Pfft—
My vision turned completely white and then flipped upside down.
As I lifted my head, I saw an enormous spire that seemed to pierce the heavens.
Broken sunlight filtered through the clouds, illuminating the spire. Its pitch-black walls, which let in not a single ray of light, were stacked layer upon layer, with mysterious patterns etched into every nook and cranny.
I casually glanced around. Surrounded entirely by ominous-looking trees, there wasn’t much useful information to gather, but having read the original story, I knew exactly where I was.
“So this is the main headquarters.”
This was the main branch of the headquarters, the first domain of the Third Lords, often known as the heart of the Arkhan Lord Council.
An indestructible force that survived well into the later parts of the story despite countless calamities, it was the territory ruled over by the Great Witch Arkhan, the leader of this land.
Who would have thought I’d actually end up here one day? The unsettling atmosphere, the dark ashen sky—every detail perfectly matched the original’s description.
“…”
To be honest, I was a little in awe. This was a place I’d wanted to step foot in at least once while reading the original story. But now that I was really here, something about it felt strange. Even though I had been invited here, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling about what lay ahead.
Just as I was observing my surroundings with mixed emotions, a voice broke the silence.
“Please follow me this way.”
Cheong, who had guided me here, instructed me with a voice that still trembled slightly. Apparently, he had become more cautious about me after what happened earlier.
“Why the hell was I invited here?”
I was just an ordinary human, but strictly speaking, I belonged to the royal family. From the standpoint of those who were enemies of the royal family, I could never be considered their ally.
So why had they invited me? If it was revenge for the downfall of the Black Shadow Guild, there was no need to go through all this trouble.
“They’re all completely out of their minds.”
The sudden destruction of the Black Shadow Guild, the dead officers muttering my name despite never having met me, and now their sudden invitation—all of it was absurd and illogical.
“I have no idea anymore.”
From the moment I accepted the invitation, there was no way out. All I could do was adapt on the fly and try to get out of here safely. Whether or not that’ll be possible remains to be seen.
“The problem is, I have no idea what they want from me.”
Above all, the biggest issue was that I had no clue what they wanted from an ordinary civil servant like me. Naturally, I had no connection to a major faction like the Arkhan Lord Council.
Step… step…
After walking what felt like ten minutes, we still hadn’t reached our destination, merely moving around the first floor. How incredibly large was this place? It was starting to get frustrating when, straight ahead, a massive stone gate came into view. In front of the gates stood dozens of knights, standing in perfect alignment.
Clink, clink.
Noticing us, they moved aside simultaneously, clearing the path. Cheong moved forward along the opening as if it was routine. After walking for a while, the colossal stone gate that had seemed so distant was now right in front of me.
And—
Squeak…
The immense circular hall revealed itself as the gates opened. Along with rows of towering columns reaching the ceiling, statues lined the spaces between them.
In the center of the floor lay a red carpet, and at its end—
“…Arkhan.”
The Grand Lord Arkhan sat upon her throne, the leader of the massive force that divided the continent into four parts. When our eyes met, a faint smile graced her lips.
“You’ve arrived?”
Her voice echoed through the hall, cool and beautiful like an early morning breeze.
“Luke Richter.”
Just the sound of my name being called filled the room with an icy stillness. Immediately after, an indescribable pressure filled the space.
“You have some guts, I’ll give you that.”
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
As the compressed and overwhelming aura radiated toward me, Rudyne, who was standing nearby, struggled to stay upright, clutching her trembling legs and sweating profusely. Cheong, who seemed accustomed to it, bowed his head but still poured all his magical energy into defending himself against the overwhelming hostility.
But me?
“Wh-what’s this about?”
I felt absolutely nothing, for I couldn’t sense the hostility.
In this world, the most basic form of energy is mana. When this mana is infused with intent, it transforms into things like auras, powers, or hostility.
The type of energy she was projecting at me was hostility. For a typical human encountering such malevolent intent, the mana within their body would resonate, causing them to enter a state of extreme tension.
But I was an exception. As part of absorbing the Rune, I had lost my mana. To react to the hostility, I would need some mana to resonate with the pressure being exerted on me. Even though I could feel the pressure pushing against the space, I didn’t feel any fear.
Unaware of this, Arkhan smirked, probably thinking that I was taking her hostility head-on.
And yet—
“…How much longer do you plan to keep this up?”
Apparently sensing my lack of fear, the hostility showed no signs of subsiding. In fact, the pressure only grew stronger. Though it didn’t bother me, the wasted time annoyed me, so I spoke up.
“Your hospitality is truly lacking.”
“…”
The woman sitting on the throne chuckled lightly and snapped her fingers. The oppressive atmosphere that had been pressing down on the space disappeared in an instant.
“Second.”
“Second?”
“You’re the second. The one who doesn’t even flinch.”
Though there seemed to be a major misunderstanding, I saw no reason to correct her. There was a more pressing matter to address.
“What’s the reason you called me here?”
I questioned her, my tone slightly arrogant. Cheong frowned, but the atmosphere remained unchanged. Arkhan smiled mischievously, seemingly intrigued.
“Let’s see, why did I call you here again?”
“…”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I was just confirming that you didn’t already know.”
She tilted her head and smiled as she said this, though her eyes betrayed no humor.
“Black Shadow Guild.”
Her tone had become much darker now. Slowly leaning forward, Arkhan brought herself to my eye level, her piercing gaze fixed on me.
“Ten of their officers are dead.”
Her eyes narrowed as she scanned my face.
“They exploded… like balloons. Died that way.”
Though she spoke with a grin, the content was unsurprising to me.
“So I’ve been puzzling over it. What could have happened to make a perfectly healthy person explode without warning?”
The unrestrained joy was evident on her face. She was clearly enjoying this situation.
“Huh… So you’re insane, just as they say.”
Of course, having read the original story, I was already aware that she was, in many ways, quite mad. That’s why I patiently listened to her.
“Did you kill them?”
“What?”
“True Ancestor Arkanthila.”
“…!”
From her lips emerged an unexpected and shocking statement.
“There’s no need to play dumb. Frankly, I’m not here to hold you accountable. But honestly, I can’t think of anything else. Someone killed the True Ancestor, causing a ripple effect that resulted in the destruction of the spawn.”
“…What?”
Certainly, there was validity to what she was saying. Thinking back, the True Ancestor muttering my name before dying seemed likely. Adina must have shouted my name while rushing to me.
“You’re confirming I did, right?”
Interpreting my silence as confirmation, she sat up straight. The lush, violet hair that had been hidden in shadow now fluttered in the wind.
“Really quite impressive, isn’t it? To have killed that forgotten monster. But how on earth did you find the True Ancestor’s location?”
“…”
“Read it in a novel.”
I suppressed the comment itching at the corner of my lips.
“Such a pity. I wanted to be the one to kill Arkanthila, that monster.”
“…So what?”
Does she think I killed it because I wanted to?
“I know that look. The ‘bored to death’ look, right?”
“…”
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase.”
By this point, I was genuinely curious. Why had she invited me here?
As I listened attentively to her, she continued.
“The Forbidden Scriptures of Findal.”
“Huh?”
“Since you killed it, you should undoubtedly know the whereabouts of the cursed forbidden text as well, right?”
Of course I did. The core of the Tartajan Labyrinth was none other than that forbidden scripture. Right now, it was being carefully stored in my office safe.
“Though, that thing was stolen by the cursed old man, but it originally belonged to me.”
“…I wasn’t aware of that.”
Was there a mention of this in the original story? At least, it was something I didn’t recall.
“Could it be that you invited me here because of this?”
“Yes. So, I’d like it back. Hand over the forbidden scripture, and I’ll no longer hold you accountable.”
Oh-ho, so that’s it, is it? Based on how earnestly she’s asking, it must be a rare and valuable item.
Then the situation changes.
I conquered the labyrinth.
Which means the Forbidden Scriptures of Findal are one of the legitimate spoils I obtained.
That means this negotiation is in my hands.
So,
“Just like that?”
