Chapter 91. The Extra is Too Strong
“…Impressive.”
Leon, who had awakened after accepting the power of the Nectar, couldn’t help but laugh. He felt an overwhelming surge of power, a feeling as though he could do anything with this newfound strength.
‘But even with this, I still can’t beat that jerk Kael.’
Leon glanced at Kael and grumbled internally. As much as he hated to admit it, Kael was extraordinary.
When they first met, they were practically on par. Kael was an outstanding warrior, but Leon, being a grown member of the Bernas bloodline, had an inherent overwhelming advantage.
However, after Kael risked his life to drink the War God’s Tears, the gap between them widened rapidly. It hadn’t even been a month since then, yet Kael had become frighteningly powerful.
‘I can’t lose.’
Kael had gained the power of an ancient elf by drinking the Nectar, but Leon had been born with divine blood. Now that he had also drunk the Nectar, he was confident that with effort, he could catch up to Kael.
‘It won’t be long before I wipe that smug look off his face!’
Ever since mastering aura, Kael had been treating Leon like an inferior, constantly mocking him. As a martial artist, Leon had clearly fallen behind, and he had to endure the simmering rage every time.
But now, that wouldn’t last much longer. Leon had received guidance from the War God’s Echo and had now consumed the Nectar. He was sure he could master aura and reach the rank of a master.
‘…I can do it, right?’
The task of mastering aura was daunting, which made him slightly anxious, but nonetheless, Leon was fueled by his rivalry with Kael.
The secret organization known as the “Sage of Darkness” had three top executives. One of them, the third-ranking “Right Hand of the Sage,” was heading to the Huven County of the Kingdom of Berth while gripped by unease.
‘I have no idea what’s going on.’
Until recently, their operations had been smooth. They had expanded their branches successfully and collected three pieces of the “World Fragments,” relics of the gods’ power inscribed upon the world, based on the knowledge bestowed by the great archmage Elikson.
As a result, the top three ranks among the Black Disciples had become special entities, distinguished from the other Black Disciples.
They needed only one more World Fragment to break Elikson’s seal and resurrect him. Just a month ago, their situation had seemed hopeful.
But ominous signs began appearing about a month ago.
At that time, they had tracked down Specimen No. 29, who had escaped from a research facility. Specimen No. 29 was extremely valuable. Since subsequent research had not yielded anything as useful, they dispatched one of the twelve Black Disciples to retrieve him.
And that Black Disciple was killed.
Not only the Black Disciple but every member of the dispatched team was wiped out, and Specimen No. 29 vanished once more.
This was a devastating blow to the Sage of Darkness, who had proceeded without significant losses until then. But that was just the beginning.
‘Who killed the Left Hand?’
It was likely Specimen No. 29 who killed the Black Disciple in Palos. His magic was on par with a Black Disciple’s, and considering the time since his escape, he could have grown stronger. However, it was impossible for him to have killed the Left Hand and annihilated the Derin branch.
There had to be a highly threatening adversary hostile to the Sage of Darkness.
‘The great endeavor has been set back by ten years.’
The murder of the Left Hand and the destruction of the Derin branch were massive setbacks. Most importantly, they lost the final World Fragment they were on the verge of acquiring.
‘We only have one clue left from the master. How are we supposed to retrieve what we lost?’
As he sighed, the Right Hand of the Sage realized that now was not the time to dwell on these thoughts. A magically created information spirit flew to him with shocking news.
“What?”
Startled, he hurried towards Huven County.
The Huven branch was of paramount importance to the Sage of Darkness, even more so than the Derin branch. This was because the lord of the territory, Count Huven, was their collaborator.
Count Huven, who had been on his deathbed from a serious illness in middle age, was revived by a special drug supplied by the Sage of Darkness and had been their staunch supporter for five years.
“…”
Chaos had engulfed the Huven County. Crowds gathered around the mansion used by the Sage of Darkness, whispering among themselves.
The grand mansion had collapsed into rubble.
“What on earth happened here?”
The Right Hand of the Sage avoided the people’s gaze and descended into the ruins, only to be met with a horrific sight.
“Who could have done this…?”
The crucial research facility was utterly destroyed, and the research records were thoroughly obliterated to ensure they could not be restored.
He also sensed the death of the two Black Disciples in charge of the Huven branch. Their bodies weren’t left behind, but the power of dark magic allowed him to detect it.
“Who the hell did this?”
The Right Hand of the Sage screamed, but no one could provide an answer.
Many secret organizations existed in this world. Frexaras was one of them.
Their goal was simple: to become gods. The name “Frexaras” was that of an ancient relic left behind by the gods they followed. It selected nine god candidates and bestowed power upon them each time they offered valuable sacrifices.
The sacrifices varied. Living humans, humans of special lineage, strong humans, highly magical humans… and divine blood.
While items like Aether Stones or valuable monster corpses were useful as offerings, living human sacrifices scored the highest points. Hence, each of the nine god candidates maintained a system to provide a steady supply of living sacrifices.
The system varied from one candidate to another; for some, it involved banditry.
“This won’t fetch much money.”
Emitt, one of the nine god candidates of Frexaras, muttered as he inspected the broken carriage. A blond, blue-eyed man, he had no particularly distinguishing features. His public persona fit the image of a discarded child from a wealthy noble family.
But in reality, he was a terrifying murderer who had killed hundreds and offered them as sacrifices to Frexaras.
“Heek…”
The merchants trembled in fear before him. They had hired seven mercenaries to escort their caravan. Considering the known dangers in the area, their escort seemed sufficient.
But life often holds unpredictable turns. When Emitt, who changed his banditry locations irregularly to avoid being tracked, arrived here, their fate was sealed.
“Why are you doing this? If it’s money you want, we’ll give you all you need!”
“I can get money without your help. As for why…”
Emitt chuckled.
“Isn’t that just how the world works? Sometimes, unforeseen tragedies strike. For you, that day is today.”
Emitt had brutally crushed the seven mercenaries escorting the caravan. However, none were dead; they were merely unconscious or incapacitated. Emitt needed living sacrifices.
“Explaining why won’t help you understand anyway, so let’s leave it at that. Just think you were unlucky to run into a madman.”
Emitt drew a large circle around them, large enough to encompass the entire caravan.
Standing at the center, he clasped his hands and closed his eyes. The bracelets on his wrists began to glow…
“Aaaargh!”
“Ahhhh!”
The humans within the circle screamed in agony. The circle emitted a red light, forming a hemispherical barrier that drained the life force of everyone inside.
“Good. The points should be decent with those martial artists included.”
Having sacrificed seventeen humans to Frexaras, Emitt took the cash and easily liquidated goods from the caravan and left. He headed to his home over fifty kilometers away.
Emitt’s home was an old mansion on the outskirts of a rural estate. Publicly, he was known as a descendant of a noble family, pushed out in a succession dispute and given enough wealth to live idly.
That was partially true. Emitt was from a noble family and had been expelled.
From his teenage years, Emitt had lived a debauched life, committing all sorts of atrocities, believing in his family’s power. Eventually, the family couldn’t tolerate him anymore and exiled him. Emitt then lived as a mercenary until chosen by Frexaras as a god candidate.
Since then, he had lived here, disguised as a wealthy idler, occasionally going out to rob distant places. It allowed him to gather wealth and living sacrifices for Frexaras, killing two birds with one stone.
“I’m back.”
At dusk, Emitt returned to the old mansion. The house was too big for one person, so he kept two servants. Both were monsters disguised as humans.
As long as they were occasionally fed human flesh, they could pass for normal humans, making them convenient.
“Hmm?”
Despite his return, the servants did not appear. Normally, they would rush out immediately…
“What took you so long outside?”
A strange voice came from the top of the stairs.
“Who’s there?”
Emitt asked warily. Footsteps echoed on the old floor as the stranger started descending.
He was a tall man, over 190 centimeters. Even through his clothes, it was clear he had a muscular build, and he carried only a single dagger at his waist. But the moment Emitt made eye contact, his instincts screamed danger.
The man continued descending without a word.
“What did you do to my servants?”
“They’re dead.”
“…”
The answer was so immediate that Emitt faltered. He had asked to gauge the stranger’s reaction, but the response was so emotionless, as if he were talking about clearing stones from a path, that it left him bewildered.
Emitt masked his confusion with feigned anger.
“What did they do to deserve death?”
“They were eating human flesh.”
“…”
“They were devouring it voraciously. I saw the human flesh butcher shop in your basem*nt.”
The giant man, Mord, glared at Emitt with quiet fury.
Emitt laughed in disbelief.
“So you know everything? You’re not ordinary. Who are you? Why are you here to kill me?”
Slash!
Before Emitt could finish, a chilling sound echoed.
“Gaaah!”
Feeling a burning pain in his back, Emitt screamed and turned. He realized someone had ambushed him, leaning against the wall near the door.
‘I didn’t notice at all.’
The person had been leaning against the part of the wall hidden when the door opened. But Emitt’s senses were superhuman. Yet, he hadn’t detected the ambusher until he was attacked.
“Stealth? Impressive.”
Emitt groaned, staring at the ambusher. A half-elf boy with a dazzling appearance, Kael, grinned, showing his white teeth.
“You’re not an ordinary human. You didn’t die even when I pierced your heart.”
“I’m destined to become a god. Do you think a half-elf’s blade can kill me?”
Emitt’s deep wound was healing rapidly.
“Is that so?”
Kael smirked.
Slash!
A shadow wolf soldier hidden behind the stairs suddenly lunged, slashing deep into Emitt’s side with a sword.
“Another one…”
Emitt couldn’t finish his sentence.
Slash!
From the other side, Rowan, who had been hiding, emerged and severed Emitt’s left arm.
Blood sprayed from the severed arm, staining the surroundings, and the arm bounced off the wall before rolling on the floor.
“Resilient, but not particularly strong.”
Rowan tilted his head.
Thud!
A shadow wolf soldier who had been hiding on the ceiling shot an arrow, pinning Emitt to the ground.
