ROAR!
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Visible cracks lined the floor and the walls up to the ceiling of the throne room as mote from the breaks fell off, creating a speck of dust inside.
It was the seismic after-effects of the thunderous roar that had shaken the entire castle coming from the Dark Lord's sinister mouth.
The Dark Knight Commander took note to take care of the cracks later on. Right now he must behave in utmost propriety or else he might be the next to suffer from the Dark Lord's agitation.
It was not the first time that he had witnessed the Dark Lord in anger.
To be honest, they were used to his short temper.
However, compared to the Dark Lord's previous outrages, it was a first for the Dark Knight Commander to witness him in intense fury, letting out a mere roar that can shake the entire Dark Empire's Castle.
The entire atmosphere inside the throne room had utterly changed in an instant.
The Dark Knight Commander had imagined fire engulfing him while the Dark Lord continued to bellow a fierce roar, letting out the grief and resentment upon hearing the news about his wife's death without giving care to his surroundings.
Liam, covering his face with his arms and gritting his teeth while holding his grounds, almost melted from the sheer force or energy coming from the Dark Lord as pitch-black flames began to emerge from Atrox spiky horns and back, scattering through his long elaborate robe.
When he had first received this news, one of the two Dark Knight Commanders had panicked.
He did not want to be the one delivering such a message to the Dark Lord, knowing what can happen to him.
The Dark Lord loved his wife dearly and promised to protect her eternally, but now this thing happened?
It was unforgivable!
Liam did not know how to break the sudden silence that enveloped the three of them, but an idea suddenly crossed his head, making him unintentionally nod in satisfaction as the Dark Lord's fury subsided a bit.
The Dark Knight Commander who had delivered the grievous news stood awkwardly beside Atrox, praying to not receive punishment by merely stating the news.
Atrox had calmed down after releasing his rage, almost thrashing the throne room into pieces, leaving it in ruins.
But no one dared to speak.
Weakened by the news about his wife's passing, Atrox could feel his limbs going soft.
He knew that if he was to continue to stand, he would eventually fall to the floor.
Before this could happen, Atrox decided to walk towards his throne, his crimson robe covered by pitch-black flames trailing after him.
The Dark Knight Commander gulped, but he wiped away the sweat that had formed on his forehead, following the Dark Lord.
Liam breathed in some air, letting it out after a few seconds. He carefully walked behind the Dark Knight Commander.
Liam watched the absent-minded Dark Lord sitting on the throne. He rested his elbows on the armrest.
Atrox traced his chin with his thumb and forefinger, his thoughts in chaos, and the fire in his eyes became visible.
"How did this happen?" Atrox murmured. It was as if he was talking to himself, forgetting both Liam and the Dark Knight Commander inside the room with him.
The Dark Knight Commander cleared his throat.
"Permission to speak, My Lord."
"Speak! Explain to me how the hell my wife had ended up dead!" Atrox half growled, the words rumbling as he spoke it out.
It easily made the Dark Knight Commander flinch.
He was thinking of the recent outrage that took place and he was afraid that his sovereign's anger would be directed to him this time, and that's the last thing he would like to happen.
"From what I had gathered, the Light King seemed to keep the incident in secrecy."
Atrox curled his hands into fists.
He was angry!
No, to say that he was angry was clearly an understatement of his inexplicable feeling.
There was something suspicious about his wife's sudden death.
What was the Light King trying to hide?
No, why did he even let his daughter die in the first place?
And why the hell did Light King Paragus want to keep his daughter's death a secret from Atrox?
Liam's detective instincts began to kick in!
According to what he had heard, there was something dubious about the untimely death of the Dark Lord's wife, who was also the daughter of the Light King.
But he needed to dig deeper into this if he wanted to find the missing puzzle pieces and be able to put all of them together.
"If I may speak–" The Dark Knight Commander hastily stopped Liam from further speaking, scared that he might trigger the Dark Lord's fury again.
However, it already caught the Dark Lord's attention, narrowing his gleaming eyes towards Liam before he opened his sinister mouth, "Go on, Ronin."
"If I may be so bold, Lord Atrox, I happened to be a detective in my previous world. If you will allow me, I want to understand the relationship between you and the Light King aside from being his daughter's husband. Her death is so unusual. I want to help you solve this mystery. And to do that, Dark Lord, I need to know a few more things that can aid me to my humble suggestion."
Liam placed his right hand to his chest, in front of his heart, and bowed after his statement.
Clouded by his chaotic emotion, Atrox had a hard time following the player's humble request.
Although that was the case, Atrox realized Liam was asking for information and offering himself to help him.
An unintended ray of hope to solve the confusing incident occurred.
Liam appeared dependable in his eyes and Atrox could sense that he must be onto something.
"Paragus and I had made a deal before he agreed to the marriage. You see, for every one hundred years, the moon wouldn't be its usual self. The skies would be bathed in red, signaling the arrival of unstoppable chaos. We call this the blood moon. And whenever this happens, the Mana Beasts would come out and attack both of our kingdoms. These monsters are no ordinary beasts. They ingested mana rain, making it difficult to kill them. The Light King and I had agreed that on every blood moon, my wife," Atrox came to a pause. The mere mention of his wife evoked feelings he does not want both the Knight Commander and Ronin to see.
Atrox cleared his throat.
"Both parties agreed that on every blood moon, my wife would come home to the Light Kingdom for the Light King to protect her himself. She would stay there until the blood moon passes,"
"I am humbly honored to know that sensitive information, Dark Lord," Liam remarked after forcing another bow.
Various possibilities crossed Liam's head as he gently stroked his imaginary beard.
The possibilities were too many. He needed to sort things out!
He was enlightened but there were still too many missing puzzle pieces.
Besides, the world Liam was living in now was different to assume everyone's behavior was similar to Earth's people.
He knew that in order to find those missing pieces, there was no other way but to come to the place where the Dark Lord's wife had died and investigate properly.
He said he didn't want to live like how he had lived in his previous life, but now... his curiosity and the thrilling feeling was getting the best out of him.
'No, no, no! I was just manipulating the situation for the Dark Lord to give me a task I am confident about. This is better than receiving a task I don't know about, no?' Liam shook his head as he convinced himself.
"My Lord, do you wish to send a message to the Light King?" Atrox stared at his Dark Knight Commander.
He instantly dismissed the idea with a shake of his head.
"Confronting him right now would have no result. He would only rebuke me. I need to find a way to investigate this matter further without him knowing," Atrox clenched his hands together to think properly.
At that moment, Atrox's gaze fell on the player who had, only moments ago, asked him for a quest.
His eyes widened in realization at what Ronin suggested earlier.
Sending one of his knights to the Light Kingdom would be useless. The Light King would recognize them in a heartbeat.
They could not give him the information that he needed.
However, this player was someone whom the Light King has yet to meet.
"Ronin!"
Judging from the way the Dark Lord was looking at him, Liam already figured out what was about to happen.
It had happened many times when he was back on Earth. It was not an unusual event. He was quite familiar with that same look that the Dark Lord was portraying.
Liam inclined his head, letting the Dark Lord know he was at his service.
"If you succeed with this quest, I will grant whatever you would wish from me."
"I am at your service, Lord Atrox."