Hot springs…one of the best inventions of humanity...

Dark Lord, along with Morphus, was currently inside the Hot Springs inside the Merok territory. He heard rumors of this place as one of the best in the regions for stress relief and relaxation, and it was rumored that it was blessed by a goddess.

Dark Lord did not really care much about the deity detail, instead focusing on the hot spring itself. Simply being able to enjoy the natural hot water, rejuvenating what was left of his flesh, was in one word- Marvelous.

‘So many plans, so many things to watch out for, knights, heroes, Holy Knights… enemies are everywhere! Lately, I am just so busy with my schemes; I have truly pushed myself to the edge! Not to mention the Knight of Night that keeps showing up when I least expecting him to…He truly makes me mad, that guy!’

After escaping the Knight of Night, he tried to loop back, in off chance he might be able to win, but he found out that his curse wouldn’t send him far enough, instead it would send him to the point right after the battle, when they were flying through the air.

Which could only mean one thing…that event could not be changed.

The one chance he had of beating the Knight of Night, wasted.

He came so close; yet, all was foiled by that woman.

That fact alone was enough to make Dark Lord unconsciously emit murderous aura around him.

‘Come to think of it, I remember seeing that woman before…’

Dark Lord’s mind flashed back to when his predecessor, Nur Finnerman, had arrived in this world. He almost ended up being run over by a carriage, and inside that carriage was a woman with violet hair.

“Yep, there is no mistaking it. That was her, all right.”

To think he encountered one of his enemies in what seemed to be such a long time ago….

Dark Lord needed a break, even if it was for one day, he needed a break.

Shadow Lords have days off, but in Dark Lord’s case, due to his curse, he never had much time to unwind. Considering he always had to plan ahead in order to achieve something without perishing, it was understandable that he was under a lot of mental pressure.

An ordinary person would have long succumbed to despair and become a mindless vegetable. But Dark Lord was not so weak.

Yet, even with his tough mentality, he still needed a well-deserved break!

“Bombs away!” a little child jumped into the water.

Yep, that’s Morphus. His angel servant was currently occupying one of his two bodies, the one that belonged to a child.

Before Dark Lord could sneak out of his mansion unnoticed, using his Teleportation Ring, Morphus ended up catching him in the act.

In the end, Morphus ended up coming along with Dark Lord, on the condition that he does not attract any attention to himself.

Lately, Morphus seemed to want to follow him everywhere, and by now, Dark Lord viewed Morphus akin to a younger brother he never had.

Dark Lord suspected that Morphus, due to not having anything of semblance to relatives, was starting to view Dark Lord, and by extension the Shadow Lords, as his family. What made Dark Lord rather concerned was the fact that he himself may be steadily feeling that way as well…

Of course, they made sure to hide their identities. Dark Lord himself was wearing a mask that Lukalis and Camilla had made. Due to the effects of the mask, his body was seemingly whole, no scars, just a normal brown eyed and black haired person who did not stand out too much.

Dark Lord noted that he looked nearly exactly the same as the way he was before the goddess of time stranded him in this world. Even if it was just an illusion, seeing what he ended up losing over the time he spent in this realm was a little heartbreaking.

He managed to keep his mind intact, yes, but at what price? Dark Lord couldn’t help but put his hand upon the mask on his face.

‘Now the only way I can look like a normal human being is by having this thing stuck on my face, huh…At the very least, I can see what I looked like before, which is good and all…’

Internally, Dark Lord thanked Lukalis and Camilla for making him such a wonderful magic item.

Without such a convenient item, he could not appear anywhere without attracting unwanted attention, much less take off his clothing without causing mass panic. Apparently seeing a person whose half of the body is almost completely skeletal is not exactly considered ‘Normal’. But with this mask on, he could enjoy one of the few luxuries life could still give him.

“Such bliss…” Dark Lord could feel all the stress in his body fading away.

“Do you like the water?”

Dark Lord heard a voice behind him. Due to the steam, he could not see the man’s face.

“Of course, it couldn’t be better…”

“I am glad you are enjoying it. Do you mind me joining you for a chat?”

As the person speaking came closer, Dark Lord shrugged and said.

“Sure thing, be my guest”

“Thank you”

And then, the two of them ended up facing each other.

“How is your health, brother?”

“You are the worst thing for my health right now!”

Dark Lord immediately sprang into action. Without a second wasted, he grabbed hold of the man by the throat. This was one person he grew to immensely dislike over the time he was in this world, Kazan Karatengu, a crow type demon, who much to Dark Lord’s ire was the same type of demon as he was. ‘Of all demons, why is he here?!’

“You seem to be doing well, brother” Kazan smiled even though Dark Lord held him up by the throat.

“Give me one reason not to kill you right now” Even through the mask, Dark Lord’s right demon eye, amplified by his rage, was glowing with white light.

“I am fine if it’s by your hands, brother. But if I am a goner, then you will have to be the one to continue our Family Bloodline.”

“Don’t be ridiculous” Dark Lord unclenched his hand, letting Kazan go. “You and I are no family”

“Oh yes, we are. We are both crows, deny it as much as you want, but you can’t deny that we are very much alike, look!”

He gestured at their reflection in water.

“Like two peas in a pod!”

“Being placed in the same group as you is mortifying”

“I love you too, brother”

“Personally, I really like baths here…on my days off, I put on my Ring of Race Change and sneak into places like these, just to relieve some stress…”

Hearing this Dark Lord wanted to slap himself across the face.

‘If he puts it that way….We might not be so different….ugh, the thought itself is revolting….’