Debuff Master-Chapter 1036

Chapter 1036
Siegfried immediately activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance right after infiltrating the royal palace.
‘
What the hell? Why are there so many people?’
He was surprised by the sheer number of people teeming throughout the palace.
Today was the coronation day, so the palace was packed with people shoulder to shoulder. To make matters worse, people were flooding into every corridor and hall.
“What’s the plan now, owner punk?” Hamchi asked, looking up at him.
“What do you think?” Siegfried replied. He turned a corner and suddenly grabbed a servant by the neck.
“
Mmphf! Mmphf!”
“First, I need to take control of the palace,” Siegfried nonchalantly added before injecting radioactive microbes into the servant’s head.
The servant was just a regular person with no resistance whatsoever, so he turned into an Irradiator almost instantly.
“I greet my master.”
The servant dropped to one knee before him.
“Call all the nearby servants and maids to this room,” Siegfried commanded.
“As you command, Master.”
Bowing deeply, the servant immediately went off to carry out his command.
“What’s going on?”
“Why the fuss?”
“What’s up? Why did we all get summoned here?”
“
Ah,
damn it... I’m really busy, y’know?”
The servants and maids entered the room one by one, each of them looking confused and uneasy.
“All right, everyone. Calm down.”
Just then, Siegfried burst out from behind the door like lightning and—
Bam! Bam! Thwack!
It took him just three seconds to subdue almost a dozen servants and maids.
Once they were all unconscious, he turned every single one of them into Irradiators and gave his next command.
“Go bring in the palace guards and knights.”
“As you command, master.”
Starting with the servants and maids, Siegfried began systematically disabling the palace’s security.
He used the Irradiators to lure others into the room, and would transform them one after another before commanding them to lure others in.
Through this method, he quickly gained control over the area directly connected to the sewers.
However, Siegfried was not satisfied with the result.
‘
Damn it... I’m running out of time.’
His own coronation ceremony was scheduled on the exact same day and time as Bismarck II’s.
‘
I barely have three hours left.’
The clock was ticking, and he needed to wrap things up here and get back in time for his own coronation.
‘
But first things first...’
As soon as the infiltration route for the Suicide Bombing Blackmail Unit was secured, Siegfried changed into a servant’s uniform and began roaming through the palace.
“
Kehehe!
How about a drink after the coronation today? I hear there’s a new cabaret that just opened, and the hostesses there are stunning.”
“Really? Then I must check it out today!”
“Great! It’s on me!”
The palace was swarming with nobles from the Holy Alliance, who had all gathered for Bismarck II’s coronation.
‘
Treasure vault... Where’s the treasure vault...?’
Meanwhile, Siegfried wandered all over the palace, searching for the royal family’s treasure hoard. While roaming around, he saw numerous Level 299 knights, who were strong enough to be called the cream of the Holy Alliance’s crop.
However, they were not the only ones. He also spotted numerous High-ranking Fallen Angels, which were some of the deadliest enemies one could face.
‘
Damn, that’s crazy.’
Siegfried was left stunned after seeing the forces protecting the palace from inside.
There were so many High-ranking Fallen Angels inside that he wasn't sure if he could survive a head-on battle against them, even if he used Demon Lord’s Descent.
Why?
It was all because Demon Lord’s Descent had a major limitation—its duration. Even with the Demonform Set crafted by Quandt, the time limit was still a major weakness. In other words, this palace was not different from a death trap to those daring enough to infiltrate it.
‘
One wrong move and I’m dead meat,’
Siegfried reminded himself to be especially cautious as he continued exploring the palace.
He continued to search when...
‘
Now, where’s that treasure vault hiding?’
As he searched for the royal family's treasure hoard, he noticed something odd.
‘
Eh?’
He was scanning the entire palace using Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance when a very familiar username caught his eye.
And that username was none other than—
‘
B-Beowulf?!’
The same Beowulf whom Siegfried had been suspecting to be the Master, the leader of the Illuminati.
***
Badump! Badump!
Siegfried’s heart began to race.
Beowulf was in a secret chamber located underground, but the shocking thing was the person he was with—Bismarck II.
Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance showed Siegfried the truth as it is, so there was no mistaking that Beowulf and Bismarck II were currently together.
‘
So, it was him.’
And with that, Siegfried became certain that Beowulf was indeed the leader of the Illuminati, the Master.
There was simply no other explanation. Beowulf was an honorary member of the Guardians, so there was no reason for him to meet with Bismarck II in private.
‘
You sneaky, sneaky bastard.’
Siegfried ground his teeth after realizing that Beowulf had been the one orchestrating everything from the shadows all along.
Just how much fun was he having? How long had he been laughing at them?
The moment Siegfried pictured Beowulf toying with Cheon Woo-Jin and him, his blood boiled with rage that he could barely contain his fury.
‘
I bet he had a good laugh at my expense. Using me and Cheon Woo-Jin to wipe out the Church of Osric while he's just relaxing at the back... Haa...’
Siegfried let out a long exhale, forcing himself to calm down.
This was not the time to lose his temper. He had already secured irrefutable proof that Beowulf was the leader of the Illuminati, so it was time to start gathering information, but...
‘
Damn it...’
He clenched his fists in frustration, as there was no way to infiltrate the secret chamber Beowulf and Bismarck II were in.
The chamber was accessible only through a single stairway, so he could risk getting caught if he were to make a rash move. He briefly considered sending in the Night Stalkers to eavesdrop on them, but he decided against it.
Beowulf was a Grandmaster, so it was highly likely that he would sense the Night Stalkers, which would lead to Siegfried getting detected as well.
‘
No, I’ll just leave it be for now. He shouldn’t know that I’ve caught him. That’s the most important thing.’
Since Siegfried planned to use Beowulf against himself, he decided not to force things this time. He had to act in a convincing way that Beowulf would never suspect that his cover was already blown.
‘
Yeah, you just wait and see.’
Siegfried ground his teeth again as he turned away and walked off.
***
Bismarck II’s coronation was nothing short of spectacular. He was not only the leader of the Holy Alliance, but was now also the Pope of the Monotheism Church, a religious order that worshipped the Creator alone.
He wielded enormous authority and prestige within the Holy Alliance, so it was only natural that his coronation would reach levels of extravagance never before seen.
‘Damn... Just how much did they spend on this?’
Siegfried wondered, utterly stunned.
He was disguised as a servant, watching the ceremony that was basically the Holy Alliance flexing at the guests.
Gold, gold, gold, and more gold.
Even the tiniest teacup was made of solid gold; this coronation had to have cost an unimaginable sum.
‘
Tsk... They could’ve spent that money arming their troops or providing for their people. These lunatics really have no shame. There’s such a thing as moderation for a reason,’
Siegfried grumbled.
Cursing the leadership of the Holy Alliance for their wasteful spending, Siegfried decided to teach them a lesson by casually slipping a golden plate into his pocket.
True to his instincts, he was stealing while pretending to be a servant.
Perhaps that was the reason, but—
Ding!
—he earned a new title.
[Cow Thief]
[A title given to experienced thieves.]
[Type: Title]
[Rating: Rare]
[Effect: None]
[Warning: This is not an honorable title!]
‘
Ugh! Come on!’
Siegfried screamed inwardly.
Just like that, he was now a Cow Thief.
Unfortunately, he had no time to whine or mope around.
“Ladies and gentlemen! We shall now begin the coronation of His Holiness, Pope Bismarck! Everyone, please rise!”
At last, the coronation had begun.
‘
Hehehe!’
Siegfried grinned wickedly while looking around.
The Irradiators had already positioned themselves throughout the venue, quietly waiting for his signal.
“What are you planning, owner punk? Will you be rampaging here?” Hamchi whispered.
“Nah,” Siegfried shook his head. Then, he said, “I’m just going to leave. I have my own coronation to attend to, you know?”
“
Kyu?”
“Let’s go. They will handle the rest.”
Siegfried did not want to draw attention to himself by stepping in directly and risking being engaged in combat right in the heart of enemy territory, even more so when Beowulf was watching the coronation from somewhere.
Thus, he quietly left the ceremony and slipped back into the sewers.
Meanwhile, the coronation ceremony for Bismarck II continued smoothly within the royal palace. None of them was aware that Siegfried had infiltrated the royal palace and had slipped out, but that was until—
“In the name of the Creator Most High—”
Just as the high priest was about to pour sacred oil over Bismarck II’s head—
KABOOM!
An explosion suddenly erupted from one side of the venue, and thick green mist began to spread out.
“W-What’s happening?!”
“Terrorists! It’s a terrorist attack!”
“Protect His Holiness!”
The knights and guards sprang into action almost immediately, but it was already far too late.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kaboom! Boom! Boom!
KABOOOOM!
The Irradiators spread throughout the venue and simultaneously self-destructed, causing a chain of explosions that turned the grand ceremony into utter chaos.
Sseuuu!
The explosions were devastating on their own, but the green radioactive mist that flooded the entire venue, contaminating everything it touched, was far worse.
“
Guhk!”
“Grrrk!”
“K-Kuheok!”
“A-Aaaargh!”
One by one, the Holy Alliance’s top brass fell to the ground, succumbing to radiation poisoning.
Those who survived the initial blasts couldn’t escape the radioactive mist. They clutched their throats, making a run for the exits, only for their limbs to grow weak, causing them to collapse to the ground.
And just like that, the grand coronation of Bismarck II was utterly ruined by the coordinated terrorist attack of the Irradiators.
“
La La Laaa~”
Meanwhile, Siegfried was now walking away leisurely, humming along to the sound of explosions and screams behind him as if it were background music.
He cheerfully made his way back to the Proatine Kingdom.
Siegfried used a warp gate to arrive in the Proatine Kingdom and quickly ran straight for the coronation venue.
Sabotaging Bismarck II’s coronation was so fun that he completely lost track of time and ended up being late for his own coronation.
“
Kyuuu!
Run, owner punk, run! You’re already thirty minutes late!” Hamchi cried out.
“Shut up! I know that too!” Siegfried snapped in response while running as fast as he could.
And just like that, Siegfried became the first emperor in the history of the continent to be late for his own coronation.
It was indeed a legendary mishap that was one for the history books.
***
As he ran toward the ceremonial hall...
Bam!
Siegfried turned a corner and bumped straight into someone.
However, to his surprise, he was the one who got knocked back.
Normally, when someone like Siegfried ran at full speed and collided with someone else, the outcome would always be the other person getting flung back. The only difference was how far they would get flung back—or, if they survived the bump at all.
However, Siegfried was actually the one who flew away.
“Ouch...” Siegfried moaned after landing flat on his butt.
‘
What the hell? Who did I bump into?’
Siegfried wondered after feeling like he rammed headfirst into a steel wall.
Still stunned, Siegfried looked up at the person he had just collided with.
“
Oh!
Are you all right, Siegfried?” the man asked, extending a hand toward him.
He bumped into none other than Beowulf.
“Sorry about that. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” Beowulf said with a grin while scratching the back of his head.
“
A-Ah,
it’s fine,” Siegfried replied, waving it off and standing up immediately.
However, his mind was racing.
‘
Why the hell is he here? How did he get here so fast?’
Just three hours ago, Beowulf was inside the secret chamber located underground in the Hadashite Kingdom’s royal palace, enjoying some quality time with Bismarck II.
Thus, Siegfried couldn't have imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that Beowulf was already in the Proatine Kingdom.