With his memories returned recently, Niveus could now remember everything as though they were freshly made.
"What's your crime, newcomer?"
He instantly recognized the voice talking to him. And the fact there was only one guy who was jailed in the deepest layer of the royal castle's dungeon in the game confirmed his rough assumption.
The secret boss.
You all can already guess how the player will fight this boss.
Yes. The secret boss could only be found through the secret route with the secret character.
'In the community, my players referred to it as the SSS-rank boss.'
It was not only an acronym for the "triple secrets" (boss, route, and character) but also because it was the hardest boss in the game that only a few hardcore players could even defeat in less than ten tries.
"I'm never committing crimes. I was accused falsely."
"Ah yes, false accusation," the voice mused. "I was the same. Even though I only touched the King because he allowed me to, I was falsely accused of murdering him."
Niveus was amused by his answers.
The secret boss didn't have a name. He was simply called by his title, "Kingslayer."
In the game, the secret boss had always been in the deepest layer of the dungeon since he killed the previous King, the current King's father, and the royal heir's grandfather.
However, with how much the differences between this world and his works, Niveus couldn't help but ask:
"Which King did you kill?"
"Which?"
The voice sounded puzzled. A moment later, he began laughing maniacally.
"There's no which. Because I killed all the Kings after the fourth!"
"All the Kings...?"
Upon hearing the Kingslayer's statement, Niveus had one suspicion.
Then, as though reading Niveus's mind, the Kingslayer continued.
"What have you heard on the surface?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean!"
'No, I really don't...'
With a sigh, Niveus turned to consult with Nono.
'Nono, tell me everything about this guy.'
["The Kingslayer, Karan..."]
Nono relayed the information to Niveus through the link, allowing Niveus to get a glimpse of the history. It was the first time Nono had done this, so Niveus was a bit surprised when a foreign memory was played in his mind.
Karan, also known as the Kingslayer—Both in the game and in this world's reality—had been alive for hundreds of years. Except he hadn't lived that long in the game.
That was the first similarity and difference.
While the Kingslayer had been around for hundreds of years in that world, it was only a few decades in the game.
According to the recorded history of Nono's database, the Kingslayer had killed the 4th King of Chrysantheus almost a century ago. But in the game, even though he also killed the 4th King, it was probably not the same person.
The timeline disparity was so jarring that Niveus could feel like his head was about to explode if he thought too deeply about it.
'The 4th King in the game is the royal heir's grandfather. But the 4th King in history is their ancestor instead,' Niveus thought. 'However, the supposed grandfather's existence was in this world, though not as the 4th but the 17th. That meant the supposed strongest character in the game, the 5th King, was the 18th here?'
'That guy also mentioned all the Kings after the 4th King was killed by him...'
That was only one thing.
Curses.
The game's Kingslayer didn't have the skill to curse anything. His only skill was to devour one's soul, increasing his lifespan and magical power.
This Kingslayer though...
'He doesn't only have the Soul Devourer but also a skill that can inflict a curse?'
It must have been a powerful curse technique if it had been affecting those who became the King of Chrysantheus for almost three centuries.
'It has been going for that long and yet no one is talking about it. Did the royal family know or are they also in the dark?'
As Niveus was working his brain off to the limit, the realization struck him like lightning.
'Wait... almost three centuries... he has killed 11 Kings... that is!!!'
At that moment, Niveus only had one question in his mind.
The guards seemed to not notice Karan was still alive when they jailed Niveus.
Karan's Soul Devourer gave him an increase in his lifespan and magical power. He had lived for almost three centuries in the deepest layer of the royal castle's dungeon without food or water.
How could he live that long when he was just a human?
"How much stronger do you want to be, Kingslayer Karan?" he finally said.
Of course, it was from the soul of the 11 Kings he had harvested automatically. Besides his increasing lifespan, there was also his increasing power.
How strong were the 11 Kings Karan had observed? At least, they were as strong as the 18th King if not slightly weaker.
Was it because of his existence that the world would end soon as Nono said?
'What the hell is going on in this world?! The parasite Monolith's appearance, the colossal portal within it, the ring, and now this madman?!'
Hearing Niveus's question made Karan laugh, which only grew louder and louder, causing the walls to tremble.
"HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!!"
Karan stopped laughing and took a breath before continuing.
"That question," Karan began. "Does that mean the tales of mine are heard by everyone? The tales of this Karan who killed and cursed those who become Chrysantheus's King. Are they spread to the world?"
'Crazy bastard...'
Relaxing himself, Niveus said bluntly, "No. No one talks about you."
"What?" Karan growled. "Then how did you know me? Are you an Elf? Hmm, but you don't smell like those pointy-eared guys."
Niveus took a deep breath, letting a drop of divinity leak from his body, and said, "How do you think I know that?"
"This scent?!!"
After recognizing the scent of divinity, Karan went quiet for minutes before laughing, again.
Does he love to laugh that much?
"Hahaha... crazy!! A being like you is captured by those fools, hahaha!! They are doomed, aren't they?" Karan remarked.
"Say, Celestial, how about we work together to flatten this kingdom?"