As Malidok was about to speak obediently,
『A certain portion of the broadcast is censored due to special circumstances.』
A line of text floated in front of Shimun like a verse.
Shimun glanced at it indifferently, then looked down at Malidok.
“This is a facility managed by the 4th Dragon Emperor Vrtra.”
“4th Dragon Emperor Vrtra?”
Shimun’s eyebrow twitched in surprise at the unexpected presence. Wasn’t the Black Forge run by Nidhogg, the Fifth Dragon?
“What kind of place is this?”
“It’s a facility that manipulates the minds of targets through brainwashing or corruption… extracting information or fabricating lies… Gah!”
A tremor of pain coursed through Shimun’s clenched fist. For the first time, his indifferent eyes sparkled.
“Oh, resisting my intrusion, are we?”
Although it seemed that Malidok had not fully resisted the intrusion in his mind, the fact that he had personally halted the explanation about the Craadle of Indulgence indicated some level of resistance.
Shimun’s gaze on Malidok became even calmer.
“Is this the power of a Draconic being?”
Draconics, awakened dragonkin. Considering that awakening was a mental refinement, it was reasonable to assume that there was some resistance to intrusion.
Of course, being a high-level dragonkin also played a role.
Hmm.
Shimun concentrated more Dragon Force into his left eye. As a result, the sharply dilated pupil tore even wider.
“Oh, no… don’t…!”
Shimun delved into Malidok’s eyes. Amidst confusion, fear, and astonishment, various emotions from Malidok surged intensely. While navigating through his emotions, Shimun let out a faint laugh.
‘He’s more fearful than he looks.’
Well, it made sense. How could one not be amazed and frightened when someone delved into their innermost thoughts?
“Nevertheless…”
Thinking of the Naga, whom he had encountered prior to the Gold Debut, Shimun observed Malidok’s surging emotions.
‘When I met Naga Princess Ashaz back then, the extent of emotional sharing was limited.’
The Naga Ashaz, who referred to herself as a princess, was not significantly influenced by Shimun’s emotions.
Of course, this was partly due to her status as the royal princess among the highest dragonkin.
Although Shimun had gained his powers not long ago and his control was still unfamiliar, he could at least differentiate between truth and falsehood.
‘Now, I can invade even the innermost thoughts of dragonkin with just determination.’
However, it was not as if Shimun could fully delve into Malidok’s mind.
Thud.
It felt like hitting a barrier. The intrusion of Shimun, who had been delving into Malidok’s mind, came to a halt. Shimun instinctively realized.
“Malidok’s mental barrier.”
Everything he had been perceiving was merely Malidok’s emotions. Nowhere had he discovered anything resembling the guy’s thoughts. In other words, “His thoughts and internal information must be beyond this barrier.”
Uung. Just as I was about to extract more power, trying to break through that guy’s mental barrier.
-That’s enough.
A clear and cheerful voice echoed.
– Oppa. There’s nothing to gain by digging deeper here.
It was the Philosopher’s Stone.
‘Why?’
– That’s not just a mental barrier protecting Malidok.
Perhaps sensing something from his words.
‘Ah.’
Shimun nodded faintly.
‘So it not only protects the mind but also serves as a container?’
– Exactly. So it’s more like a vessel than a wall.
And if you forcefully break that vessel.
‘His mind will crumble too.’
– Correct. Why waste your powers trying to break through the mental barrier? You might just end up entangled in his mind.
Upon hearing the Philosopher’s Stone’s words, Shimun withdrew from Malidok’s mind. But it was Shimun who managed to withdraw.
“Ugh!”
Emerging from the depths like coming up for air, Malidok gasped for breath, trembling with fear. The imposing aura that had once emanated from his powerful frame was nowhere to be found.
“He, hee!”
Malidok trembled uncontrollably, overwhelmed by fear, as if he had been possessed, his body shuddering.
‘Seems like he’s experiencing the aftermath of having his mind invaded.’
Shimun, who had occasionally witnessed such phenomena in past lives, especially among mental ability users. The ringing voice of desperation reached Shimun’s ears.
“Yo, you are…?”
Startled, Dayna’s voice came through. Turning his head, “It’s okay. Huh!”
Dayna looked astonished, worry etched on her face. It wasn’t hard to understand the reason behind her reaction.
“You are…! Yo, your eye!”
The activated left eye, similar to the hateful eyes of the dragons and even more sinister and threatening.
“Are you… okay! In case Malidok does something vile!”
“I’m fine, Dayna.”
Shimun smiled gently. Though his smile was exceedingly beautiful on his appearance, when combined with the dragon’s eye in his left eye, it exuded a dangerous and decadent atmosphere.
“T-Thank goodness…”
Dayna’s cheeks blushed slightly at Shimun’s smile. Turning her head swiftly, Dayna quickly snapped out of her daze upon seeing the kneeling Davalli nearby.
“Now’s not the time for this! We need to deal with them quickly and move before the Black Forge notices us!”
“Oh, right. I almost forgot about them.”
Sweeping his surroundings as if looking at baggage, Shimun soon declared.
“All of you. Die.”
The melodic voice from just a moment ago was replaced by an unbelievably cold voice flowing out.
“Understood the command,” it said, with immaculate orderliness.
Thud!
As if on command, the Valies sliced their own throats in one swift motion. Dayna, frozen in disbelief, watched as the prideful dragonkin orchestrated a collective suicide among her own kind.
And then by her ear, “Did you suffer a blow to your senses? Your resistance has certainly weakened,” a clear, piercing voice delved in.
Dayna, her throat twitching, moved her neck to see the direction the voice had come from.
There, “Malidok? Why don’t you hurry and die as well?”
“Thank you.”
Awakened dragonkin, Draconic, and the patrol captain of the black forge, Malidok, expressed his profound gratitude with a thankful expression. Without hesitation, he snapped his own neck.
***
– Whoa… What kind of technique is that again?
– He seemed to only move his lips, but making dragons commit suicide…
– I’ve never seen anything like it. Dragonkin committing suicide? What kind of disgrace did they face?
– Exactly. Even the most demonic drakan walks around with a sense of pride, right?
– But when this guy makes dragonkin commit suicide, it feels like the atmosphere changes completely. Am I imagining things?
– I feel it too. Something definitely shifts in the air.
– Ahh! Totally possible!
Chat windows filled with astonishment.
– This Malidok dragon appears to be a named character, right? Is it really so easy to render him powerless?
– Ugh, can’t get a clear picture of the situation because of the censorship!!
– Exactly! Even if I could hear something properly, I could at least make a guess!
– It’s mostly just the sound of the wind and the sound of cutting their own throats, lol.
– Could it be a mental ability?
– Ugh~ It doesn’t matter what happens now~. He simply ‘commanded’.
– Seriously, he just commanded…
With continuous censorship overlapping, viewers who couldn’t fully grasp the situation were on the verge of going insane.
And Dayna was no different from the viewers in her mind. Stealthily. Quietly. Stepping forward, Dayna’s eyes were fixed on what lay in front of her, and her gaze facing forward didn’t waver at all.
However, this behavior was only specific to her actions.
‘What exactly have you done?’
Her mind was a jumble of various questions, much like the chat window of commands.
‘Now that I think about it, you’ve been quite different from how I knew you from our first meeting.’
Dayna’s eyes, once filled with complexity, grew even deeper. Their first encounter here. When she found Shimun sitting on a rock, his gaze was already fixed on her even before she revealed herself completely.
In other words, ‘He noticed my stealth…’
When she escaped the wicked Black Forge, even the advanced dragonkin failed to easily notice her concealed presence, however, Shimun calmly saw through her hiding place.
“If we were in an antagonistic relationship… I would probably be dead.”
For an assassin, being discovered meant facing death. Even though she, an elf, had no reason to be in an adversarial relationship with the World Tree’s companion.
Dayna felt a chill run down her spine. Perhaps it was because, except for the higher-ranked dragonkin with acute senses, she had always lived as a predator.
‘Even when we met at the Poisoned Supply Route, he was strong, but not to this extent…’
Unbelievable growth rate. She knew that Shimun was a player, but even considering that, his current level was far beyond the normal range.
“Well, being the companion of our mother, this much isn’t surprising.”
As she thought that far, “The real problem is…”
The most concerning thing came to mind.
“His left eye.”
Shimun, who turned to look at her while holding Malidok’s horn. The long slit pupil in his left eye sent shivers down her spine with just a glance.
“It’s probably because of that eye that Malidok couldn’t move.”
Malidok, the Patrol Captain of the Black Forge, even subdued a high-ranked dragonkin like Draganik Malidok without using his hands.
“Moreover, he seemed to be investigating information about the Cradle of Indulgence.”
Some kind of mental attack or method was clearly used. Even considering that aspect, ‘To make those arrogant dragonkin commit suicide with just a word…’
It was something that even her common sense could not accept.
‘Wait. Come to think of it!’
Dayna’s eyes widened like saucers. She, who had unknowingly stopped walking, brought her trembling hand to her lips against her will.
‘That eye! I’ve seen it before!’
Like a herbivorous animal standing in front of a predator. Wasn’t there an existence that those arrogant dragonkin couldn’t even move a muscle against?
“Nidhogg! It’s the same eye as that accursed dragon!”
How could she forget?
Like a livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse. The day she faced the disgraceful and terrifying moment when she was dragged into the hands of the Legion Commander.
The left eye of the noble being was eerily similar to the one that Nidhogg, who called himself one of the Five Dragon Emperors, used to have.
‘Of course, it felt somewhat lacking compared to Nidhogg’s, but…’
She could definitely feel that they shared a fundamental essence in their eyes. At that moment.
“Dayna?”
A clear, youthful voice pulled her out of her cruel reverie.
“This, this!”
In a sudden moment of clarity, Dayna quickly turned her head back.
“Noble one! I’m sorry! To show such disrespect to you…”
Fortunately.
“Disrespect? Not at all. You’re in the presence of the Black Forge. This is an excellent hiding place.”
Even in the depths of her reverie, her body seemed to remember. In front of Shimun’s pointing finger, she saw her familiar bedroll and tools spread out. Dayna let out a deep sigh of relief for some reason.
“Then let’s rest for a moment and discuss the future.”
She entered her hiding place.
* * *
A dim corridor.
Step.
Step.
The damp footsteps quietly echoed.
The two slender puppets walked on, facing the warm heat and the metallic stench.
Soon.
Stop.
The dark elf, Dayna, who had been leading, stopped moving. At her feet lay an irregular line. At first glance, it looked like a common crack or line in crude stone construction.
“O venerable one, from here on, it’s impossible to proceed even if we suppress our presence.”
Dayna, with her experience of escaping the Black Forge, knew well that even these minor elements were laden with the cunning traps of the dragonkin.
Kim Shimun, who had already heard about the structure of the Black Forge from Dayna’s hideout, nodded.
Kiiiing.
He activated Odin’s Eye. Just as Dayna had described.
‘This is worse than I heard.’
Kim Shimun marveled as his vision filled with colorful magic and magic circles.
‘Traps and barriers composed of at least 4-star magic… It’s more like a magic tower than a forge.’
Even by estimation, nearly a hundred different security elements filled the corridor. Beyond this, the Black Forge would likely have even more varied and sophisticated security systems.
Along with many dragonkin, of course.
‘At this point, I’m curious as to how Dayna could have escaped from here.’
Shaking his head in disbelief, Shimun deactivated Odin’s Eye, which was filled with vivid colors.
“Then from here on, we’ll have to infiltrate using stealth as planned.”
“Yes, but are you really capable of stealth?”
Doubt filled Dayna’s eyes. She had just felt firsthand how formidable Kim Shimun’s strength was, but stealth was a completely different skill set.
However, Shimun just smiled and stretched out his hand forward.
『Your alchemy energy is insufficient to meet the required level.』
『To establish the necessary equivalent exchange with the Philosopher’s Stone, 500 achievement points are required.』
『Do you accept? (Yes / No)』
The familiar message popped up.
Kim Shimun, accustomed to it, pressed ‘Yes.’
Click.
Alchemy energy converted through equivalent exchange coalesced above his finger.
Then.
Swoosh.
Ashen smoke.
No, could it even be called smoke?
Something more desolate and lifeless than the realm of chaos began to rise.
“O, venerable one! Could that be…!”
Was Dayna aware of its true nature?
Her face turned pale with dread. Kim Shimun gave a single nod and donned the semi-transparent ashen helm.
Then,
Swoosh.
The ashen helm expanded, tightening around Kim Shimun’s head, extending to the back of his head and sides of his ears.
『The Gaze of Death is upon you.』
『Constellation Hades silently scans you and the surrounding constellations, then nods in satisfaction.』
With the messages appearing before his eyes,
Swish.
Kim Shimun’s form vanished like a ghost.
TL’s Corner:
Okay Shimun not even needing to fight to kill the dragons now, it feels like they are fodder. And on top of that, he even made Kynee.