Chapter 139

Translation: godtl

Just as Malidok was about to obediently continue speaking—

[Due to special circumstances, certain parts of this broadcast will be censored.]

A single line of text floated before Si-mun's eyes.

Without even glancing at it, Si-mun indifferently looked down at Malidok.

"It's a facility... under the management of the Fourth Dragon Emperor, Vritra."

"The Fourth Dragon Emperor, Vritra?"

Si-mun's eyebrow twitched upward at the unexpected mention of such a being.

Wasn't the Black Smeltery supposed to be under the Fifth Dragon Emperor, Nidhogg's jurisdiction?

"What kind of place is it?"

"It's a facility for brainwashing, corruption, and mental reconstruction of subjects... extracting information or forcing confessions... Kgh!"

A pained tremor ran through the hand gripping Malidok's horn.

Si-mun's eyes, which had been indifferent until now, sparkled for the first time.

'Oh? Resisting my Death Eye?'

Judging by the fact that his knees remained bent, it wasn't complete resistance.

But the fact that he'd deliberately stopped explaining the Cradle of Pleasure clearly indicated some level of defiance.

Si-mun's gaze grew calmer as he looked down at Malidok.

'As expected. Is this what being Draconic means?'

A Draconic—an awakened dragonkin.

Having achieved enlightenment through spiritual cultivation, it made sense they'd have some resistance to the Death Eye.

Though being born as an upper-level dragonkin likely played a part too.

Hmm.

Si-mun focused more Dragon Power into his left eye.

The sharply slit pupil dilated further.

"N-no... don't come in...!"

Si-mun's presence burrowed into Malidok's eyes.

Chaos, terror, shock—

A violent storm of Malidok's emotions surged wildly.

Navigating through them, Si-mun let out a faint chuckle.

'More cowardly than he looks.'

Well, he could understand.

Who wouldn't be terrified when someone was invading their innermost self?

'Still...'

As Si-mun recalled the Naga he'd met during his Gold Debut Match, he observed Malidok's turbulent emotions.

'When I met Ashaz back then, sharing emotions was the limit.'

The Naga Princess Ashaz.

Ashaz, who had introduced herself as a Naga princess, had barely been affected by his Death Eye.

Of course, this was partly due to her royal lineage among the highest-tier dragonkin,

and partly because Si-mun had only recently obtained the Death Eye and lacked control.

Still, he'd at least been able to tell whether she was lying or not.

'But now, if I want to, I can invade a dragonkin's inner self.'

That didn't mean he could see everything inside Malidok, though.

Thud.

As if hitting a barrier.

Si-mun's intrusion into Malidok's mind came to an abrupt halt.

Instinctively, he understood.

'Malidok's mental barrier.'

Everything he'd navigated so far had merely been Malidok's emotions.

None of what could be assumed as the dragonkin's thoughts were anywhere to be found.

In other words—

'His thoughts and the information in his head must be beyond this wall.'

Hmm.

Just as Si-mun was about to channel more Dragon Power to break through the mental barrier—

-That's enough.

A clear, cheerful voice rang out.

-Big brother. Even if you force your way in further, there's nothing to gain here.

It was the Philosopher's Stone.

'Why?'

-That's not just a simple wall protecting Malidok's mind.

Perhaps catching the implication in her words—

'Ah.'

Si-mun gave a slight nod.

'It doesn't just protect his mind—it also contains it?'

-Exactly. So rather than a wall, it's more like a vessel.

And if you shatter that vessel with brute force...

"The mind would collapse as well."

"Correct. Even if you break through the mental barrier, you'd just be wasting your Dragon Power, wouldn't you? If you're not careful, you could even get dragged into that bastard's psyche."

Si-mun nodded at the Philosopher's Stone's words and withdrew from Malidok's inner world.

Though Si-mun was the one who had pulled out.

"Ghhh—k!"

Like someone emerging from deep underwater.

Malidok gasped violently for air, his breathing ragged.

The overwhelming presence that had been radiating from his massive frame had vanished entirely.

"Hii, hiiii!"

Malidok trembled uncontrollably, his body shaking as if he'd lost his mind—more out of terror than anything else.

'Must be the aftereffects of a mental invasion.'

Si-mun had occasionally seen this phenomenon in his past life.

Usually when victims had been targeted by psychic ability users.

The aftereffects often left them acting strangely like this, or sometimes completely losing their minds.

As Si-mun gazed down at the creature calmly, a voice tinged with panic reached his ears.

"Y-Your Eminence...?"

Turning his head, he saw Dayna's worried face—now startled wide-eyed.

The reason wasn't hard to grasp.

"Your Eminence! Y-Your eye—!"

The Sigil active in his left eye.

The same eye as those damned dragonkin he loathed beyond measure.

No—an even more chilling and threatening eye now resided there.

"A-Are you alright?! Did that bastard Malidok do something vile?!"

"I'm fine, Dayna."

Si-mun smiled softly.

Given his appearance, it should have been a breathtakingly beautiful smile.

But combined with the dragonkin's eye in his left socket, that beauty took on an intensely dangerous and decadent aura.

"G-Good..."

Dayna's dark skin flushed faintly at that smile before she sharply turned her head. Spotting the Dvali kneeling en masse, she quickly snapped back to focus.

"This isn't the time! Before the Black Smeltery notices, we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need to deal with them and move!"

"Ah. Right, those were here too."

Si-mun's gaze swept over them like they were mere objects.

Then—

"All of you. Die."

A voice so cold it was hard to believe it came from the same person who'd just spoken so sweetly.

And the scene that voice conjured was even more unbelievable.

"As you command."

In perfect unison—

Fwshhhhk!

—the Dvali drew blades and cleanly beheaded themselves simultaneously.

Dayna froze unconsciously at the sight of the proud dragonkin committing mass suicide.

Into her ear—

"Must be the mental damage. Their resistance really did weaken."

—a clear, melodious voice wormed its way.

Dayna creakily turned her stiff neck toward the voice's source.

There stood—

"Malidok? You should hurry up and die too."

"...Thank you."

The awakened Draconic.

Patrol Captain Malidok of the Black Smeltery's leadership.

With an expression of profound gratitude—

Crunch.

—he snapped his own neck.

—Woah... what the fuck?! What kind of skill was that?!

—He just moved his lips and made dragonkin kill themselves...

—First time I've seen that. Dragonkin committing suicide? What kind of humiliation did he inflict?

—Right. Even that dumbass Drakan walks around with his shoulders all puffed up.

—But this guy feels totally different when he's making them off themselves. Am I imagining it?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

—22 Nah, I feel it too. His whole vibe just shifts.

—Haaaaaang! So fucking badass!!

The chat window erupted in shock.

—That Malidok guy seemed like a named enemy. Can high-level dragonkin really be neutralized that easily?

Compounded by the persistent censorship.

Unable to see even half of what was happening, the viewers were practically tearing their hair out in frustration.

Dayna wasn't much different from the viewers in that regard.

Step. Step.

Quiet, measured footsteps.

Though Dayna was walking ahead, her pupils kept darting backward,

while her head remained perfectly still, gaze fixed forward.

But that restraint only applied to her outward demeanor.

'Just what did he do? How?'

Her mind was a swirling mess of questions, no different from the chat window.

'Now that I think about it, he's been different from what I knew since the very first meeting.'

Dayna's eyes, already clouded with complexity, grew even deeper.

During their first encounter in this place.

Si-mun, casually perched on a rock.

Even before she had fully released her stealth, his gaze had already locked onto her.

Which meant—

'He noticed my stealth...'

The same stealth that had helped her escape that hellish Black Smeltery.

The stealth that even most upper-level Dragonkin couldn't easily detect—and he'd seen through it so effortlessly?

'If we'd been enemies... I'd be dead by now.'

For an assassin, having their stealth detected is synonymous with death.

Even though there was no way an elf like her could be hostile to the Companion of the World Tree,

Dayna felt a chill run down her spine.

And it probably wasn't just because she'd always lived as the predator—except when facing higher-tier Dragonkin.

'He was strong when we met at the poisoned supply route, but not like this...'

An unbelievable rate of growth.

She knew Si-mun was a Player, but even accounting for that, his current level was far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beyond any normal standard.

'Well, he is the Companion of the World Tree, so I guess this much isn't strange.'

But as soon as that thought settled,

'The real problem is...'

The thing that had been weighing most heavily on her mind resurfaced.

'His left eye.'

Si-mun, gripping Malidok's horn as he turned to look at her.

The elongated, slit pupil in that left eye had sent shivers down her spine just from meeting its gaze.

'That must be why Malidok couldn't move a muscle.'

Malidok, the patrol captain of the Black Smeltery.

A Draconic, no less, born of upper-level Dragonkin—and Si-mun had subdued him without even lifting a finger?

'Not to mention, it seemed like he was interrogating him for information about the Cradle of Pleasure.'

Some kind of mental attack or technique had clearly been used.

But even considering that,

'Making those arrogant Dragonkin commit suicide with just a few words...'

That was something her common sense couldn't accept.

'Wait. Now that I think about it!'

Dayna's eyes widened to the size of lanterns.

Without realizing it, she had stopped walking, and her hands trembled uncontrollably as she brought them to her mouth.

'That eye! I've seen it before!'

Like prey standing before a predator.

There was only one being that could render those arrogant Dragonkin completely immobile, wasn't there?

'Nidhogg! It's the exact same eye as that cursed Dragon Emperor!'

How could she ever forget?

Dragged like livestock to a slaughterhouse.

The humiliating, terrifying day she had been brought before that damned Legion Commander.

That noble being's left eye bore an uncanny resemblance to that of Nidhogg, who had once proclaimed himself one of the Five Dragon Emperors.

'Though it feels somewhat lacking compared to Nidhogg's...'

Still, she could clearly sense they shared the same fundamental essence.

Then—

"Dayna?"

A clear, melodious voice pulled her from her brutal reverie.

"O-oh my!"

Startled back to her senses, Dayna hastily turned her head away.

"Noble one! Forgive me! To entertain such thoughts while serving you—"

Fortunately.

"Thoughts? With the Black Smeltery right before us, this makes for an excellent hideout."

Even lost in contemplation, her body must have remembered—

Before them now lay familiar sleeping bags and equipment where Si-mun pointed.

Dayna exhaled a deep sigh of inexplicable relief.

"Then let us rest here awhile and discuss our next steps."

They entered the hideout.

A dim passageway.

Tap.

Tap.

Damp footsteps echoed quietly.

Two slender figures walked forward, greeted by warm air and the metallic tang of iron.

Soon—

Thud.

The black figure leading the way—Dayna—halted abruptly.

At her feet lay an irregular line.

At first glance, it might have passed for a crude seam in the rough stone masonry, but—

"Noble one. Beyond this point, even suppressing our presence won't allow entry."

Having escaped the Black Smeltery before, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dayna knew well how every minor detail here concealed the Dragonkin's cunning traps.

Si-mun, who'd already heard about the Smeltery's structure in their hideout, nodded.

Screeeech—

He activated Odin's Eye.

Just as Dayna had described—

'This is worse than I'd heard.'

Si-mun exhaled softly in awe at the kaleidoscopic vista of mana and magic circles filling his vision.

'At least fourth-tier spells for every enchantment, traps, barriers... At this rate, I'd believe this was a magic tower rather than a smeltery.'

Even by rough estimate, nearly a hundred security measures packed the corridor.

Beyond this, the Black Smeltery likely employed even more diverse and sophisticated defenses.

Along with numerous Dragonkin.

'Now I wonder how Dayna ever escaped this place.'

Shaking his head, Si-mun deactivated the multicolored vision of Odin's Eye.

"Then from here, we proceed with the infiltration as planned."

"Yes. But... is stealth truly possible here?"

Doubt colored Dayna's eyes.

She'd witnessed Si-mun's formidable combat prowess firsthand just moments ago, but—

Stealth belonged to an entirely different skillset, didn't it?

Yet Si-mun merely smiled faintly and extended his hand forward.

[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet requirement threshold.]

[To establish Equivalent Exchange compensating for the Philosopher's Stone deficiency, 500 Achievement Points are required.]

[Accept? (Yes / No)]

A familiar message appeared.

Si-mun habitually selected 'Yes,' and—

Snap.

Above his flicked fingers, energy converted through Equivalent Exchange coalesced.

Then—

Sssssssss.

Ashen smoke.

No—could it even be called smoke?

Something far more desolate and lifeless than even the Chaos Realm billowed forth.

"N-Noble one! Surely that isn't—!"

Did she recognize it?

Dayna's face paled drastically.

Si-mun gave a single nod before donning a translucent crown woven from the ashen energy.

Immediately—

Sssssssss.

Like a noose tightening around his head—

The ashen crown expanded to encase his occiput and temples.

[The gaze of death turns toward you.]

[The Constellation Hades silently surveys you and nearby Constellations before nodding in satisfaction.]

As these messages appeared before his eyes—

Ssshh.

Si-mun vanished like a ghost.