Chapter 640. What the Darkness Desires (1)
Harkon Kingsguard.
“Hoo.”
He focused his mind on the voice echoing inside his head.
The instincts honed through countless battlefields were warning him.
At this moment, if his concentration wavered even slightly—
‘I will be devoured.’
By the enigmatic being who called Lord Grandfell his son.
Jeobeog.
He stepped into the depths of the castle.
With every step forward, an unbearable pressure climbed up his entire body.
Even though he had resolved not to falter in any situation—
…Flinch.
His body instinctively tensed.
This feeling—he had undoubtedly experienced it before.
Harkon clenched his teeth tightly.
‘It’s similar to the helplessness I felt before the Infinitely Deep Darkness.’
Was this too an inheritance of the Claudi lineage?
His thoughts were interrupted by the breathtaking grandeur of the castle’s interior.
He had spent time in both the Imperial Palace and the Kingdom of Yusra.
Yet, despite his experiences in those grand halls, Harkon found himself shaking his head.
‘I must not be swayed, Harkon.’
Fortunately, his turmoil did not last long.
One step.
Then another.
With every stride deeper into the halls of Claudi’s old castle—
“…What in the world?”
Memories surged into his mind, overwhelming him to the point of dizziness.
His face had already turned pale.
At last, he raised his Demonic Sword and shouted.
“Claudi! What in the world are you…!!”
Born into a humble house,
By the time he had earned the name Kingsguard, the Claudi family had already retreated into the shadows, hiding their influence.
Thus, it was only now that Harkon was realizing the truth about the Claudi lineage.
Looking back, there had always been something odd.
-“Claudi.”
-“All forces, pay tribute to the great lineage.”
-“The head of the Claudi family…?”
He had long accepted that the Claudi family stood above the Four Great Houses that even overshadowed the Imperial lineage.
Yet, what he could not comprehend was how even the strongest warriors, those who scorned the Empire, treated Claudi with reverence.
‘Even the dragons, the so-called kings of all things, bowed their heads.’
He had believed it was possible.
‘For their abilities are deserving of such esteem.’
But he could not ignore the way they were addressed.
They had not revered Claudi’s individual members.
They had long since bowed their heads to the family itself.
Harkon gritted his teeth.
“So that’s how it was.”
Within the flood of memories,
He saw why Claudi was hailed as a supreme lineage.
Had the remains of dragons littering the castle grounds not already spoken for themselves?
“To rule, one must trample others beneath them.”
A knight of the Empire.
One who had served the Empire that unified the Arcana Continent could not possibly deny such a notion.
Yet, Claudi’s path differed from that of the Empire.
“Why have you…?”
To be more precise—
“Why have you committed such atrocities when you lacked nothing?”
In the memories that rushed into him, Claudi was already supreme.
The Claudi family knew no deficiency.
They were beings who were great by their very nature.
They did not need to trample the Arcana Continent beneath them…!
–Because you gazed upon us with reverence, knight.
“…What?”
A response so hollow that it made his spirit waver followed soon after.
–Because you lowly beings dared to look upon us.
Harkon growled.
“So that’s how it is.”
At last, he understood what the Claudi lineage truly was.
To them, anything beyond Claudi was nothing.
Worship from others, respect, even admiration—
To Claudi, all of it was utterly meaningless.
And so, Harkon came to a realization.
“To Claudi, the Arcana Continent was nothing more than dust.”
The Infinitely Deep Darkness.
Lord Grandfell, when you revealed yourself completely—
Why was your gaze upon me so frigid?
A bitter smile curled at the corner of Harkon’s lips.
‘This is why I never wanted to know your innermost thoughts.’
…Clench.
But he was a knight with the heart of a lion.
Harkon’s resolve did not waver.
Yes, for he had witnessed it firsthand.
‘And yet, you are different, my lord.’
Whether it was because Lord Grandfell was unlike the others in Claudi,
Or because the single ray of light, Lord Hoyeol, shone upon him—
Harkon could not say.
But he did not need an answer.
“In the end, you are who you are.”
His stance was enough to provoke the mysterious voice.
–How intriguing, knight of the Empire.
You have glimpsed what we are.
Yet you still choose to follow my son, Grandfell.
This is a loyalty unlike any I have witnessed before.
–So this is why Grandfell has sent you to me?
Ah, you are certainly different from Pride.
Grandfell, my son.
I am entertained.
As a father, I shall amuse myself with the old knight you have sent.
–Struggle to your heart’s content.
*
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*
‘Darkened pupils…!’
The moment their eyes met, Skal realized the truth.
“Harkon Captain has been possessed by a demon!”
Frostnax also came to his senses.
“I see. Well, only a demon would spout such nonsense.”
My son.
That phrase had echoed too clearly—Frostnax dismissed it as a demon’s whisper.
Without hesitation, he launched into battle.
The dragon’s eyes, capable of piercing through illusions, had begun to detect an ominous presence.
‘This surging malice is no ordinary force.’
In that moment, he recalled the time they had entered the curse.
When Claudi, reigning as the Sin of Pride, mercilessly slaughtered his kin,
the memory overlapped with the present, sending a shiver through him.
But Skal’s voice snapped Frostnax out of his thoughts.
“Who exactly is this?”
“You already said it, a demon.”
“No, I mean—what kind of demon exactly?”
To think he had the leisure to be curious in a situation like this.
Swaaaaah.
Even as Frostnax flapped his enormous wings, he was baffled.
Yet, Skal’s curiosity had a reason.
He gazed up at the skies of the Arcana Continent.
“As you can see, all of the Evil Eyes in the sky have closed. That means the passage between the Demon World and Arcana Continent is completely sealed. With the Ten Thrones unaccounted for, the only demons left on Arcana would be the True Name demons at best…”
“Do not overlook the Primordial Evil, brat.”
“Of course! After what I went through guarding the World Tree of Antonium, there’s no way I’d forget! But the Primordial Evil wouldn’t reveal itself like this.”
Frostnax fell silent.
‘It has never revealed its true form.’
The Primordial Evil—
It had always controlled its spawn from behind the scenes, using its tentacle-like creations.
Moreover, possessing Harkon’s body?
‘The restrictions would outweigh the benefits.’
That left only one answer.
A Dragon and Dragon Knight, fully synchronized—Skal had arrived at the same conclusion as Frostnax.
“…Claudi has returned.”
Frostnax spoke with more precision.
“That demon must be the previous head of the Claudi family.”
Then it made sense why it had called someone its son.
And then—
Harkon…
No, the former head of Claudi turned his killing intent toward Frostnax.
“Do not fly in my domain without my permission.”
“…?!”
“Lizard.”
Flinch.
Frostnax’s body stiffened on the spot.
More precisely, his wing muscles froze as though paralyzed.
Skal, noticing the change immediately, activated his skill.
[Activating Unique Skill – ‘Dragon Speech.’]
In that instant,
Skal made a decision.
A judgment based on his experience as a player.
‘Will my skill even work?’
The former head of Claudi.
He could only guess at the extent of their power.
But the fact that they had shattered Harkon’s mind and possessed him…
‘Damn it, there’s no way it’ll be effective.’
So Skal didn’t aim his Dragon Speech at Claudi’s former head—
He aimed it at Frostnax.
“Fly, Frostnax!”
A Dragon Knight.
Skal seized control of Frostnax’s reins.
Even if Frostnax’s subconscious terror compelled his body to obey Claudi’s command—
“Frostnax? Your speech is rather short, brat.”
“S-Sorry! It was an emergency.”
“Even so, that was well done.”
Skal was different.
He hesitated for only a moment before regaining control.
Frostnax flapped his wings once more.
Claudi’s former head gazed at the scene with an impassive expression.
“A strange sight.”
A dragon and a human, together, resisting my command.
“It seems much has changed while my eyes were closed.”
To think I was forced into slumber in such an era.
Pride.
My resentment toward you shall never fade.
“Though you are no longer here to hear it.”
From the moment of possession,
Claudi’s former head had acquired all of Harkon’s memories.
And in those memories, Harkon’s mental fortitude was something of an enigma.
Clench.
He flexed Harkon’s fingers.
For now, he could control the body as though it were his own.
But moments ago—
‘Even after losing control, he struggled to this extent?’
Immediately after possession—
-Stab.
-Stab.
-Stab.
Harkon’s body had stabbed itself repeatedly.
Had this not been a possession, he would have died dozens, no, hundreds of times over.
“It must have been his will, to not burden you, Grandfell.”
He would have been a fine servant—
Yet, the former head was not pleased.
For the Grandfell he saw in Harkon’s memories was not the same Grandfell he had known before Pride had slain him, sending him into deep slumber.
“This is not how I raised you.”
As a father, it was only proper for me to ensure—
Claudi’s former head delved deeper into Harkon’s memories.
Yet, resistance remained.
“!”
Harkon’s very body had begun suppressing its own heartbeat to resist the possession.
Of course, it was futile.
Before long, his heart was forcibly made to beat again.
“You shall not die without my permission, knight.”
The Arcana Continent had changed drastically while he slumbered.
The Demon World, the world of adventurers—
Claudi’s former head found all of it distasteful.
“So much has changed without Claudi’s permission.”
But more than anything, what truly disturbed him—
“Why?”
Was Grandfell’s transformation.
“What has changed you so, Grandfell?”
Srrrrng.
He drew the Demonic Sword.
The Hexagram Brooch.
The Ego Sword, transformed by the power of the Six Deadly Sins.
This sword, bearing Grandfell’s will—
It must have led this pitiful knight to me.
“Yet I still do not understand your intent.”
But I understand you, Grandfell.
Even in the past, when dealing with your mother and siblings,
you would sometimes show weakness.
“For your sake, I shall discipline you once more, as I did before.”
And then—
The Demonic Sword sliced through the air.
It had not been swung at any particular target.
Yet its force alone was enough—
For Frostnax, soaring high, to suddenly hemorrhage Dragon’s Blood and plummet.
Claudi’s former head spoke indifferently.
A Word of Command.
Anyone who had stepped into Claudi’s domain knew about 『Words of Command.』
They were absolute laws, forces none could resist.
And yet, players had been able to enter Claudi’s lands freely.
Because in Claudi’s domain, no unreasonable Words of Command had ever existed.
But unlike Claudi’s lands, the old castle did not belong to Grandfell.
“Tear apart and die.”
At that moment, an utterly cruel command was given.
“……?”
But a far greater command stopped Claudi’s former head.
The cursed sword.
The will of Grandfell, embedded within it, spoke.
-Pathetic.
“…Grandfell?”
-To think you would act as the lord before the true head of this house.
“What… are you saying?”
-Do not forget.
“What does that say to your father—?”
Smmmmmm.
The Infinitely Deep Darkness seeped out, binding his flesh.
Claudi’s former head, bewildered, heard Grandfell’s warning.
-The only thing I permitted you…
An overwhelming sense of powerlessness swallowed him whole.
-Was your resurrection under my arrangement.
My resurrection… was your arrangement?
*
tl/n: happy birthday to me