Chapter 285
1.
In front of the Cerule Spire Mage Tower, a large crowd had gathered.
There weren’t that many people over level 220, yet the place was packed.
The reason for this gathering was painfully obvious.
To catch a glimpse of the champion—Seong!
That final match had been inspirational to many.
It was a battle filled with emotion and narrative. Anyone who saw it would agree.
So naturally, people had flocked here.
Everyone was desperate to witness him in person.
“Hey, move out of the way!!!”
“Huh?! Someone’s going inside???”
“Wait, isn’t that just a regular mage?”
“Ah! I’m telling you, I need to go inside the Mage Tower!!!”
With so many people crammed together, of course there were incidents of annoyance and minor chaos.
Still, even those inconvenienced understood why it was happening.
“Can you blame them for wanting to see him up close?”
“Honestly, I want to see him too.”
“Let’s just go wait at the Mage Tower.”
“Man, he really was cool.”
“Khhhhh, when those two suns clashed... gave me chills, seriously.”
It was pandemonium.
People who had come for the spectacle were left gawking at anyone entering the tower.
Naturally, none of them were Seong.
Not even a single figure in a black robe entered, leaving the crowd disappointed.
Maybe he’d come to claim his rewards another day?
Some people were growing tired of waiting when—
Using Fiora’s perception-disruption skill, Seong managed to slip inside the Mage Tower unnoticed.
“Man, these crowds are wild...”
Seong, who knew all too well that popularity wasn’t always a good thing, felt it more than ever now.
The final match must have really stirred people up.
Come to think of it, when had he ever fought with such desperation and intensity in a live broadcast before?
The rawness, the vividness of it had clearly struck a chord with viewers.
He could understand the reaction—though the discomfort couldn’t be helped.
Thus, Seong entered the Mage Tower in secret—
And headed straight for the tower master.
There, with a grim expression, stood Will Baghdad.
“Congratulations on your victory.”
His words said “congratulations,” but his expression was all seriousness.
And it made sense.
“I never imagined the Sword Saint would project his will directly...”
“Same here.”
“Unfortunately, since he didn’t use demonic energy openly, we have no justification. Even Overpalace will find it difficult to intervene.”
“I see.”
Seong hadn’t been expecting help from Overpalace anyway.
So he let it go.
With Seong now present—
Will gestured for him to sit down.
Once they were both seated, the topic of the victory reward came up.
“These are your winnings.”
“Ooh.”
As Seong gathered the weapons imbued with demonic energy—
A system message popped up.
[You have fulfilled one of the requirements for inheriting the Lord of the Dead!]
[Next condition unlocked!]
[Obtain weapons imbued with demonic energy: (5 / 5) – Complete]
[Destroy the heart of a demon, source of demonic energy: (Incomplete)]
“Demon’s heart?”
As soon as he read it, Seong tilted his head in confusion.
Weapons imbued with demonic energy were one thing—
But destroy a demon’s heart?
It didn’t seem particularly relevant to the Lord of the Dead, who ruled over the dead.
As Seong puzzled over it—
Helena, who stood behind him, nodded like it made perfect sense and began to explain kindly.
“Controlling spirits—or wraiths—is really hard. In the past, no one could do it. The only ones who ever could were demons.”
“Huh?”
So demons were the only ones who could control spirits?
That... actually made sense.
Even then, they weren’t dealing with souls—just wraiths. That distinction helped clarify it.
If only demons—creatures inherently tied to evil—could do it...
Seong listened silently.
Will chimed in as well.
“Exactly. It is said that not even gods can manipulate souls. One can only strengthen their own soul. And the ones who had the most insight into souls were the demons.”
“Not even gods?”
“Yes. Even the will of the world—which surpasses the gods—cannot control a soul.”
Watching Will answer with such conviction—
Seong almost blurted out, “But I can?”
He held back, thanks to Helena’s inner warning.
—“In truth, no one can manipulate souls. What you do, Seong, no one else can. Not even demons could see souls, let alone influence them. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said you had a natural gift.”
Even the world’s will can’t manipulate souls?
Then what was Seong?
The thought did cross his mind—
But since he already chalked it up to being some kind of superpower, he moved on without digging deeper.
After briefly spacing out, Seong refocused—
And Helena continued explaining.
“Demons use corrupted soul energy—called demonic energy. That’s how they control spirits, whose forms are made of materialized soul energy.”
“Ah. So then...”
“Yup. Most spirits and wraiths wield power similar to demonic energy. Back then, demonic energy was the only way to control them.”
Hearing that—
So without demonic energy, you couldn’t control spirits.
Did that mean things were different now?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Seong looked at the two of them with a questioning gaze.
Helena glanced away, a bit sheepishly.
Will smiled slightly as he answered.
“It was Lady Helena who made it ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) possible to control spirits and wraiths with dark mana instead of demonic energy.”
“Ahh.”
So the reason it became possible to do what was once impossible... was Helena?
It certainly seemed that way.
Either way, if spirits could once only be controlled with demonic energy—
Then it made sense that these current conditions were all tied to demonic energy.
As Seong thought that—
Will nodded as though confirming it.
“Yes. Understanding demonic energy, the origin of necromancy, is essential. Once you do that—and draw out the latent power of the Lord of the Dead within your Overlord class—you will truly become the Lord of the Dead.”
With that, Seong finally seemed to understand.
The reason for gathering the five demonic weapons, and why destroying a demon’s heart was necessary.
As he processed that—
Will continued his explanation.
“Once you’ve gathered the five demonic weapons, they can be fused to create a detector capable of locating demons.”
“Oh?! So I just track them down and kill them?”
At that, Will shook his head.
“Once you find a demon, you must not kill it recklessly.”
“There’s a condition?”
“A demon’s heart does not reside within their physical body like ordinary beings.”
“What? Then...”
“They keep it separate—like a lich’s phylactery. Even if you kill the body, it’ll just revive from the heart. If you attack rashly, you’ll be in danger. The detector created from the demonic weapons only tracks the demon’s body. To find the heart, you’ll need to lay a trap.”
Seong paid close attention.
This was his next task, after all.
“Demons disguise themselves. At a glance, they’ll look human or like regular creatures. But there are times when they bring people to where their hearts are stored.”
Will said this with a meaningful tone—
And Helena snatched the line, sounding amused.
“That’s when they’re about to corrupt someone’s soul!”
“Exactly.”
Helena’s statement earned Will’s agreement.
Seong nodded and asked,
“When a soul is corrupted...”
“You still can’t control a soul—but you can control a corrupted one.”
“They can even kill the owner of the corrupted soul and turn them into a spirit. Since you’re an outsider, Overlord, I doubt you can create spirits from souls—but controlling them should be possible.”
“When demons see a talented person, they can’t resist recruiting them. Just loiter nearby and they’ll practically drag you to wherever their heart is stored.”
“I believe so as well. In fact, demons may even fight among themselves over you.”
With that, Seong committed all the information about demons to memory.
He’d have to be cautious.
And as he thought more on it, a question popped into his mind.
If you can’t interfere with souls—how do you corrupt one?
He asked Helena.
—“Then, Helena, if no one can interfere with a soul, how do they corrupt it?”
—“Actually, it’s not the soul itself. They corrupt the aura or energy the soul gives off. They can’t directly touch the soul. That’s why I developed dark mana to imitate those waves and use it to control spirits. Turns out, dark mana is even more efficient than demonic energy. The demons got so salty they nearly had a fit.”
Seong chuckled at her comment.
Now that he’d figured out the next condition—
He pulled out the demonic weapons.
He was tired from everything today—
But it wouldn’t hurt to know where to go next, even if he didn’t leave until tomorrow.
As Seong laid out the weapons—
Will, as if waiting for this moment, unfolded a map.
Then the five demonic weapons were merged—
And their energies combined into a single orb.
The orb’s magic rose like smoke and pointed to one spot on the map.
The closest demon’s location.
None other than the Seventh City—Heptarion.
And even within Heptarion, it pointed to the Mage Tower.
“Oh.”
Seong let out a low exclamation—
While Will’s face twisted into a deep frown.
Why the reaction?
Seong looked at Will curiously.
Will met his gaze and spoke.
“Hmmm... That’s quite a troublesome location. I had my suspicions, but...”
“And where exactly is Heptarion?”
Seong still wasn’t familiar with the geography.
So he asked again—
And Will, looking rather troubled, replied.
“It’s a city of the Kingdom of Rieskan. One of the few cities with a Mage Tower—specifically, the Caliber Mage Tower.”
“Ah...”
You again, Kingdom of Rieskan? Really?
The thought came unbidden—but Seong didn’t think it was that big a deal.
Why was Will making such a big deal out of it?
As he blinked in confusion—
Will explained further.
“The Sword Saint just suffered a defeat and returned. He’s probably already preparing for retaliation.”
“...Retaliation?”
Seong wondered if they’d really dare that with Overpalace watching.
But—
“There’s no Overpalace branch within the Kingdom of Rieskan. Within their own territory, they likely believe they can handle it—and may have already given the order.”
“...So then?”
“Infiltrating will not be easy. Not impossible, but your disguise will have to be thorough.”
“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to go undercover as a knight or something.”
“I’ll assist with that. I’ll write a recommendation letter.”
“Oho.”
And thus, Seong’s undercover employment as a knight was decided.
It would be his first time infiltrating a Mage Tower in disguise.