, only a tiny portion was left to finish.

    But on the horizon, the sun had finally gone down, and the forest fell into darkness.

    Ooooo! Ooooooo!

    Sounds of unknown origin began to echo from the forest, and little Celine looked around in fear.

    However, from the sky, a star began to fall toward him.

    "Hmmm..." Celine looked in awe as the star came closer, but then he realized it was a group of tiny bugs that had their own light within them.

    They flew around alongside the tiny creature, who floated near Celine.

    "Don''t be afraid. Night is not as dangerous as you think. If you look at it with your heart, you''ll see its breathtaking beauty," the tiny creature landed upon the tree trunk that Celine had smoothed out. The glowing bugs flew around the area, providing enough brightness for Celine to continue his work.

    After a few more hours of effort, Celine finally finished smoothing out the tree trunk.

    "Now, if only we had someone to give it a push,"

    "Would a deer be sufficient?" a tiny bug flew close to him.

    "But how could we find a deer in this night?"

    In response, the tiny creature giggled and flew away into the darkness.

    For a while, Celine sat atop the tree trunk, but suddenly, he got down. From in front of him, he saw something shining like an eye looking at him. In the next moment, a creature stepped into the light of the tiny bugs¡ªit was a deer.

    Flying around it was the little creature.

    "You actually found and brought one! How are you doing these things?"

    But to a curious Celine, the little creature only giggled in response.

    "He-he, you''ll find out."

    With the help of the deer, Celine pushed the tree trunk from its top half. Once it fell, it began to roll away due to its smoothness.

    "You did it, Celine! You did it!"

    The little creature cheered as she flew toward where the tree had fallen. There was only a tiny plant buried under the tree.

    "Please... don''t be too late," the little creature seemed worried.

    "What''s happening?" Celine got close to the plant.

    "Can''t you hear its cries?" the tiny creature flew around it a few times, letting the golden dust fall onto the plant. Once the dust touched the plant, it began to regenerate, and the branches that had been smashed to the ground regained their life.

    Within a minute, the tiny plant stood in the field as though nothing bad had happened to it.

    "Oh, he''s saying his thanks to us."

    "I don''t hear anything," Celine was still clueless about what was happening.

    The little creature got closer to his ears, whispering...

    "Don''t just observe, feel the feelings in the world." As her words echoed in his mind, Celine suddenly heard a very tiny voice.

    "Thank you... Thank you so much for saving me."

    Opening his eyes, Celine looked at the plant on the ground, which was where the voice was coming from.

    "I can actually hear... tree talk?"

    "Not really, don''t get your hopes up yet. This guy is special."

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    The tiny creatures flew around him again. It was then that Celian really saw the appearance of this tiny creature. It was a little girl with tiny wings on her back.

    "You''re a human."

    "Idiot! I''m a pixie. Call me Pixie." Pixie punched Celian''s head, but her tiny hands didn''t cause him any pain.

    "Wait... Why didn''t I see you like that before?"

    "It''s because we''re now in a special bond. You''re my contractor now, so take good care of me, okay?"

    Pixie flew and landed on Celian''s shoulder, sitting down there.

    "Bond? You mean like friends?"

    "You can say that if you want. You''re the only human who can see me, after all. So technically and practically, you''re my only human friend."

    Suddenly, the pixie flew into the sky again.

    "Look, he''s giving you a gift."

    Celian looked at the plant he had just saved and saw that a red berry was growing on it.

    "Take it, slowly, without hurting him."

    Following Pixie''s instructions, Celian plucked the berry from the plant.

    "It needs some more time. Keep it somewhere safe," Pixie suggested as she examined the berry.

    "This isn''t just a berry, is it?" Celian felt that something gifted by a talking plant couldn''t be ordinary.

    "Nope. This plant right here is called Stangra, one of the rare plants that bear only two fruits in its whole life. Those fruits are called Stangra berries, and they have the ability to create an artifact upon use."

    "Artifact? I''ve heard of those. My grandpa used to tell me about them. I remember him saying there are five ranks among them."

    "Now, now, don''t get your hopes up, kiddo. Stangra is a mystical fruit, but it has its limits. Also, since you''re my contractor, you have to feed me. I''m hungry now¡ªlet''s go."

    With the annoying pixie by his side, Celian walked back to the village the same way he had come.

    "But when did I agree to be your contractor?"

    "When you opened your heart to me, as I said."

    "Huh?"

    ---

    In his room, Mordred was looking through a few books. All of them listed the names and backgrounds of the human test subjects his lab had used.

    The problem with the factory is something I must resolve before going to the academy. But no matter how hard my subordinates try to find them, they''re hiding very cleverly from us.

    That''s when I thought¡ªif someone really wanted to spy on my factory, they would need a reason. First, either they¡¯re prying into our chemical research, but since the spy has already tried to infiltrate the underground floor, it¡¯s clear they¡¯re aiming for it from the beginning. Which means they¡¯re after the human research lab.

    That got me thinking about the plot in the Destiny game¡ªthe fact that most of the heroes in the game attack Mordred because of his research lab. What if, maybe due to some butterfly effect caused by my influence, a main character had targeted me?

    If something like that happens, I need to be one step ahead of him.

    But no one has contacted the bait spy up until now, and nothing suspicious has been caught by the people I placed outside the factory. It¡¯s like they¡¯ve already noticed our actions and are keeping a low profile for the time being.

    ... Wait a minute, what if...

    After thinking for a moment, Mordred rang a bell, and Vennesa entered his room.

    "Young master."

    "Contact Charlotte for me."

    ---

    In the chemical factory, the homeless man Mordred put in place as the acting boss was overseeing the entire process from his room in the high-up section.

    The producing process, packing process, and manufacturing process were all observed by him. Close to him stood a woman who wrote down some instructions the man said from time to time.

    "How¡¯s the profit this month?"

    "Sir, because of competition with other illegal companies, we¡¯re having a tough time in the market. They¡¯ve produced some cheap, low-quality goods that are even damaging our product''s reputation."

    "That bad, huh? I don¡¯t think the boss really cares about how much profit this section makes, but since he put me in charge, I have to show some results at least," the man said, looking at his assistant. "Do you have any suggestions?"

    His cute manager thought for a few minutes before answering.

    "Sir, I don¡¯t think talking to those other factory owners would do us any good. How about we go full physical and destroy one of those factories?"

    "Oh, no, no, no, there¡¯s a risk of getting attacked back. If something happens to the factory, the boss would definitely beat me to death. How about a non-violent way?"

    Although she seemed a bit disappointed, his assistant quickly came up with another suggestion.

    One of them was spreading rumors about how good the product produced by their company around the city. Another one was similar to the first but involved spreading rumors about how bad the products of the other companies are.

    One of her other suggestions was to make fake products under the name of other companies and manufacture them into stores. Although somewhat sinister and customers would surely suffer from this, the manager agreed to the idea in the end.

    He really needed to prove his worth to Mordred before he got disposed of as useless.

    "I must say, I did the right thing choosing you as my assistant," he did not forget to praise his assistant who had given all those ideas.

    Boom!

    Suddenly, with a loud sound, the whole ground began to shake.

    "What¡¯s going on?" the man screamed. The workers in the chemical lab panicked and ran out as huge smoke began to rise from the floor.

    "Shit! Did something happen on the lower floor" panicked, the man hurriedly ran back to his office and opened the secret passage.

    Although it''s supposed to be a secret, he once saw Charlotte comes out from it and memorise the place.

 Chapter 16: Dead talk

    After the secret passage opened, the man rushed inside, his assistant following behind him.

    When they reached the lower floor, all they saw was a massive cloud of smoke covering everything.

    The workers were coughing violently while searching for a way out.

    "Quickly, help them get out of here! I''ll look for Miss Charlotte," he instructed his assistant, but all he got in response was silence.

    Looking back, he saw that he was surrounded by smoke and had lost sight of the assistant who had followed him.

    "Hope she''s okay."

    Nonetheless, the man went looking for Charlotte while instructing others on where they should run to escape.

    Through the smoke that covered everything, the newly appointed assistant moved swiftly.

    The panicked workers ran past her from time to time, totally unaware of her presence. Looking through the smoke, she caught a glimpse of the main office of the experimental lab in the distance and headed that way.

    Once close, she saw that the door to the main office was closed, preventing anyone from entering.

    Tch!

    Walking around the door for a few seconds, she stopped. Picking up a nearby chair, she threw it at the door, trying to break it, but it did not succeed.

    Looking around, she saw that almost everyone had been evacuated, and the smoke was slowly fading away. She needed to hurry.

    With a sigh, she walked toward the door, but this time, strangely, the door opened on its own when she came closer. A strange glow appeared in her eyes.

    Inside, the room was also covered by mist that seeped in through the slight gaps in the door and other areas. Without wasting a moment, the assistant began to search through the pile of documents on the office desk.

    But halfway through her work, she suddenly paused.

    "Is this really a trap?"

    She looked at the main office seat, which was now regaining visibility as the smoke cleared. Sitting in the chair was Mordred, his cold and indifferent eyes fixed on her.

    "It depends on your ability¡­ to save your life and escape."

    "How did you know I would come here? No¡­ how do you even know I was already in this place?"

    The woman seemed very calm despite being caught.

    "From the mistakes you left behind¡­ Not contacting the bait prepared for you was suspicious. It was as if you already knew about it. Since no one outside knew, that meant the person I was looking for was already inside."

    And the process of how this plan to catch you is something I remember from a book I read on Earth. And of course, I''m not going to say that to her.

    "Very clever. I''ll remember that about you."

    Crack!

    Suddenly, behind Mordred, the floor cracked, and a giant, zombified hand rose up. Stretching its large fingers, it came at Mordred to grab him.

    At the same moment, the woman flew away and rushed through the door, while also grabbing one of the documents on the table. But once she was outside, she realized she was surrounded by all the thugs Mordred had hired as guards in this place.

    Yet, even at that moment, she showed no expression of panic.

    Inside the office, the hand clenched its fist and grabbed Mordred. However, Mordred suddenly disappeared from where he was and reappeared a few steps away.

    At that moment, he was wearing an extravagant pair of boots that shone with a brilliant luster.

    <Appraisal Result>

    Item Name: One Step at a Time

    Grade: Honour

    Description: Standing in one place after wearing these boots gathers energy, which can be released at once, giving the user a tremendous boost of speed for a short distance.

    Item Owner: Mordred Vorthian Arclore (Not Bound)

    After evading the hand, Mordred walked out of the office. But he saw that all the thugs he had stationed around were screaming and begging as zombified arms erupted from the earth, grabbing them by their throats and eyes.

    In the middle of all this, he saw the woman running away easily through the secret passage.

    Dorothy the heartless... what a woman. Can''t be sure whether it''s my luck or misfortune that I met her this fast. And it seems she has already progressed quite a bit in her power level.

    Making an enemy of her right now is not what I wanted. she need to stay free... Untill she done the part I want her to do.

    With her unique catalog, Deadheart, she''s able to communicate with the dead easily. That might be the reason she''s here. Since the dead from my factory suffered gruesome deaths, those spirits must have a grudge against me. However, if she uses that power here, this will be catastrophic. Since I still only have Hellhounds with me¡­ run away little lamb, untill i catch you again for prying into my affairs.

    "However, it wouldn''t hurt to test how deep the water is."

    . . . . . . . .

    Dorothy ran out from the secret passage, where another group of thugs waited for her outside. But they all ended up like the others¡ªas decayed hands rose from the ground and grabbed them, she easily ran past.

    Running out of the factory, she crossed the street but almost got hit by a carriage coming from the other side. However, before it could hit her, zombified hands halted it in place.

    Nearby people looked on in wonder.

    "Did you see that?"

    "Whoa! She nearly died there!"

    Covering her face, Dorothy ran away and entered an alley to hide from everyone''s eyes.

    "Are you okay, Dorothy?"

    As she leaned against a nearby wall to catch her breath, a ghostly voice spoke to her. In Dorothy''s vision, she could see the silhouette of a woman standing close by.

    "Mordred is not someone powerful. Why did you urge me to run away?" Dorothy looked dissatisfied with her actions. Previously, she had prepared to defeat Mordred and take what she wanted, but because of the alert her ghostly ally had given her, she decided to retreat.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "He is not powerful... but his presence is dangerous. He even escaped Artist¡¯s grasp. To do that, one has to be incredibly agile," the ghostly woman explained.

    "What do you even mean by that? Well, whatever. I got what I wanted anyway."

    From under her clothes, Dorothy took out a document¡ªthe one she had grabbed before running away.

    Opening it, she began scanning through its contents.

    "What have they been doing in there...?"

    Dorothy, move!

    Suddenly, the dead screamed in her ears. Panicked, Dorothy looked around and saw someone jumping down from a nearby building¡ªright toward her.

    Boom!

    Just before the man could stomp on her, Dorothy jumped away, but the document in her hand flew out and landed elsewhere.

    Reacting quickly, she tried to grab it back, but a giant sword thrust into the ground between her and the document.

    "Who are you...?"

    She looked up at the man who was bothering her. Clad in full knight armor, he exuded a heroic aura.

    "You''re a knight, a holy knight."

    "Dorothy the Heartless, what a surprise," the knight''s tone was threatening.

    "You have some explaining to do." Picking up the document, the knight held it in his hand. Seeing that, Dorothy sighed in regret, but she quickly regained her calmness.

    "Right now, I don''t think I''m the best culprit for you justice-seeking dogs to hunt. That document is something I got from a factory under the ownership of Mordred Vorthian, the second son of the Arclore family''s headmistress. I don''t think you guys would be too kind to someone conducting cruel experiments on humans, right?" Her words were aimed directly to tempt the knight in front of her. While talking, she slowly took a few steps back.

    However, the knight took a step forward and swung his sword at her.

    "It''s not up to you to decide what we hunt, wench!"

    Cling!

    When the sword struck her, it was deflected by something like curved, shadow-like hands. But as an aftereffect, Dorothy was pushed back a few steps.

    "Damn it, listen to me! All I did was the right thing for innocent, wrongly killed people. Some of those guys only appear good on the surface¡ªincluding your bishops!"

    She tried to explain the real reason every holy knight hunted her, but despite her explanation, just like every other holy knight, this one also didn¡¯t seem to care.

    "Right now, the last thing I want is to fight the Holy Sanctuary, but I bet these guys would let me go easily¡ªunlike Mordred."

    The knight rushed forward again, swinging his giant sword.

    "Artist, you''re up!"

    Suddenly, from the ground in front of Dorothy, a giant hand emerged, smashing toward the knight.

    The knight did not stop despite seeing the hand and continued his slash.

    Whoosh!

    With a sharp, crisp sound, his sword sliced through the hand and severed it.

    Ugh!

    A loud sound echoed from underground beneath the knight¡¯s feet.

    "I''ll say this one last time. Mordred Arclore is the person you should fear the most. That guy is a monster, not a human. He¡¯s conducting human experiments in the middle of this city¡ªamong living humans. And that document contains all the clues you need to confirm what I said."

    After her words, the severed part of the zombified hand began to twitch, and suddenly, it split into countless smaller hands. Like a flood of water bursting from a tiny space, dozens of tiny hands erupted, pushing the knight as they surged forward. They moved until they forced the knight out of the alley, and then the hands dispersed into nothingness.

    Swinging his sword at the vanishing hands, the knight gazed back into the alley, but Dorothy was no longer there.

    . . . . . . . .

    "And after that, I didn¡¯t see her. It was like she disappeared into nothingness¡ªjust like those hands. No matter how far I searched, there was no trace of her."

    Back at the Arclore residence, Knight Remiar knelt in front of Mordred as he explained everything that had happened between him and Dorothy.

    Mordred was reading the document she had stolen before running off. It was exactly what he had expected her to do.

    "Did you wait until she read this?"

    "Yes. The very first thing she did was look through it after she escaped. She might have been afraid that you¡¯d send someone after her to retrieve the document."

    "She¡¯s a crafty and skilled woman, I¡¯ll give her that. And the fact that she spoke about me to you means that if left alone she will definitely tell others about me. But to truly expose me, she needs real evidence, stuff that make me the criminal she want them to see me as. And she definitely woud come back to get them. I''ll settle this score when that time comes."

    The document she had stolen was something Mordred had deliberately left out for her to take. Although it contained some clues about what he was doing, it wasn¡¯t the full truth¡ªjust the tip of the iceberg. The most important piece of information in the document was the supposed location of his headquarters, which was listed as being in the capital.

    In reality, there was no headquarters in the capital. It was just bait¡ªa trap to lure her there, as he would soon be heading to the capital himself.

    "Her abilities and skills are truly valuable. If nothing goes wrong, I¡¯d really like her to work under me."

    Being able to communicate with and command ghosts like she did was an extremely rare ability in Destiny Quest. Aside from her, only a handful of people could even speak to ghosts¡ªlet alone use them.

    After placing the document on the table, Mordred stood up, took a few steps, and positioned himself in front of a long mirror that reflected his entire figure.

    He was still wearing the One Step at a Time boots on his legs.

    But the more he looked at himself in those boots, the more his eyes twitched. They didn¡¯t fit well with his appearance at all, and the dignity of a villain would never allow Mordred to appear ridiculous in front of anyone.

    "Back to the inventory, then," he sighed, storing the boots back in his item catalog.

    Putting on the dark shoes he usually wore, he gazed at himself in the mirror. At that moment, the dignity of a villain revealed its true value¡ªhe now appeared as a nobleman of true refinement.

 Chapter 17: Remains of dead

    Clank! Clank! Clank!

    With their heavy steps and the sound of armor reverting, the guardians of the Arclore residence are always patrolling around the area to ensure the safety of their masters. No matter the day or night, they are always on duty.

    The Arclore residence is a massive landscape that contains numerous large mansions belonging to the Arclore family¡¯s higher-up nobles. As the guards patrol the place, each one of them is at least at the pinnacle of the Adept stage. And in this particular area, where the family of the headmistress resides, the guards need to be extra skilled and careful.

    At the moment, the guards at the main gate are inspecting a merchant''s carriage that is heading toward the residence.

    "All clear, let him in."

    The two guards opened the giant gate, and the carriage drove past it as it entered the road leading to the Arclore residence.

    But the carriage turned onto another road halfway through, as no one but direct descendants of the family could directly go to the main residence.

    When the carriage changed roads, a shadow leapt from one of the horses and jumped into the shadow of a tree nearby. From then on, it continued to leap from one shadow to another until it reached another part of the residence.

    Entering a mansion, the shadow made its way toward a maid who was carrying a plate of pastries and tea.

    "Young master, may I come in?"

    In front of her master''s door, Vanessa halted her steps and asked.

    "Come in." A moment later, she heard her master''s voice, and opening the door, she stepped in.

    Mordred was on the balcony of the room, looking at the beautiful scenery outside. It was a bright day, birds sang, the wind blew calmly, giving Mordred a serene feeling.

    But after enjoying the feeling brought by the wind, his mind fell back into thoughts. No matter what he did at the moment, his mind was always thinking about the word of the world. The cheat-like item was something he feared the most in this world.

    Even though he had four pieces of it with him and reassured that nobody could complete it without him, he still needed to find the other piece to add this item to his inventory.

    "Well, the future has potential... Since it takes time, in the present, I should focus on myself."

    Turning back, he looked at Vanessa, who was pouring a cup of tea for him. For some reason, he felt that she was a bit darker than usual.

    Then he saw the darkness seeping out from her like smoke and flowing toward him through the air.

    Extending his hand, Mordred let the smoke envelope him.

    "I''ve returned, partner."

    "How did it go?"

    "There were two Holy Sanctuary Knights that we slew. Although they were disfigured and separated into pieces, we managed to gather some blood from their rotting bodies."

    "Holy knights'' blood, that would be useful. Since you came empty-handed, I suppose you hid it in a safe place, then?"

    "One of ours placed it at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I couldn''t bring any physical items with me, so you¡¯ll have to get it yourself."

    "And since you''re the only one who knows its hidden place, this is something I have to do personally."

    After murmuring between themselves, Mordred walked into the room. Savoring the tea and tasting the delicacies Vanessa had prepared, Mordred got dressed with Vanessa''s assistance.

    Nobles usually have someone professional to dress them, and Mordred, being the second son of proud Arclore family, should definitely have one. But Vanessa was a woman with a vast variety of skills, which also included dressing her master¡ªa skill she had trained in since childhood.

    "For the young master''s purposes, I found a fisherman suitable to catch the giant fishes," while dressing him Vanessa informed.

    "Any chance he¡¯d be willing to catch anything sooner?"

    "I''ll inform him, Master. He tends to be greedy for money."

    After  informing about how she should proceed with her tasks, I stepped out of my room with the intention of going back to the Forbidden Forest to retrieve the blood samples.

    According to my command, my horse was already prepared. She had been given an extravagant name when she was ridden by the original Mordred, but I changed her name to Daisy since it was the name of a pet I used to own on Earth a long time ago.

    However, as I stepped out, I saw at least ten or so carriages heading toward the main mansion. Some had their windows down, allowing me to see some of the faces inside. The same went for those inside the carriages¡ªthey could see me as well. All of them were young men and women, and they had sharp, competitive gazes as they looked at me.

    "I shouldn¡¯t be the only one going to the academy from the Arclore family. Since they¡¯re here, that means a few of them will also be chosen."

    The carriages belonged to the sons and daughters of the other concubines of the Arclore family''s head. However, they lived in a separate part of the Arclore family estate despite being related to Mordred and the others. Mordred''s mother had a huge influence on this decision.

    "Is there any hero among those brothers and sisters?" Mordred fell into thought for a moment.

    Destiny Quest was a game he played a long time ago when he was just in high school, so some details about it were hard for him to remember and could easily be forgotten.

    "Well¡­ We always have time to meet again, my dear brothers and sisters."

    Getting on Daisy, Mordred urged her forward, and with a rush, Daisy soon ran past the Arclore residence gate into the outside world.

    An hour or two passed when Mordred arrived at the Forbidden Forest. With the guidance of the ghostly woman, Mordred paused Daisy in front of a giant tree.

    Looking at a hole in the tree, Mordred put his hand inside and felt a tiny bottle. A deep red liquid swirled inside as he took it out and observed it.

    "Blood of the holy knights¡­ It should be able to tolerate the potency of the spirit beings."

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Getting back on his horse, Mordred turned to leave but suddenly stopped as a man stood behind him.

    The man was actually a knight clad in blue-colored armor.

    "You''re a civilian. What are you doing in this forbidden area?"

    "Nothing important to you, I assume," Mordred answered.

    He didn¡¯t show much fear toward the knight, and he had a reason for that.

    Among all the powerhouses in this world, the Knights of the Moon are one of the few I¡¯m not afraid of. But this is not a good place to reveal my cards.

    "Do not worry, we will take care of him. This is our domain, after all," Mordred heard the ghostly female voice.

    "That''s no way to talk to a knight who''s trying to protect you," the knight become dissatisfied with Mordred''s behavior.

    "In this whole north, there are only two Moon Sanctuaries, and neither of them is close to this place. What are you doing here?" Mordred questioned.

    "Right back at you, boy. Nothing for you to worry about,"

    The knight was a middle-aged man with long silver hair. Taking off the helmet he wore, he took a clear glance at Mordred.

    However, because Mordred was wearing a hood and a mask, he couldn¡¯t see his face.

    Crack!

    At that moment, they heard something like a bone-cracking sound from the forest. The knight quickly reacted and put his helmet back on.

    "Farewell, innocent protecting knight. If fate allows, we¡¯ll meet again."

    With a notice from the ghostly voice, Mordred urged his horse forward and rode away. The knight tried to stop him, but suddenly, from the forest, a dark figure rushed in, grabbed the knight, and moved away.

    Clang! Cling!

    As Mordred rode his horse through the frost, he heard the clashing sound of swords from behind.

    "Didn''t I free all of you? So why are you still here? My purpose for you was to distract that woman in the sanctuary."

    "Not all of us are here. Most of us went our own ways. In the first place, we obey no mortal¡¯s words, and helping you with everything was done according to the contract. So don''t meddle in our affairs¡ªwe have our own purposes."

    Is she threatening me? It seems like they''re preparing for something big they don''t want me to know about. Whatever it is, they better hurry.

    On his way back, Mordred didn¡¯t go to the Arclore residence. Instead, he arrived in front of a huge building with a whole lot of people coming and going.

    All of them were dressed in some kind of armed attire.

    This building was the Adventurers'' Guild, home to those who didn¡¯t want to be under any sanctuary¡¯s or noble¡¯s influence. From the most common tasks to some of the hardest jobs, there were individuals in the guild that anyone could hire to get things done.

    Mordred wore a robe to cover his face and avoid attracting attention. Halting his horse in a nearby place, he made his way into the guild.

    Inside, the guild had a lively atmosphere. Although it was daytime, lamps were lit across the whole building, brightening it even more than daylight.

    Without attracting attention, Mordred walked past the adventurers and stood in front of the large board where tasks for adventurers were posted.

    Mordred wanted to know what kind of tasks adventurers were taking on these days. More importantly, he wanted to see if any of the tasks he remembered from the game would appear on this board.

    Among those tasks, some had very important development to the plot, which is why he personally came to see.

    As he look through some caught his eye. One was to investigate the sudden disappearance of animals and the tavern close to the Forbidden Forest. Another was to investigate the disappearance of civilians in the city.

    But suddenly, among the list of tasks, Mordred saw another one that caught his eye.

    [Explore an Abandoned Ancient Mine]

    Could this be¡­

    Mordred tried to pick the task, but before he could, someone else¡¯s hand reached for it.

    "Oh... Do you want to pick this task?" The one who took it was a man¡ªa warrior who seemed to have some power behind his words.

    Mordred memorized his face before shaking his head and looking back at the task board.

    The man realized that the stranger didn¡¯t want to talk, so he didn¡¯t mind the situation much.

    After looking through the task board and finding nothing more interesting, Mordred walked out of the guild.

    That task¡­ Its location¡­ Could it be related to the Beast King¡¯s inheritance?

    Getting back on his horse, Mordred rode back to the Arclore Residence.

    After returning, the first thing he did was call Vennesa and instruct her to place a few spies around the guild to keep an eye on the man who picked the mine exploration task.

    Beast King¡¯s Legacy¡­ It was originally supposed to be inherited by one of the heroes in the game. But if I could somehow get there first, maybe¡­

    While thinking to himself, he heard Vennesa¡¯s voice from outside.

    "Master, may I come in?"

    "Come in."

    Stepping into the room, Vennesa first handed Mordred a note.

    "The fisherman said he would come to the lake tomorrow, and these are the things he needs us to prepare."

    Looking through the list of items, Mordred nodded his head.

    Although it wasn¡¯t much different from what he had already used while fishing, there were a few changes.

    "I suppose we have the capability to prepare all this before tomorrow, right?"

    "Yes, my lord. I only need your permission for that."

    Taking the list in her hand, Vennesa turned to leave.

    "What kind of man is this fisherman? Is he trustworthy?"

    "He''s someone only interested in catching giant fish like this and making money. It¡¯s a bit odd, but he lives alone near Lagan-Ya Lake. There are rumors that he even caught a fish at the Mystic rank once."

    Turning back on her step, Vennesa answered respectfully.

    "A man that only focuses on his job... or hobby, maybe. Since that''s the case, I don¡¯t think he would spread any rumors, Also it wouldn''t be bad to see how this guy catches those giant in the deep."

 Chapter 18: foreshadowing Death

    Swallowing the brightness in the world, a dark cluster of clouds spread across the clear sky. After giving everyone a gloomy feeling in their hearts, drop by drop, the rain began to fall.

    Under the cover of the umbrellas held by  Vanessa, Mordred calmly walked toward the giant river, where he saw an old man sitting under a tree.

    The man was exposed to the rain, but he didn¡¯t seem to care. Looking at the lake, from time to time, he threw a few treats into the water, where fish had already gathered to feast.

    "The guy looks like some kind of monk, not a hunter. Is he the one?"

    "Yes, young master."

    "Well... tell him to come." After observing the old man for a while, Mordred turned around. He had a comfortable place already prepared on the lakeshore.

    Walking in the rain had made his clothes dirty with mud stains. It had already reached the limit of his dignity of villain''s patience.

    One of the men who had come with Mordred went to inform the old man about his arrival. Looking at Mordred from afar, the old man got up and made his way toward him.

    "I believe I''m not the late one." Mordred greeted the old man with a nod.

    "Not at all. We old fellows like to arrive early¡ªit''s a habit."

    As the man replied, Mordred noticed that, despite being in the rain, not a single drop of water touched his clothes.

    "Since it''s raining, why don''t we wait a bit?" Mordred invited the man to sit, but the old man politely declined with a smile.

    "Young nobleman might not know, but the rain is the best time to catch fish. If the young master doesn''t mind, I''d like to start the task right now."

    "By all means, go ahead." Mordred showed no objection to the man''s suggestion. After all, he was the one with the urgency for this fish.

    "But where''s the equipment...?"

    Before Mordred could finish speaking, something rapidly arrived from the tree where the old man had previously been sitting and landed in the old man¡¯s hand.

    It was a harpoon¡ªone that gave an extraordinary presence to anyone holding it.

    Vanessa hurriedly reacted and rushed toward the old man, but Mordred waved his hand and stopped her. Despite the commotion, Mordred didn''t feel any malicious threat from the old man. He was still gazing at the river.

    That spear is definitely an item belonging to the ranking system. And the way it acts on its own... Is this guy a weapon master?

    "Did you receive the necessary requisites from our side?" Mordred asked in his calm voice.

    "Oh, it¡¯s all been taken care of."

    Ahhh!

    From a branch of a tree that stretched toward the middle of the lake, a young man fell down, but he stopped halfway, as he was tied by a rope to the branch. Mordred noticed that the rope was also a ranked item.

    Two items... This is the first time I''ve seen someone like this. Guess I really shouldn¡¯t underestimate the history of this world.

    "Something like this isn''t enough for those in the depths of the lake. If we want to make them come up, we need to make them hungrier."

    The old man threw a red ball into the lake, and it quickly scattered across the water like some coloring, painting the water in deep red color. But as moments passed, the color began to sink deeper into the lake.

    "Now be silent and listen carefully... You''ll hear their hungry cries."

    As the old man instructed, everyone became quiet. Whether it was Vanessa or the few men who had come with Mordred, they all stayed silent. Only the sound of the rain could be heard.

    In this quiet atmosphere, minute by minute passed, and suddenly, Mordred lightly heard a sound coming from the depths of the lake.

    Graaa! Graawl!

    It was like an echo of a starving beast.

    "Now you should lower the bait, for it is now looking for anything to satisfy its hunger." Other than doing everything by himself, the old man was also teaching Mordred how everything was done.

    The rope that tightened the man hanging from the tree branch suddenly loosened, causing the man to fall and eventually end up in the water.

    Chis!

    The man splashed water everywhere as he struggled to get free from the ropes. But the rope continued to move, dragging him deeper into the water.

    Very soon, the rope dragged the man up once again, leaving him hanging halfway from the branch. The young man was drowning in the water, struggling for air.

    "What now..." Mordred felt curious about the atmosphere, but suddenly, before he could finish speaking, the old man moved, sending his harpoon flying through the air at the man hanging from the branch.

    Chis!

    It pierced through something invisible along the way. Dark green substance spilled out from the air, giving off a terrible stench, but nothing else could be seen.

    After piercing the invisible object, the harpoon turned and returned to the old man''s hand. As soon as he caught it, he sent it flying again¡ªthis time in a different direction.

    Raghh!

    It pierced something invisible again, and a huge roar came from the source. Dark green substance erupted from the air, seeming to flow down from some large object. Little by little, something became visible above the lake. First, it was a blur, then a gigantic fish appeared, opening its mouth to swallow the man hanging from the rope.

    It was so close to the man, but the harpoon pierced its eye and head right before it could swallow him.

    Boom!

    With a huge shockwave, the gigantic fish fell onto the river, causing a massive wave of water to spill everywhere.

    None managed to evade the wave of water, and Mordred could only close his eyes as the water splashed on him.

    "Seems like you have a good eye," Mordred calmly wiped off the water from his clothes, but the wetness was not something he could easily get rid of.

    Stolen story; please report.

    "Comes with experience. This old man has been doing this for a long time. I could see things others couldn''t¡ªlike the invisible scales of this fish and the terrible upcoming weather.

    And I can also see a few things from humans."

    The old man looked at Mordred with a serious expression this time.

    "Just like the aura of death lurking around you. Young man, be careful¡ªthe future is not like to welcome you."

    Mordred was caught by surprise at the old man''s words. But thinking about it, it was indeed as he said. There were a lot of heroes in the Destiny Game, and he would face them eventually. Although he was preparing for everything, nothing was ever certain.

    However, what surprised Mordred more was the ability of this old man. His experience and skills were extraordinary. If possible, Mordred really wanted to make him his ally.

    "Ever thought of helping someone get rid of their death variables?" Mordred asked directly getting to the point.

    But the old man remained silent and did not answer.

    After a few moments, Mordred did not wait any longer. Since the old man refused, there was nothing he could do about it¡ªunless he forcibly took action, which was something he needed to think through carefully.

    "Vanessa, handle the payment for this old gentleman."

    No longer interested in anything else, Mordred gazed at the giant fish floating above the river. Even though it was dead, its muscles would twitch from time to time, causing waves in the water.

    After receiving his reward, the old man called for his rope, which had tied the man to the tree branch. As the rope came loose, the man fell into the river, clinging onto the giant fish.

    "If this old man''s help is needed another time, you know where to find me." With those words, the old man walked away, holding the harpoon and rope in his hand.

    . . . . . .

    A few minutes after the old man disappeared, Mordred was still gazing at the river.

    "Should we remove the fish?" Vannesa asked.

    "Leave it... Let everyone else go back to the carriage." Since the fish was already caught, Mordred decided to finish the task right here and now.

    "..... Should have asked his name at least."

    At that moment, Mordred remembered that he never asked the old man''s name. Although he didn¡¯t show it outwardly, the things the old man said still bothered him and constantly itching at his brain to think.

    "What happened to the Leviathan Pearl? Did you meet with him?"

    "Yes, Master, but he asked for a rather odd reward instead of money," Vanessa answered.

    "An odd one? What''s that?"

    "Apparently, he has a sick daughter. His request is for us to help treat her. But the illness she has is not something that has a cure yet."

    Even though Vanessa finished speaking, Mordred felt that she was still holding something back.

    "Is there something you want to say?"

    "I informed Charlotte about this matter, and... she said she has a cure for this disease, but..." Vanessa hesitated to say the last part.

    "Does it have any side effects?"

    When speaking of Charlotte, Mordred knew that the cure would definitely have at least one drawback. Although she was an alchemist, she focused more on human mutation rather than healing.

    "Yes, although it would heal the patient, it would also reduce her life expectancy."

    "That''s... hardly our problem. He¡¯s asking for a cure, and we have one. Proceed with the matter."

    "Yes, young master."

    After giving Vanessa her orders, Mordred calmly walked to the edge of the lake, where he saw the dark green blood of the fish mixing into the water.

    Looking at the floating giant fish, Mordred whispered,

    "With the authority granted by the will of the world and the unity of gods, I request a pathway to the realm of spirits through this sacrifice..."

    His words echoed like a whisper, and the water in the lake suddenly began to bubble as if boiling.

    The blood flowing out from the fish''s body began to float in a specific pattern, creating a hand-drawn illustration circle around the beast.

    In the next moment, a deep green glow appeared on the surface of the blood circle, and at its center, a deep hole formed. Above this deep hole, the body of the fish floated.

    "Come on, come on, you dirty, mind-sulking leech..." Mordred felt like he had been waiting for ages, staring at the giant circle. He waited patiently until the prey he was expecting showed signs of appearing.

    The body of the fish suddenly began to twitch, and it appeared as though countless worms were writhing beneath its scales.

    Suddenly, its stomach exploded, and a giant worm-like creature rose up from within. It feasted on the flesh of the fish, savoring every bite. After tearing apart a piece of its flesh, the worm dug back into the fish''s body and continued devouring it.

    And when its bones began to appear, Mordred heard a voice in his mind.

    "Delicious... Very delicious... I want more... More of this... Give me more... Oh? There''s also something extra."

    "I''ll give you more, but I need you to do something for me."

    Hearing the voice in his head, Mordred showed no fear or panic. Instead, he spoke calmly. He knew that this voice belonged to the mind-sucking leech that was currently swallowing the fish¡¯s body.

    "..... Well, well, well, it''s been some time since I found something like this¡ªa human asking for help again. But know this, I want double the amount of sacrifice every time you call me again."

    As the mind-sucking leech''s voice echoed, a digitized panel appeared in Mordred''s vision.

 Chapter 19: Quick joy

    <Contract Offer>

    Provider: Rinadle, the Mind Devourer (Female)

    Receiver: Mordred Vorthian Arclore

    Details: According to the provider''s wishes, the contract receiver must supply double the amount of food every time they use the provider''s power.

    A female Rinadle¡­ this is troublesome. Unlike the males, who are only interested in feeding and reproduction, female ones are rumored to be the curious type. The most common fact is that they usually explore every memory they consume, feeling some kind of excitement from it.

    But if I reject her offer now, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to form a contract with any others of her kind...

    After thinking for a few seconds, Mordred finally agreed to the contract offer. The moment he accepted, he felt some kind of connection with Rinadle in the river.

    Is this the synchronization effect? I feel like I can sense everything she feels¡­ and even draw more power from her.

    "Ooh, what is this? I feel some kind of itching sensation¡­ Human, is this your doing?"

    It seemed he wasn¡¯t the only one who could feel this. Since the two of them were already in a contract...

    <Cancel Summon>

    As Mordred commanded, the giant blood circle glowed once again.

    "Hmm¡­ Are you bored already?" Rinadle noticed that Mordred was trying to send her back.

    "Too bad..."

    Biting off the remaining flesh of the fish, the worm-like leech jumped into the portal and disappeared from Mordred''s sight.

    After she left, the blood circle slowly faded, and the scattered blood spread throughout the lake. It would take at least a few weeks before anyone could enjoy the lake again.

    . . . . . . .

    "Here, this will cure your daughter."

    In Vanessa''s hand was a potion bottle containing a golden-colored liquid. She carefully handed it to the old man sitting in front of her at the table.

    Holding the potion bottle in his shaking hands, the man looked at it as if he were witnessing a miracle.

    Like someone in a trance, the old man stood up from his chair and walked toward one of the upper-floor rooms in the tavern they were in.

    Vanessa gazed at the departing old man calmly. She was not worried that he would run away because she knew exactly where he was heading.

    Inside the room, a little girl lay on the bed. Although she appeared human, her skin resembled the dry, cracked bark of a tree. The entire room was polluted with a deep, disgusting smell.

    "My precious granddaughter, look... Look what I got for you."

    The old man slowly rubbed the little girl''s head. As his fingers brushing past her forehead. Her skin felt like rough stone beneath his touch.

    "There¡­ Open your mouth, little bunny¡­ open it."

    The girl barely moved, her only sign of life being the faint rise and fall of her breathing. The old man gently forced the potion down her throat, urging her to swallow.

    Seeing the movement in her neck, the old man sighed in relief. Then, he looked at her with hopeful eyes.

    Soon, there was a sign of her skin returning to normal, and the texture of tree scales began fading from her body. The soft and alluring touch that should belong to a human girl appeared once more.

    The old man cried in joy as he saw this.

    While waiting for the old man to return, Vanessa remained seated at the table, gazing outside.

    A moment later, she heard footsteps and saw the old man come back. He had a smile filled with gratitude, and in his hand, there was a pearl.

    "I''m grateful to you all, and as I promised, this is the only thing I can offer in return as a favor."

    The old man handed Vanessa the pearl.

    The pearl was light blue in color and seemed to contain an entire sea within it. Despite any movement on the outside, the ocean inside remained completely unaffected.

    Taking the pearl offered to him by Vanessa, Mordred examined it carefully.

    "Is this the Leviathan Pearl? It''s smaller than I thought."

    Mordred had expected it to be much larger, considering it came from a Leviathan, but in reality, he could easily hold the pearl in one hand.

    After receiving the pearl, Mordred contacted the minor lord. The next day, the lord appeared at his residence.

    "Whoa!"

    Watching the Leviathan Pearl rolling in Mordred''s hand, the man had a dumbfounded expression.

    "How... How could Sir find something like this so soon?"

    "It doesn''t matter. Did you bring what I wanted?"

    "Indeed, sir, indeed," the old man brought out the giant egg Mordred had given him earlier.

    "Nothing happened, Lord. It''s just as you left it."

    "Hmm..." After examining the egg and confirming that there was indeed nothing wrong with it, Mordred handed the man the Leviathan Pearl.

    "Then, young lord, our deal is complete."

    . . . . . . . . .

    "What do you want me to do with it, boss?"

    Looking at the beast egg given to her by Mordred, Charlotte pondered.

    "Can you create a soul-strengthening potion using this?"

    "You said It''s a mythical beast egg, boss. I think I could work something out with it."

    "I want you to be quick. One month is all you¡¯ve got. How''s the status of the thing I gave you?"

    Upon hearing that they were talking about the Essence of None, Charlotte¡¯s interest grew more and more excited.

    "Boss, where did you actually get this... this thing? It''s weird."

    "Is there any result?"

    "Currently, no, boss. Although it''s something interesting and valuable, I''m unable to uncover its secrets for now."

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Go then, get back to your work. I want results, not blabbering." Waving his hand, he sent Charlotte out of his room.

    However, after a few minutes, a shadow assassin appeared in his room.

    "Is what she said the truth?"

    "Yes, my lord," the shadow assassin answered obediently.

    "Although she''s curious and spends most of her time studying the thing, she still hasn''t managed to do anything with it."

    "Continue to observe her. If she tries anything stupid with the Essence, you know what to do."

    "Indeed, my lord."

    Blending into the darkness, the shadow assassin disappeared from where he stood.

    If I inject a drop of it into someone else, I could see fast and clear results from the Essence of None. But doing it without knowing anything might create a bigger problem for me.

    However, if she drags it out for too long and still fails to get results, I may have to do the unthinkable.

    [The shadow of death is looming around you.]

    The words of the old man still echoed in his mind from time to time as a reminder. After arriving back, Mordred pondered over it for a while.

    If somehow Mordred were to die by screwing up his steps, the main results would be the rise of two new villains. One is Vandir, who is waiting for the chance to replace him. The other is Evelyn, who would be freed from her mental burden and gain salvation through his death. Basically, I¡¯m acting as a restraint on these two villains, but I can¡¯t forget that, as villains, they are also destined to fight against the heroes. If I could unleash their potential in another way¡­

    "Young lord, it''s me." At that moment, he heard Vanessa¡¯s voice from outside.

    "Come in."

    Vanessa stepped into Mordred¡¯s room with a stack of documents in her hands. They were a list of private properties Mordred planned to buy in the capital.

    "This place should be good."

    After looking through the list of properties, Mordred chose one location among them. The main purpose of buying these properties was to open a branch of the factory in the capital. Although it was much riskier than the North, where the Arclore family ruled, Mordred didn¡¯t plan on doing much in that place. He just wanted to keep Charlotte and a few others close to him. Since Charlotte was researching the Essence of None, Mordred couldn¡¯t leave her behind.

    "Also, Master, about the adventurers exploring the mine¡ªthey have finished their task, and according to the report, there was no danger in the mine. The mine is also filled with Stellacite."

    Just as I thought, the Beast King¡¯s legacy didn¡¯t appear to anyone else but that person¡­ Shame.

    "Is anyone selling it? If so, buy it and destroy it."

    "But master, Stellacite¡ª"

    "I know it''s valuable... but not enough to take risks."

    "If you say so, my lord," Vanessa obediently answered. Before she left, Mordred gave her another order.

    "¡­Contact that old man again and ask him to fish out another pair of giant fish. Also... take out Olivia."

    . . . . . . .

    In a dark room, Olivia lay on the ground like a mentally ill girl. Her fair face was stained with the marks of dried tears, and in her eyes, there was no more hope for escape. She had come to terms with the fact that she would remain in this darkness until her death.

    Crank!

    Breaking the silence in the room, she heard the sound of a metallic door opening. Knowing it was time for lunch, she slowly made her way toward the direction of the sound.

    But today, instead of lunch, a blinding light suddenly fell upon her face. Someone held her and dragged her out of the darkness.

    After a short time, she grew comfortable with the light and slowly opened her eyes. For the first time in a long while, she saw the sun in the sky, the clouds, birds, wind, and trees. She never thought seeing these things again would make her cry in joy.

    But then she looked at the one holding her¡ªa masked figure. The two of them seemed to be in a carriage.

    Olivia tried to speak, but because she had been silent for so long, without uttering a single word in the darkness, she couldn¡¯t manage to let out even one.

    Soon, she was dragged to a giant lake, where she saw a man with an otherworldly presence. In the lake, there were two fish, but what attracted Olivia''s attention the most was their enormous size. From time to time, they twitched, as if worms were writhing beneath their skin.

    "Are you the Sister of Desire... Ashborn?"

    Olivia nodded, admitting it.

    "That''s enough for me."

    Suddenly, one of the giant fish¡¯s stomachs exploded as a massive worm erupted from it with a roar. Olivia looked at the creature in fright, she felt like the worm-like being was staring straight at her.

    The next moment, to her growing horror, the worm lunged at her. In an instant, it was right in front of her. Its body had shrunk tremendously, now only the size of her pinky finger. Once close, the worm attached itself to her forehead, and in the next moment, Olivia felt everything disappear.

    Thud!

    Mordred calmly gazed at the young girl as she collapsed to the ground.

    Vanessa prepared to lift her up, but Mordred shook his head, signaling her to step back.

    "Do you want to remove all of her memories, Contractor?" Mordred heard the voice of Rinadle in his head.

    "Not all of them. Some need to be removed, and some need to be altered."

    "Ohh... tasty memories."

    Then, following Mordred''s instructions, Rinadle began to erase and alter Olivia''s memories as he wished.

 Chapter 20: Fears of mine

    "One to the left, one to the right. Look to your left, look to your right. Hold your nest till Mom comes, saving you from that guy..."

    In a giant tree, Celine sat on a branch, holding a bird''s nest in one hand. In his other hand was a python, gazing at the nest with its viciously greedy eyes.

    Celine had been in that exact same position for a few hours, and now he couldn''t feel his legs or hands.

    After a few moments passed, Celine saw a golden light in the distance¡ªthe pixie he was familiar with was coming. Behind her, a giant bird was rapidly approaching.

    Chew!

    With a loud cry, the bird first grabbed the python and lifted it into the sky. Flying high up, it dropped the snake to its death.

    "I found it! I found their mom!" the pixie screamed in excitement as she flew around Celine. He was also happy to see her.

    Slowly, he placed the nest back on the leaves of the branch. He felt numb all over his body but also a great relief as he could finally move again.

    Getting down from the tree, he stretched his body and bones to the limit.

    "Did it bite you? Let me see if it did!" The pixie swirled around his head.

    "No, although it was slippery, I managed to hold onto it tightly, thanks to your teaching," Celine answered as he looked at the hand that had held the snake. There was a jelly-like liquid stain on it.

    "Ha-ha-ha! Well, what did I say? You should be more grateful and focus on my training!" The pixie began boasting, and Celine was very well used to it. He knew that even though she would do absolutely anything to help someone, she still liked to brag about her mystical powers. And most of the time, the victim of those brags ended up being him.

    Chew!

    At that moment, the giant bird came flying down and landed on its nest. It checked the two eggs inside.

    Then, flapping its wings again, it flew down toward Celine on the ground. Circling above his head, the bird dropped one of its feathers before heading back to the nest.

    "Ohhh, take it! It''s her gratitude to you. A Duskhawk would never forget the kindness you showed to her and her family," the pixie instructed as she flew next to the feather.

    Picking up the feather, Celine gazed at it. Its color was a mix of gold and brown, and it had a shine of its own.

    Putting the feather in his pocket, Celine headed back to the village. Along the way, he picked up a few dry branches and some berries, as that was the reason his parents had allowed him to enter the forest.

    However, right before he entered the village, a group of kids, around the same age as Celine, surrounded him.

    "Look who it is... Little Celine got a treat for us," one gray-haired boy said with a smug look on his face.

    "Deran, this is for Mother and Father... Don''t do this."

    The gray-haired boy was actually Celine''s stepbrother, but he hated him for no reason. Being one year older and stronger than Celine, Deran had always bullied him.

    But now, with the pixie''s training, Celine far surpassed him in every aspect. However, he didn''t want to hurt his brother in any way.

    "If it''s for Mother and Father, why is it in your hands? I should be the one to give it to them," Deran forcefully grabbing the berry bucket and dry wood from Celine''s hands.

    Celine let him do as he wished and took a step back. It didn''t matter to him who delivered them¡ªhe just wanted his parents to receive them in the end.

    "Haha, little wuss."

    Seeing how Celine handed over the items without objection, Deran became even more angry. He had wanted Celine to refuse so he would have a reason to beat him again.

    But now, he had to do it himself.

    Thud!

    He pushed Celine away with all his strength, but unexpectedly, instead of falling to the ground, Celine stood firm, completely unmoved.

    Thud! Thud!

    Confused, Deran pushed him again a few more times, but Celine still didn¡¯t move. However, in the end, Celine stepped back on his own, taking a few steps away.

    "You know, Celine..." the pixie, whom only Celine could see, circled around his head.

    "If he grows up like this, he''s going to end up in a very bad situation with this behavior. So it''s better if you discipline him right now."

    Hearing her, Celine''s expression changed. After looking at Deran for a few seconds, he took a step forward.

    "What¡¯s this? Are you standing against me now, you little wuss?"

    Deran was dissatisfied with everything that had just happened, and his anger surpassed its limit. Lunging forward, he struck his fist toward Celine¡¯s face.

    However, Celine skillfully redirected Deran''s hand away. Taking another step forward, he swept Deran¡¯s leg out from under him and slammed him to the ground.

    "Watch yourself, Deran. I may have once been weaker, but now I''ve outgrown you. If you continue to behave this way, eventually, everyone else will too."

    Deran''s henchmen all became frightened by Celine¡¯s actions and fearfully took a step back. None of them came to help Deran, and seeing the obvious truth Celine had just laid out before him, Deran fell silent.

    Picking up the berry basket and dry wood, Celine walked past them into the village. Only after he left did the other kids finally come to help Deran.

    "Leave... Leave me alone!" he screamed, and the kids ran away in fear.

    Deran''s eyes turned red as he struck the ground fiercely.

    "Damn you, Celine! Not only do Mother and Father favor you the most, but now even the world is favoring you... Damn it... I''ll fucking kill you!"

    After his frenzy, Deran became exhausted and took a deep breath, but suddenly, something pinched him.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Ah!"

    "What the hell... What is that?!"

    As Deran looked, he saw a tiny creature flying in the air. A shiny purple-colored dust fell from it as it moved.

    . . . . . . . . .

    In his private room, Mordred lay on his bed, reading a book, with a plate full of various treats by his side.

    On the other side of the bed, there were several papers with the names of different hunters. He had planned to hire a hunter to look for Dorothy. Although she had escaped and would eventually have to come to him, he still needed to ensure she wouldn''t stray from his plan. By hiring a hunter, he intended to prevent her from meeting any Holy Knights or doing anything other than sneaking into his made-up head office in the capital.

    But thinking about the situation, since the Trinity Gathering was approaching, all the knights were heading to the Land of Rising Light. That reduced the risk of her coming into contact with a Holy Knight and exposing him.

    Hmm...

    Noticing a flickering shadow in his room, Mordred put down the book.

    "Did you find the village... Is there a village?"

    "There was," the dark shadow answered.

    "It was a lonely one, didn¡¯t have much contact with the outside world. And I also found the few individuals you asked for."

    "Wonderful. Keep an eye on them; do not let anyone slip away... Well, you must have come a long way. Rest for a bit before all that."

    "Thank you, my lord."

    The shadow assassin truly appreciated Mordred¡¯s care and disappeared from the room.

    Looking at the darkness in the room, Mordred fell into thought.

    Celine, the man blessed by the benevolent pixie and the one who will eventually become the Pixie King¡ªif I could get rid of him now, it would be a huge blow to this peaceful world. And it would bring harm to countless people.

    But what can I do... He was just born on the wrong side.

    Tok! Tok!

    Someone knocked on the door. With Mordred¡¯s permission, the person entered the room.

    "Remiar, you look prepared."

    The person who entered was the knight Remiar. Unlike summoned creatures from the spirit portal that couldn¡¯t stray far from their contractor, Knight Remiar was a special case. With Mordred¡¯s permission, he could go anywhere alone and carry out his bidding.

    "I''m prepared, and I know everything I need to know."

    Knight Remiar remained as respectful as ever as he knelt before Mordred.

    "The Trinity Gathering is held in two weeks, but you should make your way now. Get to know some people and try to blend in. Gather as much information as you can about the current world. More importantly, anything related to the Word of the World. If something goes wrong, don¡¯t act recklessly. I can call you back anytime I want."

    "Yes, my lord."

    . . . . . . .

    In a landscape densely packed with white mist, there was a solitary camp guarded by a few people.

    Slowly opening his eyes, Zythra gazed at the roof of the camp.

    Opening the tent, he stepped out. The two guardian knights hurriedly came to his side.

    "How long have I been sleeping?" Zythra looked at one of the guards.

    "A week, sire."

    "What happened in that week?" While asking, Zythra walked back into the tent, and the guardian knights followed behind him.

    "The Holy Church called for a Trinity Gathering."

    "I already expected that. So, are we now in Nowhere Mist?"

    "Yes, sire. As you instructed, we already made our way to the Land of the Rising Light. But without a Sanctuary Decree, we cannot pass the mist."

    "Not a problem. The Rising Light is a place where every disciple of light gathers, but when they use the decree, our path will also form. More importantly, does anyone know about us?"

    "As of now, no one has come to search for us. With the complete annihilation of the Sanctuary, I believe we have nothing to be afraid of."

    "Afraid? That¡¯s not the point. Eventually, they will learn what happened, but not before the Trinity Gathering¡­ Where¡¯s the Sunclipse?"

    As he asked, Zythra looked around the tent and saw, in one corner, the extraordinary sword shining.

    "The might of the sun is in this blade. With this by my side, I''ll be invincible... However, using it takes a toll on my body. Wielding it at full power is still not possible."

    "Oh? Is that what you think?"

    Suddenly, Zythra heard a whisper. Behind him was something white and mist-like, taking the shape of an alluring woman.

    "What about Paragons? Do you think you will be able to wield this sword against one of them?"

    The guard knight drew his sword and pointed it at the misty figure. But Zythra waved his hand, stopping him.

    "Tell me, as a creature that preys on others'' weakness, what do you see in me?" He looked directly at the misty creature, unafraid.

    "Do you see fear of death... fear of being defeated... fear of losing a loved one?"

    The misty creature gazed at Zythra for a few seconds in silence.

    "You can¡¯t¡ªbecause I overcame them long ago."

    In its silence, Zythra continued speaking.

    But suddenly, the misty creature moved like the wind, passing through him and whispering in his ear.

    "I see... the fear of unworthiness "

    Then, the misty creature faded  and disappeared from sight.

    The tent fell into silence. Looking back at Sunclipse, Zythra picked it up and began using its power. Despite the pressure it put on his body, he continued until he overcame the difficulty.

    Soon, a massive wave of mist came, swallowing the tent and the guards. Neither those inside nor outside the mist could locate them anymore.

 Chapter 21: Rights of command

    In the underground experiment lab, Charlotte was pouring a drop of a tiny liquid into a vial. The vial already contained a pink-colored liquid.

    Slowly and carefully, she dropped the liquid, and as soon as the drop fell into the vial, a tiny smoke emerged.

    Observing the process happening inside the vial, she slowly shook it, and the liquid inside gradually turned into a brown-gray color.

    While holding the vial, she picked up another vial that contained a silver-colored liquid. Placing the two vials side by side, she compared them.

    Tch!

    "Something is missing again¡­ What is it... What is it... What is it..."

    While pondering, she suddenly paused and lifted her head as if she had just been enlightened.

    "What am I doing? This is a mystical egg! I can''t use cheap stuff for it. This needs high-quality ingredients."

    Putting everything away, she started her experiment again.

    Tip!

    With a slight hit, the mystical beast''s egg cracked again, and drops of its golden yolk fell into a container.

    On the other hand, Charlotte placed several ingredients into a furnace and boiled them, creating a thick liquid. Taking a vial, she first put a drop of egg yolk into it, then added a tiny bit of the thick liquid.

    Inside the vial, a pink-colored liquid instantly formed as the two substances mixed.

    Charlotte carefully put away the other vial and picked up another one containing a different liquid.

    Slowly and very carefully, with keen observation, she added a single drop into the pink liquid.

    Pshhhh!

    Smoke rose as the pink-colored liquid slowly turned into a silver color.

    Taking the silver-colored vial she already had¡ªsomething summoners used to boost their soul strength for a certain period¡ªshe compared its color to the one she had just created.

    The newly created liquid in the vial had a much deeper and more vibrant silver shine.

    "......."

    Moments passed in silence as Charlotte gazed at the veil.

    "fucking God, I did it."

    ......

    When night fell, Charlotte arrived at the Arclore residence by herself. Without even knocking on his door, she barged into Mordred''s room.

    At that moment, Mordred was seated, focusing on a few of his works. Being disturbed¡ªand in such a rude manner¡ªwas not something he liked at all.

    His eyes held a piercing coldness as he looked at Charlotte.

    "Sorry for my rudeness, Mordred, but... I did it. The soul-strengthening potion... I created it."

    Holding the silver-colored vial in his hand, Mordred observed it. He turned it upside down, watching how the liquid inside moved.

    "Ordinary summoners use soul-strengthening potions as a trump card. The potion gives them a sudden burst of soul strength, allowing them to summon a high-level being, but that effect disappears quickly. Yet you''re telling me that you''ve finished creating a permanent soul-strengthening potion this fast? Impressive."

    "I''m honored, boss. I was only able to do this thanks to the mystical creature''s egg. If I didn''t have it, there would be no possible way to achieve something like this."

    "In truth, my expectations for this were a bit lower. I thought you would ask for more time. It seems I underestimated your ability. Is there anything you desire?"

    Holding the vial in his hand, Mordred gazed at Charlotte.

    "I desire nothing but to serve you, boss. But the ingredients for creating the soul-strengthening potion are hard to find. I only had enough ingredients for just one. If we need more potions..."

    "Don''t worry, use the factory staff as you wish to search for the ingredients. And use the funds however you like for now. Think of it as a... reward."

    "As you wish, my lord."

    With a bow, Charlotte respectfully stepped out of the room, making sure to close the door herself.

    "I''m sure there isn''t anything like poison in here."

    "No, my lord. She has truly created the soul-strengthening potion and used no toxic substances."

    The shadow assassin appeared in the room and answered.

    "There are many things words cannot prove. But..."

    Mordred stood up from his seat and walked to his balcony. He lifted the veil to the sky, observing it among the stars.

    "...Only actions can prove such things."

    Opening the vial, he drank the silver liquid in a single breath.

    Ah!

    A moment passed in silence, but then Mordred felt extreme pain throughout his body.

    The empty vial in his hand cracked as he suffered.

    "Aghhhhh..."

    Like a madman, he fell to the ground, screaming as he crawled into the room.

    "Agh... Aghhhh... Ahhhhh!"

    . . . . . . .

    When dawn came, the world began to wake up. A group of knights, clad in holy sanctuary armor, gathered together for a long journey.

    "Captain, all of us are here."

    "What about Charles?"

    "He''s okay, just sobering up a bit."

    "Alright then. Tell everyone to get ready¡ªwe''ll set off in about ten minutes."

    After ten minutes, all the knights were on their horses and ready to set off. But just as they were about to start, they heard the cry of a horse from nearby.

    Looking back, they saw another knight with a large body riding his horse toward them.

    "Stranger, are you a holy knight? You don''t appear to be." As the captain observed, he realized that the new knight didn''t have the symbol of the holy knights carved into his armor.

    "Oh... Aren''t you¡ª" Suddenly, among the group, one of the knights recognized the newcomer.

    "Isn''t that Sir Arthur?" His voice was heard by all.

    "Sir Arthur, the lonely knight wandering the world with his subordinates. Ardentist told me about him... Are you actually Knight Arthur?"

    "Whoa... I didn''t expect so many people to know my name."

    The knight finally arrived in front of the group and revealed his face. And indeed, it was Knight Arthur. At that moment, his sword, which was placed beside his horse, glowed with a holy color.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "It''s indeed Knight Arthur! Just look at the holy glow of that sword. It''s an honor to meet you," the captain among the group greeted him.

    "I heard a Trinity Gathering has been called..." Returning the greeting with a nod, Knight Arthur asked.

    "It''s true, and we are heading to the Rising Light Land. If by chance, Knight Arthur is also heading that way, would you like to join us?"

    "Recently, my subordinate got injured in battle, and since then, I have traveled alone. It felt a bit lonely¡ªit would be better if I had someone to talk to at least."

    Hearing him, all the knights felt joy. Rumours had it that Knight Arthur was very strong, and having someone like him among them meant their journey would be safer.

    "Well then... to the Trinity Gathering!" With the captain''s words, all urged their horses forward, and Knight Arthur journeyed alongside them.

    . . . . . . . .

    In Arclore Residence, Mordred stood straight in the middle of his room.

    Phew!

    With a deep breath, he extended his hand forward and slightly closed his eyes.

    "With the authority granted by the will of the world and unity of God, I request a pathway to the realm of spirits."

    In front of him, on the floor, a magical circle appeared, glowing and shining. It created a dark hole in the middle.

    Taking a step back, Mordred observed the circle.

    Unlike sacrificial summoning, where I could summon a specific creature to my liking, the ordinary spirit portal opening would summon a random creature fitting for my soul power. If the creature this time is a morph beast, that means in human power ranking, I am considered someone in the Adept stage.

    Sssssssss!

    Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the deep hole in the circle. It came a few times. With the knowledge he gathered, Mordred had a guess about who was about to come out, and his gaze filled with expectation.

    As Mordred observed, two eyes appeared out from the circle, then a body, similar to the appearance of a frog. It blinked a few times with its large eyes as it gazed directly at Mordred.

    Then it moved and came out from the circle, revealing the lower half of its body, which was similar to a giant snake.

    Sssssss!

    With its head held high, the creature moved closer to Mordred, gazing directly into his eyes.

    Mordred stayed unmoved and gazed back directly into the eyes of the creature without blinking once.

    Time passed as the two individuals continued to gaze at each other. Than the toad-snake creature slowly began to lower its head.

    Seeing he was about to succeed, Mordred stayed calm and confident.

    Tok! Tok!

    But suddenly, someone knocked on the door. The toad-snake creature, which was about to turn around, instantly looked back at Mordred. Fortunately, Mordred never moved from his position.

    "Young master, may I come in?" The voice of Vanessa was heard from the other side of the door.

    The tension between the toad-snake and Mordred rose. The toad-snake creature got extremely close to Mordred¡¯s face and eyes.

    It had green eyeballs and dark pupils like deep holes in the earth. If any ordinary person gazed at them, they would fall into an endless darkness.

    Mordred felt his mind becoming a little numb, and exhaustion began to take over. However, right at this moment, the dignity of a villain began to act. Mordred, who was about to lose his composure in front of the creature, suddenly became more like a proud lion before the toad-snake. And the creature definitely felt it.

    Within a moment, the snake blinked its eyes. Then it moved around Mordred and rubbed its head against him, showing affection.

    A smile appeared on Mordred''s face.

    "Well... that was easy."

    . . . . . . . . .

    Gulgulith, the Petranizor. With a toad''s head and a snake''s body, it''s a Morph Beast with an interesting ability.

    It''s a commonly known fact in this world that one being cannot compare to another. No matter the rank, there is always someone stronger. And sometimes, someone in a lower rank could defeat someone in a higher rank because of their high origin or... just because they are stronger than other beings.

    Gulgulith is also a creature like this. Its ability could affect beings stronger than him. In the Spirit stage, it''s a Reaver Beast, which is one stage higher than a Morph Beast.

    "Almost screwed up it''s Right of Judgment."

    Taking the bottle of wine from a nearby shelf, Mordred fell onto his seat.

    The Right of Judgment is an event where a spirit creature tests the being it summons. It determines whether this being is worthy of commanding it or not. If the Right of Judgment is passed, then the spirit creature will obey, but if the result is a failure, the end is certain death.

    "Come in, Vennesa."

    Mordred hadn''t forgotten about Vennesa. He knew she would wait at the door until Mordred came back from wherever he had gone or eventually called her in once he finished whatever he was doing inside.

    Opening the door, Vennesa stepped in. Gulgulith slid its way under Mordred''s desk, hiding from Vennesa''s sight. After making a contract, Mordred didn¡¯t hurry to send it back to the Spirit Realm.

    ''Blaming her would be pointless. After all, she didn¡¯t know what was happening inside. And she should have a pretty good reason for coming here.''

    Just as Mordred expected, Vennesa handed him a letter¡ªor more like an invitation letter.

    "It¡¯s written to my name. Now, who in the world would write an invitation letter to the second son of Arclore?"

    With questions in his mind, Mordred unraveled the letter, and as he read, his face curled into a slight smirk.

    "So it¡¯s them... How bold."

 Chapter 22: where one must belong

    Arclore Residents :

    In a completely different area from the main resident, a little gathering was held.

    It was held above a wooden stage, under the clear night sky where the bright moon shined. Lamps illuminated the surroundings of the stage.

    Clink!

    "Cheers!"

    At one of the tables, four people¡ªtwo girls and two men¡ªclinked their drinks together.

    "Huh. Aria shows her teeth more often these days, doesn''t she, guys?"

    "Haha, finally! After going to the academy, she''ll be free from her mother."

    "Remember those days when she cried? ''Chaa-chaaaa, my mother wants me to train in piano, but I don''t want to!''" A girl imitated crying, and the table soon filled with laughter¡ªexcept for one girl.

    "Shut up, all of you! If we''re talking about crying, don''t forget Jonathan¡ªhe''s the one who peed himself during training," the upset girl, Ariel, said as she looked at the person who first provoked her.

    "Hey, hey, hey, we all have a past, so forget about it now," Jonathan hurriedly ended the conversation, seeing it turning toward him.

    "Speaking of the past, I remember someone taking cooking classes back then," other boy said while taking a sip. Looking at the girl beside Ariel.

    "Huh? I don''t know about you all, but my maid and butler said it was tasty," Mansy hurriedly defended herself.

    "Oh right, I remember! It was that butler and maid who got food poisoning, right? Who would have thought it was the result of your cooking?" Jonathan chimed in again, and instantly, the table filled with laughter.

    "Haaa, haaaa, haaa, laugh all you want! I¡¯ll never cook for any of you ever again¡ªespecially you, Jonathan!"

    "It''s not like anyone asked you to," Jontjon responded, which irritated Mensy even more.

    "Well, it''s all over now. From now on, after getting into the academy, we are on our own. No one can influence us," the other boy, whose name was Victor, said, silencing the table.

    "Yeah, but it''s such a shame Patrick didn''t get chosen. He''s also a victim like us."

    The four of them gazed at a boy at another table. Although he appeared happy and was laughing on the outside, his laughter instantly faded from time to time.

    "Mmmmm, this wine is very good. Where did you get this, Victor? Is it from you''re secret storage where you keep your dirty things" After downing the last of her glass of wine, Ariel gazed at Victor in a teasing manner.

    "Unfortunately for you, it is not. I got it from mercenaries from the West. Fellas are pretty hard to catch onto, but you know me¡­ I get anything I want." His answer is rather bold, but none took it as a joke because they believed it.

    "Speaking of, I heard the reason no one else got selected is because Arclore only got five invitations from the academy."

    "I heard it too. Other than us four, the last one belongs to Mordred. Unless one of us gets disqualified before going to the academy, there will be no changes in names."

    "True, Mordred is unmovable from the beginning, and I don¡¯t think even if he does something wrong, he will be disqualified."

    Thud!

    "Speak of the devil..." Placing his glass down, Jonathan gazed away from the table. Following his gaze, the others also turned to see Mordred approaching their location.

    They stood up in unison to welcome him.

    With a smile on his face, Mordred arrived at the wooden stage, where he was greeted by the four people. Following behind him was Vanessa, who remained standing as Mordred stepped forward.

    "Brother Mordred, it''s so nice to meet you like this," Victor said with a smile, inviting Mordred to sit.

    Accepting the invitation, Mordred took a seat, and the four people around him also sat down, surrounding him.

    Victor glanced at Ariel and signaled her with his eyes. In response, she picked up a wine bottle and poured a glass for Mordred.

    "This is something we got from a merchant from the West. Hope you like it," she explained.

    After tasting the wine, Mordred simply responded.

    "Interesting!" It was neither praise nor disappointment.

    Hmm, these guys'' names or faces... I don¡¯t have any recollection of them. Maybe there is a hero among them, and I¡¯m forgetting him.

    Mordred gazed at the four individuals at the table, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, no memories of them surfaced.

    Well¡­ there goes my hope. And my time is also wasted. Should I head back¡­?

    But suddenly, something fell onto his body. A liquid soaked his clothes. Looking down, Mordred recognized it as wine.

    "Patrick, what are you doing?" Victor immediately stood up and threw away the wine cup from Patrick''s hands¡ªas well as Patrick, who had collapsed onto Mordred.

    Mordred looked back and saw the man named Patrick, who seemed drunk. He had a grand figure¡ªgreat height, great muscles¡ªbut something wasn¡¯t right. He appeared to be in distress over something, and the drunkenness he was showing was definitely an act.

    "I''m doing whatever I want! You all want to lick his ass, pfft! So what if he''s the son of the first wife? He hasn''t even shown any real talent, yet he gets to go to the academy. Meanwhile, I tried my best! I heard my mother''s screams every night and trained through the day to prove myself¡ªto prove she was wrong about me, to escape that misery. But he¡­ he already lives in what we dream of! And by stepping on our dreams, he even snatches away my hopes! This is unfair, and I can''t take it anymore!"

    As Patrick''s words echoed, the tension in the room rose. Some people supported him, while others disagreed and blamed him. There were also those who chose not to get involved, knowing that whatever they did here wouldn¡¯t matter.

    "Oh no! Brother Mordred, please don''t...." Victor tried to calm Mordred, but he was a bit too late.

    "I, Mordred Vorthian, the legitimate second son of Arclore, won''t be disrespected like this!"

    Mordred''s words rested like knives in everyone''s hearts. At that moment, they understood that the legitimate lineage of Arclore was nothing like them.

    Suddenly, Patrick''s drunken, wavering movements came to a halt¡ªit was as if he had turned into a statue. On his forehead, a long, thin tongue stretched from behind Mordred, where a strange, snake-like creature appeared.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "But since this is a joyful gathering, I''ll let you off with a light punishment."

    <Summon Hellhound>

    With fiery flames, two hellhounds rushed toward Patrick, tearing apart his two hands. Everyone watching felt immense pain in their own hands, and some closed their eyes. But Patrick remained silent¡ªhe couldn''t move his muscles to even scream.

    "Patrick, you fool."

    After Mordred recalled his summons, Patrick fell to the ground unconscious, and Victor caught him.

    Mordred, who felt nothing in his mind at first, suddenly sensed something strange.

    Bulb!

    A sound like waves of water echoed in Mordred''s ears, popping as if rising from the depths. The space around him began to blur, and in the distortion, he could see the shadows of giant fish-like creatures moving in the void.

    It was as if he were in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by predatory fish.

    However, the atmosphere soon calmed down, and the space returned to emptiness, which, in turn, made Mordred disappointed.

    Giving all those who looked at him a cold gaze, Mordred stepped out and walked away from the place. Ariel and the other two hesitated to stop him but eventually let him go¡ªthey were too scared to interfere.

    In truth, Mordred''s actions were brutal, but he needed everyone there to understand the consequences of offending him. From the moment he arrived, he knew most of them harbored a competitive urge against him. Even the one who invited him held those thoughts hidden behind a smiling face. But now, he was sure they would think twice before messing with him again.

    In the brightness of the moon, Mordred lay on one of the benches placed beside the road of an Arclore residence.

    "Would they try to take revenge, Master?" Standing beside him, Vennesa showed her concern.

    "How could an ant shake a mountain?" Gazing at the moon, Mordred whispered.

    If there were a hero in that group, this would be the moment he would be enraged or fear me. Maybe I could get a clue then. Although I already got a clue, the suspect is still hiding. Without seeing a clear picture, I cannot pinpoint what or who this is.

    "The moon is beautiful, isn''t it?"

    "If it''s to you, Master, then the same for me."

    "With all those stars, only the moon is worthy enough to brighten the world. Did you ever wonder why the stars couldn''t be as bright as the moon?"

    "......."

    "The reason is simple¡ªit''s because of their place. Everything has its own place in this universe. Whether it''s someone at the bottom of the world or at the top of the world, like those stars, they belong where they are meant to be.

    But... I believe I''m someone who''s lost, trying to find my place in this world. That place should be higher than everyone else¡ªhigher than the sky and the stars, and even higher than the one behind that bright moon."

    With the blowing cold wind, the nearby trees shook, shedding their old, dry leaves, which fell upon Mordred and Vanessa.

    After staying there for another few seconds, Mordred finally stood up.

    "Let''s go... It''s time to start the next chapter of this game."

    . . . . . . . . .

    In the jungle, Celine stood straight with his eyes covered by a piece of cloth.

    Swish!

    From somewhere, a rock came flying at him.

    Celine reacted quickly, catching the rock in his hand. A moment passed in silence before another group of rocks came at him from the surroundings.

    Celine moved, dodging some of them and catching others.

    "Hyah!"

    From behind one of the trees, a golden light rushed at him. Celine neither dodged nor caught it¡ªhe let it hit him.

    "He he he, my good disciple, you passed your awareness test."

    Taking off his blindfold, Celine sat on a nearby rock, the little pixie flew around him.

    "What''s next, pixie?"

    "Hmph!"

    Celine saw that the pixie was showing a prideful smile and felt that whatever she was about to teach him now should be powerful or extremely useful.

    "Close your eyes, and feel the surroundings," with instruction, the pixie flew extremely close to Celine. Obeying her, Celine did close his eyes. Soon, he felt his surroundings¡ªtrees, rocks¡ªand he also felt the presence of some animals around him.

    Flying extremely close to his face, the pixie touched Celine''s eye, and a golden shine appeared on the skin.

    "Now try to call one of them toward you. Those of the living creatures will obey the one with a benevolent aura."

    According to her instruction, Celine called for one of the four-legged creatures he felt in his surroundings. In response, the creature lifted its head and gazed at him, but it did not move.

    "OK, it seems bigger things are not yet responding to you, so try tiny things."

    Celine heard the pixie''s voice. At the next moment, Celine felt a tiny bird flying around him in the air.

    Celine focused his attention. The benevolent force the pixie introduced to him began to move, creating a connection between him and the bird.

    As a respond, the creatures flew down from the sky and landed near Celian.

    ''I... I think I did it.''

    ''You sure did, you''re so talented, Celian" pixie flew around him in cheerful joy.

    ''Now let''s get to the main point,'' she then instructed Celian about another technique, which Celian instantly tried.

    Looking at the bird, Celian tried to create a pathway between it and him through the benevolent aura. The first thing important to this is the acceptance of the bird.

    Feeling the benevolent aura, the bird gazed at Celian, and after observing him for a few seconds, it accepted him.

    In joy, Celian tried his technique. His eyes shined in golden light, and so did the bird''s. Opening his eyes, Celian saw a different vision ¡ª the vision of the bird.

    "Fly! Fly high!"

    With a pixie''s urge, the bird flew off around the sky and through the forest.

    "Oh wow!"

    Celian saw the view from above the clouds, with a full sky and dense forests beneath it. It was a whole different vision to him, and he enjoyed it thoroughly.

    But as the bird flew high, Celian noticed something near him through its vision.

    In one of the shadows of a large tree nearby to him, there was something dark and writhing like a living being.

 Chapter 23: lineage of Ancestors

    With his thought, the bird flew higher and higher, observing the dark spot on the ground.

    Suddenly, Celine turned around. A tiny knife he had hidden among his clothes arrived in his hand, which he threw in the direction of the dark shadow and the giant tree.

    Craaak!

    With a loud sound, the whole tree split apart as the knife passed through, and the separated part of the tree fell to the ground, creating a huge mess in the forest.

    Behind the tree, a dark mist was slowly disappearing. Celine''s knife had landed on the ground.

    "Why did you suddenly use benevolent force?" The pixie flew closer to him and asked.

    "There''s¡­ something here, watching us." Celine looked at the pixie, hoping for a clue.

    The pixie observed the last traces of the dark mist as it faded. She touched it, but it did not stay in her hand for long.

    "A concealing aura¡­ someone has been spying on us."

    "Us? But why? We haven¡¯t done anything."

    "That''s the problem, We still haven¡¯t done anything. They don¡¯t know who you really are right now. We just need to show them a bit?"

    "Show who?" Celine looked at the pixie, even more confused than before.

    The pixie flew around his head, giggling mischievously.

    "Who else but my dear opposite?"

    . . . . . . . .

    In the darkness, on a large bed, Mordred slept comfortably. There was no sound in the room other than the slight sound of his breathing, which could be heard in every corner.

    Suddenly, Mordred opened his eyes. Getting up, he looked ahead where a digitized vision appeared before him.

    Taking out the gratitude token from his storage, he summoned a dark, shadowy figure. At the moment, the figure seemed injured.

    "So, he has grown this much in such a short time."

    "I apologize, my lord. It was an unexpected move. The guy somehow managed to see through the eyes of other beings."

    "Familiar vision¡­ seems Pixie is really letting herself go in his training. Get some rest. You''ve done enough."

    Mordred recalled the shadow assassin back into the token.

    Staying in bed for a few seconds, he then got up after thinking.

    "Since they''re trying their hardest, I should change the difficulty."

    Opening a door, he made his way to his secret lab and started his work.

    . . . . . . .

    Morning came. Near Mordred¡¯s residence, birds sang to each other as they flew around the area. After a round, one bird landed on a carriage placed in front of Mordred¡¯s residence.

    Mordred was dressed casually, but even in his simple attire, he carried an otherworldly charm.

    Standing on the staircase of the mansion, Mordred gazed at the horizon where the bright and colorful sky stretched endlessly.

    "It''s too bright," he muttered.

    "And you''re not, apparently," his mother, Isadora, came closer to him with a smile.

    "Oh¡­ I am. Just¡­ not on the outside, but on the inside¡­ I¡¯m beaming with joy." Mordred responded with a smile to his mother.

    He then closed his eyes, letting the sunlight fall upon him. It felt warm¡ªjoyfully warm.

    Behind the mother and son duo, Vanessa and Negun waited. Dressed in their maid and butler uniforms, they remained silent.

    "Be safe out there, son," Isadora gave her regards as Mordred took a step down the stairs. His maid and butler followed him.

    Today was the day Mordred was leaving for the academy, and three more carriages were already waiting for him at the gate of the mansion with guards.

    "Farewell, Mother." Getting into the carriage, Mordred waved at his mother.

    With the coachman''s command, the horses began to move forward, dragging the carriage. Surrounded by the knights of Arclore, the carriage started to move. While traveling, Mordred saw his younger brother, Vandir, standing at the side of the road, watching his carriage.

    Vandir gazed at the departing carriage until it disappeared from her sight beyond the main gate.

    "Hyah!"

    Leaving the residence, the coachman urged the horses, increasing the carriage''s speed.

    "He''s going alone? What about the concubines'' children?" Standing in one of the pathways inside the Arclore residence, Vandir asked his maid.

    "They still have time to set off. Information says that Lord Mordred is taking a different road from them."

    "A different road? What is he up to now?"

    "Do you want to send someone to investigate, my lord?"

    "....."

    "Let''s wait and see. And I remember, last time we sent someone to investigate, he never returned¡ªeven to this day."

    In a different area of the Arclore residence...

    "Argahh!"

    A young man cried out in pain while lying on a bed. Both of his hands were missing, and the medics and healers were trying their hardest to prevent further blood loss.

    Through the window of the room¡¯s door, a mature woman observed the scene. A medic stood beside her.

    "How is he?"

    "We recovered both of his hands, but reattaching them is far more difficult than we thought."

    "And why is that?"

    "There appears to be some kind of strange fire that prevents the limbs from reattaching. When we tried, the fire would reignite itself, causing further harm to the young master."

    "If he can''t be healed, you can forget about calling him ''young master'' anymore." saying The woman turned around and left.

    As she stepped out of the medical area, a butler who had been waiting for her followed closely behind.

    The atmosphere around the medical ward was gloomy. The trees growing nearby had no leaves, and even the ones that occasionally sprouted would wither and fall to the ground instantly.

    Crunch!

    Stepping past dry leaves, the woman moved silently for a certain distance.

    "Surpassing that woman was one of my dreams... but now, my hope has been crushed. This cannot go unpunished."

    "Mistress, do you mean¡ª?" The butler behind her looked at her with hesitant eyes.

    "Contact those thugs¡ªespecially the ones who bear hatred for the Arclore family."

    "Yes, madam."

    After a moment of pondering, the butler finally answered. In the end, he was just a butler¡ªhe couldn¡¯t change anything.

    . . . . . . . .

    Huff!

    A group of horses exhaled heavily after dragging a luxurious carriage. The knights surrounding the carriage moved to the front, gazing at the horizon, where a giant castle stood in the distance.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The sharp pillars of the castle resembled knives standing tall, as if ready to pierce the sky. The radiant glow it emitted was bright enough to attract attention from miles away.

    "Draconian castle, at last we are here"

    After the horses had their rest, the carriage started moving again at the coachman¡¯s command, heading toward the direction of the castle.

    Hyah!

    With a scream, a girl spun mid-air, launching a kick toward a man clad in full knight armor. The knight mercilessly struck the young girl''s leg, deflecting it elsewhere. At the same time, he delivered a strike to her abdomen, sending her flying a few feet away.

    The girl, with disheveled hair and dressed in light, soft clothing, landed on her feet and gazed at the knight. Clenching her fists, she rushed at the man again, grabbing a sword from the ground as she advanced.

    Hyah!

    Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Sharp sounds echoed as her sword repeatedly clashed against the knight¡¯s armor, each strike being deflected.

    At one point, as the knight parried her sword, the young girl unexpectedly let go of it and swiftly closed the distance between them.

    She aimed a kick at the man¡¯s leg. The knight quickly looked down and lifted one foot, avoiding the attack. But unexpectedly, the kick never came¡ªinstead, the young girl¡¯s fist landed directly on the knight¡¯s jaw.

    Ah!

    From the strength of the strike, the man staggered a few steps back.

    A few drops of blood dripped from his mouth and nose.

    Wiping the blood away, he looked at the girl. With a hint of anger in his eyes He took a step forward, but¡ª

    Pang!

    A loud clap echoed through the hall, followed by a deep voice.

    "Excellent. Still in the Adept stage, yet battling shoulder to shoulder against a Beginner Morphs stage warrior. It seems the believers of the Sun God were right."

    The young girl and the knight stood on an open training ground. The floor was made of marble tiles, and surrounding them was a vast hall with an open roof, allowing sunlight to flood the area.

    Because of the brightness of the sun, when one stepped into the training ground, everything beyond it appeared drowned in darkness, making it impossible to see anything outside the illuminated space.

    At that moment, an old man with a long white beard steps into the light of the training ground from that darkness.

    His eyes are closed and had wrinkled eyebrows. Looking at the girl he talked while rubbing his beard.

    "A valuable young girl with a great future, I hereby allow you to be blood Awekaning by our great ancestor''s blessings...... Does anybody have an objection?"

    From the surrounding darkness, a few figure''s silhouettes could be seen, but none of them showed any movement.

    "Good,", the old man said in a loud voice, then he whispered to the young girl.

    "Close your eyes"

    Obeying the man, the young girl closed her eyes; she felt the old man grabbing her and felt her leg losing the touch of the ground; she felt she was flying, and the wind blew fastly past her. Then she felt like she was falling for a long time.

    Thud!

    Finney, after a long time, the girl felt the touch of the earth under her feet.

    "Open your eyes."

    As the old man instructed, the young girl opened her eyes and saw that she was surrounded by darkness, with only a few fire lamps providing just enough light to illuminate the few feet around her.

    Looking around, the girl suddenly saw a silhouette of a giant beast. She could tell it was huge because one of its feathers was exposed to the light.

    The feather¡¯s skin was like rock, and the young girl calculated that even if she struck it with the sharpest sword she knew, there wouldn''t be a scratch on it.

    "This is the blessing our ancestors left for us. Kneel and pray until you hear the voice of one who judges."

    The young girl knelt in front of the giant figure as told. Closing her eyes, she prayed, thinking about her family lineage and the heroic deeds her ancestors had done.

    It is said that once upon a time, the founder of the Draconian family defeated a Titan dragon. And with the death of the dragon, the ancestors received powers that would spread through the family lineage, even to this day.

    Suddenly, a huge wind blew, and the young girl¡¯s hair danced in the wind. Through the wildly blowing wind, she heard something like a whimper.

    The old man who stood behind her moved and walked past her. In his hand was a transparent cup.

    Through the feathers of the giant being, something red flowed down. The old man held the cup with both hands at the end of the feather, where the red liquid dropped into the glass like a drop of blood.

    The old man stood up and bowed to the giant figure. Then he walked toward the young girl.

    "The one who judges acknowledges you as worthy. Now... awaken."

    With the old man¡¯s words, the young girl drank the red liquid from the glass.

    A moment passed in silence before the young girl felt her heart beat faster, and she felt as if she were being burned by intense heat.

    Ah!

    She dropped to her knees, clutching her chest. With the sensation she felt, she knew that something was happening to her body.

    Through her pain, she saw something, even though she was closing her eyes because of the pain. The vision she saw felt really real.

    In that vision, the fire burned the sky and the earth. Kingdoms were destroyed, and the living land was becoming waste. Through this fire, she saw a closed eyes of a giant flying creature sleeping in the middle of all the destruction and chaos. However, at that moment, the eye twitched and slowly began to open. The girl felt that her pain intensified as it opened. The eye had menacing orange pupils, like the color of the burning fire.

    Through the young girl''s pain and cries, the eye opened more and more. And at the end, when the eye fully opened, its gaze directly landed on her.

    "........"

    Silence. Everything was silent in the darkness.

    Thud!

    After a moment, the young girl fell to the ground with a heavy sound.

 Chapter 24: strange stranger

    Crawk!

    A flying bird with an extremely large beak soared beside a carriage. From the carriage, a few treats were thrown out, causing the birds to fall back to catch them.

    "Hurry up and move."

    With his master¡¯s order, the coachman urged his horses, speeding up the carriage.

    It had been a few minutes since they had dinner at a nearby resting place. Out of boredom, Mordred fed a few of those weird-looking birds, but he didn¡¯t expect them to follow him.

    "Annoying pests."

    Closing the window, Mordred moved away from the seat closest to it.

    The inside of the carriage was extremely luxurious. It was spacious, with bright lamps illuminating the space. The seats were very soft, and the air felt fresh at every moment.

    Up until dinnertime, Mordred had been in a good mood, but it had been ruined by those birds.

    Leaning back on the seat, he picked up a book he was halfway through and began to read. Reading was one of his hobbies¡ª even when he was on Earth, it was one of the only things he occasionally did besides working.

    However, as he was reading, Mordred coincidentally saw the mirror in the carriage, where he could see the back of it. In the reflection, he spotted that annoying bird nesting on the rear.

    "What the hell..."

    He got up to shoo it away but stopped halfway. Since the bird kept following him despite his efforts to drive it away, why not just let it be?

    "Let''s see how this goes."

    Forgetting about the annoyance, he returned to his hobby.

    Kicking up a huge cloud of dust, Mordred¡¯s carriage sped past a riverside. Following closely behind were a few more carriages carrying his attending staff and guards.

    At Mordred¡¯s command, the coachman slowed down, allowing the guardsmen to catch up and return to their positions, resuming their duty of protecting their master.

    . . . . . . .

    In the middle of a forest, atop a rock that rose into the sky like a throne, a majestic lion with golden, shimmering fur lay comfortably.

    Hmph!

    It breathed heavily, shifting to make itself even more comfortable. The environment around the beast was truly magical. At one moment, beautiful flowers bloomed from the ground¡ªsprouting from seeds, growing into plants, and finally blossoming. Each flower emitted a captivating scent. Yet, with a slight breeze, the entire field of flowers faded, only to be replaced by the next wave, each set differing in colors and fragrance.

    Tush!

    Suddenly, the lion¡¯s ears perked up at the sound of a tree branch snapping nearby.

    A few minutes passed, and the forest returned to its calm atmosphere. The lion lowered its ears again and drifted back to sleep.

    Not far from it, beneath a giant tree, Celina stood still like a statue.

    "Okay, he''s gone back to sleep. What did I say... Be careful," the pixie whispered as she returned from checking on the lion.

    With her guidance, Celine took a slow step forward, carefully avoiding dry branches and leaves on the ground.

    "Can''t you subjugate him like you did with that deer the other day?" he whispered to the pixie.

    "No, this is different. Unlike that deer, the Ruling Lion is a creature with authority, and he''s at a mystical rank. Typically, nobody could find him unless he allows it, but with my ability, you can bypass that restriction," the pixie explained as she landed on Celine''s shoulder.

    "Do you think our plan will work if we sneak in like this?" Celine asked.

    "....There''s a good chance we might get caught."

    Before the pixie could finish speaking, the tree in front of them split apart, creating an opening through which they could see the lion. At that moment, the lion opened its eyes, gazing at the two of them with its menacing pupils.

    "No matter what you do, don¡¯t scream or run. Just bow... Bow like you''re in front of a king."

    Celine heard the pixie¡¯s whisper and did as she instructed.

    However...

    "I''ve never been in the presence of a king," he whispered back to the pixie.

    "Just... Just bow and kneel. Show your respect."

    As Celine knelt, the tree that had moved to create the opening shifted again like a living creature. Its branches stretched out, grabbing Celine and lifting him up, bringing him directly in front of the lion.

    "Show your benevolent aura... Hurry!" the pixie urged.

    Celine did as she said. The benevolent force was something the pixie had taught him. He could only access it if the pixie allowed it, and it possessed strange and mystical abilities. Some were destructive¡ªlike the force he had used the other day to shatter a tree¡ªwhile others were unusual, like the one that let him peer into the gazes of other creatures.

    As Celine channeled the benevolent aura, a soft wind blew through the forest. The flowers that had faded with the wind on the ground below rose again, carried by the breeze, and surrounded Celine.

    At that moment, the entire surrounding air was filled with pink-colored flower petals. Seeing this beautiful scenery, the lion¡¯s intimidating gaze softened slightly.

    As a result, the tree branches lowered Celine to the ground.

    "Grrrrr!"

    With a low growl, the beast stood up. The forest began to shake, and the nearby trees grew taller as it moved. It was as if the entire surroundings were connected to the lion¡¯s movements.

    The lion gazed at Celine, who still had his benevolent aura around him.

    "Raghhh!"

    It roared loudly, its voice echoing through the forest like a catastrophe.

    "It acknowledges you. As long as you''re in this forest, you will have its protection," the pixie whispered cheerfully as she flew close to Celine.

    "That was... that easy?" Celine was surprised. He had expected to face some kind of hardship before earning the mystical beast¡¯s protection, but it seemed almost effortless.

    "Well, you''re my chosen one, so there''s no surprise in that."

    "Yeah, but can I know more about this ¡®chosen one¡¯ thing?"

    "Not right now. You''ll learn when the time comes."

    "Ah, not this again."

    "Now, now, show your respect to your new protector¡ªthe Guardian Lion of the Forest, Connoisseur."

    With her words, Celine bowed to the beast, and the lion nodded in approval.

    In the next moment, tree branches grew from beneath Celine¡¯s feet and swallowed him whole, like the maw of a giant creature.

    When he saw light again, he was in a different part of the forest. There was no sign of the Guardian Beast, Connoisseur, but Celine felt that, as long as he was in this forest, he was safe.

    "See? Didn''t I say my plan would work?" As always, the pixie boasted about her success¡ªand it was the truth.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    She had warned him clearly about the danger he would face from someone she called her "opposite," and told him he needed to be extra careful. She had brought him to the mystical beast to ensure his safety. Without her guidance and instructions, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to gain the beast¡¯s approval.

    "Is your opposite someone I need to defeat, or just someone I need to be careful of?"

    "For now, you just need to be careful. But in the future, if you feel like it, you could defeat her. But that won''t be easy."

    The pixie flew around him as she whispered.

    "You see... she''s just like me, but the total opposite. Maybe right now, she''s just doing the opposite of what I¡¯m doing somewhere nearby."

    "Hyah!"

    Suddenly, the two of them heard a voice. Celine quietly moved toward the direction of the sound to check who it was.

    What he saw was Deran , repeatedly punching a tree nonstop.

    "Do you think what I did to him is the cause of this...?"

    After observing him for a few seconds, Celine asked.

    "Probably. The point is, the minds of humans are bizarre, like violent ocean waves¡ªalways changing constantly. Only someone who dives into it could feel what it''s like to be in there. You''re a human too, so you should be able to feel it."

    After observing Deran for another few seconds, Celine took a step back and moved away.

    "At least he''s not bullying anyone anymore, so that''s an improvement."

    However, even though Celine moved away, the pixie was still gazing at Deran. She observed keenly, but finding nothing unusual like she suspected, she flew back toward Celine.

    . . . . .

    Argh!

    Urgh!

    With a kick, a thug-like man flew out from a tavern door and landed on the road. Blood stained his dirty clothes, and he had a swollen face.

    Clang!

    "You mother¡ª"

    Hyah!

    The clashing sounds and shouting kept echoing from inside the tavern. The man stayed lying on the ground, trying to rest from the beating he took.

    But suddenly, he heard a loud sound through the ground, followed by a vibration. Turning his head, he saw the legs of horses rapidly approaching him.

    "Haaa!" Screaming, he backed away with an energy he never knew he had. His brain truly believed he would die there.

    Crawling on the ground, now safe, the man looked at the luxurious carriage that had halted in front of the tavern. Surrounding the tavern was a group of knights, and behind the carriage were a few more carriages.

    As the carriage halted, the screams and voices from inside the tavern ceased. After a moment, an old, sly-looking man stepped out through the door.

    "Welcome, welcome, to my newly opened tavern," he ran toward the carriage parked in front of the tavern. The carriage was very luxurious, and the man knew it must belong to a noble who''s on a long journey that needed a place to rest.

    "Don''t worry! Although the outer appearance is somewhat shabby, we offer premium comfort to our overnight guests."

    The old man tried to get close to the carriage, but the knights didn¡¯t allow him.

    From one of the carriages behind, Vanessa stepped out. Arriving in front of the carriage, she opened the door, and then Mordred stepped out.

    Seeing the otherworldly look of this noble man, the old man swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

    "Why is there an old man in here?" Mordred looked at him.

    "I think he''s the owner, my lord."

    "Oh? Who could have guessed with that kind of appearance? Well... do you have the capability to host a guest like me?"

    The old man hurriedly bowed.

    "Certainly, sire! Certainly! We have the finest wine¡ªnothing like the stuff those in here drink now¡ªand we recently got premium Quality meat from the farmlands of those Highland folks. To tell you the truth, sire, if you took one bite, you would surely like it¡ªdefinitely order a second! And we certainly do have luxurious rooms specially prepared for nobles to stay in."

    He laid out everything he could offer in his tavern in front of Mordred.

    "That seems sufficient. Prepare me a room, then. Also, do not let anyone enter the tavern throughout the time I''m staying."

    Hearing this, the old man first felt incredible joy, but soon hesitation crept in. Not accepting any other customers was definitely not good for his pocket.

    To inquire further, the old man lifted his head, but before he could speak, he saw Vanessa throwing a coin pouch at him. Hurriedly picking it up, he looked inside¡ªgold. Pure gold.

    . . . . .

    As darkness fell over the night, the tavern brightened with lamps. The knights surrounded the tavern, guarding it without rest.

    On the upper floor of the tavern, Mordred stood in front of his bed. On his bed lay a map of the continent.

    "It should take at least one more day before we get there..." Mordred pondered while examining the map.

    "Young master, may I come in?"

    It was night, and Mordred still hadn''t taken his dinner, so he knew Vanessa must have brought it with her. He folded the map and safely put it back into his storage.

    It might seem strange, but maps were very valuable in this world. Only in noble households could someone find one.

    With Mordred''s permission, Vanessa brought the dinner in. As the old man had said before, it was premium meat with tasty wine.

    Sitting by the window, where he could see the sky full of stars and the poor people living in poverty on the streets, Mordred had a wonderful dinner in his room.

    However, at that moment, he saw the cursed bird he hated land on top of a nearby house, looking directly at him.

    "......."

    Opening the window, Mordred threw out a piece of meat, and just as he expected, that weird bastard ate whatever fit in its large mouth.

    "This is strange," looking at the bird Mordred fall into thoughts. The suddenness of this bird joining him on his journey was something that bothered him.

    There was a legend in Destiny Quest, an old tale about a sorcerer who could see people''s destinies like prey caught in a spider¡¯s web. It was said that with his power, he could pull the strings of fate and connect them, creating new bonds among beings.

    It was also said that he was the one who helped the player bond with characters in the game, guiding them throughout their journey to defeat the villain and bring peace to the dying world with the help of others.

    It was hard to believe someone like that could exist, and it would be better if he really didn''t.

    I barely managed to distract that future-seeing woman, and now I''m imagining someone who can literally change destiny. Dangerous. Very dangerous.

 Chapter 25 : fools knife

    After dinner, Mordred stood up and watched the night sky while standing beside the window.

    Behind him, Vennesa was cleaning up the table.

    While taking a sip of wine, Mordred saw something like a shadow moving in the darkness. It was almost unrecognizable, but because he had already seen someone highly capable of blending into the shadows, he managed to catch onto it.

    Lifting his hand, he pointed in that direction. As he did, a part of his shadow separated from him and rushed toward the movement.

    After taking another two sips, the shadow returned, and Mordred heard a whisper.

    At that moment, Vennesa finished cleaning and prepared to leave.

    "Vennesa, I do not like to be bothered by anything that happens tonight. I just need to rest¡ªquietly and comfortably."

    Vennesa looked back. Although Mordred''s words appeared normal, she felt there was something hidden within them.

    "As you wish, my lord," she replied. As a maid, she simply needed to obey her master''s words.

    Stepping out of Mordred¡¯s room, Vennesa instructed the knights to increase their guard. She and Negun also stepped out to stroll around the tavern.

    "Shit."

    "They''re increasing the guards again. Do you think they noticed us?"

    From a forested area near the tavern, whispers echoed in the darkness with different voices.

    "I told you to stay quiet in one place. Now look at what you''ve done, you stupid idiot."

    "Shhh!"

    The darkness quickly fell silent as a patrolling knight came to investigate.

    The more the knight searched the area, the more his eyes focused¡ªlike a wolf catching the scent of a rabbit.

    Lighting up a fire lamp, the man threw it into the darkness of the forest. As the flame illuminated the shadows, it revealed a few men standing on the tree branches.

    "What... the..."

    The knight shouted, but among the group, someone released an arrow that pierced his neck directly.

    The knight lost his life within seconds, falling to the ground. But as he fell, he was pulled into the darkness by the same arrow, which had a rope attached.

    Clank! Clink!

    The sound of armor shifting and being removed echoed from within the darkness.

    After a few minutes, a knight stepped out.

    Clank!

    Still adjusting the armor to his body, the knight looked at the tavern, illuminated by lamps.

    Picking up the spear the previous knight had dropped, he walked toward the tavern with a whistle.

    He casually moved past the other guards. Because of the night, they couldn''t clearly see his face, and even under the light, he skillfully hid his face from others.

    The knight walked past the tavern to a certain area a bit farther away. Then, he stood there for a few seconds, looking back at the building.

    "Heeelp!"

    Suddenly, he screamed and his voice echoed loudly through the air.

    The entire area fell into a tense atmosphere. The knights reacted quickly and ran toward the direction of the cry.

    As they left, a group of masked individuals stepped out from the darkness. They moved without making a sound, leaving no trace on the ground.

    "Hurry up."

    The foremost man in the group looked at another man beside him, who held a bow with an arrow that had a rope attached.

    Aiming at the top floor of the tavern, the man released the arrow, and it directly struck the roof.

    Behind him stood another man, holding a tiny wand. After muttering a few unrecognizable words, he tapped the rope, which then began to move as if alive.

    One by one, the group grabbed the rope, which magically pulled them up to the roof like a zipline.

    Once they reached the top, they carefully jumped onto the roof of the tavern, moving silently while listening to the rooms below.

    "Which room is it?"

    One of them whispered to another.

    "In the middle¡ªthe one with the chimney."

    "Oh..."

    The man lifted his head to look at the room with the chimney. But then, he saw an individual staring at him from a short distance away.

    The figure wore somewhat loose clothes that waved in the night wind. And even though the moonlight shone, the figure appeared completely dark.

    "Who the hell is it?"

    The man hurriedly reacted, sending a knife at the individual.

    Swish!

    But just as the knife was about to leave his hand, he heard a sound and felt a pain in his neck.

    Thud.

    The man''s head fell to the ground, and the others in the group became agitated.

    "Who the fuck are you? If you''re also here for the bounty to kidnap, why are you meddling with us?"

    Said one man among the group. But while the man pleaded, drawing attention from the individual, another man from the group sent knives flying at the dark figure. But the figure caught the knives in mid-air.

    Swish!

    The next moment, the figure moved fast, arriving in front of one of the men in the group. He swung a sword at the individual, but lowering his head, the figure evaded the strike and slashed its sword upward, directly separating his head vertically.

    "Kill this bastard!"

    Losing two of their comrades truly angered the group, and they no longer cared about keeping silent. All together, they struck at the figure.

    But unexpectedly, the figure was more skilled than they had thought. Halfway through the battle, they lost another comrade.

    While the others fought at the front, the magician who could enchant objects stayed behind.

    Holding a knife, he enchanted it and waited for the right moment.

    Suddenly, as the figure dodged a strike from one of his comrades, the enchanting magician sent the knife he was holding, and it directly pierced the figure¡¯s hand.

    "Ah!"

    For the first time, they heard the voice of the figure, and it sounded¡­ woman-like.

    "A woman?"

    Gaining a bit of information about their enemy, the enchanter grabbed another knife.

    "Yeah, it''s a woman,"

    However, he suddenly heard a man''s voice behind him. He reacted quickly, but before he could act, another figure struck his abdomen, forcing him to his knees. Then, the individual kicked him off the roof.

    "Argh!"

    With a scream, the enchanter fell to the ground and was surrounded by guards.

    After a moment, an unknown individual appeared, and the situation on the rooftop changed. The group of assassins became overwhelmed by just two people. In the end, they tried to flee, only to be caught.

    "What are you gonna do? Try it, bitch! We¡¯ll say nothing!" one of the captured men screamed and cursed as the guards tied him up, but the two individuals had already disappeared.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Originally, there had been at least ten men in the group, and now only three remained. While they showed resistance, their mouths were forced shut, and their heads were covered with masks, plunging them into darkness.

    . . . . . .

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    What felt like an eternity in the dark after being blindfolded, the leader of the group of assassins finally heard the sound of footsteps approaching on the wooden floor.

    "Shit, all the information provided to us was wrong. If I had known there would be really skilled guards beside him, we wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this situation. I should have been more careful. Alas, I don¡¯t think I could survive after trying to kidnap the second son of the Arclore family."

    As the man pondered, he noticed that the sound of footsteps had stopped.

    And then came the sound of plates and silverware.

    Someone was eating¡ªright in front of them.

    "Get those things off."

    After the command of a young man, the masks darkening their vision were pulled off.

    The three remaining assassins from the group saw the light of the sun. It seemed they had been tied up and blinded until morning came.

    Then, they looked at the young man who was eating in front of them.

    "Didn''t go as you planned, right?"

    Mordred looked at one of the men and smirked.

    "What do you want, boy? I already said it¡ªwe weren¡¯t hired by anyone," one of the men among the three spoke.

    "Oh, I know that. I just want something to watch while I finish my breakfast. Something unique. Like something nobody¡¯s ever going to see again."

    Tip!

    Finishing his meal, Mordred placed the silverware on the table. Vanessa cleared the table and soon brought him dessert.

    The three assassins watched until he finished all of it. One among them noticed that the maid serving Mordred had an injured hand.

    After his meal, Mordred simply stood up and left,

    "Since they are trained assassins, I don¡¯t think they would spill anything even if we tortured them. Although there should be a limit to their loyalty, I don¡¯t have time to test someone else¡¯s limit when I have an easy way."

    Mordred stepped outside of the tavern. At the moment, in one of the places surrounding a tree, a group of knights stood guard.

    In the tree, the enchanter hung, half-naked, shivering in the cold. From time to time, a bucket of ice-cold water was splashed on him by the guards.

    As Mordred gazed at the man, Vanessa handed him the equipment he had¡ªhis rope, knives, cap, and wand.

    "Are they enchanted?" Mordred pondered after inspecting them.

    "It seems so, my lord," Vanessa, who had firsthand experience with the items, answered.

    Taking the bow, Mordred placed an arrow in it and aimed at a nearby tree before releasing it.

    Swish!

    Not even close¡ªMordred was not skilled in archery.

    "I suppose the bow and the arrow are not items owned by the enchanter."

    "Indeed, my lord."

    Placing the items back, Mordred walked toward the man hanging from the tree.

    In Destiny Quest, enchanters were a rare class. And it was a useful class if one had the right mindset for it.

    "Let him down, and give him something to eat, warm clothes, and shoes. After that, bring him to meet me," Mordred commanded after observing the man for a few seconds before leaving.

    As he ordered, the guards took down the enchanter, first warming him by placing him beside the fire. Then they gave him comfortable clothes and food.

    After all that, they brought him in front of Mordred''s room.

    "Young master."

    After Vanessa got permission, she opened the door and stood in with the enchanter by his side.

    "You can leave."

    Bowing her head, Vanessa stepped out.

    "Enchanters are really hard to find. There are magicians who use all elements, which is ultra-rare, and there are magicians who use trickery and one element, which is... very common.

    How is it that you ended up being a thief with a rare class like that?"

    The man lifted his head after Mordred''s words.

    "Can''t say no to habits, and the profit I''m getting from these things is quite high compared to other hard jobs."

    "If you prove valuable to me, I''ll give you a profit you never imagined."

    Thud!

    Mordred said as he threw a knife onto the table.

    "Enchant this."

    At Mordred''s words, the enchanter picked up the knife and examined it.

    "This is... unusually high-quality knife."

    "Try enchanting..."

    Before Mordred finished speaking, the man lunged forward and stabbed at him. However, from somewhere, a long tongue came out and landed on the man''s forehead, instantly freezing him like a statue.

    "How rude. He didn''t even let me finish."

    Mordred took the knife from the man''s grasp.

    "Even a sharp knife will rust in the hands of an fool. Shame."

    "I kinda hate seeing men like you."

    <Hellhounds>

    At his words, with a burst of fire, the two hellhounds jumped out and rushed into the man.

    Sitting in his seat, Mordred observed as the wolves tore apart the unmoving man.

    However, the hounds didn''t eat the man''s brain. After they were done, Mordred ordered Vanessa to safely keep the brain in a jar.

    "Rinadle should be able to access the memory with the brain."

    After taking care of all the other assassins, Mordred got back into his carriage and started the journey again.

    . . . . . . .

    In the forest, a knight was running fast. From time to time, he looked over his shoulder and slightly saw a shadowy figure following behind him.

    "Argh!"

    "Get away from me!"

    The man screamed, but when he looked forward again, he was hit by a tree branch and fell down.

    "Argh!"

    Getting up again from the ground, he looked around in fear. He had a small knife in his hand, which he pointed in the direction where he saw a shadow moving.

    "It was the mistress¡ªthe fifth mistress of the family that gave us the information. Now let me go, please!"

    He screamed. And as a result, he noticed that the movement of the shadow had stopped.

    The knight calmed down after observing for a few seconds. The knife in his hand lowered.

    "Did he rea..."

    Chis!

    A sharp sword pierced through his chest, coming right from his back, then the sword moved up through his body, separating him into two.

 Chapter 26: Benevolent promise

    On a road that led to the Forbidden Forest, a wagon moved slowly.

    After a long and slow ride, the wagon arrived at a tavern standing in the middle of the forest. The environment around the tavern felt abandoned¡ªfallen trees and branches, bones of unknown creatures, and broken structures from the tavern all added a gloomy taste to the picture.

    The wagon slowly halted in front of the tavern, and the coachman got down.

    Whoosh!

    A cold wind blew through the forest as he stepped onto the ground, and from the sky, tiny pieces of snow began to fall.

    Making his way into the tavern, the man opened the door to a hall full of lifeless bodies lying everywhere. Despite their deaths happening a long time ago, none of the bodies had decayed.

    After making his way to the bar, the man tapped on the bell.

    Tin!

    Its sound resonated through the place.

    "Lahrak, how''s the task?"

    In an instant, a muscular man appeared on the other side of the bar. Leaning onto the table, he looked at the coachman.

    "See for yourself." The coachman gazed at the wagon outside.

    Close to the carriage stood another man. He had no facial expression¡ªonly three holes where his face should have been.

    He lifted the blanket covering the wagon and saw a group of kids and young girls inside, all in a deep sleep. Closing the blanket again, the indistinguishable man looked at the man inside the tavern and nodded his head.

    "That should be enough then."

    . . . . . . . . . .

    In the middle of the forest, cries of children and screams of young girls could be heard. Figures wearing dark, long shrouds held these children and girls in their grasp.

    They stood surrounding a giant circle, which was still being drawn with the blood drained from those young girls and infants.

    Soon, the hunchbacked old man finished drawing the circle and waved his hand. The black-shrouded figures all dragged the sacrifices they held into the circle and began to slaughter them in the most painful ways. Some had their eyes pulled out, their tongues sliced, and their brains removed while they could feel every slice of the knives into their heads.

    The screams turned horrific, and the infants¡¯ cries rang like bells.

    Some infants were crushed to death by kicks, while others had their limbs torn off one by one.

    As the sacrifices died, their blood flowed into the circle, and the flesh of the dead gathered together, creating a large pile of meat.

    "Get out."

    With the old man¡¯s words, all the shrouded figures rushed out of the circle. The old man then thrust the wand in his hand into the ground, staring at the pile of flesh.

    "Cries of pain, wailing of sorrow and despair... I think you are already here... aren''t you?"

    As the old man whispered, suddenly, above the huge circle, the silhouette of a giant woman appeared. Like a mother, her hands reached toward the infants and young girls who had been wrongly sacrificed.

    Seeing this woman¡¯s figure, the shrouded figures became panicked.

    "Wrath of the goddess¡ªshit, we are doomed!"

    But the old man lifted the staff in his hand, calming everyone down.

    "No need to worry. He is already here, isn''t that right, Cannibal Malzerath?"

    Swish!

    Something struck the figure of the woman, and she dispersed like the wind with a cry. Through the disappearing woman stepped out a figure born from the pile of flesh of the sacrifices.

    He had two long horns on his head and thick red scales covering his body. A jelly-like sac nestled in his stomach, with several teeth spread across it.

    As the figure emerged, his gaze landed on the old man and the shrouded figures behind him.

    "The land of the living¡­ Finally, I''m back to the realm where flesh feels... satisfying."

    . . . . . . . .

    The sunny sky was covered by a thick layer of dark clouds, and the earth fell into a time of cold as snow began to fall.

    Mordred looked at the snowflakes through the carriage window.

    The book he read as a hobby was placed aside, and silently, he gazed at the passing scenery of the world.

    It¡¯s been hours, and I haven¡¯t seen any signs of humans. Most of the area is covered in thick forests, and only occasionally do I see villages or houses with human presence. It seems that humans are not as populous in this world as they are on Earth.

    There is science and mathematics, but¡­ only a few individuals use them in their work. And technology-wise, this age cannot even compare to Earth. Maybe because of the existence of supernatural power, the development of other aspects of life has been very slow.

    A society like this¡­ will be the perfect background to easily take control of. Humans who are ignorant are like sheep; whoever takes the lead, they will follow behind.

    "Well¡­ there is an opportunity to test this theory soon."

    Neigh!

    With the cry of the horses, the carriage came to a halt.

    "Of course, times are changing."

    The carriage halted beside the road, close to a pole with a lamp at the top. At the moment, the lamp was not lit. Other than the lamp, there was also a bell on the pole, and its clear appearance was a sign that it had been placed here very recently.

    Stretching out his hand, Mordred rang the bell once, and the lamp lit up, brightening the surroundings.

    "Street lamps¡ªa new concept in this world but perfectly executed."

    That is what someone would say after seeing this, I think¡­ if it''s someone intelligent.

    As Mordred observed the street lamp, he tilted his head to the side, looking at the pole where a large ''M'' character was carved into it. Seeing the mark, Mordred smiled slightly.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "Young Master."

    At that moment, Vanessa and Negun got off the carriage and walked toward Mordred.

    "Go on. Make sure to do as I said."

    Mordred instructed as he handed over a case to Vanessa, and the two servants disappeared into the forest nearby afterward.

    "And you, make sure to bring the person I asked for."

    After his words, the shadow assassins emerged from his shadow and dispersed into the forest.

    "However¡­"

    Leaning back on his seat, Mordred gazed at the snowflakes falling from the sky.

    "...For a villain to prosper, a hero must die."

    . . . . . . . .

    In the snow, Celine''s steps became visible as he made his way through the village road. Wearing clothes to keep himself warm, Celine held an empty basket in his hand.

    While walking, he suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky and the dark clouds.

    "The sky should be bright right now, but it''s still dark. This feels gloomy and¡­"

    "...Ominous, isn''t it?" pixie appeared, finishing his sentence.

    "Is this something we should be concerned about?"

    "Maybe, or maybe not. Let''s get into the forest first. At least we have a higher level of protection there."

    As she instructed, Celine made his way into the forest, but at its edge, he met Deran, who was walking out.

    "Brother..." Celine spoke, but Deran walked past him with a smirk on his face.

    Not minding much of his brother¡¯s behavior, Celine proceeded into the forest. However, the pixie, still observing Deran, had a cautious look on her face.

    "Recently, he feels different."

    "You mean my brother? Maybe he changed after what happened."

    "Your brother isn''t the type to change after getting beaten once. No, this is another kind of change. It''s like he''s obeying someone else''s command and keeping his distance from us."

    "So, who do you think he''s obeying?" Although not convinced by what she said, Celine asked out of curiosity. But the pixie stayed silent.

    "You''re keeping too many secrets from me, and I don¡¯t like that."

    "One day, you''ll know it all."

    While talking, the two entered deeper into the forest.

    After a while, Celine stood in front of a broken tree¡ªthe same tree he had destroyed when striking that dark shadow he saw the other day.

    "Why am I back here?"

    "To pay back for what you received."

    "What did I receive?" Celine asked, confused by the pixie''s words.

    "Celine, this is something I shouldn''t teach you this soon, but it seems time won''t wait for you to grow up. So today, you''ll learn one of the most useful aspects of the Benevolent Aura. I call it the Benevolent Promise."

    Flying down, the pixie landed on the broken tree trunk.

    "Close your eyes and use the Benevolent Aura to feel the surroundings."

    Just as she said, Celine first channeled the Benevolent Aura through the pixie and used it to envelop himself and his surroundings. As he did, he began to feel the other auras around him.

    The living vitality-filled colors given off by the tree. The lifeless, empty feeling radiating from the rocks¡ªhe felt everything.

    when he focused on the broken tree, he still saw the vibrant aura of life. Yet, within it, he also sensed an empty spot.

    "Channel your Benevolent Aura into that empty place. You see, Celine, as a wielder of the Benevolent Aura, you cannot harm the innocent. That includes every living thing. Instead, what you do is promise.

    At that moment, when you used your Benevolent Aura to strike that shadow, you broke the tree. But what actually happened was a transaction between promises¡ªthe tree allowed you to break it, but in return, you must heal it using the Benevolent Aura as payment."

    Understanding the gist of what the pixie was saying, Celine channeled his aura into the empty spot of the tree. As he did, the tree slowly began to regrow.

    Vines rapidly extended, grabbing onto the broken parts and pulling them back together. The main trunk fused seamlessly, as if nothing had ever happened. After the process, not even a scratch remained on the tree.

    "Aside from trees, you can use the Benevolent Promise with anything¡ªwhether it''s the earth, the wind, or the river. They will help you, under the promise that you will return the Benevolent Aura to them."

    "Is Benevolent Aura really that valuable?" Celine questioned.

    "Of course! One could only use it through the approval of the great, mighty, and super cute Benevolent Pixie, who is none other than..."

    The pixie looked at Celine.

    "Uh... you, of course."

    Once again, Celine had to listen to the pixie brag about herself¡ªand even had to admit it.

    "Wait, so with the Guardian Lion Connoisseur, did we do a transaction?"

    "Nope, that was just him showing respect to you as the one who wields the Benevolent Aura and will eventually become..."

    The pixie suddenly paused, realizing she was about to say something she shouldn''t have.

    "You''ve gone silent again," Celine noted. He had already gotten used to it and didn¡¯t even bother prying anymore.

    Instead, he focused on testing his new ability.

    Using the Benevolent Aura, he struck a nearby tree. The moment the aura touched the tree, an instant transaction occurred¡ªthe tree would be destroyed, but with the promise of receiving Benevolent Aura to restore itself.

    Boom!

    Instantly, the tree broke down. A few minutes later, it regrew in the exact same way, as Celine supplied Benevolent Aura as payment.

    "Don''t use it so casually. Only use it when necessary," the pixie instructed.

    "Come now, there''s something else we need to do."

    Following behind the pixie, Celine wandered through the forest for a long time.

 Chapter 27 : like the way Devil wants

    Throughout his journey, Celine constantly used his benevolent aura with the instruction of Pixie to communicate with the animals.

    And at the end, when he was exhausted, he rested under a tree where birds sang to entertain him.

    "That''s odd, you didn''t ask me why we need this many animals under our care," Pixie landed on his shoulder and tapped his ear.

    "Well, it''s good they owe me and I could ask them for anything in return. Also I can see you''re preparing me for something big... and terrible."

    "My opposite. Soon, I expect you to meet her. She''s unlike me... Peace is her plaything, and destruction is her playground."

    "Sounds like real trouble to me."

    "That''s why we''re doing this preparation for now. Come on, hurry up! We''ve got more ground to cover."

    As Pixie urged, Celine stood up again and journeyed through the forest, finding animals and making them obey him.

    Because he possessed benevolent aura, these naturally peace-loving creatures tended to like him and show him favor.

    . . . . . . .

    Throughout his journey in the forest, Celine had already finished gathering berries and firewood he came to get for his parents and As the night closed in, the two ended their work and headed back to the village.

    Though the road led to his home, Celine walked quietly and saw from the far his mother picking up dry clothes and taking them back into the house.

    His mother, who was about to get into the house, stopped and looked back, where she saw Celine from afar. A kind and gentle smile appeared on her face.

    "You... stubborn... kid, why do you waste your time with these things? You should¡ªcough!¡ªplay with friends."

    She scolded her son as he gave her the basket of berries. Celine obediently listened and lowered his head like a puppy to her.

    Pixie had already disappeared, and right now, he was only the dear son of his mother and father.

    Cough!

    With a violent coughing sound from inside the house, a grown man came out. Even though his skin was extremely weary and rough, he was still someone in his thirties.

    Looking at his mother and father, who were suffering from a terrible disease that would eventually take their lives someday, Celine sighed secretly.

    He had a benevolent aura, which he now saw as something that could do anything. But to his dismay, Pixie had already informed him that it wouldn''t be able to heal his mother and father.

    This made Celine more depressed. The thought of losing his loving parents was something painful to bear.

    However, this pain also made him strong and determined to find a cure for his parents in any way.

    . . . . . .

    In the middle of the night, the benevolent Pixie was heading back toward the direction of the forest.

    Her golden spark appeared like a fire torch in the pitch-dark night.

    However, when she reached the forest, it was like she passed through a few layers of space. The forest suddenly became bright and radiantly beautiful. The sound of birds chirping was like honey to the ears, and the soft wind melted the body with comfort.

    The trees were way taller than in an ordinary forest and rose to the sky, far past the clouds. But despite that, there were still leaves falling down with the wind¡ªpink color, green color, red color¡ªall kinds of colored leaves enhanced the beauty of the forest.

    After flying through the forest for a certain distance, Pixie came to an open area where a field of flowers bloomed. In the middle of the forest sat an extremely old man, eyes closed, breathing calmly.

    The old man had a golden crown on his head with three piercing points directing at the sky.

    The wind blowing around the old man became extra soft as they comforted him, and the field of flowers waved in the direction of the old man.

    Benevolent pixie landed on one of the flowers in the field, gazing at the old man.

    After a few moments, the old man moved his voice.

    "You''re in distress, pixie. Is the quest to find my successor seems unachievable?"

    His voice was ethereal, and the forest acted as if it regained new life as his voice resounded. The birds became silent, and the wind flowed in sync with his voice.

    "My king, I found a perfect candidate for your title, but he... has been spotted by the evil."

    "Oh... The misbehaving pixie. Didn''t you already expect her?"

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "She was my opposite, and of course, I expected her, but not this soon... This is abnormal."

    "Are you sure, pixie? Sometimes knowing too much leads to ignorance. Maybe this isn''t that misbehaving pixie... maybe this is someone far worse than you could imagine."

    Right as he said this, the calm and unmoved eyebrows of the old man furrowed after ages.

    "My king, is that a prophecy?" the pixie asked. No one but her knew about what her king could do, and this time, she felt that what he said had a deep meaning.

    But the old man stayed silent.

    "There are some things I cannot interfere with, pixie. After the ancient war... my time already came to an end. However, this crown needs a king, one benevolent and wise, with a heart that feels sympathy for others. You already found him, and now I think it''s time he should know the truth."

    With the old man''s words, the wind blew across the flower field. The beautiful violet flower petals loosened from their plants and surrounded the pixie. When they blew away with the wind, the pixie was already outside of the forest. In the dark... in the silence.

    . . . . . . . .

    When morning fell, Celine woke up, tended to his parents, and assisted them with their work. After taking his first break, like always, he picked up an empty basket from the kitchen and stepped out.

    "Be safe out there, son..." her mother''s caring voice came from inside the house.

    However, when he was walking through the village, he saw a group of villagers gathered around what looked like a newly built shop.

    He curiously investigated the place and saw that most of those people around it were sick. Some had the same diseases as his parents.

    "Are you really saying the truth that this could heal this cursed disease?" a man asked the shop owner, who was a young man.

    "See for yourself, man. Just buy it with one copper coin, and in only a few hours, you will feel like you''re living a new life."

    "One copper coin? That''s so cheap... Give me one, there''s nothing to lose anyway."

    The rows began to buy the medicine bottles the young man sold.

    Celine also thought about buying but decided to stay patient until someone else drank it and showed its effect.

    "Only a few bottles remain. If you''re buying, hurry up!"

    However, when he heard those words, Celine hurriedly rushed past others and bought two bottles from the seller.

    With two dark-colored liquid bottles in his hand, he quickly ran back to the house and gave them to his parents.

    "Son... We''ve done everything we could, and there''s no point in building any hope for us," Celine''s stepfather sighed, holding the bottle in his hand. But despite showing no hope, he still drank it.

    After handing the medicine to his parents, Celine headed back into the forest to train.

    . . . . . . . . .

    When it was the middle of the day, a dark cluster of clouds appeared in the sky, lightning striking through the clouds, sometimes roaring and growling.

    Thinking it was about to rain, civilians headed back to their homes.

    Thump! Thump!

    On the empty road, a nobleman wearing a dark suit was slowly advancing forward.

    From inside their houses, people looked at this figure curiously.

    As the handsome young man, who was actually Mordred, walked, he whistled, and the tone was somewhat gloomy to hear. Behind him followed two figures, also dressed in dark suits. They were Vanessa and Negun.

    Whee!

    While whistling, Mordred eventually came to the middle of the village where three roads connected to each other.

    There, Negun placed a chair, which the noble young man sat in.

    Looking at his hand, he watched the time pass on his watch.

    Tik! (one minute)

    Tik! (two minutes)

    Tik! (three minutes)

    Tuk!

    Raghh!

    When the fourth minute passed, a loud roar came from within a house of the village.

    Cries of fearful children and women came, then the cries turned horrific, then to pleas for mercy, then... silence...

    Only for a few minutes, before the village succumbed into madness and darkness. The innocent began to cry while victims struggled in the grasp of death. Roars of the beast rose, all the while the devil stood in the middle, observing the world.

    "Right on time, just as planned"

 Chapter 28 : you make my heart beat faster

    Raghhh!

    With monstrous roars, the villagers turned into monsters and ran, slaughtering everything they saw.

    Houses got destroyed, and blood spiked everywhere.

    However, none of the monsters stepped into the middle of the city where Mordred was.

    Under the dark sky, fire burned the village, making it appear more in an orange color.

    Through the fire, the shadow assassin appeared. Walking toward Mordred, he dragged a young man across the ground.

    Thud!

    Once close, the assassin threw the man in front of Mordred''s feet.

    "Ah!"

    Deroth struggled to keep his head up in front of this man with an otherworldly charm. Just a moment ago, he remembered going to bed and falling asleep, and right after, he was awakened while being dragged through the floor.

    "You know,..."

    Suddenly, he heard the voice of the man standing in front of him.

    "Throughout my journey, I met this man who had a rare ability¡ªto enchant whatever he desired. But despite possessing such a great ability, he still ended up as a thief. A shame, some people really don''t know the value of the things they possess."

    "Aren''t I right, mischievous pixie?"

    Mordred gazed at Deroth on the floor. Deroth, in turn, looked at Mordred in horror.

    His deepest secret¡ªhow did this man know about it?

    "How... What are you talking about? What pixie?" Deroth obviously denied it, but at that moment, in front of him, a purple glow appeared, and a tiny flying creature became visible in the space.

    "This is new," she said with a sharp and thought-provoking tone as she gazed at Mordred curiously.

    Similarly, Mordred''s cold gaze landed on her.

    In the game''s lore, there were two beings: the Benevolent Pixie and the Mischievous Pixie. The two were born together, like a pair of wings, yet with vastly different intentions from one another.

    The Benevolent Pixie''s intentions are pure and kind, and her ultimate goal is the birth of the Pixie Kind¡ªa goal she has achieved countless times throughout the ages.

    The Mischievous Pixie''s intentions, however, are cruel and sinister. Her final goal is the birth of the Calamity Kind¡ªthe one who would bring forth the apocalypse to the world.

    But despite her endless struggle and battles against the Benevolent Pixie throughout the ages, the Mischievous Pixie has never won. If she had, there would be no peace in the world.

    Naturally, since the Benevolent Pixie chooses a new successor, that means the old Pixie King''s time is coming to an end. And the Mischievous Pixie would once again try to turn the tides.

    If I do not appear, Celins would eventually become the successor of the Pixie King and defeat the Mischievous Pixie and her successor¡ªwho is drawn right here.

    But unfortunately for him¡­ I''m inevitable.

    At that moment, the Mischievous Pixie flew closer to Mordred.

    "You feel strangely familiar. Your heart... it''s not pure at all."

    She flew around him as if she had found a valuable treasure for herself.

    "You... You make my heart beat faster."

    "Then why don''t you make me your successor?"

    Mordred lifted his finger, which bore a strange-looking ring. Getting closer, the Pixie slowly landed upon it.

    "No... You... Don''t," struggling words escaped from Deron as he tried to get up and use the anarchic force he had learned from the Pixie. However, as a purple glow appeared around him, it suddenly vanished.

    His power had been cut off from its source¡ªthe Mischievous Pixie.

    "Sit, Deron. You aren''t qualified to meddle in," he heard the voice of the Mischievous Pixie. It was cold and emotionless, unlike the alluring way she had addressed him when they met in the forest.

    "Once upon a time, when the life of a Chosen One comes to an end, Mischief and Benevolence battle again to reclaim the ownerless throne. After countless years of waiting, that time is finally drawing near. The Benevolent Pixie has already chosen her successor, and I, of course, must choose one as well."

    "And your best choice is him?" Taking his eyes away from the Pixie, Mordred gaze at Deron, who lay on the ground.

    "At that time, he was my only choice. And if you''re requesting to change that, we would have to bend the rules of the world¡ªwhich is something impossible."

    "Then why don''t I just get rid of him?"

    "......"

    The atmosphere fell into silence. Deron weakly lifted his head and looked at the Pixie.

    "I don''t think you understand the danger you''re trying to get into. The two of us Pixies have been battling for countless ages, yet there are only a few records of us in the world. That is the reason I believe you even know about us..." The Mischievous Pixie cast a keen look at Mordred, but he remained silent.

    "And why do you think that is? It''s because the rules of the world do not allow anyone else to meddle in our affairs. And if someone tries, the consequences would be horrifying."

    The Pixie flew off Mordred¡¯s hand and circled around him.

    "But I''m sure someone like you, who has spoken this way before, wouldn''t mind offending the world¡ªor even the still-living Pixie King¡ªwould you?" she said mischievously. Truly to test him and provoke him.

    "Of course not."

    But his response surprised her. And in the next moment, he took out the Gaze of the deep and aim it at Deron, who directly looked into its eye.

    The closed eyes in the Gaze of the Deep instantly opened and looked at him like a beast trying to devour.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    . . . . . . . . .

    Through the forest, Celine walked while observing the surroundings. In front of him walked a large pig, also sniffing around and looking as if trying to find something.

    "Looks like it''s hopeless. Even after looking around this area, we still can''t find him. It seems he has gone past the safe area," saying Celine looked at Pixie.

    "Then we should increase the limit of our eyes."

    After getting the answer he expected, Celine looked up at the top of the forest, and on one of the tree branches, he saw a beautiful blue bird.

    Celine''s eyes focused, and the benevolent force channeled through him to the bird.

    After a few minutes, the bird obeyed Celine''s request and let him use its eyes.

    Thuk! Thuk!

    Flapping its wings, the bird soared into the sky and looked down at the forest.

    However, its vision of the forest is not clear of the  snow fallen the other day still remains on top of some large trees.

    While flying, Celine on the ground heard a thundering sound. Out of curiosity, he looked around at the clouds and saw dark clouds in the far distance. At the same time, he also saw dark smoke rising to the clouds from the direction of his village.

    "What''s going on?"

    The birds flew toward the direction of the village, and Celine saw it drowned in destruction and chaos.

    Suddenly, Celine on the ground opened his eyes. Because of the sudden disconnection from the bird, he felt a weakness all over his body and fell to the ground.

    "What''s happening?" Pixie asked curiously.

    "The village, it''s in danger."

    . . . . . . . . .

    Standing on a branch of a large tree, Celine''s gaze at the village that was burning and being destroyed. However, with the distance he had, he still couldn''t clearly see the picture of what''s happening.

    "Act calm, Celine, this is a test from my opposite and also a trap to lure you. If you act reckless, she will end you."

    "But my parents are in that village, Pixie. What do you want me to do, just stay here and watch them die?"

    "As far as I know of my opposite, she would not choose to harm your family. She would keep them as hostages until you show yourself infront of her, then she will use them to weaken you."

    Hearing her, Celine''s mood became more depressed. However, after looking at the burning village, he regained some of his calmness.

    "I need to see what¡¯s happening inside."

    "Didn''t I just say you can''t go in there?"

    "I won''t, but somebody else will."

    With a roar, a monster grabbed an old man and bit off his head, instantly ending his life. Blood flowed from the beast''s mouth as the monster continued to chew on the remains of the old man.

    Up in the sky, a tiny bird flew in the sky, observing all that was happening.

    Seeing the destruction, the bird continued to fly until it came to the center of the city, where it saw a few figures on the ground standing completely fine, without any monster rushing at them.

    "There¡¯s a human in the middle of the city, completely unharmed by anything."

    In the forest, Celine murmured with his eyes closed.

    "That should explain who¡¯s the culprit for this destruction. He should be the one chosen by the mischievous Pixie."

    After observing them, the bird flew in the direction of Celine¡¯s house. There, he saw his house destroyed, and he didn¡¯t see any of his family members.

    "There¡¯s no lifeless body; maybe what Pixie said is true."

    Flying into the house, the bird went to the destroyed Celine''s room and searched around for a few seconds before it found the fruit of the Stangra.

    "I found it."

    "Let the bird grab it carefully, do not disturb it. If we need to face off against my opposite¡¯s candidates, you need a decent weapon at least," Pixie instructed Celine from aside.

    After the bird located the fruit, it carefully grabbed the fruit with its legs and flew into the sky.

    It flew back through the air above the burning village and passed the middle of the city.

    At the moment near where Mordred is, the long-beaked bird, which had been staying nearby upon a destroyed roof of a house, saw the tiny bird flying with a berry-colored fruit.

    Caw!

    With a scream, it flew into the sky and rushed toward the tiny bird, colliding with it.

    Hearing the noise in the sky, Mordred looked up and saw the two birds fighting to save the fruit.

    Although it appeared ordinary to anyone''s eye, Mordred saw the secret hidden within.

    "Familiar scene, how interesting. It really is one weird ability but very good in gathering information. If it were anyone else, they would surely be ignorant."

    However, I played this game before. So there¡¯s pretty much nothing a hero could hide from me. Well, except for the development they take from going down a different path than in the game lore.

    Looking at the two birds struggling to get hold of the Stangra fruit, Mordred stayed patient. He showed no interest in snatching the fruit for himself.

    Tch!

    "Shake it off, shake it off!" Pixie screamed beside Celine as he also struggled.

    "Should I cancel my vision? It would give the bird more visibility."

    "Don''t. At the moment, we need every bit of information we can get. If we cancel the vision and somehow the bird doesn¡¯t return, we don¡¯t know what would happen to the Stangra fruit," Pixie alarmed.

 Chapter 29 : from one hand to another

    Crawk!

    The long-beaked bird let out a noisy cry as it tangled with the bird carrying the strange fruit.

    Showing the usefulness of its tiny body, the smaller bird flapped its wings rapidly, narrowly avoiding the long-beaked bird¡¯s grasp.

    However, the long-beaked bird, with its long feathers, had incredible mobility of its own.

    The two birds, with their opposing advantages, battled in the sky for a while.

    Crawk!

    As the tiny bird struggled, another bird descended from the sky, falling at an incredible speed and dragging the long-beaked bird down with it. The bird shined in golden brown colour as it flew.

    "It''s the Duskbird!" Celine exclaimed in joy.

    "See? Didn''t I say she would never forget what you''ve done?" Pixie said, sharing the same vision as Celine through their bond.

    Celine use all of his abilities through her so she has the capability to intervene if needed.

    "Duskbird will keep it busy. In the meantime, guide the bird back to us."

    Closing his eyes, Celine did as Pixie instructed. After regaining it''s balance  in the sky, the tiny bird flew back toward the forest, increasing its speed minute by minute.

    "Celine, you can''t stay hidden forever. If you want to meet your parents while they¡¯re still alive, face me before sundown."

    Mordred''s words echoed loudly. Celine heard them through the familiar sense of the birds.

    The bird flew into the distant forest. After confirming this, Mordred closed his eyes.

    "If there is one weakness common to every hero, it¡¯s that they care more about their loved ones than themselves. Which is good¡­ very good. It makes them easier to trap."

    "You''re really confident. Are you sure you can defeat the Benevolent Pixie''s candidates?" The Mischievous Pixie hovered closer to him. Unlike the Benevolent Pixie, who could only be seen by those with gifted eyes, the Mischievous Pixie could appear visible to whomever she wanted.

    "I have trust in my own... arsenal. Also, I think a lot about what could happen or what could go wrong. That¡¯s why, when Celine comes to face me at sunset, I want you to appear visible to them and stay close to me."

    "Are you sure he will come?" Flying lower, Pixie landed on Mordred¡¯s deep, dark hair.

    "Oh, he definitely will."

    . . . . . . . .

    The tiny bird landed on Celine¡¯s hand. He petted its head first before taking the stangra fruit into his grasp.

    Setting the bird free, he looked at the fruit.

    "I got it. Now what?"

    "Usually, you need to crush it, but in this situation, let''s add a little twist."

    With her words the golden glow of the pixie intensified, afterwards she touched the fruite and slowly transfer the glow to It.

    With the yellow-white shine of a bright golden sun, Celine and Pixie nodded to each other before crushing the fruit.

    Boom!

    A wave of air sped through the forest from the crushed fruit.

    A huge golden liquid exploded from the it and flowed down to the earth from Celine''s hand.

    Than the golden liquid on the ground began to gather, crystallizing into a structure resembling a staff.

    In the forest, where the trees grow to suprass the sky, the current old pixie king stood in the middle of the blooming flower field.

    From one of his hands, he held a scepter, which was slowly turning into a golden liquid and flowing down to the earth.

    On the other side, from the earth, rose the golden liquid, creating the shape of the staff in front of Celine.

    The creation of the scepter shook the whole forest; birds flew away in fear, than a roar of a lion resounded, calming the screaming animals¡¯ minds.

    "My opposite already has the advantage by attacking you at the stage of your growth. The only way to turn the table is by breaking a few rules, just like she did," looking at the scepter that was being created, Pixie whispered.

    Moments passed, and the scepter fully formed and floated above the ground, as if the item was not allowed to be touched by the ground where every other stood.

    "Wait."

    Celine halted his hand as Pixie interrupted him from grabbing the staff.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Although you got the item, it''s still not something in your league to wield. If you touch it with your human body, you will explode from its rage. So use benvolent force to enchant yourself with and cover yourself."

    Celine did what Pixie told him. But If he used the benvolent force to help wield the scepter, he would need to use benvolent force continuously, which would eventually drain him. So, Celine only used benvolent force on one of his hands, which he used to grab the scepter.

    Bang!

    A magical sound came as Celine grabbed the scepter. Instantly, he felt a surge of energy run through his body, which made him energized.

    "Now, we only lack in quantity, let''s fix it," said Pixie, flying into the forest, and holding the scepter, Celine followed her.

    With his trained body and the energy feeding into him by the scepter, he didn''t need to make extra effort to keep up with her speed, like the first time they journeyed through the forest.

    . . . . . . .

    From the horizon, the sun slowly descended into darkness. And the long-beaked bird lifted its head, taking out a broken feather from its body.

    Mordred put down the book he was reading and looked in the direction of the forest.

    A lone figure stepped out from it. Holding a scepter in his hand, he had a firm and determined look on his face.

    "Hmm... Pixie King''s staff. Looks like they''re the first ones to bend the rules in this game."

    "That''s unexpected," the mischievous Pixie also showed surprise.

    "You need to be careful. That staff is more powerful than anyone could grasp."

    "Oh... Enlighten me then," although Mordred knew the abilities possessed by the Pixie King''s staff, he still asked the mischievous Pixie for information.

    While the Pixie informed Mordred, Celine advanced forward and stood a considerable distance away from Mordred.

    Raghh!

    From behind, a monster''s roar as it ripped a human in half and sent the bleeding body to the sky.

    The blood of the human fell like rain upon Mordred and Celine.

    "Is this to your liking? I tried to make it more comfortable for you, since soon it''ll be your resting place."

    Thud!

    Celine hit his staff on the ground, silencing everything that made any noise, including Mordred.

    "You talk too much. Where are my parents? Let''s hope, for your sake, they''re not injured in any way."

    ''Oh... He''s much more confident. Benvolent pixie must have boosted it. But the staff alone couldn''t bring that much confidence to a man; there must be something... like a trump card.

    Well... Let''s try to bring that trump card of yours before anything else does.''

    "Why don''t you find that out for yourself?" Mordred''s words echoed, breaking the silence. And from behind him appeared countless monsters. They roared in rage and looked at every living being with bloodthirsty eyes.

    At the same moment, with a purple glow, the mischievous pixie appeared, resting on Mordred''s shoulder.

    "Is this her powers?" Celine asked in a whisper to Benvolent Pixie.

    "Absolutely not. This is likely a specialty of that man. Be careful, don''t engage in battle until we determine his ability and strength," as always, Pixie instructed Celine to the best of her ability.

    "Well, here here goes then."

    Celine once again placed the staff on the ground.

    Thud!

    A sound echoed with a vibration, causing a wave to ripple through the forest behind him.

    Grrrrr!

    Within a second, a growling pack of wolves appeared, following behind it were countless animals running and crawling, coming out of the forest to stand beside Celine.

    Mordred gazed at the enraged animals and beasts. He showed no fear nor panic, and just like always, he stayed like an immovable rock.

    "There is something else looking at you from there."

    At the moment Pixie informed him, pointing at the direction of the jungle.

    "Let''s pull them out."

    Mordred pointed his hand at Celine, and the monsters beside him rushed with roars.

    Celine lifted his staff and waved it forward. The beasts stood beside him and all rushed forward at command, with roars that shook everyone''s hearts.

 Chapter 30 : None shall spill blood

    Raghh!

    Graa!

    Beasts and monsters roared as they collided. The monster¡¯s fist landed on the beast, smashing flesh and blood into pieces. The beast¡¯s sharp claws and teeth pierced and dug into the monsters, tearing them apart.

    Among countless beasts and monsters, some became the target of groups of enemies as they showed extraordinary power. One of those was a wolf moving like the wind¡ªit was truly fast. Mindless monsters that acted only on instinct never saw its sharp teeth digging into their necks.

    However, the flowing wolf avoided a specific area where an abnormally large monster ran rampant, destroying every beast in its path to a bloody pulp.

    "It will take a while for a winning side to be decided," the mischievous pixie judged after observing for a while.

    "Doesn''t matter. This just evens the odds and serves as a distraction. The real battle begins now."

    Through the ongoing battle, Mordred¡¯s eyes landed on Celine on the other side.

    Swish!

    Clang!

    Right at that moment, a sharp object appeared through the air beside Mordred and thrust at him. However, the moment it landed on him, it deflected with the same force it struck.

    "Ah!"

    The figure holding the sharp object appeared¡ªit was Celine. The figure of Celine on the other side of the battlefield disappeared like a dimming light.

    "How ignorant. To think you expact me to stand here unguarded"

    Mordred gazed at the newly appeared Celine, who was pushed back a few feet from him as a consequence of striking him.

    Venessa moved like a shadow, appearing behind Celine and thrusting her hidden sword at him.

    "Uh... Don''t be bothered, he''s not the one we want."

    Despite Mordred''s words, her sword went through Celine, but it passed through him like passing through light. Moments later, his figure disappeared like a dimming light.

    "Perfect illusion, one of pixie kings sceptre ability. You seem to know more than I thought you should," the mischievous pixie questioned, growing more curious about Mordred''s origin.

    Among the beasts and monsters, the figure of Celine appeared.

    "Well, that was a failure."

    "Yes, it seems he''s more knowledgeable than we thought. The mischievous pixie... she''s doing all she can to turn the tides. Don''t use any of the skills I taught you for the time being. Since she''s my opposite, the mischievous pixie possesses the ability to counter my skills."

    While the benevolent pixie and Celine were talking to each other, Mordred had already located them.

    "You continue to hide from me. It''s irritating. Let''s see how you hide from this."

    Mordred lifted his hand, and the ring he wore glowed with a strange red light. Red veins appeared on his arm, flowing downward like blood and ending at his mouth.

    Wheee!

    Mordred whistled, and it was loud, resonating through the whole village.

    Every monster that heard the sound began to twitch, as if injected with new energy and rage into their bodies.

    Raghhhhh!

    A monster that had been struggling against a beast for a while suddenly rushed at it, tearing it apart.

    "Pixie... What''s happening?"

    "It appears to be some kind of enchantment... No, it''s something different. This... This kind of ability does not belong to humans."

    As the monsters¡¯ rage intensified, the two of them struggled among the beasts, and the pixie gazed at Mordred with fear in her eyes.

    "Who is he...?"

    ¡ª"Who actually are you?" the mischievous pixie asked Mordred.

    "This is the power of demons¡ªan unspoken force in this world. How are you able to wield their power?" she continued to question.

    "Didn''t I say it before? I have an arsenal in which I put my complete trust."

    While speaking, Mordred gazed at the ring on his finger.

    <Appraisal Complete>

    Item Name: Demonic Seal

    Grade: Prestige

    Description: As the name suggests, this item contains a sealed demonic being. The user can wield four of its abilities.

    Owner: Mordred Vorthian Arclore (Non-Bound)

    One of the four abilities is called Devil''s Adviser, which is the reason why monsters never attack me or my followers. If it were an ordinary monster, they would never obey the ring¡¯s ability. The trick is to establish a connection between the monster and myself.

    All I had to do was add a tiny drop of my blood into each vial. The rest is simply science.

    The reason for the surge of energy and rage in the monsters is due to the second ability of the ring, called Hour of the Devil. It enhances the strength of those monsters under my influence.

    "My dear monsters, show them the hell you yearn for."

    Mordred whistled again at the end of his words.

    The monsters rampaged madly, brutally slaughtering every beast they encountered.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Ah!

    With the assistance of a beast, Celine got away from the monsters and backed away. However, looking back and seeing the lifeless body of the beast that had sacrificed itself to save him, Celine fell into silence.

    "No... No more death. Connoisseur, please help!" he screamed.

    At that moment, a great roar of a lion resounded from the forest.

    "Raghhh!"

    With the roar, the beasts that were falling suddenly gained a burst of energy. However, instead of fighting, the beasts fell back, carrying Celine with them.

    The monsters continued to pursue the retreating beasts, but as they fell back, they got closer to the forest. From the forest, sharp tree vines rushed out, and even from the ground, they appeared like thorns, piercing the monsters that followed the beasts.

    "Guardian Lion of the Forest... So, the benevolent Pixie has already made a contract with him," mischievous Pixie murmured after observing the situation.

    "Be careful of Connoisseur. Its ability makes anyone in its domain act in perfect manners," she then warned Mordred.

    Mordred was already aware of the lion¡¯s presence in the forest. However, since the lion had not stepped out, it prevented him from locating it.

    "It''s time you did some work. Find the location of Connoisseur for me," he ordered.

    After thinking a bit about his words, the mischievous Pixie finally flew away toward the forest.

    "Are you okay?"

    The benevolent Pixie asked Celine, who was lying on the ground, surrounded by a pack of wolves.

    At that moment, close to Celine, was the Connoisseur Lion, exuding a faint, green, flowing, water-like effect that was being absorbed by the surrounding beings.

    The green energy swirled around Celine.

    "Absorb it. It''ll make your condition more perfect," the benevolent Pixie landed on the lion¡¯s fur and instructed Celine.

    The next moment, the green energy entered Celine''s body, and he felt all the tension and stress in his mind disappear. He also started to see new ways of taking down the monsters and the man in the village.

    "Where''s the staff?"

    Getting up, Celine looked around, and the staff, which had been floating around him, came closer.

    Grabbing the staff, he took a step forward.

    "Let''s go, Pixie. I know a way to end this without causing harm to anyone else in my care."

    "So this is where you''ve been hiding."

    At that moment, a mischievous voice echoed as the mischievous Pixie appeared close to the Connoisseur Lion.

    "Graaa!"

    Before anyone could react, the lion roared and bit at the Pixie. However, she disappeared from her original place and reappeared elsewhere.

    "It''s so amusing to see you struggle like this, my dear opposite," she said before disappearing again.

    Then came a huge roar, shaking the whole ground.

    Celine and Pixie looked toward the village, where they saw a monster taller than anything they had ever seen rapidly approaching their direction.

    Looking at the monster, Celine felt a familiarity with it, but he couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was.

    "No... Oh, Celine..."

    However, Pixie noticed something he didn¡¯t, and she showed sympathy for Celine. Then, Celine also saw the remains of clothing on the beast¡­ It was the favorite dress his brother used to wear.

    "Brother... What happened to you?"

    Celine, now in his perfect condition, quickly calmed his raging thoughts and turned his gaze to Mordred.

    He grabbed hold of the staff, lifted it, let it rustle against the air to grow familiar with it, and then pointed it at Mordred.

    "Pixie, are you with me?"

    "Always and forever," the benevolent Pixie replied, flying close to him and tapping the staff, increasing its shine.

    "Thou who was chosen by mischief, yet broke the rules of the world by shedding unnecessary blood to your liking, is deemed unworthy to represent the side of misfortune. Thus, with the authority of the almighty King of Pixies, I hereby banish you to the Realm of Judgment."

    At the end of his words, the staff released a beam of light that completely enveloped Mordred. Exposed to the light, Mordred remained calm.

    "Pixie, if you may."

    "Hehe, this is gonna be a fun night."

    The Mischievous Pixie touched the light and bent it according to her will. The light twisted and redirected toward Celine.

    In the next second, both Mordred and Celine disappeared from where they stood.

    When Mordred could see again, he was in front of a giant waterfall. As he fully looked around, he realized he was standing at the edge of the waterfall. On the other side, he saw Celine, standing with the staff in his hand. The Benevolent Pixie was by his side.

    "Something¡¯s strange... Where''s my opposite?"

    Celine also observed Mordred but did not saw the familiar purple glow that always stayed beside him.

 Chapter 31 : The thing that is blind.

    Whoosh!

    From the water, something giant rose up. It was like a dry tree branch but in a human shape.

    "The judge of the Judgment Realm, Celine, I still don''t see my opposite."

    As Pixie panicked, the large tree man extended his two hands. One landed closer to Mordred, and the other closer to Celine.

    Both hands halted in front of their feet, as if asking them to step in.

    "Celine, I have a bad feeling... Usually, the bond creature is also supposed to appear alongside the contractor, but... There''s no sign of her with him"

    While muttering Pixie turned to Celine, but she saw that he had already step into the hand.

    "Celine, no!"

    "It''s okay, Pixie."

    She suddenly stopped upon hearing Celine¡¯s calm voice.

    "So what if there''s blind spot. It doesn''t change the fact that he shed unnecessary blood," he said, his words full of confidence. After he got in, the tree man lifted his hand.

    Looking at Celine, Pixie sighed.

    "Oh, Celine... You''re still immature about the ways of this world. I should have taught you better."

    Mordred also stepped into the giant tree man¡¯s hand and was lifted into the sky.

    The tree man held the two humans in both of his hands. From the waterfall, water continued falling from his head, nurturing his body''s growth.

    "Who requests judgment?"

    The tree man¡¯s heavy, deep voice resounded.

    "Oh, almighty judge of this lawful realm¡ªit is I, the chosen one of the Benevolent One," Celine introduced himself with a bow.

    As the judge heard this, he slightly opened his tightly closed eyes to gaze at Celine.

    "Are you sure you need to ask judgment against this individual, human?" he asked in a voice that carried no pressure.

    "I am. For countless ages, the war between the Benevolent One and her opposite has only involved themselves. But in this tide, this individual spilled unnecessary blood, causing countless innocent lives to be lost. I need him to suffer the punishment for what he has done."

    Celine pointed his finger at Mordred, who stood with a calm look on his face.

    "Shut it, boy. Your ignorance will be your doom," said Mordred.

    "Am I right, the one who withholds judgment?" he then looked at the tree man.

    To be honest, Mordred was pretty excited to see this figure. Even in the game, there were very few events where the player could encounter this entity. However, he showed none of this excitement on his outer appearance.

    Celine also glanced at the judge in confusion.

    "The Judgment Realm withholds judgment according to the request the wielder made when the culprit was banished to the realm. After considering the information, it was proven that the victim is not fit to be judged by the court," the judge announced in his deep voice.

    "What... How? Why? He clearly killed those innocent people! Aren''t you supposed to be the one judging those who commit sins?" Celine panicked, realizing his plan was failing.

    "There is a common saying among humans. Do you remember it?"

    At that moment, Celine heard Mordred¡¯s words.

    "It goes like this¡ªjustice... is blind."

    Celine¡¯s face turned bitter with each word he heard. On the other hand, Mordred seemed to be enjoying himself even more.

    Maybe it''s because I''m a villain, but seeing the hero struggle like this makes me ecstatic. It''s like having sex without worrying about getting the woman pregnant... ? Okay, that was kind of weird for me.

    Mordred regained his composure as the dignity of a villain activated, and the wild thoughts in his mind began to settle.

    "If you still have any confusion, think about how you banished me to this realm," Mordred said.

    Celine thought for a moment. Then he realized¡ª

    "You were never chosen by Mischief... Then why did you do all of that? Why kill innocent people?"

    "Sometimes, you have to make tiny sacrifices to achieve greater rewards," Mordred answered carelessly, closing his eyes.

    "Now, Judge, since I am deemed not guilty, I should be allowed back into my own world."

    When Celine heard what he said, his face changed.

    "No. Someone like him shouldn¡¯t go back to the world. If he does, you don''t know how many more innocent people would suffer because of him!"

    "Since the defendant is free from all charges, the door to the mortal world will be opened for you," announced the judge despite Celine''s word.

    Hearing judges words Celine thoughts ran rampage. Than tightened his grasp on the Pixie King''s staff he pointed it at Mordred. Pixie, who was on the ground, felt Celine requesting a huge amount of Benevolent energy. Knowing something was wrong, she allowed it. The golden glow on her body almost completely dimmed as all of Benevolent energy was drained from her.

    "Sinner, you''re going nowhere from here!"

    <Reaper¡¯s Gaze>

    With all the Benevolent energy he had, Celine used an ability from the staff. Suddenly, everything became silent. Then, an ominous eye opened from the staff, directly staring at Mordred.

    "No... Not the instant death¡ªReaper¡¯s Gaze! Nooooo!"

    Mordred screamed, knowing that the moment the eye of the Reaper¡¯s gaze landed on any being, its life would perish. And at that moment, the chilling gaze of the Reaper locked onto Mordred, enveloping him in a dreaded aura.

    "Arghhh!"

    His horrific scream resounded, reaching the Benevolent Pixie, who was still on the ground.

    Huff!

    Breathing heavily to stabilize himself from the exhaustion after draining all of his energy for the spell, Celine gazed at Mordred, who screamed in suffering.

    Stolen story; please report.

    A slight smile appeared on his face.

    "Finally, I''ve done something fitting for the Chosen One of the... benevolent pixie."

    "Celine!"

    At the moment he heard the voice he needed to hear¡ªthe sweet voice of the benevolent pixie¡ªshe was flying toward him.

    "What did you do?" she asked.

    "I did what I had to do, Pixie. Someone like him shouldn''t be allowed in the mortal world again, so I used the Reaper''s Gaze to end him."

    "Reaper''s Gaze? Isn''t that supposed to give instant death?"

    Realizing what she meant, Celine''s smile faded.

    Ting!

    Suddenly, something like a flipping coin''s sound resonated through the air.

    "Arghh! Ahhh! Ah! Ha-ha-ha!"

    Mordred, who a moment before was screaming in suffering, began to laugh out loud.

    "You... Haha... You should have seen the look on your face... Oh man, it was full of pride and hope there for a few seconds. He really thought he got me."

    "Uh... How? That spell is absolute," Celine directly questioned the pixie. Looking at Mordred, pixie felt that the man was covered in layers of mysteries.

    Mordred suddenly stopped laughing and regained his cold gaze.

    "Since the unexpected happened, I''ll let you do your job. Judge, if you may."

    At that moment, the cold eyes of the Judge landed on Celine.

    "Celine, the Chosen One of the Benevolent, you have broken the rule of this lawful realm."

    Celine was pressured by a huge gravitational force upon his body, which instantly pulled him down to the ground.

    "According to the law, crime should be punished equally."

    Celine felt the pressure upon him intensify, and his flesh began to slowly melt.

    "Wait... I have a proposal! Please, wait!"

    "Stop!"

    The Judge ignored Celine''s pleading but halted when the pixie raised her voice.

    "For countless ages, I have been the envoy who brought forth the King of Pixies to the world, thus preventing the disasters and catastrophic revival of the Calamity One. With the karmic ties from those I have saved through the ages, I request for you... to listen to the words of this young man," the pixie pleaded.

    After a moment of silence, the Judge''s gaze landed on Celine.

    "Speak!"

    "I know what I did wrong, and I''m ready to accept my punishment. But not... from your hand," Celine said while gazing at Mordred.

    "Even though I''m at death''s door, I still couldn''t allow you to step into the mortal world. Thus, I request a duel with you."

    "How could you possibly think I would agree to something like that? You''ve already lost¡ªthere''s nothing for me to achieve," echoed Mordred¡¯s calm voice in response.

    "There is something you won¡¯t achieve, even after my death," Celine said as he lifted his staff toward Mordred.

    Mordred''s eyes narrowed.

    "You... Are you betting the Staff of the Pixie King?"

    Before Mordred could say anything, the Benevolent Pixie rushed at Celine.

    "What are you doing, Celine? The Pixie King¡¯s staff is a sacred artifact! If by any chance it falls into the hands of a man like that, the consequences would be unimaginable! And considering the situation now, his chances of winning are one hundred percent!"

    "Given the situation, this is the only thing I could do, Pixie. The Perfect Condition of Connoisseur is still in effect on me, and I''m sure this is the perfect solution. I''m sorry to disappoint you, but in the end, disappointment is just disappointment. I cannot let it end in failure."

    "...But you don''t have any benevolent energy left in you. Even I couldn''t bring out any for the time being," Pixie said in a worried tone after a moment of silence.

    "Do not worry. I have a plan¡ªone that will save us all."

    After reassuring Pixie, Celine looked at Mordred once again.

    "What do you think? The Staff of the Pixie King would be the bet among us. Whoever wins will receive it."

    Hearing him, Mordred remained silent.

    The Staff of the Pixie King... That is an interesting item I would like to add to my collection. But I don''t like the confidence he''s showing. However, to take that staff... I don''t think there will be another chance.

    "Very well. If the Judge of the Realm stands as the rulekeeper, I will participate. But I will need to use all of my power¡ªnothing restrained, even the Spirit Realm."

    "Agreed," Celine answered instantly, almost in a hurry. His breath became faster, and he seemed to weaken, struggling even to stand.

    "Celine, you''re getting weak. The sudden extraction of benevolent energy is affecting you," Pixie said as she flew around him, trying to inject the tiny bit of energy she had recovered.

    "Thank you. Before I go, I need to know something, Pixie," Celine looked at Pixie with a more serious gaze.

    "Since the other party has agreed, you will be free to use assistance from the Spirit Realm," on the other side the judge focused on Mordred.

    As those words echoed, Mordred saw a few mystical chains wrapped around him begin to break.

    As an independent realm, the Judgment Realm did not allow contact with any other realms. The only exception was the Pixie King, who held some authority over the realm''s restrictions. That was why he was able to banish me to this realm. However, even the Pixie King himself didn¡¯t expect that his own power would lead to the downfall of his successor.

    As Mordred prepared, Celine also stood up. Holding the Pixie King¡¯s Staff in his hand, he pointed it at Mordred.

    "Since he only has a tiny bit of benevolent energy left, he needed to use it as efficiently as possible. let¡¯s see how''s he gonna use it" while preparing himself mordred is guessing celine''s next move.

 Chapter 32 : changing tides (part 1 end)

    Mordred opened his spirit portal, and the two hellhounds jumped out, rushing toward Celine with a straight leap. At the same time, he also summoned Gulgulith, who stuck out its tongue at Celine.

    Pixie king''s staff in Celine''s hand shined and emitted a brilliant glow, and a shining light flew toward Mordred.

    "Attacking without defending? What is he thinking?"

    Seeing the glow coming in his direction, Mordred took a step back. Although he was confident in his protection, he still needed to be sure.

    "Raghh!"

    With a roar, the two wolves jumped at Celine without any disturbance and began to tear him apart. No scream came from him as Gulgulith''s tongue already landed on him.

    "What the..."

    Mordred, seeing the situation, became extremely confused and panicked.

    A teardrop fell from the benevolent pixie as she suddenly flew to the sky.

    The golden halo that came toward Mordred fell on him and enveloped him without causing any damage.

    "No... This is... Omni Transaction."

    "Nooo!"

    Amidst Mordred''s scream, the pixie chanted:

    "By allowing his death, the chosen one of the benevolent me would fulfill the desire of the other - The death of the benevolent choosen one''s death, As payment for the deed, the other individual would be bound with the benevolent energy and my karmic ties to help nurture the growth of a hero¡ªone who will one day unify the world in peace."

    The benevolent energy fell on Mordred''s body, transforming into chains that wrapped around him.

    Shackled by the chains for a brief moment, Mordred regained his calmness despite his hair becoming messy and falling over his face, making him look like a madman.

    "Well-played move, but you forget¡ªthe choosing of a hero is up to me, and I''m sure there isn''t a hero like the one I just took away."

    Lifting his head, he gazed at Celine with an eerie smile.

    The pixie looked at Celine. Despite his life and body slowly fading away, there was still a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

    In the mystical forest where the Pixie King stood in peace, a violent wind blew, causing the old king to frown.

    "Haaa..."

    "In the end, nothing changed."

    Opening his deep-set eyes, the king gazed at the sky. The crown on his head began to shine, causing space to ripple like ocean waves.

    "Is breaking the law becoming a hobby old man?"

    Suddenly, a mischievous voice came from behind, echoing through the upper layers of the forest.

    "Misbehaving one, how did you get into the Benevolent Paradise?"

    The old man remained calm, though his voice began to shake.

    "Benevolent Paradise... Are you really sure this place still represents benevolence?"

    The pixie''s echoing moved and then halted in a place. The old man gazed in the direction where the voice had stopped. There, he saw a tree that had been full of life slowly beginning to rot.

    The old man''s facial expression, which had not changed for countless years, finally twisted into anger.

    "Even if the chosen one dies, as long as I''m alive, I won''t let anyone else succeed you!" he screamed in fury.

    With his wrath, the environment of the forest shifted, and the pixie was pushed back by violent winds.

    Facing his rage, she slowly disappeared, and her whisper echoed once more.

    "As long as, old man¡­ As long as¡­ you live¡­"

    . . . . . . .

    Thud!

    Celine''s head fell to the ground¡ªthe only thing left after the assault of the hellhounds.

    Tears kept falling from the benevolent pixie as she rushed to it and held it.

    "We... lost."

    The golden shine on her body had completely disappeared, and she slowly began to fade, like dust in the wind.

    ''After the loss of the battle, the loosing side of the pixies would slumber until the time for the next chosen one to appear.''

    Looking at the fading benevolent pixie, Mordred recalled the information from the lore.

    "The bet has been won by the defending individual. Thus, the betting item will belong to him."

    With the judge¡¯s words, the Pixie King''s staff floated toward Mordred.

    "As long as I live, you will never succeed!"

    At that moment, those words echoed through the surroundings, and the Pixie King''s staff slowly began to fade.

    Looking around, in a split second, Mordred felt the urgency of the situation and acted.

    "Store in inventory."

    The Pixie King''s staff disappeared from space, and as Mordred checked his inventory, he saw its icon.

    "Don''t you know it''s bad to steal from others? Especially when they rightfully earned it."

    He looked up at the sky and mocked the voice.

    The Pixie King could affect the entire world if he wanted to retrieve his weapon, but thankfully, my inventory space is a completely isolated space where no other influence can reach.

    But at the same time, there''s a problem¡­ If I ever take the staff out, he will retrieve it instantly.

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    After handing Mordred the staff, the judge of the Judgment Realm grew enraged at the Pixie King¡¯s attempt to snatch it back and increased the restrictions placed upon his authority. Then, he opened a portal to the mortal world, which Mordred stepped through.

    . . . . . .

    "Raghh!"

    Roaring monsters collided with the Connoisseur Lion. Among them, one giant monster stood tall, giving off the greatest challenge to it.

    Its fists were like thunder, and with every strike, the mystical beast took a step back.

    Suddenly, the lion¡¯s eyes twitched.

    "Raghh!"

    It let out a loud roar, and upon hearing it, all the animals scattered and ran away¡ªincluding the Connoisseur Lion. Nearby trees swayed, their branches covering the lion, vanishing it from sight.

    The monsters started chasing after the fleeing animals, but their movements halted as a portal appeared, and Mordred stepped out.

    "Master!"

    Vennesa and Negun ran to him, checking for any injuries.

    "Let''s go. My objective here is done," Mordred said as he took the lead back to the carriages.

    As Mordred walked proudly, a purple glow appeared beside him.

    "So, you really did it. Actually unbelievable."

    "How are you still alive? Weren''t you supposed to disappear after losing the tide?" Mordred asked in a casual tone.

    "This time, it¡¯s different. Although I didn¡¯t win, neither did the benevolent one. So, as her opposite, I had the power to do the opposite of her. Since the rule for her was to disappear after losing, I used my power to keep living after the loss," the mischievous pixie said, flying around Mordred.

    "Good for you. Aren''t you going to catch your chosen one, then?"

    "Uh..."

    The pixie looked at the giant monster in the distance. Shaking her head, she turned back to Mordred.

    "Don''t think so. I believe I found a better one."

    . . . . . . . .

    In the middle of a deserted landscape, where a lone golden tree stood with fruit-bearing branches, the Saintess of the Holy Sanctuary stood under its shadow, gazing at the tree.

    "Saintess, we are ready."

    Synthia appeared in the dust through space and informed her.

    "Give me a moment."

    The Saintess removed a necklace she had been wearing. The necklace had a large pendant, which she placed inside a hole in the golden tree. As soon as she withdrew her hand, the pendant disappeared, and the hole was covered by the regrowing tree trunk.

    "I leave this thing in your care."

    After that, she took a step back and walked away. When she got close to Synthia, the space blurred, and the two disappeared.

    "I''m not doubting your decision, Saintess, but is it a wise choice to leave that thing in the care of a primal plant?"

    Synthia asked as the two of them appeared in a corridor.

    "I believe it is," replied the Saintess.

    "Is that a prophecy?" Synthia asked again.

    "Could be. That scroll, sealed within my necklace, is what gave me my powers. And I believe that in this whole world, I am the only person who can read it. But I cannot ignore the fact that it was once part of something even greater¡ªsomething that was separated into thirteen pieces. And there are hungry wolves hunting for those pieces. I have a hunch that a few of those wolves will appear at this gathering."

    "Then¡­ shouldn''t we be more prepared, Saintess?"

    "Not necessary. When I see prophecy, I could guess the places that need to change¡ªand the places that don¡¯t."

    "As you command, Saintess. Shall we go then?"

    Through their conversation, the two women reached the end of the corridor, where a group of carriages awaited them.

    "Yes. Trinity¡¯s gathering won¡¯t wait for us if we¡¯re late," the Saintess said as she stepped into the carriage.

    The Holy Sanctuary was located at the center of a giant lake, with numerous paths leading to it.

    On one of these paths, the carriages moved rapidly, carrying the holy Saintess toward the Land of the Rising Light.

    As they moved forward, the horses passed by an individual wearing a long robe.

    The Saintess, who was inside the carriage, happened to be on the other side and did not see the figure. However, at that moment, her eyes twitched as she felt a slight sense of gloom.

    "Saintess?" Synthia looked at her with concern.

    "Uh¡­ another dark event must have happened, but I can¡¯t pinpoint it."

    The carriage moved farther away, while the lone figure slowly made their way toward the sanctuary.

    "Stop! This is the Head Sanctuary of the Holy God. Other than authorized individuals, no one is allowed inside. If you are here to pray, the prayer room is that way."

    Two guards blocked the individual''s way.

    "Oh, actually, I''m here for someone."

    The robed figure revealed her face to them. The guards saw that it was a young girl.

    "Do you happen to know someone named Desire Ashborn?"