Daisuke flexed his fingers as the bastard slowly removed the helmet. But when the man tilted his head back and combed his fingers through his blonde hair, the flexing immediately ceased.
Guildmaster Baldin's aura surged as he met Daisuke's stunned gaze. "From the very first day in that classroom—when you didn't so much as flinch under the weight of my mana—I knew you'd become a problem someday."
Daisuke's pupils quivered. "It… can't be."
Baldin chucked the helmet aside. "It was obvious how deeply you cared about justice when you selflessly stepped in to help that Beastkin."
The man looked him over with a frown. "I expected you to grow… but I never imagined it would be at this pace."
Daisuke's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "You may be a guild master, but you sure as hell better have a good explanation for this."
Baldin's expression shifted to mirror his own. "According to my stealthy familiar that you so graciously disposed of, your fighting style is mainly based on speed and dexterity."
Daisuke could immediately sense the hostility. In the next beat, he triggered Stat Reset, allocating his prowess between Strength and Agility.
Baldin extended his arm and began slowly curling his fingers into a fist. Instantaneously, Daisuke felt himself being clutched by an invisible force.
The man smirked. "Sure, you're fast on your feet… but what if your feet can't touch the ground?"
No sooner had the words left his lips than Daisuke's body levitated, wrenched forward by an unseen force.
Telekinesis?
With a snarl, he conjured a golden chain and sent it coiling around a nearby column. But the moment he resisted the pull, Baldin lashed out with psychic force from his left hand, shattering the chain in an instant.
"It's futile," he warned ominously.
But Daisuke was nothing if that persistent.
At his mental command, a translucent foothold formed beneath his feet. Yet every step he created was effortlessly obliterated by Baldin.
He tried to fire off a Firebolt—but the bastard yanked him in so violently that the spell corkscrewed out of control and detonated against a far wall.
He didn't tear himself free in time.
And the price was steep.
WHAMM!
A brutal right hook to the jaw sent him blasting through the wall next, his momentum carrying him onward. He tore through the woods beyond, splintering trunks and flattening trees in his path.
"Aughh…"
His ravaged body finally skidded to a halt amid the wreckage.
"Cough!"
Blood sprayed across the broad leaves of a nearby plant as he propped himself up on one knee. Before he could even brace himself against the onslaught of agony, the telekinetic fingers mercilessly seized him once more.
Daisuke gritted his teeth. Just… how far is his reach?
Like a rag doll snapped on a bungee cord, he was yanked back into the abandoned building, his body battered and bruised. A vicious uppercut slammed into his gut, launching him into the ceiling before gravity reclaimed him and drove him into the floor.
Daisuke groaned, rolling his head to the side. Liquid gold smoldered in his eyes as he looked up at the unexpected villain.
DING!
[Guildmaster Baldin | Lvl 156 | Mhaledictus | HP: 267449/267449]
Are you serious? What's… with that outrageous level? Aside from Kaizyreus, he's the most jacked up NPC I've ever run into. Wait.
Daisuke's gaze narrowed pensively. Could it be… a Named NPC? They practically come with plot armor, making it almost impossible to kill without screwing up the game's main storyline. But none of that matters right now.
He passed a fleeting glance over both unconscious women. More importantly—what the hell is he planning? Why kidnap Lumielle?
As if reading his thoughts, Baldin used his power to pin him to the ground. "The Mhaledictus," he said flatly, "…knew that merely taking over the kingdom wouldn't suffice. The guild is a neutral organization wielding influence over countless powerful adventurers. So, if they truly wanted control, they needed to bring both guilds under their thumb as well."
"…And you decided to surrender," Daisuke spat acidly. "Were you always on the side of evil, or are you just a spineless coward?"
Daisuke fought against the invisible grip that stretched across his body, threatening to flatten him against the stone floor. His fingers dug into the ground like daggers as his Stat Points finally funneled into Strength and Agility.
Baldin, however, only responded by amplifying his own power, veins bulging across his forehead as he strained against the resistance.
"You're just an annoying brat who was blessed with far more power than he deserves. Don't presume that you know anything about me."
Daisuke pushed against the ground, the pressure sending cracks rippling beneath him. "I know enough," he snarled. "You betrayed Lumielle's trust and committed treason against the kingdom and its people. That alone tells me everything I need to know—you're scum."
Up until now, it had been nothing more than a nagging itch at the back of his mind—something mild enough to ignore. But Daisuke couldn't shake the gut feeling that the Guildmaster was suspicious.
It had started the moment Adrian had boldly announced his full name the first time they met. At that point, the only organization privy to his surname was the Wonderelle guild, and they were bound to keep such information confidential.
Daisuke also recalled the dyesmith's words. Until a moment ago, he had dismissed her as batshit crazy—but now, the unbelievable truth of her claim hit him like a lightning strike.
Baldin had aligned himself with the harbingers of evil.
"You're the bastard who handed the Mhaledictus my physical description," Daisuke accused darkly. "That's how they knew exactly who to look for during the memorial ceremony."
His teeth ground together, fury simmering as the realization settled in. "You—don't you have a heart?" he snapped. "A home? A family? What would they think if they knew what you'd done?"
For a moment, the words visibly weighed on the remorseful Guildmaster. But the instant his gaze dropped to the comatose woman at his side, his expression hardened into cold, unyielding steel.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "but you and Lumielle will have to die here. This kingdom is already doomed." His eyes narrowed, conviction eclipsing any trace of doubt. "At least this way, your deaths will spare you from the needless suffering that awaits when the Mhaledictus tears down everything this kingdom has built over generations."
Daisuke chuckled, veins bulging along his forehead as he strenuously pushed to his feet. "Haven't you heard? The Mhaledictus… they're finished."
Baldin's eyebrows furrowed. "No, that's impossible."
"And yet I just made certain of that before coming here," Daisuke said with a smirk, the cracks deepening beneath him as he straightened his knees. "For all that bravado, you're barely keeping me from moving even while using all of your power, aren't you?" He met Baldin's gaze, his voice steady. "So tell me—how much longer… can you keep this up?"
The man glanced at Lumielle and then the other woman. I can't afford to be reckless, else they'll be caught up in the crossfire.
"You're right," Baldin began dejectedly as he retrieved a vial containing a suspicious liquid. "My family would no doubt be distraught if they knew of my actions."
His gaze drifted down to the pale-skinned woman, Daisuke's jaw tightening at the sight. "However… I don't have a family," Baldin continued. His eyes then lifted, locking onto his foe with cold resolve. "But you, Haxks Starfrost… your death is about to change that."
Without another word, he snapped the wooden stopper free and poured the vial's luminous contents onto the transmutation circle etched into the ground beneath his feet.
The liquid spread unnaturally, creeping along the meticulous lines and sigils, filling every groove, arc, and concentric ring. It bled into the subsidiary circles holding Lumielle and the other women as well—until, at last, the entire formation pulsed and flared, awash in an ominous glow.
Daisuke bristled, his body immediately triggering warning bells. "Baldin! You have to stop and think this through!" he implored. "I don't know what sort of deal you made with them, but can the Mhaledictus really be trusted?!"
Baldin had evidently cast aside all of his hesitation and regrets; for as much as Daisuke continued to plead with him to stop, he didn't so much as flinch in remorse. His smile widened with anticipation as the glow intensified.
But his glee was short-lived.
Something was wrong.
Instead of consuming the sacrifice and catalyst, the spell rebounded. The arctic blue glow curdled into a dark, malignant purple, tendrils lashing outward and reaching for the caster like grasping limbs.
"No—what is this?!" Baldin stammered, stumbling backward. "What's happening?!"
The dark forces at play gave him no chance to think—or escape. It seized him, forcing its way into his body through his mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears. He screamed as agony tore through him, his body warping from the inside out.
"No—this isn't what we agreed!" he bellowed, desperately clawing at the fluid gushing down his throat.
As his consciousness faded, the woman on the ground remained at the fraying edges of his vision. But despite his struggling, a cruel fate continued to unravel.
Muscles bloated grotesquely, swelling to twice their size. His skin hardened as violet veins lit up beneath it, pulsing with unnatural power.
Even his full plate armor responded, reforging itself into something denser, darker. The helmet he had cast aside was yanked back into place as if magnetized.
Baldin—no, the homunculus—finally went still once the transformation ended. Steam hissed from its open maw. The once vivid armor had turned pitch black, bristling with spikes. Fingers had twisted into claws.
It still wore a humanoid shape—but there was nothing human left about it.