Chapter 255

Chapter 256. Pre-Meeting (1)

Ayrus had never once in his life thought of himself as stupid.

Even now, it was the same. It was true that he, a Dark Mage, had sneaked into the royal palace, but wasn’t Keter the same?

Wandering around without a guide, his clothes stained with dried blood. And yet, he attacks the maze and calls the palace guards?

‘It’s self-destruction.’

Who could have expected that a human who entered the maze with a purpose would suddenly self-destruct?

‘Damn, they’re fast. They’re already here.’

Ayrus sensed multiple presences approaching. Seven in total, a mix of knights and mages.

But that wasn’t all. The moment Keter attacked the wall, a barrier began to slowly descend from the corridor’s boundary.

It was an Orichalcon barrier, as thick as an adult’s forearm. The corridor itself was being sealed off.

*Whoosh!*

And that wasn’t all. Colorless smoke began to pour out from somewhere in the wall. The sour smell made it clear that this wasn’t some vitamin-rich vapor.

Ayrus thought to himself. If he had the ability to kill Keter in one strike, he would have done so.

But it was impossible. Logically, he had to throw himself into the path leading underground as quickly as possible.

Even if he had the Dark Document, this was the heart of the royal palace. Being captured and exposed to poison gas would be the least of his punishments.

He had no desire to fight in such an unfavorable space.

*Squelch.*

Ayrus’s entire body melted like water, sinking into the shadows. The barrier had already descended to knee height, making it impossible to jump over at a running pace.

He could barely make it over the barrier, but Ayrus’s pride was hurt by the fact that Keter, who had tricked him, was still standing.

“I won’t just take this lying down, Keter!”

Ayrus’s shadow rippled like a wave, covering the entire corridor. Then, from the shadows enveloping the corridor, white bones began to sprout.

High Dark Magic, Wailing Bone Suppression.

The bones grew like plants, pressing down on Keter.

“These are the bones of 300 humans who died unjustly. It’s impossible to block them without paying a price.”

Though as hard and sharp as steel, they were still just bones. Could they really pose a threat to Keter, who could tear steel like paper?

*Crack, crunch!*

As expected, Keter’s punches shattered the bones into pieces.

But from the broken bones, new ones sprouted. No matter how many times they were destroyed, they kept growing endlessly.

No matter how fast Keter’s punches were, he only had two fists, and the bones kept rising from all sides, pressing him down.

Even retreating had its limits. Eventually, the speed of the bones growing outpaced the speed at which Keter could destroy them.

It was clear that Keter was in a dire situation, but Ayrus felt something was off.

‘Why isn’t he using archery and only using his fists?’

Just as he felt something was strange and unsettling, the corner of his mouth twitched upward. He had clearly seen Keter’s eyes being slashed by the Wailing Bone Suppression with his own two eyes.

Though not fatal, the bones were imbued with vengeful spirits. His eyes were infected. If he didn’t remove them, the curse would spread through his body.

In other words, Keter would go blind!

Ayrus didn’t understand why Keter only used his fists, but he was satisfied with the result.

“Looking good, Keter! Hahaha!”

Ayrus wanted to sing and taunt Keter, but he couldn’t, which was a shame.

* * *

“…Impressive.”

Labyrinth, the knight captain in charge of guarding the royal palace maze, had been in awe since arriving at the scene.

The corridor was piled high with bone fragments up to the ankles, and a man stood leaning against a pillar, a cigarette in his mouth.

The man was covered in blood. From his appearance alone, he looked like a corpse, but the faint smoke rising from the cigarette made the subordinate knight shout.

“Hands behind your back and kneel! Or we’ll execute you on the spot.”

Anyone who entered the royal palace maze without a guide was considered an intruder, and intruders were shown no mercy.

Despite the subordinate knight’s shout, the man leaning against the pillar silently blew smoke. Seeing this, a blue Aura Blade erupted from the knight’s sword.

*Swish!*

The knight swung his sword briefly.

The cigarette butt in the man’s mouth was cut off.

“Last warning. Hands behind your back and kneel!”

“…….”

Despite the sharp warning, the man remained silent.

At that moment, as the knight’s sword extended.

“Wait.”

Labyrinth, who had grabbed his subordinate’s arm, approached the man by the pillar. The mages who had come with him warned.

“It’s best not to get too close. When the alarm for this area went off, we heard voices saying ‘a Dark Mage has appeared.’ There’s a possibility that this man is the Dark Mage.”

“A Dark Mage who fell victim to his own magic?”

“It’s a deception. A common tactic used by Dark Mages. They pretend to be victims, waiting for their opponent to get close before ambushing them.”

“Even if it’s a deception, I doubt he could do much in such a battered state.”

Despite the mages’ warnings, Labyrinth approached the man by the pillar.

“Hmm.”

Even with Labyrinth right in front of him, the man didn’t move.

*Tap tap.*

Labyrinth poked the man with his finger. Still, no movement.

“He’s unconscious.”

“You’re saying he’s unconscious, standing with a cigarette in his mouth?”

“Yes. And this guy isn’t a Dark Mage.”

Though covered in blood, his face was clean. So, it wasn’t hard to make out his features.

“Isn’t this Keter, that troublemaker from Sephira?”

“Keter?!”

“Why would he be in the maze… No, how did he even get here? This area is impossible to enter by accident.”

At his subordinates’ words, Labyrinth also stroked his chin.

“I’d like to ask that too, but the man in question isn’t in any state to answer. Judging from the situation…”

He examined the stairs leading underground and the nearby barrier before clicking his tongue.

“Keter triggered the maze’s alarm. And he fought a Dark Mage.”

“You mean…”

The knight looked at Keter with a disbelieving expression.

Labyrinth also scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.

“Yes, Keter is the one who informed us of the Dark Mage’s intrusion into the maze. What are you all standing around for? Take him to the treatment room. His life isn’t in danger, but he’s suffered a critical injury to his eyes. He might go blind.”

And so, Keter went from being an intruder in the maze to a hero, heading to the treatment room.

* * *

Keter regained consciousness late into the night.

“Are you awake, Prince Keter?”

At the royal doctor’s words, Keter remained unresponsive for a moment before speaking.

“Wh-where am I?”

“You’re in the treatment room. Please calm down. Your injuries have all been treated.”

“The treatment room? Then why is it so dark? Please turn on the lights.”

“Sigh… Prince Keter, please listen carefully.”

The royal doctor paused for a moment before firmly grasping Keter’s hands.

“We did our best, but… the injury to your eyes was caused by dark magic. If we had treated it immediately on the scene, it might have been different, but too much time has passed. We’ve stopped the infection from spreading, but we couldn’t save the function of your eyes.”

“……!”

Keter’s fists trembled.

Labyrinth, who had been watching from behind the doctor, stepped forward.

“Prince Keter. I am Labyrinth, in charge of guarding the maze. I’m sorry about your blindness, but as the person in charge, I need to hear what happened.”

Labyrinth questioned Keter about how he had entered the maze and how he had encountered the Dark Mage.

Keter remained silent for a while before suddenly reaching out his hand and saying, “Could you give me an eyepatch? It’s uncomfortable to keep my eyes open when I can’t see.”

The doctor nodded at Keter’s composed demeanor and handed him a pre-prepared eyepatch.

“It’s black. Not a magical tool, but made from the highest quality materials. It should last a long time.”

“Nice.”

After putting on the eyepatch himself, Keter reached out his hand again.

“I’m hungry. Could you give me something to eat?”

“…Wait a moment.”

Labyrinth found Keter’s calmness strange, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that Keter was hungry. After all, Keter was the palace’s ‘benefactor.’

A simple meal was quickly prepared, and Keter answered the questions honestly while eating.

“I was able to enter the maze because the palace’s swordsmanship instructor wanted to see me.”

“Is that instructor’s name Nazar, by any chance?”

While Keter was unconscious, Labyrinth hadn’t been idle. He had investigated and could guess how Keter had entered the maze.

“No, her name is Lilie.”

Though he tried to lead the questioning, Keter answered honestly. Labyrinth continued.

“Why did she want to see you and let you into the palace?”

“That’s a secret between us, so I can’t tell you without Lilie’s permission.”

“Even if it’s a secret, why didn’t you leave the maze immediately after the conversation? Lilie would have told you the way to the exit.”

Keter didn’t deny it.

“Yes, she did. But I couldn’t leave. I saw someone I knew.”

“Someone you knew? Could it be the Dark Mage?”

“Yes. He and I have met before. At the Southern Sword Tournament. His name is Ayrus… a very wicked Dark Mage.”

“Hmm!”

Labyrinth licked his lower lip. He knew of Ayrus. After all, he was the Dark Mage who had boldly attacked a lord.

What was most serious was the fact that a Dark Mage had infiltrated the royal palace without anyone noticing.

If Keter hadn’t informed them, no one would have known. That fact sent a chill down Labyrinth’s spine.

“So, Prince Keter, you discovered the Dark Mage Ayrus and chased him, but it’s strange. If you had known, you should have called us, and things would have been easier.”

Labyrinth remained suspicious of Keter until the end. But Keter spoke in a tone full of regret.

“It was greed. I thought I could handle it alone. Well, as you can see, this is the result. I lost the Dark Mage and my eyes…”

Keter, who had been eating well, put down his food and looked gloomy. Labyrinth quickly changed the subject.

“Ah, no. You fought well. Wailing Bone Suppression is a high-level dark magic that even a Grandmaster would struggle to counter, yet you survived. That alone is a commendable achievement.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

As if he hadn’t been gloomy just moments ago, Keter started eating again. Labyrinth couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

‘What kind of guy is this? He’s as crazy as the rumors say.’

Labyrinth had heard rumors that Keter had once blocked the Queen’s Bridge by force. Such insane actions, yet he acted normally in other situations, making it hard to figure out how to deal with him.

“Was Ayrus captured?”

Then, Keter asked a question in return. Labyrinth shook his head.

“We’re still pursuing him.”

“Be careful. That guy has the Dark Document.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

The conversation between the two ended, and an awkward silence fell. Keter continued eating without concern, while Labyrinth stared at him for a long time before finally leaving the treatment room.

“Prince Keter. If you feel uncomfortable or need anything, ring this bell.”

The doctor also handed Keter a bell before leaving. What the patient needed most was absolute rest.

Left alone, Keter stretched.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I was a bit nervous, but it went well.”

Keter, who had made a puzzling statement, picked up the mirror on the table. He then removed the eyepatch and opened his eyes.

Originally, the eyes of the Sephira clan were a beautiful golden color. But now, Keter’s eyes were a pale gray, unfocused.

According to the royal doctor’s diagnosis, Keter’s eyes had lost their function and were blind. It was certain.

But—

*Swish.*

Keter closed his eyes with his hand, and when he opened them again, the pale gray pupils regained their vibrant golden hue.

“The secret technique of deception, pretending to be blind.”

A mischievous smile naturally appeared on Keter’s face as he wondered how his brothers would react to the news of his blindness.