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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Interrupting a heartwarming family reunion was a rather unpleasant task.
The sickening feeling of guilt clung to me as I gripped Hayun’s shoulder, but I had no choice.
“Wait.”
“……!”
Hayun turned to face me, her eyes a storm of sorrow, regret, and resentment.
I knew it was natural for her to be overwhelmed, seeing the family she thought was dead standing before her, alive and well.
But…
“Calm down. Think rationally. You know better than anyone that this can’t be real.”
Hayun, her face etched with shock, looked like she was about to burst into tears again.
But she pulled away from me, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and took a deep breath.
“Hayun!”
“Come here!”
Those damn bastards!
My grip tightened on my sword.
I didn’t know who they were, but they were clearly trying to manipulate Hayun’s emotions.
However, Hayun, struggling to regain her composure amidst the chaos, clenched her jaw and drew her sword.
“Someone turned Nirva into this and is now impersonating my parents, aren’t they?”
“…Yes.”
“Damn them.”
Her eyes, still shimmering with tears, hardened with a chilling resolve.
“Sen, take care of them, please.”
Sen was the first to react to Hayun’s request.
As if she had been waiting for this moment, she flung a dagger at the figures impersonating Hayun’s parents.
They began to dissolve into dust, vanishing without a trace.
But what happened next was even more unsettling.
“Ugh… N-no! Our… daughter…”
Real or fake, they clutched their chests, tears streaming down their faces, as they reached out to Hayun with a final, heart-wrenching plea.
But they weren’t dying because of Sen’s dagger.
It was as if they had ingested poison, collapsing and fading away, just like when Heaven Len had them assassinated.
Hayun squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear the sight.
I had tried to shield her from it, but the pain was already deeply etched within her.
“Rin, can you still sense that energy?”
“Yes, it’s inside the mansion.”
“Rin, Ares, Diana, stay close behind me. Sen and the mage, stay outside and protect Hayun.”
Following Rin’s lead, I charged into the mansion.
Diana and Ares, though confused, quickly followed, their hands glowing with the power of their marks.
Crash!
As we burst through the door, we were greeted by the mansion’s servants, all shrouded in the same lifeless grayness as the figures impersonating Hayun’s parents.
Their eyes widened in surprise.
“Wh-who are you?”
“This is the Len family mansion! You are not allowed here!”
“But we were told there were no guests today,”
Diana retorted, her voice laced with anger.
Ares flinched beside her, but honestly, I felt the same way.
We had heard at the academy that the Len family had dismissed all of their employees, leaving the mansion empty.
In other words, these were all fake.
There were too many to deal with quickly, but Diana’s attack was far swifter than mine or Ares’s swords.
“This is a pathetic charade!”
The scene of Hayun being manipulated had ignited Diana’s fury.
She unleashed a powerful gust of wind, her horns, tail, and wings fully extended.
The servants, like dust sculptures, scattered and disappeared, but more kept emerging from behind closed doors.
“Go on ahead! I’ll deal with these bastards!”
Taking advantage of the opening Diana had created, we pushed forward.
“It’s that room!”
Rin pointed towards a massive hall with double doors at the entrance.
It seemed to be a ballroom used for hosting parties.
At the far end of the hall, a figure sat upon a throne.
A skull mask, a gray staff, a flowing robe, and crossed legs.
The sight of the figure, dressed like a necromancer who dealt with human corpses, filled me with a strange sense of dread.
Because I recognized him.
“Sharcal?”
If anyone were to ask who the strongest ancient magical beast in the Demon Realm Forest was, the answer would undoubtedly be the Emperor, Kurika.
Even I couldn’t defeat him.
His physical strength was unmatched, his power rivaling that of the gods.
The proud magical beasts of the Demon Realm Forest called him Emperor, and even the most battle-hungry among them avoided confronting him.
His strength was undeniable.
But for me, it was different.
Kurika was strong, but if anyone asked me which ancient magical beast I dreaded the most, it would be Sharcal, the necromancer with the skull mask.
I would run away from him if I ever encountered him.
He was my worst nightmare.
Why he was attacking Nirva was a mystery, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Run!”
I shouted, my voice filled with urgency.
“What?”
“Huh?”
Rin and Ares, startled by my sudden outburst, hesitated.
In that brief moment of hesitation, an unexpected enemy charged towards us.
I raised my sword, barely deflecting the incoming hour hand.
The force behind the attack was unlike anything I had felt from the other dust-creatures.
I was flung through the air, but…
My eyes were fixed on the woman standing before Sharcal.
“The Priestess of Time?”
The words “But she’s supposed to be dead” died on my lips.
She didn’t even glance at me, immediately turning towards Ares and Rin.
“Ugh!”
“Aah!”
Even Ares and Rin, with their divine marks, couldn’t withstand her attacks.
The Priestess of Time didn’t give them a chance to use their powers, relentlessly pressing her assault.
I landed on the floor and immediately charged at the Priestess, determined to protect my friends.
She met my attack with a calm, expressionless face, wielding the hour and minute hands in both hands with a terrifying precision.
‘This is the Priestess of Time I remember.’
Her stance, the weight of her weapons, her swift and graceful movements.
Everything was exactly the same.
It was as if she had truly come back from the dead.
“But you’re missing one crucial element.”
The most troublesome aspect of fighting the Priestess of Time was her ability to freeze time.
Slice!
I beheaded the Priestess, and she dissolved into dust.
Behind her, Sharcal watched me with cold, calculating eyes.
A silver light emanated from his skull mask.
He locked eyes with me and spoke, his voice deep and resonant.
“How do you know my name?”
Sharcal initiating a conversation meant he acknowledged me as a worthy opponent.
It seemed he was intrigued by my ability to effortlessly kill the fake Priestess of Time.
“Sharcal, Master of Distortion. Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours.”
“You wish to exchange questions? Very well.”
As expected, he accepted.
Sharcal was a mage who enjoyed conversation, but not with just anyone.
Only those who earned his respect were allowed to speak in his presence.
“Da-Dani…”
Ares tried to speak, but a gag made of dust materialized in his mouth.
He struggled to activate the power of Helios, but his hands were suddenly bound by shackles that appeared out of thin air.
“Silence, you who are not permitted to speak.”
I glanced at Ares, who had collapsed on the floor, struggling in vain.
Then, I looked at Rin, silently warning her not to act rashly.
It was too dangerous.
Turning back to Sharcal, I asked, “Why are you here?”
Why had he come to Nirva?
As far as I knew, he not only avoided leaving the Demon Realm Forest, he loathed the very idea of it.
The reason was simple.
‘An unshakeable and utter contempt for the weak.’
He despised those who were weak.
He showed no mercy to those without power.
If Kurika was the Emperor of the Demon Realm Forest, then…
Sharcal was a tyrant.
He only cared about himself, showing a certain degree of leniency towards those who were strong, but crushing those who were weak like insects beneath his feet.
The only reason Ares was still alive was because Sharcal acknowledged me as a worthy opponent.
Otherwise, he would have been crushed to death already.
But my question elicited only a mocking chuckle from Sharcal.
“What is wrong with me being in my own domain?”
“……”
“Now it is your turn to answer, intruder. How do you know that I am Sharcal, Master of Distortion?”
I had no answer.
He wasn’t a legendary figure mentioned in books, nor a monster whispered about in rumors.
He was a mage who lived in the shadows of the Demon Realm Forest, isolated within his own domain.
“Kurika told me.”
It wasn’t a lie.
In my past life, Kurika had told me about Sharcal.
Telling a petty lie would only anger him.
As I spoke the truth, Sharcal scrutinized me for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“You were also a servant of Kurika? How amusing! To think you served that mere wolf cub!”
“What are you talking about?”
Why was he calling me Kurika’s servant? And what did he mean by “also”?
As far as I knew, Kurika didn’t have any subordinates or followers.
Sharcal gestured towards Rin and Ares.
“Are you not bringing these divine servants to him? It is quite amusing to see you abandoning your friends like a fanatic, intoxicated by his power.”
“…I can’t understand a word this mage is saying.”
To be honest, I really didn’t want to fight, but I had to uncover the secret behind Sharcal’s presence in Nirva.
Normally, my chances of winning would be slim, but I wasn’t alone this time.
And he didn’t know anything about me, that would be a significant advantage in battle.
“Rin, please refrain from using your mark and support us with magic.”
“…Okay.”
Rin swallowed nervously.
As a mage herself, she must have sensed Sharcal’s immense power.
Her voice trembled slightly, a rare occurrence.
“Has the exchange of questions concluded? Very well, insignificant lives that will crumble like a dying ember.”
Sharcal slowly rose from his throne.
Our brief conversation was over, it was the beginning of the battle.
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[Who dis houdini ass mf that thinks he can mess with dani boi]
