The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 83
Episode 83
5.
A palace of absolute sovereignty that permits no intrusion, untouched by external hands even once throughout history.
Overpalace.
The dark fortress still stood silent within its gloomy black veil, maintaining its eternal vigil.
In that place where only quietude and desolation lingered, the old man bowing before the throne sensed the world’s restraining force that enveloped Overpalace beginning to weaken.
The elder, bound by the world’s constraints due to his overwhelming strength, finally intuited that the moment had arrived.
“Ah, at last.”
Yet he did not feel relief.
The world’s will was always capricious.
Who could say when it might reverse like a flipped palm?
He already knew the reason.
It was because that foolish hero’s descendant had moved.
All information flowed through the old man’s grasp.
Was that why?
Because he was far too powerful.
Because he was far too thorough.
He had to live under the world’s surveillance.
The world’s will, as meticulous as the old man himself, permitted not even the smallest gap.
He had merely averted the world’s gaze and managed to pass a crude spell to his successor.
But now.
The world’s will that had been strangling them had loosened.
For the first time, he felt gratitude toward that foolish hero’s descendant.
Where else could such an opportunity arise?
And so the old man—no, Black Star—commanded.
“Three Calamities. Serve.”
He did not specify whom to serve.
He did not say where to go.
Only the command to serve.
Behind Black Star, the shadow of a raven, the shadow of a puppet, and the shadow of a severed corpse wavered.
They flickered like a trembling candle flame before vanishing instantly.
Watching them disappear, Black Star lifted his head with a sorrowful expression.
The empty throne that remained struck his gaze.
Black Star recalled the distant past, an age of glory, and gazed upon that throne with melancholy.
He sensed the presence of one who had once been his companion.
Yet now they walked different paths.
Feeling the presence of his long-time friend whose will diverged from his own, Black Star moved his lips with a sorrowful whisper.
“Nocturnium, did it truly have to be this way?”
A voice that somehow seemed to blame him, yet carried the self-reproach of one who could not look after him.
That lonely, desolate voice echoed through the empty audience chamber, and no one answered.
What if that woman from long ago—his master and teacher—were still here?
What would she have said?
Would she have scolded me?
Or would she have praised me for trying despite everything?
I cannot know.
Too many years have passed.
And yet I yearned for her.
Even if she scolded me.
Even if she reproached me for failing to look after my comrades.
I wished to see her once more.
My teacher, whom I can never see again.
That is why I could understand the distant friend now.
Black Star—he too had not stopped missing her.
Only.
“I will live here, supporting the successor.”
I will only carry on the will of she who was my master, my teacher, my mother.
I will only follow her wishes blindly.
That is all.
The tear stains, now withered and faded until no trace remained,
were already etched into my soul, to be remembered for eternity.
Yearning that permeates the soul.
I will support the new master.
This time, becoming the teacher who instructs him.
I will serve a new king, a new lord, a new master.
All a foolish disciple and slave like me can do
is remember that warm hand extended to me long ago and repay that kindness.
That is all.
6.
The Canyon of Despair, now considerably more pleasant.
After sweeping through the surroundings once,
movement became far easier.
Could it truly deserve the name “Canyon of Despair” anymore?
I did not think for a moment that I had gone too far.
Following the Paper Bird so pleasantly, Yoo Sung-hyun was able to approach the cliff on one side of the canyon.
“This must be the entrance?”
-Yeah, looks like it.
As Yoo Sung-hyun spoke,
Fiora nodded in agreement.
And the Paper Bird was nodding vigorously in affirmation.
His politeness was pleasant to observe.
In any case, we had arrived.
There was no need to deliberate on how to open the door.
As the Paper Bird approached.
[Conditions met. The door opens.]
As always, the message materialized.
Crrrunch——!
What had unmistakably been a cliff split open like a door, left and right, revealing passage into the interior.
The Paper Bird—or rather, the note—had been the key.
As the door opened.
The Paper Bird, its purpose fulfilled, transformed back into a note and fluttered down.
I carefully retrieved the note and placed it in my inventory before stepping into the cliff’s interior.
As I entered.
The door swiftly sealed shut, leaving only profound darkness.
For me, the pinnacle Dark Mage Overlord, it was hardly bothersome.
Looking around.
There were no torches to speak of.
Though I could see despite the darkness.
I proceeded without concern down the lengthy corridor.
‘Quite expansive.’
A colossal passageway spacious enough to summon Barphor and walk comfortably.
As I traversed that corridor.
A peculiar presence made itself known.
A human presence?
I reacted immediately and looked toward it.
Fiora had already perceived and observed that location.
In the impenetrable darkness, a demon revealed its black eyes and gazed upon Fiora and me.
Too large to be called a lesser demon.
It even appeared stronger than lesser demons.
From my memories and experiences, it was a lowest-tier demon beyond the lesser classification.
In terms of level, it was a boss monster in the level 80s.
A creature possessing strength that would be unremarkable even as a six-person dungeon boss in the level 80s.
Sifting through my memories.
I could identify what demon it was.
‘A lowest-tier demon, Arcturus… was it?’
Arcturus still believed itself perfectly concealed, unaware that I had discovered it.
It could be no other way.
With black skin and black eyes.
At first glance, even I, who could pierce through darkness, would not have detected it.
Observing the creature, I smiled faintly and gently stroked the head of Fiora, who had transformed from her slime form back into the appearance of a small girl.
That was the signal.
-Hue!
Fiora moved with a fierce cry.
Toward Arcturus, whose dark skin and black eyes gleamed.
The moment the small girl-shaped Fiora lunged forward.
She transformed into a beast-woman with two legs resembling a cheetah’s.
Her form bore the striking leopard markings of a beast-woman, yet her speed was absolutely devastating.
Arcturus lost sight of Fiora as she tore through the air itself.
By the time he regained his senses, Fiora had already appeared behind him.
Shwiiiiick——!
She extended her elongated claws, leaving countless gashes across his body in an instant.
Arcturus felt his entire body torn apart as his eyes flew wide open.
“Kraaagh! W-what is this!?”
[CRITICAL HIT!]×10
The critical hit message appeared belatedly after Fiora’s assault.
Arcturus was equally bewildered.
He had been preparing an ambush, only to be ambushed himself.
Bewilderment was inevitable.
A message appeared just as belatedly.
[Gatekeeper, lowest-tier demon Arcturus encountered.]
‘A gatekeeper.’
He must be guarding the door ahead.
Then I won’t be able to pass through until I defeat him.
A logical conclusion.
As I assessed him.
Fiora’s gaze shifted.
-Please die for the Lord’s path forward.
Her tone was meek and courteous.
Yet the intent behind it was utterly ruthless.
“Kraaagh!!! You insane bastard!!!”
Arcturus was equally enraged.
He moved swiftly, attempting to strike at Fiora.
Spreading his wings at the sight of the beast-woman Fiora, he dove from the air with tremendous speed, his attack resembling the hunting method of a bird of prey.
Arcturus’s two arms began to darken, hardening until they gleamed with a metallic sheen.
But the moment Arcturus charged forward.
Fiora’s form changed once more.
From the beast-woman’s human form, she became a beautiful woman wielding a single sword.
Moving with the disciplined grace of a knight, she executed an upward slash toward Arcturus’s abdomen as he rushed toward her.
Kiiiiing——!
The sound of metal being cut rang out, and Arcturus’s expression twisted in pain.
He had defended, but his own attack had failed as well.
Watching Fiora’s sudden transformation, I ground my teeth at her unpredictable form.
“Grrrrgh, I’ll kill you!!!”
-Hue.
Despite becoming a beautiful woman, a dull sound continued to flow from her.
Yet Fiora’s eyes alone shone with brilliant intensity.
Fiora transformed once more as Arcturus charged toward her.
But this was a form entirely different from before.
Was it even a living creature?
First, it bore no human shape.
Her entire body rippled like darkness itself, pitch-black and undulating; her arms stretched long and pointed like drills, and with no legs, she drifted like a spirit, her tail writhing fluidly as it swept through the void.
The grotesque Fiora extended her arms toward the charging Arcturus.
At the sight of Fiora’s spear-like arms, sharpened to cruel points, Arcturus sneered inwardly.
‘No matter what, it’s nothing but soft compared to my darkness!’
With that confidence, Arcturus likewise extended his hardened hand.
As hand and spear met.
The spear pierced through the darkness-hardened hand like cutting through clay, and with a rotational force, it burst apart.
Crack!
Boom———!
“Ahhhhhhh!”
[Critical Hit!]
His left arm exploded, and a piercing wound extended to his left shoulder as the arm was torn away.
A gaping hole now existed where Arcturus’s arm had been.
Yet as Arcturus glared at Fiora with bloodshot eyes, he ground his teeth.
Like new shoots sprouting, his arm surged forth.
Whoooosh!
The arm regenerated in an instant, but.
Arcturus stood drenched in sweat across his entire body.
It seemed he had not recovered completely.
Fiora sensed this and prepared to launch her next attack.
She was ready to dive in and strike at any moment.
In that instant, Arcturus could feel it.
‘I… cannot win.’
I want to flee.
But Arcturus was the gatekeeper of this place.
I cannot escape.
Somehow, I must defeat this monstrous woman.
That is the only way I can survive.
And like the cunning demon he was, a thought soon occurred to him.
The sorcerer standing quietly behind him as he faced Fiora.
‘That monster-like creature is unbeatable.’
Then I should target the master of that monster-like creature instead.
Arcturus, envisioning a cunning victory, moved swiftly to match Fiora’s charge.
He bent his knees as if to leap, then propelled himself forward with explosive force, spreading his wings to launch into rapid flight toward Yoo Sung-hyun.
Faster than ever before!
As Arcturus flew toward Yoo Sung-hyun, who stood behind him.
I felt Fiora hesitate momentarily, her form wavering.
A gap had opened in the defense.
This was the answer.
Arcturus sneered as he watched Yoo Sung-hyun draw his sword.
‘Foolish mage. Kekeke.’
He should have cast magic or defended himself, yet he drew a sword instead.
What kind of mage was this?
Arcturus inwardly mocked Yoo Sung-hyun.
‘Hmm, shall I try it?’
Watching Arcturus, whose frame was slightly smaller than a human but slightly larger than a goblin, I recalled a memory.
As Arcturus rushed forward with sharpened forearms leading the way, I gripped the apprentice warrior Hindel’s sword and lightly extended my foot, planting it firmly on the ground.
My feet swept across the earth as if gliding, tracing a graceful arc that rotated my body, and I naturally shifted to Arcturus’s flank just as he charged toward my front.
The movement was so fluid that even Arcturus, standing right before me, felt as though I had teleported.
As I simultaneously drew the sword upward in a sweeping motion.
Arcturus started in alarm, crossing both arms in an X to block the blade.
If he had remained still, his torso and chest would have been cleaved without question.
Yet why was this happening?
The blade seemed to dance, splitting into two, then three phantom images that dazzled Arcturus’s eyes.
Simultaneously, my fluid footwork made it impossible to discern what was real, and in that moment, the distance between Arcturus and me widened.
Skreeeee——!
[Critical Hit!]
[The effect of 『Single Strike』 activates!]
Pshhhhhhh—!
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Black blood gushed from a long wound stretching from shoulder to abdomen.
Even after spilling blood once, it continued to pour forth relentlessly.
Was natural healing unable to stop the bleeding?
There was no sign of the wound closing at all.
What kind of sorcery had been used?
I couldn’t even comprehend it.
The moment my body was cut, I flapped my wings and retreated, so I avoided the follow-up strike, yet Yoo Sung-hyun remained a formidable threat.
‘Incredible.’
The memories and experiences of the knight I had absorbed in the Crystal Palace surpassed any of the other spirits I had previously absorbed, save for Helena.
The swordsmanship of one who had once risen to the rank of Captain of the Royal Knights in the distant past.
It was unfolding across the Mortal Realm at this very moment.
Had I been overwhelmed by that momentum?
Arcturus flinched and trembled as he watched Yoo Sung-hyun assume his stance.
Wasn’t he a sorcerer?
How could he wield such formidable swordplay?
It was incomprehensible.
And from behind the careless Arcturus.
A sickening thrust—!
“Gasp.”
An arm like a dark spear of shadow piercing through Arcturus’s heart.
As Fiora’s arm penetrated Arcturus’s heart.
Yoo Sung-hyun also rushed toward Arcturus and swung his blade.
The sword, wielded while recalling swordplay techniques, traced an elegant arc and severed Arcturus’s neck.
Arcturus’s severed head fell limply to the ground.
A wet crunch—!
Thud, roll.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have defeated Arcturus, the Gatekeeper, a lowest-tier demon.]
[You have gained experience points.]
‘The memory of swordplay is truly remarkable.’
By now, I had realized that my swordplay was quite impressive, and I had grasped Fiora’s ever-changing combat style.
So this time was not wasted.
Still.
‘Is it because I don’t have a swordplay skill? The damage is incredibly weak.’
The damage was so weak that regret filled me.
Without Fiora’s attack, I could never have severed Arcturus so easily.
I should refrain from using swordplay for now until I acquire a swordplay skill.
As I thought this to myself.
-H-huh! Y-you were truly amazing!
“Hmm? Was I?”
-Y-yes! It was d-different from Baltar’s swordplay, but it s-seemed to contain such profound and subtle mysteries!!
Fiora, brimming with excitement, said this to me.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed and shy, I let out a laugh and gently stroked Fiora’s head.
And I moved forward in silence.
Satisfied, I decided to continue onward.
Before long, I discovered a massive door.
It resembled the Stone Chamber door I had seen during my second class advancement.
However, unlike that time, the eyes of the undead and demons did not glow, and I could only see a gloomy aura rippling through the space.
-I-I think this is the place.
“Hmm.”
Yoo Sung-hyun nodded at Fiora’s words.
If I enter here, will I be able to clear the Quest?
With that thought, Yoo Sung-hyun placed his hand on the door.
[Conditions have been met.]
[The Door of the Past opens.]
[Confirming the main Quest of 『Overlord』.]
[Entering the time of the past.]
[Fiora returns to the Underworld.]
[While belonging to the past, you cannot open the door to the Underworld.]
[All levels of the past will unfold according to the current level of user 『Yoo Sung-hyun』.]
Before I could even protest at these incomprehensible messages.
My body was pulled in, absorbed into the door.
Fiora, who had been there just moments before, had vanished, and in that brief instant, I felt a floating sensation as the surrounding landscape transformed.
What had been the interior of a cave within the Cliff.
The new scenery was a Forest beneath a clear, bright sky.
Though it was broad daylight, it seemed someone had been tending a campfire.
The sound of burning wood crackled ahead.
Crack, snap! Crackle, crackle.
At a distance from the campfire, I felt its warm glow, and quite a number of people were gathered around it.
I was among them.
And among them, there was a man who seemed somehow familiar.
Yet I had never seen him before in my life.
He shone brilliantly as if entire universes embraced him, radiating an air of mystery.
His expression was compassionate and warm as if embracing all things, yet he also emanated an overwhelming presence that dominated everything.
That mysterious and powerful man looked at me and spoke.
“It is an honor to meet you, Yoo Sung-hyun. I have already heard of your reputation and sought you out, so allow me to introduce myself first. Though still inexperienced, I am called Hindel, the Hero.”
“…???”
Hindel?
Hindel the Hero?
Why are you appearing here?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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