***
A violent ripple stirred in Marquis Weiser’s eyes.
Serengeti had left for the Great Expedition with five hundred knights. Though she was his daughter, she was his only child and a 'Transcendent' who had transcended by consuming a Star. How devastated had he been when he saw that daughter return tied to a horse, her lower body severed?
There was nothing he hadn't tried to wake her. The city’s storehouses were empty, and he couldn't even remember the last time he had slept properly. Despite all that, Serengeti had not woken up.
"Ooh. Serengeti……."
Focus returned to his daughter’s eyes. The time that had been frozen began to flow once again. Serengeti, who opened her eyes along with the Star’s Blessing, looked at him. Marquis Weiser’s eyes grew moist. He would reach out and embrace her fiercely. Because he had been such a cold father during the past years. Because he was a pathetic father who had made her do nothing but swing a sword every single day without rest.
Serengeti, noticing the Marquis’s feelings, laboriously opened her closed mouth.
"Hudson……!"
……Who?
For a moment, Marquis Weiser doubted his own hearing. Hudson. Who was that? Naturally, wouldn't it be normal for her to say 'Father,' or at least 'Lord,' in this situation?
"Serengeti!"
From behind, a man who had been completely devoid of presence until now rushed out and firmly grabbed Serengeti’s hand. He was one of the two who had entered with the Knight King’s successor. Had he not been a mere servant? Serengeti’s gaze remained filled with disbelief.
"This isn't a dream, is it? How are you here before me, Hudson……"
"It’s not a dream. I’m right here. I’m sorry I’m late. I... I thought you would never wake up…… Aah."
Hudson burst into tears. He trembled while holding Serengeti’s hand. He had intended to return after becoming a Councilor in the Golden City, Arcana. After that, Hudson’s goal was to receive formal permission and hold a wedding.
But then, he heard the news that Serengeti had returned from the Great Expedition as a cripple. Hudson couldn't go to her.
'I thought it was enough as long as she was alive.'
As long as she was alive, it was enough. If he returned as a City Councilor as quickly as possible, the Marquis would acknowledge him. If she had lost her lower body, he would simply become her legs. Even if she never woke up, it was fine. As long as she was alive, he would look after her forever.
'If it had been even a little later, I would have…….'
Looking back, he regretted it. It was a foolish thing to do. The right move would have been to seek her out even if he had to overexert himself. The thought that he had to visit only after having everything prepared was nothing more than his own arrogance and greed.
Serengeti’s once sturdy body had become gaunt before he knew it. She had been someone who could lift him with one hand, yet now it felt as if he could lift her instead. If it had been a little later, she would not have been here. And they would never have been able to meet again. Duke Sien would have kept her like a trophy in a space where only he could see her.
'I liquidated the casino and returned here after obtaining a spirit. If it weren't for Lord Randolph, I would never have seen her face again.'
Hudson looked at Randolph. He could die now without any lingering regrets, but he couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was Randolph’s plan. From the moment he first appeared at the casino and caused a commotion to draw him out, Randolph had accurately seen through his yearning and made him liquidate the casino. He obtained a spirit egg and gained confidence. He had even ascended the Tower of Spirits and become the Master of a Spirit!
Now, there was nothing he couldn't do. He could do everything he wanted. Even if it was an act of throwing himself off a thousand-foot cliff.
"I will give you 20 million gold."
Hudson straightened his waist and turned around. Marquis Weiser was looking at him with a bewildered gaze.
"Please give Serengeti to me, Father-in-law."
"Fa...ther-in-law? What kind of nonsense is this crazy bastard spouting right now?"
"Are you not desperate for money? With 20 million gold, you will be able to put out the urgent fires of the city."
Shring!
Marquis Weiser drew his sword personally. Then, pointing it at Hudson’s neck, he spoke.
"Exactly who do you think you are?"
"I am……."
What should he say? There was no way to explain himself. He wasn't a City Councilor, and he had sold the casino. An ordinary human. A Player. He couldn't say such things. Hudson looked at Randolph.
"I am his faithful servant."
Marquis Weiser’s face distorted like a demonic god.
"A mere servant thinks he can take my daughter now?"
Hudson spoke calmly.
"He is one who looks at the Stars and communicates with them. He is one who receives the respect of nature and the forest alike, and he is the successor to the Knight King who will shine even more brightly than the Knight King himself. How could I, who follow such a person, be a mere ordinary servant?"
"I’ll take that glib tongue of yours right now……"
"Stop."
What are you doing right now? I clicked my tongue softly and mediated between the two. Come to think of it, Hudson was a merchant. Someone who was an expert at gift-wrapping things. But now was not the time for that.
"I know everyone is overwhelmed with emotion, but the Demon King’s curse is not completely broken."
"……Then?"
Marquis Weiser put the sword back into the scabbard at his waist. Certainly. Though it wouldn't be enough to kill this absurd fellow named Hudson right now, breaking Serengeti’s curse came first.
"At best, opening her eyes today will be all. To completely break the curse, we must find another ‘Star.’"
The only ways to increase Star Power were to level up and to find Stars. The five stars that Knight King Wilhelm dropped and scattered when he died. I had recovered one, but four remained. If they fell into the hands of another, the memories of the Star would be damaged.
'The secret effect of the Star Successor class. If it's possible to read the memories of the Star's previous owner, I must recover the Stars as quickly as possible.'
Before the Stars were damaged or contaminated. While they still held Knight King Wilhelm’s memories, I had to take them back. If someone else became the owner of those Stars, I would never be able to recover Wilhelm’s memories and skills.
"So, everyone, get out. I have things I must hear from her."
Shoo, shoo. I waved my hand, urging them to vanish from the room immediately. Soon, Hudson and Marquis Weiser left the room with complex looks. The atmosphere felt as if a typhoon was about to sweep through, but it was none of my business.
"And you are……?"
In a situation where only the two of us remained in the room, Serengeti spoke to me.
"I am the successor to Knight King Wilhelm. I have come to hear about his end."
"……He has no such thing as a successor."
However, Serengeti was certain. Thus, she did not remove her suspicious gaze. As expected of my closest aide. I had already anticipated that a ridiculous lie like this wouldn't work on her, even if it worked on others. Because her Star had not fallen yet.
"Isabella. Make sure no one can hear."
Immediately, Isabella, who stood outside the door, began to move busily. She was an Assassin. As long as Isabella stepped forward, not even a single rat would be able to linger nearby. After the surroundings were clearly secured, I looked at Serengeti and spoke.
"Tell me about my end. As the only witness, you must know the situation at the time even better than I do."
"……!"
I knew the fact that she was the last witness. However, this was within the realm of what could be deduced. Thus, I drove the wedge in.
"I certainly killed the Demon King."
I had certainly killed the Demon King. But the one who actually died was me. Exactly why?
"I undoubtedly drove the ‘Path of Light’ into the bastard’s core. But after that, my consciousness flew away, and I died as well. Exactly what happened in between?"
Serengeti’s eyes were dyed with shock.
✺✺✺
"Wow, holy shit! I killed it! Finally!!!"
In front of the computer, I shouted for joy. I killed the Demon King! I cut off the bastard’s head and drove my sword into its heart. I didn't even know how many hours I had been controlling the character to kill this guy. My fingers hurt like crazy, as if the joints were gone. It felt like at least half a day had passed.
But I killed it. I had cleared all the boss patterns and phases, and since I had driven the unique-grade sword ‘Path of Light’—which was poison to demons—into its core, even the Demon King’s grandfather wouldn't be able to come back to life. In fact, after the Demon King died, its soul was flowing out of its core. It was the same pattern seen when raid boss monsters died.
A feat after five years. Surely, they said they would grant a wish if I cleared it. What wish should I make? Should I ask for about 10 billion won? I didn't know if the unidentified company behind this failed game would even have 10 billion won.
"Huh……? What? No, no-no-no. Wait. Why a sudden Blue Screen?"
In an instant, the screen turned deep blue. Even when I hit the monitor, it didn't return. Thus, for about ten seconds. When the screen returned, along with the sound of the Demon King’s laughter, the very familiar words ‘Game Over’ were floating on the monitor.
"What is this?"
It was absurd. I had clearly killed the Demon King, but a Blue Screen appeared and I died.
- Uwa-ha-ha-ha!
Furthermore, what was that sound of the Demon King’s laughter coming through the speakers? Was the bastard alive?
'Ah. They made this impossible to clear from the start.'
The fact that the Blue Screen appeared was also strange. It seemed the game company had set it up so the Demon King couldn't be killed.
'What a piece of total trash game.'
They must have really hated the idea of granting a wish. I sat in my chair, dejected. Five years of effort had all gone down the drain. But what was sadder than it going down the drain was the fact that it couldn't be cleared. A grand goal. The goal of finally achieving something in my life had been lost.
'It's because it can't be cleared anyway…….'
It wasn't a game made to be cleared from the beginning. Damn game company. I knew it would be like this. However, no matter how much I tried to understand, I couldn't help the words that naturally popped out.
"Seriously, what kind of trash game is this?"