Chapter 273

2.

Reyark, the newly made soldier of death.

Naturally, as he was a Hidden Raid Boss, and a Unique rank one at that.

He was much stronger than the regular soldiers.

Of course, he hadn't transcended yet, so he was a little weaker than the legion commanders or the transcended soldiers.

In any case.

That wasn't what was important right now.

In fact, the master of the magic tower had been a bit suspicious from the moment he appeared.

So, when he immediately absorbed the memories of the ghost that came with him.

['Unknown Power' has allowed you to display abilities beyond your current stats.]

[Wisdom +8 and Intelligence +8 permanently increase.]

It was lower than Vasile.

But as expected of a close associate of the Necromancer Lord, he was able to obtain high stats.

And the memory he obtained was.

'Hmmmm.'

The stark fact that the master of the magic tower was the Necromancer Lord.

And besides that, he could tell that the current Necromancer Lord was more veiled in secrecy than he thought.

Should he say there was a slight discrepancy between the ghost's past memories and the current appearance of the Necromancer Lord?

Something was strange.

When Seonghyun looked at Reyark to confirm again.

- The Necromancer Lord and Master of Serul Magic Tower wishes for you to visit before tomorrow's match. Ah, he also added that it is not compulsory.

Not compulsory, huh……

That might be the Necromancer Lord's intention.

'But now that a quest has been generated, I have to go.'

He never imagined he would get a Hidden Legendary Quest this way.

To be honest, he thought there might be a trace of it here.

But to think the person himself would be here.

It was quite unexpected.

He had judged him to be dead.

'Then why did he abandon the cuirass?'

Even to Seonghyun's eyes, it was a pretty good cuirass.

Was there a reason to discard this?

Thinking about what Nyao had said.

He said they were items that had been gathered by chance in the labyrinth.

If he wasn't dead, it meant he had left them intentionally.

It seemed he would have to meet the Necromancer Lord to find out.

Just as Seonghyun came to that conclusion.

Helena, who had been looking at Reyark, tilted her head in puzzlement.

"Hmmmm."

"What's wrong?"

He had let it slide before.

But this time, it bothered him, so Seonghyun asked.

Helena spoke as if something was strange.

"It's the Necromancer Lord's energy, alright, but it's a little different from the energy I remember."

"Hmm?"

"Umm, I'll have to see him in person to be sure, but from what I can tell, they're not the same person."

"The Necromancer Lord you knew?"

"Yes, I think he might be a successor, just like you."

The successor to the Necromancer Lord.

This was also interesting.

Just what kind of person would he be……

'Before tomorrow's match.'

I'll have to make sure to check.

Seonghyun made up his mind and surveyed his surroundings.

Since he had caused a bit of a stir this time.

He must have become a target.

Especially, the Forbiddens and the Featherwing Knights were unsettling.

The Forbiddens, in particular, seemed like they would be quite tricky, being a group armed with magic-infused weapons.

Although there were reviews that their performance was inferior compared to others of the same class.

Seonghyun didn't think so.

Hadn't he already suffered at the hands of the magic sword Nemesis?

Magic-infused weapons had special effects.

The magic sword Nemesis had the special effect of severance, cutting off the surroundings, which made it a very bad match for Seonghyun.

'The Forbiddens must have effects like that too, right?'

They had sealed their magic in the survival match.

But they had already been defeated by Seonghyun.

It was uncertain whether they would still seal it after finding out he was the Demon King.

'Won't they try to get revenge?'

Because they were defeated by Seonghyun.

If they were to use their magic at full power.

It was unknown what would happen.

And there were three of them, no less.

Well, even if they cut off the surroundings like Nemesis, he could just summon his vassals beforehand.

He could prepare, but he didn't know what kind of outlandish effects would appear.

He was rather looking forward to seeing what it would be like.

'But the knights……'

And as he was thinking that the Featherwing Knights were opponents he could handle, he shook his head.

You never know.

'They're a knight order from the Rieskan Kingdom.'

They might be a little different.

Hadn't those from the Rieskan Kingdom always caused problems?

So there was a possibility this time too.

Over Palace had also warned him to be careful of the Rieskan Kingdom.

There was no harm in being careful.

Well, one way or another.

'I'm looking forward to tomorrow.'

He would meet the master of the magic tower before the match.

And he was also looking forward to seeing how the Forbiddens and the Featherwing Knights would act tomorrow.

3.

Was it as expected?

After the survival match ended, the Forbiddens, including Keron who had been eliminated, quickly left their spot.

They gathered in a hunting ground in a forest outside the city, their expressions serious.

They had participated to obtain the magic bow, a magic-infused bow that was a perfect fit for the youngest, Ired's weapon.

They never expected the famous Demon King to appear.

That's why the always-confident Forbiddens remained silent.

Waiting for their leader, Zaya, to speak.

After a long time.

Zaya finally broke the silence and opened her mouth.

“It’s a given that we’ll use magic.”

The moment they use magic, they become karma users again.

Meaning they could be hunted by NPCs or users.

So after using magic, they might have to run away as quickly as possible, but.

Perhaps because a magic-infused weapon was the prize for winning.

There was a possibility that using magic might be tolerated to some extent.

For now, they had no choice but to trust that and face the Demon King.

Since that was their only option.

However, there was one thing that bothered them if they did that.

“……Can we even win if we do that?”

“……Hmmmm.”

“Keung.”

“……”

At Ired’s question, everyone swallowed hard.

Zaya didn’t even say a word.

A force difficult to win against even at full power.

Especially.

“That elf swordsman guy is really strong. He’s probably a vassal, and if a vassal is at that level, the other vassals must be just as skilled.”

“Looking at the video, it’s entirely possible.”

“……Even if I summon my vassals, that level is a bit much. We’ll definitely be outmatched in numbers too.”

They each analyzed their combat power and talked.

But there was something they had overlooked, and Zaya pointed it out as she looked at her comrades.

“The Demon King has a magic weapon too. In other words.”

“……If we lose, we might have our magic weapons taken away.”

“……Tsk.”

“……Then…… what should we do?”

They had to calculate their chances of winning.

It was practically a gamble.

Even if he was the Demon King, if they utilized their magic, it might somehow be possible.

That's how ridiculously powerful the ability of magic was.

The reason magic-infused weapons weren't well known until now was partly because they had hidden them well, but also.

Those who suffered from them didn't know much about them.

The problem was that the Demon King also possessed a magic sword.

However, they had never seen him use it in actual combat.

It could mean that he either doesn't use magic, or even if he knows its abilities, there's no way to counter it.

After a long period of contemplation, Zaya was able to reach a conclusion.

“We fight.”

“Keuh, that’s our leader, alright.”

“Yeah, it’s either go big or go home.”

“Just as the boss said! Let’s goooo!!!”

The special ability of magic.

They would put their faith in that.

The Forbiddens regrouped, their eyes fierce as they strengthened their resolve.

A feat no one had ever achieved.

To take the Demon King's head.

If they could accomplish that, their reputation would change drastically.

Believing so, they emanated a menacing aura.

'We will kill the Demon King tomorrow.'

4.

After the survival match ended, numerous NPCs and users flocked to the city, causing the restaurants and inns to become crowded.

It was something that always happened when such events were held.

Everyone in the inn was in a festive mood.

However, amidst that, the expressions of the four knights gathered in an inn room were serious.

Unlike the Forbiddens, the Featherwing Knights gathered in an inn building.

They spoke cautiously with serious expressions.

“……Senior Knight Gamu, can we do this on our own?”

At the shield knight's trembling words, Gamu shook his head.

To say there was a significant difference was an understatement.

The Rieskan Kingdom was already in the process of gathering as much information as possible on the current Overlord.

So they knew all too well.

They were not enough.

Beyond not being enough, they were surely at a trivial level.

There was no way to defeat one who had already obtained the power of a Monarch.

Therefore.

Gamu looked at the knights and spoke.

“……Report to 『Him』.”

“……Y-yes, sir.”

“……E-eventually.”

“……Please be safe.”

The junior knights looked at Gamu with such pitiful eyes.

Gamu gestured as if to say it was enough.

The junior knights left the room at the gesture that meant 'leave quickly.'

But the pitiful look in their eyes did not disappear until the end.

After sending out all the junior knights.

Gamu's hands trembled as if he was nervous.

That hand, trembling like an aspen leaf, grasped the orb as if grabbing the doorknob to the door of death.

And a voice flowed out from the orb.

- I told you not to let this communication sphere ring unless it's a matter of rank 8 or higher. What is it?

An irritable voice.

He had heard that something had happened recently.

But at the voice, which was even fiercer than usual, Gamu flinched.

The voice of one called a hero contained that much power.

It was understandable.

But there was something he had to do.

Gamu continued to speak.

“I have contacted you because there is a setback in the…… plan.”

- Is it a matter of rank 8 or higher?

A dry yet fierce voice, still speaking as if that was what was important.

Gamu quickly continued his report.

“The Overlord has participated in the tournament. It does not seem easy to retrieve the magic-infused weapon.”

-…….

At that report, a grinding sound was heard at first.

Then, a small mumble was heard.

- Ha, this guy, that guy, Amseong was like that, and now this again? An Overlord this time too?

At those words, muttered as if in disbelief, Gamu felt a shock as if his very soul was being shaken.

It was just an angry voice.

But as Gamu trembled in terror.

The man connected to the communication sphere clicked his tongue in annoyance.

- Tsk.

It seemed he too knew well that if an Overlord was involved, it couldn't be helped.

That's why the fierce energy that had been surging from the communication sphere subsided.

The moment Gamu saw that and felt relieved.

A strange voice was heard from the communication sphere.

- It seems I will have to step forward myself.

The hero himself would step forward?

The moment Gamu trembled at that thought.

- You will have to help me. I no longer trust anyone.

With those words, the fierce energy burst out from the communication sphere.

The energy, which had turned into sharp thorns in the air, pierced through Gamu's entire body.

Pupupupuk——!!!

“——!!!”

Gamu couldn't even utter a word and could only open his mouth wide with his eyes bulging.

And a small voice ringing from the communication sphere.

- It's utterly unpleasant, but I have no choice as I must gather as much magic as possible.

With those words, the energy that had surged from the communication sphere entered Gamu's open mouth.

As that energy, mixed with a sticky and dark aura, entered Gamu's mouth.

The connection with the communication sphere was cut, and the look in Gamu's eyes changed.

The energy that had pierced his body was also completely absorbed into his body.

After looking his body up and down, Gamu's expression crumpled as he muttered.

“What a trash body.”

However.

“Still, with this much, I should be able to kill that brat. I'll have to extract the essence of a Monarch from him while I'm at it.”

The sinister smile on Gamu's face was completely different from the previous Gamu.

As if someone else had entered his body.