The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

2.

In the capital of the Kingdom of Rieskan—specifically, within a chamber weighed down by suffocating air and an overwhelming aura of authority—sat the Sword Saint.

His expression twisted like that of a demon, the Sword Saint showed not the slightest sign of a positive reaction as he looked down upon the subordinate groveling before him and asked again:

”What did you just say?”

“...F-Forgive me.”

“Say it again.”

The oppressive energy dominated the room, and the subordinate felt that the slightest slip of the tongue could cost him his head.

Sensing instinctively that dragging this out any longer would truly mean death, the subordinate, still flattened against the floor, carefully opened his mouth.

But in that instant—

Whoosh—!!!

A ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) sword strike sliced past him.

It scorched the floor as if slashed by something razor-sharp, and although the subordinate hadn’t even perceived the moment of the strike, he swallowed hard.

It was a silent order from the Sword Saint to speak at once.

And so, the subordinate had no choice but to open his mouth.

“...I-It is with great regret, but all contact has been lost with the entire intelligence division that relocated to Nocturne.”

“Confirmation?”

“We dispatched additional agents, but all communications from Nocturne have also ceased. It appears the lord of Nocturne, the Dreamlord himself, has caught on.”

The Sword Saint nodded as he listened to the report, clearly and precisely delivered.

And then—

Shhk.

The subordinate’s neck was severed in a single stroke, and the Sword Saint rose from his seat.

The thought that a mere Dreamlord dared to crawl up toward him ignited his fury—but there was nothing he could do at this moment.

Here and now, the Sword Saint had no actionable options.

His rage-twisted face was soon joined by a flicker of pain.

It was the pain of a soul still wounded—one that had yet to recover.

“Goddamn it.”

He muttered, biting his lip.

He wanted nothing more than to strike back at that arrogant Overlord—and at Overpalace.

But there was still nothing he could do.

Should he seek another path instead?

Yet no viable idea came to mind, and the Sword Saint could only wallow in pain and fury for a long while.

Still, there was one small consolation.

‘Since they all died in Nocturne, traces of the Galaxy Sword Dance or the Masked Lord may still remain.’

An ignorant assumption from someone unfamiliar with fieldwork.

Because of that, the Sword Saint recalled that the Galaxy Sword Dance had been spotted in Nocturne, and now turned his focus to retrieving the Masked Lord instead. He summoned a knight order.

His own personal knight order, with no external affiliations.

It was a group formed without any demonic power—recruited purely based on skill. The Sword Saint held high expectations this time.

When the knights entered his chamber—

“You summoned us.”

The Mirror Knights’ Captain, Reindel Silverain, bowed his head in loyalty.

As he stood before the Sword Saint, the illusion of reflected light seemed to shimmer faintly.

Though his current power couldn’t yet compare to the Sword Saint’s,

the Sword Saint viewed Reindel as a loyal knight who would one day ascend to true greatness.

In fact, Reindel was already capable of holding his own even in the tenth region by outsider standards. The Sword Saint issued his order proudly.

“Gather intel and retrieve the Masked Lord. I intend to add him to the Lord’s Legion.”

“Yes, it shall be done.”

Reindel Silverain bowed deeply and departed the capital alongside his knights, his cloak fluttering behind him.

Their destination: an unexplored sector of the eighth region.

According to intelligence reports, the Masked Lord was said to be sleeping within ruins discovered near the ongoing investigation site. Just as they prepared to move swiftly—

One of the informants traveling with the knight order urgently approached Reindel, face pale with panic.

“C-Captain?! The ruins suspected to house the Masked Lord have vanished!”

The mission was already off to a rough start.

Knowing the Sword Saint’s violent temper, Reindel’s usually calm expression furrowed.

“...This is troublesome.”

But having already accepted the mission and departed the capital, there was no turning back.

Reindel braced himself and gave the order.

“Someone’s taken the Masked Lord. Kill them and take it back.”

If someone had stolen it, reclaiming it was the only appropriate response.

And so, following their captain’s command, the Mirror Knights mounted their horses and sped toward the unexplored lands of the eighth region.

3.

A throne surrounded by countless masks.

Each of those masks bore the image of one of the foes Seong had defeated.

Seong watched the scene with quiet awe.

As he and his vassals stepped forward—

A monument suddenly appeared before the throne.

Seeing it inscribed with writing, Seong approached to read.

Just as expected—

“Hmm, it’s a record.”

The writing told of the time when the Masked Lord was a legendary figure, famed even more than Will Baghdad, the Lord of the Dead.

Seong had been wondering how such a figure had died.

The monument told the tale.

[Indeed, we gathered to stop that creature.

The fall of an old friend was too painful to watch, and so we came to witness his end.

I, Peshil—the Masked Lord—alongside Dreamlord Nocturne, Lord of Corruption Morbas, Mirrorblade Arts’ Eisen, and Phantom Sword Dance’s Kaldian—five Lords in total, along with lord-class knights.

We joined forces to stop our old friend, but even with all five of us, all we could do was seal him away.

Our arrogance in underestimating his power cost us dearly.

I myself suffered a fatal wound.

Lord Morbas left not even a corpse, disintegrated mid-battle. Eisen vanished, leaving behind only his blade.

Kaldian fell after helping to seal the creature. In the end, only I and Nocturne survived.

But I too succumbed to my wounds and could not escape death.

Though we sealed him, it was an incomplete seal, and I knew that once I was gone, he might awaken again.

So I decided to leave all my legacy here.

To the one who receives my legacy—

Please fulfill my wish. Complete the mask and deliver the final blow to my once-friend, now fallen.]

A long and tragic tale.

Reading it, Seong tilted his head, feeling something peculiar.

Then a thought struck him.

‘Even if I don’t know the other Lords, I’m pretty sure Helena knew both Nocturne and the Masked Lord, Peshil...’

Did that mean the ”old friend” was once one of Helena’s vassals?

As the thought crossed his mind—

A message appeared before his eyes.

[Verifying special conditions.]

[Overlord identity confirmed.]

[A hidden monument appears.]

Another monument surfaced and delivered a new revelation.

[Our old friend, now corrupted, was once the beloved dragon pet of Lady Helena, once known as the Demon King.

Deathbone Dragon, Belzarach Drakxion.

Please, let him rest in peace.]

Upon reading it, Seong’s expression turned into a ”Of course it was” face.

And Helena, beside him, could only look awkward.

Her pet dragon?

Absurd—but not unbelievable.

After all... it was Helena.

Still...

”Even five Lords failed to bring him down—that’s kind of shocking.”

To this, Veladrina bowed her head slightly and answered, visibly concerned.

—“It is certainly possible, if it’s Belzarach. After Lady Helena’s death, he was at the peak of his power. If he hadn’t been mourning, all five of them would likely have perished.”

“...That strong?”

—“M-Mister Belzarach was terrifying, yes...”

Fiora, who also knew Belzarach, chimed in.

That strong, huh? Seong wondered if he could actually take him on now—but then again, he probably could.

His vassals were no pushovers either.

And he had a few cheat codes of his own.

Thinking that, Seong glanced at Helena.

“Hm, what do you think?”

“Ugh.”

Groaning, Helena took a moment to think before nodding.

“I think it’s doable. Enough time has passed that Belzarach’s soul probably slipped out of the seal. Since you can handle souls, that won’t be a problem. Only his body remains—it’ll be tough, but I think you can manage.”

If even Helena said it would be hard, then just how strong was Belzarach?

Seong smiled faintly at the thought and stepped toward the throne of masks.

He was about to obtain one of the game’s most overwhelming powers.

As he reached for the mask atop the throne—

[You have acquired the Mask of the Lord.]

[You have cleared the Hidden Ruin: “Tomb of the Masked Lord.”]

[All rewards are replaced with the “Mask of the Lord.”]

[You gain an enormous amount of experience.]

[You have acquired the Almighty-tier skill: “Masked Lord.”]

[With the gained experience and power of the Lord, you meet the awakening conditions.]

[“Masked Lord” is eligible for awakening.]

[Level up!] ×6

[You have reached level 253.]

[Having reached a level ending in 0, the Almighty-tier item “Overlord’s Grimoire” is activated.]

[Reaching level 230 has unlocked a new condition.]

[You may awaken “Masked Lord” instead of learning a new skill.]

[Would you like to awaken “Masked Lord”?]

When the prompt appeared asking if he’d awaken the Masked Lord instead of gaining a new skill—

Seong, without hesitation, clicked “Yes.”

And then—

[“Masked Lord” awakens into “Polymask Lord,” unlocking its true power.]

As that message appeared, Seong grinned and murmured:

“Well then, shall we go dragon hunting?”

At his words, his vassals immediately followed after him.

Deathbone Dragon, Belzarach Drakxion.

The moment Seong’s next target was set.