Adrian steadied himself despite the pain and advanced with firm steps until he stood face to face with the Lord of Magic. He lifted his head, his gaze sharp with intensity, and said in a low but resolute voice:
"You must fix what you have ruined…"
The Lord of Magic looked at him in silence for a few seconds, then a faint smile formed on his lips, as if this were nothing more than a game to him.
"Why don't you speak clearly? I truly have no idea what you're referring to."
Adrian's brows knit with restrained anger.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about… I want you to lift the curse that befell that old woman. It is harming innocent people who have nothing to do with what she did."
The smile vanished from the Lord of Magic's face, replaced by a heavy coldness.
"So you want me to remove the curse? I'm sorry to tell you… that I can't."
Adrian shouted sharply,
"Don't toy with me! You're the one who placed the curse on her in the first place, aren't you? Why can't you undo it?!"
The Lord of Magic shrugged indifferently.
"I didn't actually place the curse. That curse is the natural result of a failed summoning… and therefore, I cannot remove it."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"What do you mean?"
The Lord of Magic yawned lazily.
"I think you know that the old woman carried out the three conditions to the letter… and what she received was the Curse of Death. That wasn't from me, but from her own stupidity. Believe me, just imagine it: she drank children's blood for ten years, sacrificed her daughter, and killed a fetus… she was truly deranged."
Adrian said with suppressed fury,
"She was deranged, certainly… but the spell was written by you, wasn't it?"
Suddenly, realization widened Adrian's eyes.
"Wait… could it be that spell—?!"
A long sigh cut him off as the Lord of Magic placed a hand on his head, as if tired of all the questions.
"Yes, exactly. That spell was illogical from the start. And the only solution… was to reverse it. Exactly as you did."
Adrian staggered a step back, lowered his head, then burst into broken laughter, a mix of rage and disbelief:
"Ha… haha… hahahaha… all those corpses… all those countless victims… are you telling me now that they died simply because that fool misunderstood the spell?"
The laughter vanished abruptly, and Adrian's eyes ignited with a harsh spark that seemed ready to tear through the air.
He slowly raised his head and looked straight at the Lord of Magic—a gaze that made the latter falter for a moment, as he thought he saw behind Adrian's features the shadow of another man… with white hair tied back and cold crimson eyes that pierced to the bone.
Adrian spoke coldly, his voice dripping with threat: "You can't lift the curse… but you can control it, can't you?"
The Lord of Magic hesitated before answering: "Yes… I can do that."
A dark, heavy smile spread across Adrian's face, carrying nothing reassuring within it. "Then… confine the curse to the old woman alone."
The Lord of Magic's eyes widened in surprise, then he burst into a sly laugh. "If you're asking for something like that… you must realize what will happen to her."
Adrian tilted his head slightly, his voice like a blade being slowly drawn: "Of course… I'm eager to see her suffer inside a decaying body… rotted by filth… and consumed by time."
The Lord of Magic raised his hand, the smile on his face enough to show he was thoroughly enjoying this. "So be it, boy."
Powerful magical energy gathered around him and settled in his palm. He then raised his other hand and snapped his fingers, and the old woman's corpse appeared before him out of nothingness.
He directed the energy in his hand toward the corpse, and within seconds the decrepit body began to move with a broken, rasping sound:
"W… where am I…?"
The voice was tattered, barely cutting through the air.
She tried to rise and move, but her dead body did not respond. "What… is happening? Why does my voice… sound like this? Why… can't I move? Or… see?!"
Adrian stepped toward her and planted his foot firmly on her decayed body. He said in a low, grim voice: "You wretched old hag… this is our first meeting, but you'd better remember me well."
He smiled a cold smile and continued:
"Because I am the one who will keep you alive… in a dead body, forever."
The old woman screamed with distorted rage:
"Who are you, you—insolent—?!"
Adrian cut her off sharply:
"I will ask you something, and I want an answer. If you want me not to crush your head right now… answer."
"The victims' corpses… where did you take them after emptying the underground space?"
The old woman screamed:
"And why… should I tell— aagh…!"
Adrian pressed down harder on her body.
He said again coldly:
"Answer."
The old woman breathed with difficulty and said:
"I used to… throw them to the rampaging monsters… in the restricted zone…"
Adrian felt disgusted by the very idea, and for a moment remembered how the monsters had devoured him alive in that area.
He said as he looked at the old woman:
"One more question… what was the reason that made you sacrifice your daughter? I can't believe you did it just to obtain magic. There must be another reason…"
His tone grew sharper:
"Think… and answer carefully."
The old woman replied:
"I wanted… to return to my youth and become immortal. I'm the one who gave birth to that woman, so why shouldn't she sacrifice herself for me? I brought her into this life—shouldn't she be indebted to me? Anyway, there's no point in talking… she's still alive, because the summoning failed and I lost consciousness for a while… Has it been a day or two since I passed out, I wonder?"
Adrian removed his foot from her decaying body and said:
"Move your hand."
She replied irritably:
"I don't know what you want, but I can't move my hands while I'm restrained… at least undo my bindings!"
Adrian said:
"Her head isn't bound. Move your head."
She tried to move her head… but she couldn't.
"Wait… why can't I? I can't see anything either… Is there something covering my eyes?"
Adrian said with cold sarcasm:
"Haven't you realized it yet? You died long ago… and your daughter died as well, scattered by the summoning you performed."
The old woman said in shock:
"W-what are you saying? I didn't even succeed in the summoning—"
He cut her off:
"You did succeed… but unfortunately for you, you died, and your daughter was afflicted by a curse that caused her to die as well."
She said in disbelief:
"That's… impossible. I'm not dead… I'm speaking! Wait… this hoarse voice… is it because—"
Adrian replied:
"Yes. Your body has almost completely decomposed, so you can't do anything. But don't worry… I'll return you to your grave again. You won't feel lonely for long… you can try talking to the other dead, if you can."
The old woman screamed, her scream cracking apart:
"No! I can't be dead! I must become immortal! I must become young and beautiful! Give me back my body! Give me back my life!!"
Adrian said irritably, turning his gaze away:
"Madwoman…"
Then he looked at the Lord of Magic:
"Make her shut up… and bind her soul to this corpse. I know she can't do anything now, but I want you to tighten the restraints even more."
The Lord of Magic smiled wickedly:
"I've already used your wish… I can't grant another request. But if you want that, you'll have to offer more blood."
Adrian smiled faintly:
"I'm not asking for a new wish… I want you to complete my original wish."
The Lord of Magic blinked in confusion:
"Huh?"
Adrian spoke calmly:
"I never asked you to make her talk in the first place… isn't that your mistake alone?"
The Lord of Magic looked at Adrian with annoyance:
"You said you wanted to see her suffer, so—"
Adrian cut him off:
"Seeing her suffer while she can't even speak… being bound to the utmost limit, her body decaying over and over, then regenerating, then decaying endlessly… that is what I mean by confining her to an eternal curse."
The Lord of Magic clicked his tongue in irritation, but carried out Adrian's words. The old woman's voice was cut off completely.
He muttered with annoyance:
"Damn it… why do I feel like I'm being scammed? I thought you were different from Naraka, but you're a bastard just like him…"
Adrian raised an eyebrow with feigned curiosity:
"I wonder… what would happen if that so-called Naraka heard you calling him a bastard?"
The Lord of Magic trembled and shouted in fear:
"Don't even mention it!! I'm glad he doesn't exist right now!"
Adrian asked:
"Doesn't exist? Do you mean he's dead?"
The Lord of Magic replied, folding his arms:
"Not exactly… maybe he's dead, maybe not. He just disappeared several years ago."
Adrian spoke with interest:
"By the way… is this person called Naraka a demon?"
The Lord of Magic answered:
"He's not an ordinary demon—"
He didn't finish his sentence before feeling a dull pain in his heart, yet his expression remained steady before Adrian.
He finally said:
"I've fulfilled your request… so I'll be leaving now."
He smiled calmly, and as he did, his body began to fade:
"Let's meet again someday…"
And he vanished completely.
The room fell silent for a moment—then suddenly the door exploded inward with tremendous magical force! The wall on the other side shook violently.
Lucia burst in, panting:
"Y-Your Highness! Are you alright?! Hah… it finally opened! Why was it locked?! I was so worried!"
Adrian looked at her irritably:
"You… were you trying to kill me?"
Lucia ran toward him and began apologizing frantically:
"I'm so, so sorry! But the door was locked from the inside by powerful magic, and I couldn't hear a single sound from the room anymore. I panicked and tried to break through it with my strength!"
As she kept rambling on… Adrian's mind was elsewhere:
"He knew Lucia was outside… that's why he blocked the sounds. That bastard. I would've been in real trouble if I'd shown even a moment of weakness."
Lucia continued:
"But how did the old woman's corpse get here? And did you manage to lift the curse?"
Adrian replied calmly:
"The Lord of Magic brought her here. In any case, the curse has been lifted, so there's no need to worry. We should bury the body again before morning comes."
Lucia tilted her head in confusion:
"What are you talking about? Morning already ended… the sun is about to set."
Adrian's eyes widened in shock.
Lucia went on:
"I was about to lose hope waiting for you… you stayed inside that room for half a day."
Adrian's thoughts began racing, tangled with shock and unease:
"Strange… I'm certain it didn't take more than about twenty minutes… what in the name of hell happened?"