The statues were all made after the [Forsaken King].

And seeing them repeated endlessly throughout the hall only made the place feel even more unsettling.

Leon kept walking. His footsteps echoed through the silent hall while the statues watched from both sides like silent guardians.

Eventually, after several minutes, Leon finally reached the end of the corridor.

A massive gate stood before him. It looked ancient and impossibly heavy, covered in dark markings that pulsed faintly with black energy.

Leon planted both hands against the gate and pushed.

GRRRRRRRR—

The enormous doors slowly creaked open. The sound echoed throughout the castle like thunder.

Ding!

[You have arrived at the "Darkness Chamber."]

[Only one being of eternal darkness can escape from this place alive, and it shall not be you.]

"Sure," Leon replied flatly as he stepped inside.

The gates slammed shut behind him immediately.

BOOM!

The sound alone shook the chamber. But Leon didn’t even turn around.

He never planned on leaving through those doors anyway.

And just like that, Leon finally entered the throne room of the [Forsaken King].

The chamber was massive. Circular. Silent. And almost entirely consumed by darkness.

Only the center of the room was illuminated faintly by pale moonlight descending from above. The ceiling high overhead was partially made of black glass, revealing the dark sky outside.

The light created a single illuminated circle in the middle of the chamber.

Everywhere else was drowned in blackness. But Leon’s eye allowed him to see far deeper than a normal person ever could.

And because of that... He saw him immediately.

"You’re the human."

The voice emerged from the far end of the chamber. Strangely uninterested.

Leon looked ahead. The [Forsaken King] sat upon a throne crafted entirely from skulls. Player skulls.

Hundreds of them fused together into one horrifying seat.

The king himself looked exactly like the statues from the hall.

Tall. Wearing long dark robes. A jagged crown resting on his head. And a massive black blade held loosely in one hand.

His white eyes glowed brightly within the darkness surrounding him.

For a normal player, those eyes would probably have been the only visible thing in the room.

Two glowing white dots staring from endless darkness. It would have been terrifying.

But Leon simply walked forward calmly until he reached the center of the chamber where the moonlight touched the floor.

The king observed him silently. Then he spoke again.

"Forcing me to drag you from your hiding place," the king said coldly. "How pathetic."

Leon shrugged slightly, "Wasn’t hiding."

His gaze shifted briefly toward the surrounding darkness.

"Though flooding the city with cosmic nightmare fog was kind of cheap."

For the first time, the king’s expression changed slightly.

BOOM!

An overwhelming explosion of darkness erupted from the throne.

The entire chamber trembled violently as the [Forsaken King] slowly rose to his feet.

Dark energy poured from his body endlessly while the massive blade in his hand released an oppressive aura.

"...This assessment ends here," the king declared calmly. "Goodbye."

The killing intent filling the chamber became suffocating.

Leon immediately prepared himself to dodge.

But then—

FWOOSH!

A sharp claw suddenly slashed toward his neck from behind.

Leon reacted instantly.

CLANG!

His sword appeared in his hand as he twisted sideways and blocked the strike. The impact echoed through the chamber.

A dark figure leapt backward afterward, landing several meters away.

"How?" the creature hissed in confusion. "I was completely hidden—"

"I could see you the whole time," Leon interrupted casually.

Celestial’s Might!

BOOM!

Silver-white pressure exploded outward from Leon’s body. The entire chamber trembled. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The dark creature’s body immediately shook violently as the pressure crushed down upon it.

"GAH—!" It fell onto one knee instantly. Its eyes widened in disbelief, "W-What is this...?"

Leon finally looked at the creature properly. It was the [Forsaken Ghoul].

Since the moment Leon entered the chamber, he had already noticed it lurking within the darkness beside the throne room wall.

A normal player would’ve never noticed something hidden that deeply inside the shadows.

But Leon’s mutated eye allowed him to see it clearly. That was why he never reacted earlier.

He intentionally pretended not to notice. He knew the ghoul would attempt a sneak attack eventually.

And now... It failed completely.

Leon calmly activated [Appraisal].

---

[Forsaken Ghoul (Boss)]

[Level: 75]

[Talent: King of Darkness (S-Level)]

[Combat Power: 1,540,000 (2,200,000)]

[Details: The closest being to the "Forsaken King" out of the three guardians, though acts more like a servant than anything.]

---

Leon raised an eyebrow slightly.

"So this thing was actually stronger than the minotaur before [Celestial’s Might]."

The ghoul snarled furiously while struggling against the overwhelming pressure.

"K-King!" it shouted desperately. "L-Let us kill this h-human!"

The [Forsaken King] stared coldly from his throne. Then his expression darkened.

"If you cannot even defeat this human," he said icily, "then you are unworthy of serving me."

The ghoul froze.

And then... Its face twisted completely. Pure rage exploded from its body.

Its loyalty toward the king clearly went beyond logic itself. Hearing those words shattered something inside it instantly.

The darkness around the ghoul erupted violently.

Bones cracked loudly. Its claws grew longer. Its teeth sharpened.

Its body expanded while dark veins spread across its skin.

Within seconds, the creature transformed into something monstrous. Its presence became far more terrifying than before.

Any hesitation or weakness vanished completely.

"FOR THE KING!" the ghoul roared furiously. "I SHALL NOT FALL—"

Vines of Torment!

BOOM!

Massive spiked vines erupted from the ground instantly, wrapping around the ghoul’s limbs and body before slamming it into the floor.

The creature struggled violently. The vines trembled from the sheer force. But they held.

"Shut up already," Leon sighed while lifting his staff calmly.

The tip of the [Destiny Staff] began glowing immediately.

Dark crimson energy spiraled around it. The air itself distorted.

The [Forsaken King] narrowed his eyes slightly from his throne for the very first time.

And Leon smiled faintly while gathering more and more power into the spell.

Cataclysmic Fireball!