Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Nightmare Awakens
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Ruan entered the secret room where he had hidden his secret, accompanied by Altros.
In the center stood a waist-high table with a gray-glowing crystal orb placed on it.
The moment Altros laid eyes on the crystal orb, his sparkled.
‘So that’s what it was.’
At some point, he had begun sensing a subtle energy within the castle.
He had tried using magic to trace its source, but failed every time. Eventually, he realized he could feel it emanating from Ruan.
That led him to keep a close watch on Ruan, and he noticed that the energy grew stronger at regular intervals.
Not long ago, it had intensified to a level that filled him with dread.
Instinctively, he knew that this power was the source of the energy he had sensed.
Altros stared piercingly at the crystal orb, his eyes gleaming.
Ruan’s lips curled into a slight smile at the sight.
“I knew you had noticed it long ago.”
“What is this?”
“I found it in Golden Barotas’s resting place.”
“……!”
That meant he had opened the coffin.
Altros was taken aback by how nonchalantly Ruan spoke of such a sacrilegious act.
“……Why would you……do that?”
“My father and I lived our lives steeped in humiliation and scorn.”
Ruan continued, reminiscing about the past.
“As emperor of the Oscar Empire, being compared to the Julius family made me miserable. It was somewhat bearable during my father’s time, but even when the Julius family was barely clinging to existence, the fact that we still had to keep them in check filled me with shame.”
“Hmm…….”
Altros let out a low hum.
“Standing before the coffin of Golden Barotas, the absolute sovereign of the Barotas family, I made a vow. If I gained power, I would bow to no one. And I would achieve the unification of the five continents that even he could not.”
“So that’s why you sought this out.”
“I don’t know exactly what it is. I only know that absorbing the energy flowing from the crystal orb makes me stronger.”
“May I examine it?”
Ruan nodded and stepped aside.
Altros approached the crystal orb and inspected it carefully.
It didn’t seem artificially made. A subtle energy emanated from the grayish smoke-like substance swirling inside the orb.
‘This is what was stimulating me.’
Seeing the object of his imagination made his desire to possess it surge.
He placed his palm near the orb, and the energy inside slowly flowed outward.
The instant it touched his palm!
A bolt of lightning flashed through Altros’s mind.
“This is!”
It was a spirit power so potent it rivaled the power of darkness.
Among nature spirits, if there was a spirit of light, there existed a corresponding spirit of darkness.
It was only known in theory, never once summoned into the world.
Given that it harbored the power of darkness, the crystal orb was likely a medium for summoning the spirit.
With the Demon King’s power already in his grasp, summoning the darkness spirit as well would grant him strength comparable to the Demon King himself.
Altros gazed at the orb with eyes filled with desire and spoke.
“I’m very curious as to why you’re showing this to me.”
“We must prepare for the worst, mustn’t we?”
“Are you saying you’ll give this power to me?”
“You catch on quickly.”
Ruan continued with a sly smile.
“It should blend well with the power you recently acquired. It might even allow you to surpass your limits once more.”
“You knew?”
Altros looked at Ruan with a slightly flustered expression.
“No one escapes my sight.”
Ruan opened his palm, and dark energy gathered to form a sphere.
Even at the size of a fist, immense power emanated from it.
“What do you think? Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Splendid. But will you not regret sharing something so precious with me later?”
“Would I? If I can’t trust you, whom can I trust?”
Ruan gave a friendly smile.
But Altros saw through to the true intentions hidden behind that smile.
Drunk on power, Ruan was convinced Altros could never surpass him. He believed he had reached his own limit, hence the offer.
Had Grand Duke Narusian not betrayed him, Ruan would have kept it and continued searching for a way to absorb its power.
He acted magnanimous, but inside, he must have been lamenting the loss.
Now facing this energy directly, Altros understood its nature.
The darkness spirit!
It was that energy, and as far as he knew, something containing a spirit’s energy served as a medium to summon that spirit.
If Ruan learned it was a medium……
Altros anticipated his reaction.
With his mana already full, he decided to proceed with the summoning immediately.
“May I absorb the power then?”
“By all means.”
Ruan readily agreed and stepped back.
Altros brimmed with anticipation, expecting to summon the darkness spirit.
‘Shall we begin?’
He drew upon the dark power he had sealed away.
Pitch-black energy rose from him like a haze.
It grew stronger, filling the surroundings.
“Power that embodies the primordial darkness of the universe, reveal yourself!”
The dark power trapped in the orb flowed out.
Altros’s dark energy intertwined with the orb’s like a rising dragon, spiraling upward.
Then, a form resembling a human shadow appeared.
-Was it you who woke me?
The voice sent chills down his spine.
Altros beamed with ecstasy at having summoned the darkness spirit.
“Yes! I am the one who summoned you!”
-Is that so? What is my name?
“Y-You are…….”
‘Damn it!’
How could he know the name of a being that had never appeared in the world?
Guessing wrongly could bring disaster.
As time dragged on in this unforeseen situation, frustration burned within him.
Amid the heavy silence.
The spirit’s energy intensified, leading to an unexpected turn.
His own energy began flowing into the spirit.
“Wh-What is this……?”
Dumbfounded, he tried to block it hastily, but to no avail.
Mana continued draining from his body.
“What the hell is happening?!”
As Altros shouted, Ruan approached from where he had been silently watching.
“Bear with it a little longer.”
“Have you……experienced this too, Your Majesty?”
“Why would I?”
“What……?”
Altros stared blankly.
Ruan looked at the energy shaped like a human shadow and asked.
“Are you Nightmare?”
-So you’re the one who woke me.
“I suspected, but it’s really you.”
A smile played on Ruan’s lips.
When he opened Golden Barotas’s coffin, he found the crystal orb alongside the gaunt skeleton.
Next to the orb was a single volume sealed by magic.
It was Golden’s diary.
It candidly recorded his innermost thoughts.
Bound by his knightly code, he had protected the world from the Demon King alongside Teheran out of necessity, but in truth, he hated Teheran more than anyone.
Unlike Teheran, who was revered and worshiped by all, he was merely a figurehead emperor.
To the people, Teheran was the true emperor.
He regretted living as second-in-command in Teheran’s shadow.
Then he discovered this orb and learned it sealed the darkness spirit.
Due to his knightly duty to uphold justice until death, he had clutched it to his chest and been buried with it.
The diary even detailed how to unseal it.
But unsealing required an 8th-class mage wielding dark power.
The spirit would awaken with dark power, and answering its question would release the seal.
The dark shadow grew, soon filling the space.
Eyes appeared in what seemed its head.
Pitch-black pupils.
Their unfathomable depths threatened to pull him in.
Thud.
Altros, who had been drained of his power, reverted to his state before gaining dark strength.
His hair turned white, and age spots covered his once-vibrant face.
Seeing his youth lost, Altros let out a scream.
“No—!”
Clutching his head, clumps of hair fell out.
“Aaahhh!”
Ruan wore an incredulous expression at Altros’s grief, worse than losing his power.
“I didn’t expect you to hate returning to your true self so much.”
“How did you…….”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know what you’ve been up to in the palace?”
“……!”
“You’re just like me—willing to do anything for power. Fellow sufferers, you might say. That’s why I’ve kept you alive until now. Otherwise, would I have let you stay by my side?”
“So you brought me here to break the seal…….”
Altros was aghast at Ruan’s chilling meticulousness.
“Honestly, I never intended to unseal it. Where was I to find an 8th-class mage with dark power? But then you appeared from an unexpected place.”
Ruan gave Altros a sly smile.
Altros glared at Ruan murderously.
“Listen well. I’ve contracted with the Demon King. He won’t let you get away with this.”
“Are you foolish or naive? If what you say is true, shouldn’t the Demon King have appeared by now?”
“……!”
Come to think of it, despite losing that power, there was no reaction.
An ominous feeling washed over him.
Ruan shook his head pityingly and turned to Nightmare.
“What do you think?”
-A pathetic fool. The Demon King hasn’t even awakened yet.
“Wh-What……? No!”
Altros shook his head vehemently and shouted.
“Then who gave me the dark power? He was clearly the Demon King!”
-Look closely. See who you really contracted with.
As it finished speaking, someone emerged from the darkness.
A woman with small horns on either side of her head and bat wings appeared.
She knelt before Nightmare and bowed her head.
“Hera greets the noble Nightmare.”
-Long time no see.
“Congratulations on your release from the seal.”
-Your role was crucial.
“I worried that fool couldn’t pull it off, but I’m glad you followed through.”
Hera glanced at Altros and added.
“Don’t forget the Oath of Ruin.”
“Gasp! That voice…….”
It was the voice that had pressured him.
He finally realized he hadn’t contracted with the Demon King, but one of his familiars.
His initial suspicion had been correct.
There was no reason for the Demon King to reveal himself easily.
His foolishness had led him to lose everything.
His 8th-class power had weakened even beyond his pre-darkness state.
Falling from the peak filled him with endless emptiness and self-loathing.
“It’s all over…….”
As tears welled in Altros’s eyes.
“Altros.”
At Ruan’s call, he weakly turned his head.
Behind Ruan stood Nightmare, like his alter ego, emanating fierce eyes.
Seeing it, Ruan seemed like an absolute being.
He who possessed the absolute power Altros had so desperately craved appeared supremely grand.
A respect for Ruan welled up in him, one he had never felt before.
“I’m glad……at least one of us got what he wanted.”
“Is that so?”
Ruan grinned at Altros.
Altros met his gaze silently.
They exchanged something wordlessly through their eyes before Ruan turned to Hera.
“Familiar of the Demon King.”
“Speak.”
As Nightmare’s contractor, Ruan was a being even the Demon King couldn’t touch lightly.
Thus, she had no choice but to treat him with utmost caution, as she would the Demon King.
“I heard you formed the Oath of Ruin with him.”
“Yes.”
“Is there a way to break the contract?”
“Death is the only way.”
“Hmm. I’m not generous enough to keep someone who swore loyalty to another. But killing him would be a waste…….”
As Ruan’s gaze deepened, Nightmare interjected.
-I’ll handle it.
Nightmare looked at Hera and continued.
-From now until the Demon King revives, I will control you all.
“Understood.”
-My will has been conveyed to the Demon King’s familiars. They will gather here to pay homage to me. Contractor, from now on, the Demon King’s familiars are your warriors. Use them as you will.
“Excellent. But I have a sudden curiosity. Between you and the Demon King, who is stronger?”
-This is a first.
“The Demon King endured against all material realm spirits, so he must be stronger than you, right?”
-Nature spirits’ power and capabilities vary with their contractors.
Nightmare fell silent for a moment before continuing.
-Contractor, do you wish to reign above the Demon King?
“Having obtained you, I can’t live a life like Golden Barotas’s, can I?”
Immense pressure erupted from Ruan as a golden aura rose.
Dark energy enveloped the golden aura protectively.
Then Nightmare’s voice resounded grandly.
-Contractor, you will be the first human to subjugate the Demon King.