Forest of Screams

I instructed the Corrupted Hammer of Fire.

“Go to the Dwarf Kingdom and destroy the Dwarves.”

The Corrupted Hammer of Fire trembled, seemingly pleased to have developed an ego.

I had given the Hammer of Fire cunning, so I was sure it would handle things well on its own.

Nisa was dejected because her favorite younger sibling had died.

“Heeing. Gilluk. I’m so sorry.”

I approached Nisa and hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry for Gilluk, but it’s for the future of the Dark race. Nisa. I love you. I’ll turn you into a Dark race member someday too.”

Nisa replied.

“Yes, dear.”

Nisa decided to listen to her beloved husband.

I reminded Nisa.

“We don’t know anything about Gilluk. And we found the Hammer of Fire by chance.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s go in now. We’re going to move to a random subspace. Hold onto my back tightly so you don’t fall.”

Nisa hugged my back tightly from behind.

I entered the portal with Nisa.

The moment I entered the portal, a Death Knight screamed and swung his sword.

“Kuaaaaah!”

I swung the Hammer of Electricity to block it.

Kwaang!

Electricity flowed into the Death Knight.

Jijijijik.

The Death Knight took a step back and shook his body, enduring the electricity.

I transformed into a giant Tentacle and extended the aura of darkness towards the Death Knight.

The Death Knight felt the immense aura of darkness and trembled, groaning.

“Kueueueu…”

I asked in a relaxed voice.

“Are you going to defy me?”

All original sin and darkness come from me, the God of Darkness.

Undead born from darkness were especially sensitive to the aura of darkness, so they could not defy the God of Darkness.

The Death Knight trembled and knelt down.

“I will not defy you.”

I used the ‘Light’ magic to illuminate the surroundings and looked around.

Nisa and I were in a rectangular room of moderate size.

The walls of the room were made of smooth black membranes.

There was one portal on each of the four walls of the room.

I transformed into an Elf and muttered.

“This is one of the spaces I made a long time ago. There must be hundreds of these spaces.”

Over the millennium, the spaces had become intertwined, creating a maze I didn’t even know about.

I looked at the Death Knight and asked.

“What is your name?”

“‘Sren’-ssi.”

“Sren-ssi. Do you know the structure of this place well?”

“I have lived here for hundreds of years. I know it very well.”

“Do you know how to get out?”

“Yes. You cannot get out from this room.”

Nisa was surprised.

“Huh? But we came in through that portal earlier?”

Sren-ssi glanced at Nisa and asked me.

“What is that woman?”

“She is my wife. She will soon become a member of the Dark race. Treat her with respect.”

Sren-ssi replied.

“Understood.”

Sren-ssi explained to Nisa.

“Portals move to different places in both directions.”

“I see.”

“There are also several types of portals. There are portals that always go to a fixed room, and there are portals that go to a random room among several rooms.”

“It would be difficult to memorize without living here for a long time.”

“That’s right. We also get confused sometimes. But if you memorize the characteristics of the room and the type of portal in that room, you can somehow get to where you want to go.”

I explained to Sren-ssi that I was the God of Darkness, that I had infiltrated the Hero party, and that the Hero party had entered this place.

I asked.

“Do you know how far the Hero party has come?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Who is the leader here?”

“Ginivir Nuna-nim. Her race is Specter Queen.”

“Lead me to Ginivir. We need to meet her faster than the Hero party. And we must be careful not to run into the Hero party along the way.”

“Understood.”

Sren-ssi led me through various portals here and there.

We passed through various rooms such as triangular rooms, star rooms, and cylindrical rooms.

We ran into a Ghoul King in the middle.

Ghouls are humanoid monsters with sharp claws, nails, and teeth, and the Ghoul King is twice as large and has twice as large claws and nails as a normal Ghoul.

The Ghoul King shouted urgently.

“Sren! Who are those next to you!”

“The God of Darkness-nim. Show respect.”

As I sent out the aura of darkness, the Ghoul King greeted.

“Hello! I am Ivlik! Ah! That’s not it! It’s dangerous now!”

Sren-ssi asked Ivlik.

“What’s wrong?”

“Damn it! Jokoks was defeated by four humans! I jumped into a portal to a random room and survived!”

“Heo… Jokoks died…”

I asked.

“Who is Jokoks?”

Sren-ssi replied.

“He was a Ghoul who liked corny jokes.”

“The fact that four humans are gathered means that the Hero party, except for me and my wife, are all gathered. We need to go to Ginivir quickly.”

Ivlik said.

“The Hero party is still a long way from approaching Ginivir-nim. They don’t know the structure of this place.”

Nisa and I, guided by Sren-ssi and Ivlik, were able to reach a huge hall through several rooms.

Along the way, the number of people increased, and a total of 14 Undead came to the hall with us.

Dozens of Undead were gathered in the hall.

In the center of the hall was a golden throne, and a Specter woman was sitting on that throne.

She had disheveled long hair, a height of 159cm, B-cup breasts, and an ethereal atmosphere.

She was wearing a translucent blue crown on her head, which was a characteristic of the Specter Queen.

She was wearing a fluttering translucent blue cloth.

Her body, which was exposed outside the cloth, was also translucent blue.

The Specter woman stood up, flew to us, and asked.

Her voice sounded ethereal.

“Who are you?”

I grew into a tentacle large enough to fill the hall.

“I am the God of Darkness. My name a thousand years ago was Kamaite, and my current name is Kyle.”

I emitted a vast aura of darkness and filled the hall.

The Specter woman flew around me and admired.

“You are amazing. I was born in this space hundreds of years ago. I feel like I can’t defy you.”

I shrank back into an Elf and asked the Specter woman.

“Are you Ginivir?”

“That’s right. I am Ginivir, the Queen of this place.”

“There is a crisis situation now. Listen carefully as I explain.”

I diligently explained to Ginivir and the Undead what I was trying to do and that the Hero party had entered this space.

Ginivir asked me.

“Is the Hero strong?”

“He can use a Space Sword that emits an aura that cuts through space. His physical abilities are also excellent.”

“Are you thinking of killing the Hero?”

“Will you kill him if I order you to?”

“I don’t think we can defy you. And they killed my friend first, so we will attack them.”

“Of the four people coming here, the woman is my subordinate. The real enemies are the Hero, the Dragon, and the Human Swordsman. We can kill them if we all rush in, but the damage will be great.”

Ginivir looked around at the Undead who followed her and replied.

“I have only lived in this place, so I don’t know much about the world. I will leave the decision to you.”

I seriously considered whether to end the Hero now or not.

‘If we attack the Hero, we will also suffer great damage. That can’t be helped. But is it beneficial to kill him now? The Hero is already Serina’s love slave, isn’t he? I’ve been using him well so far. By now, the Kyle Holy Kingdom must be invading the Hamel Empire.’

I tried to change my perspective.

‘The Hero doesn’t necessarily have to be on the side of light. Let’s use Serina to show the Hero how the Kyle Holy Kingdom citizens live happily. Let’s make the Hero accept the Dark race comfortably too.’

I made a decision.

“In fact, I have been subtly manipulating the Hero until now and using him as I please. The Hero is still useful.”

Ginivir replied.

“I will follow your judgment. But if the Hero comes here, how do we end it without fighting?”

“Let’s solve it with emotional appeals. You become the unfortunate Specter girl trapped in this place. And you apologize to the Hero, and in exchange for the Hero saving you, you tell him the way out of this place.”

Ginivir flew around erratically and shouted with a happy face.

“I’ve always wanted to try that! I’ve been alone and lonely in this place for quite a long time! I don’t even need to act!”

Once the plan was settled, I asked what I was curious about.

“By the way, who ate the giant Tentacle legs and the Divinity of Darkness that were here?”

Ginivir replied.

“I was born in this space at some point. I was alone in this vast and complex space. I didn’t know who I was or why I was born. I didn’t see the Tentacle legs.”

“A thousand years ago, this space cut off my most cherished Tentacle legs. You must be a being born from my Tentacle legs. I can tell by the strong aura of darkness that I feel in your body. Don’t you have special abilities different from other Undead?”

“That’s right. I can create high-ranking Undead and revive destroyed Undead!”

“High-ranking Undead Spawn and Revive, huh? That’s an ability that ordinary Undead don’t have. It’s possible because you were born from my Tentacle legs and the Divinity of Darkness.”

Ginivir shyly twisted her body and asked.

“T-then, are you my father?”

“You could say that. Call me Kyle Oppa rather than father.”

Ginivir flew around erratically and shouted in a happy voice.

“Ah~ Now I know the secret of my birth! I’m so happy that I have a family too! Kyle Oppa!”

The surrounding Undead spread their arms and shook their bodies, congratulating Ginivir.

“Oh! Ginivir Nuna-nim! Congratulations on finding your family!”

“Wowaaaaa~ Ginivir Nuna-nim! You must be so happy~”

I said to the Undead with a satisfied face.

“You guys have a really good relationship.”

Sren-ssi replied energetically.

“Of course! We are brothers who have been together for hundreds of years!”

Nisa and I ate, chatted, and slept, waiting for the Hero party to come.

In the meantime, many Undead, avoiding the Hero party, gathered in the hall.

The Undead who entered the hall wailed miserably.

“Eua! The crazy humans are killing our friends!”

Before I knew it, an Undead sent out for reconnaissance rushed into the hall through the portal and shouted.

“The Hero party is almost here!”

I instructed everyone.

“I know you want to kill the Hero, but endure it for the sake of the greater good! The acting begins! If the Hero attacks you, I will kill the Hero myself!”

The Undead believed my words and prepared to act.

Ginivir sat on the throne and prepared to cry.

Nisa and I stood next to Ginivir.

The other Undead lined up behind Ginivir.

After waiting for several tens of minutes, Park Gyeong-cheol, Serina, Aibos, and Andre, holding hands, appeared from the portal in front.

The four took out their weapons upon seeing the Undead group.

Park Gyeong-cheol saw Nisa and me and shouted urgently.

“Kyle Hyung! Nisa Nuna! Come here quickly, it’s dangerous!”

I said with a calm expression.

“It’s not dangerous at all. They are not enemies.”

Park Gyeong-cheol was flustered.

“What are you talking about? They’re all Undead!”

“Look. No one is attacking. They also have intelligence and can talk. They are afraid that four crazy humans are massacring their friends.”

The Undead were really still and didn’t seem to be attacking.

Serina squeezed her hands tightly and said in a trembling voice.

“Let’s go talk to them. Maybe we can solve it peacefully.”

Andre urged.

“What peace are you talking about with Undead!”

Park Gyeong-cheol hesitated and made a decision.

“Let’s listen to what they have to say first.”

The Hero party stood in front of the Specter girl.

The Specter girl was sobbing.

“Heeheuk… Heuk. Heuk. Heeheeheuk…”

Park Gyeong-cheol asked.

“Who are you?”

The Specter girl looked up with ethereal eyes.

“I am Ginivir. And I rule this place. I heard that you killed my friends.”

“We came to subjugate you.”

Ginivir made a fearful face.

“Are you going to kill me? I didn’t do anything wrong?”

“Outside this space, there is a huge forest and it is full of Undead. The Undead in this forest have been a headache for humanity for a long time. I can feel a tremendous power of darkness from you. We must kill you, the leader, to purify the forest.”

Ginivir retorted.

“Is it a sin just to be born?”

Park Gyeong-cheol was speechless.

Ginivir continued.

“I was born in this space a long time ago. I was so lonely because I was alone. I realized that if I emitted the aura of darkness in my body around me, I would have Undead friends. I kept emitting the aura of darkness to increase my friends, and before I knew it, I had many friends. I never thought that would harm humans.”

Andre urged.

“Even if you didn’t know, it’s a fact that you harmed humans! We have to eradicate you!”

Ginivir shed tears and got angry.

“Is this forest yours?! Undead also have the right to live! We are having fun in the forest, but you are wrong to massacre us!”

I soothed the heated atmosphere.

“Okay, okay. Everyone relax.”