His Breeding Obsession

His expressionless, closed-eyed face was as quiet as a dried mask.

 

It reminded Mirania of an old man, an aging man who wouldn’t be surprised if he died soon, and she was genuinely puzzled.

 

Malandor, whoever he was.

 

He was a man of great power, but always with an unflappable smile.

 

Once he had been so virile that he could have taunted young Grecan and Leverianz with one finger.

 

But now he seemed to be a shell of himself.

 

‘Mmm.’

 

Mirania hesitated, unable to make a sound for some reason.

 

‘There is no sign of life in this tower.’

 

Only Malandor. Not even his many slaves, whom he keeps for his amusement.

 

Malandor was the only presence in this vast space.

 

Mirania frowned, noticing Malandor’s lonely shoulders, slumped like an old man who had lived alone for too long.

 

A tower in ruins, having lost its owner. Malandor, the weathered and faded owner of the tower.

 

Malandor was lethargic, as if he had no interest in maintaining the tower.

 

‘A serious loss.’ 

 

The situation in the Strange Dark Realm was dire, and so was Malandor in front of her.

 

Something must have happened to make him lose his mind.

 

The natural assimilation was broken by the agitation in her mind.

 

Mirania’s new body shook, and a refreshing aura like the scent of the forest leaked out from the cracks.

 

Panicking, Mirania quickly opened a new Nature Assimilation.

 “…” 

Malandor’s eyes slowly opened.

 

His pupils were tarnished, like the dull glow of an old, tarnished red spinel.

 “Who… has entered.” 

A slow voice spoke. It seemed unmoved by the intruder.

 

Suddenly, Malandor sneered,

“It’s him.” “…” “Has he come to kill me?” 

After a moment of silence, as if to gauge the response, Malandor shook his head.

 “I don’t think so.” “…” “This aura…” 

Slowly, Malandor’s expression changed strangely, his eyelids fluttering like a bewildered man.

 “That can’t be.” 

Malandor rose to his feet and cast his gaze toward the area where Mirania stood doing Nature Assimilation.

 

His red eyes fluttered inexplicably.

 “No, this can’t be.” “…” 

Hesitantly, Malandor said in a trembling voice.

 “Mirania?  

The name came out cautiously, as if he feared his expectations would be betrayed.

 

Mirania, the owner of the name, stood still, unsure of what to do.

 

For a long moment, nothing changed. Malandor laughed weakly, his eyes settling back into place, his gaze cloudy again.

 “…It can’t be.” “…” “Alas, I must be going mad at last, Mirania.” 

Mirania, who thought she was being recognized, clicked her tongue in relief as she watched Malandor muttering to himself.

 

‘What the hell is this, Malandor?’

 

She was pleased, then disappointed, then muttered to herself.

 

‘This is unacceptable.’

 

Mirania released her nature assimilation spell.

 Swoosh— 

Mirania appeared in front of a brick wall.

 

Malandor, who was about to lie down on the bed, stiffened at the color of the dark surroundings.

 

He blinked wordlessly, looking even more stupid than he already was, and Mirania said bluntly.

 “Are you out of your mind? I haven’t seen you in a long time, and you’re a pathetic sight.” 

Still speechless.

 “Tsk tsk.” 

Malandor’s eyes began to change as he stared blankly at Mirania, who clicked her tongue.

 

Facing the tidal wave of anger in her eyes, Mirania coughed unnecessarily.

 

‘No wonder you’re so surprised by my sudden reappearance, when you thought I was dead.’ 

 

Even as she thought this, the thought of speaking to Malandor,

‘You’re still alive,’ ‘How are you,’ ‘What have you been up to,

‘

‘ Are you well,’

made her feel nervous.

 

Malandor and I were enemies, or at best, good friends.

 

Not wanting to create an uncomfortable scene, she stiffened her expression.

 “… Mirania?” 

Malandor’s voice was trembling now that he had regained his composure.

 “Ugh, there is not much time. You must explain what happened to the outside world and to you…” “Mirania!” 

Mirania’s voice trailed off, and she was about to speak when she was yanked away by an immense force.

 

As she was pulled into Malandor’s arms, she made a mental note to herself, ‘

This is overreacting,’

and then relaxed in response to Malandor’s reaction.

 “Mirania…” 

The voice of the weeping child was deep and soft.

 

Malandor snapped, grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him, and Mirania swallowed hard,

‘I will not react.’

 “How, did you survive…?” “Ahem, it just happened.” 

Malandor’s shaky eyes didn’t stop shifting at the lame answer.

 “How, how… I thought Mirania was dead, and she never forgave me, and I was so sick of it all, I wanted to die…” 

Suddenly he was sobbing, holding Mirania in his arms. She could feel her shoulder getting wet, and she blinked in confusion.

 “I’m glad I’m not dead, I can’t die anyway… but if I were, I wouldn’t be able to kiss you, Mirania.” “What? This body has no intention of kissing you.” “Hmph, I don’t want to hear that…” 

Malandor, as always, ignored the unfavorable remarks and continued to huff and puff.

 

That day, on the Plains of Razhul, Malandor did not worry much about her.

 “I didn’t think we’d be beaten by mere mortals.” 

But in the end, she was pierced through the heart by a shard of Adensha’s mirror, dead, and gone.

 “I thought you had vanished into the dust, and I cannot forgive myself for my foolishness…” 

Malandor broke down.

 “But I wasn’t the only one who despaired, Grecan was acting like a madman… and I’m stuck here, helpless for more than one reason.” 

He was shocked that Mirania was dead.

 

‘You fought with Grecan while you were still alive, and then I got stuck here.’

 

There’s a lot of redundancy, and it’s hard to make sense of it, but it goes something like this.

 

By the time he finished, Malandor had stopped crying. His eyes narrowed as he studied Mirania, who had changed but not lost her basic nature.

 “But why has Mirania become such a wimp?”  

He stuck his head out and looked Mirania up and down, then frowned again.

 “This is worse than I remember. If I hit you, you’ll pass out.” “It’s not that bad. Your condescending demeanor hasn’t changed.” 

Shaking her head, Mirania sat back in a chair.

 

Malandor wiped the moisture from his eyes with the back of his hand and sat down across from her.

 

Still in disbelief, still overwhelmed by the way he looked at her, his eyes filled with emotion, Mirania cut to the chase.

 “Is that why you fought with Grecan? I came back to find your mansion in shambles, and I don’t think it was supposed to be this way, or otherwise.” “…I see. Mirania will want to know the story, and as you can see, it wasn’t just a fight.” 

Malandor nodded, his face sobering. A chill radiated from his somewhat stoic face.

  “He cast me out, here in the Dark Realm, telling me never to return to the continent.” 

Mirania shook her head at Malandor’s lightly gritted teeth.

 “You don’t get to kick him out just because he kicked you over.” “You’re right.” 

Malandor nodded his head in acknowledgment and continued obediently.

 “Grecan tore the king’s body apart and sealed the entrance to the Dark Realm.” “…What?” 

A chill flashed across his eyes.

 

The words that came out of his mouth were anything but light, and Mirania straightened her posture.

 “When you say king, do you mean the King of the Dark World?” 

Crossing his legs, Malandor let out a short laugh at Mirania’s serious face.

 “The King of the Dark Realm is not something you can change just because you want to, like the King of the Human Realm.” “…” “He is my alter ego, created from parts of my body.” “?” “Mirania, if you came all the way here, you would have seen it.” “What do you mean seen?” “It’s everywhere. A black aura that won’t dissipate.” 

At those words, Mirania remembered the black energy that the figures and the darkling had so desperately sought before the tower.

 

Her expression changed, and Malandor nodded, confirming her suspicions.

 “That’s the king’s body that he tore apart.” “…” “The king’s body was torn into many pieces and used as a seal to block the entrance. Perhaps you, Mirania, entered through the opening I created?” 

She nodded.

 “That’s because Grecan didn’t know the opening existed. The only door that wasn’t sealed. It’s a good thing he didn’t know, because that’s how Mirania got here.” 

Looking at Malandor’s smirk, Mirania considered the information she’d heard.

 

‘So Grecan was responsible for the mess in the mansion… and he even sealed the entrance.’

 

The black stone with its deathly aura was a fragment of the soul of the King of the Dark Realm that Malandor had spoken of.

 

The King had been created by Malandor himself, using his own body. It could not be unrelated to Malandor.

 “It must have been responsible for your helplessness.” 

Malandor nodded at her grave tone.

 “The King was my alter ego, practically ruling the Dark Realm, and the dark ones were driven mad with grief.” 

He muttered, his voice strangely emotionless.

 “How could they remain sane after stepping on their torn king’s body?” “…” “I’m being affected like this.” 

Mirania closed her eyes tightly.

 “Grecan did all that…” 

She hesitated to finish, and Malandor’s hollow voice followed.

 “He was mad, crazy. He must have thought you were dead, just like me.” “…” “He was crazy, completely insane,”

said Malandor.