Adrian straightened despite the pain and approached with steady steps until he stood face-to-face with the Great Lord of Magic.
He raised his head, his gaze gleaming sharply, and said in a low but firm voice, "You must fix what you've done…"
The Great Lord of Magic gazed at him silently for several seconds, then a faint smile appeared on his lips, as though the matter were nothing more than amusement to him. "Why don't you speak clearly? I truly have no idea what you're referring to."
Adrian's brows furrowed with restrained anger. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about… I want you to lift the curse that afflicted that old woman. It's harming innocent people who have nothing to do with what she did."
The smile faded from the Great Lord of Magic's face, and a heavy coldness settled over his features. "You want me to remove the curse, then? I'm sorry to tell you… that I can't."
Adrian shouted sharply, "Don't mess with me! You were the one who placed the curse on her in the first place, weren't you? Why can't you undo it?"
The Great Lord of Magic shrugged indifferently. "I didn't actually place the curse. That curse is the natural consequence of a failed summoning… and therefore, I can't remove it."
Adrian's expression darkened. "What do you mean?"
The Great Lord of Magic yawned boredly. "I think you know that the old woman carried out all three conditions to the letter… and what she received was the Curse of Death. That wasn't my doing, but the result of her own stupidity. Believe me, just imagine it: she drank children's blood for ten years, sacrificed her daughter, and killed a fetus… She's truly deranged."
Adrian spoke with restrained sharpness. "She's certainly deranged… but you were the one who wrote the incantation, correct?"
Suddenly, Adrian's eyes widened in realization. "Wait… could it be that the incantation—!"
A long sigh from the Great Lord of Magic interrupted him. He placed a hand on his head, as though exasperated by the endless questions. "Yes, exactly. That incantation never made any sense to begin with, and the only solution… was to reverse it. Exactly as you did."
Adrian staggered a step backward and lowered his head before bursting into broken laughter, his anger mingling with disbelief. "Ha… haha… hahaha… All those corpses… all those countless victims… Are you telling me now that they died simply because that idiot misunderstood the incantation?"
His laughter abruptly ceased, and a harsh spark blazed in Adrian's eyes, nearly tearing through the air. He slowly raised his head and looked directly at the Great Lord of Magic—a gaze that made the latter falter for a moment, as he imagined seeing the shadow of another man behind Adrian's features… a man with white hair tied back and cold red eyes that pierced to the bone.
Adrian spoke with a chilling coldness dripping with menace. "You can't remove the curse… but you can control it, can't you?"
The Great Lord of Magic hesitated before answering, "Yes… I can do that."
A dark, heavy smile spread across Adrian's face, carrying an unmistakably ominous intent. "Then… confine the curse to the old woman alone."
The Great Lord of Magic's eyes widened in surprise, then he burst into a malicious laugh. "If you're asking for something like that… then you must understand what will happen to her."
Adrian tilted his head slightly, his voice like a dagger being slowly drawn. "Of course… I'm looking forward to seeing her suffer inside a decomposing body… corrupted by rot… and consumed by time."
The Great Lord of Magic raised his hand, and the smile on his face was enough to show that he was thoroughly enjoying himself. "You shall have it, boy."
Powerful magical energy gathered around him and settled in his palm. He then raised his other hand and snapped his fingers, causing the old woman's corpse to appear before him out of nowhere.
He directed the energy in his hand toward the corpse, and within seconds, the battered body began to move, producing a broken voice. "I… Where am I…?"
The voice was ragged, barely able to cut through the air.
She tried to rise and move, but her dead body refused to respond.
"What… is happening? Why does my voice… sound like this? Why… can't I move? Or… see?!"
Adrian approached her and planted his foot firmly on her decomposing body.
He spoke in a low, sinister voice. "You wretched old hag… This is our first meeting, but you'd better remember me well."
He smiled coldly and continued, "Because I'm the one who will keep you alive… in a dead body, forever."
The old woman screamed in distorted fury. "Who are you, you— insolent brat?!"
Adrian cut her off sharply. "I'm going to ask you something, and I want an answer. If you don't want me to crush your head right now… answer me."
"The victims' corpses… where did you take them after clearing out the underground area?"
The old woman screamed, "And why… should I tell— AARGH…!"
Adrian pressed down harder on her body.
He repeated coldly, "Answer me."
The old woman struggled to breathe before replying, "I… threw them to the rampaging monsters… in the forbidden area…"
Adrian felt disgusted by the very thought and briefly recalled how the monsters had devoured him alive in that area.
Looking at the old woman, he said, "Another question… why did you sacrifice your daughter? I can't believe you did that just to obtain magic. There must be another reason…"
His tone grew sharper. "Think… and answer carefully."
The old woman replied, "I… wanted to regain 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 world, didn't I? Shouldn't she be indebted to me? Anyway, there's no point discussing it… She's still alive, since the summoning failed and I was unconscious for a while… I wonder if a day or two has passed since I lost consciousness?"
Adrian removed his foot from her 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 tied up… At least untie me!"
Adrian said, "Your head isn't tied up. Move your head."
She tried to move her head… but couldn't.
"Wait… why can't I? I can't even see anything… Is there something covering my eyes?"
Adrian replied with cold sarcasm, "Haven't you realized it yet? You've been dead for a long time… and your daughter died too, disintegrating because of the summoning you performed."
The old woman said in shock, "W… What are you saying? I didn't even succeed in the summoning—"
He interrupted her. "You succeeded… but unfortunately for you, you died, and your daughter was afflicted by a curse that killed her as well."
She said in disbelief, "This… is impossible. I'm not dead… I'm talking! Wait… this ragged voice… Is it because—"
Adrian answered, "Yes. Your body has almost completely decomposed, so you can't do anything. But don't worry… I'll return you to your grave. You won't feel so lonely… You can try talking to the other dead if you're able to."
The old woman screamed, her voice cracking apart. "No! I can't be dead! I must become immortal! I must become a beautiful young woman! Give me back my body! Give me back my life!!"
Adrian looked away in annoyance and said, "Madwoman…"
Then he turned to the Great Lord of Magic. "Make her be quiet… and bind her soul to this corpse. I know she can't do anything now, but I want you to tighten the restraints even further."
The Great Lord of Magic smiled maliciously. "I've already used up your wish… I can't fulfill 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 Great Lord of Magic blinked questioningly. "Huh?"
Adrian spoke calmly. "I never asked you to make her talk in the first place… isn't that entirely your mistake?"
The Great Lord of Magic looked at Adrian in irritation. "You said you wanted to see her suffer, so—"
Adrian interrupted him. "To see her suffer when she can't even speak… bound as tightly as possible, her body decomposing and regenerating only to decompose again, endlessly… That's what I mean by confining her to an eternal curse."
The Great Lord of Magic was displeased, but he did as Adrian had said. The old woman's voice fell completely silent.
He muttered irritably, "Damn it… Why do I feel like I'm being swindled? I thought you were different from Naraka, but you're just as much of a bastard as he is…"
Adrian raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise. "I wonder… what would happen if that so-called Naraka heard you calling him a bastard?"
The Great Lord of Magic trembled and shouted in fear, "Don't even mention it!! I'm glad he doesn't exist anymore!"
Adrian asked, "Doesn't exist anymore? Do you mean he's dead?"
The Great Lord of Magic crossed his arms and replied, "Not exactly… He might be dead, or he might not. But he disappeared several years ago."
Adrian spoke with interest. "By the way… is this person named Naraka a demon?"
The Great Lord of Magic answered, "He's not an ordinary demon…"
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a subtle pain in his heart, but he kept his expression steady in front of Adrian.
He finally said, "I've fulfilled your request… so I must leave now."
He smiled calmly, and as he did, his body began to fade away. "Let's meet again someday…" He disappeared completely.
The room fell silent for a moment—then suddenly, the door exploded with an enormous surge of magical energy! The wall on the other side shook violently.
Lucia entered, panting. "Your Highness! Are you all right?! Huh… The door 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 sorry! But the door was locked from the inside with powerful magic, and I could no longer hear any sounds from the room, so I got worried and tried to break through it with my power!"
While she continued babbling… Adrian's mind was elsewhere. "He knew Lucia was outside… so he muffled the sounds. What a bastard. I would've been in 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 answered calmly, "The Great Lord of Magic brought her here. Anyway, the curse has been lifted, so there's no need to worry. We need to bury the corpse again before morning."
Lucia tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about? Morning has already passed… The sun is about to set."
Adrian's eyes widened in astonishment.
Lucia continued, "I was almost losing hope of helping you… You stayed inside the room for half a whole day."
Adrian's thoughts raced through his mind, a mixture of astonishment and panic. "Strange… I'm certain it didn't take more than twenty minutes or so… What in the name of the Creator of Hell happened?"