CH 182

Denarion shook off his terrible memories before speaking again. “We lost the battle that day. Parthenon lost the horns he was highly proud of, and Anatolius had to prepare a brand new mask. I lost both my wings and could never fly again.”

The moment Kim Jin-Woo heard the name of the One-Eyed Lord, his heart started racing out of control. He felt as if his heart would explode if he were to open his mouth. His eyes and temples burned hotly, and he felt the world around him swirl. He wasn’t even able to respond to Denarion’s words.

The Lord of Nightmares looked at him through transparent eyes; his gaze lingered for a long time, as if he were looking for something.

“Why did you show me something like this?” Kim Jin-Woo asked sharply, having finally been able to recover his mind after a while. His heart was still beating like crazy, but his expression was as cold as ever. “If you’re going to talk some bullshit about the power of your nightmares, get the fuck out of here. You desire the Ancient Lords’ powers for yourself. If you didn’t desire them, I wouldn’t have been able to see that.”

The Lord of Nightmares had been about to speak, but he closed his mouth before falling quickly into deep thought. He finally said, “You’re a Highlord, just like him.” Unlike before, he didn’t beat about the bush and went straight to the point.

“Were you finding it tough to even pretend you didn’t know about it anymore?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“If I keep this pretense up any longer, I fear someone else will take my prize.” Denarion’s usually ordinary demeanor quickly turned cold and ruthless.

“Now you’re showing your true self,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

“This doesn’t mean I’m trying to figure out how to take over your power and your Grand Labyrinth. I just want our relationship to be a little bit more… sincere.” Despite his words, Denarion’s gaze looked ever more insidious.

“Is there something we can get out of each other?” Kim Jin-Woo asked skeptically. In the past, he might have gone along, but now, he had a formidable monster called the Grand Labyrinth by his side.

Of all the things the Deep Floor Counts could offer him, there was literally nothing he needed right away… No. There was one thing, but he knew the Deep Floor Counts would never give it up.

What he needed was the fragments of the Ancient Lord, or in other words, the Underworld Nobles’ Seals. Unless they were crazy, they would never readily hand over the keys to controlling their labyrinths and their numerous vassals, which were basically the source of their mighty power.

But it seemed it was too early to judge. Denarion knew exactly what Kim Jin-Woo needed, and he immediately put it up for offer. “Don’t you need the source of the Highlords’ power—the Power Fragments? Of course, the Noble’s Seal I’m offering isn’t my own.”

“Then whose?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“Parthenon of Despair. I offer you his Seal.” For some strange, unexplainable reason, Denarion was acting as if he had Parthenon’s seal in his possession.

“Parthenon, huh… Bullshit,” Kim Jin-Woo shot back.

It was an offer that wasn’t worthy of an answer. A gambler who entered without a stake was either a scammer or a fool hoping for fortune, after all. However, if the person who offered such a ridiculous deal were a Deep Floor Count, things would be different.

“But it is quite tempting,” he finally admitted. The moment he showed interest, Denarion’s eyes flashed with outright greed. Kim Jin-Woo continued, “Shall we talk in detail? No, before that, let me hear what you want first.”

It was obvious what Denarion wanted, but Kim Jin-Woo wanted to be a little more certain. And as expected, the Lord of Nightmares answered that he wanted the power of the Highlords.

“Of course, I don’t desire so much power that I would be able to take yours away. I’m not that careless, nor am I that thoughtless,” Denarion said. But from his shifty eyes, it wasn’t at all convincing. He seemed to have noticed Kim Jin-Woo’s doubts, as he quickly carried on. “There’s still room in the Highlords’ succession.”

Denarion said, looking Kim Jin-Woo straight in the eyes, “What I want is the right to succeed the Fairy Lord.”

“What?” Kim Jin-Woo frowned, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

“I heard the descendants of the Fairy Lord—the Under-Elves—are under your command,” Denarion said.

“If it’s the Under-Elves you’re talking about, there should be quite a few of them in the Deep Floors as well,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

There weren’t many Under-Elves who had responded to Rikshasha’s call to arms. Far more of them were staying in the Deep Floors than there were Under-Elves residing in the Grand Labyrinth. If Denarion wanted an Under-Elf, all he had to do was summon one of the dozens of Under-Elves living as slaves in the Deep Floors. However, it seemed that what Denarion wanted wasn’t just any ordinary Under-Elf.

“What I want is a real Under-Elf. Not a prideless one,” Denarion said.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” Kim Jin-Woo had a hunch, but he feigned ignorance.

Denarion stared back at him and laughed, revealing his white fangs. “I want the Under-Elf Runner under your command.”

***

The nightmare had ended, but Denarion almost seemed to still be stuck in it. The Lord of Nightmares’ eyes glistened with pain, dread, and a strange sense of longing, and he finally spoke after a long time.

“He’s gotten stronger than I thought.” He barely let out a few words as he stared in a certain direction, as if he were talking to someone. “Thanks to that, I was forced into a nightmare I didn’t have to experience.”

It hadn’t been in his plans to reveal his weak self to the Conqueror of the 9th Floor. However, the Highlord was a lot stronger than he had expected, and he had ended up showing his shameful, weak past self. As a result, the wounds of the past that had fully healed were opened up once more, burning his soul.

“I’ll take care of the rest, so please heal yourself,” said Darius, his lieutenant who had been standing by him just in case, while supporting the staggering Denarion.

“No, I have to move now,” Denarion insisted.

Concerned about his pale-faced master, Darius quickly exclaimed. “But!”

“Bryntess… That whore has begun to move,” Denarion said.

“You mean the Queen of Corruption,” Darius added.

“I’ve already sent out that scheming Tyrenon to liaise with her. If we drag this out, she may find a chance to interfere,” Denarion said. He seemed to be highly wary of Bryntess, the Queen of Corruption, as he looked as if he were being backed into a corner.

Noticing Denarion’s impatience, which was itself a rare sight to see, Darius quietly backed off.

“Looks like I’ve made a mistake,” Denarion said, looking as if he had other concerns besides Bryntess.

“Is there something that’s bothering you?” Darius asked.

“I lost to my own nightmare. Without even realizing it, I ended up revealing the true name of the One-Eyed Lord,” Denarion said.

“Didn’t the right of succession that currently belongs to the Undefeated Commander, who has now ascended to a Highlord, originally belong to the Lord of Brilliance anyway? What good would the One-Eyed Lord’s true name do for him? Besides, he commands the Crow of the Battlefield. If he wanted to, finding out that true name wouldn’t be such a big deal for him,” Darius said reassuringly.

Despite that, Denarion didn’t relax one bit. “No, when the Crow was sealed inside the summoning stone, she was no longer able to call out her old master’s name. This is clearly my mistake.”

There seemed to be something important related to the One-Eyed Lord’s true name, as Denarion frowned even harder and continued, “And I’m not certain of this, but there’s a possibility that he didn’t acquire just one right of succession from his ascension to Highlord.”

This time, even Darius was left speechless, as his beautiful face contorted into an ugly mess.

“If that guy has more than just the succession right of the Lord of Brilliance that I sent to him, it’s possible that he inherited the succession right of the One-Eyed Lord.” Denarion tried his best to not show it, but he clearly recalled the look on the Undefeated Commander’s face when he had uttered the name ‘Botan’.

“It’s impossible for one being to inherit the power of two Highlords!” Darius exclaimed.

“Don’t forget, Darius.” Denarion didn’t even bat an eye at Darius’ stubborn denial. “That guy is a Terran. Nobody in the Deep Floors can be sure whether the released Subterraneans absorbed the Ancient Lords’ powers that we couldn’t absorb, when they returned to the Underworld out of greed for the down gems.”

Even until the present, no one had been able to reveal how the Subterreaneans, also known as dungeon babies, were able to have their mysterious abilities. But Denarion revealed that their strength might be derived from the Ancient Lords.

“What I heard was that their source of strength was the lingering resentment of the Nobles who were forced off their thrones…” Darius began.

“Don’t be quick to jump to conclusions, Darius. We don’t know for certain if it’s really because of their grudges, or if there’s some other reason to it.”

How laughable it was that he had become a mighty Deep Floor Count, and yet, he was afraid of the ghosts of the past. Denarion was loath to admit it, and was rather ashamed of himself, but he was still very much afraid of the One-Eyed Lord.

And he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Every other Deep Floor Count couldn’t shake off the ghosts of their past either. Perhaps it was that very fear that had led him to become even more obsessed with the Highlord’s power.

“Never forget that we mustn’t rush to any conclusions, at least when it comes to the Subterraneans and the Ancient Lords,” Denarion said. In response to his razor-sharp words, Darius bowed his head deeply and fell silent.

Denarion looked at him with gloomy eyes before speaking gravely. “And if… If he really did inherit the One-Eyed Lord’s powers…” He stared beyond the darkness, as if he had returned to his nightmare. “That means I’ve brought a terrible ghost back to life with my own hands.”

***

Kim Jin-Woo woke up from his dream and immediately grabbed his heart.

“Kurgh.” He let the groan he had suppressed in front of Denarion out. His whole body trembled at the terrible pain, his heart feeling as if it could explode at any moment.

“M-Master!” exclaimed Rikshasha’s voice.

Kim Jin-Woo turned toward the scream of his loyal Under-Elf, but he was unable to see anything clearly, as if a hazy curtain had been draped over his eyes.

“You bitch! What have you done to the King!?”

“I-I didn’t do anything! I simply connected him to the Lord of Nightmares…” Ariane stammered.

Heimdall erupted into a roar, and Ariane screamed fearfully.

“These wretched beings have finally bared their fangs!”

“I really don’t know anything! It’s true! Trust me!”

“My King! Please open your eyes!”

Voices full of anger and concern pierced Kim Jin-Woo’s ears, but they slowly faded out. The malice of the Grand Labyrinth began to invade his consciousness. But just as it seemed as if the greedy Grand Labyrinth would consume him whole, Kim Jin-Woo’s survival instincts kicked in, and he barely managed to utter a word. “Portal.”

With every last shred of his strength, Kim Jin-Woo threw himself into the portal as soon as the portal door opened.

“Kyaaa! Master!”

“My King!”

“Lord Jin-Woo! Jin-Woo!”

Hearing Dominique, Morrigan, and Lee Jun-Young’s screams, Kim Jin-Woo finally lost consciousness.

[A Highlord’s true name transcends even its own existence.]

[Highlord Kim Jin-Woo has now learned the true name of a Highlord.]