Debuff Master

“R-Really? You can help contain the monster inside me?” Lamborghini asked in a shaky voice.

Siegfried smiled brightly and replied, “Of course! You have seen, experienced, and felt it yourself just now, right? You stopped transforming after hearing him sing!”

“Y-Yes, I indeed did.”

“This guy is my subject, and all I have to do is give him the command to help you. Right, Scribe Gringore?”

“Certainly, sire,” Gringore replied with a nod. Then, he turned to Lamborghini and introduced himself, “It is a pleasure to meet you; my name is Gringore.”

“H-Hello, Lamborghini is my name.”

“I will do my utmost to be of assistance to you.”

“I-I will be indebted to you if you could do that...” Lamborghini ended up swept up in the pace and thanked him.

“Also, the world has changed quite a lot,” Siegfried said.

“Hmm?”

“Technology will progress as time goes on, right?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Medicine and magic should progress along with technology too, right?”

“That makes perfect sense.”

“You haven't been able to suppress it for many years, but there should be a solution with today’s technology.”

“Oh!”

“Also...”

“Is there more?”

“There is one last resort.”

“Last resort? What is this last resort you speak of?”

“I will kill you.”

“...!”

“Is it not better to be laid peacefully than wander these corridors for the rest of your life?”

What Siegfried was saying made perfect sense. Who would want to wander these dark damp labyrinths for eternity? Lamborghini had spent centuries all alone wandering these corridors, as he was an immortal being.

Death was the greatest blessing someone like Lamborghini could ever wish for.

“Yes, it is true that I long for death, but do you have the power to grant me my wish?”

“No, it is impossible for me.” fr(e)ewebnov(e)l.com

“Then?”

“But I know someone who could definitely grant you eternal rest.”

“And who is this person?”

“My master.”

Hamchi and Gringore profusely nodded in agreement as soon as Siegfried said those words.

However, Lamborghini did not seem to be convinced, which was understandable as he had no idea who Deus was.

“But nobody can kill this monster—”

Siegfried shook his head and interrupted him, “No, Master can kill you in a single hit.”

“Hmm...”

“I promise you that he can swiftly grant you the eternal rest you've been longing for.”

“Hmm...”

Lamborghini pondered for a long time. He didn't believe Siegfried's words at all when the latter said that someone out could kill him, but he believed in Gringore.

‘Yes... If that young man keeps singing me that lullaby...’

A ray of light finally shone down on him, and he saw hope in living a normal life like others. He could be free from the bondage of guilt that would consume him whenever he opened his eyes to the destruction and carnage he had inadvertently caused.

In the end, Lamborghini ended up accepting Siegfried’s proposal.

“Alright, I will place my trust in you. But I have a condition.”

“What is your condition?”

“Lock me up in here the moment you can no longer suppress Maranello or just completely send me to another world. I don’t mind even if it’s an empty void with just me, so please promise me this. I want you to take responsibility for unleashing the monster, Maranello, onto the world.”

Siegfried nodded and replied, “Certainly. I will do everything in my power to take responsibility if what you feared ends up happening.”

“Good... Then, I will place my trust in you.”

“Does that mean we can finally get out of here?”

“Yes.”

“What should we do?”

“Follow me.”

Lamborghini guided Siegfried and his party to somewhere.

***

Chae Hyung-Seok was about to step into the cave in search of the Demon Sword: Avenger when the ground abruptly trembled. Soon, a full-blown earthquake occurred.

“Argh!” Chae Hyung-Seok gritted his teeth and ran back at full speed to avoid being swept up by the earthquake, which seemed to rank at least ten on the Richter scale.

“Hey! Why are you running away?! Avenger is in there!”

“Fuck that! It’s over for Avenger or whatnot if I die!”

“T-That is...!”

“My survival is our main priority!” Chae Hyung-Seok lashed out at Baroque and continued running.

The earthquake continued for ten minutes, and the entire area was completely decimated by it. It was quite fortunate that the earthquake occurred in a secluded forest rather than in the city, as it could have been an absolute catastrophe if it had happened in a place with a high population density.

Chae Hyung-Seok ran, jumped, crawled, and dove to the ground to avoid the uprooted trees and rolling boulders.

“Huff... Huff...”

The earthquake finally subsided.

“What the fuck... I thought I was going to die...” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled while trying to catch his breath.

“Hey! Contractor! I can feel Avenger! It’s Avenger!” Baroque suddenly cried out.

“What bullshit are you spouting this time?”

“Avenger is right in front of us!”

“What?” Chae Hyung-Seok grimaced and turned to where the demon was pointing.

However, he couldn't see anything, as the entire place was covered by a cloud of dust, which had been triggered by the earthquake.

“What are you talking about? I can’t see anything...”

“Avenger is coming toward us! I can feel it!”

“What the hell are you—”

He was about to dismiss what the demon was saying when he heard a familiar voice from afar.

“Kyuuu! Let’s go have an after-work dinner!”

“Hmm... Should we?”

Chae Hyung-Seok’s eyes shot wide open after recognizing these voices.

“...!”

“What about you, Mr. Lamborghini? Would you like to join us?”

“I... I have never participated in such a thing in my life...”

Siegfried and his comrades emerged from within the cloud of dust right in front of Chae Hyung-Seok’s eyes.

***

Siegfried and Chae Hyung-Seok had their unexpected reunion in front of the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth.

“You will have to try and live a normal life from now on so—Huh? It’s Chae Hyung-Seok.”

“Han Tae-Sung.”

Both of them instantly recognized each other.

They were mortal enemies and the animosity between them would only end when one of them finally died.

However, the reaction between Metatron and Baroque was even worse than these two.

An image of Baroque emerged from the Demonic Artifact: Dark Scythe on Chae Hyung-Seok’s back and sneered at Metatron, “Oh? You were here too, Elder Brother?”

“Baroque! You bastard!” Metatron lashed out.

Siegfried tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Eh? Do you know each other?”

“He is my younger brother...” Metatron replied. Then, he added hesitantly, “Master...”

Baroque did not miss that last word and asked, “Hmm? Master? Did you just call him master? This mere mortal is your master, Elder Brother?”

“T-That is...!”

“Bwahahaha! Mwahaha!”

“...”

“D-Don’t tell me... Did you just call a human 'Master'?”

“...”

Metatron could not refute anything Baroque said.

Siegfried grimaced and said, “Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Pardon me?” freew(e)bnovel.(c)om

“Why can’t you say that I’m your master? Just say ‘this esteemed person is my master, and I am his slave’, can’t you say that?”

“I...”

“Why? Are you embarrassed?”

“...”

After hearing Siegfried's words, Baroque’s face turned red, and he finally burst into laughter, “BWAHAHAHA! Is this for real?! This insignificant human is your master?!”

“...”

“Father will be very proud of you if he finds out!”

“S-Shut your mouth, Baroque—”

“Well, I doubt he’d even care. When did Father ever expect something from you? You were already a failure, so he probably won’t be surprised.”

It was then.

“Hey, shut the fuck up, all of you,” Chae Hyung-Seok growled icily. Then, he pulled out his Demonic Artifact: Dark Scythe and said, “I will split your head in half today, Han Tae-Sung.”

“Oh no! Somebody help me. I’m so scared!” Siegfried sneered, pretending to flinch in response. Then, he smirked and asked, “Hey, when did you become so scary, Chae Hyung-Seok?”

“Ha! You don’t seem to understand what’s going on, do you?” Chae Hyung-Seok said with a scoff and channeled his mana into the Demonic Artifact: Dark Scythe.

Then, Baroque’s image became even more prominent as dark mana started enveloping Chae Hyung-Seok’s body.

“I will cut you up to cubes and—”

Unfortunately, Siegfried was not interested in what Chae Hyung-Seok had to say. He completely ignored him and walked over to Lamborghini instead.

Then, he smiled brightly and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Lamborghini?”

“Yes? How may I he—”

Bam!

“Ack!”

Lamborghini ended up screaming after getting punched in the face by Siegfried.

“W-What is the meaning of this?! Grrr!”

Thanks to that, Lamborghini failed to contain his emotions and started transforming.

“Oh no! I will calm him down right—Eup!”

Gringore reacted instantly and was about to sing the Song of Cradle, but Siegfried ran up to him and covered his mouth.

“Eup! Eup! (Your Majesty!)”

“Let’s just let him be this time.”

“Eup! Eup! (What is the meaning of this, Your Majesty?!)”

“Time to run!” Siegfried told the rest of his party members and ran away.

“Kyu! Wait for me!”

“Hey, Siegfried!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Master!”

“Ack! Don’t leave me here!”

Hamchi, Leonid, Gringore, Metatron, and Chaos ran after Siegfried as if their lives depended on it.

Of course, they left Lamborghini behind.

“W-What the hell was that...?” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered in disbelief.

“Contractor! Hurry up and catch them! We must obtain Avenger!” Baroque shouted and urged him.

“Alright, I got it, so can you please shut up?” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled in response and chased after Siegfried’s party.

However, he couldn't chase after them.

“Huff! Huff!”

A gigantic monster suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

“What’s this? Is it a Minotaur?” Chae Hyung-Seok grimaced and grumbled. He could not believe he had to bother himself with a weakling when he had to chase after Han Tae-Sung. Still, he decided to make quick work of this monster before starting his chase for Han Tae-Sung and the others, but...

Thud!

Maranello grabbed the Dark Scythe with his bare hand.

“Puff!”

“...!”

Chae Hyung-Seok and Maranello’s gazes met, and what happened next was...

Bam!

Maranello grabbed Chae Hyung-Seok’s leg and smashed him into the ground.

***

Meanwhile, the Church of Osric was having a meeting at their headquarters, and all of their executives, including the church’s leader, were present for the meeting.

The atmosphere was extremely heavy. They had planned numerous things, yet every single one of them ended up in failure, so the church's morale was currently at an all-time low. The leader was obviously enraged as well.

As such, none of the executives dared to say anything.

In the end, the Church Leader was forced to be the first one to break the silence.

“Again...”

The Church Leader’s voice rang from within the darkness.

“Yet another failure...”

Nobody dared to say anything in response. The Church Leader’s power was absolute, and anyone who got on the bad side of this person, who was chaos incarnate, would not survive even if they had ten lives.

“But the greatest blame falls on me. After all, I was the one who believed and entrusted things to you.”

Vladimir spoke up carefully, “Please forgive us for our incompetence—”

“Shut your mouth.”

“...”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” the Church Leader interrupted icily. Then, he continued, “I will be personally handling things from now on, so make sure you take care of our church’s affairs while I’m away.”

The Church Leader hen stood up from his seat and left the meeting room.

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