Yet, Zich didn’t move urgently like someone about to face a battle—he looked as if he was finally getting ready to move. Thus, his companions didn’t move hastily either, and there was enough time for Walwiss to ask, “What is a Brushel System? There were other keywords that stirred my curiosity too.”

“It’s better if you don’t know what they are. If it’s you, I’m sure the moment you learn what they are, you wouldn’t be able to sleep again as they would occupy your every waking moment.”

“That makes me even more curious!” Walwiss shouted, but Zich coldly shook his head.

“I can’t tell you anything. Whatever they are, I will soon destroy them. So, there’s no need for you to concern yourself about them anymore.”

Zich gave Walwiss no room to ask any more questions, and knowing Zich’s personality, Walwiss knew there was no way that Zich would go back on his words after speaking so firmly about the matter. Although curiosity was one of the most important things that a mage could have, there were things one shouldn’t dare to venture further into. Walwiss knew this very well as an experienced mage, and he dropped the topic.

“What is that ring? Is that also related to the things I must not know about?” Walwiss pointed at the ring Ultel was wearing.

“Hm...” Zich took off the ring from Ultel’s finger. He took it off so roughly that Ultel’s finger curved in a direction it shouldn’t have, but nobody in the team cared about that.

‘It probably is a reserve for Windur or a smaller version of it...’ It was clear that Windur was the emperor’s symbol, and there was no way its authority was lower than the ring’s.

‘If that ring had the same amount of authority and power as Windur, Ultel would’ve found the other ruins by now,’ Zich thought. Ultel had misunderstood—he thought that the item Zich possessed was on the same level as the Emperor’s Ring, but the ring could not remotely compare to Windur.

“I have to confirm it, but I don’t think this ring is that important. I can give it to you later.” After the tower broke and the Brushel System crumbled, there wouldn’t be much the ring could do. Then, there wouldn’t be much danger in giving it to Walwiss as a research item. As for extra precautionary measures, he would give the ring to Lyla to check it over.

“Yes, please, I beg you!” Walwiss was overjoyed to hear that there was at least one item he could take with him from this mystical ruin.

“Ah, but before that, I have to check with the others. Is anyone else interested in the ring?” Zich asked. Since they had all contributed to defeating Ultel, Walwiss couldn’t claim Ultel’s possessions all on his own. Of course, this rule also applied to Zich, but because of the strong trust everyone had in him, no one disputed Zich checking the ring first before giving it away. However, maybe because of Walwiss’ pleading eyes, no one asked for ownership of the ring—not even Leona, who usually bickered with Walwiss.

“That’s what everyone else says, Zich.”

“I understand.”

Walwiss was very glad. “Good, good. Then, let’s quickly get rid of that guy from above and finish this.”

Everyone raised his or her head. Their slightly relaxed bodies tensed up again.

“It seems like that guy is officially on the move,” Til warned. Everyone felt Glen’s movements growing bigger and bigger with their keen senses.

Zich added, “Our opponent is strong enough to defeat Ultel and his subordinates one-sidedly, and the mana I felt from him just now was considerable. We can’t think that Glen Zenard would be like the man we once used to know.”

Everyone nodded at Zich’s statements.

“The tower’s vibrations are getting stronger.”

“It won’t be long before it falls.”

“It seems like it will crumble once our battle starts.”

“...It will definitely get in the way of the battle.”

As the party members said, it looked like the tower would break apart at any time. Yet, Zich asked them calmly, “So, does anyone here feel endangered by that?”

No one answered.

“That answers it. Then, let’s go up now. We have to check out how much our friend Glen has changed.”

***

The party moved through the hole Zich made again, and as they went up, they saw many corpses that belonged to Ultel’s subordinates. Besides a few that looked relatively unharmed, most of the corpses were shredded to pieces. Glen Zenard had killed them all. After going up for a while like that, the party eventually saw Glen Zenard.

“This is serious.” Leona frowned upon seeing Glen. He looked grotesque after all the torture he had endured.

Perhaps he heard Leona’s voice, but Glen turned his head. His eyeball-less, empty eye sockets shifted to where Zich’s party was.

“His eyes have been plucked out.”

“His eardrums also seem to be damaged.”

“Huh? But didn’t that guy clearly respond to my voice earlier?”

“He might not be able to hear us, but maybe he can sense our presence using other methods.”

“Seeing his injuries, it seems like the tendons in his wrists and ankles were cut off too. A couple of retired mercenaries in my mercenary group had injuries like that.”

“Aren’t those people unable to move properly? Yet, that guy is moving so freely.”

“In other words, his body is completely destroyed, but something else is making up for his inabilities and injuries.” Zich cleanly summarized the situation.

“It must be mana. Given the sheer amount of mana I sensed before, there's more than enough to make up for the loss in physical functions. It’s a body I want to try researching once.”

“You mean like a human experiment?”

“Don’t worry. No matter how much curiosity I have, it isn’t to the point that I will throw away my morals, even if the subject is one of the most heinous men that could exist.”

“That’s good to hear.”

As Walwiss and Leona talked behind him, Zich took one step toward Glen.

Ssssssh. A hollow Glen turned toward Zich.

‘I doubt he can see. He must be sensing the mana in his surroundings and he must be turning his head out of habit.’ Zich thought and asked, “Hey, Glen Zenard. Do you remember me?”

“...Uh...Ah...”

“His tongue was also cut off.”

It appeared that Glen had been thoroughly tortured. Some parts of his body were still smooth and clean; his torturers had probably poured potions on Glen when it looked like he was about to die. The torture was chillingly thorough. Yet, this thought didn’t garner sympathy for Glen from anyone in the room.

“Oh, you’ve awakened an interesting talent,” Zich noted. Since Glen’s pronunciation was too smushed now, everything that came out of his mouth was incomprehensible. However, Zich and the others could now hear words ringing in their ears.

“He’s making sounds with mana,” Walwiss muttered with interest.

In contrast, Leona frowned. “I feel a great amount of mana every time he talks, and he’s using that much mana just to talk?”

“The amount of mana is relative. Since he can use so much mana just to talk, it means that he has that much mana to spare. It also means that he can’t properly handle his enormous mana. If he could control his mana precisely, he wouldn’t need to use that much mana to imitate his voice.”

“But you’re saying that his astounding amount of mana is real, right?”

“Yes.” Zich assessed Glen’s mana, which he felt intermittently.

‘He definitely has more mana than me right now.’ Considering that the amount of mana that Zich had was comparable to a dragon’s, the amount of mana that Glen had was a truly astonishing amount.

“Yeah, it seems like you beat the hell out of Ultel. How do you feel?”

“Are you not in your right mind?” Zich was a little disappointed. Glen needed to be in his right mind to react properly to his words. However, it was too early to be disappointed.

It seemed as if his memory was clear and his emotions were intact; this was enough for Zich’s mockery to work.

“What do you mean, villain? That is such a harsh word. I’m a hero that the whole world recognizes now. Rather, you’re the villain—the dirty Bellid collaborator, Glen Zenard.”

“What do you mean, hero? It’s all over, man. Hans took the nickname, Sun Hero, that you loved so much, and you’re just a hated villain.”

“You said you wanted a perfect life, didn’t you? That’s too bad. The perfect life you want is already over. If you’re really Glen Zenard, you should know it better than anyone else.”

“What do you mean no? It’s true that you’re done for...!”

Ziiing! Glen’s body began to emit a tremendous amount of mana; it was the same mana that they had all been feeling for a while. Zich’s expression slightly hardened. Til moved to Zich’s side, Walwiss and Leona raised their staff and bow, and Lubella also raised her staff.

“Even in that state, he’s still obsessed with you. Did you wrong that guy really badly?” Walwiss asked.

“Sir, that’s an unfair accusation. I’m actually the victim. That guy’s dream is to be a hero who saves the world, and it seems like he left the last Demon Lord role to me.”

“He really selected the right person for the job, but he doesn’t seem to have the ability or personality to be a hero.”

“That’s why Ultel and I keep calling him the hero idiot.”

“He’s saying that while looking at me. Does he also think of me as an enemy he has to take down?”

“He’s saying that you’re the Demon Lord of Magic. The name is pretty good, right? He planned to corrupt you by using your son to turn you into a Demon Lord.”

“Ha! That blasted plan was all just a ploy for him to play hero?”

“It’s not just you, Sir Dwayne. Mr. Til was also one of his Demon Lord candidates. He would be called the Demon Lord of Disaster. Glen Zenard planned to manipulate the situation and gain fame as a hero by defeating the three Demon Lords, including me as the Demon Lord of Strength. The conspiracies that you two fell under were the beginning of the plot he constructed, but don’t worry, I’ve smashed them into pieces.”

“See what I mean?”

“...It’s very unpleasant.” Til didn’t usually reveal his emotions, but he clearly showed his disgust this time.

“The three Demon Lords. If it worked out as you said, it would have been terrifying.” Leona was well aware of the strength of their party. No words needed to be said for Zich, and Til’s formidable strength and mana were enough to send a chill down her back sometimes. Moreover, Walwiss was also extremely talented as a mage, even though she always bickered with him. That was also the main reason why despite being able to use a considerable level of magic, Leona mainly used bow and arrows to fight efficiently. If those three became Demon Lords and wreaked havoc across the world...

‘...the damage would be unimaginable.’ It was an idea that made her automatically shake her head.

“Perhaps, are we also involved in his plot somehow?” At Lubella’s question, Leona also wondered if Glen Zenard planned to make them Demon Lords or something similar. However, Zich’s reply was completely unexpected.

“From what I heard, he tried to make you two his comrades.”

“...Sir Zich, would you be able to repeat that?”

“Come again? What did that trash try to do?”

The two asked their questions in unison. Their words were different, but their expressions were the same. They looked exactly like someone who had just found out that they’d been chewing a bug.

“He tried to make you two his comrades.”

“He’s a crazy bastard.”

“What a crazy bastard.”𝑓ree𝘄e𝗯𝗻ov𝒆l.𝘤𝗼𝑚

This time, even their words were the same.

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