Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Epithet (2)
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A few seconds after the girl who commanded awe from the Sword of Kalan fixed Lord Malis with her venomous glare, making him realize that something had gone terribly wrong, he was the first to break the silence.
Slash!
"Ah?"
The burning pain from his right side made Lord Malis instinctively turn his head, letting out a dazed sound—that was the beginning.
"Gaaahhh!!"
His scream erupted as he realized his right arm had been severed, filling the silent office with noise for the first time.
Lord Malis clutched his severed right arm with his left hand, shrieking in agony.
But the girl who had done it approached him with a face full of irritation and hatred.
Slam!
She smashed his head straight into the floor.
"Grrraaah!"
Despite splintering the wooden floor of the lord's office, the former hero didn't die and kept screaming.
The girl stared blankly at him, then grabbed his hair and yanked his head up.
His face was a bloody mess from scrapes against the wood fragments.
"Answer me. Did you send that poison to the lord of Lartania who's just returned?"
Terrified by her voice yet again, he desperately tried to grasp the situation.
'Why the hell is this happening all of a sudden—!'
He had definitely requested support from the Sword of Kalan in preparation for the Red Eyes' return.
In other words, the Sword of Kalan standing there should have been his unwavering ally.
'She should have been my ally...!'
Bleeding profusely, Lord Malis looked toward Loriell, one of the five swords of Kalan standing by the door, but she made no move, simply watching him suffer.
As if she had no intention of intervening.
He turned his gaze back to the girl gripping his hair.
"...Huh?"
He let out an incredulous voice without thinking.
And for good reason—the girl's appearance matched someone he had definitely seen somewhere before.
Her ink-black long hair and deep, abyss-like pupils that seemed to suck you in.
The ink-black cheongsam she wore, along with the vivid darkness floating over her shoulder, evoked a certain figure from the corner of his memory.
The moment he perfectly recalled that figure...
"What...?"
Lord Malis stared at the being before him with an expression of utter disbelief.
If his understanding and deduction were correct, it explained everything about this sequence of events.
Of course, much remained unexplained.
Why had she vanished eight years ago, only to appear here now?
Why was the Sword of Kalan showing respect to someone who had once been Lartania's Round Table member?
But those questions weren't important.
What was vividly etched on his face was pure terror.
"Uh, aaah—"
Fear overtook his emotions.
His eyes trembled at the obvious impending end, and his left hand, clutching the stump, began to shake uncontrollably.
It was only natural.
Once his deductions were complete, and he realized who stood before him—recalling her earlier question—predicting his own demise was all too easy.
Thus, Lord Malis opened his mouth, eyes filled with terror, begging for mercy as obsequiously as possible.
"Absolute Ruler of Darkness, there must be some, some misunderstanding—"
The moment those words left Lord Malis's mouth...
"Ah."
For the first time since entering the office, Loriell, who hadn't spoken a word, let out a low exclamation.
A calm sound, yet tinged with regret.
In that fleeting instant, Lord Malis glanced at Loriell.
Her emotionless gaze, mirroring her voice with a hint of pity, stared back at him—something he couldn't comprehend.
"The epithet that person gave me is Absolute Ruler of Darkness."
The moment her voice rang out...
Lord Malis could see the girl's expression.
Her face, which had only been frowning until now, twisted into that of a demon.
"Ah."
And with that...
Boom! Rrrrip!
Before he could even piece together his thoughts, the darkness floating behind the girl shredded his head, exploding it apart.
Loriell, one of the five swords of Kalan and known as the Divine Sword, sighed involuntarily as she saw Lord Malis's corpse slammed into the floor like a rag.
'To make such a mistake, of all things.'
Of course, Lord Malis's death had been sealed before she even arrived.
Because of whom?
His own report.
But if he hadn't erred, he might have lived at least ten more minutes before dying.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
"..."
Not like this, his corpse instantly pulverized, boring through the territory floor in a chaotic mess.
Loriell silently gazed at the spot where Lord Malis's body had been obliterated, then turned to her.
Her face, thick with unresolved anger unlike her usual impassive demeanor, was something even Loriell had never seen, making her shrink back slightly.
Gazing at her, Loriell recalled her epithet anew.
'Absolute Ruler of Darkness.'
Truthfully, even to Loriell, it wasn't an particularly impressive name.
...Frankly, speaking more coldly, it was childish.
Yet, as far as she knew, no one dared dismiss the girl before her.
Not even the five swords of Kalan.
Not the key nobles who secretly knew her true identity.
...Not even the king.
No one mocked the girl's epithet.
The power she wielded was so overwhelming that even the king spoke of it with awe.
Everyone who knew her knew what happened to those who touched her reverse scale.
And above all, she was—
"Loriell."
"Yes, Master."
"Did you find it?"
—the master of the five swords, Kalan Kingdom's greatest fighting force.
"If you're referring to Yulliar's Pendant, yes, I found it."
"Hand it over."
At her gesture, Loriell retrieved the pendant from her bosom, bowed her head in respect, and offered it to her master.
"It was in this shipment list, so I found it easily in the warehouse."
Hearing Loriell's words, she took the item and floated it in the darkness, inspecting it.
"...It's fine."
She pocketed the pendant and asked,
"Loriell, who was the noble connected to this fool?"
"...Duke Lai Pellaosin."
Loriell named the duke who ranked among the top three in Kalan Kingdom, including the king himself.
Yet even hearing the name of a duke whose power even the king couldn't trifle with, she responded indifferently.
"Relay this to him."
She continued,
"If he disregards my warning even once more, I'll personally rip out his head and hang it in the center of his territory."
Loriell, hearing this, bowed politely as well.
"All shall be as you decree, Master."
"If the duke errs again, we five swords will dismember him and present him before you."
She showed unwavering loyalty.
And then.
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness turned away without hesitation.
"Now two— just two more."
She murmured quietly as she left the office.
And no one remained there any longer.
At that very moment.
"What?"
Kim Hyunwoo, deeply pondering whether to build the blacksmith next or the tavern now that the palisade was complete, responded to the voice.
"Obviously it's gone up. With the palisade done, we've got a basic foundation now, so it should be around 10% higher, right?"
He brushed it off casually at her words.
"What?"
Loria said that.
Soon, Kim Hyunwoo stared in bewilderment.
"???"
At the notification window she displayed, he muttered with a stunned expression.
"What the hell is this?"
Three days later.
Lord Malis, the former lord of Sertova territory who had his head torn off for misnaming the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, was—
"Hahk— hahk—!"
—astonishingly alive.
Of course, him being alive made no sense at all.
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness had ripped off his head, and he'd taken repeated blows that disassembled his limbs.
Yet he survived because, before becoming a lord, he had been a hero with a title.
True to his epithet 'Explorer', he possessed a profoundly rare artifact only found in labyrinths.
The artifact called 'Rebirth'.
"Hahk— hahk—!"
'Rebirth' had the effect of resurrecting its possessor once, three days after death—which is how he lived.
Revived, Lord Malis realized he had respawned outside Sertova territory and immediately fled in the opposite direction.
Of course, his mind was filled with questions.
Yet he fled without pause to resolve them for one clear reason.
Returning to the territory now would surely mean death.
Thus, to preserve his life and plan countermeasures, he chose to hide first—but his heart wasn't at ease.
One mistake had cost him everything; the former lord of Sertova had lost his tower of achievements and all his power.
"...Lartania...!"
He scowled unconsciously, muttering the name of the culprit who ruined him.
Of course, his rage was unreasonable.
He had been the one to mess with Lartania territory first.
But in his mind, his own actions were erased, leaving only fury toward Lartania's lord.
'I'll have my revenge. Definitely, revenge...!'
The moment Lord Malis gritted his teeth and vowed...
"As expected."
A voice spoke.
"You're still alive."
The instant he pinpointed the source...
"...Ah."
Lord Malis realized.
Revenge was impossible from the start.
And then.
"Didn't I tell you?"
With eyes drenched in terror, Lord Malis looked at her.
"I'd kill you myself."
Standing before him, he gazed at the Red Eyes with fearful eyes.