Episode 359 – The Master of Aintrier (9)
Flinch!
The mont Azonne sensed Arthur’s presence, he tried to flee back into the Shelter of Darkness.
But—
“Black Market?”
When that word left Arthur’s mouth, Azonne slowly lowered the bracelet in his hand and turned his gaze toward him.
Arthur had clearly looked him in the eye and called him “Master.”
It was too unsettling to ignore.
“Master...? What are you talking about?”
He had thrown the question out to test Arthur’s reaction, but the reply exceeded his expectations.
“Why? Trying to run off to the Shelter of Darkness again?”
“Go ahead and run. You already know there’s only one exit, right? Living trapped in the Shelter forever doesn’t sound so bad.”
“You bastard...”
Arthur had ntioned not only “Master,” but also the Shelter of Darkness—a power that only Azonne, the [Owner of the Black Market], was supposed to know about.
Azonne, who had been facing away, now fully turned toward Arthur. His eyes were full of distrust.
‘How could he possibly know…?’
He had expected that his identity as the Black Market Master might be exposed. After all, that dreadful witch, Lily Base, was always at Arthur’s side.
‘If she’s comparable to Arcane, the Prophet of Fate among the servants of gods, it’s possible she could discern my divine na.’
But—
‘The Shelter of Darkness is different.’
That power was known to no one but himself.
He had never spoken of it foolishly, never intended to reveal it. Anyone who even slightly suspected his identity had been killed without hesitation.
‘And yet he even knows the exit?’
It made no sense.
The more he thought, the more his distrust turned to confusion.
And then, a na ca to mind—a na he had never spoken aloud.
“Makibeldor?”
Azonne muttered the unfamiliar na.
The one he had called the King of Greed, a being who had known all of Azonne’s powers.
“The absolute being who gave Midas-related abilities…”
The being who had created the current Azonne in exchange for gold.
Makibeldor, the King of Greed, did co to mind, but Azonne shook his head.
That gluttonous creature would never leak information if there were no profit to be had.
No matter how he traced it back, no clear answer erged.
Azonne clenched his teeth and glared at Arthur.
“You... what are you?”
“Is there anyone in Aintrier who doesn’t know who I am?”
Everyone had simply been fooled. Did he even realize how many witches had been sacrificed to uncover his true na?
At the ntion of the witches’ deaths, Arthur’s expression hardened. Azonne slowly exhaled, calculating his next move.
This was his chance to take control of the conversation.
“Divine Hunter, Arthur Clayton.”
Azonne recited the contents of the note given to him by Arcane, right in front of Arthur.
Arthur’s divine na list.
As the list went on, Arthur’s expression subtly twisted.
“Don’t tell you used witches as spirit shields to learn all that?”
“Worried about the witches? Then let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“You answer my question, and I’ll tell you about the witches.”
Arthur was silent for a mont, then spoke.
“How many of them are still alive?”
“About thirty. Now it’s my turn—what’s your true identity?”
Azonne’s eyes glead sharply as he asked, and Arthur, after a brief pause, answered with a bitter smile.
“A normal human.”
“What?”
“I’ve just been struggling to survive, and I ended up here.”
“Bullshit! Are you playing gas with ?”
“I told the truth. I swear it on the World Tree.”
“Shut up! That damned World Tree!”
He had been dragged around and manipulated long enough.
Thinking he’d been tricked again, Azonne’s expression contorted in rage.
“Who told you about ? Was it the absolutes?”
“Absolutes...? You’re insane.”
“Still trying to deceive ? You made a deal, didn’t you?!”
“When did I ever say I agreed to a deal? You jumped the gun.”
“It has to be them! No one else could’ve uncovered my information! Tell ! Who was it!!!”
Azonne scread.
Now that all the secrets of the mocking rchant who had hidden behind masks had been exposed, he was in a frenzy.
Arthur began to slowly approach him.
Azonne, breathing heavily, glared at him with murderous eyes.
Vwooong—
Azonne’s Golden Shield activated on its own, sensing the danger.
Arthur briefly looked at the shield. A perfect barrier, impossible to break as long as gold existed.
Standing across from the golden shield, Arthur calmly spoke.
“Humans… when faced with sothing beyond comprehension, they always look for a god.”
“Backed into a corner, you realize you’re nothing more than a normal human.”
“You think you’ve caught completely, don’t you?”
“You’re all alone. Your limbs are cut off. You’ll be isolated soon enough.”
“You think you can take Aintrier with just 15% ownership?”
“Why? Think I can’t?”
“If I make my move, everything you’ve built will collapse. I’m sure of it.”
“Collapse? Do you think your return will really change anything?”
“What…?”
“Justification only matters when you have the strength to enforce it.”
Arthur pulled a small cube from his cloak.
Azonne’s eyes widened as he saw it.
It was the storage cube containing Nagrok’s corpse—he was certain of it.
How was that in Arthur’s possession?
“H-how did you…?!”
“Bookshelf twelve, fifth row, twenty-fourth book to the right. The title was Greed Ends in Two Ways, wasn’t it?”
That book was the key to a secret vault.
Touching it revealed a hidden space behind the bookshelf.
Arthur had taken everything he needed from that space.
The cube was one of those items.
“This is... how?!”
It was too much.
How did Arthur know everything that only Azonne knew?
Azonne stood frozen, staring blankly at the cube Arthur now held.
“There’s a body in this cube that shouldn’t exist. You know the Cleaners’ corpses are being displayed outside, right? Here’s my next move—”
“Azonne Vistas. Partnered with the Cleaners to assassinate Sub-Tower Master Nagrok.”
“How’s that sound?”
“Arthur!!!!!”
“Greed Ends in Two Ways. Like the book title says, it has two conclusions—either you beco the king of a world seized by greed, or…”
Arthur took a step back and casually said:
“…you destroy yourself.”
“Uwaaaagh!”
Azonne, having lost all reason, pulled a binding orb from his robe and threw it.
A restriction tool stolen from Nagrok after killing him.
Azonne hurled the orb and quickly chanted.
In an instant—
Fssshhh—
His golden shield briefly faded like a mirage, and all his worn accessories—necklaces, earrings, rings—flashed ominously and unleashed their curses at Arthur.
Slowing, weight increase, nullification, blindness, paralysis, poison, etc.
As all the stacked curses hit Arthur’s body at once, he grimaced in pain and staggered.
Whiiirl—!
The orb Azonne had thrown hovered above Arthur’s head, then extended into a glowing red ring.
The Ring of Restraint tightly bound Arthur shortly after.
“...!”
Grunting under the restraint, Arthur collapsed to his knees.
It had all happened in a flash.
Azonne quickly reached out and grabbed Arthur’s head.
[Judgnt Probability: Moderate]
Azonne’s eyes glead at the probability reading.
“Die!”
He triggered the Greedy Judge without hesitation.
With a snap of his fingers, Arthur’s eyes went wide.
Blood began trickling from his mouth, and his body trembled violently.
“Ku-kuhugh!”
As Arthur writhed in agony, Azonne twisted his lips into a smirk.
“I told you, didn’t I? Even if I have to give up all my gold, I’ll make sure you die. It won’t be who faces ruin—it’ll be you.”
“Don’t make laugh.”
Arthur, face twisted like a demon, raised his fist.
The Golden Shield reactivated to protect Azonne.
“I told you—you can’t kill . This shield was created by an absolute. As long as I pay gold, no one can break through.”
Arthur’s raised fist fell limp, and he slumped to the ground.
His bowed head looked like that of a dead man.
Azonne looked down at him and muttered.
“This is just the beginning. I’ll send all your allies to hell too.”
Arthur knew all of Azonne’s secrets.
Which ant he had likely shared those secrets with his allies. They had probably learned the truth about the Greedy Judge as well.
‘I’ll kill them all…’
Now that everything was exposed, there was no reason to hold back.
Even if he had to burn all his lifelong hoard of gold, he would end this.
Azonne looked around and approached Arthur.
The bastard had looted his vault. Ti to reclaim what was his.
Arthur sat unmoving, seemingly lifeless.
Now that he was dead, Azonne’s rchant instincts returned.
He wondered how much gold it had cost to kill Arthur.
The Greedy Judge, empowered by the King of Greed Makibeldor, would’ve taken a massive amount.
“This loss is devastating… I should’ve just killed him from the start.”
Just as he muttered—
“If you had, your head would've rolled off first.”
“?!”
A strange voice ca from behind.
Why hadn’t the Golden Shield reacted?
He had no ti to even turn his head.
A sharp wind blew across his face.
Shhhhkkk!
“Guaaaagh!”
Unbearable pain swept over Azonne’s body.
One of his arms was cleanly severed, and deep claw marks raked across his chest.
“Ku... kuhlk!”
Coughing blood, Azonne turned to see his attacker.
Puff—
Smoke rose from the pipe held in his mouth.
Amber eyes glared fiercely beneath pointed ears.
Dark skin.
And claws darker than the blackest night pierced Azonne’s chest.
Fenry Chaser.
“H-how, kuhlk!”
“Wondering why that damn Golden Shield didn’t activate?”
Fenry stared at the blood dripping down his claws.
The droplets splattered on the floor, dyeing Azonne’s shadow red.
“Arthur told —the Golden Shield is unbreakable.”
The shield activates automatically in danger.
Surprise attacks don’t work.
“There’s only one mont to strike—and you can’t miss it.”
The only way to bypass it is if the user disables it themselves.
“D-don’t tell …”
“I rode your shadow the mont you lowered the shield. Getting in is hard, but once I’m in—hiding’s what I do best.”
He had disabled the shield montarily to catch Arthur.
And Fenry had used that very mont.
“D-die!”
Coughing blood, Azonne lunged at Fenry, grabbing his wrist and triggering the Judge again.
Fenry flinched slightly, but then looked at his unhard self and let out a bitter laugh.
“You crazy bastard. It actually worked.”
“?!”
“I even bet it was bullshit, but it’s real, huh.”
Azonne stared, mouth agape.
The Greedy Judge had failed.
No, even the probability screen didn’t appear.
Why?
Fenry looked past Azonne and spoke.
“Arthur, you alive?”
He asked casually, but with a trace of concern.
A power that could kill with a single snap.
He wouldn’t have believed it unless he saw it firsthand.
To that—
“…I’m alive.”
Arthur, still kneeling, slowly raised his head.
As his eyes t Arthur’s, Azonne’s face twisted in horror.
But only for a mont.
Azonne’s eyes widened in pain.
Schwaaaak—!
Fenry’s claw sliced through Azonne’s neck.
“Ku… kuhlk!”
Azonne clutched his chest, eyes bulging.
When the Judge fails, its cost returns to the caster as death.
The agony twisted his face.
His flailing hand knocked over bookshelves and scattered blood-soaked papers.
“Kuugh, kuugh!”
Collapsing with a tallic rasp, Azonne lay dying.
Arthur stood over him.
Wiping blood from his mouth, he looked down at the man.
Greedy Judge.
He had allowed himself to be struck to draw it out.
It wasn’t just a gamble—Reto’s advice had been key.
Azonne, covered in blood, opened his mouth wordlessly, as if begging for his life.
Arthur leaned in and whispered—
“My absolute told sothing.”
“Uhugh!”
“Makibeldor, King of Greed, said—he can’t kill himself. No matter how much he wants to, he can’t die.”
“The end of greed… is self-destruction.”
Thud—
Azonne slumped into Arthur’s arms.
Arthur slowly pushed him away and said—
“That’s your fate.”
Azonne died with his eyes wide open.
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