âSeeing how this item came from the Highlordâs beloved treasury, Iâm certain that this contains formidable power, but because I donât know its purpose, Iâm unwilling to use it,â Kim Jin-Woo said as he observed Mimirâs demeanor. The characteristically sarcastic imp, who usually did his best to hide his inner feelings, was nowhere to be seen; Mimir instead appeared frantic and desperate.
âSeeing the look on your face, you do indeed know the identity of this object,â Kim Jin-Woo remarked.
Usually, Mimir would have realized his own mistake at this point and hurriedly tried to regain his composure. However, instead of doing so, he once again asked how Kim Jin-Woo had gotten the item and totally ignored how he appeared to the Highlord.
âIsnât it more important to know how to use this item rather than how I got it?â Kim Jin-Woo asked. Of course, from his point of view, his question made complete sense, but perhaps due to the situation, Mimir didnât seem to oppose him.
âIf I answer my Lordâs question, you must also answer my question.â Mimir offered a deal, having barely begun to regain his composure.
From Kim Jin-Wooâs point of view, the Mask wasnât something he had obtained through a secretive process, nor had he gone out of his way to obtain it, so he answered Mimir and waited for a response as he pressured the imp with a stare.
Mimir, who still couldnât take his eyes off the Hypocriteâs Mask, spoke after a long time. âThat monster isnât something that should exist here.â
Hatred. Fear. Greed. Longing. Conflicting emotions were buried in Mimirâs low voice.
Upon hearing the impâs sudden uncharacteristic deep voice, Kim Jin-Woo found himself subconsciously asking, âMonster?â
But instead of an answer, Mimir started to sing a song with a gloomy melody.
âThe one-eyed giant who pursued the Truth had his one eye plucked out and pinned to the Spear, and the song of the woman who honored his noble death became wails of hatred and mourning. The lake where the Fairies sang became a rotting swamp, and the scarlet symbol of life ceased to flow and turned black.â
Kim Jin-Woo instantly felt chilled to his bones by the eerie lyrics. Regardless of how he felt, however, Mimir continued to sing.
âThe young man who roamed in the forms of a hundred and twenty-two beasts had his legs broken and fell, and the brilliant Earth Dragon disappeared without leaving behind a single scale. Its dazzling brilliance grew cold in the light, and the giant who stood tall on the shoulders of the entire world fell to his knees and found himself unable to get up again. After Twilight, there was only the Night of Immorality.â
The Earth Dragon, the young man, and the giant were beings Kim Jin-Woo had never heard of before, but he had heard of the names of the other Lords, including the One-Eyed Lord and the Wailing Lord. Mimirâs song had turned out to be the lore of the Ancient Lord who was victorious at the end of Twilight, and it was ultimately about the secret of the Underworld.
âA song about the Ten Ancient Lords?â Kim Jin-Woo asked.
âThatâs correct.â The song ended and Mimir nodded tiredly, seemingly out of breath.
Looking at Mimir, Kim Jin-Woo tilted his head and asked, âBut why are there only nine and not ten Lords? One-Eyed Lord, Wailing Lord, Fairy Lord, True Blood Lord, Lord of Youth, Earth Dragon, Lord of Brilliance, Giant Lord, Usurper. Did I miss one?â The number of Lords in the song was nine, and he thought carefully about whether he had missed someone, but it was still nine in the end.
âItâs not that my Lord has missed someone out. From the beginning, the song was about the story of the nine Lords,â Mimir explained.
âWhy is that so?â Kim Jin-Woo asked.
âBecause the creator of this song was left out.â Mimirâs gaze once again turned to the Hypocriteâs Mask as he continued, âHe was the last Highlord, who didnât make his appearance in the song, and the culprit behind the Twilight.â
An unknown ominous feeling started to creep up from Kim Jin-Wooâs fingertips and tightened along the nape of his neck.
âHe was the original owner of the Mask in your hand,â Mimir finished.
***
Kim Jin-Woo sat deeply on his throne, craning his neck as he concentrated on Mimirâs song.
No one could blame him for doing so. He had only asked what the Hypocriteâs Mask was, and what he had unexpectedly gotten in return instead was the secret of the Underworld, stretching from ancient times to the present. There was no way he couldnât be surprised.
âSo, it wasnât the Usurper, the Immoral Lord, who started the war,â he remarked. For some reason, he felt bitter about the revelation.
âIt was the Usurper who organized the immediate war. However, even if the Immoral Lord was so mighty and received countless help, how could he have won against eight Highlords?â Mimir replied.
He stated that it was the Usurper who had ended the war, but it was the original owner of the Hypocriteâs Mask who had created the foundation for the war and manipulated the bigger picture to ensure the inevitable defeat of the other nine Lords.
Having heard the story of the real culprit, Kim Jin-Woo still had some lingering doubts. The power of a Highlord was mighty. Kim Jin-Woo, who had inherited that power, knew that fact better than anyone else. Although he hadnât inherited it via a proper succession, nor had he completely acquired those powers, he had been able to defeat a mighty Duke with relative ease. Considering that fact, what exactly had the Maskâs original owner done to cause the defeat of eight Lords?
âHe was, ironically, the most trusted being in the Underworld. Perhaps the Lords who trusted him deeply might have confided in him at least one of their respective weaknesses,â Mimir explained.
Unfortunately, he didnât know the exact reason either. There was no way that someone like him, who had roamed the Underworld after the war to collect scattered loot across the battlefield, would know a secret of the Underworld that no one else knew about.
âThis makes no sense,â Kim Jin-Woo muttered.
âAs it should. It was because the Underworld back then valued honor and pride above all else, unlike the Underworld of today,â Mimir said.
It seemed the Underworld of the past was very different from the Underworld of the present.
âAnyway, the reason I referred to the Mask as a âmonsterâ was because of its original owner.â Mimir didnât seem willing to talk about the secrets of the past any further, as he changed the topic rather hastily. âNo one knew it was hiding such an evil spirit until the Twilight came. If the original owner was indeed such a terrifying being, itâs fairly possible that heâs hidden something terrible in his remnants.â
Kim Jin-Woo couldnât understand Mimirâs words. He had yet to hear how the original owner of the Mask had weakened the power of the other Lords. He couldnât even understand why the last Highlord had been pointed out as the culprit. But ultimately, he couldnât ask the reason why, because the words Mimir spoke next caught him by surprise.
âThe other name the original owner of the Mask, who caused the Twilight, went by was the âWandering Lordâ. There was nothing that could hold him back as he wandered the Underworld like the wind⊠including his own body.â
Mimir said that the original owner of the Mask had visited the One-Eyed Lord several times, using the body of a completely different being each time, adding, âIf itâs him, maybe he could have put a part of his soul into that little mask.â
Kim Jin-Woo felt a chill up his spine. The message that had nudged him to wear the Mask several times flashed through his mind.
âSo please, no matter what, you mustnât wear that Mask, my Lord. In the worst case scenario, you could lose everything,â Mimir warned him.
Upon hearing those words, Kim Jin-Woo found himself subconsciously staring at the Mask. The weight of the Mask, which he hadnât felt earlier, was somehow making his fingertips tremble.
In the end, he didnât find out what the purpose of the Mask was. However, he slowly revealed how he had ended up in possession of it.
âThereâs definitely something strange about this.â After hearing Kim Jin-Woo out, Mimir put on a more serious expression than ever before. âThe Eternal Treasury is a treasure trove thatâs capable of thinking and judging for itself. It is a warehouse of sorts, but itâs also a living entity. And it has its own sense of pride and temper, with the strength to match its rarity.â
According to Mimir, the Eternal Treasury wasnât an entity that would have given such a precious gift to someone whom it didnât recognize as its master, and who had even endured its temptations. Nevertheless, the Hypocriteâs Mask that was in Kim Jin-Wooâs hands was real, and so were the events of the day he had received the Mask.
âPerhaps, and this is just on a whim⊠Is this object really something that ominous?â Kim Jin-Woo asked.
In the end, it was an answer that couldnât be obtained while they remained in the Grand Labyrinth. But that didnât mean there was no way to figure out the answer.
âLetâs go and check it out together,â Kim Jin-Woo continued, and Mimir nodded.
***
The flashing light was a soft purple, and the skeins of light that covered that dazzling light were red. The Eternal Treasury wasnât that different from when Kim Jin-Woo had last seen it.
If anything, the one thing that had changed was that the entrance to the Treasury, which had constantly expanded and compressed itself in the past as if it were a living organism, was no longer moving and resembled hardened concrete.
âThis is what it usually looks like. It seems that that day, the Eternal Treasury was determinedly committed to its decision,â Mimir said. He explained how greedy the Eternal Treasury was, and how delicious the Highlord that had yet to fully realize its potential would have looked in its eyes. âThatâs why I warned you that day.â
âI remember it clearly.â Kim Jin-Woo nodded, recalling Mimirâs words of warning about the dangers of being swallowed up by the Treasury should he show any signs of weakness.
As he looked at the entrance of the Treasury that had changed so much, he could feel its insidious nature, which he hadnât recognized the last time he had been there.
Even now, despite hardening his resolve and doing his best not to reveal his inner self, he still had an eerie sense of foreboding that the Eternal Treasury was somehow watching his every move.
âMm.â As time passed, he could feel the Hypocriteâs Mask in his hand trembling more and more.
They had all been kicking up a fuss for being unable to consume their masters. The Grand Labyrinth. The Eternal Treasury. Everything related to the Highlord had tried to devour their master and failed.
The realization of that fact only made Kim Jin-Woo feel more bitter about the circumstances he had been put in, as he cursed the Ancient Lords under his breath. âDonât tell me you all enjoyed this kind of tension, you fucking perverts.â
âWhat did you say?â Mimir, who was holding a long stick he had obtained from somewhere in his hand, looked at him and tilted his head.
âWhat are you trying to do?â Kim Jin-Woo asked. Although the stick looked similar to the material that made up Gungnir, the bizarre-looking rod was actually a fishing rod.
âIf anything were to happen to the Eternal Treasury, it would be crazy for me to step in personally to check it out,â Mimir explained.
An Eternal Treasury that the treasurer himself was afraid of? What madness.
âCan you pass me the Mask?â Mimir asked.
âSure.â Kim Jin-Woo agreed as he waited to see what Mimir would do next.
âMilord?â
However, for some reason, despite agreeing to hand over the Mask immediately, Kim Jin-Woo was holding onto it tightly, refusing to let it go.
âMilord?â Mimir frowned as he called out to Kim Jin-Woo once more.
But strangely, Kim Jin-Wooâs expression was filled with bewilderment as he continued to hold on to the mask.