Chapter 61

In ‘Somehow, I Became the Head of the Underworld’,

Alon, from ‘I Just Breathed and Became the King of the Underworld’, held onto his dizzy thoughts and pondered.

‘Did I really give that order…?… When on earth?’

While Duke Altia stood with her head bowed, Alon, deep in thought, finally let out a soft exclamation.

‘Ah.’

-Let’s start by cleaning up the underworld.

He realized, recalling that he had indeed said something along those lines after giving it some thought.

‘Wait, isn’t it normal to take that statement as meaning we just get rid of a few unnecessary thugs? Not this level of cleanup…’

But what truly shocked him was not that Duke Altia misunderstood his words, but that they actually cleared out the entire underworld of the Asteria Kingdom.

‘Is this… even possible?’

Of course, Alon knew that Duke Altia and Count Zenonia would become major figures in the shadows of Asteria in the future. But still…

For them to completely dominate Asteria’s underworld like this was practically impossible.

In the game, the underworld of Asteria was recognized as one of the largest ‘dark forces’ alongside the Kingdom of Ashtalon in the United Kingdoms. Most of the underground organizations active in the United Kingdoms were rooted in these two areas.

In other words, Asteria’s underworld had countless organizations. For them to have taken control would mean they must have wiped out all those organizations, which seemed unimaginable.

‘Did they really wipe them all out?’

With a heart full of doubts, Alon asked cautiously.

“Yes,” came her response, her head nodding with such strong conviction that Alon momentarily fell silent before managing to speak again.

“You must have gone through a lot.”

“No, it was thanks to you, Count, for taking care of both the royalists and the nobles.”

“The royalists and the nobles?”

“Yes, since you detained the heads of both factions, the cleanup went much more smoothly.”

Alon wanted to say, ‘Wasn’t it you guys who handled that, not me?’, but that thought only lasted a moment.

“So, as you ordered, we have conquered the underworld. What should we do next?”

Duke Altia’s words left Alon speechless. In truth, he had no plan whatsoever.

The only reason Alon suggested cleaning up the underworld in the first place was that it seemed the most plausible and something that would take a long time.

‘I never imagined it would be finished this quickly.’

As Alon pondered what to say next to Duke Altia, the duke spoke again.

“Perhaps next, the Queen…?”

“…The Queen?”

“Yes, now that our forces have grown, it’s time to move.”

After hearing that, Alon gave his next order.

“For now, let’s maintain the current state.”

With that command, the communication device was deactivated, and he quietly thought.

“At this point, it would indeed make sense for the Queen to start moving.”

Although Asteria was a kingdom where the nobles essentially controlled everything, it was still a monarchy, with a Queen at the helm.

Asteria’s 8th monarch, Cretinia Siyan. She was the 8th queen of Asteria, and despite the chaos caused by the nobles running rampant, she had held onto significant power without directly managing the kingdom’s affairs or participating in political games.

The reason was none other than the unique ability possessed by the royal bloodline of Asteria, and more precisely, by Cretinia Siyan herself: the ‘Golden Eye of History’ (금사안).

‘…Well, despite the name ‘Golden Eye’, it wasn’t actually a power related to vision.’

The ‘Golden Eye of History’ that Alon knew was simply named after the royal family’s naturally striking golden eyes, but the inherited power itself was quite simple. It allowed the wielder to pass on their strength across generations. Like transferring game data, this special power could be handed down to the next generation, and while its explanation was simple, it was an incredibly potent ability.

The more generations the power passed through, the stronger it became, granting the royal family enough strength to maintain the monarchy without needing to engage in political schemes. Additionally, nobles naturally became more cautious and avoided crossing the line.

‘As far as I know, Cretinia Siyan simply doesn’t act because she finds it too bothersome,’

Alon thought, recalling the indifferent, almost emotionless expression she wore in the game’s illustrations.

‘Considering how much has happened, there could be some resistance, but based on her personality, she might just let it slide.’

He recalled the way she behaved in the game, where she mostly only intervened when one of the ‘Five Great Sins’ descended on Asteria. During those times, she briefly joined the player’s party and displayed tremendous power. But aside from those rare moments, she showed little interest in the affairs of her kingdom. Her indifference was so extreme that players even had a running joke, treating her more like a guardian dragon than a monarch.

With that in mind, Alon decided to relax. However, the next day…

Ssshhh.

While continuing his magical research and pondering over a question he hadn’t been able to answer—’Who was the being that whispered to him during the battle against the Outer God?’—he was eating a sweet potato when Evan interrupted him.

“Count, are you eating sweet potatoes again?”

“Do you want one?”

“If there’s any left… Actually, no. You’ve received an important letter.”

Evan handed him the letter, lightly brushing the snow from his head. It was sealed with the royal family’s crest.

“This is…”

“It seems that one month from now… at the start of the new year, the royal palace will be holding its first ball in five years. And…”

“There’s more?”

“Yes. The messenger who delivered the letter said the Queen personally requested that Count Palatio attend.”

Hearing this, Alon let out a soft sigh, “Ah…”

And exactly one month later, after receiving the royal family’s letter and fully recovering from his five-month-long battle with mana addiction, Alon found himself once again contemplating how to make up for his lack of mana reserves.

“Count.”

“Yes.”

He boarded the carriage heading to the royal palace to attend the ball.

“I’ll stop by the royal family, visit the desert labyrinth, and then return.”

It was a long journey ahead, his first trip in quite a while.

***

In a dark cave near Caliban, three figures stood. One was a man wrapped head to toe in bandages, covered with strange markings. The second was a woman with a grotesque circuit tattoo covering half her face. And the last was a man carrying two kama on his back.

“Salgui, is everything ready for the spirit summoning?”

the man asked, looking at the two.

“What’s there to prepare? It’s just the three of us. If we’re going, it’s already done,” replied the woman, Ju-ryeong, casually shrugging her shoulders with confidence.

“I’m the same. Do we really need to prepare?”

The man called Salgui also responded in a relaxed tone.

“Just prepare, in case.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know you could be this cautious, boss. For someone who’s killed several royals and more than two Sword Masters, aren’t you being a bit too scared?”  Ju-ryeong snickered.

“Well, I did hear that Deus Macallian is somewhat special. It seems he defeated Reinhardt.”

“So what? The three of us together could handle Reinhardt easily.”

The man sighed lightly as he listened to their conversation.

If anyone else had made such a remark, he might have laughed at them. But knowing the history of these two, he didn’t think they were being arrogant. Everyone present had taken down at least one Master Knight on their own, making them formidable in their own right.

Nevertheless, he warned them against underestimating their enemy.

“Don’t be too complacent. Defeating Reinhardt means he’s stronger than that.”

His words made Salgui and Ju-ryeong pause, wiping away the playful smirks they had worn just moments before.

“Well, if you say so.”

“Let’s finish this as quickly as possible.”

“Since it’s not a frontal assault but an ambush, we can probably deal with him without even needing to fight.”

As Ju-ryeong and Salgui discussed their plan seriously, the man quietly infiltrated the central district of Kirdam, the capital of Caliban, where Deus was located.

It wasn’t long before the three agents made their way into Deus Macallian’s mansion.

And then—

“Who are you?”

Upon entering the mansion, they immediately saw Deus Macallian standing against the backdrop of the blue moon.

All three agents frowned in unison, as none of them had sensed his presence.

The fact that they hadn’t noticed him meant that they could have been ambushed at any moment. Yet, instead of attacking, Deus had calmly appeared before them. This suggested that as a Master Knight, he had already gauged their strength and was confident enough to face them head-on.

“Do you really think it’s wise to reveal yourself so easily? That might have been your last chance to live,”  Ju-ryeong asked, frowning slightly.

“An assassin?”  Deus asked indifferently.

“And if I am?”

“I see.”   Ju-ryeong smiled fiercely as tension filled the air, but Deus remained unbothered.

“In that case, I’ll just kill you.”

He declared flatly, swinging his sword with a calm, expressionless face.

Exactly five minutes later…

“Damn it…”

The three agents stood frozen, staring at Deus in shock.

Despite expecting to take down a single Master Knight without much trouble, the battle had gone entirely differently. Even though it was three against one, they had only managed to fight Deus to a draw. In fact, they were starting to be pushed back little by little.

‘What kind of monster is he?’

The man looked at Deus in disbelief. Based on what he knew, Deus Macallian had become a Master Knight only two or three years ago, and his rank wasn’t particularly high. When rumors spread recently that he had defeated Reinhardt, the man assumed luck had played a part.

But now, in this moment, he realized how foolish that assumption had been.

“I propose we negotiate,”  the man offered.

“Negotiate?”

“Yes, our original target wasn’t you, but Count Palatio.”

Of course, they were well aware that Deus had a strong relationship with Count Palatio. However, given the current situation, the man decided to reveal this fact.

‘No matter how much of a monster he is, if the three of us fight him to the death, even he must realize he would have to gamble with his life.’

The man subtly examined Deus’s body. Although there were no major injuries, he could see small cuts scattered across him, indicating that Deus was not entirely unscathed and couldn’t afford to remain complacent.

‘No matter how loyal someone is, if their own life is at stake, they’ll change their tune.’

“If you give us the information we want about Count Palatio, we’ll withdraw immediately. We won’t come after you again. But if you refuse…”

The man added in a voice as low as a whisper,  “Our comrades will come after you, day or night.”

It was a blatant threat, but the man said nothing more. He knew there was no need to explain further to someone who could perceive strength as clearly as Deus could.

And then, it happened.

“…?”

The man stared ahead in confusion. The scene before him hadn’t changed much. Yet, one thing was different.

‘…!?’

Beneath the blue moonlight, he suddenly saw thin, violet threads glowing brightly, now visible in his line of sight. These threads, like a spider’s web, had enveloped the entire mansion—or more precisely, filled his entire field of vision. They were coiled around not only him but also around Salgui and Ju-ryeong.

At that moment,

“What—!”

“What is this—!!”

Everyone there began to move.

Salgui gripped his axe, Ju-ryeong clutched the kama in her right hand, and the man raised the sword in his left hand—each one pointing their weapons toward their own necks.

“This is… damned!!”

“Stop, STOP!!”

“Aaaargh—!!”

The intruders, all with horrified expressions, desperately struggled to move their bodies, trying to resist the uncontrollable force.

But it was too late. Ensnared by the violet threads, they moved like puppets, controlled by an unseen puppeteer, as their weapons were slowly pressed against their own throats, regardless of their will.

“No, NO! Please, no!!!”

“Please, pleaaseee!!!”

Their terror-filled screams echoed briefly—until…

Squelch!

In the end, they each severed their own lives with their own hands. Red blood trickled down the violet threads.

And the last thing the man saw, as he too drove his sword into his neck, marking the end of his life, was…

“Don’t ever say such things in my presence again.”

A pair of eerie, glowing violet eyes.