NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1023
<1023 – Master of Darkness (1)>
Darknodi.
Acknowledging that I cannot achieve a happy life with my friends, I turned away from all connections, awakening the Eye of Stagnation and the Eye of Instant Death.
Thanks to the death and legacy of Mahabharata, I ascended to the demon king’s throne and wandered through the demon realm.
A lonely living being with not a single friend.
An existence living to repay the debt owed to Mahabharata.
In front of her, a massive gateway suddenly formed, bringing the same despair today as yesterday, and the same despair tomorrow as today.
—
Forced Summoning Dimensional Gate
Scale: Giant
Danger: Demigod-level
Time: Opens in 10 seconds
—
The danger level of the Forced Summoning Dimensional Gate has been measured with Darknodi’s Observation Eye (2500).
Currently, those who might notice my existence are exceedingly rare.
The contemporary Demon King, the Devouring Demon King.
God of Points, Mahabharata.
And…
Dark Princess Oknodie.
Mahabharata is a newly ascended god.
Having already sacrificed much for itself, it wouldn’t send a demigod-level follower.
The same goes for the contemporary Demon King.
Even if the Demon King’s Four Kings were to die, she wouldn’t suddenly take interest in Darknodi even if she sensed the appearance of another demon king class equal to herself.
Only one thing remains.
Oknodie.
She sent a demigod being to me.
For what purpose?
To pay compensation to Darknodi, who lost all connections for her sake and became the Demon King?
To brag about her newly created followers?
Or perhaps…
To kill Darknodi and harvest the experience points of her ripened clone?
‘Maybe she’s planning to kill me if she thinks I’m an easy target.’
Darknodi’s eyes turned fierce.
The two eyes and the supportive spells rapidly unfolded around the dimensional gateway.
A drop of dark mana fell onto the ground like a droplet of ink, spreading swiftly into a protective formation and enhancing my spells, appearing as if it carved grooves into the very floor.
“Hmm?”
That scene would indeed be witnessed by Gegeobdo-in, who appeared before the rightful contractor exactly 3 seconds later.
“Wait-!”
This isn’t right.
I don’t know what’s going on, but this is definitely not how it’s supposed to be.
Right after the summoning, Gegeobdo-in exposed all of its vital points in a carefree T-pose.
In an instant, the Eyes of Stagnation and Instant Death struck without mercy.
‘Kraaaack!!’
Before it could even scream, Gegeobdo-in was torn apart at a horrifying speed.
However, there are some mechanics in place that prevent beings from dying if they don’t meet specific criteria.
Gegeobdo-in, having mimicked those characteristics through wizard knowledge, managed to preserve its life.
“Hmph. As expected of Oknodie’s assassin—such a bundle of mechanics. It’s a nuisance that it doesn’t die in one shot, but that’s fine. I’ll just keep killing it infinitely until it does.”
“!!!”
“Honestly, it’s infuriating. To stand before me relying on such meager tricks.”
In an instant, Darknodi swiftly beheaded Gegeobdo-in, who had never been defeated before.
The fallen head reattached itself as if in shock, only for the heart to explode next.
As the ruptured heart rejoined, it was engulfed by the soul-incinerating flame that burned Gegeobdo-in.
[Danger Sense (2000)]
[There’s a strange feeling that continuously killing this enemy might be dangerous.]
“…!”
Darknodi’s eyes grew colder.
“A mechanic that grows stronger with death. If I can’t find the mechanic required for its demise and disable it correctly, I will be in trouble…”
Darknodi already knew of monsters with such mechanics.
The Phoenix, which is reborn in flames with greater strength after death.
The Ouroboros, which is born shedding its old shell, possessing a tougher exterior.
The Wind Spirit King, which is reborn in a new storm, bringing a quicker and larger tempest.
When the hundred-dimensional defense begins, the lord-level monsters of other dimensions, who mostly possess immortality, become the primary opponents to face.
“Then, I just won’t let you die.”
As Gegeobdo-in’s body was locked in place, its flesh and soul began to be sliced by various forms of attacks.
“Just tell me whenever. How do you want to die? I’m already… really angry about the death of the mob that Twanor sent.”
Oknodie could easily prevent her from dying if she set her mind to it.
Yet, Oknodie had died.
Darknodi realized that the spell embedded in Oknodie’s soul shattered the moment she died.
Fear gripped her.
The cruelty of Oknodie, who wouldn’t preserve even Oknodie, her own successor.
Sadness washed over her.
The moments of oppression and humiliation she must endure because she is not the original.
All those unclean emotions strengthened Darknodi’s power as a Demon King.
“For now, let’s start with a hundred years.”
Darknodi formed space around Gegeobdo-in.
<Inventory Barrier>
Although it cannot hold a living being, it creates an entire space surrounding a living being, allowing for indirect storage and barrier effects—a unique application of inventory.
Time acceleration magic was cast within that internal space.
Gegeobdo-in couldn’t resist.
The powers of Darknodi’s Eye of Stagnation and Eye of Instant Death, which possessed greater strength, restrained and killed Gegeobdo-in’s spells and abilities even before the gaze fell on it.
He’s trembling with betrayal.
‘Oknodie. Dark Princess. Princess of Weird. I should have realized as soon as I felt those horrific titles. The guardian deity was merely a ploy to lead me into a fraudulent contract from the beginning!’
By the time realization struck, it was too late.
Now, Gegeobdo-in will continuously endure torment from Darknodi, confessing its weaknesses and being killed.
No, even if it can die, it would be a relief.
If it were to be sealed within this space for eternity and forgotten, no one would rescue or kill it.
Gegeobdo-in will experience eternal suffering.
‘It’s dastardly. Looking back, the dark princess, the princess of weird—both were traps. The real intent was as the newly ascended Master of Darkness. I’ve been thoroughly played by my avatar…’
How long has it been since he has suffered from the irreversible tragedy?
Gegeobdo-in realized that over a hundred years had passed.
“Ugh…!”
Light returned.
Escaping the darkness of the entire internal inventory space, he faced the colors of the world and the beauty of nature.
The cruel impulses and instincts born from the mana of his spirit stone and the nefarious deeds of wizards had all vanished.
He only wished for peace, or at least rest.
After surpassing the hundred year time acceleration, he met Darknodi once more.
“Tell me the mechanics that protect you. If they’re unraveled, I’ll let you die gracefully. But if they’re not unraveled and you deceive me, next time I’ll accelerate time for an even longer duration.”
After a hundred years comes a thousand years in confinement.
With Darknodi’s cruel declaration, Gegeobdo-in cried tears and confessed.
“I will tell you everything. So please, liberate me from this pain.”
Hearing Gegeobdo-in’s testimony, Darknodi decided to test if it was true or not.
After confirming several methods, she became certain.
That the mechanics surrounding Gegeobdo-in had been partially unraveled.
That he had indeed revealed a method to kill himself.
If all the tangled threads are unraveled, rewards of divine retribution will be granted.
That power will make Darknodi even stronger.
At that point, Darknodi felt unease.
‘Could it be that I’m the one that Oknodie didn’t realize I had to perform her tasks?’
Would Oknodie truly be unaware that I’ve brutally made up my mind to rise to the Demon King’s status and dirty my hands?
The Oknodie she remembered was a cruel player who took everything from her clone.
‘Just like I noticed the death of Oknodie, Oknodie might also notice the death of Gegeobdo-in.’
If Gegeobdo-in dies, a crisis more severe than this will surely follow.
A shift in thought occurred.
“Now that you’ve revealed everything… please kill me…”
“No. Killing you would be falling into Oknodie’s trap. I won’t do anything that would benefit the original anymore.”
“Are you going to torture me eternally without killing me?!”
“Exactly.”
“Haha. Haha! It won’t go as you wish. Since I’ve already committed numerous murders to break the spells, my power has grown too!”
“Not enough to defeat me.”
“I’ve gained the minimum resistance to the power of stagnation. If I can move even a little… I can take the initiative to ‘commit suicide’!”
Gegeobdo-in prepared to obliterate itself!
Its soul twisted in real time.
By abandoning the spells constituting itself, it determined to damage its immortality, while simultaneously preparing for death!
Now, that was an issue.
Darknodi reached out toward the dissipating bits of Gegeobdo-in’s soul.
Gegeobdo-in scoffed.
To forcefully seize and control a disintegrating soul?
That’s nonsense!
Wasn’t it born by sheer coincidence?
Spirits of the spirit stones.
The remains of the heavenly ancestors.
The spells of the Alliance of Necromancers.
From the beginning, it would be impossible to interfere with the vast mana constituting Gegeobdo-in’s being without mastering at least one of these.
[Over 50% of the mana held by the opponent is provided by you. Control has drastically increased.]
But Gegeobdo-in did not realize.
How immense the conflict Darknodi had become involved in since becoming a Demon King.
The experience gained from indirectly battling the representative of the Man God, where countless gods died, was beyond imagination!
It had reached a level where it could now rival Gegeobdo-in’s mana in raw quantity.
[Gegeobdo-in is designated as one of the Demon King’s Four Kings.]
[Gegeobdo-in’s lost mana is replaced with Darknodi’s dark mana.]
A forced master-servant contract was concluded.
Gegeobdo-in’s eyes widened.
“You can’t die without my permission now.”
It wailed like someone told it they’d be a graduate student for life.
That was a truly wicked lifelong job for Oknodie’s clone.