Chapter 1 Betrayal

"I would rather end this peacefully. But you forced me to bring death. So get ready."

Thousands of flames flew in the night sky like a rain of comets. The wind blows carried the fishy smell of blood and the burning smell of flesh. Screams, monster roars, metal clashes; The voices echoed throughout the city.

The corpses of humans and monsters of various races such as trolls, ogres, minotaurs; decorated the streets like a parade. They pose as they should. Some sat down with frightened expressions. Some were lying on the ground. There were also those who died while pointing at the sky.

Among them, laid the carcass of a giant dragon full of hundreds of spears stuck in its body.

The scene was perfect.

A tower that almost pierced the sky, the so called dungeon slowly crumbling down, and just below it, a battle broke out.

"Raaaaawrgh!"

Dozens of monsters screamed as bullets bore holes in their bodies.

,m A man walked through the onslaught of monsters alone. His white hair and pale skin were stained with blood. Behind the glasses, his eyes shine cold. The sawed-off guns in both hands continued to fire out flashes of bullets.

Bam! Bam!

On the other side was a red-haired woman holding a giant scythe and dozens of monsters standing by her. However, the woman's condition was very worrying. Every part of her body had wounds that were oozing blood.

"Isaac, are you going to do everything the Duke tells you to do? I thought you had a will of your own!" exclaimed the red-haired woman.

Then, the monsters attacked the man called Isaac.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Instantly, the monsters that attacked Isaac turned into lifeless lumps of flesh.

"My loyalty is proof of my will, Lady Alyna," Isaac said. After that, he shot towards the red-haired woman.

Alyna bolted along with dozens of her monsters.

Bang! Bang! Clank!

The bullets and the curved sickle clashed against each other. Alyna, with a weak condition and pain all over her body, tried to withstand the bullets. Even though she was victorious in numbers, it was still not enough to overpower her opponent's ferocity.

Whereas Isaac seemed otherwise. He fought with an expression as calm as lake water; the bullets spewing from the muzzle of his gun, killing every monster that charged forward.

Bamm!

A mana bullet pierced Alyna's stomach. Her mouth immediately oozed a gush of blood. The monsters roared with anger when they found out their master was injured.

Sixteen monsters consisting of ogre, lycan, dragon-born attacked Isaac simultaneously.

Bamm! Bamm! Bamm!

The monsters collapsed lifelessly. Now only Isaac and Alyna were left.

The gray-haired man walked closer to Alyna, who had run out of energy to fight.

"Let's end this. Tell me where you hid your Crystal Core."

'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelB(i)n. ᴄᴏᴍ',

Alya smiled sarcastically. "The battle isn't over yet."

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, as if they were waiting for the right time. Alyna seemed to be reaching for something from her clothes pocket.

"What did you take?" Isaac asked curiously.

Once again, Alyna smiled sarcastically. "You want my Crystal Core right?"

Isaac's eyes narrowed when he saw the hourglass in the woman's hand. Suddenly, he started to have a bad feeling.

"What is that?" Isaac raised his voice. Alyna kept her mouth shut while showing a cynical smile. This made Isaac even more anxious.

Cleak. Bang!

The bullet pierced through the woman's head. She collapsed and was bleeding profusely.

He had a hunch that bad things would happen if he didn't kill her soon.

Ding!

[The winner of the game has been determined. Duke Gavin Bael.]

Blood, death, and all the calamities that were happening right now were just a game.

Game for Earth domination!

It all started when the Absolute One—the Creator of Everything—decided to stop caring for the Earth.

Earth would be given to one of the Nobles of the Nether Realm—the domain of the demon race. Whereas the number of nobles lived, there were 108 demons.

To determine who the right owner was, a strategy game was made. 108 dungeons descended on Earth. Each dungeon represented a noble in the Nether Realm. They would fight each other until there was only one dungeon left.

Isaac was one of the Nobles. However, in the middle of the game he lost his Dungeon. Luckily, he managed to save himself. Still, he must survive until the end of the game.

Then, he met a noble who wanted to protect him, though in exchange he must help the noble win this game.

That noble was Gavin Bael.

Isaac, who had already lost his Dungeon, had no reason to refuse. In addition, Gavin Bael was a Duke. Their relationship built throughout the game. Gavin treated Isaac with respect, and vice versa. It didn't take long for Isaac to give his allegiance.

Together, they conquered every Dungeon on Earth.

Gavin also promised, should he become the winner in this competition, Isaac would be given a proper position by his side.

Isaac accepted the promise. He felt he had no more chance to own the Earth. So it wouldn't hurt to try serving Gavin to get some power. After all, he would only be wandering on Earth until the game was over.

Alyna Agares, the last remaining Royalty, had just been eliminated from the game. This way Gavin Bael, the only Noble who owned the Dungeon, had finally won the game.

Game over. Isaac could finally rest.

At least for now.

Isaac walked through the pile of corpses towards Lady Alyna's body. He brushed her hair and adjusted the position of the corpse as a form of final respect. However, Isaac's eyes were shifted to the hourglass lying next to him. Out of curiosity, he picked it up and put it in his pocket.

Not long after, Isaac sensed someone's presence.

'Follow current novels ON N (ovelB in.)',

The figure of a handsome young man came from behind Isaac. He had silver hair and violet eyes. A person Isaac was very familiar with. Who else but Lord Gavin Bael?

"Good job, my greatest general. You did your job well," said Gavin.

Isaac smiled humbly.

The silver-haired man then approached Lady Alyna's body. Behind Isaac's back, he examined Alyna closely.

"Now I have one task for you, Lord Isaac."

Without hesitation Isaac asked, "What is it, Lord Gavin?"

"To die."

Splat—!

Unexpectedly, a cold dagger pierced through Isaac's stomach. He looked at the person he was serving with a questioning face. "G-Gavin?"

Nevertheless, Gavin looked at him with a cold gaze.

Isaac staggered, then collapsed. His mouth was bleeding non-stop. He was still shocked by what had just happened. Gavin was standing over him with a stony stare.

"Why are you doing this?"

The silver-haired man knelt down. He innocently said, "You know too much about me. Is it dangerous to live on?"

Gavin's answer shattered Isaac's heart to pieces, after all the struggles they had been through. It never even crossed Isaac's head to betray Gavin.

"I… obey every command… and never once doubted you."

Isaac's face was darkened and grim. His eyes flashed with anger and resentment.

"How many demons have I killed to achieve your victory?! I never betrayed you! Is this what I got!?"

Gavin shook his head. "Maybe not now, but someday you will betray me. That is our nature."

After that, Gavin stood up and quickly left, leaving Isaac lying in a defenseless state.

The dagger stuck in Isaac's stomach continued to eat away at his life. A loyal man died because of a betrayal.

There were only two choices he could make now. Waiting to die or kill himself.

But Isaac couldn't accept either choice.

"Aaaaaarghhhhh!" His hand pulled out the dagger that had stabbed him in the stomach. Instantly, excruciating pain hit him along with the gush of blood.

Alone, with only the pile of corpses, Isaac screamed with all his might to vent his emotions. When there was nothing left, Isaac's screams died down. So was his heart rate.

"I don't want to die."

After saying those words, Isaac breathed his last on the cold ground.

Unbeknownst to him, the hourglass in Isaac's pocket was glowing.

[The Sand of Time Artefact has been activated.]

[Players can restart the game.]