Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

Compared to Flament, Dark Great Snake Kass had one extra Gift prepared for Temude.

That was making him sign the Soul-sucking Ghost covenant in the Abyss, learning on the spot the Dark Hand, that signature Skill every Soul-sucking Ghost must have.

The most common use of Dark Hand is to invade other adventurers and siphon extra soul from them; at this near-endgame stage it doesn’t look like it has much use.

However, if this Combat Skill is used on a Monster, you can gain an extra portion of soul; and if you choose to give up that extra soul, you can instead get a temporary minor Life Force boost.

When you’re about to use a King’s Soul, even a tiny Life Force boost is worth popping!

"Third one."

In the Initial Firestove, where scorching Ash swirled everywhere, Temude was clutching the head of a dying Black Knight with a blood-red Dark Hand, draining Life Force from the opponent.

The more he used Dark Hand, the more his eyes gleamed with the same red light as Soul-sucking Ghosts, though not yet as deep or intense as theirs.

Back when Leon reached the Initial Firestove, he was basically just feeling the atmosphere and enjoying the scenery along the way, whereas Temude was much more utilitarian: his gaze swept over everything not to appreciate it, but to search for anything that could become his prey.

As long as it moved, he’d rush up and suck its soul!

Unfortunately, there were only a few Black Knights in the entire Initial Firestove; after he drained every last one of them, the boost he got was probably just about equal to wearing a basic protective talisman that raises Life Force. Other than that, he harvested several Wedge-shaped Stone Blocks.

Yep, after killing that many Black Knights he didn’t get a single piece of equipment or weapon—just chunks of stone.

As if realizing just how unlucky he was, Temude’s expression drooped, and he walked on with a dark face until he reached the end of the firestove.

The Fog Gate leading to the heart of the Initial Firestove was laid bare before his eyes.

Standing before the Fog Gate, Temude’s steps finally halted for the first time; his expression shifted several times before he clenched his weapon tight.

"Anything Leon can do, I can definitely do too."

Beyond the Fog Gate was Gwyn, that Sunlight King, the Divine King powerful enough to annihilate the Demon King.

Back when he witnessed Gwyn’s battle against the Demon King, his strength was about the same as now; at that time, facing such a being already made his heart pound in fear, and now, facing Gwyn again, his feeling wasn’t much different from back then.

That white-bearded grandpa is simply not someone humans can beat, right? No matter how he runs simulations in his head, Temude just can’t imagine any version of himself winning, even if his brain’s about to twist into a Soul-sucking Ghost brain.

It’s not just that he can’t picture himself winning—he also can’t figure out how Leon managed to win, either.

When the news came that Leon had successfully completed Fire Transmission, everyone was dumbfounded. Since when had that guy’s strength gotten absurdly high like this?

Still, even if he can’t imagine that kind of scene, since Leon managed to beat Gwyn, then someone whose strength is roughly equal to Leon’s should be able to do it as well!

Unless Leon used some method Temude doesn’t know about, like not fighting Gwyn head-on or something...

"Let’s begin."

Temude stacked all his buff-type Magic, then slapped his palm onto the Fog Gate.

"Dun, dun, dun..."

Cold, desolate piano notes rang in his ears. Before he had time to savor this unusual music, his gaze was seized by what appeared before him.

He saw Gwyn—Gwyn was standing up from a faint bonfire; that silhouette was without a doubt the genuine Sunlight King!

At the moment he beheld that figure, he instinctively took up a combat stance, but—

No, wait, hold up, something feels off, doesn’t it?

Temude’s gaze suddenly filled with confusion, because he noticed that although Gwyn’s appearance matched what he knew almost perfectly, his aura and the subtle details of his features were drastically different.

The majestic Armor was charred pitch-black by flames, covered in falling Ash; his grizzled beard had turned ashen-gray, utterly unkempt, and most crucially, the face hidden behind the beard and crown was shriveled, like rotten wood.

Combined with the ruinous scenery of the Initial Firestove’s heart, it was impossible at first glance to connect him with the Sunlight King; if you didn’t name him outright, you’d think he was some random drifter!

[King of Black Wood, Gwen]

Magic Words floated before Temude’s eyes. He paused for a moment, but the desolate music echoing in his ears pulled his attention back.

By now Gwyn had already picked up that Great Sword that, aside from proving his identity, had no special traits. Sword wreathed in flame, he stepped towards Temude one step at a time, the rising fire warping the air behind him as if his heroic figure during the Ancient Dragon War were reappearing in the distorted space.

Even though he now looked like a complete wreck, the pressure he exuded was still there; it was just that, in Temude’s perception, that oppressive aura was about on par with those holders of King’s Soul.

"So this is the result brought by Fire Transmission, huh."

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