Chapter 31

The young magician quickly noticed that Talli’s style of play had changed.

And the change was significant.

Her strategy had become circuitous and subtle. Just by observing her moves on the board and her facial expressions, one couldn’t easily figure her out. He could sense that this human girl hadn’t fully mastered the rules of the game—each step she took was the result of careful consideration.

“Gotten all hesitant and cautious now, have you?” he sneered.

Talli ignored him, focusing entirely on the chessboard before her. Although she wasn’t very adept at first, as time ticked by, she became increasingly composed and confident.

The magician glanced at his pocket watch.

…Twenty-five minutes had already passed.

Even though she had been at a disadvantage at the start, losing many pawns and even sacrificing the knights guarding her king, the prolonged battle had allowed her to regain composure, completely ruining his plan to win the third game swiftly.

He clenched his fists.

Then looked up at the girl.

Having cast aside all distractions, her expression was focused and serious. Her long lashes hung low as she concentrated on the board in front of her. He couldn’t read the thoughts in her eyes, nor could he deduce her next move.

…This girl was someone who should never be underestimated. Even though she was still weak now, if given time, resources, and opportunities, she would undoubtedly grow into someone others could only look up to.

—

Thirty-five minutes had passed.

The magician’s witch piece captured the last knight of the blue side, pressing straight toward the proud monarch. He shrugged regretfully. “My apologies, miss. I take back what I said earlier. You’re truly talented and a very fast learner. I acknowledge and admire you. However, if you think you can beat me now, it’s still a little too soon.”

Yet the girl across from him showed little emotional reaction to his words.

She kept her head lowered, chin resting on her hand, staring at the board.

After a moment, she lifted her eyes slightly. “Do you really think… this game is already over?”

“Isn’t it?” he began, “Look at—”

The rest of his sentence—“beyond saving”—caught in his throat.

He stood up in disbelief, both hands pressing on the table, his long-narrowed eyes finally flying open.

—The opponent’s pieces had been crushed, utterly defeated. But the queen, the one who was supposed to guard her king, had somehow slipped into his territory, standing at his doorstep.

“…How, how did this…”

His clenched hands trembled slightly.

He hadn’t noticed that this unremarkable queen had already infiltrated his lines and now had her blade at the throat of his king.

“I’m sorry.”

Talli reached out, picked up the blue side’s queen, and gently toppled his king.

With a crisp sound, Greed fell onto the chessboard.

“—My witch has already killed your king.”

Talli said, “This game, I’ve won.”

After a moment of silence, the young magician finally accepted his defeat. All strength drained from his body, and he collapsed into his seat.

The starry sky magic faded, and the street scene around them returned to normal.

The surrounding crowd had been watching the entire match. Although they couldn’t hear the conversation or see the board clearly, they had witnessed Talli’s comeback and the magician’s eventual loss.

The moment Talli stood up, the crowd burst into cheers.

“She’s the first person in history to ever defeat the Lord Magician in chess!!”

“She’s amazing! She looks so young, but her chess skills are incredible.”

“Can’t believe the first to beat the Lord Magician is a human girl.”

—

Talli felt a little embarrassed by the praise. Just then, the contract floated up before her, then dissolved into starlight right in front of her eyes. She knew this meant the contract had taken effect.

The young man seemed to have recovered from the gloom of defeat. “I acknowledge you, human girl. You may come to me anytime to claim the promise—ask me any three questions you want.”

Someone nearby immediately brought over her crossbow and two boxes of gold.

Talli slung the crossbow onto her back and finally let out a breath of relief. After thanking them, she stepped down from the chess stage.

The young man smiled at her. “Congratulations. Seems like even without me, you would’ve won.”

Talli said quietly, “Actually, I was panicking at the start. Since I lost the second game, he probably underestimated me, so I won by luck. Without your first game, winning two out of three would’ve been really difficult.”

The young man said nothing. But Talli felt a hand fall gently on her head, ruffling her hair.

As she finished gathering her things, she realized the young man who lost the match was gone.

She asked Deritz, “Did you see where he went?”

The young man shook his head.

The crowd gradually dispersed. A few abyssals who had wanted to approach Talli—either to ask about her chess skills or strike up a conversation—suddenly seemed hesitant for some reason and didn’t dare step forward. In the end, only the young magician came down from the chess stage and walked up to her.

Talli noticed that his earlier gloom had vanished. He had regained his energy, eyes once again closed, his expression now showing a hint of interest in her.

After asking for her name, he glanced over at Deritz and couldn’t help but look slightly surprised. “Is this your companion?”

“Yes.”

Talli turned to look at Deritz and said, “His name is Dusk. He’s the one who played the first round against you.”

Deritz gave him a slight smile.

The young magician was silent for two seconds before finally saying, “It’s my honor.”

Talli finished packing up the gold. She left one chest for the young magician and told him that if he ever saw that child again, he should give it to him.

“I feel like he must be living a hard life. Maybe he joined the game because he had nowhere else to turn and was desperate for money.”

She split the other chest into two bags and handed one to Deritz. “This one’s for you. I can’t use that much anyway.”

The young man didn’t seem interested in money, but still accepted it.

He asked, “Have you decided what to ask for those three pieces of information?”

Talli shook her head. “Not yet. But he said I can come back and ask whenever I want.”

As she walked, she said, “I was originally thinking about asking where the temple is… but then I realized that kind of thing could be found just by flipping through a book or asking an elder Abyssal. It would be a waste to use one of the questions on something like that. So right now, there’s nothing I really want to know.”

She asked, “What about you? Anything on your mind?”

Deritz shook his head. “Not at the moment.”

“Well, maybe someday we’ll need it.”

Talli said, “It’s a shame I don’t know magic, so I can’t sign a contract and transfer one of the questions to you… but if there’s ever something you really want to know, and it’s not too personal, you can tell me. I’ll ask for you.”

While they chatted, they walked all the way to the palace gates.

At first, they were stopped by guards outside the city wall. But Deritz stepped forward, said something to them, and they let both of them through. At the same time, a palace attendant came out to meet them. He led them on a winding path for about ten minutes before finally taking them into the palace interior.

Most of the palace was covered in dark stone—cold, hard, and smooth. The lighting was dim, and despite the space being large and open, there were few people around, giving it a desolate, chilly feel.

The attendant told Talli that he would be taking Dusk to see the Lord of the Abyss and that she could rest in a lounge nearby.

After the two left, Talli, curious, wandered the corridor and came across a door labeled “Library.” She carefully pushed it open and stepped inside.

It looked like the usual cleaning staff wasn’t there today. Talli followed the markings on the shelves and searched one section after another, until she finally found the book she was looking for.

She opened it and carefully flipped through the pages, eventually landing on the information she wanted. She noted down the appearance and location of the temple in detail, then put the book back.

Then, she suddenly remembered something and pulled out the book she had been carrying with her this whole time from her bag.

She had been too busy the past few days—rushing along the journey—so she hadn’t had time to look through it. But somehow, in just these past few days, some of the once-blurry pages at the back had cleared up, as if some kind of trigger had been activated. The book was written in reverse chronological order, from when the proud monarch recalled the Four Horsemen and became a god, up to the moment when he was betrayed by his knights.

Talli quietly read the words: “…Under the blind eye and protection of the other knights, the Undying Knight stole a portion of Deritz’s power during his slumber, escaped the center of the world, fled to the human realm, and remained in exile for hundreds of years.”

Her pale blue fingertips turned the page, and the paper rustled faintly under the dim light.

“…The stolen power came to be known as the ‘Curse of Undeath’…“

“What are you doing here?”

A hoarse voice suddenly came from beside her.

Talli’s heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened, and the book slipped from her hands—but before it hit the floor, a thick, dark mist surged forward, catching the book in midair and sweeping it back.

Talli took one look—the figure in front of her was nearly skin and bones, wrapped entirely in thick, dark mist. From within the mist, a pale, bony hand extended, took the book passed by the fog, and casually flipped through a few pages.

“That’s my book. Please return it to me,” Talli said, steeling herself despite the pressure she could feel radiating from the man.

“……”

The dark mist turned a few more pages, then tossed the book back to her. “It is indeed yours.”

Talli caught the book, hugged it tightly to her chest, and quickly took a few steps back, putting distance between them as she watched him warily.

But the dark mist didn’t rush her. Instead, it slowly advanced. The figure bent forward slightly, rubbing his chin as he studied her carefully, as though he found her quite interesting.

Talli shrank back, avoiding him like the plague.

The other party didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he said with great interest, “A half-blood, indeed. Half human, half elf.”

Talli asked, “What did you say?”

“The elven bloodline in your body has been suppressed. Most likely by a relative—someone who wanted you to live a peaceful and uneventful life. But what a pity,” the man cloaked in black mist shook his head slightly, speaking to himself, “Your human bloodline holds no magical power. The rich magic resides in your elven heritage. When that was suppressed, so was your magic.”

He said, “If you ever want to lift the suppression on your bloodline, come find me. I’d be happy to help, Miss Talli.”

Talli frowned tightly. “…Why are you telling me all this?”

“You didn’t ask me who I am. That means deep down, you probably already have a guess. As for why—I can only say, it’s out of curiosity.”

Talli didn’t reply. She had more or less guessed who he was. Just like in the book’s description—he was the Lord of the Abyss. That elusive, ghost-like man shrouded in dark mist, gloomy and pale, chaotic neutral.

…It was really impressive that Theresa in the novel could treat someone like this so gently. Just being stared at by him like this made Talli feel deeply uncomfortable.

“I thought someone like you shouldn’t be showing up in places like this, Lord of the Abyss,” she said.

“Who knows,” the Lord of the Abyss replied. “But whether you come to me for help or not, I’ll give you one piece of advice. Human—don’t trust everything you see.”

…What you see? What does he mean by that?

Talli was about to press him further when a familiar voice called from behind her.

“Talli.”

She turned at the sound.

The young man was standing at the doorway. This time, he wasn’t leaning lazily against the frame like he usually did. For once, he stood up straight, making his tall figure appear even more striking. His eyebrows were slightly lowered, and in the dim corridor light, the right side of his face was faintly illuminated, while most of it faded into shadow.

He only gave the dark mist a cold glance before turning his gaze to Talli. He reached out a hand and beckoned, “Come here. Come stand by my side.”