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I wouldn’t get anywhere by just standing here, ogling it. I stepped forward slowly, picking up speed as I moved until I was leaping through the air with Ubiquitous, stopping just before the moat. My body was now made of pure mana, and it reduced the boundary between my skills to nothing. I considered this as I looked into the moat; it was filled with a dark, reflective black liquid. I had no clue what it was, nor did I want to know. As I stood there looking at it, the drawbridge lowered from the castle. I was filled with an odd sensation of nostalgia as I crossed over.

“You’re here, Fate.” Rain’s voice greeted me, sounding as if nothing had changed. He followed his greeting up with a hearty laugh.

“How did this happen?”

“What do you mean, didn’t you build this yourself? Didn’t she tell you?”

“Do you think she told me?” I raised my head to look at the top floor of the western spire, made out of golden bricks, unlike the rest of the castle that was made out of dark, black stones. I felt like something was up there, some spirit that was awaiting me.

“If you need some time to prepare yourself, how about visiting later?”

“How is Mireina?” I decided to ignore what was waiting for me up there, knowing it to be a troublesome woman.

“The hybrid is still asleep. It’s alright to just let her rest for now if you don’t want to wake her.”

“How about A?”

“He is scouting ahead.” I wondered why they had left where they had been, to come here. No doubt it had something to do with the fact that I couldn’t open the door to those places anymore.

“Not yet, Fate.” Rain decided to speak up, noticing I had been thinking pretty seriously about what was happening.

“Not yet?”

“Yes, not yet. How about for now, you take the first steps toward freedom?” I felt vaguely aware of what he was trying to say. They were currently in a situation where they couldn’t act as they wanted, and I had to be the one to solve it. But how? Perhaps the answer would come to me so long as I moved forward. I followed after Rain, examining this castle I had made out of toy blocks. I was already very familiar with its structure, both internal and external. Or I should have been. But, as I walked, I came out to a place I didn’t know. We entered the interior of the castle and began to descend to the third level of the basement. But now the passage had been cut off, and a staircase that continued lower had appeared.

“…I don’t remember building a 4th level to the basement.”

“This is a secret place that was originally hidden here.” He lowered his head without any further ado, stepping back for me to continue. I nodded and kept walking forward.

“I’ll be back.”

“I will be waiting.”

My surroundings gradually darkened as I went down the stairs. It didn’t feel like normal darkness, but rather that the light had disappeared by the will of something in this space. As I continued further down, I felt as if my own breathing became clearer, loud in my eardrums. But I wasn’t the only thing breathing down here, a harsh sound of raspy breath coming from further in. I knew that Rain wouldn’t have guided me to a dangerous place, so I stepped forward into the dark without hesitation.

I didn’t know how long I continued down the stairs, but eventually, my feet touched solid ground. My head raised up to examine what was around me. I was in a wide cavern, with a wall ahead of me, no doubt as tall as that staircase had been. The ground around me was vibrating in time with a giant creature’s breathing, the very same one before me.

“…”

The body of a giant monster, a massive blackbird, was pressed against the wall by a chain that was embedded into the rock.

[Have you arrived, my Master…]

Hadn’t this been more or less the exact scene of the boss on the last floor of the Black Palace? A brief concern that I might have to repeat that battle crossed my mind, but I dismissed it. This monster wasn’t trying to antagonize me, and once I considered it, it was easy to tell why. I could feel some sort of unseen connection between us, binding us together. I was his master, and he was my subordinate. It wasn’t something that anyone else could tell me; I could feel it in my mana.

[I’m happy…my mission has been accomplished, and I can face you once more.]

His voice was hoarse, his body covered in wounds. Several parts of his body even appeared to be missing entirely. If they were just physical wounds, the power of Jinma could heal them. But the wounds he was suffering from were caused by high-level magic that I couldn’t even dream of. His new magic and soul magic had both been harmed, reaching an irreversible level of damage. I could tell he was having a difficult time just breathing.

“Ha…ha…ha…” Without thinking, I could feel something forcing its way out of my throat. The more I tried to force it out, the more some repulsive force blocked me from doing so. I knew there was a name, somewhere in my mind, for this creature. But it was impossible to reach it. It frustrated me, anger, and resentment filling me as I reached for memories that weren’t there.

[You remember my name.]

“But I can’t speak it…”

[I will die soon. That you remember my name… that is enough for me.]

Deep wounds marked his body, injuries caused by his enemies. By my enemies? Yet he had survived until now, for this final purpose.

[Master, would you accept the last request of this foolish subordinate?]

“Tell me.” I had never been able to use my power of leadership until now. This castle, built out a game, had turned into such a huge fortress.

[I would ask you for destruction and death to all of our enemies… for victory at the end of a path of blood and death.]

“Alright.” Since my days as a goblin, this creature had been connected to me as my subordinate. It made no sense to me that my poor leadership skills had grown so strong despite my lack of use for them, but now it was clear. My skills had grown rapidly because such a powerful creature was connected to me as my subordinate.

[I will be reborn at the end of that path. After your victory, I will stand by you once more.]

“I believe it.” The enormous magical power that this creature had was poured out to create this stronghold that L and I had built through our game. All of us, together, had created this incredible fortress.

[May your future be blessed as you move forward on this path.]

“…Thank you.” I looked up at this giant bird-like monster once more. If I hadn’t been able to evolve into a Jinma, would he have been left like this? I was glad that hadn’t happened; that now he could rest. I couldn’t remember anything about my past or him, but I knew that he was my subordinate. That he had endured decades, if not more, here in this place for me.

[So now… please let me rest, Master.]

I took a deep breath, looking at the chains hanging around him. It was the same as the Seal Chain I had found in the boss’s room on the 7th floor. It looks like I had already found the other half, right here. I pulled it from my inventory and placed it upon the floor. It had shrunk to a size where I could hold it, but the power in it remained the same. I began to fuse it with mana, moving instinctively to restore it. I couldn’t create a chain like this but connecting the two pieces together was something I could manage.

[Ahh, finally…thank you, Master…]

The chain that was embedded in the wall slowly began to pull out, joined with the chain I had in my hand. The voice that echoed through my mind was full of joy, but I felt a bit of regret as I loosened the chains that restrained the monster. It all happened in a rush once the chain pulled free from the wall, shrinking down to match the size of the chain I held in hand. It let out a brilliant light, fading away to reveal a chain of persimmons in my hand. I put it away in my inventory, recognizing I wasn’t ready to handle it quite yet.

As I looked up, the bird had already vanished. I could feel a break in the connection between us, confirming his death. A huge void had formed in my heart. I tried to tell myself that new people could now fill that place, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about how he may never return.

“Without a single goodbye.” I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and looked around, noticing a black sword stuck in the ground for the first time. It looked kind of shabby compared to the Twilight sword that I had, but the power contained inside of it was no joke. The magic circulating through it reminded me of the bird, much like my own.

“…” I collected the sword with a bitter smile, not even bothering to check its stats. I knew I wouldn’t be able to anyway. This was the monster that had been watching over and protecting me until now, until his own death. And here, he left me a part of himself in the form of his sword to continue that vigil. I wanted to repay him, to get everything I had lost back. I would see the end of this road I was on.

When I returned, Rain had his gaze still downward.

Only

“Today has been hard on you.”

“Rain, I want to have a drink.”

“Are you alright?”

“No.” I shook my head and muttered weakly in response.

“Very well, it shall be in memory of those whose names are unsung. It’ll be alright to get a little drunk.”

“…Alright.” He smiled gently at me, and I tried to laugh.

This was the first step I had taken past evolution. I lost what I was but had gained a lot in return.

This was how I became the lord of this castle.