Shivren resisted fiercely as doubt crept into his mind.
He had to escape, no matter what.
But with the crimson moon rising and the Abyssal Claws restraining him, there was no way out.
Kwaaaaaa—!!!
A crimson flash rained down, baptizing Shivren from head to toe.
The Abyssal Claws clamped down harder on him as he struggled, refusing to let go.
The impact was inescapable. His mind grew hazy. But just as the Abyssal Claws began to retreat into the abyss once more, he timed his move and broke free.
As he moved away, a thought crossed his mind.
"I can escape."
At first, he had doubted whether it was even possible to break through such overwhelming force.
But now that he thought about it, the answer was simple.
"They need me alive."
How had they breached the city walls?
How had they slipped past the surveillance network?
To obtain such answers, they needed to capture him alive and interrogate him.
If they were outsiders, they must have been ordered to extract that information.
A reasonable assumption.
With that certainty, Shivren moved purely to escape.
If his goal was to kill his enemies, it would be difficult.
Their coordination was too strong—his chances of taking even one down were slim.
But escaping? That was a different matter.
"Kiiiiyaaaaaaa!!!"
Shivren opened his massive jaws wide and prepared to unleash his breath once more.
The witch who had sewn his mouth shut was gone, and his stitched-up mouth had returned to normal.
Just as he was about to release a tidal wave of venom—
From within the sewers, Noctrynium, Serpina, and Helena strolled out leisurely.
Their determination to never let him go was clear.
Shivren narrowed his eyes, contemplating who to strike.
Instead of targeting the three who had calmly stepped forward, he spewed a torrent of venom toward Valtar.
Fiora was nowhere to be seen, and those three had already withstood his venom before.
Just as he could use his skill again, so could they have the means to defend against it.
Valtar, however, was an annoyance that stuck too close.
Chwaaaaaaahhh—!!!
The venom surged from Shivren’s maw, surging toward Valtar like a tidal wave.
But just then, Fiora suddenly appeared in front of him, transforming into a turtle encased in crystal armor to block the attack.
Kwaaaaa—!
Valtar, too, used Fiora as a shield, preventing the venom from reaching him.
Taking advantage of the moment, Shivren's eyes flared wide open.
They had defended against his venom?
That was impossible.
Shivren’s pupils narrowed into slits as he widened his eyes further.
Between the gaps of his scales, a violet mist began seeping out.
Shiiiiiiiii—!!!
In an instant, the thick mist enveloped the entrance of the sewer.
Its toxicity was immense. The enemy would be forced to retreat.
And in that opening, he would escape.
Serpina could try to disperse the mist with wind magic.
But by then, he would be gone.
If they intended to kill him outright, they could flood the area with an attack.
But the chances of that were slim.
They needed him alive.
Sssssss—!
Shrouded by the mist, Shivren reverted to his original form.
He was ready to flee.
But at that moment—
Swish.
The sound of a page turning echoed.
An unfamiliar voice followed.
"Hmm, this skill looks useful."
Since it was his own skill, Shivren could see through the mist.
And he saw it.
Their numbers had increased by one.
A man who had not been there before now stood among them.
He casually reached toward a book floating in midair.
Then—
A grand magic spell, one that had long since vanished from the world, began manifesting.
A chill ran down Shivren’s spine.
"...He’s trying to kill me?"
Even with his emotions suppressed, even without the ability to feel fear—
Standing before this reaper-like figure, Shivren trembled uncontrollably.
He had to escape.
But if he left the mist, the five others would strike him down.
If he stayed, he would fall to this grim reaper of a man.
A dead end.
He had to choose.
Shivren chose to remain in the mist and confront the reaper’s attack.
There was no way they would actually kill him.
He trusted his reasoning over his instincts.
Then—
The forbidden grand magic, lost to time, resurfaced in the hands of this grim reaper.
Crack. Crackle. Craaaaaack.
A sound like the freezing winds of midwinter.
But this was not midwinter.
This city was never cold.
It was eternally warm, caught between spring and summer.
Yet here, in this place, the sound of freezing filled the air.
Shivren turned his head in confusion.
But then—
Whoooosh!
Shaaah—!!!
A blizzard erupted, consuming the toxic mist in an instant.
No.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The mist had frozen.
It solidified, turning into frozen droplets that fell to the ground.
A mixture of mist and frost, now too heavy to float.
What was happening?
Shivren couldn’t comprehend it.
He couldn’t even process what was happening to himself.
His neck had frozen stiff, unable to turn.
His skin, flesh, and muscles had all frozen solid.
The blood that should have been coursing through his veins was now ice, rendering him completely motionless.
Even his eyelids were frozen, unable to close.
Yet his brain remained untouched.
He could still see.
And he saw—
A white specter.
A deathly presence exhaling frost, watching him.
Seong smiled.
Shivren understood.
The forbidden grand magic, banished for its catastrophic power, had been resurrected in this man’s hands.
Absolute Zero.
There was no escape.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
Even in this moment, Shivren felt relief.
His emotions, dulled as they were, allowed him to accept reality.
He was dead.
This magic was an absolute counter to him.
And he had reverted to his weaker form just moments ago.
His enemies would never achieve their goal.
The mighty Basilica would invade Ninyaru and bring ruin upon them.
He clung to that belief as his consciousness faded.
And then, as his heart stilled—
"Who gave you permission to die in front of Seong?"
A seductive voice rang out.
Shivren, fading into oblivion, scoffed.
But then—
A divine radiance descended from the heavens.
His drifting consciousness snapped back.
His frozen body melted.
And with it came pain.
He should have been dead.
Yet he lived.
What was happening!?
As his suppressed emotions returned, Shivren’s panic grew.
Before him, a woman with luscious red hair smiled mischievously.
Helena.
"You’re not allowed to die in front of us."
That playful smile, that teasing voice.
Shivren understood.
"Ah... Ahhh."
Neither life nor death—
He had never been in control.
His fate was nothing more than a toy in their hands.
Resurrected by Helena’s power, Shivren lowered his head in despair.
And the first true emotion he felt—
Was fear.
Trembling violently, Shivren watched as Seong turned away with a smirk.
And beyond him—
A knight clad in black panther armor stood frozen, his pupils trembling violently as he beheld the scene.
7.
The Black Knights were the guardians of Ninyaru, tasked with protecting the city and maintaining public order.
Yet, they could not ignore the string of recent kidnappings.
How had Basilica’s spies managed to infiltrate the city right under their noses?
It was an incomprehensible situation.
They had to capture the infiltrator at all costs.
The trail had nearly vanished.
But thanks to his skilled subordinates, they had managed to pick up the pursuit.
And then—
"An outsider?"
A registered visitor had gotten involved.
Felix, the Black Puma and commander of the Black Knights, furrowed his brows.
From what he had heard, the outsider was alone.
He supposedly had subordinates, but at best, they were mere followers.
There was no way an outsider could possibly overpower Basilica’s spy.
Which meant he needed to move faster.
If an outsider became collateral damage, it would be an utter disgrace to the knights sworn to protect this city.
Spurred on by the words of Becky, the young cat merchant, Felix hurried.
"Over there!"
A knight of the Black Order called out, spotting traces leading toward the old sewer.
They had all prepared themselves for battle.
And just as they rushed toward the old sewer—
Rumble——!!!
The ground trembled.
Even from this distance, the sheer force of the impact was evident.
The battle had already begun.
If they delayed any longer, the outsider would be in danger.
Felix, growing anxious, shouted to his subordinates.
"I’m going ahead! Get there as fast as you can!"
"Yes, Commander!!!"
The Black Knights roared in unison as Felix surged forward.
Leaving his subordinates behind, he tore through the air, the scenery blurring as he accelerated.
His speed was beyond measure.
But his expression remained grim.
He had to go faster—he had to stop Basilica’s spy and save the outsider.
With that thought, he pushed himself even harder, sprinting toward the old sewer.
And when Felix finally arrived—
"What in the world...?"
He saw the outsider’s subordinates locked in combat with the infiltrator.
It was a battle so intense that even he had to question if his intervention was necessary.
No, not just that.
It looked like they could kill the infiltrator outright.
The outsider, lost in the labyrinth, should never have been capable of dealing with Basilica’s spy.
Felix stood dumbfounded, watching the battle unfold.
Then, he saw it.
Poison mist surged as the infiltrator attempted to flee.
No matter how powerful the outsider’s subordinates were, they couldn’t stop this.
Basilica’s spy, now going all out, would be impossible for an outsider to block.
Felix had to be the one to capture him.
He was about to move.
But then—
He stopped.
His eyes landed on a man who had appeared at the sewer’s entrance.
He was undoubtedly weaker than Felix.
By player standards, his level and stats were significantly lower.
Felix knew this.
And yet—
Saaaaah...
A chilling sensation gripped him.
If he approached, he might die.
His feet refused to move.
Then, before his eyes, a magic long thought lost to the world unfolded.
Absolute Zero.
Felix's pupils trembled violently.
The infiltrator was dead.
There was no surviving this.
Even for Felix, this spell would demand a heavy price.
For Basilica’s infiltrator—who was hypersensitive to temperature—it was utterly fatal.
"Ah... he's dead."
He had wanted to capture the spy for interrogation.
But it was too late.
An unfortunate loss, but unavoidable.
Or so he thought.
Then, a woman with crimson hair stepped forward.
And Basilica’s spy—who had undoubtedly died—was resurrected.
How?
Felix couldn’t shut his mouth.
They had revived a corpse.
Just who was this outsider?
That thought ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) filled his mind.
And when his eyes met Seong’s—
The towering reaper standing behind him—
Felix instinctively took a step back.
8.
A massive figure lay curled atop a mountain of treasure in the grand castle.
Sensing a disturbance from afar, the being slowly rose.
Rumble——!!!
Simply standing up sent a tremor through the fortress, as if the entire structure had been shaken.
A magnificent white mane, like a blazing sun.
Burning golden eyes fixed on a distant presence.
"Overlord."
The being muttered under its breath.
Curiosity soon followed.
A thin smile crept onto its face.
An Overlord had entered its city.
Realizing this, the great being began to shrink in size.
A moment later, a white lion beastkin stood where the great creature had been.
With graceful strides, the beastkin made its way toward the throne hall, pushing open the massive doors.
Flap!
"I will be going out. Prepare at once."
"Yes, Your Majesty!!! We heed your command!!!"
For the first time in decades—
The king was leaving his castle.