The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 330

So this was Hindel Village.

Seong’s expression twisted bitterly.

The soldiers, mistaking his grim look for fear upon hearing that important people were arriving, laughed awkwardly and walked away.

He didn’t know how they had found this place.

But—they were Transcendents too.

Had they sensed something and chosen their position accordingly?

More importantly—

We were only focused on the Demon Grand Duke back then.

Just in case, they’d assigned a minimal force to watch over the children—meaning Will and a few lords. They had thought that would be enough.

But they hadn’t expected the Rieskan Kingdom to fully unsheathe its blade and launch a holy crusade to annihilate the Demon King.

No one could have foreseen that.

Even though Helena was strong, the plan had been crafted by Transcendents working in tandem with the Demon Grand Duke.

Helena had even radiated the confidence of someone who didn’t mind if it were a trap.

Still, no one could’ve imagined it would come to this.

And the Grand Duke who appeared at the time wasn’t the only one.

The Grand Duke, who had joined hands with the Sword Saint that had wounded Helena, was pushed to the brink of death—

—and in desperation, he called for aid from the other Grand Dukes.

Only three Grand Dukes existed in the Demon Realm, and all three had gathered.

Of course—

We aimed to kill all three. In the end, we only got two. The wounded one escaped, and when I tried to chase him down, I ended up back here.

Seong now understood the full story.

He hadn’t expected to experience it firsthand.

Should he just stay still?

But even if he wanted to act—

This was a future already played out.

He already knew the children wouldn’t die.

‘Helena, by coming back here... you’re planning to block it all, aren’t you?’

The problem was, Helena would end up sacrificing herself and die here.

Now he finally understood why this was rated Almighty.

He was going to witness Helena’s death—an event that could be called a fragment of myth—with his own eyes.

Of course it had to be rated Almighty. Anything less wouldn’t make sense.

Letting out a deep sigh, Seong thought that.

Then, his eyes widened as he muttered to himself.

“Still... if there’s even a chance to stop it, I’ll try.”

This wasn’t a world bound by level caps.

Who knew how much they could block?

He hadn’t reached level 300 yet—

—but both Barbaros and Seong wielded strength close to 300.

Will too was the same.

They were all treated as those who had begun stepping into the realm of Transcendents, or as fully developed Lords.

Some Tower Masters or Knight Commanders could still be manageable for them.

Can’t change a past that’s already happened?

Sure. That’s the natural answer.

But—

‘Knowing everything and doing nothing? That’s not my style.’

He was going to try to change it, no matter what.

Besides, Seong wasn’t alone.

Realizing no one was watching him, he opened the Underworld and quietly summoned his retainers.

Once they all emerged under stealth,

Seong looked at them and said,

“Let’s stop them—whatever it takes.”

His words, full of resolve, darkened the faces of Helena, Fiora, Leonic, and Valtar. They already knew what the future held.

But then—

“This’ll be fun.”

Helena smiled faintly.

And seeing that, the others brightened up as well.

—“Y-Yes, I agree!”

—“Hahaha! Truly, our Lord! One who defies fate!”

—“Kuhahaha! Let’s push it as far as we can!”

The others shouted their approval and pledged their strength to Seong.

With their support, Seong nodded confidently.

Even if nothing changed, even if it was just for his own satisfaction—

He didn’t care.

He wanted to do it.

And all of his retainers responded to that will.

Come on then. Try me.

0.

Soldiers patrolled the village perimeter.

And the knights commanding those soldiers barked strict orders.

“Report any suspicious activity immediately!”

“No hiding anything, understood?!”

Sharp words and stern voices.

But the soldiers followed orders obediently, as if they understood.

After all, the nobles were visiting.

And the reason was the Demon King.

There had been intel that the Demon King had been spotted nearby.

Of course everyone was on edge.

Every soldier understood the seriousness of the situation and dutifully reported anything unusual while continuing their rounds.

They were scanning the area for anything suspicious.

At that moment—

A soldier approached the Knight Commander.

“I just encountered someone claiming to be a traveler.”

“A traveler, huh? Well, there’s always been a lot of them around here.”

The fact that they called him a traveler probably meant he wasn’t anyone special.

Even a low-ranking soldier could judge that much.

Still, maybe they should’ve detained him.

He could be in disguise.

Thinking that, the knight asked again,

“Where did you meet this traveler?”

“At the flower field on the northern edge of the village.”

“I see. We should search that area.”

“Yes, understood!”

He doubted someone like that would be disguising themselves as a traveler.

But just in case, the knight gave the order.

As the soldiers began preparing,

the knight held them back.

If it really was a disguise, regular soldiers wouldn’t notice.

Then—

“The knights will go. You lot continue patrolling the rest of the village.”

“Yes, sir!”

As the Knight Commander said this, the soldiers bowed and hurried off.

And no longer paying them any attention, the Knight Commander stroked his thick beard and muttered,

“Hmm... a traveler, huh.”

He still didn’t think it was anything serious—

—but just in case.

This was exactly the kind of situation that called for caution.

Gathering the other knights, the Knight Commander shouted,

“To the village’s northern edge!”

“Yes, sir!!!”

And thus, the knights stationed in Aur Village began to move as one.

Heading straight toward the flower field north of the village.

The villagers watched them go, shivering with fear.

1.

After assigning his retainers to scout the area, Seong returned to the barrier.

He’d made sure he wasn’t being followed.

He had returned to report what had just happened.

Will and Barbaros’s expressions grew serious as they heard Seong’s story.

When he mentioned the knights stationed here—and the Tower Masters soon to arrive—Will and Barbaros exchanged grim looks.

“Has this location already been exposed?”

“That’s what it looks like...”

Barbaros muttered.

Will bit his lip hard.

He never imagined the Rieskan Kingdom would move so openly.

Helena’s close aides not caring much about the kingdom or continent didn’t help.

You could call it negligence. Or blame it on their distraction with the Grand Duke.

It felt like a tightening noose.

And Barbaros thought—this wasn’t Almighty-rated for nothing.

Most players would’ve failed long before getting this far.

That’s why Seong said to them,

“I already had my retainers scan the area...”

He was mid-sentence—

When Helena opened a communication channel.

—“The knights are headed your way.”

Seong’s brow furrowed.

Already?

Then he remembered—the conversation he’d had earlier with the soldiers.

So that’s what had triggered it.

Grinding his teeth, he said,

“Stay here, both of you. The knights are coming.”

“Already?!”

“...That was fast. Will you deal with them?”

Seong shook his head.

However—

“We need to get them as far away from here as possible.”

They were just knights.

Surely, no Transcendents among them.

As he thought that,

Helena confirmed,

—“Yeah, no Transcendents.”

Then they might be able to just disguise themselves and mislead them like they did with the soldiers.

Asking Helena for their arrival time, Seong quickly teleported to the area.

Riding shadows, he moved stealthily, faster than anything.

Once there, he cloaked his power and all traces as much as possible using darkness.

He looked exactly like an ordinary traveler.

Unless someone was a Lord—or better yet, a Transcendent—they wouldn’t be able to tell.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Seong began sorting herbs in the flower field.

It wasn’t long before the knights arrived.

Neigh—!

Thud—!

The knights burst into view atop their mounts.

Seong widened his eyes in surprise, as though he’d never seen knights before.

Then, trembling as if terrified, he dropped to the ground.

The Knight Commander looked at him and nodded slightly, showing no suspicion.

“You’re the traveler the soldiers mentioned?”

Seong began trembling, putting on an act.

“Y-Yes, that’s me.”

He stuttered just the right amount, his voice full of fear.

The Knight Commander didn’t seem too interested.

Still, he had to be careful.

So he called Seong over.

“Come here.”

“Y-Yes, yes. O-Okay.”

“Hmm.”

Seong played along and approached carefully.

Of course, he didn’t try anything.

The knights were strong—but Seong could easily defeat them even if they all attacked at once.

But if he fought, rumors would spread that someone related to the Demon King was here.

He needed to stay quiet.

But then—

The Knight Commander suddenly drew his sword.

Did they figure it out?

If they had—what should he do?

Should he counterattack?

As that thought ran through his mind—

The Knight Commander swung his sword.

And Seong’s eyes flickered.

Whoosh!

The sword was too slow and weak to be serious.

Realizing it wasn’t real, Seong didn’t move.

The blade stopped right at his throat.

And then came Seong’s masterstroke performance.

“Uwah!”

He flinched late, as if only just noticing, and collapsed in fright.

The Knight Commander nodded, satisfied.

And as Seong trembled and bowed deeply, he cried out,

“P-Please, don’t kill me!”

Begging for his life with perfect desperation.

It was nearly flawless.

The Knight Commander nodded approvingly.

“I was just testing whether you were a spy. You’re fine. Get ready to leave. There’s nothing of interest in this village.”

As he turned his horse to leave—

A sinister aura suddenly erupted into the air.

Like the dark night sky itself—

No, it was something deeper, something as vast as the cosmos.

Seong’s pupils trembled.

This wasn’t acting.

He recognized the aura all too ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ well.

Turning his head toward it in disbelief—

A galaxy-like force sliced through space, spreading and overwhelming the area.

BOOOOOM—!!!

“Gahk!”

“Aaaagh!!!”

The knights weren’t spared.

Crushing gravity pressed down on everyone.

And from the galactic portal, a man walked out silently, eyes dead and empty. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Seong recognized the face.

Though his face had thinned, and his hair was wild—

There was no mistaking him.

Shivering slightly at the man’s changed demeanor, Seong stared.

The man looked straight at him and asked,

“You—why do you have the aura of darkness?”

“....”

With a dry swallow, Seong stared at him.

Hindel.

This was his second time meeting Hindel in the past.