Chapter 86

#086

Ian's eyes widened.

There was no time to dodge. The massive chunk of magic that completely enveloped him instantly obscured his vision and bound his limbs. Soon after, the tainted magic began to seep into every pore of his body.

-How dare you deceive and betray me…!

Ian's mind echoed with the demon's anguished scream.

-I intended to be with you! As my companion and vessel, forever…!

The sticky madness and greed contained in the magic, the fiery anger and sense of betrayal, swept through Ian's mind. It was a tidal wave of emotions that would have driven any ordinary human to madness.

-Now I will capture you…! Your soul will never be free from me!

The tainted magic surged even more fiercely, as if trying to fill Ian's body completely.

At that moment, a pulse spread from somewhere deep within Ian.

The fragment of chaos, nestled in the deepest part of his mind, was howling.

-Your flesh is now mine…?

The demon's scream suddenly subsided.

By now, Ian's body should have been overflowing with tainted magic.

No matter how much magic he pushed in, it couldn't even fill him up, let alone overflow.

Something was endlessly devouring the tainted magic.

It was the fragment of chaos.

-What is this…? No, this can't be…!

The roaring demon pushed his soul and magic into Ian's body.

The resistance was like swimming against a waterfall.

Only after entering Ian's body did he realize that Ian's soul, swept away by his magic, remained completely untainted and uncorrupted.

A soul that felt not just solid, but alien.

Immediately after, the fragment of chaos, which had been endlessly absorbing the tainted magic, began to resonate like a heartbeat.

A burst of chaotic power erupted from the tiny fragment.

The tainted magic, and even the demon's soul, were swept away without any resistance.

What shocked the demon was not just that he was repelled from Ian's body.

-How can you possess such pure chaos…? Even with a noble lineage, a mere mortal…?

"…I was wondering about that too."

Ian spoke then. The magic that had enveloped him rippled in confusion.

The demon's magic could no longer invade his body at all. It could only cling to his entire body, struggling to hold on.

"Anyway…"

Ian opened his eyes.

The whites of his eyes glowed a vivid purple. His gaze pierced through the center of the mass of magic, straight to the demon's soul.

"…There seems to be no way for you to take over my body."

-You can't possibly… chaos, chaos…?

The demon stammered. Meanwhile, Ian channeled the surging chaotic power into the Sword of Judgment. The remaining faint holy power turned deep blue and rose.

Even if Tyl En found out about this, she would be furious.

But her gaze could not reach this deep underground in the Magic Realm.

Crack-

With a push of his arm, the magic that bound it fell away. The Sword of Judgment, raised above his head, dropped straight down.

Swish-

A deep blue arc cut through the tainted magic, piercing the soul at its center.

A moment of silence.

The vertical slash exploded outward. The demon's torn scream echoed as the clumped magic scattered like a burst water balloon.

-No, this can't be…! Not like this…! Not like this…!

The demon's futile final scream reverberated in the air. A crack appeared in the space beside the throne. Beyond the broken space, a purple glow rippled.

Swishhh-

The surrounding magic and the demon, born from the soul of a fallen one, were sucked into the void.

The scream, which had been growing fainter, suddenly cut off as if sliced by a knife.

The crack in space disappeared.

'…The queen just vanished, so why was he sucked into the void?'

The moment he thought this, a quest completion window appeared before his eyes. As expected, there were no further quests.

Ian took a deep breath after closing the confirmation window.

The chaotic power that had covered his entire body was sucked back into the fragment.

The fragment of chaos returned to its calm state.

Earlier, the fragment had absorbed the tainted magic without Ian's will.

It had acted on its own, as if it could not tolerate any impurities in Ian's body.

'Could something be being born inside it?'

Ian thought, feeling the fragment had grown slightly larger.

In fact, he knew very little about the fragment. The same went for chaotic power.

It was a primordial force, and in the game, it became usable when a character fell. It could mix with any other power.

He had no idea what would happen if he continued to grow the fragment of chaos or what side effects might arise from using chaotic power.

He hadn't paid much attention to the corruption DLC either.

The lore, settings, and backstories of antagonists and supporting characters were not content to focus on during the first playthrough.

'…At least, there shouldn't be a worst-case scenario waiting. After all, it's a power given to the player.'

There was no way to confirm it now.

What mattered was that he had successfully overcome the unexpected ambush and gained experience and quest rewards.

Ian, having roughly concluded, finally sheathed the Sword of Judgment and turned his gaze.

A cold silence settled over the hall.

Beyond the closed main gate, it was also quiet.

The battle had ended, or both had died. The latter was almost impossible.

"……"

Turning his body, Ian picked up the crown that had fallen from the dais.

Its heavy weight.

It had looked like a headband when it was on the queen's head.

But it was large enough to pass through his skull with room to spare.

He could also check the information.

A trophy with no special abilities.

But a faint smile appeared on Ian's lips.

"…I can probably sell this for a good price."

It was clear evidence that the ancient giant kingdom still existed in the north and had been completely destroyed by his hand.

Such a trophy could be sold for a high price to the autonomous region command, the Lu Solar Order, or even the imperial royal family.

In the game, trophies related to the void or ancient civilizations could be sold in a similar manner.

Even without going through them, there were many ways to sell it.

It was clearly made of pure gold.

The gems embedded in it were likely all genuine.

With just the value of this, he could buy a few imperial magic weapons.

"Time to improve my gear…."

Putting the crown into the subspace, Ian began to scan the hall again.

His gaze stopped at another door on the side wall.

Creak… groan…

The audience chamber's main door slowly began to open.

The figures of a water spirit and a vampiric demon appeared in the gap.

Ian looked at them without surprise.

Charlotte entered the hall first.

"Wow… impressive…."

Her appearance clearly showed that the battle in the grand hall had not been easy.

A new, long scar ran horizontally across one cheek. One of her twin swords was missing, only the scabbard remained, and the newly fitted armor was dented and torn in many places.

The shoulder and wrist guards, and the greaves that extended to her thighs, were especially damaged.

Even the padded clothing she wore underneath was torn, and blood still flowed from one arm.

Of course, she paid no attention to her injuries.

"To face all of these alone…."

She only gazed at the scattered remains of the royal guards in awe.

Tessia, passing by her with a look of disdain, smiled at Ian.

"I'm glad you're safe, Ian."

Her appearance was equally disheveled.

Her wolf robe was torn and full of holes, and the clothes she wore underneath were all ripped, exposing her pale skin.

"Right. You too."

Ian said calmly as he moved forward. Tessia snorted.

"Does this look safe? I almost died several times. Several times."

"Stop exaggerating. You wouldn't die from that."

Charlotte's reprimand made Tessia's brows furrow.

"Almost all of it was because of you, exaggerating? Ian, she's just a berserker. She acts like she's determined to die even when she can escape. Do you know how much I suffered?"

"You two are doing well."

"What…?"

Ian passed by Tessia, who looked doubtful, and added.

"Did you take care of all the statues outside?"

"Unfortunately, no. They suddenly slowed down and stopped. That's how I knew you had won."

Did they stop because the queen died, or because the demon died?

There was no way to confirm.

Tessia continued.

"It was chaos before that. Suddenly, icicles sprouted from my sword, and ice thorns shot up. That crazy cat was the only one having fun."

The queen's magic had apparently been applied to the grand hall's guards as well.

While Ian nodded indifferently, Charlotte added.

"In the end, I couldn't keep my word. There were too many enemies."

"Did Tessia feed on them?"

"That's also true."

"Well, what can you do."

"But by then, they were already dead, and the elf was injured, so it was an inevitable choice."

"……"

Tessia, who had interjected, pursed her lips. She seemed surprised that Charlotte had spoken up for her.

Ian shrugged.

"I wasn't expecting anything different."

"I avenged them properly. That should be a comfort to them."

"So, was the queen really sleeping here?"

Tessia's voice continued.

Ian nodded.

"Yes. She had fallen, so I killed her."

"An impressive feat. A regicide."

Charlotte exclaimed.

A hollow laugh spread across Ian's lips.

"A statement that invites misunderstanding. Don't say that anywhere."

"But where are you going, Ian?"

She asked quickly.

Stopping in front of the side door, Ian answered calmly.

"I need to find a way out of here."

"What…?"

Tessia gasped.

"Are you saying you could be trapped here forever?"

Instead of answering, Ian began to push the door.

The heavy resistance was like pushing a wall.

Crack, creak…

It sounded like ice breaking, as if the door hadn't been opened in a long time.

Ian pushed harder with both arms.

After killing the queen and the demon, the earthquake that had been felt when the cave entrance moved did not occur.

This meant the cave entrance was still buried underground.

So, he needed to find another passage.

In such a large palace, there might be another one if he searched thoroughly.

'In the worst case, I can use brown. If I learn about tectonic shifts, I can probably manage somehow.'

Creak… groan…

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't happen.

Beyond the slowly widening gap, endless darkness stretched.

A cold chill seeped in.

'…Where does this lead?'

While Ian furrowed his brow, Tessia, who had quickly approached, asked.

"A path? Can we get out?"

"We'll have to see."

Ian turned his body again.

Tessia blinked.

"You found a way out, and you're going somewhere else?"

"I'm going to search the palace."

Ian, moving forward, took out a storage box from the subspace.

"You two should rest and treat your injuries."

Charlotte licked her lips.

"Looking for loot? I want to come with you."

"Sure, then come along."

Tessia muttered with a lack of enthusiasm.

"…I don't think there's anything valuable buried here."

"It's better to hope there is."

"Why?"

"Because I'll share the loot I get here with you."

"……!"

Tessia's eyes widened, and she immediately took off, her silver hair fluttering.

***

Crack!

"Ian, there are a lot of these stones piled up in that inner room."

"Magic stones that have lost all their power."

"…So, they're trash?"

"Exactly."

Crack!

"Ian, there's something that looks like a book over there… Oh…?"

"Next time, just throw away anything that crumbles while you're carrying it."

"……"

The search for loot began inside and continued without much success. The underground palace seemed to have been built specifically for the queen's research.

The bedroom next to the audience chamber was completely empty. The resting areas for the mages who served the queen, the storerooms, the laboratories, and the libraries were not much different.

Items that had been left for a long time had not rotted but had simply withered and lost their luster.

Most of the numerous parchments and books in the library crumbled at the slightest touch.

The few that were still intact were of no use. They were filled with ominous-looking primitive hieroglyphs, ancient northern languages that Ian couldn't understand, and symbols and diagrams.

Some were even large enough to be used as shields.

The only gain was a few that he collected to use as kindling.

The experimental tools that seemed to have been used in the study of the void's power were in the same condition, and the piles of magic stones in the storerooms were just heaps of ordinary rocks.

Ian continued the search without much disappointment.

It was already a profitable deal. This was just a procedure to avoid missing any additional rewards. It had been a long time since he had entered such a proper dungeon.

"Hmm."

Rooms that looked like torture chambers, where black magic experiments on humans and dwarves seemed to have been conducted, and rooms with unknown purposes filled with ominous spell circuits, passed by.

"The northern giant kingdom must have been terribly corrupt."

Charlotte said, clicking her tongue.

Ian replied calmly.

"Maybe these statues were created through such processes."

"But there didn't seem to be any mages among them…."

"They were probably all killed."

"……!"

"The queen was obsessed with power. She wouldn't have kept the mages who shared the secrets of the void alive. They were either all killed or perhaps sacrificed to gain greater power."

"Persuasive… It's also a disgusting spellcaster's way. …That doesn't mean you're disgusting, Ian."

"Well, you're not wrong. I'm not an exception either."

Ian had another question.

'Even if they maintained it by drawing on the void's power until now, why hasn't it darkened yet?'

The light source illuminating the palace was still active.

The Sword of Judgment remained silent.

It could be because they were so deep underground. But if the Magic Realm hadn't been shattered, it suggested there was another power source besides the queen or the demon.

Of course, he didn't plan to break walls to resolve his curiosity.

In the worst-case scenario, the underground palace might also be maintained by magic.

If he disturbed it out of curiosity and the palace collapsed, it would be the worst possible death.

'Well, it was a dragon's lair. There might be a dragon's treasure vault…'

Crack!

At that moment, Tessia, who had gone to search the nearby passages, returned.

This time, she was empty-handed.

"It's unbelievable. This vast space is full of trash…."

She muttered with a dejected expression.

Charlotte snorted.

"Greed is definitely a part of the elf's nature."

"I just want to get my things. This rag is the only thing I can call my own."

Just as Charlotte was about to retort, Ian spoke.

"Is everything ahead empty too?"

"Worse than here. It seems to be a space used by soldiers and servants. There are only a few rooms with old pieces of scrap metal. From what I can see, this place-"

"…How many rooms with scrap metal are there?"

Ian cut her off.

Tessia shrugged.

"Exactly three. Two look like they were used by giants. One seems to have been used by humans or dwarves."

"……!"

Charlotte turned to look at Ian, and Tessia added cheerfully.

"The giants really used humans and dwarves as slaves. They completely separated the big ones from the small ones. The big ones' rooms are lavish, while the small ones' rooms are shabby."

"I see. Then…"

Ian nodded and looked at Tessia.

"Lead me to the shabby room."

"……?"