My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 57

"Situation concluded. Great work, everyone."

The Magic Train passed through Kaien County and made a stop in Elzaven County.

This was the fake destination added by Crown Prince Mikhail Raymond to mislead the Twin Ghosts Guardians targeting him.

Greed, who had been sleeping for hours, checked his smartphone and stood up as soon as they reached their destination.

A stretch accompanied by a yawn, as if loosening a stiff body.

"The job's all done, so how about we celebrate with a dinner party? It'd be nice if someone bought me a drink to say 'good job.'"

"......."

How could he be so shameless?

The only thing he did was sleep endlessly, yet he dares to talk about hard work.

"That might be difficult. There's work piling up, so I need to return to the royal palace as soon as possible."

"Tch. That's disappointing."

Greed clicked his tongue and openly expressed his disappointment.

Then, as if there was no reason to linger any longer since nobody was buying him anything, he turned away without the slightest hesitation.

"Well then, this uncle will be off now."

He doesn’t bother saying they should meet again later.

Considering their relationship, never meeting again would probably be far more beneficial.

With his hands in his pockets, Greed strolled off leisurely.

The figure of Greed walking away was captured through the train’s window after he disembarked.

Then, perhaps accidentally bumping shoulders with someone, he ended up being grabbed by the collar by a man, bowing repeatedly with a sheepish grin.

"What a strange guy."

Watching the entire scene unfold, Mikhail shook his head.

Every superhuman he had met up until now possessed a unique aura.

Individuals who had completed a specific scholarship, each reaching the pinnacle of humanity.

This inevitably created the unique atmosphere of a ruler... or so he had thought.

But Greed, whom he had just met, exuded no such atmosphere at all.

"That might be due to the customs of the Dark District."

There's a saying that the position shapes the person.

Typically, superhumans hold high-ranking positions within their own countries.

And their demeanor is shaped by the atmosphere present within their nation, specifically the disposition of the Absolute who embodies the country's essence.

Just as many superhumans in the Elemental Kingdom, influenced by the Demon Lord’s disposition, are workaholics.

Or as the superhumans of the Hwan Empire, who emulate the Twin Ghosts, love fighting and are obsessed with proving their strength.

Perhaps the freedom to forgo outward appearances and openly reveal one's true self follows the character of the Death King.

Looking at the actions of the Death King so far, while he had a somewhat unreasonable tendency to enforce his will, he rarely displayed authority commensurate with his position.

To the extent that, despite causing such significant incidents, conspiracy theories questioning the very existence of the Death King arose.

"But it’s undeniable that he is a superhuman."

For ability users, the gap becomes stark as the number of stars increases.

A 1-star magician might lose to a regular person with good physical training, and stories of a 4-star martial artist being defeated by a 3-star martial artist aren’t unheard of.

But starting from the 5-star level, the expert realm, such occurrences are exceedingly rare.

Unless it’s a special case like Cain’s supernatural awakening moment or the Masao Family incident, such things are nearly impossible.

Especially the realm of superhumans—these beings were so extraordinary that they filled the void of influence before the Absolutes emerged.

Simply put, no matter how many 7-star ability users came together, they couldn’t overcome a single 8-star superhuman.

If Absolutes are beings who can challenge the world, superhumans are strong enough to destroy a city with ease or face an entire nation alone.

Reaching the pinnacle of humanity, completing the star within one’s body, signified such a level of power.

"He seemed to be sleeping, but his mind was awake the entire time."

The vast sense that enveloped not just the train but its entire radius was within the domain of martial arts.

The reinforcement of the train’s structure by inscribing rituals on its underside in case of emergencies was within the domain of magic.

And the invisible presence constantly hovering around the train as if providing an escort was within the domain of spirit magic.

It was impossible to even estimate how many disciplines he was mastering simultaneously.

Even Lucian Philoden couldn’t help but be inwardly astounded by Greed’s terrifying multitasking ability.

"One thing’s for sure: I would’ve never been able to penetrate this train."

"That much, huh."

They say people perceive as much as they know.

Surprised by Lucian’s statement, Mikhail turned to look anew at Greed, who was still being shaken by the collar.

"If I had known that, I wouldn’t have refused."

He hadn’t imagined Greed would go through so much trouble.

He thought Greed had genuinely done nothing but sleep.

"No, you made the right choice. As he said, even the slightest involvement with the Dark District is never a good thing."

The Dark District was a world one should avoid at all costs.

While he might have no choice but to deal with it once he became king, Lucian sincerely hoped that, as Crown Prince, Mikhail wouldn’t have to cross paths with the Dark District again.

"That’s true, but still."

In the end, the man stormed off with heavy steps after slapping Greed’s face.

Judging by the woman who seemed to be his lover rushing to his side, it appeared he had picked a fight he could’ve avoided to impress her.

Unlike Lucian’s earlier case where knowledge was power, in this instance, ignorance was bliss.

If he had known the person he hit was one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Dark District, he would never have dared to show such courage.

'The nation spared you this time.'

They don’t harm ordinary people.

Without that promise, wouldn’t a corpse have been left lying in the middle of the train station today?

"Should we just sit here?"

This train’s route would pass through Elzaven County and head to the capital, Raymond.

Initially boarded to mislead the Twin Ghosts Guardians, but now that their threat was gone, going straight to the capital should be fine.

Staring out the window of the train as it resumed its journey after a brief stop, Mikhail allowed a faint smile to grace his lips.

"I’ll get to see Maril after such a long time."

He hoped the gift would please her.

With such peaceful thoughts, Mikhail quietly closed his eyes to relieve his accumulated mental fatigue.

* * *

A secluded mountainside near the metropolis of Corky in Elzaven County.

Greed let out a deep sigh as he entered a cave carved unnaturally into the steep mountain range, almost like a cliff.

"Phew, this is tough. Really tough."

How long had it been since his last climb?

As if wanting someone to hear, he exaggeratedly complained, wiping his sweatless forehead with his wrist.

"You’re here?"

A deep voice greeted him from further inside the cave.

What are they, children of darkness or something?

It didn’t matter if the dark didn’t hinder their vision; leaving the place completely unlit was incomprehensible.

Even someone like him, who hated spending money, wouldn’t skimp on electricity by avoiding light bulbs.

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, the cave lit up.

Floating in midair were spheres of light, crafted by condensing visible light from outside.

These spheres stretched along both walls of the cave, illuminating the entire interior.

"Where’s Wrath?"

In response to Greed’s question, Wrath pointed deeper into the cave without a word.

"So he’s already here. As always, he’s quick to act. Really."

Here one moment, there the next.

Wherever help was needed, the master seemed to be omnipresent, almost as if using a cloning technique.

With that thought, Greed leisurely walked toward where Wrath had indicated.

Soon, the strong stench of blood filled his nostrils, and a scene of crimson painted across the cave walls came into view.

Beneath it were people clad in garments that felt somewhat foreign to the Elemental Kingdom.

Their bodies were nailed upright, skullcaps removed to expose their brains, which were dripping blood and brain matter—so grotesque it was hard to believe they were still alive.

"You’re here."

A low voice called out to Greed, who stared intently at the scene.

Oman, drenched in blood, turned to look at Greed with his usual expressionless face.

"No matter how many times I see it, it’s a grotesque sight. Your method of acquiring information."

The theory was simple.

By openly manipulating the brain and forcibly extracting the information recorded within.

No matter how binding the restrictions placed upon the soul, the moment it fused with the body, its memories were stored in the brain.

A curse embedded like puzzle pieces across various parts of the brain.

By forcibly carving out the brain, the remaining memories were plucked out bit by bit.

There was no need to defy the powers bestowed by the Absolute.

With this method, even Oman could completely extract information from them.

Of course, it necessitated a living subject whose soul had not yet escaped, leaving the brain's restrictions and memories intact.

'What a lunatic.'

From Jealousy to himself, and even the Master.

Greed personally believed there wasn’t anyone normal in the Dark District, but Oman was a lunatic in a league of his own.

Ripping off someone’s skullcap while they were still alive wasn’t something even members of the Dark District would easily attempt.

And yet, Oman’s manifestation of the Reverse World allowed him to do so efficiently.

This man, Oman, the first among the Seven Deadly Sins to follow the Master, was a fanatic among fanatics who would do anything for him.

To the extent that, despite being a Supernatural Power User at the superhuman level, he even elevated his Black Magic to the 8th Star to follow the Master’s path.

"So, did you find anything out?"

"What a foolish question. Of course I did. Unlike you lot, I don’t make even the smallest mistake."

At Greed’s words, Oman arrogantly raised his chin, befitting his name, and answered.

'Ah, I see. Did Wrath screw something up again this time?'

At Oman’s attitude, Greed awkwardly laughed, glancing behind him.

And then, he turned his head back toward Oman.

"As expected of a 7th Star. The memories seem to have been more intact than I thought."

"That’s true, but unexpectedly, Jealousy played a big role. The Black Mage he captured remembered quite a lot."

"That’s surprising. Wasn’t he supposed to be a 5th Star?"

"That’s probably because he’s a Black Mage."

"Makes sense."

Among the five types of Ability Users, no one was closer to death than the Black Mages.

Compared to the others, their memories after death were relatively intact.

"The enemy’s name is the Immortal King. His real name is unknown. And it seems there’s an organization called the Immortals that follows him."

One of them had once caused the Dark Wave in the Reidel Marquisate and had attempted to take over the Master’s body.

Judging by the timing, it had happened earlier than the predicted opening of the Underworld’s gate, implying there were those in the Mortal World working toward his resurrection as well.

In other words, the breach in the Underworld was the result of a joint effort between the Mortal World and the Underworld.

"And as expected, the Twin Ghosts Guardians have formed an indirect alliance with them. The one who spearheaded that alliance is none other than Eunmahyun."

"Eunmahyun..."

Eunmahyun.

One of the 8th Class Transcendents representing the Twin Ghosts Guardians.

And the very one who had acted as bait in this incident, deceiving the eyes of the Dark District.

"So, if we want more detailed information, we’ll have to capture him."

"But didn’t the Master say not to act further since he’s conducting his own investigation?"

"At the very least, we need to determine his location. He seems to be in direct communication with the Immortals or whatever they’re called."

For now, this was all they had gleaned from their memories.

However, the most significant achievement from capturing them was something else.

"It seems we can pinpoint the passage to the Underworld."

Wiping the blood off his face and hands with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket, Oman walked past Greed and out of the cave.

"These are no longer needed. Deal with them as you see fit."

Deal with them as he saw fit?

Their brains had been completely exposed, making them useless even as slaves.

Well, at least if he disassembled them, he might be able to sell their organs.

The organs of martial artists of this caliber were worth a fortune, after all.

If they were of the 7th Star level, there was no need to say more.

"Lalalala~ From head to toe, you’re all so lovely~"

With Oman and Wrath gone, Greed was left alone.

Holding a knife in his hand, he looked at those who had yet to regain full consciousness and hummed a tune.

Like dismantling livestock, Greed methodically extracted anything of value from their bodies.