"Gone. He is just gone. What the hell? How is this possible? How can that psycho freak just up and disappear like that without even telling us?" A man in a mage robe jumped up and down in anger.
"Magicaa. Calm down." Another person responded. This person had his face covered with a golden mask. Power radiated from him, power that shouldnโt belong to anyone on earth just yet.
"How is he able to do that? I too have a freaking blessing, and how come I do not have powers like that? This is so fucking unfair!" Magicaa continued stomping his feet and pacing back and forth.
"Magicaa. Calm down." The man in the golden mask again reminded him patiently.
However, Magicaa only snorted at his words. "Donโt tell me to calm down. Am I not calm enough for you? Maybe you should try getting killed and tortured countless times! Maybe you should try getting your soul run through a fucking shredder! Maybe you should try dealing with that bastard Blood God! Why donโt you then come and ask me to calm down?"
The man with the golden mask did not respond to his taunt. However, the dozen men standing around him instantly acted, their auras flaring up. "How dare you talk to the lord in this way?" Magicaa couldnโt help but shiver at this sight. He knew he had spoken too much. A searing pain exploded in the center of his being.
The dozen auras surged like drawn blades, not in the least bothered by this. But the man in the golden mask lifted two fingers, and immediately, everyone stopped. "Enough," he said, voice mild, power absolute.
"Magicaa is still recovering. His mind is currently not stable. His soul is riddled with cracks. The soul healing potion that we have is not enough to heal him completely. Even a small trigger is enough to break him."
The man in the golden mask spoke with the same patience as before. The dozen warriors who had flared their auras immediately stepped back, though their eyes still burned with contempt toward Magicaa.
Magicaa himself clutched at his chest, gasping, his face pale as ash. The phantom ache of their unleashed killing intent still lingered, scraping against his wounded soul like barbed wire. His rage collapsed into a shiver, his defiance into desperate muttering.
"Itโs not fair... itโs not fucking fair... why him? Why that bastard? Why is he always coming out on top of everything?"
The man with the golden mask no longer responded to him. He signaled one of the men standing behind him, and the underling immediately walked forward to accompany Magicaa to a luxurious room, one of the many rooms in the mansion they were staying in.
The other players occupied the other rooms in the wing, all of them recently rescued from the abyssal zone in Lotera. Everyone had logged out of the game and was currently resting in the real world.
Naturally, their recovery would be a lot better inside the game, but their souls were damaged beyond the point where they could casually log in. They simply had no other choice. For another month or two, they had to remain in the real world.
This was undoubtedly a huge loss to the super ten guilds, but the man with the golden mask still remained unbothered. After Magicaa left the hall, he slowly stood up and walked out. "My lord..." Another underling walked over to him, waiting for his orders.
"Get the next string of players to log in and assist them. In two weeks, they should be among the top players in the game. Use whatever resources you need. The northern frontier cannot lag behind others."
Immediately, someone rushed over and accompanied him to the mansion gardens, where an old man was seated in a meditative pose, surrounded by silence deeper than any storm.
Not a single bird dared to sing. The air itself bent around him, trembling faintly with the pressure of his aura. His body looked frail, skin wrinkled and pale, but the moment oneโs gaze lingered, it was impossible not to sense the vast ocean of power coiled beneath the shell of mortality.
The man with golden eyes stepped forward and bowed slightly, though his arrogance was not hidden. "Father."
The old manโs closed eyes opened just a fraction. Two pinpricks of blinding golden light gazed back, piercing straight through his sonโs flesh, bone, and soul. "You removed your mask," he said softly, voice calm but filled with a weight that could crush mountains.
"I have no need of it here," the son replied, straightening. "Everyone on this island belongs to us. No one dares to breathe without your leave, Father."
***
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