One of the fundamental abilities of a Necromancer was Spirit Sight, which allowed them to see the souls of the dead.
And as Spirit Sight developed further, it would reveal yet another ability.
Veylord's eyes, now as deep as an abyss, were examining the condition of a soul that was still alive.
“You bastard! How dare you mock me so insolently!! Cough! Cough!”
Hearing Old Man Hwang coughing in his agitation, the woman who had been changing clothes in another room hurried back.
In her haste, she had not finished putting on her top, leaving her underwear exposed.
“Ooh!?”
Unlike Veylord, who had already closed his eyes upon noticing the woman's predicament, Choi Jung-myeong let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Tsk! How ill-mannered!”
Clicking his tongue, Veylord lightly snapped his fingers.
Choi Jung-myeong's head suddenly pitched forward, and he jabbed himself in the eyes with his own fingers.
“MMMPH!!”
The terrible pain should have forced a scream from his mouth, but Veylord had already taken measures to prevent even that.
However, his regenerative abilities as a human who had become a Ghoul rapidly healed his eyes, absorbing even the blood streaming from them as though a recording were being played in reverse.
Of course, he had to keep his eyes closed throughout the process.
“What on earth have you done to my grandfather?!”
At the woman's sharp accusation, Veylord first attempted to calm them both.
“Calm yourselves. I'll explain everything before the curse lodged in the old man's heart devours all his life force.”
At the word 'curse,' the agitated Old Man Hwang regained his composure with almost unnatural speed.
“You brat. Do you even understand what you're saying?”
“Grandfather, are you all right?”
As she anxiously held him and examined his condition, Old Man Hwang firmly brushed her hand away.
“I'm fine. Phew… First, fetch me a traditional herbal calming pill from that drawer. And finish getting dressed!”
“Yes.”
Watching her obediently follow his instructions, Veylord grew curious about their relationship.
“Is she your granddaughter?”
“Yes. She's the only family I have. More importantly, continue what you were saying.”
“Ahem. Now, where was I?”
Although he knew perfectly well where he had left off, he pretended otherwise, slyly attempting to seize control of the conversation.
Old Man Hwang recognized his intentions, but Veylord already held the upper hand, so he gritted his teeth and answered.
“You. Said. Your. Father. Told. You.”
The irritated old man deliberately emphasized each word, but his provocation had no effect on Veylord, who was not actually Kang Chan-seong.
“Ah, yes. Then I suppose I should begin with what my father told me.”
With that, he elegantly extended the hand bearing his ring.
A substance resembling black ash began streaming from the ring like smoke, soon taking the projected form of Kang Tae-pung.
“Kang Tae-pung?”
[Huh? Oh?! Old man, you recognize me?]
Old Man Hwang and Kang Tae-pung were equally astonished by the encounter.
Someone who had died was suddenly emerging from a ring. It was an utterly absurd situation.
“W-what…! How is this possible?! Don't tell me you're one of the 'Those Who Drifted In' as well!”
Old Man Hwang recoiled in shock, then abruptly displayed hostility and pressed a button concealed beneath the table.
Alarmed by Old Man Hwang's reaction, Kang Tae-pung hurriedly tried to stop him.
[Hey! Old man! Calm down! I don't know what that button does, but we're not your enemies!]
No sooner had Kang Tae-pung shouted than they sensed security personnel rushing toward them from all four directions.
“Tsk! What a troublesome business. Jung-myeong.”
“Yes, Master! Shall I stop the people coming from outside?”
Quick to understand Veylord's intentions, Choi Jung-myeong rose from his kneeling position.
His eyes appeared to have completely recovered, and fighting spirit burned in them.
“Yes. But don't kill them. These people aren't our enemies.”
“I shall obey Master's command!”
As soon as he answered and stepped outside, a tremendous commotion erupted beyond the door.
Meanwhile, Veylord extended a finger and pressed it against the floor.
Transparent walls appeared on all sides, protecting them from intruders.
He seemed to have added another feature as well, for the walls were soundproof.
-THUMP! THUMP, THUMP!
For a short while, the muffled sound of clubs striking the Barrier could be heard outside, but it was hardly loud enough to bother them.
“Now, shall we resume our conversation?”
One corner of Veylord's mouth lifted subtly as he made the suggestion.
***
Through Veylord's abyss-like eyes, a black flame could be seen burning inside Old Man Hwang's heart.
He did not know who had cast it, but someone had placed a curse on the man known as Old Man Hwang, holding his life hostage.
‘To think there's someone besides me who can use magic. The conditions for manifesting curses seem a little different from those in my world… But the form is similar.’
As a Mage who had crossed dimensions, Veylord found himself intrigued by curse magic cast by someone other than himself.
A curse of that caliber suggested a Mage who had specialized in curses.
‘Is there another Curse Mage who came to this world besides me?’
Moreover, the curse would disappear if Old Man Hwang died, so Veylord felt an overwhelming urge to study it immediately.
[Hey! Mas— No, this isn't the time for that! Explain things to him already!]
Kang Tae-pung forcibly roused his master, who had been staring at Old Man Hwang's heart with fascination.
“Ah! That's right. It slipped my mind. I'll explain now, so take your seat. If I'd intended to kill you, I would've disposed of you long ago without even a mouse or bird knowing.”
Having acquired Kang Chan-seong's memories, Veylord could now freely use the idioms of this world.
But there was nothing incorrect about what he said.
If necessary, he could have released the Zombies concealed within his shadow and had them devour everyone present.
Their bodies were also well-trained, so he could have turned them into decent Undead.
Nevertheless, rather than bestowing death upon them, Veylord had chosen to talk.
“I see. Yes, if it had been them, they would've done exactly that.”
Only then did Old Man Hwang recognize his sincerity, return to his seat, and regain his composure.
“So, summoning the dead and conversing with them is your ability?”
As he spoke, Old Man Hwang swallowed the traditional herbal calming pill his granddaughter had handed him, having forgotten what he was about to say.
“Well, let's just say that's the case. In any event, it's thanks to that ability that I was able to find you.”
[That's right. I told him about you. Old man, you can easily handle that much gold, can't you?]
Old Man Hwang clicked his tongue at Kang Tae-pung's overly familiar and impudent manner of speaking.
“Tsk! Even in death, you haven't corrected that insolent way of speaking.”
Before long, he seemed to have grown comfortable conversing with the deceased Kang Tae-pung, for he reclined and continued their conversation at ease.
“That's why I warned you, isn't it? I told you to watch out for that bitch. I knew things would end badly the moment you became so blinded by love that you stopped caring about the consequences.”
[Come on. That was ages ago… Besides, I was already addicted to the drugs back then. I wasn't even in my right mind.]
“If you knew you were addicted, you should've found a way to overcome it! You were raised in comfort your whole life, and look what happened! Bah!”
As the barrage of nagging began, Kang Tae-pung shifted the subject toward Veylord.
[What can I do about it now that I'm dead? Instead, please look after my… son. He's suffered terribly because of me and that bitch, but he's a decent young man.]
“Tsk! I'm already well aware of how diligent he is. I've been keeping an eye on him ever since you died. I was only concerned because he has that bitch's blood in him.”
Whether alive or dead, Hong Jang-mi continued to be an obstacle in Kang Chan-seong's life.
[Ugh… Forget about that bitch and just look after the boy. If you've been watching him all this time, you should know. Give a young man like him a little push, and he'll keep moving forward. And old man, you're still collecting gold, aren't you?]
As Kang Tae-pung continued, his words increasingly sounded like excuses.
Veylord, who had been watching this pathetic display, shook his head and silenced him.
‘Be quiet.’
At Veylord's will, Kang Tae-pung's mouth immediately snapped shut and would not open again.
Old Man Hwang, who had been quietly observing the exchange, turned toward Kang Chan-seong.
“Were you the one who shut that bastard's mouth?”
“Yes. He was being rather noisy, so I silenced him. Besides, it seems the situation outside is nearly resolved.”
Now that he mentioned it, the sounds of people striking the Barrier outside had already disappeared.
“Yes, I see. So, will you be satisfied if I simply handle that gold?”
“Of course. However, since you've displayed hostility toward me, you'll have to do something more.”
“Something more?”
“Waive the commission.”
Old Man Hwang snorted and responded with a threat of his own.
“Hmph! Don't make me laugh. Even if you extorted money from me right now, I could recover it once I took action. And naturally, I wouldn't return the gold either.”
“I'm sure you could. But you'll be dead before that happens, Old Man Hwang.”
At those words, the granddaughter beside him raised her eyebrows sharply, looking ready to take action at any moment.
But Old Man Hwang quietly restrained her.
“Stay still.”
Only then did his granddaughter settle back onto the floor.
“So, are you saying you'll kill me?”
“Of course not. The curse lodged in your heart will kill you. Why would I bother dirtying my own hands?”
The mention of the curse reminded Old Man Hwang of Veylord's earlier statement that something was devouring his life force.
“Come to think of it, you said there was something in my heart.”
“That's what it looks like. It seems someone recently planted a curse inside you. You'll gradually grow more lethargic and sleep for increasingly long periods until your heart eventually stops, bringing your life to a seemingly natural end.”
His explanation was so detailed that it sounded as though he had witnessed the process himself.
“It seems someone wants to bring about your natural death. Have you experienced any heart problems recently?”
The symptoms he had described at length, together with an incident that had occurred not long ago, were astonishingly accurate.
“H-how did you know that?!”
The granddaughter was so startled that she spoke without thinking.
“You little fool! Keep your mouth shut!”
In her panic, she had made the mistake of carelessly revealing information concerning her grandfather's life.
She hurriedly fell silent, but her reaction alone was sufficient to confirm that something dangerous had happened to Old Man Hwang.
“If you leave it as it is, you'll die within a month, no matter what measures you take.”
“Hmph! What nonsense! I know my own lifespan better than anyone! I don't know how you learned about my condition, but that won't happen!”
Seeing the man declare so confidently that he knew his own lifespan, Veylord abandoned his act as Kang Chan-seong.
He gazed down at Old Man Hwang with arrogant eyes and sneered.
“You claim to know your own lifespan? How laughable. Even I, who was called the Calamity of Death, could not know my own lifespan and was forced to make myself immortal. Yet a mere mortal claims to know his? Preposterous!”
“What?! What did you say?! Immortal?”
At that moment, Old Man Hwang appeared bewildered, as though he had somehow grasped the meaning behind Veylord's outrageous words.
His granddaughter, however, looked utterly dumbfounded, unable to understand what was happening.
“Your heart is about to stop this very moment. Let us see how long you can continue speaking with such arrogance.”
“What are you talking about…?!”
His granddaughter was about to angrily protest his claim that Old Man Hwang's heart would stop.
But at that very instant, Old Man Hwang's body suddenly pitched forward.
Seeing her grandfather collapse without even managing a groan, she rushed toward him in alarm.
“Grandfather!! Wake up!”
Kang Tae-pung also sensed the urgency of the situation and looked desperately at Veylord.
-Please save him!-
His desperate plea reached Veylord, but Veylord did nothing.
Instead, he released the restraint on Kang Tae-pung's mouth.
[Hah! Quick, call 119! No, doesn't he have a private medical team?! With the old man's resources, he should have one ready!]
At Kang Tae-pung's frantic shout, the granddaughter, who had already been performing CPR for some time, answered.
“Grandfather always said he knew his own lifespan, so he never kept a medical team!”
[That crazy old bastard! If he'd already suffered cardiac arrest, he should've considered it at least once! Did he at least get examined at a hospital?!]
At Kang Tae-pung's question, the granddaughter shook her head.
“He did go to a hospital, but they couldn't find anything….”
Since the hospital had been unable to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest, Old Man Hwang seemed to have lost even more faith in modern medicine.
[Please save this old man! I'll do anything!]
Despite Kang Tae-pung's desperate plea, Veylord remained unmoved.
Instead, he continued to watch with interest as the granddaughter performed CPR, studying both her hand movements and Old Man Hwang's condition.
‘Hooh. To think they can make the heart beat like that in its place. How interesting.’
At that moment, the granddaughter, still desperately performing chest compressions, joined Kang Tae-pung in pleading with him.
“Please! Save my grandfather! I'll do anything! Please!!”
“You clearly said you'd do anything. You will have to take responsibility for those words.”
Only after hearing the answer he wanted did Veylord finally begin to move.
He slowly approached the fallen Old Man Hwang and casually pushed the granddaughter aside.
“Move. You're in the way.”
“Ah!?”
Startled by how easily she had been pushed aside, the granddaughter tried to approach again.
But before she could, Veylord's Magic Power enveloped Old Man Hwang.
“Ah! What on earth is happening now?!”
Veylord ignored her startled cry at the unbelievable phenomenon.
Instead, he slowly raised one hand.
Along with an ominous surge of dark-purple Magic Power, Old Man Hwang's body rose into the air until he was floating face-to-face with Veylord.
“If I'd been even a little later, the curse would've spread and killed him.”
The granddaughter trembled violently at the mention of his death.
At that moment, Veylord rapidly gathered Magic Power into his hand and struck Old Man Hwang's chest with his palm.
-SMACK!
The sudden action startled not only the granddaughter but Kang Tae-pung as well.
“What are you doing…?!”
Just then, black flames erupted from Old Man Hwang's back, where the force of Veylord's palm strike had driven them out.
Having suddenly lost its dwelling place, the flame tried to return to the body it had inhabited, but Veylord's Magic Power blocked its path, leaving it completely immobilized.
[SKREE!]
The curse let out a shriek of pain and continued struggling desperately to return to Old Man Hwang's body.
[SKREE! SKREEE!]
As its struggles continued, Veylord intervened personally.
‘It's more tenacious than I expected.’
Rather than drawing a magic circle at his fingertip, he inscribed a large one across his palm and tore the cursed flame away.
[SKREEEEAAAA!!]
A horrific scream echoed throughout the mansion, causing the granddaughter to instinctively cover her ears.
“Ugh!”
But Veylord knew this was the curse's final act of resistance, so he tightened his grip on the flame even further.
-POP!
A small explosion suddenly erupted in his hand, and black smoke quietly rose into the air.
The curse that had lodged itself in Old Man Hwang's heart and tormented him had been annihilated by Veylord's single hand.
“HAAAH!”
At that moment, Old Man Hwang, who had been lying unconscious as though dead, opened his mouth and began taking repeated, deep breaths.
There was no longer any reason to keep him suspended in the air, so Veylord released his Magic Power and lowered him onto the bedding.
[Master! What happened? Is the old man alive?]
“Yes, he's alive. Unless something unusual happens, he should easily live another ten years, just as he claimed.”
Just then, the previously closed door slid open, and Choi Jung-myeong hurried inside, his clothes covered in blood.
“Master! Are you all right?! I just heard a strange scream…”
His belated concern over something that had already been resolved dispelled the heavy tension that had filled the room.
***
A short while later, Old Man Hwang regained consciousness and heard from his granddaughter what had just happened.
“Grandfather, can you really believe something like this happened?”
Old Man Hwang, however, accepted his granddaughter's account with surprising ease.
He behaved as though he were already familiar with such circumstances.
“I see. There should still be another year left. Have they already begun making their move? And now someone like you has appeared as well.”
Even Veylord grew curious at his words, which sounded as though he had anticipated such events.
“What do you mean? Who are 'they'?”
Veylord apparently had no intention of continuing to act as Kang Chan-seong, for his informal speech now came naturally.
Considering Veylord's actual age, that was only to be expected.
Though no one could have guessed how old he truly was, everyone now accepted his informal manner of address without question.
“Yes, them. There's a secret organization called 'Those Who Drifted In.' They've been watching me for some time.”
[Watching you?]
“Grandfather, since when has this been happening…?”
Seeing his granddaughter's distressed expression, Old Man Hwang began speaking as though looking back into the past.
“It started before you were born. When I, a mere individual, came to share the financial resources and power that were originally supposed to belong to them, they came looking for me of their own accord.”
There was something strange about his words.
The word 'originally' made it sound as though he were describing something he had already experienced.
“You speak strangely. Almost as if you've seen the future beforehand.”
At that, Old Man Hwang glanced briefly at his granddaughter before making a request of Veylord.
“If I can trust you, I'd like to speak with you alone for a while. Just the two of us.”
“Hmm. Just the two of us? Very well.”
Accepting his request, Veylord formed a magic circle on his finger and snapped it.
-PING!
A sensation of pressure filled everyone's ears as a Barrier appeared, pushing everyone away except Old Man Hwang and Veylord.
“Wha?! H-hey!”
[W-wait!]
“Master!”
Those pushed away hurriedly pounded on the Barrier, but not a single sound could pass through it in either direction.
“Now, speak.”
Old Man Hwang nodded at Veylord's extraordinary ability, slowly straightened himself, and began to speak.
“Who are you? Are you perhaps a Reincarnator or a Returnee?”
“Hmm? What do you mean by that? I…”
Veylord was about to lie in response to Old Man Hwang's question, which suggested he knew something, but the old man revealed his own identity first.
“I'm a Regressor. I've returned from a point ten years in the future. So don't bother lying to me. There was no one like you in that time.”
At first, even Veylord found it difficult to believe the shocking claim that the old man had traveled backward through time.
‘Manipulating time at will is a power even the Creator couldn't wield… No, perhaps it wasn't that the Creator couldn't do it, but that the Creator simply chose not to…’
However, as Veylord looked into the old man's sincere eyes, he eventually found himself accepting the truth.
‘Then again, someone like me, who crossed dimensions and took Possession of another body, exists as well.’
Having finally made up his mind, Veylord straightened his legs and sat with his back perfectly upright.
Then, with the proud, dignified gaze of a nobleman, he introduced his true identity to Old Man Hwang.
“Very well. As a high noble, I have no reason to lie. I am Veylord Carpe Diem, a Necromancer from another world, a different world from yours. I am the lord of the great city of Carpe Diem, and the one who was called the Calamity of Death.”
Old Man Hwang gazed at Veylord in awe as he completed his introduction, revealing his dark-purple Magic Power.