The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 174

How did they find me?

No, more importantly, how was she still alive?

The Overlord’s presence I had sensed from afar was faint, barely noticeable.

That was the only reason I came here.

I had felt the remnants of an Overlord’s energy and, as someone who had once been connected to that power, intended to remind them of the gap between us and offer a gesture of goodwill.

But then this happened.

Helena? How was that possible?

I tried to flee, but I was caught again.

Could it be...

Is this real?

I shook my head internally.

The king—no, Nyao—stared at Helena, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

This wasn’t the Helena of the past.

That meant she must have been reborn, likely unable to wield even a fraction of her original power.

And yet, she had still found him?

The Overlord’s power was certainly there, but it had been weak. That was why he had come in the first place.

There was no way those two should have been able to detect him.

It didn’t make sense.

Then, his gaze landed on the familiar-looking skull hovering beside her.

That thing... That was—

"Oh, so you’re Lord Nyao, I presume?"

"......"

At those words, Nyao glared past Helena at the approaching Seong.

The new Overlord.

Helena’s successor.

The skill must have been his doing.

Which meant—

"...Scent of Death, is it?"

"Yes. I used it just in case there were assassins lurking, but... well."

Seong’s expression grew a little awkward.

It was understandable.

According to Helena, Nyao was the ruler of Ninyaru.

That meant he had just unknowingly used a skill on the king.

Thinking about it that way, Seong was grateful things hadn’t turned out worse.

『Scent of Death』

→《Legendary》

→[Lv Max][Perfected]

[Passive][Active]

[Cooldown: 1 hour]

An unseen fragrance that lingers everywhere, the final invitation that bestows silence and eternity upon mortals.

→ Overlord-exclusive skill.

→ Summons a skull that tracks a designated target.

→ The skull pursues its target relentlessly until they die.

→ The target will experience repeated illusions as long as the skull is attached.

→ The skull remains active until the target is on the verge of death.

"Good thing Scent of Death isn't an offensive skill."

It was a mix of a tracking and debuff ability.

It repeatedly forced illusions onto the target.

[『Scent of Death』 attempts to induce illusions in 『One Whose Rank Cannot Be Measured』.]

[Failed.]

[The action is not classified as a preemptive attack.]

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"One Whose Rank Cannot Be Measured."

That meant the level gap between Seong and Nyao was at least 200.

If it had been an outright offensive skill, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Thankfully, the system had decided not to treat it as a preemptive attack.

Moments like these reminded Seong just how fair the system could be.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, he turned back to Nyao.

Nyao looked at Helena, trembled, then swiftly turned his head and pursed his lips.

"N-Nyao? I don’t know any Nyao."

Even his voice was altered, as if trying to deny it with all his might.

At this point, any rational person would have given up.

And yet, here he was, still pretending.

He was still resisting.

Well, it made sense.

After all, he was the king now.

He knew exactly what would happen if he acknowledged Helena.

That was why he was doing everything in his power to feign ignorance.

Seong observed his antics and turned to Helena, wondering if she would let it slide.

She wouldn’t, of course.

Her eyes gleamed mischievously as she smiled.

"Nyao, oojujoo~"

Whip!

The moment she said that and reached out a hand,

Nyao instinctively pressed his chin into her palm.

"Oojujoo~ It really is Nyao."

"A-Ah—!"

Even after centuries, his body still remembered.

As he realized that he had unconsciously rubbed his chin against her hand, his expression shifted dramatically.

Gone was the grave, dignified ruler who had once commanded authority.

His eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

Seong deliberately averted his gaze toward the sky, pretending not to see.

The rest of his subordinates did the same.

Only Fiora, who was a bit slow on the uptake, tilted her head in confusion.

Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps made Helena and Nyao’s expressions sharpen.

An enemy?

No.

Shhhhk!

Helena moved faster than ever before, as did Nyao.

In an instant, both had composed themselves, standing tall with imposing expressions.

Seong also took notice and slightly lowered his head.

The approaching ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) figure hesitated upon seeing them.

And then—

"Y-Y-Your Majesty?!?!"

"Ahem."

It was none other than Felix, commander of the Black Knights.

Having just finished his interrogation, he had been searching for Seong when he stumbled upon this scene.

The moment he saw Nyao—no, the king, he gasped and immediately fell to one knee, lowering his head in unwavering loyalty.

The thought of why the king was here never even crossed his mind.

Even though it had been decades since the king last left his palace.

All that mattered was that he was here, standing before them.

"I-It is an honor to be in your presence, Your Majesty!"

"Ahem, ahem!"

For some reason, the king seemed somewhat irritated, noticeably different from usual.

But Felix was too overwhelmed to notice.

Nyao, seeing his reaction, cleared his throat and nodded.

"Well done. I came here personally to see... my acq— erm... my disciple, the outsider."

"Oh! Ahh!!!"

Felix finally understood.

"So Your Majesty was already acquainted with him? I knew he was extraordinary, but I had no idea he was your disciple!"

That made everything make sense.

If he was a disciple personally trained by the king’s acquaintance, then it was no wonder he was so strong, even as an outsider.

Now it all clicked.

No matter how powerful an outsider was, there had to be a limit to their abilities.

Felix nodded to himself, as if he had just uncovered a universal truth.

Meanwhile, Nyao turned to Felix and asked,

"So, what were the results?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!!!"

Felix responded to the king’s question in a loud, confident voice, and Nyao nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Helena, watching this, gave Nyao a look that practically screamed, "Aww, our little Nyao has grown up." Feeling embarrassed, Nyao put his hands behind his back and turned away, pretending not to notice.

Meanwhile, Nyao realized that they were still within the Black Knights' headquarters and that Felix had come to report the results of the interrogation to Seong as well. Narrowing his eyes, he scrutinized Seong.

The power he emanated was faint.

But without a doubt, it was the aura of an Overlord.

And more than that—

"He’s stronger than I expected. That must be how he caught the spy."

Nyao had quickly assessed the situation.

Of course, in terms of raw strength, Seong was nowhere near comparable to him.

If he wished, he could crush Seong like an insect in an instant.

But compared to the average warrior, Seong was far beyond the norm.

If two people of equal standing fought, Seong would likely win in most cases.

No—one could even say he was nearly unbeatable among his peers.

That must have been why he had captured the spy so easily.

As he mulled over these thoughts, Nyao stroked his beard with a solemn expression.

"In that case, I can leave things to him."

He had been dreading dealing with this himself.

This worked out perfectly.

Since they had already extracted information from the spy, Nyao turned back to Felix.

"You've learned the routes and strategies they used, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. We have identified all of their infiltration routes. However, it seems the spy was unaware of any future plans."

"Hmm. I see. Cunning bastards. We won’t be getting any more information out of him."

It seemed that, in case he was captured, Shivren had not been informed of any future operations.

Despite the ongoing conversation, Seong remained silent.

And that was the correct choice.

"Hmm. This could be a problem."

They had caught a spy, but they hadn't uncovered future plans.

That was troublesome.

Since an infiltrator had already made it inside the city,

The next stage of the enemy’s plan could be far worse.

As Seong was thinking this over, something occurred to him.

Perhaps—

"Uh, Your Maj—"

He hesitated.

He had been carefully choosing how to address people based on their rank.

But then he recalled how just moments ago, Nyao had been oojujooed by Helena.

And for a second, he froze.

Nyao, too, seemed affected by the memory.

"O-oh? Ahem. Yes, outsider, speak."

His response was oddly stiff.

With both of them awkwardly exchanging words, Helena stood there beaming, clearly enjoying the situation.

She was thoroughly entertained.

That was when Seong turned to Nyao and said,

"I believe there may be a way to uncover their future plans."

"Hmm?"

"What!? S-Seong, is that true!?"

Felix forgot all about royal decorum and asked in shock.

Even Nyao tilted his head in surprise.

Seong then began to explain the method he had thought of.

Hearing it, Felix's face turned pale with disbelief, and even Nyao looked equally stunned.

Could that really work?

Even with Helena’s past power, it would have been difficult.

As Nyao was caught up in thought, Helena grinned.

"If it’s my master, Seong, he can definitely do it."

Hearing that, Nyao felt a sense of certainty.

Helena was mischievous, always playful.

But she wasn’t the type to lie about things like this.

That was why Nyao believed her.

"Then we’ll proceed with this plan."

"But, Your Majesty! This is far too dangerous!" Felix protested.

"The alternative is for us to sit here and do nothing, waiting for the enemy to strike. Unless you have a better plan?"

Nyao’s question left Felix speechless.

He had none.

Felix knew Seong’s strength.

But could this really work?

Still, if the king had already made up his mind—

"I will carry out Your Majesty’s will."

There was no other choice.

And so, Seong’s plan was officially adopted.

Seong spoke carefully.

"There’s a chance it could fail. But the success rate is high. Please give me a little time."

With that, he turned and made his way to the interrogation room.

To set his plan into motion.

At that moment, system messages appeared before his eyes.

[You have used improvisation and displayed exceptional ingenuity.]

[The Hidden Linked Quest: "The Shield of Ninyaru, the Black Knights" has been altered.]

[A new Hidden Linked Quest, "Basilica and Ninyaru," has been generated.]

[The ruler of the city atop the labyrinth, Ninyaru, watches you with great interest.]

3.

Far beyond the city of Ninyaru, in a secluded space,

There was a vast land known by its inhabitants as the Rift of the Labyrinth.

A few figures were gathered there, waiting for something.

Each of them sat silently around a small campfire, their hoods pulled low.

Even with their faces hidden, their distinctive features were still apparent.

One had arms resembling leathery bat wings.

Another had eight glowing eyes, its hunched back twitching unnervingly.

They were all residents of Basilica.

And they were part of its espionage and assassination corps.

"When is Shivren supposed to be back?"

"He should be returning soon. Be patient."

"Hmm. Even so, he’s taking longer than expected."

The bat-like creature spoke, shifting slightly.

The spider-like one nodded in agreement.

They were both Shivren’s comrades.

They had been sent on the same mission,

But since their skills were inferior to Shivren’s, they had remained behind to wait.

Yet—

Shivren, who usually returned early, was now late.

That was unusual.

"Could he have been taken out?"

Just as that thought crossed their minds—

They heard faint footsteps.

And then, someone appeared.

"You’ve been waiting."

"Shivren. You took your time."

"Yeah, seriously. You weren’t caught, were you?"

"......."

Shivren said nothing.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward the bat-like one.

His eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion.

Cold.

Expressionless.

Seeing them, the bat-like creature finally nodded.

"It’s definitely Shivren."

"Then let’s move. Time to return to Basilica."

With that, the two of them stood up.

There was no need to confirm further.

Shivren nodded slightly and took the lead.

As he walked forward—

A faint, bluish-green mist seeped from his mouth.

The bat and the spider.

Neither of them saw it.

Because Shivren was in front of them, blocking their view.

"Let’s go. Back to Basilica."