Chapter 86

Ian's eyes widened. There was no chance to escape. A mass of magical power that had completely engulfed him now obscured his vision and bound his limbs in an instant. Then, contaminated magical power began to seep into his body through every opening, filling him.

—How dare you deceive and betray me...!

The devil's scream resonated thunderously in Ian's mind.

—I intended to be with you! Forever, as my companion and vessel...!

Tenacious madness and greed contained within the magical power, along with fiery anger and a sense of betrayal, overwhelmed Ian's mind. A tidal wave of emotions that would have driven a normal human to lose their reason and go mad immediately.

—Now, I will capture you...! Your soul will never escape from me!

The contaminated magical power surged even more aggressively, attempting to fill Ian's body completely. It was then that a pulsation began to wriggle somewhere deep inside Ian. A fragment of chaos, seated at the very depths of his being, began to howl.

— Your flesh is now mine...!

The devil's scream abruptly faded away. By now, Ian's body should have been overflowing with contaminated magical power. But no matter how much magic was pushed into it, it couldn't overflow or even fill up because something was endlessly swallowing the contaminated magic. It was a fragment of chaos.

—This is...? No, don't be ridiculous...!

The roaring devil, along with its magical power, pushed its soul into Ian's body. A resistance like swimming up a waterfall. Only after entering Ian's body did it realize that Ian's soul, engulfed by its magical power, was not tainted or dyed in the slightest. A soul that felt not only solid but also alien.

It was right after that the fragment of chaos that had been endlessly absorbing the contaminated magic began to pulse like a beating heart. From the tiny fragment, chaos power burst out explosively. The contaminated magical power, and even the devil's soul, were swept away, unable to resist. What shocked the devil was not just that it was expelled from Ian's body.

—How can such pure chaos exist...? No matter how noble the lineage, for a mere mortal to...?

"...That's what I've been wondering too." That was when Ian spoke.

The magical power covering him undulated in confusion. The devil's magic could no longer invade his body. It was merely clinging on, barely managing to hold on.

"Anyway...."

Ian opened his eyes. His entire sclera vibrated with a clear violet hue. His gaze pierced through the mass of magical power, directly at the devil's soul.

"...It seems there's no way for you to take over my body."

—Could it be... chaos, chaos...?

The devil stuttered. Meanwhile, Ian pushed the surging chaos power into his Sword of Judgement. The remnants of a bluish divine power bloomed into a deep navy as they emerged. Tir En might be furious if she knew. But her gaze didn't reach this deep underground of the demonic realm.

Rumble—

With a forceful motion, the magical power binding his arm fell away. The Sword of Judgement he had raised above his head dropped down.

With a swish, a navy arc cut through the contaminated magical power, and even pierced through the soul at its center.

Then there was a moment of silence.

The long vertical trajectory burst open explosively. The devil's tearing scream echoed. The clustered magical power scattered as if a water balloon had burst.

—Ah, no...! Not like this...! Not like this...!

The devil's vain curse echoed in the void. A crack appeared in the empty space next to the throne, with purple light swirling through the breach.

Swoosh—

A dense magical power and the devil, born from the soul of a fallen one, were sucked into the void. The receding scream was abruptly cut off as if sliced by a knife. Then the spatial rift disappeared.

...The queen just vanished, but why was this one sucked into the void?

The moment he thought this, a quest completion window popped up in front of him. As expected, there were no more quests to follow. After closing the confirmation window, Ian took a moment to catch his breath.

The chaos power that had covered his entire body was sucked back into the fragment. The fragment of chaos quieted down again. The fragment absorbing the contaminated magic was something that happened beyond Ian's will as if it refused to allow any impurities into his body on its own.

Surely, nothing is being born inside this, right?

Ian felt that the fragment had grown slightly larger. In truth, he didn't know much about the fragment or the chaos power. It was a primal force, and in the game, you could wield it if you corrupted your character. That it could mix with other powers was about all he knew.

What happens as the fragment of chaos continues to grow, or what side effects might arise from wielding chaos power, he had no idea. He was equally disinterested in the corruption DLC. Like the world setting, the backstory of villains, and the supporting characters, it wasn't content he needed to pay attention to during his first playthrough.

"...Anyway, I guess the worst outcome isn't waiting for me. After all, it's a power given to the player."

There was no way to check now. The important thing was that he had safely overcome an unexpected ambush and obtained experience and quest rewards. Ian casually concluded this as he finally retrieved the Sword of Judgement and turned his gaze around.

A cold silence had settled in the hall. Even beyond the closed gates, it was quiet. Either the battle was over, or both had died. Though the latter was highly unlikely.

Turning around, Ian picked up the crown that had fallen beneath the dais. It had a heavyweight. Although it looked like a headdress when worn by the queen, it was big enough to pass right over his head. Information could be checked. It was loot without special abilities. However, a faint smile crossed Ian's lips.

"...This could be sold for a good price."

This was clear evidence that the Ancient Giant Kingdom still existed underground in the North and that it had been completely destroyed by his hand. Such a trophy could be sold at a high price to the dominion command, the Lu Solar Sect, or even the Imperial Royal Family. In the game, loot related to the void or ancient civilizations could be sold in such a manner.

Even if he didn't go through them, there were many ways to sell it. It was made of pure gold, after all. The jewels embedded in it were all real too. Even just getting its worth, he could buy several imperial magic weapons.

"It's about time I needed a gear upgrade...."

Ian put the crown into the pocket dimension and began to scan the hall again. His gaze stopped at another gate protruding from a corner of the wall.

Crank—

The main gate of the audience chamber began to slowly open. The figure of a beastfolk and a vampire demon appeared through it. Ian looked at them as if he wasn't surprised. Charlotte was the first to step into the hall.

"Hmm... Impressive...."

Her appearance clearly showed that the battle in the conference hall had been tough. A new, long cut across one cheek. One of her dual swords was missing, leaving only the scabbard, and her newly fitted armor was crumpled and torn in places.

This was especially true for her shoulder guards, wrist guards, and greaves extending to her thighs. Blood was still flowing from one arm, which was torn to shreds even through the padded clothing underneath. Of course, she didn't care about her injuries.

"To think you faced all these alone...."

She simply admired the remnants of the royal guards scattered around. Thesaya, who passed by her side with a look of disdain, smiled at Ian as if nothing had happened.

"I'm glad you're safe, Ian."

Her appearance had become just as shabby. Her wolf robe was torn and holed in places, and the clothes underneath were all ripped, exposing her bare skin.

"Yeah. You guys too." Ian moved and spoke calmly.

Thesaya snorted. "Do I look safe to you? I almost died several times. Several times."

"Such an exaggeration. As if you'd die from that."

Charlotte's scolding caused Thesaya's eyebrows to furrow.

"It was almost all because of you, exaggeration? Ian, she's just a berserker. She charges to death even when she can run. Do you know how much trouble I went through?"

"I see you guys are doing well."

"What did you say...?"

Ian passed by Thesaya, who looked as if she couldn't believe her ears and added.

"Did you take care of all the statues outside?"

"Unfortunately, no. Their movements suddenly slowed down and then stopped. That's how I knew you had won."

Whether they stopped because the queen died or the demon died, there was no way to know.

Thesaya added, "It was chaos until then. Ice Spikes suddenly shoot out from the sword, ice needles sprouting. Only that crazy cat was having fun."

It seemed the queen's magic also applied to the guards of the conference hall.

Ian nodded absentmindedly, while Charlotte added, "In the end, we couldn't keep our word. There were too many enemies."

"Thesaya drank blood too, didn’t she?"

"That's also true."

"Hey, there was no—"

"But by then, it was already dead, and the pointy ears had been injured, so it was an inevitable choice."

"..."

Thesaya grimaced, seemingly not expecting Charlotte to defend her position as well.

Ian shrugged, "It's not something I hadn't anticipated."

"We've avenged properly. That should be some consolation to them."

"So, was there really a queen sleeping here?" Thesaya's voice followed.

Ian nodded, "Yes. She had fallen into corruption. So, I killed her."

"An impressive feat. A king slayer, then." Charlotte exclaimed.

A wry smile spread across Ian's lips. "That's the kind of phrase that's perfect for misunderstandings. Don't go around saying that."

"Where are you going, Ian?"

You sure ask quickly, don't you?

Stopping in front of the door on the side of the audience chamber, Ian calmly replied.

"We need to find a way out."

"What...?" Thesaya gasped in shock.

"Are you saying we could be trapped here forever?"

Instead of answering, Ian began to push the door. It felt like pushing against a wall.

Creak, crack....

It sounded as if ice was breaking, suggesting the door hadn't been opened in a long time. Ian applied more force to his arms. Even after killing the queen and the demon, the tremors that would have been felt at the entrance of the cave did not occur. It meant the cave entrance was still buried underground.

Therefore, they had to find another passage. In such a vast palace, there might be another way out if searched thoroughly.

In the worst case, I'll have to resort to putting my stats in brown magic. As long as I master Diastrophism, I should be able to manage.

Thankfully, that worst-case scenario didn't occur. Slowly opening, the gap in the door revealed an endless darkness beyond. A chill breeze flowed through.

...Where does this lead?

As Ian furrowed his brows, Thesaya quickly ran up and asked.

"Is this the way? Can we get out?"

"We'll have to go and see."

After saying this, Ian turned around. Thesaya blinked in surprise.

"You found a way and now where are you going?"

"To scour the palace," Ian answered as he walked, taking a seal from the pocket dimension.

"You two should rest and tend to your wounds."

Charlotte licked her lips. "Are you going to look for loot? If so, I'd like to come too."

"Well, then let's do that."

Thesaya murmured with a lack of enthusiasm, "...I doubt there's any great treasure buried here."

"It would be better if there were."

"Why?"

"Because I'll share any loot we find here with you too."

Thesaya's eyes widened, and she immediately fluttered, her silver hair, flying up.

***

Clatter!

"Ian, there's a bunch of these stones piled up in that room over there."

"Those are magic stones that have been drained of their power."

"...So they're trash?"

"Exactly."

Clatter—

"Ian, there's something that looks interesting over here... a book... oh...?"

"Next time, just leave anything that crumbles while you're carrying it."

The search for loot from the inside out continued without yield. It appeared the underground palace was really created for the queen's research. The bedroom next to the audience chamber was literally empty. The resting spaces for the queen's magicians, the storerooms, the laboratories, and the libraries weren't much different.

Items that had been left for a long time didn't rot but simply faded and decayed. Most of the countless parchment and books in the library crumbled upon touch.

Even the books that were somewhat intact were of no use. They were filled with ominous primitive pictograms, ancient Northern languages, symbols, and figures that Ian couldn't understand.

Some were even large enough to be used as shields. A few books gathered for kindling were the only gain.

The experimental tools that seemed to have been used for researching the power of the void were in the same state, and the magic stones piled up like mountains in every storeroom were just heaps of stones that had their magical power dispersed.

Ian continued the search without any particular disappointment. The reason Ian wasn't disappointed was that the expedition was already profitable. This search was just a procedure to ensure no additional rewards were missed. It had been a long time since he had stepped into a proper dungeon like this.

"...Hmm."

Rooms that seemed like torture chambers for humans and dwarves, likely used for dark magic experiments, and others with ominous spell circuits etched all over passed by in a blur.

"It's clear the Northern Giant Kingdom was terribly corrupted," Charlotte clicked her tongue as she spoke.

Ian responded evenly, "Those statues might have been created through such processes."

"But it didn't seem like there were any mages among them...."

"The mages were probably all killed."

"...!"

"The queen was obsessed with power. She wouldn't have left mages who shared the secrets of the void alive. Either they were all killed, or perhaps they were sacrificed for even greater power."

"That's a convincing point... and disgustingly typical of sorcerers. Not that you're disgusting, Ian."

"Well, it's not incorrect. I'm not an exception either."

Ian was feeling doubtful about a different aspect.

Even if we assume it's been maintained by drawing power from the void so far, why hasn't it darkened yet?

This was because the source of light that illuminated the palace was still active. The Sword of Judgement remained silent as well. While it could be due to their deep underground location, if the demonic realm hadn't collapsed, it implied there was another power source besides the queen or the demon.

Of course, he had no intention of demolishing walls just to satisfy his curiosity. The worst-case scenario could be that the underground palace itself was sustained by magic. Stirring up trouble out of curiosity and causing the palace to collapse would be a death worse than any other.

Well, it was a dragon's lair. Maybe it has something to do with the dragon’s arcane...

Clatter—

That's when Thesaya, who had gone to search the entrances of the corridors, returned. This time, she came back empty-handed.

"It's unbelievable. This vast space and nothing but trash...." She muttered in frustration.

Charlotte snorted, "Greed certainly seems to be the nature of pointy ears."

"I just want to claim something as my own, you know? All I have to my name is this ragged outfit."

As Charlotte was about to retort, Ian spoke up, "Is the front just as empty?"

"Worse than here. Looks like it was used by soldiers or servants. Rooms with nothing but old junk metal. From what I've seen, this place—"

"Rooms with junk metal, how many did you say?" Ian interrupted.

Thesaya shrugged, "Exactly three. Two seem to be used by giants. One looks like it was for humans or dwarves."

As Charlotte turned to look at Ian, Thesaya added cheerfully.

"It seems the giants really did enslave humans and dwarves. They completely separated the big ones from the little ones. The rooms for the big ones are lavish, but the ones for the little ones are shabby."

"I see. Then...." Ian nodded and looked directly at Thesaya.

"Lead us to that shabby room."