By accepting the Supremacy of Desire, Larat managed to steadily grow in power.

Within half a year he became a Holy Knight, and after a year, he finally reached the level of a hero.

Larat even fulfilled the promise he made as a child by slaying the very Demon Lord who raided his village, in a single battle.

Even though he managed to kill the Demon Lord, the victory felt hollow.

The reason for that was simple.

He learned that this Demon Lord was one of the weaker ones and there were plenty stronger than him, leading the demon hordes, with the most powerful one, Demon King Draco standing at the peak.

Just killing one Demon Lord who was a weakling by comparison changed nothing.

That is why; he made a new resolve, to become the one who will purge all evil, even if he had to sacrifice everything for it, his honor, his humanity, and even his soul. And his curse was glad to oblige.

When the time came to choose his title as a hero, Larat briefly considered the name of Knight of Moon, but after the warning his curse gave him, he decided against it.

Instead, he chose a name that reflected the values he held.

Leon was someone that inspired everyone with his valor, a true hero worthy of being illuminated by the light of the day.

Larat on the other hand was anything but that. Not someone chosen to be blessed, but someone who chose to be cursed. Someone who acted from the shadows and would do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Knight of Night, a hero who would go to any length for the sake of protecting his kingdom.

* * *

Of all the foes Larat faced, not a single one struck fear in him, but this one was different.

“You would condemn the witches as the evil ones, despite being one yourself?”

The words of that masked man echoed through Larat’s mind.

Larat: “How did he know?”

Masked man: “You may have managed to hide this from nearly everyone, a man who became a hero without having a blessing…what a load of bull”

Larat grasped the bottle of wine in his hand tightly.

Masked man: “I can only imagine what would happen if your dirty little secret got out, witch boy”

The bottle shattered into pieces, spilling contents on the floor.

What he remembered was a scene of a nearly complete defeat.

He was at that man’s mercy. Larat could see that half skull with glowing white eye every time he closed his eyes.

If it were not for the timely arrival of the First Princess, he would have perished, right then and there.

Larat: “Worse yet, he knows about me…Could it be…he has a curse as well? Even if I somehow manage to kill him, his curse will take over another host…There is no other way…”

Desire:

As someone who had control over his curse, Larat, unlike those who had no mastery over theirs, could freely communicate with the voice embodying his curse.

The curse in turn, would provide Larat with information through visions. As such, Larat knew quite a lot of things about how curses operated.

Larat: “If he has a curse like me, how do I kill him and prevent his curse from taking over someone else?”

Curses by nature were parasitic rather than symbiotic like blessings. This meant that as soon as the host perishes, the curse would jump into the body of a nearest available vessel.

Desire:

Larat: “Black Blade?”

Desire:

Larat: “If he has a curse, does it not mean that it is same as you, a seed of Noiluna? Why would you want to destroy your fellow Supremacy?”

Desire:

Larat: “You speak as though curses are alive”

Desire:

Larat: “Then it is settled. I shall retrieve that Black Blade”

* * *

Dream Realm.

“So you sleep even within your dreams now?”

“What do you want, Mrakus”

Dark Lord’s tone was ice cold.

Deep slumber, one of the few times he could find peace was interrupted by the angel invading his dreams.

Mrakus: “Is that any way to treat your most longtime ally?”

Dark Lord: “If you were my ally, that is”

Mrakus: “True. Though I did hope you came to see me in a better light by now.”

Mrakus smiled mischievously.

Mrakus: “I never expected you to cause this much havoc all by yourself, you are a very impressive mortal. Even with a curse like yours, most would have gone insane within the first ten deaths, yet here you are, even after more than five hundred times you have perished.”

Dark Lord: “Something tells me you are not here to give me praises”

Mrakus: “I guess pleasantries are meaningless with you. Oh well. You are correct. The reason I am here is to give you a warning.”

Mrakus: “While your curse is useful, it is far from absolute. Because it was given to you by Chronos, it cannot be destroyed by deities other than those who exceed the power of Primary Gods. Which means, that as far as gods are concerned, only three in this world, Olim, Chronos, and Solaris can destroy your curse.”

Mrakus: “Olim is a god of death, so he cannot remove the curse without killing you in the process. Chronos will not remove your curse for obvious reasons, and Solaris is busy fighting against the beings of other worlds. Unfortunately, there is another aspect to the curse that you need to know of…”

Mrakus: “Weapons that were imbued with certain powers have the capacity to destroy any curse. And one of your mightiest foes managed to obtain such a weapon”

The image of the Knight of Night wielding a Black Blade appeared inside the Dark Lord’s dream realm.

Dark Lord: “How can that sword destroy curses? Was it made by Solaris or Chronos?”

Mrakus: “No. It was made by Noiluna, who at her peak exceeded them both. Worse yet, the blade is made out of Netherworld steel. Because Noiluna crafted it, only her herald can wield it and because it was made of Netherworld steel, it can cancel out and destroy any seeds given by gods, including Blessings and curses.”

Mrakus: “Essentially, the Black Blade is an antithesis to the Crystal Dagger you wield. Rather than loot and bestow, it simply destroys”

Dark Lord: “So rather than remove my curse, it will kill me along with it”

Mrakus: “Exactly.”

Dark Lord: “Is it the only weapons capable of doing so?”

Mrakus: “Sadly no. But I know of only one other weapon capable of doing the same. The Sword of the Chosen, but so far, it has yet to be unsheathed from the holy ground where it has been put.”

Dark Lord: “I keep hearing more and more about this Netherealm or Netherworld or something. What exactly is that?”

Mrakus: “A realm that is a nightmare of every deity, one place where their power is almost nonexistent. A deity in the Netherealm will be nothing more than a powerless immortal. That is exactly why Netherealm is a fitting place to punish a deity with eternal damnation.”

Dark Lord: “Is that what happened to Noiluna after her rebellion? Is she still trapped down there?”

Mrakus: “Correct. I would imagine that the beasts within the Netherealm feast upon her meat every single passing day, endlessly fulfilling their urge to consume. Even someone like her who was once hailed as the most powerful deity is nothing more than a chained up woman. Unable to die yet unable to escape”

Mrakus: “It appears I may have told you a bit too much. Think nothing of it, but take caution, lest your foe will kill you for good”

Dark Lord: “I will keep that in mind”

Mrakus: “Splendid. Until next time we meet, Dark Lord”

Right after Mrakus left, Dark Lord woke up with sweat running down his brow.

Dark Lord: “A weapon that can kill me along with my curse, huh? In the hands of the one hero is despise the most….So much for hoping for an easy victory”

Dark Lord: ‘Still, I managed to confirm one thing for sure. The one who is pulling all the strings is none other than Mrakus. But what exactly is he planning on achieving by manipulating Chronos? I can hardly tell’

Dark Lord suspected this for a while, but it seems like he was one of Mrakus’s many pawns.

Dark Lord could never guess just how right he was.

Every time someone got cursed, Mrakus tried to use them as his chess pieces.

Mrakus met failure after failure up till now.

Yet it seems, this time Mrakus truly struck gold with his latest piece….