Boom!
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
At the renewed uproar, everyone except Hudson turned their heads.
And every single one of those who turned their eyes fell silent, their mouths clamped shut in speechlessness.
Because what they were seeing could only be described as absolute, unrestrained violence.
That monster was overwhelming the berserkers of the Dersian family, crushing them without mercy.
In a flash—barely even a moment—six more were shattered to pieces.
“······ Alt!”
The young lady of the Dersian family widened her eyes in shock.
It was the first time Alt had ever struggled this much against someone.
And it was also the first time she had ever seen an opponent who destroyed everything so indiscriminately.
The creature cared nothing about increasing wounds, focusing solely on killing its enemy.
Destroying whatever it touched, crushing everything, giving no chance to breathe.
No swordsman could endure such destructive force.
No one—no matter who—would be able to withstand it.
“Ah······!”
She couldn’t believe what was happening.
Only one remained now.
And even that last one was just about to have his neck severed.
“Stop!”
It was then.
Hearing the deafening noise, the guards began arriving one after another.
All of them were the elite soldiers of the Darkan territory.
The Dersian young lady let out a sigh of relief as she saw them.
No matter how out of control the brute was, this was still Darkan territory.
If he caused any more chaos within Darkan territory, he would never get out alive.
As long as even one of them survived, Alt would not die.
He could revive once more like a phoenix.
‘I’m saved······.’
Crunch!
But the prayer of the Dersian young lady did not come true.
The opponent raised the massive greatsword and crushed the last remaining Alt’s head.
“Aaah······.”
Stagger—
The Dersian young lady stumbled and collapsed to the floor.
Her guard was dead.
The berserker of the Dersian household— the undefeated swordsman—had been killed.
Paa-du-duk!
The young lady pushed herself up from the floor.
She could never forgive that monster.
The moment she stepped out of the building, the guard captain stepped forward.
“Are you not the young lady of House Dersian?”
“Yes. I am the sole daughter of the Dersian family, Isabella.”
“What exactly is going on here?”
“That bastard dared to touch the Dersian family. As if that weren’t enough, he killed my guard, and disgraced me.”
The man who dared lay hands on the Dersian family could never be forgiven.
The captain shifted his gaze back to the center of the chaos.
A man standing there holding a huge sword, looking like a barbarian.
‘House Dersian is close with the Lord of Darkan.’
Our families were working together for this auction.
He couldn’t ignore the influence of the Dersian family.
Even if the young lady were in the wrong, they were the sort who would defend her.
“Woah, woah! What is this commotion?”
“······ Sir Pamel!”
The Guardian Knight of Darkan Territory, Pamel.
He appeared together with knights.
The soldiers straightened up to greet him, and Pamel gave a nod before turning his gaze.
“Hm? The young lady of House Dersian?”
Seeing him, the young lady’s spirit grew even fiercer.
“Sir Pamel, Guardian Knight. That man insulted me, and killed my guard. Are you simply going to stand by and watch?”
“You mean this man killed that berserker? No······ wait.”
Pamel looked at the barbaric man, then noticed Hudson stepping out of the building.
“Are you perhaps, Lord Hudson?”
“That’s right.”
“May I see your invitation?”
Pamel dismounted and walked toward Hudson.
Hudson pulled the invitation from his coat.
After confirming it, Pamel nodded.
“Indeed. Are you in any way involved with this incident?”
“The man standing there is my guard. And contrary to that woman’s words, the one attacked first was me.”
“······ Is that true?”
“Everyone on the same floor saw it. If you want, you can ask them yourself.”
Pamel frowned slightly.
All the identities of the invited guests were already in his head.
Hudson was among them.
But the other side was House Dersian.
“This matter seems to be something the lord must judge personally.”
“Sir Pamel! Are you saying this unknown outsider is more important than House Dersian?”
“Young Lady Dersian, this man was personally invited by the lord. I rushed over as soon as I heard that he crossed a warp, but in the meantime this situation occurred······.”
“······ Sir Pamel came to greet this man personally?”
“Yes. Either way, this is beyond my authority. Let us all go to the lord’s castle.”
The young lady’s expression grew complicated.
Guardian Knight Pamel was the representative knight of the territory, acting as deputy lord in the lord’s absence.
He possessed more than enough authority to carry out immediate executions.
Yet he was drawing a line, claiming this was beyond his powers.
He was clearly siding with the man who destroyed part of the city and killed her family’s berserker guard.
Impossible.
What was even more shocking was that Pamel had personally come out to greet the man upon hearing he had crossed a warp.
‘When I arrived, the most I got was the guard captain······.’
The Lord of Darkan didn’t even stir for ordinary nobles.
Who on earth were these people?
Who were they, that the Guardian Knight Pamel came personally, and was even willing to overlook this disaster?
They were people she’d never seen.
If they were nobles of the Empire, she would know.
But the Empire’s own were defending strangers?
“······ Fine. Let’s go to the lord’s castle. I trust that the honorable Lord of Darkan will properly punish that man. If he wishes to maintain his ties with House Dersian.”
She resorted to intimidation.
If they ignored this incident, she implied that relations with House Dersian would sour.
The Lord of Darkan could never afford to lose House Dersian!
Special Auction
After killing the transcendent marked with the spade symbol wearing a fox mask of the same color, another message popped up before my eyes.
《You have gained massive experience (27%).》
《Achievement “Transcendent Slayer” has been attained.》
《Honor has increased by 250.》
《The star of the fallen transcendent scatters.》
《‘♠’ has fallen somewhere on the continent.》
······.
Massive experience, when my progress was nearly halted.
Achievement notifications, and additional messages that appear when hunting a transcendent.
Looking at this condensed information, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.
‘The spade is treated as a normal star?’
Stars were the goddess’s body.
The scattered fragments of her body were treated as stars that allowed humans to surpass their limits.
Yet the fallen transcendent’s spade mark was recognized as the same type of “transcendent mark.”
If killing him made it scatter and fall somewhere, then did another god’s body exist?
Whose death could it have been?
‘The Star Bearers would know.’
If they were true Star Bearers, they would know about this transcendent mark.
But you cannot simply look for a Star Bearer.
Not that I had the leisure.
It was faster to make them seek me out.
The problem was that reaching level 10 was still a long way off.
Perhaps raising alt characters to find Star Bearers and ask them would be better.
Or, investigate the Dersian family who possessed the spade-marked transcendent.
‘Dersian. Isabella Von Dersian.’
I looked toward the woman screaming with frustration.
She clearly called herself “Isabella” to the guard captain.
But the Isabella Von Dersian I knew was not that woman.
By now, she should be in the desert, fighting tooth and nail to claim the seat of the Desert Queen.
Only her.
‘······ Then is this woman a fake?’
Strange.
A family with two sole daughters sharing the same name.
It couldn’t be coincidence.
Unless they named a newborn after the kidnapped Isabella out of longing, this had to be deliberate.
Their ages seemed roughly similar.
“Woah, woah! What is this commotion?”
“······ Sir Pamel!”
Then came the knight order.
Seeing the man called Pamel, I was quietly surprised.
【Lv. 13】
He wasn’t a transcendent who consumed stars, but a monster who raised his level through training or combat.
When I played as Wilhelm, I had no ties with the Empire, so their system felt unfamiliar.
Did each noble family have different methods of raising their rank?
‘He’s measuring me.’
Though Sir Pamel spoke with the young lady, his focus was entirely on me.
Prepared to draw his sword at any moment.
Intending to cut me down at the slightest provocation.
But I wasn’t concerned.
If he was wary, it meant he couldn’t read me.
And personally, a straightforward high-level monster was easier to deal with than a tricky transcendent.
“······ Let us go to the lord’s castle.”
Pamel spoke to Hudson.
“Sure.”
Hudson nodded lightly.
As we made our way, the young lady glared at me as if she would kill me.
***
A marble throne.
A black dragon carved into it—the symbol of Darkan.
Upon it sat the Lord of Darkan, black hair and obsidian eyes, rubbing his brow in exhaustion.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Because of the people standing before him.
He’d sent Guardian Knight Pamel to greet the guest, but he never expected such a catastrophe to occur before Pamel could return.
On one side stood the sole daughter of House Dersian, Isabella.
And on the other side······.
‘A key figure of the labyrinth city, under the protection of the White King. And a reasonable human at that.’
When he heard from the city councilor he had planted in Arcana about Hudson, he could hardly believe it.
The labyrinth city mentioned by the White King—this was the second “domain proclamation” after Kramdel.
Authority lay with the Five Great Masters, meaning the place was a city of monsters.
Yet unbelievably, there was a human who obtained relics of the old Empire from the labyrinth and sold them.
Investigating further, Hudson was the one who managed and governed the labyrinth city.
One trusted by the Five Great Masters, handling matters personally—an absolute key figure!
Until now, the White King and the Empire had no contact whatsoever.
Those monsters didn’t listen to humans.
Humans?
If they saw them, they killed them. If they approached, they were slaughtered.
The same for the other Great Masters.
‘The Five Great Masters can communicate with humans?’
Only the Master of the Fifth could communicate, apparently.
The only one who kept a human—Hudson—at his side.
Thus, he ordered a deeper investigation.
‘Former owner of Casino Hudson, and even once aiming for a councilor seat in the golden city of Arcana.’
Shockingly, he had no suspicious records. A normal human.
How a human like that came into contact with the Fifth, he didn’t know, but it was an opportunity.
Relics of the old empire?
He didn’t care.
There was something far more important.
‘······ A chance to form a connection with the North.’
The North belonged to the White King.
A vast domain including Kramdel.
Its value was astronomical.
Even the Empire coveted it.
But in the North, the White King was invincible.
Waging war against countless monsters would be too costly.
Thus, the Empire couldn’t move recklessly.
But this—this was an opportunity to form a connection with the North, and the White King.
And just as he finally invited the man, the man caused trouble.
‘Whose side should I take?’
The process didn’t matter.
It wasn’t about right or wrong.
This was the moment to choose.
If he sided with the Dersian young lady, Hudson would have to be punished.
That would instantly destroy their chance to connect with the North.
And who knew what the Fifth would do in retaliation?
But if he sided with Hudson, relations with House Dersian would sour.
“······ Young Lady Dersian. I have heard that you were the one who attacked first. All the witnesses provided the same testimony.”
The Lord of Darkan made his decision.
Punishing Hudson could ignite consequences far beyond his reach.
While the matter with House Dersian could be settled within his authority.
“M-My lord! What are you saying right now? You’re going to defend an unknown outsider over House Dersian?”
Her eyes trembled violently.
But the Lord had already chosen.
“Young Lady Dersian······ no, Isabella. He is not an unknown outsider. As a representative of the labyrinth city, he is my personal guest. Insulting him is the same as insulting me.”
“······!”
“I will speak to House Dersian myself. Regardless of your status as their representative, you have no authority to lay hands on my guest.”
“Labyrinth······ do you mean the Abyssal Labyrinth······?”
“Yes.”
As the Lord openly confirmed it, the young lady’s face twitched.
‘Then the giant was his guard too?’
Only now did things make sense.
The Abyssal Labyrinth had resurfaced.
The Empire had sent strong individuals to explore it.
The legendary ‘Hexagonal Sword, Riley’, the one known as the former body of the Empire, was said to be trapped there.
But the Abyssal Labyrinth was stolen by the Fifth Master under the White King.
‘A representative of the Fifth······!’
According to the Lord, that irritating alabaster-skinned man was the representative of the Fifth.
Grinding her teeth, she glared.
“That barbarian killed my guard. The berserker of House Dersian! Do you not understand what that means? At least punish that barbarian.”
For the sake of her family and her pride, she demanded punishment for the guard at least.
That was her way of offering to let the matter end quietly.
“······ Lord Hudson, what do you think?”
The Lord glanced slightly at Hudson.
Hudson firmly shook his head.
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