Boom. Rumble, rumble.
As the iron doors opened with a heavy roar, the Skeleton King had a sudden thought.
If he’d really been human, he might have mistaken the sound for his own heartbeat.
But even without a heart, he could feel it clearly.
With every step he took, the distance narrowed. With every iron door that opened in turn, the immense magical power ahead of him swelled.
And at the end of it all, the being at the source of everything waited for him.
“Come in, hero.”
The last door opened at the sound of a low voice, and the Skeleton King swallowed without meaning to.
This is…
Until now, his eyes had held nothing but darkness. Now they were filled with dazzling light.
Was this what it would look like if someone brought a palace from the myths of old gods into the world?
The chamber was hundreds of meters1 across, filled with antique furniture that had endured the ages and jewels of every color. Countless images were engraved into its towering ceiling and the walls on every side.
Beautiful.
No—more than beautiful. Astonishing.
Yet even amid that dazzling sight, the Skeleton King looked in only one direction.
At a being more beautiful than everything in the chamber combined, no matter how many times you added it up or multiplied it—and possessed of a power more terrifying than anything else in the world.
“You seem to like the place. Good.”
The palace’s master smiled as he drifted gently down from the throne towering in the distance, as if he’d spread invisible wings.
“I don’t need to introduce myself, do I?”
He certainly didn’t.
The Skeleton King knew who he was. So did all of humanity.
“…Morgoth.”
The name escaped the Skeleton King like a groan. Morgoth smiled and nodded.
“So you do know me. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to formally exchange names, as is the custom in this world.”
The Skeleton King understood what he meant and replied, thinking once more of the one person who wasn’t here—and shouldn’t be.
“Jin Taekyung. Jin Taekyung.”
“I see. Jin Taekyung…”
Morgoth seemed to mull it over.
“No matter how many times I hear it, it’s a strange name. Does it have some special meaning?”
“Of course it does.”
The Skeleton King shrugged, then gave an answer so perfectly suited to Jin Taekyung that, had the real Jin Taekyung been there, he might have mistaken him for a Doppelganger.
“It means ‘fuck you.’”
Morgoth stared at him, momentarily dumbfounded, then burst out laughing.
“Well, you got me. That’s rather funny.”
“Get all your laughing out now. After you’ve taken a few hits in a minute, you won’t find it so funny.”
The Skeleton King made no effort to hide his hostility.
The moment he’d faced Morgoth, he’d realized that a surprise attack meant to catch him off guard would never work.
How is this possible?
He’d never felt so overwhelmed just by standing before someone.
Strictly speaking, he’d felt something similar once, back when he was called the Skeleton Warlord and fought Jin Taekyung. But there was no comparing the two.
Just as the Jin Taekyung of then couldn’t be compared to the Jin Taekyung of now, the Skeleton King had grown at a terrifying pace, too.
If anything, his rate of growth might even have surpassed Jin Taekyung’s.
Since joining Jin Taekyung, he’d defeated one Named Monster after another, starting with the Arch Lich, and absorbed their vast magical power like nourishment.
He’d become so powerful that the title of king no longer seemed inadequate.
But…
We’re on different levels.
Undead: a cursed being.
A Dragon: a being born with the blessing of all creation.
The two faced each other at eye level, but everything else about them was different—their very natures, and the magnitude and depth of the power born of them.
So why did the Skeleton King feel more at ease as he gripped his sword hilt?
Even with Morgoth watching his every move, it felt as natural as folding his arms.
“Are you planning to fight me?”
“Why? Didn’t you expect it?”
“I did, from the moment you appeared alone. I only wanted to tell you it’s a poor choice.”
“There was never another choice.”
“Never another choice? I find it hard to understand why you think that.”
Morgoth tilted his head.
“I’ve lived for a very long time, and yet you’re a fascinating being. I’ve always had a weakness for exceptional talent.”
“So you’re telling me to surrender?”
“Become my Guardian. You’ll have the honor of protecting the true king at his side, and gain greater power and eternal life as well.”
“What an honor.”
“It’s an entirely reasonable and peaceful solution, too. What do you say?”
The Skeleton King gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Jin Taekyung.”
“What?”
“I told you what it means earlier.”
At that moment—
Shing.
A silver blade, its edge sharp as frost, finally emerged from its sheath.
“This is my answer.”
It was Jin Taekyung’s answer, too. The Skeleton King knew he would have done exactly the same.
Morgoth watched him and murmured, almost to himself, “How strange. I simply don’t understand.”
“What, are you that shocked I turned down your shitty offer?”
“I won’t deny that your foolish choice disappoints me. But that isn’t what I find so hard to understand.”
Rustle.
Morgoth’s obsidian eyes moved slowly over his opponent. More precisely, over the Skeleton King and the [Hero’s Sword] in his hand.
His next words sent a shiver through the Skeleton King.
“How can an Undead Monster like you wield an Ego Sword like that?”
“……!”
“Oh, forgive me if I’ve offended you. It’s just that even I can’t explain what I’m seeing. Do you have any idea why?”
The Skeleton King didn’t answer.
He couldn’t. It took everything he had just to steady himself against the shock that had struck through his whole body like a bolt of lightning.
He knew. He knew what I was.
Since when?
When he gave his name? Or when he drew a sword instead of the spear Jin Taekyung always used?
Or… had Morgoth known from the moment he first set foot on the pitch-black ground of his territory, leaving the spirits’ pleas behind?
Damn it.
The Skeleton King clenched his teeth. He met the Black Dragon’s eyes, which seemed to see through everything he was.
“You were playing with me. From beginning to end.”
“Oh dear.”
Morgoth let out a soft sigh.
“Don’t let a misunderstanding upset you. Everything I’ve said was sincere. You truly are that special and fascinating. Even in thousands of years, I’ve encountered few cases like yours.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“How rude. But I’ll forgive you. Unlike an inferior race, I won’t let a moment’s anger drive me to destroy something precious. My intelligence and curiosity won’t allow it.”
Morgoth wasn’t the least bit shaken. If anything, he looked at the Skeleton King with even greater interest.
The old, cunning Dragon’s eyes glittered like those of a child heading into the hills to collect insects.
Even as a silver blade charged with powerful energy came slashing down at him.
Fwoosh—CRASH!
Fierce wind clawed through the chamber, and the energy carried by the sword swallowed everything within a radius of a dozen or so meters.2
It was a blow so fierce that even the Named Monsters who had once struck terror across the world would have faced death if it hit them directly.
But before the roar rang out, the Skeleton King knew.
The strike he’d poured all his strength into hadn’t harmed so much as a hair on his enemy’s head.
Rumble, rumble…
Beyond the enormous tremor shaking the space, Morgoth had already moved to the towering throne in the distance. He brought his hands together in a heartfelt round of applause.
“Impressive. Truly impressive. Such immense magical power—and of so many different kinds.”
“You…”
“Ah, yes. The Arch Lich, Leviathan, Behemoth. You absorbed their magical power. But your current appearance doesn’t seem to be the work of magic… Have you ever met a being called a Doppelganger?”
For an instant, the Skeleton King felt his mind go cold.
Morgoth had seen through him.
Too quickly, and with such chilling accuracy.
Seeing the Skeleton King’s face go rigid, Morgoth broke into a broad smile.
“So you have. You can absorb not only a target’s magical power, but part of their abilities, too. Astonishing. Now I understand how a mere undead—a Skeleton, no less—came to possess such power.”
“That mere undead might kill a Dragon here today.”
“Is that a taunt?”
“No. I mean it. It’s a lesson I learned from watching a certain lunatic of a human.”
The Skeleton King spat the words out as he approached. Morgoth nodded.
“Yes, of course you might. Even the mighty Asmodeus was stopped by a mere human. But…”
He looked the Skeleton King straight in the eye.
“Just as you learned a lesson through Jin Taekyung, I also realized the most important thing when I heard the news.”
Whoooom.
Space warped.
Incredibly powerful, pure magical power filled the chamber, taking the form of invisible blades.
“Asmodeus’s greatest mistake was his arrogance.”
“……!”
“I do not underestimate any of you.”
At the moment the Skeleton King’s eyes widened—
Fwoooosh!
A flash of black, deeper and darker than the night sky, shot toward his entire body.
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