The situation was dire for Charon. He couldn't get up, and his body was wracked with pain from the attack of the ancient demon.
"No, this can't be..."
The ancient demon, Kreshain, continued its onslaught, wiping out the remaining undead.
It was a grave mistake for Charon to underestimate the power of the ancient demon. He had thought of it as just a unique creature, as the documents referred to it simply as an "ancient demon."
"This can't be happening..."
The sudden loss of all the undead he had painstakingly created was more painful than death itself.
Charon struggled to lift his body, but his injuries were too severe. He couldn't even use his mana.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at his creations being annihilated.
He reached his limit, and the pain and despair overwhelmed him.
Kkei-uhhh.
Kreshain, the ancient demon, approached him, and Charon felt that death was imminent.
"I never thought I'd die like this..."
Charon's body trembled as he braced for the final blow.
Kkieoak.
But just as Kreshain's gaping maw was about to descend upon him, something unexpected happened.
Charon sensed that he was still alive, even though he expected certain death. He cautiously opened his eyes and realized that he was enveloped in darkness.
"Shadows?"
It was a massive shadow, and Charon could barely make out its true form.
Heuhhh.
"Charon Diflen."
"Pff, ugh... Ad, rias."
Adrias suddenly appeared beside Charon.
"Before you die, let me ask you something. Did you take me in because of the Original Sin?"
"Before that, I have a question. What is that?"
"It's exactly as it appears."
"This can't be happening. How... can you..."
Charon was bewildered as he looked at the enormous dragon, which wore an unusual crown on its head.
The sheer presence of the dragon made everyone, even Kreshain, cautious and unable to move recklessly.
—Should I kill them both?
"No, this person is going to die anyway. There's no need to leave any traces by bothering them."
At Adrias's words, Charon let out a bitter laugh even as he was dying.
"Is this all the respect you have for your master?"
"Master?"
Adrias lowered his body and locked eyes with Charon.
Then, he sneered.
"You call yourself a master?"
"What did I do wrong to deserve such disrespect from you?"
Ignoring his protest, Adrias stood up and faced Kreshain.
"I didn't come all the way here to play games with you, especially after you targeted me for the Original Sin."
"You, you... Adrias, don't..."
Charon's voice trailed off, and he collapsed.
Adrias could no longer detect his breath, so he immediately issued a command.
"Kill him."
Obeying his command, the undead rushed toward Kreshain.
.
.
.
.
Kreshain's arms extended.
Despite the demon's title, its use of four arms for attacks was quite effective.
Kuddduk—
Yellow maple trees fell, toppled by the demon's attack.
But my undead were elite among the elite.
Squee—
Kuwaah—
Ludo's might restrained Kreshain's arms, and Nickel's sword relentlessly attacked the restrained limb.
—Kkiyaaaah!
While the attacks didn't work as effectively as I had hoped, it was alright.
If we keep it up, it will eventually fall.
—Gripun.
Krivmaher, who wore a crown, gazed at Kreshain with a half-melted face.
It seemed like they shared some sentiment from their ancient era.
"Kriv."
—My name is Tan Krivmacher. Not Kriv.
"Breathe."
—I'm Krivmacher....
"Breathe."
—I won't do it that easily...
"Breathe."
With a sigh, Krivmaher finally activated Dragon Heart.
Mana from the surroundings converged into Krivmacher's heart, and a powerful wave spread outward.
—I was once known as the 'Dragon that Sings of Destruction.'
"Get out of there."
The undead who were holding Kreshain at my command moved aside.
At the same time, Krivmaher's acid breath showered down upon Kreshain.
Kwaaaah!
―Kiiiaaaah!
Kreshain, who had withstood Nickel's slashes and Timur's punches without any problem, began to melt away in an instant.
"This is quite impressive."
I knew he could use the breath, but I didn't expect it to be this powerful.
It seemed like it was thanks to the Dragon Heart and the Crown of Greed, and I was very satisfied.
"Yeah, I have to do at least this much to repay that hard work. No, it's not enough, Kriv."
―What do you want from me?
"You don't have to worry about it. I'll use it well."
I opened a floating message window that appeared for Krivmaher.
―Ding!
[Conditions have been met.]
[A potential evolution candidate has been identified.]
Evolution.
It hadn't been long since I obtained it, and already, evolution was possible.
And through this, I realized one thing.
[Potential evolution of the True Dragon (Myth) - 42%]
[There are 6 possible branches if you choose to evolve.]
[Would you like to evolve?]
'It seems that you can trigger evolution by keeping items related to sin close to the undead.'
If I evolved Krivmaher, it would likely evolve in a direction related to sin, like Nickel.
The True Dragon was already the highest tier among the undead, but I didn't know it could evolve further.
'Can I evolve the others if I obtain different sin items?'
Honestly, I didn't plan to gather sin for the purpose of evolving the undead.
Rather, my role was to prevent the accumulation of sin.
But now, I began to doubt whether that was the only solution.
'Maybe I should gather them all?'
Setting aside that thought for now, I approached the now weakened Kreshain.
"Kreshain."
When I called his name, he responded.
He had been causing all sorts of mischief since ancient times and had been trapped here for a long time.
Now it was time for him to become my Galakshur's prey.
―Grrk!
Kreshain made a sound like wooden planks rubbing against each other, resisting my approach, but his melting body didn't obey.
I sharpened the Aura blade of Galakshur as much as possible against Kreshain.
Whoosh!
Kreshain's skin, already soaked in acid, was easily pierced by my attack compared to the effort I put in.
Kwajik!
With the sound of a skull cracking, the boss of an episode I couldn't have handled alone in the first place met his end.
"That was anticlimactic."
It felt strange that an opponent who had been so troublesome in the game could die so easily.
It's safe to say that my current power level is over the top.
With Krivmaher alone, I felt I could easily rank in the middle tier of the Black Mage Assembly.
'Of course, my level isn't that of a student.'
Of course, even if all the playable characters had skills that didn't match their age, I felt like I was outside the norm.
―Ding!
[Sealed Sword - Galakshur has detected the blood of an ancient monster.]
[Galakshur absorbs the blood of the ancient monster.]
As Galakshur absorbed the blood, crimson veins emerged, resembling blood vessels.
As if a heartbeat, Galakshur greedily devoured Kreshain's blood, and the veins began to follow the shape of the blood vessels.
Kwajang!
[Sealed Sword - Galakshur's 1st seal has been released.]
The old exterior peeled away, revealing a pure white blade.
It felt even whiter than the White Nightmare Benjamin obtained at the blacksmith.
"I didn't expect the appearance to change like this."
Previously, it was just an old sword, but now it had transformed into something extraordinary.
[Sealed Sword - Galakshur]
[Mana Transmission Rate 145%] [Sharpness temporarily increases with usage time (stackable) when using Aura]
[Additional damage to monsters] [Additional damage of dark attribute]
[1st seal has been released.]
[Sealed.]
{T/n: Thank god he didn't give it to the Sword Demon guy}
As much as the appearance had changed, the performance had also transformed.
I knew that the mana transmission rate would increase, but I didn't expect so many effects.
And the second option was particularly noticeable.
Not only when facing Kreshain just now, but in the future, I would encounter bosses that even an Aura Master would struggle to defeat alone.
Such monsters would naturally be tough to damage even when Aura was applied to the sword, but now there was a useful option.
'I should experiment with this sometime.'
I wondered how high the sharpness could go.
Unfortunately, I didn't know how to release Galakshur's second seal at the moment.
In the game, only the method to release the first seal was mentioned, so for now, I had to be satisfied with that.
I reverse-summoned the undead.
It would take a bit longer to evolve Krivmaher compared to when I evolved Nickel. Since he was certainly a high-tier undead, it would require more time.
'I should leave this place quickly.'
Perhaps this commotion wouldn't reach the Academy, but Krivmaher's breath had caused quite an intense mana wave.
Surahan, the head of the Knight Department and an Aura Master, might have noticed, so I hastily concealed the evidence and left the mountain.
It was a bit disappointing to leave Kreshain's corpse behind, but I had to give up.
Still, I needed an alibi for when Charon died, so I couldn't be too greedy.
'Ultimately, my goal was Galakshur's awakening.'
With Charon gone, there was no one at the Academy who knew my true identity.
Now, graduating safely was my next goal.
I won't just sit back.
I have to do my best for the sake of protecting my precious ones.
Speaking of precious people, Luna, who was like a niece, suddenly came to mind.
'I hope she's doing well.'
.
.
.
.
Evan von Orleon.
No, the man who had already relinquished all his titles and now had only the name Evan was quietly moving towards somewhere. He knew that someone was trailing him even before leaving the Holy Empire to hunt him down, but he remained calm.
Absolute confidence stemming from his abilities.
Of course, he had recently felt some doubt about his skills, but he didn't lack self-esteem to the point of being afraid of mere hunting dogs from the Holy Empire.
'Just wait a little longer.'
Evan, who had already planned ahead before leaving the Holy Empire, felt a surge in his chest as he thought of someone.
To him, whose meaning of god had scattered, that person was like the only lighthouse.
'Adrias Cromwell.'
The true king who would illuminate this world.
What he needed to do now was to establish a foundation for him.
'But first...'
Rustle.
While he was immersed in his happy contemplation, Evan could feel numerous presences surrounding him.
Despite that, he continued to walk forward, ignoring them. However, someone emerged from the opposite side.
"Evan."
It was an elderly man with barely any hair left.
However, no one could ignore the old man.
"Sir Jeffrey, it's been a while."
When Evan casually greeted him, the people around slowly revealed themselves.
They all drew their weapons and were ready to charge at any moment.
"Why are you doing this? What didn't you like about it?"
"I gained some enlightenment through this mission. For his sake, I had to come out. I believe you'll understand. After all, aren't we all Guardians?"
"Couldn't you have shared your enlightenment within the Holy Empire? You acted without knowing what kind of consequences your appearance might have."
"You don't understand what this enlightenment is."
As their words failed to reach an agreement, they ultimately unsheathed their swords.
Jeffrey Amstead, the First Inquisitor and an Aura Master, asked one final question.
"Evan, did you receive an offer from another country?"
"It's not like that. Please don't worry."
"You don't plan to return, right?"
"That's correct."
Watching Evan speak so calmly, Jeffrey let out a sigh.
And just as he was about to order his subordinates to attack.
"I've come at an inconvenient time."
Someone's voice could be heard.
A dry, almost cracking voice.
And it was a familiar voice to someone.
"Hahaha..."
It was so unbelievable that he could only laugh.
Evan recognized the owner of the voice and carefully concealed the goosebumps on his arms.
"Who is it?"
As Jeffrey turned his head towards the owner of the voice, there stood a man wearing a crown on his shoulder.
In that appearance, even Jeffrey, who thought of someone when he saw him, was so surprised that he couldn't speak.
"Old man, it's been a while."
In the end, Jeffrey could only utter one word.
"Maximen Cronell. Why on earth are you here...?"