I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

13 – Deafening Silence (2) (Revised)

It took Lord Malis a few seconds after realizing that something was seriously wrong, seeing the girl receiving the reverence of Kalan’s Sword with her eyes filled with hatred, before he broke the silence.

Crack!

“Ah?”

It was the first time that Lord Malis, turning his gaze unintentionally due to the searing pain from the right side, made a surprised sound.

“Aaaah!!”

After realizing that his right arm had been severed, the office, which had been filled with silence, began to be filled with screams starting from the scream of pain while Lord Malis pressed his severed right arm with his left hand.

However, the girl who had actually performed the act approached Lord Malis with a still annoyed and hateful expression.

Thunk!

She slammed his head onto the floor.

“Screaaam!”

Despite the fact that he was once a hero and capable of shattering the wooden floor of the noble chamber, Lord Mallis let out an agonized scream that seemed to pierce through.

The girl who stared at him so intently moved her hand and grabbed Lord Mallis by the hair, pulling him up.

He was covered in blood from the scratches on his face, which had become a bloody mess.

“Answer me. Did you send my poison to Lord Larthania, who has returned this time?” she asked.

Feeling a sense of dread at the girl’s voice, Lord Mallis made an effort to assess the situation.

“Why is she suddenly like this-!”

Clearly, Lord Mallis had requested support from Kallan’s sword in preparation for the red-eyed curse.

In other words, the Kallan sword present here must be his ally without a doubt.

“He should have been an ally…!”

Lord Mallis looked at Lorelle, one of Kallan’s five sword wielders, who stood by the door, but she did not make any move and simply watched him suffer.

As if she had no intention of intervening at all.

Turning his gaze to the girl holding him by the hair, Lord Mallis’s expression distorted.

“…Huh?”

Unknowingly, he let out an incredulous voice.

It was no wonder; the girl’s appearance clearly resembled someone Lord Mallis had seen somewhere before.

Inky, waist-length hair and dark pupils that seemed to sink into the abyss.

Likewise, the deep black cloak she wore and the sharp darkness floating above her shoulders reminded him of a presence he had in one corner of his memory.

The moment he perfectly recalled that presence.

“What…?”

Lord Mallis looked at the being in front of him with an expression of disbelief.

If he understood and deduced correctly, then he should now understand the whole sequence of events.

Of course, there were still many things that he didn’t understand.

Why exactly did she, who had hidden her tracks since eight years ago, appear here now?

And why did Kallan’s sword pay homage to the existence that was once the leader of Larthania’s entire Knights?

However, those questions were not that important.

What was clearly evident on his face was pure terror.

“Ugh… Ahh-“

Emotions tainted with fear.

His trembling eyes betrayed a future with a clearly predictable outcome, and his left hand, which grasped the severing edge, began to shake uncontrollably.

It was inevitable.

At the moment when all deductions had concluded, and realizing the identity of the figure before him, it was all too easy for him to anticipate his own demise by contemplating the question he had posed earlier.

Thus, Lord Malice opened his mouth in a desperate attempt to beg for forgiveness, with a gaze soaked in terror.

“Dark Lord, I, I might have, there might be a misunderstanding-“

The moment the sound flowed out of Lord Malice’s mouth,

“Oh.”

For the first time since entering this study and uttering not a single word, a low sigh escaped from the lips of Loreal.

A composed, yet somewhere poignant sigh.

Lord Malice, for a fleeting moment, looked into Loreal’s eyes.

Emotionless, but with a gaze that, like the voice, seemed pitiful, Loreal stared at him, as if Lord Malice couldn’t comprehend it.

“The title I received from that person, is the Absolute of Darkness.”

The moment the voice echoed,

Lord Malice could see the girl’s expression.

The face of the girl, which had remained impassive until now, contorted like a demon.

“Oh.”

And with that, before properly piecing together the puzzle of his thoughts, his skull, still intact, was torn apart by the darkness behind the girl.

####

Lorel, the wielder of the five swords known as the Divine Swords, sighed unknowingly as she looked at Lord Malice’s corpse, impaled on the ground like a mop.

‘Of all things, to make such a mistake.’

Of course, Lord Malice’s death had been predetermined even before she arrived here.

By whom?

By Lord Malice himself, due to the report he had submitted.

But if he hadn’t made the mistake, Lord Malice could have lived at least another ten minutes before dying.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

“…”

In that case, the corpse wouldn’t have instantly pierced through the ground of the estate in disarray.

Lorel silently stared at the place where Lord Malice’s corpse had been shattered, then looked at her.

Her usual expressionless demeanor, which remained unchanged even now, seemed to be filled with a deep-seated anger that Lorel had not seen before, making her slightly intimidated.

Looking at her, Loryel once again recalled her notorious title.

“The Absolute of Darkness.”

In truth, even in Loryel’s opinion, her title didn’t seem all that impressive.

…Honestly, if we speak a bit more objectively, her title was childish.

Yet, as far as she knew, there was no one who dared to ignore the girl in front of them.

The Five Swords of Kallan.

Even the prominent nobles who secretly knew her identity.

…Even the king himself.

No one dared to mock the girl’s title.

The power she possessed was so formidable that even the king had to express awe in his words.

Everyone who knew the girl was aware of what happened to those who dared to cross her.

And above all, she was—

“Loryel.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Have you found it?”

—The master of the Five Swords, arguably the most formidable force in the Kingdom of Kallan.

“If you’re talking about Yulliar’s Pendant, yes, I found it.”

“Hand it over.”

At the girl’s gesture, Loryel took out the pendant from within his robe, respectfully bowing his head as he handed it to his master.

“It was easy to find in the warehouse since it was on this month’s supply list.”

As Loryel spoke, the girl, after receiving the item, raised the pendant as if examining it in the darkness.

“…It will do.”

As she put the pendant away, she asked,

“Loryel, which noble is connected to this brat?”

“…It’s Duke Liphelao.”

Loryel mentioned the name of the duke, one of the three influential figures in the Kingdom of Kallan, including the king.

However, even upon hearing the name of the duke, who held power that even the king couldn’t trifle with, she remained indifferent.

“Deliver a message to him.”

She said.

“If he doesn’t heed my warning one more time, I’ll personally rip his throat out and hang it in the middle of his estate.”

Similarly, Loriel had heard the story.

“Everything is as Master wishes.”

With a respectful bow of her head.

“If the Duke makes another mistake, the five of us, the Blades, will rectify the Duke’s errors before Master.”

She showed unwavering loyalty.

And then.

The absolute ruler of darkness, without hesitation, turned his body.

“Now, just two more—only two.”

Quietly, with a murmur, he exited the study.

No one remained there any longer.

And at that moment.

[My Lord.]

“Why?”

Responding to the voice of Kim Hyun-woo, who had been deeply contemplating whether to build the blacksmith first or the tavern first after completing the library.

[There has been a change in territory influx rate.]

“Well, naturally, it would increase. I’ve built the library, so we should have a foundation, and it would probably go up by around 10%, right?”

Though he spoke as if it were inconsequential.

[It’s not that much.]

“What?”

[I recommend checking the territory influx rate.]

Loria held such words in her mouth.

Soon, Kim Hyun-woo wore a perplexed expression.

“???”

—

Territory Influx Rate: 333%

※ An event due to an incident will begin.

—

In response to the notification window she had brought up, I found myself unintentionally wearing a puzzled expression.

“What’s this now?”

Three days later.

Lord Malice, the former lord of the Sertova domain and the proclaimed master of darkness, whose head was gruesomely torn off, leading to his supposed death—

*Huff, huff—*

—astonishingly, was still alive.

Of course, his survival was fundamentally inexplicable.

He had his head torn off by the master of darkness and endured attacks severe enough to disintegrate limbs multiple times.

However, the reason he could still be alive was due to his previous identity as a renowned hero before becoming a lord.

True to his moniker, “The Explorer,” he possessed an extremely rare and invaluable artifact that could only be found within the labyrinth—a relic named ‘Rebirth.’

*Huff, huff—*

The effect of ‘Rebirth’ allowed the possessor, upon death, a revival three days later, limited to a single occurrence. That’s why he could survive.

Revived in this manner, Lord Malice swiftly realized he was outside the Sertova domain and immediately fled in the opposite direction.

Certainly, Lord Malice was filled with numerous uncertainties.

Yet, without time to resolve his questions, he fled without hesitation. His sole reason for running away so decisively was as clear as day.

If he returned to the domain now, he would undoubtedly meet his demise.

Thus, to safeguard his life and strategize for the future, he chose to hide for the time being. However, understandably, his mind was far from calm.

With a single mistake, he had destroyed everything. Undoubtedly, as the former lord of the Sertova domain, he had lost the tower and all the power he had accumulated.

“…Lartania!”

Unconsciously, Lord Malice furrowed his brow, murmuring the name of the villain who had brought him to this state.

Of course, his anger was irrational.

After all, it was Lord Malice who had instigated the events concerning the Lartania domain.

However, within Lord Malice’s mind, all actions he had taken had vanished, leaving only rage towards Lartania, the lord who had made him this way.

“I will have my revenge, undoubtedly…!”

As Lord Malice gritted his teeth in determination—

“Indeed.”

A voice echoed.

“So, you’re still alive.”

The moment he identified the source of that voice—

“…Ah.”

Lord Malice realized.

Originally, revenge was something impossible from the start.

And.

“Did I not warn you?”

Lordmalis spoke with eyes soaked in terror.

“I’ll kill you myself.”

He stared at the red eyes in front of him with a gaze filled with fear.