The Frost Treants that had seemed as if they would spill every detail spoke no more. Kim Jin-Woo held onto Rikshasha instead of pressing them any further.

Nothing could be changed by moping around, either. The tight-lipped Frost Treants had never readily told him what they knew unless they wanted to, and likely never would. For now, it was good enough that they had told him why Rikshasha had become the way she was.

“She’s already lost consciousness, but it should be possible to bring her back to where she was supposed to be, shouldn’t it?” Kim Jin-Woo asked. The Frost Treants didn’t respond. But they didn’t tell him his decision was wrong, either. Thus, he guessed that his thoughts weren’t entirely wrong.

“I’ll head back immediately.” Kim Jin-Woo had no time to waste. Even at that very moment, the situation was getting worse. Rikshasha was practically on her deathbed, having completely lost her consciousness, and it wouldn’t be strange if she stopped breathing at any moment.

Kim Jin-Woo looked at the Frost Treants that surrounded him without a word and stepped into the portal. Since he didn’t feel the need to leave Morrigan on the surface any longer, considering Rikshasha was absent anyway, he quickly told her from the other side, “Morrigan, follow me.”

“I’m coming too!” Lee Jun-Young added as Morrigan stepped through the portal.

“Ah…” The moment she entered the Underworld, Rikshasha let out a terrifying moan. “…Master.”

Thankfully, it seemed her condition wasn’t getting any worse. Her moan was like a cough of relief after having been freed of asphyxiation, and her condition had immediately improved just by stepping into the Underworld.

But that didn’t mean she was completely healed. She was only able to spit out one word, “Master”, and nothing more. She was still breathing heavily, and her condition looked critical.

“Dominique, call the Priests,” Kim Jin-Woo commanded.

The Naga Priests that had been scattered across the labyrinth to treat the wounded gathered in the master room at his command. However, try as they might, their healing spells did little to improve Rikshasha’s condition. The only consolation was that her condition didn’t deteriorate any further.

“Sigh.” Kim Jin-Woo looked at the pale Under-Elf’s face with a conflicted expression. Where the hell had things gone wrong? Would this not have happened if he had absorbed the Fairy Lord’s Right of Succession instead?

No… Unlike the other fragments, he wasn’t able to read any signs from Rikshasha. He didn’t feel the strange sense of incongruity and power he should have had if he were the bearer of the Right of Succession, which meant that he himself had no connection to the Fairy Lord’s Right of Succession in the first place.

Even if he had somehow absorbed her Right of Succession, that wouldn’t have kept Rikshasha safe. The Fragments of the Ancient Lord he had seen so far disappeared as a shining light the moment there was a transfer of power.

That wasn’t what Kim Jin-Woo wanted. He didn’t want to lose Rikshasha, who had stuck with him for nearly as long as the Nagas had. Because of that, even though he knew she had awakened due to the Fragments, he couldn’t decide how to treat her and was stuck leaving her as is.

The dilemma was that, if he left her as is, the situation wouldn’t improve, but removing the root of the problem couldn’t guarantee Rikshasha’s life.

However, as always, the answer was nearby.

“Ah.” After thinking it over again and again, Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed as if he had attained enlightenment.

“Master?” Dominique’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden exclamation, as she was caught off guard while taking care of Rikshasha.

“Everyone, leave me.” An insidious energy rose from Kim Jin-Woo as he said those words.

A black mass began to materialize, seeming as if it could be grasped physically. It was unlike the usual Majesty of the One-Eyed Lord, and it was vastly different from the Lord of Brilliance’s splendor. Its sticky energy felt like a beast baring its fangs with each breath it took, resembling the hunger of a starving individual. It was the craving of Greed itself.

That was Kim Jin-Woo’s power, that no one else could imitate; it was the manifestation of the Lord of Greed who devoured everything.

Kim Jin-Woo lowered his head, and Rikshasha’s small, demure face filled his haze. It was the face of an Under-Elf whose beauty hadn’t faded even in her critical condition. Little by little, he brought his face closer to hers.

“As you desire…” Rikshasha struggled to breathe as she looked at her master.

Even when such malicious energy, enough to make even the most loyal Naga shudder, filled her gaze, she didn’t avert her eyes but instead continued to smile in return. It was loyalty that truly transcended life and death. Her dedication and service was truly something else.

“This will be over soon.” Kim Jin-Woo slowly lowered his head, giving her a soft smile that greatly contrasted his deadly energy.

A warm breath leaked out from the Under-Elf’s pale, blue, and tender lips, then dispersed as if it had never existed in the first place.

Huff.

Rikshasha’s breath, which had scattered to the point of insignificance, began to be sucked back into Kim Jin-Woo’s mouth. However, it seemed Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t satisfied with just inhaling her breath. He completely covered Rikshasha’s mouth and began to suck her breath out directly.

“Ahhh,” Rikshasha moaned.

If anyone else had seen this sight, they might have mistaken it for a passionate kiss shared between lovers, but none of the summons in their presence saw it that way. To them, Kim Jin-Woo’s behavior resembled that of a wild beast biting away at the nape of its prey.

***

Kim Jin-Woo had absorbed the power sources of the Barons he had held captive before; thus, he thought that with his Power of Greed, he would also be able to absorb the Fragments of the Fairy Lord that were buried deep inside Rikshasha. The only problem, if any, was whether the Power of Greed could pick out and absorb only the energy of those Fragments, and nothing more.

He didn’t want Rikshasha to turn into a pile of ashes, as the absorbed Barons had. Thus, he had to do his best to curb his power as it reached out to Rikshasha’s Source indiscriminately.

The Under-Elf Runner, Rikshasha, has inherited the Power Fragments through repeated growth and awakening. But the Power Fragments are not a blessing for everyone. Her soul was too small and fragile to hold those powers long enough, to the point that her life has been endangered.

Previously, it seemed as though there was no way for her to survive. However, the power of Greed has consumed even her destined fate, and she has finally been freed from her impending ill-fated death.

The moment those messages appeared in front of Kim Jin-Woo, his mind, previously desensitized to any sense of satisfaction, became clear as if he had been doused in ice-cold water.

Originally, the power of Greed would have devoured not only the power of the Fragments but also the Source of Rikshasha’s life. However, after much effort, you have succeeded in controlling it, thus absorbing only the Power Fragments.

Finally, his gamble had turned out to be successful. But compared to the risk that he had taken on himself and Rikshasha, his returns weren’t that great.

You have absorbed the Fragments of the Fairy Lord, but unfortunately, you failed to take over the Right of Succession. The Fragments Rikshasha carried were just seeds, not fit to germinate in your possession. You have only absorbed a portion of the promised power.

Was this because he had forcibly tried to absorb Fragments that were out of his reach? The Fragments Rikshasha had possessed were pure energy that bore no Power.

However, Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t disappointed. He wasn’t shameless enough to hope for anything more after winning an uncertain gamble. Even after absorbing several Barons, the satiety level of his Power had only reached 17%; thus, it was already a great achievement that he had been able to reach 99% at once.

“Mm…” Kim Jin-Woo belatedly felt a slight movement in his arms and quickly came to his senses. He then checked on Rikshasha’s condition.

Rikshasha’s previously pale and bloodless face was now red, as life had returned to her cheeks.

Ah. Upon noticing that Rikshasha’s complexion had suddenly changed excessively again, Kim Jin-Woo worried that something might have gone wrong, but he belatedly grasped the situation.

Rikshasha’s pupils darted around under her eyelids, and a hidden sweet smell wafted from between her awkwardly open lips. Only then did Kim Jin-Woo realize that he still had his lips on hers, and he gently pulled himself away.

“Ah…” Rikshasha let out an ambiguous moan, and shook her body in surprise. However, she couldn’t bring herself to open her closed eyes in the end, and only let out a silent, high-pitched breath.

The sight of her was both amusing and lovely in Kim Jin-Woo’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

“Master!”

If not for Dominique’s sudden interruption, Kim Jin-Woo would probably have made fun of Rikshasha, even if only a little. Belatedly realizing that there were a lot of pairs of eyes watching them, he took a step back from Rikshasha. Even though he had locked lips with Rikshasha in front of a whole group of other beings, he didn’t seem shy at all.

Thinking back, kissing Rikshasha had been more like a therapeutic act. No, even if it hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have been ashamed of it at all. After all, everything inside the Grand Labyrinth had belonged to him from the beginning. There was no reason for him to feel embarrassed about it now.

“She’ll be fine now. But she’ll need some time to rest for the moment, so Dominique, I trust you to take good care of her,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

Dominique nodded with an ambiguous expression, looking neither happy nor sad.

Kim Jin-Woo was neither too ignorant nor too stupid to not know what the emotions behind her glimmering eyes were. If he could, he would have loved to give his loyal and lovely Naga a big hug and tell her not to be sad, but instead, he simply called her name.

“Dominique.” The emotions in Kim Jin-Woo’s voice weren’t light-hearted. That one word was filled with unlimited love that went beyond simple trust. That alone brought some life back into Dominique’s dreary, depressed expression.

“I’ll leave her in your care,” Kim Jin-Woo reiterated.

“Leave her to me!” Dominique replied, thumping her chest confidently.

Kim Jin-Woo looked at her for a moment before his serious expression returned.

Even though Rikshasha had recovered, the Underworld was still full of unknowns after its First Restoration had taken place, and he still had yet to reinforce the Grand Labyrinth’s power via the Sea Dragon’s Heart. Nothing had yet improved.

Thankfully, he knew where else he could focus his attention to reinforce his powers, other than via the Sea Dragon’s Heart. After wrapping up the situation in the master room, he headed to the newly expanded Naga Sorcerers’ research lab.

“Kiaaat!”

The Naga Sorcerers ran toward him immediately as if they had been waiting for his arrival, and started to kick up a huge fuss. They looked like children who couldn’t wait to show off their latest toy.

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t frown at the fussy Naga Sorcerers, who would normally have been nothing but an annoyance in his eyes, because there was a familiar being mixed among the Naga Sorcerers that surrounded him.

“Valicius?” he asked.

“M-My King!” Valicius answered in a deep, low voice. A jewel was embedded in the center of his forehead.