Chapter 44

Chapter 44
## Chapter 44: Meeting the Ancient Monarch

“Where has the skull vanished to?”

“I have no idea.”

“Do you suppose an intruder slipped in and made off with it?”

“It is a possibility. Its disappearance occurred exactly one year ago to the day.”

…What on earth are they discussing?

This place was none other than the personal workshop of the Death King.

Tucked away in the subterranean depths of his fortress.

The chambers were packed with an array of instruments and enchanted traps engineered to eliminate any trespasser!

Who would possess the audacity to break into such a sanctum and pilfer Andasar’s visage?

“Does a Dullahan’s frame not naturally gravitate toward its missing head?”

“I attempted to facilitate that, but the body did nothing but fly into a violent frenzy every time.”

“What if I were capable of bringing stability to that form?”

“In that case, I would relinquish it to you without hesitation.”

The Death King gave a slow nod.

Naturally, he wasn’t offering it as a simple gift.

This was a provocation: could I succeed in steadying a vessel that he, despite all his mastery, had failed to control?

He seemed to view this as a competitive display between two maestros of the macabre.

I could detect a strange, hollow flicker of anticipation within his bony sockets.

“My craft requires absolute solitude.”

“The reclusive type, I see?”

“Precisely.”

“A shame. I had hoped to observe the process,” the Death King remarked with blunt honesty.

However, I could not allow him to witness the method of stabilization.

By shrouded my actions in secrecy, I could transform my fraudulent artistry into something perceived as genuine.

“How much duration do you require? Clearly, you won’t be ready by tomorrow’s decree… perhaps a year’s time?”

“Ten minutes.”

He became motionless at my abrupt retort.

“…Ten minutes? Surely you jest.”

He likely assumed he had misheard me at first.

He had spent an entire year attempting to calm the remains only to fail. Now, this corpse crow was asserting he could resolve it in a mere ten minutes.

By any logical standard, it was a preposterous claim.

“Ten minutes is more than sufficient.”

“Hmm… I shall see if that bravado holds any weight.”

It was a display of staggering hubris.

The Death King figured it would be amusing to watch the corpse crow stumble after his ten minutes expired.

With a dismissive shrug, the Death King exited the laboratory.

Exactly ten minutes later.

“…How in the world did you manage this…?”

The Death King gazed upon the now-quiescent form of Andasar with sockets wide in shock.

Even lacking physical eyes, his bewilderment was plain to see.

And it was hardly surprising.

The anatomy that had been thrashing with murderous intent was now perfectly tranquil, as though no turmoil had ever existed.

It remained motionless even as the restraining mechanisms were cast aside.

The task that had eluded him for a full twelve months…

I had finished in a scant ten minutes.

Actually, it had taken even less time than that.

“What sorcery did you employ? Disclose it to me.”

“Probing an artist for their trade secrets is a violation of professional etiquette, caw.”

“I find this impossible to fathom…!”

He struggled to process or even credit what he saw.

Much like the corpse crow, the Death King was a creator who used the deceased as his medium.

But he had always harbored the conviction that his talents were unrivaled.

Regardless of how extraordinary the crow might be, it could surely not outshine him in the arts.

He considered himself the zenith of this particular craft.

Yet the corpse crow had achieved what he could not, right before his very presence. In only ten minutes.

The struggles of the previous year flickered through the Death King’s consciousness like a fleeting memory.

‘I had intended to utilize it for myself.’

While the Death King remained paralyzed by shock, I felt a quiet twinge of irritation internally.

There was a singular reason why Andasar’s remains were so volatile.

‘It was trapped in a Chaotic state.’

The exact technical term was Chaotic.

Within the mechanics of the game, players who amassed a certain threshold of malevolent karma entered this Chaotic status.

They lost access to warp gates, were hunted by authorities, and were shunned by NPCs who refused to offer quests.

But beyond these social penalties, the character itself suffered internal debilitations.

‘The Chaotic state triggers Madness.’

Madness.

To put it plainly, it was total insanity.

In the digital world, it was merely a reduction in specific attributes, but this reality was different. It manifested as a genuine, berserk loss of reason.

There were only two methods to cleanse the Chaotic state.

One could earn renown through virtuous deeds.

Or, one could employ an Indulgence.

The first option was a slow process, but the second provided an instantaneous remedy.

I had originally planned to use the Indulgence obtained from Priest Andrew, but circumstances had shifted.

‘I still possess another one, regardless.’

I had one Indulgence from Priest Andrew in reserve.

I could simply reclaim it.

He had used one to rescue his offspring, so he would be in no position to deny me if I made the demand.

‘It seems these creatures are oblivious to the Chaotic state, unlike humans.’

It was logical—it would be peculiar for monsters to accumulate bad karma and turn Chaotic.

Unless their reputation reached a certain height, perhaps.

Furthermore, Andasar had been a human at the start, making his fundamental makeup entirely distinct.

The real mystery was why the state had been triggered in the first place.

‘The body was already deceased, so why the Chaotic status?’

Andasar had perished while transforming into an Eldritch and subsequently became an undead.

Even if cleansed, it remained a cadaver.

An undead entity falling into a Chaotic state due to evil karma made no sense under any known rules.

This was a thread worth unravelling.

“As we agreed, I shall take possession of this masterpiece.”

“…You truly won’t reveal the secret of your method?”

“I shall take it under consideration.”

“…! I shall await a favorable response!”

The Death King was profoundly dedicated to the art of the corpse.

He seemed to believe there was a genuine bond of craftsmanship between us now.

I had no desire to strike up a friendship with this macabre eccentric, but among the Four Lords, he appeared to be the most reasonable to deal with.

Making a foe out of him would be a relentless headache.

I was forced to maintain a civil mask.

I turned my attention to the frame of the Dullahan, Andasar.

“Proceed to the location of your visage.”

The body of the Dullahan continued its trek toward the location of its head.

However, in the end, it failed to recover it.

“That is the thermal spring where the Star Guardians congregate.”

The hot spring where the Star Guardians met.

The grandest landmark in the center of Kramdel.

That was the destination the Dullahan sought.

“The Star Guardians are probing the spring. Likely because that is when the Goddess’s Tears began to taint the waters, one year ago.”

One year in the past.

The moment when the tides of change began to wash over Kramdel.

That was when the popularity of the springs surged and the local monsters found stability.

“O Five Lord. We maintain a pact of non-interference with the Star Guardians. It is prudent not to provoke them.”

“For what reason?”

I found it hard to grasp why entities as formidable as the Four Lords and the White King—who seemed to fear nothing—would tread so carefully around the Star Guardians.

“Entanglements with them never lead to a quiet end. That much is certain.”

Their rapport was clearly strained.

A silent agreement of non-aggression existed between the Star Guardians and the realm of Kramdel.

I could see the logic.

They were bound to the human race, the rightful masters of the stars.

Even if they provided no direct aid to humanity, the Four Lords likely viewed the Star Guardians as something akin to turncoats.

But one detail still bothered me.

“It is a non-aggression pact, yet you permit the Star Guardians to wander Kramdel freely?”

“Any matter involving the stars or the Goddess is sacred to them. We are compelled to step aside on those two fronts.”

Step aside.

That word felt entirely out of character coming from the Death King.

But the situation was now transparent.

“I have not been formally inaugurated as a Five Lord yet.”

This had nothing to do with me, as I didn’t officially hold the title.

Until the public declaration, I was merely an outsider visiting Kramdel, not one of its rulers.

The Death King looked uneasy.

“That only complicates matters. If you find yourself in conflict with the Star Guardians as a mere ‘guest,’ we cannot offer you our protection.”

He would intervene if I were a Five Lord, but not while I was a visitor.

Not that I had ever counted on their assistance.

“I require no protection.”

As I stated, I didn’t need any help from them.

Because I held a trump card.

Leaving the perplexed Death King behind, I made my way toward the most prominent tavern in Kramdel.

Star Guardians.

The majority were entities of Mythic or Phantasmal rank, yet they were regarded as something even more significant.

Those who protected the stars were gifted with power and standing that transcended the standard, setting them apart from common beasts.

Typically, they never strayed from the territories they were sworn to protect.

They might only congregate once every few millennia.

Yet currently, more than ten Star Guardians were relaxing in the thermal waters of Kramdel.

“The 33rd star is a certainty.”

“It is not the remains of the Goddess ‘Lea. Her form was shattered into 32 fragments. If not hers, then whose?”

“Peena…”

“The twin deity?”

“The probability is high.”

“To verify this, we must peer ‘past’ it.”

“It is obstructed by a Unique-grade enigma. Whether this was a deliberate concealment using such mystery is still being probed.”

“This will require duration.”

As the Star Guardians engaged in their deep discussion.

Dramat silently exited the spring.

Though he carried the title of the Old King, compared to the Star Guardians assembled there, they were ‘barriers’ even to an entity like him.

Dramat was the most junior and least powerful among the group, unable to easily participate in their dialogue.

Even if he wished to join, he lacked the knowledge to contribute.

Observe.

Not a single soul even noticed his departure.

It was testament to the fact that these Star Guardians held absolutely no interest in his presence.

With a heavy breath, Dramat made a slow retreat to his private quarters.

“…What are you supposed to be? A corpse crow?”

The instant he crossed the threshold, Dramat was struck by confusion.

A solitary corpse crow was perched inside his room.

The Star Guardians’ accommodations were meant to be strictly off-limits.

Had the creature stumbled in by accident?

“It has been a while, Dramat.”

“If you value your life, leave this instant. I am in no mood for diversions.”

Kyaaaah!

He unhinged his jaw, making a predatory gesture.

This was a corpse crow he had never encountered.

There was no way it could recognize him.

His temper was short, but he wasn’t looking to start a brawl.

Igniting a conflict in Kramdel would only result in him being reprimanded for no reason.

So get lost.

Cower and flee, and he would spare its life.

Then, quite suddenly, Dramat’s brow furrowed.

“Wait, how is it that you know my name…?”

…Thinking on it, something was definitely wrong.

How could a common corpse crow be familiar with the name of a distinguished Star Guardian like himself?

That was when the shift occurred.

Creeeeak!

The corpse crow wrenched the core from its own chest, and its entire anatomy began to buckle and warp, altering its configuration.

Mystery Destruction

Creeeeak!

The corpse crow wrenched the core from its own chest, and its entire anatomy began to buckle and warp, altering its configuration.

It looked more like it was liquefying.

‘Is it so terrified that it is ending its own existence?’

Dramat watched the display with stunned eyes.

A creature discarding its own core.

For a beast, losing the core was a death sentence. It appeared to be a suicide driven by pure fright.

Then again, what rational being would intrude upon a Star Guardian’s private chambers?

“Hmm?”

But his astonishment was far from over.

The wings detached, the flesh and skeletal structure dissolved, and from the center of the mess, the shape of a human materialized.

And that human possessed a face that was hauntingly familiar.

“You, you are…!”

“My look has shifted slightly, but to fail to recognize your master? And you claim to be my steadfast subordinate?”

“H-how have you come to be here…!”

His shock transitioned into total bewilderment.

But the human standing before him was undeniably real.

Dramat’s whole frame recoiled.

The Desert Sanctuary.

The deepest sanctum where a star rested within the peaks.

Protecting that peak and that star was Dramat’s charge.

The star’s original keeper was Wilhelm, but upon his death, the star returned to the mountain.

Then, a human had suddenly manifested in his lands: Randolph.

An enigmatic human who claimed the star’s ownership despite not meeting the requirements!

“And that shape just a moment ago was definitely… a corpse crow.”

It was undeniably a corpse crow.

The look, the scent, the aura—it was beyond all suspicion.

The corpse crow had transformed into Randolph.

No, Randolph had been masking himself as a corpse crow.

But he could not wrap his mind around it.

While in the form of the corpse crow, there had been no sign of the star.

Yet as Randolph, the weight of the star Dramat protected was palpable.

This wasn’t just a matter of wearing a different skin; it was an entirely different mode of being.

No other theory fit the facts.

Furthermore, the dissolved plumage and flesh were being drawn cleanly into the removed core.

‘Reverting to my original form means I lose access to the Corpse Crow King’s abilities.’

I clicked my tongue in private.

I had foreseen this, but extracting the core allowed for a perfect ‘swap.’

While I was the Corpse Crow King, I was unable to use items but had access to thematic skills.

Conversely, as Randolph, the crow skills vanished, but I could utilize my equipment.

It functioned like a metamorphosis, a vessel, or a costume change in a game.

Since I had expected this, I wasn’t particularly let down.

At this moment, Dramat was the priority.

“Dramat. You have traveled here because of the 33rd star, correct?”

“…Mortals are forbidden from this place.”

“Did the entity you just witnessed look like a mortal to you?”

Dramat fell silent.