The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 296
As the brilliant starlight of the Galaxy Sword Dance poured down like a silver river in the night sky,
it pierced the pitch-black sphere cloaked in shadow.
A heart was run through.
And Edian, who had been holding it, collapsed, letting out a guttural, agonized scream.
“Gkhuuurgh...!”
With that final act, the hearts of all the demons were destroyed.
And then—at last—the message Seong had been waiting for appeared before his eyes.
[You have satisfied one of the conditions for the succession of the Lord of the Dead!]
[Obtain weapons infused with demonic energy. (5 / 5) (Complete)]
[Destroy the hearts of demons, the source of demonic energy. (Complete)]
[To unlock the final condition, seek out the Lord of the Dead.]
It was exactly the message he had hoped for.
And yet, Seong clicked his tongue, not quite satisfied.
To be honest, while he had summoned all of his undead servants...
He had handled everything himself.
He had taken on all three demons alone out of curiosity, to see how he'd fare.
‘They’re worse than the Forbiddenz...’
These so-called masters of demonic energy had performed worse than the Forbiddenz, who wielded those weapons with far greater finesse.
Still disappointed, Seong smacked his lips.
Helena approached, offering a calm explanation, as if to ease his dissatisfaction.
“They were low-tier demons.”
“Hm...”
“If they were even mid-tier, they'd be much tougher. You'll start encountering them more often anyway, especially with how the Sword Saint is involved. Just look forward to that.”
With that thought, Seong soothed his irritation.
He glanced again at the system message.
He had unlocked the second condition—so he assumed the final one would be as well.
But now he had to seek out the Lord of the Dead?
Well, he’d been planning to head to the Serule Magic Tower anyway.
As Seong was considering just heading back immediately—
Helena suddenly called out, her voice tinged with urgency.
“Seong-hyun? I think we need to go. Now.”
“...Ah.”
Following her gaze, Seong turned his head.
From the direction of Heptarion, a blinding, sun-like aura briefly flickered.
Or rather, it flashed for a moment—like the radiance of the sun itself.
A familiar, unwelcome energy.
It was the aura of the Sword Saint.
He was supposed to arrive tomorrow.
Why he had appeared now—Seong didn’t even bother to think about it.
The fact that he had appeared at all was the problem.
“We need to get out of here.”
To avoid being discovered, Seong immediately dismissed all his undead servants back into the underworld.
Then he slipped out of the barrier.
He’d fled so urgently, he didn’t even have time to deal with the unfinished demonic weapons.
Lingering too long and encountering the Sword Saint here would be a disaster.
Not that he believed the Sword Saint could do much even if they met...
But the best outcome was not to meet him at all.
With that thought, Seong moved swiftly, breaking away from the barrier and heading straight for Heptarion.
And just as he was about to fully escape the forest—
He caught sight of something blazing across the sky, like the sun itself in motion, and instinctively held his breath.
It continued moving.
Even the smallest hint of presence might get him noticed.
‘Whew.’
Luckily, the blinding light passed over him without pause, flying toward the place where Seong had been just moments before.
He didn’t believe the Sword Saint had failed to sense him.
But rather that he simply didn’t care.
Grateful for that indifference, Seong moved even faster toward Heptarion.
He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible...
But he still had things to take care of.
Upon arriving at Heptarion, he met with Taukan and ed that the demons had been eliminated.
He advised him to stay in the slum district for now and only return to the forest after some time had passed.
Then, he headed for Septem Arcana, where the Serule Magic Tower stood.
‘I really thought I was caught for a second.’
He still couldn’t understand why the Sword Saint had come so early.
But what mattered was that he had gotten away.
That was enough.
It was a bit disappointing that he didn’t get a chance to say farewell to the people at the Caliber Magic Tower.
But it wasn’t exactly rare for rookie knights to disappear on their own.
Leaving behind the regretful captain of the guard,
Seong stepped through the portal and vanished.
6.
The Kingdom of Rieskan had a reigning monarch—
but the one who truly symbolized the sun was someone else entirely.
And so, the sudden appearance of the Sword Saint was a cause for national celebration.
Citizens of Heptarion flooded the streets just to catch a glimpse of him.
They cheered, threw flower petals in his path, and gathered in awe.
The Sword Saint, however, walked the road in silence.
He did not return smiles, nor did he wave.
Yet even without such gestures, his presence alone was enough to inspire devotion.
Still, he found these ceremonial parades deeply distasteful.
The unease in his heart had not gone away.
‘It’s irritating.’
Truth be told, he wanted to cut down everyone here and head straight for the tower.
But he couldn't. And that fact only stoked the fire inside him.
He kept the formalities brief and quickly made his way to the tower.
And when he arrived, he couldn't help but frown.
Though the Tower Master, the Chief Mage, and other mages came out to greet him—
There was one face missing.
‘Edian.’
If he had arrived, Edian should have shown himself.
Perhaps that hint of displeasure crept onto his face—
“...Is something bothering you?” asked the Tower Master cautiously.
The Sword Saint couldn’t respond directly.
Officially, he had no ties to Edian.
Nor did the Tower Master know the truth.
And honestly—what kind of Tower Master would be pleased to learn that a demon had been dwelling within his tower?
He had taken great pains to keep Edian quiet and out of sight.
But Edian was nowhere to be found.
So the Sword Saint spoke indirectly.
“...There seem to be some gaps in your ranks.”
“Ah, some of the mages are currently away gathering materials for commissioned magical weapons.”
There ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was a subtle edge to the Tower Master’s words.
It was irksome, to say the least.
Still, the Sword Saint kept his response measured.
“...I see.”
Which meant Edian was at an external lab.
Just working on crafting magical weapons, perhaps?
He tried to accept it and move on...
But something gnawed at him.
“I appreciate everyone’s hard work.”
“Haha, we’re grateful for your concern, Sir Sword Saint. Though, truth be told, the mages have been overworked lately—we’re planning to cut back on commissions for a while.”
“...”
It was a slight jab.
Even a national hero like the Sword Saint couldn’t ignore such a blatant complaint.
He could have rejected it.
But time was pressing, and he simply nodded.
“Very well.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Chief Mage Serena, standing nearby, raised her eyebrows in surprise.
If this were true, it meant they might finally get some rest.
The Sword Saint didn’t care. He was already planning his exit.
“You’re all doing good work,” he said curtly, and turned to leave.
Cheers erupted behind him, but he paid them no mind.
This was not the time for such things.
Once outside, he scanned the area briefly.
Though he was supposed to visit the local lord—
Seeing the attendants gathered to escort him, he waved them off.
“I’ll be stepping away for a moment.”
One of his disciples, who led the group, bowed deeply.
“I’ll take care of things in your absence.”
“Good.”
And with that, the Sword Saint vanished like a flash of light,
his sunlike aura disappearing in a blink as he streaked through the sky.
None could sense where he had gone—his speed and subtlety were unmatched.
Even as he flew, he kept a sharp eye on his surroundings.
Edian might still be nearby.
And then—he felt something in the forest.
A strong presence, surprisingly potent.
But vague. Hard to pin down.
Compared to himself, it was like a firefly against the sun.
And more importantly—it was foreign.
An outsider.
Not worth his attention.
He ignored it and dove toward the forest.
He moved faster than anything—
yet the urgency in his chest only grew stronger.
When he passed through the barrier, the landscape instantly shifted into a bleak wasteland.
Trees shriveled. The ground turned gray.
The area was steeped in demonic energy.
But then—
‘...There was a battle here.’
Even from such a high vantage point, he could see it clearly.
How had there been a battle here?
No one should have been able to break through the barrier unless the demons allowed it.
Who could have intruded?
As he pondered, the Sword Saint descended.
Even after landing, he felt no presence.
If Edian were still alive, he should have come to investigate this energy spike.
But there was nothing.
‘...Dead within the barrier.’
Edian, and two other demons—dead?
Could someone strong enough to do that really have come here?
Someone capable of sensing demons—
and powerful enough to kill them?
A being like that could only be someone who had transcended.
Only someone like him.
But could another transcendent really enter his territory without his knowledge?
‘...Impossible.’
And yet the scene before him proved otherwise.
With a deep scowl, the Sword Saint entered the stone chamber.
Weapons filled with demonic energy lay scattered about.
But none emitted any real aura—they were unfinished.
Incomplete demon weapons.
And an empty stone hall.
He stepped outside again, scanning the battlefield.
The marks left behind showed it hadn’t been a one-sided slaughter.
There were many signs of combat.
Which meant the attacker wasn’t a transcendent like him.
‘...How dare they.’
To ruin his plans so carelessly.
Furious, he examined the traces left behind.
And then—he saw something.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
A faint aura glimmering like starlight.
No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t.
That aura...
“The... Galaxy Sword Dance?”
The very sword art he had spent so long searching for—
Its trace was left here.
How was this possible?
They had protected the Hero, hadn’t they?
And yet, someone wielding the Galaxy Sword Dance had appeared?
He stood there in a daze, unable to comprehend it.
Then he remembered the outsider’s energy he had sensed earlier.
He shot into the sky once more.
But the outsider’s aura was already gone.
‘No way...’
Had they fled the moment they sensed him?
An outsider wielding the Galaxy Sword Dance...
If he could capture them—
They might become a worthy rival to that brat from Overpalace.
But he hadn’t focused enough on identifying their energy.
‘I can’t track them.’
Forget the ruler of Overpalace—
He had to find this person first.
‘Find the wielder of the Galaxy Sword Dance.’
The one who inherited Hindel’s power.
That person...
Might be the key to destroying Overpalace.
So overwhelmed by that thought, he completely forgot that his original plan had collapsed—
And began drafting a new one.
He had no idea...
That the one who wielded the Galaxy Sword Dance—
Was the same person who ruled Overpalace.
Chapter 296
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